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Blues Brothers Really is Open Source | Peter Brock Pinball | White Water Tutorial | Pinball Media Mixer 2.0
Colin Alsheimer
August 23, 2024 • Time to Read: 11 minutes
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This Week in Pinball, we’re getting back into the swing of things and wondering if Homepin made a smart business move?
This Week's Pinball Agenda
Song of the Week
I’m back from a much-needed family vacation, during which not a single pinball game was played. It was nice. We spent most of our time outside, hiking, swimming, eating, and exploring local businesses.
But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about pinball during our trip, and on more than one occasion, I found myself pulling up Pinball Map to see if anything was nearby for a fix.
So for this week, I’m selecting an old stand-by for Song of the Week. It’s appropriately called Pinball Song by cult-classic alt-country band Slobberbone.
Formed in 1992 in Denton, Texas (just north of Dallas), I’m not sure that Slobberbone has a recognizable hit in their catalog, even by my standards, but they are revered in certain music circles (mostly in Texas). And they have a sound I’ve only been able to find repeated in Texas bar shows by bands that were likely influenced by Slobberbone.
When you listen to Pinball Song, it should be obvious why it’s a pick from the title alone, but what I like most about the track is its relatable storytelling that starts in a familiar place for pinball players before weaving together a bouncing tale of friendships, feuds, flings, and nostalgia.
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Pinball News of the Week
Blues Brothers Really is Open Source?
On Facebook, Homepin shared new photos of its pre-production Blues Brothers pinball machine, slated to debut at the Newcastle Pinfest in September. They also noted pricing ($6,950 AUD) and the names of some of the production team, which is the part that interests me most.
Dick Hamill may be a familiar name to hardcore pinheads thanks to his work on a set of open-source upgrades based on an Arduino board set for several classic Stern Electronics games like Stars, Galaxy, and Trident. He spoke about the project at Pintastic New England and on the Slam Tilt Podcast (which we covered here).
This gives solid credence to Homepin’s claims that this project is open-source in a way that is far less shady than what it may have sounded like when first announced. Given that Dick’s first code refresh project was for Stern’s Stars, and Blues Brothers looks a lot like a tweaked Stars layout… well, you can draw your own conclusions, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a final ruleset based on that updated Stars code.
If this project works for Homepin, could we see more soft Stern Electronics remakes?
New White Water Pinball Tutorial
We’ve got a brand new pinball tutorial from James McFatter covering one of my favorite games, the 1993 Williams classic, WHITE WATER! Caps for yelling.
New Peter Brock Pinball Machine from Vector Pinball
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Australian startup pinball manufacturer. Pre-order deposits. Lofty promises.
I wasn’t going to include Vector’s latest (they released Eight Ball Fury early this year) because I don’t know much about them. I’m so put off by pre-order deposits after the Haggis debacle, but a friend of the newsletter, Jake Danzig, flagged a new video shared by one of their distributors, which shows brief gameplay and more detailed photos.
The distributor is asking for a $1,000 AUD deposit with balance due on delivery, which helps separate it from Haggis slightly. If you order direct from Vector, build queues are supposedly 30-60 days, but the distributor references 4-8 weeks. Buyer beware, but you should know about it at least!
Save the Date for Pinball Media Mixer 2.0!
10.17.24 @ Pinball Expo
Life uh… finds a way, as they say. The Pinball Media Mixer is on its way back! If y’all asked me 3 months ago if I thought we’d be doing this again, I would have said “no,” but enough of you asked, and it was such a good time that we’re doing a second edition.
Lots of details still to figure out, but save the date for Thursday, October 17th, 2024 from 5-8pm at Enterrium in Schaumburg, IL.
While last year was an invite-only, creators-first affair (and we have a broad view of what a creator is), this year, we’re hoping to enable more people to attend so that it can be an event for both creators and the community that supports all of our work.
We are also currently on the lookout for event sponsors, so if you’re interested in helping out, send me a note!
Second Sponsor of the Week
Pinball Expo is right around the corner! One of the highlights of the pinball show circuit, this year they will be celebrating their 40th anniversary with all sorts of fun activities planned. Purchase your tickets here.
If you were a paid subscriber, you wouldn’t see this ad! Sign up for $4.99/mo to support our work.
Links of the Week
Cary Hardy released the second part of his Unboxing the Truth mini-series on the Haggis Pinball saga.
Wedgehead Pinball Podcast interviewed artist Greg Freres, who shared a fun story about the art package for Hardbody (one of my favorites of his) that ties together Bally pinball and Bally health clubs in a very “corporate synergies” kind of way.
I enjoyed the latest video from American Pinball about more of the background and history behind the Barry O’s Barbecue Challenge project. Includes a look at some of the early rules and game schematics, and I always appreciate insight into the creative process of game development.
Admittedly, this is probably a stretch for this newsletter, but the After School Podcast discussion on how Gen-Z is turning to IRL events centered around obscure hobbies for socialization and dating seemed oddly aligned with pockets of the pinball hobby.
Pinball Map released a new podcast! This is venturing into TMI territory, but it’s my newsletter, so 🤷♂️. Sometimes, I throw on podcasts in the morning while getting ready for the day. This morning, I happened to put on Pinball Map’s latest…, and I gotta be honest, it’s a little surreal to be in the shower and hear a podcast talking about you! I really did watch a bunch of wrestling building out the database!
Poll of the Week
Would you be interested in attending Pinball Media Mixer 2.0?Could be as a pinball content creator or a fan of a pinball content creator. |
Last Week’s Poll Results
Which of the following manufacturers are best positioned to "win" Pinball Expo 2024?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ American Pinball (6)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Dutch Pinball/DPX (18)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Jersey Jack Pinball (18)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Spooky Pinball (8)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Stern Pinball (54)
“Stern is the Kong of pinball - even more so if rumors about them making that game are true. But DPX is building momentum. Their teasers are looking great so far. I predict Alice will run away with Expo, chasing the white rabbit all the way. ”
“I'm going to preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of both Stern and Jersey Jack (I like some APB and Spookys too). Stern has been knocking it out of the park lately and JJP's Elton John blew me away. I believe those two are neck-and-neck but I'm thinking that (if the rumors are correct of what we are going to see) Jersey might pull ahead and squeak ahead to the finish line. You never know, American Pinball might surprise all of us. I can't wait to find out. ”
“It is easer to be the leader than be a contender trying to better the leader. With it’s stable of designers Stern is at the top and must make some bad mistakes to be knocked off.”
“Stern is in a league all their own. Frankly the other manufacturers aren’t in the same league. If Stern is in the race, then Stern is all that matters. I would NEVER buy JJP or AP. One would need to be void of all senses and pretty dumb to buy a JJP or AP LOL. seriously.”
“Though I’m not a big fan of the theme, Elton John is an absolute winner. Gameplay is entertaining. This alone puts them as the leader of the pack.”
“Difficult to call and for my money, it's between Stern and JJP. I'll go with Stern, but only just!”
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