The concern is that unless the level is exactly parallel to the playfield, the reading will be off. I have some very good levels but it has always frustrated me that there really is no way to determine parallel. Plus the accuracy of levels varies a lot. The longer the level, the easier it is to judge parallel. If you are using an accurate 12" master/starrett/similar level across the top of the slings, you have a much better chance of getting a good reading than the round one in your pic. Since most people don't have a $300-$1000 level, the rolling ball test is often the best way to determine level. (And I haven't even mentioned playfield twist where the top could list slightly to starboard, the bottom slightly to port.) Ain't nothin' easy.

You sound like my wife

Just joined the club yesterday and am experiencing a couple of issues. I've been able to resolve most; however, I have one that is a big problem. I posted in the Dialing in a Dialed in thread but thought I would try this thread as well.

Upper flipper is erratic. I'd say 20% of the time does not work at all. Press the button, nada. 50% of the time there is a significant lag and/or power issue. 30% works great. Nothing is binding or rubbing, everything is aligned, EOS is fine, can't find any loose connections. On the other thread, it was suggested that I turn up the power; however, when it fires, the strength is more than adequate.

Thoughts?

Per your suggestion in the other thread, yep, stupid me spent all that time focusing on the upper mechanism and didn't even think to look at the button itself. Works fine now. Thanks. If only there were an easy fix for the person that pressed the button

Yeah, per a post a couple up, I admitted I had focused exclusively on the upper mech...figuring it had to be an issue with binding, EOS, wiring, etc., when snaroff mentioned I should check the leaf switch. As soon as I read that, I knew it was the issue. Rookie mistake.

The one good thing about the flipper was that my wife was killing me in a game when the ball got stuck behind the flipper and the flipper died. DARN, we ended up tilting it and eventually pull the glass. Doggonit, what a pity!

Now if you can figure out my lock down bar issue, I'd be a truly happy camper. I've spent at least 30 minutes adjusting the screws, validated the glass fits in the back channel fully but no success.

The only other issue we have is our lack of skill. No easy fix for that. I must say we are really enjoying it. It is so much faster (at times) than we had remembered...that's a good thing.

So, hammer not an option?

I'll give that a shot; however, I have bigger fish to fry. When you shoot the theater, 80% of the time it just drops SDTM....gotta find those posts in this thread that detail which settings to adjust. I can now relate to people's frustration.... "Shoot the theater" Hit it perfectly. STDM.

You sure a hammer isn't an option?

I literally went all the way up and all the way down one turn at a time. It shouldn't be that fine of an adjustment. Fortunately, it doesn't impact the enjoyment of the game...thanks for your help

Perfect, thanks!

Alas, not a member. Shot them a membership request; however, not sure how long that takes (it being Saturday, I suspect it won't be until Monday). I guess I should have immediately registered my machine. Anyhow, I thought I read this info cut and pasted in another thread...maybe your Dialing In thread? I'll check there.

Today is the day to fine-tune/adjust the machine.
I was having SDTM issues with theater release and followed the JJP advice to raise front right leveler so that the ball would hit the left flipper. I have fewer SDTM now, but it hits the right flipper now, which obviously makes no sense. I'm not sure if it was a typo or something else is at play. But before I make the machine list 10 degrees to port, I figured I would ask.

1) where should the ball hit when it is a straight drop from the theater?
2) where should the ball hit when coming out of the station on the left?
3) when the ball is thrown upward from the drone, should it go into, above or below the sim card hole?
4) when the ball is thrown from the left out lane kicker, should it go to the left, right or into phone hole?

I realize and appreciate the random nature of pinball...sometimes, you hit the castle on MM and it drains...I get it. I'm just trying to make sure that I have it setup to be as P Lawlor intended.

Thanks for the responses. Odd that yours would also toss to the right, not left flipper. I wonder if that original response you got was a typo and it really is supposed to hit the right flipper?

FalconPunch...showoff! .

(I have executed several 8x combos. Alas, my combos are hitting the posts, not the ramp. Right post, left post, far right post and so on. I need to find a game that gives you points for hitting posts and missing the ramps. I'd be hell on wheels.)

That makes 4-0 to the right flipper from the theater

Really strange. Looks like it is 50/50? Makes no sense. When I tried raising the right front leg, I was slightly off level at the slings. I think I would have to make it way of level to get it to hit the left. I wonder if something else is at play. My slope is ~7 degrees. Maybe that is the difference?

First, congratulations ...it is really a great game with lots going on. Only downside is that your wife and kids will mock you if/when you get into selfie mode.

As for your questions. Technically, (and the documentation will say this), set the playfield to 6.5 degrees (bubble just touching the second line), make sure the pf is dead level at top middle and slings. The issue is that it is impossible to actually do this. The bubble level has variance, levels have variance and neither can be set with 100% precision. The default settings for coil strength should be fine; however, many, perhaps most have, had to tweak them. I haven't adjusted any. There will likely be adjustments needed to get it setup optimally. For example, I had a switch (top of playfield before the theater that was pressed up against the slot. it would barely move when pressed down with your finger, so the ball had no chance. I had to bend in to get it centered. Still need to tweak a bit, occasionally a ball will stick on the skill shot but the proverbial tap on the side clears it.

You also have to remember that some of that is a matter of taste. I prefer a bit steeper pf, some like stronger flippers. My tolerance for SDTM is much higher than some. My biggest concern about getting DI was that the ball times would be too long...so far that hasn't been an issue...Lord, knows, that hasn't been an issue! There is a fair amount of tweaking you can do to adjust the difficulty of the game. To that end, you may want to change some of the default settings to make it easier (and more fun) for your family. I'm guessing others may be able to make some recommendations on that front.

