I don’t have a game I can pull the glass on so I’ve been doing this the hard way, but as far as I can tell the level is the same for all players whether a player has done anything to advance the level or not. So if I play video mode at level one as player one and player two gets video mode it will be at level two. It’s only a difference of five million in base value though. So over the course of a single game it won’t have a big effect but over the course of a long day of play it could if the level doesn’t reset between games.
@COW Are you sure you’re playing the latest code. I’ve never seen anything like this, and I have one on location. It gets shut off every night, but it’s on for 12+ hours at a time.
Does the GOT you’re playing ever get shut off? What you’re describing sounds like it is not resetting between players or games…and maybe if that machine never gets turned off then it has increased levels up past the point of confusion. 
To be honest, I almost never play video mode, and I rarely see others playing it. I’ve never changed anything about video mode in the settings, so mine are whatever is the default. But I’m certain I’ve never seen anything as crazy as you’re seeing.
1 Like
I will double check that it is on 1.34 code tomorrow. And, no, I don’t think the game I play gets turned off very often so the video mode level eventually got out of control. Although I played one today at another location and aside from being very stingy about offering video mode as a mystery option it behaved the same way–video mode level went up after a win and the increased level held over between games.
This is already a lot of column inches for a video mode that no one seems to play, but I think it may have gone unnoticed because:
1: People turn their games off so the level never gets out of control.
2: It may not behave this way in tournament settings (I have no idea).
3: Even if you’re on a long session of GoT the level has maybe only gone up 4 levels so why it’s sometimes 20mil and sometimes 40mil of base value wasn’t a big enough issue to wonder about.
4: No one plays for video mode because that is crazy.
It’s not absurd to think that 30 people could get video mode during an entire day of qualifying. It is absurd to think someone trying to qualify late in the day walks up to a GoT that 30 people have already played video mode on, comes out of mutiball with 3X playfield, gets 3X video mode as an option and gets 1.3 billion for mashing buttons whereas the first person to play video mode that day under similar circumstances would have only received 180mil.
I’ve only just got my GoT, but isn’t there a setting where you can turn video mode of as an option?
If so that seems to be mandatory now in tournaments, unless the Tournament setting itself takes care of this bug?
1 Like
Yes you can turn it off in the settings. Should be in the feature settings.
2 Likes
What, you want to turn off one of the most riveting video modes in the history of pinball? Really?! 
3 Likes
No kidding… I wish Steve would just quit trying. As great as his pins are, I don’t think he’s ever managed to create a fun video mode. I think his brother Mark absolutely nailed it with Fish Tales and it’s been downhill ever since. Please Stern, stop wasting programming resources on these silly things!
2 Likes
The one on Star Wars is pretty darn good.
1 Like
Is it? I got to it once during a league game but don’t remember it being especially good or bad. Haven’t played SW recently so will try to check it out.
Of the games I worked with Steve, Steve has had very little to do with the design. There is discussion but if you don’t like them you should blame me.
Although GOT was mostly Steves idea. : – )
PS - I love the VM on Star Wars and I thought the VM on T2 was good too.
6 Likes
How about a list of good video modes? Some that I like:
Fish Tales - Torpedo everything on the lake
Shadow - Don’t get spiked
Indiana Jones - Pick the correct cup
Johnny Mnemonic - Chase the dots
Getaway - Enjoy a Sunday afternoon drive
Dracula - Shoot dinner
Junk Yard - Bad doggie, bad!
The cantina bar mode and the cart mode are way better on IJ.
JM’s video mode reminds me why I’m a pinball player and not an arcade player. Haha
SW’s VM has grown on me big time. Especially since I figured out there being no limit to going right or left.
Hi Dwight, gimme a sec, let me swing this blame-o-cannon around your way…
Seriously, I don’t mind VMs that are a challenge and over with quickly, but I owned NF, STTNG and HS2, and each games’ VM gave me reason to dislike it more than usual:
HS2: you can exploit the fact your car can only occupy one lane at a time. Move next to the transition point and cars are easy to dodge with simple taps, especially since most will come down the lane you’re next to, not in. Basically a free 20M, even with the shortest possible timer.
STTNG: LLRRLLRLR … free 170M for memorizing a pattern (and you kinda gotta do it in competition, since the others will do it)
NF, not sure if there were patterns, it was just slow compared to the actual pinball game and took too long to finish.
Never owned a T2 but from location play that one satisfied the “over with quick” part and was relatively straightforward.
I’m really happy to hear that people like the SW video mode… VMs can be fun if they’re challenging and quick. I’m not just picking on Steve… even AFM’s tribute to Paratrooper (which should be really cool) is bad because you just use the sweep method to finish and it takes a while to get through both phases… more wasted pinball time.
Re: GOT video mode, is it a homage to Swashbuckler?
From your comments here, I think I know exactly what type of video mode to put in a game.
For a random duration between 1 and 2 seconds, I’m going to randomize the pixel color of every pixel on the screen, and do this for a random number of frames (integer between 5 and 10).
Then I’m going to pop up a giant question mark on the screen.
A random button will give you a screen that says “you win!” and 10 points.
The other buttons, or no input after2 seconds will say “you lose!” and give you 0 points.
Mainplay will then resume.
3 Likes
Can’t believe no one has mentioned the “save the babies from crows with your pitchfork” video mode on MM.
1 Like
Everyone is just shooting castles all day, so they never get it 
5 Likes
You have to remember that those games were designed and programmed specifically to go on location, where the learning curve is a lot longer. Zero consideration for home buyers. Today the home buyer is definitely a consideration when programming. Options are added specifically for home buyers.
Was there any options for 90’s VM other than easy/med/hard? Can you turn off one of the VM in GB?
Somebody should do a tutorial for SW’s VM. The only time I went crash free, I was at 40x and got almost 500B. Haven’t been close or error free since.
1 Like
I don’t mind the VM in GOT as you can pass on it. And, if you do decide to play, it only lasts like 3-5 seconds. That’s why I love it, not forced to play and it’s over before you know it - I never feel like, ‘oh god, here’s the video mode again’ like I do on some games.
Now to change topic; I’ve owned my GOT PRO for 2 1/2 years and you know what I am finally realizing,…? House Baratheon is the strongest house in the game for consistent high scoring. Discuss…
(Yes, I am serious)
What’s a consistent high score? (For the record I never choose baratheon)
I think you mean 500m.