(Topic ID: 156561)

Hobbit Smaug LE - first impressions

By zsciaeount

7 years ago


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  • Latest reply 7 years ago by Goronic
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44
#1 7 years ago

I recently received my Hobbit LE, and wanted to share some of my impressions after several days of play.

It's difficult to evaluate the Hobbit without drawing comparisons to Wizard of Oz, since WOZ--whatever your thoughts about the actual gameplay--arguably set the bar for what to expect from a premium-quality machine. My WOZ LE came very late in the production cycle, and by then, most of the kinks with bad boards and other technical issues had been worked out. While WOZ isn't my favorite game to actually play, there's no question that it's a stunner.

The Hobbit is also a very pretty machine at first glance. As I set it up, the crystal-clear invisiglass allowed all of the artwork on the playfield to pop, and the gold Smaug looks pretty cool as well. This is one pin that looks fantastic even when powered off.

But, when you take a closer look at the Hobbit, it's evident that you're not getting quite as much machine for your money as you did with WOZ. When you power up the machine, the display is crisp and bright, and the artwork is good use of static images from the films. The surrounding translite doesn't fare as well. The lighting is a bit harsh and overly white, and it causes the images on the translite to look washed out. This is especially evident when you have a WOZ powered up side-by side.

The cabinet art is nice, though mine shipped with a huge nick in the side of the head that goes all the way down to wood. My shipping box was pristine, and this was sitting in the middle of a room when I set it up, so the damage must have occurred before it left the factory, and it just didn't get noticed.

The most disappointing part of the package is the apron. WOZ had a beautiful wood apron with an engraved placard on the ECLEs. On the Hobbit, my apron is just a plastic apron with a matte decal. It's bland, and doesn't scream "Limited Edition" to me. What's worse is that the decal wasn't even fully glued down, and when I lifted the playfield to cut the zip ties that hold some mechs in place for shipping, I noticed that the decal started to peel up at the bottom as I tried to re-seat the playfield. Just doesn't feel very premium...

The coated legs are extremely nicely done, and the trim is top-notch. The invisiglass is also great, though it looks like mine had some overspray from some process, since there is a stenciled area of paint that I can't clean off of the glass. Getting the glass back in is a bit of a chore, since the runner at the top of the body isn't quite lined up, and I have to manually push it down to line it up so I can slide the glass in. Thankfully, the lockdown bar is much less of a pain than the lockdown on WOZ.

Oddly missing are some features that were promised initially, including replaceable magnetic side art (mine looks to be decaled), the lack of illumination in the apron (I see no lights), and the removal of the outlane nudge that could get you back to the shooter lane.

All in all, it's a nice looking machine, but it's evident where Jersey Jack decided to cut some costs compared to WOZ. That said, with Hobbit initially costing several thousand more than WOZ did when preorders opened, it's really sort of a bummer to see that they cut corners. I'm also a bit upset that my game shipped with an obvious nick in the cabinet, and that the mech that diverts the ball down the left ramp appears to have shipped in a non-working condition, because it generated an error after the first few games, which means that it must not have been working during at least part of the testing phase.

OK, so with the design and build quality out of the way, how does the game look and play?

The light show on the playfield is a bit subdued in the initial code. Granted, WOZ's central theme is a rainbow, and the full spectrum of colors wouldn't look all that great on the Hobbit, but the light show--at least in this early code--is pretty basic, with most inserts either white or orange, and some color pretty much reserved for the inlanes and outlanes and the lock rollovers.

The game is a lot more fast and flowy than WOZ, and several features encourage you to make shots on the fly. As with WOZ, Hobbit is hurry-up crazy, with most inlane rollovers triggering a beast to pop up for you to hit as a way to make progress towards a 2-ball multiball. I like the fact that these pop-ups register hits from both the front and back, and that especially the middle ones allow you to bank the ball off of them into another target, but they do often block what would be the next logical shot up a ramp or through an orbit. The idea of diverting a ball to the left kickback is a great idea, but as I said, my kicker arrived DOA.

The ability to use the apron button to delay locks is a nice touch, though some of the other features are a bit less obvious and I'm still not sure what "Light Thorn" during multiball means. Stacking multiballs is a great way to rack up points, and the fact that you can use skillful apron button presses to ensure you can stack is welcome.

As for the modes, they're not incredibly fleshed out at the moment, and I don't believe there is a reward for collecting all of the characters. When I did, it just seemed to reset and roll over. I also remain unclear as to what governs when the drop targets reset.

There are a few skill shots, and it's nice to be able to pick your shot before you plunge, but one thing that is distracting is how all of the drops reset after you hit your first switch. It's loud!

