It is possible the ball is completing the circuit when entering the bar, so would not show up as a switch error.

Covering the metal plate is going to limit how often bar will be open. Also as Lloyd stated important to keep both the plate and door surfaces clean.

Ok, I am going to cut the protector away and see if that improves it. Thank you for the info! I can’t believe I never knew this. :/

you may need to cut it away at least an inch around the plate, to reduce the skipping when it comes off the protector

@aniraf, who sold you your playfield protector?

I bought it from https://www.playfield-protectors.com/. I've grown to like them as my overflow machines are in a bar and it gives me some peace of mind.

Yeah, I was certainly thinking about that. I've had some luck using a butane torch and warming the plastic to smooth it out. That allows me to both cut and clean the edge. I have certainly run into issues with the protectors even though they are super thin. A ball with just the right amount of speed and get stuck on the protector lip. I work really hard to make that impossible on my games.

Can anyone tell me if this is the same size as a stern or jjp? Want folded down dimensions to make sure itll fit in my car

It is not the same but it is close. I last time I measured it was within .5 inches on width and I think length was the same.

Ok thanks. Just want to make sure it will fit out of box. I can fit stern and jjp nib in my car, but not data east or gottlieb system 3

The time given to chose a stein before the game selects the one you're considering is 3 seconds... that's not even enough time to look at the map and make sure that stein is not for a completed mode... not to mention think about if the generic game benefit is what you want bearing in mind where you are in the game... several times it's selected a stein I don't want... I realise I can get round this by repeatedly pressing the flipper button so the timer re-sets, but this is a nuicence to then have to scroll back to the stein you started from if you realise you do want it... and is also accompanied by the Stein change sound bite, which is annoying to hear it again and again and again and again and... is it good coding when players have to do that? Can this please be fixed in the next code update? Either make the time adjustable in the menu or have the auto-select on-off... a response from AP re whether they have this in the plan would be appreciated. Thanks.

Pretty confused by your 'annoying' comment, when moving between steins, you only get a sound effect, not a sound bite. If you are talking about the sound effect, most players want a sound indication when moving between options. I have had no one else comment about not liking having the effect.

As you said, you can flip to get more time (and can just flip right back to that time if needed), extending that time would slow things down too much for those not familiar with selecting steins, etc. Heck, I hear a lot more of the opposite, with folks feeling the game should just randomly give you a stein and not let you select it, since that slows things down.

Sorry, please let me elaborate... I see a stein and have to decide if I want it... what I'd like to do is look at the map and find the mode that that Stein helps... usually, by the time I've done that, the game selects the Stein for me (I've only got 3 seconds after all). To avoid the game auto selecting that stein I have to keep pressing one of the flipper buttons to re-set the timer, thus moving to a different Stein... this un-necessary cycling of the Steins just to avoid the auto select keeps making the game fire the sound effect... if I'm playing with a newbie and explaining what I'm doing, hearing that sound effect (this is what I meant when I said sound bite) repeating is, I find, annoying... not to mention having to get back to that stein if I find I want it... sure, I can use the two handed left-right technique as you suggest... my suggestion is not to extend the time, but to add in the menu an option for the owner to turn the auto select function off... or to allow the time to be extended by the owner... the default time can stay as is to avoid the scenario you're referring to... best for everyone... no? Should be pretty easy to code in I imagine and help owners like me enjoy the game more... much more relaxing

Just to clarify, the sound sample itself is not annoying... only when repeatedly heard as scrolling through Steins while trying to decide on one particular stein... I'd be much happier listening to the more ambient background crowd sound as I think what I want to do...

The repeating sound element of my frustration is the least annoying part of this issue to be honest... the most annoying thing is having to do all this Stein scrolling to avoid the game selecting for me... I just want to play in peace... it's like the game is nagging me to make my mind up...

So, the question is... can there please be an option for the owner to turn off the auto select feature for the stein selection? Please? May as well do it for tent selection too... kill 2 birds with one stone as it were

I realise I'm probably being very annoying asking for this... but it's a win-win at the end of the day... it certainly can't make the game any worse if the default is to leave the timer as-is... so it can only get better... for people such as myself

I'm also happy with the randomly give Stein idea personally by the way, it just makes tournament play an issue... but when there IS a choice, can't we, the owners, decide if we want to have time to think about it (I mean more than 3 seconds) ?

We certainly want the default for this to remain as it is now, but sure, we can make this timer be adjustable in the next release.

Fully understood and totally agree.. for site locations, the player shouldn't be left wondering what's happening! If you do have an adjustable timer, PLEASE have the option to simply turn off the auto select... for home use it would make it a nice feature to allow the player to re-fill his/her stein... and provide the peace of mind to know that he's able to ponder over the magic of the strategy that the code has created!

I agree pinballslave, it could be nice to can set a timer at on/off for choosing steins

My Oktoberfest starting to have the same issue. Very loud buzzing sound with the bar door closing, then vibrating. Takes away from wanting to play it is so loud. I can see the bar door closing and vibrating. I haven't downloaded the latest update. Should that take care of the problem?

Contact Barry in tech support [email protected]

Do try the latest code update first to see if that resolves buzzing of the bar door.

I just joined the club! I played a game, then my son played a game, and somehow off his first plunge (i missed what he did) he had a 6 ball multi going. Is this normal or some sort of glitch?

That is not normal.

I also found that sometimes off the plunge, the ball will go into the bar doors, it will auto plunge a second ball, but the flippers are dead because im still choosing a stein. Very odd stuff, latest code. Ill email american pinball

Include a log copy from your game.

