hi koji,

I might be able to help you out. try this:

- with the glass removed, start a new game, select light lock
- then directly lock a second and a third ball (it really helps here to have 4 balls in the left VUK)
- now do the shooting part and don't let a ball drain, doesn't matter if you hit or miss..
- once the mb starts, you should start grabbing the balls directly from the left flipper and put them into the the neutral zone as fast as you can.
- do this 20 times.
- then stop and wait for 4 balls from the left VUK and the other two should come out from the cannons. works here every time.

it also works with the center shot, but not that reliably because there is this "Jackpot!" sound that most of the time interrupts the VUK.... that's why it bothering me: if you get good at hitting the center shot, you might have 10 or something consecutive hits, and that normally triggers 4, or sometimes even 6 balls.... what helps is saving one ball on the right flipper btw.. but I don't really like that as solution =(....

this is actually driving me crazy since Christmas... I've checked anything! new optos installed everywhere, changed MPU with ASIC and ROM, new ribbon cables, new 16-opto board, swapped Eddy sensors, new switches for the cannons, tried other (newer) VUKs, installed a gate at the VUK entry, shims for the left VUK, shims for the ball trough.. new opto boards for the through.... almost anything... an "endoscope" to check whats going on inside the VUK... everything works perfectly... still having this problem....

and as you said, nothing on the internet about it... (checked German and French forums too)... nothing.... so I thought it must be something weird with my STTNG.

What I (currently) think is going on: if the left VUK kicks a ball out, the other balls inside are being pushed back. when they are still moving and you feed other balls into the subway, the ball count somehow gets messed up...

Would be really interesting if more people have the same problem... or if it's just a mechanical or electrical defect we are having here.. currently I think it is a bug. maybe lowing the VUK firing rate would help: so that you never hit the center target in the moment it VUK kicks out a ball...

ps. not sure, but I think this is actually my first post here!! I've been here reading along for almost a year now.... thanks to all for all the great info!! and thanks to pin_guy for all his cool pics and explanations! really miss him.. hope he is doing well!

pps. and sorry for my English =)

it also works in Ferengi MB. if you have 3 (or more?) balls in play and keep hitting the center hole. iirc I've also seen it only with two balls in play, but much less frequently...

The problem: you do not see the direct cause... to check if there has been a problem, you have to wait for the VUK to stop kicking out balls (just catch them with your hand)... if you get more than three, you know it must have happened earlier.

Hi SNES,

also pretty "new" here.... if you search for it, you will find posts telling none of them should move, others stating that both should move. Posts that tell you to replace cables, and posts that tell you that it doesn't matter....

During the last year, I saw my cannons moving both, only the right one, and only the left one... I had replaced cables, optos, coilsleeves.. it seems to be pretty random actually....

last week I decided to have a closer look. here is what I've found:

- the plunger is pretty small, if you think that the opto is designed to be interrupted by a ball.

- remove the cannon cover, go to switch test and then push the plunger manually (leave the coin door open! there is a coil close by.....)

- if I do it here and push the plunger a little from the bottom, it interrupts the opto.

- if I push the plunger a little more from the top, the opto is not interrupted!!

- if I push it in the middle, then it is a bit random I would say....

then I removed the receiver on one cannon and checked what's going on there. (see picture 1 and 2)

1 (resized).jpg 2 (resized).jpg

I haven't replaced the coil-holders(?) so they might have an influence on the plungers "end-position".. (see pic 3).

3 (resized).jpg

anyway, adjusting the optos seems to be the key to get either both canons moving at start or none of them. the little pcb on which the optos are can be moved a little more up to block the beam, or you can lower the opto a little to get the cannons moving.

I've added a small spacer above the opto holder to get them more down... although people are saying that this is a test for the cannons - I've just checked 2 days ago, that if this is a test, it doesn't seem to be really testing something.. maybe if the "home-switch" is released when the cannons start moving, but for everything else (e.g. disconnected mark switches), there is no error triggered or reported.

pretty happy that my cannons are not moving at start-up anymore =)

it's not only working with Ferengi Multiball... it's also working within PinMame!!! I guess we really have found a bug..... thanks for reporting and restoring my sanity... I've rebuilt half of my pinball searching why this is happening.... =)

wow... I did miss that.... I had in mind, that pin_guy said that none of his cannons moves.... I found the post you are referring to here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/49#post-4648624

and some discussion there:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/89#post-5765668

Here only the right was turning, the left only sometimes...when I checked the optos and made the photos... adjusted the optos and now none of them moves... but maybe this opto-adjustment would be a too simple solution to the cannon mystery.... should I test 30 games without cannons and look for error messages? diagnostic code should then trigger it, right?

and a question: the interuption of the opto triggers the turning here... both cannons still fire at startup.... so do you only have one cannon firing? mine always has fired both iirc...

regarding the turning cannons again... I have a theory about the plungers:

- if the home switch is not closed at start-up, cannons turn until they find home.

