The gi does change between red and white with varying modes plus brightness. The upper pf rgb lighting really sets that part of the game off and is incorporated well into the game. That said gi could probably be used better in some cases.... maybe in this long awaited code update.

It is controlled (separated into 2 sections) upper and lower GI. You can test it in the settings .

Just saw this when toggling between a couple Stern website pages.

Looks like the topper will be $399.

It was rumored to be $430,
and feared to be R2-D2 priced.

DC481A62-11A3-4E64-AABA-B372A5E6EAA4 (resized).png

If that is True, that will be a suprise

For everyone that have Problems with the left Loop: i figured out that when the Ball is fast enough it will Block by the Center ramp and Return to the left Flipper Finger.

I have an easy fix for that. I add an plastic in front of the ramp.

Since that the loops returning fast to the right Flipper finger. No blocking anymore.

BDFF1D4D-A795-4E6E-AC3E-0B6E4B5DCA52 (resized).jpeg

Code must be soon.

Saw that too. If the topper has even more interactions than what we have already seen at that price, I bet there will be a number of folks who buy a game to go with the topper in addition to those of us buying a topper to go with the game.

I'm wondering if anyone knows how to remove the apron? Specifically, I'm trying to make my way toward the graphics/inserts under the plexiglass? I have a chance to meet Scott Ian this week and was hoping to have him sign my game. My plan is to remove the card to have him sign it, but the remove seems easier said than done.

IIRC there are nuts under the score / price cards on my pro. There may also be screws in the front. Those should be obvious when you lift the PF but the fasteners under the score cards are sneaky. I was thinking about sending my translite to be signed but effort.

Comes off super easy. Few screws/nuts that are pretty clear once you prop the field up.

PRO V1.01 - February 11, 2020
==========================
Fixed:
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from earning KNIGHT letters
from a mode that had been continued on a subsequent ball.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes kept foreground display effects on the screen
during KNIGHT multiballs.
- Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the war hurry up display effects
from playing over the main play display effects.
- Fixed an issue during modes where players could sometimes share mode shot
progress.
- Extra ball is lit display effect will no longer play if extra ball is not
lit.
- Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause the left ball save not to save a
ball when the player took a tilt warning.
- Fixed an issue that prevented the War Hurry up champion high score from
getting updated.
- Fixed an issue that caused the mystery awards to be shared among players in
a competition game. Each player's mystery awards are now tracked individually
in competition play.
- Fixed an issue that could cause Black Castle mode to remain lit if a player
tilted while playing Black Castle mode.

Tweaked:
- Deep Freeze mode shots will always start with the same shot array, even when
the mode continues from ball to ball.
- Reduced the intensity of GI effects during the mystery award light show.
- Shield Diverter Disabled adjustment will allow you to start all shield
features by bashing the shield.
- Removed critical lights from skill shot and war hurry ups light shows.
- Changed the TKC Multiball start video to play after the mode start video.
Lock videos still play before the mode start videos.
- Locked out the Horse Whinny sound for game start - no credits for 30 seconds
after it is played.
- Moved the War Hurry up priority above mode priority. This makes it easier to
see hurry up and score values for the war hurry up shots.
- Added flail movement logic to Retro Multiball.
- Added additional flail movement logic to Triple Knight's Challenge
Multiball.
- Removed shoot again light from the Magna-Save light show.
- Added a display effect to show how many left bank completions are required
to earn Ball Save.
- Lowered the default slingshot power to 16. Competition install will set
slingshot power to 24.
- Modified the Extra Ball display effect to show the score if the game is set to
award points instead of an extra ball.
- Changed KNIGHT feature start rules. KNIGHT modes can be started while modes
and WAR Hurry ups are running. Doing so will end all running modes. KNIGHT
modes cannot be started while any multiball or wizard mode is running.
- Made Sword of Rage easier to qualify.
- SWORD OF RAGE DIFFICULTY adjustment defaults to EASY
- Prior to starting 1st mode - Sword is 70% completed.
- After power is activated - Sword is 40% completed.
- Rest of game - Sword is 0% completed.
- Center target and right drop target bank add more progress to filling
sword meter.

