Just takes a little bending to keep this from happening. Removing the gate makes it not play correctly.

Sorry I am not by my game right now to snap a pic, but as Dantesmark mentioned, just bend it a little towards where the ball gets stuck. Mine will still stay there if I set the ball perfectly in the gap, but with any kind of movement it will not. A couple minutes with a needlenose pliers and you should be golden.

Nice idea, thanks. That has been driving me nuts on mine and I've been trying to think of the best option. When a ball sneaks out of there, 9 times out of 10 it's going SDTM. They really should have used the same style of gate used in the (pro) Raptor pen...with a piece of spring steel to keep the gate closed.

Well, I am certainly not a pinball designer, but I do not think one-way gates are ever designed to intentionally let balls out the wrong way. But if you like it that way, that's cool! We all like different things. I'd prefer it always feed the upper flipper once it's in the pops.

No kidding! Wow..ok...I stand corrected then!

A couple dino upgrades. Way better than the lizard head original T-Rex. Just have to cover up or hide the old mounting holes on the backboard. Might need to come up with a better mount at some point but for now he holds himself in place really well with no modifications.

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Yup! He straddles the ramp perfectly...almost snaps gently in place with the end of his tail fitting through the gap between the backboard and the side. As it is now, he will need to come out to lift the playfield, but he literally just pops in and out of place. He is rock solid during play so far.

Nice! I can't take credit for the T-Rex as I saw someone else in this thread use him (wish I could remember who!), but he cut the tail off and mounted it differently. I was pondering how I was going to mount mine differently when he almost literally fell into place!

The pteranodon I also saw done here first, but already had it in mind since I have had two of them in my Data Easy JP for many years. I also have the Papo raptor in that one, over the kickback. Looks great. I would have done that one on my Stern, but the previous owner already had a different but really nice looking raptor in it.

I just received three boxes full of more goodies for it, so hopefully tonight I will get to do some serious modding. Going a little more crazy on this one than I usually do, but just can't help myself. I freaking love this game and can't see it going anywhere anytime soon.

I have had a few people contact me asking about where I got the dinosaurs and how I mounted them.

They are Papo brand. Found them both on Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Papo-55075-Brown-Running-T-rex/dp/B07NJN1W93/ref=redir_mobile_desktop

https://www.amazon.com/Papo-The-Dinosaur-Figure-Pteranodon/dp/B000GL1BHO/ref=redir_mobile_desktop

Pteranodon I used a piece of piano wire that I bent into shape. Drilled a small hole into his body and shoved the wire in. Kept the fit tight enough to not need glue or anything. Attached to one of the post nuts in the area, and bent the wire to where I wanted it.

T-Rex was way easier than I expected. I ran his tail between the gates and through the gap between the backboard and the side of the cabinet. His legs are perfectly sized to almost snap in place around the ramp. It is surprisingly solid when you get it positioned just right. I might make a better mount for him someday, but for now it is just fine. I will have to take him out to raise the pf, but for how often that is needed it and how easy he goes in and out, that will not be a problem for me.

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Having owned and truly enjoyed all three, I would honestly sell Metallica and buy both. Both JP and DP are much better games (in my opinion). If you aren't willing to do that, JP is my choice. Every shot is satisfying with a very unique layout...the code is amazing with so much to do and many paths to take. DP is crazy fun, but is overall a bit less satisfying to shoot than JP (other than the super skill shot into the Katana...that's right up there). DP's code, while awesome and unique, is not as deep and could be slightly repetitive, especially in the early part of the game, due to only having three battles to choose from. That's not a rip on DP at all...it's honestly a close call, but JP is just an amazing machine in every way.

Metallica is a great game, but at the end of the day the layout is super standard and "vanilla", especially when compared to JP and DP. The code is great...until you get past the first Crank It Up and keep going towards End of the Line. It becomes get CIU. Then do it again. Then do it again. Then do it again. Then do it one more time. And it's done the same every time. It just becomes a woodchopping slog, especially if you make the mistake of starting Seek and Destroy and really have to start from scratch qualifying shots for items. And that's a shame since S&D is one of the coolest modes ever! Again...really fun code...until you start getting far in the game and realize it's just the same thing over and over and over. I owned it for a couple years and loved it, but now I am more than happy to play it in other people's collections.

