HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Subject: Re: Layout/Pinball sexism?
Reply-To: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 19:46:04 GMT

In article <kajzb!b@rpi.edu> sigma@picasso.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin) writes:
> I've always thought Bride of Pinbot is all about sex.  And you can take
> quotes from TAF and re-evaluate them with a dirty mind.  Lends new meaning
> to things like "That's the spirit, Thing!  LEND A HAND!"

As long as you don't say "Have another ball - I've got a whole
bucket full!"


> Kevin Martin
> sigma@ipl.rpi.edu
> "We're gonna need another Timmy!"

--
* "In 27 years of marriage, Todd never noticed Marie's tentacle" *
Orin Day, Code 664.1                    oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov
Hughes STX/NASA       GSFC Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics
*******"Think that this is NASA's opinion?   NO, NO, NO!!!" ******
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: gleeson@mundil.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Red Mountain)
Subject: Re: What about Star Trek???
Organization: Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 00:18:50 GMT

In <buzz-280992111436@pyd.apple.com> buzz@apple.com. (Steve Bollinger) writes:

>On the whole, Star Trek is a really awful machine. Hitting the crystals is
>ridiculous. Some are easy, some you only get through spots. And the payoff
>for multiball is poor. It just isn't any fun. There's a playfield hole on
>the top left below the transporter which flashes CONSTANTLY, but I can't
>figure out what the heck it does. It looks important, but does nothing
>visible. I've seen two machines like this, so I don't think its a mechanical
>failure. The flashing light says "light crystals", I think. 

Actually, it does just that, "Light Crystals". You gave to get 9 crystals
plus the primary crystal to light the transporter, and when lit, that hole
awards you a crystal (but, as it's a buggy DE machine (is that a tautology?),
I've seen it award not only the crystal, but scanner values as well...).

Marty.
---------------------=============***O***=============-------------------------
Martin J. Gleeson  | Computer Science, Melbourne Uni, Oz |    ...  __o    Outta
gleeson@mundil.cs.mu.oz.au |     E Pluribus Unix         |  ...   -\<,       my
"We gladly feast on those who would subdue us." - Addams |  ....(_)/(_)..  way!
 "I can't give you brains, but I can give you a diploma." - The Wizard of Oz
---------------------=============***O***=============-------------------------
From: sigma@picasso.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Layout/Pinball sexism?
Date: 29 Sep 92 02:31:02 GMT

oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day) writes:
>In article <kajzb!b@rpi.edu> sigma@picasso.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin) writes:
>> I've always thought Bride of Pinbot is all about sex.  And you can take
>> quotes from TAF and re-evaluate them with a dirty mind.  Lends new meaning
>> to things like "That's the spirit, Thing!  LEND A HAND!"
>As long as you don't say "Have another ball - I've got a whole
>bucket full!"

OK, I may have started something.  I apologise.

"There's more where that came from!"
"Thrice!  Well done!"
"Good show, old man!"
et cetera.

-- 
Kevin Martin
sigma@ipl.rpi.edu
"We're gonna need another Timmy!"
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: rls@cbnewsc.cb.att.com (richard.l.schieve)
Subject: Re: Anyone have Pin Expo '92 info?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 16:14:42 GMT
Summary: Got the flyer yesterday.

In article <67222@cup.portal.com>, jrh@cup.portal.com (John R Hoffman) writes:
> >I haven't seen any traffic yet about this year's Pin Expo.  Is it still
> >on?  Is the 800 number still working?
> 
> I just called the 800 number today (Monday) and was told that a mass
> mailing was done last week.  Information should be arriving this week.

I got the flyer yesterday.  The U.S. Amusement auction is on Saturday
this year.

				Rick Schieve
				rls@ihlpb.att.com
				
From: pazar@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com (Steve Pazar)
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 02:49:18 GMT
Subject: NEED: Gotl series 80 board...
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Santa Rosa, CA
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball

Fellow Pinheads,
  Does anyone out there have a Gottlieb series 80 control board they'd
  like to sell? It doesn't have to work, I just want one for parts.
  Specifically I'm looking for the "generic" ROMs and possibly one
  of the RIOT chips. Thanks!

