EM picks...Jive Time!

[MonkeyGrass]

Jive Time is pretty much everything bad about EM tables.

No inlanes at all.
Huge flipper gap.
Ball savers that are turned off when the ball randomly hits the wrong thing.
random spinner that is all important and hard to get the ball to settle into the kickout for.
Shots that you can't really shoot on purpose.

This.

Jive time is the ultimate "luck" table. Skill is nearly irrelevant. Besides the "groovy" theme, it's a real loser. I cannot express how disappointed I was when I finally unlocked it as the last table in PHOF and finally played it.... Really?! This is it? Gahhhhbage.

 

[DrainoBraino]

Come one guys, don't be L7. Get groovy and hip, daddy-o. Jive Time is a gas, you dig? Outta sight!

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Ugh, looks terrible.

I'd love to see "SkyLab" or "King Pin" one day, though.

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2202&picno=28969

http://www.pinrepair.com/gtb/kingpin3.jpg

SkyLab would be great.

 

[soundwave106]

Jive time is the ultimate "luck" table. Skill is nearly irrelevant. Besides the "groovy" theme, it's a real loser. I cannot express how disappointed I was when I finally unlocked it as the last table in PHOF and finally played it.... Really?! This is it? Gahhhhbage.

Part of the problem with Jive Time on PHOF is, compared to shots of the real pinball machine, the emulation was WAY harder, with floatier ball physics, and larger gaps than there should have been.

I don't think the real deal is the best EM out there, mind you, but I don't think PHOF did that game much justice.

 

[The Night Flier]

But as we're not likely to reach 100 tables any more, even that has been downsized.

Why not 100 TPA tables or more?

 

[ER777]

I HATE it. It's a horrible EM and I would never pay for it. Offer it as a free bonus and only then, maybe.

I've said it before but FS could use Jive Time and Ace High to help ensure kickstarters are successful. Offer one of these as an exclusive reward for say $20 or higher KS backers only and watch how many people jump up to that level. People love exclusives and that can be leveraged. That or they could just package them with another older table in one two-pack per season or something.

 

[David T. Melnick]

I HATE it. It's a horrible EM and I would never pay for it. Offer it as a free bonus and only then, maybe.

--------
If Jive Time had much smaller side drains I'd love it.

 

[Iguana]

Would love to see Royal Flush, and gladly shell out some cash for a kickstarter package of EM's.

 

[Flotilla]

Going to bump this and say that I want (and would gladly pay for) more EMs in TPA! Central Park and Big Shot are two cabinets I really love, and I'd likewise love to see more like them.

 

[BStarfire]

It would be nice to see at least the top rated EM's like Slick Chick and Kings and Queens. Also in the top ten are Royal Flush and Centigrade 37.... Those would be a pretty good set of EM's to tide us over for a while. I'd definitely contribute towards any development of a pack like this.

 

[DokkenRokken]

It's nice to have dreams, ladies and gentleman.

I'd be shocked if we saw more than 2 EM's from now until the end of TPA....that's how futile it is. lol

 

[dtown8532]

The most logical choice for "1 more EM" would be Bally's Fireball. It has zipper flippers, a spinning disc, cool artwork and multiball. As far as a second, there's a few to choose from. Not counting the Elton John licensed Captain Fantastic or Tommy's Wizard I could see Gottlieb's Buckaroo as a good 60's choice but I think people like "stuff to do" and on an EM that's pretty much...drop targets.

I've played Central Park IRL and it's very cool. Loud, loud, loud. The raw mechanical nature of this game along with the almost deafening bells just do not convert well to the digital world. Big Shot in TPA isn't bad. It's got stuff to do and you have much more control over the ball. Also, by this point chimes were being used instead of bells and they convert a little better into the digital world.

Sooo...as a second EM I'd go with Gottlieb's Atlantis or Centigrade 37. Both have cool art, lots of drops and ball control is much more pronounced than a 2" flipper game.

 

[Kolchak357]

I second the choice of Fireball. It really does have it all, including a tricky skill shot.
As for a second choice, again I'm with dtown's choices of Atlantis and Centigrade 37. Some others in the mix for me would be: Surfer/Surf Champ, Royal Flush, Triple Strike, Fast Draw, and Abra Ca Dabra.

 

[BStarfire]

Having just completed a session at the pinball hall of fame in Vegas....

