Okay, you just lost all credibility with me by claiming it's worse than WWE!

Amen to that!

Had my first stuck ball last night, took me a while to find it but I knew one had bounced off the apron HARD when it was drilled by another ball from the Rocket shot.

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Unless you really plan on keeping the game a very long time I don't think the additional features for the Premium are worth it. I love full RGB but not willing to pony up that much extra $$ for it. The only other feature I know of is that the orb opens and closes on the Prem / LE and the artwork is different. For most titles I consider I lean premium or LE but for GOTG, which I don't think I'll keep forever, the Pro seemed like a better choice.

EDIT: I forgot the additional spinning magnets and the moving (recoil) Rocket figure.

EDIT x2: How did I forget the two spinners?? Shit, maybe the premium is worth it!

Interesting bug occurred the other day when I started to play, had to power cycle to resolve it.

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EDIT: Code version 0.87 and that was a gif file when I uploaded it.

Yeah, I should have included that in my post - it's the latest available 0.87.

Do you mean the flipper gets weak? If so it sounds like they've identified a code problem related to the spike bus on all Lonnie's games and they are working on a fix. I'm hoping we see that sooner rather than later!

Agreed, the Upgrade will finally be worth shooting for. I hope they do some additional music and audio cues too so that cleland can work some further magic on it. I'm really enjoying it on the .87 code so far, fun and challenging too.

It sounds like your game is having much worse problems than most others if it is unplayable. I've played about 6 different GOTGs and have had a pro for about two weeks, with all of them the problem is pretty random and more frustrating than crippling. I certainly want to see them fix it ASAP but at least it sounds like they know what the problem is and are working on it. If your game is that much worse I would also suggest you call them and try to get resolution but I wouldn't expect them to take the game back, it just doesn't happen in pinball.

Negative, they are not RGB on the Pro.

I believe it's by finishing three (maybe four) modes and then hitting the mode select scoop. I played a few games with the new code tonight and the first one I got to the new MB mode. Lots of fun and timed mode, the game really plays differently now, for sure.

Confirmed that the weird "dancing" 1234567890 scores for players 2-4 bug still exists in .90. The modes are definitely easier to complete in general and Cherry Bomb multi-ball is therefore pretty achievable as well, the Super Jackpot in that mode is huge (I had something like 104M just for that). As others have reported there is a bug that it doesn't recognize a ball is in the scoop when CB multi-ball ends and requires a ball search to clear it out. I love that the Upgrade shot is now actually worth shooting for inside modes and that there is more variety in the shot selection required. One thing I found weird is that in the Yaka Arrow mode, which is now a "pops centric" mode counts each shot to the pops as a single shot, when I think of a pops centric mode I think of modes where you need a certain number of actual pop bumper hits (save Timmy in JP comes to mind), but here it's really more of a outer loop mode because that's what you really have to hit to get to the pops unless you're lucky enough to sneak one through between groot and the back of the org. This is still a pretty hard mode to complete because of the short timer and how long the ball tends to stay in the pops once there.

Edit: I noticed that Yaka Arrow 2 is a more traditional # of pops mode.

I annihilated my previous high scores during a game last night. Most of these points came from an Orb Super Jackpot with rocket scoring and the orb shot double multipled as well as several other shots multiplied. Had already completed Cherry Bomb and Groot MB plus 6 modes completed. Really enjoying this game right now. Factory settings except for mode start at the scoop, not at ball launch.

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I don't know if this is a bug or by design but it definitely ends every time you drain one ball after the ball save timer for the mode expires. If you then drain your other ball you re-start the mode at ball launch but it's still just one ball and then allows Groot locks / MB to be achieved.

Edit: If you shoot the scoop for mode selection after losing your first ball and ending Quill's Quest, selecting Quill's again will also put you in single ball play with Groot and Orb locks / MB available.

I think the Level 2 shots are more like icing on the cake as opposed to what you would prefer to hit. For example if the the ramps are lit for points and the ball is cradled on the right flipper the left ramp is now worth shooting to get it to the left flipper to attempt a scoop shot as opposed to just post-passing it. So far that's the way I'm treating them.

I have the plastic protector installed and I've not had a ball get stuck in there yet. I have had one end up really stuck under the bottom of the left ramp and on top of a plastic twice. It's a major pain to get it out of there too, may have to try to attach something to the nut that holds the plastic down to prevent it but I that's going to require removing the lower left ramp so it might be a while before I get around to it.