***************************************************************************
*  STEVE PAZAR           DoD #702           Kawasaki KZ440A
*  E-mail:   pazar@hpnmdla.sr.hp.com
*  Ether:    WA4DUT/6
*  " Imagination is more important than knowledge "
***************************************************************************
From: pcs$1610@altair.selu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Stuck balls and tilting
Date: 29 Sep 92 08:05:17 -0600
Organization: Southeastern Louisiana University

In article <m9BoRB2w164w@jwt.UUCP>, bbs-garfield@jwt.UUCP (David Eison) writes:
> 
> Does this mean that you can trap a ball, and get another ball, effectivly 
> giving you free multi-ball?  Or do you have to have the flippers down?  
> Or would the machine shut the flippers off after the first ball drains?
> 

I got interested in this yesterday, so I've done it a couple of times
(on different machines) to see what happens. 

NOTE: These were both DE games (Star Trek and Batman), and I couldn't
get either one to search while a ball was trapped on the flipper. They
had to be 'legitimately stuck'.

Anyway, if after a couple of ball searches, there still doesn't seem
to be a ball, it _will_ give you a new one to play with.

This gives you a multi-ball of a sort, _but_ the machine still thinks 
you're playing with one ball, and it really screws everything up once you 
lose one of them. (I had an interesting experience when I lost both balls
at once--they both came to the plunger for me to play at the same time. 
Had to hit that that thing really hard to get them both into play...)

In other words, the game is over once you've played out 3+any extra balls 
(i.e. all balls register as lost). The machine simply shuts off after this
and the last ball drifts quietly down the playfield.

Of course, I also managed to get a legitimate multi-ball while playing
an illigitmate multi-ball, but that's kind of complicated.

> ---
> David Eison - Garfield           bbs-garfield@jwt.uucp
> I'm not writing a message.  These words are just here to take up space.


Scott
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: koziarz@chinet.chi.il.us (Louis Koziarz)
Subject: Anyone have Pin Expo '92 info?
Organization: Chinet - Public Access UNIX
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 22:21:33 GMT

I haven't seen any traffic yet about this year's Pin Expo.  Is it still
on?  Is the 800 number still working?
-- 
Louis Koziarz
koziarz@chinet.chi.il.us
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: S_TITZ@iravcl.ira.uka.de (Olaf Titz)
Subject: Common software bug?
Organization: Fachschaft Informatik, Uni Karlsruhe
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 12:54:48 GMT
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.23

I've recently come across the following apparent software problem and
I wonder if someone can confirm that.

On a not-so-well maintained machine, it happens sometimes that I get
more than one ball at once. I start a game and have two balls on the
plunger, or a ball is released while another still in the game, and
similar errors. What makes it really nasty is that the machine doesn't
notice the fault and reacts to a drain of one ball as if it was the
only one, counting bonus, switching to next player etc. despite the
fact that one ball remains in the game (and fires targets etc). Of
course this makes the game unplayable. This happens never at the first
ball. I've seen this on a Whirlwind and a Rollergames (I guess they
have a lot of software in common).

Comments?


MfG,
        Olaf
-- 
    o     Olaf Titz - comp.sc.student - univ of karlsruhe - germany
 _ /<_    s_titz@iravcl.ira.uka.de - uknf@dkauni2.bitnet - praetorius@irc
(_)>(_)   +49-721-60439 - did i forget something?
OS/360 devotes 26 bytes of the permanently resident date-turnover routine
 to the proper handling of Dec.31 on leap years. That might have been
 left to the operator. - Fred Brooks (1975)
From: jonke@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (Stephen Jonke)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: What are Solid State Flippers
Date: 1 Oct 92 20:13:30 GMT
Organization: NASA GSFC

In article <1992Oct1.161959.28368@ncsu.edu>, bcasper@eos.ncsu.edu (Brian Casper) writes:
> 
> 
> There are two seperate windings in a flipper coil which are wound side by side.
> One uses a relatively larger gauge wire and relatively fewer turns, and the

(rest of excellent non-ss and solid state flipper descriptions deleted)

Which pinball machines have solid state flippers?  Do any of the newer
machines have them (TAF, T2, LW3, ...) or was this something from a few
years ago?  One of the T2 machines I play has a right flipper that is
"jumpy" -- when the ball hits it, it tends to kick back slightly by itself.
Actually, this sounds worse then it is -- the game is still very playable
and fun, but it's dissapointing considering the quality of other Williams
machines.  Is that a solid state flipper problem, or an older style flipper
problem (also, what do you call NON-solid state flippers?)

Steve
From: buzz@apple.com. (Steve Bollinger)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: ramblings on older games
Date: 28 Sep 92 19:04:34 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.pinball
Organization: Apple Computer Inc.

Well, I went down to Santa Cruz and played some pins for the first time
this
weekend. Here's some observations.

