Table Pack #17 - Terminator 2 : Judgment Day Confirmed!

[Palmer Eldritch]

Monopoly by stern.

1. we haven't had a stern in a while
2. the monopoly guy is a famous character
3. he is similar to centaur in that he is black and white

it could be anything or t2... I don't think it's T2 because it doesn't seem to make good business sense for farsight to risk time and money on a table that may have not been released....

 

[shutyertrap]

Here's a conspiracy theory for all of you...

Maybe FarSight has actually started to get ahead of the development cycle. Maybe, just maybe, they actually are a full table pack ahead of what is released. Testing cycles would still be the same, but asset acquisition and table builds might have finally gotten ahead of the curve, giving them some cushion in meeting release schedules. I'm just saying, a year and a half into this, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that FarSight has gotten more efficient at this.

As for T2, based off those hints, I'd say yep. Like others have pointed out, they have something to prove regarding handling a kickstarter. The kickstarter itself was originally scheduled for early 2nd quarter, so maybe they had all their ducks in a row this time. Having had the machine in the offices for 7 months now, they could have easily been doing small chunks of the table all this time without detracting from other work. Also, by this point, I'm sure they have a library of Williams parts already digitally created. A pop bumper is a pop bumper, just change the color, if you get what I'm saying. Rom emulation could have been being done all this time too, on a part time basis. Yes, it would be a gamble on FS's part to do a table build on something that may not be funded, but the reward of pleasing all it's customers with a quick turn around since it did succeed will be huge.

Related to that, it's one more tool they can use in getting TAF to market. We all know if there's one table that is a guarantee fund, it's that. So show the licensees that not only can you fund a major license through crowd source, but you can start turning a profit on it a month later. I'm tellin' ya, I think FarSight has some tricks up their sleeves that we the fans are not even expecting. Quick turnaround on T2 is just the start.

 

[sotie]

It's T2! Come on guys!!!

- There was no hint for a 2nd table. I just looked at the 4 previous newsletters and they all contained hints for 2 tables. The fact that this newsletter only hints at one table points to T2 because the only other times they've released solo tables were the Kickstarters.
- Arnold is the "pretty famous character" on the backglass that shares "a thing or two in common with Centaur": Cyborg and motorcycle.

Regarding the quick turnaround for T2 development:
It was obvious that the T2 Kickstarter promotional video was recorded a long time ago because Jay commented that they had digitized 18 tables so far in that T2 video. The T2 table was in the FS office for the recording of the video so that's proof that they've had the table for quite a while already!

If they had already started development on T2 then they must have just had confidence that it would fund as the first two did.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Although I won't say it's wrong, Evel Knievel seems out of left field to me. Nobody has really been asking for it, and EBD is the classic Bally that most people want to see next.

Like Harley-Davidson, I'm sure it was just a license that FS could acquire for a relatively low figure, but unlike Harley-Davidson, I'm quite excited to play it. When it comes to tables from the 60s and 70s, we're bound to get a few that are left to FarSight's discretion, since not a lot of people talk about them. It doesn't necessarily mean that FS is ignoring our requests for other Bally tables, other tables from that era, or bigger licenses. There were also more than 14,000 manufactured, so I'm sure it wasn't hard to find a decent one.

Kolchak convinced me to add Evel Knievel to the wishlist a year ago, and I'm sure he's not the only one who likes it. FarSight's primary mission was to bring the best and most historically significant tables to TPA, and Evel Knievel was billed as the "First fully electronic commercial game".

While I understand what y'all are saying about the T2 development cycle and have no need / no way of disproving it, I think you're misinterpreting the actual clue. I put a lot of money into the T2 Kickstarter and would like to see it happen in August, but I'm not going to pretend that's the case if the clue seems to clearly state otherwise.

"The new release in Table Pack 17..." - implies 2 tables, 1 new, 1 PHoF

"...has a pretty famous character on the backglass that shares a thing or two in common with Centaur..." - Arnold is more than "pretty famous", but Knievel fits the bill / specific reference to backglass sharing a commonality with Centaur, meaning Paul Faris as the artist and both having motorcycles in them

"...so we think this pairing is pretty cool." - referring to Table of the Month + New Table, leaves us to guess the PHoF table that the first section seems to confirm, no additional clue needed because PSN showed Tee'd Off artwork

"they'll be baaack next month" - Terminator 2 is the following month, as in September

It may not be the popular interpretation, but it seems crystal clear. It's also worth noting that FS usually releases one DMD table and one non-DMD. Tee'd Off is the only remaining PHoF table that has a DMD. All others were 1987 (Victory) or earlier.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

In the latest podcast Bobby did with The Perceptive Podcast crew (http://game-wisdom.com/podcast/the-pinball-arcade) he says that they started working on T2 early in the hopes that it would be funded. He also mentions that they only have a 2-year license window (instead of the standard 3-year window) so they want to get the table out ASAP. He then states that we'll see the table "sooner than we think". All that clinches T2 as the next pack to me.

 

[Bowflex]

One interesting aspect of the hint to me was that "they'll be baaaaack with a new hint pic.". Why would they need a hint pic for t2? I was actually thinking there was no way it would be t2 until I thought about that line.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Right, plus they have never given hints for the table pack AFTER the next one in the news letter (in this case 18) either.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

It's T2! Come on guys!!!

