... or 10k once delivered adjusted for inflation.

i find this confusing.

Rotating post to adjust shot from kickback area?

Rotating post to adjust shot from kickback area?

edit: pict wont upload

I wasn't able to upload just the disclosure statement at the bottom but it says

"This can't be disclosed with written approval from JJP." Doesn't that apply to posting on a website?

No problem for me but I'd hate to be the OP and get in trouble for copyright issues. Seems to me it clearly says posting this in public w/o JJP written approval is a no-no.

Chris

by the time this ships will internet tax be mandatory in every state? That's like an extra $600 here in Cali (for those that don't pay on internet purchases)

Press release mentions "extreme interaction" with Smaug. I wonder if this interaction will go beyond the T-Rex in JP, Thing in TAF, or Ringmaster in CV. Looking forward this.

Yes I was curious how this works also. How does the ball divert to the left outlane kick back. Also I am interested to see how the divertor mech works in the back to divert the ball left/right and u turn.

Looks amazing!! It's basically a wide body, two flipper style game but with the extra 2 flippers to help out with Smaug or that wide target on the right. Love the uturn ramp diverter. I'm sure Smaug will be great. Interesting to see what he pop ups will be. maybe parts of smaugs tail? Or orcs? Wonder what the banana target is? The captive ball target looks good also. Love the kickback. I have a good feeling about this one. Really good.

jack mentioned a lower playfield in allentown - can anybody see that from looking at the playfield - or do you think that has been changed and there is no lower playfield now. thanks ed

Huge potential here, especially with subways. I can imagine hitting a subway and getting some of those glorious scenes of the underground dwarf kingdom from the first movie on the LCD. Also, I can imagine some awesome CGI for battling Smaug. Hopefully the LCD can really be pushed on this machine.

It has been mentioned before of the possibility of a lower playfield that can only be seen on the backbox through a miniature camera.

Medieval Baywatch

I have to say this is one of the more interesting layouts/flow i have seen. Once it's fully understandable what all this does I believe it will be moving pinball in a direction that makes me feel very good about getting into this Hobby! Keep the speculating coming, love it!

Now THAT, would be cool!

not so sure on the camera thing, if i wanted to play virtual pinball..........

I can see Smaug taunting the player and narrating the modes and action on the playfield. Wonder how the mold and toy for him will work? is he sitting on a pile of gold? is his body and tail woven into the ramps and targets?

Well, thief? I smell you, I feel your air and I hear your breath. Come along! Help yourself; there's plenty. . . .

Also having a mode where the player "the ball" is invisible to smaug and he is searching for you around the playfield would be bad ass.

One of my favorite things when buying a NIB game is this time of speculation and the reveal of it all is so excited. This will be my first JJP game and I enjoy that they are so open with the community and release information like this. This will be a fun ride!

Its really not virtual pinball since you would be watching a real ball interacting with a real playfield. Similar to Krull where the playfield was distorted to make it look extremely miniature.

Who knows what they have in store? WOZ has several toys and TH seems to only have one large one. Either the Smaug toys is just plain incredible or there are other toys hidden in the game IMHO.

At this point my best guess for highly interactive would be that Smaug grabs the ball off the habitrail as it goes around and then deposits it on the straight habitrail to the outlane. Perhaps from there it can either be saved or not with the return kicker depending on software (maybe guessing a riddle?). I guess it could also drop it into the subway in the back.

-Jim

If they interact a mountain scene,which Jack had mentioned, perhaps we will not know where the ball will be deposited and returned. Reflexes could be tested.

There would be nothing "virtual" about it.

I am not seeing it.....

Uh....wrong link......

This looks very cool...I'm weakening! Vyzer...what are YOU doing?

This game must have a golden powerball! That is all.

dang that would be cool! good idea

I count more than 60.

--Luke

I really hope a hidden physical PF displayed on the monitor is true, and if so - you could have "virtual" stuff on it. Physical pinball but with animated characters and FX overlayed....it will be so cool if they can pull that off.

Holy crap that would be awesome.

Someone else mentioned that maybe the pop-ups aren't trolls, but Smaug's tail. I think that would be an awesome touch! A very, interactive, mechanical toy that messes with your ball not only when it is in his area, but also throughout the playfield! There's no Escape!

Some observations

- If you take out one of the center popups, you can clobber the other in the back if the u-turn diverter is enabled. You can also clobber the lower popups in the back via the opposite orbit. Will they have targets/sensors on the back? Interesting rules possibility.. 3 hits in front, or one backstab to kill?

- I like the 2 leftmost drops next to Smaug leading to a compartment/VUK, while the other three have additional targets behind them. Nice variety

- What kind of target is the spring-loaded thingie on the right?

- Don't see how left ramp shots that don't uturn won't derail off the habitrail in the pops.. no guardrails.

- Not sure I like balls going into pops and then just dribbling into the right VUK, seems like a slowdown, but maybe there will be good video to watch while that's going on.

- I doubt there is a lower PF with all the other stuff (inserts, popups) all over the place. Upper flipper mechs and VUK assys will take up space that the inserts don't use. Unless they stash it somewhere else in the cab (via camera) but this thing might be loaded enough as it is.

Very excited to see this layout... looks like a great shooting playfield.

Plenty of room in the coffin for a lower playfield. It doesn't have to be attached directly under the playfield.

+1

I absolutely love this "backstab" idea!

does plunger shoot directly into drop targets?

That would be a cool idea, who knows what those targets will look like molded toy or a box with a nightcrawler on it

I have to admit. WOZ doesn't do it for me, but this has potential.

I like the PF since it's not the usual playfield that we've seen with Avatar, Metallica, AC/DC & Iron Man. Somethin' a bit different than the usual fan layout.

very impressive, makes you want to buy one

... not unless they pay a bundle to Benedict Cumberbatch for custom voice work.

Time to sell my WOZLE and buy it. Oops...no WOZ here yet to sell. Forget that plan.

I like that idea as well. Having multiple targets on the pop ups or some other way to interact with them would be awesome.

Instead of a golden powerball: an Arkenstone.

Anyone who's read the book knows what I'm talking about.

Yeah, the arkenstone has to be represented somewhere...

Two power balls then:

Precious powerball with gold ball

Arkenstone powerball with lead ball that breaks every toy in the game in 5 minutes

Funny... not for everbody - but still very funny

Well besides the inability to deliver and the weekly proven unrealibilty of own promises....

This playfield looks really promising - I like it. Don't dream of special things which would make this pin to complex not only in terms of construction but also in terms of gameplay. The desaster (yes I think it is a desaster) with WOZ is also because they put in too much. Less would have been better and right now they are two and a half year behing schedule. Normally this company would not exist any more - this is just possible because of the confidence and patience of this pinball community.

Good Luck - Jack! But no more pre-orders from my side...

Fair point, Butttt... I would still take a gamble tho....

I think maybe Smaug brings the ball to that rail, though that's far away from him... Or maybe the ball is diverted from the other (ramp)rail, though that's not shown.
But I do think it's a lead to the kickback somehow, not the other way around.

I really like the ball going around Smaug as well. And agree that at least one of the 2 upper flippers should have a 'unique' shot just for them. But all in all, I think it looks great.