The lock rollovers in the middle of the playfield are fine, but it does have a tendency to corral a ball rolling back from a ramp and cause it to ride the lip and go SDTM. Maybe this will get better as the buttons soften up.

Some of the promised features have yet to be implemented, such as player control of the diverters. The game is also completely lacking in helpful callouts, so it can be difficult to know what to shoot for during a mode, or to know what the ring button will do at any given time, since it is context-sensitive. This is made a bit worse by the fact that the only information you have is on the screen, and what you need to do to make progress in a mode is printed in text at the top middle of the screen... a far distance to move your eyes away from the playfield. I've found myself draining while just trying to get some info on what to do. Of course, all of this can be fixed in a future update, so I am not too concerned.

All in all, the Hobbit is a nice machine, but it doesn't quite feel like the premium product WOZ is. I think that with refinement of the software, this will be a very fun game and a good players' machine, but at the moment, it very much feels like a work in progress. Was it worth $8500? Time will tell.

1 week later
16
#18 7 years ago
Quoted from msj2222:

Did you contact JJP about the damage to the head and if so, how did they handle it?

I wanted to wait until I had a chance to see this through and provide my honest assessment and follow up. It's been nearly 2 weeks and my game is still awaiting a fix. JJP was very responsive about the ding in the cabinet and the fact that my invisiglass was covered with paint overspray (Frank thinks they may have accidentally grabbed a piece that was scrap and installed in on my machine, since he says they do not paint anything with the glass on it). They are sending me a new side decal (I have to fix the gouge myself), and a new sheet of unblemished playfield glass, which should arrive tomorrow.

But, unfortunately, the mech problem continues to be an issue, and the diverter does not work. This is a pretty significant issue, since that's where it goes for a mode start. All of the connections are tight, so there is a problem somewhere between the board and the coil. They've had me do a bunch of stuff, like re-seat all of the cables, and ground out the transistor to see if the coil fires (it does not).

Basically, the problem is in the wiring, and they seem to think that it should be my responsibility to undo the main artery in the wire harness, dig out all of the wires and test them individually. I'm sorry, but I just dropped $8500 on a new premium pinball machine. It should not fall to me to essentially dismantle a large portion of the underside of the playfield. It's not something I feel super comfortable doing, but even if I did, that shouldn't fall to me.

A single wire cushioned in the middle of a bundle of 60 wires doesn't mysteriously break during shipping, leaving everything around it intact. The mech arrived DOA and errored out almost immediately, which tells me that this was a manufacturing error that could have--and should have--been caught during testing. That said, considering that my game also shipped with a gouge in the cabinet, and a piece of scrap invisiglass, I get the sense that my machine wasn't thoroughly scrutinized before it left the facility.

I'm still waiting to hear how they are going to fix this, but pretty much any enthusiasm I had for the machine has been dashed by technical support that has me do a bunch of wheel-spinning in what seems like an attempt to delay the inevitability of having to do a major rewire of the underside of the playfield. Suggesting that this responsibility should fall to me is just salt on the wound.

I love collecting games, and I can do enough repairs to keep my games up and running, but I work 12-15 hours a day, 6 days a week. I don't have time to master an entirely new discipline, nor do I have the time to pull apart a substantial amount of the machine and put it back together. That's why I buy new games, or ones that are restored... because I do not have the time, energy, desire, or expertise to fix major problems.

I'm a huge Lawlor fan, so JJP's next game has my interest sight-unseen. If they come through and do what is necessary for me to finally be able to enjoy the new machine I paid for, it will go a long way in my book towards keeping my interest in JJP #3...

#20 7 years ago

I bought direct. Kind of makes me wish I had gone through a distributor. Wouldn't have been as much of an issue to get tech support.

But, yes, that's what I've told them. This should be covered under warranty, and they should arrange for someone to come out and fix it.

#25 7 years ago

I'm not ready to get the credit card company involved. I believe Lloyd and Frank are good guys and I know that the company encourages them to help customers help themselves.

But, I think it is plainly evident that this isn't a matter of something shaking loose during shipment. This is a manufacturing issue.

The right thing for them to do would be to send someone out to evaluate and fix it. After all, they boast a network of partners across the US and the rest of the world.

So, I'll give them a chance before I get nasty. But, believe me when I say that they don't want me to get nasty. Just ask Best Buy corporate what happens when I get nasty...

#26 7 years ago
Quoted from netman63129:

Great write-up. I'm like you with your WOZ purchase. Why not wait until the kinks are worked out? I'm curious why you didn't do the same with your TH purchase? Basically, you somewhat invalidate your comparison because you are comparing an early production TH with a late edition WOZ. Nevertheless you have added to my conviction to stay my TH purchase until these types of issues become less frequent. Regarding your mech issue, that does suck. I would ask them for a replacement mech. You never know, it could fix the issue and it would eliminate a lot of other troubleshooting. At minimum, it eliminates one possible fault and you get an extra mech

I got my WOZ late because I ordered late. With Hobbit, I was early on the pre-order process. Got my same LE number, but I was also early in production.