- Sound balancing and additional audio enhancements.

- Various Scoring Tweaks

- Reset the value of upper playfield loops on every ball.

- Increased the value of Magna-Save bonus. Starts at 2.5m. Increases by 750k
for every successful Magna-Save.

- Removed all the existing score mystery awards (250k, 750k, 1.5m, 2.5m) and
replaced with high scoring awards (2m, 3m, 4m, 5m.)

- Increased mode scoring.
- All modes have a base value starting at 2m.
- Increased by +200k for each mode completed.
- Increased by +950k for each lap of modes completed.
- Draining while a mode is active will reset the mode scores to the base 2m.

- Increased the score bonuses for shooting the flail prior to starting a mode.
- Flail bonuses are reset when the mode starts and cannot be earned until
the next mode is qualified.
- Flail bonuses are reset when the ball drains.
- Shooting through the spinning flail awards +250k (increases
by 25k.)
- Shooting the flail when it's closed awards +200k.
- Shooting the flail when it's spinning awards +400k.
- Shooting the flail when it's open awards +250k (increases by 25k.)

- Increased the scoring in Hydra and Lich mode on mode shots that did not
progress toward completing the mode.

- Changed default mode difficulty to MEDIUM.
- Tweaked the number of mode shots required to complete modes.
- Molten Fire (Magma Beast)
- Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Wicked Cavern (Hell Hand)
- Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Mud Bod (Hydra)
- Easy: 3 heads sealed to complete. 1 sealed for KNIGHT letter.
- Medium: 4 heads sealed to complete. 2 sealed for KNIGHT letter.
- Hard: 5 heads sealed to complete. 3 sealed for KNIGHT letter.
- Deep Freeze (Lich Lords)
- Easy: 3 liches defeated to complete. 1 defeated for KNIGHT letter.
- Medium: 4 liches defeated to complete. 2 defeated for KNIGHT letter.
- Hard: 5 liches defeated to complete. 3 defeated for KNIGHT letter.
- Burning Sands (Sand Worm)
- Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter.
- Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter.

- Increased war hurry up scoring.
- Base Value for all hurry ups is 3m.
- Score for subsequent hurry ups is set to the value of the hurry up when
it was awarded or when it was terminated.
- The left pop bumper increases the value of the flail hurry up by
+225k+(5k*number of left pop bumper hits for this player this game)
- The bottom pop bumper increases the value of the target hurry up by
+175k+(5k*number of bottom pop bumper hits for this player this game)
- The right pop bumper increases the value of the target hurry up by
+195k+(5k*number of right pop bumper hits for this player this game)
- Increased max value of each hurry up to 25m.

- Modified the Super Feature rules and scoring
- Super Features now run with no timer.
- Super Features are started at level 1 (Green) by hitting the center
target.
- All running Super Features are boosted by 1 level when a player shoots
the Left VUK during single-ball play.
- The Super Jackpot value shown on the UI is now collected by having a ball
roll over the right return lane switch within 5 seconds of a player
activating their Magna-Save.
- The Castle Spinner (Pro Only) will score 5,000 points. Super Spins scoring
will not boost the value of this spinner.

- New Super Feature Scoring

- Super Lanes Level 1 (Green) -- 50,000
- Super Lanes Level 2 (Yellow) -- 75,000
- Super Lanes Level 3 (Red) -- 115,000
- Super Lanes Level 4 (Magenta) -- 140,000

- Super Orbits Level 1 (Green) -- 115,000
- Super Orbits Level 2 (Yellow) -- 185,000
- Super Orbits Level 3 (Red) -- 275,000
- Super Orbits Level 4 (Magenta) -- 400,000

- Super Pops Level 1 (Green) -- 35,000
- Super Pops Level 2 (Yellow) -- 50,000
- Super Pops Level 3 (Red) -- 95,000
- Super Pops Level 4 (Magenta) -- 115,000

