Big Bang Bar

[mikeflan]

Hey -

I understand that everyone want to know the status of the project, and while all updates are appreciated and embraced, I'd like to see if we can get something like a scheduled update: maybe once a month, on the first or last day of the month. TOG or KS or Kim can give us an update on what was accomplished during the month, any pictures that might be pertinent, what problems were encountered, how they were solved, and maybe a count on the total machines completed or even a percentage figure (i.e. we are 61 percent towards completion).

I'm checking this group like three times a day, and when we are only getting updates once every two months or so, it gets a little depressing. Plus, it might cut down on the "Please, please, an update if you would kind sir....." posts.

I figure this is a decent way to balance everyone's curiosity while allowing the team to get work done on the machines without the update requests. 1 hour a month I think is very do-able.

Opinions? Comments? Am I out of line?
Mike

[harrrrrrr]

Patience my friend... the quality of the games is assured... they are being worked on and will get done. Crickets chirping in this case is likely a good thing. KTF...

john

[robertwinter]

I agree with John, we still need to be patient. Monthly updates have been suggested numerous times before and the reality is they're not going to happen.

The games are being completed and some have already been finished and delivered (the European ones). There's not really much more information IPB could give us now other than a completed count of games, which I don't expect them to release.
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Robert
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http://www.robertwinter.com
BBB #74

[runner1717]

[robertwinter]

[jadziedzic]

[christian1]

Is anyone in the vicinity of Bloomington? Maybe a trip to Gene's for an update on the progress is in order.

Jon
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BBB #10

[mushroom]

Even though my BBB is already delivered, I can still feel your pain.
I log in on this forum maybe 5x a day, even though my game's already in my gameroom.
I remember how I felt after login in and login in and login in, and nothing new, no dates, no pictures, no numbers, nothing.
I also still don't understand why it is so hard to tell people how many games are finished. It's not super secret rocket science after all ? If there are 40 - 50 games finished by EXPO just let the people pick them up, it will be their best EXPO ever ! The ones that don't make it to EXPO will have to wait, but theoretically that changes nothing cause as has been said the games will be delivered when they are all finished, so whether the EXPO guys take theirs or not, it changes nothing.
Just my thoughts, maybe I'd better sh*t *p !
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Bye
Bart Baeyens
www.mushroom-amusements.com

[marspinball]

Wouldn't it be best for IPB to distribute games ASAP rather than waiting till they are all complete. I hate to be negative but there is a greater possibility of loss, theft, fire, natural disaster etc. if they are all in one location for a prolonged period of time.

Even if I'm last on the list to receive one I would rather see them go out it batches of 5 or 10. At this point I'm not sure what will be the shipping order, date of payment (first or full) or machine number.

Also to minimize shipping charges shouldn't machines be shipped in batches to cities that have multiple orders.
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BBB #131

[latecomer]

I am not sure why there is an insistance on delivering them all at once. I imagine that there is a background reason, but not enough to stop the delivery to Europe to avoid what would have been a terrible problem. If they are delivered all at once, or if they are sent as complete either way I would be happy to be last, bacause if its all at once I still get it at the same time. If delivering some local ones helped PMI then I'd be all for it. But I do believe there must be a good reason and having trusted PMI so far, a few more months won't matter in the scheme of things.
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Vegemite Nick #123

[nworker]

It would be really easy to determine the order of shipment. Just go back to the order in which payment was received.

I agree that keeping all of the completed games in one place is asking for trouble. One fire and all that work is lost. Given that there are so many natural and man made disasters dispersing the completed games is prudent.

nworker

[Kerry Richard]

This has been discussed many times...

Again, #'s should be the last deciding factor. This, because they were randomly chosen by the Buyer. And they are not a factor within which the game was actually produced.

If they should be distributed any other way than Gene said (all at once). Then, in my opinion; they should be distributed to those who paid in full first.

BTW: when I selected #111, there were 4 #'s stil available between 1-10 back in Nov. 04'.

Kerry Richard #111

[CraigC]

I dont know. You aren't going to sway what's going on because 20 people on a message board who have no leverage want it that way. Its sad but it's true.

IPB is going to get it done how they're going to get it done and it may be before christmass or it may not be. we dont know and they're not telling us anything. Hopefuly that means they're working like pinball elves.

I think the main thing is that they dont have a factory like STERN does. There's not that many people working there either and i think their whole distribution and communication program is Kim. Currently She must be stacked up under a heap of FH playfields and if she takes off for any reason that means that distribution comes to a halt. I think too that if IPB were to stop making games and then start sending them out it will add to the total length of the project since that will take resources away from production and i'm pretty sure that IPB will be happy once this project comes to an end.

So what do you do? You wait. We've been along for the ride this long...what's another month. I've called Kim in the past and she was very happy to explain things to me. Of course if everyone called and talked to Kim all day that would slow things down as well.

ok i re-read all that and it barely makes sense meaning i need more coffee.

-c

[BBB94]

I agree that updates would be nice. A finished machine count every month or few weeks would be nice too. I am as faithful to and sure about this project as any out there. Even so it is hard to stay patient and up beat without knowing how things are going. I too am concerned that the longer the project takes, the more risk that some natural or man-made event will ruin the project. In addition, if it looks likely that we will not get the machines this year, I'd like to know that so I can stop hoping for that.

There may be a reluctance to post updates since they can be misinterpreted or cause undue concern and flak, like the ramp update (BTW EU anti-lead law [aka lucky *ss] buyers - how does that ramp section look in real life? Good I suspect.). Was TOG being a little thin skinned? Perhaps. However he has a right to be edgy as he has pretty much put his life on hold to see this through. So, if we can get an update out of TOG I would ask that everyone be judicious and consider how your comments might be taken. Say what's on your mind, just try to be fair and consider how your point is made and might be taken, especially if you want the information to continue flowing again. Remember TOG is just a worker bee, and Kim probably rarely and Gene "never" visits the forum. Certainly part of the problem is that no one can please everyone on all aspects of this project. It has to be tough to be in TOG's position where there are far more opportunities for problems and setbacks than to get the project done quicker and/or with higher quality. I guarantee TOG isn't going to discover a big "setforward" that allows this project to be completed the following week. He must feel like the good news is not "as good as hoped for" news. They say don't kill the bearer of bad news, well we need to not kill the bearer of pretty good news either.

I've offered before, and the offer stands - if the PMI folks want to give me current info (and pics if possible) and have me draft the posts, submit them back for approval, and then post the updates, I'd be more than happy to do that. I recognize how much time it can take to write a careful articulate post as writing is not my strong suit. Passing along the info and approving the draft might take 10 minutes, where as drafting a well composed post could take an hour - time better spent building, inspecting, and adjusting machines.

[BigBangJoe]