Thing ramp does not light your modes. I listened to the episode and don’t remember him saying that, so maybe one of us got it wrong. Perhaps if he was talking about: chair → bounce pass to right → thing ramp → side ramp → left flipper…then that would be lighting modes from the side ramp? 
Yep it was part of that. Might be that I got it wrong.
edit: I listened to that bit again and he does say “the Thing ramp is lighting your modes and giving you millions”, so maybe he just meant the side ramp. Anyway a very interesting episode of what is now my favorite pinball podcast.
I think that most people are referring to the mini-ramp to the left of the bear kick ramp when they say “Thing ramp,” since it feeds the Thing saucer. I usually hear the side ramp just called the side ramp or “million plus ramp,” although the manual calls it the “left staircase ramp.”
Yeah. For me it’s:
- Right ramp / center ramp / bear kick ramp / blue ramp
- Thing ramp (metal jump ramp that feeds to saucer)
- Left ramp / side ramp / red ramp
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Question to the TD’s out there regarding some of the things Raymond mentioned during his podcast. He mentioned on IMDN, that he had to watch other players play the game to determine what settings the game was using. He also mentioned something not working on WoZ, that he had to watch and learn about. So my question is this, as TD’s is it mandatory that all of this stuff should be clearly stated/labeled on the game, or is it more along the lines of a TD being courteous?
I’m still new to TDing, and I was under the impression that if I altered the software settings on IMDN for example, that it should be made public to all players.
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I’d say it’s between mandatory and courteous, but much closer to the former than the latter.
Especially on a feature like IMDN secret skill shots where it means the difference between 20 million (and other benefits) and loss of ball.
Other factors are in play as well, such as the format of the tournament, whether all of the projected players would be expected to already know about the setting, etc.
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Not mandatory at all, so it sucks when some of these adjustments are made and not communicated to the players.
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I am actually a little confused on WOZ, because I thought there was software compensation for the monkey not working. But Ray mentioned that it was on old code, so maybe it predated the software compensation. I vaguely remember the software compensation being added when the use of the magnet sensor was added and it was discovered half of them were backwards.
By the way, on Maiden, you can’t rely on the common starting mode to tell you whether Secret Skill Shots are turned on/off – you can set which mode you want all players to have lit initially independent of whether the Secret Skill Shots are on/off.
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Totally agree. So should this be mandatory or not for the TD’s to reveal this info?
It should definitely be mandatory, but won’t ever be a requirement imo. If it’s a big enough problem, people will just stop coming to your events.
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Wait, the side ramp lights modes? I thought only the right ramp did…
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What would it even mean to be “mandatory”? The TD is first and last authority of how their tournament operates.
That said, of course players generally appreciate having as much info as possible about game configuration, so publishing adjustment info for each game is a good way to make your players happier.
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I took “THING ramp” in this context meaning side ramp. Hitting the side ramp from the upper right flipper spots a THING letter, advances millions, and lights the chair for a mode.
But I don’t consider the side ramp the THING ramp. The mini ramp is of course what feeds THING and is lit for THING mb.
Anyway, bigger picture-fun podcast. Thank you, Raymond 
I’ve always appreciated all the info you convey at your tournaments. Much appreciated. Please continue the trend.
As for the podcast Raymond, good stuff. Thanks for doing this. As others have stated, awesome to hear you talk about your thought process. I’ve enjoyed all the episodes and will continue to listen.
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It would be good if pinball manufacturers with modern large modern displays would show game rule settings in instant info
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Trivia.
The Addams Family have a feature adjustment that was later removed, which would set the THING advance to either side ramp or Thing ramp. As this makes little sense as an adjustment, I assume, it was always ment to be a way to tweak the prototypes/test games to get a feel for what would work the best. Thankfully, they decided on side ramp. And to remove the adjustment.
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That was the correct impression. However, ideally, you want to change as few software settings as possible. Players expect to find EB’s turned off. No need to tell them that. Players also expect tournament settings and possibly no ball saver. If the ball saves are turned off for all games, tell everyone at the start.
Beyond that, try to make as few changes as possible. You want the players to think your games play just like the games they play back at home. If they all have a list of changes, that’s going to be intimidating before the start button is ever pressed. If you don’t typically have world class players in your tournaments, don’t worry about people exploiting skill shots. If you have to make unusual changes, a note on the apron or backglass is fine.
Not in your area, but I do appreciate your efforts. Thanks.
I disagree here. Make whatever changes will make it play best for the tournament. List them. Dealing with game setups is part of tournament skill
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