Simpsons pictures & review
Yancy Blaylock
http://tinyurl.com/4135
If you're brave or have broadband, click the "Full Size" link when
you're looking at a picture. I apologize for the mediocre quality. It
was pretty much impossible to get a good shot of the upper playfield
due to the translite glare. I was reluctant to use the flash for very
many shots, but now that I see the pics full size, the flash shots are
the best. Maybe I'll go back soon and get some upper playfield shots
that way, to kill the glare.
So, what do I think of the game? Fun! Tons of modes, tons of shots.
Clever shots, at that. A hard plunge will send the ball across the
playfield and into the tight Quik E Mart u-turn, for a quick 180 into
the Bully targets for a skill shot. Very cool! The Bully targets are
similar to the Monstars in Space Jam, or a mirror image of the R&D
targets from RCT.
The right outlane has an opening to the plunger lane, effectively
creating a 3-lane scenario in which the middle lane is the drain. A
bounce into the plunger lane will re-light skill shot. The two posts
in this area have a wide range of adjustment, from *very* wide, to
narrow enough to keep balls out of the inlane completely.
The Itchy & Scratchy saucer is directly above the plunger lane,
guarded by 3 drop targets, and is a tough low-angle shot from the left
flipper. I got pretty good at shooting a particular post with the
right flipper for a ricochet shot into it. Knock the targets down
once, and go in the saucer to light an Itchy & Scratchy multiball:
- Spay Anything
- Kitty Kitty Bang Bang
- Field of Screams
- Esophagus Now
The ball is kicked out (fast!) and the targets reset. Knock down as
many as you need to squeeze the ball into the saucer again, and the
lit multiball starts. Most or all are 2-ball (one may be 3-ball, I
forget). Jackpot starts at 10,000 and super jackpot starts at 500,000.
Different shots (depending on the particular multiball mode) raise the
jackpot slightly. From what I can tell, scored jackpots add to super
jackpot, with a 2,500,000 cap. Super jackpot is lit after collecting
one jackpot, and is collected at the Itchy & Scratchy saucer after
knocking down the drop targets guarding it.
Balls are locked for regular multiball with a shot to the ramp on the
mini playfield. This feeds a very cool locking mechanism: the orange
couch from the Simpsons living room. Unfortunately, the lock was not
working this evening, so I was unable to play multiball. Today around
noon it was working, however, so I got to see the lock sequences,
which are awesome. On the DMD you see a ball fly at the Simpsons on
their couch. After they've caught three, the cop knocks on the door.
It goes something like this:
(knock knock)
Cop: "Simpson, you're under arrest!"
Homer: "For what?"
Cop: "Hoarding pinballs!"
Homer: "Oh no!" (or something else, I forget)
All of the quotes on the game are great, and there are lots of 'em.
They do sound a bit muffled to me, at least compared to the much
clearer non-voice sound effects in the game.
Let's see, what else... oh yeah, the captive ball. When you hit it,
the masked skateboard-riding Bart toy above it rolls back with the
ball, and always triggers a quote. Very cool.
Hitting the Comic Book Guy target starts a hurry-up, or adds points to
a running hurry-up. They can be lit at just about every major shot,
and multiple ones can be lit concurrently. They stay lit when
collected, so I can only guess that getting them all is somehow
important.
The left outlane is deadly. The right slingshot can kick balls over
there in a blink, and the lack of a lane divider post is murder. I got
a fair amount of "up and overs" up the left inlane too, so you've been
warned.
My few complaints about the game mostly center around inserts. They
tend to be small and very wordy, which requires a small font. You
learn what they are after a handful of games, but it's very hard to
read what's what at first. Often times a semi-important "shoot here"
kind of light will be lit but not blinking. It's hard to notice a
small insert with small writing high up on the playfield when bigger
inserts in the vicinity of Itchy & Scratchy and the captive ball
(i.e., closer to the player) are almost always blinking. It seems like
there isn't much "<some feature> is lit!" speech to make up for the
lighting situation. Also, several modes can overlap, which adds to the
confusion somewhat. Don't get me wrong, I *love* stackable modes, but
there needs to be a little more "shoot for the <whatever>" going on,
and better prioritization in the insert lighting.
That's all I can think to write for now, plus my fingers are tired.
