Can anyone describe the texture / quality of the black LE armour powder coat? Is it similar to Stern pro / premium standard armour or higher quality? I've only had a chance to play an LE prototype and more recently a standard production version of the game.

This post describes how to remove the pop bumper assembly to get at the screws.
Put a towel down when you work, so you don’t drop a screw in the scoop!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jjp-pirates-of-the-caribbean-official-owners-and-fan-club/page/64#post-4811415

Thank you zaphx! I couldn’t find the post. Greatly appreciate the link!

Wow - too bad it will not run longer.. yet? But there seem to be a lot out there. I’ll get it eventually - I’m not going to jump on it because of this, but I appreciate the candor! I can’t imagine Wonka or even Toy Story making me jump out of my wallet but who knows when they release ...

Ok not sure what Tortuga screws you mean but to remove Tom, there are 2 Phillips screws in the top of the barrel. Remove, pull barrel with Tom off and to remove him there are 2 screws under the barrel.

Thanks for the heads up. I just placed an order with Mezel. I cancelled it and added this to it. How does it attach?

Fingers crossed pirates sails up the Detroit river tomorrow. That’s how fedex gets here right?

Arrrhhh, just keep a watch out for the black sails.....

Mine should dock next Wednesday thanks to a helpful pinsider

Can’t wait

I think it's always been this way. JJP has just taken care of customers beyond original purchaser when they can.

Has anyone done a music/call outs upgrade to a JJP code before? I feel like that might be a way to make this game awesome”R”!!!!

It comes with red 3M double-sided tape however I wanted access to the hardware underneath, so I used velcro pieces instead. I did the same exact thing with the Mod couple's Kraken because I wanted to have access underneath that as well.

Yes, start button lights. Check to make sure all connections are solid.

I believe the map spins when you hit one of the 3 letters?

Yes, I turned down the power. Some have said the bracket was also loose, but that shouldn't cause the ball to hit the glass. If you're getting inconsistent shots out of Tortuga, the bracket is likely loose.

I'm glad you love it but I wouldn't , it looks exactly like the cheap plywood we get at work from time to time . Every shooter Lane I have seen is blonde wood with maybe some grain lines . You can see in the picture the layers of plywood aren't the same thickness . Below is a picture of the Pirates shooter Lane compared to a hobbit . I can't believe they used this type of plywood on playfields . Just my thoughts .

IMG20190227180539 (resized).jpgIMG_20190227_181041 (resized).jpg

Sounds like it's a common problem like it's been suggested I may need a washer there. I did pick it up directly from the factory so there was no real shipping

I ordered as well. It's hard to look at it off now bc it looks so unfinished

What kind, size, and color Velcro did you use? Is the Velcro color visible on the Kraken?

In the end what matters, and what only matters, is that these playfields do not dimple like some of the Sterns.

Why you are so upset about a layer that only serves one single purpose, which is spacing out and creating a sandwich effect, will remain your little secret. Unproductive bickering.

Not looking to open this debate again, but I’m a firm believer that dimpling is unavoidable unless you don’t play the machine regardless of manufacturer.

My POTC is dimpling at around the same rate as my Star Wars. No worse no better.

Is everyone installing cliffy's?

The great dimpling debate! Yes , mine is as well. As will all pins that use cc methods!! It's a steel (cannon) ball bouncing around at super speed! And before anyone says well they could use a harder clear, remember the harder it is the more prone to cracking and chipping the pf is!
Until they start using outside edge's idea this will continue.
On another note, I am glad folks like LTG, @zaphx, @yelobird, and the others in this group are helping each other out with getting their POTC up and going. This is the reason why I enjoy pinside so much!

I have yet to order, but I will be!

I ordered them before I placed my order for the game this week lol. I'll be installing them before I play the first game.

Is a shooter eject protector such as the one from Pinball Life necessary on Pirates with the two rails going all the way into the shooter lane?

I change my statement to maybe!

Cliff told me "no", not needed. I kind of question that myself. Ordered a week ago ... waiting for the cliffy set to arrive.

No, too much work to get to the holes on this one.

One last thing to point out regarding dimpling - JJP does sell playfields on their site, $999 for the LE. If you’re really concerned about wear and appearance, buy a spare playfield and put it on ice. Then play the hell out of your game without worry over dimples, scratches, chips, etc.

I consider this game a lifetime keeper. Because it’s so special I may get one of those playfields myself.

I ordered them 2 weeks ago still waiting on them.