- Super Slings Level 1 (Green) -- 100,000
- Super Slings Level 2 (Yellow) -- 200,000
- Super Slings Level 3 (Red) -- 350,000
- Super Slings Level 4 (Magenta) -- 500,000

- Super Spins Level 1 (Green) -- 14,000
- Super Spins Level 2 (Yellow) -- 20,000
- Super Spins Level 3 (Red) -- 28,000
- Super Spins Level 4 (Magenta) -- 38,000

- Super Targets Level 1 (Green) -- 100,000
- Super Targets Level 2 (Yellow) -- 150,000
- Super Targets Level 3 (Red) -- 250,000
- Super Targets Level 4 (Magenta) -- 350,000

New:
- Added topper support.
- Custom Black Knight speech plays when the flipper buttons are pressed
during attract mode and during gameplay with a topper installed.
- Full animatronic motion of the Black Knight head is synchronized with all
Black Knight speech effects and interacts with events during gameplay.
- Additional test menu support added for topper calibration.

- Added speech calls for WAR when war hurry ups start and RAGE when mystery
is lit from the inlanes.
- Added announcer speech calls on mode completion.
- Added alternate game soundtrack.
- Added adjustment for shield hold power.
- Added diagnostics icons to game menu.
- Added flame panel test menu entry.
- Added adjustment for backpedaling speech frequency. Defaults to NEVER.
Also has adjustments for Occasional (30% of the time) and Frequently.
- Added Butcher skeleton speech to Skill Shot.
- Added auto-adjusting Extra Ball to U-Turn Combo rule.
- Added new Adjustment "REQUIRE MODE FOR CATAPULT LOCK"
- If enabled, a mode must be started to light subsequent Catapult Locks.
- If enabled AND CATAPULT LOCK DIFFICULTY is set to hard, a mode must be
started before Catapult Locks can be lit.
- Install Competition sets CATAPULT LOCK DIFFICULTY to HARD and REQUIRE MODE
FOR CATAPULT LOCK to YES.

Moved to System 2.43:
- Updated to nodeboard firmware v0.56.0

- Allow the knocker sound effect to play completely when a replay is
awarded during the last ball bonus and ensure the normal game volume is
restored.

- Added Standard Adjustment "MAX PLAYERS PER GAME". Values are 1 to 4,
with a default setting of 4. This can be used to limit the number
of players that can be added to a game.

- Using LEFT+START to end a game during bonus count could leave game graphics
on screen while in attract mode. This has been corrected.

- Added UTIL->VOL Adjustment "SELECT AUDIO FILTER". Values are:
"NONE", "HIGH/LOW SHELF", and "10 BAND EQ". Default value is
"HIGH/LOW SHELF".
"NONE": No filtering will be performed on the audio output. Useful when
using the Line Out as input for an external device.
"HIGH/LOW SHELF": A High/Low Shelf Filter is applied to the audio output.
The Bass Frequency can be set to: 125Hz, 250Hz, or Disabled.
The Treble Frequency can be set to: 4KHz, 8KHz, or Disabled.
The Gain can be set to -12dB .. +12dB
On Spike 2 the Shelf Frequency and Gain can be set independently for the
Backbox and Cabinet speakers.
"10 BAND EQ": A full 10 Band EQ is applied to the audio output.
Sliders are used to adjust the Gain of a specific range of frequencies.
The Frequencies are: 31Hz, 62Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1KHz, 2KHz, 4KHz,
8KHz, 16KHz.
The Gain curve has a 60dB dynamic range across the -120 .. +120 Slider
settings.
On Spike2 the Gain can be set independently for the Backbox and Cabinet
speakers.

Moved to OS V2.0.17

Holy damn....this update is accommodating so many user requests, it's crazy. Even the "backpedaling" speech can be shut off! Great update.