Best of luck with the decision! Not an easy choice, but in my opinion the right answer is always JP!

I love that smart missle shot. I feel like a sniper every time I actually make it. That's one of the things I love about this game....the variety of shot types. It has it all...flowy combo shots, close in your face shots, super long high accuracy shots, flipper tip edge shots, easy feel-good shots, backhandable shots, tight but rewarding shots, a blistering fast repeatable loopshot, etc. It runs the entire gambit in ways most games do not. How many other games out there can make a simple stand-up target feel so amazing to hit when you need it?

Is that the Papo Ankylosaurus? When you have time, would you mind snapping a pic of it from closer to the player position? Love it...great thinking putting it over the ball launch considering the ball save animation!

Thanks!

Took me a little time, but I got mine as smooth as butter. I originally figured it was not curving far enough around into the orbit, so I bent my left ball guide in as far as I could without trapping the ball against the other side. Unfortunately, that ended up making it worse. I then bent it back and using high speed mode on my phone camera, I realized that the ball was actually making the turn too hard and hitting the right ball guide enough to send it bouncing into the orbit guide. So I had to reverse my thinking and actually bend the left ball guide a bit the the left / straighten it out slightly. Now 90% of all shots smoothly orbit, while only the sloppiest ones will still slow down enough to drop in the pops. I believe this is as intended. It took some messing around, but it was definitely well worth it to have that awesome shot nice and smooth!

Loose posts are unfortunately a common Stern issue lately. I had many loose in JP and GOTG. BK had literally every post loose...some barely finger tight. Had that entire game apart tightening things down.

Try tightening your sling posts, as well as other posts in the game. I've had a lot of recent Sterns with terribly loose posts lately, and they can cause airballs and other issues, especially around the slings. If that doesn't help, I would try going back to normal rubber just to rule that out...and make sure you are using the correct rubber size.

That may be the best 4 pin package deal of all time, and I'm not even a huge TNA fan!

Hopefully just a simple leaf switch adjustment. Hard to tell for sure, but in the picture it almost looks like they switches are closed at "rest"? If so, that would keep them from firing. If not, then they may be adjusted too far apart, to where the ball impact is not enough to get them to fire. Can you get them to fire with your finger?

(Sorry if there are super obvious things you already checked...not sure your experience level, so no intent to offend)

I think I read that many came with green, but the suggestion was to switch to orange. Not sure if production switched at some point? Mine was changed to orange and is 100% or very close to it.

My problem is the auto plunge. I am no stranger to adjusting auto plungers as I have fought that battle with many machines successfully, but no matter what I do I can't seem to get JP consistent. It will be perfect 10 times in a row, and then I'll get a nasty weak rattle...3 more good smooth and strong, another nasty weak rattle, etc. Tried much fork bending, tried the washer(s) under the left side of the plunger lane rail trick, tried adjusting the strength settings way up and way down, made sure the mech is tight and solid, etc. Always the same thing...about 75% super smooth, 25% total crap with no apparent reason. It's maddening. If anyone has additional ideas, I'm all ears.

I have a couple washers under the left fork, but that didn't seem to do much. Maybe a few percent better but not the miracle it was for some.

Your comment about auto being weak randomly is spot on...it doesn't seem to be an alignment issue with how consistent my manual plunge is and the fact that the launch forks are dead on where they should be on mine (and I tried a few different angles). It is really like it just randomly gets limp noodle. Then again that does bring rattling around with it, which makes me think something isn't staying perfectly aligned either. Weird one...I have a feeling I just need to live with it on this one. At least my manual is near perfect.

LOL...right? I feel like a hero if I can hit the smart missile at all...much less purposely grazing the captive ball on the way through!

I would have never guessed the ball could actually hit that with how far into the corner that is. Will have to check mine.

I wouldn't go quite as far as calling IJ b-list (not my favorite, but I can't deny most love it), I was very surprised to see it beat Maiden. I thought Maiden would destroy it honestly.

As for this matchup...JP has to take it. No contest in my opinion.

Just takes a little bending. Look at how the ball is getting stuck and then bend the gate to not allow it to settle there. I don't remember off the top of my head what direction to bend it, but it should be pretty obvious once you take a good look at it.

