Batman 66 coming from Stern!

[wolfson]

WOW WOW WOW !!! I`M HAPPY !!!

 

[superballs]

Not LED. LCD. And boy is this going to be fun, no?

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Well, Maybe...just maybe Stern decided that the distinction between LED and LCD is completely unnecessary, given that LED is just the backlighting used, instead of sidelighting with fluorescent.

But that's just semantics.

 

[Slam23]

So Stern goes the way of JJP and Heighway with the LCD....let's see how that works out! Could this spell the end of the old DMD?

 

[superballs]

Dot Matrix anything should have died a long time ago.

I mean, i appreciate what it offered and it's been used rather well, but it seems more like a stale tradition nowadays than "the way" to keep score IMO

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

I've not played a Heighway table, but really, other than being a crowd-pleaser on the JJPs, having such a big screen with so much going on really isn't all that. 95+% of the time I'm looking at the ball, and the times I have to look up at the screen there's only so much information I can take in, in a short period of time. Both WoZ and The Hobbit suffer from trying to present far too much information for a player to absorb.

Clear callouts and minimal, but useful, information are what's needed in the display. Save the animations etc. for when you know a player is going to be looking at it, like starting a multiball or wizard mode.

So yeah moving on from the "good old" DMD is one thing, but doing it right is another.

 

[shutyertrap]

I agree. I've gotten to play WoZ a couple times now and I'm never looking at that screen. So much info being thrown at you, not enough on the playfield itself. It's sensory overload. Even being an observer, there's at any one time at least 3 windows of info happening, plus the call outs, plus video popping up. More is not always better.

 

[Slam23]

I'm tempted to concur with you guys on the information overload. But I also know that there are two effects that can negate that possibly over time:
1. If your brain is very accustomed to one thing visually, it will resist a new thing that tries to take that place. Just see the 24/48 fps debate in the movies. We just associate some fuzziness and jerky camera motion from the 24 fps with the thing being a movie, and 48 fps is just too "real". I heard a lot of people say that they felt they were watching "the making of" instead of the movie. And that is just how I felt when I went from my old 4/3 CRT to a 100 Hz 16/9 TV, and then to my current LED TV. But now I got used to that image type and can't imagine anymore that I could stand those earlier formats and resolutions.
2. Your brain will be able to filter out the important information over time, it just probably takes a lot of games before that gets automatic. Point in case is for example our electronic patiënt information system. It's build for a lot of different health care institutes and therefore is designed with a lot of buttons and menu's that are not used in our hospital but are still visually very present on screen. I see new colleagues having a lot of trouble looking "through" the superfluous information, whereas I don't even see those extra options anymore and instantly know "my way".

So maybe if we give LCD the time it needs to get it's proper place in our visual information processing, we will look back at those simple DMDs and smile about how we made do with those all those years....or maybe not

 

[shutyertrap]

I'm tempted to concur with you guys on the information overload. But I also know that there are two effects that can negate that possibly over time:
1. If your brain is very accustomed to one thing visually, it will resist a new thing that tries to take that place. Just see the 24/48 fps debate in the movies. We just associate some fuzziness and jerky camera motion from the 24 fps with the thing being a movie, and 48 fps is just too "real". I heard a lot of people say that they felt they were watching "the making of" instead of the movie. And that is just how I felt when I went from my old 4/3 CRT to a 100 Hz 16/9 TV, and then to my current LED TV. But now I got used to that image type and can't imagine anymore that I could stand those earlier formats and resolutions.

It's not that it looked too real, it's that it looked like a cheap soap opera. Most TVs come with this automatic motion enhancing B.S. that does the same to all your movies at home. It's done to make things stand out in the showroom, but nobody should leave it on at home. Well, maybe for watching sports. Maybe.