- if the home switch is closed at start-up, the interruption of the opto (with the plunger) causes them to turn.

- I've been adjusting my mark switches, and if they are not closed at start-up, the plunger does not fire... even if the home switch is closed.

now to the interesting part:

- the plunger pulse at start-up is exactly the same as when you don't shoot the ball out of a cannon AND the mark-switch gets triggered (from 0 to 1)...

and now a pretty simple explanation for the plunger action at startup:

- probably the plunger pulse is just the switch matrix handler for the mark-switch being initialized and going from 0 to 1...

I'm just starting with WPC PinMame Debugging (in for 3 days now) but once I'm at speed and have found and fixed that 6+2 bug that has haunted me for months now....I'm going to find out why the cannons are firing at startup... and what causes them to turn exactly. =)

but for now, my theory sounds pretty solid. right?

your right... it's the 4 plus 2 bug.

4 balls from the VUK, 2 from the cannons...

in a multiball with 3 balls in play (and one additional one in the left VUK), hit 10 or 20 times the center shot directly.. or the NZ, doesn't matter, but needs to be ending up at the left VUK again, then you get 4 Balls from the VUK and additionally 2 from the cannons...

and it works with PinMame too.

here is where we started talking about it: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/156#post-6947279

the bad thing is: it only happens when I have a really really good game... hitting the center shot 10 or 20 times in a row is not the average game... but if you practice... you are getting better and better...

and now... I'm afraid of playing a good game.... and I mean.. I really shouldn't be, right?

=)

I did what I had told you first how to trigger/reproduce it:

- start BM
- keep hitting the center hole for 20 times... maybe I did 50
- PinMame STTNG gave me 4 + 2 balls (and they don't drain there by themselves =))

edit:

now I understand what you mean... you just have hotkeys for the shots... it's pretty cool. this is what it looks like:

Screenshot from 2022-06-01 00-17-49 (resized).png

2nd edit:

and here we are. 6 balls on the playfield:

Screenshot from 2022-06-01 00-30-05 (resized).png

now I only have to get you to adjust your cannon optos and we're on the same boat =)

koji pinmame tests looked good and now I'm running first real life tests with modified firmware:

Screenshot from 2022-06-11 14-34-15 (resized).png

pretty solid so far.... no more extra balls for sure... it's a kind of error handling... it thinks something is broken - because it has just kicked out a ball from the VUK and now there are "still" (but actually it is again) 6 balls in the subway. Then it decides to throw out all balls... now instead of this error-handling, I'm only increasing the ball count and remove the error flag... Thought about other solutions (e.g. a different VUK-Timing) but actually I do not want to change anything gameplay related...

I still have to look into a few functions... and test without the shim inside the VUK and increase the recoil again..... but this seems to work pretty well.

I guess Free Play without buy ins wasn't really a thing in those days =)

It's there, but not very detailed:Screenshot from 2023-01-11 14-40-18 (resized).png

I've used Motorex Bike Grease for the gun shafts and the diverter in the back. Should be ok for the next 5-10 years....

Yes... We should have an "LX-8" patch ready soon... ~10 new adjustments and ~20 bugs fixed.... Plays pretty solid - but I'm still hunting down the last LX-7 oddities... The patch is going to be available as soon as it's done.

You might find some info over at flippermarkt.de but a complete description (around 20 pages) will be available in English.

Everything that is not a bug-fix can be disabled and we've tried to keep it as close to LX-7 as possible... with some nice tweaks here and there.

and here's what we have atm:

Screenshot from 2023-01-15 15-25-55 (resized).png

Of course! That's not a bug.... =)

Two more bugs fixed:

Screenshot from 2023-01-20 22-40-08 (resized).png

we're getting closer.....

