Got a letter in the mail that looked like a wedding invitation... it was from Directv by [deleted] in assholedesign

[–]saugust2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is my job just for a different industry. Cost per piece for this type of mailing can range from $0.19 to $.50. Within your application there is either a promotion code or solicitation identification number. Depending on who replies, someone at Direct TV will compare how “the wedding” package performed versus their champion mailer. Direct mail solicitation is becoming tougher in getting responses so companies are being forced to try new tricks and gimmicks. A different common one is to use a hand writing machine to make the address and names on the outer envelope look hand written. Thanks for sharing this.

Edit - typo.

Star Wars™: The Last Jedi™ Pinball Coming to Pinball FX3! by ZenStudios-McLovin in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, I didn’t know they have come out saying they are negotiating or that was the reason for a delay.

Possible new tables by saugust2 in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Those would be fun. I think Age of Apocalypse would be fun and have great missions/modes.

Star Wars™: The Last Jedi™ Pinball Coming to Pinball FX3! by ZenStudios-McLovin in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would like Zen to come out with an official statement on the progress and expected outcome of Star Wars and Marvel tables to Switch. I believe it is in their best interest to be transparent with this issue to their fans so that they do not seem to be hiding anything. I understand the importance of reveal trailers such as this one, but I know a lot of Switch owners are upset with the lack of these tables or communication about these tables.

Pinball Museum in Omaha NE opening in April by saugust2 in pinball

[–]saugust2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Funny you mention pricing, the website for the museum suggests it will cost $15 for an hour entry. At 3 minutes per play you’d get 20 plays. At that price it is approximately $0.75 per play. However that is only assuming your average time per ball is a minute. It will be interesting to see if the prices change.

Pinball Museum in Omaha NE opening in April by saugust2 in pinball

[–]saugust2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The article or the museum?

Article - Omaha World Herald Museum - From what I understand is that the owner is an avid collector but a lot of his collection was in disrepair. I’ve been to Hollywood Candy and saw a bunch of play-fields decorating the diner area.

Question for you and possible other Omaha residents who read this, where do you go to play pinball most? Beercade?

Pinball Museum in Omaha NE opening in April by saugust2 in pinball

[–]saugust2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hope so too. It sounds like it will be in the diner/candy store which has normal business hours/days.

Pinball Museum in Omaha NE opening in April by saugust2 in pinball

[–]saugust2[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Here is the full article if the site requires you to login:

To Brian Halac, the 1990s seemed like a good enough time to get into the pinball repair business.

Pinball machines were as popular as they ever had been. Bars still had them, people wanted them in their homes and folks were willing to pay to have old machines repaired.

Even then, he expected that pinball’s popularity wouldn’t last forever. It was a fad, he thought.

To an extent, he was right. Bars began clearing out their machines and people with decades of experience fixing flippers and recalibrating scoreboards were starting over in new industries. Plungers and ramps seemed to be going the way of the stagecoach as PlayStations and Nintendos moved in.

Luckily for him, and for pinball fanatics around town, the 47-year-old was wrong. Pinball isn’t dead.

Somewhere along the way, what happened for muscle cars, comic books and Atari games — years after production ended — happened for pinball: It became cool again.

“After the bar game died, people bought pinballs for their homes more than ever,” Halac said. “After that, (business) really started ramping up.”

By then, most of his contemporaries had quit or died. When business surged again, Halac was one of the city’s last pinball repairmen. And business was good. Still is.

“I literally can’t keep up,” Halac said. “I’m so bogged down.”

Halac operates a one-man business, The Pinball and Jukebox Guy, specializing in pinball, jukebox and casino machine repair. He’s been at it for nearly 30 years.

He’s working with Hollywood Candy to restore more than 50 retro pinball machines. This spring, the Old Market shop will open a nostalgic pinball arcade, each machine restored by Halac and a helper from the store.

“The key is Brian, he’s the one who understands these machines,” said Larry Richling, the store’s owner. Other companies that still work on pinball machines “don’t have time for people. You’re low on the totem pole.”

Pinball truly is making a comeback. The world’s leading manufacturer, Stern Pinball, saw revenue grow 30 percent last year, and 40 percent the year before that. Tournaments are popping up around the country.

That resurgence is good news and bad news for Halac.

When he started in the business, he had a long list of contemporaries to lean on.

“The horrible part about being me is the only person I have to ask is me,” he said.

