(Topic ID: 77386)

Hobbit Update

By B9

10 years ago


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  • Latest reply 6 years ago by GravitaR
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There are 10,044 posts in this topic. You are on page 119 of 201.
#5901 8 years ago
Quoted from B9:

I just stumbled on this video
» YouTube video

I don't care what the haters say, this game looks freaking awesome!!

-1
#5902 8 years ago
hgh.gifhgh.gif
-5
#5903 8 years ago

Did anyone else notice that the end of ball bonus is always the same score?

That's going to get boring pretty quick.

#5904 8 years ago
Quoted from Jvspin:

Did anyone else notice that the end of ball bonus is always the same score?

I would agree if that's a final feature. But, we're still seeing significantly incomplete code at this point. There's been progress, but there's there's still a lot of work to go. Would certainly imagine this is just one example of "placeholder" code. (but could be wrong, I certainly don't have any inside info)

#5905 8 years ago
Quoted from Jvspin:

Did anyone else notice that the end of ball bonus is always the same score?
That's going to get boring pretty quick.

Quoted from JeffA:

I would agree if that's a final feature. But, we're still seeing significantly incomplete code at this point. There's been progress, but there's there's still a lot of work to go. Would certainly imagine this is just one example of "placeholder" code. (but could be wrong, I certainly don't have any inside info)

No way! You always get the same amount of points......forever.....

#5906 8 years ago
Quoted from JeffA:

I would agree if that's a final feature. But, we're still seeing significantly incomplete code at this point. There's been progress, but there's there's still a lot of work to go. Would certainly imagine this is just one example of "placeholder" code. (but could be wrong, I certainly don't have any inside info)

He was joking...relax.

#5907 8 years ago

Ball got stuck and I tilted.

I spoke to Jack for a few minutes, he said that he will be doing his summer open house again and will order more pizzas this time. He also said that Silverball should be getting their Hobbit next month.

#5908 8 years ago

I only got to play one game since the lines were crazy, but the "regular" artwork is 1000x better than the super shiny "RadCalz" that were on the one in Ohio. Also the playfield looks way, way better without that shield on it. It played a lot better and faster I found.

The software has improved in leaps and bounds. Ball interaction with the popup trolls is pretty great. Lightshows are amazing. I even got multiball! Once it's finished I think it's going to be killer.

One thing I noticed is that there were a few issues - one, balls would get caught on top of the drop targets and no amount of shaking would get it loose. Also, the VUK would get weak. The latter could be fixed by increasing coil strength after a failed upkick - perhaps that will be in the finished code.

All in all very nice, visible progress. I really have to thank Jack for letting the unwashed masses this level of access to a work in progress. Back in the 90s, WMS would *never* allow pinheads to see any of this stuff, let alone interact with the public in any way. I wish more people would appreciate the pain in the ass the devs put up with. The only reason they do it is because they're real pinball fans too.

#5909 8 years ago

Thanks fantasyG. Nice to hear some feedback of the pros and cons. I agree with you on appreciating the developers. Pure courage, is my opinion.
Thanks again.

#5910 8 years ago
Quoted from jwilson:

I only got to play one game since the lines were crazy, but the "regular" artwork is 1000x better than the super shiny "RadCalz" that were on the one in Ohio

The "regular" artwork still have a glossy type surface right???
I was planning to put a layer of UV resistant wax on them...

#5911 8 years ago
Quoted from Skyemont:

What does "did not get a upload id mean". I am trying to upload a video of the Hobbit and it goes to about 60% and then says this.

Any idea guys. I have a few videos I want to post but it sts at 60%.

16
#5912 8 years ago

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpgabeef.jpg
#5913 8 years ago
Quoted from Zebulon-74:

The "regular" artwork still have a glossy type surface right???
I was planning to put a layer of UV resistant wax on them...

More of a matte finish, but really nice - high quality, high res artwork.

