For those who are not so good at this game (me) you can award one dinosaur spot for starting a mode and two for completing it. Play testing will tell how much is too much.

I love what you are doing and the video updates. Keep up the great work!

PS - Rocky and Bullwinkle could use a good rule change too (the guaranteed multiball like in JP needs to be fixed).

if they aren't so great, you can just turn off the non-guaranteed multiball spots. I know that is what I'm going to do anyway, as while I really like ALL of the other changes being done, that one I think is absolutely key to how JP plays. That option is already there.

Looking forward to Super Egg Mania Chad, great stuff!

I really do not have any suggestions or anything to add other than what has already been done. But I just wanted to say this thread makes me very, very happy! Thank you so much Chad. You rock!

Never heard of egg mania. Never knew the dino shoot-out actually did anything. LOL! I love JP...now I can love it even more!

I remember Super Egg Mania had a bug where when you drained down to zero balls the mode would keep playing the music for a while before timing out and realising your ball was over. Don't know if that was an old ROM that I had or not.

I got Super Egg Mania probably a dozen times from Mr DNA and I don't think I ever managed to hit the egg a single time within 30 seconds to add-a-ball, and I ALWAYS lost my ball during the mode. That egg shot is just too dangerous, even with the increased awards I'd never shoot for it. It's a dud mode IMO.

For a tourney maybe, but for home use what does it matter, it's just for fun. The mode is cool.

For sure. It's definitely worth improving the egg awards and letting people have a shot at seeing the mode more frequently. I'm just saying that the mode isn't what it's cracked up to be.

How about take away the whole timing in Super Egg Mania Mode (when one ball was added in 30 sek) and just keep the mode going as long as the Player has more than one ball in play??

Ba-dum-ching!

Didn't know Super Egg Mania Mode existed.

Chad is in my shop right now. We checked this thread just now. I'm going to be sad that my shop will rock less when he leaves!

I play for score at home. Always.

I can't promise anything, but I've made some suggestions that if they can be worked out in the ROM will not make this mode OMG amazing, but will both make it possible to see it and decent to play for a bit. I agree with you totally, as of right now it's both buried incredibly deep and stupidly hard to get to, and it isn't worth the risk even if you do start it. The goal would be to give the player an award for starting it.

I'm just the smuck that knows the ruleset stupidly well, but I'll let Chad announce anything that he can or will do. No use getting hopes up for something that doesn't work out

Actually, this is how Super Egg works already. If you don't hit it within 30 seconds, you lose the ability to 'add a ball'. If you do, the timer resets. You can only add a total of three balls to this mode, but if you have say two balls in play, those two balls stay there and Super Egg keeps doing it's goofy thing until you lose one of them.

oh, well, la de da to you.

I love the change to egg scoring and modes. After making it harder to get to Tri-Ball it would be nice to have an easier option for another multiball. Everyone likes multiball!

I do. *shrug* I don't think that is that weird of a position, honestly. To me, the fun is trying to best your previous scores, and the goals that we've been trying to do with JP is even out the modes and whatnot so that there are no complete 'throwaway' scores, which sadly a decent amount of JP was things that you could and even should ignore if you were just going for a score.

It isn't like it would affect you if the scoring / gameplay on Super Egg was made not to suck. You could still shoot for it to try to start it and not really care about the score. But for me, it now layers on a bit more strategy about if shooting for Super Egg is a worthwhile way to gain points. We both win!

one of the things l find that makes gameplay addicting is unlimited bonus x (or up to 50x)
lf that was possible to increase, it would still be difficult to achieve high bonus, but worth while for those risk/shots.
I believe more is needed at the ramp, in the same way banzai run/whirlwind/taf score and keep track of ramp shots- even DE Star Wars keeps track of ramp shots.
Also, it woud be great to breathe new life into the captive ball egg shot besides the hatching dino, like so many hits for bonus x, light ctr, instant t rex multiball, instant super egg mania, a jackpot, etc

But I mean to still add a ball after 30sek when the player already have more than one ball in play. Endless ball adding until the player has only one ball left. More than 3 balls in the mode would be nice too. Otherwise it feels more like the 2Ball Mode IMO.

