Almost done. The beta testers have been extremely quiet... which must mean there's no issues.

Just what has been noted

I'll run off a few more games tonight, new LAH has been hogging all the spare time.

Did the "diplomatical immunity is revoked" callout get played a lot on your original code? Mine seems to repeat over itself a bunch. I haven't really looked into it, but it does it with a PinSound too. I kind of assumed it was just hitting a bunch of switches in a row, but wondering if that could be fixed in code, or if I've got some flaky switch registering going on that I haven't noticed. Time for a switch check this weekend I guess.

Can't wait for the update!!

Yes. That quote has been reduced. I think it now only plays when a Shootout is 100% successful. Before it would play along with EVERY Shootout regardless of outcome.

Man you did a LOT more than I was expecting!!! I wonder how much it'll mess with my PinSound files. Just put a ColorDMD in it too.

Donation coming once I get paid on Friday!

How do.we snag one? I don't have a rom burner. Thanks for all the work and guidance!

Awesome to see you've done it again!

For those of you that can't burn your own roms, as always feel free to message me and I would love to help! Just don't forget to throw Chad a bone for his hard work!

Ordered my ROMs from Matt. Always superb service and luckily I'm only an hour away, hopefully the post office won't mess this one up!

Hey guys, i have a LW3 and today my Wolo replacement beacon arrived. i hooked it up, turned on the game and the beacon immediately comes on and stays on so obviously its getting continus power Does anyone know what may cause this or what i should check first.. Just wanted to ask before i dove into it as I know there are allot of knowledgeable people within this forum. Tha ks in advance for any help

I'd been looking forward to this new rom ever since I picked up my LW3. Loved the work you did on Tommy and Baywatch, slightly altering the scoring etc to make them really good tournament games, and I really appreciate all the work that went into this (I do some rom mods myself so I probably know better than most how much effort it can take), and the rule changes look great!

...but I feel like all the timing changes (more time for instructions, time to get ready for fight mode, etc) have sorta ruined the game for me... One of my favorite parts of LW3 was the frantic, messy pace, the FIGHT! that would just pop up out of nowhere and you'd need to just start mashing buttons instantly... I feel like all the flow of the game is gone now, and it just feels like a normal DE game This rom goes way beyond fixing bugs and balancing stuff, it's completely changed the way the game plays

I know this sounds crazy but would it be possible to get a version of the rom without all the 'jank' removed? Just like, remove all the timing improvements, add the GI flashing back in, etc

I could probably live with the non-random fight scenes, though I was really hoping that they'd be something seemingly random, like "the first #1 shot, and every 3 shots after" and "the 3rd #2 shot, and every four shots after" or something that's predictable and fair to players, but still maintaining the same feel of suddenly getting in a street fight with someone unexpectedly.

I was looking forward to this rom to balance the game a bit and make it better for tournaments but as is I might have to stick with the original code, the game just doesn't feel like the Lethal Weapon I sought down, fixed up, and enjoy anymore

Other nit picks:
- the clip unloading now needing more loops, with no adjustment to change. If anything I'd have wanted to adjust the later clips to be even easier, since they're so fun, but now it seems pretty likely I'd never actually shoot for the orbits as a strategy.
- love how you don't get the award if you don't shoot the dude, but with that and the higher orbit count, it seems like this aspect of the game has been nerfed a ton.... the value (especially for a perfect kill when it yells NOW!) should be higher, as well as the value of the awards you get (like crazy riggs, super lethal weapon, etc) to compensate for the difficulty.
- No option for Multiball vs Tri-Ball for the multiball start animation?

I have to agree with zacaj here. One of the reasons I've always loved LW3 is the chaos of it. The way everything seems to run at once. The fact it gives you little to no instruction is the charm of it. Like the Fight just starting with almost no delay or instructions. The first orbit you hit you have to shoot somebody, etc...

Playing the new code with all the added delays makes it not feel like LW3 to me. A version of the rom without the added delays would be the best of both worlds. All the bug fixes and tournament mode additions, but at the same time retaining the LW3 feel.

