JJP Pirates of the Caribbean Official Owners and Fan Club!

I just got my LE last week, and am noticing the same thing with the topper... crazy flickering (and actually I think it might be dead now). Wondering if a wire got pinched, I plan to check it out later.

My first impressions are similar -- WOW! I don't think it's just psychological with the price tag... this is really a fantastic and fun game.

I am holding out hope that more cinematics find their way into the game over the lifespan of code updates, but I know I'm dreaming when hoping that some official licensed assets will be released. It's a shame that some of the most iconic movie music in history didn't make it in, musta been prohibitively expensive. Just reminds me that our pinball hobby isn't really mainstream again yet. That said, it's staggering how good the music is, and how it feels "Piratey" without being officially licensed.

Because there's so much going on in the game and everything seems to be stackable, new players are having a hard time getting drawn into chapters. It seems like every shot is lit all the time, making it tough to see just what shots you're going for during a mode without looking up to see what characters are still left to collect. Once players notice the mode shots are actually the small targets, not the huge red pieces of eight targets, things start to come into focus.

Here's my unboxing/first week's experience:

- As mentioned, the topper lighting is flickery/flaky

- A couple of weird QC issues: 1.) the grounding strap was blocking a leg bolt plate hole, I had to get in there and wiggle it over. There was enough play that it wasn't a big deal once I figured out what it was. 2.) the coin door was damaged. I don't think this could have been done in shipping as there are huge foam blocks protecting the shooter rod. I've reached out to my distributor on this one.
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- The tests report I have a few switches stuck, none of which appear to be affecting gameplay and all in awkward to reach spots. I'm putting off adjusting them.

- The ball gets stuck on edge of the black pearl between the flippers. I have to raise the right flipper and as the ship rocks, bat it down with the backside of the flipper. Not sure if there's an adjustment for that.
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- I find it hard to lock a ball in the chest. I've adjusted the flipper power up (to default, it was under default as shipped) but still tricky. Maybe just need to practice to hit it in the sweet spot.

- I'll be looking into a lighting mod for under the apron by the flippers as it's rather dark there... but only if it nicely integrates with the rest of the GI

- It seems to take awhile to "wind down" a ball... it seems it's registered in the trough, but it's like animations need to finish or something before the bonus starts counting up. I'd love to be able to skip ahead to the next ball.

I'm enjoying things more each game I put in. Beautiful work, JJP team!

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Anyone else find the animation time to end a chapter when you drain to be rather slow? Feature request: End mode immediately on drain, rather than "wind down". Or allow skipping.

I was 100% disappointed about the lack of licensed music and callouts... until I got the game.

Now, I'm blown away by the music. It makes the game more of a generic-feeling pirate theme, which I'm okay with. And I say that as a lover of licensed themes.

Sure, having the main theme play at some point would be AWESOME, but the music and sounds that are in this game is astounding. I REALLY thought I'd miss the Pirates music in the game and it's just a non-issue. This game is great.

You're not wrong... the callouts in classic Bally Williams games are pretty stellar. I couldn't imagine ST:TNG without all the actors. But I'm happy not having a bunch of samples pulled from the movies.

Ya gotta figure this is coming. Pretty big advantages to having Internet connectivity. Reporting errors/status/earnings from locations, downloading updates. Maybe put a bitcoin miner in there

How long until we see DLC for our pins?

Pretty sure it takes it when you hit END, however it also uses facial detection, so if your face is too distorted to be recognized, it reverts to a picture taken earlier (when you're entering?)

J.

I know others have had problems with their LE toppers, just thought I'm post a video of what I was experiencing.

- When it's working, it flickers a lot when it fades in and out; definitely not smooth. I think this is unfortunately the expected behavior?
- It either had a flaky connection or was shorting out

Shortly after I stopped the video, the wire just came off in my hand, so I'll take off the topper and solder it back together. But I'll wait for the expected JJ service bulletin on this to come out first.

