I found that instead of permanently altering my playfield I simply put a 3/16 ring around the topmost lane guide post (whatever you call them). Easy to put on, fit really well and did a good job of making the outlanes a little less brutal.

Yeah mine had this standoff here too.

As if you would know, Chad. It's not like you've pored over every inch of the raw code …

True. And it has the flexibility of sliding to the end of the rails so that you can pivot from the very rear of the PF, giving better underside access to the components at the back. It's not as good as the WPC system of sliding to a locking system at the end of the rail, but at least it's better than System 11 fixed-point pivot.

It doesn't ship with a ring but you can put a 3/8 on there with a bit of stretching. The other outlane doesn't even have a post but you can put a 3/16 on the top post of the lane guide and it does a great job.

No worries! I managed a pretty sweet outlane shake-out thanks to that 3/16 rubber! See 7:30 in this video: http://vimeo.com/53367673

I'm pretty sure JP cabinet art is screened right onto the cabinet. No decal.

Just a fluke. I haven't ever done it again on any game, so I thank that little 3/16

Thanks! They were an early prototype in the video. I've gone through a few revisions since then. You can buy them at www.loopcombo.com if you're interested.

Mostly just make sure no plastics or the ramp are broken because there are no repros. Test that the t-rex fully works in test mode and during gameplay. The Control Room switch can be problematic but it isn't a deal breaker because it is very easily replaced. Everything else is standard practice for every pinball purchase.

I agree! Although I am a little biased

I've never played a JP that launched the ball reliably into the pops 100% of the time. You can reduce it by adjusting the ball guide. Loosen the screw at the end of the ball guide, move it a little downward, tighten, then play test. You may move it too far down and the ball will hit the standup below the gate. Just keep playing around with it and you'll get better results.

I never actually considered that the ball may not be centered on the plunger tip as Pimp77 suggested. Possibly wear in the shooter lane causes that? I also seemed to think that it happened more frequently after a ball save or when kicking balls out for multiball. Possibly the game auto-plunges balls before they can properly settle into the shooter lane?

Thanks for bringing it to my attention that I had no contact info on my store! What a facepalm moment that was. I recently migrated the store and forgot to migrate that part

I have since added it.

I have also checked and corrected my stock quantities. I've only got enough backing pieces to make three more sets. I've reallocated those from blue to yellow. There are three yellow sets in stock now

Cheers!

Hey guys I'd like to design something better! I no longer have my JP so I'll need to visit a friend to measure up his game.

I'll post my progress for you to give feedback on over the coming weeks

I think that a sunset/nighttime look would suit the theme the best. It would also make it a lot easier to add in references to elements of the film without having to illustrate them to match the rest of the illustration, or worry about copyright infringement.

I'm not an illustrator so I'll be sourcing artwork from stock and adding traced elements from other film material.

That is very true. Ideally the art style would at the very least match the backboard art. I had forgotten about this art because it isn't usually that visible. But any respectable sideboard artwork mod should be respectful to any existing artwork.

That does make it a much tougher job for myself, not being an illustrator. I may be able to contract an illustrator to do something for me matching the style of the backboard and PF. That would ultimately be the best path to perfection for this mod!

Anyone who has been waiting for my mods to be back in stock can wait no more, I have just had another set of parts arrive so I am back in stock. I'll be making up a bunch tonight

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I'm glad you guys like my mod. I don't get a lot of feedback so it's nice to read

Your game is looking great Russ. I dig the East Dock sign!

Great job!

I had similar trouble with mine. I think it would bounce over the switch sometimes. I bent the switch actuator upward so the ball would be more likely to hit it, but the downside was that a slow ball entering the power shed would not have enough momentum to roll over it and would get stuck. So it took some adjusting to find a position that would be reliable but not too high to hang up the ball.

The other thing you could try is to bend the actuator so that it bulges downward into the microswitch, requiring a lot less movement to trigger it. Some switches I've come across require a lot of movement so doing this really helps.

You know it's serious if they don't show it in the trailer because these days almost every movie trailer is a needless spoiler-iffic cliffs notes version of the entire movie.