Just my 2 cents. But again, thanks for the new rom. I will definitely be using it for tournament play. (whenever I can have tournaments at my house again)

Ron...

You can set Adjustment 7 to Easy if you want it to advance Uzi clip bullets as it did in the original game. If you want it to be even easier as you mentioned, then set it to Extra Easy.

Oh, interesting... So there's a setting for this, but it's just not directly accessible via an adjustment? So I'd need to install Easy, then go and manually change all the other adjustments back?

Ah yes... good point!

After you change Adjustment 07 to Easy or Extra Easy, then you will want to manually adjust these back to the normal defaults:

Adjustment 50 (Earning LW 1,2,3) set to 00
Adjustment 52 (3 Bank Style) set to 02
Adjustment 53 (Spot 3 Banks) set to 01
Adjustment 54 (Rerace Criterion) set to 03 (only needed if you set Adjustment 07 to Extra Easy)

That's interesting because I felt the opposite... voice calls were often interrupting each other... the displays were getting overridden and many times not shown at all because something else overrode it. Seemed way too chaotic and lots of sounds and displays wouldn't happen. For example, if you weren't paying attention to the lamps, then you wouldn't be told certain things such as the collecting of LW1 or LW2 if something else had a higher priority for audio/display.

Thanks so much Chad, I'm really enjoying the new code. Everything just feels more polished and balanced.

First post... first pin. Got an LW3 about two weeks ago. It's in good shape and just sorting out a few little things on it.

I'm new to owning these, just not new to playing. Was hanging out in poolhalls and arcades right in that early 90's sweet spot of Williams titles like The Getaway, Funhouse and Diner. I never played LW3 back in the day, but wanted to get started on the owning hobby so here we are!

IMG_1671 (resized).JPG

Those look like the cards I made, glad to see *someone* else used them Mr_Tantrum has since made better ones

Has he? I'm using those ones as well!

Yeah I talked him into it and bought a set:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mr-tantrum-s-pinball-apron-cards#post-5756383

Got my ROM chips from Meloyelo51 Thanks for all the hard work ChadH !

Feels much better, less crazy sounds happening a screens not getting cut off.

Everything seems to be playing nice with the ColorDMD and PinSound as well. I like the gun noises for the skill shot!

I'll probably set the 1,2,3 shots back to any order though. I'm not that good yet!

Just to be clear it said multiball on the new code not tri ball right?

I tried to switch all references over from Tri-Ball to Multiball... but there was one sticking point that stopped it from being 100%. So I stuck with Tri-Ball.

However, Super Score has been fully changed to Getaway.

Im going to release a pin2dmd update that makes all tri-ball references revert back to multiball that will work with the old code and chad's

AWESOME! I'll be donating to support your excellent work.

Quick question, just by taking a quick peak at the MPU, how can I tell if my board has a single or double display rom? I'm going to have someone patch/burn the roms for me but I'll need to know this beforehand. Is it as easy as if I see a 27C040 chip then it's a single, if I see but if I see two 27C040 it's a double? I don't have any experience with these boards and am not familiar with the layout.

Thanks!

Look on thr back.of your dmd. Mine has 2

Chances are for LW3 you have two display ROMs. But some may have one and you should validate.

On your DMD, in the back, you will see either two ROMs side by side or one ROM next to an empty slot.

Got it, thanks guys!

I have a merged file for the DMD if you need it.

You can unsolder a resistor and convert a double DMD board to a single. I did it on my LW3.

https://mattsbasementarcade.com/installation/data-east-display-board-jumper-info/

Thanks for the info!

A bit off topic but in your opinions what is the best IC/Chip puller/extractor for a long 32-pin 27C020 chip?

I see the tweezer type, the 'bent screwdriver' type, and the PLCC type. I've seen some people say the PLCC works really well even though it really isn't mean for these types of chips. I replaced the rom chips in my PinBot a while back and pretty much ruined the old ones prying them out with a screwdriver I don't want to make that same mistake swapping out the chips on my LW3.

