HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: brea9430@mach1.wlu.ca (breadner kenneth cecil joseph u)
Subject: Re: Cheaper games make more $$$
Organization: Wilfrid Laurier University
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 19:59:46 GMT

In article <16047@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au> s924105@yallara.cs.rmit.OZ.AU (Cameron Silver) writes:
>mahalkdp@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:
>
>>I was just pondering this idea, and was wondering what the rest of you might
>>think of it.
>
>>What if a company such as Bally/Midway comes out with a very nice machine, and
>>runs on dimes instead of quarters? In my opinion, more people would play it
>>because of the lower game cost... so much so, that people would actually spend
>>*more* money on it than other games.
>
>>Comments?
>
>Chances are that there would be no match, high replay, and no special!

I doubt such a machine would make more money. 
The problem lies with playing time, which governs more than anything else
how much a game makes. I think playing time is related to quality of game.
I can play Batman and Super Mario Brothers forever on one credit. These
games are just too damn easy. Fish Tales, on the other hand, is taking
some effort. I think Fish Tales is ideal from a playing time standpoint.
It's also an interesting enough game that there are usually people in line
to play it at my local arcade. I'd say it's making more money than
anything else save LW3 (and God knows why--I hate that game with a
passion) at that arcade.
Run FT on dimes and you might make more money. Run something like SMB on
dimes and you'll make less.

-- 
Ken Breadner          |Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada
brea9430@mach1.wlu.ca |"Life is what happens when you're busy making other
(the BREADbox...)     |plans" --John Lennon
Disclaimer: you mean somebody's taking something I said SERIOUSLY?
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: josh@cqs.washington.edu (Josh Hayes)
Subject: misleading directions
Summary: I gave the wrong address!
Keywords: Cue Ball Wizard, location
Organization: University of Washington
Distribution: pnw
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 17:22:01 GMT

If my newsreader has any brains, this is restricted to
the Pacific northwest....

A number of people mailed me asking for where the Cue Ball
Wizard machine was, and I gave the wrong address by a
few blocks.

It's in a bar called "The Five-O", on Capitol Hill,
corner of 15th and REPUBLICAN. Not Aloha, as I originally
told some people. It's across from the City People hardware
store. Sorry if I misled anyone.....

Cheers,

Josh
--
Josh Hayes, Quantitative Sciences HR-20 U of Washington
josh@mowgli.cqs.washington.edu             206 543-5004
        The future is fun! The future is fair!
   We may already have one! We may already BE there!
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Subject: Re: Old News About TAF
Reply-To: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 16:31:52 GMT

In article <smith.107@adlibv.adelphi.edu> smith@adlibv.adelphi.edu (Jim Smith)  
writes:
>  Williams Bally / Midway's newest machine spotlights the first use 
> of artificial intelligence in a coin-operated amusement game

> Artificial intelligence must be what Mr. Saladyga's brain features. 
> My question:  Which was the first AI-pin?  Funhouse?

I thought the Williams flyer stated the above.  Though I'm not
questioning his Artificial Intel on the "newest pin".

OD

--
************* "How about a little fire, Scarecrow?" **************
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!!!" ******
From: sjc@hare.udev.cdc.com (Steven J Craig)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Pinball Expo
Date: 20 Nov 92 22:35:08 GMT
Distribution: na

In article <Bxy2CL.4p8@chinet.chi.il.us>, koziarz@chinet.chi.il.us (Louis Koziarz) writes:
|> Good review, Brad.  A few of my own observations:
|> 
|> The seminars were pretty good, although scheduling them on Friday wasn't
|> the best idea.  I liked the Saturday sessions better.  Pat Lawlor did a fun 
|> session where the crowd helped design a machine from scratch.  Nobody liked
|> my idea of a 'Chicago Disasters' theme (yes, that was me).  I thought a great
|> pin would have the player flood the tunnels, black out the Loop, lock the
|> Michigan Avenue bridge in the up position, then set the place on fire for
|> MultiBall.  Guess you have to live here to understand.  I digress...
|> 

Hey!  Wait a minute!  Lets not forget the idea that was used for the "build
your own pinball" theme......-> Monopoly