#5914 8 years ago
Quoted from pindel:

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpg (Click image to enlarge)

Looks awesome, but I cringe when I think about troubleshooting a problem in all this. Yikes, but what the heck, bring it on !!!

#5915 8 years ago

That's beefy shit

Like a Belgian Blue

image.jpgimage.jpg
#5916 8 years ago

That underside makes ST:TNG look like a walk in the park.

If I ever get a Hobbit, at least I know that I live close enough to JJP if I can't fix something.

#5917 8 years ago
Quoted from Zebulon-74:

The "regular" artwork still have a glossy type surface right???
I was planning to put a layer of UV resistant wax on them...

The artwork is supposed to be printed with UV resistant ink.

#5918 8 years ago
Quoted from Skyemont:

Any idea guys. I have a few videos I want to post but it sts at 60%.

Could not find a quick answer on the internet. If you want I can give it a try, just shoot me a PM.

#5919 8 years ago

It would be good to see the Smaug Edition and LE side by side - I think I slightly prefer the LE over the SE.

#5920 8 years ago
Quoted from pindel:

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpg (Click image to enlarge)

Umm yea I got to lift the playfield and wow its ridiculous even compared to all the superpins ive had its twice as heavy

#5921 8 years ago
Quoted from pindel:

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpg (Click image to enlarge)

WOW and I thought WoZ was heavy, this is gonna break some backs!!

#5922 8 years ago

Loaded with More metal in the bottom! Built to last

FullSizeRender.jpgFullSizeRender.jpg IMG_7519.JPGIMG_7519.JPG
#5923 8 years ago
Quoted from mufcmufc:

WOW and I thought WoZ was heavy, this is gonna break some backs!!

I'm sure this game alone with get Escalera a few sales!

#5924 8 years ago

Managed to Play it a couple of times at Allentown...some impressions...

... on gameplay during the show (from what I noticed):

Obviously the code is alpha as diverters were not active and neither were the magnets at the rear of the playfield. Flippers could have been a bit stronger (as well as the right VUK) but at least they are adjustable. Right upper flipper....yeah, yeah windlance one timer shot should be cool, but is that it....??? Wish it could make that ramp! Didn't notice the kickback (windlance) working nor the diverter that flips the ball to that ramp <edit- after watching one of the posted videos I noticed both these were working> . Didn't notice the right outlane "ballsaver gadget". Considering these items don't appear to be programmed in the code yet, the game play seemed fine (only played twice though). LOVED THE POPUPS! They changed the whole mood and feel of the game depending how/when they were deployed. Now, if only they were able to make Smaug more interactive...now that would have put it over the top.

...on non-gameplay stuff:

The good: Resolution of cabinet graphics are excellent. Colors on playfield are great. LCD so far is beautiful. Pop ups look great. Sound is off the chart good. Nice Smaug mould. Cabinet decals on LE are different on either side. Game has a nice presence.

The bad: Upper right corner (bagend and waterfalls) feels even more incomplete when seeing it live. While the mini LCD has a few nice touches like when "water" jumps on the screen when the ball goes through the bumpers I still feel it would have been better served located on the apron, so that it doesn't block the views. The application of the backbox stickers didn't seem professional (it also looked like they had one placed on top the other...damage during transport?)

The meh: Like someone else has posted, cabinet decals could have used a little more sheen to set it apart from other games. Needs a backboard decal. Gold pile could have used little more variety in it (i don't think it was just gold coins in the movie). In general adding a few more details would make it much more interesting to look at...

Overall...it's still pretty darned good

#5925 8 years ago

I really really want to play this game so I can settle my "visual" beef. The playfield looks so empty. I know the orcs pop up and give you targets, but it just doesn't LOOK fun to me.

That said, I refuse to pass official judgement until I get to play one. The game looks stupid beautiful. And Smaug is amazingly cool.