It's going to be adjustable:
Screenshot from 2023-01-21 08-15-48 (resized).png

I've tried quite a few of these online patchers.. I didn't find anything working as it should.

trek_x7.rom from ipdb is the correct file. It must be the special speech version from the link in the "how_to_create_LX8.pdf.

Don't turn off checksum validation.

it's an xdelta3 patch. not xdelta. you can also use:

apt get install xdelta3

if you are using Linux.

here are the md5 checksums of all files involved:

24b52ce325bc4f2706a95d5e241d3b15 trek_LX-8_AD41_BE08.rom
9d9cee575ace3f89e05f2631b3e300a1 trek_x7.rom
60dcd12c3f25b1b8f826f4d4098bcef6 trek_x8.xdelta

and you can apply the patch like this:

xdelta3 -d -s trek_x7.rom trek_x8.xdelta NEW_LX8.rom

But if you follow the pdf, everything should be working.

This one produces valid output, but it doesn't check the input files. So it's a bit dangerous.

Please use xdelta3 with Linux (like described above) or the DeltaPatcher.exe contained in the zip file (there is also a link where you can find the original source of that file). you might end up with a corrupted file otherwise.

edit: this is the md5 of the resulting LX8: 24b52ce325bc4f2706a95d5e241d3b15

And the trek_x7.rom from the link? I did this 3 times today - zero problems.

trek_x7.rom from Special Speech sttng_x7.zip on ipdb.org (md5: 79d9cee575ace3f89e05f2631b3e300a1)

with the trek_x8.xdelta from the zip (md5 should be: 60dcd12c3f25b1b8f826f4d4098bcef6)

gives you an error with the DeltaPatcher.exe from within the zip?

great you've got it working now.

looks like Averell has set a new standard here .... it's currently around 50 pages and counting...

Yes. And as mentioned somewhere hidden inside the manual, it's optional. You don't need the Special Speech audio ROMs.

And if you have them installed, you can enable and completely disable (<- this is new) them via adjustment "A.2 28 Special Speech".

We've tested on ~10 machines and there where one or two reports of lag, but nothing that could be reproduced by the others... But something you might want to try: take out the batteries for a few seconds... it's mentioned in Chapter 4 Troubleshooting.

I've switched between LX-7 and LX-8 a few times, but haven't seen any issues.

If you are speaking of "right flipper starts game" and "trigger doesn't work" - that happens also when you switch back to LX-7 or LX-5, so it seems that's normal after a ROM change. Once you have pulled the trigger, the next game should be fine.

Wait until you are used to it and go back to LX-7 ... that feels really weird then. And actually we didn't want to change your game play, it should still be LX-7. But if you like to, you can now use Launch-A-Probe and Skill Shot, they might give you an extra ball... you could set Ferengi MB to 90s... or the Return To Duty to 30s... Holodeck is more interesting and the NZ Lock is definitely a nice thing... but you are right... it's actually still STTNG... =)

No reports of that until now... and we've played a lot... maybe it was just the ROM change.

we love our STTNGs too =)... that's why we've fixed LX-7. And all the tweaks, can be disabled. But maybe you should try to put your game play aside, forget all you know about how to play STTNG, use Launch-A-Probe, hit the NZ often and enjoy crashing against walls in the shuttle simulation... you may actually like it.

You need to download the file from the link inside the pdf:

"1. Download sttng_x7.zip from here: https://www.ipdb.org/files/2357/sttng_x7.zip"

there's a "trek_x7.rom" inside. That's the file you want to patch.

Just wanted to thank you all for the kind words! Since this is my first WPC project, the start was indeed a bit rough. But it became an interesting little hobby... And there was just as much determination and support from everybody who helped with finding bugs and did alpha+beta testing!

But to be honest we are actually happy to be done - for now... having a little break, enjoying life and planning to get back to it in a few months, because there is still some stuff left to be fixed and to be improved. And the idea was to get LX-8 out and get some feedback, so LX-9 could then probably become the final release.

And that's the only thing we are asking for: if you have any input or ideas for additional LX-9 tweaks or there are problems you have with LX-8, please don't hesitate to report them. Here, via PM, over at flippermarkt.de or via email to [email protected]

We've tested really a lot with more than 10 machines without seeing any problems before the release and I have now received several reports that LX-8 works for them without any problems too but you are the 2nd one that reports that... and both of you doing 2 locks to get closer to the Borg Multiball... I've tried to reproduce it already 3 times today, no luck.

