The 1.9 update has been released! Details below.

Thank you Keith, Ted, David, JP and the entire JJP team for continuing the great code support for The Hobbit

http://www.jerseyjackpinball.com/support/

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== Version 1.90 ==
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=== Known Issues

- Note that Headphone Volume doesn't work for Hobbit; it was meant to be
suppressed. The software has no idea if headphones are plugged in or not
on Hobbit, so we have to use the normal volume.

=== Game Code

* Added safety check for mode starts.
+ Mode/map bonuses.
- At the end of each mode, you can earn up to 3 different kinds of bonuses:
1. Timer Bonus (not shown on total screen right now): Each second you
have left when you win a mode gets added to MULTIPLIABLE bonus.
The points earned are 1+2+3... for each second you have remaining.
2. Map Bonus: If the map is beyond where the mode takes place, you
earn +25% mode total in unmultiplied end-of-ball bonus. For each
completion of the map (got to super spinner), you get an additional
+50% added.
3. Previous Mode Bonus: Each mode now has a completion percent
associated with it (shown on grand total page). Each mode can have
0-3 "feeder" mode associated with it. For each feeder mode, you
earn a percentage bonus based on the total completion percentage of
the feeder modes. Each feeder mode is displayed on the grand total
page, dim if you haven't played the feeder, and solid if you have.
Good luck finding some good feeder combinations! All of the feeders
"make sense" (at least to me) in terms of how they relate to future
covered modes, so some can probably be guessed pretty easily.
+ Broken beast compensation. If a beast isn't coming up, then shots behind
each beast will count towards hitting the beast. The relevant switches
are the left and right spinners, and the left and right ramp entrances.
* Changed spinner scoring.
* Bonus reformatted to take new items into account.
* Fixed a relatively rare crash bug on a mode shot.
+ Smaug death fanfare.
* Fixed super spinner scoring bug (each spin scored twice intended).
* Super spinner timer remaining adds to timer bonus.
* Feast Frenzy timer remaining adds 3x to timer bonus.
* Fix Moon Runes not showing grand total screen properly.
* Add card reader movies to attract mode.
+ Volume effects. If you don't like these, note the adjustments in
Settings->System Settings->Sound.
* All book modes have been score balanced a lot better than they were.
There were a lot of winners (like Rescue Gandalf and Defeat of Azog) and
some losers (Roast Mutton).
+ Battle of Five Armies.
+ Black Arrow support.

=== Core Code

* Fixed an extremely rare crash bug (r1159).
* Fix label on coil test enter button.
* Fix tilt logic that was giving about a half second less of plumb bob
debounce time than expected.
* Bulletproof ball roll tilt detection.
* Fix Match bug where turning off match still gave a 10% chance of matching.

=== OS

* Fix update routine that stopped update screen from showing after 30s.
* Added missing "update complete" screen.

Oh yeah, looks like a huge update! The end of ball bonuses scoring is really slick as it provides more incentive for completing the games modes.

Hi Zamp. Download the 1.9 delta file. Once downloaded extract the file directly to the root of a formatted USB thumb drive. The extraction process will take a while to run.

6.5 to 6.8 seems like a normal pitch from what I read. I would try to lower the power to all flippers on your game until the airballs stop. I have silcone bands on my Hobbit and lowered my flipper power to I think 18 to reduce airballs.

Not sure, I haven't tried yet. If its not enabled in this update I'm sure it will be there in a future one.

Yes. Just download the update to your PC or MAC, extract the file to the root of a reformatted USB thumb drive and you are ready to go.

You can have the game on first, then plug the thumb stick in, go into the menu (I think under utilities) and select USB update.

I've heard some audio clipping before and after 1.9 as well.

I sure hope so. The Hobbit really needs some sort of reward for beating the sets of man, elf and dwarf modes. Right now only 3 out of the 31 book modes need to be beat to reach the 3 Arkenstone modes. There needs to be more incentive for beating the other 28 modes. A super wizard mode would help as well.

Also, I hope more callouts for Smaug are added to the game. Right now he really doesn't say a ton and some of his best lines from the films are not in the game. With Smaug being The Hobbits main toy it should be used more often.

Yes, we are talking about code for a game that now has 31 unique modes, any of which can be played as a multiball, and 3 main wizard modes that have multiple levels of progression.

Yes, 1.9 is a delta update.

I don't doubt that more code is still coming. The wait sucks but what is already in The Hobbit is remarkable for a pinball machine and I think its already one of the best objective based pins ever made. The game has more code in it then pretty much any other pinball machine ever made. However, its not tying all of the games modes together in an interesting way that is hurting the game right now in my opinion.

Right now there are 31 book modes in the game but only 3 need to be completed to unlock an Arkenstone mode. What about the other 28 book modes? The book modes are awesome, a lot of work went into them, but there needs to be more incentive to play through them. A reward for beating the sets of man, elf and dwarf modes and / or for beating say 5, 10, 15, 20 etc modes would be great to see. The lack of something along those lines is biggest issue I have with the game today.

Also, it would be nice if Beast Frenzy and Feast Frenzy are expanded upon to make them beatable with an option to turn off stacking with Smaug MB so that Smaug MB can be enjoyed on its own.

Oh, the qualifications for reaching an Arkenstone mode are all the same so you have to do the same 4 tasks 3 times to unlock the 3 wizard modes which makes the game feel like a bit of a grind. It would be great to see the qualifications for the 2nd and 3rd Arkenstone modes altered slightly to mix things up.

Finally, a super wizard mode for beating everything would give the game its own "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" equivalent goal.