I've purposely played Quill's often to observe behavior and I've yet to see it continue after draining to one ball, certainly possible there is a bug that randomly does it but I've not seen it yet. If the mode times out with one ball and you hit the scoop and choose Q.Q. again it will restart as a single ball MB. I thought it would be a more lucrative mode being two ball multiball but it requires a lot of shots to complete and I'm not a control player in MB so I probably wouldn't choose it in an effort to get to Cherry Bomb unless I had Groot MB ready to start.

I bought mine from pinrestore.com but I have a lot of it and I'm in Cincy too, PM me if you want and I can figure out how to get some to you. The shooter lane on mine is chipped too but it was that way when I got it so hopefully the mylar prevents it from getting worse.

Will the target drop in coil test mode? May have a broken wire to the coil or something simple like that?

They are supposed to be like the little things Yandou asks the Broker about in at about 45 seconds in this video:

From Stern maybe, because JJP's full RGB is still the benchmark with regards to lightshows IMO.

I'm not crazy about the blood splatter with regards to GOTG but I do like the idea of the purple / hex pattern. Another idea for the lockbar may be to use the orange from the sunburst, or whatever it is that circles the GOTGs on the translite / movie posters.

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Ah, I misunderstood you. I've seen your work in your thread (and others) here so I know you do awesome stuff.

I bought a Pro very lightly used because it was a good price and I wanted something new in the lineup, I wasn't really "sold" on the game at all. Since then the new code and especially cleland 's sound package have transformed it and I think it's an absolute blast. You can play fast and furious and just go for MBs (Orb is still too points heavy IMO) or play more in control and go for mode completion / Cherry Bomb MB / Wizard mode and both are very enjoyable, it has really, really grown on me and not just because it's in my house. I would recommend three things; increase the slope to at least 7 degrees, change the setting so you have to start modes at the scoop, not at the start of a ball and definitely install the ROM from cleland so you have actual clips from the movie and not just the voice actors (some of which are actually pretty well done). Oh, and install the plastic protector set and a bit of mylar in the shooter lane to protect the clear from chipping.

Pinball Life has them.

I picked up GOTG Pro and Houdini within a month of so, they play so differently it's hard to contrast them. I really like them both and would be hard pressed to pick one over the other, GOTG has the price advantage (on the Pro at least) but Houdini feels like it's built better and the playfield clear looks way better. If you don't like the GOTG movies I'd suggest Houdini but unless you find someone selling theirs or their spot in line you'll be waiting for a while, don't really care for BM66 especially at those prices.

Not on my Pro, magnet action seems about the same and I even got a SDTM out of it (I probably could have saved by nudging but I didn't) earlier on just a few games played.

For the rules changes so far, not being able to use a Hadron to set your Orb MB Jackpot if you miss it with the first shot is a big difference, not sure if I like it or not yet. Orb MB definitely seems to be lower scoring now which is appropriate but being used to huge points from it I'll have to adjust. I do like that the 2nd level of completed modes continue until you drain or complete then, nice addition!

One potential bug I noticed - I have the mode select timer turned off but I hit the scoop with it lit and thought I had time to grab a quick drink, instead it shot the ball out while I was across the room.

Weird as mine has definitely not changed. Maybe try a factory reset (even though that is essentially done when loading new code)?

I suspect we will never see this unless they change the rules for Groot MB significantly because as it is hitting him once opens his mouth, hitting that locks a ball and starts 2x jackpot for 30 seconds (if you put two in it spits them both out), repeat those steps and it's 3X for 30 seconds. If he does the whole "I am Groot" movement how does it reconcile shots into the mouth during that? I don't believe they can (reliably) control how many balls it shoots out, it is all or nothing though sometimes one does not get ejected with the rest when there are more than two.

Yeah, they could replace the big jail battle lead-in that now runs (too long IMO) and have it do it then, maybe with the balls shooting out when he's yelling GRRROOOOOTTTTT! I like that idea actually.

I assume that Lonnie still has final say and is the actual coder, the guy that was at TPF previewing the code (I am terrible at remembering names but it's on more than one post somewhere) said he is "helping re-write the rules", he never said he was no the programmer on the game.

Did you choose full or partial update when you installed it? I don't really know anything about updates to Spike games and just got my only one recently, the instructions in the readme for the code release don't specify which one you should use. I picked full update and it took at least 5 minutes, probably closer to 10 if I had to guess but if yours shows .95 then it sounds like it worked and maybe only a partial was required??

