honest review 👍 I agree. What an incredible line up in tables but I'm disappointed 1up went cheap and pin isn't 1080p 60fps so I passed for Atgames pin that can play these same Williams tables from my laptop at 1080p 60fps using otg mode. I do like the DMD though.
I hear where your coming from with White Water and the 1080P image being washed out. It does bother me that I can't read the text on the playfield and that some of the colors are to brightened up. For the most part though pretty happy with my Attack From Mars Pin and really enjoy playing it. I give it a good 8/10 for there first go
At least someone else gets it. Yes the tables got a couple of shortcomings but it still f****** buried the basement dwelling Marvel and Star Wars. Not even actual pins but made up junk. I do believe they'll release an upgrade at somepoint.
@@philsavage9127 they will and it will be a legend or 40th anniversary cab. They did the same stuff with the stand ups. Then the community will get all bent out of shape.
This was an honest review. However, it is one based upon Restalgia's preferences for himself. That is something we should not lose sight of. One should not make a purchasing decision based upon another's opinion of a machine. I see way too many people cancel their orders for a particular game based upon a youtube reviewer's opinion of the machine. I remember being hesitant in buying the Marvel and Star Wars pinballs due to reviewer complaints about the screen size, dmd , resolution and nudging technology. Some time ago, I was very hesitant in buying Golden Tee because of complaints about pixelated graphics. I went ahead and purchased those machines anyway and found that, at least for my family, those issues did not pose any problems whatsoever. We love those machines in addition to all the other 1up machines we have. This makes a strong argument for purchasing these machines from Walmart or Best Buy. If you don't like them, you have 30 days to return them to the nearest Walmart store and 14 days to return them to the nearest Best Buy store. And I have heard of people returning their cabs in a built condition. I think calling someone a "fake UA-camr," dishonest, or some kind of 1up apologist because they think a particular machine is good in their opinion is grossly unfair. Everyone is entitled to their individual point of view and everyone's point of view may be different. I was very surprised to see popular youtuber, Kongs R Us, recently say no one should buy the Atgames Legend pinball unless they planned on modding it. That was first time I had ever seen a negative review of that pinball (and I've seen many, many of them). But again, that is HIS opinion of the machine as it PERTAINS TO HIM. I guess some people reading my comments above will say I am somehow fake or dishonest in my assessment of the Marvel and Star Wars pinballs. So be it. That would just like someone who hates chocolate ice cream saying I am being fake or dishonest when I say I like chocolate ice cream. It makes no sense.
Lets just get the elephant right out in the open..... The primary motivating factors in most channels set up as "review video" channels is MONEY. I don't mean just arcade stuff, but across the whole UA-cam World in every single product or service industry. You name it. It's EVERYTHING! Its the pursuit of getting hooked in with certain brands... to become an "influencer"... with the end goal of turning the enterprise into a FULL TIME job with a monthly revenue stream by getting companies to " sponsor" their video time, get preferential treatment and a lot of FREE swag and products...a $%&# ton of FREE PRODUCT!! When "opinions" are clouded by the thought of both gaining... and LOSING out on MONEY... or even a little bit of "notoriety" or "fame" you will never have honest and sincere commentary on ANY subject.
Thanks for this comment. I 100 percent agree, this is my opinion and nobody should only watch my video and make a decision solely off that (although I try to be as honest as I can). At the end of the day, we all have different expectations and applications for these products. Some times good enough is just good enough, and if it's good enough for you and your family, then that's really all that matters. 😁
Louis I agree and I think people should give their opinion. It actually helped me buy marvel even though xmen was supposed to be my last lolol. Good post louis as always. I like my marvel pinball 🙂
I pre-ordered this machine February 1. I am a pinball nut who has neither the money or space for a real pinball machine. After ordering I started to have misgivings about some quality/dependability issues. I reluctantly cancelled my order about a week ago. Still sad about it but now, feel I did the right thing. I will order another one, even if more expensive, once improvements are made. Thank you for your honest review!!
I am intrigued by your comment and would like some feedback on your thought process here if you don't mind. I assume you are in the US. If I am correct there is next to zero price difference between the @Games Legends and an A1UP table in the US. From any logical standpoint, the ALP is a feature rich, expandable, OPEN platform where if it were to be only virtual pinball machine you were to ever own you would still be futureproofed in many respects. Yet it doesn't sound like you have even considered the ALP instead. Why is that? I honestly am trying to understand this one brand only mentality... Especially considering their spokesman was supposedly forced into a "sabbatical" after basically referring to his customer base as something along the lines of being.... "Whining crack heads"... or was it " heroin addicts"?? I just don't get this.
@@canadaphil6068 I did consider the ALP, as a matter of fact. First of all, it is not available. Second, it is larger and would present a space problem where I would have we to put it. Third, I prefer solenoids for haptic feedback. Forth, I prefer the look of the A1up pinballs. Any more questions?
1st comment I win lol. I’m so glad influencers like you are starting to be more honest about 1up cutting corners on their products. I think youtubers do the community a great disservice when falsely giving this company positive feedback, when doing so only enables them to continue releasing products that are either not tested enough, or are just at the lowest level of quality to make large profit margins. I commend you for your honesty and I know many in the community do too. This is a lengthy comment I know, but I’m just so impressed with the level of transparency you show. Finally someone else is saying how little this company cares about what they release. Not looking forward to anything they release anymore. Quality video dude. I loved it.
@@AlphaTrion92 I was sticking around for the 30th anniversary MK next year but after what I’ve seen them do with past iterations of the MK cab and my star wars pinball monitors dying after 3 days, why would anything else they release be any better. My faith is gone.
THIS!! and thank God. I am so sick of these man-babie glorified shills constantly twisting themselves into contortions trying to be apologists for this outfit. It has truly become mind boggling to the point that I unsubbed from a certain channel for the incessant shilling for ArcadeFluffUp 24/7! I really appreciate Steve's channel because he does more than just pump a product but provides well informed info on a variety of topics and will provide an unbiased honest appraisal of what he is presenting.
@@DrZoharVaisman good for you Zohar, i know you were a big advocate, but i noticed even early on the Final Fight cabs were breaking left and right. They need to step up in parts and quality control. Not a good experience for many.
In all farness you get what you pay for. I hear the same old B.S. complaints from cheapskates buying a Volkswagen expecting it to be a Mercedes or buys a Hyundai expecting it to be a Lexus. Cheapskates who doesn't want to spend $1000 and up for a proper multicade cab or digital pinball can't complain that their cheap A1up doesn't perform/last like the expensive ones.
I think you are being a little harsh here, and the reason is obvious -- you had really high expectations. Not saying you are wrong for having those expectations, but you feel let down by the product. There are huge swaths of people (like myself) who have an interest in pinball, don't want the price or complexity of a real pinball machine and will have a great time with this product. The fact that you suggest getting one of the other models is a testament of how personally you feel let down by the AFM, and gives you less objectivity in review of it.
I respectfully disagree. the reasons for this are as follows: my expectations were set by the A1up marketing was was done in multiple interviews and videos boasting how great the experience was going to be. Additionally only 9/10 games function on this machine, and the artwork is jacked up again only on this machine. putting the haptics, screen resolution and nudge aside (which I shouldn't because nudge is SO much more important on these tables then the other machines), both Star Wars and Marvel had very clear and crisp art and every single game plays well. THAT is why i recommend the other products over this. Was i excited more for this than any other? Yep, but the value of the others is better since they are at a minimum fully functional in terms of the titles baked into the machine. Perhaps I am being more harsh in the way I am saying things then I should, but at the end of the day the other 2 machines have 10 working games, and this has 9. Thats a big deal to me at least.
@@Restalgia I understand your points and appreciate the honest thoughts. I think for me personally (again not objective) I’d rather have 9 established tables that are considered classics rather than 10 that are a little more generic. Totally agree that all 10 should work great and WW shouldn’t have passed QA. Hoping the accelerometer and WW table issues can get ironed out in a patch.
This is exactly why I waited to jump on the bandwagon in purchasing. I wanted to see how the monitors looked and how the nudge actually performed. Looks like I'll be waiting.
I am just really impressed and jealous that you had a working table to review. I had to return the first one I ordered because the screw holes weren’t lined up and I couldn’t attach the top piece to the main table…arcade 1up said it must have been damaged in transit. The new one I got worked for less than an hour and then died. After many emails and checking wires, they sent me a new main pcb and that didn’t work either. I just gave up, realizing that if I did ever get a “good one” it would still likely have issues. I got my money back while I still could, but I REALLY wanted to love this!