Boy was Bally putting out some TOTAL crap just before they got bought. I
had
played some bad Ballys before, but this weekend I
played Harley-Davidson. It was more professional than some of the
other games Bally was putting out at the time. But the play stinks. Only
two
shots score anything. They also went nutso on the crossover return lanes
(like
the left side on Comet) Trouble is, the ball never goes to them. NEVER. All
in
all no fun to play at all. About a week before I had played Mousin' Around.
I can't believe how bad this game is. I had just played Gottlieb's Jail
Break
before that and I thought I was playing the same game. And this is no
compliment
to Bally. These two machines are total losers. Both have messy playfields.
On
the whole I'd rather be playing Road Kings, at least it was fun in the
fraction
of the time when you weren't losing the ball behind the annoying ramps and
it
wasn't draining out the outlanes.

Gottlieb needs to get with the program, too. Gottlieb has only produced
three
games that were any good since Hollywood Heat, Genesis, Surf 'n' Safari (a
lot
of fun), and Cactus Jack's. And Cactus' Jacks is no real prize, either. It
probably only seemed any good to me because I had just played 'Class of
1812'.
Yow, was a total waste of time. BUT, there is one thing of note. Those
flippers!
I don't know what the heck they are doing with their flippers but they are
AWESOME. Maybe its the shape or something, but you can flip any backhand
with
no difficulty at all. If they can just get the feel of Williams flippers
now,
they'll have the best in the biz. Better yet, maybe Williams will figure
out how
to get backhands like Gottlieb's.

I want wide bodies back! I played Genie again this weekend (first time in 5
years) and the added width just adds so much. But.. just because I want
wide
bodies back, doesn't mean I want Atari pins back. yuck.

Data East needs to take a good hard look at Checkpoint and Time Machine and
get
back to good play like those. They need to keep it simple. Hook, Star Trek,
Back to the Future, all duds. DE can design good layouts, they just need to
look at their successes.

When did Williams get started? The earliest Williams I remember is
Firepower,
and that was a winner. Bally was everything before that and Williams really
came on strong.

Finally, I remembered the machine that let you play 8-ball or 9-ball at the
start, it was Pool Sharks by Bally. Actually seeing it jogged my memory
somewhat. Now if I just could have seen an 8-Ball Deluxe, that would have
made my day!

One note on the future. Far and away the best machines I've seen lately are
Funhouse and TAF. Nothing comes close. And they have almost exactly the
same
layout (flipped). Does this mean we're never going to see a machine with a
different layout than this be any fun? I hope not.

-Steve
From: blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: TAF- 3/4 way combo
Date: 2 Oct 92 09:47:28 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

In article <iu65742@pro-cynosure.cts.com> dig@pro-cynosure.cts.com (Doug Granzow) writes:
>BTW, I have occasionally earned a three way bonus by 1) Making the Advance
>"X" shot, 2) Shooting the ramp from the top flipper, and 3) Making the 5x
>Swamp shot.  Today, I got a three way bonus after shot #2. (I was so
>surprised I was unable to make shot #3 :)  So, what did I do before making
>the Advance X shot to earn a three way combo?  And what do I get for a 4-way?

4 way combo is Bear Kicks->Bonus X->Left Ramp->Swamp
3 way combo is the first 3 or last three of those shots.
r.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: d91-jal@hemul.nada.kth.se (Johan Almen)
Subject: Re: What about Star Trek???
Organization: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 22:26:56 GMT

In article <257@maxx.UUCP> tyager@maxx.UUCP (Tom Yager) writes:
>In article <1992Sep25.113913.20203@kth.se>, d91-jal@dront.nada.kth.se (Johan Almen) writes:
>> No. Star Trek does not compare to T2, largely due to Data East SS flippers
>> and DE software.
>
>What a glorious thing it will be to watch the great red herring, the solid-
>state flipper, die as an issue in my lifetime. TAF ushered SS flippers into
>the W/B line, and they're staying. Look for the lightening bolt designs on
>the flipper tops.
>
>SS flippers last longer, require less maintenance, and are in all ways
>technically better than the old mechanical jobs. If I were feeling nasty,
>I'd say something like "Williams' new flipper feel is courtesy of Data East."
>But that's not my style. I get enough hate mail from Williams bigots as it
>is.
>
>Software's quite another story. Get a look at LW3 or Star Wars if you want
>to see what DE's doing in software now. As I said in an earlier posting, they
>haven't quite got it as together as Williams, but given the size of their
>team, I think they're doing a remarkable job. Better software, hot licenses,
>killer display work (I hope that continues), better sound, and soon an
>expanded manufacturing facility...DE is moving into the big leagues. They
>still have a lot of catching up to do, but considering how long they've
>been in business compared to Williams, DE is sure learning fast.
>(ty)
>
>-- 
>Tom Yager, BYTE Multimedia Lab Director
>           Author, Addison-Wesley UNIX programming book (Summer, 1991)
>           Author, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich multimedia book (Fall, 1992)
>           decvax!maxx!tyager, maxx!tyager@bytepb.byte.com


Still won't help Star Trek. Sorry Tommeeeeee-boy.