Bottom line...I'm no help...sorry

Add to this is individual preference on overall game height Both my wife and I prefer the game to sit higher, more accurately, our backs prefer the game to sit higher. So flat to the floor is not an option. In fact, the feet are almost fully extended.

They may well have; however, the discussion on the redesigned protector was related to Cliffy's. Cliff redesigned his awhile ago (maybe November?). I have not seen anything regarding JJP changing theirs.

I'm sure I read about the solution, but can;t seem to find it. Right ranp, ball comes flying through hits the end and pops up. Usually, falls into the lane OK, but occasionally it bounces straight up out of the ranp , over the slings and out. Of course it only happens when you have a good ball going.

I was thinking there was a 'tweak' to correct this, but maybe not

Thanks, I'll do that

Speaking of brutal magnets. I was in some mode EMP? where the magnets run wild. The ball is coming straight at my right flipper. It's coming fast but I can tell it's gonna catch the last 20% or so, so no worries . As soon as the ball is just shy of the slings it takes a right turn. Now, I'm not talking about a sweeping turn, but a sharp, pure 90 degree turn. Immediately changed directions and went right to the right outlane and drained. My wife and I both looked at each other and said 'WTH was that!...did you see that?'. Well, I may have said a couple of other things.(it is very fortunate selfie mode is not video with audio ) After the initial shock, I couldn't help but smile. I've never seen such wild magnet interaction. Yes, it does induce a few four letter words but not as often as it makes me grin.

I assume the default is medium, is it not? It is pretty exaggerated now, lots of dancing, reversal of direction, defying gravity, etc. If that is low, I don't want to see medium or high!

I received mine a couple of weeks ago. The tab is sticking straight up; however, I've not had any issues with the trap door, so I have not bent it down

I'm curious to know how long that game took

Mine hits and almost always bounces up some and maybe rolls up the ramp a bit. It then falls through as it should. Now, on occasion, it bounces up and over the slings as a drain. I've contacted JJP about the plastic that is supposed to prevent this. I'm unclear what your issue is with it rolling back up a tad. Does it not fall through the hole like it should?

How long did that game take?

That insert is clearly mislabeled. It's not SiM but rather SdtM, because every freaking time my wife or I light it, it drains within 10 seconds. And, since ours is set to the default...well our success rate in gathering SDTM cards is less than 10 percent. I have wondered how people manage to collect all the cards...not knowing that the option to preserve it is possible. I doubt we will be doing that. My wife won't even let me put that piece of foam on the Merlin hole of MM that helps prevent perfect shots from bouncing out. She says it is cheating.

I equate it with golf or shooting. You can be a decent golfer but can't even clear a hazard if you play from the gold championship tees. What's the point of tossing a half dozen balls in the drink? Play the white first, heck maybe even red.

Or, my wife and I are both pretty good shots, yet when we go to the range, we're shooting at 7-10yds (albeit with ~2.5" barrel length). Precision pistol is 50yds. It would be boring as hell shooting at a that distance.

The one setup 'option' that I think makes a ton of difference; however, no one ever seems to talk about it, is the flipper angle. I swear, a difference of only a couple degrees makes a huge difference in your ability to catch and cradle. Maybe, it's just me but I'll play a game with a different angle and it will play markedly different. I admit to being tempted to increase the angle on my DI a tad, but just can't make myself do it.

Very nicely done. I looks 'stock' to my eye

I can't begin to tell you how many threads I read where I look up toward heaven and say "Thank God I'm not OCD"

Now mind you I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my own work so I understand that what is seen can't be unseen. I am also acutely aware that if one has the OCD gene, things will just eat at you until it consumes your every thought.

I'm just not sure pinball is the best hobby for those that are OCD.

I see three behaviors on theater shots
1) catch and release e.g. EMP - ball rolls down to the left flipper
2) catch and toss e.g., 'target in the theater' ball is caught and tossed up and around to upper flipper
3) nothing e.g. trying to shoot thorough the theater and not enough speed to make it ball drains SDTM pretty often

Personally, I think this is how it should be. Doesn't stop me from cussing when #3 happens.

To the extent that one makes the proper shot correctly (scenarios 1 and 2) it would be extremely frustrating to have it go SDTM. Fortunately (knock on wood), mine is very consistent. Does it occasionally not do what it is supposed to? Maybe, probably, but it is so rare that I've not noticed. so it has to be fewer than 1 in 20 times.

We are hosting a party with non-pinheads, so I want to make the game as fun as possible. I'll turn on the daily high score function and increase the ball saver time. I'm really on the fence about 3 vs 5 balls but are there any other settings y'all recommend to increase the fun and decrease the frustration for someone that is likely to just flail away?

I worry they will never get into the story and will instead move to the other games. I wish there were some way (maybe there is) to ensure that the Selfie mode always came up on 'trip' to Bob's as this tends to suck people into the game.

Interesting and quite clever actually. Heck, maybe you guys know a bit about game play in a real-world environment?...Naah, can't be (at least based on what I read on here )

Press both flippers at the same time, you will see that on the phone. However, you can only defer once. (At least I don't know of any other way. That being said, there is so much complexity to the underlying rules I would not be surprised if there were other ways to delay it.)

For me, four scenarios.
1) magnet grabs the ball and flings it up. Goes around to the upper right flipper 100% of the time
2) magnet grabs ball and drops it down. Goes to the end of the left flipper 100% of the time
3) No active magnet but I hit it strong enough to make it through the station. Either goes around to top right flipper or drops into pops
4) No active magnet and I don't hit it strong enough to make it through the station. 75% of the time SDTM.

I think that is how the game should be. As soon as I hit a weak shot up the middle, I know I'm going to get screwed (yeah I try to nudge some but I don't manhandle and on the rare occasions I save it I always get a warning)