This was the dumbest post so far of 2015. Yeah. Why recycle old pinball tech like flippers and balls and slingshots too. Because that's pinball. Wow. Just wow.

I was a projectionist when this was released and I would watch every movie that came out.
Yes it is a awful film and it has tom cruise and penelope cruz in it....I get shudders just thinking about it.

Yes you are correct. When the single drop target is up on IJ can the game drop it down on its own during game play. But is there a bank of drops that has individual controlled drops?

Yes. The drop targets in Indy are not controllable. JJP has a patent on the technology so the hacks at Stern won't rip it off.

And the crossbow in TWDLE is still a friggin' cannon!

Smaug the Magnificent is far from simply a talking puppet. Those of you who can’t grasp why Smaug talks to the player instead of just eating pinballs need to read up on Tolkien.

back glass

What? There are plenty of early solid state games that could control drop targets up and down. medusa, Orbitor 1 just to name a few.

Can you say MM pop up troll.

Were they game code controlled? If so than I stand corrected.

I disagree. I think the dumbest post award goes to the post about no individual controlled drop targets before. Only done since...ummmm... 1980. Maybe even before.

Can you say ek77 troll?

100% code controlled. Medusa would have a bank of 1 target. then when you hit that, it would advance to 2. Then 3, 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 for the final battle.

Point out a game that has multi bank (or even single) BI-DIRECTIONAL drop target control.

shadow

Thanks for the info.

That's too bad... For me, the left side is a little underwhelming so I was hoping for a possible change for the better in the upper right side. I'm dumbfounded they look at that and say "Yes! we nailed it!"... Anyways, I called my distributor and he said I can get my money back for a little while longer...so I'll continue to cross my fingers for a positive playfield update...if not, P3 seems interesting...

No it doesn't. I had a shadow. The game can reset the target.

You sure you have one? Better think about that one more time....take your time..you'll get it.

I actually just checked and I'm correct. The sanctum wall is NOT a drop target. Nice try though.

it's a drop target.

Magic castle also has an individual drop target that can be controlled up and down by the software. has a timer, where it can pull it away from you. 1983

Keep telling yourself that but it's not. It has no mechanism to allow for ball controlled drops and it also is actually the REVERSE of what a drop target would be.

Why am i even arguing with the guy who thought MM's came with decals.

sanctum.JPG

There's a thin line between love and hate...it's indifference that shows you don't care about something.

I'm really shocked at how people pick apart everything JJP does. Every single item on every game has to come under scrutiny from somebody that doesn't even have money down or the slightest interest in the game. And I just don't understand it.

I have ZERO interest in Stern's new WWE machine, so I don't say a word about it. I couldn't give a shit if it's good or bad, whether it has spinners on it or drop targets, or whatever. I'm not getting one, and I'll probably not even play the damn thing.

Why do some people care so much about Hobbit when they claim they really don't care about it?

fine pull up the mech for magic castle. It's 1983 technology anyway. Better example.

Try again? Maybe third times a charm?

Never once does the software down/up reset a target. Every target is hit by the ball to drop it with just a basic reset.

Well I admit I don't own one, but i've played about 20 games. I know, it's not much really, but I'd have to say that the third flipper was still an afterthought to me because it didn't have it's own "shot". I assume knowing the rules better would give the flipper more life....

As shared before,

Medusa,

Metamorphic Drop Targets

http://www.ipdb.org/showpic.pl?id=1565&picno=11395

It actually has a few of its own shots like shots directly through the pops for the skill shot or ball target direct hits.

No. The orange drop in front, goes up and down and is controlled by the CPU, it's also can be hit directly to score.

just like Cactus Canyon....which has 4 of them.

Btw, it's a target that drops, what would you call it? In all tense and purposes, it's a drop target and it's bi directional.

but as I said before. Zaccaria did it in 83 on magic castle. (not the banks the standalone) and cactus canyon did it with 4 of them.

I think the crossbow in the TWDLE is really cool as it's a good representation of a crossbow in a pinball machine and is interactive. I wish that JJP would have done something similar with TH and made the Windlace toy a motorized cannon instead of a kickback. Imagine having to hit a random or roving drop target with a motorized cannon in The Hobbit. That sounds amazing to me and would be a blast for having to defeat Smaug as the player would take on the role of Bard The Bowman at that point. A kickback just doesn't provide the same experience compared to something that actually moves to hit a variety of things on the playfield.

