LTG, What do you think about this? Would this be a possible solution?

Might want to trim that other bracket. Although preventing the flex it might not be an issue now, but it still kills me that it's sticking out past the guide. I'm definitely going to give this a shot, can't hurt and I'm guessing we're narrowing down issues here.

Btw, someone asked a while back. I did get a manual printed, $50 or so. It does not come with the "making of" pages but it was printed the same size and quality of the original (compared to my WOZ, at least). They even printed me some extra covers for POTC and WOZ (my woz was all messed up). Sadly, I screwed up and coil bound it on the left side instead of the top but cest la vi it still works. Although I find myself running upstairs to look at the PDF more often than pulling out the bound manuals. So much easier to search the PDF.

It was more a fun experiment than anything.

Gabriel at zingprint.com took care of me, went above and beyond.
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Yeah, the first time I removed the BP I was sure that bracket sticking out below the rail was the cause of the missed orbits, but it does not touch the ball.

Fabricating the metal bracket took about 30 minutes but I think a well designed 3D printed plastic part might work just as well. It would have to be really strong because it's going to take a beating.

I've done some more play testing and although the extra bracket helps reduce the rail flex, I'm not sure how beneficial it is; some shots seem to loop better, but many are still failing. The real solution would be to change the shape of the inner orbit rail, but since the mounting points are fixed, we would have to change the curve by adding an additional metal piece and I have no idea how that could be done.

Update: We've been playing with the extra rail bracket and the consensus is it does help - we've been able to make more consecutive orbits. Not a huge difference, but it's better.

I was able to get the ball to hit the bracket with my hand but never investigated further since I just cut it and then I didn't have to worry; eliminated one possibility.

Could easily make a support for there, it would be very strong.

Could make a part to fit here as well. Not sure how well a printed part would hold up to ball wear but I would bet pretty good if printed in a good material and solid.

That would work.

LTG : )

Worth a shot

If you're able to hit 4 loops in a row that's pretty good. I spent a lot of time trying to improve the left loop on my BM66 (which is a LOT clunkier than anything on POTC), and ultimately determined that the design is just unforgiving and needs to be hit within a very narrow angle band. Eric probably designed the loop on POTC so that it wasn't too easy to repeat. Maybe if you asked about it on the JJP Google or Facebook group he would respond.

Thank you for this!!! Night and day difference

For me it's exactly the opposite, the faster shots seem to ricochet/bounce more so each consecutive loop slows down until it fails and ends up in the BP VUK.

Did you ever resolve this issue? My ramp performs fine, but the basket end sits up about 30 degrees. I'm a little hesitant to twist. I did reach out to JJP and they told me the wire form is out of stock, and that its "normal", which isn't a satisfactory answer. I asked if it was ok to twist, but haven't gotten a response. I'm hesitant to do anything if they don't keep parts in stock.

I say leave it alone. If the game plays normally and JJP is out of stock, there is really no reason for you to risk it (fuck with it) at this point. Wait till they are back in stock before you do anything.

I've never seen that wireform flat on any POTC. I agree, leave it be.

Thanks....not exactly ideal, but I get it....sure would be nice if JJP stocked parts for this game....

Picked this up a few days ago, thankfully only very minor issues, a tweak here and a bend there, and it's playing like a dream. Fast becoming one of my all-time favorites.

I assume you should be able to hit the chest from the lower left flipper? I just can't ever seem to get the upper left flipper out of the way in time to complete the shot. I suppose I might hold flippers an extra half second like a baseball or golf swing follow-through, but maybe I'm trying to make a shot that is pretty hard to make and should instead just transfer over to the right flipper when I need the chest. My wife says she can make it from the left flipper, but I've never actually SEEN her do it!

The wife is never wrong.

same here, it usually hits the upper left flipper and goes in the hole most of times. I think I've done it about 2 times from left flipper so I just do all my chest shot from the right flipper.

Yeh I’ve done it a few times, but it’s not easy. Never has enough power to get into the trunk though, so it’s only good for making a through shot, or the right target.

Instead of pushing the button try a slap. Shot is not super hard. Cradle left flipper, release, .5 seconds later is the slap. If you can backhand the black pearl ramp it’s the same shot but from the left side

Wow. I will have to give it a try. Mya not be possible on my game but what the heck. BP is backhand able to collect characters but not much else on my game.

Don’t forget that you can stage the flippers. Press it half way in, lower flipper activates. All the way in, the rest. An excellent opportunity to learn flipper staging. (That means me too!)

well if you get good at it you can use it to rush BP multiball as well. The more you play you will learn little things that you can pull of to progress the game. Like goinng for 2x target from right flipper is risky ( I lane drain) but if you backhand it it pretty safe. You can bank off the 3x target to hit bayou hole ect....and trust me there is enough of those little "trick" shots im still finding them

Posting this in a few topics, feel free to share.

I was concerned about Cliffy, due to his relative proximity to the current California fires and power outages, and he replied as such.

"I’m sorry but nothing going out right now as power has been cut, no internet, no way to print shipping labels. We are smothered in smoke and surrounded by fires and non-stop 50mph winds. Please let everyone know cliffys is down right now and could be a few more days without power
Sincerest apologies."

Hope all turns out well for him

Man I hope he’s ok, and gets the hell away from the smoke. Didn’t realize he’s in California - he is the best. Incredibly hard worker too.

