Chuck,

Quick question regarding Munster Madness, on my Munnsters unless I am miss understanding what is going on when I start Munster Madness it also always starts on Marilyn before any shots are made on Madness the right ramp is lit yellow and the LCD shows Marilyn as flashing. I can never really figure out what the hell is going on because of this, it never really seems like I complete any individual character no matter what I shoot.

I have had my Munsters for a few weeks now and have held back from saying much about because as of right now I am not a big fan of the current code. The modes seem pointless at this point, none of them are really that interesting or fun to play and I find myself trying to just time them out after I get the jackpot lit for the mode. Spot for example you just bang away at him then hit a few shots to bring him back up again for very few points and it is a long mode. Why keep shooting at a dangerous shot for no points when you can just shoot a loop then trap up and wait for the timer?

Dragula shot is pretty pointless also imo, you get dragula lit and then shoot it in the Dragula shot and it kicks it back out nothing more nothing less?

So I really just play the modes to get the jackpots lit for the mode and to get to munster madness. Then after that you have a second round of the same. Also there are too many times when the playfield is basically black, I can't play my Munsters without some ambient lights on in the room to light up the playfield so that I can actually see the ball.

I know the code is only at .91 and I really hope something changes with the code to make the modes more interesting and enjoyable to play because right now they aren't and there is really only one way to play the game to get points on it from what I can tell. The only problem is that I think that the modes need such drastic changes to make them fun and worth playing out that I just don't see that radical of a change happening.

Where is the ball launch setting at? The only setting I can find is the ball eject power. That is the power to kick the ball out of the trough into the shooter lane.

I guess that is what I am mainly getting at, the game is about the Jackpots and kitty multipliers. Modes are a means to build jackpots, individual modes are not really worth any points by themselves you need to stack the jackpots and collect with a good playfield multiplier. Why shoot endless if dangerous shots at spot when you have already qualified the super jackpot? The likelihood of qualifying multiple jackpots is pretty slim, the risk vs reward is just not there to justify it.

The rulesheet comes right out and says there really isn't any difference between the different levels of mode play so you have more of the same.

Even if you play a mode really well it isn't worth squat unless you collect those playfield multiplied jackpots at some point.

I have played Munsters a lot in the few weeks that I have had it and just don't feel there is any other way to play it and really don't want to even play the modes on it past getting super jackpot qualified. The shots on the game are pretty fun but fun shots don't carry a game for a super long time if there isn't anything code wise to draw you in and make you want to keep playing.

Compare this to Iron Maiden for example, on Maiden you can blow up basically any mode in the game if you play it well and come out with a good score out of that single mode and if you do well enough you come out with a soul shard shot that you can collect right then and there. The modes on Maiden are worth playing, are unique and you are rewarded for a well played mode both when you play the mode and again later in the game if you progress far enough. Sometimes I play Maiden and focus on playing modes with the mutliballs secondary because the modes are fun. TWD is another one with good mode scoring ability, double scoring on shots etc.

The only gripe I really have playfield layout wise is the shooter lane has serious issues with the ball hitting the metal "ramp" and kicking it up into the bottom of the right ramp wire form it is a really bad issue and the ball will only launch successfully about 1/3 of the time with the auto launcher. I am not sure why they didn't route a pocket into the shooter lane for the V portion of that ramp to fit flush to the playfield like they did on the dragula side of the playfield. I thought I may be able to adjust the position of that metal ramp on the shooter lane but when I took the two screws out to see if I could adjust it there were already three sets of screw holes under the metal so it appears someone at the factory tried to adjust it to no success evidently. But because of the three sets of holes already there I can't really do anything to adjust it. I did take the wireform lose and put several washers under it to raise it up away from the shooter lane and that has helped to keep the ball from slamming into the wireform but is not a permanent fix. I spoke with my distributor about it today and he had already contacted stern regarding this because he has had the same issue on the other Pro's he has sold.

I am just telling it how I see it, I just checked and my Munsters has 269 plays on it in just under 2 weeks most of those plays were put on it by myself so I think I have played it enough to get a feel for the game.

Fingers crossed it will get better.

Looks nice,

Even the stock lighting the PF isn't really dark normally but a few modes pretty well shut off all the lights on the PF that is my complaint about it. For example dragula kickout darkens everything along with spot and some other modes.

Now you just need a new shooter rod.

IMG_20190131_2236548 (resized).jpg

I will be doing a Herman shooter rod pretty soon, it will resemble Herman much more than that example :O)

It is a pretty big oversight by stern to not recess the shooter lane ramp and expecting people to take a dremel and grind on the ramp of their new pin is pretty ridiculous. Like I mentioned when I decided to try to move the ramp a bit there were already three sets of screw holes in the wood under the ramp so it's not like they didn't know it was an issue.