X100

This is a hobbit update thread that turns every few pages into JJP Bashing.

Since I come to this post Looking for Hobbit updates I wonder if it would be better for the non buyers or owners of JJP games to start a post where they can bash away. Then I won't have to read it while searching for hobbit updates.

On second thought, that won't work because Robin closes posts that are negative because that's not what pinside is about.

In general I don't agree about the love for cannon toys. I think it is about as played out in TWD as in other instances (ACDC, T2, etc). The only reason I wouldn't totally disagree with you about TH is there are so many different targets that could be what you'r aiming for. If they would have combine a swinging bow shot with the cycling drop target, that could have made for a pretty cool aiming experience.

That said, I'm totally fine with there not being a cannon, and we don't really even know how TH is going to handle the Windlance. I couldn't follow exactly what's going on with the wireforms on the left, but I'm guessing this somehow incorporates with the third flipper to shoot the Smaug area.

Even Centaur Drops targets without them being hit .... 4'20"

btw, i'm not putting down hobbits use of the bidirectional drops. I'm just saying, it's not new technology. Might be used in a slightly different way, as a moving wall in hobbit, but the technology has been done for a long time.

Actually the roaming wall was the one feature i did like when I demoed the game. There really wasnt' much else there at the time beyond that.

Did not know this, thanks. Something to look for next time I play.

What our target banks can do, and AFAIK has never been done before, is that every individual target has an up and down coil.

Most drop target banks fall into the following categories:

1. Reset all up (player knocks down) - the vast vast majority of drop targets
2. Reset all up and individual trip down (Meteor-style and 8 Ball Deluxe-style - the most common CPU-controlled targets)
3. Trip all down and individual reset up (Barracora and Jungle Lord style - much more rare CPU-controlled)
4. Reset all up and trip all down (AFAIK fairly uncommon - TSPP had these)

Yes individual targets such as IJ and FT have been around a long time. They have never been put together in a 2+ bank-style assembly for lots of reasons - primary probably being drivers available and secondary being cost.

So yes, to the best of my knowledge our targets are the first bank-style completely controllable targets.

It is just info, maybe we get some surprises maybe not.

With all due respect (and I did it also), I think there is too much focus on the looks here. Yes, everyone has their preferences but in the end it is about how the game plays, lastability and the fun factor. I had my doubts along the way (pre ordered on 19 December 2012) but things are coming together now. The looks will not be perfect, but I think the gameplay, rules, SFX, music and animation make more than up for that and this is going to be a great pin

Baaaaa

This is a true statement.

And will make for a helluva fun and challenging game. Thanks for the clarification, Keefer. I can't wait to get my Hobbit!

I'm curious to see the accuracy of the target hit detection when in roving mode. With a lighted bank of stand-up targets, if you hit the lit target at the last second before it moves (and software allowably even with a small grace period) the game recognizes this and awards the hit. With these drops, once the machine trips the target to come down, I would think it is not capable of recognizing being hit. If true, then hitting a drop as the machine starts to move it to the next target would not count as a hit. So, in cases like where they showed the quickly roving target, I wonder how the machine would ever be able to tell if you hit the target versus the software tripping it.

The WOZ winkie drop target has that. Look at the mechanism under the playfield. There are two coils. One for raising the target and a small coil for causing the target to drop.

I believe what may be novel in Hobbit's drop targets is that they are banks of targets where each individual target is controllable up and down.

Edit: Keefer beat me to it.

Cactus Canyon.

we already pointed out a bunch of games that had them. I think he was just a big over zealous when he made that statement and didn't think about it.

Kieth pointed out the differences and stated this is probably the first time it's been done in a bank setting. I can't think of any that do it in a bank style, but if there is an Early SS game that did it, i'm sure zaccaria could have pulled it off. They did a lot of thing nobody else was doing. I know they did it on a single target, just don't know if they ever did it in a bank.

The person I was replying to was speaking of T3.

Learn to read.

Thank you! You just made my point for me! The post I was replying to accused Stern of recycling olds parts, like a cannon. My post was filled with irony and you just bolstered my case.

Thank you again for your cooperation.

That's not a cannon.

And if you want to get that broad, they're ALL solenoids.

Just getting caught up. Nice to see Pinchroma getting taking to the shed on some of his comments.

Wonder if he still claims that Stern's RGB can only produce 3 colors?

oy

ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ WOW, so many egos ˆˆˆˆˆˆˆˆ

Letgo my ego!