The flippers have two functions. Push half way in and only the main flippers move. Push all the way in and all flippers move. Experiment with how much force it takes to just move the bottom flippers. I had the same issue my upper left flipper was always in the way. It’s tricky to get the hang of but it is possible to master then the other flipper won’t ever be in your way.

Heh, this is like my twice-yearly reminder that some flippers are staged. I always forget to think of that. Without staging I can make it rattle around under the chest from the left, just can't get it all the way through/up with any regularity. Been practicing using a staged/half pressed shot to get it up there, it's just hard to remember than option sometimes in the heat of the moment.

Thanks to the tips in this thread and just getting more familiar with the game (I have owned it for less than a week, after all) I'm hitting that left flipper to chest shot with regularity now, think I got it six times in my last game alone. Really the only shot left I have to get comfortable with is Extra Ball, that's a rough one still. Also, what awards the extra ball when you shoot it there? Sensor? The slingshot in the back? When lit the ball can roll over it all the time, but unless it comes from the left flipper, and hits/rolls over... something, it doesn't trigger. Can't quite figure it, and the manual doesn't mention it.

The extra ball is rewarded when you hit the slingshot at the very right side. But only without touching the bumpers over there. You can see that you get no EB when the ball comes out of the bumpers.

I ordered the PinWoofer backbox sound kit and installed it yesterday in my POTC. I have an external sub and wanted the mid range speaker and the tweeter in the backbox to improve and get to the sound level of the sub. My expectations were high and have been more than fulfilled. The sound from the backbox now is brilliant, chrystal clear and very transparent. It is so dynamic that you have to level the volume of the kit down a bit, when you increase the general volume of the pin.

Special thanks to Dan from PinWoofer, who contributed a perfect service for all questions I had. Respond times were incredibly fast. So highly recommended.

that shot is HARD, too. It's not impossible, you just have to really hit it straight and not too hard. The ball pretty much has to be at a dead stop, cradled in the flipper, then just touch it off the tip. Takes some practice, but it's not impossible. It is harder than the Houdini inner loop shot, but I can nail that one over and over again at this point.

Its a brutal shot....one of the toughest in all my games....I've only done it like 3 times, and once was by accident

Installed some mods tonight, the standard stuff -- Kraken, railing on the Dauntless, flipper toppers, rum barrel flasher covers, etc. Where can one find the rope ladder mod that goes up the Black Pearl ramp? That looks really neat but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Mezelmods

Could've sworn I looked there, guess I missed it. Thanks.

Yes Mezelmods. Also checkout the pinball mod company if you haven’t already. He’s got cool stuff including the chest open and close add on

I just got my lighted star field and chest opening mod in the mail today. I'm going to try installing them the weekend, although I have to admit I am a little intimidated with the prospect of installing the chest opening mod from all I have read.

The only hard part is the rod. Rest is easy. Scott’s great at helping if you need it. He helped me a lot.

Oops (my boy didn’t want me posting pics of him - he’s probably right) anyway, was a nice pic of him dressed as Jack Sparrow for Halloween. He’s in love with the game

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I'm considering taking the plunge on this game... generally, how is It? What are the positives and negatives in a nutshell? I've heard the code feels incomplete... would be very curious what the issue is there...

The game looks awesome! But does it play as good as it looks?

Thanks to all who can help me decide!

Plays better than it looks, and the code is deep and feels very complete although there are updates coming....good luck in finding one

Plays even better than it looks possibly, which is something as it's one of the prettiest games ever. Game times are usually quite long, 20-30 mins and up, much like JJP's Hobbit. Lots of varied shots from easy (chest, star map) to brutal (extra ball). Very deep rules (the deepest?). The rocking boat and cannon firing a ball to the other ship is the coolest toy/upper playfield in pinball, and it also has one of my favorite ramps ever (Maelstrom) which ends with a swirling drain. Lots of 4 and 5 ball multiball modes, which you may or may not like. I don't love the playfield art, but it's fine. Very tasteful mods available which really enhance the table. More than a few people consider it the best pinball of all time, and I wouldn't argue against that.

One of the best games ever. Top 3 or 4 for me for sure. I've never heard anyone even hint they thought the code was incomplete as it sits. Deep, challenging, complicated...absolutely. Only thing really absolutely missing right now is the main wizard mode and depending on how Keith sets up qualifying for it, it's a decent bet that next to almost no one would ever have qualified it up to this point anyway.

Thanks guys! Yeah, it was the missing wizard mode that I think I picked up on! So the spinning disks are reliable? I heard that spare parts were possibly going to be an issue? Is there much humour in the game? I get that it's deep... but does that mean there is much strategy with it? Are there shot avoidance tactics involved, like in MM for example where you have to avoid Merlins hole to avoid staring a weak multiball? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm trying to get a feel for the game to see how much I should be trying to track one down. The tasteful mods are a tick in the plus box, many things are! Doesn't that rocking mini playfield make you feel a bit sea-sick after a while?

Best to simply track one down on location and see if you like it. This game is hard to describe and limitless on its depth and gameplay. For our house this game is a top 3 title ever made and I suspect it will be some time till a creative complete package comes along to top this one. It’s so good I bought a spare! Lol (not for sale!). If you can’t find one at least watch the Numerous JJP gameplay videos and judge for yourself. The few people I have met that Didn’t like the game I suspect were biased cause there are no games to Find! Just my opinion.

Just watch this video starting at the 18 minute mark. This is the best example I've ever seen recorded of all the play insanity of POTC. Being able to set "plundering" to cut-throat is brilliant. And once you understanding what that is, you'll understand why it's the best pin ever made.