I've played whole day and the software is better but still not perfect.
I've tries setting 1,2 and 3 and not one works perfect.
I have some fanthom hammer hits, and when lock is lit, i hit the captive ball maybe 5 times and the magnet doesn't grab the ball at all.
I am a bit disapointed, I hoped that this update makes the hamer lock perfect, but it doesn't

NO problems here...I played a few games today. TWO coffin multiballs, during one ball(second time since owning machine)

Picked up MoP from Tilt this morning. Thanks Kerry.

SAM_1739.jpg

Plays great. 1st game $138mil and got coffin multiball in 1st game. A few phantom hammers but all in all, I am very happy.

Nice to see a picture of you.
It is an amazing game already!

Enjoy!

You need more than 20 hits total to lock all 3 balls even if it is working properly

25 hits...I get it here towards the end Stacked with Snack. I otherwise stink.

#at=44

Light third lock at 7:20...start coffin @ 7:45

when coffin lock is lit, and you hit the captive ball, does the magnet always grab your ball from the first shot?

No, it's unpredictable.When lock is lit:
- Sometimes the ball is locked at the first shot,
- Sometimes it takes 2 to 5 more shots
- In some other cases, the ball is locked without hitting the captive ball (Just because the ball is in the neighbourhood of the magnet)
- Phatom hammer drop happens.

1.18 is just a software trick to bypass an hardware failure (sensor). I hope that for Stern the problem is not closed and that it's just a temporary solution waiting to find why our sensor doesn't work properly.

The hammer lock needs a sound effect! Or is there one and I'm not hearing it?

Yea, I am feeling that but its better than it was, by a LOT. At least they are on to it and at least the lock now works and you can get coffin multiball.

Wouldn't mind betting that will be in a future code update. Would be cool. Whack.

That said, played pretty much all day today and am loving it. Metallica is a great pin.

I agree with you, pinball is a lot more fun now. it's a great temporary solution.

Still playing, I love it. And it will only get better with code.

Sorry to chime in late....

Why is this code (1.18) only for european/export machines? Does that include my machine in Canada? What happens if a "domestic" user tries to use this code??

Mine is not that bad. I can live with the phantom hammer going off 3 or 4 times during a game but it works when you hit it. Great game and will only get better.

I have Metallica LE #492 and I live in the states and have not had any phantom hammer's or anything wrong with the coffin multiball.

I wonder what is different between the euro metallica's and the US metallica's?

anyone chime in on the difference?

It is not just an overseas issue, there are at least 2 I know of in the states that are doing this. Mine (it is a premium not an LE, but the PF, and all the wiring harnesses are marked LE) has been doing this from the beginning and my magnet gets extremely HOT, there are several other posts about mine. Stern has sent me a new magnet board for under the PF and that did not help, they are sending me a magnet assembly to try. I have loaded the new code (1.18) and the magnet captures the ball a little better, but not all the time, and the hammer from the time the lock is lit pretty much constantly hammers even if the ball is not moving and is being held on the flipper. once today while the hammer was hammering I shot the ball up there, and it dropped in the hole, then when the magnet tried to come back up, the ball got jammed in between the magnet and the edge of the PF and I had to shut it off and unjam it. I agree with Poibug that it works somewhat better, but it is not a permanent or acceptable solution. It is still a fun game, and even with this MB unavailable, there are still 3 others to achieve and lots of other things to shoot for, but the coffin MB is still really cool to get. (I would like to get it more than once every 20 or so games.) So unless they moved Ohio to Europe without telling me it is not just a European game issue.

Phoebe

My LE #385 will not sense the ball at the coffin magnet. I have NEVER had a ball lock in the coffin. Magnet works, hammer works in test. Magnet doesn't sense ball in test and does not attempt to lock a ball ever. Only time I've seen any of that feature work is in a ball search or in test. Pat at Stern said the problem is the magnet board, and that they are working with the board maker to engineer a firmware fix to that board to fix the problem. Hope this gets sorted out SOON, as it's very frustrating having gotten a new game from the factory where one of the main features flat out doesn't work at all.

Todd

I just use the snakes lip with the left flipper .Locks 80/90 % of the time. Problem solved of my end. I sort of like quirks like that. Make u change your strategy. I get coffin m/b 3 out of 5 games. Start another multiball and whack the shot out of the block

Mine just arrived in Australia and with 1.8 the coffin works but I get alot of phamton hammer/magnet drops! I'm having a few ball shooter lane issues to the ball won't make it all the way up most times unless I use the plunger is this common?

Mine works a treat! So happy with this game.

Hello
I want share my experience to you after trying 1.18 on my Metallica LE, in FRANCE.

So at the beginning, maybe 15 games, the coffin magnet was "fine" with some phantom hammer drops.
After a few more games coffin magnet was working only sometimes.
And now, the magnet is not powering anymore.
It's the same when i go to the menu to test the coffin magnet (detect/grab), with the door closed.

I only can hear a little "bzz" on the little card, when i start the magnet in test, but there is no led lit on the board. I also checked the wires, whitch looks ok. it didnt smell burn.

Do any of you can tell me if there is any led lit on the little board, when activating or not the magnet ?
And if any of you have any idea where i could search, i would be glad to read.
I will send an email to stern.

