(Topic ID: 269190)

Stars 2020 - new code for Stern Stars (1978)

By DickHamill

3 years ago


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  • Latest reply 27 days ago by jim5six
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  • Stars Stern Electronics, 1978

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#46 3 years ago

Is there a novelty setting for the extra ball, WOW or special to score points for tournament play or just zero point option.

#61 3 years ago

What would be really cool is if you could put it in the menu system somehow so you can change easily between them. 0 for Normal rules and 1 for Updated rules but I am sure that isn’t an option or it would have already been done.

#78 3 years ago

Glad I got mine I doubt it will ever leave. Wish there was a bundled packaged that could be purchased trying to source all this stuff from Canada sucks lol.

Quoted from TigerLaw:

I bet this new code increases the demand for the game. Stars had lagged a bit behind some of the other classic sterns, and not because it’s layout. I can’t wait to get to play this new code at a show somewhere.

#81 3 years ago

Yes, the solution is brilliant. Our machine is on location and the ability to switch is ideal as we have regular and competitive play. Once I get all of the parts sourced I should be able to do a stream on it too show it off as we have full stream capability at our location. Do you have a link to source the switch from? I am going to build three of these as a friend has a Stars, and another friend as Blackjack .

Quoted from DickHamill:

bcrage88
I figured out a way to make my machine dual-boot, but it's not quite as convenient as a menu option. I posted a video above. I've added a switch and connector so I can play on the old M6800/ROM or enable the new rules with the Arduino. It requires opening the head, but at least you don't have to pull chips anymore.

#97 3 years ago

Were you able to determine which switch to use? We have all of our stuff in our cart ready to go.

Thanks!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

bcrage88
The way I have it right now, I'm using a single pole single throw switch to supply 5V to the Arduino, and then a little header block to ground 5 pins of J5 (pin24, 10, 11, 12, and 13).
I think the switch I used was one of these:
amazon.com link »
But I'm hoping that someone reads this thread and comes up with a more clever way of doing this, so we can get it down to one switch.
Looking at the schematics again, it looks like I might be able to get away with just grounding Halt, A9, & A12 (pins 24, 10, and 13). I'll give that a try in a minute. If that works out, then everything could be switched with one of these:
amazon.com link »
That switch could be panel mounted somewhere with a short jumper. Like I said, this is speculation. I'm waiting to either have a revelation or for someone else to have a revelation and let me know. Like, maybe there's an IC that would do the trick...

#100 3 years ago

Awesome news we are building 5 of them just more economical that way, and we bought both kinds of switches just in case look forward to getting all the parts and trying it out!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

bcrage88
If you can live with the switch being inside the head of the machine (no more than a few inches from the MPU, then use this one:
amazon.com link »
And wire it to ground J5:pins 24, 13, and 10 on one side of the switch and 5V to the arduino on the other. I don't have that switch in my hand, but looking at the part I believe the wires would go:
(pin24) G (nothing)
(pin10) G (nothing)
(pin13) G (nothing)
(nothing) 5v Arduino Vin
The other option (and I'm just getting this worked out on my machine) is to use a 74126 to do the ground of the 3 pins and then you can use a simple switch at the end of a longer wire:
amazon.com link »
Then you can wire it like in the diagram above. I haven't tested this with a 74126, but I'm currently working with a 74LS240, and I think I'm pretty close.

#143 3 years ago

Has there been any experience with a Weebley or Altek board on the install are there any issues if we use these boards.

#166 3 years ago

We just got all of our parts to do our first install so really appreciate you guys documenting all of the troubleshooting here.
Super excited to get this code loaded and then to show it off on a stream!!!

#171 3 years ago

Ya not sure when we will get it done hoping by this weekend but will see.

Quoted from mc8045:

Was planing on streaming when I got mine going also, mine won't be ready until mid/late next week so you should beat me to it.

