Clocking METEOR

[The pinballist formally known as Dean Morgan]

Was playing Meteor today and thought I would write regarding 'clocking' of pinballs.  Meteor is a pretty easy game to play and I have clocked it i.e gone past its maximum score 999 999 and it starts again at zero.

Well today the current High Score is set at 976,600 and I was getting close to this on the last ball.  I had to calculate how much bonus points I had banked up (when you loose the ball) so that when I lost this last ball I would be over the 976,000 but under 999 999.  The reson for this is to beat the high score.  Becouse if you clock it you dont get the high score and dont get to hear that lovely crack sound three times in a row.

Anyway, I miss calculated and clocked the machine, damn.  I have done this quite often and it is good fun trying to beat the high score and not clock the machine.  I think the highest score I have ever got on Meteor without clocking it was in the 980 000s.

Anyone else do this with there 6 digit pins?

[illawarra_steelers]

Suppose the real challenge was when these games were on location and beating the highest score to date....which was usually around 999,900.

Many times would attempt to tilt as the bonus counted down only to find you had tilted just after clocking it - d'oh!

[pinnies4me]

Back in 1978 or 9, two mates and I (we're still best mates to this day) used to skip class and go and play at a local arcade. The game of choice was Time Warp (and that's why that was my first pin purchase years ago). I had an affinity for that game, banana flippers and all, for some reason. None of us had any money to speak of, so with 20c in hand I'd play through to collect the three games you got on the way to high score, then try and do what Dean said, add up the bonus and drop it to keep within the current HS and clocking. Over the year that window got smaller and smaller, until near the end it was sitting at about 998,000 odd and just about impossible to make. I love that memory though, a fun time when the biggest problem (apart from how long it would be before getting laid next) was not clocking Time Warp!

[Strangeways]

I did it twice on my Meteor, once on my Space Invaders and a few times on my Paragon..

Since my games are always Free - I never finish the game as close to 999,990 as possible.. I love clocking them !

[Retropin]

still tring desperately to clock bally Lost World - but cant get past my old high score

[Skybeaux]

I'm like you Dean ,i always try to post a high score without rolling it ,just to hear the 3 loud cracks.
I find some machines are much easier to clock than others ,particularly early Stern machines......Cosmic princess and Galaxy come to mind.

[GORGAR 1]

As a kid we always wanted to "clock" the machine-as we couldn't put our name in clocking it was more important. I remember going to school the next day and saying to my mates guess what I just clocked time warp at the Eltham roller skating rink, Oh they where the days. We used to wait at the door for the bloke to open up so we could run in and play at all these different arcades..

Peter

[Wotto]

I recall that when someone got the 3 loud cracks, the whole place used to appear to stop for a second as most people in our pinball parlour, Engadine Leisure Centre , would look to see who the GODDAMN LEGEND was that just got a high-score on ‘X’ machine. It was like the guy was a hero for just a few minutes.

Love that sound.

[jyebow]

Back in 1978 or 9, two mates and I (we're still best mates to this day) used to skip class and go and play at a local arcade. The game of choice was Time Warp (and that's why that was my first pin purchase years ago). I had an affinity for that game, banana flippers and all, for some reason. None of us had any money to speak of, so with 20c in hand I'd play through to collect the three games you got on the way to high score, then try and do what Dean said, add up the bonus and drop it to keep within the current HS and clocking. Over the year that window got smaller and smaller, until near the end it was sitting at about 998,000 odd and just about impossible to make. I love that memory though, a fun time when the biggest problem (apart from how long it would be before getting laid next) was not clocking Time Warp!

Great times they were !!
this line brought up fantastic memories "I love that memory though, a fun time when the biggest problem (apart from how long it would be before getting laid next) was not clocking Time Warp! "
How good were those days.... ( sorry to hijack the thread )
 OK back on track 

[pinnies4me]

Started thinking back about that after reading your post, and some of the highlights of that year - and realised it was in fact 1982... Moving Pictures were top of the charts with "What about me"... We spent half our spare non-pinball time going to see bands, and the other half playing in our own band... I remember the start of a Moving Pictures concert, but it was so hot and so crowded that we were buying two jugs of beer each when we made it to the bar - I flaked it on the dance floor but it was so crowded I didn't fall over! I come to being walked out by a girl named Josephine from school ... the summers each side of that year seemed to go on forever... The highlights (Donna  ) and the lows (Donna  ) ... gosh, I found some photos only yesterday cleaning up for the move (two of Donna - both taken at such a distance that I had to fill in some parts with memories...) and then ten minutes later my old band music book, written on the back in a heart "Hello Sweetie, Love Donna". I'd forgotten that year except for the Time Warp bit, but now I recall it was perhaps the most amazing year of my life in a lot of ways. Geez - the only fight that year to take place was between me and a fellow who is still a buddy! Right in the middle of the cafeteria.. You can probably guess the girl at the center of that if you've read any of the above... Organising a party in the middle-Winter empty coastal caravan park after we discovered they'd left the power on - by the end of the night there were about 200 people there, oh and leaving with a girl who had the exact same name as a current pop-charting blonde (and just as pretty, can't work that one out). What a year - no wonder Time Warp had a special meaning to me when I started searching for one, I'd just forgotten why, but turns out it was one part of a special year...   

Nino - Post submitted as AP Thread Hijack of the Year.

(Sorry Dean, I don't usually drink on weeknights)

[Creech]

Fantastic post Nick. I'll let you off on the thread hijack as you made up for it in entertainment value. Brought back some memories for me too!

[Strangeways]

Started thinking back about that after reading your post, and some of the highlights of that year - and realised it was in fact 1982... Moving Pictures were top of the charts with "What about me"... We spent half our spare non-pinball time going to see bands, and the other half playing in our own band... I remember the start of a Moving Pictures concert, but it was so hot and so crowded that we were buying two jugs of beer each when we made it to the bar - I flaked it on the dance floor but it was so crowded I didn't fall over! I come to being walked out by a girl named Josephine from school ... the summers each side of that year seemed to go on forever... The highlights (Donna  ) and the lows (Donna  ) ... gosh, I found some photos only yesterday cleaning up for the move (two of Donna - both taken at such a distance that I had to fill in some parts with memories...) and then ten minutes later my old band music book, written on the back in a heart "Hello Sweetie, Love Donna". I'd forgotten that year except for the Time Warp bit, but now I recall it was perhaps the most amazing year of my life in a lot of ways. Geez - the only fight that year to take place was between me and a fellow who is still a buddy! Right in the middle of the cafeteria.. You can probably guess the girl at the center of that if you've read any of the above... Organising a party in the middle-Winter empty coastal caravan park after we discovered they'd left the power on - by the end of the night there were about 200 people there, oh and leaving with a girl who had the exact same name as a current pop-charting blonde (and just as pretty, can't work that one out). What a year - no wonder Time Warp had a special meaning to me when I started searching for one, I'd just forgotten why, but turns out it was one part of a special year...   

Nino - Post submitted as AP Thread Hijack of the Year.

(Sorry Dean, I don't usually drink on weeknights)

"Like sand through an hourglass. These are the days of our lives"



Nominated for "Post of the year", Nick.

[Mr Pinbologist]

My stern Stingray is fairly easy to clock... I can remember double clocking stingray years ago (yes thats over 2 million!) i've never been able to do it again since . The current high score is about 970,580, or there abouts. i've been trying lately to beat that without clocking the game