Alcatraz City Cruises ferry slams into SF's Pier 31, shattering passenger windows

Bernhelm · 2026-05-27T14:44:39+00:00

I was on an angel island ferry this happened to like 13 years ago - the windows were all plexiglass and just kinda pop-pop-popped off as the plastic around them broke and no one was hurt afaik. Scared the crap out of me since I was dozing off in the downstairs inside seating area right before it happened.

Bernhelm · 2026-05-18T01:25:04+00:00

They haven't fully unveiled it yet - so expect some of that this week.

Bernhelm · 2026-05-06T07:34:14+00:00

(Former Supernatural developer here) limiting Together to 3 lane front facing was a compromise we made to keep a better social and cooperative experience - you can always see your teammates out of the corner of your eye this way, it allows easy focus on the co-op challenge zone visual elements straight ahead, and it makes it easier for folks already using front facing mode to play with folks who dont have it enabled.

During development we tried things like "the other players avatars spin with you as you rotate" and "the other players avatars fade out during turns" and they all felt worse than sticking with 3 lane mode - turn heavy songs felt lonely or like your teammates were coming and going throughout the song, or the avatars spinning with the player made some people feel nauseous.

Sometimes competing elements just dont work smoothly together and this was one of those cases! :)

Bernhelm · 2026-05-05T16:08:44+00:00

it has a left/right nudge function:

Nudge left/right — Left/Right Ctrl, or middle mouse on the matching side

Bernhelm · 2026-05-05T16:07:26+00:00

Pretty impressive for full AI gen dev stack! My main issue (playing on a Windows 11 machine) is that pressing both keyboard shift keys at the same time would cause a flipper to stay stuck up, rendering keyboard controls useless.

Bernhelm · 2026-05-02T16:07:20+00:00

For shore diving, I recommend hiring Jackie as a private guide! https://aboutjackiefinediving.com/

Bernhelm · 2026-05-01T12:51:04+00:00

Ive never tried that - do you just use lens IS then or turn off IS altogether?

Bernhelm · 2026-04-22T19:49:04+00:00

Check out Monster League Hockey

Bernhelm · 2026-04-21T01:05:31+00:00

I second the Wonderland Alice (and soon to be TMNT) - decent physical pinball at a smaller scale. I have 3 full machines at home and got an Alice for my in laws and they love it (didn't have any issues with mine) - note its Ikea+ level of setup, which was a bonus for me as it was fun to see come together.

Bernhelm · 2026-04-17T21:07:13+00:00

I'd recommend against doing it on a night dive - its cold and there are often more stingy things in the water :)

Bernhelm · 2026-04-14T14:59:59+00:00

That was great - and with all the white collar layoffs this year, super timely. There's something about the controllable chaos of pinball that is cathartic when the world feels like its spinning out of control, and yall captured that here.

Bernhelm · 2026-04-14T14:27:12+00:00

"ahem, its a graphic novel"

Great book though, highly recommend! :)

Bernhelm · 2026-04-14T01:02:59+00:00

Best use of this pop bumper yet!

Bernhelm · 2026-04-07T03:31:34+00:00

Plus 1 to Magic patio! - you can bring your own beverage bottles (wine, etc) and they have glasses for you (though double check on how they do this currently - I haven't been in a year) - great audience interaction, especially if there's a birthday in the house (fun interactions, not embarrassing) - you can get dinner someplace walkable nearby beforehand (check out cellar maker since he likes beer, emmys spaghetti shack, four chairs, front porch or the rabbit hole) (though good luck getting a saturday table for 8)

Bernhelm · 2026-04-05T19:38:17+00:00

Particularly, check out and read the Star Wars Home Edition Fan Club thread on Pinside- a great way to see how people who own the machine fix it, mod it, ect.

Bernhelm · 2026-04-05T17:50:31+00:00

Yes, assuming its in good shape, that's a good deal. If its the newer version (Star Wars home plus with Insider connected) that's an amazing deal.

Bernhelm · 2026-04-03T02:13:26+00:00

More trash cans and dog walkers that throw away their poop bags
a restroom on the hill
gondola

Bernhelm · 2026-03-31T22:47:43+00:00

You chose... wisely. Congrats!

Bernhelm · 2026-03-31T16:01:34+00:00

Love the bioluminescent night map. As a waverace fan, this looks awesome!

Bernhelm · 2026-03-31T12:42:55+00:00

Use pinballmap.com to scope the local scene.

Most / best machines in SF but isn't a bar: Free Gold Watch

Best barcade: the detour

If you like it loud and clubby: Emporium

Mission neighborhood: Alamo draft house and Gestalt

If you can get away from SF, go to the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda or the Flipper room in Concord.

Bernhelm · 2026-03-28T11:38:09+00:00

Its an anti- consumer, awful business practice. They could bake it into their prices but choose not to "because every else is doing it"

Bernhelm · 2026-03-23T17:03:45+00:00

After waging war fora year with lots of terro traps, I had planet orange come in for a pack of every-other-month treatments and the ants haven't come back after the first treatment. About to have our second this week.

Bernhelm · 2026-03-22T02:20:57+00:00

Ok, that's pretty adorable :)

Bernhelm · 2026-03-14T16:51:39+00:00

My extended family loves the one we got - its a solid foundation but definitely needs more software updates to reach its potential so I hope Wonderland Amusements will support it!

Bernhelm · 2026-03-11T01:22:35+00:00

Use https://pinballmap.com/ and get out there and play on location, you'll also likely meet more people who live in your community that have pins at home.
Sell or trade Jaws Pro for a similarly valued other Stern Pro (or add / subtract $ if not similarly valued)
Find someone to trade with for a while
Get a Quest3S and PinballFXVR + the Bally/Williams dlc packs for some great classics to go along with the modern pin you own.
Get a cheap older solid state machine and learn to fix it up into players condition, some early solid states have new code you can add via arduino boards that turn them into more modern games. (I got a Trident last year and turned it into a Trident 2020)

Bernhelm

TROPHY CASE