I just received my AFM pinball and even with its flaws it my favorite machine now. 100% happy with my purchase and I feel confident zen will resolve the software issues. FYI nudge works better on this than my marvel Don't know why.
Stephen I had that same feeling when I got the marvel....boy I should have waited before buying . At least it’s nice to look at I think this has made me rethink getting anything from 1up ever again😕
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there are plenty of us who enjoy them for what they are and have realistic expectations. Just b/c another co. Gives you a bigger screen and better resolution doesn’t automatically make it superior product. I’m happy with my purchase and hope they make more.
100 percent you should be. I don't have such a big ego to think everyone thinks like me, but these machines cost 1000 dollars each in Canada, so from my perspective id at least like all 10 games to work properly out of the box. My stance is that if you are only buying 1 machine, I wouldn't recommend this one. I just opened my marvel one and I think that is the best of the 3 in my personal opinion.
@@Restalgia I understand that $1000 for Canadians is hard pill to swallow for what the machine offers but I was fortunate to get Star Wars for $549. It’s not perfect and there are areas for improvement but knowing what I paid and what it offers it works. I do appreciate your honest review and your videos.
Good review and alway nice to hear everyone's opinions/experience. I just played the Marvel pinball at a store and it was my first experience with Arcade1up pinball. I will say it was bigger than I was expecting because it always looks so small in videos. While it was fun, I have to admit that the resolution was a turn off. I also felt there was a very slight lag/delay in the table I was playing. I wasn't able to truly test it enough though. So first impression, size was actually better than I was thinking but the screen itself does seem a little too small, Sound was good, build felt solid, DMD was very washed out for my height I stand(probably more of an issue with angles but looks better straight on), screen color and contrast was fine, screen resolution was a turn off. I'm hoping over time these pinballs just get better and better
I just got mine, all tables feel like bad flipper lag and the solenoid pos’s fire a good 1/2 second after the button is pressed, they don’t fire until after I have let the button go on a quick flip. Not really thrilled to be fair.
Originally I was going to purchase the Attack From Mars pinball machine until I noticed they downsized the original graphics on the back glass. I purchased the Star Wars pinball machine instead and after watching your review I'm so glad I did.
I was looking at this table when it was announced, it was the 720p limitation on the play field graphics that stopped me, appreciate your honest and thorough review.
Thank you for being honest and not sucking up to Arcade1Up. They did a terrible job of quality control on these, I have two of them myself and am very disappointed in Attack From Mars, which I also wanted to like the most. The warped artwork, the badly scaled DMD, the low resolution, the unplayable table and the faulty accelerometer all make me regret paying $1399 AUD for something I can't even get support for because Arcade1Up exclude Australia from their customer service despite selling their machines here.
Thanks for the review Restalgia. I was going to pick this up last night but decided against it for version 2 machines. Can't justify $600 for disappointment.
Not the review 1up wants but the review the average consumer needs to see. You gave the good, bad and the ugly. That is what a review should be. Don't try and sugar coat deficiencies. Great review.
Well so much for this being *THE* pinball machine to get from Arcade1Up. So glad I passed on this one. Thanks for the great and honest review Restalgia!
I knew the second Arcade1up announced that these were going to have 24" screens in them that they were 600 dollar paperweights. The Mars Attacks paperweight does have the nicest art on it at least....
I purchased the Marvel one and the artwork seems to have received more attention, I imagine A1UP would have more scrutiny from Marvel and StarWars on how they represent their IP's
The backbox on these pinball machines aren’t as bad as mentioned. Also, this video is outdated since arcade 1up came out with a firmware patch. Many people watching this video don’t even know about the patch.
With most Arcade 1up machines - if left stock, they are underwhelming. Lots of small issues. There are a few machines out there that are exceptions and are kind of worth the price point. I have a Star Wars table, and within days of playing - I was underwhelmed by many things. Fast forward 1 or 2 months, and it is modded in many, many ways and I absolutely love the machine now. (And got my replacement H panel from 1up finally to remove the static in the speakers.) I am super glad I bought the machine, but I always had intended that the machine would get modded - so I am glad they had their May 4th sale.
I really wish they did an ultimate table that had all the pinnall tables on it at some point. Not all of us have basements to fill with Arcade machines. 😅
Any chance you might re-review this because a software update from what I understand fixes a lot of the software issues and makes White Water playable.
The machine not suppose to slide when u nudge . Maybe put it on some carpet grip sheets -antislid. And then try to nudge . Virtual pinball is heavily dependent on nudging or the ball will just drain down the center in few seconds
720p was barely acceptable 10 years ago, today? Hell no, they dropped the ball, in fact its not even a nice 720p screen . They must have picked the cheapest POS from China they could get. ATgames is where its at, 1080p decent screen. Whitewater also donest work well they still haven't addressed that! Its no secret that these are for general consumers that don't look at the details, for people like us that expect better we are overlooked.
Good video friend. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism. I know how excited you were for this table and I’m sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations brother. I still love you.
So, I just ordered this because my lady really liked AFM back in the day and when it was announced, I promised that I would get it when BB had it... Glad to see a honest review! I did plan on modding it with a desktop but probably will do it sooner than originally planned (planned to play built in stuff until I started getting bored and then researched/order/etc.)
In Canada, the ALP is now just a mere $150 more than the FluffUp tables after the recent price hike with apparently more to come! And that mere $150 more gets you a 32" crisp 1080p display and a WORKING Backglass along with options galore including the ability to add a Control Deck and enjoy your classic arcade collections on an enormous 32" tall screen! I can ADD whatever tables I want.... Including AFM!! I have no idea how anyone can defend this product from FluffUp. Oh wait... "It's just good enough" according to the FluffUppers.. check! I commend Steve for his honest and thorough review.
$850 for a machine that farts and doesn’t have real solenoids. I would rather build my own 4K vpin for that price. And no, you aren’t playing whitewater with alp. You are playing whitewater on your computer to play whitewater. Which is more that just $150 extra
Something that people haven't pointed out about the AFM table is the physics. It almost looks like it's somewhere between the Williams (Classic Singleplayer) physics and the Zen standard (Single Player) physics. I know we were told it's the Williams physics, but I've played F3 a lot and it just looks a bit floatier to me. They should have included an option to switch between the 2 physics styles, as there is in FX3. The standard Williams physics is too difficult for casual players, and the Zen physics is unrealistic but makes it much easier to play. Also, the Williams physics makes Attack From Mars really hard, as there is a severe center ball drain issue. You really need good nudge to overcome it, and the accelerometer on these things is just not up to the task.
yeah.. I saw a video where they said it would be just like FX3 and you'd be able to choose the physics mode.. then they shipped and that option wasn't there
People are forgetting where they came from. I’ve never forgotten (neither has Pepperidge Farms) nor forgiven. Thank you for being honest. Glad I waited.
Removed this off the wish list when I heard the final specs. The only thing I liked about the A1up pin was the looks. A 24" playfield is a huge negative when you can fit a larger screen in there and are just to cheap to move up a size or two. Then you go 720p is just insult to injury on this miny pin. All the bells and whistle you throw in don't matter when you have a small display with crappy resolution.
Mines coming Tuesday finally, hearing mixed reviews like everyone else for months, guess ill just have to hook it up and see for myself. Assume i can just bring it back to best buy if its not worth the money.
Great honest review. I wish there were more of these on UA-cam. You get so many UA-camrs being very positive in hopes of getting free products. The average consumer picks them up only to find that the UA-camr they trusted for an honest review mislead them. One question though. For the price, how is it? I mean a real v-pin table is much more costly. You get what you pay for. So, if you spend $600 U.S. your expectations can't be real high. Does it meet the $600 quality to price?
My honest opinion is that this machine does not meet the 600 dollar value simply because it doesn't actually give you what is promised out of the box. 1/10 games is broken. If nothing else, that kills it for me. Could it be fixed in a future update? Absolutely. Should you pay upfront before they deliver on that? Probably not. I'd say the star wars pinball is a much better value for the money, and I recently started testing the marvel one which so far has been the best of the 3. Sorry it was long winded. Are the arcade1up pinball worth the 550/600 USD price point? Not this one, but the other 2 yes. If they actually fix all the software related issues (nudge, color contrast, dmd, broken game) then I'd be a good value.