IIRC they are lit all the time because they always score Lite Dock and Adv. X. I don't remember them being excluded from the lamp matrix, but I guess it makes sense because they're always on!

Thanks for the kind words! I fully rebuilt the pop bumpers to improve them. I think having them nice and clean with new spoons, and switches adjusted to a hair-trigger, makes all the difference in the world. I highly recommend it!

As Chitownpinball suggests, I like concave lens LEDs the best because they focus the light on the icon with minimal spill light. I didn't have any ghosting issues because they were the only LEDs I used in the game. I don't actually know the brand that I had — I poached them from another game that I bought with them installed.

Good to know! I wasn't able to fit incandescents behind mine which is why I recommend LEDs but I've heard from a few buyers that were able to fit incandescents there. It has been surprising to me how much variation there is in the location and angle of the lamp stands. I guess the plastics, holes and location/angle of the lamp stand are to blame. I notice on blondtail's photo that her control room icon has to sit quite low relative to the other icons in order to be positioned in front of the lamp stand, which is a bit of a shame. I'd be inclined to try to reform, or shim up the plastic, or bend the lamp stand, to try to get it higher to match the other icons.

I see. What I would do is bend the bracket for the control room icon upward so that it lines up visually with the bunker icon. Then pivot the lamps upward to point at the new height of the icon. The advantage of the wire brackets is that you can bend them to suit your game/preferences

I've tested those before and they work well. You can squish them right up against the bulb housing so they are super low profile and the light is focused quite narrowly.

I had this issue on my game

^ This. I've had a few games (JP included) that had issues with the ball being pinched by the slingshot rubber at the inlane. A smaller slingshot rubber ring solved the issue every time for me.

I suspect it is a combination of slight variances in the thicknesses of rubber rings from the original factory spec, and slight variances in the placement/forming of the slingshot and inlane guide parts on the PF.

Yes this is definitely the way to go!

I really struggle to last in multiball long enough to get the Super Jackpot so my highest score was around 550mil. I'd reach System Failure quite often. Many of the modes are worth doing actually. Escape is particularly lucrative, so don't avoid that. Feed T-Rex of course. System boot is also a safe one to shoot for. And Bone Busters is easy. Just keep shooting the ramp and control room and stack-em-up!

The Smart Missile is one of the best features of the game IMO. Typically I use it to score either the first or second set of CHAOS letters when I'm about to drain.

If you've got new parts all around then I'm sure you've already done this but replacing or cleaning your slingshot leaf switches makes a difference too (at least I thought it did, but I could have been imagining it!). My theory is that the faster the switch activates once a ball hits it, the more energy the ball receives from the slingshot arm.

I haven't tested it but I think a good sub would be awesome on JP. Lots of the sound effects use bass. Those dino roars would be epic!

Only if a failed meal attempt sends the ball out of control. Software-wise the game awards everything then the ball rolls in the saucer so unless it is the saucer switch playing up then you'll get credit for everything correctly.

Oh no! What plastic did you break? I would suggest using thin lexan/acrylic and cut it to shape. You would only need to use it on the bottom so it should be a completely invisible reinforcement.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

I miss mine every time I walk into my garage to play pinball. I enjoy it just as much as TAF (despite being regarded as the 'poor-mans TAF') and I think it has a way better multiball.

One day, when I've got enough money to keep games, I'll buy a super nice JP and never let it go.

A heads-up for anyone who has been interested in getting my Scoop Light Mod, I'm running a celebratory 'Code Update Sale' with $5 off and $5 donation to Pinside for each order (I wanted to donate to ChadH but he requested to donate to Pinside instead).

Main thread here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/new-jp-code-loop-combo-mod-is-on-sale-donation-to-pinside

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Wow that is very interesting. I'd like to see a photo of that proto playfield.

Sounds awesome. Post a pic!

I had the exact kind of split develop on mine. It looks like you haven't filled the bevelled edge to make it a right angle. The Cliffy protector is thin and doesn't have the enough strength to stand up to repeated bashing on the tightly-formed edges (particularly on this short-range scoop on JP that has very strong flippers) when there is a bevelled counterspace underneath. The only way to stop this from happening is to fill the counterspace with epoxy putty or something. If your scoop is in good shape and you're truly protecting it rather than covering up wear and you'd rather not alter your game in this way you may be able to fill the space with something like thin dowel/skewers or if possible to source some angled material that fits snugly in there.

