The Hobbit
Jersey Jack, 2016You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider crwjumper.
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I'm in!
My Hobbit LE ships today direct from JJP. I got it from Automated - Mike seems very nice and quite customer service oriented. Gave me a competitive price and spoke with JJP. They said that they will ship one that has both ramp fix is as well as the "Beast" popups fixes installed and tested. I've ordered a set of gameblades from Tilt graphics and the backbox lighting "gels" to increase the lighting contrast. I can't wait!
Quoted from pinballinreno:Yay! Congrats!
I see you got the new left wire-form, did you also get the ball trap fix/inserts inside the pop-ups?
Yes. I got those and the new springs for the drop targets I think. I also gave a cursory check of the screws under the play field and they all seemed tight. JJP is listening!
(Thanks LTG!)
Quoted from pinballinreno:It also looks like you have upgraded ramp-flaps.
Yeah - I thought that they looked like spring-steel. Sweet!
Quoted from pinballinreno:It looks like from the above picture, that the new ramps are black instead of silver.
Black or dark blue would indicate spring steel instead of regular stainless.
Mine are dark blue. I got it yesterday straight from JJP. My date of manufacture is 7/28/16.
Quoted from pinballer0415:Smaug mb: collect enough of the ramps, holes, and spinners. Then whenever you see the MAN targets lit red, you are close to defeating smaug. Hit any MAN target, which then lights the ARF targets. Hit any of those targets to relight the MAN targets. Hit MAN targets again and then hit one of the two remaining ARF targets. Repeat step one more time. Then finally, the right ramp will be the only jackpot lit indicating that the ball will be diverted to the windlance. The player then must press the ring button and the first switch that needs to be hit is the lit stand up target that is red (one of the ARF targets) indicating Smaug's missing scale. You will know when you hit the right one
If you don't hit the right target, then the player must hit a MAN target and reload the right ramp and try to hit the missing scale. Good luck! Easy to do without beast frenzy going, very hard to do with it going. FYI.
I beat Smaug last night for the first time. What a trip! I was shocked when the flippers died and the ball drained, but then I realized it was so I could watch the amazing video. This game is awesome!
Question about the "Load Arrow" light in the left outlane: what does it do? Whenever it's lit the ball drains right past it and I see no registration of anything. The Windlance post works and the Windlance fires correctly- and even saves if the ball goes right back into that outlane. Does the "Load Arrow" set up a Windlance shot on the next ball? Please enlighten me!
Quoted from dannunz:Has anyone done the axes for the slings out of metal?
The axes for the slings on my LE ARE metal. There are some plastic ones in the goodie bag though.
I got a new LE last week and it had all of the current mods installed. The spider mech fits with no problem but the Warg's head was turned slightly to the left and was dragging on the insert. This was causing hits to register as soon as he popped up. After filing the insert for a while (they are REALLY tough!) I wasn't making much progress so I pulled the mech and gently twisted the whole head assy until it was straight. Now it stays up - most of the time. During "Beast Frenzy" and other modes which activate him he's pretty stable, but when he's activated by rolling through the left inlane he still pops-and-drops. Anyone have any ideas? Could this be a code issue? Is anyone else seeing this behavior?
As far as I'm concerned The Hobbit rules could use one tweak: it would be nice to have the Smaug multiball disable the Beast Frenzy mode. Or have the Beast Frenzy mode much more difficult to start after the first time you play it so we could run it once before Smaug to get it out of the way before starting Smaug. Or give us the ability to end Beast by achieving a set of goals. I find it extremely frustrating that almost every Time that I start a Smaug multi I end up triggering a Beast Frenzy. It makes the Smaug so frustrating that I almost want to stop playing. Smaug is challenging by itself, but if you get a Beast running, it will not stop unless you drain all but one ball - which in turn stops Smaug. If this happened once every 4 or 5 times you played Smaug it would be a fun challenge. But it almost always smothers Smaug. Come on. At least let us end Beast during Smaug so we can then complete Smaug without this disappointment in the middle of a great Smaug run. Am I wrong?
I wonder if JJP makes those Beast assemblies or if they are subbed out? I noticed 5 screws in the bottom of my cabinet over the first few days as well as some clipped wire ties. I couldn't find where they may have fallen out of, and am hoping that they were accidently dropped and lost in the mass of wires during assembly. The only open screw hole I could find was under the Smaug assembly so I put one of the screws in there. I've been monitoring the screws and all seem tight so far. The pin had a date of manufacture of 7/28/16 so it was quite new when I got it a couple of weeks ago.
They are not needed on this pin. They are only needed if the ramps drop the ball on the switch or on the exposed wood just above the slot. The Hobbit deposits the ball above this area and JJP also put Mylar under the area to protect from the drop. But I would (and did) get the whole kit that Cliffy's offers. It's a well thought out kit that is needed to protect exposed areas of this game. Beware though: it does take a bit of disassembly to install the hole protectors. The shooter protectors install just like the Cliffy's do on any other pin.
