Yes.

Facial recognition of a person is a pretty big ask. I'm relatively certain Facebook and Apple have huge server farms that handle that for them.

Anyway, we will eventually pre-populate the high score initials from the name in the phone app profile. Everything in due time.

Check that the mechanism is properly work by using the Statue Diverter Test. (Full Menu->Tests->Device Tests->Statue Diverter)

Pressing ENTER in the test will run the motor. Verify the "Diverter Down" switch activates when the arm is in the down position. Run the motor for a while to make sure the arm isn't catching on anything.

CRAZY!

That's a display issue and not a scoring problem. (Otherwise, she would have had a Grand Champion score of 100M.)

Thanks for the report!

Test the trap door via Diagnostics: Full Menu->Tests->Device Tests->Trap Door

You will need to pull out the interlock switch that is inside the coin door. Otherwise, the 70V supply to the Trap Door coils is turned off.

Actuate the Trap Door by pressing ENTER. Pay attention to Switch #029, which lets the game know that the Trap Door is open. If that switch is not activating when the Trap Door is raised, that would cause the error report that you are receiving. (The game will still attempt to open and close the Trap Door without the switch working.)

I presume you mean SIM Card switch. If the game is complaining that the switch is stuck open at power up and then the report goes away after playing, my guess is that you have two opto switches swapped with each other.

Go into Switch Test (Full Menu->Tests->Dedicated Switches) and drop a ball into the SIM Card hole to see which switch(es) is/are activated.

Chaos in Quantum City is a multiball with a 20-second ball saver. Jackpot value is boosted by the number of modes that were completed prior. It's chaotic and over pretty quickly (at least when I play it). I like it, and so does the rest of the team.

If you aren't interested in trying for the points, let the ball saver time out and drain it down to a single ball. I'm sorry it doesn't scratch whatever particular itch you have. But maybe you should try playing it first before making up your mind.

(And I mean that in the most sincere way. You're obviously very interested in the game, which is very nice.)

Update your software to 1.52.

--Ted

Nice video.

- You may have figured this out already: You can use the volume control on the outside of the cabinet. No need to open the coin door.
- The comic book included with the games is slightly different from the one given out at Expo 2016. I'll leave it up to someone else to discover the difference(s).

--Ted

Which voices? The characters on the phone? If those are the only voices that are low, then you may have an issue with your right channel. Those voices are processed to mainly come out the right-hand side, since the phone is on the right of the game.

Go into Sound Test (Diagnostics->Full Menu->Tests->Sound Test), and play the left & right channel test sounds to check things out.
--Ted

Glad to help. Even more glad you can get back to enjoying your game.
--Ted

Diagnostics->Full Menu->Settings->Game Settings

Look beneath UNDER ATTACK MULTIBALL for "Multiball Magnet Behavior". Note that is affects the magnets during regular multiball only. The settings behave as follows:


setting MB1 MB2 MB3 MB4+
EASY: off/soft soft soft/hard hard
MED: soft soft/hard hard hard
DIFF: hard hard hard hard


So, for example, on EASY, the magnets are OFF at the start of the first multiball, then start pulsing softly. For second multiball, the magnets pulse softly the entire time. For third multiball, they start off soft and switch to harder pulses. And for fourth multiball, the magnets pulse hard the entire time.

As far as adjusting the theater magnet, that code should not have changed in 1.52.

--Ted

A bunch of the phone call voice clips do not have animations. When we have time to create the animations, they will be put in.
--Ted

Based on your description, it sounds like there is a problem with one or more switches in the lockup. Check it out in Switch Test.

The four screws on top of the Train Station will allow you to remove the building's "skin" and more easily diagnose what is happening. It might be a simple as one of the optos has come loose.

--Ted

Bally/Williams games originally had no setting control this. On Ball 2 and later, hitting START would restart a game. In mid-1992, an adjustment was added to control the behavior. It had three settings: "NEVER", "SLOW", and "INSTANTLY". Default was "SLOW".