I hope that makes sense?

Hey Edenecho, I've recently switched to using an araldite epoxy glue for these. It tends to hold much better than super glue. I hope that isn't too much trouble! It took a while of selling these to get feedback that super glue was failing.

If you're happy running wire up the back then go for it! The reason I prefer to glue it sticking straight in the back is to have the minimal amount of hardware showing through when backlit.

The stuff I use is called Araldite here in NZ. Not sure if that's a trade name or not. It's one of those two-part epoxies. Some packs have two separate tubes others have one that mixes as you syringe it out.

That would be a great idea. However I don't know if it would be possible with the kind of edits Chad is able to make. Increasing an existing timer value is simple. It is a more complex story to have code that only starts the ball save timer once any switch other than the bumpers is hit after a ball is launched — which is the only way I can think of to implement the idea. But then you may end up creating a loophole where you can simply let a ball drain from the bumpers over and over scoring points with an infinite ball save.

I credit JP for teaching me slide saves

The Bunker and Control Room are on Column 5, but the Power Shed is Column 8. So not a column/diode issue. Perhaps the connector is flaky. Do the usual unplug and reseat the switch connectors on the driver board and see if that sorts it.

The alternate orange slingshot plastics are reasonably easy to find:

http://provider1.cart.net.au/epages/mrpinballtrial.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/mrpinballtrial/Products/Plast-JP

Not sure if these are orange or blue:

http://www.recroom-amusements.com/slingshot.htm

That was 5 mins of Googling. Might have better luck with a deeper search

I hate when that happens! I've had it happen most times I've ordered a rubber kit. It sucked for my first few games but now I've got a decent stock of spares that it isn't too bad.

It still saves time as opposed to manually ordering everything based on the manual (which is often wrong and why the kits are wrong in the first place).

Thankfully JP is pretty quick and easy to get apart

If you've got an iPhone 5s, 6 or 6s with slow-mo video (or access to someone who does) rig it up to film the trouble spot and try to capture it on slow-mo video. This has helped me to identify troubles I've had with Doctor Who and Addams Family.

Duplicate post.

Just adjust the leaf switch gaps by slightly bending the rear leaves. The new rubbers, being tighter, have closed the gaps from what they were. Set the gaps according to your preference of sensitivity

I concur! In the meantime adjust the leaf switches on those too. And yes th front leaves should rest against the slingshot rubbers. It's the rear switch that you adjust.

Hey Joe! Thanks for the great video and the kind words I'm glad you are pleased with the mod. It is cool to hear you say that you're not typically a fan of mods but you like this one because it feels like it should have been there from the factory. This is exactly my ethos when designing mods.

Just a note that the bunker bracket is shaped to go around the inside/left-hand-side of the lamp stand. If you look at the instruction flyer that came in the box you'll see the photo showing it. No big deal though — you can bend the wire yourself so you can position these however you like

What a great fix! It does look neat.

That's a cool idea for a mod. My issue with it is that it won't feel like it might have come from the factory like that — but that's just my criteria for a mod.

When I came up with my scoop mod idea it was sparked by a combination of things:

1) disliking the bare sleeved bulbs that look unfinished and don't communicate anything to the player

2) noticing in System Boot mode that the creators had designed icons to represent each of the three scoops. To my mind there's no reason to go to the effort of designing icons for the scoops that appear only on the DMD and don't link back to anything on the playfield. I felt strongly that there would have been some intent there to add these icons to the playfield/plastics in some way but was perhaps cut for cost reasons

So I added them back in and make the game look more finished and have those lights actually mean something to the player and the rest of the art/design of the game.

This isn't me trying to defend my mod — if you're not a fan, that's cool! I just thought I'd add my thoughts about how it came to be

Mine was too, and so are many others I've seen. I decided to take mine off because I felt it was obscuring the view of the bottom of the topper.