Linear with no side missions? You must be playing a different game. If you wanted, you could basically ignore the paddocks and concentrate on control room modes (selectable) or T-Rex modes (random after the first), each with their own mini-wizard modes. Or concentrate on CHAOS or Raptor multiball and trying to get deep in them. Or, you can even start the game in Escape Nublar Challenge for what is basically an entire mini-game of its own. Plus, even the map progression itself has path choices at every single paddock. Sorry, I just don't understand how that can be considered linear with no side missions.

And how often are you doing that? I'm guessing never since it literally doesn't end after Nublar. There's still a final mode when you beat Nublar and the other mini-wizard modes.

Of course...I'm pretty sure THEN it ends, but I'm not sure since I have never gotten anywhere near it.

In my opinion, having an end to a game doesn't mean it's linear when there are so many paths and unique things to do to get there. Linear means you are locked in to one thing, then the next, then the next, etc. In JP there are choices the entire time. Of course, that's just like, my opinion man.

Nice. You are a heck of a player. I have gotten to each of the mini-wizards, but not EN or WDRTE. I didn't realize that you do not get a chance to go back for the other mini-wizards once you get to EN, making it a bit of a road block. I apologize. At either rate, we have different definitions of linear, but I can definitely see your point. Gotta love this game. Those raptors are clever!

Metallica is a fun game, no doubt, but it has a very vanilla layout and the rules get really wood-choppy as you get deep into it heading towards EOTL. JP is 100% unique in both layout and ruleset. I loved Metallica intensely for the couple years I owned it, but do not miss it much, especially since I can play it at a number of other places. That's enough for me now. There is really no comparison...JP blows it away.

That's because there are about a million variables making your game different from his. You need to find the settings that work best for your machine how you have it set up. Just like TV calibration settings, rarely can you just copy someone else's and have it be right for you. If they are too weak, bump them up until they feel good!

They will almost surely send you an unpopulated playfield for that kind of damage. Expect it to take a LONG time, but they will eventually. You will almost definitely not get a populated playfield. I do not think they are doing that for anyone anymore.

Hard to say. It all depends on if they have them in stock or have to wait for a run of them to be made. Plus with Covid, everything is going to be even further behind. I've had a few playfields replaced over the years, and usually it takes a couple months between the initial review time for them to decide if you get one and then the time to actually send you one. One game took extra long as the game was no longer being manufactured at the time, so it was awhile before playfields could be run. I want to say that one took 3-4 months total.

I am currently waiting for one, and its been three months since they confirmed it would be replaced. Of course that's right when Covid hit, so I can understand the holdup. The game is perfectly playable as-is, and I'm not in a huge hurry to do a swap, so I do not mind the wait as long as I know it will be made right eventually.

Of all the cost savings measures Stern has done over the years, I can't for the life of me figure out why they still include bubble levels. They are rarely correct, and do nothing but confuse newer owners. Never, ever trust the bubble.

Besides all that, which I completely agree with, I have to address the comment that all the paddocks are the same. That's completely untrue. There are distinct differences in how the dinosaurs behave (speed, direction of travel, hunting in pairs, etc...and they are brilliantly associated with the type of dinosaur they are). Different numbers of rescues are required. The capture mechanism gets more difficult as you go (starting with either capture switch and no helipad, to both switches, to both plus the helipad, to both needed in the right order plus the helipad, etc). The amount of time you have to capture them decreases, etc. Each paddock definitely feels different, and there is quite a bit of strategy involved with which path you take through them, which will have ramifications through the rest of the game (not to mention it will affect Escape Nublar should you get that far).

I do understand some of the comments about the game being linear, with only two possible paddocks available at first and they can be difficult to progress through. But once you get some of the shots and strategy down, the game really opens up many different paths and ways to play. Plus, as it was said above, you can ignore the paddocks altogether and still have PLENTY of things to do. Remove the paddocks and this game is still deeper than many popular games!

