You guys really need to put up an official FAQ on the pps website instead of everyone digging through all these pages. Some questions keep getting asked over and over.

Question I don't remember seeing asked, and Rick may not know the answer, but why wouldn't WMS want their logo plastered all over the remake of one of the most loved and sought after pinball machines ever made?

Bam! Rick rocks!

The_Dude_Abides has already done this.

http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/medieval-madness-remake-updates

I for one really don't believe in censorship and folks should be able to say their opinions, but with all this digging I have to go weed through, I could have been a archaeologist.

Maybe an admin could please clean up all non related posts to questions and answers.

Because they aren't making it. Because they are making something else.

And don't need the liability. That is why things get made under license. Someone else gets the headaches.

Even tech support would end up at their door, whether they answered or not.

LTG : )

I don't agree with this.

J/K

Double this, think I have a order, heavy on the think part.

Okay, makes sense. Thanks, Lloyd.

It still seems to me that the question of how one goes about replacing one of the insert LED's that goes out, if its just 1 that dies on a whole board of say.... 10 (random number)... hasn't really been clearly answered. Will soldering be required or will there be some simple way to replace a single LED?

YouTube how to replace SMD components and you will see.

Seems like a bad idea to me, Why make replaceing a bulb so much more difficult than normal? I assume cost is the only reason.

For the record, yes I have an order in so your talking to a paying customer here.

Not looking forward to an LED going out.

I'de like to suggest somehow making this a more user friendly repair.

Having to call a pinball repair person for $60 an hour to change a lightbulb just seems like its asking for bad press, from a user perspective and for you guys once you get all the negative backlash.

I'de be thrilled if you told us that there is a solution to this, or that we don't know what we are talking about.

I think the point is, LEDs shouldn't go out for a very very long time if ever.

Yeah, thats pretty much what keeps my hopes up about not having to deal with it.

I have had LEDs go out though quicker than expected, which is what gives me a small amount of trepidation.

Replacing a single component with a chisel tip soldering iron is NOT that big of a deal...

Very well put. You can do it in 5 minutes with practically any cheap $10 soldering iron and no skills. And its much more reliable than the wire connections on any of the bulb holders currently used. Especially the newer Sterns plastic holders that simply push a metal wedge through the insulation and hope it makes a good connection with the wire. They are not very reliable when you start moving the wiring and connectors around a lot. I have had to replace a few of them now after putting mods on games and moving things around.

It's a legitimate question. Perhaps the deep-pocketed customer that can afford an 8k toy is too busy making a living to want to learn to solder in his/her limited spare time.

Annoying distributor salesmouth "yeah nowadays they're as reliable as a TV set" Customer calls back "got a bulb out"
Salesmouth "oh now you need to learn to solder"...

Doesn't affect me as learning to solder was one of the few useful things I learned in public school

I can spend $30k on a vehicle that uses technology I don't understand, but if a bulb goes out in the dash I'm gonna shrug and contact the peeps that know what they're doing.

Pinball machines have mostly been built for operators that know how to tackle small issues like that. If we, as home buyers, want the machines in our game rooms then we need to learn the ropes or be prepared to pay those that know how to do the work.

Just my opinion of course.

I never had a problem with that until I put a Cliffy protector on it. Then I had to put the "drop dead" foam on the backside and it helped tremendously. I doubt PPS would change the design of that hole and they should not to protect the integrity of the game being as close to original as possible. After all, they need to make these playfields the same as the originals so they can be used as replacement playfields for the original games.
That "bounce out" is a part of the randomness of the game anyway. Its fun to see players yell at the game over it!

Pretty easy to just pay a guy $50-$100 to come solder up your machine if needed. Drop in the bucket compared to the cost of the game.

While we're on the subject of light boards, will there be any extras in the goody bag?

If there's a pinball machine in my home, and theres something I can't fix, I hire a pro. Turns out he can't fix it either, and tech support can't help. If I had a $30,000 car in my garage, I would replace the burnt out bulb myself, because the dealer mechanics are underpaid and would screw something else up (that and I am the best auto tech I know).

The point is, if it is in your home, you can fix it or at least try.

I agree. But do you think the salesperson tells the customer (who is about to buy) that he/she may have to pay for expensive tech housecalls to replace an led bulb? Or warns them that they will need to practice a new skill - simple as we feel it is?

But as you pointed out - the price is approaching a crappy car these days.

I agree this was the thing that worried me the most, because it was mentioned that the game will come with the warm white leds, which in my opinion look antiquey...(great for EM pins), and I'd have to change them out with color matching and cool colors etc. SMD's are hard to replace for the average pinhead, it takes a good amount of skills. The upside is I'm told they don't go bad as much so if the colors are tasteful at least you won't have to go down that road often.

Personal preference but, I think warm white GI looks best for the theme. When I tried to change my LOTR to cool white it looked awful, so I changed it back.

I think it was mentioned that the GI might be socketed and that's where the warm white would be. The inserts would be the board lighting and color matched.

I'm pretty sure Rick said that the GI will be normal socketed LEDs. The boards are only being used for the controlled lighting.

Jinx!

OK...great news, I must have missed that in the 20 MMR threads I'm simultaneously reading.

You caught me doing that same thing!

This link may be of some use to you in the future then.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/medieval-madness-remake-updates

I know decals are being used but I really hope they will use same system as Stern to stop decals wrinkling?

Also, what are the chances of color dmd being compatible? Awesome mod and surely this should be in from the start???

The Dude rocks

Even if they don't, they are available from Terry for $15:

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2711

Also, Rick stated he's talking with the Color DMD guys but not sure which way that'll go.

DarkWizard you have a good point and concerns, like it was answered a LED should last approx 100,000 hours of continuous use meaning = we should be dead before the LED dies lol. However if something was to go wrong with them most likely it will show itself very quickly while still under warranty and a simple board swap might be in order. Beyond that if it does happen and your're right tech repairs can be a bit expensive but this is really no big deal change, maybe a fellow hobbyist that can do this work that is local to you will gladly help out in this situation and maybe make a day of it having lunch and playing pinball in the process. That would be my offer to anyone local to me

Making friends with common interest is always a good thing.

I don't think you know that all new Sterns use SMD LED boards as well for inserts. Get used to it because all pins will be using them.

Same here I had an LED go on my ACDC but those are multi-colored and not the same. However, you don't need a pinball repair guy to fix the board. My guess is that it's not hard to remove the board, hopefully it isn't buried under all kinds of other junk

You can pull the board and I'm sure there are tons of shops in your town that will fix it for a few bucks. Repairing them is super easy if you have the correct equipment, either take it to someone that does, or absolute worst case you have to ship it off to have the cheap repair done.

It sounds bad, but again, with the reliability of the LEDs, they shouldn't happen at all during the life of the game, but I guess it's possible it happens once or twice, every few years sort of thing.

Like other said, this is how things are going, but for a good reason. The equipment to do the work is actually really reasonable, under $100. Otherwise, pull it, take it to a local shop and it's a simple repair. Hopefully it's just a few screws and a connector.

Here is a question from another pinsider, just thought I would post for anyone to comment. "I know in the original game, the balls could get stuck in the catapult and would never clear due to a design flaw, how is this going to be addressed in MMR?"

You should be happier than I pig in shit that you actually have a pinball repair man too call in your area.

Hi,

I'd be happy to design a new logo for you (free) that will best fit into the MMR design.
24 years of game industry experience

cheers,
bb

No logo is my vote!

I second that!!!!

3rd

No logo isn't realistic. I'm sure Rick wants his logo on there

+1 Great idea. Hopefully Rick is interested in seeing what you could do.

Good stuff, thanks.

Agree to disagree? Hell no!!!

Good to hear, I'll be in the market in about a year and a half.

I want a really really nice logo... on a decal

I gave a deposit and now waiting for my NIB MEDIEVAL MADNESS!!!

Always wanting to say that