Yes, my one small moment in the spot light.  (Gee-wiz)

-- 
+----
 Steven J. Craig               "Get married without a hitch"
 Control Data Systems Inc.     
 M/S ARH215                       AT&T: (612) 482-4705
 4201 North Lexington Avenue      FAX:  (612) 482-4455
 Arden Hills, Minnesota  55126    e-mail: sjc@pooky.udev.cdc.com
From: cjm9321@hertz.njit.edu (The InfoMan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: High Speed II split personality
Date: 23 Nov 92 20:10:38 GMT
Organization: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, N.J.


	Well, I played HSII since the summer and I like it very much.
Then my school got it and I was estatic. BUT, Secret Mania didn't work
and I was pissed. The school was different from the one I was used to.
And now the supercharger doesn't work properly, it never completes the
loop.

	Then the place where I originally played HSII took it away and
put in LW3. Gosh I hate that game. Now they only have ST, LW3, and TAF.
I hate them all, well I play TAF because it is set pretty easy.

	So I went to another place to see if they had HSII, and the game
was different, very different.

	First, when I was playing it, the machine felt "old".
	When I get the rpm, it didn't display the tach, just the digital
speed. The Supercharger made the ball go around 10 times.
	In video mode, there was an EB (Extra Ball), looked exactly like
the EB in "Go Fishing" (I forget but the new Williams). Then what really
suprised me, was the match, instead of the car being chased by the cop,
it came out bubbly, like "HA HA" does in Batman.

	Oh, I couldn't get Secret Mania either.

			Is this a new version from Williams or is it
hacked?


		
-- 
M A D E   .   . .---. .---.    \  Buy U.S.A. products,  /    xxxxx ==========
  I N     |   |  \    |___|    <     It's YOUR job.     >    xxxxx ========== 
 T H E    |   |    \  |   |    <  Christopher J. Massa  >    ================
-------   `---' `---' '   `    / cjm9321@hertz.njit.edu \    ================
From: u6066061@ucsvc.ucs.unimelb.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: FAQ
Date: 19 Nov 92 11:17:08 +1100
Organization: The University of Melbourne

Is there a FAQ for this newsgroup?

if not...
i have only been reading in this newsgroup for a couple of weeks, so please
excuse my ignorance...but...

i have heard repeated reference to a "dot" or a "full stop" next to the credit
readout - what is this supposed to mean?

there appears to be a large number of postings refering to pinball maintanence-
is this because pinballs break down _very_ frequently?  is it worthwhile buying
one, or are they too difficult to maintaain in working condition?

hey, thanks in advance

drew.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: sgsimon@srv.PacBell.COM (Steve Simon)
Subject: QBW: Que Ball Wizard question
Organization: Pacific * Bell
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 16:35:29 GMT

In an earlier article someone mentioned that QBW can be set up
without the cue ball (probably accidentally).  This brought 
another question to mind.

The QBW I play has 2 full size pool balls in it, a cue ball and
an 8 ball.  In this machine the 8 ball is on the main playfield,
and the cue ball is in the little upper area.  Is this standard?

It seems like these may be reversed, although the upper ball is
the one "hit" by the tacky looking pool cue, so maybe it makes
sense.

How are the CBWs you've seen set up?

-Steve Simon     sgsimon@pacbell.com

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Simon	  					San Ramon,
Pacific*Bell						California
From: grover@vulcan1.edsg.hac.com (Dean Grover)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Stern "PINBALL"
Keywords: stern repair
Date: 16 Nov 92 19:59:44 GMT
Reply-To: grover@vulcan1.edsg.hac.com
Organization: Hughes Aircraft Co., El Segundo, CA

I have just acquired a 1977 Stern machine "PINBALL".  It has a few problems,
possibly due to the fact that it has spent at least a few months outside.
It was covered with plastic, but I have found some water damage.  Actually
once the dirt was removed from the playfield, it was in pretty good shape.

