No actual "mod kit", just homemade...
PBL sells 44 sockets. Screw it in an existing hole on the PF underside. Solder a wire to socket and tap the other side to the desired light ( in this case, the "Shoot T-Rex" light )

I bought some 44 sockets from Marco's, they were crap. Try to bend them in place, and the support snaps at the fold. I ended up pulling off an old 44 socket from an old playfield I had sitting around to be able to angle the light into the socket just right.

I installed a red comet light strip inside the scoops.

http://www.cometpinball.com/6-3-V-Plug-Play-Strips-Comet-Pinball-p/6.3vsmdstrips.htm

I centered it between the scoops mounted high up in the subway. It's mounted on the wall closest to the player facing away from you. I don't have any pictures with it out but here is the end result. It came out nice.
20150719_222349.jpg

I also installed a red strip in the subway on the power shed.
20150719_222524.jpg

Question for you guys... when you're trying for the control room, do you often hit the triceratops target and immediately drain?

I'm going to have to take a pic and post it, but whoever had my machine before replaced that target with a larger yellowish colored one that is thicker/wider and doesn't have any give, so if you hit it your ball is basically kicked back at you full speed... usually straight between the flippers. I didn't even notice that my machine was different until a couple years later when I finally saw another JP at an expo and realized that I didn't have to be 'on guard' all the time. I thought about fixing it, but honestly it keeps me on my toes and I'm used to it now. My JP is one mean machine.

(I remember people were concerned about Predator having targets in about the same spot and saying it would be too hard, but that didn't worry me at all because I'm already used to that darn target.)

*Remembered that I had pics earlier in the thread and edited them for the target. You can't tell too much from these though.

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If you hit that target head on, say goodbye. Obviously, it's worse if the target is larger than it should be.

Not very often blondie. I usually sink that shot pretty consistently...and thats with cliffys.

It might be the wrong color, but looks like the correct size to me. I recently ordered target faces from Marco for a project I'm working on and I only saw those deep kinds in the slim rectangle like many of the targets on JP, or the larger square like what's on the dilophosaurus targets.

I think the main issue is that it's thicker (front to back) and doesn't have the give like the others do. If you push on it, it doesn't go backwards and is stationary, so it's like hitting a brick wall. lol I'm leaving it and playing it, and if anyone is ever near TN let me know and you can come try it out.

My target is pretty stiff too...no play. Just thud.

I found several of my JP targets were dead stiff too. The problem is because the targets are 3D shapes as opposed to flat faces. This means they have to be aligned pretty much perfectly for the ball action to push the target backward. If not aligned correctly the plastic target hits the metal bracket behind it.

This may or may not be the issue with yours?

Agree...mine had this issue too. Align the targets and them tighten them down. Shouldn't be a dead target with zero give.

+1. My JP targets were slightly off-center when I got the game so I adjusted them and now they have give like they should have.

Gord

I had noticed the targets just seem like bad design. Seems like the metal should be bent in a way that shouldn't allow the target to get that much off center.

Yes! I think all standup targets should be designed in this way. It would be very simple to have a tab/flange on the bracket to prevent any sideways movement. From memory the DE targets at least used screws that could be readjusted and tightened. I hate when you get sloppy targets that have loosened rivets. Much more hassle to fix.

I do quite like the DE targets on JP, though. Having a design that basically hides the target mechanism makes for a better looking game in my opinion, particularly for targets that the player looks at side-on.

I agree. I like the style. I'm using them in a custom pin project.

Mine is a dead thud, but it registers. Doesnt bother me.

Hey guys.

Just acquired my first pinball machine. A JP. After starting to follow Dead Flip (Jack Danger) on Twitch.tv, it rekindled my childhood interest in pinball. Had fond memories of JP.

Got a decent deal on it, but it does have a number of issues.

1) Right outlane drain post has been removed (resulting in ugly hole / minor damage). This needs to be reinstituted as the game is unfair without it, plus it looks better cosmetically. I'm considering adding the optional left post too (though I'd see how the game was impacted after adding the right hand one). I'm in the UK, so can someone advise me which of the posts from this retailer that I need?

http://www.pinballmania.co.uk/posts.htm I'm pretty sure one of them is the right one.

