Eclectic Gamers Podcast - Pinball & Video Games

Tony and Dennis summarize 2017 for pinball and video games, plus launch round 1 of the best "shame" pinball machine. Happy New Year! Links: Round 1 of 2017 Best "Shame" Pinball Tournament: https://goo.gl/forms/dVSm69UDvpeuGNRU2

Pinball: We open with a couple news updates (Stern's notices for SPIKE systems to fix node board and capacitor issues, plus Star Wars receiving its v1.0 code), following by the TWIPY awards, our "shame" pinball tournament, and the 2018 Texas Pinball Festival. Video Games: Tony talks Breath of the Wild, while Dennis talks Rocket League. There's also some more Star Citizen news! Links: TWIPY pinball award voting: https://goo.gl/forms/5tUPMcGcVPiZe0Eo2 Submission form for "shame" pinball machines: https://goo.gl/forms/PIFC19xatUz7dw7e2

Pinball: We open with the latest code update for The Walking Dead and Heighway Pinball's announcement regarding Alien Pinball production. After that, we focus on The Week in Pinball's interview with deeproot Pinball and Dennis' latest Pinball News article on Harry Williams and the game's he designed for Bally in the early 1970s. Video Games: We start with the latest on EA and Battlefront 2's loot boxes. From there, an update is provided on the long-awaited Star Citizen and news regarding Battletech. Finally, Dennis talks about about Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. Links: This Week in Pinball's interview with deeproot Pinball: http://thisweekinpinball.com/exclusive-interview-deeproot-next-misadventure-pinball-revolution/ San Antonio Business Journal article on deeproot: https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/news/2017/08/16/san-antonio-financial-adviser-raises-15m-from.html Dennis' article on Harry Williams' Bally-produced pinball machines at Pinball News: https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2017/11/30/harr

In this super-special episode, Tony and Dennis are joined by Nic (of Nic's North American Pinball Tour fame) to talk all about electromechanical (EM) pinball machines. They start off with a basic discussion of the three primary manufacturers (Gottlieb, Williams, and Bally). From there, a general discussion of the three basic gameplay concepts employed by EMs in the 1960s and beyond. Then follows a deep discussion of both the IPDB and Pinside Top 10 EM list (we talk each game, but also the ratings systems as a whole). Finally, the discussion opens up into other good EM games and some of the more controversial restoration techniques (using LED lighting and whether or not it is okay to clearcoat).

Pinball: We start off with some news, move into a follow-up on "street level" pins, and close out with the results of our 2017 System 11 Tournament and some thoughts on games with that boardset (such as our Top 5!). Video Games: We lead off with a loot crate update. From there, it's EA's acquisition of Respawn. Tony then goes into Bomber Crew, Dennis talks more Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, and Tony concludes with Endless Space 2. Links: Dennis' Pinball News article on "street level" pins: https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2017/11/16/the-history-of-street-level-pinballs/ Eclectic Gamers Podcast page of past tournament results: https://eclecticgamerspodcast.wordpress.com/past-tournament-results/ Bomber Crew: http://store.steampowered.com/app/537800/Bomber_Crew/ Endless Space 2: http://store.steampowered.com/app/392110/Endless_Space_2/

Pinball: We open with the set-up for Round 5 (the final!) for our 2017 System 11 Tournament. After that is a short update on Heighway Pinball's Alien games. From there, Dennis and Tony talk about Stern Pinball's Guardians of the Galaxy reveal. Finally, Dennis presents his research project on the Gottlieb "Street Level" pinball series of games, an experiment by the company in the early 1990s. Video Games: Tony leads off with his research project, the world of loot boxes. The show ends with a summary of BlizzCon 2017 announcements (Overwatch, World of Warcraft, Starcraft, and Heroes of the Storm). Links: Round 5 voting for the 2017 System 11 Tournament: https://goo.gl/forms/649S5jGmQ5IoTkOm2 Street Level-Silver Slugger details: http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2152 Street Level-Vegas details: http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2724 Street Level-Deadly Weapon details: http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=645 Street Level-Title Fight details: http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=2573 Street Level-Car Hop details:

