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Lightning Flippers


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I was listening to a TOPcast interview of Mark Ritchie the designer of FishTales (and many others). He was saying that a very large distributor in France wanted to decrease the average ball in play time so asked for the flippers to be shortened, which is how the lightning flippers came about. Mark said the game was designed with standard sized flippers and he was not happy that the game was shipped out everywhere with the smaller ones because the game was tough enough as it was. He even said he has standard flippers on his own FishTales! Bram Stokers Dracula and Dr Who were also shipped from factory with lightning flippers.

Ok, that's interesting enough, but why am I posting this?? Well my Dracula has been kicking my ass with the lightning flippers for long enough now and it is time to play the game how it was originally intended - with full size standard flippers. You see, I have been tolerating the lightning flippers because my thinking was that it was kind of cheating to swap to std flippers and the game should be played as it was shipped from factory . JPD on here told me that he considers his lightning flippers on his FT to be "par for the course", and I was a believer.

This is not just some lame attempt to try and justify making my game easier to make up for the shortfalls of my pinball skills. I am convinced I have a very strong case here :D The designers didn't want them and neither do I.

 

Join with me and say NO to lightning flippers!!

 

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, I'm off to set some new highscores on my Drac :D

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I honestly think FT would be way too easy with standard flippers. I think lightning flippers suit it perfectly and I would never change them out on mine.

 

I concur.. Leave them on Fishtales !

 

Dr Who is a harder game, so I guess the temptation is greater :lol

 

Not sure about Drac though..

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I honestly think FT would be way too easy with standard flippers. I think lightning flippers suit it perfectly and I would never change them out on mine.

 

Yes, but don't you hate it when the ball hits the centre boat target dead on and you know it is going straight down the middle-don't even bother nudging it.:badgrin

 

Anyway Mark, someone out there must like them:D (to the tune of $66US:o)

http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-WILLIAMS-TWO-YELLOW-LIGHTNING-BOLT-FLIPPERS-PINBALL_W0QQitemZ250273080525QQihZ015QQcategoryZ13727QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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Yes, but don't you hate it when the ball hits the centre boat target dead on and you know it is going straight down the middle-don't even bother nudging it.:badgrin

 

This is true, but I think thats the only dangerous shot in the game, so the flippers suit in that respect :)

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Hang on. Unlike Fish Tales, Dracula was actually designed from the outset to have Lightning Flippers.

 

Insteading of putting non-standard flippers on it, just put elastic bands over the outlanes, take the glass off, and be the girly man you always wanted to be ;)

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Yes, but don't you hate it when the ball hits the centre boat target dead on and you know it is going straight down the middle-don't even bother nudging it.:badgrin

 

yep I hate that so much....... but I reckon its forcing me to become a better player, by using what I accept is a handicapping flipper set. No way I would change to normal flippers, I reckon FT would become boring to me (its almost become boring.. I so need a new pin).

 

Mark would you have a link to that interview? would like to hear what the designer of FT has to say.

ty

:)

 

Ok, now that I've got that off my chest, I'm off to set some new highscores on my Drac :D

 

I have played BRD and loved it... but cant recall wether it had lightening or standard flippers. Its machine I wanna own anyway!

:)

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I would also like to add that this is just some lame attempt to try and justify making Mark's game easier to make up for the shortfalls of his pinball skills

 

 

Ha, ok now that I've been outed, I'll give a little more background :D.... I've had my Drac for almost 3 years and always played it on the (easy) settings that were on it from the guy that owned it before me. I recently changed everything back to factory settings and now can't even get close to killing Dracula anymore.

Listening to that interview was the answer to my problems, I mean I can't improve my pinball skills overnight but I know how to change flipper bats in under 10 minutes :lol

Out of respect for Mark Ritchie, I stand behind my original post lol

 

Hey on FT can you make the extra ball shot from the left flipper with lightning bats? They seem a bit short for that shot.

 

Hang on. Unlike Fish Tales, Dracula was actually designed from the outset to have Lightning Flippers.