That’s unfortunate. But I am glad now that I missed the preorder for this with the late email they sent out after the preorders were all done,as I was so looking forward to it. But am happy that I received my email yesterday for my legends pinball to finalize payment and hopefully will be getting it next week. Their customer relations/support seems to be way better in my opinion
Wave 1 of A1UP machines always have issues. Will wait for Wave 3 before I take the plunge on a pinball machine. We are on what, wave 4 with the cabinets? While better, they are still making mistakes.
@@Restalgia GOOD luck to me and you waiting on this software update since they have not completely finished delivering their PINBALLS to many preorders yet.
problem is there's really no way to do a firmware update. There are no i/o ports on it, and no wifi. Unless there are pins on a board somewhere for attaching a USB or wifi dongle I think we're outta luck with the first gen tables. It's a shame. I'd be happier with my SW table if I could at least adjust the brightness and contrast. The screens are really too bright and washed out. Forgetting resolution, looking at the ALP and A1U side-by-side that's one of the glaring differences - brightness/contrast/colors are so much better on the ALP. I mean, what TV or computer monitor doesn't allow you to adjust the brightness, gamma, and contrast? That's a big miss IMHO. The SW machine is still fun, but it's only been turned on once since the ALP arrived.
@@tjwright - Just for the record, Zen Studios has already announced that there will be a firmware update made available for these machines, but it could be months away. Accelerometer calibration, “White Water” fix, DMD optional stretch mode, and gamma adjust (for contrast/brightness) were all mentioned as possible candidates for the update. And, apparently, there is a USB port somewhere (perhaps behind the backglass?) as they mentioned the update would be delivered by USB. For my part, the second it was stated back in November that there would be no WiFi connectivity I put my purchase on hold. I knew that something this complex was going to require multiple updates. The lack of an easy update mechanism was the biggest design flaw of all!
I totally agree with everything you said. I have both AFM and the atgames pinball as well. The difference in game play is a night and day difference when compared. Playfield on my atgames is so much better. I do like the aesthetics of the AFM, but with all the problems from the screen size and washed out colors, to the button lag it's really unplayable. I'm think I'm going to use my AFM and turn it into a VPIN with a 32" playfield and smaller monitor for the back glass and see how that goes.
Sounds like they should have raised the price another $50 if they had to in order to give it a little more computing power so that the games looked better. I think the cab looks great, but if it doesn't play well, yeah, that's a deal breaker.
This is all because they took such a hit on the wave one cabinets. They probably came under a lot of fire from their backers, told to get with it or else. So now they rush tons of new product out without quality control to stay afloat. There's CERTAINLY no shortage of new product now...
Well, I was lucky enough to check Best Buy about midnight last night and ordered this pinball. I also have the Star Wars and love it. Most of the Canadian UA-camrs gave this an overall positive review and I used that as my buying guide along with my positive experience with Star Wars. THEN I see your review! I guess I’ll see how I like it and will decide from there... Your expert eye is appreciated but my much less technical eye may be ok with the flaws and hope for future updates. At any rate, it should be easy to sell if I hate it! Thanks, man!
Couldn’t have agreed more. I got my AFM Saturday and just sold it locally for 750. Washed out screen, flipper lag, screen is too small. The artwork is needed to be gloss as well it’s way too flat.
Great review. It sucks that Zen has the Williams license and we have to keep putting up with their ineptitude. I'm sure they'll fix Whitewater in the next 12-24 months, just like FX3. If you really want one just wait a couple months they'll be $100 at Sam's Club or you'll be able to get a refurb cheap cause the solenoids break so easily.
You can still get ahold of The Pinball Arcade with all of the original Williams/Stern/Bally tables before they lost their license, if you aren't morally opposed to using bittorrent. Just download the Season 1 thru 7 pro packs. That's what I did, and I have to say the physics are so much better using Farsight's Pinball Arcade engine compared to Zen's FX2 and FX3 engine. I love playing FX2 thru my Oculus Rift, but the few tables available do start to get old.
Nice review. I think everyone wanted AFM for the obvious reasons. I ended up with SW and Marvel and I’m gonna pass on AFM. Besides the issues, the Zen tables just seem to have more going on. Thanks for the hard work and great review!
I agree with you on your review, I was excited until I played it. I have played it less than an hour and will probably sell it. When the prices go up 😄.
Too hard? No way. An honest opinion is an honest opinion. I knew something was off when the first A1U pinball reviews started coming out and it was just one glowing review of the perfect machine after another. Either A1U was sending out different hardware for review, or influencers didn't want to upset their early access daddy.
well here I am a year later watched your review and read the comments and im like wtf are you all on about? I just brought his yesterday and have been having an absolute ball playing all the games with yes not 1005 clarity but by far for the value its still way clear enough to see and play. Slight lag on the flippers but again its game play so get used to it. I love it and for the money. Its not real, its not huge, but its not 10k either!
Seeking clarification: what, other than the Whitewater table slowdown and the low-resolution physical art, is worse than the other Arcade1Up cabs you tested? I thought the negatives you listed here were identical to the negatives on the other Arcade1Up cabs? Or are you saying this unit's screen, nudge sensor, and other technical aspects are WORSE than the Star Wars / Marvel tables? Thanks for any insight you can offer.
Yes this unit is way worse than the star wars and marvel. This unit wasn't even tested before release. Only 8 out of 10 tables are playable. (Whitewater has frame rate issues and junkyard the flippers are super weak and you can't even reach the ramps) the G sensor is also terrible on this unit. The ball nudges by itself all the time and it feels like the pinball is the shape of a football playing the tables. I don't have any issues on marvel or star wars. Those both play awesome. This unit is a total letdown and I plan on returning it soon.
Honestly it's a good thing. I've had AFM for a day now and I regret purchasing it. They need to send out new updated PCBs to everyone that bought this. The entire machine is almost unplayable. Not to mention the phantom nudges that happen on their own.
What a shame, this was the only machine I was interested in, and if it was perfect, I'd buy it. How do they screw up White Water? It's one of the best titles in pinball!
One thing I’m not a fan of are gameplays being full-on digital instead of physical with all the features built in. And NGL, after seeing issues like delay happen on a digital pinball machine, glad I stayed my focus out of it and far away.
Can't buy the garbage anyway due to arcade1up's terrible terrible communication. Thing has been available for purchase a grand total of about 3 hours, ever and now seems will never be produced again. But it should have been an extremely obvious thing that the machine was mediocre when arcade1up announced these machines for winter 2020, totally stopped even talking about them most of the year, delayed them for months more, and then released them without any fan fare at all and quickly pushed it off their website for new arcade cabinets. Sounds to me like a company trying to wash their hands of it. The only actual way to buy this thing is to be a Canadian, or buy from Canada and likely pay hundreds in shipping and other fees, or buy from ebay for 1200+ dollars (more than a full virtual pinball machine.) At least the marvel and star wars ones were readily available. Also if you are unhappy with your purchase, just sell it. You will easily make nearly double what you paid since maybe 500 of these machines were even available in the US.
Just throwing this out there, last night when turning off my Star Wars pinball, the on/off switch stopped working it won't shut the machine off in the off position. Any ideas?
i would lift the monitor panel and see if one of the wires came loose. if so, reseat. I have heard the switches they use are low quality so it make just need replacement all together. Maybe contact a1up support?
Good review...it seems to me Arcade1up Gen 1 everything is not the best to get on day one, they had problems with Gen 1 cabinets, now the pinball machines, best to wait and see what the next models are, I am sure they will improve with time but I am gonna pass on these three pinball machines, maybe the Gen 2’s will be better and better licensed machines, hoping for the Kiss pinball or Elvira , now those I would get!
I got Marvel Pinball finally yesterday. The screen display issues are the same in game play, blurry and washed out. Also when you look at an angle there appears to be horizontal lines going through the screen like low refresh rate or something idk. As a computer gamer I was not impressed with these graphics at all! Also the same issues with nudge unusable. I knew better than to buy any gen 1 Arcade1ups and went against my own rule. Hopefully the update/patch they're talking about fixes a lot of these issues.