#5926 8 years ago

Game is looking awesome. I'm not a huge Hobbit fan but better theme than WOZ. Love all the attention to detail and display. I just wish it wasn't so expensive. At least you can see where all your money is going to unlike Stern and their premium/le.

#5927 8 years ago
Quoted from Pinstym:

Shot this 5 minute video Friday at Allentown. I had my video set to Ultra Hi-def, so kinda disappointed that the vid seems to only have 360p as the highest setting. Advice would be cool if I can fix that.
First time seeing the game in person. Wow. Pretty incredible.
» YouTube video

At the 3:09 mark of the video, the ball drops out of the wire form in to the outlane. This happened a lot on my WOZ. I've tried adjusting the wire form slightly left, and right. If I go left, it bounces off the sling with even worse results. If I go right, it hops the lane guide. It appears to be perfectly centered at present, yet still dumps balls in to the outlane occasionally. Likely less than 25% of the time... But it's sure frustrating when it happens.

Anybody have a fix?? Or is this just one of those "That's Pinball" random moments?? It seems to me that the ramp return should ALWAYS feed the flipper, but I suppose sometimes there is some strange ball spin that causes it to hop the lane guide??

#5928 8 years ago

I had a pretty good game at Allentown, and caught it all on video if anyone wants to watch another one!

I definitely think it will turn out to be a fun game. From what I played at Pinfest, it seemed to lack a little polish, but that's to be expected for an unreleased game.

#5929 8 years ago

The guy who does the video really does excellent work.

#5930 8 years ago

I didn't play it, but watched a few games at Allentown. Thought it was very cool. It's not a fast game, but seemed pretty tough and a bit more strategic. Hitting targets in an open playfield makes ball control very tough.

#5931 8 years ago
Quoted from nicoga3000:

I really really want to play this game so I can settle my "visual" beef. The playfield looks so empty. I know the orcs pop up and give you targets, but it just doesn't LOOK fun to me.
That said, I refuse to pass official judgement until I get to play one. The game looks stupid beautiful. And Smaug is amazingly cool.

Jack said this game would be very different to WOZ and that is what he has done. For me the difference between the games is very interesting. The playfield looking empty combined with the "smart " drop targets could well pull in the casual players better than any game has done for a long time.

#5932 8 years ago

TH looked fantastic in my opinion. Played it once, didn't last very long...!

Cabinet decals looked awesome, playfield looked awesome, LCD was awesome, music was awesome.

I do agree that the back of the playfield area needs more attention.

Can't wait to get this sucker in my house!!

#5933 8 years ago
Quoted from mystman12:

I had a pretty good game at Allentown, and caught it all on video if anyone wants to watch another one!

Thanks for posting!

I was able to hear some new sound clips in this video

#5934 8 years ago
Quoted from nicoga3000:

I really really want to play this game so I can settle my "visual" beef. The playfield looks so empty. I know the orcs pop up and give you targets, but it just doesn't LOOK fun to me.
That said, I refuse to pass official judgement until I get to play one. The game looks stupid beautiful. And Smaug is amazingly cool.

I USED to feel the same about AFM. Until I played one a couple times back in the day. Then I had to have a nice one. And it's turned out to be one of the most fun games I have.

So don't let that turn you off... putting a FishTales ramp at the top of a widebody may indeed make a winner. I wonder if the software recognizes a "u-turn" like FT does? (when it doesn't quite make it around the ramp and goes down the other entrance). They could add some kind of award for that

#5935 8 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

I wonder if the software recognizes a "u-turn" like FT does? (when it doesn't quite make it around the ramp and goes down the other entrance). They could add some kind of award for that

That's a great idea. +1

#5936 8 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

I USED to feel the same about AFM. Until I played one a couple times back in the day. Then I had to have a nice one. And it's turned out to be one of the most fun games I have.
So don't let that turn you off... putting a FishTales ramp at the top of a widebody may indeed make a winner. I wonder if the software recognizes a "u-turn" like FT does? (when it doesn't quite make it around the ramp and goes down the other entrance). They could add some kind of award for that

Quoted from jungle:

Jack said this game would be very different to WOZ and that is what he has done. For me the difference between the games is very interesting. The playfield looking empty combined with the "smart " drop targets could well pull in the casual players better than any game has done for a long time.

