Anyone that bought a BM66 are the biggest fools in the hobby. Talk about TERRIBLE geometry and a TOTAL crapfest (not to mention the total ass-rape price of them)!

See, I can spout my opinion harshly too!

Look, TH isn’t a game for everyone and it definitely has its flaws but it’s highly ranked for good reason: it’s fun and immersive. I personally think AC/DC is a turd, but I don’t go wading into AC/DC threads to shit on it. Do everyone a favor and stay TFO of Hobbit threads, TROLL!

No problem, you are free to voice your opinion Pimp. You think BM66 blows, that's ok, I don't whine and cry about it, TH blows, that's it.

It's just an opinion, and I don't take it that seriously like you babies do. Wtf

I just don't get it. Why do you have to go into ALL the hobbit threads and spew your negativity.
Use your time to positive things.
We get it, if you have ever read 1 hobbit thread we have seen your extreme negativity. Just. Move. On.

And where do I look on the playfield to see what the ring button does at any given time? Did they color-code the actions in 2.0 for backstab, collect points, etc, or is that still only on the big screen?

Have you seen any of the Stern threads? I don't hang out in TH threads because i just don't care much. But i am interested when the OP who isn't afraid to voice his negative opinions as if they are fact all over the place here. Along with RH, same thing. Bunch of hypocrites. Fanboy what they like and constantly critical against everything they don't. The facts and threads speak for themselves.

Since I am getting a POTCCE, JJP is relevant to me again.

Again, its just my opinion. Just ignore it if you don't like it.

And for proper context of my own comment towards him I see the previous RH comment about me was totally deleted where he called me a "moron" and "creep" and "i was wrong about everything in life". What a nice guy.

If that's true from his perspective, then I don't ever want to be right about anything!

So carry on about complaining to JJP and Keith about TH code, I've said what I've said here as my opinion and I'm done, unless of course i get personal attacks again for merely stating my opinion.

From owning a TH for a little bit I have to agree. While there is a lot of code it is a mutliball fest in it's current state and exhausting to play. For this game to move forward the beast frenzy really needs to be reworked and I find that much more important then a final wizard mode. I do not have a problem with some of the modes being similar but I do think the game is not very intuitive and new players have trouble knowing what to do especially in the multiballs or in the mini wizard modes. I'm not going to comment on the layout as it's been beaten to death. While code can not change the layout it can certainly continue to improve the game and some more work needs to be done on this one.

Interesting comment. I stated reading the op’s comments helped me make the decision to buy Hobbit not WAS the reason. Like most people I try to do reasearch on games various ways, including playing myself, plus also reading the comments ( both pro and con) of people who have played the game extensively. I certainly do not believe I have made a mistake buying Hobbit. I am pretty fortunate that I got a good deal so that my sunk cost has me still in market to re sell if I desire. The game is a favorite for my family and I am getting into it more and more as I spend the time to truely understand the rules and the game signals for shots. I also do not believe the Geometry has problems. I find that you can use the upper Flipper to advance the game, one just has to make a good shot.

I am wondering how you have decided to be so pro POTC at this point. I admit the theme is intriguing and based on my Hobbit experience it will be built very well. Watching the play on you tube , I do not believe it looks that great from a shot perspective. You nor any one has played the game so how can anyone be so sure it is a winner at this time. I hope Eric has a long and great career. But as some one who has significant experience with various types of designers, experience plays a roll in their creativity. I would certainly expect fellow designers like Lawlor to provide guidance but that all depends on the design process with in any company. I hope all new games are winners, but at this point betting CE money on this particular game is as big a risk as any game not out for public review.

Your comment on why some one left a particular company is actually the one that conerned me. Putting something like that in a public forum when you have no way of knowing the reason unless either you are the employee himself or the direct employer is a bit self serving in itself. There are lots of reasons people leave companies and most times they are driven by better prospects for the employee. I certainly hope that is the case for Mr Balcer and he should be wished well.

The point of my addition to this thread was actually in your benefit as well. Games that do not have completed code in most cases suffer in the resale market. The op pointed out several good examples. There are several situations when the code is finalized , resale values can return. Anyone who spends The type of money that is required for a new game should be concerned about code devaluation . Hobbit has depreciated , no doubt about it. JJP ( Or any company) should be concerned about that type of depreciation as it can have an impact on future NIB sales. They cannot do anything else for hobbit but improve/ finish the code. They did that with WOZ and those actions have helped resale’s in my opinion. Hobbit or POTC should be treated in a similar manner

I understand some of you are looking for a "final wizard mode," but for those that are saying there are too many multiball I offer this. Go into the settings and make the multiballs harder to achieve. There are settings for literally everything in this game. Am I missing something else on that?