Pinball: The talk is all about the 2017 Pinball Expo. We also launch Round 4 of our 2017 System 11 Tournament. Video Games: We talk about Doki Doki Literature Club, EA's decision to close Visceral Games, Mafia 3, Dungeons 3, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, Forts, and Titanfall 2. Links: Round 4 voting for the 2017 System 11 Tournament: https://goo.gl/forms/9OcAtqAi7o4Gv83i2 Doki Doki Literature Club: http://store.steampowered.com/app/698780/Doki_Doki_Literature_Club/

Pinball: After quick updates about 2017 Expo (and Jersey Jack Pinball's plan to reveal game #4 there) and Heighway Pinball confirming an Alien Pinball shipment, we go on into Pinapalooza VI, the latest Project Pinball Charity sweepstakes, and the next stage of our System 11 tournament (poor Pinbot!). Video Games: We talk Pinball FX3, Mafia 3, Cuphead, and Factorio. Links: Project Pinball Charity's Total Nuclear Annihilation Sweepstakes: https://projectpinball.rallyup.com/totalnuclearannihilation-sweepstakes Round 3 voting for the 2017 System 11 Tournament: https://goo.gl/forms/Dt77SI52WGUnTZv73

Ah, the news. Mostly bad, a little bit good. Such is fate in these hobbies. Pinball: We open with a few quick news items (Heighway Pinball and their maybe-shipping Alien pins, some Skit-B legal updating, and Spooky Pinball's art on the upcoming Alice Cooper pin), and then go into the more meaty topics. The big one is John Popadiuk (JPop) being tied to deeproot Pinball, LLC. From there, we discuss the response seen in the pinball community following Homepin's reveal in an interview with Head2Head Pinball Podcast that end users won't be able to apply software updates to Thunderbirds directly (and a related discussion that Homepin's board takes from the PinHeck design Spooky Pinball uses but without giving credit). Finally, we move into Round 2 of our 2017 System 11 Tournament! Video Games: We talk fallout of PUBG vs. Fortnite (with PUBG accusing the latter of replicating their Battle Royale PvP model). After that, Dennis disses Dishonored 2 and Tony summarizes a mod for Cold Waters he's been trying out. After

No heavy topics this time, just enjoyable discussions! Pinball: We launch our 2017 System 11 Tournament. Vote for your favorite System 11 pinball games (see link below). Then, we have a discussion about licenses in pinball during the 1990s, comparing the efforts of Premier/Gottlieb, Bally/Williams, and Data East/Sega. Video Games: We mention Destiny 2 (really, we do hardly anything else regarding it). Then, Tony spends a lot of time on Battlestar Galactica Deadlock. Finally, we catch everyone up on Overwatch updates. Links: 2017 System 11 Tournament-Round 1: https://goo.gl/forms/efhsZf77Od4T90z92 Battlestar Galactica Deadlock: http://store.steampowered.com/app/544610/

Don (formerly of The Pinball Podcast and The Link Cable Podcast) joins Tony and Dennis once more, to talk all about pinball and video games. Pinball: The segment opens with an interview Dennis conducted with Terry of Pinball Life (mostly on Pinball Life as a company, but there is a bit about Terry's efforts on the ScoreGasm Master project). From there, Don, Dennis, and Tony turn to the somber topic of famed pinball designer John Trudeau's arrest on child pornography charges. The pinball segment ends with a follow-up on last episode's "Is Pinball Too Expensive" topic, due to listener feedback, with a focus on new machines at lower price points from Homepin and Multimorphic's P3 platform. Video Games: No Overwatch (there's a lot of upcoming news, but Don forbids Overwatch talk!). Instead, the guys tackle Mass Effect: Andromeda, Iron Cast, Cold Waters, Sonic Mania, Agents of Mayhem, Sniper Elite 4, Miracle Merchant, and No Man's Sky. Links: Pinball Life: http://www.pinballlife.com/ Information on the ScoreGa