I actually think that my board have a problem after playing lots of game (250).

Julien

(sorry for my english)

There is an LED on the board, it is green, it flashes when the game is first turned on then it goes off. Stern thought the board under the PF was the problem on mine, and sent me a new one. It didn't fix the issue on mine. The problem with mine is that along with the not grabbing the ball, the magnet gets extremely HOT, and then it will just shut down and not work at all. After the game is shut off and the magnet has cooled it will work again for a couple games. (that is with the 1.16 code) Now since I put the 1.18 code in, I get more grabs with the magnet and it will lock the ball after a few tries. It never holds the ball and just releases it anymore. Now it does the phantom hammer, from the time the lock is lit, the hammer and magnet activate every 5 to 10 seconds even if the ball is held on the flipper and not moving. I believe this helps my magnet not get so hot, because it does eventually grab the ball and lock it. Alot of times the hammer is going down when the ball is just getting to it, so it is hitting the hammer or a couple times now I have had the ball actually drop in the hole while the magnet is down, then when the magnet tries to come back up it jams the ball between the magnet and the bottom of the PF. I am concerned that the way it is now it is going to cause damage to the PF (cause the magnet does not come up gently and it jams the ball pretty hard against the bottom of the PF) or from the ball hitting the hammer. Hopefully Stern comes up with something soon.

Phoebe

My premium also has random hammer hits and fails to lock the ball on a regular basis. Sometimes it grabs the ball then drops it, most of the time when the lock is lit, I can hit the captive ball/box 20 times and it will not trigger a lock. It seems to get worse after you already have 1 ball locked ( if you get that far) very frustrating. Hoping new code fixes it.

After your answer, Phoebe, i tried to look at the board when the game is first turned on.
So on mine, the green LED is flashing 3 times then it goes off.
How many flashes on yours ?
And starting the coffin magnet test, does it flashes too ?

yes Julien, at start up, it flashes three times. It also flashes during test mode at certain times. I really think it is a problem with the way the magnet senses the ball. I have also heard they are working on a new board for the way the ball is sensed. I would also suggest you check the magnet after a few games to see if it is very hot. I had my magnet assembly removed and there is a burn mark on the underside of the playfield. It isn't to bad, but I only play a couple of games at a time now then let it cool off. If I am going to play more, I disconnect the magnet. The new code seems to help this alot, my game will lock the ball now, so I don't think the magnet gets as hot now.

Phoebe

Biggest problem with this mess is that it's keeping the devs from adding gameplay features, and instead forcing them into bugfixing. There is a lot of potential with the crank-it-up modes and band member modes, but if they spend a month fixing the magnet... then what?

Then the magnet is fixed.....great.

Not really as the problem is not software related.

Hey guys and gals with an LE, can you post your Serial # here?

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/metle-post-up-your-serial-and-delivery-date

What on earth for.

Mine doesn't work very well even with the new code and I'm not a bad player - Had coffin MB 2 times in total with new code

It would make sense for them to code the magnet sensor to be disabled or ignored and then once lock is qualified, the code should have been along the lines of:

1. Activate magnet for x seconds upon next captive ball hit
3. After x seconds (or parts of a second) drop magnet plunger
4. After x seconds (or parts of a second) release magnet
5. If coffin lock switch 1 NOT activated return to 1
6. If 5 unsuccessful attempts, disable Magnet / Hammer

Just curious where the LE's are going.

I got my first coffin multiball today, very exciting, pretty cool light show. I still get a lot of phantom hammer drops. I am sure stern are still working on it.

Little question:

Where to find and download the 1.18 LE version?

Here : http://www.sternpinball.com/downloads/MTL118LE_NEW723.zip

There has to be something wrong with yours . I can lock almost every ball . Its about 85%. When the snakes mouth is closed with a correct hit it almost every time. Contact stern .

After playing a few more I would say its about the same. I am just so used to taking the shot when the jaw is up. Hit the r side with accuracy and it does lock. I do feel it is software though as it depends on what's going on at the time jaw up clean hit it locks

+1 big time

Had this in another thread..
Sorry for the quality, I was resting my phone on the game.
This is after receiving a new magnet board from Stern. Ball 1 seems to lock much easier than other balls, I do also get phantom hammer drops when the ball is nowhere near the magnet.
Notice on ball 2 how many light and direct rolls over the magnet do not get detected. It only seems to catch a very slow moving ball. Believe it or not, since I am rolling the ball by hand and not at flipper speed, the ball actually locks better in this vid, then when I am playing a real game.

And we're curious about your location.

I like the fact that its not so easy to get the hammer lock achieved..
I pretty much get the whole 3 locked in every game I play but I have to work for it due to the bugs...

Maybe they should write the software to only activate the hammer drop if you hit all the M targets inc the amount it requires to hit the hammer block. (jus sayin)

Mines the same, around 85%

Although I posted in the LE Serial # thread, to ally any fears that I am NSA and attempting to collect a database of LE locations, with delivery dates, so as to cross-reference shipping information gleaned from PRISM and verify that you did indeed receive your LE, on the date, with the Serial # posted I will post my information.

#199 will be in Mesa, AZ within 2 months, as I am currently contracting in Afghanistan.

Inquiring minds wanted to know.