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There's a setting for turning off the in-between-ball instructions. What I'm referring to is:

- Mode Running
- Ball Drains
- Mode-over animation/summary (not skippable) <== THIS
- Ball Over Animation/summary (skippable)
- In-between hit/tip (skippable)
- Ball fed to shooter lane

This is probably only bugging me because I'm still learning the game, and when my ball time is short, I just want to get the next ball into the shooter lane ASAP.

It was actually dead until I wiggled it a bit. Then it came back on, and I started filming. I just wanted to get an idea of the position it was in when it was shorting/off.

That said, thanks for the confirmation about the behavior when it was working. I thought that the flicker was so jarring that maybe it was part of my shorting issue, but I guess it's behaving as intended.

You're right. BUT... this is a different game.

Most pinball machines I play for the modes. POTC plays differently. There are a bunch of different simultaneous objectives, but I think the name of the game for me at the moment is really multiballs. I enjoy the distraction of the pirate lanes, and the chapters are important for points and to advance towards wizard modes, but mainly I'm chasing the multiballs and figuring out how to maximize them.

From what I've seen, the wizard modes are more like your traditional "modes" where they have an adventure feel to them. Chapters, as you've noted, are just shot checklists regardless of which movie or scene it's from. I do enjoy the color matching and music changes though!

Had some free time today and decided to look into the switch errors I've had since receiving the game...

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I was kinda hoping they'd go away with some play. No such luck.

The right rubber was an easy adjustment from below the playfield. #s 09, 10, and 12 though made me think I had a wiring problem. I got the Black Pearl out, and sure enough, as others have reported... severed wire:

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It's weird... it's a clean cut, not really sure how that could have happened. I suspect sabotage at the factory.

Anyhow, no big deal fixing that up:

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I was hoping that would be the end of it. But I'm still experiencing one problem. #09 is showing bad, in red. I guess that just means that it hasn't ever registered? Either way, the switch still isn't registering in tests despite the wiring now looking good (and the other 2 switches daisy chained are working now).

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Despite what I've heard, the pearl is a pain to take out. Mainly due to that finicky long allen head screw in the back. Threading that thing back in was a MAJOR pain. I'm sure I'll have it apart and back together at least once more before I get this switch figured out.

It's weird though, everything looks good, so I'm not really sure where to start now.

Thoughts?

Actually... shoot. Looking through my other photos, I'm now seeing that it appears as thought the two green wires were likely soldered on to the switch, and the wire itself broke off. Thanks makes a lot more sense.

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It's certainly not silent... I wouldn't say it's particularly noisy, but even with the game volume pretty loud, you can still hear the disc in an otherwise quiet room. I can imagine how noisy the 3-spinner must have been.

Yup, going shopping tonight because I have to get it out again to fix my fix.

It's a 1/8" hex bit to remove the bolt holding the ship.

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Whelp, at least I figured out why I suck at loading the cannon!

It appears to work every 10th attempt or so.

I've tried incrementally adjusting the power on that coil up until max, and it's the same behavior.

Any ideas on what can be done to get the cannon door to stay open?

I'll mess with it tonight, but would love a photo or more of a description if anyone would be so kind.

If I get 'er fixed, I'll be sure to post a video clip.

Thanks WOLFMANCAT! That did the trick. I lied about taking a video because your photos definitely make it clear. Just a slight bend down and it's now working reliably for me.

J.

I had a weird thing happen tonight. Was putting up a solid game and was on my 2nd liar's dice when I made the liar selection and the game... crashed? ... with a tilt. Very odd. Wonder if anyone else has seen that?

Nope, I wagered souls, and I don't know if I won or lost, because as soon as I clicked LIAR it flashed to tilt.

It's a computer, and I'm a developer, so I'm not surprised or upset. Just thought I'd see if anyone else encountered it.

Their marketing material says the ship will not be sold separately. Makes sense -- if I were a CE owner, seeing the LE rubes with my sweet topper would piss me off.

Uhm.... presuming you mean 1.5 Million. Which is still hella impressive for less than a dozen games on it. I'm averaging maybe 600k on a good game, I'm happy when I break a million, and 1.6 is my current highest game.

I think skull means qualified, and the 4th position represents the "One Last Fight" chapter, which is perhaps random or perhaps cycled through? Just guessing though, keen to hear a more informed answer.

