I installed a color DMD LED in mine a couple of days ago. In hindsight i'd probably go with the LCD instead, but still very happy with the LED. on the plus side the LED is very bright and colors pop. the con to me is the individual LED's in the display seem a tiny bit smaller than a typical LED so the dots seem to have a hair more black space between them. It could also be that all my other games with color DMDs i have set to up-scaling so i'm used to seeing that. Overall the game is tremendous and so is the color DMD.

Ive noticed the ball getting some air when quickly banging between the slings. Its not jumping over the slings and slapping the walls of the cabinet or anything, just some air. I dont have that on my other 2 sterns.

I recently put mylar down over the main inserts between the slings to help the insert ghosting not get worse. But i wouodnt think that would cause it. Maybe so.?

Anyone else have this? Remedies?

I was thinking of putting a washer under each post on the slings to raise them up a smidge? And if i go to that trouble, id redo the mylar so it ran under the slings too.

Took the mylar off that i had put over the main inserts between the slings and the airballs have gone away. Was a serious bitch to get all the sticky goo off the playfield. If i do that again, ill pull the slings and post up and mylar all the way up under there.

Heres the status of my ghosting inserts do yall think this is worth calling my distro to try to get on list for replacement?

~300 plays and 640 balls played since i took the code update.

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That is so minor IMO, I have similar ghosting on my GOT but unless your looking for it, you don't notice it and it doesn't affect game play. Mine has not got any worse so I can live with it.

dup sorry

Very minor. I'd just keep a close eye to ensure it doesn't get worse or spread. But I personally wouldn't sweat those inserts imo. And fwiw (for what it's worth), SMVE is becoming one of my favorites. Stern did a stellar job on this vault IMO.

My ghosting inserts are a little worse than yours and I'm thinking of letting it go. My distributor is aware, I sent him pics months ago. It hasn't seemed to get much worse since then. It seems like it's stopped spreading. I will monitor it, but I probably won't make a claim if it doesn't get worse. But, at the first sign of any cracking above an insert, I will definitely make a call. I figure since they are still selling them, I have a few months at least before it's too late.

In the George Gomez interview with Pinball Magazine he says they found the cause of the ghosting, but didn't say what it was. Anyone know?

SMVE is an awesome package. Love the dots and call outs. The build quality is good minus the ghosting. But that didn't show up for a few months, so it's not like it left the factory that way. The custom message option doesn't seem to work on mine though. It pops up sometimes, but not every time through the dmd attract rotation.

Thanks for the feedback all.

I do love my SMVE. great looking pin, complete code/rules inherited from SM.

I do wish theyd make the goblin callouts have more variety. He seems to say "there you are my little spider" repeatedly. I think there are multiple versions of that line too... guess that could be messed with pinball browser.

Make sure you have the latest code (1.01). It has lot less repetitive call outs.

Im pretty sure i have that but ill double check, thanks

Set your other games to dots. Problem solved!!!

Really thinking about ordering one of these. With all of Stern's coding issues right now, this seems like the way to go. I want a new game and there isn't anything new or rumored coming out this year that I'm interested in. With that being said, if I was to order one, what extras do I need to add after opening? I've heard the ramps take a beating, any cliffys for that?

Even the original SM eventually came with "Cliffies" on the ramps from factory. Nothing to worry about.

Cool. Thanks.

If these pins don't interest you:
TWD
GOT
MET
GB
BM66
Aerosmith
Star Wars

Then I'd strongly recommend SMVE. the comic vault package is awesome and makes the game feel more like Spider-Man. If you don't like the movie call outs or package, get the SMVE, it won't disappoint. However, if you're average or above average I recommend removing the center drain post and even getting lightning flippers. The games rules and risk/reward factor does not need an easy setup or long ball times so this format fits perfect. The color dmd is sweet on this game too.

I am interested in TWD as far as gameplay. Theme does absolutely nothing for me.
GOT - no interest
MET - already have it, love it
GB - maybe, but I worry about all the cheap drains and totally bugged code and other issues with it
BM66 - no interest to own and also way too expensive for me. I'd buy a Dialed In before a BM66
Aerosmith - would love to play it, but not too interested with Lonnie on the code
Star Wars - let's face it, I would be interested, but that is a long ways away

I agree with your your commemts above.

I would get a SM. The color dmd is one of the best.

I was in the same boat of TWD vs SMVE. I went SMVE because the theme was more appealing to me and the family despite being a TWD fan. either game is good to have. Both have great rulesets with classic Lyman risk/reward factor and horde mode is awesome on TWD. But The flow and shots on SMVE is much more satisfying.

Yeah, I have played both quite a bit and agree with everything you said. If I was into the show at all, I would already have a TWD. I really enjoy the ruleset.

