Blahcade Podcast

After covering some brief news items we dive into some first experiences with virtual pinball cabinets and then have a great chat with Mike from Farsight Studios about the new Stern Pinball Arcade VR release on Oculus Rift. We round out the show with an announcement about our new merchandise: it's not just Tshirts this time.See https://blahcadepinball.com/151-stern-vr-interview for detailed show notes and links to things we talk about.

It’s been a MASSIVE month for digital pinball fans. So many forum posts, podcast episodes to digest, posts to read, and beta builds to play (if you’re on Steam).We take a step back from the hamster wheel and talk about some questions that we’ve been thinking about from when the FX3 Williams Pinball announcement went public.If you’re wondering what we’re talking about, go back and listen to the last couple of episodes and you’ll be ready to listen to this one.Check out https://blahcadepinball.com/150-zen-williams-pinball-retro for detailed show notes and links to stuff we talk about in this episode.

In this podcast, we have a huge chat with Mel Kirk from Zen Studios.Nothing is really off-limits in the interview and we use that to our advantage to ask questions that have been burning a hole in our minds for years now.There's nothing more to say really, apart from getting on with the job of listening.See https://blahcadepinball.com/149-mel-kirk-zen-interview for detailed notes about what we're talking about in the show. 

In this podcast, we'll dive into some speculation about how the evolution of the Williams and Bally licence properties changed hands over time. We're also going to focus in on some evidence-backed timings that are critical in understanding how the changeover between Farsight and Zen may have happened.There's also coverage of the FX3 Williams Pinball public beta to go through, including some opinions about how the DNA of the Alpha is being diluted in the Beta. Also, a big welcome to all our new listeners. It's great to have you along for the ride during this exciting time in digital pinball.See http://blahcadepinball.com/148-wms-license-speculation-time for full details about the show.

You need to head over to https://blahcadepinball.com/147-zen-studios-wms-license for the summary. It's just too big to fit in the editor. OMG, its epic!

Out of the blue, we get a request to talk digital pinball with a game studio. Of course we're going to say "hell yes" to that. The Community Manager from Magic Pixel gives us some welcome news about what's in store for fans of Magic Pixel's Zaccaria Pinball.We round out the show with some fun from the Netherworld Sideshow and a surprising turn of events at Chris' Tournament he attended recently.See http://blahcadepinball.com/146-mart-from-magic-pixel for detailed show notes and pictures and links of what we talk about in the episode.

It sucks, doesn't it? There really isn't a lot happening in the world of digital pinball at the moment. When this happens, we always seem to find stuff we can put into a show. So get your glass filled with the lemonade of what lemons are around: it still tastes good.See http://blahcadepinball.com/145-did-you-miss-us for show notes and the usual links to show topics.

Still no news about what's happening with WMS, so in this episode, we go back in time to one of the first table releases that Zen Studios published: El Dorado. We delve into the history of releases that Zen Studios have produced and how their table design DNA almost marry up with the history of pinball table design in real life.See http://blahcadepinball.com/144-zen-through-the-ages for show notes and segment timings.

How can four little words spark so much rumor and speculation? We investigate the four little words show friend Brad Baker from VPCabs uttered about WMS Licences. We also check in on Zen and how they freely allow commercial use of their games (for the right price, of course).Farsight have released the re-organised pack structures, and people are grabbing their pitchforks. We offer some suggestions about how to overcome the problem.See http://blahcadepinball.com/143-four-little-words for show notes and links.

Because the Pinball Arcade Fans forum has evolved over the years, we are at the point where we need a name change. If you can give the community a leg-up with that, then weigh into the thread.The main event this week is the leak from Steam that reveals the most downloaded games, based on titles with Steam achievements. There are some surprises in the mix that even had us a little confused. All are linked in the notes for you to click through and check them out.Check out http://blahcadepinball.com/142-leaky-pinball-valve for links to every game we talk about in the episode, along with episode timings.

