That looks cool!

Installed my arkenstone horde mod with lamp mod tonight.

Looks great!

Pulsation works ok. It dies after a couple hours in attract mode but comes back after a reboot.

There is a dark band across the stone from the players point of view.

I tilted the stone a bit and tilted the gold pile 1/4" to resolve it mostly.

Seems ok.

Looks best when viewed from the right a bit.

We will see how sturdy it is after a few games.
Right now its just jammed in the hole at a slight angle.

Over all it looks way better than the original.
Its tight and I cant very easily pull it out unless I push it from the rear inside the sculpture.
20210505_211857 (resized).jpg20210505_211907 (resized).jpg

I made a short video, Ill probably tilt the gold pile back to where it was.:

Ride the lightning!

AEEB8340-59C4-4AD4-8FEE-69281CB3929E (resized).jpeg

If you have a gap between your teeth you don’t go to the dentist to make it bigger.

Ahem...cough cough

_56800323_ear3_think (resized).jpg

I've been tempted to do that change on my game. I've got it pretty tough already but that may be able to turn my game into a tournament contender.

It’s harder, but you still probably need to drop the center post to be a tournament game.

I tilted the top of my stone a little towards the player also. Looks great!!

Did you try any other pulse patterns or speeds? You might prefer a faster pulse if you find it too subtle

The lamp is driven off the spotlight - do all of your spotlights turn off after a couple hours? I haven’t experienced this behavior…

I let it run in atttact mode for 3 hours.

The pulsation had stopped.

I did it twice over a 2 day period.

I havent tried to debug it.

I also didnt wait longer to see if it restarted on its own.

Interesting - that shouldn't happen. The next time you notice it, please take note of what the four spot lights are doing... Keep in mind that if you open the coin door and go into the menus, a) the spotlights (and arkenstone lamp/controller) turn OFF, and b) the other/original flasher lamp under the arkenstone turns ON continuously. So in some situations, it may look like the new lamp has stopped pulsing when it's actually completely off and it's just the original lamp turning on continuously (they are nearly identical in color and brightness - I can't tell a difference, at least). I'll, of course, send you a new controller if it's busted

Will do!

Pinballinreno: To remove Arkenstone from Smaug's pile of gold, just stick a piece of tape to stone & lift out.

Mine snaps in very low and fits loose in the machined cut-out in the stone.

For now I have it snapped in all the way and it rests on the metal bar in the sculpture.

Hi, going to collect a Hobbit (Smaug le) I just put down a deposit for, what are the specific item should I check before agreeing the pick up? ( I own a lot of pinball including a woz, so what am looking for is the specificities for this pinball?

I would check to be sure that:

1) The Smaug mech turns freely and can open and shuts his mouth
2) The the beasts rise and fall like they should (quick, smooth, and fall like a rock)
3) That each drop target DWARF, MAN, ELF works properly (down and up)
4) Check the version of the software (not hard to update, but it is nice to know what it is currently at)
5) Check for the 'fixes': Ramp flaps, beast inserts (to keep the ball from falling into the beast mechs), and the left rail that feeds the kickback. If it was built AFTER July 20th, 2016 they should be already installed from the factory.
6) Check the normal things like shooter lane, as well as playfield and cabinet wear. If it has the RADCALs that is a bonus

NOTE: The drop targets are a bit loud when they go up and down - that is normal.

That's all I can think of.

Enjoy getting it. It is very fun to explore the machine at home with proper pitch and sound.

Thx much appreciated

Great list. Also if you are looking at an early build and the fixes aren't there JJP was helpful in getting them to me, don't let those be show-stoppers.

Double check that the sling arm isn't making contact with the playfield

Lift the playfield and check the wires on the beast mechs. They can get damaged/pinched and will eventually sliced through - and a pain to fix.

Let me know if you have any issues with this.

Code update v3.11 for The Hobbit pinball includes support for Wi-Fi and Scorbit!

View Change-Log:
https://marketing.jerseyjackpinball.com/th/hobbit_changelog.txt

Code update for US can be found here:
https://marketing.jerseyjackpinball.com/th/TheHobbit-v03.11.iso

Code update for EU can be found here:
https://downloadseu.jerseyjackpinball.com/th/TheHobbit-v03.11.iso

Additional update links can be found at:
https://www.jerseyjackpinball.com/support/

Any advice on replacing the Smaug jaw servo? Just got a replacement for my dead one. Lots of advice on forum about removing the Smaug mech. Was just wondering if there are any gotchas for the motor itself. The manual has a fairly involved procedure to calibrate.

Gogojohnnyquack did an awesome writeup of a more fool-proof procedure than the manual has...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hobbit-owners-thread/page/193#post-6076471
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hobbit-owners-thread/page/193#post-6078667

I've been test driving the beta of this and it has worked great!

Use your phone's camera to capture the Scorbit QR code that comes up when you start your game and before you've plunged to start using Scorbit

Woohoo! New Hobbit code from Jersey Jack!

