Here’s to hoping NGG finally gets the fix it’s been waiting for.

no games to send money for...
Not sure we'll ever see a STNG update.
Monster Bash was clobbered by the remake.
So looks like I'm on the sidelines indefinately.

STNG will need both main line and home rom updates.

Stupid question but will this effect ColorDMD upgraded machines? Or games that are already upgraded to LedOCD? Great to see this and well worth the price. Maybe Cactus Canyon may see a final code.

Note they said; no new graphics or audio... so the changes are mainly bug fixes or minor rule changes which shouldn't effect ColorDMD. That said; *IF* they did... I'm 80% sure ColorDMD would patch the color dots like they just did for Stern Star Trek and a few others.

Great to see Sorens updates becoming available again! People like him and Applejuice/Jim (RFM updates) are really great for our hobby!

I'd buy a BSD Rom if only in the videomode where the wolves are coming from (left or right) was randomised. Even when set to 'hard' and the wolves approach with many and in high speed, right now it's always the same: 5 right, 1 left 4 right, 2 left 3 right, etc...

Thanks for the explanation. My frequency question was mainly directed at lamp smoothing for a fade on/fade off effect, not ghosting. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Given soren 's description, this is the same as the patch that has been around for many years. This does not affect the operation of LED OCD, but unfortunately, does not provide the same level of improvement in games without one.

So this won’t affect the ColorDMD? As I think I understand it, they’re revamped to color, frame by frame. Just code but no changes to DMD scenes?

I hope they do STTNG and change video mode to random.

Getaway could use some help. People run different roms for different reasons and all are buggy. It would be cool to see some added modes to games like that but not sure that is in scope with the project.

In theory, no.
But if scoring is changed, and someone colorized a screen based on the text of the amount/score displayed, then that could affect certain frames..

Exciting to see this classic era getting some new polish. Perhaps we need a "wish list" thread for each game where the developer can flag things being worked via "key posts"?

-Rob
-visit https://www.kahr.us to get my daughterboard that helps fix WPC pinball resets or my Pinball 2000 H+V Video Sync Combiner kit

Indy 500 really needs the software help.

That was already in the works previously I think there was some tweaks going on with how it performed.

If you look here:
https://sites.google.com/site/allentownpinball/tournament-rom-mods
I've been keeping a catalog of updated/tournaments roms there, most of the WPC ones are Soren's, before the deal was worked out. So I would assume that those will be upcoming candidates for updates.

Well, PPS is already out of stock on the CFTBL rom. Why not make it available to download? I'd gladly pay the $15-20 for the image and burn it myself rather than wait for them to restock on roms.

To be clear, there are 4 or 5 other places other than PPS to buy the roms.

+1 for randomizing the STTNG video mode. Would really help the game.

I’m so glad to see you putting in the time to do this. We all really appreciate it!

I'm kind of surprised their rom chip services don't reflect their stock of blank eproms instead of ones that may be pre-burnt, but I guess it depends on how their order picking is set up.... just parts in, parts out wouldn't operate this way.

Like NPO says, hit up one of the other suppliers.

It really depends on the individual person that did the color. Some screens are recognized using the entire frame so any change would cause it to no longer be colored. Usually though frames are being identified using a small portion of the frame that typically remains static and dynamic areas are avoided.

This is just amazing and I'm so glad to see PPS embracing code updates/changes to older games. Soren has done great work in the past for free but making these changes is a daunting and time consuming task. He should definitely be reimbursed for his hard work.

I suspect that the code for these games has long since been lost (maybe some of the original programmers have them still. but they can't admit to that).

I agree that there needs to be a paid download option. Perhaps you get emailed a rom file would be the easiest solution? Assuming the files are small enough for email. Please buy from authorized places and don't pirate this work. I very much want to see this continue.

I believe a couple people have said they don't think MB will get changes because of MBr. The remake uses a rom and emulator under the hood so there's no reason they couldn't put out an update with an updated rom. I'm not really familiar with any bugs in AFM, MB or MM myself though so I don't know what could even be done for them.

100% love this new work!!! PPS and soren have made something previously ruled out as it was 'set in stone' into a more accessible possibility. As new titles arrive from soren and @pps, more owners will jump on board the happy train, which is good!

Although buying download images and burning the ROMS yourself is technically a great way to simplify the process, I suspect that providing any form of DOWNLOAD is not being persued by PPS and their distributors due to the can of worms it would open: It makes it that much easier to copy the files and share those images with other enthusiasts. Not that this whole soren effort will generate life-changing money for either party, but offering download files directly would likely take whatever that revenue is to ZERO pretty quick. Selling hardware ROMs adds one layer of IP protection, as fewer people have the knowledge, means and tools to copy/burn ROMs. Sure copying can still be done, but not by everyone.

All ... just some background on this ... we've embraced code changes for some years, the problem is a) getting WMS to be 'ok' with it, which happened earlier this year, b) finding someone that was credible and able interested in working thru it, and c) finding the time to get things going.

So, fortunately we got that together with Soren who fits that profile ...