I'll sum it up by saying that Stern has cranked out another awesome
game. The most beautiful playfield in years, color *everywhere*, five
flippers, two playfields, several multiballs, cool custom speech, more
modes than you can shake a stick at... what else do you want?
Yancy
P.S. Lose the black rubber... this game is begging for white & yellow!
Ron Brister
-Ron
John Wart, jr
Thanks for the pics. My opinion on white rubber matches yours after looking
at the pics.
--john
--
Pay me a visit and see what's in my home game room
http://www.myhomegameroom.com
"Yancy Blaylock" <ya...@musician.org> wrote in message
news:f2d439eb.03010...@posting.google.com...
Cliffy
but this just takes the cake! Gotta save ducats by the buckets! :)
Great review Yancy, made me feel like I was there!
Yancy Blaylock wrote:
>
> Simpsons pictures can be found here:
> http://tinyurl.com/4135
>
--
Cliffy
(CARGPB2)
http://home.attbi.com/~crinear
Ben
pinball...
On 2 Jan 2003 21:25:08 -0800, ya...@musician.org (Yancy Blaylock)
wrote:
Randy P.
a gas!
Randy
"Yancy Blaylock" <ya...@musician.org> wrote in message
news:f2d439eb.03010...@posting.google.com...
Lloyd Olson
Scott Olsen
Thanks for doing us all a favor.
Scott
Manic
samples we've gotten used to with Wms. Something with a theme
like the Simpson's deserves to have better sound samples than the
grainy and low-res examples that Stern uses.
Ok I guess for the arcade (if they figure you won't hear much
anyways) but for the home it gets grating quick.
One day I hope they will spring for a better sound system but I'm
not going to hold my breath ;-)
Nice review - thanks for the effort.
"Yancy Blaylock" <ya...@musician.org> wrote in message
news:f2d439eb.03010...@posting.google.com...
Kevin L'Heureux
post as to Keith Johnsns question "What's in a name" I believe that
there is much to a name such as Lawlor, Ritchie, Eddy, etc. Pat has
proven that he can make a great pin no matter who he designs it for and
Stern has proven that they can make it profitable with good 'ol common
sense business practices. I was honestly hoping for this new Simpsons
pin to be designed by a "Williams guy" thinking back to my dislike for
past in-house Stern pins and my love for the license along with the
less than stellar original pin from 1990. I must say that after seeing
the pictures and hearing the great reviews combined with a great
playfield layout (lots of shots) and seeing the ingenious design and
no-holds-barred playfield toys I am completely and thoroughly
impressed, and I haven't even played it yet. I am not sure I like the
"Pinball Party" theme as that seems to be very silly and bland (and
pink, YUK) when something much more clever could have been attached.
That said, I beleieve Keith Johnson and the rest of the team at Stern
have made a huge name for themselves in this pin. Great job. NIB
Simpsons, here I come!
Keep it up Keith, you are the man!!!!!!
--
Kevin L'Heureux
Pins - NIB Simpsons (coming soon)- M*nster Bash - H*gh Speed - F*14 - R*pid Fire
Vids - D*nkey Kong - D*fender - H*ng On
Past Pins - H*gh Speed #1 - T*Z
See my webpage including (((((((((Temporarily Down)))))))) my High Speed
restoration at http://homepage.mac.com/klheureux/Menu10.html
J o n a t h a n
play it. Playfield looks way cool. Are there more multiballs besides the
Itchy/Scratchy multiballs? Or does one constantly have to aim for the
droptargets? I understood Homers head can move the flipper angle. Does it
follow the ball?
A few reserves though:
1. Seeing "Shoot flashing target" on the dm display is a bit of a bummer to
me. It is simply too easy and gives me the impression that the game sees the
player as rather stupid and unable to understand the game. I'd rather see
things called by their common names, like "Shoot for the jetbumpers", or
"Shoot Moe's bar". It is sort of educating the player as well to get deeper
into the game and know what things are called.
2. Great that all soundbites are original, but if the soundquality is as
poor as described in the review, I start wondering why. Create a killer game
and still the same frustration on soundquotes as in the past. Maybe lower
sample rates are used to create more space for samples? Still, it seems that
the lack of soundquality is a returning issue. Why, oh why? Is the
impression that the sound is not heard anyway in a crowded bar? Is the
soundboard not good enough? Not enough ROM space? As the music seemed to be
much brighter, I doubt that. This is 2003 people, technology has been
improved since the '90s! If WMS could do it then, oh never mind. Maybe the
player will get used to it, but it might also be a returning irritation. I
just hope for the best.