As Avi S said, those lines are created by the plexiglass (happens on the other pinballs as well). Order a piece of real glass to resolve it. Here are the specs that I've used and it fits like a glove. Tempered Glass Shape: Square/Rectangle Thickness: 1/4" Tint: Clear Edgework: Seamed Edge Width: 16 1/4" Height: 23 1/4"
I think the truth is somewhat in the middle. To honest, I've pretty much only played AFM on mine and some Arabian Nights. I'm also annoyed that whitewater doesn't work but I'm sure there will be an update at some point. The artwork seems pretty good to me but I'm not typically staring at it close up. I wish the colours on the monitor were a little more vibrant as well although I find myself thinking that perhaps the aftermarket will come up with a brightness knob similar to the ones for series 1 1up arcades. I'm actually one who is reasonably happy with the screen size but 1080 would have been nice. I've enjoyed my machine for the month I've had it or so and play almost everyday. I did your mod already for better feel. As to nudge I think hardwood floors are making it worse as the whole machine moves instead of the accelerometer registering. Probably works better on carpet. I've got mine on hardwood as well but wedge it against the wall and can get nudge working decently. Even in full size real pinball. Nudge is hard to get to work in a predictable manner. Thanks for the review and sharing your opinion.
Yeah i get it, and for sure everyone has different expectations. As long as you are content with your purchase then thats really all that matters brother
how do you expect that update for Whitewater to come Joel? Does yours have any sort of I/O ports or wifi? Mine doesn't! I think the update will come in the form of a better machine you can buy.
@@tjwright More than likely through the mini USB connection port that is on the CPU for the pinball machine? My AFM machine has one. I can't speak to yours but I would assume there all the same. I believe 1 up has provided updates previously for some of the arcades through a similar firmware update. But if yours doesn't have the connection I guess your out of luck.
@@tjwright ua-cam.com/video/0_wjaCBx280/v-deo.html in this video there is reference to Mel from zen talking about the issue with whitewater and brightness issues and the idea that there would be an update at some point . It's at about the 5 minute mark.
To me the atgames pinball is a better choice.. Bigger & better screen being able to download new tables and hook a PC up to it for the same money pretty much
Honest reviews welcomed, glad that you shared this and gave us your opinion. Sorry to hear that you didn't get what you expected. I didn't get one, worried about screens glitching out too. I've seen and heard complaints about the screens on some of these going through color tests at random. Hopefully that doesn't happen to yours, maybe it was a few bad parts causing that for folks. Good video 👍
I have one of the A1U machines and the AtGames Legends Pinball. A1U is getting spanked. The ONLY thing they have going for them is ZEN's software and the licenses they carry with them. It's a shame, because the ALP machine is so much better, but just doesn't have the titles and licenses available. If AtGames could get a share of Zen, Williams, et al... A1U would be out of the pinball game as it stands now. If A1U doesn't do a deluxe or V2 pin and up the specs to 1080, 32" playfield, connectivity, and expandability then they are going to have a hard time keeping interest. It's such a shame. A real real nice machine with all the bells and whistles that blows these away can be had for around $5K. If one of these manufacturers could mass-produce something with minimal compromises in the $1-2K range they would probably sell like hotcakes. On one end you have these $600 machines and the on the other end you have small manufacturer boutique machines that are 10x the price. There's a huge gap in the middle.
your not wrong, I had mine for a few days and tried your haptic mod and still didn't like it, plus no online. I told myself it was not worth tearing down... but i completely gutted it put a mini pc in it with a poormans dof haptic setup with 4 dayton exciters and a bass shaker, did a pc monitor backglass with some custom (not me) artwork for steam fx3. all happ buttons full controller deck running x360ce and a KL25Z plunger kit, from VirtuaPin. now i run fx3 and all the zaccaria collection and its actually pretty decent now. thanks for being honest buddy, i would not buy it again lol.
HunterKIller292, I just checked your youtube page. You did all this cool stuff and did not post it. UGGGGGGGGGGGgg! Please post some of this for us non-modders; make sure you carefully explain everything you did lol. IT sounds so very cool. Cost of 4 dayton exciters?
@@arcadewill7011 , Hey Thanks, is nothing more than what COOLTOY here on you tube has done. If you want to do what i did just check out what he did to his A1UP. I guarantee you he can explain everything better than me.
No, on the other arcade1up pinball machines all 10 games work. On this one, 1 game is completely unplayable. Would you recommend someone pay for 10 games but only 9 work yourself? Also the artwork wasn't completely botched on the other machines. This is by far the worst machine of the 3 released.
@@NoahSties Yep I woke up at 7am to find them on sale added one to my cart and then told it was sold out. Honestly after getting Marvel yesterday and listening to this review. I think I'm done with these Gen 1 pinballs until proven otherwise.
I got lucky. On a whim, I checked reddit at around 1:30AM EST on 4/22... and US BestBuy AFM was available for order! In for one, already shipped, should be delivered on Monday! Looks like they were still taking orders until early morning today. (I've been waiting for the Marvel/Star Wars machines from WM, scheduled for 5/7 deliver - will probably cancel at least 1 of those.
With the low cost of modern 1440p and 4k panels, hard to believe they used a crappy 720p panel in this thing. I just have to assume this is a super budget oriented Vpinball machine. I still think the money would be better spent buying a kit and building your own table.
It's a 1080 panel but the crappy hardware can only run it at not even 720p. It's definitely not even 60fps either. Maybe 40-50 at most. Very choppy gameplay
It’s the monitor giving you the delay of the button press. What settings can you configure (of the monitor) .., can you switch to a non filtered video mode? Aka arcade mode
Thats too bad for this was the table I wanted most as well. Im just gonna wait until they make a 2nd wave of tables for I really want one with real tables that were in arcades and such.
Restalgia, a few questions and clarifications, first I do not have this table; instead I have the STAR WARS, MARVEL, and LEGENDS PINBALL. With that being said, my assumptions in not getting AFM was that it would mimic similar play as LEGENDS (what I mean by this is both emphasize a classic/Williams pinball gameplay style vs ZEN Arcade STYLE) So, what are the possibilities & cost would of upgrading the 1UP digital with better accelerometer and Haptic feedback? Next, is it possible for a software upgrade to fix the monitor color and grayscale issues? Can an extra graphics chip be added/upgraded to play in true 1080P since the monitor is capable of this? These type of answers to my questions are out of my league. Thanks in advance. Arcade Will
The Williams physics is different then Zen for sure. That being said a software update could fix some issues like accelerometer but won't make a substantial improvement to color contrast and grey scale. Also you couldn't hardware swap the accelerometer since it requires drivers. Also the outbound GPU performance is also capped and we cannot really improve upon this without heavily optimizing the software.
honest review 👍 I agree. What an incredible line up in tables but I'm disappointed 1up went cheap and pin isn't 1080p 60fps so I passed for Atgames pin that can play these same Williams tables from my laptop at 1080p 60fps using otg mode. I do like the DMD though.
It's not the same playin from laptop though.
Yes, DMD is super cool addition.
I hear where your coming from with White Water and the 1080P image being washed out. It does bother me that I can't read the text on the playfield and that some of the colors are to brightened up. For the most part though pretty happy with my Attack From Mars Pin and really enjoy playing it. I give it a good 8/10 for there first go
Yeah dude as long as you are happy with it that all that matters. You are the one playing it at the end of the day.
At least someone else gets it. Yes the tables got a couple of shortcomings but it still f****** buried the basement dwelling Marvel and Star Wars. Not even actual pins but made up junk. I do believe they'll release an upgrade at somepoint.
@@philsavage9127 they will and it will be a legend or 40th anniversary cab. They did the same stuff with the stand ups. Then the community will get all bent out of shape.
This was an honest review. However, it is one based upon Restalgia's preferences for himself. That is something we should not lose sight of. One should not make a purchasing decision based upon another's opinion of a machine. I see way too many people cancel their orders for a particular game based upon a youtube reviewer's opinion of the machine. I remember being hesitant in buying the Marvel and Star Wars pinballs due to reviewer complaints about the screen size, dmd , resolution and nudging technology. Some time ago, I was very hesitant in buying Golden Tee because of complaints about pixelated graphics. I went ahead and purchased those machines anyway and found that, at least for my family, those issues did not pose any problems whatsoever. We love those machines in addition to all the other 1up machines we have. This makes a strong argument for purchasing these machines from Walmart or Best Buy. If you don't like them, you have 30 days to return them to the nearest Walmart store and 14 days to return them to the nearest Best Buy store. And I have heard of people returning their cabs in a built condition.
I think calling someone a "fake UA-camr," dishonest, or some kind of 1up apologist because they think a particular machine is good in their opinion is grossly unfair. Everyone is entitled to their individual point of view and everyone's point of view may be different. I was very surprised to see popular youtuber, Kongs R Us, recently say no one should buy the Atgames Legend pinball unless they planned on modding it. That was first time I had ever seen a negative review of that pinball (and I've seen many, many of them). But again, that is HIS opinion of the machine as it PERTAINS TO HIM.