As for WMS, they are the rights owners for the code - and they want the code controlled - they do not want various updates floating around, as there are potential issues (although not likely but big companies don't work that way) so we do the things we do here for a reason, and as well as we want to keep Soren funded to be motivated to do this - so we are not entertaining 'downloads' for a fee at this point. Hopefully this is not such a large inconvenience.

Anyways, this is a good thing - and hopefully will add a little more to each of these games and we have more in store ...

These are dirt cheap for the value added. I’d pay twice that just to keep Soren and the updates going.

Amazing how people want things like this for free!

Agreed, back when pinball was big, Each ROM chip was $35-40 from Bally or Williams distributors (When Bally was Bally and Williams was Williams) in the US.

Adjusting for inflation would put them close to a hundred bucks a pop.

Please let us know how you like it after it is installed.

I'm disappointed to hear that. I'm not saying the price difference for a digital version should be significantly less. Perhaps like $5 cheaper (which would probably be around what it would cost to ship). You get to pocket the money that would have gone to the chip and time to program it. This would mean more money for both you and soren. Unfortunately my fear of not providing a way for people with eeproms and burners to easily get it digitally means that they might just pirate it instead. Convenience (or lack there of) is a HUGE motivating factor in piracy(see: RIAA and their obsession with exclusive rights deals). If it's easier to simply go buy it from either PPS or another authorized store and get it instantly delivered digitally you've just made it incredibly convenient and it's now MORE work to go find for free.

Unless I'm mistaken there's no way to protect the roms from being dumped so the spread of it will probably be inevitable. The best thing to do is to try to eliminate any desire to do that.

Everyone just pay the man , worth the couple of dollars for his effort and time ....

This drives me nuts when I see these responses - or waaa let us burn our own chip. It is a few bucks, this is how they set it up, just pay the price.....or don't. Or take up coding and distribution and provide this free for all of us.

It is so nice people like this take up the coding and do the distribution all for our benefit - just support them how they ask.

So glad to see the updates here and coming soon.

I know some games are more complete than others, but I was only thinking how cool it would be to have a champions table for MB -

Mosh Pit Champion
Full Moon Fever Champion
Ball and Chain Champion
Frankenstein Champion
Drac Champion
Mummy Mayhem Champion
Creature Champion

Only a small change but it would really add to the game.

Would love to see the add on of "Loop Champion " on No Fear j

Some form of donation or Patreon seems to make sense. Is there any list or order that is being considered for what machines to update?

$15K for a pinball machine that you havent even played 1 game on and it comes with a small piece of leather couch = SURE!!!!!!!

$25 for a ROM with brand new features and improved code. An update that we never thought would be happening in our lifetimes = I dont want to pay shipping!!! Give me the autonomy to do what I want even though I did nothing to contribute. I want to save money!!!!!!! Got to put food on the table for my family!!!!!

A bit exaggerated, but you get the point.....

tournament mode have random awards do a bit more then just fixed points in an fair way. MM, AFM, have that.

What percentage of potential customers do you think a) have a burner and b) will refuse on principal to buy a pre-loaded chip if available (for cheap) and instead insist on waiting for an (illegal) rom to be available for download so they can use their burner and save on shipping costs? It's unlikely that the loss of a handful of potential sales to piracy would make it worth PPS' time to set up (and get B/W's permission for) digital distribution.

There are a lot of pinball collectors that have the ability to burn new ROMs. The ROM burning community is bigger than you think.

I know some folks have ROM burners, but alot more don't or don't want to bother. Candidly I have a 27xxx burner somewhere in a box in the garage, but it was easier to pay MattsBasement $20 for a set of Funhouse Home ROMs last year.

I don't know about you but I find it far easier to burn a rom than wait a week to get a physical device. And you people are missing one of the main points I made. You're acting like people who want a way to get it digitally want it substantially cheaper "to save money". It would be FAR better if it was a small discount so that more money went to soren and others associated. You only save a little but you get the convenience of getting the rom instantly and can burn it tonight. Plus from a few posts so far it seems like stock is starting to sell out. That wouldn't happen with digital distribution.

Ultimately it's up to PPS and I hope that people do get it through whatever official means they provide and don't just pass the rom around for free. There are so many games with either incomplete code or game breaking bugs that I'd love to see fixed. Or even games that the code and rules just plain sucks on that could hopefully be improved upon.

Now if you could do a ball save on Addams family. For my wife. Really not for me at all.

i'm confused. for instance, for creature, do i get to choose which revision i prefer? it seems to give me several choices.

@soren: Just an idea:
If you can use the sourcecode, what about adding (optional) daily highscores? You could develop it once and then the deploy that code in all roms. And its not about adding or changing any rules, so WMS would most probably be okay with it.
It would be perfect to have these daily highscores for partys, small tournaments or kids while keeping the all time high scores.

I'm curious, will Soren have access to the B/W sourcecode from now on (I hope so as that would speed things up a lot compared to reverse engineering)?

This hobby used to be a hive of cheapskates... now people harass them for not wanting to pay for what they can do themselves.

... and people wonder why toppers are $300, 500, 600, now $1000.

As the primary issue for you is waiting for the package to arrive would it be ok to pay full price and have it sent electronically?