Having spent quite some time in the subway last year (check my avatar), I have seen several places where balls could get stuck down there.... so it's really hard to tell, if it's the firmware... the next time you see that happen, try to open the door before the ball search kicks in and maybe you'll find a ball somewhere...

Anyway, I'll keep trying to reproduce this... and thanks for reporting!

I'm only fixing my STTNG here.

I had to change the memory layout for LX-8. There was only room for 2 additional adjustments left in LX-7, so I had to change stuff here and there to make feature adjustments work with only 1 byte in memory (normally all WPC adjustments use 2 bytes). The version change from LX-7 to LX-8 triggers a factory reset and that's exactly what was needed for this new "memory layout". That's why it's not LX-7something.

LX-8 is the big release (20+ bug fixes and 10 features/tweaks) and the next one actually doesn't have a name yet. My main focus are still bug fixes and maybe 1 or 2 little tweaks here and there.....

And for STTNG version numbers: I like the idea of increasing them like warp factors... but haven't decided yet...

I guess that would be possible.. but the focus is clearly bug fixes and perhaps little tweaks... LX-7 was actually never really finished and that's what we are trying to achieve: LX-7 as it should have been for the last 30 years.

but If you have ideas how to improve game play, please let me know... we'll be collecting ideas and bugs over the next few months and then decide what's going to make it into the next release.

I've been thinking about how to improve or change STTNG for almost a year now... but you always have to ask yourself: "Would this change make STTNG a better game?". The answer is almost always: "no, not really". And that's simply because the game design is already perfect. It is fun, exciting and challenging, has more than enough missions, hidden features, a great sound track and fantastic call-outs. The stuff that is (or was) missing or somehow feels wrong is most probably because they had no time to finish it - or maybe because it was done for operators - not for home use... Just a few bytes here and there.. that's really all that is needed.

I have no idea what "2.0" would be, but for me the game design of STTNG "1.0" is perfect. So finding bugs, understanding the code and then fixing these bugs, that's almost the only thing that is left to improve this wonderful game.

It's still there. Called: "Special Sound ROMs LX-7". You need this file for creating LX-8. It survived the latest ipdb.org "clean-up". And if it's going to be removed you should still be able to find it with the Wayback Machine. There are many snapshots of ipdb.org available.

I had to find out recently that it has 3 sounds included that are pretty cool and so un-silly that I've completely missed that they are not coming with stock LX-7:

- "Captain's Log, supplemental: Q's latest visit proved a true test to the crew's abilities."

- "Captain's Log, supplemental: While we have made significant discoveries, we must admit, this can only be the beginning"

- "Our experience in the final frontier was most remarkable"

So if you are already running LX-8, you might want to switch to the Silly Roms to hear these call-outs in the post game show... (you do not have to enable "Special Speech"). In LX-9 you will be able to disable these to get the original LX-7 post game show back, because with LX-8 if you don't have silly/special roms installed, you won't hear the call-outs but still have different background music playing...

just had a really bad game and I must admit it's actually: "Captain's Log, supplemental: While we have made significant discoveries, we must realize, this can only be the beginning."

quick question: "SAY NO TO DRUGS" can't be disabled. correct?

Oh, I've already patched it and added an adjustment (A.2 46).... but then I thought maybe I should have asked here first...

Thanks!

I've just started Borg multiball two times via the lock skill selection and had the "We will never surrender" callout both times... But as we speak of this and I also wondered what is going on there, I've asked the bytes and there are 2 different "Borg Init Sequences" and they are chosen randomly (50/50). One is:

Borg: "Surrender or we will destroy your ship"
Picard: "We will never surrender!"

and the other one is just:

Picard: "Send to Starfleet: we have engaged the Borg".

So it must be bad luck and you have to keep trying! and @koji: thanks for checking your videos!

go to adjustments -> Feature Adjustments -> A.2 09 Skill Lock Count. Yours is set to "ONE". Set it back to "TWO" again (which is the default).

again: Adjustments -> Feature Adjustments -> A.28 Special Speech: Set this to "OFF" (the default). Then you will hear the original callout again.

