(Topic ID: 200141)

JJP Pirates of the Caribbean Official Owners and Fan Club!

By goren1818

6 years ago


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#13601 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

Fellow pirates.
I need help.
I've been spending the last 2 days reliving all my POTC history...doing all the tweaks and bulletproofing steps we all know and love to my new CE.
Cleaning, rubbers, wireloom, waxing, Cliffys, spinner leveling, shooter lane adjustments, spotlight replacements and bulletproofing, Tortuga scoop aiming, Chest fork tweaking, you name it I've done it over the last 2 nights.
It is almost where I want it, save for one issue...and the LE has the same issue.
The damn Depths VUK.
Frequently, the ball shoots out of the VUK - seemingly harder than usual - and it seems to hit the one way gate at the I lane like it's a wall, then drains.
When this happens it makes you want to quit pinball.
And both of my machines are doing it, so I am stumped.
I considered, maybe the Depths Cliffy is the cause and is putting some kind of spin on the ball? That one is a clip-on so I removed it - it did not make an appreciable difference.
Of all the issues we've troubleshot together, surely someone has come up with a fix for this one?
I would truly love to solve this on both machines.

That’s an odd one. Using the go back to what you changed last scenario you moved the game and set up a new one so... is the playfield pitch lower now? I don’t go by bubble measure personally. My games are at 6.8 ish degrees. Seems like it needs to roll that lane (steep) to have enough speed to hop through the gate? Try up or down level in extreme measure to see if it improves. Just a guess but I’ve not had this issue.

#13602 4 years ago
Quoted from Yelobird:

That’s an odd one. Using the go back to what you changed last scenario you moved the game and set up a new one so... is the playfield pitch lower now? I don’t go by bubble measure personally. Mine games are at 6.8 ish degrees. Seems like it needs to roll that lane (steep) to have enough speed to hop through the gate? Try up or down level in extreme measure to see if it improves. Just a guess but I’ve not had this issue.

The LE has been doing it a while...debugging and tweaking out the CE has got it under my skin and wanting to fix.

Both machines are level side to side. I don't know the pitch as I do use the lines on the bubble level built in. I should probably get serious and get a digital level.

#13603 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

The LE has been doing it a while...debugging and tweaking out the CE has got it under my skin and wanting to fix.
Both machines are level side to side. I don't know the pitch as I do use the lines on the bubble level built in. I should probably get serious and get a digital level.

Real level or at least use the PinGuy app. I’ve used that free app for all games and never had an issue.

#13604 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

The LE has been doing it a while...debugging and tweaking out the CE has got it under my skin and wanting to fix.
Both machines are level side to side. I don't know the pitch as I do use the lines on the bubble level built in. I should probably get serious and get a digital level.

mine (both the le i had and the ce that i now have) had this issue a bit too. i turned the coil for the depths down to just slightly above "dribbling out." Now the ball comes down smoothly enough to where I hold up the left flipper the ball will roll up and over and i can catch it easily with the right. I would start with the coil power. there is no reason for the ball to come screaming out of this vuk.

#13605 4 years ago
Quoted from PinballTilt:

I hated that about the game when I had mine. The fix I found was to lower the power of the vuk as low as it would possibly go. I agree, when that would happen I would shut the machine off and walk away. I had no cliffy in mine and it was happening. Another thing you could try is loosening the inlanes and messing with the geometry slightly before tightening again

I was going to say that too. Could lowering the VUK power correct this?

#13606 4 years ago

I tried, and lowered it to the point that it struggled. I'll keep playing with it though.

#13607 4 years ago
Quoted from KingPinGames:

mine (both the le i had and the ce that i now have) had this issue a bit too. i turned the coil for the depths down to just slightly above "dribbling out." Now the ball comes down smoothly enough to where I hold up the left flipper the ball will roll up and over and i can catch it easily with the right. I would start with the coil power. there is no reason for the ball to come screaming out of this vuk.

I did the same thing by lowering the VUK power to minimally acceptable, and then loosened, adjusted, and tightened the metal guides. The guides won’t move much. I was getting 100% success for months, then decided for some stupid reason to up the VUK power the other day. Now I am losing a ball every other game. Time to lower the VUK power again, although it sometimes results in balls not completely ejecting.

#13608 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

I tried, and lowered it to the point that it struggled. I'll keep playing with it though.

I've watched loads of videos of Eric and Jack Danger playing the CE game. It looks like their VUK is set to default - like mine - where when it comes up from the depths, you keep the left flipper engaged so the ball travels to the right flipper for a catch. I wish I can help you more, but I haven't had this issue - and have to wonder if it's not just a factory hole for the I-Lane drain being 1/64 of an inch too high up the playfield? Also I get serious about my levels and use a digital gauge on my pins. I truly believe it makes a difference, as these modern pins are designed with a digital gauge as well. ; )

#13609 4 years ago

So.... even Alien is getting another huge code update. Where is Pirates?

#13610 4 years ago
Quoted from tatapolus:

So.... even Alien is getting another huge code update. Where is Pirates?