I don't think that it would be to easy to hold more than 2 balls and hitting the Captive Ball over and over again when the game adds more balls with every hit to the playfield. If there were for example 4 balls or more in play the player is forced to drain balls. Milking in this mode would be very hard and i don't think that the game would be unbalanced this way. It would be a good 'award' for those players how try and hit the Egg within the first 30sek at the start in the Mode.
To me the Captive Ball shot is the hardest in the game.

great work, can't wait !

Just noticed the low use of the flashers at the Tri-Ball start - ..wouln't it be great to add some more flashing lightinig effects (with the two white flashers)? How about right Flasher 7 and left 2 flashes in the 2 seconds doing the lightning animation on the DMD or something like that? ...if that is possible?

Think it could add a little more action to the sequence.

This along with the new T-REX mod will breather some life into this old game!

I don't mind the idea of increasing the maximum Bonus X, especially if something could be done within the current Visitor Center shot. It's a fun shot especially when leading to a Helicopter Pad combo. It's the same thing with repeated looping of the Helicopter Pad.

Maybe increase the cap of the Bonus X, plus award the combos. You always have to start with the Visitor Center shot, but then each subsequent Helicopter Pad adds +1X. I guess I'd still suggest some maximum cap on the Bonus X, but that would sure increase the value of shooting those two combos and give the game some more designed flow.

Doesn't Jurassic Park already track ramp shots with the Mr. DNA award? Given the animation with Mr. DNA it might be hard to tweek the awards, assuming you thing the shot is undervalued.

With the proposed tweeks he's already suggesting increasing the Super Egg Mania and Extra Ball. I think that would make the shot more worthwhile. Personally, I'd like to keep the changes within the spirit of the original gameplay.

I do think that "hatching dinosaur eggs" might be a great way of adding to the dinosaurs targets collected. I know you were originally thinking of doing that and this seem to fit within the theme. Hatch an dinosaur egg, get a dinosaur. I guess to me I like rules that are logical like that.

Anyway, lots of ideas. I'm sure it's going to be hard to determine what makes the cut.

Love the idea of that combo!

Lit Adv. X +3X to Helicopter Pad +1X to Helicopter Pad +1X to Helicopter Pad +1X and so on...

Even with that in mind, I like to build up the Bonus with the X multiplier more but that's just me...

BTW @ ChadH please don't take any of my suggestions (feasible or not) to personal and I think you are cool enough to do so. Just to make sure I love what you're doing and that you let participate all of us. Thank you Sir! ...can't wait to play your update.

Oh, I get it now. Personally, I disagree, although I do agree with you that right now the mode is VERY similar to two ball.

Chad did you ever find anything locked away in the roms from data east that never made it into the final game?

Speech files or animations or anything like that?
Did I read somewhere you did with Star Wars?

Endless ball adding until the player has only TWO balls left? ^^

Mode starts 30sec to get a 2nd ball in play, hit the egg in time 2nd ball appears/timer + 30sec, hit the egg in time 3rd ball appears + timer goes and stays off for the rest of the mode - endless ball adding by hitting the egg up to 6 balls UNTIL 2 balls left. By the time the 3rd ball drains 'add a ball' is unable.
If the 2nd ball drain - end of Super Egg Mania mode.

Add all 6 Balls in play is only theoretically, I don't think anyone can handel this. I think it's hard enough to get a 4th ball in play more than once, but the option would be nice. I personally think a 4th ball is key to make the mode different to the 2Ball mode. Otherwise a good player would be able to hold 2 balls on one side and try to hit the egg over and over again (which is hard but not impossible). Just like in 2Ball with one ball on one side. With a 4th or even more balls on the playfield the game is out of control and the mode will end quickly.