Is it a real bug?
When you have chance to shoot double jackpot for 40M after you earn it the display shows 20M...
I'll record gameplay video tomorrow with this updated rom.

I am unable to reproduce what you are describing. Please send video.

I tried at 3 times least and no bug.. so maybe I was wrong.
Otherwise I will upload video later.

So the only thing I feel like is missing , are the shootouts while the ball is in play. I used to get them all the time now they seem to be few and far between. Is there an adjustment Im overlooking?

This was discussed last week. Go to post 963 for details on how to set it back to old way.

With update, the new default is that it takes two orbit shots instead of one orbit shot to start Shootout (for the first two Shootouts). The third Shootout remains the same (requires two orbit shots). Then the fourth Shootout requires three shots instead of two. All the remaining Shootouts remain the same. So... in total, to get through ALL Shootouts in original game default was 18 orbit shots. The new default is 21 orbit shots.

From the Guide at https://www.pinballcode.com/lw300

BEFORE you would have to shoot these amount of shots to activate each Shootout: 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 6
UPDATE now you have to shoot these amount of shots to activate each Shootout: 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 6

Wanted to share my new chrome apron logo solution: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/finally-new-chrome-logo-solution-for-data-east-aprons#post-5810505

IMG_4364 (resized).JPG

I installed the new roms and so far love the changes, although I think I may have found an overlooked bug. Apologies if this has already been addressed... if the ball drains immediately after being ejected from the lw1 kickout hole and is saved by the 3-second bulletproof vest, it consistently kicks back TWO (saved) balls. Is there a way to fix this? The game sounds get confused when one of the two balls drain since it is not supposed to be in triball mode

I have never experienced this. Is it happening every time? Or just occasionally?

I have not experienced that either

Every time.

I could take a video of it happening if you'd like.

Now I am uploading the video where this bug can be seen.

Please do.

I wonder if your Outhole switch and coil are behaving correctly? Does your game solidly eject the ball into the trough every time the ball drains? Or does it have difficulty with this process and have the Outhole coil fire multiple times?

check it at 1:20

captured see at 4:00

Check your outhole coil. Make sure that every time your ball drains, the ball is properly being ejected out of the outhole and into the trough. It should always do it in a single coil shot. Make sure the one-way gate inside your trough, on the underside of the cover, is functioning properly. The cover comes off with two screws under the cards. Give the whole area an inspection and cleaning.

I will check this, but keep in mind the bulletproof vest 10 second at start of ball does not do this with the patched rom, ever. This never happened with the original rom and it seems to only be associated with the lw1/3sec ball save. I will double check my hardware though just to be sure.

I took the glass off and did a check. Each of the following I did five times in a row. The beginning-of-ball 10 second BPV works perfectly. Ejecting the ball into the shooter lane never had a missed ball occur where the coil had to shoot the ball twice (or spasmed twice from a faulty switch or ball rollback) to get a ball into the lane, or accidentally shot two balls into the shooter lane. Each time the ball drained immediately from the LW1 kickout hole while the 3 sec BPV was active, it ejected TWO balls into the shooter lane, and did so with around a 1.5 second delay between balls, then both balls were automatically shot into the playfield. Furthermore, I never noticed a problem with the coils firing multiple times with the old roms. I am pretty convinced it is not a mechanical issue.

My intent was not to nitpick your awesome work. This patch is freaking amazing, well worth the donation and I intend on keeping it in my machine permanently. Even if this turns out to be a small bug its apparently only on certain machines for some unknown reason, and it is a relatively rare occurrence that the ball drains SDTM from lw1 kickout that its no big deal, plus as long as you let one ball drain and keep playing with just one ball, no harm done. The game plays fine except the end-of-ball music clip plays on repeat for the rest of that ball.

If you think of any other things to test or settings to change let me know.

Again, thanks for the work put into this. This really transformed the game into something more challenging, fun, and fair.