When you enter the service menu, there are 3 screens shown for 2 seconds each. On the 2nd you should read "U6 CHKSM: AD41.BE08"

If you see more oddities: you might want to reset your settings to default:

enter the service menu, go to "Utilities" -> "U.7 Factory Adjs.". That brings all your settings back to default.

Koji is right... you should def. do a factory reset. "Utilities" -> "U.8 Factory Reset".

Maybe there was a ghosting-patched custom LX-7 installed before and the internal version was already increased to 8 there. Then there would be no automatic factory reset when installing LX-8 and you need to do it manually.

I've already started work on LX-9... here is what I have atm:

Bugs Fixed:​

• “250 Shuttles” Gives No Award, Counter wrong afterwards. Both fixed.
• Increase Borg Cannon Hit Timer:
• In LX-7 and LX-8 there is 0.75s - 0.83s for the ball from the cannon to reach the Under-Borg-Hole opto during Borg MB. Now it’s 0.83s – 0.91s.
• Warp 9 During BattleSim Fix: Disable Subway Cannon Routing so balls go to the LVUK while Warp 9 is running. Previously the balls went to the cannons but the shots didn’t count.
• Search The Galaxy NZ Bug fixed:
Steps to reproduce:
• start with lit NZ
• do not hit any ramps or at least not in the correct ordering
• just after Search The Galaxy, NZ will be re-lit again but S.T.G grace period is still running.
• hit the NZ within the Search-The-Galaxy grace period
• you get an artifact.
• Lit Hurry-Up and/or Cmd-Decision always lost if a Borg-MB is started while another mission is running.
• Hurry-Up activated in the background during Borg-MB will be active after Borg-MB although another mission might be running.
• Disable “Mission-Lights” during Borg-MB.
• “Mission Lights”: sometimes already show next mission with a blink during current mission start.
• BattleSim: if you manage to hit the wrong hole while Cannon-Hit Timer is still running, the next shot is not handled correctly (it does’nt count).
• No more lost >10billion high scores.
• Ball Lost during BattleSim while RTD is running was not handled correctly. (went from catapult to top-hole to cannon, now drop-target is raised shortly)

Adjustments Added:​

• [A.2 40] Disable PF GI and Shields on Power Saver Timer. [ON/OFF]
• [A.2 41] Shields OFF when shields are down! [ON/OFF]
• [A.2 42] Show Party-Animals instead of DOHO randomly. [0..100%]
• [A.2 43] Ferengi Multiball MK2 [ON/OFF]
• halt timer and disable NZ inserts while 4 balls are in play.
• Additional ball if cannon shot goes into the NZ hole.
• [A.2 44] Reduce “NZ Hole detection” / “NZ Target → UnderLeftHole Opto” Time.
• [A.2 45] Cardassia BallSaver [0s .. 30s]
• [A.2 46] Say No To Drugs [ON/OFF]
• [A.2 47] Special Speech Post-Game-Show [ON/OFF]

TODOs:​

• Q Continuum...

so if you know of bugs that aren't listed above or already fixed in LX-8, or have good ideas for tweaks or features, please post here or write an email to [email protected]

especially ideas regarding the Romulan Encounter are most welcome!

LOL

Not sure but artifacts are only given in regular missions IIRC.... oh no.. there is Shuttle Simulation.. so ok.... an artifact would be an option there.

Almost forgot about this one... was already on the LX-8 list a few months ago: "Disable Warp 9 Speed Penalty". But increasing Warp would mean there is no need for the cool "the Picard Maneuver" call-out.. that would be sad..... so maybe some points? warp factor * 10 millions?

Just had a good Search The Galaxy and if you hit the NZ at the end for the Gamma Quadrant, you get the same animation as when reaching Warp9.9 - and you get an artifact for which you only hear the call-out... so this combination should go together without problems.

that's true... It's just that 9.9 doesn't really give an award... I've only been there twice and it was great! Normally I'm at Warp 9.5 or 9.6 when something stupid happens and since there is nothing special at 9.9, actually I don't care dropping out early. I think giving an optional artifact at 9.9 is not a bad idea.