LTG : )

Luckily this Oktoberfest has been perfect so far. One night Houdini acted real funny with balls not registering when they drained, but we turned it off, waited 5 minutes and turned it back on, and 40 plays later it is still doing fine.

Anyway, did you try just turning it off and on again? I was so glad that worked for me that time.

And I am sure AP or LTG will help soon, they are awesome!

Just like Superman he is always right there!

That i have not tried yet. Ill try that in the morning before emailing. I also was thinking of reinstalling the code, and checking all switches. I did get over 5 million pretty easily with glitches!

I am not that great of a player so if a glitch was helping me I may ignore a few days.

Houdini was not registering when the ball drained to give a ball save, so that had to be fixed asap.

Every time my computer has ever messed up and I am ready to call a repair guy, friends say just turn it off and then turn it on again and it may be ok.

So far with me anyway, computers and pinball machines have been fixed a whole lot of times by just restarting.

By all means though, if that does not work contact AP. And like LTG always says, send them the data.

Rosh or Barry will help, or you can email Barry, [email protected]

I don't have a game to try and help beyond basics.

LTG : )

You can also use their website support system : https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/

LTG : )

Thanks ltg!

After a restart it appears to be working normally. Ill just have to play it all day to make sure its good!

I've had similar issues with some inapporpriate ball saves. I'm beginning to suspect it has something to do with the balls not registering in the tough correctly. A couple of logs have been sent and I'm waiting to see if there is data to support it. I've also had the same issue with the 6 ball "multiball". When changing the flipper rubbers to real rubber, unbeknownst to me, one one of the originals fell in the ball trough. When I tried starting the game, holy crap the game started throwing out balls like candy. Once the rubber was removed life was good again. It is sporadic but thankfully has not happened in a while.

At least im not the only one. Ill check the trough. If you do hear back, please let me know

Question about an Oktoberfest issue that a reboot has not fixed. It seems the Beer Barrel lock switch continues to be tripped and starts kicking out extra balls. Makes for an interesting game but would prefer it to not happen every few games.

Anything I can check on this? Does the switch need to be cleaned or is it a symptom of a bad switch?

thanks!

I don't have a game to check, but I'd concentrate on the switch. Opto - check for cold solder joint on the optos, micro mini switch - check wiring to it, adjustment, and correct number of balls in the game and all accounted for.

And definitely contact American Pinball - https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/ they are great at getting you going. They want you enjoying your machine as much as possible.

LTG : )

It’s happened in my game a few times (a second ball is launched when it’s not supposed to). I sent Rosh the log the other day. Speaking of “the log”, it gets pretty large after a while. The one I sent was about 10 megabytes (compressed). Is there an easy way to clear the log?

Nothing in the manual. Ask Rosh ( Josh the software guy )

LTG : )

No need to clear logs. The machine only keeps logs from last 10 times the machine was turned on. So size is really tied to the amount of game play each time the game was booted up. So if you are getting better and playing longer games, well, logs will get bigger, but never so big that they become a problem unless you went days without powering off/on.

Good to know. Gmail file attachment size limit is 25MB. Sounds like that won’t be a problem.

As a follow-up, a new membrane switch in the Beer Barrel Lock appears to have fixed my issues.

On the Tilt Warning screen is it normal to have a horizontal line across the top part of the monitor? This only shows up on the Tilt screen and is not any other time. Just want to make sure this isn't an early sign of a bad screen.

One more question, is there a shortcut to end a game? For example if a multiplayer game is accidentally started can you kill the game without turning off the power?

tilt (resized).jpg

I believe that's a masking line that I meant to fix but obviously didn't. It's not a problem with your LCD.

Yes, two solutions:

1) If it's ball 2 or later, you can press and hold the Start button for a few seconds until the game ends.
2) You can open the coin door and hit Enter, Exit to pop in and out of service mode, which ends the game.

Hi guys,

I have general illumination "anormally" blinking sometimes. Make that on yours?

And last time, the scoop didn't want to eject my ball, I think that was during duck derby. I had to wait until the pinball start all coils, but when ball was ejected from the scoop, flippers didn't work and I lost my ball. I Checked the concerned switch (scoop) but it seems to work normally.

Anyone had these issues?

Have a nice day.

There is a switch test in the game, roll a ball to it and see if it closes and stays closed.

And please contact them, they want you enjoying your game as much as you do :

https://www.american-pinball.com/support/service/

LTG : )

Make sure you have the latest code installed. The previous code had a bug where if you double flipped to bypass the duck derby animation too early it would cause this issue. It should of launched a second ball still for the Duck Derby mb.

Can you provide more details on what you're observing? Under what circumstances does it happen? There is at least one GI lighting effect that looks like blinking: any time playfield X is active (T-A-P lanes), all GI do an alternating pattern.

I have the same suspicion as @PokerJake, as that was indeed a bug in Duck Derby in previous releases. Make sure you're running the latest code (19.10.27)... if you're on an older version for some reason, you can avoid that bug simply by allowing the Duck Derby intro sequence to run normally, not double-flipping to cancel.

I noticed that and was a tad concerned, now I know this machine is 100%.

Thanks again AP! I am glad you guys and LTG are always around.

We want to make sure our customers love their American Pinball games!

And although LTG doesn't work for us, he's freakin' awesome! (or should I say... Great!)

Black Friday Special.

LTG : )

AP (resized).jpg

A separate promotion for games.

LTG : )

ap2 (resized).jpg