2) After shooting Bunker or Control Room, I am assuming that Bunker SHOULD always spit the ball back down to the middle / back of the left flipper as it does the plurality of the time. However, sometimes it will shoot it right at the end of the flipper or worse straight down the centre drain (I basically have to pre-cup the left flipper to make sure it doesn't drain). Is this a general thing with JP, or is it fixable?

3) The yellow circular bumpers (dunno name for them) on the left mid side of the machine often spit the ball directly down the centre drain. This happens SO OFTEN. It's ridiculous and feels like it really shouldn't happen. Is this just really bad design, or is something amiss? The removal of the right hand drain outpost, the Bunker's ball spitting behaviour and this make the game drastically unfair and often pretty infuriating. I've played rigged games (not just pinball) before, and it feels like someone has deliberately adjusted / modified the game to make it extremely unfair (to try to get people to spend more money). Pretty sure its previous home was a bar in Italy.

4) Multi-ball. It often forgets to spit out the final ball. Occasionally happens if I have 2-ball too, and get a second 2-ball. Sometimes the last ball drains and the machine thinks there is a ball in play, but it hasn't been spat. Thumping / rocking the machine or waiting occasionally gets it to spit it, sometimes I have to switch off.

5) The T-Rex is fine mechanically and in really good condition. However it lowers its head to eat phantom balls when the multi-ball fails (i.e. often). Obviously this is really bad as a ball strike could ruin it cosmetically and possibly mechanically as well.

I'm inclined to think that 4 & 5 could be influenced by game code as well as possible mechanical / electronic issues ... having read @ChadH 's code update thread and what he and others said about it, there does seem to be a lot of questionable behaviour of the machine.

Thanks for reading and any help guys!

P.S. 6) Are the white rubbers that a lot of people seem to prefer or think perform better preferential on JP?

1. I believe it's this post: 02-3905 Mini Post. That's assuming it screws into the playfield itself, not a hole that goes all the way through into a T-nut or something. Instead of installing a post on the left, I suggest putting a small rubber on the top of the lane guide itself. There was talk about this somewhere in this thread.

2. It should shoot it to the flipper (trying to cradle it out of the bunker is a good way to play that). Make sure all the mechanisms in there are screwed down nice and tight. Any movement down there is what will cause the large range of area it shoots out to.

3. It's the nature of pop bumpers to throw the ball where you don't want it to. That's really what they were designed for. Unfortunately, that's down the middle a lot. Only way to fix this is to get better at nudging and trying to save the ball. Chad's code would increase the ball save, which would help, but that's about it.

4. Most likely a bad trough switch #7. This is the switch all the way to the right, mounted on the side of the trough. See here:

5. That could be a bad switch in the T-Rex saucer activating when it shouldn't be. Maybe it just needs to be adjusted, maybe it's bad.

6. White vs Black rubbers is pretty much preference. The white rubbers are a little more bouncy. I usually just use what I think looks better on the machine.

JP club - I want to join. If you're planning on selling yours soon, PM me as looking to buy one. thanks!

Thanks for the help.

Re: 1). I think it's screw in, so it will be that one. On closer inspection, there's a further problem. The previous post wasn't unscrewed. They snapped it off, so the screw (minus top part) is now embedded in the playfield. How on earth do I remove it?

2) Ok, will do.

3) 'Nudging' in this case would be really smacking the machine a lot of the time. Not sure I want to be doing that too much on a 22 year old machine ... plus it's in a carpeted area (so the legs won't move on the floor), so the machine would take a bigger hit than intended.

Re: ChadH's update, does anyone know the status of it? Maybe Monday's stream on DeadFlip would be a good time to ask as I'm sure Gary Stern will be around to answer GoT and general questions, and supposedly Stern want to make it 'official'.

5) I'm pretty sure it's not the switch. It seems to have something to do with it getting confused about how many balls are on the playfield (or not).

1. Ouch. Search up removing broken post on here. I know it's been discussed (by vid1900 - maybe in his ultimate playfield restoration thread).

3. Don't be afraid to smack it. You aren't going to hurt it. If you smack too hard, you'll tilt, so smack a little less hard than that.
Don't count on Gary to answer anything about the code update. Chad has been completely silent about it for a reason. What that reason is, is only speculation.