Necro-bumping an old post of mine to see if anyone has battled the autoplunge lately and won. Mine is driving me up a wall. I was running with two washers under the left rail for quite awhile. Tried a third, no difference. Tried one, no difference. Tried zero, no difference. Have tried adjusting the power way up and way down, and everything in between, no difference. It is still 75% super smooth, 25% random weak, bouncing garbage. If it was consistent, I could fight it. But there is just no consistency at all. When it does make it, it is with authority...it isn't like it's barely making it. It's solid and "perfect" when it goes...not on the edge of not working. Sometimes it will go 3-4 games with no issue, then one game where every other launch fails. It's infuriating. The ball seems to be settling in to a rest every time before firing, so I do not think that is it. Nothing seems loose other than a bit of typical slop in the autoplunge mechanism. The manual plunger is still almost perfect, only failing super-rarely, which I can live with, so I do think think there is a lane alignment issue. The autoplunger forks are centered and the ball rests on both of them equally. Like I said...not my first Stern autoplunge rodeo, but definitely my most frustrating one!

This is slowly turning into one of those issues that is going to eat away at me until I either solve it or sell the machine. I just can't accept that this is as good as it gets. I've tried every trick I've seen in this (and other similar) thread, but if anyone has any ideas, I am all ears!

Yup. Turned it all the way to max. All the way down to where it would barely make it. And everything in between. No significant change to the percentage that fails. Lower setting seems slightly happier, but not by much.

I have the same copter (bought it myself for like 1/8th of the non-LED Modfather price ). I mounted mine in the same place but sitting on the plastic so the ball spins the blades on the way through. Looks and works great!

Double check that you have extra balls on and set high enough that you hadn't already collected enough of them to reach the max? I think most games default to 5 extra balls allowed, but not sure on JP. Also check to make sure it's not on tournament settings. That usually means no extra balls.

That looks like someone buffed it too hard with something too aggressive...possibly with a wheel with how circular the marks look. You might be able to polish it back out with some elbow grease, but be careful not to make it worse. With a newer machine like that, there's no reason to use anything stronger than Novus 1.

That gate is a pretty common hang-up that can be adjusted easily. Rest a ball on it and see exactly how it is getting stuck. Then just bend the wire gate so that doesn't happen. But I would verify that you are level and at the right pitch (at least 6.5, but 7 is probably better for this game) before doing that. Same thing for the raptor pen gate.

Good luck with the ball launch. That can be a bear. Besides any physical tweaking to the forks and ramp itself, you may need to play with the autoplunger power adjustment. It sounds counterintuitive, but in some cases turning down the power helps. But it varies from machine to machine.

Yeah...not a surprise with this launch design. Make sure your manual plunger is centered on the ball, both horizontally and vertically. Make sure your plunger rod end rubber is seated all the way down and not worn. Beyond that, experiment with how far you pull the plunger. If you find that it's more successful with a shorter plunge, maybe try a weaker spring. If full plunges barely have the power to make it around, try a stronger one.

Sorry I no longer have my JP, but it was definitely there when I had it, and most other modern games have it. For example, my AIQ has it under Adjustments - Game - #188 Auto Plunger Power. I would assume JP's is around the same place.

Editing my first response a bit as I probably sounded like I was ragging too much on the premium/LE upgrades. Not my intent.

I am personally team pro on this machine. I do not find the upgrades to be worth it to me. The moving T-Rex looks a little funny to me, but I do admit it's a neat gimmick. The raptor pit is a bigger change in my mind, but even that does not change the shot enough to be worth it to me. I do like that it can trap a ball behind the gate though, and act as a captive ball. That's cool.

Overall, the pro to premium upgrade is not enough of a game changer, and the gimmick quality is not enough to get me to want to spend the extra money. I am happy that some people find them to be though, and we have that option. If money truly wasn't an issue, I would love a LE as I think it's a beautiful machine. The premium art mostly does not do it for me, though I like the pro art quite a bit.

When I had my pro I did not feel like I was missing anything, and if/when I buy another one, it will most likely be another pro (unless a fantastic deal on a LE falls in my lap, which I am not holding my breath about).

Opinions definitely vary, so best if you can play them both yourself and see if the upgrades are worth it to you.