Sending a new mech isn't a bad idea. It's a fairly inexpensive part and would be a super quick swap, if that is the problem. But, 2 adjacent FETs are dead, so there's at least one other mech that doesn't work that I'm unaware of...

18
#57 7 years ago
Quoted from markmon:

It is not relevant what you paid. A $2000 machine and a $10000 machine should both work and be under warranty the same way.
Anyways, pinballs break new or not. It should be on the owner to dismantle wires and trace down issues. It's up to the manufacturer to assist and suggest things and pay for parts. It's up to the owner to do the leg work.
In your case, it doesn't sound too tough. Get your dmm out and set it to DC volts. With coin door closed test red on the coil and black on the ground strap for voltage at the coil. If it's not present, then be tracing wires to that coil from the previous ones and check fuses. It's likely a wire that came off.
If you do have voltage at the coil then it's likely a short between the transistor and the coil - either in the trace from the transistor to the board header or in the wire from the header to the coil. Neither of these are difficult or time consuming to track down. (Maybe 15 minutes of effort here). If you can't be bothered with doing those simple things then perhaps just sell your game.
I'd be much more unhappy having to fill in and redecal part of that cabinet. That seems like a much bigger job.

Other members have already done me the favor of calling your post dickish, so I don't have to.

It's one thing if a machine breaks after a year. However, when it doesn't work right out of the box, when it is obvious that the mech wasn't working during testing, when the machine shows several other glaring quality control issues, that is a manufacturing issue, and no matter how big or small the fix, it is JJP's responsibility to ensure that the NIB machine I received is the same NIB machine I paid out the nose for.

Despite how you feel about the issue, and how proud you are that you wear big boy pants because you have oodles of time to dismantle and reassemble a NIB machine, consumer protection laws are on my side. Errors in manufacturing that significantly impair the use of a product are the responsibility of the manufacturer to repair, at no cost to the consumer; if those repairs cannot be made, or if they are significantly delayed, I have legal recourse to recoup my investment or receive a replacement.

#58 7 years ago
Quoted from thewool:

Surely an after sales warranty relates to parts malfunctioning after you receive the game in working order. If it arrives with a harness fault and old glass installed then it's not fit for the purpose of sale, that's something totally different.

Agreed. We are not talking about a machine that broke within 90 days. We are talking about a machine that shipped broken. Big difference.

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1 week later
#68 7 years ago
Quoted from lowepg:

OP: Any resolution?

I am happy to report that yes, we have resolution. It was a bad coil in the diverter mech.

They shipped me a new mech and a new driver board, but the problem was solved by just replacing the mech, which was a very quick and simple swap. I do have to ship the board back to them.

I also got a fresh new piece of Invisiglass that doesn't have spray paint all over it. I have not yet had a chance to replace the decal, and probably won't have time to do so for several weeks.

So, while it was a bit like pulling teeth to get them to send me a replacement mech, they ended up coming through in the end. Now that I can properly start modes, the game is fun to play.

I also have some updated impressions on the game:

Moving from the 0.81 release code to the latest 1.01 code (it's finally up on the website for download), there are several improvements to the overall presentation and gameplay.

On the attract, there is now a rudimentary explanation of the rules and goals, which is nice, and some updated movie footage. I was also updating my WOZ ECLE tonight, and looking at them side-by-side, it seems like the Hobbit's monitor is much sharper and has more color depth. It really pops... makes me wish there were a mirrored backglass for Hobbit.

The new code also fleshes out some modes and adds a bunch of polish, including scenes from the film at the start of the mode, and several new lighting effects that really add to the game. The new software is able to use the spots and a few of the GI lights as flashers, turning the brightness up to 11. It adds a lot of intensity to the start of a mode. Thankfully, this update doesn't start any hurry-up countdowns until the ball is launched, which is a welcome fix from 0.81.

The modes in the game also got a bit more interesting. Instead of banging out the same shot over and over, modes ask you to make a series of shots, like hitting the right ramp, then knocking down all of the drops, and then bashing an orc, for example. My favorite new mode is one with Gollum, where he speaks in riddles, and you have to figure out which drop you need to hit. For every shot you make, one of the drops is eliminated until one stands. It's a nice display of the virtues of drops that can drop themselves. I did, however, encounter a bug where the drops failed to reset.

Another nice mode is one where you have to avoid the left ramp, in addition to a shot with a flashing red insert. It's sort of like fireball in WOZ, except hitting one of the forbidden shots cancels the mode.