The distributor that I got mine from said all his had this problem, I have played one other besides mine and it also had the issue. I ended up raising the wireform that is above the problem area with several washers and it has for sure helped but the ball still catches air when hitting the beginning of the ramp.

I see what you are saying and agree, but if you look at other machines that have this same style ramp in the shooter lane and even on the munsters on the dragula eject ramp they route a pocket into the playfield to make the entrance of the ramp flush with the playfield so it's not an issue. It's one of those things that you look at it and scratch your head wondering wtf were they thinking especially since they did it on the dragula ramp.

Yes my Distributor spoke with stern about it and they told him to take a dremel to the ramps to taper the edges. Just what I want to do to a new pin.

I agree, my distributor did offer to get a new metal ramp modify it and send it to me. But to me it just seems like a pretty crappy fix for the problem. But I guess the only real fix for it would be for Stern to replace the play field with one that was routed in that location like it should have been in the first place and without a ton of pressure I don't see that happening.

Maybe they should include a dremel with the ~$6k msrp of a pro and surely on the $9k LE they could throw one in the goody bag if they haven't fixed the problem on those already

It clangs every time the magnet actuates, it is what causes Herman to move. There is a small metal rod that goes up through the playfield and that metal flap pushes on that rod to make herman move.

I took mine apart when I first got it because I thought there was something loose or missing that was causing the clanging noise but it is by design oddly enough. The other shoddy thing about Herman is that they are relying on a playfield plastic to provide "spring" tension to Herman by pushing on his right elbow.

Yeah there are several times where you really can't see the playfield during certain modes. Spot and Dragula kickout are especially dark, I pretty well have to play it with a light on in pin room.

I have had Munsters for almost a Month now and I would put my vote in for Monster Bash at this point in time. That may change as the code matures on Munsters but overall to me at least right now Monster Bash is the more fun to play pin.

You can upgrade the display on the MB remake without having to buy the Prem.

Probably would be quicker to get a hold of your Distributor.

Was/is an issue on my pro.

Nice that someone is positive about the reports of problems instead of calling us all complainers :O)

Yep turned on ball save after the first day, too rough of a shooter for no ball save. The Family was boycotting it until I turned it on.

I think I have it set to 8 seconds just long enough to keep you from getting a house ball basically.

Same here, I am hoping that they make some adjustments to mode scoring so that you don't always have to go the super jackpot route if you want points on this game because right now that's it as far as points go. I am not sure how many spot shots it takes to light special but I have done it several times and only came out of the mode with ~2million points. As dangerous as that shot/mode is it should be way more valuable, same with other modes IMO.

You shouldn't take heat for anything it's your game.

I agree that the right outlane is a bit hungry with quite a few drains "cheap" off of herman to the right outlane. I have heard a few choice words spoken by my Wife while playing Munsters, not something that I normally hear when She plays pinball. Me on the other had I always have a few words for the pin.

I haven't adjusted anything on ours yet other than adding a short ball save and replacing the shooter lane ramp with a beveled one.

Must be something up with these newer switches as I have seen quite a few of them break on recent sterns in the exact same way and it's not like they are moving around or anything that would cause them to break.

Musters not getting much love at the Stern Pro Circuit event today.

After owning a pro for a month I wouldn't pick it in competition. I hope that the lack of play it has gotten at the event makes stern take a serious look at the code and it's current state.

It has only been picked for play a few times.

https://www.twitch.tv/deadflip

Stern Pro Circuit finals

There's only one strat for Munsters right now. Stack jackpots, boost your multiplier and try to collect.

Why pick a game with so much risk and very little options of scoring points? So many dangerous shots and you don't get squat out of well played modes unless you can collect stacked jackpots, why pick it?

ROFL

I have noticed the same thing, it is definitely a bug. I thought I used to have a link or email address to report code bugs to stern but can't find it anymore.

It is a rough/fun shooter but there needs to be more possibilities to score points on the game other than stacking and collecting jackpots. I can't think of another "new" pin that has such one track path to points.

Maybe something I didn't notice in the notes but what flexibility are you thinking of?

Ahh I was thinking more along the lines of flexibility in game play, scoring opportunities other than stacking jackpots etc.

Was wondering if I had missed something in the notes. I did load the new code and played a few games haven't dug to deep into it yet though.