Alien isn’t getting a code update - a bug fix release was found on a hard drive mistakenly shipped to a customer before they shut down. It’s not new content, and is about 2 years old

#13611 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

I tried, and lowered it to the point that it struggled. I'll keep playing with it though.

I’m convinced at least part of the problem with inconsistent VUK kick outs is a very slight amount of play for the plunger in the coil sleeve causing the plunger to not always line up exactly the same way to strike the ball on the next kick out. It seems to only take the slightest fraction of an inch difference in how the plunger sits on the coil rest to change it. I really think if the coil rests were shaped in a bit of a scoop it would force the end of the plunger to sit in the same spot every time and lead to consistent results.

For almost a year from day 1 of owning STTNG & POTC, the left cannon VUK on STTNG was horribly inconsistent (often sending the ball flying off the wire into the outline) and on POTC both my Tortuga and Depths were completely inconsistent. Tortuga would come out soft one kick, then like a rocket the next, and then maybe somewhere in between on the one after that. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it. I finally noticed that the ball was hitting the Tortuga deflector in a slightly different way each time, and figured that might be from the plunger not hitting it the same way every time. In thinking of this as a possible cause I doubted it at first because I figured the plunger must get itself corrected to hit the ball straight every time when it’s pulled through by the magnet. But I tested it by nudging the plunger resting position just very slightly to the side a bit, lowering the playfield, and testing the next kick out. In testing when I nudged the rest spot of the plunger slightly the ball came out inconsistently. When I made sure the end of the plunger was centered on the coil rest it was super consistent. I also noticed that after every test the end of the plunger was coming to a landing slightly off center one direction or another a lot of the time, meaning from one kick out to the next it was possible to have different results. The inconsistency is from the ball getting hit at a slightly different angle and ejecting just a bit differently, so it’s not hitting the scoop or deflector the same on the way out every time.

So I decided to try giving the end of the plunger a different surface to land on. I taped a square cut of some foam window stripping/insulation to the coil rest to give the end of the plunger a better landing pad, hoping it might come to rest more consistently. It INSTANTLY worked. After never kicking the ball out the same way twice in a row my Tortuga suddenly hit the left flipper solidly EVERY time. I did the same thing on the STTNG cannon and it also was instantly fixed. That was 3 or 4 months ago now and both VUKs continue to kick out the same shot every time.

For the Depths, it’s unfortunately a bit different because the plunger lies horizontal instead of vertical, and because of this the plunger seems to have way more play in it. I figured because it’s horizontal it’ll be tough to use the same solution with weather stripping to get the end to rest consistently in the same spot. I played with the coil power up & down, played with the coil rest, and wiggled the plunger a bit, and somehow got it to be more consistent. It’s way better than it was, but still not rock solid consistency like the others. I forget if I ever did the weather stripping or anything else. I’ll check tonight. I don’t remember the power setting I ended up at but I think I lowered it a fair amount.

I really think if there were a way to shape the coil rests into a bit of a scoop shape so the plunger was forced to sit in the same spot every time it would make a big difference in VUK consistencies. Sorry this is so crazy long without a specific solution to the Depths, but thought I’d share in case anyone has issues with other inconsistent VUKs and in case anyone can figure out a way to create something that would have the horizontal Depths plunger land & sit consistently on that coil rest.

#13612 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I’m convinced at least part of the problem with inconsistent VUK kick outs is a very slight amount of play for the plunger in the coil sleeve causing the plunger to not always line up exactly the same way to strike the ball on the next kick out. It seems to only take the slightest fraction of an inch difference in how the plunger sits on the coil rest to change it. I really think if the coil rests were shaped in a bit of a scoop it would force the end of the plunger to sit in the same spot every time and lead to consistent results.
For almost a year from day 1 of owning STTNG & POTC, the left cannon VUK on STTNG was horribly inconsistent (often sending the ball flying off the wire into the outline) and on POTC both my Tortuga and Depths were completely inconsistent. Tortuga would come out soft one kick, then like a rocket the next, and then maybe somewhere in between on the one after that. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it. I finally noticed that the ball was hitting the Tortuga deflector in a slightly different way each time, and figured that might be from the plunger not hitting it the same way every time. In thinking of this as a possible cause I doubted it at first because I figured the plunger must get itself corrected to hit the ball straight every time when it’s pulled through by the magnet. But I tested it by nudging the plunger resting position just very slightly to the side a bit, lowering the playfield, and testing the next kick out. In testing when I nudged the rest spot of the plunger slightly the ball came out inconsistently. When I made sure the end of the plunger was centered on the coil rest it was super consistent. I also noticed that after every test the end of the plunger was coming to a landing slightly off center one direction or another a lot of the time, meaning from one kick out to the next it was possible to have different results. The inconsistency is from the ball getting hit at a slightly different angle and ejecting just a bit differently, so it’s not hitting the scoop or deflector the same on the way out every time.
So I decided to try giving the end of the plunger a different surface to land on. I taped a square cut of some foam window stripping/insulation to the coil rest to give the end of the plunger a better landing pad, hoping it might come to rest more consistently. It INSTANTLY worked. After never kicking the ball out the same way twice in a row my Tortuga suddenly hit the left flipper solidly EVERY time. I did the same thing on the STTNG cannon and it also was instantly fixed. That was 3 or 4 months ago now and both VUKs continue to kick out the same shot every time.
For the Depths, it’s unfortunately a bit different because the plunger lies horizontal instead of vertical, and because of this the plunger seems to have way more play in it. I figured because it’s horizontal it’ll be tough to use the same solution with weather stripping to get the end to rest consistently in the same spot. I played with the coil power up & down, played with the coil rest, and wiggled the plunger a bit, and somehow got it to be more consistent. It’s way better than it was, but still not rock solid consistency like the others. I forget if I ever did the weather stripping or anything else. I’ll check tonight. I don’t remember the power setting I ended up at but I think I lowered it a fair amount.
I really think if there were a way to shape the coil rests into a bit of a scoop shape so the plunger was forced to sit in the same spot every time it would make a big difference in VUK consistencies. Sorry this is so crazy long without a specific solution to the Depths, but thought I’d share in case anyone has issues with other inconsistent VUKs and in case anyone can figure out a way to create something that would have the horizontal Depths plunger land & sit consistently on that coil rest.