-- 
_____________________________________________________________________
Johan Almen			  I 	       
Royal Institute of Technology     I "Jeremy spoke in class today..."
Stockholm, Sweden                 I  
email: d91-jal@dront.nada.kth.se  I		   - Pearl Jam -
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: jrr@jukes.eslvcr.wimsey.bc.ca (John Robertson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Stuck balls and tilting
Date: 27 Sep 92 13:09:15 GMT
Organization: John's Jukes BBS, Vancouver, BC (604) 872-2010

To: All

  (David Eison) writes...
 DE> Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 20:32:21 GMT
 DE> Organization: The Matrix
 DE> Message-ID: <m9BoRB2w164w@jwt.UUCP>
 DE> Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball

 DE> jrr@jukes.eslvcr.wimsey.bc.ca (John Robertson) writes:
> Actually they do notice if a ball is stuck, Williams for some years now
> will, if you trap a ball on a flipper, release at least one ball for you
> to continue play with. The first game that I noticed this on was High 
> Speed, but I think Space Shuttle did it to.

 DE> Does this mean that you can trap a ball, and get another ball, effectivly 
 DE> giving you free multi-ball?  Or do you have to have the flippers down?  
 DE> Or would the machine shut the flippers off after the first ball drains?

 DE> David Eison - Garfield           bbs-garfield@jwt.uucp
Actually it will release balls that have been locked in the traps, otherwise
it tries to free up stuck balls by firing any solenoids that could conceiv-
ably trap a ball behind a feature.
Chow...
--  
 jrr@jukes.eslvcr.wimsey.bc.ca     John Robertson
-->>regular Mail<<-- not UPS!! 
 John's Jukes Ltd. 2343 Main St., 
 Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 3C9
  Old pinballers never die, they just flip out.
From: sbm@cs.adelaide.edu.au (John!)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Replay Magazine...
Date: 3 Oct 92 11:35:50 GMT
Reply-To: sbm@cs.adelaide.edu.au (John!)
Organization: Guest Account - Dept of Comp Sci, Uni of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: edam.sun-shop.adelaide.edu.au

Hiya peoples... I was just wondering if anyone out there could
give me the address/phone no/fax no & subscription rates to
the REPLAY magazine.

Thanx

John!		Internet:  sbm@cs.adelaide.edu.au
-------------------------------------------------
LOST: 1 signature, if found, please return to the
      above Internet address. REWARD.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: gbm@jmp.com (Gary McKenney)
Subject: Anyone here of SINISTAR
Keywords:  SINISTAR
Organization: JMP & Associates, Ltd. - Atlanta, Ga.
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:20:26 GMT

It's been a while since I've been caught up in pinball or video game mania
but one game I remember that I had a blast with was SINISTAR.  I would like
to find one of these.  Anyone ever run across one.  (Circa 1982)

Gary B. McKenney
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: knudsen@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (michael.j.knudsen)
Subject: Pinball Trader -- when?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 19:06:16 GMT

Sorry if I missed anything new in the last month or so,
but has anyone heard when the next Pinball Trader issue is
coming out?  I really miss it!  I know about Jackson's move
to Texas already.

How is the Pin Game Journal?  Might be time to subscribe.
Are back issues available?
-- 
	"I don't think so, Al"
  Programmers Do It on paper.  So do puppies.
	knudsen@iexist.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: dar@nrel.gov (Renegade Monk)
Subject: Weight of ball
Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 17:34:51 GMT

Ummm...hope this is not a stupid (or often asked) question: how much
does a pinball weigh?  I was playing Lethal Weapon III the other day 
(actually, a couple of different machines) and I swear, the ball is light
in that machine (oh, so you think it might be my playing? 8-)

-- 
                     Darius A. Ragheb   dar@seri.nrel.gov
            Renegade Monk at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

                 "Some dance to remember, some dance to forget"
From: pcs$1610@altair.selu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Strange Pinball (was Re: HUGE pinball)
Date: 2 Oct 92 14:34:29 GMT
Organization: Southeastern Louisiana University

> For anyone who longs to play some of the "classic" games you never see any
> more, check out this arcade.  The back section of the arcade is filled with
> all sorts of early coin-operated games--mechanical games,
> electro-mechanical pinball machines, and classic video games.  They've got
> quite a historic selection there.