Holy shit, there are 125 different chapters?

Thanks for the answer, that definitely cleared it up for me. Very cool to learn the ins and outs!

The metal rails on the shooter lane is inspired. Great addition, Eric!

I'm waiting on availability for rollover switch lane protectors for where the ball drops off the wireforms, but that's about all I can think of for protectors. This is my first NIB machine, and I don't plan to put it on location, so even the rollover lane protectors are probably overkill.

Came home to find this, can’t see where it came off of. They thought maybe somewhere from the upper right corner. Anyone happen to know?

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Thanks @LTG! Living up to your name!!

I just went through my coil settings, and for the life of me can’t spot a tortuga hole coil. Anyone able to give me a sanity check on this one?

RTFM! Thanks once again, Leo!

Anyone able to help me decode the extra ball rules? I get it has something to do with checking the starfield to get a hint in the starfield as to what shot to make. (And on SE, you hit the starmap for an onscreen message, I presume, due to no starfield?)

I certainly have never been able to make sense of the starfield during a game, and all my extra balls have been either mystery/map/pirate lane awards, or just dumb luck.

Ah, fair enough. Though I'm still not sure how you get to the point where you have a change to light extra ball. You collect (X) many "constellation bonus shots" which flash white? If so... how does a constellation bonus shot light up?

Cool video! No wonder they're taking so long to come out, Hogbog is building them all himself

Mine is sagging too. I didn't notice it until I had a friend over who pointed it out. Now I can't un-see it. I checked if there was a quick adjustment, but didn't notice anything obvious. Keen to hear what others may have done.

What's really missing with the chapters is the licensed assets. The chapters could have a lot more personality with scenes from movies (considering they're based on the movies, after all). But what this game lacks in cinematics, it more than makes up for in gameplay and rule depth.

I'm more okay with the lack of theatrics than I'd have expected. The A++ music helps.

I had two frustrating experiences too. First was trying to mess around with that hex screw using an allen wrench. Once I got a longer T-wrench, that became much easier.

There are two pivot points you need to maneuver the underside of the ship onto. If either the front or the rear are too high or too low, it will get hung up. I don't know if there's much of a technique other than practice and getting a feel for it, but I'd be happy to hear suggestions because I'm going to take it out again to mylar the starfield.

None of the chapter modes offer progression per se. It's all a checklist of shots.

The added dimension is multipliers and enhancements. You build the value of the chapters by hitting the skull (movie) shots. Character selection can make the shots easier (which comes with a multiplier decrease) or spot you shots.

I haven't played any of the 5 movie wizard modes yet. Presumably those are more ... theatrical.

Page B-37 in the manual ( download from jerseyjackpinball.com under Support - Downloads ) - Bumpers VUK Strength specify the firing strength for the tortuga VUK coil.

In Settings - Coils.

LTG : )

I had to bend a piece of metal down -- photos available in the thread. I recommend carving out some time and skimming through all the posts in this thread.
There are some nuggets for sure!

Right you are!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jjp-pirates-of-the-caribbean-official-owners-and-fan-club/page/27#post-4712618

My problem was that the door tried to open but didn't stay. You can test this by hitting switches on the upper playfield when you have the cannon ready to load. If the door opens and holds, you don't need to bend anything. If it tries to open but just goes back down, then it needs to be adjusted. (you can see the video I posted here for what I was experiencing): https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/jjp-pirates-of-the-caribbean-official-owners-and-fan-club/page/26#post-4711641

I think the only drivers for extra ball are:
- map awards (not sure the randomness?)
- pirate lane awards (not sure what round?)
- constellation shots (random shots that collect the more you play?)

Constellation is still more or less a mystery to me. I don't get how the starmap gives any hints. I'm sure someone with some actual knowledge could clarify further.

Speaking of the selfies, does anyone else notice a dark blog appearing on their posters around the nose? I thought I might have had a spec on the camera or something, but we're all different heights and it always appears right near the nose. I don't think these photos pick it up very well, but figured I'd post them as reference.

