At the very least you can confirm the trough is working correctly if the ball search kicks on.

My first thoughts with multiple balls being fed are:
1) Make sure the right number of balls are in the machine.
2) Make sure the trough switches are registering correctly, including the trough jam switch.
3) Make sure the balls feed down the trough freely and land correctly on the switches. A number of things could affect this: magnetized balls make them stick together or to the trough, divots in the ball trough that the balls can get hung up on (unlikely being new), switches that are too stiff and do not let the balls roll freely over them.
4) Make sure the shooter lane switch is registering correctly so it knows a ball is already there.

Basically, the game needs to know there is a ball in the shooter lane and one is missing from the trough. As there are also subways in this game, that could add an additional twist, but since they do not stage balls in the subway (like on ST:TNG for example), I do not think that would be valid here.

BUT...I'm sure these were the first things Spooky went over with you, and probably much deeper. Hope you get it narrowed down soon! These gremlins can be a pain, especially when you just want to play and enjoy it! Good luck!

Thanks Jediturtle - We only mainly discussed the switch in the trough lane and that is registering properly. Looks like I need to educate myself on the trough jam switch and how that should function. I’ll do some investigation this weekend.

Since Spooky is closed, until Monday, I'm hoping someone here can help.

An associate of mine went to update his Halloween and now it won't boot up. It powers on, speakers light up and it flashes a few things on the screen. It shows the UP bridging the gap logo, then it says "Starting version 232".
After that, it just keeps flashing "Welcome to pinix. pinix login: root (automatic login) Last login: Sat Dec 4th on tty1"

Any help is appreciated.
Thanks!

I'm not sure of the exact error messages, but I have heard that you can "brick" the machine in some circumstances when updating if the thumb drive has a glitch or any other number of potential issues. The only way to fix that is for the programmer to send you a new file. I would try emailing Morgan now even though they are closed. It's possible that she will still see it and try to get you fixed up.

Anyone ever get the ball stuck here? It will rest there and remain until the game does it's ball search sequence then the little metal bracket will rotate and release it. Shaking the machine won't free it, I have to wait for the ball search sequence. That's all the way at the top center of the machine.
PXL_20211203_185708836 (resized).jpg

I'll let him know.
Is [email protected] the email?

You MUST remove the space and the (1) from the code name prior to updating. It will brick the machine if not named properly. This is what it should look like

A9EEC71F-7BB0-4EB7-A532-797B4EB900C6 (resized).jpeg

The tough jam switch is not on every machine, but this one has one. It's an opto half way between the shooter lane and the first position in the trough, to see if any balls didn't quite make it up and out, or if they fell back in from the shooter lane. It's literally looking for a ball jam. Make sure it tests good, that both sides of the opto are clean and not obstructed by a stray wire or anything, and make sure the solder joints are solid. I would say it's fairly unlikely that is your problem, but stranger things have happened.

Simple stuff first though. Go into your switch tests and make sure it sees balls on all 7 trough switches. Then kick one out with our finger and make sure it sees 6 trough switches and 1 in the shooter lane.

When you manually kick one out (with the playfield down in the normal position), watch the other ones closely and make sure they freely advance to the next position and aren't getting hung up. Then put that ball back in the drain and make sure it freely settles where it belongs.

I would also remove all the balls and manually play with the switches to make sure they trigger easily and aren't sticky or being partially blocked by anything. Make sure they are screwed tightly in place and not loose. Gently pull on each wire to make sure none of them have a flaky solder joint. I'd try to follow those wires to where they are plugged in and make sure that side is all good too with no intermittent connections. Then feed the balls back into the trough one at a time and watch them settle into the trough. Make sure they are all going in nicely and triggering the correct switch.

Sorry if that's being too basic and you've checked this sort of thing before. Hopefully it will help give you a few things to check at least. Good luck!

edit: Nevermind...see Bug's reply below.

Yeah mine likes to get hung up there every once in awhile. I made my machine a bit steeper and it helped, but a slow moving ball can still settle in there. I can get mine out, but usually get a tilt out of it. I keep forgetting to ask Bug if there is a way to adjust that servo to turn a little further. If not, I might dremel my diverter a little bit so it doesn't create a trap. Won't take much.

Email [email protected] and he can send you the fix for this and get ya taken care of real quick!

Ah so it's not just me. Ok, I emailed Spooky service about it and sent the same pic, maybe they can let me know if it's just a software bug or if they have a replacement part to fix the issue.

SpookyBug is this true? Should everyone be renaming the file before updating to be safe? Seems...odd to me.

That's what his says. So, it wasn't that.
Thanks though!

By default it has the correct name, I've never had to rename mine. I think the issue may happen if you decompress the firmware update into a directory that already has a previous file with the same name in it, then often the decompression software will append "_1" or something like that to it. That's assuming you got the file as a .zip of course. Alternatively the "_1" could also be appended when downloading the file into a directory where a same file already exists.

Will do!

You guys are awesome.
Thanks!

Ahh...that makes sense. I would suggest not doing that. LOL

Gotcha. I would suggest not downloading multiple files of the same name to the same place to avoid that issue.

Windows will sometimes add things to the file name when downloading - especially if there are 2x files of the same name. (Like add .01 at the end of the file name)

You just want to make sure the file is the correct name before putting it on the USB drive.