Version 3.11, wifi and blue tooth support!

How do you get on Wi-Fi once updated. And why would I? Also scorbit any good? The email from jersey jack shows a link to a Bluetooth USB plug. That is not wifi?

To get WiFi you need to add a wifi dongle(USB plug).
To get Bluetooth you need to add a Bluetooth dongle(USB plug).
WiFi is for updating code.
Bluetooth is for wireless headphones and presumably has some Scorebit integration as well.

Here's the dongles to get:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PB1X4CN
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SW48TY8

You can hook up wired ethernet as well instead of the wifi dongle, but you gotta get the cable into the cabinet which is also a minor pain.

Wifi/ethernet does simple delta software updates in the future and Scorbit integration. Bluetooth does wireless headphone connectivity, but doesn't work with Apple AirPods yet, so your mileage may vary for that functionality. AirPods and AirPods Pro were the only ones I tried and JJP said the Apple units are sort of a one-off breed of bluetooth device.

Anyone looking to put their Hobbit on the market? I'm very interested, please send a pm.

Caught me off guard that. Expected DI to be next in line for scorbit and wifi connectivity..

Keep up the great work JJP!

+1

Here is what I use -

WiFi :
https://www.microcenter.com/product/604932/tp-link-archer-t2u-nano-ac600-nano-wireless-usb-adapter <https://www.microcenter.com/product/604932/tp-link-archer-t2u-nano-ac600-nano-wireless-usb-adapter>

Bluetooth :
https://www.microcenter.com/product/426849/asus-usb-bt400-usb-20-bluetooth-40-adapter <https://www.microcenter.com/product/426849/asus-usb-bt400-usb-20-bluetooth-40-adapter>

USB Hub :
https://www.microcenter.com/product/485912/inland-4-port-usb-31-(gen-1-type-a)-hub---black <https://www.microcenter.com/product/485912/inland-4-port-usb-31-(gen-1-type-a)-hub---black>

The Hub so I can plug the WiFi dongle and Bluetooth dongle into the Hub and the Hub into the USB cable by the cashbox.

If you put in the 3.11, be sure and back up your settings first.

LTG : )

Be sure and back up your settings first before installing the 3.11

LTG : )

Is there anything else in this update besides WiFi and scorbit to make it worth updating? I don’t expect any more updates and I don’t use scorbit. I see it says other fixes, etc., but are they noticeable? Wasn’t going to update if it’s just WiFi and scorbit.

I was wondering the same. Not sure its worth updating.

No you could skip.

=== Game Code

+ Lamp in front of Goblin is now lit during Escape from Goblin-Town Mode.
* Various other bug fixes and improvements.

=== Core Code

+ Added WiFi and hard-wired networking. This allows for future online update
support. You'll need to install a WiFi dongle or hardwire the game to your
network for this feature to work.
+ Added the option to opt-in to Beta Network Updates.
+ Added initial Scorbit integration.
* Added Player Menu, accessing it by holding the right flipper button in
Attract Mode. This allows for connecting of Bluetooth headphones. You'll
need to install a Bluetooth dongle for this feature to work.
* Various other bug fixes and improvements.

They re-encoded some of the videos. I think that it has a sharper image in some of the scenes. I could be wrong and I am seeing more into it. On mine there was starting to get some blocks of maroon tint in some scenes (like the Smaug multiball). I thought my monitor was about to give up. The update fixed that so far - Maybe about 25 games in beta testing. There were a few bug fixes too.

I dont wish to update to an update that makes future updates easier. Especially if there ARE no future updates. I'm gonna pass.

With so many modes to complete, this game is just begging for co-op play. I would take that over Scorbit, wi-fi, or bluetooth.

Do we need to do a Kickstarter to have Keith code that for us?

In all seriousness, JJP could charge for that type of update similar to video game DLC and I would buy it

There's an update coming, or I think it's safe to assume there is since you can opt in on the beta versions... which there is one you can update to via wifi.

I wish people would stop saying they would pay extra for code that should be included.

I don't think I would consider co-op play something that "should" be included. Definitely not something I would think operators really care about. Especially in a 5-year old game that JJP is no longer producing.

Which gets me thinking... I wonder what percentage of modern pinball machines actually offer co-op?

Co-op would suit this pin very well. For most players starting 32 modes in a game is almost impossible and I bet that in a 4 player game all 4 would hardly ever see the end.

As for the paid dlc forget that. It shouldn't be that hard to code Combining all 4 players mode count.

It would be cool to have the option to do a shared mode pool but have individual scores so you can still have some competition.

Awesome. Thanks JJP for the update!

Never thought I would see another update for Hobbit after those few huge updates 2-3 years back. Awesome!

With Scorebit it doesn't look like there's anything additional to buy, just download the app and make sure your game is connected to the internet? Also, when playing in Scorebit mode does it automatically change your games settings for leaderboards? Just curious if it can enforce 3 ball default settings versus someone with modified settings that makes the game easier.

No, can't change a games settings.

LTG : )