Interesting observations. It seems to me the coil sleeve ought to be keeping the plunger aligned side to side. I wonder if the weatherstripping pad is basically just reducing the overall travel of the plunger, and -that- is what is causing more consistency?

That pad idea might also help with another issue I'm having (overly aggro VUK on Wonka CE even at lowest level)

#13613 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

Interesting observations. It seems to me the coil sleeve ought to be keeping the plunger aligned side to side. I wonder if the weatherstripping pad is basically just reducing the overall travel of the plunger, and -that- is what is causing more consistency?
That pad idea might also help with another issue I'm having (overly aggro VUK on Wonka CE even at lowest level)

Yep, I thought the same thing. I would think that even with that play in the fit the pull of the magnet should straighten the plunger’s angle & location of strike the same way every time.

I hadn’t thought about the reduced travel making the difference. Definitely a possibility though. Either way I think the core issue is a super slight inconsistency in where/how the plunger is striking the ball that’s causing variations in the kick outs. Good luck with it!

#13614 4 years ago
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

Alien isn’t getting a code update - a bug fix release was found on a hard drive mistakenly shipped to a customer before they shut down. It’s not new content, and is about 2 years old

Oh why is there always someone who is starting to argue... My original comment was ment to be taken with a smile... sorry if that wasn't the case The changelog of the Alien 1.3 Beta update is quite impressive. Fixes quite a few things that will make the game even better. I don't know when it was created, but if it's being released now, then it is a new code update for me and many other owners. And I would love to have a update for my Pirates that adds the final Wizard mode as promised.

#13615 4 years ago
Quoted from tatapolus:

Oh why is there always someone who is starting to argue... My original comment was ment to be taken with a smile... sorry if that wasn't the case The changelog of the Alien 1.3 Beta update is quite impressive. Fixes quite a few things that will make the game even better. I don't know when it was created, but if it's being released now, then it is a new code update for me and many other owners. And I would love to have a update for my Pirates that adds the final Wizard mode as promised.

Yes! My comment was only meant to clarify that no "new work" is being done on Alien - there are many rumors about the game being remade, and in another thread this update was taken as "proof" that a new run was imminent. I do not argue that we need a new Pirates update!!

#13616 4 years ago
Quoted from PinballTilt:

I hated that about the game when I had mine. The fix I found was to lower the power of the vuk as low as it would possibly go. I agree, when that would happen I would shut the machine off and walk away. I had no cliffy in mine and it was happening. Another thing you could try is loosening the inlanes and messing with the geometry slightly before tightening again

FWIW it is definitely not a universal problem; I have NEVER had that happen on my game; very very rarely I have gone or a live catch and have the ball move up the flipper towards that gate and then bounce around such that it actually goes under the gate eventually... but compared to say my Paragon it really is not something to play around.

I con't know what my game does that is different, maybe some rubber hit that slows the ball down or....