It's a toss-up between Atlantis and C37. Both play great. Maybe Atlantis because of no left return lane.

Kings and Queens plays great, though the kick out holes were a bit worn. I think a rollover based game is a good alternative to all the drop target games as far as giving you stuff to do. All of the rollovers (except the drain ones) are makeable with skillful shooting and there are differentvstrategies to take with the game. Why settle for Capt Fantastic or Tommy when you can play Tommy's machine of choice: King and Queens. Iconic just for that in addition to playing great. By the way, the VP and FP implementations just don't get the action right, which is why I'd love to see TPA do it.

Royal Flush and deluxe version both down for repairs.

Ace High... Ok. For me that's a game with not a lot to do.

I don't put Fireball in the same category as older EM's, though it's great. Their machine was in great shape. Seems like a no-brainer for TPA regardless of era.

Comet was a real joy. Like that more than Cyclone.

For other 70's EM's... Abra Cadabra is very good and no issues with their machine.

So in a show of solidarity (even if it's unlikely to bear fruit) let's go with Kings and Queens, Fireball, Royal Flush, A bra Cadabra, and Atlantis/Centigrade 37 as our dream pack.

 

[Zorgwon]

Why settle for Capt Fantastic or Tommy when you can play Tommy's machine of choice: King and Queens.

With "Tommy" you refer to Wizard?

1965 Kings and Queens has short flippers .... but nice little pins below each one.

I wouldn't favor Ace High at all. The only reason for it is that it wouldn't be much effort for FS (already scripted).

 

[Snorzel]

I want more E.M's! Love em, I want Atlantis, or how bout GiGi or whatever with the REAL creepy Clown/ Perv backglass art

 

[DokkenRokken]

The most logical choice for "1 more EM" would be Bally's Fireball. It has zipper flippers, a spinning disc, cool artwork and multiball. As far as a second, there's a few to choose from. Not counting the Elton John licensed Captain Fantastic or Tommy's Wizard I could see Gottlieb's Buckaroo as a good 60's choice but I think people like "stuff to do" and on an EM that's pretty much...drop targets.

I've played Central Park IRL and it's very cool. Loud, loud, loud. The raw mechanical nature of this game along with the almost deafening bells just do not convert well to the digital world. Big Shot in TPA isn't bad. It's got stuff to do and you have much more control over the ball. Also, by this point chimes were being used instead of bells and they convert a little better into the digital world.

Sooo...as a second EM I'd go with Gottlieb's Atlantis or Centigrade 37. Both have cool art, lots of drops and ball control is much more pronounced than a 2" flipper game.

I really don't get the love for some of these EM choices?

Fireball? It doesn't look like anything special. Yeah, I know my choice of "King Pin" isn't anything special, but we definitely need a bowling themed pin. However, I think "Skylab" would be a great EM. It certainly looks better than "Fireball".


As I said before:

I'd love to see "SkyLab" or "King Pin" one day.

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2202&picno=28969

http://www.pinrepair.com/gtb/kingpin3.jpg

 

[Crawley]

I really don't get the love for some of these EM choices?

Fireball? It doesn't look like anything special.

As much as I enjoyed playing Skylab I think Fireball would be a better choice for longevity and challenge. Fireball has the spinner in the center of it, and on an EM machine where the ball moves relatively slowly, the spinner on an EM really can change the trajectory of the ball, more so than something like Whirlwind. Beyond that being a challenge, and fun testing your reflexes/nudging, you also have a 3-ball multiball, a skill shot, and even a Kickback. It may look a little plain but there's quite a bit of life to the table. It deserves its "classic" status.

 

[dtown8532]

I really don't get the love for some of these EM choices?

Fireball? It doesn't look like anything special. Yeah, I know my choice of "King Pin" isn't anything special, but we definitely need a bowling themed pin. However, I think "Skylab" would be a great EM. It certainly looks better than "Fireball".


As I said before:

I'd love to see "SkyLab" or "King Pin" one day.

http://ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=2202&picno=28969

http://www.pinrepair.com/gtb/kingpin3.jpg

Skylab? Nate Shivers from C2C Pinball has a Skylab as his sole EM. You know what he says about it? Well, it looks nice sitting in his living room. Sorry, I hate to be so critical in telling someone they're wrong about what's good and what's not but...YOU'RE WRONG!

 

[Jeff Strong]

For other 70's EM's... Abra Cadabra is very good and no issues with their machine.

I love that machine.