Pinball: Tony and Dennis start off with the results of their ranking poll on best modern era billiards-themed pinball machines. From there, it's some rapid fire news from Stern Pinball (an update on their manuals' ghosting clause, a KISS code update, and a new Marketing Director). After that, a brief discussion of Stern's Star Wars Premium pinball, as streamed by DEAD FLIP. The segment closes with a deep thoughts level of discussion on a major question coming up lately, "Is pinball too expensive?" Video Games: Discussion starts off with the controversial decision to embed loot boxes into the upcoming Middle Earth: Shadow of War. From there, a discussion of Overwatch's Summer Games, with a specific focus on Lucioball. Tony then rigs for silent running in a discussion of the finally-acquired Cold Waters. Dennis and Tony then share their experiences with The Jackbox Party Pack 2 (in which they played all the games in a group setting full of crazy nonsense!). Links: Coast 2 Coast Pinball: http://www.coast2coast

So many games, so many discussions! Pinball: Dennis and Tony cover Stern Pinball's manual indicating ghosting on inserts is normal, the finalized details of Spooky Pinball's Total Nuclear Annihilation, Dennis' acquisition of Sharkey's Shootout, a ranking poll the guys are running on the best billiards-themed pinball machine (solid state and later only), and they end the segment with more thoughts on Star Wars. Video Games: A few games are up for discussion this time. Tony starts off with Navalia. After that, there's a bit more on Overwatch's new character Doomfist, followed by Dishonored 2, Reigns, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and Jotun. Tony also brings up Battlestar Galactica Deadlock and Cold Waters. Tabletop: Tony and Dennis got a chance to play the Munchkin card game, and so now they talk about it (amazing)! Tony also provides an update on Planet Mercenaries and Threadbare RPG. Links: Spooky Pinball's Total Nuclear Annihilation Announcement on Facebook (7/28/2017): https://www.facebook.com/SpookyPinball

We've got three topic categories this time, though KantCon 2017 (a tabletop convention we helped sponsor) is the highlight. Pinball: We open with a very brief Dutch Pinball update. Then, it's on to the gameplay footage of Star Wars as presented by Dead Flip. Finally, we dedicate a sizable chunk of time on the recently concluded Pinball Done Quick and the announcement that the donations made to benefit Doctors Without Borders would be refunded due to a conflict between the official rules and the announced plans for the prize drawing. Video Games: There's just one topic, Overwatch's new character: Doomfist. Tabletop: It's all KanCon 2017. Dennis and Tony played four games which get attention: a World War II miniatures game, Call of Cthulhu, Dungeons & Dragons 5e, and Z Gate Crashers. Links: Dead Flip's 7/5/2017 gameplay footage of Star Wars Pinball: https://youtu.be/Gap7MqXQKnY Major League Pinball's 7/15/2017 explanation on Facebook regarding the refunding of Pinball Done Quick (at SGDQ 2017) donations: h

While post-E3 exhaustion may reign, this is another longer-than-typical episode! In pinball, Tony and Dennis briefly attempt to describe the Stern Pro Circuit (launching in 2018). From there, they dive into Dutch Pinball, summarizing a webinar the company hosted and also the latest newsletter's contract manufacturer update. To wrap up pinball, there is a length update about Skit-B and the Predator Pinball fiasco (three hearings plus several legal documents are digested and reviewed and translated into human!). In video games, the guys hit on a few news items, specifically the SNES Classic console, Pinball FX3's announcement, and IO Interactive going independent from Square Enix. Tony then talks about Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and Tyranny as games he's currently playing, and Dennis talks about his playing of Dishonored 2, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and a bunch of sale games he's recently grabbed. Links: Stern Pro Circuit: https://www.ifpapinball.com/circuit/ Dutch Pinball's 6/19/2017 Webinar: https:/

After a brief pinball segment (minor news updates regarding Heighway Pinball and Dutch Pinball), Dennis and Tony are joined by a roundtable (Mike, Eric, and Jake) to talk all about E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017). The roundtable tackles the major presentations (EA, Microsoft, The PC Gaming Show, Bethesda, Ubisoft, Sony, and Nintendo), plus anything else that caught their eyes and ears. Prepare for this year's deepest, darkest video game dive! Links: EA’s E3 highlights: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/game/ea-play-2017-biggest-announcements-e3-3641723/ Microsoft’s E3 highlights: http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-x-and-everything-else-microsoft-showed-at-e3-2-1796000762 The PC Gaming Show’s E3 highlights: https://www.polygon.com/e3/2017/6/12/15782226/pc-gaming-e3-2017-announcements Bethesda’s E3 highlights: https://www.cnet.com/news/bethesda-e3-2017-press-conference-watch-it-live-here/ Ubisoft’s E3 highlights: http://bgr.com/2017/06/12/ubisoft-e3-2017-games-announcements-trailers/ Sony’s E3 highlights

