Pretty sure I am re-joining the club, had LOTR and sold it in a few months, really regret losing Hobbit!

He sure does, he couldn't go for any of the packing instructions he had to go for the most important piece of paper.

I'm taking the dogs for a walk I must have Hobbit on the brain even this wall reminds me of the Hobbit

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Oh no. That's actually awesome. "My dog ate it".

Just wondering if it's possible to either install an external sound or video card on these Mainboards? I understand that onboard video and audio are used. Has anyone ever installed either video or audio cards with success and simply disabled the onboard stuff? I'm not currently having any problems, but a friend has some audio problems on his DI that got me thinking. Why would this not work?

Well, the answer is YES regarding hardware. On a motherboard you can always disable the on-board video outputs, and install a PCI-e dedicated video card and use that. Every "serious" computer gamer does this.

If I ignore the practical reasons (why would you do this if the on-board video channels work just fine), it could be difficult software-wise. The DI software would potentially have to use different output devices than what they programmed against (the on-board devices). Currently, the Linux software that JJP uses boots and has the video and audio drivers and configs built-in. There doesn't seem to have a way during boot to select alternate video or audio devices.

(Linux can use alternate devices, sure)

Thanks for the info. I wouldn't do this just to do it...Especially if everything is working. My friend was told his DI had an amp or other part fail on his on board audio which caused him to lose ALL audio. During troubleshooting I was thinking why not just try an external card? I wasn't aware of the Linux configs for only on board audio/video. I wonder how difficult it would be to have drivers and configs developed for external cards? Especially when one considers that at some point they may be needed. Both my JJP machines have been rock solid since I purchased them. Although in the back of my mind I'm thinking long term...What will be the state of these tables in 20 years due to them having a computer in them?

On that note I have several 20 year old mb sitting around that still work...Cannot buy memory or parts for them is the bigger problem.

Food for thought I guess... I may not even have the tables long enough to worry about it, although I can't be the only one that thinks about this?

No no. Linux and manufacturers already have drivers for sound cards that are not on-board.
What I am saying is that the JJP Linux build probably doesn't include them in their deployment, therefore rendering your add-on card useless.
Know what I mean?

If I can jump in here, I absolutely recommend you do NOT try to replace the video card. If the drivers are not included (best bet is NVidia, as AMD’s Linux drivers break all the time), then you will lose them as soon as you update. I tried this with WOZ and in adding an apron-mounted screen. The game I had required a driver update to support the proper resolution on both screens - It sorta worked but was such an unbelievable PITA I ended up ripping it out. It was cool when it worked but update and -bam - gone.

I do get it (Light on) Just wishing it wasn't that way at this point.

Kind of what I thought it would be like. One can only hope for zero mainboard failures. Did I just jinx myself?

Well the good news on that is that a lot of things are much more easily emulated these days. I don't know what the hardware is inside the CPU on these games, but there will likely one day be a solution, and it's MUCH easier to program these things. However, the stuff just doesn't last as long as the old boards. They are hotter, made with cheaper parts, more poorly soldered... I just had a motherboard fail on a computer we use daily but which basically just sits around and uses 1% CPU for a few hours a night, that's it. Then one day - BAM- motherboard dead. I'm replacing it tomorrow.

I just received word that my NIB Hobbit (Black arrow) will arrive to the new apartment this Friday!! I know I could have shopped around and found a solid deal that would have cost me less than a NIB, however I been out of the scene for a bit and my last NIB was a Transformer LE! I was willing to pay a small\large premium to get gain the experience of another NIB. I am like a kid at Christmas and can NOT wait!! Next pin which I will have to shop around for will be a WOZ

The black arrow version is awesome! It really makes a statement. Totally matches the theme.

You are going to love this game.

It's so funny as the hobbit was the last pin I thought I would fall in love with. As with the ones that understand the theme, music and video pulled me in. I actually loved playing multiplayer as I enjoyed being able to spend time watching the screen! Definitely a keep for me for some time to come.

I haven't seen what you are describing in years. The mobos that JJP use are top notch.

Absolutely! I'm sorry, I was making a general statement - computer motherboards by and large are very cheap - I should have clarified I was not talking specifically about JJP's stuff

Pinphila has a nice HUO WOZ RR for $7500 he will sell you...