Same applies to all makes of machine.

rd

Cool...I haven't run into that as I usually delete old code or move it to a different folder before downloading new. I'd suggest everyone do the same to avoid this issue, but I'm sure Windows still might have a mind of it's own. I've never even thought to double check that. Thanks for the heads up John-Floyd ! Good to watch out for each other!

wow - this is great - thank you so much for taking the time to help me out! I'll be giving it a run through when I get home.

Major bug if confirmed - After updating to 1.04 and getting the house multiball going, any balls that go into the pumpkin scoop just stay there, and ball search doesn't find them.

I also had a ball locked on the secret skillshot and it didn't release after I drained. Ball search doesn't drop the target.

And I had the game reboot once while I was shooting in the house. This is the first reboot I've seen since I got it a month ago and have been on 1.03 the entire time before today.

I have played 1.04 quite a lot, including a few hours of glass off testing. I have not seen the house multiball/pumpkin scoop bug. Not to say it couldn't be a bug, but I would look over your pumpkin scoop optos and make sure there isn't anything goofy going on there. I had a wire pulled tight and kinked which I believe led to a few issues I was seeing before I moved it. I would check around there.

I have, however, had the same issue with my ball lock not releasing (and also noticed that ball search doesn't drop the target (it tries to reset the drop instead)). It isn't every time though...sometimes works perfectly, sometimes will not release. I am glad to hear it isn't just an issue with my machine because I have been trying like crazy to figure out if it's a hardware or software issue. I have made Bug aware of my findings with it. Glad I'm not alone on that one.

Possibly related, my super skill shot will sometimes not hold the ball in the lock, but rather drop the target and let it go during the animation, then launch the second ball right away. Again, not sure if just my machine or a bug, but I would love to hear if anyone else experiences this. Seems very random, though it MIGHT be related to a fast ball bouncing back into the rear target multiple times? I cannot seem to reproduce it consistantly, but it is fairly frequent (probably 25-50% of the time)

I have never had a reboot. Knock on wood.

Thanks, I'll play a few games this afternoon and check. It seems to be working ok during both normal play and hedge/sanitarium multiballs though.

At first I thought it might be mechanical, knocking the drop back down from behind. But it doesn't seem to be that. It holds the ball for a second and settles in, but then seems to purposely drop it while the animation is playing. And it's TOTALLY random (or at least seems that way). Totally.

There are still a few gremlins, but this release made some huge strides. Very happy. And I can't wait to see what additional pumpkin modes they have up their sleeves. Some of the existing ones are super creative and fun. I'm super pumped for a couple more!

I'm sure the remaining bugs will get sorted out as we help them narrow down the cause. Still absolutely loving this game and enjoying watching it evolve!

Decided to do some glass off testing first, and the issue is if 2 balls go into the scoop from the sanitarium in quick succession they get stuck in there. I'm not sure how I managed to do that 2 games in a row.

20211203_153131 (resized).jpg

I had 3 in there all jammed up a couple days ago. Bumping the machine wouldn't do anything so the glass had to come off in my instance.

I do vaguely remember getting a ball or two hung up down there awhile back. A little shake got them moving. I agree with dnapac on making sure you are leveled correctly too. And make sure nothing managed to fall into your subway.

I was at 6.5 until a couple days ago and I'm at 7.0 now.

I had the same issue and am stuck in the same loop. I am used to update files being unique ( including a version number or date or something) so for this one, i cleared out the USB, but when i downloaded the file (since i had already downloaded the previous update) it got the "_1". I didnt even think about it because in my mind, i didnt think to check since i only downloaded this update once. So i mindlessly copied it to my fresh usb and bricked my machine. . . I reached out to spook, hopefully i will get a response soon.

@SpookyLuke, if it is possible, it might be a good idea to make each update file unique, or you may have a lot more of these in the future. . .

#137 has arrived!!!!

D40CDCD6-EB7D-4555-9C16-D7EA1AB42839 (resized).jpeg

Cool

What classic is in the background?

Tilt to ensure the drop target releases properly on it's own and that it's not mechanical. Mine has been doing the same thing, it's a code bug as far as I can see.

Hey man are you friends with Pinball Shenanigans??

I am at 6.5 and do still occasionally require a slight shake for hangups in pumpkin and ball trough. Never had an issue up top, but I am usually nudging to bounce a slow roll off the post before it gets to the flipper drain.

What are you guys using to measure pitch?

Was looking for a digital pitch gage. Just wondering if there was a preferred one amongst the community.

Is this where you plug the flash drive for code update?

IMG_0350 (resized).JPG

If anyone is having issues with their update bricking their game, please email [email protected] and he can absolutely help you get it back up and running in no time! Also we'll be looking at the drop target ball lock bug immediately and hopefully crush it real fast. Great feedback!

Hope everyone is enjoying it so far!

Same. Game rebooted mid-game. That’s never happened before. I also drained with a ball in the ball lock and it didn’t release. Ball search didn’t clear it.

I like the new instructions, but I wish House Attack timed out. Three shots to the center ramp and you’re in House Attack. There is nothing else for you to do other than drain or complete the mode.

And, if you knock down the drop targets to start a mode but you’re doing something else, a shot to the pumpkin starts Mode 1. Not sure if that’s intentional.

It’s a 1967 Dodge Coronet