Extra ball fix is in beta test right now for DF. Added a couple other options, one to carry the bonus ladder over, one to step the bonus up like the original software did before the first fix.

The first fix where the description didn't match the manual might have been a bit hasty - it could be interpreted in two ways, especially after disassembling the code. The text in the manual reads "The bonus points are acquired by knocking down individual drop targets" - which led me to believe (10 years ago or so) that the awarding of a bonus step on only the lit X bank was incorrect, leading to the first fix (on ipdb) of adding a bonus step regardless of which drop bank was lit.

Of course, there are other ways to build bonus NOT covered in the manual - lit standups award them as do the inlanes.

Back on track, there is also code in the original software to ALWAYS add a bonus step on a drop target, AFTER 7x is lit. So, with the first fix in place, if you got 7x, you would get TWO bonus steps per drop. That's called me introducing a bug.... I'm PRETTY sure I got IPDB the updated version after that, with JUST one step per regardless of multiplier max status. However, the fact that it was coded like that means that I now think that they INTENDED it to only be on the lit bank, and just neglected to stick it in the manual. The manual was probably type set ages before the game went into production. Hence, why I added it back into the code via a dip option (I eliminated the max credits option, it's always 99, to get some free dip switches.)

So, what OTHER things do owners think should be considered for the code? I think carrying the bonus ladder over is an interesting variant, because you can still turn off the bonus multiplier carrying over but still reward the player for doing well. (The bonus multiplier ends up trumping almost anything else if you carry it over and get 5x-7x and rip the spinner, there's where your points are going to come from. If you carry the ladder over instead there's more incentive to keep shooting the drop banks down).

The extra ball bug happens because the game has too many ways to add balls (this was later stern and the 'add-a-ball' option frenzy, which in certain combinations can totally break Split Second - it's possible through an innocent setting of dip switches on SS to get endless extra balls). The fix essentially removes extra balls, but needs to be tested as well with extra balls disabled, specials enabled, so that you can still get specials. That I am still working on.

Oh, and the end of game animation/sound effect where you can't actually restart the game in the middle, has been eliminated. That one always drove me crazy, because as all dragonfist owners know, it's not like the game takes more than a minute or 2, and you want to drop kick the credit button and fist again.

Oddly, the playfield plastic everyone has that's broken was intact on mine. Moot point since CPR can repro them on demand now.

I'm seriously considering adding a drop bank sweep bonus like flight 2k has, but not actually SCORE anything extra - just make that cool 25k completion sound from Big Game (I love that sound). Oh, and do SOMETHING about the horrible background sound. The thump-thump-thump component of it isn't too bad, but the pacmany-type siren sound has gotta go.

Oh, and speech, but only if I have an extra VSU100 laying around.....

Yes, that's the plan. Although out of the background sound components (the thump and the siren) I like the thump but not the siren. I am initially going to see if I can just remove the siren and leave the thump.

There would be some stuff removed to make space for updates - the long light show thing at the end where you can't restart the game until its over, for instance. Unless you put a weebly board in or do some mods to the mpu200 to allow larger romspace. There's a slight bit of room available 'stock' but more is needed for any other custom stuff (speech wouldn't be too bad since most of that romspace is on the vsu100 board)

You must be the man from that Enrique Iglesias song...you are my hero! Or perhaps I should go with Foo Fighters that would probably sound better...There goes my Hero...making pinball classics great!

I think a Sweep award of double dropped bank value would be fair and not really drastically change the way the game scores. I also agree that bonus carrying over at the 10k intervals would probably be a good idea and give players multiple ways to play the game then with bonus approach, or spinner approach. And absolutely eliminating all extra balls would be great and make this game much better for tournament use!

Also I would say make the code update based on the weebly board space, I'm happy to contribute to getting you a weebly board for the project if that would encourage it. I think anyone wanting to upgrade their rules in the machine should be willing to upgrade to the weebly board as well, that way you are free to modify as you / other owners see fit.

Sincerely thank you for doing this I love my Dragonfist. I just sold my seawitch because the rules are similar, and Dragonfist layout is just so much better.

Yup, I own a Dragonfist and just bought a weebly board.

Oh, I have plenty of weebly boards. Thank Andrew when you buy the board make sure to let him know that you're buying his board because you wanted the flexibility of the extra space. It's probably not convenient for him to leave the extra rom/ram in the design, and I appreciate it every day as I do crazy things with the boards they were never intended to by Bally/stern.

Probably the only thing I'm looking for is a single Red drop to replace one that snapped at its first party debut.... but I'm incredibly lazy so it would probably never get into the game anyway.

I'm converting my center bank to white because I had a red break, happy to donate my red to you whenever I get around to pulling it from the machine.

I'll see if I still have the broken one laying in the cabinet if not I'll do my best to take some shots of them in the game

Bug hunt continues. When you beat the hstd, stock code calls for a SPEECH callout! But, it's using data for a regular sound board call.

Less electronics, more software.... and pretty specific at that. Put me in front of anything modern and I'll give more dumb looks than you can imagine. Kind of stinks since it's not marketable in any concrete way.

I reported a problem on my machine that may be unique to me but if you are looking into issues may as well see if you notice anything in the code that could cause it.

Start a game, X is on the upper right drop bank. I knock down lets say the two lower drops but not the top one. I don't collect my bonus multiplier or bank value and drain. Next ball, drops reset, x remails there, I plunge and the top drop is hit and drops, bank believes I have cleared it, they reset, I get my bonus x and value for bank, and the x moves to center drops. Essentially although the drops reset the mpu still seems to think those targets have been taken down again. I've checked the switches and they are adjusted properly and I replaced the diodes on all of those switchs. I have even swapped between a Weebly and Altek board an the issue persists. I'm planning to redo all the connectors next, but figured it would be worth checking in the code as well. I can take a video if that would help make things clearer as well.