Not to correct you but your comparison is not the same. In POTC JJP by design Milled the shooter lane Parallel to the surface for the creative lane design VS traditional (Most other games as you show) which are machined at an incline angle to the woods surface. All laminated plywood has lamination layers in every grade and would look exactly as shown if machined parallel to said layer.

I don't think it's possible as I believe the code is encrypted. It's not like the stern pins where you can access code.

I'm not. Not that Cliff doesn't make great products....but really what's the point? So you cover a perfectly good and beautiful play field with some ugly metal pieces to avoid the possibility of some slight chipping? You also change slow ball roll trajectory which effects game play (my biggest grip with cliffys).

My philosophy would be that if you do get chipping and it bothers you, THEN you can cover it will a cliffy. You would still never know there was chipping below and in the mean time you got to play the game as it was intended.

It's like when you see people driving around with those black door edge guards. I just can't help but laugh. They look like shit. Same philosophy.....if you get the edges dinged up...THEN cover it up.

I still have a hard time believing that a HUO machine could chip in those hole area. That boggles my mind.

A lot of the problems here are not as common as people might think. In forums if a handful of people have a problem, people tend to think this is a common problem, when in reality only a very small percentage probably have the issue. Look at the "cracked decals" issue in the MBr thread for example.

Why would they DO THAT?! Even most video game developers are leaving their code open to modding anymore. If their licenses are so prohibitive, then let us change it ourselves. It's almost rude.

This may be different now on DI and POTC but I can go into my WOZ and change stuff just by going to a terminal. Also updates are not encrypted, so you can change images and sounds directly in the update .zip and then install it

“No real shipping” so you opted to keep it at JJP and play it there? Lol sorry I had to poke at that lol. You will get it dialed in and Love this game in no time and there are many here to help! Aaaargh On!

I also have not installed cliffys. My game has about 1000 plays on it and here are the map and tortuga holes. They look great. The right side of the map hole has a factory piece of mylar that was installed with a "bubble" so that's the mylar bubble/damage you're seeing, not PF damage.

IMG_3954 (resized).jpg

IMG_3955 (resized).jpg

For the cost of JJP machines, it's hard to believe they don't have factory protectors. Make the LE $9510 for a couple pieces of bent steel.

Ordered mine feb 2 still waiting for them and i am not worried about it.

This is one man and he is getting hammered by everybody! this guy is here to help us.

Stop complaining about wait times!

Without him you have nothing, then what?

A lot of people, me included, don't like how cliffy type protectors effect gameplay, and don't install them for home use. Now, if you are putting a game on route to get beat, it's a different story.

Just keep your games clean, and with fresh balls, and you will be fine.

Well somebuddy put the orginal theme song in then. I do not think it is that easy tho.

If this was able to be done I'd imagine someone would have done it by now to allow us to put in movie sound track music and voice clips.

Looking into it. This game needs OST music so bad it hurts. If it's just replacing a couple of files I'd be all over it. Sterns are getting the sound mod treatment all over the place. There's no reason our more expensive machine should be less accessible.

I must be the outside odd duck on this subject. I personally Love the Original sound track JJP created and how its integrated. Building suspense where it needs to be and whimsical in places that are fun. Absolutely brilliant in my opinion. To listen to a sound track Over and Over would drive me batty. Kind of the Only thing I dislike about Munsters at the moment. To me, creating something New is appreciated and creative. To copy and paste a repeating track not so much. But then again I am odd that way.....lol

I am with you. Initially I thought the game suffered from not having the movie soundtrack, but I’ve grown to really love and appreciate the custom soundtrack they created.

After 100 games played I have quite a few dimples. I don't care. I bought the game to play it. On my game the dimples are evenly dispersed and not concentrated in one area. All good for me.

Maybe I do it like zaphX and buy a spare pf to have peace of mind...

The soundtrack they did is incredible. Fits the game perfectly and doesn't get boring.

Having a new issue with my black pearl ship, now it seems to be stuck in calibration mode indefinitely from the moment I turn on the game. I've tried getting it to stop in settings under the device test but nothing seems to stop it. Any advice would be appreciated!

Most of the time I or the wife is playing we have our own music going anyway. So you can hear POTC but more music in the back ground. Plus I get to play my 80's arcade music so I don't really care about loading music into the pin.
I must be lacking in the playing of my pin as I only have a little over 300 plays on mine.

I get that not everyone would want to change the music. But there are some who would. But I don’t know if it’s possible as I thought the comment was made by JJP that the code is encrypted and can’t be changed.

Are the left/right Pearl optos firing as they should? Did one break, or a wire to one break?