5. The game is confused about the number of balls on the playfield because it thinks there are more or less in the trough than there really are. It's very common for all those trough switches to go bad. I deal with this same issue myself. Had both that #7 switch go bad as well as a couple of the other regular trough switches.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Re: the code update ... if there was a major impasse he could release it independently. It'd be very sad if he signed the code over and they sat on it, though

Unfortunately, he couldn't release it independently. The code is copyrighted. It's probably just in lawyer limbo. Maybe because Stern likely has a Jurassic World game coming.

It's likely that your t-rex is fine. It will attempt to eat a ball during ball search which is likely happening because you have trough switch issues and your game is losing track of balls.

He can release whatever code he sees fit (or should be able to), unless he's signed it over. It's entirely at the discretion of others as to whether to do something with it or not, as long as he's not selling ROMs or machines with it.

The latter had occurred to me, but you'd think they'd benefit from an increase in interest around the old game.

I didn't find the info about removing the broken screw from the playfield. I think I'll have to get an engineer out anyway ... that's not really the sort of thing I want to do myself. Would much rather have someone who's done it many times already.

It is a delicate process.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/vids-guide-to-ultimate-playfield-restoration/page/13#post-1434757

Stern owns the code. Chad can't modify it without their permission. See here for related information.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/wish-list-of-bugs-in-wmsbly-wpcwpc95-code-to-fix

Thanks.

I'm not an expert on US software patent law, but I'm pretty sure Stern has absolutely no right or prerogative to interfere at all. This is code for a game that was released 22 years ago. At the time of its release the provision for software patents was 17 years. This was later amended to 20 years.

Whilst it's in the interests of all to keep relations cordial, were it to go sour, unless he's signed a legally binding contract, I don't think they could offer any kind of serious objection.

RE: Software.

Not an expert on the legality of this, but my understanding would be that there would be legal issues if the intent was to distribute. Modifying it for your own personal use may be frowned upon, but is doable. But to distribute to the masses is where legal stuff comes in. Especially if there's any money to be traded, even if it is to cover only the cost of the chips.

And you're talking about patent. Patent and copyright are different things. Copyrights cover creative licenses. So would include any artwork, animation, sounds used in the game. An expired patent just means that you could use that technology to create your own original work.

I may be wrong, but that's how I see it.

*EDIT* Now if Chad was to create something similar to BoP 2.0, then he'd be able to do it. As long as he used all new artwork and sounds. But from what I've seen, he's just tweaking the rules, everything else is staying the same.

It's non-commercial and copyright isn't applicable since it's the game code he's modifying, to change the behaviour of the machine ... no new or modified imagery, sound or naming. Exactly, he's tweaking the rules.

finally got to system failure yesterday for the first time, and it was on ball 1! Oh man what a cool mode, love how the DMD goes out and the flippers die when the time expires, blew it the rest of the game and didnt even crack my high score board, still felt good tho

The game code contains Jurassic Park IP owned by Universal Studios. JP logo, John Williams score, voices and likenesses from the film. So I think you're probably wrong with regard to the legality of distributing modified game code since it contains this IP.

But even if you were correct, I can't imagine ChadH would want to burn the bridge to any future projects with Stern by releasing this code deliberately against their wishes (or before whatever existing agreed process has been seen through).

The fact that Chad continues to say nothing means that there is no final word on this yet. He doesn't owe us anything so would only have something to lose by releasing it now outside of any agreement.

Exactly. This is a 20 year old game. How many other 20 year old games are getting new code? Would love to see it in mine, but if it never comes, I'm happy with the latest final release.

What's the consensus on if he were to not distribute any of the original code at all, but rather a file containing his own code that could be overlayed onto the freely available original code? You would be, in essence, modifying your own machine (which you are able to do to your heart's content) with instructions on how to do it. Since it would be rule changes, bug fixes, and pointers to sound calls and video that are already on the machine no IP or licensed or copyrighted material would be included with the patch, just a modification to the original code.

You can download the current code today and burn it to a rom without any legal problems. What would be the problem with downloading the code and changing X = 3 to X = 10 in the text file before you burn it to your EPROM before installing it in your machine?