#198 3 years ago

If the stars inserts could be programmed with a bulb like this might be a solution. You would need to find a 47 bulb thou.

https://www.cometpinball.com/products/rgb-multi-fade-cob?variant=27863116251238

#206 3 years ago

Agreed right now, mine it setup for competition. You also have to remember that in competition you very rarely get to wizards modes, etc anyway so I think keeping the objective hard is good. You can make Stars setup easier, for instance I would adjust sling to be not so sensitive, put the outlane posts and rubbers back in and into the first position and lower the slope to 6.5. With that setup the wizard mode is more attainable.

Quoted from Chalkey:

Your stars must not be the evil bastard that every stars I've ever played has been. In normal code stars I always went for the special because i've got it set to 100,000 and repeatable which is fun as hell. On 3 ball I manage to get it hit and light it probably once out of 5 or so games and that's starting with one of the stars lit each ball. If Elwin and Jesus had a baby I can't see him locking in star level 3 on a game that's set up to competition standards.

#214 3 years ago

All excited to try out the code today, installed board back in machine and the red light on board stays on no blink and the game doesn’t boot up. Back to the drawing board .

#216 3 years ago

Thanks for advice, I will take a look and see if I can run this on the weekend. Just got back from the arcade where the machine is .

Quoted from DickHamill:

If you have the capability to plug the Arduino into a computer while it's on the MPU, try running MachineDiagnostics.ino
It will report back via the serial port and tell you what it's trying to do and what it sees from the MPU.
Here's an example of the output you should get back to the terminal:
Start of program
Monitoring VMA signal, looking for presence of M6800 processor
Saw no sign of M6800 -- program will continue
Attempting to read & write from U10
Testing U10A Control Register
The U10A control register passed
Testing U10B Control Register
The U10B control register passed
Testing U11A Control Register
The U11A control register passed
Testing U11B Control Register
The U11B control register passed
Testing the clock cycle (if this hangs here, the conncection to clock is faulty)
It took 20984 microseconds for 10000 clock cycles
Clock frequency (very) approximately = 476 kHz
DIP Bank 0 = 0xE8
DIP Bank 1 = 0xC0
DIP Bank 2 = 0x9B
DIP Bank 3 = 0xA7
Starting interrupt tests - this is going to take 5 seconds to test
In 5 seconds, saw 600 U10B interrupts and 1634 U11A interrupts
Zero-crossing approx. 120.00 times a second
Display interrupt approx. 326.80 times a second
Interrupt tests done - if frequencies aren't approx 120 & 320, there's a problem with the interrupt line.
END OF TESTS
(waiting for reset)
(waiting for reset)

#275 3 years ago

On Stars it is a one switch validation, a sling, bumper, a spinner, drop target, etc. On most modern games they have a three switch validation. Some EM’s don’t have validation at all.

Quoted from DickHamill:

Gotcha - good to know. I can put this on a configurable variable.
Thank you.

1 week later
#314 3 years ago

Okay in settings it is kind of strange as it shows this for 16, only gives the option of 0,1 for 17 and 0,1 for 18

Quoted from DickHamill:

> The added ball saver is a bit much
Here's a cheat sheet on the adjustments:
Test/Audit/Parameters
00:01 - Lamps
XX:XX - Displays
00:03 - Solenoids
00:04 - Switches
00:05 - Sound
01 - Award Score Level 1
02 - Award Score Level 2
03 - Award Score Level 3
04 - High Score to Date
05 - Current Credits
06 - Total plays (Audit)
07 - Total replays (Audit)
08 - Total times high score was beaten (Audit)
09 - Chute #2 coins (Audit)
10 - Chute #1 coins (Audit)
11 - Chute #3 coins (Audit)
12 - Free play off/on (0, 1)
13 - Ball Save Num Seconds (0, 6, 16, 21)
14 - Music Level (0, 1, 2)
15 - Skill Shot Levels Up Stars (0, 1)
16 - Tilt Warning (0, 1, 2)
17 - Award Score Override (0 - 7, 99)
18 - Balls per game Override (3, 5, 99)
Full documentation here:
http://ikehamill.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Stars2020.pdf

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#317 3 years ago

Yep that is much better!!!

Okay here is some feedback coming from a top 60 competitive player.

The game should always start with a 1,000 bonus that is a stable in all solid state games on this era.