Happy to be back in the club! I left my last one go too abruptly. I was hot on something new and shiny, and ended up talking myself into selling JP and justifying it by saying I didn't find it very satisfying. I managed to keep believing that for six months. A few weeks ago I posted in a TMNT vs JP thread, and at one point made the comment that while I prefer TMNT, and mentioned some negatives about JP, I felt like I was talking myself into giving it a second chance. Well guess what? Not even three weeks after posting that, JP is back in the house, LOL! I am definitely re-honeymooning with it, and questioning why I left it go in the first place. Yes, I still think paddocks are a bit of a slog, but lately I have been focusing more on keeping a good rescue streak and even trying for perfect paddocks and that has kept my interest much higher. T-Rex modes are heart pumpers...maybe some of the best modes in pinball. Love em.

I had stated that JP isn't a very satisfying shooter. I was wrong (and honestly trying to help justify letting it go). It is a difficult shooter for sure, and if you miss it can feel clunky. But when you are on and hitting them, it's pretty awesome. Very unique shots, and they do feel great when you hit them. I think part of my problem is it isn't the style of playfield I usually gravitate towards. I generally like tons of flow, somewhat easier shots, Steve Ritchie/John Borg style. JP is much more of a sharp-shooter game. The flow and combos for miles are there, but it takes real skill to hit them. I especially struggle with the upper flipper shots, but nailing them feels so good. And honestly, what other game can make a single stand-up target feel more satisfying to hit than the smart missile when lit. So sweet. And picking off the set trap targets is pretty cool too, especially with the twist of the truck position making them more difficult. Just great placement and use of space.

I had picked up an A:IQ while JP was gone. Honestly that game went a long way to making me miss and appreciate JP more. I do prefer A:IQ overall...it has some of the same feel with very unique shots and tons of combos available, but I find it to be a (mostly) easier shooter leading to much more obtainable flow. But you can tell they have the same DNA (no pun intended?). They make a great 1-2 punch, and I really hope to add an Iron Maiden to complete the KME trilogy at some point. It's funny how his shots and rules make you hungry for more. It's hard to believe he has only designed three games so far and they are all this good. I can't imagine what he'll be doing with more experience under his belt.

Long story short, I am glad to say I have come to my senses and it's great to have the dinos roaming in my basement again. I think it will be a very long term resident this time. Now to rebuy all the friggin mods I sold with the first one... LOL

Awesome! I still haven't done it. Close, but haven't put it all together yet.

But you do have one more goal...When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth! That's one I do not expect to ever see, but I'm glad to know it's there just in case!

This. And definitely fix it ASAP. The JP I just picked up had the post in the back spinner/loop about a half inch low. Unfortunately it shows a decent amount of wear from being like that for quite a few plays before I fixed it. 5 minute fix, if that, to not only play right but also save playfield wear.

Installed the Stern art blades the other day and thought I would share since I could only find a few pics of them installed. I had the Tilt Graphics blades in my old machine and liked them quite a bit, but I really love how these look.

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There is a lot of detail I didn't manage to capture well in the pics. If you look close at the eye, a part of the image from the LE backglass is reflected in it. It's a nice little touch that I had no idea was there.

Now my big question...is it a T-Rex or a Raptor on the blades? I mostly hear it referred to as a T-Rex, but I'm not sure...

Yeah sorry if I wasn't clear...it's definitely a T-Rex in the reflection, but I wasn't sure about who's eye the reflection is in. I am leaning towards it being a raptor also, but I've seen it called T-Rex multiple times so wasn't sure. I'm going to stick with raptor. They are clever after-all...

I think mine looks great. Pics do not do it justice.

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I'm no entomologist, but I'm pretty sure mine is real. I won't be smashing it open to find out though.

Even if it is fake, it looks awesome and I love it.

I wonder if they changed on different runs, because mine is a t-nut. There should be no need to hold anything from the bottom when tightening.

Ahh...that makes sense. Mine is definitely an early run pro with the art still under the posts. Learn something new every day.

There would be no white shots because you finished the paddocks. From there you have to finish the rest of the goals (all the control room modes and all the T-Rex modes) in order to reach Escape Nublar.

Control Room lights with each of the following:
Capture one dinosaur
15 Tower shots
Spell CHAOS a second time
Raptor Multiball Jackpot

After playing the third one, Secure Control Room will light immediately.

Invalid Frenzy lights by completing the fourth qualification. I am pretty sure it is first after Secure Control Room, but I'm not positive on that. Invalid Frenzy can also be awarded by the Smart Missile.