Plastic protectors (I believe there is a set specifically for the LE) and some mylar for the shooter lane are the most important IMO. You'll have to wait for cleland to release a .95 version of his must-have code for this game but it's still a blast on stock code. Not a mod but I suggest changing the settings to require starting a mode at the scoop, makes it more challenging and entertaining IMO.

I saw that Pinball life now has an "official" scoop and shooter lane protector. The latter does not protect the clear in the shooter lane though so I still recommend a small piece of mylar there to prevent chipping.

Try loading the "old" .90 or .87 code and see if it returns to it's former state?

For you and Sinestro that are experiencing this, are you talking about when you collect the first two orbs or when you release a ball from the Orb shot during Orb MB? I just tested my pro multiple times and it grabs and flings the hell out of it during the first two captures but not much / at all during Orb MB. I honestly don't remember if it's always been that way during MB or if it has changed.

Not that you need or asked for it but here is a short video of the magnet action on my Pro running .95.

Yeah, that's a pretty big one but just make sure you're player four and you should be good to go!

Deleted.

I have mine set to require two shots before Upgrade is lit and disabled choose mission at launch, sounds like others are leaving theirs at default for those settings?

Has anyone else noticed a bug where if you drain the last ball on a MB out the right outlane, with ball save lit but the Groot Ballsave (Star Lord's eye's) is flashing but almost done it doesn't award either ball save? I have the Pro and have seen it three times. It happens when I have a single ball locked in Groot's mouth and drain the rest, he shoots that ball out and it ends up in the right outlane, it appears to ignore the fact the ball save is lit on the outlane.

Glad it's not just me! Does Stern have a twitter or e-mail account we can use to report software bugs like JJP does?

I agree with this completely, there are enough differences that they really don't play the same. I like MET and think GOTG is one of the better new Stern's in a while. The callouts are not from the movies but cleland has fixed that and added more songs for us with his awesome sound replacement rom (there is a thread all about it with instructions to download and install), if you don't go that route most of the factory callouts are really not that bad. I still suggest using his build though.

The ORB magnet should divert them enough to keep them from all going SDTM, if that's not happening how is the the magnet catching the orb exits on your game? Maybe you have the same loose magnet core that others have reported??

Good advice, I almost always start with Knowhere or Yaka but while sometimes start Kylin when I have Groot MB ready to go then I try like hell to hit that Rocket shot before the ball save expires! The game is a lot of fun and I like that sometimes I can really get in a great groove and put up big points and others it kicks my ass repeatedly, makes for a better home game.

Light Green all inclusive (since I'm not planning any Comet purchases anytime soon) would be my preference, looks good.

Anyone else seeing a bug at Groot MB mode start where you can't double-flipper cancel / shorten the video and it even goes into ball search before launching the locked balls from Groot? I've seen it multiple times now, always when there is a mode running and it eats up 15-25 seconds of mode timer in doing so. This is a Pro running 1.01 code.

Might as well wait until he gets 1.0.2 modded now. Hopefully he can just run the script on it since it's mainly just bug fixes.

Correct, and they need to be completed, not just half-way which qualifies them for Immolation Initiative. I.E. the inserts have to be solid and not blinking.

Wow, that does seem extreme. Any idea how many games is has on it?

I thought this was an appropriate custom message for the game.

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That setting shouldn't auto-start a mode though, if it's set to off you have to hit the scoop to start a mission. I had my game setup that way for a while but my wife did not like it so now it's back to letting you choose before you launch.

I had a great game last week and after completing Cherry Bomb MB focused on and got to Immolation, great fun! I need to spend more time on this game and see how close to Save Xandar I can get.

Pics or it didn't happen, LOL! Nice game! My best game is about 1.5B and I killed Cherry Bomb MB on that one, 2nd best is under a billion and I got to II and CB on it but tanked both of them. It can be a butt-kicker but can also rack up points fast with multipliers and multi-balls if you get on a roll.

I think this is one Stern where the Pro is sufficient as it's not lacking any major playfield feature other than the spinner. Whichever you get play it for a little while on the factory image and then install cleland sound mods and you'll REALLY enjoy it!

I hate to be the one to say it but you must be doing something wrong. I've flashed all the versions of cleland code as the game has been updated and it has worked every time. What application are you using to burn the image and are you on PC or MAC?