Still the game looks like this might be the one to put pinball back on the
map : )
Jonathan
{Not being negative, but also not hiding returning frustrations : ) }
Mike Singer
Editor
it all becomes visible.
You may have to create a Yahoo account if you don't have one already.
Martin Ayub,
Editor, Pinball News.
http://www.pinballnews.com/
"Mike Singer" <pin...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:kp6dneVUlqV...@comcast.com...
Chris King
Is it a Broadband issue? (I am not on broadband) or maybe a DNS server thing
I wonder?
"Mike Singer" <pin...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:kp6dneVUlqV...@comcast.com...
Chris King
thats why.
Ben
think it's just getting a lot of traffic.
On Fri, 3 Jan 2003 07:38:23 -0500, "Mike Singer" <pin...@comcast.net>
wrote:
miracleman
>
limiting bandwidth, got the tiny link to work and got to yahoo, but it
won't enlarge any of the pics.
Spencer in Orlando
email is munged
remove REMOVE THIS or reply to
miracleman at bellsouth dot net
Chris King
for me.. I have saved them to disk on my PC, so if anyone is having probs
wants them emailed.. let me know (I will winzip them and email people
direct).
Chris
"miracleman" <miraclem...@THISbellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:s74b1v8vce4ns0phr...@4ax.com...
miracleman
BIG THANKS FOR THE PICS!
On Fri, 3 Jan 2003 07:38:23 -0500, "Mike Singer" <pin...@comcast.net>
wrote:
>The URL doesn't work for me :(
>
>> Simpsons pictures can be found here:
>> http://tinyurl.com/4135
>
>
Spencer in Orlando
George
George wrote:
When the ball drains does Nelson say: Heah-Heah? (Mentioned in another
post) Or is he featured in another part of the game?
Merlin Amusements
Mike
"Yancy Blaylock" <ya...@musician.org> wrote in message
news:f2d439eb.03010...@posting.google.com...
kiz...@attbi.com
WEade
Bill
David DeWinter
> The most beautiful playfield in years, color *everywhere*, five
> flippers, two playfields, several multiballs, cool custom speech, more
> modes than you can shake a stick at... what else do you want?
"What else do you want?" "What esle do you want?" "WHAT ELSE DO YOU
WANT?"
Hey, about some damn watermarks on the pictures so they don't show up as
good!! :>)
Great job, Yancy. Thanks for the time and effort you took to give us
sheltered people a good look at the newest game.
--
Keep em Spinning,
Dave DeWinter
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
*******************************************************
Visit my Web Page at http://www.thumpernator.com
Andy Mead
switched to IE. It's just a redirect to a yahoo photo page. I would post
the full link, except that there's an email address imbedded in the URL,
and I don't want the spammers getting it.
hope this helps.
TreasureCove
nice precious ... me deserve precious ..
"Ben" <pinba...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:619a1vsrrhhdmhdjq...@4ax.com...
Yancy Blaylock
trouble loading the pics. I don't know if Yahoo is flaky or what, but
several people (including me) had trouble loading the pages. Hitting
refresh repeatedly seems to help. Here's the actual URL, just in case
the tinyurl shortcut was causing trouble:
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/ya...@ameritech.net/lst?.dir=/Simpsons
I'll try hosting them somewhere else soon.
Yancy
e
ya...@musician.org says...
Mirror for the images:
http://www.disorder.org/simpsons/
Large versions only. No html, just the images.
Eric
Yancy Blaylock
> Are there more multiballs besides the Itchy/Scratchy multiballs?
Yes, the main multiball is a 3-ball mode started by locking balls in
the couch. The lock wasn't working when I was last there, so I haven't
played that multiball yet.
> I understood Homers head can move the flipper angle.
> Does it follow the ball?
I'm not sure what you mean by move the flipper angle, but his head
does follow the ball when it rolls on the monorail (habitrail)
diagonally down the playfield.