I can’t get the wizard mode to work right or maybe I am just testing wrong, I have setting 29 at 10k when I complete all Stars mode (very difficult by the way without glass off) when I hit a Star when everything is flashing it is only gives 400, it would be nice to have a countdown on credit for the countdown of wizard mode as I heard it end but had no idea when it was going to end.

Be cool to see this be a Stars only wizard mode where Stars are worth 50k (adjustable) and the spinner worth 3k a spin that way a player has a risk reward to go for a Star or plays it safe with spinner. Again on my machine this is pretty well impossible but man very valuable if you get there.

The super pop is a cool feature you might want to go:

Level 1: 0-14 - 100 points
Level 2: 15-29 - 250 points
Level 3: 30-44 - 500 points
Level 4: 45-60 - 1000 points

That way at least something is attainable quite the grind to get to 60 pops with one pop bumper.

I have tried the hurry up spinner and don’t really get it the sequence to get there is great but really want is the purpose of the hurry up as you really don’t score points for it you just reset the drops. No biggie as it is hard to do I was just expecting something else.

You have the ability to go to 55k now, I suggest you use it, make the Stars level 1 worth 1k, Level 2 2k and Level 3k. The designers didn’t do this because they couldn’t go to 55k you will never have a game last that long to max bonus and really that is a big deal on this era so make it so people can try to get there.

I am super impressed man, you got mad skills my friend, I will try to get the stream going on Saturday night for it as I have a few friends coming down for my birthday.

These are just some suggestions just off the cuff to try to improve the game from a competitive standpoint and to try to get players to try to progress through the game as most will just try to grind out drops and spinners if there isn’t a risk reward factor for them.

Awesome job and thank you for all your hard work totally amazed with all you hav been able to do!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

Since that post, the code & documentation has changed. Here's the new list:
Stars 2020 Test/Audit/Parameters
00:01 - Lamps
XX:XX - Displays
00:03 - Solenoids
00:04 - Switches
00:05 - Sound
01 - Award Score Level 1
02 - Award Score Level 2
03 - Award Score Level 3
04 - High Score to Date
05 - Current Credits
06 - Total plays (Audit)
07 - Total replays (Audit)
08 - Total times high score was beaten (Audit)
09 - Chute #2 coins (Audit)
10 - Chute #1 coins (Audit)
11 - Chute #3 coins (Audit)
12 - Free play off/on (0, 1)
13 - Ball Save Num Seconds (0, 6, 11, 16, 21)
14 - Music Level (0, 1, 2, 3, [4, 5]) [if WAV Trigger is enabled in the build]
15 - Tournament Scoring (0-no, 1-yes)
16 - Reboot
17 - Skill Shot Levels Up Stars (0-no, 1-yes)
18 - Number of Stars to Start With (0-none, 1-one random)
19 - Tilt Warning (0, 1, 2)
20 - Award Score Override (0 - 7, 99)
21 - Balls per game Override (3, 5, 99)
22 - Spinner Chime (0-none, 1-half, 2-every, 3-alternating)
23 - Scrolling Scores (0-no, 1-yes)
24 - Extra Ball Award (0 - 100,000) [only used for Tournament Scoring]
25 - Special Award (0 - 100,000) [only used for Tournament Scoring]
26 - Star Level Lock In Award (0=25k times level, or 1,000 - 100,000)
27 - Playfield Validation (0-any switch, 1-allow right spinner, 2-major switch)
28 - Wizard Mode Duration Num Seconds (0, 15, 30, 45, 60)
29 - Wizard Switch Reward (0=off, 1,000 - 100,000)
Activating the Slam Switch at any time will reboot into Attract Mode.
All the documentation now lives in GitHub with the code:
https://github.com/MrEkted/BallySternOS/tree/master/Stars2020
What you're seeing for 16 (8007) is the option to reboot so you don't have to punch through the rest of the screens to the less-common settings.

#319 3 years ago

Oh okay the pops was the missing factor, gotcha. Well you made a wizard mode that is as difficult as some of the hardest machines out there. Love it!!! So to throw people a bone and it is still hard is to do a what you could do a Stars Mini Wizard Mode, like I described. The way the game is right now the bonus increase to 19k is pretty tough to achieve so while is it nice to have the ability to get to 55k no one is ever able to reach that far, at least on my version. If I can get stream going we will and will post the link on here for you.

