Portal Production
It continues to be incredibly rewarding seeing new Portal owners share how much they love the game, and we’re working hard to get all pre-ordered games out to those who are waiting. Game Kits are shipping at a good pace. All remaining batch 3 Game Kit orders should ship out within the next week or so, and then we’ll start contacting batch 4 customers.
The machine queue is unfortunately still lagging behind. Every new machine coming off the line has a game kit waiting for it, but the rate of new machine production remains slower than we’d like. Batch 1 machine orders are wrapping up this week, and we’ve just started reaching out to early batch 2 machine customers. It will likely be another 4-5 weeks before we begin processing batch 3 machines. The blame for the poor estimates falls entirely on me. Logistical challenges and surprises are common with pinball machine manufacturing, and I should have predicted them better. Hopefully the continued praise Portal is getting from new owners is keeping everybody’s excitement high.
Make your own P3 games!
We just released version 0.9 of the P3 Software Development Kit to help everybody interested in making their own P3games. Whether you want to make one for others to enjoy or you want to tinker with new ideas on your own P3, the SDK can help. The full package includes a sample P3 game, a full suite of documentation, hardware specs for those wanting to make a new physical playfield module, and specs and templates for all of the artwork pieces for those wanting to create new artwork packages. The Kit is available for free from our support site at https://www.multimorphic.com/support/projects/customer-support/wiki/3rd-Party_Development_Kit (free login required)
P3 Owner Community
The community-hosted Multimorphic Discord server remains the best place to go for informed discussions about the P3. It’s also where we share beta releases of software updates for P3 games. So if you want early access to future software updates, that’s where you’ll find them. Don’t feel obligated, though. When updates are released publicly, they’ll be available on our website and via WiFi installs, like always.
Multimorphic Discord Link: https://discord.gg/GuKGcaDkjd
Flipper Talk
Everybody knows the P3‘s lower flippers are uniquely designed to float over the surface of the playfield LCD. Now, after years of customer usage data and a few design tweaks, including one recent change to the material we use in the “rest plates”, we are proud to have the most reliable flippers in the industry. As with all flippers from all manufacturers, a few parts can wear out over time, but the P3‘s lower flippers are also the easiest to maintain, as the whole assembly simply slides out of the front of the machine for easy access to the mechanics.
The change in material of the rest plates reduces the likelihood of developing residual magnetism, which causes a flipper to resist flipping. If you’re experiencing weak or occasional no-flips on your machine, you can flip the rest plates over to extend their lives. Otherwise, just replace them with these new ones: https://www.multimorphic.com/store/accessories/flipper-rest-plate/.
That the P3 flippers are different from those on other machines is a common topic of conversation. There are a variety of ways the flippers can be configured, but people often develop opinions based only on one specific configuration. Our stock configuration uses standard buttons on extruded button boxes, and by default, game apps configure the red buttons to control the lower flippers and the white buttons to control the upper flippers.
– For those not wanting multiple button controls, a configuration setting (Settings -> Mechs -> Switches -> Use red buttons for all lower p/f buttons) can make the red buttons control all flippers on the associated sides of the machine (excluding the mezzanine flipper in Weird Al’s Museum of Natural Hilarity).
– For a different button layout, P3 button box replacements are available from For Amusement Only Games. These provide a different and closer-together button configuration, and they also protrude out of the cabinet about half as far as the stock button boxes. Click here for the Product Page.
– For a fully traditional setup, P3 button box replacements are available from Pinball Life. These provide the stock button layout that’s flush mounted to the cabinet and with leaf switch stacks for staged flipping (and a toggle switch for fully separate button control). Click here for the Product Page.
These options address pretty much all of the feedback we’ve received and comments we’ve read over the years, but if you have a preference that isn’t covered here and want to experiment with a custom button configuration, the stock button box specs and design files are available on our support site.
P3 Pinball Service 101
We’ve always had the P3 Learning Series videos to help new users become familiar with operating and maintaining their machines. Our tech support specialist, Nick Baldridge, has started creating a new series providing a more in-depth technical look at the P3 and P3 sub-assemblies, starting with the Flipper Assembly and Infinity Ball Trough:
Flipper Assembly: https://youtu.be/8j5LcyYBH44
Infinity Ball Trough: https://youtu.be/V6D-YJRrnwU
PinGlass+
After receiving a recent resupply shipment of standard size PinGlass+, our brand of anti-reflective pinball glass, we’re almost caught up on all back-ordered PinGlass+ sheets from Black Friday and beyond. Both standard and widebody sizes are now in stock and fit perfectly in many different brands and models of pinball machines. Praise for the quality and value of PinGlass+ continues to come in from new and old customers. Order yours today at https://pinglass.net and don’t forget to grab some Corner Cushions!
Social Spotlight
If you haven’t yet, be sure to follow Multimorphic on Instagram, Facebook, X/Twitter and YouTube. We’ve been posting videos spotlighting all of the cool physical features in P3 games, gameplay highlights, giveaways and more.
Also, if you missed it live, Kevin recently did a full-game runthrough of Portal during a livestream on the Multimorphic YouTube channel. Here’s a highlight of the complete game from that stream. Watch at your own spoiler risk! https://youtu.be/MwJVpZcjAnU
As always, we’re all incredibly thankful for your support and for the opportunity to create evolved pinball experiences.
– Gerry Stellenberg
Multimorphic, Inc.
