Yesterday I tried Glo-balls (from http://modmypin.com) in The Hobbit LE, to see whether that would work. Glo-balls play very fast so that's why you might want to try it. I only had 4 glo-balls, TH needs 5 balls. I only played one game but this is what I noticed:

- Glo-balls are very fast. With the default flipper/coil settings, they will fly out of the ramps and bounce all over.
- The Smaug magnet can grab the ball if it is not too fast.
- Kickback and other timings are bad if the ball is too fast. Fast balls cannot be caught at mode start and kickback.
- You can still make well-aimed shots with glo-balls.
- Horizontal 'floaty' balls still occur although they are faster now.
- It felt quite relaxing when 1 out of 5 chance the normal ball would be served. That ball is not as hysteric.
- Pink flipper rubbers on yellow flippers and hot pink glo-balls are a slap in the face. Also, it might be illegal in some countries.

When I get my own Hobbit SE, I might try it again and try adjusting coils, playfield pitch etc. I don't have a strong preference towards slow or fast games, but I simply like to try things out

I you have any experience with this, I would love to hear about it!

Looks like with two more power the VUK makes it now. but I had to turn the kickback all the way up to make it just above the M target on man.

I have something else I guess, looks like my spider and orc popups are showing malfunction in the test menu. Not sure why. They both seem to work in test, but I do notice in game the ORC seems to pop up and look like it registers its own hit maybe and goes back down. The spider doesn't do this but it still shows malfunction for some reason.

Does anyone recall Jack saying that there are going to eventually be custom (voice actor) Smaug and or Gollum callouts in the game as well? I thought he said something like that last year.

They're delivering my machine tomorrow between 10-5!!! I found a moving company that is willing to send three guys over at a discount to help me get Hobbit SE and TWD Premium up our stairs and into the house. I'm so excited, the wait is finally almost over .

The mechs are rubbing slightly. try checking/adjusting the side to side level. Check it in like 4 locations up and down the PF.

These mechs "float" a bit in their weldments. Side to side level can be crucial if they sere set a little close to the sides at the factory.
As always they can be loosened a bit and slightly nudged or twisted mostly enough so they dont touch the PF wood.

You need to adjust a leaf switch. It must be closed by all the badhing a spideror other pop up goes down before you can make it. You need to hold the mech up from underneath, and adjust the switch. It must have closed from all the bashing it takes. Open it a little.

Just curious, does The Hobbit have a true mirrored backglass?

No.

Did WOZ?

Yes

So even Hobbit at 9K must make do with a lowly translite?

I am surprised.

It's glass...just not mirrored, right? I'll let you know tomorrow.

image_(resized).jpeg

Im not sure what you're aiming at?

No, no trans-lite, It's Custom glass. I think the mirror treatment would be out of place on this game. JJP is certainly capable of it as seen on the WOZ, but again its glass with high quality artwork.

And yes, it's a real backGLASS.

Anyone having reset issues on the new 1.10 code? I've had it happen 2 or 3 times now and seems it might be during a specific mode(I've been too stupid to try and make note of when exactly, I'll make sure if it happens again I hopefully can take note of what mode). From what I remember one of the modes was active and if I recall correctly I hit the pops and the game just shuts off and restarts. I think one of the times I may have had Smaug multiball going. Never had that problem before the update, not sure at all if it is related but had played it a lot before the code update and never had it happen before.

Congrats on the new game Pimp77! Looks great. Do you know if JJP has implemented any potential hardware fixes with the latest games now being shipped?

I'm back in on The Hobbit (probably the 5th time, lol) as of today. Deposit sent for an LE. Will post pics / impressions when it arrives in a couple weeks.

No reset issues here. I'd measure your voltage going to the game.

Thanks. No idea if I have the fixes or not, but it got a good workout all weekend and I didn't see one ball trap on my game.

Pimp77 thank you for your writeup and pics!

You staying in this time Panzer?

Regarding the Pop-ups. It looks like they implemented the ball trap fix on the game at PAGG. If I'm not mistaken they put a small plastic barrier on the front edge of the hole to prevent a ball from partially dropping in. Not sure how it was installed.

I don't think the machine had any trapped balls in the pop-ups after the fix.

I just changed my mind again and I'm out, Hobbit sucks!

Just joking, haha. Yes, this time I'm staying. I've been very impressed to see how the games code is rapidly developing and how much the fun factor keeps going up with each release.

I am happy to keep my order after playing it. Some hate it - some love it. All that matters is what you think as the owner.

Dang, I seriously need to order one. Just sorting out the money issues. Nice game, congrats.

Yup, and I think more and more people will love the game with each code update. I had friends that disliked playing WOZ early on and one even said "why would you buy that game". Well a dozen code updates later, those friends now like the game and one of them that is an avid pinball fan always wants to play it when he comes over.