I guess some people reading my comments above will say I am somehow fake or dishonest in my assessment of the Marvel and Star Wars pinballs. So be it. That would just like someone who hates chocolate ice cream saying I am being fake or dishonest when I say I like chocolate ice cream. It makes no sense.
Lets just get the elephant right out in the open.....
The primary motivating factors in most channels set up as "review video" channels is MONEY. I don't mean just arcade stuff, but across the whole UA-cam World in every single product or service industry. You name it. It's EVERYTHING!
Its the pursuit of getting hooked in with certain brands... to become an "influencer"... with the end goal of turning the enterprise into a FULL TIME job with a monthly revenue stream by getting companies to " sponsor" their video time, get preferential treatment and a lot of FREE swag and products...a $%&# ton of FREE PRODUCT!!
When "opinions" are clouded by the thought of both gaining... and LOSING out on MONEY... or even a little bit of "notoriety" or "fame" you will never have honest and sincere commentary on ANY subject.
Thanks for this comment. I 100 percent agree, this is my opinion and nobody should only watch my video and make a decision solely off that (although I try to be as honest as I can). At the end of the day, we all have different expectations and applications for these products.
Some times good enough is just good enough, and if it's good enough for you and your family, then that's really all that matters. 😁
Louis I agree and I think people should give their opinion. It actually helped me buy marvel even though xmen was supposed to be my last lolol. Good post louis as always. I like my marvel pinball 🙂
well i think reviews need to be accurate and not just fan boys so i for one appreciate your bluntness about the shortcomings.
Thank for you Restalgia for the honest and best view of 1up AFM Pinball. Well Done!
Maybe they should replace the tilt sensor with somekind of analogue buttons on each side of the table if they can't get it right at this price point?
I pre-ordered this machine February 1. I am a pinball nut who has neither the money or space for a real pinball machine. After ordering I started to have misgivings about some quality/dependability issues. I reluctantly cancelled my order about a week ago. Still sad about it but now, feel I did the right thing. I will order another one, even if more expensive, once improvements are made. Thank you for your honest review!!
I am intrigued by your comment and would like some feedback on your thought process here if you don't mind.
I assume you are in the US. If I am correct there is next to zero price difference between the @Games Legends and an A1UP table in the US.
From any logical standpoint, the ALP is a feature rich, expandable, OPEN platform where if it were to be only virtual pinball machine you were to ever own you would still be futureproofed in many respects.
Yet it doesn't sound like you have even considered the ALP instead. Why is that? I honestly am trying to understand this one brand only mentality... Especially considering their spokesman was supposedly forced into a "sabbatical" after basically referring to his customer base as something along the lines of being.... "Whining crack heads"... or was it " heroin addicts"??
I just don't get this.
@@canadaphil6068 I did consider the ALP, as a matter of fact. First of all, it is not available. Second, it is larger and would present a space problem where I would have we to put it. Third, I prefer solenoids for haptic feedback. Forth, I prefer the look of the A1up pinballs.
Any more questions?
Fred, go get yourself a decent REAL Electro-Mechanical pinball machine from the mid to late 70's for $1000 . You'll be a lot happier.
@@spacecowboyfpv5511 I would if I had room.
1st comment I win lol. I’m so glad influencers like you are starting to be more honest about 1up cutting corners on their products. I think youtubers do the community a great disservice when falsely giving this company positive feedback, when doing so only enables them to continue releasing products that are either not tested enough, or are just at the lowest level of quality to make large profit margins. I commend you for your honesty and I know many in the community do too. This is a lengthy comment I know, but I’m just so impressed with the level of transparency you show. Finally someone else is saying how little this company cares about what they release. Not looking forward to anything they release anymore. Quality video dude. I loved it.
@@AlphaTrion92 I was sticking around for the 30th anniversary MK next year but after what I’ve seen them do with past iterations of the MK cab and my star wars pinball monitors dying after 3 days, why would anything else they release be any better. My faith is gone.
THIS!! and thank God.
I am so sick of these man-babie glorified shills constantly twisting themselves into contortions trying to be apologists for this outfit. It has truly become mind boggling to the point that I unsubbed from a certain channel for the incessant shilling for ArcadeFluffUp 24/7!
I really appreciate Steve's channel because he does more than just pump a product but provides well informed info on a variety of topics and will provide an unbiased honest appraisal of what he is presenting.
PS: "You don't mess wit de Zohar"!
:D
(Sorry for the ancient Adam Sandler reference)
@@DrZoharVaisman good for you Zohar, i know you were a big advocate, but i noticed even early on the Final Fight cabs were breaking left and right. They need to step up in parts and quality control. Not a good experience for many.
In all farness you get what you pay for.
I hear the same old B.S. complaints from cheapskates buying a Volkswagen expecting it to be a Mercedes or buys a Hyundai expecting it to be a Lexus.
Cheapskates who doesn't want to spend $1000 and up for a proper multicade cab or digital pinball can't complain that their cheap A1up doesn't perform/last like the expensive ones.
I think you are being a little harsh here, and the reason is obvious -- you had really high expectations. Not saying you are wrong for having those expectations, but you feel let down by the product. There are huge swaths of people (like myself) who have an interest in pinball, don't want the price or complexity of a real pinball machine and will have a great time with this product. The fact that you suggest getting one of the other models is a testament of how personally you feel let down by the AFM, and gives you less objectivity in review of it.
I respectfully disagree. the reasons for this are as follows: my expectations were set by the A1up marketing was was done in multiple interviews and videos boasting how great the experience was going to be. Additionally only 9/10 games function on this machine, and the artwork is jacked up again only on this machine. putting the haptics, screen resolution and nudge aside (which I shouldn't because nudge is SO much more important on these tables then the other machines), both Star Wars and Marvel had very clear and crisp art and every single game plays well. THAT is why i recommend the other products over this. Was i excited more for this than any other? Yep, but the value of the others is better since they are at a minimum fully functional in terms of the titles baked into the machine.
Perhaps I am being more harsh in the way I am saying things then I should, but at the end of the day the other 2 machines have 10 working games, and this has 9. Thats a big deal to me at least.
So we should spend $600 and have low expectations???
@@Restalgia I understand your points and appreciate the honest thoughts. I think for me personally (again not objective) I’d rather have 9 established tables that are considered classics rather than 10 that are a little more generic. Totally agree that all 10 should work great and WW shouldn’t have passed QA. Hoping the accelerometer and WW table issues can get ironed out in a patch.
Sounds like A1up QC practices are still consistent.
This is exactly why I waited to jump on the bandwagon in purchasing. I wanted to see how the monitors looked and how the nudge actually performed. Looks like I'll be waiting.
I am just really impressed and jealous that you had a working table to review. I had to return the first one I ordered because the screw holes weren’t lined up and I couldn’t attach the top piece to the main table…arcade 1up said it must have been damaged in transit. The new one I got worked for less than an hour and then died. After many emails and checking wires, they sent me a new main pcb and that didn’t work either. I just gave up, realizing that if I did ever get a “good one” it would still likely have issues. I got my money back while I still could, but I REALLY wanted to love this!
I just received my AFM pinball and even with its flaws it my favorite machine now. 100% happy with my purchase and I feel confident zen will resolve the software issues. FYI nudge works better on this than my marvel Don't know why.
Appreciate the fair and honest review, I was dead set on getting this machine but know I will have to re-think it.
Stephen I had that same feeling when I got the marvel....boy I should have waited before buying . At least it’s nice to look at
I think this has made me rethink getting anything from 1up ever again😕
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but there are plenty of us who enjoy them for what they are and have realistic expectations. Just b/c another co. Gives you a bigger screen and better resolution doesn’t automatically make it superior product. I’m happy with my purchase and hope they make more.
100 percent you should be. I don't have such a big ego to think everyone thinks like me, but these machines cost 1000 dollars each in Canada, so from my perspective id at least like all 10 games to work properly out of the box. My stance is that if you are only buying 1 machine, I wouldn't recommend this one. I just opened my marvel one and I think that is the best of the 3 in my personal opinion.
@@Restalgia I understand that $1000 for Canadians is hard pill to swallow for what the machine offers but I was fortunate to get Star Wars for $549. It’s not perfect and there are areas for improvement but knowing what I paid and what it offers it works. I do appreciate your honest review and your videos.