I think it is the same as before, or at least I haven't noticed any difference since updating the code. Everytime you hit herman in herman multiball you add a "green dot" in front of him for each three you bump up from white to blue to red. This is also how you re-lite the jackpots after you collect them in each level.

You can get to the right side with a short screwdriver. I had to put mine back in yesterday mine fell out the first day I had it over a month ago now and I just figured out yesterday where the screw came from.

I am not really sure I have seen many people "hate" on the game though I am not out there looking to find people who hate it, but to be fair if you have people spending close to $6k for a pro and more than that for Prem and LE's then it doesn't make much sense to say that the consumer should be grateful to buy something. It's the manufactures who should be grateful for us spending our money on their machines and do the best that they can to make them enjoyable and reliable for the consumers. If you have everyone out there raving about something it will never get any better. Pinball is not an inexpensive hobby and I personally don't want to spend thousands of dollars on something and be tired of playing it in a month.

I think Munsters is a good shooter and well laid out but I am not a fan of the Munsters Code at this point in time, why? Because there is a single path to points and it forces you to play the game the exact same way every time you push the start button so, it's all or nothing points wise. After I play a few games on mine I am done with it for the day, it's not like it's so good that I must play another game. It's like I play a few games get to Munster madness and then "ok I am done". It really is crazy how much code influences the how much you enjoy a game but the good thing is code can be changed so hopefully that happens with the Munsters because I like just about everything else about it besides the current code.

Don't let others influence your love for the game, if you like it you like it if you don't you don't. But you can't expect others not to discuss their feelings toward something just because it doesn't match your feelings towards it. Just because your thought don't agree with each other it doesn't make either person more wrong or right in this situation. I like most of the system 80 and 80b gottliebs and most out there hate them but that doesn't at all bother me because they don't have to like them. So I guess I would say it doesn't make me unhappy that they are unhappy with what I like.

lol

It's not supposed to be Grandpa it's supposed to be Dr. Dudley

Just curious if anyone has come up with a fix for the right lower PF ramp not registering shots? Turned down the flipper power to soft and still on that machine it doesn't register the ramp shot most of the time. Pulled the lower PF glass and checked the opto and it registers every time but when the ball is moving fast it just doesnt get it.

I have a pro but help a friend with an LE. He had issues with both versions of the code with the right ramp on the lower pf not registering most of the time. Pulled the glass to access the lower pf and the opto seems to work fine but just doesn't register fast shots to that ramp even with the lower flippers set to soft. I also replaced his shaker motor and node board for him because whoever installed the shaker at the factory had the wires routed so that the counter weight on the shaker would hit the wire. It shorted out the power wires for the shaker and let out some magic smoke.

But no problems with the flippers not working with either code version on his.

Just be sure you hold the can upright. If you turn it upside down it will spray out an oily liquid that is a pain to remove.

Doom and gloom won't stop until open issues are taken care of and the code gets updated imo.

I think probably the reason people are up in arms about the missing upper playfield on BK Pro is because an upper playfield is what BK was known for on both versions. That is what was special about BK in the past.

There is no race it is the same every time.

The Grandpa shooter rods that I have made I just replace the rod itself so you don't have to remove the complete housing. I did have to turn down the shooter rods because stern doesn't use a standard size. I still have one grandpa left and will probably make up some Herman ones in a week or two.

I may be able to come up with something on that.

At this point in time I would be happy if they would release a bug fix for the bugs introduced in .96

The pro also has issues. Off the top of my head.

1. Sometimes when the ball drains the machine will just sit there with a blank screen and not start the bonus countdown until you flip the flippers once. The machine knows the ball drained and is in the trough but just doesn't do anything.

2. Sometimes it will not give you your add a ball when you shoot dragula when it is lit, it also doesn't give you dragula or jackpots when this happens. It just kicks the ball back into play. This only happens in multiball when the add a ball is lit.

3. Sometimes it will not auto launch the ball that was ball saved during multiball, it puts the ball in the shooter lane but you have to either manually launch it or hit the zap button and it will launch.

In all honesty the skill shots on this game are worthless.

I think 5x dragula only increases the dragula value.

I have hundreds of games on our Munsters, I understand the rules and am really not a fan of the code. I want to be able to play a game more than one way and that isn't possible on Munsters, if you want a good score the only way to do that is to stack jackpots and collect them with a good playfield multiplier. IMO for a game to last in a home environment it needs to have some variety to it, something that makes you want to keep playing it and something that keeps it fresh and Munsters just doesn't have that for us right now.

Stern needs to do something about this instead of telling people they haven't heard of the problem. You shouldn't have to cobble something up on a $9k machine.

Yep no mention of bug fixes other than the tilt bug.