It's pretty simple, actually. Play disaster modes to enable the other ones. The modes are in tiers, but shuffled around a bit randomly each game. The idea is that some of the modes are more likely to happen only when you are deeper in, and having a "good" game. Also, we wanted some of the foreground damage in the city to be more likely to happen before the background damage so that you can actually see it.
--Ted

No prize, but there's one more difference. While it would be fun to create another comic, and I even have a rough outline of what it would contain, there won't be another.
--Ted

To understand what the "Hold Spider/Drone/Transit/Kilowatt" awards do, you first need to understand the underlying 'bucket' rules. Let's use Spider as an example; the others work similarly:

There are two score items associated with each bucket rule. For Spider:
'spider theater value' <- reset to base value at ball start, unless held
'spider bonus bucket' <- reset to base value at ball start, unless held; added to score during Bonus Count

Plus a counter:
'spider collect count' <- reset to zero at ball start

Action when Spider is hit:
- score some fixed points
- increase 'spider theater value'
- light Theater for timed shot

Action when Theater is shot when lit for Spider collect:
- score some fixed points
- add 'spider theater value' to 'spider bonus bucket'
- increase 'spider theater value'
- kill Spider collect
- increment 'spider collect count'
- if ('spider collect count' >= threshold) then light Theater for Spider Spinner, and reset 'spider collect count'

Action when Theater is shot when lit for Spider Spinner
- score some fixed points (larger than amount for Spider collect)
- add 'spider theater value' to 'spider bonus bucket'
- Spider Spinner stays lit until timing out

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In relation to the above, Skill Shot works like this for the "bucket" (Spider/Drone/Transit/Kilowatt) rules:

Hit Skill Shot kicker when lit for 'Hold Spider':
- score some increasing points
- set Spider 'hold' flag ('spider theater value' and 'spider bonus bucket' will not reset on next ball)
- set timer for Super Skill Shot

Hit LOCK ramp or SIM Card during while Super Skill Shot timer active:
- score some points (ramp awards more)
- increase 'spider theater value'

Hold Bonus X works as follows:

Skill Shot
- score some increasing points
- hold Bonus X over to next ball

Super Skill Shot
- score some points (ramp awards more)
- increase Bonus X

Big Points is pretty obvious, and the value is shown on the screen for Skill Shot / Super Skill Shot.

Note that more than one item can be held by getting Skill Shot after locking a ball, or by getting a Hold award from Drone Mystery. Also, there is a Drone Mystery award that will keep any held items lit for the next ball ("hold the holds").

--Ted

The team agrees with you. This behavior has been changed, and will be in the next release.
--Ted

Not during a single session. You can light SIM Card again with a subsequent play of the same QMB, but it requires more shots for each one.
--Ted

I didn't do all of it. I had lots of help. In fact, I wrote none of the Skill Shot, "bucket" rules, or Bonus stuff. I had to go look at the code to make sure I got the details correct.
--Ted

Onslaught was the working name for what became Chaos in Quantum City.
--Ted

A software update would not trigger this problem. Check the circuit board circled in the photo below. Make sure the power connector (white with black/red/purple wires) is firmly seated. Same thing with the data connector (RJ-45 black cable).

--Ted

di_bagboard (resized).png

If the rest of the lamps are working, it's not a fuse problem. You'll note that the lamp board right above that one uses the same power feed.

Are the green LEDs on the board lit?

Completed disaster modes boosts Armageddon jackpot scores. Chaos MB jackpot scores also factor in the number of completed modes.

So, you can sandbag your way through to Armageddon, but you won't get much of a payback scoring-wise.
--Ted

I wouldn't call it a "penalty", but the SIM Card multiplier only applies to the shots made. Using Big Bang scores the un-made shots without multiplier.
--Ted

Inside secret: On multi-player games, Selfie Mode is much more likely to happen.
--Ted

selfie_ticker (resized).png

Yes.