Again awesome work really appreciate all of the blood, sweat and tears you have put into it!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

I would really like to see the stream - please post or message me when you get it going.
I will mull over your ideas for a bit -- I'm trying to make sure everything is as rock-solid as I can get it before I start thinking about lights/sounds/points again, but thank you for taking the time to write them out.
I'm guessing from what you're saying that maybe you're not actually getting into wizard mode? You have to complete all three goals to reach it: pops > 60, drop targets & hurry-up spinner, and 3rd level of stars. The pops and stars can be reached over the course of all the balls and the drops has to be done in a single ball. Once you've completed all three goals, there is a countdown and you will get the wizard switch reward (I suppose it's more aptly called a switch frenzy).
By the way, at the moment the pop rewards are bonus accelerators that are unlocked. Pops > 20 lights the rollover for a 1k reward. Pops > 40 lights the inlane/outlane for 3k per, and >60 makes the inlane flash for double (if I'm recalling correctly). Pops >60 also does grant 1k per pop.
For an easier road to wizard, option 17 makes the skill shot grant the next level.

#326 3 years ago

The first test of the game will be on this Thursday in our league, it starts at 7:00pm we will show it in a our classics rounds 2 or 4 or 6 round just depends if it gets selected by match play.

I will see if I can get a few guys together on a day to do a Stars battle with the new code.

https://twitch.tv/diehardpinball

Quoted from DickHamill:

I would really like to see the stream - please post or message me when you get it going.
I will mull over your ideas for a bit -- I'm trying to make sure everything is as rock-solid as I can get it before I start thinking about lights/sounds/points again, but thank you for taking the time to write them out.
I'm guessing from what you're saying that maybe you're not actually getting into wizard mode? You have to complete all three goals to reach it: pops > 60, drop targets & hurry-up spinner, and 3rd level of stars. The pops and stars can be reached over the course of all the balls and the drops has to be done in a single ball. Once you've completed all three goals, there is a countdown and you will get the wizard switch reward (I suppose it's more aptly called a switch frenzy).
By the way, at the moment the pop rewards are bonus accelerators that are unlocked. Pops > 20 lights the rollover for a 1k reward. Pops > 40 lights the inlane/outlane for 3k per, and >60 makes the inlane flash for double (if I'm recalling correctly). Pops >60 also does grant 1k per pop.
For an easier road to wizard, option 17 makes the skill shot grant the next level.

#333 3 years ago

If the setting was put at zero points then it doesn’t matter how long you had the mode for. Should there be a zero point setting on wizard mode, probably not. Should the default be zero points probably not. Hopefully when you change the setting it scores.

Quoted from cfh:

Why would there be a wizard mode and it be worth zero points? that makes absolutely no sense.???
Now if you have the wizard mode turned off, set to zero seconds, OK. but we had it set to 30 seconds

#337 3 years ago

I apologize our stream equipment didn’t get charged from last weeks stream. Yes we don’t have our regular stream guy here right now. Sorry we will stream on Tuesday night all night as there is a special party at the arcade.

#347 3 years ago

It is pretty irrelevant as with the current wizard rules it is vertically impossible to get to wizard mode on three balls and very difficult even on 5 balls (even with the skill shot set to award a level). Having to achieve the pop bumpers is interesting touch with the wizard mode you can debate that it is too many, should probably be 30 as there is only one pop bumper. I would rather see the implementation of mini-wizard modes then downgrade or make major changes to the current major wizard mode.

Add in a:

Drop Mini Wizard Mode and/or Spinner Mini Wizard Mode and/or STARS Mini Wizard Mode. If you compete all objectives then you get the major wizard mode.