Yeah you will still have to remove the glass to fix it but IMO they need to come out with a cover for the ramp instead of people having to make their own.

Yep it is super hard to get an "honest" opinion on a game.

I think 6 at 6x is about 37 million. I think my highest collect has been ~43million.

I really would like to see some code changes to balance scoring and give you more options to score points, right now Munsters is a one trick pony, get your jackpots stacked and collect them with playfield multiplier.

Maybe some way to take a large instant collect off of a well played mode instead of taking the super jackpots from it so for example you blow up spot and you can then shoot the scoop or dragula and take an instant large payout and not get the super jackpot stacks from that particular mode. It would at least give some other scoring options than the super jackpot collects. I also wish there were some multiballs that weren't considered modes that would allow you to bring spot or enlarging ray in with one of the multiballs.

Yes I have it happen during multiball when you drain a ball it will sometimes eject it into the shooter lane but doesn't auto launch it. If you drain another during ball save it will kick another out into the shooter lane. This bug has seemed to appear for me in .96, the odd thing is that if you hit the zap button it will auto launch the ball so the game knows that there is a ball in the shooter lane.

Maybe they are adding a protector over the ramp so the mini balls will stop jumping over the opto?

People are probably tired of having you explain it to them too :O)

Was just going to post the same thing. Stern doesn't really have "scoops", I am sure it is less expensive to not manufacture it deeper.

On munsters it is a direct fairly close shot to the scoop, so what happens is the ball actually goes into the scoop but pops right back out if it were deeper I am sure the ball would settle and stay in.

So unless you bounce it off of the metal rail next to the scoop or backhand it it just doesn't want to stay in the shallow pocket. It is better with flippers set to soft but still has issues with the ball popping back out.

You have to hit enough standups to qualify enlarging ray then shoot the scoop to start it.

Fingers crossed, been holding onto ours in hopes for a major update "rewrite hopefully" in the nearish future.

I enjoy Munsters shots more than DP but DP has munsters beat hands down when it comes to ruleset. Hope that changes code wise.

Yep in the end all that matters is if you like it or not.

But at this point in time there are currently 220 ratings on Munsters as a group "Pro, Prem, LE" so It is hard to say that people are just being unfair to the machine. I know you are a staunch supporter of the game in it's current state but from the ratings I think a lot of people "including me" feel that the code on Munsters needs a bunch of work to make it a real gem.

I knew going in that I generally don't care for Dwight code but Munsters is one of those themes that I bought anyway based solely on the theme, game designer and artwork with hopes that Dwight would deliver something that I enjoyed. I just find it a rinse and repeat code that I play a game on here and there but can't say I think to myself "hey I want to go play Munsters". I am still holding onto it with hopes code changes despite Dwight saying it was done basically on release, I hope that someone at Stern will make it happen. Maybe we will luck out and Lyman will step in from the shadows and knock it out of the park.

I can with 100% certainty say this will be the last Dwight coded machine I ever buy before it is proven to be a well coded game, no matter what the theme is.

So why would Munsters be rated any differently than any other game on the list? No reason for anyone to hate it more than any other game out there, you don't see many new games released that drop that quickly unless it is somewhat warranted. I have had mine for over 100 days now and waited quite a while before I rated it, I ended up at a 7.67 I think on my rating.

If they would do something with code I would upgrade from my Pro to a color Prem but no way I would until I see it, the proof is in the pudding as they say.

IMO LE's are silly to begin with, literally all you are paying for over a prem is a few cosmetics/glass and a plaque that say it is limited.

Everyone has an opinion and not everyone likes the same thing thankfully, but I would have to disagree with you regarding the code.

Musters looks good, the play field layout other than the one piece stand ups is good, sound is pretty good and I don't even mind the animations. But the code on this game is absolutely destroying it for us. I picked up the pro as soon as it was available from my local distributor and we have quite a few plays on it but it pretty well just sits there now only getting a few plays per week out of a family of four. It just doesn't have anything that makes you want to play it code wise, when I do play it now it is just a single game and I am done with it. It needs modes that are fun to play that are worth completing other than just trying to get jackpots stacked out of them, it just needs something to give it more variety. I think the home market has changed what people expect out of a pin for sure and it is a tough pill to swallow spending thousands of dollars for something that you are going to be done playing within a few months. Money wise it just doesn't make sense to spend that much on a game with shallow code when I could go out and buy several other pins for that amount of $$

As I have mentioned in the past I will not buy another pin that is coded by Dwight until I see how it turns out because in general I just don't enjoy his style. There are some exceptions but in general I just don't care for the style. The code is at 1.0 now and he pretty well said at launch that the code was "done" so unless someone comes behind him and saves the game it is what it is.