And yes. (Although I always prefer my incorrect translation from back in high school: "Quite Easily Done".)

--Ted

The choreography for Showdown hasn't been completed yet. You do get victory laps for defeating the Top Evil Dude, but most of the feedback is missing at this point. We'll get to finishing that up eventually.

--Ted

What does the switch matrix look like in test?

With 5 balls in the trough, it should look like this:
di_matrix1 (resized).jpg

With 4 balls in the trough, it should look like this:
di_matrix2 (resized).jpg

--Ted

If the trough jam switch goes green, the game will think a ball is stacked on top of another, then fire the coil to clear the problem.

Try taking all the balls out and looking at the matrix again. I suspect you will see all of the switches toggling between green and yellow. Most likely cause is a loose connection. Check the power supply (red & black wires) connectors on both circuit boards. Also check where that small harness connects to the main harness. Try wiggling the switch matrix connector (7 white wires & 1 green wire) and see if the switches toggle in test.

--Ted

If you own the game, I suggest you change the setting for "BOB Ball Lock" to 0. Or you can install the DIRECTOR'S CUT Preset.
--Ted

settings (resized).jpgpreset (resized).jpg

I like the suggestion that someone had of pushing up on the top lip of the backbox while turning the key.
--Ted

Best guess: The "before" and "after" switches are reversed.
--Ted

Believe me, if the lighting could be used to that effect, we would have used it as described. Unfortunately, it just looks bad to have the lane light on while there's something on the screen.
--Ted

Shadow's magnet area was carefully designed to make the ball throwing behavior consistent. Dialed In's magnet was not intended for ball tossing, and there are significant physical differences between Shadow and Dialed In.

I implemented the ball tossing in Dialed In as an experiment, and had planned to remove it before the game was released, but it slipped my mind. So, it is what it is. Owners can turn it off if they want.

(I'm pretty familiar with Shadow's ball tossing, by the way: https://patents.google.com/patent/US5494286)

--Edward "Ted" Estes

Oh, things are way past the point of being able to remove that functionality.
--Ted

The "hold" time is there to increase the chance of the ball bouncing off the back of QED and avoid a drain. It has been further refined in the next release. (Life is full of compromises.)

--Ted

Clarification: Your observation relates to what was shared in the stream a week ago. The code in games at the JJP booth at Pinball Expo is newer than what was shared on the stream. No static images. All of the phone character animations are in.

I don't have a firm release date yet. I'm aiming to have new code posted early next week. I'm still waiting on a few items.
--Ted

If it says V1.56, then you're good to go.
--Ted

There are six animations that are displayed on the theater during attract made. One is shown every 60 seconds.
--Ted

Yeah, that one shows up, but it's the last one on the list. They are shown in order.

(And now that I've just double-checked that, I see that there are SEVEN animations. The JJP logo that you mentioned is the seventh. However, the starting point in the list is randomized each time.)

--Ted

You can collect SIM Cards during Chaos in Quantum City, but they have to be lit before starting the mode. No new methods to light SIM Card have been added to the code.
--Ted

I have found that pushing up on the top lip of the backbox while turning the key works in most cases to get it unlocked and the glass out.

After that, one can do the trimming as suggested, or just live with having to push up the lip each time.
--Ted

Aside from the covers (outer and inner), the entire comic is shown in attract mode.

And, yes, you continue the story by playing the game.
--Ted

DI_press_start (resized).jpg

1) It's also possible to nudge the game to get the ball to drop off the top of the plastic, thus setting up a feed to the upper flipper. Admittedly, you have to be pretty quick on the reflexes to influence the ball when it drops onto that area. With a steeply pitched game, there is even less time to react.
2) Most timers do stop when the ball is being held. The Hurry-Up rule is different, though. Think of it as "Hurry up and make the shot!' and not "Go ahead and make some other shot and then maybe decide to make the hurry-up shot later."
It takes two presses of both flippers to cancel the Lock animation.
3) Pindemption option is not available for Dialed In.

