Ok here's an obvious bug that I am surprised that nobody has noticed. See feature adjustment #34 which is 'Nero 2 Timer'. Nero 2 doesn't have a timer! Or is it supposed to and it doesn't use one? This appears directly related to the inserts going into a fast flicker after a certain period of time. The mission itself isn't running off a timer, but the insert blink rate seems to be. I verified this by setting the timer to 10 and the inserts start to go crazy after about 10 - 15 seconds. Therefore I recommend setting Nero 2 timer to 60 so the inserts don't screw up for as long as possible. I bet this was also related to Nero 2 shots disappearing and not coming back..

There may be other timer adjustments for missions that actually aren't using a timer.

A suggestion to the OP that if you are going to have this thread, it would be nice to keep a list of verified bugs in the first post. This way it's organized and easy to digest instead of wading through countless posts.

Other bugs I noticed:

Missing crew callouts at the end of some missions, Nero 2 for example. (New)
Many crew combo callouts are unintelligible, low volume and almost never play in missions. (Old)

Rob

I think it's probably a bug. I've had the ball fail to autolaunch in 1.60 once already. It's not common, but it does happen. I have a feeling that minor things like this are never going to be fixed.

Rob

Oh one last thing, does anyone think 1.61 is the last version, barring any major bugs or scoring exploits found?

And... do you think timers should have just been removed from tier 2 and 3 missions if they hold progress and don't restart? Or perhaps if the mission restarts, the shot counter goes back to a minimum 3 shots?

Rob

Yup, but there's so much going on that it has to delay. I don't mind it.

Rob

This sounds bizarre and if true, I would think it's a bug. I'll try it on my pro in a bit.

Rob

I tested STE2, PD2 and NERO2 and cannot reproduce this. It really sounds like you have a bad opto switch on the playfield.

Rob

Setting the timer to 1 is a novel approach, although it does not account for other things happening in that 1 second like black hole being hit and adding time to the timer which I've had happen several times. There's also the possibility of of even starting Away Team in that 1 second. The 1 second actually seems more like 3 or 4 seconds too.

Rob

Although probably not related, it would be a good idea to check your EOS switches on the flippers.

Rob

When you get a gold medal on a tier 1 mission, the timer resets to 1. This is by default but can be changed in the game options.

Is that what you were asking about?

Rob

Nero 2 was not entirely fixed in the 1.6x updates. A timer setting was missed in the feature adjustments and that seems to at least affect the behaviour of the insert blinking. Perhaps there are other consequences.

Rob

No idea on V3 as I got there only once and scored 25 million. I didn't think of setting it up as a combo shot at the time either, but next time I will.

How are you picking the mission? Are you pressing both flippers or hitting the button? I just played KB1, KB2 and KB3. I let KB3 time out and shot the scoop to restart. I had no issue picking the mission again.

If you hit AT when the timer is expiring, it can tell you that you have GAT, but then it might not give it to you because the '1 more shot' takes precedence. I've had this happen in 1.5 before.

Rob

Are you sure the warp ramp wasn't lit? That is easy to miss.

Rob

Sounds like you got the 'Mirror Universe' version.....

Rob

Are you sure the last shot isn't the warp ramp? A lot of people miss that because of where the insert is actually located and that it doesn't light up very well (stock).

Rob

I think mission design after level 1 is mainly inconsistent because of these stupid timers. I like how level 1 missions are a race against the timer to get a gold medal... But now in level 2 and 3 it's just a leisurely pace to finish the mission at your own speed. If the timer runs out, don't worry because you just need to restart with zero penalty. What's the point now of having timers on some missions and not others when it's not about difficulty? It's just more of a nuisance really. Perhaps the timers should just be removed from all level 2 and 3 missions and just have level 3 require more shots to complete. Something like 8 shots for level 2, 12 for level 3..... It's also too bad that the shot maps were not more precise in level 2 and 3. One mission could have been about ramps, another orbit shots, maybe another about a roaming shot, another about making all shots.... These missions just were not designed that well to begin with....

I wouldn't worry about the timers, just leave them stock. Worst case is that you have to shoot the mission start again.

Rob

You're right, the thread gets cluttered with many false bug reports which many can be attributed to switch problems. Plus some people report vague happenings with too much going on and don't bother to try and reproduce the issue to confirm it or not. I have confirmed a few bugs and posted them here, but they get lost in the thread. The biggest bugs I see remaining are the insert blink rates using timers when they should not be on some level 2 and maybe level 3 missions. I know it affects Nero2 and STE2. Plus the missing callout at the end of Nero 2. I'm not sure about the laser on the premium and le models, some say it's still not working right. I only have a pro so I can't test that... Some days I really wish I had the premium though! I still might make the switch, maybe this spring...

Rob

No one has confirmed any issue so as far as I know there is none. I shouldn't have mentioned it.

Rob

I was testing to confirm a bug someone else mentioned and much to my dismay noticed that at the end of Nero 3, there's no explosion sound for blowing up Nero's ship.... Yeah there's lots of places where they should have put sound effects to match the dots, but I don't think this stuff will ever get fixed.

Rob

Try again with the glass off and let us know if you can recreate the problem.