I don't think blaming Balcer for the design issues is really fair. It's my understanding that he had not finished the design and much of the right side of the playfield was not designed yet when he left. Not sure if that's true or not but that I what I heard from a few different people. We do not know if Balcer left on his own or if he was forced out. Simple fact is JJP was in big trouble at that point and TH almost didn't happen. Balcer seems to be doing just fine with American Pinball and Houdini looks like it may end up pretty successful if they can get production figured out. JJP seems to have also righted the ship so all is well that ends well.

My issue isn't with the number of multiballs, it is with how beast frenzy stacks and causes Smaug to be extremely had to beat and can result in 20 minutes straight of multiball. Home games can certainly change setting but most on rout will be factory. People experiencing that on rout are not likely to turn around and purchase the game. I just think beast frenzy in particular could use some work and that the game would be better if it was addressed, others might disagree.

Think your feelings are hurt? Try owning The Hobbit and Ghostbusters. It’s like running the gauntlet with no lube.

Since you asked,

1) I have been involved with JJP from day one. A LONG journey that took me all the way through a pre paid TH up to Expo 2015. I dropped out then because of the delays and the artwork and other pins came up during that time period. And substantial changes were made thereafter which I liked but still didn't change my mind. I moved on to other games.

2) As i have repeated ad nauseum for years, the last thing anybody has to worry about with JJP is "code", certainly completion of it with Keith and team. The problem imo with TH is the layout as JG says has been beaten to death in many other threads.

3) I thought Joe was let go back then due to the financial struggles that JJP was having and wanting to go in a different direction because people weren't excited by TH layout. I was told he gave "notice" and actually resigned, so whatever the case, he's at AP now and good luck to him.

4) Pat Lawlor came in and finished up TH design, I supposed it was too late totally revamp it.

5) I own a Balcer designed Woz which i love, and I personally LOATHE the theme of DI so i didn't get it despite being a Lawlor fan.

6) From what i have seen, I really like the POTC design, features and theme, so I bought one. And i have no doubt about how the code will go, just like with Lyman. Nobody said it was a guarantee to be great. But I like it, period.

7) You got to buy TH at a discount because of most people's opinion of it. And they continue to hit the market, steeply discounted. If you like it, that's all that matters

Finally, for myself, it came down to the delays and the layout primarily and now complaining about finishing code to a guy like Keith seems somewhat hilarious to me, especially coming from the OP.

Keith Johnson has said the code is complete.

He wants to add a final wizard mode if he has time, but he never promised it would happen.

A final wizard mode won't really change the rules of the game.

If you don't like the code as it is, waiting for more code might just be a waste of time.

Straight from the horses mouth...from another site...

Keith P. Johnson
Nov 8 (21 hours ago)
Hi everyone.

We appreciate your feedback and thoughts and are glad you're interested in the game. There will be another Hobbit release, but it won't get major time spent on it until POTC comes out as all of our efforts are going to that right now. I would expect it to be in line with my previously stated (and requoted) statements.

Having a mode (there and back again?) for starting all the book modes would be perfect. Success/Completion of elf, dwarf, man, gandalf, radagast modes could be the baseline for scoring in that mode as well. This would encourage completing modes and could be a viable strategy for points combined with the already added (and awesome!) map and feeder bonuses.

Into the fire, barrel escape and battle of five armies are awesome as is! So many levels and parts to get through. With so many parts of each mode, I'd love to be able to make the choice when you get to an arkenstone mode to either continue whichever one I was on or to move on to the next one. There could then be a hurry-up or bonus mode for starting all three or finishing all three with a much bigger reward for completion.

Just my two cents... I know Keith is crushed with code demands and he has spoken about where expectations should be. I love the game as it sits and was just stewing about cool add ons that would make it even greater. Hats off Keith for everything that you've packed into the game.

http://www.jerseyjackpinball.com/support/

Iceman44, I see that you own a WPT. That pin seemed like a wide open, heavily drop target based title that I didn't give much thought to until a friend started sharing the depth of the rule set. From what I understand, that is a killer title if you are looking for KJ depth. Could TH not be similar, possibly better in that respect, especially with Keith AND Ted on board?

I can't speak to either WPT or TH so just looking for thoughts on that as WPT is not a title that I would have ever considered owning, initially on theme alone but secondly because of the open PF.

Nice. How did I miss that a new code has been released?? Nice Christmas gift. Thanks JJP. I really like the game since day one. The sound is great. And I like the shot layout (not as many others). There's a lot going on and for each game you can focus on something new like finishing one of the modes and so on. I am really looking forward to an end game and some rewards for book modes. Good to hear they are working on it. Thanks JJP.

This all sounds great. Did he give any indication when we might see these updates? Last we heard it was in the spring after POTC shipped. Has that changed to summer or even fall?

From the JJP Live thread:

Not streaming today, but we have something special planned for next week Friday.

New. Hobbit. Code.

LIVESTREAM. @3pm Central 07/06/2018 on https://www.twitch.tv/jjplive

Can’t wait