> 1. Seeing "Shoot flashing target" on the dm display is a bit of a bummer to
> me. It is simply too easy and gives me the impression that the game sees the
> player as rather stupid and unable to understand the game. I'd rather see
> things called by their common names, like "Shoot for the jetbumpers", or
> "Shoot Moe's bar". It is sort of educating the player as well to get deeper
> into the game and know what things are called.
I picked a bad mode to take a picture of. In monorail mode, the shot
moves around quite a bit, so the DMD is vague. In most other modes,
the DMD is shot-specific.
> 2. Great that all soundbites are original, but if the soundquality is as
> poor as described in the review, I start wondering why. <snip>
Well, my hearing isn't the best in the world, so I'd say the jury is
still out until a few more people weigh in on the voice quality.
Yancy
Erik
fancy.
http://www.euro-corp.net/simpsons
Enjoy!
Erik
"Yancy Blaylock" <ya...@musician.org> wrote in message
news:f2d439eb.03010...@posting.google.com...
S Spencer
Brendan Bailey
thanks to yancy, great pictures, wow that mini playfield looks fun. Now all we
need are some sounds :)
Brendan
Visit my pinball website!
http://www.members.tripod.com/sountendo1/index.htm
Pins: *PinBot*Monopoly*Black Knight 2000*Road Kings*Cyclone*
*Blast Off*Lectronamo*
Vids: *Arkanoid*
Gone but not forgotten: *High Speed*Funhouse*Donkey Kong*
Spinner
I had the same problem, but it works if you keep hitting the
refresh button on your browser. It's probably Yahoo limiting
bandwidth.
-Mark
"Mike Singer" <pin...@comcast.net> wrote in message news:kp6dneVUlqV...@comcast.com...
Peter Frank
Thanks for the pic's, Yancy!!
Peter Frank
Yancy Blaylock wrote:
> Simpsons pictures can be found here:
> http://tinyurl.com/4135
>
<snip>
Alex Chapman
> you're looking at a picture. I apologize for the mediocre quality. It
> was pretty much impossible to get a good shot of the upper playfield
> due to the translite glare. I was reluctant to use the flash for very
> many shots, but now that I see the pics full size, the flash shots are
> the best. Maybe I'll go back soon and get some upper playfield shots
> that way, to kill the glare.
They actually look quite good in full-size and the files are pretty
small even on 56k. If only Yahoo Photos didn't have all this nasty
bandwidth clamping. Ken?
> So, what do I think of the game? Fun! Tons of modes, tons of shots.
> Clever shots, at that. A hard plunge will send the ball across the
> playfield and into the tight Quik E Mart u-turn, for a quick 180 into
> the Bully targets for a skill shot. Very cool! The Bully targets are
> similar to the Monstars in Space Jam, or a mirror image of the R&D
> targets from RCT.
What's the function of the Kwik-E-Mart/Bully shot in regular play?
> The right outlane has an opening to the plunger lane, effectively
> creating a 3-lane scenario in which the middle lane is the drain. A
> bounce into the plunger lane will re-light skill shot. The two posts
> in this area have a wide range of adjustment, from *very* wide, to
> narrow enough to keep balls out of the inlane completely.
cool. It's amazing how seldom you see this, even though autoplungers
make it a non-issue during multiball. Well, actually, it's a huge one
once the plunger lane switch goes, which always gets neglected..
perhaps if the operator alert included a loud voice message telling
them that it was affecting their take it would work.
> That's all I can think to write for now, plus my fingers are tired.
> I'll sum it up by saying that Stern has cranked out another awesome
> game. The most beautiful playfield in years, color *everywhere*, five
> flippers, two playfields, several multiballs, cool custom speech, more
> modes than you can shake a stick at... what else do you want?
spot colored playfields already! Is this still 4-color process? It
looks fantastic for it if it is (much as Monopoly did), but the art
style is just begging for a spot-color treatment.
Aron Boag
> With Yancy's blessing I've put a 2nd mirror up of the pictures, nothing
> fancy.
>
> http://www.euro-corp.net/simpsons
>
> Enjoy!
>
> Erik
Oh, Erik, THANK YOU! I couldn't get the pics to load very easily, and
just gave up. Your mirror was *just* the thing I needed to see these
pics as they were meant to be seen. Thanks again.
Aron
Aron Boag
two about him.