The electronics in the head of the game all look great, and at least 2 of the
boards are made by Bally (as I recall someone in this group mentioned this).
The MPU passes selftest, but there are a few problems:
 - A few of the playfield lamps (which shouldn't be on) are lit.  They come one
	at the same time as the general illumination boards.
 - The games starts (and plays its tune on the chimes), but some of the logic is
	wrong.  For example, when the contacts on either kicker are closed,
	the left kicker solenoid fires!  I ran the solenoid test, and each one
	seemed to fire independently.

I can't find my PAPS list, so I haven't check to see if anyone else has this
game, but I'd like to know if anyone has the schematics for PINBALL.
Also if there are any ideas as to the cause of either of the above problems,
I'd be happy to hear from you.  If all else fails, I will be searching the FAQ
for names of parts dealers.

Thanks,
Dean
---
//////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Dean Grover                            
Hughes Aircraft Company                        
adgrover@hac2arpa.hac.com or grover@vulcan1.edsg.hac.com

Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: dstewart+@cs.cmu.edu (David B Stewart)
Subject: Re: Cue Ball Wizard Rules sheet request
Organization: The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1992 21:53:38 GMT

In article <LFS.92Nov19232546@arcadia.mitre.org> lfs@mitre.org (Lyman F. Sheats Jr.) writes:
>I mentioned this before, and I know just about everyone disagrees with
>me, but I really believe points are all relative and you should take them
>in stride.  Whether you make a million point shot on a game like Whirlwind
>or a billion point shot on a game like Cue Ball Wizard, the points really
>shouldn't matter -- it's the excitement of making the shot and scoring the
>points associated with the shot that's supposed to be fun.

If scoring is well balanced, then I agree that the score inflation doesn't
really make a difference.  However, score inflation like on Bride of Pinbot is
out of hand.  A local bar just got a new one (how many years is this after it
was released? :-( ).  The high scores were approximately the following:  
1) 1,011,000,000   2) 1,004,000,000   3) 132,000,000   4) 23,000,000.

Having not seen any of the games played, I get the feeling that the person who
has the 3rd highest score had a much better game than those with the first two
highest scores; but just because he/she did not get the billion shot, he/she is
not merited with a high score.

If the only way to get a billion points in a game is via a billion shot,
then I think that is wrong.  However, if there are several ways to get
scores that high (e.g. Cue Ball Wizard), and hard work can get you that
much score without even making the (half)billion shot, then it is
not so bad, because the score is more balanced.

Those are my 3 cents.

~dave

Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: nugget@nyx.cs.du.edu (Norman ugget)
Subject: Where can I get pinball bits?
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 21:22:22 GMT

Is it possible to get the parts which make up a pinball (flippers,
case, etc) to make my own pinball.  I know this sounds a bit stupid,
but it's something I'd like to do.  
  It would be nice to be able to fiddle with your own playfield set-up
and options, and to have it all controlled by my 'puter.
  Jus' wonderin
   -Nug

Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: dstewart+@cs.cmu.edu (David B Stewart)
Subject: Re: QBW: Que Ball Wizard question
Organization: The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 22:04:49 GMT

In article <1992Nov19.163529.17830@PacBell.COM> sgsimon@srv.PacBell.COM (Steve Simon) writes:
>It seems like these may be reversed, although the upper ball is
>the one "hit" by the tacky looking pool cue, so maybe it makes
>sense.
>
>How are the CBWs you've seen set up?

At the Pinball Expo, Premier had them all set up such that the White Cue ball
is on the main playfield, and the 8 ball on the upper playfield.  The game
descriptions handed out at the Expo also say that this is the proper setup.
The description also states that the Cue ball can be removed, but there is an
operator setting to correct for the Cue ball not being there (and hence
not being able to hit those upper green targets).

~dave
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: knudsen@cbnewsd.cb.att.com (michael.j.knudsen)
Subject: Re: Pinball Heaven?
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 22:37:42 GMT


SPeaking of pinball heavens (for both players and the machines),
someone from MIssouri I met at Expo told me about a place in
Louisiana (I think), or was it Tennesse, or what?  It has "Ozark"
in its name (that can't be LA).  Oh well.