I did actually look at the code I think you posted this previously - if you can get it consistent, take a video of it. There's actually something smart in DF's code - a thread that runs every once in a while to make sure that any drops missed are caught. (It compares what it thinks have dropped, to what is currently dropped, and if it finds any discrepancies, it re-triggers the drop switch virtually). I've no doubt that this is related to this issue. Otherwise, might end up being a mystery, because on each target reset, the drops are specifically masked out as re-triggering.

I have had this behavior on my machine too, only with the upper right bank, and only very rarely. I suspect the fix will be to make the periodic code not only check for missing downed targets, but ensure that the flags for downed drops are cleared when the target is UP (which it currently does NOT do.)

It would be helpful if your machine does this semi-regularly to make any fixes testable. Do you have an eprom burner and 27512 eproms? That would be the easiest burn to do, depending on your weebly board revision. Unfortunately due to Alltek's recalcitrant position re: updating their all-in-one eprom with custom code it would not be possible to test it on that board.

Yep I have a spare Weebly board in stock and I have a friend in town with a burner. I have to go pick up a machine today after work but will try to take some video tonight. I'll shoot you a PM and see what I can get you for video. Thanks for confirming that I'm not crazy!

I've been hunting for red targets for a while and sorta gave up. I had enough to do the outer targets on each bank with 1 to spare.
My solution is going to be to add a single white stern target with a red "S" or lightning bolt in the middle of each bank and keep red on either side. I figure this might look cool since the center target is the object for extra ball anyway. It will also keep all 3 banks looking the same.

I'll post pics once I get to it.

That's what I did....

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I think on my updated code we took out the end bonus long count if I remember right. I never played the game with base code though. You coming to TPF. I am bring my there.

Likely it was really early old code.

The bonus thing at the end of the game was silly, and it took up gobs of rom space.

Yea, That was it.

I just wanted to chime in with how much I love my Dragonfist. It's one of the most frenetic games ever but it also has a couple of very satisfying shots. So grateful to have one.

looking for a backglass if anyone has one laying around.

BG Resto can make you one.

Do you have to send them one to be restored or will they do from scratch?

Glad to hear this. I ordered one. Can't wait. My original is usable but I want my machine minty , minty. A BG is my final piece. DF is a keeper for me.

I have one. Looks nice.

Thanks for the info cottonm4 ! Mine is quite good so it isn't worth shipping there and running the risk. If I can just buy one that changes things.
With the amount of work going into the restoration it may as well be perfect!

Can someone please confirm something? On the guy to the right of the gong in the white, is there a green line that follows the bottom of his extended leg?

thanks

I thought I would just put this out there for you Dragonfist purist. Swinks has put these up on his Shapeways shop and you can get them printed in whatever color you want, including the original red. I figured someone may be interested.

https://www.shapeways.com/product/J8REG7JSC/stern-tombstone-drop-target-13a-11-rib-guide?optionId=65101926&li=shops

My game is hard enough to play without making it more difficult.

nice work on the target modification on the bally's they have the rib and no rib as do the Stern's. in the top of the drop target assembly is a plate they can be installed on way so you then need the rib and flip the plate around and you don't need the rib.

If you want to ensure your Stern targets with ballys installed brick horribly, yeah, that's one way to do it

https://sites.google.com/site/allentownpinball/galaxy-asm/dfragonfist-v1105.zip?attredirects=0&d=1

software adds freeplay, a couple features including one that was in the code and eliminated, improves drop target handling in case you get phantom drop target hits.

I don't remember what coils are in mine, but it's one of the 2 fastest games I own.... I used to think F-14 was fast, but going from that to DF makes it look like F14 is in slow motion.

You should be able to get the left and right drop banks from the feed shots - you might have to tweak the positions of the drops and guides otherwise.

The slings are already crazy sensitive - I actually left the outlane posts in (which I usually remove) and it's still a drain monster.

I guess that's just a variant on the guides mine doesn't hit the sling post (which I don't think it would be designed to do) - maybe the slope of the game affects this I never really thought about it. I have mine pretty raised (not 2x4 on the back legs, but the 3" levelers are all the way out - although the basement floor does dip a little bit on that side so it's not the full 3".)

The upper part of the guide in relation to the drop really controls what happens anyway, since the ball is going to hug the guide in most cases - I don't get as many sweeps of the target bank as I believe was originally intended, but it usually gets at least one.

Here you go. I have a seawitch spinner on mine that I haven't bothered to replace because it works great

I suppose I could move my guide SLIGHTLY at the top to encourage sweeping, and it was on my list to add sweeping to the software anyway (probably scoring 2x the bank.... I'll have to see if I can use the Big Game 25k sound for the sweep here, although I've found that the sound engine from mpu200 game to game has a lot of variation in it, so the engine from one can't always play the sound from another.... unless it's the KAPOW sound that stern used a lot....)

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Latest version of modified software
https://sites.google.com/site/allentownpinball/galaxy-asm/df-1108-BIN.zip?attredirects=0&d=1

Fixes some bugs especially a rather large one where you had to use the software on the weebly board and not the original mpu200---whoops.

Hello Dragonfist Fans
I´m Lars from Germany and today a Dragonfist was found. Sadly he is a faceless fighter.
I came here and hopefully find a bigger fan base of this machine to help me fix the problems.

As always my left sling plastic is broke.
But the bigger problem is on the playfield.
Maybe i can find an overlay?

Thanks so much
Lars
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