I presume it has something to do with the filters being applied to the shot. In camera test, the picture is clean and unblemished.

(Obviously this isn't a big deal -- I'm just curious if the third nostril is a software thing or specific to my machine)

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Gotchya. Can't say I love it. I presume it's meant to rough up the appearance of the poster, but looks too much like an extra nose hole to me.

Ah, thanks, that makes sense!

Interesting that you went with the spelling "pYracy" -- I couldn't find any references to this spelling online, and the game is called "pIrates", after all.

*shrugs*

I'm with villathrills. This game is spectacular. I wouldn't trade mine for 2 classic Williams. The problems are annoying, but will be forgotten long before the game gets old.

I had the problem with the stuck switch, easy to adjust from below the playfield with a switch adjustment tool.

I get a few drains SDTM from the starfield, but usually the magnet will do its job.

Speaking of the starfield post... I get the ball slipping past the post on the left hand side about 1/2 of the time (not trapped like in the photo).

It didn't happen at all to begin with. Anyone else? As I type this, I'm wondering if it's bent, crooked, or loose under the playfield.

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Good call, I haven't taken a close look with the glass off yet. Looks like in my pic the rubber isn't making contact with the ball, could definitely be too high.

I had that start happening recently. I was adjusting the flipper strength to see if I could make the chest lock an easier shot (but have since adjusted the fork screws as suggested, and it's much more consistent now) -- I need to try dialing down the flipper strength to see if it reduces the fly-out.

I'm curious yelobird, how does this look with the controlled GI lighting effects? Does it dim/turn off? Or is it always on?

The software tells the gate to lower whenever any main playfield switch is hit (unless in multiball). It sounds like that's the easiest answer, but I'd expect a switch test to reveal that issue.

I had a problem with my gate not catching up -- it was flicking up and then falling right back down. That took an assembly adjustment to resolve. Have you tried giving the mini playfield a tap to see if the ship flippers are shaking the gate loose?

Glad you got 'er figured out!

I wish they chose to use a latching relay mechanism but I guess the thought was that 1 more coil is 1 more point of failure. I also wonder if there's a great risk of a tiny hold coil even burning out if just left on rather than software disabled... but I'm no engineer.

Yup, I heard Eric say this in an interview. Paraphrasing, but he said he liked designing a shot do do multiple things. In this case, divert to the ship or continue through the orbit into the pops.

I for one love it!

For those having trouble with tortuga VUK shooting straight down the middle, or aiming inconsistently regardless of the coil strength, here's what I did.

My two screws were loose on the bracket directing the ball.

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Unfortunately, this required taking apart the pop to get access under the skirt. A bit of a pain removing Tom and the motor, but easier once I realized the order to do things. (remove Tom using an allen key on the side, not the screws on the top)

What's odd is that these screws seem to be covered by a plate for the vuk assembly on the underside. Presumably the screws aren't actually hitting the plate, but it also means you can't have a locking nut holding these screws in place. I worry that they'll just loosen up again.

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Also... yes, I'm seeing some minor chipping around the hole. Very disappointing for a HUO, low play game -- but so far the only instance I've seen. I've applied some nail hardener around the edge to hopefully prevent it from getting worse.

Last I heard, Cliff hasn't had access to a playfield for development. I don't think they take anything away from the game at all -- I wonder why they don't come standard, given the chipping problems that the Oz hole had too...

Here's what I did:
1. From underneath, I removed the 2 nuts holding the pop bumper ring and removed it from the yoke:

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I think this is necessary to allow enough movement topside. It was awkward until I removed the right support.

2. remove Tom using the allen wrench

3. Once you have Tom and his plate off, you'll see the motor (which the plate was attached to). Undo the two screws holding the motor in:

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and pull the motor part way out. I think there should be enough slack in the wire.

4. Next, unscrew the two screws holding down the white pop bumper housing.

Here's a photo where you can see one of them (there are two):

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Things should be loose enough to get access to the troublesome scoop screws. The motor unplugs from the underside (yellow molex coupler) if you need more slack.

I think that's it... sorry if I missed any steps!