Good review and alway nice to hear everyone's opinions/experience. I just played the Marvel pinball at a store and it was my first experience with Arcade1up pinball. I will say it was bigger than I was expecting because it always looks so small in videos. While it was fun, I have to admit that the resolution was a turn off. I also felt there was a very slight lag/delay in the table I was playing. I wasn't able to truly test it enough though. So first impression, size was actually better than I was thinking but the screen itself does seem a little too small, Sound was good, build felt solid, DMD was very washed out for my height I stand(probably more of an issue with angles but looks better straight on), screen color and contrast was fine, screen resolution was a turn off. I'm hoping over time these pinballs just get better and better
I just got mine, all tables feel like bad flipper lag and the solenoid pos’s fire a good 1/2 second after the button is pressed, they don’t fire until after I have let the button go on a quick flip. Not really thrilled to be fair.
Originally I was going to purchase the Attack From Mars pinball machine until I noticed they downsized the original graphics on the back glass. I purchased the Star Wars pinball machine instead and after watching your review I'm so glad I did.
I was looking at this table when it was announced, it was the 720p limitation on the play field graphics that stopped me, appreciate your honest and thorough review.
Thank you for being honest and not sucking up to Arcade1Up. They did a terrible job of quality control on these, I have two of them myself and am very disappointed in Attack From Mars, which I also wanted to like the most. The warped artwork, the badly scaled DMD, the low resolution, the unplayable table and the faulty accelerometer all make me regret paying $1399 AUD for something I can't even get support for because Arcade1Up exclude Australia from their customer service despite selling their machines here.
Wow they don't even honor support? That's ridiculous! I'm sorry you are having the same experience as me 😖😖
This was what I was looking to see.. thanks for the honest review dude! My FOMO issues are fading quick now.
Thanks for the review Restalgia. I was going to pick this up last night but decided against it for version 2 machines. Can't justify $600 for disappointment.
Did Arcade1up ever update this table? Out of all of Arcade1up pinball releases this is the one I was looking forward to the most.
Unsurprisingly not
Nothing better then a an honest review thank I WAS looking to get this one not now.
Not the review 1up wants but the review the average consumer needs to see. You gave the good, bad and the ugly. That is what a review should be. Don't try and sugar coat deficiencies. Great review.
Well so much for this being *THE* pinball machine to get from Arcade1Up. So glad I passed on this one. Thanks for the great and honest review Restalgia!
Thanks for the honest review! As for playing all these pin games on actual pinball machines I completely agree with everything you talked about.
I knew the second Arcade1up announced that these were going to have 24" screens in them that they were 600 dollar paperweights. The Mars Attacks paperweight does have the nicest art on it at least....
I purchased the Marvel one and the artwork seems to have received more attention, I imagine A1UP would have more scrutiny from Marvel and StarWars on how they represent their IP's
The backbox on these pinball machines aren’t as bad as mentioned. Also, this video is outdated since arcade 1up came out with a firmware patch. Many people watching this video don’t even know about the patch.
With most Arcade 1up machines - if left stock, they are underwhelming. Lots of small issues. There are a few machines out there that are exceptions and are kind of worth the price point. I have a Star Wars table, and within days of playing - I was underwhelmed by many things. Fast forward 1 or 2 months, and it is modded in many, many ways and I absolutely love the machine now. (And got my replacement H panel from 1up finally to remove the static in the speakers.) I am super glad I bought the machine, but I always had intended that the machine would get modded - so I am glad they had their May 4th sale.
Somewhere in Canada MichaelB is crying in a corner
You are gonna make me cry laughing. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Whomp whomp FYI the thumb down was Michael B. Lol
Good. The guy needs a serious intervention!
@@canadaphil6068 sometimes you can’t help yourself
@@UAG Yes you most certainly can.
Finally an honest A1UP review. Thanks man. Great vid!
I really wish they did an ultimate table that had all the pinnall tables on it at some point. Not all of us have basements to fill with Arcade machines. 😅
Any chance you might re-review this because a software update from what I understand fixes a lot of the software issues and makes White Water playable.
The machine not suppose to slide when u nudge . Maybe put it on some carpet grip sheets -antislid. And then try to nudge . Virtual pinball is heavily dependent on nudging or the ball will just drain down the center in few seconds
I was disappointed so I did the Cooltoy/Kongs-R-Us mods and now I really love it.
Thanks Restalgia for the review! Great job dude 👍
720p was barely acceptable 10 years ago, today? Hell no, they dropped the ball, in fact its not even a nice 720p screen . They must have picked the cheapest POS from China they could get. ATgames is where its at, 1080p decent screen. Whitewater also donest work well they still haven't addressed that! Its no secret that these are for general consumers that don't look at the details, for people like us that expect better we are overlooked.
Good video friend. There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism. I know how excited you were for this table and I’m sorry it didn’t live up to your expectations brother. I still love you.
😭
So, I just ordered this because my lady really liked AFM back in the day and when it was announced, I promised that I would get it when BB had it... Glad to see a honest review! I did plan on modding it with a desktop but probably will do it sooner than originally planned (planned to play built in stuff until I started getting bored and then researched/order/etc.)
In Canada, the ALP is now just a mere $150 more than the FluffUp tables after the recent price hike with apparently more to come! And that mere $150 more gets you a 32" crisp 1080p display and a WORKING Backglass along with options galore including the ability to add a Control Deck and enjoy your classic arcade collections on an enormous 32" tall screen!
I can ADD whatever tables I want.... Including AFM!!
I have no idea how anyone can defend this product from FluffUp.
Oh wait... "It's just good enough" according to the FluffUppers.. check!
I commend Steve for his honest and thorough review.
$850 for a machine that farts and doesn’t have real solenoids. I would rather build my own 4K vpin for that price. And no, you aren’t playing whitewater with alp. You are playing whitewater on your computer to play whitewater. Which is more that just $150 extra
@@soggykid5580 WHO HURT YOU?
Something that people haven't pointed out about the AFM table is the physics. It almost looks like it's somewhere between the Williams (Classic Singleplayer) physics and the Zen standard (Single Player) physics. I know we were told it's the Williams physics, but I've played F3 a lot and it just looks a bit floatier to me.
They should have included an option to switch between the 2 physics styles, as there is in FX3. The standard Williams physics is too difficult for casual players, and the Zen physics is unrealistic but makes it much easier to play. Also, the Williams physics makes Attack From Mars really hard, as there is a severe center ball drain issue. You really need good nudge to overcome it, and the accelerometer on these things is just not up to the task.
yeah.. I saw a video where they said it would be just like FX3 and you'd be able to choose the physics mode.. then they shipped and that option wasn't there
People are forgetting where they came from. I’ve never forgotten (neither has Pepperidge Farms) nor forgiven. Thank you for being honest. Glad I waited.
Removed this off the wish list when I heard the final specs. The only thing I liked about the A1up pin was the looks. A 24" playfield is a huge negative when you can fit a larger screen in there and are just to cheap to move up a size or two. Then you go 720p is just insult to injury on this miny pin. All the bells and whistle you throw in don't matter when you have a small display with crappy resolution.
Mines coming Tuesday finally, hearing mixed reviews like everyone else for months, guess ill just have to hook it up and see for myself. Assume i can just bring it back to best buy if its not worth the money.
Great honest review. I wish there were more of these on UA-cam. You get so many UA-camrs being very positive in hopes of getting free products. The average consumer picks them up only to find that the UA-camr they trusted for an honest review mislead them. One question though. For the price, how is it? I mean a real v-pin table is much more costly. You get what you pay for. So, if you spend $600 U.S. your expectations can't be real high. Does it meet the $600 quality to price?
My honest opinion is that this machine does not meet the 600 dollar value simply because it doesn't actually give you what is promised out of the box. 1/10 games is broken. If nothing else, that kills it for me. Could it be fixed in a future update? Absolutely. Should you pay upfront before they deliver on that? Probably not. I'd say the star wars pinball is a much better value for the money, and I recently started testing the marvel one which so far has been the best of the 3.
Sorry it was long winded. Are the arcade1up pinball worth the 550/600 USD price point? Not this one, but the other 2 yes. If they actually fix all the software related issues (nudge, color contrast, dmd, broken game) then I'd be a good value.
Damn shame...this is the one I really wanted too. Bummer
That’s unfortunate. But I am glad now that I missed the preorder for this with the late email they sent out after the preorders were all done,as I was so looking forward to it. But am happy that I received my email yesterday for my legends pinball to finalize payment and hopefully will be getting it next week. Their customer relations/support seems to be way better in my opinion
Wave 1 of A1UP machines always have issues. Will wait for Wave 3 before I take the plunge on a pinball machine. We are on what, wave 4 with the cabinets? While better, they are still making mistakes.