Quoted from BillySastard:Did you need to adjust your Warg at all? I did a dry run with my protector and the Warg hit the protector every time.
Yeah the Warg is a tight fit. I had to do a lot of work to make it just right.
Quoted from tron1969:I'm really enjoying the hobbit but the multi balls seem a little to easy to start and to frequent, it would be nice to focus on the the missions without a multiball always starting. Stacking the multi balls is insanity all I do is watch the flippers and try to keep everything going, one multiball takes away from the others. What does everyone else think?
I agree about too frequent multiballs, especially when playing Smaug. They are considering doing something about this for the next update. However you will find that as you get better and play deeper (longer) into the game the Beast Multiball mode becomes harder to start and you can avoid the madness if you plan your shots carefully. It takes quite a bit of play to get to this point in the game, but it's a great reward for improved play once you get there.
Quoted from system11:By the way is there a solution for balls flying off the right wireform? Pinside really ought to start keeping a common problems & updates thread per game.
Look here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hobbit-setup-tweaks-and-adjustments
On my Hobbit LE, the ring around "The Ring" button on the lockdown bar is clear. However I have seen several pictures of other TH pins where the ring is gold. What color is your ring button surround? Does anyone know were to get one of the gold ones? I'd paint mine but am unsure of it's durability.
Quoted from fnosm:If you are referring to the gold in the picture you posted I believe that the gold ring is part of the sticker and the button is clear.
Do my eyes deceive me? 
Quoted from meSz:You check all your beast mechs?
Looks like one of the two springs that hold the "roof" on the beast mechs. Could have been drooped during assembly and hanging in the wires until it finally worked it's way out and dropped. I found several screws and cut wire ties that must have been dropped and hiding in the wires that fell during the first week of playing and adjusting.
Quoted from pinballinreno:Is there any fix for the air-ball that rests on Smaug's shoulder next to the ramp?
Ball search will never return it.
Should I drill in a bumper or install a plastic to cover this area?
It happens frequently enough that its got to be a location game game nightmare...
Maybe drill in a tiny post that when Smaug moves it will dislodge the ball?
How does the ball get up there? It's never happened to me.
In future updates I'd really like to see a few things:
- Lockout of Smaug multi ball locks during Beast Frenzy (just drop the ramp diverter).
- Coin door ball save - very important on long balltime games.
- After wizard mode played (or completed) leave the play field light for that wizard mode lit.
Quoted from freddy:I guess this was meant for the walking " dead Hobbit" thread.
Doh!
Quoted from Nepi23:I installed with velcro the Weta Smaug Bust with its base on top of the backbox. I was considering doing it without the base, but it seemed that this is the more stable way to do it, so I went with the base.
Looks great!
About the speaker "popping" - I've never heard it. Some have speculated that it's a software issue but if so I should have heard it. I bet it's hardware related. Are there others out there who have never heard the popping?
Just got a new G.C. Tonight. Played for about an hour with a break in the middle for dinner. Defeated Smaug once, finished "Into The Fire" once, and in all played each the "mini wizard" modes three times. Completed all but one of the "Character" modes! I've never focused on completing the "Character" modes before - I've probably only completed at most 20 in any previous game. Was THRILLED to complete "The Bait". I HATE that one! I think that I've only completed it once before. Game is set to 6.25 degrees with factory stock settings except for a 5 second ball save on launch. What a game! I'm exhausted.
Quoted from Pimp77:Wait a minute...define "completed" all but one of the character modes. If you truly BEAT them all but one then you're a Pinball god. If you just played them it's still impressive, but not god-level.
I'm pretty sure that I actually beat them all. I was focused on the modes whenever one started, which frequently happened during Smaug and Beast multiballs. It was exhausting. I'm not sure if you have to actually beat them to get "Completed" on the display over each mode set, but if you look at my picture above you'll see that it is written on two of the three sets. Only Gandalf isn't "completed". Does anyone know?
And I have to say, when the last ball drained and I hadn't gotten that last mode, it really sucked. But I was buzzing pretty well from the rest of the game so I wasn't that bummed.
And I only got one tilt warning. This frigging game is too heavy to move much during play!
Quoted from lschmidlin:Hi guys – any thoughts on how to stop the ball from getting trapped above the gate? The ball sits on the plastic and I have to take the glass out every time. Seems like there should be a post mounted on the plastic. Thanks.
I don't understand where the ball is getting stuck, and I don't see the ball in your picture. Can you elaborate and/or post a picture that shows the stuck ball please?
Quoted from lschmidlin:Thanks for asking. Wasn't 100% sure myself that the post made sense! Ha ha. Anyway here's a picture of where the ball gets stuck. Happens all the time. Seems like a perfect ball trap that should've been caught when designing the game.
I could drill through the plastic and install a post, but hate to do that obviously. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Just leave that ball there and add another ball to the game for playing. Problem solved!