Rob

Playing SJ1 and shot the away team as time was expiring. The DMD showed that galactic vengeance was lit, but the game didn't actually give me the galactic mode. I realize this is not a common bug and it's been around for a while, but it's sure annoying when it happens.

My wishlist of stuff I hope they would fix in the game:

- Fix the level 2 and 3 insert timers for Nero 2, STE2 and any others.
- Finish the dots. There's quite a few dots in level 2 and 3 missions with no sound effects.
- Add more black hole awards....
- Make Away Team do something, anything (even a few points) on level 2 and 3 missions.
- Make timer position more consistent if possible
- Font on bonus countdown, looks like it is shifting down a row of dots
- Away Team shot on timer expiry so it doesn't say one thing and then do another.
- Missing callouts for end of a few missions... Nero 2 comes to mind, not sure about others.

Rob

Here's a new one: I started a game with PD1 and with 4 seconds left I shot AT (lit). It did not award GAT and simply auto launched the ball back into play. The switch below the flipper is fine so I'm not sure how this happened. Shrugs...

Rob

A few things about the latest code:

The new lighting effect for making a shot really interferes with seeing what the next shot is going to be. I like the effect, but it should probably leave the multicolour inserts alone. It blinks them white.

Some level 1 missions seem to use the insert blink timer and others do not. They all should be using it because they all run on a timer. DTD1 uses the insert blink timer for example.

Klingon multiball start always uses the same callout. Didn't it use to say "Klingon Multiball!" before 1.5? I think that callout should still be used, maybe alternating with others.

Rob

The alternating insert is double score on level 1 missions. On level 2 and 3 it's required for the medals. I don't know if it scores single or double.

If you play DTD1, watch the inserts blink faster as the timer nears expiry. Then play some of the other level 1 missions and this doesn't happen. There's also issues with the blink timer being used on Nero 2, STE2 and those missions don't have timers. So you get really fast flickering inserts after about 40 seconds.

I don't mind this as much. The medal award presentation actually seems low priority and I never saw it as distracting. I found that if I keep making shots, it waits to show the medal award.

Rob

To quote Steve Ritchie on ACDC, 'Play Better!'

Rob

I believe you are correct. If you read the flyer, it describes Captains Chair as being lit for one of 3 main wizard modes. Then they had to go silkscreen the '3 in a row lights captains chair' on the playfield which was a bad idea IMHO.

Rob

There's a few noticeable bugs in ST, not to mention a lack of polish on the dots and rules. I think people are just tired of Stern's methodology and just don't care as much any more....

Rob

duplicate

This is one game that I think will always have bugs. There just seems to be too much discontinuity in the programming and it took so long to get where it is at now. Still waiting for the next update though!

Rob

1.60 had a major fault and was quickly replaced with 1.61. Even with the bugs you would not want to go back to an older version because you would lose the medals.

Rob

It's probably related to the timer bug in some of the missions. Nero 2 and some other missions have a timer running which affects the blink rate of the lit shots. However, these are not timed missions! When the non-visible timer runs out, the inserts are left in a fast flicker state. There's even a setting in the game options for the Nero 2 timer. It could also be contributing to the issue you see. This is one of the biggest bugs left in the game I think.

Rob

It's been 6 months since the last update. SR promised this broken code would be fixed and so far I would say that has not been the case. It was improved, but still lacks polish and some needed bug fixes. Oh and more Black Hole awards would be nice!

Rob

...............

Actually the bug ruined the current game. Even on the next ball I could not finish DTD2 with making any shot - ramp, orbit or drop target.

Rob

.............

I got a response from Dwight. I don't think he is aware of the remaining issues in ST and suggested writing [email protected].

Rob

..........

Of course they can be taken care. The question is of course - will they?

I checked DTD2 some more and realize now that the solid lit shots don't do anything. It's the blinking ones, the ones you have not made which you need to shoot.

Rob

I would recommend sending an email to [email protected] and describe the problem in detail. Let them know it's a major bug too. I already sent them email about the other bugs like the nero 2 phantom timer (involves 1 or 2 other missions as well). It could be part of the same problem.

Rob

The thing is though, they don't respond so you have no idea if anyone reads the email or even cares.

Rob

I don't think it's a good VE candidate. There's just so much wrong with the code from bugs to lack of polish that I don't see anyone wanting to buy a known mess of a game. Plus I see absolutely no demand for this game. Not like there was for Iron Man for example.

Rob

Nero 2 and at least 1 other mission (maybe 2 other) have a bug where the insert blink rate is attached to a timer, but the missions don't run off a timer. End result is the mission shot inserts eventually become a fast flicker. There is a nero 2 timer setting which lets you change the timer, but the mission doesn't actually use a timer.

Pops award 200,000 doesn't work

Lack of Black Hole Awards

Lack of any sound effects for some missions dots.

Crew member callouts which do.... nothing - and I don't think can be earned in a mission.

There's more bugs in the old bugs thread... I sold my game long ago.

Rob

Nope, that's not it. The inserts blink faster until they just flicker. There is the Nero 2 timer in the game settings and Nero 2 not actually using a timer. Increasing the timer delays the blink speedup. I think klingon mission 3(?) has the same issue.

They should because there's enough bugs left in this game still...

Rob