Quoted from cfh:

Jeremy but that’s the problem. Talk about chopping wood. Do you want to hit a target 50 times in order to get to wizard mode? 50 freaking times! Again if there was a pop bumper nest fine. But there’s not. Which means you have to aim for that thing and hit it 50 times! That’s not a good rule that’s chop chop chopping wood!
Maybe a better idea would be to hit the left spinner 50 spins. Because with one shot you can probably get five or 10 spins. That’s still some chopping wood but it is determining on how well you hit that shot, and how powerful you hit it
And for that matter why not have super spinners? Hit the spinners 50 or 100 times and then he becomes worth 10x or allow you into the wizard mode. That seems to make a lot more sense than using the pop bumper

#373 3 years ago

We are live streaming Stars 2020 at Arkadium Retro Arcade. Enjoy!!!

https://twitch.tv/diehardpinball

#376 3 years ago

Yes I agree, glad you got something out of it. Will be streaming again on Thursday for league not sure if Stars will be played but if it does we will include it on our stream. We also found if you tilt the game it resets it and you actually have to turn it off and on to reboot it, kinda weird and not sure if it was a consistent error. I didn’t get to play it much yesterday I was too busy serving drinks for the party lol...

Quoted from DickHamill:

Very educational - thanks!
I'm not a fan of the way the "major switch" validation is playing out for your games (adjustment number 27).
I think that code needs to be tweaked.

#377 3 years ago

We ran into an issue yesterday on Stars where when a player tilts it resets the machine and you have to turn it on and off in order to get it going again. Not sure if it is loose connectors or a problem with code. The second issue is that the roving star skill shot was not lit at start and only the roving special thought that was super weird. Starts at 23:00 & 56:00

https://www.twitch.tv/diehardpinball/video/668407808

#378 3 years ago

Looking again it looks like code for skill shot is a roving special for 25K, then a roving special again to get 100K. My recommendation would be to have a roving star shot for skill shot 25K, then a roving special 100K (adjustable) to make sure a player knows the difference. Sorry for the confusion still learning all of the rules on this code. The tilt is still a major issue but again if others aren't having this problem then it may be our installation.

Quoted from pins4life33:

We ran into an issue yesterday on Stars where when a player tilts it resets the machine and you have to turn it on and off in order to get it going again. Not sure if it is loose connectors or a problem with code. The second issue is that the roving star skill shot was not lit at start and only the roving special thought that was super weird. Starts at 23:00 & 56:00
https://www.twitch.tv/diehardpinball/video/668407808

#381 3 years ago

Interesting we will take a look at it this week and see maybe the connectors come loose or something when it is moved.

Quoted from 8bitrobo:

bcrage88 I tested the tilt on my game, it moves on to the next ball and I didn't have to reset.

2 months later
#397 3 years ago

We have played Stars 2020 quite a bit at the arcade and our is setup extremely tough, one of the biggest complains we have had with code is that there is vertically no way to increase bonus on the game. There is a great feature on the game where it allow you to go out to 55000 but honestly for the majority of players at our location their bonus go to from 1k to 5k in any given ball. Has there been any thoughts of giving 2k bonus for Stars, 1k for drops, 2k for a drop clear. Every 5 pop hits 1k bonus, anything to try to increase that bonus so it is worth shooting down those drops for your 2x or 3x. That way there is at least some incentive to hit the drops. Many players are ignoring the drops and just going for skill shots and spinner as it is much more safe and lucrative right now.

#399 3 years ago

Awesome stuff can’t wait to try it out looks like a big improvement!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

I've pushed new code up to GitHub.
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020/
Read on for the full notes of what has changed.
Release Notes
=============
BSOS 1.4
Stars2020 2020.5
Un-flickered display - the displays with my code weren't as solid as the original. I studied the original ISR more thoroughly and improved my displays
Fixed flashing lamp update - flashing lamps can be updated mid-flash without re-lighting them erroneously
Added flash to star hits - visual effect
Created star wipe to star level lock-in - visual effect
Created pulsing flash to skill shot - visual effect
Changed star level flashing behavior (flashing for higher levels, on non-dim modes) - visualization change
Clearing either bank from left to right gives 14k score (and clears both sets) - new scoring opportunity
Reduced dynamic memory size so sketch doesn't give memory warning anymore - code hygiene
Fixed bonus countdown so 1k light doesn't show after last sound - visualization change
Added "Generous Bonus" control (setting #34)
Level 0
Bonus as marked on playfield
Level 1
Star hits give 2 bonus
Every fifth right spinner adds bonus when star is flashing
Center drop adds 1 bonus
Clearing banks adds 2 bonus
Level 2
Star hits give (1+star level, so 2, 3, or 4) bonus
Every third right spinner adds bonus when star is flashing
Every drop adds 1 bonus
Clearing banks adds 2 bonus
This update requires downloading both the BallySternOS files and the Stars2020 files. See the instructions here for details:
https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020