First, this guy loves pinball. I had the pleasure of meeting him at
Expo a couple years ago (as always, it's the people who make Expo as
good as it is...), and he just introduced himself either by Monopoly
or Cirqus Voltaire, and we just started talking pin like two buddies
out on a pin crawl. I was lucky enough to get to see him again at the
'Zoo this past year, and he's also a good guy to eat Chinese food
with...if you can find a place to eat, that is. ;)
Second, he's very helpful. When I wanted some advice about what
digital camera to buy, he came through quickly and even did a little
research for me. What a guy...it doesn't surprise me *at all* that
Yancy was willing to do this for the group. Not that you'd have to
twist his arm to go play the newest Stern title, but that he was
willing to take pics, post them, give a review, etc. That's just the
type of guy he is.
Anyway, Yancy, I just wanted to personally thank you for your digital
camera advice, and for taking these pics. You're one of the good
guys, and next time, the meal's on me!
Aron
Robert Cole
>
> Mirror for the images:
> http://www.disorder.org/simpsons/
>
> Large versions only. No html, just the images.
>
>Eric
Thanks for the mirror. Those pictures I could see. Probably Yahoo got
some heavy hits with all us pin-heads looking at the pictures.
Rob
John Inc
inc
Yancy Blaylock
> What's the function of the Kwik-E-Mart/Bully shot in regular play?
I'm not 100% sure. I think it counts your Kwik E Mart loops and gives
awards depending on how many you have completed. It makes Apu say
really funny stuff, and it's as cool a shot as whipping around behind
the menagerie ball in CV. Also, during Willie's Woes the bully targets
are lit, and the Kwik E Mart loop is the best way to hit them.
Yancy
Yancy Blaylock
> I was lucky enough to get to see him again at the 'Zoo this
> past year, and he's also a good guy to eat Chinese food
> with...if you can find a place to eat, that is. ;)
There's *nowhere* to eat in Kalamazoo on a Sunday! At least not that
we could find. (and thanks for the kind words)
Yancy
Yancy Blaylock
there's an updated version of my original review (corrections, more
complete playfield description, beginnings of a rulesheet) at
http://www.pinballnews.com
Yancy
Kirb
a great way to get people in there for lunch hour.
from what I hear....
Kirb
(should have a few games for play again this year at the zoo.....)
ya...@musician.org (Yancy Blaylock) wrote in message news:<f2d439eb.0301...@posting.google.com>...
Kirb
They should be open on sunday for the sports crowd.
I ate there Sat night after the show- $3 long islands.
Kirb
ya...@musician.org (Yancy Blaylock) wrote in message news:<f2d439eb.0301...@posting.google.com>...
Aron Boag
> Oh yea, what about Damons?
>
> They should be open on sunday for the sports crowd.
> I ate there Sat night after the show- $3 long islands.
>
> Kirb
Never saw Damon's. Is that the rib joint? If so, where the heck was
it? I'm not a strip joint kind of guy, if that's what Damon's is...
Aron
Kirb
are in the north side of flint and you have to choose between "Bubba's
road house and dirty spoon" or a strip club....well, let's just say
the choice becomes easier when you are hungry.
Damon's is on Westnedge which runs north and south. The south business
131 turns into westnedge and then continues due south (USB131 turns
east) and hits 94. Pretty easy to get to from the fairgrounds.
Give me a shout if you guys are game for lunch next year.
Kirb
Yancy Blaylock
> Give me a shout if you guys are game for lunch next year.
Cool, will do.
Yancy
Orin Day
>They should be open on sunday for the sports crowd.
>I ate there Sat night after the show- $3 long islands.
Based on my experience the wait time for a table at a typical Damon's on
a busy sports day is on the order of magnitude of Lyman's average game
time on a well-maintained Demo Man with extra balls enabled.
But maybe it's just my luck.
OD
--
Orin Day "This too shall pass"
lob...@lobsterdevil.com - Mike Ditka
Kirb
Or, you can just eat at the bar....
Kirb
(never had to wait at a damons)
Yancy Blaylock
> Based on my experience the wait time for a table at a typical Damon's on
> a busy sports day is on the order of magnitude of Lyman's average game
> time on a well-maintained Demo Man with extra balls enabled.
So what you're saying is, you left in lieu of starving to death.
Yancy