Yeah, these are the reasons I'm reserving actual judgement until I've played one.

#5937 8 years ago
Quoted from pindel:

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpg (Click image to enlarge)

Jack told me at the Expo reveal, that Woz was right around 300 lbs, and Hobbit (which they showed the PF and it looked about the same as this final), was 340-350lbs (at least as of last fall - and I can't think its changed much)

#5938 8 years ago
Quoted from pindel:

Widebody loaded with beef? This game must weigh a ton. I haven't seen a game with this much hardware. No shortcuts there.

abeef.jpg (Click image to enlarge)

where are the metal rails underneath to keep the playfield from warping/flexing from all of that weight? (ala the aftermarket safecracker rails were made)

I can just see it, 6 months after they ship, everyone will be complaining about their playfields sagging.

#5939 8 years ago
Quoted from rai:

I will say no one else was tilting so it couldn't have been super sensitive, but no warning is BS because how are you going to know what's a nudge and what's a tilt? IMO my tilt was very more of a nudge, not super aggressive at all.

Sorry your experience wasn't great. Regarding the tilt, JJP games default to PER-GAME tilt warnings, meaning if you use up both warnings on ball 1, you have no more the rest of the game. Of course, # warnings, per-game/per-ball and all that is all configurable. Don't know how exactly it was setup at the show.

#5940 8 years ago
Quoted from Pinstym:

Shot this 5 minute video Friday at Allentown. I had my video set to Ultra Hi-def, so kinda disappointed that the vid seems to only have 360p as the highest setting. Advice would be cool if I can fix that.
First time seeing the game in person. Wow. Pretty incredible.
» YouTube video

I know the game isn't final yet (at least code-wise), but after playing a game and taking video of others playing, I don't feel that the playfield is too wide open. It seems to me that depending on which inlane the ball takes to the flippers, there might always be a hurry up with at least one of the 4 characters popping up. You'll want to hit it, or it may block a more important shot. Stand-ups, drops, spinners, 4 pop-ups, newton ball. Plenty to shoot for.

I'm also not against the upper flipper because there isn't a ramp just for it. On woz I'm ok with the upper flipper being used as a "gate" to get back into the shooter lane, and it's cool how it's set up with melting the witch. I don't know if there is an opto up at that flipper on Hobbit so that some shots will only count (or count more) if made from it, but I did notice that at least 2 times I flipped across the pf with that upper flipper, it snuck over a dropped target between raised targets to get in there (to Smaug?) and I was thinking there was no way I could have done that from the lower flippers. Not sure. That might turn out to be something worth more points for sneaking it in from the side. No idea.

I don't see what the small screen/book in the back on the right might be blocking. Maybe when that screen is not showing totally awesome content that helps one's game experience, it could just show a video of the back and side cabinet that it's "blocking."

#5941 8 years ago
Quoted from jwilson:

One thing I noticed is that there were a few issues - one, balls would get caught on top of the drop targets and no amount of shaking would get it loose.

The drops each have adjustable screws, and I know the game had a rough trip once. Shouldn't be an issue in the long run.

Quoted from jwilson:

Also, the VUK would get weak. The latter could be fixed by increasing coil strength after a failed upkick - perhaps that will be in the finished code.

This should already happen, but I'll double-check it (WOZ does this). Could possibly be it needs to ramp up faster than it is.

Quoted from jwilson:

I wish more people would appreciate the pain in the ass the devs put up with. The only reason they do it is because they're real pinball fans too.

Thanks J.