Quoted from PanzerFreak:The mini book LCD provides the player directions for what shot needs to be hit next for every mode and time remaining to complete the mode. Hitting the left ramp while a book mode is running will add time to it. During normal play hitting the left ramp changes the book mode that will be played next.
I'm hoping that there will be some new Gandalf voice actor callouts in 2.0.
When Keith said "When 2.0 is released it will have full choreography for all current rules features" that may very well include more callouts.
Except for during The Battle Of Five Armies mini wizard mode where it goes blank. I really hope that they fix this as I'm sure that it's not what was planned. THIS seems incomplete.
I really love how at the end of the game when Smaug flys by and breathes fire, it lights the playfield on fire. Epic!
This is by far one of the coolest things I've ever seen on a pinball machine. JJP continues to push the limits of where pinball can go.
I just had the most amazing game of pinball I've ever played in my life! I loaded 2.0 last night into my Hobbit LE, and played a few games yesterday - and sucked so bad that I turned the game off and quit. Then tonight after dinner I played two games. The first one was pretty good and I got "Dialed In" pretty well during that game. Then I started a second game and OH MY GOD! I was on fire! I played for 1 hour and 43 minutes, and during that time I played through all three "Mini Wizard" modes 3 times, plus a 4th for ITF. I complicated both ITF and Barrel Escape once. It took me FOREVER to kill Smaug near the end of my game. I kept qualifying and then loading the arrow, but couldn't hit the missing scale. I ended up having to re-start Smaug multiball 5 times before finally making that shot to kill him. I ended up cancelling Beast Frenzy twice during these Smaug multi ball frenzys. I played all of the modes except one - AARRRGGH!!! I KILLED my previous Grand Champion score - just watch the video to see. The video also contains the AWESOME Smaug end-of-game swooping down, breathing fire and setting fire to the playfield scene. I don't know if any pinball machine will ever be able to top the play, coding and visuals of this game.
Video - Grand Champion and Smaug breathing fire:
I think that it's a bit easier to get higher scores with the new code. The ITF mini wizard mode is easier to defeat, but I don't know what else may have changed. I played 2 games tonight and got 4.8 million on the second one. The only changes I have made is to set a 5 second ball save on launch and increased the lower flipper strength by 3 points to help to be able to make it up the ramps on back hand flips. I'm set to 7.0 degrees. And the glass is always on . The game is definitely a bit easy due to the wide playfield. But you have to pay attention to what is going on and choose what to shoot for and when. And what modes to play and when. I always focus on which Arkenstone modes need to be completed to advance to the mini-wizard modes. Lately I have all but given up on "The Bait" and just hold the ball(s) until it's over because that mode will usually cost me a ball when I try to complete it. I do try to win all of the other modes though unless I'm trying to kill Smaug. I am a pretty good player though and play a lot. I find that being patient and letting the ball bounce off the flippers and settle and then controlling it makes a huge difference in keeping the game going and scoring well.
I think that there is a bug that has persisted through all of the updates. When starting the game and at other times the Radagast light isn't on when all of the other corresponding lights are lit. Is this just my game or is it like this for all games? The light works at other times throughout the game, so I think that it's the code.
Quoted from grs57f:No final
Nice game, awesome score! And on ball 2. . . So what was your final score?
Quoted from mima:I cooked up these decals for the dwarf stand up targets. What's your opinion?
Cheers
/mima
Nice job!
Quoted from Bendit:Hobbit down!
That rubber was torn from the factory install. It's the one behind the barrels.
bummer... Noticed that JJP's store doesn't have white rubbers?
That one breaks on mine all of the time. I try to rotate it when it starts to tear. I still cannot figure out what is causing it to tear though.
Quoted from sebseb12:Hello,
On the site jjp, there are two version 2.00, usa and eu, what is the difference?
If I understand correctly, there will be a great final?
Finally, some time ago, a person had summarized the set of rules but I can not find it.
Thank you
seb
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-hobbit-rulesheet#post-3178524
Quoted from netman63129:I have balls getting stuck in the Radagast hole. Has anyone seen this? There appears to be a slight lip on the edge of the kicker. I have to take the glass of to move the ball...
Mine wouldn't kick out reliably from that hole. I tried adjusting the power, but that didn't fix it. I then moved the wireform to see if it was somehow hitting that, but it wasn't. I finally disassembled the coil and found that it was assembled incorrectly. Then sleeve wasn't lined up correctly when it was assembled so there was some play when it was kicking. The play made it so that it wouldn't kick solidly. After loosening the screws, I was able to push the sleeve up through it's hole and then squeeze the mounts tightly together while screwing them back together and it fixed it. Hasn't had a problem since.
Quoted from netman63129:What does it mean when the round Arkenstone light at the bottom of the playfield is flashing or lit?
Future code to come?
Quoted from Bendit:With the game OFF, right?
Right.
I need a little help. I just sold my Hobbit And when the guy set it up at home it starts and seems to be OK but the “Start” button won’t start the game. He’s checked the connections at the button and the large connector at the back of the PC box with the yellow wires as well. Any ideas?
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