- There was no hint for a 2nd table. I just looked at the 4 previous newsletters and they all contained hints for 2 tables. The fact that this newsletter only hints at one table points to T2 because the only other times they've released solo tables were the Kickstarters.
- Arnold is the "pretty famous character" on the backglass that shares "a thing or two in common with Centaur": Cyborg and motorcycle.

Regarding the quick turnaround for T2 development:
It was obvious that the T2 Kickstarter promotional video was recorded a long time ago because Jay commented that they had digitized 18 tables so far in that T2 video. The T2 table was in the FS office for the recording of the video so that's proof that they've had the table for quite a while already!

If they had already started development on T2 then they must have just had confidence that it would fund as the first two did.

I agree. It is T2 alone.

 

[xNiCeGuYx]

It is T2 for sure.

 

[StarDust4Ever]

It is T2 for sure.

Just curious, as I wasn't part of the TPA scene until recently: What was the turnaround for the Star Trek and TZ tables? In other words, what amount of time spanned between the completion of the Kickstarter campaign and the initial premium table releases? Use this time span as a guide for when the T2 table will come out. It will probably take a comparable length of time.

 

[canuck]

I think it was about a month, they have fast turn around.

 

[PiN WiZ]

Just curious, as I wasn't part of the TPA scene until recently: What was the turnaround for the Star Trek and TZ tables? In other words, what amount of time spanned between the completion of the Kickstarter campaign and the initial premium table releases? Use this time span as a guide for when the T2 table will come out. It will probably take a comparable length of time.

The Twilight Zone Kickstarter ended on June 17, 2012 and released on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Mac in November 2012 and PS3/PS Vita in February 2013.

Star Trek : The Next Generation Kickstarter ended on September 16, 2012 and released on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Mac in December 2012 and PS3/PS Vita in March 2013.

Terminator 2 : Judgment Day Kickstarter ended on July 21, 2013 and should be available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Mac and OUYA by the end of August 2013 and PS3/PS Vita late September - early October 2013.

 

[Baron Rubik]

Just curious, as I wasn't part of the TPA scene until recently: What was the turnaround for the Star Trek and TZ tables? In other words, what amount of time spanned between the completion of the Kickstarter campaign and the initial premium table releases? Use this time span as a guide for when the T2 table will come out. It will probably take a comparable length of time.

Can't remember exactly but it took roughly 3-4months for TZ & STTNG post KS.

I don't think this applies this time though, I'd guess they have already done a lot of the work, maybe even finished it already.

Reading the clue - I strongly think pack 17 will be a single premium table, and to me the clue is obvious, it's T2 next month.

 

[Rudy]

What surprises me is how everyone on here assumes that Farsight just does two tables a month, I thought the process had already been heavily talked about in the past and at any time they could be working on 4-8 tables at once in various states of completion. It's a continuous stream of work being passed around to the point where if a brick wall is found, they could just move onto something else without having to stop altogether.

To the point where they could probably have thrown out two tables at short notice if the T2 campaign had failed (or suffered a major blip in testing) because they'll just push at two tables that they have the basics for at full power.

 

[canuck]

What surprises me is how everyone on here assumes that Farsight just does two tables a month, I thought the process had already been heavily talked about in the past and at any time they could be working on 4-8 tables at once in various states of completion. It's a continuous stream of work being passed around to the point where if a brick wall is found, they could just move onto something else without having to stop altogether.

To the point where they could probably have thrown out two tables at short notice if the T2 campaign had failed (or suffered a major blip in testing) because they'll just push at two tables that they have the basics for at full power.

Of course, this makes sense. They have a production schedule, where they must release every month. It does look like its becoming more efficient over time, as more tables are released.

 

[StarDust4Ever]

Guys, I hate to burst your bubbles, but Table pack 17 will have two tables, so it cannot be T2.

Strait from the horse's mouth:
http://www.pinballarcade.com/TablePacks/

Table Pack 17

 

[PiN WiZ]

Guys, I hate to burst your bubbles, but Table pack 17 will have two tables, so it cannot be T2.

Strait from the horse's mouth:
http://www.pinballarcade.com/TablePacks/

That will be changed when T2 is released.

 

[atlantis1982]

I don't see what the big deal is with DMD displays. Sure they're nice, but half the time I'm not even looking at the display because I'm too focused on what the ball is doing. If I stare up at the display to watch the fanfare, I'm just as likely not to see the ball and react on time when the machine decides to jettison the ball back towards the drain. Granted, DMD tables often have more toys on the table and that can be fun, but to choose one table over another just because one of them has a DMD display and the other is alphanumeric display, without any emphasis on the actual gameplay, seems a bit short sighted to me. The High Speed / Getaway debate comes to mind with some people being strongly in favor of Getaway for the DMD with purists wanting High Speed, and Pinbot / Jackbot is another classic example of same playfield, different display tech. To me it doesn't matter that much. The playfield is much more important than the display tech on the backglass.

EXACTLY! Most of the time I am watching the damn silver ball!

Not to say DMD are bad, I am just finding them overrated.

Edit: Yeah, a little late on this discussion. :|

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I am going to have the biggest case of "I told you so" when this is all over...

 

[sotie]

I am going to have the biggest case of "I told you so" when this is all over...

Did you read the newest hint? T2 is coming in August.

It's all good. I'm sure that whatever is released it will be great!