Pinball: Dennis talks about the an interesting variant to Playmatic's Space Gambler called Flash Baseball out of Portugal. From there, it is pinball news time! Tony and Dennis cover the investor group takeover of Heighway Pinball, the decision by Dutch Pinball to reject Nivoge's offer, and Stern Pinball's latest announced pin: Star Wars! Video Games: Tony and Dennis talk XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Civilization Revolution in the context of mobile games. After that, Dennis goes into a bit about Nidhogg, a fighting game he recently acquired. Tony and Dennis then finally get back to talking Overwatch, specifically some character updates currently in test. Finally, Tony speaks on his experiences with the Battletech backer's beta, which launched recently. Links: Big Daddy Enterprises: http://www.bigdaddy-enterprises.com/ Heighway Pinball Takeover Announcement: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/rebirth-of-heighway-pinball#post-3800176 Dutch Pinball's Announcement of Rejecting the Nivoge deal (second-hand post

Pinball: Tony and Dennis cover the latest Skit-B legal news, provide an update on Dutch Pinball's most current update, talk about the Total Nuclear Annihilation translite, cover Stern Pinball's encore edition of AC/DC, and have an interview with Gerry Stellenberg (the founder of Multimorphic, Inc.) who explains the P3 Pinball Platform. Video Games: Tony talks NieR: Automata. Dennis covers XCOM 2, a game he recently started (and one Tony played quite a while ago!). Then, Tony supplies an update on the Battletech Backer Beta. Links: KantCon 2017 sponsors: http://www.kantcon.com/sponsors Project Pinball Charity sponsors: http://projectpinball.org/sponsors Skit-B Hearing - Kathy Kulek (5/4/2017): https://soundcloud.com/user-800669943/1ap2017-02000-20170504-142930 Skit-B Research Folder: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByH8OkGICVbWNDFZQXJYUUhhSm8 Multimorphric, Inc.: http://www.multimorphic.com/ Teen Titans GO! - Night Begins to Shine: https://youtu.be/gCY-Npnh0FY Battletech Multiplayer Demo Gameplay Foo

With special guest host Bowen Kerins, this episode is heavy on the pinball (and math!). In pinball news, we cover two more Skit-B related hearings, the latest on Dutch Pinball, the IFPA's announced Challenge Matches coming in 2018, and Total Annihilation being renamed Total Nuclear Annihilation. From there, we get into the more theoretical pinball topics. We discuss what people can do to increase local competitive pinball's popularity. We talk about what makes a good/bad pin for competition. We also talk about location pinball and what makes for a good, unique location. We also do a bit of a round-up with Bowen on recently released/now releasing pins and how good they are. As a final pinball topic, we explore some ideas for Bowen and upcoming tutorials. In our special one-off math segment, we've got a number of exciting numbers topics! We cover the use of math in game shows. We discuss geometry and what it means for widebody pinball machines. In a nod to video games, we discuss the TrueAchievements website

Pinball: Tony and Dennis issue a correction about the P3 game Heads Up, talk about Spooky Pinball making Total Annihilation, and dive into more Skit-B legal happenings. From there they go over two Pinside specific topics: revisions to the Top 100 ranking system and the initiation of "The Purge" to clean up trolling and bad behavior on the forum. Video Games: The guys talk about Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, ReCore, Hard West, and Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime. Tabletop: Tony talks a bit about an upcoming tabletop game based on the popular video game franchise Fallout. Links: International Tabletop Day (4-29-17): https://www.tabletopday.com Skit-B Related Court Hearing (4/13/2017): https://soundcloud.com/user-800669943/1ap2016-02073-20170413-154917 Pinball Prison Blues: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bfPwtUTP4k Fallout Tabletop Game: http://www.modiphius.com/fallout.html