#400 3 years ago

Some of the other bonus issues on the game are on the rollovers when you hit the red rollovers you should score 500 and advance bonus, but it does not advance the bonus just gives you 500. As well the 3 bonus advance light never comes on would be nice to have that back to light on the outlines or in lanes rotating on switch hits. Sorry never noticed this stuff before that is why the bonus counts are so low, really nice touch on the extra bonus chances I think with all of these fixes it will balance out the scoring!!!

#402 3 years ago

Ya sorry about that I am more of a play test kind of guy instead of a read the rules guy lol... Makes sense, the downfall and especially for competitive player is that they will ignore certain features if they are too tough to achieve, they will always to go the safes strategy especially ona game like this. I will fiddle with the adjustments and see if that helps in balancing the scoring and makes me want to shoot for the left side of the playfield. Right now there is absolutely no reason to shoot for the drops as the bonus collect doesn’t warrant the risk. As well with little bonus you will find competitive player will not worry about tilting out so having some bonus risk on the table is always helpful to make them think twice. Great work on all this and thanks for the explanation!!!

Quoted from DickHamill:

Those features (rollovers, inlanes, and outlanes) work as marked on the playfield (when lit).
In order to light the rollover, you need to achieve 1/3 of the pop bumper goal.
To light in/outlanes, you need to achieve 2/3 of the pop bumper goal.
Adjustment 31 allows you to change the pop bumper goal to 30, 45, 60, or 90. I like games that make you work a bit in order to build bonus, so (at the very least) you have to engage the pop bumper a little in order to light those bonus opportunities. Turn down the pop bumper goal to 30, and players will get rollovers lit at 10 hits, and inlanes lit at 20 hits.
The details of all the features are in the documentation here: https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020
Yes, I know nobody reads the documentation

#404 3 years ago

Like the idea of the drop target sequence, kinda like Centaur, you might want to consider the 5 flashing and it gives you 15k for the sequence sweep a little easier math. The drop target on the fly not as sold as it doesn’t reward good play as much and more of a luck shot that you survive the target but really great ideas!!! Amazing all the cool things that can be done to a 40’year old machine.

Quoted from DickHamill:

I've added a sequence skill-shot to the drops as well. Hoping that might help. It's 14k at the moment for hitting either bank from left to right in sequence. As soon as you hit the left drop of either bank, the 7k light flashes. Hit the middle target next and the flashing increases. When you hit the right target, you get 14k. In my limited testing, I've found that the flashing light draws attention to the drops. Also, with GenerousBonus set to 2 (adjustment 34), you get 1k bonus per target and 2k for clearing, so 5k bonus per bank. And, of course, that's multiplied.
With tournament scoring on (adjustment 15), the WOW bonus and Special bonus are adjustable through adjustments 24 & 25. You can set those up to 100k, if you really want to entice people to go for the drops.
The other idea that I'm playing with is to put a hurry-up on the drops that's triggered by the right inlane. Scores & bonus of drop targets doubled if they're hit within 2 seconds of the right inlane or something. That might encourage people to try to one-time the drops from the right flipper.

1 week later
#412 3 years ago

Hey Dick, how does option 34 work? You haven't updated the documentation (which is awesome by the way). Assuming the targets and Stars are just worth a bit more between option 1 and 2.

34 - Generous Bonus (0 - as marked, 1 - more bonus, 2 - lots of bonus)

#414 3 years ago

Okay streaming tonight we will see how it goes.

https://www.twitch.tv/diehardpinball

#417 3 years ago

No sorry I did try to get it on once but the guys started the game too quickly. Will try to do a. Dedicated stream on it soon for you.