If a firmware update could rectify Whitewater issues, nudge responsiveness and even possibly the "half" DMD, would you then recommend it?
Yes 100 percent I would.
@@Restalgia GOOD luck to me and you waiting on this software update since they have not completely finished delivering their PINBALLS to many preorders yet.
problem is there's really no way to do a firmware update. There are no i/o ports on it, and no wifi. Unless there are pins on a board somewhere for attaching a USB or wifi dongle I think we're outta luck with the first gen tables. It's a shame. I'd be happier with my SW table if I could at least adjust the brightness and contrast. The screens are really too bright and washed out. Forgetting resolution, looking at the ALP and A1U side-by-side that's one of the glaring differences - brightness/contrast/colors are so much better on the ALP. I mean, what TV or computer monitor doesn't allow you to adjust the brightness, gamma, and contrast? That's a big miss IMHO. The SW machine is still fun, but it's only been turned on once since the ALP arrived.
@@tjwright - Just for the record, Zen Studios has already announced that there will be a firmware update made available for these machines, but it could be months away. Accelerometer calibration, “White Water” fix, DMD optional stretch mode, and gamma adjust (for contrast/brightness) were all mentioned as possible candidates for the update. And, apparently, there is a USB port somewhere (perhaps behind the backglass?) as they mentioned the update would be delivered by USB. For my part, the second it was stated back in November that there would be no WiFi connectivity I put my purchase on hold. I knew that something this complex was going to require multiple updates. The lack of an easy update mechanism was the biggest design flaw of all!
I totally agree with everything you said. I have both AFM and the atgames pinball as well. The difference in game play is a night and day difference when compared. Playfield on my atgames is so much better. I do like the aesthetics of the AFM, but with all the problems from the screen size and washed out colors, to the button lag it's really unplayable. I'm think I'm going to use my AFM and turn it into a VPIN with a 32" playfield and smaller monitor for the back glass and see how that goes.
Sounds like they should have raised the price another $50 if they had to in order to give it a little more computing power so that the games looked better. I think the cab looks great, but if it doesn't play well, yeah, that's a deal breaker.
It looks like either the monitor should be bigger, or the cabinet should be smaller.
I was looking forward to this and to see how this turned out is disappointing.
The whole 1up team was high on pcp when they did their testing
"A GALLON ON PCP!"
This is all because they took such a hit on the wave one cabinets. They probably came under a lot of fire from their backers, told to get with it or else. So now they rush tons of new product out without quality control to stay afloat.
There's CERTAINLY no shortage of new product now...
Well, I was lucky enough to check Best Buy about midnight last night and ordered this pinball. I also have the Star Wars and love it. Most of the Canadian UA-camrs gave this an overall positive review and I used that as my buying guide along with my positive experience with Star Wars. THEN I see your review! I guess I’ll see how I like it and will decide from there... Your expert eye is appreciated but my much less technical eye may be ok with the flaws and hope for future updates. At any rate, it should be easy to sell if I hate it! Thanks, man!
Thanks for the honest review
Couldn’t have agreed more. I got my AFM Saturday and just sold it locally for 750. Washed out screen, flipper lag, screen is too small. The artwork is needed to be gloss as well it’s way too flat.
Great review. It sucks that Zen has the Williams license and we have to keep putting up with their ineptitude. I'm sure they'll fix Whitewater in the next 12-24 months, just like FX3. If you really want one just wait a couple months they'll be $100 at Sam's Club or you'll be able to get a refurb cheap cause the solenoids break so easily.
You can still get ahold of The Pinball Arcade with all of the original Williams/Stern/Bally tables before they lost their license, if you aren't morally opposed to using bittorrent. Just download the Season 1 thru 7 pro packs. That's what I did, and I have to say the physics are so much better using Farsight's Pinball Arcade engine compared to Zen's FX2 and FX3 engine. I love playing FX2 thru my Oculus Rift, but the few tables available do start to get old.
Nice review. I think everyone wanted AFM for the obvious reasons. I ended up with SW and Marvel and I’m gonna pass on AFM. Besides the issues, the Zen tables just seem to have more going on. Thanks for the hard work and great review!
I agree with you on your review, I was excited until I played it. I have played it less than an hour and will probably sell it. When the prices go up 😄.
Too hard? No way. An honest opinion is an honest opinion. I knew something was off when the first A1U pinball reviews started coming out and it was just one glowing review of the perfect machine after another. Either A1U was sending out different hardware for review, or influencers didn't want to upset their early access daddy.
well here I am a year later watched your review and read the comments and im like wtf are you all on about? I just brought his yesterday and have been having an absolute ball playing all the games with yes not 1005 clarity but by far for the value its still way clear enough to see and play. Slight lag on the flippers but again its game play so get used to it. I love it and for the money. Its not real, its not huge, but its not 10k either!
I agree. I just got mine last week and I'm enjoying it so much. Yes the screen could be better but it's fun to play. That's what counts to me
Seeking clarification: what, other than the Whitewater table slowdown and the low-resolution physical art, is worse than the other Arcade1Up cabs you tested? I thought the negatives you listed here were identical to the negatives on the other Arcade1Up cabs? Or are you saying this unit's screen, nudge sensor, and other technical aspects are WORSE than the Star Wars / Marvel tables? Thanks for any insight you can offer.
Yes this unit is way worse than the star wars and marvel. This unit wasn't even tested before release. Only 8 out of 10 tables are playable. (Whitewater has frame rate issues and junkyard the flippers are super weak and you can't even reach the ramps) the G sensor is also terrible on this unit. The ball nudges by itself all the time and it feels like the pinball is the shape of a football playing the tables. I don't have any issues on marvel or star wars. Those both play awesome. This unit is a total letdown and I plan on returning it soon.
Good review. Not interested in these pinballs. I would have tear the the whole thing apart and mod it too much .
Sorry I thought this was the new retro randoms room
A/S/L pic?
Oh my god... SMH
@@kevgret LOL
Honest but I'm bummed on it missing the mark. The irony is you can't find them anywhere anyways.
Honestly it's a good thing. I've had AFM for a day now and I regret purchasing it. They need to send out new updated PCBs to everyone that bought this. The entire machine is almost unplayable. Not to mention the phantom nudges that happen on their own.
Wow bummer on the delay
What a shame, this was the only machine I was interested in, and if it was perfect, I'd buy it. How do they screw up White Water? It's one of the best titles in pinball!
One thing I’m not a fan of are gameplays being full-on digital instead of physical with all the features built in. And NGL, after seeing issues like delay happen on a digital pinball machine, glad I stayed my focus out of it and far away.
Your spot on, so happy I did not buy one
Can't buy the garbage anyway due to arcade1up's terrible terrible communication. Thing has been available for purchase a grand total of about 3 hours, ever and now seems will never be produced again. But it should have been an extremely obvious thing that the machine was mediocre when arcade1up announced these machines for winter 2020, totally stopped even talking about them most of the year, delayed them for months more, and then released them without any fan fare at all and quickly pushed it off their website for new arcade cabinets. Sounds to me like a company trying to wash their hands of it. The only actual way to buy this thing is to be a Canadian, or buy from Canada and likely pay hundreds in shipping and other fees, or buy from ebay for 1200+ dollars (more than a full virtual pinball machine.) At least the marvel and star wars ones were readily available. Also if you are unhappy with your purchase, just sell it. You will easily make nearly double what you paid since maybe 500 of these machines were even available in the US.
Why would they use 720p. Does 1080p really add cost anymore?
Imagine thinking for 500$ you are going to get a 4000$ pinball machine lol 😅 I’m just happy to enjoy playing pinball with family and friends
Just throwing this out there, last night when turning off my Star Wars pinball, the on/off switch stopped working it won't shut the machine off in the off position. Any ideas?
i would lift the monitor panel and see if one of the wires came loose. if so, reseat. I have heard the switches they use are low quality so it make just need replacement all together. Maybe contact a1up support?
Good review...it seems to me Arcade1up Gen 1 everything is not the best to get on day one, they had problems with Gen 1 cabinets, now the pinball machines, best to wait and see what the next models are, I am sure they will improve with time but I am gonna pass on these three pinball machines, maybe the Gen 2’s will be better and better licensed machines, hoping for the Kiss pinball or Elvira , now those I would get!