We are just starting to see Keith take advantage of The Hobbits feature with code updates. There are now more interesting uses of the lockdown bar button, the pops up trolls are being integrated better with the games rules (Beast Frenzy is awesome), the windlance kickback is being used in modes, etc.

I don't think we've seen anything yet in terms of just how fun The Hobbit will play.

Yes, i have had two since April 15th. One w/ the 1.01 code and one w/ the 1.10 code. So i don't think its a code issue. Also, it reset exactly when it hit the pop bumpers, both times matter a fact. I put a ticket in yesterday so i will keep everyone updated on what they tell me. Other than that, this game is awesome, beautiful, fun and i love it. I'm not bashing any other companies, not Stern, Spooky or PP but, if you are going to spend this kind of money on a pinball, with JJP you get what you pay for.

Well said! Those were my sentiments when I first unboxed and how I feel currently. This game has the makings of something special. The modes need to be cleaned up with proper call outs and indications of finishing the modes. You have to believe that with Keith and Ted, they are going to finish this game up quite nicely.

Wait. What? How can a pin possibly be any fun to play when it lacks "interactive toys?!?!?"

You could argue that TH has more interactive toys than WOZ...

How so? All I see are post after post complaining about how "wide open" and "empty" the PF on TH is.

Great review, by the way. Seemed pretty unbiased.

The PF gets quite crowded at times and is a blast to play.

Welcome back the voice of reason!

Well, even simpler: what is INTERACTIVE on WOZ? Flying monkey, castle doors, witch magnets? Is that it? Depends on your definition of interactive, but that's things that directly effect the ball. So 3 for WOZ. The hobbit has Orc popup, Warg popup, Spider popup, goblin popup. So without counting anything else that's more than WOZ. B

...and welcome back Rob!

Forgot to mention, the shooter spring is weak. Too weak. A full plunge barely gets the A drop target. I'm going to go one spring strength up or stretch the current one out some.

Hey RobT! Welcome back. I take it you have a Hobbit on order since you are posting in this thread? lol

No reason for the "lol" !

I always said I was interested in the Hobbit.

I played it.

I liked it.

I ordered it.

I thought the same thing, I since changed my mind.
you need an incredibly weak spring to hit all the lock roll-overs in one sweep (I can do it 50% of the time now).
Also you need very precise control when trying to get the right in-lane targets.

If the shooter spring and PF pitch is correct, you will hit the "A" or "R" in dwarf on a full plunge, it is also strong enough to hit the left hole for the extra ball award.

Welcome back Rob. We have missed you.

Nice! Did you go with an LE or a Smaug edition?

I went with the LE because that is what was available from my distributor. I ordered about 2 months ago. I don't have too much money down, and if it doesn't ship by the first week of July I can (and will) get my deposit back. We will see if JJP can actually get these shipped out the door. Jack himself gave me the estimate. I hope they can come through, because I really liked the pin.

It TH a blazing fast "in your face" pin that keeps you on your toes? Nope. Is TH a drain monster in the likes of IM and TWD (two of my favorite pins that I still own)? Nope. Does it have an open PF and long shots? Yep. Does it play completely different than any Stern pin? Yep.

And I loved the fact that it was so different. Frankly I had been getting burned out on the hobby and needed something new and different to get me excited again. I didn't have high expectations when I played TH (Eskaybee was with me) based on the many reviews posted here. I was pretty surprised by just how much I liked it.

That widebody PF that is wide open in the middle has the effect of making those long shots feel very smooth and satisfying. The orbit shots in particular were smooth as silk. This was a rather shocking contrast to my GOT premium that I had bought (with the screwed up left orbit from the factory- but my purchase of that pin is a whole other story in itself).

Add to the above the excellent job that they did with the LCD and the animations, sound effects (Thiel is awesome), sound quality, and just overall appearance of the pin, I was hooked. Eskaybee and I both would have paid in full right there on the spot if we could have taken it home with us. And this was based on early code (which was obviously lacking) and it will only get better from there.

I'm looking forward to having a much more unique pin in terms of gameplay than what I've had in awhile.

Awesome. Great write up!

I know what you mean about the game playing different and being unique in terms of gameplay compared to others. That's a welcoming change from some of the more common layouts.

Rob,
Welcome back my friend, it is good to see you!

Rob, welcome back.
You won't be disappointed with the wait. My hobbit was delivered yesterday. I played about 20 games on the old code, which it came with, and then 20 with new. Whow, what a difference. The game came alive. I am simply amazed how much of a difference code can make. I went to bed thinking...my precious...
Lots of fun.
Now, I just have to figure it out, which is fun as well!

Good to have you back.

I had a reset last night. I know 100% that I was in the mode called "The Bait" when it happened. Not sure what else was running. Like you I hit a pop bumper and it reset on me. Hopefully Keith and team can track down these crashes.

I'm still waiting for my ticket to be answered. No response yet.

Please pm me the ticket number and I'll see if I can alert it.

LTG : )