But the Romulans are the elephant in the room.... it's a great mission but there is really nothing to win... if you do all the shots directly you get 35millions.. if you let some ships de-cloak again because you don't hit the ramps before the timers run out you might finally end up with 60 or something.... So there should be something timer related... if you are fast you should get an reward or more points....

so maybe:

- make all shots before the first de-cloaks again: artifact!

but would this be enough?

maybe double the scoring of all other shots? decrease the scoring for shots when the first one de-cloaks?

the klingon assistance is also great... but mostly only hit by accident?! ... and then you get less shots, so Klingon Assistance always means less points!?

I guess then I'll put it on the list. It's going to be A.2 48 then =)

Thanks for the input! I'm going to do a prototype implementation and you are invited to beta-test!

Everytime FF is over, I'm feeling a bit lost... the only thing that keeps me going is the next FF with even more artifacts!.. but maybe it's just me... And there are some artifacts that can only be collected once.. so you would have to identify and reset these too, correct? Resetting the artifact counter might be a small change but I'm not sure that resetting is all that's needed here.

That's true. And STTNG wouldn't be one of our favorite games if it wasn't already great. As long as there are bugs in the game logic, the main focus is fixing them. And if we decide to change/add something that is not a bug-fix, it's going to get an adjustment. I'm already very happy with all the bug fixes we have in LX-8 and how they sum up in making the original game faster and imho more fun. But there are a few problems left and there have been good ideas for improvements, so there is going to be another release - maybe just in time to celebrate 30 years STTNG. Personally I do love the bug fixes most - but there are also some tweaks (the NZ Lock Lighting, "Hurry-up Prox. Only" or "Random Caves" in LX-8 and "Shields off when down" in LX-9) that I love too. They do not change the game, just improve the overall STTNG experience a little here and there. And if you ask me about what to look at next, it's:

• how the Q-Contiuum works (it's broken..)
• and being a bit more engaged when meeting the Romulans in the NZ would be a nice thing.

that's all. But that's just me and I'm really happy to hear your suggestions and ideas!

All connections on the old and on the new switch should be labeled. In doubt (and when the old switch is still somehow working) take a DMM and check for connection when closed/not closed. Compare to the new switch and wire accordingly.

But I've replaced that switch here too, and the old one was missing the "Normally Closed" connector (iirc). That's the upper connector on the new switch (which remains unused). Here is a pic of how it's connected here:
Screenshot from 2023-07-09 23-24-17 (resized).png

Please don't use the NCC-1701A. It's the wrong ship and really causes physical pain.

Exactly =). Thanks!

Do you guys know that the "d" at the end of "Picard" is actually not pronounced in French? They fixed it in the German version and when watching the original it's kind of weird...

Good that they don't drive Renaults at Starfleet =)

I have another one:

If you have the Secret Mission running when starting the Cardassian Encounter, the Cardassians won't fire at the Enterprise until the Secret Mission is over. The jackpot in the NZ stays at 50 millions for about 15s.

that's a good question. I think maybe it was done this way to avoid (potential?) issues with Paramount? Or because they had all the menus and graphics already done and there was just not enough time.

But it was a secret, right? Only the programmers might have known it's still in there.... But you find this is in the LX-7 release notes:

Changes from revision L-6:

Added adjustment A.2 27 Poker Night. Set to OFF to disable
Poker Video Mode selection.

I guess Paramount also didn't know that "the Borg are real party animals" =)

Just hold the trigger while pressing the right flipper button to start the shuttle simulation. then it's poker night.

----------------

Here is some stuff I found online, (if someone has more resources, please share)

breakout was hidden because of copyright concerns:

http://mypinballblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/hidden-brick-game-in-sttng.html

and some samples were not used by request of the actors:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/StarTrekTheNextGeneration

and here

https://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=6775

search for "I believe they have evil intentions".

So if you are doing mods or using PinSound or whatever... please respect Dianna Troi and do not use this sample =)

Found nothing directly addressing Poker Night... (until LX-8 it was spelled "POKER KNIGHT" in the adjustments...) Maybe someone might not have liked it?!

edit: this is cool:

During the mission "Time Rift", one of the sound effects was Sub-Zero's Freeze attack from Mortal Kombat II.

I've tried LX-1. Only the adjustment to turn it off is missing:

pasted_image (resized).png

pasted_image2 (resized).png

Theory: they had the card game first.... then decided to add something else.... the code was done, nobody wanted to delete it. That's why its hidden. Later on someone got scared (maybe licence stuff?) and included an adjustment to disable it like it was done with the breakout code.

sure. but there a various issues.... colorizations, copyright... just to name two of them.... I also like the idea, but not sure if it's worth it.