I can happily say that I now am a member of this elite club. I have a lot to learn!

This is how you would go about releasing it. So unless he's signed his code over to Stern and they now want to bury it for some reason, he can do this.

The fact that Chad is holding his tongue is the best evidence for the fact that a plan to release it is still in place. Which means he can't release it by any other means until those plans fail.

IP technicalities may be holding it up, on which parties are not allowed to comment (standard procedure). Or perhaps there are plans to time it with a future event that is currently not public information.

Got to my first System Failure last night and had my second best score so far. Kinda hard to beat my accidental 1.2 billion.

But this game started off as a terrible game. I was going to to just play a single game before bed. First two balls almost instantly drained. I did get Stampede during one of those though, but quickly lost the ball. On the third ball though, I lit the Extra Ball, and then Started System boot. But again, was doing terribly. The ball quickly shot to an outlane, and I somehow was able to press the Smart Missile button before it got disabled. So with one button press I got an extra ball, completed system boot, and started tri-ball.

And at that point I was unstoppable. Couldn't get CHAOS since I had already used my Smart Missile button. But kept lighting all the modes and hitting them. I did get a second extra ball after I hit the Feed T-Rex shot. It put me over the 195 Million I have set to get another extra ball.

So here it was supposed to be a quick game. A game I thought was going to end after only flipping just a couple times before the final drain of the third ball. I think the game was going to end with only a score of about 30 million if it wasn't for the Smart Missile. The System Failure mode is fun. If I didn't know what to expect, I probably would have thought my DMD was going bad.

But this score I feel more proud of. I finally knew what I was supposed to do. My 1.2 billion score was a total fluke. I had no idea what the rules were, I just knew tri-ball was good, and to spell CHAOS, after that, I tried to keep the balls in play, wasn't looking for shots.

12076415_10156057412205654_251526399_o.jpg

We need to rally to get color DMD to get this game done.

Awesome writeup woody! If anything this proves that it pays to play that third ball even when you have a shocker ball one and two. I'm often guilty of holding Start for a quick reset whenever I have a bad first and second ball. I find it dampens my enjoyment of a pinball session so I really need to break the habit! I should go ahead and turn the feature off on my games

This is similar to my first System Failure experience as well as the final score. Nice.

I'm not so positive Stern owns the DE rights lock, stock and barrel. If they did, why have we seen absolutely no part support (beyond one GNR ramp) for many of their old titles, when demand for certain things is sky high and the people who own Williams rights are making tons off them? The last set of NOS JP plastics that I saw sell was for well more than $500. All things considered, the fact that Stern has not released or reproed any parts for DE machines (or even for that matter Sega machines - nearly everyone who owns a BF could use new ramps!) makes me really wonder about exactly who owns what.

I am excited to see the code whenever it gets installed on my game

I think that proves that they still own it. I'm really surprised a lot of these mods sold by individuals get away with it. But I'm sure what they are making from their mods isn't worth the trouble in going after. I wouldn't be surprised if some people have received cease and desist letters for using logos and other copyrighted imagery in their mods. (Small fact. I've received a cease and desist letter from the City of New York. I run an eCommerce site and sold items that the city of New York used to sell. They told me I needed a license to sell those products, and that I was falsely claiming they were authentic because they didn't personally inspect those items to make sure they were. I filed for a licenses and was denied because my price point was too low. So now I cannot sell this product any more. But have had no issues with other city's. I really see no legal ground for New York, but it's just me vs. a large city, so I'm not going to push it.)

Stern isn't re-making old parts because their just isn't much of a demand. It may look like it from your side, but from their's I'm sure they wouldn't remake a part unless they could easily sell 1000 pieces. And since we don't see anyone else remaking these parts, kinda also proves that Stern still own the rights. Maybe they are going after the little guys trying to reproduce these things on their own. Which also means Stern isn't selling licenses to smaller vendors either.

@woody24 .. that proves absolutely nothing, and we'd surely have heard about such dastardly deeds. Stern (and all other pinball makers) seem totally fine with people making mods for their existing games ... why would they throw a tantrum over past games (that they may or may not hold the rights to). It would be totally against their interests and a potential PR disaster.