Quoted from DickHamill:

I didn't see any Stars on the stream. Wasn't chosen?

1 year later
#475 1 year ago

Without reading hundreds of threads what is the best speaker to purchase for the arduino .wav trigger board. Thanks!

1 month later
#478 1 year ago

Do you have the updated manual for Stars2021?

are 25 - 33 the same as 2020 or not used at all?

Is there an explanation of how 24 works now?

So used to playing 2020 this seems a lot different got the new kit with WAV board and just trying to figure out how to set this up for tournament play now.

Quoted from DickHamill:

Yeah, as Robotworkshop mentioned, there are a couple of steps to do on the WAV trigger. His notes are at the bottom of this page:
https://ballysternos.github.io/install.html
Also, be sure to go through the coin door adjustments. I'm not sure the 2021 version is fully documented, but here's a list:
5 test modes (lamps, solenoids, etc.)
11 audits (award scores, high score, etc.)
12 = freeplay
13 = ball save
14 = sound effects & music control
15 = tournament scoring
16 = tilt warnings
17 = award score payouts
18 = number of balls
19 = scrolling scores
20 = tournament extra ball award
21 = tournament special award
22 = dim level
23 = background music volume
24 = holdover stars on with single hit
So, you'll also want to make sure that adjustment 14 is set to "3". You can see the Stars2020 documentation to get an idea of how to check this if it's not clear. You basically hit the coin door adjustment button until there's a 14 in the credits display, and then the Credit/Reset until Player 1 score reads "3".

#480 1 year ago

Awesome less adjustments for sure then 2020, I noticed a roaming star skill shot is 30k I am assuming no adjustment for that in this version. 10k is you hit the unlit star I believe. Are there any specific drop target rules other than the normal multipliers (watched video and no they go to 8X nice). I also noticed that you do get bonus for spinners now. Yes, you are correct 25 and above as not selectable anymore.

Quoted from DickHamill:

Shoot - I don't think I ever finished the doc for 2021. It's very different from 2020. I'll see if I can pull a doc together (I don't own Stars anymore, so let me know if I get something wrong).
Here are the adjustments:
12 - freeplay
13 - ball save (seconds)
14 - music level (0 nothing, 1-2 sfx, 3 sfx & music)
15 - tourney scoring
16 - tilt warnings
17 - award override (0 is EB for all three scores, 7 is special for all scores, etc.)
18 - number of balls per game
19 - scrolling scores
20 - EB award (for tourney)
21 - special award (for tourney)
22 - dim level (2 = 50%, 3 = 33%, 4 = flashing stars)
23 - background music level (0 - 9)
24 - holdover stars on (makes orange star level up during award shot)
If there adjustments past 24, then I have a bug I'm not aware of.
For adjustment 24, I think setting it to "1" will make the game always holdover star progress.
In general, during the skill shot (the red special moves around), the first star you hit will grant either:
1) holdover stars
2) holdover bonus
3) holdover bonusX
4) holdover spinner progress
5) holdover pop progress
The video here:
shows how that works.

#481 1 year ago

This is what I have been able to gather so far....

Stars 2021 - Overview Sheet (resized).pngStars 2021 - Overview Sheet (resized).png
#483 1 year ago

So awesome thanks for the full explanation of the rules!

Quoted from DickHamill:

(Hamill is one M and two LLs for me, by the way)
I started a document about rules/scoring and put it here: https://github.com/BallySternOS/Stars2020-21
(Stars2021Rules.pdf)
Formatting will suck here because I don't want to sort it out, but here are the rules:
Stars 2021 - Rules
Skill Shot
After the ball is plunged, the player has 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” by hitting one of the star stand-up targets. The color of star target hit determines the award.
White Star Target - BonusX progress is held between balls
Green Star Target - Bonus is held
Amber Star Target - Accumulated Stars are held
Purple Star Target - Pop Bumper progress is held
Yellow Star Target - Spinner progress is held
After 30 seconds, if no star target is hit, the game will proceed to normal play.
Normal Play
During normal play, the player can work to achieve the following goals:
Advance Star Level
Accumulate Bonus Points
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Achieve super spinners status
Achieve super pop bumper status
Advancing Star Level
The current star progress is shown on the 5 star lights under the right spinner. When all five star targets have been hit at the current level, the level will increase. Bringing all the stars up to level three will complete the star goal. Each time a new level is reached, the player will have 30 seconds to collect an “Award Shot” (see Skill Shot for a description).
Accumulate Bonus Points
Various rollovers on the playfield will advance the end of ball bonus (shown on the bonus ladder in the center of the playfield). Additionally, hitting drop targets, every 5th spinner turn, and every 5th pop bumper hit will increase bonus. The bonus maximum is 55k. If bonus is reaches the maximum value, the bonus goal will be completed.
Increase the Bonus Multiplier
Bonus multiplier is increased by completing drop target banks. The maximum bonus X is 8. When Bonus X reaches 8, the bonus multiplier goal is completed.
Achieve Super Spinners
When 100 spins have been collected, the player will have completed the super spinner goal.
Achieve Super Pop Bumper
When the Pop bumper has been hit 75 times, the player will have completed the super pop bumper goal.
Spinner Frenzy
When the ball activates an in-lane rollover, the opposite spinner will begin a combo. For example, if the ball travels down the left in-lane, the player has 2 seconds to hit the right spinner to begin a combo. If the player achieves that, they then have 15 seconds to hit the other spinner to begin a spinner frenzy (for 25 seconds).
During spinner frenzy, the player receives an extra 5k points per spin, and 3x spins towards their Super Spinner status.
Pop Bumper Frenzy
Each time the pop bumper is hit, the player advances towards the pop bumper rewards.
25 Pops - lights rollover buttons for bonus
50 Lights in-lanes
75 Stars Pop Bumper Frenzy for 25 seconds (and collects Pop Bumper Goal)
Drop Target Frenzy
When the player achieves a Bonus X of 4, they will start a 25 second drop target frenzy. During a frenzy, all drop targets are worth their regular value plus an additional 7k points. Hitting a drop target during the frenzy will reset all targets after 2 seconds.
Wizard Mode
When all 5 goals have been achieved, a 39 second wizard mode begins and the player earns a reward of 250k points. In wizard mode, all switches earn their regular value plus an additional 5k points. All progress and goals (aside from bonus and bonus X) are reset by wizard mode.
Scoring
Any of the frenzy modes increases the playfield multiplier. For example, having one frenzy mode running increases all scores to 2x their lit value. Two simultaneous frenzies will increase the playfield to 3x.
The rollovers, pops, spinners, stand-ups, and drop targets are score as follows:
10-point switch - 10 points x playfield multiplier
Star Stand-up - normal play = 500 points x star level
Skill Shot = 30,000
Completing Star Level = 20,000
Award Shot (after completing star level) = 10,000
Out Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
In Lane - unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 3,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 5,000 x playfield multiplier & 6k bonus
Rollover Buttons (2) unlit = 500 x playfield multiplier
lit = 500 x playfield multiplier & 1k bonus
during pop bumper frenzy = 1,500 x playfield multiplier & 3k bonus
Left Spinner - (200 + 400 for each center target down) x playfield multiplier
1k bonus every 5th spin
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Right Spinner - 200 for each lit star x playfield multiplier
1,000 for each star level x playfield multiplier
during spinner frenzy = additional 5,000 per spin
Drop Target - default score = 500
center target alone = 7,000
bank completed from left to right = 15,000
Completing either bank awards Bonus X = 2,
after that, both banks have to be completed to increase Bonus X
Pop Bumper - 100 points
during pop bumper frenzy = 500 x playfield multiplier
Slingshots - 10 points

1 month later
#489 1 year ago

Okay now was finally able to get to updating all the rules on our machine at the arcade so people can figure it out. I am sure there may need to be edits, feel free to correct me wherever I have made mistakes.

1 (resized).png1 (resized).png2 (resized).png2 (resized).png3 (resized).png3 (resized).png4 (resized).png4 (resized).png
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