In the end it is my fault for buying it before playing it but I hope not to get lured in by another theme again only to find out that the fun factor isn't there.

ROFL

I have made some Grandpa ones and will be making some Herman ones sometime soon. None on hand right now but I can cast some more, here is the Grandpa one.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/classifieds/archive/74015

It is 110% profit margins.

The prices of games continue to increase and what goes into the games gets whittled down as time goes on. As long as they keep selling there is no reason for them to change how they are doing things.

You may wait to see if others have the problem before sending it back, you never know it could be a code issue.

Unfortunately none of the "modes" are worth anything, the only real path to points is to stack the jackpots and collect with max PF multiplier.

You have to complete several areas before you can even qualify kitty enough times for 6x PF so it leaves you playing "modes" for little to no points other than getting your jackpots stacked, qualifying kitty and getting to MM. Out of the modes raven and enlarging ray are imo the most fun to shoot but still you are stuck playing the game the same way every time if you are looking to get points. If you just walk up to it with no concern about points then play the modes in whatever order you want and don't worry about it.

Musters is a fun shooter, the theme is great but the code just makes it stale after a while, for us anyway.

To be fair there are some Munsters games with chipping clear and Stern won't stand behind them either.

I am sure you have already checked it but it sounds like leveling issues to me. Other than the slings that is, you have to nudge to get it up and out of there.

Midnight madness only happens when the game clock hits midnight. If you set the time on the clock in the settings it will happen every night at midnight if you are playing a game..

Not having much luck selling mine, so you can probably unbolt it from the floor for now at least. Hopefully the rumors of code updates are true and it will create some buzz about the game and it will turn into a classic.

Sounds good thanks for the confirmation..

Yeah I guess that I am not used to loosing that much on a NIB purchase in such a short period of time. When I put it up for sale the range was I think ~$4500 to $5200.

I have it listed at $5k or make offer and have only had a few offers in the low $4k range, there has to be some reason that the value on this pin is down compared to some other newer sterns. There are even a few LE's for sale in the mid $7k range right now so it's a buyers market.

I guess I will either hold onto it and wait for code improvements in hopes that either I will want to hang onto it long term or that a code update will drum up some interest in the game again.

If he has an LE sometimes you need to have a horse in the race before it starts, not sure how difficult it is to get your hands on an LE in that area "Was thinking the guy who mentioned this was from Australia, there are so many people in this thread it is hard to remember".

But yeah not buying until you play is the safest bet for sure.

I have also heard from a reliable source that code is going to be worked on, no timeline though.

The reason was that TWD when it was first released had unfinished code and eventually Lyman knocked it out of the park code wise. I had an early TWD and nobody wanted them and honestly it wasn't that fun of a game, but once Lyman went back to work on the code it became an incredibly fun pin. Hopefully the same happens with Munsters but Dwight hasn't done Stern or us Munsters owners any favors by repeatedly saying "the code is done".

Everyone should hope for great code up dates no matter what pin they are taking about. Munsters is a great shooter and has great art, but could be a "classic" with great code.

That would be nice but not that I know of. The only way I know to adjust the intensity is to move the counterweights on the shaft.

That's just a reflection on Herman but if you look at the post to the left of the grandpa scoop you can see the clear and artwork bubbling up around the post.

As much as you love yours I would have thought you would have quite a few plays on it...

I am currently on a NIB strike because of play field issues but if I do buy another NIB it will never be a pin coded by Dwight. He seems like a likable guy and I am not saying he has never done a good job on code but I am not going to risk the $$ again on the "hope" that he finishes the code.

IMO long term sales and machine value of newer pins is determined largely in part by code. There are quite a few pins from the last 5 years or so that were poorly received on launch because of poor code. Sales were sluggish, 2nd had market values were down etc. But several of those games were saved by a knock it out of the park code update. Enjoyable, engaging code is pretty important in the home setting where you can play the game over and over and over. Variation in game play is key for me, I want different ways to score points, engaging modes, attainable wizard modes etc. Right now I feel like when I play Munsters there are so many shots in the game that just don't feel like they are worth shooting. There's so much that could be done code wise to make this game a classic.

Dwight did a pretty huge disservice to Munsters by publicly commenting that the code was complete. Hopefully the rumors from Stern are correct and there's a good update in the pipe for Munsters.

I was told by someone from Stern that an update is going to happen so I am pretty confident that an update will come. But what type of update will it be? I doubt anybody knows except for Stern.