AMTEX at PAPA-5, Presents CYBER-CLASH '95 The first World Championship of Pinball Classics -- On Computer! PAPA 5 As many of you know, Cyber-Clash was held in conjunction with PAPA 5 in New York City on Feb 3-5. Some of the hottest new releases from Willams, Bally, Premier and Sega were set a-smokin' there under 3 days of heavy action at the hands of the planet's fiercest pinball wizards as they drove the scores into the 10 digit range. This unbelievable display of prowess both surrounded and permeated the CYBER-CLASH area where Amtex's seven 486's were running the cyber-pinball event. Over the course of PAPA 5, more than 400 masters and newbies swooped in on the two classic games recreated in syntillating detail. Representing two eras of pinball, they became the battlefield on which the first CYBER-CLASH World Championship was fought. CYBER-CLASH TOURNAMENT MACHINES EIGHT BALL DELUXE v2.0 (CD-ROM edition) Bally's Eight Ball Deluxe (1981), re-released earlier this year by Amtex with blueprinted game rules and a re-tuned playfield, was well received for its sheer playing pleasure. Now, skilled hands can play deep into the strategy of this solid-state masterpiece. The tournament's top score on EBD--6.8 million--was achieved by Alan Savinki during qualification. Truly amazing! Unfortunately, Al couldn't maintain this blistering pace during the final frenzied rounds and finished out of the money. Still, he holds the highest score officially recorded on EBD v2.0 and that's quite an accomplishment! ROYAL FLUSH Royal Flush (Gottlieb, 1976), just released, recreates the full experience of electromechanical pinball down to the flashing lights, sounds and scoring quirks of the original solenoid-cam action. Modesty prohibits me from describing just how uncannily true to the experience of the original game this computer version has come. The contest action took place under Tournament Settings (3-ball play, medium TILT sensitivity, 3.5 deg incline, extra ball awards off, factory Special award levels, factory voltage individually set for the flippers, slingshots and jet bumper, and so on) but all these adjustments and more are available behind the Back Box of the virtual machine for custom tuning. Many variations of the machine can be set up, each playing quite differently from the others. Up to 5 can be kept on hand at any given time, complete with separate High Score Screens for each. During CYBER-CLASH qualification, several major-domos actually rolled the game over. Fortunately, this computer version keeps track of scores that exceed the back glass's 5 digit display limit and reveals them on the High Score Screen inside the Pinball Cafe. Kudos to Ted Harris (RF high score at the tournament - 118,900), Gennady Leviton, David Parsons, Frank Mikkelsen and Larry Strange. RAISON D'ETRE Sorry if the detail about the features of the computer simulations seem too much like a plug for our product, but I wanted you to know just how dedicated we are to recreating the experience of REAL pinball. That's why we participated so strongly in PAPA. That's why our aim is to create a viable pinball experience that serious pinball enthusiasts, more than anybody else, will appreciate--both for the realism and satisfaction of the game experience and for the opportunity to see, hear and play milestone games that are not only a pleasure in themselves, but a living part of pinball history. THE COMPETITION Other computer pinball companies are putting out games that are a lot of fun too. I wish them all well, particularly when they do a good job, since they help bring new fans to pinball. If you've enjoyed any of them, don't miss the opportunity to try Eight Ball Deluxe v2.0 or Royal Flush. These two games have something very special about them that serious players will especially appreciate. NEW RELEASES Finally, you should know that development of four more games is coming along. They're all due out by summer, complete with Cafe, Back Box Settings, Pinball Photo Album etc.-- El Dorado, Queen of Hearts, Fireball, and the _MACINTOSH_ edition of Royal Flush (!). FEEDBACK If you have any advice or encouragement for us, let us know now, so we get a chance to incorporate your ideas into these upcoming games. It takes an enormous amount of effort by a lot of people to create each one. Your input can make a difference. Make it public or e-mail myself or Laura, our net liaison-- laura@amtex.com. Thanks to some quick-eyed players, we were alerted to a scoring anomaly in the 3-ball game of Royal Flush within days after its release. This was corrected prior to CYBER-CLASH and an 18K patch file is now available on our BBS in the TECHSUPP library (613-967-9789). It will also be on Compuserve within a day or two. (GO AMTEX). Filename: RFUP1.ZIP. Unzip that into your RF directory, then check README.UP1 to finish. ORDERS Yes! Buy these great pinball classics. We want to be able to make more. If EBD or RF are sold out at your local computer dealer, don't miss out! Drop Laura a note for direct-buy info and special pricing. E-mail laura@amtex.com or phone 1-800-810-7345. THANKS TO ALL WHO TOOK PART IN CYBER-CLASH '95! Thanks especially to STEVE EPSTEIN for his boundless energy and love of pinball, without whom PAPA 5 would never have happened. Also, hats off to Roger Sharpe, Joe Schick, Frank Seninsky, Steve Engel, Rob Rosenhouse and the many other important members of the PAPA team. The BROADWAY ARCADE in New York City just north of Times Square- -in the spotlight recently on the David Letterman show--is the ultimate Mecca of pinball players. Go there, visit, play, say hi to Steve. Make the pilgrimage before your last ball drains. TOURNAMENT RESULTS Here they are, the computer pinball cream of the crop, the gods who divvy up more than $7,500 in prize money and whose names are emblazoned in fiery letters in the computer pinball hall of fame: R.G.P. DIVISION 1st Bowen Kerins 2nd Jeff Kertis 3rd Mike Field 4th Peter Chenevert Honorable mention to Mark Davis, Brian Dominy, Steve Jonke, Sergio Johnson, Bill Kurtz, Dan Rollman, Noel Steere, Larry Strange and Bill Ung, all of whom played some very fine games. SINGLES DIVISION 1st Ted Harris 2nd Claus Svensson 3rd Frank Romero 4th Paul Chan DOUBLES DIVISION 1st Frank Mikkelsen & Claus Svensson 2nd Bowen Kerins & Keith Johnson 3rd Frank Romero & Gig Caprio 4th Gennady Levitan & Kevin Rodriguez Thanks again to everyone who played. We had a terrific time meeting and talking to you. IF YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT TO NEW YORK CITY Don't despair. We *will* have on-line tournaments going just as soon as we can, available for entry from anywhere in the world. It won't be for a few months, though, because first we've got to finish our WWW site. (So much to do, so little time...) Will let you know just as soon as it's done. In the meantime, you can find us on Compuserve (GO AMTEX), BBS (613-967-9789), or e-mail to laura@amtex.com. Best Regards, Ken Dickson Creative Director -- Pinball Simulation Amtex Software Corporation ken.dickson@amtex.com