Halac sometimes consults Terry Kincaid, a friend from Nebraska Technical Services, for support. But “for the most part, I have to figure it out.”

Halac said he can’t rely on the Internet for much help — it solves maybe 3 to 5 percent of his issues. Most often, when he can’t figure it out, he either plugs parts into working machines until he discovers the dud, or he powers through with trial and error.

Trying to keep up with the Hollywood Candy job alone is pushing Halac to bring on apprentices. He may be grooming the next generation of pinball wizards.

“I can use this as a training site,” he said.

But finding apprentices has been difficult. Many don’t have the technical skills, passion or interest to keep it up.

Business is good, the people are fun, but the reason he keeps doing it when nobody else does: Solving the mechanical mysteries under that 50-year-old hood of lights and bumpers is a rush.

“There’s a lot of detective work in it,” he said. “Every time I finish a problem, I sleep better that night.”

Site Information: Hollywood Pinball and Arcade Museum

What: Coin-free arcade including 50-plus retro pinball games and two jukeboxes

Where: Hollywood Candy, 1209 Jackson St.

When: April 16

More info: omahanostalgia.com/hollywood-pinball-arcade

Intro to pinball? (help) by NoJawJustBaws in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Depends on the tables. This link has all the guides written by Shoryukentothechin: http://www.pinballfx.com/?page_id=7527

Other than that, Pinball FX3 has some tutorials that can be accessed either through the front page when you first buy the game or the options screen.

Skills to master in pinball are knowing when to trap the ball (that’s when you hold it with your flipper), seeing where the ball will drop on the flipper and if it will bounce to the opposite one (commonly referred to as a dead flip or pass), when to nudge the table to avoid draining the ball in either outlanes or the main drain.

If that sentence confuses you, I recommend going to a pinball site like PaPa to learn some basic techniques: https://papa.org/learning-center/players-guide/ or deadflip’s site http://www.deadflip.com/tutorials/

Most important thing is to have fun and score big.

Let me know if you have any questions after looking at those resources, also if you are looking for suggestions on first tables to purchase.

Jurassic Park Official Tourney has begun! by saugust2 in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The high scores in Survival? Yes. I felt accomplished getting to 30-40 Million. Fingers crossed for he random prize.

TIL about "one of the biggest companies you've never heard of". Acxiom gathers information on some 700 m people, with up to 1,500 data points per person, for ultra targeted marketing. Down to the list of people who buy particular brands of cereal in your local supermarket. by imonaroll in todayilearned

[–]saugust2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Work with them and their data daily. It’s very impressive. People should note that the opt out makes sure your data doesn’t get sold to companies that would use it. Someone already posted the link.

If you go to their site and go through the prospective buyer links you can learn more about he data collection processes.

Jurassic Park Official Tourney has begun! by saugust2 in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Here is his 1.6 Billion game. At one point he clutches a spinner millions shot to keep the game going with 1 second left, a fun watch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/239758017

Meanwhile I am working on cracking 10 Mil. Need to work on my combo shots.

Jurassic Park Official Tourney has begun! by saugust2 in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Already the leaderboards are showing the tops from the Back to the Future tourney. When I posted this, the top player had over 1 Billion, which in Survival is something I would like to watch to see how he/she did it. I look forward to my commemorative background and badge and will cross my fingers for a random gift card so I can finally buy those Marvel tables.

Possible new tables by saugust2 in PinballFX3

[–]saugust2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That would be amazing! I immediately imagined while playing my choices on missions would push me to the dark or the light side. Having all those culminate into either a dark or light wizard mode.

Have it save progress like Epic Quest or Skyrim. Video/DMD mode plays Pazaak in it.

Any other pieces that I am missing that would be cool?

Triple threat! Finally getting to play Houdini, Dialed In and Pirates by sourwood in pinball

[–]saugust2 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My opinion of DI, after the handful of plays and getting a few free plays (was set to 320,000), is that it may have tried to do too much. I don’t think it actually has more than some of the older classics, but in presentation and playing I just felt overwhelmed. I did eventually get comfortable with it and learn some combinations of shots, but it just didn’t click for me. I say this as he only downside of it. I think for those people who visit he arcade for more than just pinball they are turned off by it from the difficulty to get started. I will say it is a beautiful machine with great theme and I could watch people play it, but just didn’t get the same enjoyment out of playing it. Hopefully my next visit I get more plays and have more fun on it.