#13617 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I’m convinced at least part of the problem with inconsistent VUK kick outs is a very slight amount of play for the plunger in the coil sleeve causing the plunger to not always line up exactly the same way to strike the ball on the next kick out. It seems to only take the slightest fraction of an inch difference in how the plunger sits on the coil rest to change it. I really think if the coil rests were shaped in a bit of a scoop it would force the end of the plunger to sit in the same spot every time and lead to consistent results.
For almost a year from day 1 of owning STTNG & POTC, the left cannon VUK on STTNG was horribly inconsistent (often sending the ball flying off the wire into the outline) and on POTC both my Tortuga and Depths were completely inconsistent. Tortuga would come out soft one kick, then like a rocket the next, and then maybe somewhere in between on the one after that. There wasn’t any rhyme or reason to it. I finally noticed that the ball was hitting the Tortuga deflector in a slightly different way each time, and figured that might be from the plunger not hitting it the same way every time. In thinking of this as a possible cause I doubted it at first because I figured the plunger must get itself corrected to hit the ball straight every time when it’s pulled through by the magnet. But I tested it by nudging the plunger resting position just very slightly to the side a bit, lowering the playfield, and testing the next kick out. In testing when I nudged the rest spot of the plunger slightly the ball came out inconsistently. When I made sure the end of the plunger was centered on the coil rest it was super consistent. I also noticed that after every test the end of the plunger was coming to a landing slightly off center one direction or another a lot of the time, meaning from one kick out to the next it was possible to have different results. The inconsistency is from the ball getting hit at a slightly different angle and ejecting just a bit differently, so it’s not hitting the scoop or deflector the same on the way out every time.
So I decided to try giving the end of the plunger a different surface to land on. I taped a square cut of some foam window stripping/insulation to the coil rest to give the end of the plunger a better landing pad, hoping it might come to rest more consistently. It INSTANTLY worked. After never kicking the ball out the same way twice in a row my Tortuga suddenly hit the left flipper solidly EVERY time. I did the same thing on the STTNG cannon and it also was instantly fixed. That was 3 or 4 months ago now and both VUKs continue to kick out the same shot every time.
For the Depths, it’s unfortunately a bit different because the plunger lies horizontal instead of vertical, and because of this the plunger seems to have way more play in it. I figured because it’s horizontal it’ll be tough to use the same solution with weather stripping to get the end to rest consistently in the same spot. I played with the coil power up & down, played with the coil rest, and wiggled the plunger a bit, and somehow got it to be more consistent. It’s way better than it was, but still not rock solid consistency like the others. I forget if I ever did the weather stripping or anything else. I’ll check tonight. I don’t remember the power setting I ended up at but I think I lowered it a fair amount.
I really think if there were a way to shape the coil rests into a bit of a scoop shape so the plunger was forced to sit in the same spot every time it would make a big difference in VUK consistencies. Sorry this is so crazy long without a specific solution to the Depths, but thought I’d share in case anyone has issues with other inconsistent VUKs and in case anyone can figure out a way to create something that would have the horizontal Depths plunger land & sit consistently on that coil rest.

That is interesting, but I am not sure that I understand your solution correctly. Do you fix the foam directly at teh end of teh Plunger so that the foam hits the ball? Does this hold up for long? Would you have a picture.

My Tortuga VUK seems to get weaker the longer I play and then sometimes kicks the ball SDTM.

#13618 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

Interesting observations. It seems to me the coil sleeve ought to be keeping the plunger aligned side to side. I wonder if the weatherstripping pad is basically just reducing the overall travel of the plunger, and -that- is what is causing more consistency?
That pad idea might also help with another issue I'm having (overly aggro VUK on Wonka CE even at lowest level)

I just searched Pinside in general and it seems like scoop/VUK kickout consistency issues are somewhat common. I didn’t see a dedicated forum where this is discussed though. Maybe worth starting one to try to gather various solutions under one roof?

#13619 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I just searched Pinside in general and it seems like scoop/VUK kickout consistency issues are somewhat common. I didn’t see a dedicated forum where this is discussed though. Maybe worth starting one to try to gather various solutions under one roof?

If you start a dedicated forum let us know. ; )

#13620 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I just searched Pinside in general and it seems like scoop/VUK kickout consistency issues are somewhat common. I didn’t see a dedicated forum where this is discussed though. Maybe worth starting one to try to gather various solutions under one roof?

The scoop *hood* has a LOT to do with the VUK success rate too. If it's too wide open, the ball will jitter as it escapes, and sometimes touch the playfield and bounce between them really quickly. This has the effect of reducing the ball velocity so much (in this case) that it might not be able to clear the gate

#13621 4 years ago
Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

The scoop *hood* has a LOT to do with the VUK success rate too. If it's too wide open, the ball will jitter as it escapes, and sometimes touch the playfield and bounce between them really quickly. This has the effect of reducing the ball velocity so much (in this case) that it might not be able to clear the gate

True, but also if it’s pushed through the scoop hood at even a slightly different trajectory each time it can make a big difference in how it comes out. I think the real indicator of the problem is the variation in how it comes out so differently from one shot to the next with no changes made to pitch, coil power, or anything else. If it were just the hood and everything else was consistent then I’d think the ball would at least come out pretty consistently the same way each time vs sometimes faster and sometimes slower.

The issues on my Tortuga & STTNG cannon could have been different than other people, all I know is when I fixed it I didn’t change the deflector or anything else at all. I had previously over the months fiddled with power settings on Tortuga but it never resolved the lack of consistency. When I added the pad to the coil rest it instantly went from zero consistency to 100%. The Depths could certainly be a different issue, but in looking at my Depths I was noticing the ball coming up out of there slightly differently from shot to shot also and just power changes weren’t eliminating that inconsistency.

