The problem here is I may be spending more gold than I want to spend. I wont know how many multipliers I will be getting when I push the button. Most of the time I don’t even know how much gold I have. If I press the button and spend 8000 I might be pissed because I wanted to save most for later.
I think its simpler if when the button is solid red you can look down and at the multiplier lights and know exactly what you would get and how much it will cost for pushing the button. One button push equals one multiplier.
All of this assumes that the person pushing the button is a little savvy. But if they are not they don’t know to push the button.
Are you afraid the player will not know How many more buttons they have this game?
I can’t answer for Cayle, but the reason his suggestion appeals to me is that it counters this: get to large scoring opportunity (probably in multiball) → press button → wait till PFx is about to time out → press button → wait till PFx is about to time out → press button → etc.
You can get a full minute and a half of PFx without needing to take risky shots at the ram (which is dangerous and interrupts your other scoring opportunities). And since you’re in MB, you’ll be picking it up as you go which allows you to keep extending it.
Using it all in one go limits the insane scoring opportunity to a much shorter window of time.
I get that. It’s still insanely powerful to be able to string it out like that. Particularly in a mode where values are summing toward a collect value (like HOTK).
In AC/DC, VIP passes giving you hits to the bell provided the same benefit. You could only realistically get 3-5 VIP passes per game…and each shot only gave you 1/3 of a PFx (three hits to start PFx), up to a max of 3 PFx. That functionality was removed from the code because all anyone did was play Hells Bells. (Now VIP passes won’t give you bell hits anymore…although you can earn that as a one time benefit through skillful play).
4 per game only is plenty hard imo. I agree with others that we are getting too far away from fun because the top players might be able to cash in big with it.
We will be using new code Friday and we’ve decided to force everyone to play Tyrell this week. Remember there’s always that option for the TD and that’s good.
Not sure there’s a way to nerf this cool new rule and have it be hard for the top players, but still be really fun for the non top players.
The only GOT nearby that updated the code also happens to have lightning flippers and a sneeze tilt, so I’m gonna take any advantage I can of Lannister in its current state.
One thing I’ve learned on this newer code. A player who has gotten good at the magna-save button on BKSOR will do well with Baratheon. If not, you should probably pick another house.
I think it should be higher (like it was in the new code reveal stream), but when the stream aired it seemed like it was too high. But IMO that wasn’t CMB scoring as much as it was using Lannister to get the PFX up. I re-watched the stream and this is what Keith scored…
Castle MB - 800M total (score at end of MB compared to at start)
Blackwater MB - 1B total
So Keith scored 25% more in BWMB, and he didn’t even stack any modes with it - which you can’t do in CMB, so even more potential in BWMB. I think since CMB is more difficult to start and to play, it should be worth more than BWMB. I think Castle MB scoring is now less than half what it was when Keith got 25% more than BWMB in the stream.
FYI - the earlier code had CMB Supers starting at 15M, +10M per SJP (max 50M) - the new code is 5M, +5M
I understand why this seems like a “simple” rule, but unless I’m missing some obvious examples, X uses per game of an unearned ability is a concept we haven’t really seen before in pinball. (Other than the aforementioned tilt warnings in JJP games).
Instead of just giving away multipliers, Lannister’s button could lower the total amount of hits to the battering ram for each multiplier level. 1 press, all multipliers need 3x hits to light instead of 4x hits, 2 presses needs 2x hits for each multiplier level and so on. Make each level cost 1000 gold.
Simple idea w/ House Lannister:
Can only be used once per ball.
When you hit the apron button, you cash your gold in up to how much gold you’ve collected.
For example: if you’ve collected enough gold for 4x playfield multiplier during your ball, when you hit the apron button it automatically fires to 4x pf multiplier.
End of story. Super easy to understand. I think that would drastically help exploited gameplay.
Cause now, it’s way too lucrative having 2x pf running, then 3x for awhile, then 4x for awhile, then finally 5x for awhile. Imo, WAY TOO MUCH gameplay time being multiplied. That would greatly resolve exploited HOTK/Iron Throne gameplay.
Because I’m sure Dwight wants even more suggestions from the peanut gallery, here goes.
Each button press buys a single hit on the battering ram. No limit, 1k gold for the first one, each additional hit goes up 250 or so. Price resets to 1k at the beginning of each ball. Still powerful when timed well, can be used in conjunction with physical ram hits, but ridiculously expensive to buy your way to 5x.
Player doesn’t need to know anything about the backend math or track hits per game. If the button is red, you can buy a hit.
Fine print: this doesn’t buy other things lit at the ram, only playfield X advances.
I think it’s more fun and interesting to earn powerful items/abilities through gameplay. There are reasons why video games don’t start you off with a rocket launcher and a handful of rockets. You have to do something difficult to acquire it.
Hadn’t thought about this till just now, but a consequence of giving out Lannister Multipliers at first plunge is that you could score a billion point Martel in 9 shots without ever putting the ball at risk (ie: no gold targets, rams, lock targets, or drops).
Lannister would be neutered for long games, but would be supercharged for short games. Any mode is now worth hundreds of millions or more in a few shots.
Current rules make for exponential scoring increases for long games. Giving the multipliers for free at the beginning massively ramps up all early game scoring and then drops it off a cliff at the end.
It’s not possible to have free hits to the button.
The button starts off for Lannister. Collect the required gold, then it lights up red. Press it for 2x. Collect the amount of gold to buy 3x, then it lights red again. Press to buy 3x.
You cannot go past that until you’ve collected at least one sword.
The multipliers increase in price as you buy further levels.
In the beta we’re testing now, it’s much harder to collect gold and the price for the multipliers is much higher.
I just played a couple good games as Lannister last night. Not once when I had a good lucrative shot setup, did I have anywhere near enough gold to buy my way to 5x.
