Quoted from applejuice:
Yep, very disappointed about the lack of code updates. Spent an absolute fortune getting a premium here in uk which was not easy to earn. I still love playing it as screen graphics, sounds, music, art blows other games away, but I notice big gaping holes now in the codes depth and they are getting irritating
Retro modes don’t seem to add anything to the game and block your progress. No additional use for the lockdown button during game, only 1 monster per realm, no auto save if knights mace flings ball over flipper lane guides or flipper itself.
The upper loops are just annoying with no awards on 2 of the 3 shots! Tumble weed! And I’m yet to understand what the right hand side 3 bank drop targets do??? Anyone? Maybe I’m missing something..
Not sure why we can’t have regular incremental updates like other games. I like seeing the progress. Doesn’t need to be 6 months between additions, or ‘we need to wait for toppers’. The teams at stern are big enough now surely that programmers can focus on individual projects.
And it feels like the previous update was really 0.85 at best not a 1.0 in my book. Feels like a generous increment!
The 3 bank of drop targets light magna save (when all 3 are dropped) plus they fill the sword of rage meter quicker.
Having the lock down bar button for magna save really limits how it can be used in the game sadly If Stern had kept magna save to a second button on the cabinet, the lock down bar button would be freed up for use in play.
Now that I have a second new Stern in my line up (JP), it's given me more perspective on what sort of depth new pins offer in terms of rules and features. It's highlighted how far behind the code on this game is. Even though it's at 1.0. Like you, I certainly feel like the game is further back from 1.0.
I find supers worthless outside of retro mode. You also collect any active supers when you enter retro mode, so there's no point setting them up before hand.
The game has many strong points though. The art package on this game is awesome. The display animations are fantastic. Love the call outs (excluding the soft ones - others like them though - so the up coming option will be welcomed by all). The music and sounds kick butt. Love the setting in the game. I'm on a journey to the Black Castle to defeat the black knight and his minions. The game oozes personality. Wrap all that up in good code and it's a killer game. The only thing missing is the good code. Which is why i'm scratching my head that it's at 1.0 and we're not seeing updates.
On a more positive note, I've started working on a small mod for my BK PRO that will add animated LED strips to the flail ramp.
bk_ramp_arduino_running (resized).jpg
Currently it just cycles through 4 different animations every 4 seconds. The plan is to add a sensor which i'll mount near the rear of the flail to detect the state and adjust the animation accordingly. That way I can play different animations for the open, closed and swinging states of the flail. A short video of it in action on my desk:
A write up on my progress can be found here: http://www.enteryourinitials.com/2019/12/27/black-knight-sword-of-rage-ramp-leds-update-1/
Still lots to do, but hope to get more time over the coming weeks.