I wonder if he's interested in Scared Stiff? I have one for trade

I am reaching out to him now....

Congratulations ! just keep your certificate of title in a safe place .

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So picked up a Black Arrow yesterday, woo!!

The washer and c clip around the shooter is hitting the auto shooter housing. Any suggestions on the best way to adjust this?

Loosen the shooter housing, move it slightly, re-tighten.

Check and make sure the shooter rod isn't bent.

Make sure the playfield is centered in the cabinet. Adjust hangers if neccessary.

Otherwise, loosen the shooter housing enough to get a flat washer between the bottom edge and the cabinet. Retighten the housing. This will tilt the end of the top down just slightly.

The F on elf goes green at the end of the game when smaug blows fire over the Playfield and it is also inconsistent at other times does anyone have any thoughts , is this due to the new code update maybe ?

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Just looking at the machine tonight a few more problems have popped up . The dragon head won't turn right and a couple switches are stuck open . I'm sure it's all part of the machine getting settled . if anyone can point me in the right direction ,I'm not experienced with these issues any help would be greatly appreciated.

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I’m sure LTG will chime in, but for dragon, check to make sure nothing is unplugged under Smaug. As for the other two switches, they likely just need to be regapped/adjusted.

I was hoping LTG sees this post he does such a great job advising people and with a newbie like me I need all the help I can get. Thanks

Why not send him a PM? I’m sure he’d see that.

You can check the switches in Tests - Switches - Matrixed. The pop bumper leaf blade may need adjusting if the pop bumper skirt doesn't trigger it. The Beorn target might not have been hit recently. It is the stand up target on the right drain lane along the ball guide.

Smaug - A few connectors below the playfield under Smaug, I'd reseat them, be sure they are plugged in tight. And no loose pin or wire in the connectors.

LTG : )

Thanks LTG I'll check it out when I get home from work, any thoughts on the green light?

No.

LTG : )

Thanks LTG reseated smaug wires and it works now , out lane stand up Target just needed to be activated that's all good , I'll need to bump the machine more in the future , and there is a broken wire to the pop bumper which is in a really hard spot to get too, lots of wires in front of it I'll leave that for now and I'll try Ted about the green light. Once again thank you very much for your advice. If you were a bit closer I would love to buy you a beer. Cheers Rich.

What does attempt backstab with the ring button do ?

I remember this discussion here, HogBog is a Eric Meunier from JJP:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-hobbit-attempt-backstab-still-unknown

It lets you attempt to hit one of the beasts so you
Can get through A Beast attack quicker, but it doesn't always work so beware!

Thanks guys loving The Hobbit just trying to figure out all the rules. With it being such a deep game I'm sure I'll have a few more questions along the way it's great to see people helping out. Pinside at it's best.

I also refreshed my memory looking for your answer I didn't realise you need to press 'backstab' and then hit the opposite ramp - no wonder i never scored anything!

So can you use it for ramps as well as Beasts

No I don't think so... it goes as follows:

- beast pops up
- 'backstab' ring option light up > player hits button
- shoot ramp entrance on the opposite side to the beast
- ramp entrance opto sees the balls and drops the diverter at the top of the ramp
- ball does a u-turn and kills the beast from the back, hence the backstab
- rewarded with 2x the points

It sounds like a pretty cool thing to pull off...

I just read the link you put up there and read what Eric said , now I understand it in my head just another thing to make it happen for real ,thanks a lot for your help.

Any tips for that skill shot that is in the inlane and outline? Never able to get that one

I got it once but that was just a fluke. I go for the left lanes and just hope the timing is right. I like to go for the A in the dwarf drop targets but my spring on the plunger is getting weaker and weaker

Has anyone ever tried to rotate the top of the pop bumper that has the barrel with Thorin on it? It bugs me that you can’t see him at all, and I don’t want to just start dumping figures on the playfield a la LOTR

Good point he has a lot of detail in him I've often thought why isn't he facing us.

Should spin like the guy in pirates!

I heard Jack's saying when you hit the bumpers drops of water would go over the small LCD screen ,whatever happened to that.

3.0!

Hopefully.

It actually does do that on the small LCD screen in one of the modes.
It would be cool if it was more utilized.