Well, it's official. You can no longer purchase WMS tables from Farsight. It's a bit of a sad day and an end of an era for Farsight Studios, but it could be the beginning of a brand new phase for the studio. Time will tell.We shirk the bad vibes and have a chat with Greg Holden from Spacies Arcade, who did a great YouTube Vlog on the Arcooda Video Pinball cabinet. He's got a host of great questions from the communities' viewpoint, which makes for a great perspective and a great show.http://blahcadepinball.com/141-spacies-fireside-chat for show notes, and links to Greg's Vlog.

We get straight into the thick of it this week with a deep-dive into how the Kinect Views on the Arcooda Video Pinball cabinet actually work in reality. There are some definite caveats to the feedback Chris has about the cabinet version Farsight have, and we're pretty transparent about these in the show. If you're on the fence about putting money down on the cabinet, and don't have time to listen to the show at the moment we both feel it would be safe to do so.To find out why, you'll just have to listen.Make sure to check out http://blahcadepinball.com/140-arcooda-cabinet-hands-on for show notes and extensive linking to things we talk about.

We have a mixture of things to talk about on the show, but the highlight is news about the cabinet pricing for Arcooda.We also think about what it would take for us to re-purchase a table in TPA if it was re-released by another company (we still live in hope someone has picked up the license).See http://blahcadepinball.com/139-fully-sicario-bro for show notes and links to what we talk about in this episode.

Chris found a new thing on Steam this week that shows a lot of promise for platformer fans who like a pinball aesthetic.  Arcooda have got their Arcooda Pinball Arcade product into the hands of cabinet enthusiasts.   It's early on, but there is definitely the framework for an excellent product and development is rapidly progressing.  Check out http://blahcadepinball.com/138-yokus-island for show notes and links to all the stuff we talk about on the show.  

This episode we’re joined by Mike Lindsey from FarSight to talk about Arcooda and a bit more about what you might see in the future from FarSight.See http://blahcadepinball.com/chat-with-mike-wms for show notes and segment times.

It’s time for the inevitable speculation podcast after news as big as the one in the previous episode.We explore which companies could theoretically take over the WMS mantle if Scientific Games renegotiate the WMS property.Come along for the ride and you may get the bug like we have after exploring the possibilities.See http://blahcadepinball.com/wms-successors for the show notes and timing points.

With news as big as the cessation of sale of Bally Williams tables, we could only really do one thing: get someone from Farsight on to explain exactly what the heck is going on. Bobby King joins us in this bumper episode to explain everything. We then offer some commentary after the interview.Of particular note to cabinet owners is that Arcooda has now gone live with an opportunity to get deeply integrated cabinet support on Steam. http://blahcadepinball.com/bobby-king-wms-license has all the timing points and discussion items.

After a longer than usual break we return with some calm before the ensuing storm. This episode was recorded two weeks before the WMS licensing issue announcement went public. So this episode doesn’t cover that.There’s some news about us then some news about Zen and their Star Wars: The Last Jedi release which is a breath of fresh air.Farsight has also been busy with some update action to Pinball Cadet, Pinball Tournaments, and Pinball Arcade. We’ll give you the low down there.We round out the show with some restoration news. Keep your ears tuned in for the first in a series of episodes exploring the lows and highs of the recent WMS licensing termination Farsight is currently dealing with in the next few days.Check out the show notes and timings at http://blahcadepinball.com/aaach-toe

It’s been a very eventful week for us.Brain surgeries, changes in working arrangements, and lots of pinball.Jared is doing this on an Android tablet so please understand that there is very little post production in this, and future episodes until he gets a MacBook again.

We’re baaaack! After a long break because life happens, we return with a long show full of pinball. You’ll get news about Zen tables on the horizon, some more gameplay thoughts on the iOS Pinball Tournaments app by Farsight and Skillz, and some IRL pinball tourney action to round out the show.Check out http://blahcadepinball.com/life-and-pinball-happens for show notes and other cool info.