No idea. I have only gotten it once from Control Room modes, so I definitely do not have much experience getting that far, LOL.

I do not have a premium, so no experience with the mech, but do they come from the factory tied down or anything to prevent movement in shipping? I have had a few games where a zip tie or something had to be removed before playing. Just a thought. I hope it is something simple for you!

I'm pretty sure it depends on how deep into the game you are. If memory serves (and please correct me if I'm wrong), the first couple modes you can get away with a light hit, but the later ones require a full rotation to award the shot.

If that isn't your problem and it is now requiring a full rotation all the time, I would take a look at the switches that register the position and make sure they are both working correctly. If one died, I could see the game needing a full rotation to know the Jeep moved at all.

Ahhh...that is probably what I was thinking of. I knew there were times when a partial worked, and times a full was required. I should have double checked the rulesheet before posting. Thanks!

Great looking T-Rex, and the Pteranodon cage is a really interesting concept. Can't wait to see how it comes together. Well done!

This has to be one of the most fun games to mod. So many great marketed mods and so much that can be done personally. Fun stuff. I had my first JP pretty modded up before I sold it, but haven't gotten around to doing much on the playfield of my new one. I should really do that one of these days.

Hard to tell for sure in those pics, but it almost looks as though the switch is stuck down? Do you hear the click when you pull up on it slightly? It could just be a matter of readjusting the arm of the switch. It should be "unclicked" at rest, and click when the ball goes through the gate. That is one nice thing about microswitches like this...you can (usually) hear if they are physically working.

If anyone has an extra Matchbox Mission Chopper, please let me know. Thanks!

You shouldn't have said that out loud!!

I have owned two JPs now and both needed some tweaking on the left guide rail of the spinner shot to make it smooth. If memory serves there isn't much if any adjustment in the mounting points, but there is enough metal past the mounting points to bend fairly easily. Remember small changes can make a huge difference. You may have to experiment a little to see what direction yours wants. My old machine actually needed to be bent out (left) slightly, which was counter-intuitive to making the ball transition to the back rail smoothly, but for whatever reason it worked perfectly. My new machine needed to be bent in (right) a bit. It may take a few tries, but you should be able to get it pretty smooth. That said, this is one of those shots that will never be 100% smooth, and will sometimes bounce around a bit on the way through. It's just too sharp of a transition to be perfect every time with every shot angle.

No problem. I bent mine in place. Taking it out would be easiest, but a lot more work pulling it in and out to check it. You will need to take the plastic off, but then should be able to get a needle nose pliers on it. Wrap the pliers jaws in electrical tape or put a rag or something around it if you are afraid of marring the rail up a bit. Then just be careful. Don't scrape the playfield! It might help to loosen the nut under the playfield that holds the closest attachment point. That will let the whole thing "rotate" a bit more. Just remember to tighten it back up. A tiny bit can make a big difference. Make sure the gate doesn't get hung up or difficult to move. Do not bend too far or the ball will get stuck between the rails (ask how I found that out, LOL!). And if going the way you think you need to go doesn't help, do not be afraid to try the opposite way. Like I said, sometimes it's counter-intuitive. Since the ball will never perfectly "merge" into that lane, you are looking for the angle that causes the least amount of bouncing around. Ideally one smack into the back wall and then smoothly around is what you want. My first machine I actually had to angle it towards the wall a hair to get that bounce right, which seemed wrong, but smoothed the shot out a ton.

Best of luck, you can do it! Like everything with pinball, it sounds daunting at first, but it really isn't hard once you dig in.

AWESOME! Congrats!

Yup. I would say especially check the one all the way in the back of the pen. That one is required to actually start the multiball...can't just bounce around the outer angled targets. Gotta go all the way in.

There's your problem. You are missing stuff. There should be a disk like thingy attached to the bottom of that shaft that blocks those optos. Right now it isn't interfacing with the switches at all. Do you have anything laying in the bottom of your cabinet?

That must be it. Others that I have seen have been more of a disk...and I admit I haven't had to mess with mine, but it sure looks like what you need.

It's the "plastic protector" for the front edge of the pit. Goes under the front of the "roof" plastic, post to post.

T-Rex multiball is pure rules genius. For the quick/easy "gimme" multiball to have such deep scoring potential is absolutely amazing. Just super well thought out to be able to satisfy complete beginners as well as the most seasoned tournament players.

It's about 11.25". Maybe allow 11.5" to be safe.

I agree that score based comparisons aren't really valid, but I do find the achievements to be interesting, as well as stuff like "who can capture T-Rex fastest?". It's a good concept, and it will be interesting to see how it develops. I'm not loving stuff like Goat Mania and Can I Play With Madness (for imdn pro) being a part of it, but at the same time it's a lot cheaper than buying a topper or upgrading my IMDN to a premium if I want those modes. Double edged sword for sure....and will likely lead to more "DLC". I do not hate DLC on principle. If a game is 100% complete and not "missing" anything, I am all for adding additional stuff later that would have never been there otherwise. But if things are purposely held back in order to charge for it later, that sucks. In pinball terms I guess I would be ok with paying for stuff like the challenge modes, but if say the Control Room modes were held back and charged for as an upgrade later, that would suck. I'm torn on things like Goat Mania. It really isn't crucial to the game in any way, and was pretty obviously an add-on, so I guess of all things to be treated this way, that's not terrible. I don't know...again it will depend on how this develops.

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That's...disgusting. Just disgusting.

I have had two JP pros. I put Tilt Graphics in one, and Stern in the other. I love them both honestly. I think I slightly prefer the Stern, but I do not think you can go wrong with either.

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Sounds like you have it correct. There is some false information floating around here. Flipper bat center should always be lined up to the dot. The upper flipper of JP is an exception as Keith stated that the top plane of the upper flipper only should line up to the dot. I can only assume this was an error in how the pf was designed or was a last minute decision due to shot difficulty.

If anyone is positioning their lower flippers to be lower than the alignment holes, that is their own personal preference, not the designers intent. And of course, there is nothing wrong with personal preference on your own pin.

(disclaimer, it's possible that Keith stated the lower flippers should also be below the alignment holes and I did not see it. If anyone has proof, I'd love to see it.)

It's a tough game for sure. I would also say, more than almost any other game, the enjoyment really depends on if you are hitting your shots. If you are on, it can feel like one of the most satisfying, flowy layouts ever made. If you are off, it is a terribly unsatisfying brick fest. There is no in between on this game. Most games I would say you can still have fun with even if you aren't nailing all your shots. JP though...nope. Best to just turn it off and walk away.

Ideally "unscrewing" it when it's that tight is best, but if you can't do that, you can always just pound it out from underneath. Use a small punch, screwdriver, or another post or something with a smaller diameter than the post you are trying to move. If it had a nut on the bottom, it wasn't meant to be threaded into the wood.

Scuff the flipper bat shaft up with some sandpaper first. I've had this issue with a few games and that usually does the trick.

Yeah I agree. Love this concept compared to any of the others I have seen, but I wouldn't want Super Tranq on it. I liked the original "King of the Island" but simply "Jurassic Park" would be great too. Not sure there would be room for "When Dinosaurs Roamed the Earth", but that would be cool too. Maybe "Life Finds A Way", "Chaos", or "Hold on to Your Butts"? I guess for me I would rather have a themed quote/tagline than trying to label what the button does (especially since it does multiple things).

Either way though...cool design. Well done!

Just wanted to let you know to not feel too bad...it's happened to all of us (or will eventually). You aren't the first and won't be the last. Modern Sterns are WAY too easy to pull off the rails. I did it on my Batman 66 and crushed the cabinet speaker. Thankfully no other damage that time. Hopefully your fix will be something simple...definitely sounds like a broken wire or connector pulled loose somewhere. Best of luck!

Hate to say it, but EVERY pinball machine is a project. That is just how they are. You might get lucky from time to time, but more than likely you will eventually have to do something. It's a shame that it came right out of the box that way, but that's really not a rarity for any manufacturer. It is just the nature of these insanely complicated machines.

Between your distributor and the people here, you will get through it!

Turning the fake knocker down to the low volume definitely helps. Sounds much closer to the real thing and isn't so ear shattering. Still not the same as the real thing, but I wouldn't personally want to turn it off either.

Anyone have an idea what a Tilt Topper is realistically going for these days? Thanks!