This reminds me of the strangest pinball I ever played. It was deep purple,
and the playfield was almost completelely barren (I think it had a couple
of banks of drop targets, but that was it--I distinctly remember the
flippers just sticking up from the middle of nowhere). The gimmick here
was that there were a lot of strong magnets moving around under the 
playfield, and you just had _no_clue_ about where the ball was going
next. 

It was really a worthwhile play for novelty value--it was highly amusing
to see a ball come up and around from around the side of the flipper 
(where an outlane might be) and start beating the bottom of the flipper
until you raised it and let the ball go back up(!) the playfield of it's
own accord. Very interesting game...

Does anyone remember the name of it? I saw it recently in that arcade museum
in Orlando.


Scott
From: nealg@pokey.sybase.com (Neal Goldsmith)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Stuck balls and tilting
Date: 26 Sep 92 03:20:41 GMT

In article <im51734@pro-cynosure.cts.com>, dig@pro-cynosure.cts.com (Doug Granzow) writes:
|> pcs$1610@altair.selu.edu writes:
|> 
|> >Why don't any games have some kind of stuck-ball tilt disable? 
|> 
|> Disabling the tilt feature would only encourage abuse.  What most pins do
|> these days is go into what I think they call "search mode", where it will
|> fire all of the soleniods, pop bumpers, etc. to dislodge the ball where ever
|> it might be.  And if that doesn't work, the machine will eventually give you
|> a new ball to play with.

Not all games will give you a new ball, many seem to assume that they didn't
catch the ball going down the drain so they run the end of ball sequence.

Also, a stuck ball means one less ball for multiball.

Why does it encourage abuse, most players will do it anyway (take the tilt)?

|> The only trick is that you have to be patient.  Don't flip the flippers, and
|> wait up to a minute for the machine to go into search mode. If you have to,
|> tell someone to open up the game and get the ball for you (or refund your
|> money).

An increasing number of operators don't have access to the machine. Many
will just tilt the machine to get the ball back then give you a credit
for your trouble.

----------------
Neal E. Goldsmith                                       Sybase, Inc.  
nealg@sybase.com                                        1650 65th Street
What I sez is my opinion and not my employers.          Emeryville, CA  94608
                                                        (510) 596-3338
From: sbb@panix.com (Steve Baumgarten)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Strange Pinball (was Re: HUGE pinball)
Date: 6 Oct 92 14:05:25 GMT
	<1992Oct5.104712.761@altair.selu.edu>
	<1992Oct5.172321.5947@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: PANIX Public Access Unix, NYC

In article <1992Oct5.172321.5947@leland.Stanford.EDU> trump@leland.Stanford.EDU (Michael Jason Lewis) writes:

   (My friend many years back's father worked at Stern, and I got into
   the factory with them once.  They also had a Berzerk in the
   basement.

Stern made some great, great games, both video and pinball.  BERZERK
remains one of my all-time favorites -- I'd love to play it again.

Who needs stereo sound, 32-bit graphics, real-time polygon shading,
and digitized Ninjas when you can have running stick figures, a
bouncing smiley face, and that famous cry: "Intruder Alert!  Intruder
Alert!"  (Not to mention my favorite: "Chicken!  Fight like a robot!")

I have found memories of nearly every Stern game I ever played; it's
such a shame they got out fo the business.

--
    Steve Baumgarten       |  "New York... when civilization falls apart,
    PANIX, New York, NY    |   remember, we were way ahead of you."
                           |  
    Email: sbb@panix.com   |                            - David Letterman
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: bbs-garfield@jwt.UUCP (David Eison)
Subject: Re: Stuck balls and tilting
Reply-To: bbs-garfield@jwt.UUCP
Organization: The Matrix
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 20:32:21 GMT

jrr@jukes.eslvcr.wimsey.bc.ca (John Robertson) writes:

> Actually they do notice if a ball is stuck, Williams for some years now
> will, if you trap a ball on a flipper, release at least one ball for you
> to continue play with. The first game that I noticed this on was High Speed,
> but I think Space Shuttle did it to.

Does this mean that you can trap a ball, and get another ball, effectivly 
giving you free multi-ball?  Or do you have to have the flippers down?  
Or would the machine shut the flippers off after the first ball drains?

---
David Eison - Garfield           bbs-garfield@jwt.uucp
I'm not writing a message.  These words are just here to take up space.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball