Just a 'in his spare time' kind of thing. Nothing official, at least so far.

Lymans made some masterpieces “in his spare time”, pretty exciting to hear he’s been messing with Ironmans code. Surprised to hear about another vault run.

No kidding considering guys always ask for tron and lotr, although new code is always welcomed, although I'm doesnt need much

Yeah, Lyman agrees - there were just some small fixes he was planning/doing.

It's the second! It was one of the first games I bought when I got into pinball and mine was the re-vault of the vault.

Sold it, missed it, grabbed another recently. Pretty much the perfect game.

A load of high/mode score boards would be great, Bogey is one of my favourite modes in pinball, having a score board for that mode alone would be fantastic.

I also find having a tonne of high score tables adds a lot of longevity to a game and gives you different goals to aim for, TWD is one of the best for this.

Maiden does a great job at scoring modes

One code tweak needs to be a ball search with the flipper held up to deal with the balls if they're stuck between Monger and the playfield.

So I'm assuming the Re-Vault will have everything the Vault did? That foil cabinet art?

Seems like it, would love to hear if it is different in any way though.

I'm honestly not sure what I would change about the code. It's an awesome game the way it is. Isn't there something with Jericho where it doesn't mention a certain mode, or something of that nature?

Edit: Thought of something. I wish you could double-flipper out of watching the movie clips when starting certain character modes. I know Monger wants to know where I think I'm going, I'd rather get going on bashing his face in.

Holy shit this is incredible news for IM owners! Maybe now we’ll finally be able to earn an extra ball via gameplay instead of getting one in a random Shield award

Come on Lyman!

Flipper button attract sounds, please LFS

Hi score table for all the modes would be awesome!

And one thing I’ve always felt was missing from Ironman is combos!! The games so fast and nonstop that combos would be perfect!

I remember on the podcast where @sir_tankalot was talking about code and revisiting Ironman that he and Lonnie built Ironmans code in something like 3 months or less, which is impressive, so it’s exciting to see what Lyman might add to the game now given more time.

I think it was this one, 1h 23m in maybe (can’t current check it myself, as at hotel breakfast without headphones!)

https://podtail.com/en/podcast/head2head-pinball/episode-73-inside-the-mind-of-lyman-sheats/

EDIT: 90mins in, almost exactly... onwards.

Head2head was the one I was thinking of, pretty sure your on the money Paul.

A skill shot where you can hold left flipper to drop the post and allow the ball to come all the way around like MET or AFM. From there if you can hit the right ramp reduce the number of Drones needed by 1 to light War Machine. This would make Do or Die multiball doable perhaps.

Update the display info so I can trap up and see how many Drones and Whiplash hits I still need.

Bonus build for combos would be interesting.

Check the Monger down switch during a Monger multiball start incase a ball gets stuck under the lid.

Mode specific high scores would also be cool.

Other than that I can't think of much else. The game is damn near perfection with great balance.

That seems simple and smart. Skill shot idea and Monger early detection for stuck balls would especially rule!

My wishlist:
Super skill shot(s). Left flipper hold, post down, to ramp would be cool, but short plunge to War Machine would be awesome too.

Make Do or Die Multiball obtainable. Not sure the best way, but at minimum reduce the insane amount of drone hits needed. Am I correct in remembering that drone hits do not count toward this total during multiballs? If so, maybe changing that would be a way to reasonably get there? I'm good with the other requirements being SJPs on each multiball plus the three IM completions. While I owned the game, I had quite a few times where I had everything flashing except the drones, but it took a damn good game to do that. I still want it to be HARD, just not impossible.

Earnable Extra Balls!! Possibly at Jericho completion? Multiball SJPs? Somehow tied to Bogey to make that more attractive to not ignore?

I'd personally nerf DOD hurry-up a little. As it is now, I find it super unbalanced. It seems to me a high score always depends, almost solely, on hitting that hurry-up, especially at 2x. It should be valuable, but not quite that valuable (especially if DOD multiball becomes a viable goal). I would also seriously consider not naming both the hurry-up and the multiball the same thing, though it may be too late to fix that now. It just causes way too much confusion.

Maybe find a way to make sure Jericho isn't a roadblock on the way to DOD multiball. Again, maybe at minimum drone targets should count towards that goal here?

I love the idea of more leaderboards. It's a little thing, but that's always good fun. Same with flipper button attract sounds.

I'd love another mode or two of some sort, but honestly I can't think of what I would do or how to make it not bog the game down from the tight package it is now. I think just making DOD multiball an actual viable goal would really do wonders for the depth of the game.

If at minimum DOD multiball somehow becomes obtainable to mortals, I would seriously consider buying this game back. It is so close to perfection, but really needs that one more layer of things to do for me. All the rest would be some sweet icing on the cake. Fingers crossed!

Really?!

Yeah. I guess ignorance is bliss.

Really good comments above.

Agree with everything you listed, but no mention of combos? I’ve always felt it was the one thing missing from Ironman and would be a perfect way to add that extra (one more) layer to the game and things to do aim for.

Plus I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t love a good combo steak and combo score board!

I like the idea of code polish.
Hopefully a new run means access to some replacement ramps/ plastics decals etc. for owners.

I certainly wouldn't say no to them! Could tie extra ball to combos, or if we are really dreaming, have a combo multiball like SM. A new mode similar to Bogey that is triggered by combos would be amazing. But, that is pie in the sky stuff...I really do not expect to see anything like extra modes. Keeping track of combos for a leaderboard though...that seems perfectly reasonable. Or throw us the old bone of combo shots being multiplied since I do not remember (but could be forgetting) any sort of shot multiplier in IM. That might make Bogey mode ridiculous scoring though.

It will be very interesting to see what, if anything, comes to be. It's a great game as it sits, but a few wishlist items could easily push it into the top of the heap.

If they update the code, cool. If they don’t update the code, cool. IM is such a great game. Yes, there are a couple things in code I’d like tweaked, but overall, I still love the game.

And I’m glad to hear there could be another run. More people get to enjoy it.

A combo shot would be interesting, but I do worry about it potentially making the game unbalanced. A combo count without making them worth more points would be fun though. I think it would be neat to also have high score tables for the three main multiballs (Whiplash, War Machine, Iron Monger), Bogey, and maybe something like time to beat Jericho as I feel like it's scoring is equal each time (is that correct? I haven't played it nearly as much as I should lately )

For skill shot, I think the best option is to make it so that if you can get it in the right hand lane without changing lanes, it's worth some major point bonus. When Iron Man came out, it was the first game that got a release party, and it was held at GameWorks in Schaumburg, IL - the only release party. I played in the tournament for it and won "B division", but I found myself in the finals soft plunging to try to do this because the left roll over lane was so easy to hit, I figured this *had* to be built in. The skill shot is really the only thing that bothers me because with it being so easy, it seems like more of a punishment for those that don't know the game and who don't get it than anything else, and that's never good.

I'm less of a fan of having a Metallica-esque Super Skill Shot because I feel like Metallica lights too much stuff, and I've had slop shots that score the Super SS and that feels a little cheap. If a longer one is planned, I would rather it is a harder shot that advances something. I'd personally be for it to be only for the middle spinner, and if you hit it you instantly start your first Monger. That to me would be a solid risk / reward for getting the Super SS and would help to make an exciting possible "come back path" for tournament play in particular. But let's not open up every shot to a Super SS.

I play with extra balls off, so while I understand that request completely, I'm good either way there.

Having said all this, if they don't update the code, it's still my favorite game.

I bought mine,nib, 2010, the first movie was still out. Believe it or not, the game wasn’t popular then. A lot of games have come and gone in my house since then, IM is a keeper. Original is better, IMO. I also hope a new release will make parts easier to get.

The game wasn't popular in large part because it was (and is!) a stripped down Austin Powers. People declared that since it used the same ramps, and had less on the playfield, it was going to be bad.

Those who have it a shot generally loved it.

For me, it usually takes me a while to figure out how much I like a game. I played it twice on that release night and knew by my second game it was one of my favorite games ever made.

It did ruin Austin Powers for me...

Guilty!

"It's a one ball game" - DaveH
"Meh" - DaveH

The only reason I disagree is that I like the metal head. Plus, if they hadn't done the VE, I wouldn't have been able to own one. That quickly dropped the price, and I ended up getting one for a bargain. The one mod the VE required was an LED OCD board. Without it the lights are too harsh, and you lose that flowing light show of the original.

Oh, and ignore my bad comments about the game from many years ago. IM is a keeper. It provides pinball satisfaction.

All of your ideas for a code update are cool. I would add:
The volume of music and voices in the settings doesn't work.
There's no sound for the Whiplash SJP.

The original had incondescents, you convert it your way. It also did not have lighted figures like the VE, you had to create them yourself. Mine has also never broke. Quite a statement.Color dmd is a must. Mine is next to a TFLE, came out same year. It really needs a code update, too. Those 2 games complement each other.

I can’t see how combos would unbalance the game. Maybe it’s because I’m not as good a player as you but I’ve never found combos unbalance, ST, TWD, Maiden they are just another reward (combo champ) and layer to the gameplay that gives me something to aim for.

And Ironman needs a proper skill shot and super skill shot, soft plunge to the left orbit spinner would be great and fit the game nicely as you would get a super fast return out the right orbit, starting the game as you mean to go on

A double super skillshot to war machine would also be rewarding as that’s always a super satisfying shot to make, making it off a soft plunge for a nice points reward would be super sweet.

“Buy buy buy!” $5699
F267BF24-975D-4D20-96F5-E8AE99921624 (resized).jpeg

I, uhm...

I don't know anyone has called me a good player before... Thanks

But seriously, the issue is all those other games that you mentioned had combos built in to their code when they were made. Adding combos later means that they will need to go back through the code and either nerf the points that come from other modes, or else the combos won't count for much. The problem that I have is that how it stands *right now*, the game is nearly perfectly balanced - Whether you start the game and shoot for Monger, or try to activate War Machine first, or start Whiplash, or Bogey, or Fast Scoring... no matter which strategy you're using, the reward for these is only so much and the modes progress to be more difficult the more that you do them. Additionally, with the Mark suit build up lights, you have a specific goal to run through all 6 in the same game to unlock the potential for bigger points.