The other issue is this was done with film years ago and nobody complained. The Hobbit was filmed digitally at 48fps, and that's where the problem comes in. Our eyes are organic and see in analogue. Something shot on film at 48fps, that's an analogue photochemical process completely natural to our brains. It's a whole massive complicated argument that we in the film business hear constantly, but it's very real. I was lucky enough to see The Dark Knight projected from film in IMAX. Whenever it switched from 35mm to full IMAX, my eyes felt this immense relief, like a cool breeze just blew across them. There was no motion blur (the whole reason to even shoot 48fps or higher), everything was crystal clear. When I saw The Hobbit in 48fps, it just looked wrong. Eventually my mind let go of the sensation, but it never was pleasing.

 

[Jeff Strong]

I think they should just made the LCD/LED the same size of a DMD. That way it's not as much overload, but we get the benefits of the technology. More eye candy is good when used in the right amount.

 

[Slam23]

It's not that it looked too real, it's that it looked like a cheap soap opera. Most TVs come with this automatic motion enhancing B.S. that does the same to all your movies at home. It's done to make things stand out in the showroom, but nobody should leave it on at home. Well, maybe for watching sports. Maybe.

The other issue is this was done with film years ago and nobody complained. The Hobbit was filmed digitally at 48fps, and that's where the problem comes in. Our eyes are organic and see in analogue. Something shot on film at 48fps, that's an analogue photochemical process completely natural to our brains. It's a whole massive complicated argument that we in the film business hear constantly, but it's very real. I was lucky enough to see The Dark Knight projected from film in IMAX. Whenever it switched from 35mm to full IMAX, my eyes felt this immense relief, like a cool breeze just blew across them. There was no motion blur (the whole reason to even shoot 48fps or higher), everything was crystal clear. When I saw The Hobbit in 48fps, it just looked wrong. Eventually my mind let go of the sensation, but it never was pleasing.

I had the same experience with the first Hobbit movie, and I think it had to do with the CGI not up to par for 48 fps. But I loved the light level of the 3D which in 24 fps is often too dark for my taste. And I also enjoyed the sweeping smooth camera moves. I saw the second Hobbit movie also in 48 fps, and it was definitely the superior experience of the both.

 

[wolfson]

I think they should just made the LCD/LED the same size of a DMD. That way it's not as much overload, but we get the benefits of the technology. More eye candy is good when used in the right amount.

Jeff,plus 1 couldn`t agree more !!!!

 

[Kolchak357]

The big screens on WOZ and Hobbit are great when you are waiting your turn. Makes it a little more fun to watch. But when playing, I mostly only look after I lose a ball.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Same. Haven't played Hobbit yet, but when I played WOZ, The only time I really looked up is when there was a pause in the action and some cool animation triggered like at the start of a multiball.

 

[superballs]

I think the technology should always move forward. I'm also thinking that led panels being more common, will be effective as cost cutting devices. They can also provide a dmd look whenever it is desired. There are also plenty if opportunities. Scores can be displayed more sharply and whatever color on whatever color. An ambient background can be there as well, just to make things look more pleasant. Status can be displayed by holding the flippers like it is now but all at once instead of one thing at a time.

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[HotHamBoy]

This was my dream theme. I've been thinking of my own ideas for a Batman 66 table for a couple years now.

Obvious features:
Light-up red phone over mission scoop
Lower Batcave miniplayfield ala Black Hole
Jet Bumpers with "Pow!" "Zap!" "Bam!" on the caps
"Shoot lit shots to get rid of bomb"
Riddler mystery awards
Series of hurry ups to free batman and robin from traps
Bat-everything

Don't screw it up, Stern!

 

[Snorzel]

Anyone else play it? I had fun, only got in 1 game because it always had a line but I had a really good game the sound was too low with tons of other pins around but it played great. It may be slower and more floaty than other Sterns imo but that's good for the wide open playfield, the rotating playfield feature was cool and the ramps both played nicely. Would throw some change in if I saw one anywhere

 

[Biff]

Well, maybe for watching sports. Maybe.

I love 60hz. Watching NHL hockey in HD and 60 Hz on Canadian TV is the best tv entertainment I can think of.