Of course! I totally forgot the jackpot is the first part of the sequence.

Gutted, that really stands out doesn't it! All I could suggest is that you remake your own plastic if you can get hold of a scan. Might be a bit tricky though due to the overall size of that plastic and the clear window over the Raptor Pit lane. Alternately you could use the same artwork to make a decal to place over top of the damaged area.

I've had tabs on playfield ball guides spot-welded back on by a buddy. Can leave a blemish that you'll may not be able to polish out though. It's also possible that my buddy just kinda sucks at little welds like this (he does construction welding).

Good idea for a case like this where the tab is out of sight. I once had to weld a tab on a Judge Dredd inlane guide. The thin guide is right there in your face and the tabs actually face the player so I had to weld it. The distortion from the weld ended up on the face of the guide, but facing away from the player so I didn't mind.

What isn't clear is whether or not you are actually starting and playing the Stampede mode. Does it simply never time out and keep running scoring points for each target? Or does the mode never start?

The most common issue with this game is that the switch in the Control Room scoop dies and you cannot start any modes. Yours must be dead. However if you're managing to start Stampede mode then something must be triggering it but not sure how that would be possible except for a faulty diode nearby creating a false-positive (if that's possible) but then the triggering of the Control Room to start the next mode should be possible to occur again.

Easy peasy. Good effort enjoying the game for that long without playing any modes! JP does have a pretty awesome multiball

And it sucks. So quiet. I moved mine to make it louder. If you're putting in a new one I'd try putting it in the head like B/W titles for a satisfying knocker sound.

The only other reliable way is to shoot the orbit through the bumpers and then use the upper flipper. This is a lot tougher because the ball is travelling probably three times faster past that upper flipper than when it drops from the Boat Dock saucer.

There are printers that can print directly onto acrylic (or anything) such as companies that market the ability to print your own iPhone cases. There's one nearby me that I did some tests with for my mod. The printing quality is pretty good but it doesn't backlight as well as a proper screened plastic. They can print white layers on clear so you'll be able to reproduce this plastic if you can get a scan from someone.

Your biggest issue is the combination of requiring a white backing layer for the colour to come out correctly and backlight well, but using backlight media (which produces a great result) is tricky because it is white and you've got the transparent Raptor Pit lane section in there.

You could try to get the scan printed on this material, and have a peel-off adhesive layer applied on top of it. Then hand-cut the raptor pit lane out with a scalpel (those trees have some detail you'll have to get around) so there are no white edges of the paper/media showing. Then stick this to a cut piece of acrylic. You could remove your plastic and have a laser cutter trace it for reproduction.

Would be a fair bit of manual work but you'd have a good result.

Sounds amazing! Great work

Reminds me of the replacement DW slings I bought a few years ago. Can't remember where I got them from but although I was disappointed with the quality I was happy to have *something* to replace my broken ones. They had much more washed out colours than the originals and not very good when backlit. It's because of the inferior digital print method printing directly on transparent acrylic. I've tried machines that can do this for my mods and I wasn't satisfied with any of them with regard to print resolution or colour depth. Backlighting exacerbates these flaws.

Thanks for the kind words guys

I was working much of the weekend making a couple dozen sets now that all the printed and cut parts have finally come in to make more.

I've got heaps in stock so if you've been considering my mod you can jump right in www.loopcombo.com

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Also, if any of you guys also own a TAF, I'm in the finishing stages of a similar mod for the bare lamp bulbs in that game. It is turning out better than I hoped!

I'll leave it as a hint for JP owners for now. I'd like to reveal it once it is complete and I've got photos of it installed

I've had a request to do Tales From The Crypt next. I'll have to track one down.

If anyone has any suggestions for games that have bare bulbs like JP that could really benefit from a mod like mine, let me know!

You're totally right! Data East did it a lot didn't they.

There's one for sale in New Zealand right now. I might pick it up — who knows

I'm pleased to hear that you're interested in the scoop light mods — sorry they're out of stock! I only stock them through my own store at loopcombo.com, not through other vendors.

I should have the remainder of the parts I need to make more sets available within the next week or two. PM me if you want to be notified when they're in stock