I got Marvel Pinball finally yesterday. The screen display issues are the same in game play, blurry and washed out. Also when you look at an angle there appears to be horizontal lines going through the screen like low refresh rate or something idk. As a computer gamer I was not impressed with these graphics at all! Also the same issues with nudge unusable. I knew better than to buy any gen 1 Arcade1ups and went against my own rule. Hopefully the update/patch they're talking about fixes a lot of these issues.
After all of that being said I played it last night for at least 4 hours. LOL!
The horizontal line thing is actually caused by the plexiglass. Remove the plexiglass and/or replace it with real glass and it should be much nicer.
As Avi S said, those lines are created by the plexiglass (happens on the other pinballs as well). Order a piece of real glass to resolve it. Here are the specs that I've used and it fits like a glove.
Tempered Glass
Shape: Square/Rectangle
Thickness: 1/4"
Tint: Clear
Edgework: Seamed Edge
Width: 16 1/4"
Height: 23 1/4"
Thank you for honest review 👍😊.
Good review, for the money this what tou can aspect. Wicked haves a 4k machine only cost 3/ 4 k to buy.
I think the truth is somewhat in the middle. To honest, I've pretty much only played AFM on mine and some Arabian Nights. I'm also annoyed that whitewater doesn't work but I'm sure there will be an update at some point. The artwork seems pretty good to me but I'm not typically staring at it close up. I wish the colours on the monitor were a little more vibrant as well although I find myself thinking that perhaps the aftermarket will come up with a brightness knob similar to the ones for series 1 1up arcades. I'm actually one who is reasonably happy with the screen size but 1080 would have been nice. I've enjoyed my machine for the month I've had it or so and play almost everyday. I did your mod already for better feel. As to nudge I think hardwood floors are making it worse as the whole machine moves instead of the accelerometer registering. Probably works better on carpet. I've got mine on hardwood as well but wedge it against the wall and can get nudge working decently. Even in full size real pinball. Nudge is hard to get to work in a predictable manner. Thanks for the review and sharing your opinion.
Yeah i get it, and for sure everyone has different expectations. As long as you are content with your purchase then thats really all that matters brother
how do you expect that update for Whitewater to come Joel? Does yours have any sort of I/O ports or wifi? Mine doesn't! I think the update will come in the form of a better machine you can buy.
@@tjwright More than likely through the mini USB connection port that is on the CPU for the pinball machine? My AFM machine has one. I can't speak to yours but I would assume there all the same. I believe 1 up has provided updates previously for some of the arcades through a similar firmware update. But if yours doesn't have the connection I guess your out of luck.
@@joelstewart8795 you may be right, I haven't looked at the boards, but there's certainly no external ports.
@@tjwright ua-cam.com/video/0_wjaCBx280/v-deo.html in this video there is reference to Mel from zen talking about the issue with whitewater and brightness issues and the idea that there would be an update at some point . It's at about the 5 minute mark.
To me the atgames pinball is a better choice.. Bigger & better screen being able to download new tables and hook a PC up to it for the same money pretty much
Honest reviews welcomed, glad that you shared this and gave us your opinion. Sorry to hear that you didn't get what you expected. I didn't get one, worried about screens glitching out too. I've seen and heard complaints about the screens on some of these going through color tests at random. Hopefully that doesn't happen to yours, maybe it was a few bad parts causing that for folks. Good video 👍
I have one of the A1U machines and the AtGames Legends Pinball. A1U is getting spanked. The ONLY thing they have going for them is ZEN's software and the licenses they carry with them. It's a shame, because the ALP machine is so much better, but just doesn't have the titles and licenses available. If AtGames could get a share of Zen, Williams, et al... A1U would be out of the pinball game as it stands now. If A1U doesn't do a deluxe or V2 pin and up the specs to 1080, 32" playfield, connectivity, and expandability then they are going to have a hard time keeping interest. It's such a shame. A real real nice machine with all the bells and whistles that blows these away can be had for around $5K. If one of these manufacturers could mass-produce something with minimal compromises in the $1-2K range they would probably sell like hotcakes. On one end you have these $600 machines and the on the other end you have small manufacturer boutique machines that are 10x the price. There's a huge gap in the middle.
No I love your honesty
your not wrong, I had mine for a few days and tried your haptic mod and still didn't like it, plus no online. I told myself it was not worth tearing down... but i completely gutted it put a mini pc in it with a poormans dof haptic setup with 4 dayton exciters and a bass shaker, did a pc monitor backglass with some custom (not me) artwork for steam fx3. all happ buttons full controller deck running x360ce and a KL25Z plunger kit, from VirtuaPin. now i run fx3 and all the zaccaria collection and its actually pretty decent now. thanks for being honest buddy, i would not buy it again lol.
HunterKIller292, I just checked your youtube page. You did all this cool stuff and did not post it. UGGGGGGGGGGGgg! Please post some of this for us non-modders; make sure you carefully explain everything you did lol. IT sounds so very cool. Cost of 4 dayton exciters?
@@arcadewill7011 , Hey Thanks, is nothing more than what COOLTOY here on you tube has done. If you want to do what i did just check out what he did to his A1UP. I guarantee you he can explain everything better than me.
So the same issues that exist on the other Arcade1Up make you not recommend this one, but recommend the others?
No, on the other arcade1up pinball machines all 10 games work. On this one, 1 game is completely unplayable. Would you recommend someone pay for 10 games but only 9 work yourself? Also the artwork wasn't completely botched on the other machines. This is by far the worst machine of the 3 released.
Impossible to find in the US!
probably a good thing.... such a disappointing experience.
It went live on bestbuy at 1am last night, sold out by sunrise
@@NoahSties Yep I woke up at 7am to find them on sale added one to my cart and then told it was sold out. Honestly after getting Marvel yesterday and listening to this review. I think I'm done with these Gen 1 pinballs until proven otherwise.
Count yourself lucky then.
I got lucky. On a whim, I checked reddit at around 1:30AM EST on 4/22... and US BestBuy AFM was available for order! In for one, already shipped, should be delivered on Monday! Looks like they were still taking orders until early morning today.
(I've been waiting for the Marvel/Star Wars machines from WM, scheduled for 5/7 deliver - will probably cancel at least 1 of those.
Thanks for a (honest) review mate well done.
With the low cost of modern 1440p and 4k panels, hard to believe they used a crappy 720p panel in this thing. I just have to assume this is a super budget oriented Vpinball machine. I still think the money would be better spent buying a kit and building your own table.
This chipset is almost choking at 720p. It can’t even do the native 1080p. 1440p would require $1,000 retail increase and that’s not an exaggeration.
It's a 1080 panel but the crappy hardware can only run it at not even 720p. It's definitely not even 60fps either. Maybe 40-50 at most. Very choppy gameplay
@@zro2gon Once the new toy pixie dust wears off, the folks that bought these should be more objective about their purchase.
It’s the monitor giving you the delay of the button press. What settings can you configure (of the monitor) .., can you switch to a non filtered video mode? Aka arcade mode
You can't adjust anything. Completely locked out
@@Restalgia this is why I steer clear of the 1up company. They like to bait and switch or use inferior parts
Its a shame this machines having so many issues. I really enjoy the starwars and marvel ones
Thats too bad for this was the table I wanted most as well. Im just gonna wait until they make a 2nd wave of tables for I really want one with real tables that were in arcades and such.
Restalgia, a few questions and clarifications, first I do not have this table; instead I have the STAR WARS, MARVEL, and LEGENDS PINBALL. With that being said, my assumptions in not getting AFM was that it would mimic similar play as LEGENDS (what I mean by this is both emphasize a classic/Williams pinball gameplay style vs ZEN Arcade STYLE) So, what are the possibilities & cost would of upgrading the 1UP digital with better accelerometer and Haptic feedback? Next, is it possible for a software upgrade to fix the monitor color and grayscale issues? Can an extra graphics chip be added/upgraded to play in true 1080P since the monitor is capable of this? These type of answers to my questions are out of my league. Thanks in advance. Arcade Will
The Williams physics is different then Zen for sure. That being said a software update could fix some issues like accelerometer but won't make a substantial improvement to color contrast and grey scale. Also you couldn't hardware swap the accelerometer since it requires drivers.
Also the outbound GPU performance is also capped and we cannot really improve upon this without heavily optimizing the software.
If the legs were on wheels would that help the nudge?
No, the software on the machine is messed up. I can't see how wheels would help at all
Take body, add better screen, add VP.
what would be a good replacement which has all these amazing tables?
Latest patch fixes a lot of issues