The new "super" rules add some interesting risk/reward strategy for when to use the MagnaSave. Really surprised they used that for the super jackpot collect...but I like the twist! Before I was quick to use it even if I had a good chance of saving the ball myself. Now I will be hesitant and lose more balls, lol. Do I take the sure save, but cash in my supers early? Or risk it and keep building. It will also cause people to sacrifice a magnasave in order to cash in a big super jackpot. Very interesting...

seems there're some points qwak with the "super" features, as this one for example :

- Super Lanes Level 3 (Red) -- 115,000 >>> should be 105.000 if logical...

or

- Super Pops Level 3 (Red) -- 95,000 >>> ...

but OK, its a minus point
i do not have the pin, but interested to see/read feedback

*Added alternate game soundtrack.*

SACRILEGE.

There are so many changes with scoring, I'm excited just to play and see what happens! I'm updating the code now and in a few hours (~2pm MST) I'll be streaming with direct audio/video capture @ twitch.tv/aeonblack6

Yeah...alternate soundtrack is a headscratcher for sure. I thought that was the part of the machine most people agreed was awesome. But hey...I'm all for options so interested to see (err...hear) what it is.

Awesome! Hopefully the topper isn’t too far off.

This game just went from awesome to 'Holy F;$+';$ing Incredible".

Many people dislike metal ... The alternative soundtrack was a wise move. I think that'll help the game. I doubt I'll use it .

Game Specific Feature 110. I just played one game on it to see what it is. It is a very generic, but not bad, orchestral type of score. It lacks any of the personality or oomph of the real soundtrack, but I'll spend some time on it today during my stream to see if maybe some of the modes have some good stuff added in. It definitely felt tacked on from what I could tell.

It will make a great addition for all the soft boys who are afraid to worship at the altar of anthrax.

Crap, I was hoping it was just a different selection of songs from Ian. Shame they didn’t enable a jukebox mode like AC⚡️DC. That black castle song is so great but oh so tough to get to and hear lol.

The super collection change seems crazy. Wonder what prompted that? I guess the buildup of the jackpot changed too, right? I think, before, we had to hit the knight target to activate and then the left drop target to boost?

The sound settings seem really in depth now. Would be nice if the big speaker vendors like flipper Fidelity and pinball pro would publish ideal settings for the new EQ and/or sound settings.

Then again, personally I found the FF recommended settings flat and tinny on my BKSOR so I had to bump the bass way up on most settings to get it more “full”.

Does anyone know if the topper is for sale now? And if so where can you buy it?

Not yet, once it's up for sale it'll be visible here :

https://shop.sternpinball.com/products/black-knight-topper

Good timing, listing my LE for sale this weekend.

Question on the new update. What is the difference between a "quick" update and a "full" update. My Stern pins have always defaulted to a full update and that's what I've used. This update defaulted to a quick update, so I changed it to a full update. The pin reflects the new update when it boots up.

The reason I'm asking besides an understanding between quick and full update is because although I uploaded the full update, it did not take as much time as other updates I've loaded. Did I do something wrong?

Not sure how things are on the LE, but speaking as a PRO owner, the old way of collecting it via the left VUK felt like some poor design as that same left VUK shot is lit in modes, multiball, used for add-a-ball, etc. Which means there are times where you have no choice but to collect it - even if it's only just started I like that they are now giving us the choice of when to collect it. I would have preferred not to sacrifice my magna save for it though and have the rule as - if the button is pressed within 5 seconds of hitting the right in lane, you collect the jackpot but not spend the magna save. It's going to take some getting used to, but I'm excited to see how it plays out

Yes!! What does the require mode for catapult lock mean/do? I always thought itd be great if the catapult would just let the ball come right back out at the flipper without the 1 second lock delay when its not lit.

Hope to update tonight!

I just tried the alternate soundtrack. I like it. Either or Soundtracks are fine. Extra Crispy or new Original. Just like Chicken.