Edit: I'd also add that you might be better off posting this in the thread dedicated to @cleland's ROMs.

Sounds like a similar problem to what Tungsten78 reported and was resolved by doing a full update of the code. Did this happen after a code update you did?

Jane, you ignorant slut! I'm just kidding and hope you get the reference but if you own the game and haven't installed @cleland`s sound mod you are really missing out.

Damn, my high score is just shy of 5B and that was with completing II and SX, though at the time I couldn't remember the rules for SX so I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to be doing.

That should be the same as tournament mode which you can enable the same way on WPC games. It should normalize random awards, extra balls, etc. for tournament play for that game.

Sounds like a pretty typical mechanical issue of some sort and activating the right one creates enough vibration to pull it down. Could be a broken / loose return spring, a loose screw(s) on the coil mounting bracket, broken link, etc. Just have to pull the balls out, lift the playfield and have a look at what is causing it not to move freely.

A picture of the screws might help us identify the likely source.

Check the Gamora ramp where the two plastic pieces are joined together with the metal bridge. Not sure how they would get out and down to the pop bumper but that's the only place I can think of that two screws like that would be on the part of the game.

EDIT: Actually they are probably off the pop bumper caps, I forgot that these games use those types of screws for that purpose.

Did you try this suggestion from the man cleland himself: Balanced out many of the call outs sounds. I still recommend going into the game settings and setting Speech attenuation to somewhere between -15 to -25.

Don't forget the spinner!

That's because there isn't one in there, I'm running the Cleland code and have never heard anything that sounds like an F-Bomb at all.

Can you try to record and post this for us? I'm at a loss for where that would have come from unless the previous owner created and inserted it but I've no idea where it would have come from. Not to mention that phrasing makes no sense at all, why would he "f'ning feel your people for taking...."

This is correct, CR1023 IIRC.

Yes, I think we've all seen it before but if not fixed at least it happens much rarer on the newer code releases, what version are you running?

The Premium / LE certainly has some nice bells and whistles but unlike a lot of Stern Pros GOTG's game play is pretty much identical between them which makes the Pro a good value IMO. As JodyG said a used Pro is one of the best bangs for the buck in the pinball world right now, I got a fantastic deal on a nearly new HUO one last march from a friend who was upgrading to the Premium, still very happy with that purchase over a year later!

I've never seen it NOT be Rocket to complete the mode but of course I try to avoid that shot until I have to hit it, I think the rulesheet I read said it's always the final shot too but that could be erroneous.

It does kinda suck, however I think they should keep it that way for Lock animations (cancel-able to save some time) so that you kind have some penalty for going after them during modes. They should pause the timers on Upgrade and Mystery (that Mystery animation can take for ever) in my opinion though.

How do they handle "add more time" as a mystery award then?

Increases the timer for your mode I'm pretty sure, but I'm really not sure I've ever seen it when just in a regular mode either....hmmmm.

Did you set the Speech Attenuation between -15 to -25 per cleland recommendation?

My Groot will always launch 3 balls then the second two if on the second multiball. I'd suggest you might have a mechanical problem and would make sure everything in that mech is tight and properly aligned, make sure it moves freely, etc.

No spinners for us humble pro owners. Agreed that it's a decent plan for the second mode unless you have MB ready and then I prefer one of the longer ones like Knowhere or Pod Chase. I haven't ever tried Sanctuary in MB though, I wonder if that would work out well or not?

The only mods you really need to worry about for GOTG is the Cleland sound package which is easy to do if you follow the instructions, and some plastic protectors which are also easy to install. The scoop protector is a worthy investment if you plan to play the game a lot but not really necessary and even some strips of mylar are helpful to prevent chipping or wear.

If you use the scoop protector (it is included on the Prem and LE I think) you don't really need the mylar unless you want to put some down in the shooter lane, again not really necessary to do so. If you don't want to use the metal scoop protector a couple of thin strips of mylar on the edges of the scoop will help protect it against damage from the ball. The scoop is a little easier to hit without the metal protector so some people prefer this but I put the metal one on mine.

No real need to wax a brand-new game before playing it, just clean or replace the balls (the ones Stern puts in are not great anymore), follow setup instructions and get it leveled / pitched correctly, adjust settings (enable free play, extra balls for replay if you want, etc.) to customize it the way you want. Install your plastic protectors and have fun!