If combos are implemented, and it results in Bogey being worth a significant advantage because you can just loop those shots, it throws so much of the diverse, "you gotta play it all" strategy of Iron Man out the window, and that is what sucks.

As it is, Bogey already does double it's values if you are comboing the shots between the left and the right ramp.

I wouldn't mind the machine *counting* the Bogey combo officially, but in a game where often your final score isn't that much, if there is a further combo benefit that increases the Bogey shots in particular beyond what they are, looping the left and right ramp become more lucrative than they already are, which would make it the dominant strategy that you need to go off when playing the machine.

And that's my problem with this idea, personally. If you want to add the orbits to a combo count, that's fine - but I don't think that it should be worth big points. Really though, the only shots you can reliably loop are the ramp shots, which already have an adjustment.

For a perfect example of why this shouldn't be done, in the early code for SWE1 from Williams, if you looped the left and right ramps over and over again, you would get an # way combo for each ramp that you looped. In the original games, it would award you the number of combos x100,000. Since those shots were easy, you could sit there looping it over and over and end up with combos worth millions of points relatively easily (only took 10 shots, and they aren't that hard to do.. 10 shots was actually worth 5,500,000 points, which is about the same as a mode. Add another 5 shots to that, and you're now at 12 million points. 20 shots in, you're at 21 million points. And, as you can see it keeps accelerating. If you hit 30 ramp shots in a row, you're at 46,500,000 points, which seems like it is a crazy number of ramp shots, but once you dial in that ramp shot... I don't actually think I'm very good and I've managed it about 30 times in a row.

It completely unbalanced the game and made it so that - until the software was fixed - if you were playing for points, the only relevant strategy was to shoot and combo the ramps over and over and over and over.

Having said all this, if Lyman is playing with the code, he's well aware of this and doesn't need to read my input on it, but then I definitely wouldn't expect it to become a thing.

Actually the very first launch party was Big Buck Hunter, which I won. Missed qualifying on the Iron Man A division by one more hit on Monger to start multiball. Actually miss the little toys that would come on these plaques. Anyways, I like fast playing games like this and Tron with simple rule sets and wouldn’t mind adding an Ironman next to my Tron.

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Oh what a game I just had. Perfect ball one with everything done the first time around. Four Iron Man targets away from double scoring so I said what the hell and went for broke and a 2x Do or Die Hurry Up. Got two of the four before a nasty drain. Ball two I get Bogey going and start Jericho before getting Double Scoring going. I go deeper in Jericho then I ever have. As far as I could tell, all I had left were Whiplash hits. My last shot to him was a double tap which I think was all I needed. His magnet then dropped the ball SDTM... What a kick in the nuts!

Is there a final shot to finish Jericho? Is there a points payout for finishing it?

Funny part is, this game didn't even make the high score board. No worries though as I know I was going super big or going home with trying to start double scoring before Do or Die.

This game is a Masterpiece!

I've beaten Jericho several times with the help of extra balls based on scoring. I believe when you beat it you earn like 75,000 points.

I don't have Jericho set to carry over from ball to ball. Stock setting, you drain it's over.

Did you really mean 75 thousand points? That's nothing. An Iron Monger Super Jackpot is 3 Million.

Anyone done EL wire on the ramps?
Like it? Pics?

I installed one of these pinduino kits and it's super interactive with a wide range of animations, love mine. Professor Pinball sells them on the shop here.

Not sure if anybody ever made an interactive EL kit?

There was one being worked on, but never got finished.

I've been waiting for years, but don't think it's going to happen.

Earlier in this thread...

Start here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/iron-man-owners-club/page/60#post-3889666

I did not know that, very cool. I was under the impression IM was the first, and yeah, I really like the mini trophy thing I got for it

BBH is a great game too. One is next to my IM.

B

Anyone bought a set of these?
Looks amazing imo

Timebandit has been working on his IM kit for over 3 years. He’s cut way back on his pinball projects over the last year & hes shutting down his webstore. Still hope though that he completes the project at some point, because he’s already done a lot of the work. I wouldn’t hold your breath on it happening anytime soon though. Especially if there is a new code update on the new IMVE editions.

Would new code affect anything tho? Usually the light shows are triggered from switch hits...

I want to, but not sure it's available.

Wonder if we can gather enough attention to make it happen

I've had my IM for nearly 10 years. It's HUO and I've taken super good care of it.

Sadly, I just noticed some significant chipping under Whiplash. I can't believe I haven't noticed this before, but I'm sure it's been there for quite sometime. I also noticed chipping in that same area on our route game.

Anyone else have this issue?

20200221_173918 (resized).jpg

Got nib in 2010, never noticed until you brought it up. Mine is chipping on your lower bolt pictured,also. Other than that, never breaks like the rest of mine.