Yeah, that's my concern too... seems like if the vuk assembly plate isn't actually blocking the screws, it certainly impacts our ability to find a lasting solution. Hoping for someone smarter than me to come up with something!

removed: double post

Mine did this. In fact, it slipped between them completely often.

I eventually dismounted it from the bottom and installed 2 small washers under the left 2 bolts. This actually points the post a bit to the left, which is perfect. It still has smooth action.

After I adjusted it, it's a tiny bit to the left... but it was a tiny bit to the right before the adjustment, which caused ball slippage. And nobody likes ball slippage.

Is the metal scoop loose? Can you move it left to right?

There are 2 screws under the pop skirt that needed tightening on mine. I'm ejecting to the middle of the left flipper 100% of the time now -- though I'm not sure how long it will last.

go back one page in the thread and you'll see the photos and description that I posted.

Hahah you're right, my mistake.

Even if they're tight, it still needs to be pointed correctly; mine shifted to the left before I tightened it. But yes, I predict this will be an issue going forward.

Mine arrived with a stuck switch there. Yes, best to access from below from what I recall. Otherwise you need to take off the ship and a bunch of plastics (something I'm not looking forward to for cleaning/mylaring the starfield area)

Yeah, I want the official movie soundtrack too... but that said, the EXCELLENT original music takes away most of my disappointment!

Looks sharp, can you post a pic without the pinstadium on?

Definitely can't (easily) -- the assets are encrypted on the storage device and decrypted during runtime, as far as I know. There was a user trying to get at the assets for a WoZ mod (Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Rainbow) but I don't think he made any real progress.

Clever idea ... not sure if it would fit if the blades/mirrors/artwork barely fits?

Agreed, and it was even cooler because it fit the theme. Oh well! As others have said, losing it would hurt a lot more if the rest of the game wasn't so balls-out awesome.

I think surely this must be to the demands of releasing not 1 but 2 titles this year, one of which I'm sure they're under pressure to time in conjunction with the movie release.

Pretty sure that just means the Dauntless hasn't been hit recently, you can hit it with your hand to see if the error goes away. Or just ignore it.

What does the subway fix look like from the factory? Same as what others were doing aftermarket?

I went with LE for the GI and the front volume control/headphone jack. Shaker is nice but easy to add aftermarket. LED starfield I thought would be worth it but just meh. Topper I almost wish was just excluded from LE, it's just so lame and the lighting effects suck. But I've never been one for toppers anyhow, so no skin off my nose.

I think the volume control is the feature we use the most, so handy to switch between daytime and "whoops someone is sleeping" play.

This is the one thing I wasn't thrilled about... I absolutely support the idea that no layout/gameplay changes should occur as you step up through the tiers. The starmap is borderline, and could easily be replicated by an onscreen hint (if the real estate allowed), and the hint is also supplemental to another flashing shot indicator. I think having aesthetic/pride of purchase upgrades are much more effective in ensuring the designer's vision is fully realized.

I hate it...

... because it's so good, I want it on the big screen. I know most purists on this thread like the lean mean pinball action that this game delivers, but I miss a bit of the theatrics (that they nailed so very well with Hobbit). Maybe they get annoying after awhile, but so does the chiming of chapter characters lighting up. And everything's skippable anyway.

Will the mod be purely visual? It wouldn't tie in to speakers at all would it? I'm very curious how you'd trigger specific animations.

**deleted**

But presumably the Shoot Again animation only makes sense when that's what's happening in the game, right? Or does it just show randomly/on a loop?

The only think I'd miss, *really* miss, would be the external volume control. That gets a lot of use. Saves literally seconds off of having to grab a key and open the coin door.

I like the shaker during the chapter select, probably wouldn't notice it missing though. Starfield I don't use/notice, but the flashing playfield target I do (which is in the standard). The topper is weaksauce.

I'm glad I have the LE, but if SE were my only option, I'd certainly get one!

Finally got around to swapping Captain Jack in for no-eyed Tom...

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Ditto.

I had this issue from day one on my LE too, but didn't think to contact JJP. It bothered me at first (my first and only NIB -- lots of other issues to work through but well worth the effort), but I forgot about it until just now.