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buzzneon

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Everything posted by buzzneon

  1. Hey, A few suggestions.. 1) Spend the 10-20 minutes to adjust the Highwire switches. I know that it's totally painful, but once it's done you'll be able to get on with your life! Use the Highwire Test (or maybe it's called Ramp Test - I don't remember) to adjust the switches and roll balls along there; this makes it far quicker and easier to get everything working than the regular switch test. Remember that each switch must be closed at all times while there's a ball on top, although it's ok if the switches jiggle when a ball enters and/or leaves. Having the ramp/playfield too steep can cause problems too. 2) Please don't be afraid of bending the ball-guide for the small loop around the Ringmaster. You said "However, it shits me off that I have to alter a game from the way it was intended just so I can get some longer ball times"; I promise you that it was never the intent for that shot to drain the ball :) Cameron.
  2. At Williams the Sample games could run anything from 100-300 (it changed throughout the 90s), and were built up at the factory (although on a smaller / slower line). The purpose mostly was to get the factory ready for full-on production scale, and also figure out if any changes could be made to make production quicker/cheaper. Samples were typically sent to big distributors and operators all over the world so that they could familiarize themselves with the new games (that was the theory, anyway!). Most of the time when people use the term "proto", they are actually referring to samples (at least as far as Williams mid/late 90's goes). Actual protos were built and wired by hand over several weeks (sometimes before final wiring harnesses had been laid out), and they would frequently be hacked up a little before going on location. Protos would rarely run more than 10 or 15 games, and these would usually go to design team, a few on test, and some used internally for documentation, photo-shoot, drop test and various approval processes (UL, etc). The protos were built downstairs in the same building as engineering, rather than up at the factory. Proto games would typically have many small differences from production (including the red PCBs), while samples would differ very little. Early Judge Dredd samples did indeed ship with working planets, but Williams issued kits and most of them were converted (I don't believe that production software will support the original planet design). TZ Samples didn't have the third magnets installed, but the playfields were still routed to accommodate it. Cirqus samples had skinny Ringmaster heads, and were missing some text on the playfield; while Cirqus Protos had entirely different text on several of the "Marvel" inserts. Whitewater had some of the optos moved between the sample and production runs. Proto Corvette games were built with a four-speed shifter on the side, but that was removed before samples. Personally I wouldn't pay extra for a sample (and especially not a proto), but I'm not a tinkerer .. I just like to play the games and have them work. I know many people who collect games because they actively enjoy working on them, and for them the protos and samples may be a better fit. Obviously it's not set in stone that protos will fall apart on you, but they were built by hand and often cobbled together. With these early games you also run the risk of after-market parts not fitting (ie: the "Stroke Of Luck" hole protector doesn't fit on the proto Attack From Mars that I am babysitting). Cameron.
  3. Duncan has added several more .. here's a link to his user profile which shows all the videos (this might be esier than constantly adding new links?) http://www.youtube.com/user/duncanfbrown On one video we see a very young Josh Sharpe playing .. which is wild considering he now hands me my paycheck :) Cameron.
  4. Hey, Duncan Brown has been ripping old pinball related videos from VHS tapes .. these were saved from the vaults of Creative Media at Williams/Midway. He has posted two of them, with more to come: [ame= ] [/ame] [ame= ] [/ame] Very cool stuff! Cameron.
  5. I've watched the first 2 (3?) episodes of TG:Australia and was actually starting to warm up to it ... until the new season of the UK version started up and I realized just how much better the original is. For me, my biggest problem with the Australian version is that they seem to be trying so hard, and that just seems unnecessary. As has already been mentioned, they are imitating everything about the UK show which makes it far too easy to draw comparisons ... and there's no way they can out-do the Brits. There is a US version in the works too, which I'm sure will be just as bad as the Australian one for exactly the same reason. Cameron.
  6. Which would be all of the game-side stuff, not just the Ringmaster. As others have stated, I did the Cirqus home ROM in 2000 while I was working at WMS. I didn't release it for several years due to being quite burned out from pinball, and having no real test data for it. John and I absolutely designed the game together, with him concentrating more towards the mechanical layout, and myself on the rules. The headers in the source code say "Software Design" rather than "Software AND Design" simply because those were generated when I started the project (before I'd even finished working on Stiff) and I had no idea at that time how big a role I would play in the project. When everything was all done, there was little reason to go back and change it. Naturally I have no way to prove any of this, but why would I lie? Even though I adore Cirqus, it performed terribly on location and was not considered a success. On Scared Stuff I did most of the "effects" programming, but had only a small impact on rules (most were pretty well designed when I came on the project). All roles were pretty loose for each pinball project I worked on, and I consider myself very fortunate enough to be able to say that. Everyone on the team had important contributions to make, and everyone had a say in the finished product. Some designers were dictators, but not John or Dennis. The titles assigned to design-team roles are mostly just guides, but should never be considered absolute. Wayne, you now have all of Williams' IP - that's fine. But I'm sorry, it doesn't make you an expert. I don't doubt that you like going through that stuff, but using it to back up nonsense makes you look a little foolish. Edit: Apologies to the original poster for not answering his question! Yes, I am now working at Raw Thrills, which is run by Eugene Jarvis and Andy Eloff. The company does (for the most part) coin-op arcade games. The first game I worked on here was the driving game "The Fast And The Furious: Drift", and am now working on a new product which will debut at the IAAPA trade show in two weeks. After Williams stopped making pinball in 1999 I had to remain at WMS, since my VISA only permitted me to work there. Once I got the Green Card I left WMS to work at Cisco Systems (with several other ex-Williams guys). After slightly over 4 years at Cisco I moved to Midway and worked on NBA: Ballers Phenom (September 2005), and then finally started at Raw in January 2007 .. which is where I am today :) Cameron.
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