#5942 8 years ago
Quoted from pinball_keefer:

Sorry your experience wasn't great. Regarding the tilt, JJP games default to PER-GAME tilt warnings, meaning if you use up both warnings on ball 1, you have no more the rest of the game. Of course, # warnings, per-game/per-ball and all that is all configurable. Don't know how exactly it was setup at the show.

I've been wondering if that decision was ever explained anywhere. AFAIK, tilt warnings have always been per ball. Why make it per game (by default)?

#5943 8 years ago

I'm glad they re-worked Smaug. He looks ten times better now than when he was turned backwards with that hideous rock sculpt on the back of his head. Between that and the book that did nothing I got out. It looks like it's finally coming together.

#5944 8 years ago

Just wondering out loud if having Smaug turn around serves any purpose. Since the mountain has been removed Smaug is always fully visible. Why not just leave Smaug facing down field when not interacting with the game. When Smaug is active he can move around, which is a good effect, but when dormant I would rather see his face than a side or back view.

#5945 8 years ago
Quoted from fnosm:

Why not just leave Smaug facing down field when not interacting with the game.

Agree I was thinking the same thing. It kind of looks bad when its turned and you see a flat back of his head with nothing. And this game really needs a backboard decal, the black wood back just looks unfinished.

#5946 8 years ago

I've been very *meh* on this game based on early photos and videos...got a chance to play it at A-town. Game plays great...the ball moved faster than I thought it would and I think getting the pitch right will really make it sing. Has some flow, too, which is nice.

I'm not totally sold on the wide open playfield, but I thought it felt pretty good overall.

Backglass/screen integration is perfect. Looks amazing, as does art package on cab.

I think this game is going to be incredible when shipped.

Jack said code is about 60% done...looking good JJ! Very well done

#5947 8 years ago
Quoted from fnosm:

Just wondering out loud if having Smaug turn around serves any purpose. Since the mountain has been removed Smaug is always fully visible. Why not just leave Smaug facing down field when not interacting with the game. When Smaug is active he can move around, which is a good effect, but when dormant I would rather see his face than a side or back view.

Probably too late for them to adjust, but I agree with you. Right now it is a bit wonky. Hell, if they wanted they could put the gold pile (where the mountain was) so that it looks like an empty gold pile, and then Smaug can come out (by turning around). That is at least true to the movie. And when Bilbo went into the mountain he just saw piles of gold anyway (no dragon initally). Would be a rather easy thing for JJP to do, all the pieces are already there. Also, gets in more in line with the original design concept.

#5948 8 years ago
Quoted from mummite:

Agree I was thinking the same thing. It kind of looks bad when its turned and you see a flat back of his head with nothing. And this game really needs a backboard decal, the black wood back just looks unfinished.

Backboard decal would be awesome.

#5949 8 years ago
Quoted from Goronic:

Probably too late for them to adjust, but I agree with you. Right now it is a bit wonky. Hell, if they wanted they could put the gold pile (where the mountain was) so that it looks like an empty gold pile, and then Smaug can come out (by turning around). That is at least true to the movie. And when Bilbo went into the mountain he just saw piles of gold anyway (no dragon initally). Would be a rather easy thing for JJP to do, all the pieces are already there. Also, gets in more in line with the original design concept.

I see what you're saying but if it was that simple, JJP would have done it. I am sure they tried lots of iterations with Smaug and of course they ultimately needed signoff by the licensor. They've made positive changes since EXPO based on feedback and have created a very nice game. It was fun to play it at Allentown. Great job guys.

#5950 8 years ago
Quoted from Goronic:

Probably too late for them to adjust, but I agree with you. Right now it is a bit wonky. Hell, if they wanted they could put the gold pile (where the mountain was) so that it looks like an empty gold pile, and then Smaug can come out (by turning around). That is at least true to the movie. And when Bilbo went into the mountain he just saw piles of gold anyway (no dragon initally). Would be a rather easy thing for JJP to do, all the pieces are already there. Also, gets in more in line with the original design concept.

Seems like a good idea...I wonder if they thought about it...

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