Of cause (like it is now) doing the mode almost every other game feature remains disabled.

...do you think it would be a weak point in the ruleset/loophole in milking score?

I like the idea of getting to a point with a more or less controlled Multiball reward by hitting the Captive Ball without time pressure. The pressure is on loosing the 3rd ball. At the same time the game forces the player to play uncontrolled as soon as it gets too much balls in play. With 4 balls on the playfield and loosing one in a uncontrolled play the player will be forced to hit the Egg to keep the mode running and get a 4th ball back in play befor he loose is 3rd ball.

^^

I wouldn't mind the mode being able to go to four balls, the thing that I disagree with is that I do like the idea of it being timed.

Having said that, your proposal isn't *that* different from my Iron Man's War Monger MB mode that sits right next door to it. I do like the ability when you lose a ball to add another, but my proposal if something like this was to be able to work would be to make it where once you lost a ball, the ability to gain a ball went away. That would involve it not being timed.

However, and here is the main thing, after an initial pie-in-the-sky idea about how this would work, I thought back to my programming days and have thought about what can and can't be modified easily, and making a huge change like that to this multiball might be rather difficult to actually pull off in programming. You can tweak stuff relatively easily without potentially involving a bunch of new bugs, and that is what I know is trying to be done, but making big changes really does change exactly how things can be pulled off.

Agree with the OP, Jurassic Park Rules!!!

Ohhh...I see what you did there.

Great work!

I like the sound of the SEM rules, looking forward to giving it a go.

Wow those changes to Super Egg make it sound like a genuinely fun mode! Great work Chad.

Hey Chad, nice to meet you at PBL. As we talked about, would it be easy/possible to randomize the call out "you didn't say the magic word" with a few other sounds or call outs?

Noooooo...that's one of my favorite callouts in all of pinball. It fits perfectly. It's annoying, but it's designed to be that way (just like in the movie). Just stop hitting scoops when they are not lit and you don't have to worry about hearing it over and over.

Totally agree with this. It has to be annoying! I love to hate that call out.

Chad-
I don't want to push but....... How soon could this code be finished? I am soooooo ready for this.

Easier said then done when its the kids, and the kids friends favorite game!

I understand, I'll be in your shoes in awhile my girls are two now. I just don't want to see changes being made to simply to make the game less annoying for parents while their kids are playing. How about an external volume switch?

I just now came across this thread and wanted to also mention how great the work has been! Amazing!

Just out of curiosity, but when the modifications are complete will the new EPROM chips be available for purchase?

reaching inside and spinning the potentiometer is too difficult?

I don't have a problem with any of the volume, but I wouldn't want my kids reaching inside a pinball machine to turn the volume down. My suggestion of adding an external volume switch was a reply to harv1324. I think it's a better solution then removing or altering the "You didn't say the magic words." I just don't want to see the sounds changed so I'm suggesting an alternative.

Question for the OP, with the new egg modifications does the boat docks shot still also spot dinosaurs? I'll be honest, I'm on my second Jurassic Park and I didn't even recall that that shot worked like that. I really like the change to the egg, it's just logical. Just wondering.

the game has analog volume control so you need to mod your own game to move that to the out side.

I agree - this sound bite is perfect. Yes it's annoying but that's the way it's supposed to be - a reflection of the scene in the movie. Please don't change this.

Holy cow this is awesome! I know I'm coming into the thread late but man am I exited these are gonna be some great changes. Any idea on when the new code will be for sale?

Another Thumbs up! I can hardly wait for this upgrade…..

Peace, B.

Thanks for the link. I have a similar problem on my JP, mainly occurs during CHAOS when the last few balls drain quickly together. The game loses track and still thinks there is a ball in play. After ball search starts a new ball is kicked out. Will check out the switch identified in the post you linked to.