The multiballs are still the same, and it's satisfying to stack them. The callouts are a bit improved, and now there is a super jackpot. I did notice for the first time while playing MB tonight that there is a point where the dwarf standups start strobing, and you can hit them by knocking down the drops and then quickly bashing them again.

Other improvements are better Windlance kickback strength, though it needs to be tweaked when you are firing a charged shot with the ring button, since it fires very weakly in that instance.

All in all, it's a nice update that shows how much software can improve a game.

There are still a few issues I've noticed. The start button appears to become unresponsive during the game, making it hard to do a restart (...that is, if you're into that sort of thing...). I've also noticed that occasionally the Smaug magnet won't hold the ball if it's screaming fast, though this effect doesn't really impact the gameplay.

I also do have some concerns about the diverter, as it's just a piece of metal that pops up and causes the ball to hop over to the other habitrail. The ball often hops a bit when it hits the diverter, which makes me think it'd be better to have a small cap bonded to it so that it will deaden the ball. I'm also thinking that this thing is going to nick the ball at some point.

For modes that ask you to shoot for the barrels, it'd be nice to have the magnet in the orbit catch an orbit shot and drop it into the pops like the gates do on AC/DC during You Shook Me All Night Long. That's a software tweak away.

Finally, in terms of build quality, I am noticing quite a bit more dimpling than on WOZ. My WOZ has several hundred plays and the playfield looks like new. Hobbit, after about 50 plays, has noticeable dimpling, especially to the left of the lock rollovers. Whether this is due to more airballs, darker artwork, or lesser build quality, I dunno.

Also, the VUKs are getting weak early. As I said, it's been about 50 games, and already the VUKs are having trouble serving the ball back up. Even adjusting the coil strength doesn't seem to help. I feel like I'm playing White Water...

So, bottom line:

Hobbit is fun. Software is coming along nicely, and is making up for the fairly simple layout. I still don't quite understand what the upper flipper is for, since it doesn't really aim for anything but the dwarf targets. Build quality concerns still remain. JJP support came through in the end.

#72 7 years ago
Quoted from fatality83:

So when you say it was like pulling teeth to get them to send you a mech, what do you mean? Where they just not responding to your claim, or where they giving you the run around.

A bit of a run around. They had me do a few things that just proved it wasn't working. That killed off a few days. Then they suggested that it was a single wire in the middle of an otherwise working bundle of wires.

Finally, after telling me there's no way it could be an issue with the mech, they sent me a new mech, which is all of $10 worth of parts, and that fixed the problem.

As you can see, problem solved nearly 4 weeks after the problem was first reported. Considering Stern gets a replacement to you in a few days, this was like pulling teeth in comparison...

#74 7 years ago

I'm hoping There are some cliffys for this soon. Those two holes are going to be hot spots for wear

1 month later
#92 7 years ago

OK, here's an update. My Hobbit SE continues to have issues. The pop bumpers keep cycling like in a ball search, Smaug's mouth stopped working, and multiple switches are out. This is a game with maybe 50 plays tops. I am absolutely fed up, and would recommend avoiding this game due to the poor build quality. $8500 just wasted... I would have been smarter to just save the cash and wipe my ass with it.

#103 7 years ago
Quoted from ninjabones:

Just as a point of reference, I just waited 6 weeks to get a node board replacement from stern for my GOT LE. the grass is not always greener.

My Star Trek LE Warp ramp cracked after about 60 plays. Stern asked for a picture, and overnighted a new ramp. Was very impressed with the response time.

#104 7 years ago
Quoted from BShing:

What was your order date? I was expecting mine in May, now I'm thinking it may be August.

I was one of the first orders, and was one of the first machines that I know of that wasn't sent to a distributor or an op. That certainly may have something to do with the quality control issues. Apparently, they hired a bunch of temp help for the initial salvo of games, and Frank essentially admitted that they weren't happy with the issues that were making it out of the door (like a gouged cabinet, or dirty invisiglass that was supposed to stay in the scrap pile).

This is quite a bit different from my WOZECLE, which was one of the last ECLEs produced. It has been a solid performer from day one, with absolutely zero errors after hundreds of plays.

#105 7 years ago
Quoted from pindome:

So Sorry to hear about all the problems. Can you tell us what kind of support you have received from JJP.
What is their plan moving forward to help you fix these issues?
Thanks

I emailed Jack directly, and basically told him that my machine has had so many things break in succession that it's essentially a lemon. He wrote me back at 3am, saying he would call on Monday and do what needed to be done to make this right. I hope we will be able to see this through to a resolution. I've purchased 6 NIBs and this is the only one that has had issues like this. I mean, last night I was streaming some gameplay, and one of the inlane switches just stopped working. That shouldn't happen on a 2-month-old machine...

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