#13622 4 years ago
Quoted from MurphyPeoples:

If you start a dedicated forum let us know. ; )

LOL. I guess it can’t hurt... said every Pinsider who started a forum that eventually spun wildly off topic into pointless debates

#13623 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

True, but also if it’s pushed through the scoop hood at even a slightly different trajectory each time it can make a big difference in how it comes out. I think the real indicator of the problem is the variation in how it comes out so differently from one shot to the next with no changes made to pitch, coil power, or anything else. If it were just the hood and everything else was consistent then I’d think the ball would at least come out pretty consistently the same way each time vs sometimes faster and sometimes slower.
The issues on my Tortuga & STTNG cannon could have been different than other people, all I know is when I fixed it I didn’t change the deflector or anything else at all. I had previously over the months fiddled with power settings on Tortuga but it never resolved the lack of consistency. When I added the pad to the coil rest it instantly went from zero consistency to 100%. The Depths could certainly be a different issue, but in looking at my Depths I was noticing the ball coming up out of there slightly differently from shot to shot also and just power changes weren’t eliminating that inconsistency.

Totally agree. So you want to eliminate the scoop hood as a possibility The jitter can absolutely cause the sort of horizontal unpredictability you're describing.

#13624 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

LOL. I guess it can’t hurt... said every Pinsider who started a forum that eventually spun wildly off topic into pointless debates

Ok, topic started:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/inconsistent-vuk-kickouts-ideas-for-solutions

#13625 4 years ago
Quoted from dgposter:

I completely agree about the QC concerns at JJP. So much so that it had delayed my purchase of POTC. However, I did finally pull the trigger on an LE from Chris at KingPin Games. Here is what I decided to do to ensure my game has the best chance of arriving at my door in the best possible shape.
I am paying Chris extra to open my game and tweak it for me. He is going to install the Cliffy set, ModCouple disc silencer, new Titan rubber set and the Tilt side art blades. He will then playtest it and dial it in perfectly before shipping it out to me in a wooden crate. Chris follows this thread closely and is aware of what needs to be checked out, so I feel I am in very good hands.
I do realize that there are a number of things that can still happen in shipping from KingPin to me, but I'm ok with that. Most of the issues I'm seeing don't seem related to shipping anyway. I'm just trying to save myself as much frustration and downtime as possible.
I am not saying this is an acceptable solution. Not by a long-shot. But hopefully, JJP is paying attention and is trying to take steps to improve their quality control, so that in the future, their customers don't feel the need to pay 'extra' to help ensure a working product out of the box.

This is a long overdue update to this key post and a shout out to Chris@Kingpin Games.

TL;DR Chris is an awesome distributor!

My original post states that I wanted to maximize my chance of receiving a trouble-free JJP POTCLE, so I hired Chris to have the game shipped from JJP directly to him. He would then inspect the game, add some mods and play test it before shipping to me in a custom-built crate.

Well, the game showed up at Kingpin Games in perfect condition. No issues. He then proceeded to complete the above and shipped it to me in CA. The game arrived and looked perfect from the outside. There was no damage to the shipping crate. However, once I unpacked it, I noticed that the ship wasn’t connected to the back panel, as the bracket holding the ship had sheared off. Then I noticed the same thing had happened to the chest, with that bracket shearing off as well. The right ramp had a crack in the back of it and the monitor had become dislodged and scratched the back glass from the inside.

It was obvious that the crate had been dropped. It wasn’t hard enough to break any glass, but it was enough to cause the above stated damage. Unfortunately, the game was unplayable, and I had to break the news to Chris. More unfortunate was the fact, that since Chris had opened the original box for me and repackaged it, JJP was not liable for any of the damages and it would be a tough road trying to get the shipping company to pay for anything since there was no visible damage to the crate.

However, none of that was necessary, because Chris stepped up and took care of everything for me out of his own pocket! He had JJP send me the new parts I needed to get the game up and running. I installed the parts, fixed the game and it is now 100% perfect! Not only that, Chris also sent me a very generous gift for the time and effort I spent fixing the game.

The first day I talked to Chris to order my POTC, he told me that no matter what, he would do everything in his power to make sure I’m a happy customer. He also told me that he was a man of his word. Chris is absolutely that and more. He is a great distributor that I would highly recommend and will do business with again in the future. Thanks, Chris!

Ok, back to playing this amazing game!