Anyway, it has pin sof all eras, and I mean ALL post-flipper eras.
Even has a HUMPTY-DUMPTY eating nickels!

Amazingly, this is an open-air arcade, under a pavilion roof.
Must take some dedicated maintenance to keep these machines
running under those moisture conditions.  And they *are* in
good working order, I was told.

The grizzled owner steadfastly refuses to sell any of his pins.
(Like, what would he sell?  THe "old" ones?)
-- 
	"I don't think so, Al"
  Programmers Do It on paper.  So do puppies.
	knudsen@iexist.att.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: 00tdspence@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Who's out there?
Date: 20 Nov 92 16:35:11 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Ball State University, Muncie, In - Univ. Computing Svc's

In article <5843@sumax.seattleu.edu>, kahlerm@sumax.seattleu.edu
 (Michael Kahler) writes:
>> p.s.  Is anyone else out there ever haunted by the sing chime
>>       "Moooooore pinball... shoooot again!"?  (from Time Machine, I think)
>>
> Well no, I'm not haunted by that one but mabye:
> 	"Yoooou Win a Gaaaaaaaame!"
> or:
> 	"Jaaaaaaack-POT!"
> 
> Time Machine it is, I think one of DE's firsts.
>  	"Far out!"

And of DE's best, I think.
Love that psychodelic TimeWarp with the groovy Twilight Zone theme.
And that clicking noise during multiball.
And really good music in the 60s and 50s
I could go on.  :-)

Trav
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Subject: Re: Loud pinball games...
Reply-To: oday@lobster.gsfc.nasa.gov  (Orin Day)
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 20:12:03 GMT

In article <15957@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au> s924105@yallara.cs.rmit.OZ.AU (Cameron  
Silver) writes:
> Speaking of loud ... (i don't play black rose) .. but I love the tilt noise
> it makes .. everyone within 100 meters notices the player who just tilted the
> machine ... Nice and embarrissing for the player; who (now) will not tilt a
> pinball game again in his/her life. Let's hear it for Psycological tilt
> mechanizms!!

Except for the people who bang on machines just to get attention.

--
************* "How about a little fire, Scarecrow?" **************
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!!!" ******
From: meeker@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Lemon Flavored Snapple)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Bride of Pinbot
Date: 17 Nov 1992 08:41:20 -0600
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: matt.ksu.ksu.edu
Keywords: Pinbot


Howdy.. this is my first post to this group, mainly because I didn't
know it was here.  I've been playing pinball seriously now for a
few years ( although, I admit, not as seriously as some of the 
people in this group ) and have dreamt of a group like this.  We
have a pretty nice pin room in our Union ( all the pins are a quarter,
no matter how new ), but the maintanance is slightly lacking. 
( On T2, the target lights light up before playing ( in the demo ), but
not during play, making scoring slightly difficult) ANYWAY, I have
been playing Bride of Pinbot a lot lately and I have one small question.
The one time I've managed to light the billionaires club on the big wheel,
I shot the heart, and nothing happened ( and then, of course, the ball
flew straight through my flippers ).  Is there something else I have to 
do before the heart ramp (to get the billion) ? I guess that's my question.
Thank you for being patient enough to read this. :)

-Scott Meeker -- meeker@matt.ksu.ksu.edu

Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: blowfish@carina.unm.edu (rON.)
Subject: Re: Survey/Questions : Who's out there?
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 07:02:58 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Keywords: survey


Most of the people here are going to be guys, 20-35 or so in age.
Most who are the 'experts' just simply love pinball, and play it
all the time. Many people own their own machines, some people own
entire arcades worth of machines, some people just spend enough
money at the arcade to have bought a machine by now (the author of
this falls into this latter category :)
Since this is a computer network, you can bet that most of the people
in here are either employed by a computer-type firm, or are wanting to
work for one. :)
Some people here have contacts with people at Williams, or DE, and some
of us don't even know the name of our local operator.