Starting Poker Night just by pulling the trigger, that's what I was planning to change.

Poker Night doesn't give much points, and I do not want to change that.... there are no Artifacts to gain in Poker Kight.... I do love my STTNG the way it is. And I like to play cards with Riker if things aren't looking very good... but no way to make this on par with Shuttle Simulation (can you say "on par"?, I hope you know what I mean)... so just let it be a hidden feature, maybe one that's going to be a little bit easier to access.

not even sure if gambling is allowed on Stafleet ships? ... maybe that's why it's hidden

Imho the "bonus" in being able to nail a mode directly is having less possibilities to drain the ball.

But I've been thinking about your suggestion to add a count-down based bonus while trying out stuff for the Romulan MK2 Encounter. But the problem was: how to show that shrinking bonus to the player while the display is full of Warbirds and Birds of Prey and stuff? And then there are already hurry-up modes, like the Hurry-up and the start of Asteroid Threat. I think these are implemented really well and the music fits also pretty good... I just don't want to add poor quality stuff.

I really like this machine for what it is and my goal for LX-8 and now for LX-9 is it to be a pretty solid LX-7. And each bug fixed is worth 10 new features if you ask me =)

please don't get personal... was just trying to be funny.... but you are right, I've stopped watching Picard somewhere within the first season..

yes... and that hit me hard =)... was a huge fan as a kid... I've even been reading STTNG books at that time. And the poker night was never in Ten Forward iirc. It was always an "invite-only"/hidden thing, correct? and btw. how nerdy is sitting several hundreds of hours looking at bytes of an old Star Trek game?

should I skip season 1 and 2? or are they worth watching when you know it's going to get better?

what I was trying to say. thanks =)

LX8 has free play as default.

(post removed/edited)

I was looking for the missing Special Speech Post Game Callouts... and they are missing even form the special speech PinSound mix. But I've just found them in Mathazar's Mix!

So if you are running PinSound along with LX-8 or tilt-audio, these are the files you need for LX-8 post game show:

pasted_image (resized).png

I think this might really be an opto issue... in LX-8 there is A.2 38:
Screenshot from 2023-08-31 16-00-04 (resized).png

The machine counts the balls on the playfield by counting how many are below it. If it thinks there are not enough balls on the playfied, (because an malfunctioning opto is like an blocked opto) the Borg-Init-Handler might run forever and because A.2 38 is enabled (by default) you might see the blinking RTD. If you disable it, the blinking should go away, but the ball-handlng issues should persist...

But I would like to understand how the Borg MB can be started prematurely.. can you please describe when and how this is happening? Do you get 3 locks suddenly?

And one question: the restart feature is not so well implemented and can cause weird errors with the ball-handling.... maybe you've just recently started using this? If that's not the case - I don't like to say it - but maybe check your optos. I would start with LVUK and trough optos.

In attract mode, remove the glass, close the door (or push in the door buttons manually) and block the trough optos manually. (Spoiler: I just did, no balls came out into the shooter lane).

I haven't looked that up in the code (because the ball-handling code is really complicated) but the "initial/wanted state" should be: one ball in each VUK. If it sees two balls in any of the VUKs, then one of these is kicked out.

Regarding your ball-cycling in attract mode: I would check the LVUK optos first. The trough optos shouldn't trigger such a behavior.

edit: IIRC I once had a problem with the ground on the trough opto boards which led to a power loss at the 16-opto-board..... if you wiggle the cables.. make sure you're wiggling hard enough =)

Isn't it for pushing balls stuck between wireform and launcher back into the game? And looking at the picture closely, you see the dotted lines "under" the washer? The washer is meant to be on top. Not for leveling.

If you start the machine with a ball loaded in one of the cannons, you should be able to see the washers in action.

apparently =)

I see only 5 balls in that matrix. Doesn't look like an opto problem. I bet on a ball stranded in the subway... =)

that's pretty close to "stranded in the subway" I would say

Hitting a flipper button lowers the 12V which is also used by the optos. lower voltage means less light traveling towards the receiver. I would clean and double check the orientation of the "under left hole" opto under the playfield. If that doesn't help, replace the transmitter and the receiver of that opto.