The color dmd is superb on this game, worth every cent in my opinion.

Really enjoying my Spiderman VE.

stop chatting and get onto that video If Ghostbusters doesn't get a decent update than I can see myself getting one of these and selling GB.

Can the dots be changed in the LED display? I know they can be in the LCD version but thats not what i have.

LED ColorDMD displays dots only. Dot size cannot be changed either.

Nope, but dots are awesome. LED is dots only and LCD should be on DotsXL if you want the art to look great and not smeared/jagged.

Agree. DotsXL is the best setting. LED displays cannot do DotsXL?

LED displays are just like a DMD. Individual dots that light up. Instead of various levels of orange, it's full color.

Brag rights time. Factory with lightning flippers and no center post - and <20 minute game to boot, that's how it's done son. Forgot how cool super hero mode is. I'm sorry to the elitist movie defenders, but the vault edition is what Spider-Man is about! And the color dmd (LCD) in this game is amazing.

Now if only I can get off my lazy ass and get some video footage for those asking

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Good job. I got pretty far on the vp table with the vault rom and agree its got better sound effects. I remember super hero mode on my old spiderman was a bit average and didn't quite meet my expectations, so how is the super hero mode on this comparatively. oh and ps I got to battle royale and really loved the sound effects they added to this mode.

I honestly don't remember the original sounds of super hero or even battle royal. On the vault, at first, it seemed like it was lacking call outs but as I progressed it started coming to life. Sound effects were great. And I was thinking about that last night, whether the sound effects of battle royal were the same as the original. I'll have to take video and also check out some old original footage to compare. But the mode was great, and I think still the same - all red arrows lit for phase 1, then 2 or 3 phases of beating up the 4 villains, then white spider arrows lit. That's as far as I got before draining. And even if you drain to one ball, you're still in super hero mode; I think the original is like that too?

SKB Your an inspiration to us all, that's awesome. I'm happy to get to Battle Royale. I made it to 3 modes, possibly 4 with much more generous settings on extra balls for scoring.

I have the LED for my SMVE. I was on the fence after I received it but ultimately decided to keep it. If you haven't seen this this thread, it's worth reading (https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/colordmd-lcd-versus-led/page/5#post-3472921).

After attempting to colorize the game myself pre-ColorDMD version (and ultimately abandoning the project after running out of memory, https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/spider-man-ve-smve-smartdmd-colorization) I know there is some detail that is not resolved with the LED that shows up in the LCD version (from my experience with SmartDMD).

I much prefer the form factor of the LED version as it sits exactly in the same spot as the original DMD. Also, the bright, intense colors of the LED reinforce the comic book theme.

See if you can swap with someone. I've got a friend that'll be getting my LED to try on his Indy and I'll put the ColorDMD LCD on my SMVE to evaluate.

Thanks man! Ive had pins in my house for 10+ years and have owned the original before. Plus, i grew up in arcades playing pinball in the 90s so i got some experience. I'd love to join a league someday, but all the ones in CA are way too far a drive for me. But, its also easy to play a game a hundred times in a home environment and gloat over the one good game

Only if your ears are broken so you can't cringe at the horrible voices and writing!

Anybody got any good instruction cards for SMVE?

Thats exactly how I felt about the original when I owned it twice! So you can relate to how I feel about that...it's like we're brothers

I honestly would rather have a Teen Titans Go pin than Ultimate Spider-Man.

Any SMVE owners out there hook up an external sub? Didnt know if it was worth it or if it made a noticeable difference?

I just took delivery of a SMVE and tied in an existing external sub. Made a very big difference. At some point I will probably replace the front speakers as well.

Yes. Big difference. Love the rumbles of the sandman modes. The battle royal sounds really pop too especially the super royal jp. It's a good upgrade for cheap if you buy a polka audio sub when they're on sale, typically <$80 i think?

I noticed that on original spideys that when the ball is hitting the pops a web background "pops" up on a third of the dmd. Assume this corresponds to which of the 3 pops is firing.

I like the effect, Is there a way to turn this on for the SMVE code?

Posted a 388M grand champ score on my SMVE last night! Had the villains done and the last white arrow mode ready and still failed to get ti super hero... next time

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I picked up my Spider-man VE back in March. I've seen a few used SM VE's come up for sale recently. The one's up for sale recently have red molding, however, mine, like the pics above have the chrome molding. Any idea what's up with this change and if there was any other changes in later builds?

I got to super hero for the first time yesterday. I always seem to get hung up finishing the last venom mode that requires the left side ramp shot. But yesterday i seemed to be able to hit that shot with ease.

Unfortunately i didnt get too far into superhero. But i did finish the first round and part of the second.

Cant wait to do it again!