I think the one thing most of share is, simply, a love of pinball :)

r.
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
From: yyz@cbnewsf.cb.att.com (donald.w.coons)
Subject: Re: Article: The Best Pinball Player... <LONG>
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 16:46:07 GMT

In article <1992Nov20.150200.7343@athena.mit.edu> sao@athena.mit.edu (Andy Oakland) writes:
>
>So if this article isn't in newsstand issues of SI, would any subscribers
>be willing to Xerox(r) me a copy?
>
>	:Andy Oakland
>	sao@athena.mit.edu

I would be interested in getting a copy of this also, can anyone help me out
by making a xerox.

Don Coons
dwc@wnb3b2.att.com
From: bradam@twobits.Eng.Sun.COM (Brad Martinson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Attract mode
Date: 17 Nov 1992 23:40:20 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: twobits

In article <1douc6INNfq4@iraul1.ira.uka.de>, s_titz@ira.uka.de (Olaf Titz) writes:
|> 
|> Still nothing  better than THE classic:
|> 
|>    "Stop talking and start chalking!"
|> 
|> Put an Eight Ball Deluxe into your house, even if only for *that*
|> thing... :-)
|> -- 

I was playing some random machine, waiting for the Cue Ball Wizard to free
up, and CBW said "Stop talking and start chalking!"   I almost fell over
laughing... Nice to see classic features reused - by another manufacturer!


-- 
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
 | Brad Martinson, XWindows janitor   SunSoft,Inc   brad.martinson@sun.com |
 |    Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc   #include <std/disclaimers.h>  |
 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
From: nrp@csug3.cs.reading.ac.uk ("Silent vagrants" Neilski)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Re: Cheaper games make more $$$
Date: 23 Nov 92 10:46:33 GMT
Reply-To: nrp@csug.cs.reading.ac.uk
Organization: University of Reading

mahalkdp@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:

>I was just pondering this idea, and was wondering what the rest of you might
>think of it.

>What if a company such as Bally/Midway comes out with a very nice machine, and
>runs on dimes instead of quarters? In my opinion, more people would play it
>because of the lower game cost... so much so, that people would actually spend
>*more* money on it than other games.

>Comments?

When we first got Funhouse here there were 3 coin slots - 10p, 50p and 1
pound.  Cost was 20p/credit (50p=3, 1 pound=7).  But for quite a while the
50p slot would accept 10p coins and think they were 50p's (if you made the
10p go in fast enough).  So it was 20p for 7 credits.  It took them about
three months before they realised why there were always so many 10p's in
the coin drawer, then they fixed it ... since then, all machines have had a
universal coin slot.

They had to change it because they weren't making the money to pay the rent
on the machine!  Of course, they didn't realise so it wasn't a deliberate
marketing ploy ...

-- neilski

-- 
 RADIO CRACKER - 103.6 FM  \--------------------------------------------------
----------------------------\ 
Who would listen to a radio station like this one?  Let's look at the evidence.
From: oechslin@ltisun13.epfl.ch (Philippe Oechslin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: problems with MPU on BALLY SLAPSHOT (1977)
Keywords: bally, pinball, mpu
Date: 19 Nov 92 08:12:56 GMT

I own a Bally Slapshot (1977) pinball that gives me some headache. The
problem seems to be on the MPU board which looks a little corroded. 

Every now and then the machine restarts (like power up) when I am
playing or it just gets stuck (nothing moves anymore) and I have to
turn it off and on again. When I turn it on again it sometimes doesn't
restart and the best thing I can do is to press on the MPU board (on
the processor or memory works best) until it decides to reboot.

questions:

- has anybody experienced similar problems and solved them?

- Are their any weak spots on the board (bally MPU 1977) that I should
  investigate first?

- Is there an easy way to clean the board from corrosion and put it in
  good shape again?

- Is there any place that sells replacement boards?

If anybody has an answer to any of these questions please send e-mail
to:

    oechslin@ltisun.epfl.ch

thanks in advance,
-Phil


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philippe Oechslin         Swiss Federal            oechslin@ltisun.epfl.ch
DI-LTI EPFL  		  Institute of
1015 Lausanne              Technology              (+41) 021  693 47 08
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philippe Oechslin         Swiss Federal            oechslin@ltisun.epfl.ch
DI-LTI EPFL  		  Institute of
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball