loops and iterators. writing code is not so fun.

Seems like the only hint is "Start Your Battle!"

Jared is trolling us!!! It will be my little pony and we will all look bad

That paper is old. This is previous documentation of a game they are redoing I bet.

Looking at the score array (assuming) it's a high scoring game.

What pins do you battle on? PotC? Avatar? Transformers? Maybe a Data East game?

It is meant to look like GOT but is Terminator. This is going to be such a disappointment.

The increased public-facing activity by Stern is certainly an improvement, but the pandering throughout much of it is pathetic and embarrassing.

I think it's It's LOTR VE

I tend to agree, but look at their stats! The increase in folks following their page is really pretty impressive.

Here's why I think so. Found this rule sheet.

"Six modes are listed on the plastic surrounding the center Ring, two from
each of the three movies. "

"Hitting either flipper will change the currently
selected mode."

Code says flippers select next mode

"If Mode Start is lit on the center shot (from three Elf
rings), shooting the Ring starts the currently selected mode. "

"The game will hold the ball in the Ring while the mode intro is displayed, although
occasionally the ball will escape and fall onto the playfield during the
intro. Any mode intro can be aborted by the flippers."

The code says it disables the ball search while in mode select (likey more games that do this though)

I say bring it on! I just bought an LE for cheaper than a NIB Pro, so at this point, a LOTR VE means nothing to me.

It seems to me like this code indicates that there is a specific mode select screen, as there's a timer and ball search is off. In LOTR mode selection just occurs during regular gameplay, so ball search would be on and it would not be timed.

He's pulling the parts in quotes from whatever "rule sheet" he is reading...so basically, he's saying it's LOTR based solely on the fact that the flipper buttons select a mode and that the game is presumably holding the ball and not doing a ball search while starting a mode?

That could be almost anything just based on those snippets alone.

MET Crank it up
AC/DC song choice
KISS song choice
X-Men villians modes

And so on. If this is related to a game re-release, you'd have to index the games that have mode starts that work in this way against the scoring table for the modes on the game and see what's got something that lines up with that scoring table values above.

No, not solely on the fact that the flipper buttons select the mode.

It defines the mode as choosing a battle. Isn't the ball in the ring when you select the mode? I haven't played alot of LoTR, I was just looking for rules where the modes were called Battles.

I am not saying it is LotR, I'm saying my guess is, or I THINK is could be LotR. and with Hobbit coming out it would be a smart move to release a LotR VE around the same time.

Seems like the 'ChooseYourBattleLit' would be important to pay attention to.

Yeah. My immediate thought was actually X-Men. The only older Stern that I can remember with mode selects based around battles would be the villain battle selection in X-Men.

I think this is just the code from Star Trek if you're selecting a mode it turns off ball search. Choose your battle is just what they're calling a mode.

No. The ring shot activates the selected mode. The next mode is constantly changing every time you hit a flipper button. The only way to select it is to trap the ball on one flipper, stage the mode on the other (accounting for the flipper shot), then hit the ring. There is no ball saver to pause or ChooseYourBattle to light.

Choose your Battle = Star Wars.

Thanks for that, Like I said, I don't know the game that well.

What other games have a light that that indicates you should select a mode and also has a timer while selecting the mode with the flippers?

It could be anything. The code is so abstracted, there aren't too many solid hints in it.

Rubik's_cube.svg.png

Getting ready to announce the AFM remake

Using my best CSI skills learned from hours of watching TV, the paper is aged on one side, was likely in a folder and not a binder (no holes). Because only the edge is aged I suspect that the file cabinet drawer was very full thus preventing air from getting to the rest of the paper.

It was printed on a laser printer and not a dot matrix, that puts it maybe post 1990.

It was printed on a Tuesday by a man wearing a fedora. The file cabinet was Olive Green and wobbled slightly due to a misaligned foot on the bottom.

That's all I got.

Capture.JPG

Mad Max???

as others have stated, the real clue here is the "isChooseYourBattleLit()" function. Obviously a function that returns a boolean whether a certain insert (or feature, at least) is lit.

As a coder myself, i don't think they'd call a function "isChooseYourBattleLit()" if the feature or insert referenced wasn't actually called "Choose Your Battle" (or at least was called that at some point in development). I don't think it'd be used for picking a song or choosing what is in-game called a mission, for example. This looks like professional, precise code. the coder isn't just making up nicknames for things here. Sure, i've seen functions named checkTheImportantThingy() before, but this does not look like that kind of code base.

I don't know Sterns all that well unfortunately, but i'm not aware of any potential Vault candidates that have a feature or insert named "choose your battle".

ok, but why would someone print out source code, let alone store it in a cabinet long enough to age? i kinda think this stuff was printed out specifically for the photo op. but i dont know, you are right that the pages do look aged.

It was absolutely put out for the photo op. There is 0% chance this is "accidental" or "sneaky".

It's like I said in the other thread...This Facebook "secret" shit is already getting ridiculous. Jared made the comments in the C2C episode about how he wants to use these secret clues not just to communicate clues about the next titles, but just clues about what's going on in his head and at Stern in general. That sort of stuff probably works amazingly well in some industries, but I don't feel like it translates to Pinball very well. It almost feels forced, like a cry for attention or something.

Nah, they're just still using blank printer paper from the Data East days...it's a fresh print.

Game of Thrones.

Seriously...you almost can't blame Stern for doing it though since people fall for it again & again. I remember 10+ years ago when my buddy was arguing with me that he thought bangbus was real.

When Williams bought Bally they got a file cabinet with all the game code done to that point printed out, plus the 8" floppies.

It's actually a very good idea to maintain a hard copy in human-readable format, since digital storage mediums are constantly changing.

I should rephrase that - it gets us talking about Stern, sure. But almost as soon as they started putting these "cryptic rumor posts" out there, I wrote them off. Sure, I'll comment here and there, but it's just social media viral marketing. It works on those who let it work on them.

You don't see leaks in the pinball world like you do the videogame world, and that's sort of how I've come to my conclusion that these fake "leaks" and "clues" are exactly that - fake posts designed to get people rumbling.

I could be wrong, and I'd LOVE to be wrong in this case...But I refuse to sit around and think long and hard about what game or production is coming out of Stern when we all know damn well that Stern won't let a single iota of information out that isn't approved by Gary himself.

I'm not sure anyone is thinking this is a real leak. It's all for fun. It may contain REAL clues, though.

Oh dear.

free_candy.jpg

Trudeau chimes in on one of the posts as well - maybe its his next game.

With this "Battle" hint and listening to Jared and Jody on Coast2Coast pinball, their intro to the interview was an LOTR soundbite. Could it be!?

No, battle with the dinosaurs. Jurassic World. No one gets out alive.

LTG : )™

No, battle with the Shark. JAWS. No one gets out alive.
mrclean : )™
01jaws.jpg

well, you have to consider the source

let a guy dream will ya...

Nah it's gonna be the Pinball Pre Order Battle Royale pin where you can pick between battling guys like J-pop, Bumper Action, Kevin and all the other shady companies around these days.

Look to be toy makers to me. Hope they also do display work as well.

Oh wow. I would say hiring those guys is a STRONG indication that Stern is about to implement video into their games in some fashion. Jeez, if their next game is Game of Thrones by Steve Ritchie with an LCD ... They will be selling a lottttttt of pinball machines.

One has been on 45 video game titles and the other has a masters in 3D animation. I think they can handle display work.

Coincidence?

What looks like bigger scoring coming back from those numbers above sheets. Hate the low score stern format & JJ approach, bring back my millions

sounds like Stern is gearing up for the LCD

Boy, Jared and Jody are LOLing in their offices right now at you guys.

Jared - "haha lets get these old coding sheets and take a picture and put it on Facebook! Facebook is really neat!!"

Jody - "haha yeah good idea! Make sure they don't say anything specific!"

Jared - "haha we are marketing geniuses! This will get another front page thread on Pinside!! All publicity is great publicly! Gary is bound to give me a raise after only 2 weeks here!!"

Jody - "yes we are geniuses! Don't hold your breath for a raise though!"

$10 says that's exactly what happened.

rd.