Stick with it and you'll find the shots. It looks pretty open but the Gamora and Nebula ramps are both much harder than they look

Night and day, the best part is that if you really want to you can just switch back and forth by swapping SD-Cards but I will bet money that once you put the Cleland code in you won't want to go back.

Yes, I installed in mine, not that difficult really. It does make that shot slightly harder to hit but I think it's worth it.

These are really nice, thanks! I printed the instructions card using "original size from DPI" settings and it is about 3/16" too short compared to a regular card. I think it could use a bit more border as well and the red is harder to read in print than on the screen.

These are really nice and I greatly appreciate you sharing them! I should have been more precise, when I print them the are a bit short height-wise, not length wise. It was a pretty easy adjustment to make to get them sized a little better though I still find the red a bit hard to read unless there's a lot of light directly on them. Don't mean to be picky or complain as they are still really, really good and much better than I could do myself.

What was your II score, must have been a doozy?!

The only outlane drains that I feel are "cheap" on this game is when the ball rolls out of the pops straight towards the left outlane. Other than that I feel they are pretty salvageable and / or not "cheap" drains. Keep in mind I own STTNG so how bad the outlanes drains can seem to be is a very relative thing.

You need to teach the family how to really play pinball, nudging has always been a part of the game especially before they had flippers!

There is usually a setting to choose what gets awarded for a Special, Points, Credit and Extra Ball are usually the choices but I don't remember looking at it in GOTG specifically.

No, you just need to have started both. You have to complete both and all modes to get to Save Xandar.

You can put some mylar in the shooter lane and on the edge of the outhole under the apron, other than that I can't think of anywhere else on this game that really needs it, especially for home use.

edit: get some plastic protectors, especially for the one under the orb shot as it breaks easily.

Check to make sure all the coil stop and other mounting screws are tight, sounds like it's binding up since the return spring is obviously intact.

I take it this is your first game? No shame in that if it is as we all had to start somewhere and a NIB GOTG is a damn fine place to do so, sorry you have an issue though. It might help to post your location in case someone local would generously offer to stop by to help you and teach you a few things you'll eventually need anyway. If not see the picture below, the part you have circled is just the EOS actuator arm and it's hard to see in your picture but that's usually not going to be the problem unless somehow it broke during transport and is now binding up. The most common causes of what you describe would be either the coil stop or front coil mounting bracket being loose or out of alignment and therefore preventing the plunger from moving smoothly through the coil and sleeve. Flipper gap, or the space between the actual flipper and the playfield / bushing is another one, if it's too tight it will bind up but unless it came loose in transport I'd be surprised if that were the case as these are play-tested before they leave the factory. The picture I attached is for an older Data East mechanism but it's essentially the same with only a few minor differences.

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Yes, but you took the extra effort to mark up his photo, I was lazy and just pasted a diagram from Pinwiki so you win this one!

Put the cleland sound rom in that thing and play the hell out of it!!!

It's really not that brutal IMO, many out there that are worse so stay with it. If you get too many left lane drains move the post but otherwise just keep working towards completing modes and getting to Cherry Bomb, big points are there for the taking!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gotg-sound-replacment-mod

Completely changes the game in my opinion, be sure to follow the suggestion for setting the speech attenuation as well. Enjoy!

I think they are all there but used in different places and many other songs, including some from the 2nd movie are added. The voice clips from the actual movie are added as well. If you follow the instructions and use a different SD card instead of writing over the other one you can switch back and forth between them very easily if you don't like it. I don't know that I've met anyone who prefers the original though.

Did you try the ones in this post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/gotg-sound-replacment-mod/page/11#post-4744352

They appear to work for me.

It's all about getting the Super JP lit and hit, which is tough with Groot's mouth openening and closing while the game constantly feeds you balls like crazy. Qualifying and using Hadron enforcers to get it lit can help a lot but can't be used to collect it.

Yes, must have SJPs completed for both MBs for it to count towards Save Xandar.

Interesting, I wonder if the Pro code even has the switch inputs for it. Keep us posted.

Have never seen this happen, if you bang on the playfield in game does the sling fire? My guess is one of the sling switches is gapped too tight and the drop target releasing causes it to fire.

Have never seen this happen, what version of code are you running? I'm still on 1.02.

What kind of sling rubber do you have installed? Some of them are thicker than others and can cause this but you should be able to make minor adjustments to the position of the end of the ramp to help resolve this.