The alternate track is kind of like a good movie type soundtrack if I had to describe it. Neat you can switch back and forth. I will try out the alternate for awhile, but thinking I am liking it.

Nice there are now choices. You can always switch back or change for the crowd that's playing. Cool idea.

^^ Agreed!

The new music reminds me of a darker version of MM. I’m going to keep it for a while.

Ahh...cool. I'm all for anything that gives people a better option for them. Looking forward to checking it out, but will be surprised if I do not change it back quickly. I love the metal soundtrack. Glad the option is there for those that want it though!

Also now I want chicken.

Can’t wait to install it later! Do you have to pick soundtrack or can you set it to play randomly?

Setting 110, I believe. One or the other.

It’s too bad it wasn’t choice select w/ flippers at the start of game.

For the ppl willing to check out the new soundtrack, you can get it here :

#99 on Pro

Nice big update considering it went from 1.00 to 1.01 haha. Anyway this is a good sign and hopefully one or two polish updates after this one. Can't wait to get the topper!!

I talked about it in my stream today, but overall this code is a big improvement, however I still feel like the risk vs. the reward of the supers is just not there to make it worth it. Losing all progress on your supers from a drain is bad enough, but losing it while using the magnasave just doesn't make any sense to me. I love that you can build up all the supers at once, but handicapping the player to say "well, if you are buildings supers, never use magnasave" is a bad move imo. I would like to see a setting for this: the magnasave removes *some* progress from your supers (say you are at tier 4, it puts you down to tier 3, or maybe it removes one of your supers but not all) and potentially even the same thing from a drain. Currently, you can spend an entire ball unlocking and building up all your supers and if you have a bad bounce and use magnasave, you lose all of that progress. I just don't really understand the thought process behind so thoroughly punishing the player when that center shot to unlock the super is such a risky shot already.

Glad to hear you can switch back.

Good video.

I get the impression that the change was more so due to the Pro because of the clunky manner of activating the super jackpot cash in. I agree, in the Prem/LE it really makes things an unfortunate gamble that takes things out of your hands if you need to save the ball. The left drop and then left VUK was at least all skill.

I love the new music. Definitely fantasy , which fits the theme IMO. Not ashamed to admit I’m a soft boy. That said. Ian’s score if amazing. So will probably bounce around the 2 styles of music , depending on how soft I’m feeling that day.

Scoring seem nerfed overall to anyone else? Just played two stellar games in a row and got nowhere near a high score.

Last game I had:

- 4 catapult MB
- 2 TK MB
- retro MB
- 2 WAR hurry ups
- 5 monsters beat
- 2 extra balls

Only 304M. Feels like that would have been high 400’s if not 500 on the last code.

In positive news, the knight letters seem a little easier to get. Only got 9 letters in 300 games prior, and tonight got 10 (yet missed that shot to see BK2000 for the first time).

Other thoughts:

- alternate music is nice to have. Not nearly the adrenaline burst of the real music but it’s decent and a fun change for a little bit.

- I THINK I like the new lower standard sling kick strength setting a little better? Less frantic firing back and forth between them.

- I set my backpedaling to infrequent but he wimped out pretty quickly lol

OK, first game on the new code for my Premium and a new Grand Champion of 357K, when my previous was 246K. I know the scoring rules have changed and I got multiple extra balls, but this was fun! I should add that I got HS on just about all of the modes also.

Updated to the new code on my Premium tonight - noticed a few new call outs and I actually like the new soundtrack. It's great to have that as an option, and I'll likely be toggling back and forth depending on mood. I also put in the external headphone jack/volume control kit tonight - the original soundtrack sounds AMAZING cranked up on my over-the-ear studio monitor headphones.

My wife appreciates the headphone mod as well, but for an entirely different reason.

I don't even really find the left drop and left vuk to be too difficult. Sure it's an extra shot to take, but it's not exactly a risky shot compared to the center shot needed to collect the super.

Play it some more to be sure. Your stellar games may very well have compelled him to wimp out quickly because you showed him no mercy.