That’s not how it works. Once warnings are used up, they’re gone and you’ll instantly tilt next time.
All of our games do offer tilt warnings in mystery though, but that behavior can be disabled.
That kind of defeats the whole purpose of the system.
The multi-match is a joyous occasion!
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Game still plays long and is not having an issue. The flippers are weak by design, much like Dialed In, Ripley’s, etc. If you have Pat Lawlor’s contact info, I’d be happy to talk to him.
Hard to complain about flipper power when games are averaging 10+ minutes. Awesome game, but weak flippers bring it down a notch. Especially when there’s a Pat Lawlor game on steroids (JP) a few steps away.
Am I not “in effect” getting like a dozen extra balls per game if my aim is stellar and I hit nearly all my shots instead of putting the ball in danger to begin with? Why am I allowed to play 10x as long as an amateur via aiming skill, but not via nudging skill? (The “me” in question here is not actually me, my aim sucks.)
On modern games, aim and flipper skills have a much higher correlation with long ball times than nudging. Give KME zero tilt warnings on a tight game; let me play the same machine with a loose tilt and two warnings per ball. Guarantee he’s going to play longer, no matter how you count the hypothetical nudge EBs I earn.
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No, because the ball would not have been lost simply by bad aim. In an EM where there are no real shots, just more or less “areas” to shoot towards, the ball is always in peril no matter what. If a ball is heading SDTM as a result of good/“proper” play or as a result of simply missing and only a shove will save it, that’s where the extra-ness comes in for me. The point of the game is to aim and shoot at stuff and deal with the consequences.
But, to continue your example, yes you’d have shorter games no matter what compared to Elwin. If your average ball time is 30s, and his is 90s, I’d much rather the game time difference be 90s v 360s instead of 90s vs 540s. The idea is to lessen the (previously admitted to) gulf between better and worse players.
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Saying I received an “extra ball” for saving with a nudge? I don’t get it… I didn’t earn an extra ball, I simply nudged a ball and it didn’t drain. Good for me that I knew how to do that.
I definitely don’t like tilt warnings across a game but if JJP/keefer want it that way I’m happy for them to be different.
I also don’t agree that players playing long games is that big of a deal. Different locations may have different player bases but I simply don’t see this problem in the coin boxes of my games on location at a typical barcade that serves 100 or more people for every “pinhead” that shows up. I make so little on players playing games that I’m not sure I could even measure a statistical significance. Casual arcade goers who drop a couple bucks into a game, flail around, have a little fun and move on to the next game are where all the money is at and tilt warning settings aren’t going to affect this in any measurable way. I would actually argue that longer playing games have more potential to earn since casual players will feel less like they got robbed when three balls went SDTM or straight out the outlanes. However, IMO theme trumps all of these. Give the customers a theme they will like, regardless of game design and the money will pour in no matter how much/little fun it is and how short/long the game plays. I would also add that a VERY EASY to start multiball by accident feature is more likely have a far greater positive impact on earnings then any attempt to make games harder for seasoned players. But theme still comes first. By a wide margin.
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Are you guys still giving out pity awards on the other end? Did you code pity Lard MB on FGY?
Just curious on the second question. No wrong answer.
You’ve seen me play in CPL, right? 
I think that pity stuff was in a lot of of the DE / SEGA / STERN games.
I think that Some WMS games had pity EB
Don’t forget Pist.
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My vote, with a special place in hell for tournament/league operators who have the ability to change this setting but choose not to. I hate this feature with a burning passion. For me, it messes with one of the basic contracts of pinball. Modern games you get a couple of warnings, older games tilt ends ball, very much older games tilt ends game and you know that going into it. Burning up both your tilt warnings on ball 1 because the game is set stupid and having to worry about immediately dumping every ball from then on due to the slightest vibration is just dumb.
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I feel like someone made a great point that has since been lost in the volume of replies on this subject (sorry for not finding the post and giving credit). There seems to be a certain assumption that we must compare tilt-warning-per-game tables against tilt-warning-per-ball tables with the same sensitivity. I appreciate the variety, even in a tournament setting, that forces you to play differently and adapt to a different challenge. That said, I also avoid those games in tournaments because I suck at nudging and know that I will probably waste my warnings immediately and have zero leeway from there on. Because those games have the same sensitivity as all other modern games in the tournaments I’ve played in.
What I would greatly prefer is set all tilt-warnings-per-ball tables at a base level of sensitivity, and adjust tilt-warnings-per-game tables to be a certain percentage looser. Say 20-30%. You have a little more room if your nudges are a little forceful but are still limited to one big move per game. To me, it really strikes a balance between ‘I feel cheated I can’t save a ball without being in trouble for the rest of the game’ and ‘we need to limit extra ball time provided by nudging and shaking’. Maybe this is something that happens already, but it certainly hasn’t happened in the few big tournaments I’ve been to.
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Yeah, I think one of the most frustrating aspects of per game warnings is that when you step up to the game the first time, you have no idea how sensitive it is and often have no means available with which to test it.
So if your first move is too hard and uses up both dangers, then suddenly you’re done nudging for the rest of the game. With per ball warnings, you can make a mistake on ball one without losing your opportunity to skillfully nudge on subsequent balls.
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Maybe keep warnings-per-game, but move extra-warning awards out of Mystery features and into something you can directly shoot for, similar to relighting a kickback. Doesn’t have to be as easy as a kickback relight, but something the player should be able to control. If you blow your warnings early, at least have a way to get one or two back without relying on RNG.
Keefer, do JJP mystery awards favor tilt warnings if the player has used all of them up, or is it all randomized?
Yes odds get better the further you are from max, and get worse a little each one you’ve used.
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Another possibility (even though I don’t support warnings per game) would be to increase the standard number of warnings for games set that way to 3 or 4. I don’t think for even very sensitive tilts, that all of those warnings could be used on a single aggressive nudge.
This sounds like a nightmare for players. We already don’t know things like code version or whether the game is set for tilt warnings for the entire game, and reality says it’s rare that TDs will post or announce these things ahead of time (if you’re a TD and you do, you are awesome). This feels like another way for players to be put at a disadvantage until someone becomes the sacrificial lamb and exposes the setting for everyone else.
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All JJP games show this setting in Instant Info AFAIK.
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Ah, that’s good to know, thanks!
Wonka says #-warnings and “per game”.
Until a few days ago I was under the assumption it was really “per tilt”. Having the rest of game after a tilt being to-tilt without warnings is way too strict way I see it. And may be very confusing for players.
It is also ballsy. I bet most players who know a bit of pinball already will believe an insta-tilting game is broken.
I do not really see tilt warnings as a commodity you can spend (and earn) strategically as smart bombs etc. are. If the rope between those who nudge and those who do not has to be tighter, one warning per ball/tilt is perhaps the compromise.