Super exclusive ad from the Pinside Marketplace!
#13626 4 years ago
Quoted from dgposter:

This is a long overdue update to this key post and a shout out to Chris@Kingpin Games.
TL;DR Chris is an awesome distributor!
My original post states that I wanted to maximize my chance of receiving a trouble-free JJP POTCLE, so I hired Chris to have the game shipped from JJP directly to him. He would then inspect the game, add some mods and play test it before shipping to me in a custom-built crate.
Well, the game showed up at Kingpin Games in perfect condition. No issues. He then proceeded to complete the above and shipped it to me in CA. The game arrived and looked perfect from the outside. There was no damage to the shipping crate. However, once I unpacked it, I noticed that the ship wasn’t connected to the back panel, as the bracket holding the ship had sheared off. Then I noticed the same thing had happened to the chest, with that bracket shearing off as well. The right ramp had a crack in the back of it and the monitor had become dislodged and scratched the back glass from the inside.
It was obvious that the crate had been dropped. It wasn’t hard enough to break any glass, but it was enough to cause the above stated damage. Unfortunately, the game was unplayable, and I had to break the news to Chris. More unfortunate was the fact, that since Chris had opened the original box for me and repackaged it, JJP was not liable for any of the damages and it would be a tough road trying to get the shipping company to pay for anything since there was no visible damage to the crate.
However, none of that was necessary, because Chris stepped up and took care of everything for me out of his own pocket! He had JJP send me the new parts I needed to get the game up and running. I installed the parts, fixed the game and it is now 100% perfect! Not only that, Chris also sent me a very generous gift for the time and effort I spent fixing the game.
The first day I talked to Chris to order my POTC, he told me that no matter what, he would do everything in his power to make sure I’m a happy customer. He also told me that he was a man of his word. Chris is absolutely that and more. He is a great distributor that I would highly recommend and will do business with again in the future. Thanks, Chris!
Ok, back to playing this amazing game!

thank you for the review and the compliments. it was a terrible endeavor, but in the end (with JJP's help on getting the parts) it was taken care of.

#13627 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

[quoted image]

Did the CE topper change significantly from the launch version?

#13628 4 years ago
Quoted from cooked71:

Did the CE topper change significantly from the launch version?

AFAIK there was only one CE topper made for POTC, the motorized ship in a bottle.

#13629 4 years ago
Quoted from dgposter:

This is a long overdue update to this key post and a shout out to Chris@Kingpin Games.
TL;DR Chris is an awesome distributor!
My original post states that I wanted to maximize my chance of receiving a trouble-free JJP POTCLE, so I hired Chris to have the game shipped from JJP directly to him. He would then inspect the game, add some mods and play test it before shipping to me in a custom-built crate.
Well, the game showed up at Kingpin Games in perfect condition. No issues. He then proceeded to complete the above and shipped it to me in CA. The game arrived and looked perfect from the outside. There was no damage to the shipping crate. However, once I unpacked it, I noticed that the ship wasn’t connected to the back panel, as the bracket holding the ship had sheared off. Then I noticed the same thing had happened to the chest, with that bracket shearing off as well. The right ramp had a crack in the back of it and the monitor had become dislodged and scratched the back glass from the inside.
It was obvious that the crate had been dropped. It wasn’t hard enough to break any glass, but it was enough to cause the above stated damage. Unfortunately, the game was unplayable, and I had to break the news to Chris. More unfortunate was the fact, that since Chris had opened the original box for me and repackaged it, JJP was not liable for any of the damages and it would be a tough road trying to get the shipping company to pay for anything since there was no visible damage to the crate.
However, none of that was necessary, because Chris stepped up and took care of everything for me out of his own pocket! He had JJP send me the new parts I needed to get the game up and running. I installed the parts, fixed the game and it is now 100% perfect! Not only that, Chris also sent me a very generous gift for the time and effort I spent fixing the game.
The first day I talked to Chris to order my POTC, he told me that no matter what, he would do everything in his power to make sure I’m a happy customer. He also told me that he was a man of his word. Chris is absolutely that and more. He is a great distributor that I would highly recommend and will do business with again in the future. Thanks, Chris!
Ok, back to playing this amazing game!

Ok. wow. That is the definition of above and beyond. wow. Remarkable.

#13630 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

Interesting observations. It seems to me the coil sleeve ought to be keeping the plunger aligned side to side. I wonder if the weatherstripping pad is basically just reducing the overall travel of the plunger, and -that- is what is causing more consistency?
That pad idea might also help with another issue I'm having (overly aggro VUK on Wonka CE even at lowest level)

I don’t know if it will help you but I checked and my Depths coil is currently set at 13. I guess I should have checked my pitch too. I think it’s between 6.6-6.8 though. I posted these pictures in the other thread too, but here are pictures of what I did on my Tortuga and STTNG VUKs.

3228507D-1602-479A-B237-F90F837EE8CC (resized).jpeg3228507D-1602-479A-B237-F90F837EE8CC (resized).jpeg95C4CB14-59C4-41DA-B7AC-8C4FF0125BB9 (resized).jpeg95C4CB14-59C4-41DA-B7AC-8C4FF0125BB9 (resized).jpeg
#13631 4 years ago
Quoted from lasermel:

Ok, so you know that pesky VUK launch right down the left outlane problem? I'm sure you do! Well, I figured out what to do about it! The nylon part of the plunger is FLAT on the end which makes getting a straight, consistently centered hit on the ball nearly impossible. Non-centered hits cause the ball to hit the sides of the VUK bracket in all sorts of random ways on the way up. So, if you look at most other VUK plungers, they have a little "dish" in the end that fits the ball perfectly, meaning it would be easy to balance a ball without a problem on the end and it causes the ball to basically self center when it's struck by the plunger. Stern's plunger needs this to center the ball and perform properly.
If I had another VUK plunger of the same size with the "dish" I would have replaced Stern's with that, but since I didn't.... I took the bracket holding the coil and plunger assembly off (5 screws - easy) and unplugged the coil. Then I put an old pinball in a vise and used a propane torch to heat it up to a fairly high temperature. Once hot, I carefully pressed the end of the plunger on the ball and it melted the "dish" into the end. To test, I simply balanced the ball on the end and it stayed perfectly centered.
I then put all the parts back and tested. 100% perfect! I lowered the power to about 200 cause it was slamming into the targets pretty hard. I have played a bunch of games since and no more outlane launches or getting pissed off cause it happened during a great scoring game
Have fun!

I just found this post from the Elvira club thread about VUK issues. Interesting solution to melt the tip of the plunger into a dish shape so it pushes the ball more evenly. It would be really nice to find a good solution to make the Depths kickout consistent.

#13632 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I just found this post from the Elvira club thread about VUK issues. Interesting solution to melt the tip of the plunger into a dish shape so it pushes the ball more evenly. It would be really nice to find a good solution to make the Depths kickout consistent.

Victor.......we are waiting ....; )

#13633 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

I just found this post from the Elvira club thread about VUK issues. Interesting solution to melt the tip of the plunger into a dish shape so it pushes the ball more evenly. It would be really nice to find a good solution to make the Depths kickout consistent.

I may have found the solution: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jjpirates-of-the-caribbean-troubleshooting-tips-issues/page/49#post-5406496

#13634 4 years ago

So no problem with inconsistency of the kickout speed and it was just the gate? Nice! Glad you got it solved. I still want to try to find a way to resolve kickout consistency on mine. I think I'm going to try just a bit of window stripping on it.

#13635 4 years ago
Quoted from EaglePin:

So no problem with inconsistency of the kickout speed and it was just the gate? Nice! Glad you got it solved. I still want to try to find a way to resolve kickout consistency on mine. I think I'm going to try just a bit of window stripping on it.

Yep for me it was 100% the gate. LE and CE machines both working 100% now!

#13637 4 years ago

Sold. Thanks for the interest everyone.

#13638 4 years ago
Quoted from PinballTilt:

If anyone is looking, I have a few new in box pirates mods to sell. I can't seem to get a response from the store, so my loss is your gain. Got them for Christmas but had already sold my pirates.
Full set of pirates cliffies. Includes the new tia dalma and black Pearl protectors. $100 shipped
Kraken left ramp mod $40 shipped
Pop bumper barrel cap (just one of them) $15 shipped[quoted image]

I’ll take the full set of Cliffy’s. PM me your PayPal address, thanks.

#13639 4 years ago
Quoted from KingPinGames:

thank you for the review and the compliments. it was a terrible endeavor, but in the end (with JJP's help on getting the parts) it was taken care of.

If people aren’t shopping around to find an amazing distributor like Chris, you don’t know what you’re missing. Until you have a real issue you don’t know how good your distributor is or isn’t. Zach is another one of the “good guys”.

On another note I’m definitely missing my POTC. I’m sad to see they’ve continued to go up in price. They are in Alien territory. But the crazy thing is the maker of the game is still in business. Jersey Jack missed a huge opportunity to make more. They really should make more.

#13640 4 years ago
Quoted from f3honda4me:

If people aren’t shopping around to find an amazing distributor like Chris, you don’t know what you’re missing. Until you have a real issue you don’t know how good your distributor is or isn’t. Zach is another one of the “good guys”.
On another note I’m definitely missing my POTC. I’m sad to see they’ve continued to go up in price. JJ missed a huge opportunity to make more.

Why’d you sell it off?

We are kind of re-discovering POTC all over again. Such a great game.

#13641 4 years ago
Quoted from zaphX:

Why’d you sell it off?
We are kind of re-discovering POTC all over again. Such a great game.

I have a very small collection so it’s hard to keep from refreshing things, and at the time prices were higher than NIB so we decided to sell. 6 months later of course regretting it. I want to buy one again but prices are too high.

#13642 4 years ago
Quoted from f3honda4me:

Jersey Jack missed a huge opportunity to make more. They really should make more.

That topic has been pretty much beaten to death so I might aswell have another swing.

There is only a small vocal minority that has said they ”seem” to want more. The market demand has shown otherwise with local nib machines sitting unsold for 12+ months. With the number (compared to a nib stern) of fresh out of boxes tweaks/fixes required it doesn’t make a great customer experience (regardless of how good the game is).

As much as a few members would like them to make more I don’t think it would be financially responsible when they have other future titles that likely have magnitudes more demand.

Do you ramp up production for an older machine that might sell another couple of hundred at best OR a new title with atleast a couple of thousand units?

With so many new machines Competing for the same customer dollars in the next 12 months I’d take the safer option.

#13643 4 years ago
Quoted from koops:

The market demand has shown otherwise with local nib machines sitting unsold for 12+ months.