You could spend a whole weekend replacing all opto receivers and transmitters... it's a pain and most probably not needed. (although it might be a good idea after 30years so you don't run into the next opto issue in a few months...)

but I would start with the one causing trouble.

yes, please. Eric_Manuel maybe you could create one and be its maintainer?

Stay with the stock audio board. PinSound is just not original enough. And it's a shame they do not provide a package that is 100% original and rely on the community for creating mixes.

Then they have these change logs that don't say what has been changed... only "some improvements" or useless stuff like that...

I have only upgraded the speakers and can adjust the cabinet volume from behind the coin door... the bass is enough shaker if you ask me.

And don't go the LED route without having some OCD solution.... stay with light bulbs for the shields. And no colored LEDs.

Turn the bird of prey towards the Warbird and make sure the shuttle is facing the right direction.

The game is a beauty. No need to change anything. Just the speakers, non-reflective glass, and the game rom.

ps. if you can wait about 4 weeks from now, you can skip LX-8 and then install LX-9 directly.

Here is the link: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/sttng-owners-club/page/174#post-7411181 Everything is available there.

yes.. as 2x286ps said. We are currently beta testing.... I've recently found (and fixed) some Warp 9 problems and have been working on extra ball limits lately.... now it's back to the documentation....

Here's a preliminary overview of all the changes (LX8 + LX9):

Screenshot from 2024-02-26 09-00-26 (resized).png
Screenshot from 2024-02-26 09-00-38 (resized).png
Screenshot from 2024-02-26 09-00-55 (resized).png

I hope it's going to be available soon.. And many thanks to everyone helping with testing and all the rest!!

cheers!

that's a bold statement. thank you for that =)...

I'd phrase it differently: In LX-8, the primary focus was on addressing game logic issues. In LX-9, the remaining game logic problems have been identified and resolved, the high score logic has been rewritten and corrected, and the random cannon lag has been eliminated.

Moreover, lighting issues have been addressed, several animation improvements have been made, and overall, everything has been polished a little bit here and there. Additionally, some really cool new features have been added.

Therefore, with the release of LX-9, I would say, that my STTNG is fully fixed, and I can finally proceed with the tie back mod.

not sure if this is what you are asking for, but actually yes. It's one of my favorites: "A.2 58 Mission Artifact". You can set this to "required", and most of the time you aren't thinking about timing out but hitting the right targets. And then there is Romulan MKII, where you get Double-Klingon-Assistance from the delta-ramp(*) and an artifact at the end... so no need to time out there either... it's 3 or 4 really fun shots with a good flow and then you're done.

Maybe there is TimeRift that has no award after getting the artifact, so yes.. maybe there one could miss a time-out. Asteroid Threat never gets boring....

so I'm not sure.... what's the thing about "timing out"? None of the 20+ testers asked for it... and believe me... I did some stuff for them I actually found useless but am now enjoying a lot.... for example: you can disable the (physical) Borg lock (A.2 59 Lock In Ship) which sounds weird first... but it improves the flow and makes the delta ramp Borg attack/ Super Jackpot even more interesting....

So how do you play when "timing out" or which missions do you wish to time out? And is "A.2 58 Mission Artifact": "required" probably the solution?

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(*) please adjust your Bird of Preys accordingly before installing LX-9

ok. Great =)

And we took away the millions from spamming the right ramp with "A.2 50 Alternating Millions" where only the "other ramp's millions" get lit after a ramp shot...

still undecided what I prefer.... but when it's "ON", I actually wish it wasn't =)

check the original L1 sound roms from ipdb. "ng_u8_s.l1" is from that archive. So yes, no need to update u8. and also no need to update your sound board.

Yes. A special version of LX-7, that's the "trek_x7.rom" inside the special speech zip. Maybe it should have been called LX-7.1.. But silly speech samples couldn't be disabled completely.. that wasn't nice, and was fixed with LX-8, that is based on that version. But LX-8 has a problem with the post-game-show, that uses 3 call outs from special speech, that aren't silly... without these samples you often here no Captain's log... that will be fixed with LX-9 where you have an adjustment to enable post game show special speech separately.... so... for LX-8 and soon LX-9: Special Speech ROMs with the orginal sound board is the official recommendation. =)

Yes.

I just wanted to say, that Pinsound is not needed. The original sound is really good.