--Ted

I'm not sure if you're asking about the color of the Trough Jam switch box. The boxes show the state of the switches in real time. Trough Jam is mustard yellow, indicating that it's an opto that is not blocked. The colors match the colors in the Switch Test.

--Ted

Yes, the software changes faster than the documentation does. Also, we're not always so good about letting Butch know when we change stuff, so he's usually playing "catch up".

Note that you can remove balls from the trough in Trough Test, by pressing ENTER. (Be sure that the coin door interlock switch is pulled OUT, so that the trough coil has power.) Unfortunately, the kick strength in Trough Test is not controlled by the Trough VUK Strength setting, so Trough Test is mainly useful for testing the switches. When I get time, I'll enhance the test to use the strength setting, and also allow changing it from that screen.
--Ted

I apologize for how long this took to diagnose, but it's been a quite an exploration.

If you have V1.60 installed on your Dialed In!, please try this delta update for V1.61.  This should fix the screen performance issues.

Thanks!

--Ted

Link:  https://we.tl/t-nqWcAB0bQC


==============================================================================
==                               Version 1.61         December 21, 2018     ==
==============================================================================
- NOTE: This is a "delta" upgrade, which must be installed over V1.60
=== Core Code
* Performance improvements


I'm at a loss to explain it, which is why I asked for additional info. Joe and I tested on three machines before releasing the update, and several others (such as yourself) have reported that the latest code is working well.

(Edited to add: The 3 games Joe and I have access to are a mix of prototypes and production games, so they should be representative of what's in the field. Also, there were no changes in motherboard or aux display card during the production run.)

--Ted

It's a "beta" release for now. Must have 1.60 installed before applying 1.61.

Link: https://we.tl/t-nqWcAB0bQC


==============================================================================
== Version 1.61 December 22, 2018 ==
==============================================================================

* Performance improvements


How long is "a time"? How many games played? Or does it happen while sitting there not being played?

I have yet to see any pauses or stutters. I did see (and measure) some slowdown in rendering, but I had to compare side-by-side to convince myself that there was a difference by eye.

--Ted

I was about to ask the same question. The jackpot value for Chaos in Quantum City is based on the number of shots made in the preceding modes, plus a kicker for completing a mode (without using Big Bang).

Of course, one actually has to make the jackpot shots (left and right ramps, plus side ramp for double jackpot) as well!
--Ted

Have you installed V1.61 software and checked out the brightness on that lamp? I put in a change to dim the Spider GI, except when used in lamp effects. (I am a bit fond of the "left loop enter" effect myself.)

Also, note that the ball guides have cutouts on the bottom, so that lamp does provide some light to the left loop and left ramp.
--Ted

It's a "beta" release for now. Must have 1.60 installed before applying 1.61.

Link: https://we.tl/t-nqWcAB0bQC


==============================================================================
== Version 1.61 December 21, 2018 ==
==============================================================================
- NOTE: This is a "delta" upgrade, which must be installed over V1.60
=== Core Code
* Performance improvements


V1.61 is fresh off the press. Nothing further planned at this point.
--Ted

How long did you play before the phone display started to lay like that?
--Ted

I appreciate everyone's assistance in getting to the root of this. Could one of you disconnect the USB cable going to the LED controller board on the playfield? I have a wild hunch. Let me know if the lag continues without the LEDs running.

Thanks.
--Ted

Try unplugging the Bluetooth dongle. I have confirmation from Lermods that the problem went away with the dongle unplugged.
--Ted

The time value is the interval length of the pulse that the coil is fired. For shorter pulses, the coil will turn off before the plunger has reached full travel position.

And to confirm your observation - the slings are slightly weaker at max setting, starting with version 1.55.
--Ted