Australia has not been representative of the market on this title. Those NIB machines have now since been re-imported to the US. The fact they did sell at the inflated 12k prices proves the market demand.

No expects LE's to go back on the line. If re-made, JJP would make new 11.5-12.5K special edition pirates in limited numbers (Maybe 100). You really think that's a worse idea than an 11.5k Yellow Brick Road Edition the seven year old WOZ? Who was asking for that?

#13644 4 years ago

What 12K prices? I bought mine for 10.5 including air freight to the US. The game took over a year to sell 1000 units. I love mine and won’t sell it, but it’s never going to sell in big numbers.

#13645 4 years ago
Quoted from bbulkley:

What 12K prices?

Look at the current market. Again, any new special edition wouldn't be made to "sell in big numbers." Congrats on getting one. I'd hold on to it too. I think the fact that most owners aren't planning to sell is what has driven the prices up.

#13646 4 years ago
Quoted from bbulkley:

What 12K prices? I bought mine for 10.5 including air freight to the US. The game took over a year to sell 1000 units. I love mine and won’t sell it, but it’s never going to sell in big numbers.

You can't accurately say "it took a year to sell 1000," because more than 3/4 of that year the game had a negative advance reputation because of disc-gate and trunk-gate and VERY few people had hands-on with it.

It was only entering wider hands-on awareness the last 2-3 months it was being made and when sales started to take off, the end of production had already been announced. You bought your 10,500 reimport, what? 6 weeks ago? Used LEs are changing hands at $12,500-$13,000 now as supply is now fixed, and very few sellers. CE have gone for over $20k NIB on two recent occasions that I know of. There's a market of at LEAST YBR-level sales (probably 2x-3x YBR-level units) for another run and YBR+ prices.

Look at the pinside marketplace for the last two weeks. A USED HUO LE (#0001) sold for $14,500. Prices are on the rise. Be glad you managed to get a very good deal 6 or so weeks ago, but don't imply that means the pricing is where you bought it for the market. It's not.

#13647 4 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

You can't accurately say "it took a year to sell 1000,"

Look at the pinside marketplace for the last two weeks.

It literally took over a year - it's simply a statement of fact.

Yes, prices rose in the last two weeks - that's supply and demand for you - any time the supply drops to zero it's going to affect prices. How is that evidence of a large unfilled market demand? It's a natural market adjustment to the new supply level.

#13648 4 years ago
Quoted from bbulkley:

It literally took over a year - it's simply a statement of fact.
Yes, prices rose in the last two weeks - that's supply and demand for you - any time the supply drops to zero it's going to affect prices. How is that evidence of a large unfilled market demand? It's a natural market adjustment to the new supply level.

The point is that in that year the sales were not slow and spotty all year, sputtering along. The interest level for the general pin community was around 3/10, maybe 4/10 for most of that year, which made sales VERY SLOW. However, interest accelerated to 8/10 or more the last 3 months or so before NIB supply mostly dried up, and then was cut off abruptly while there was substantial, still increasing interest in buying one by an ever-expanding group as awareness of the machine's actual real-world awesomeness grew.

So saying it took a year to move 1000 is misleading, because rather than sputtering all year and then tapering off to a halt, interest and demand was catching fire at the very end as more people were exposed to the actual machine, but AFTER JJP had already scheduled the end of manufacturing. The crazy pricing we're seeing now is just the afterburn of that demand that's still there, with most late-arriving hopefuls now priced out of ever having one. There's EASILY YBR level sales left to pick up, but probably more like 2x-3x YBR sales, or more.

#13649 4 years ago
Quoted from bbulkley:

It literally took over a year - it's simply a statement of fact.
Yes, prices rose in the last two weeks - that's supply and demand for you - any time the supply drops to zero it's going to affect prices. How is that evidence of a large unfilled market demand? It's a natural market adjustment to the new supply level.

That's not accurate. Games started to flow in October of 2018. By February 2019, the LEs were already starting to constrict - people who wanted them could only get CE's (happened to two people I know.). Shortly thereafter those also dried up.

POTC was effectively "hard to get" by late March 2019, save for ops hoarding them and this cache of (surprisingly) unsold Australian units returning to the states.

This whole POTC fiasco is our own fault, and that includes me. The Pinside hivemind turned against the game when 2 mechs were nerfed. Complaints about the disc artwork happened, deposits got pulled, etc. If I were JJP, I would cut my parts orders and truncate the run too given that kind of market force. It's a damned shame because it's one of the best pins made in recent memory and IMO will stand the test of time as one of the greats for years to come. It deserved the benefit of the doubt when the mechs were nerfed, and it deserved a much larger run than it received.

This should be a lesson to us all as a community about giving a game a chance - by actually playing it - before rallying the troops and shitting on it.

In fact - here's a crazy idea - if you don't like a game maybe consider not shitting on it at all? Just don't buy it and STFU.

#13650 4 years ago

It’s fun to speculate, and I suspect none of us will ever know the full story.

And agreed about shitting on games! Life’s to short for that.

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