 

Insteading of putting non-standard flippers on it, just put elastic bands over the outlanes, take the glass off, and be the girly man you always wanted to be ;)

 

done, done and done....still need some extra length though :lol

 

Mark would you have a link to that interview? would like to hear what the designer of FT has to say.

ty

:)

It's show number 49

 

http://www.marvin3m.com/topcast/past.php

Edited by Shock_And_Awe
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Hang on. Unlike Fish Tales, Dracula was actually designed from the outset to have Lightning Flippers.

 

Insteading of putting non-standard flippers on it, just put elastic bands over the outlanes, take the glass off, and be the girly man you always wanted to be ;)

 

How do you know this? I had read before that the games were designed with the flippers in mind but then in the interview Mark Ritchie says no for FT. How do you know BSD to be different?

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How do you know this? I had read before that the games were designed with the flippers in mind but then in the interview Mark Ritchie says no for FT. How do you know BSD to be different?

 

Its obviously because of the lightning in the movie.

 

duuurrrrr!

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I just checked and I got it back to front.

 

The story of Hans the greedy Euro operator is true.

 

However, FT's designer actually wanted to use lightning flippers, because without them ball times were too long.

 

Dracular however was designed to have full length flippers.

 

Incidentally, I only recently released that my RFM had one lightning flipper! No wonder I was getting so many drains :)

Edited by Pindividual
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I just checked and I got it back to front.

 

The story of Hans the greedy Euro operator is true.

 

However, FT's designer actually wanted to use lightning flippers, because without them ball times were too long.

 

Dracular however was designed to have full length flippers.

 

Incidentally, I only recently released that my RFM had one lightning flipper! No wonder I was getting so many drains :)

 

but they were forced on Dracula.

 

GEE listen to that TOPCast show #49 and the FT designer (Mark Ritchie) says himself that he didn't want the lightning flippers, so that info re FT you said is wrong.

So I'm all good to go with full length flippers on my Drac AND with no guilty conscience :lol Interesting stuff....

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Greg my BSD has the lightning flippers.Not sure if I would change them as i see no need for it. The pin is perfect the way it is.But still interested on your opinion on them once you get some games in Mark.Just Curious Mark do you only need 1 shot to get video mode.Maybe a factory reset is in order :D
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Just Curious Mark do you only need 1 shot to get video mode.Maybe a factory reset is in order :D

Actually John, you're the cause of my problems because until you came over and noticed that you only needed one shot to start video mode, I thought I was doing well. After you left I changed all settings back to factory and haven't had a good game since :lol I really liked lightning flippers back then :D I will let you know my findings.

 

Pfft! What would he know? ;)
:lol
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Greg my BSD has the lightning flippers.

 

Since it was your BSD that i played then i say keep lightening flippers on BSD for sure.

 

 

Hey on FT can you make the extra ball shot from the left flipper with lightning bats? They seem a bit short for that shot.

 

It's show number 49

 

http://www.marvin3m.com/topcast/past.php

 

ty for link Mark. Nope you can not get extra ball from the left flipper unless you rebound it. Its a shot I have been working on!

 

Only gripe I have with the handicap flippers is that it is very hard to do a ball transfer from flipper to flipper (which is a pinball shot that I love). It can be done but seldom worthwhile as you can only get the ball to the very tip of the other flipper...you cant fully transfer and trap it to the other flipper. So all you get from a flipper transfer is a quick half-ass shot.

:)

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ty for link Mark. Nope you can not get extra ball from the left flipper unless you rebound it. Its a shot I have been working on!

 

:)

My guess would be that the extra ball shot is a casualty of the lightning flippers. Extra ball shots generally are not easy, so it was a tight shot with std length flippers. With the length shortened it now becomes a right flipper hook shot and I doubt it was designed to be that.

I play Greg / Maverick's FT all the time and his came with std flippers when he bought it. The extra ball shot is tight but it is a straight shot from the end of the left flipper.

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Actually John, you're the cause of my problems because until you came over and noticed that you only needed one shot to start video mode, I thought I was doing well. After you left I changed all settings back to factory and haven't had a good game since :lol I really liked lightning flippers back then :D I will let you know my findings.

 

:lol

 

Glad i could help:D

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