121 episodes tracked since 2023 about →
Episode 1 - Lightning Flippers
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago32 min listen
Highlights
- Lightning flippers were 1/16 inch shorter than standard 3-inch flippers, creating 1/8 inch wider combined gap
- A French distributor touring Williams factory in early 1990s complained that Fishtails played too long for the European market, which represented approximately 60% of the pinball market
- Bram Stoker's Dracula, Fishtails, Popeye, and Doctor Who shipped from factory with lightning flippers; Black Rose only shipped to Europe with them
- Games like Fishtails and Bram Stoker's Dracula have shallow rule sets without wizard modes that become boring when played on standard flippers
- Wedgehead maintains factory settings with lightning flippers on qualifying games but receives community pushback despite using factory configurations
- Tournament directors at venues like Linz in California use lightning flippers on games to shorten play time and prevent marathon game sessions
- Whitewater shipped with lightning flippers in goodie bag but uninstalled
- Games with wider flipper gaps like Ghostbusters create similar difficulty effect to lightning flippers
- Modern Stern games are coded for long-playing, player-friendly difficulty on average
- Black Knight (Rage) punishes missed shots more than many modern Sterns despite having easy individual shots
Notable quotes
“Each flipper bat was one sixteenth of an inch shorter than the standard three inch flipper, which means that the combined gap is now one eighth inch wider”
“A french distributor was touring the williams factory and got to play some games that were still in development... he said that he liked the game but that it played too long for the french market”
“It's fascinating because in today's time i can't imagine anybody getting the clout to be like this game's too fucking easy”
“The home buyers are kind of driving the market at this point... people play pinball they're like this is dope and then they get online and they're like what game should i buy”
“When you play a copy of those games with the full-size flippers retroactively put on, you realize how easy it becomes”
“Making a game play too long when the rules aren't there to back it up just makes it bad pinball machine”
“People will just quit playing that game once they realize there's a like an actual tangible reason that it's difficult”
“The struggle for control that makes pinball pinball... you go back long enough in pinball that's really all there was”
“If your operator doesn't have lightning flippers on those four games, you go submit a complaint. Formal complaint.”
“The difference between monster bash and attack from mars is like... monster bash is way easier right... i get that on ball one yeah”
Entities
- Williams Electronics· company
- Adam's Family· game
- Attack from Mars· game
- Black Knight Rage· game
- Black Rose· game
- Bram Stoker's Dracula· game
- Deadpool· game
- Doctor Who· game
- Firepower· game
- Fishtails· game
- Ghostbusters· game
- Grand Prix· game
- Lord of the Rings· game
- Monster Bash· game
- Monsters of Rock· game
- Popeye· game
- Ultra Man· game
- Whitewater· game
- Linz· organization
- Wedgehead· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex· person
- George Gomez· person
- Steve Richie· person
