I dont think you can go wrong with the hobbit.
I have had mine since the beginning and its the only pin I look forward to playing. Its a shooters/strategy game and It wont leave my collection for years (although I have an AFMrLE paid for on order).

Nice lineup bdaley6509

Same here.

Lineup (resized).jpg

"Over 1,000 callouts" it says.

at 0:55.

Does the game have 1000 callouts?

To be sure there are 1,324 callout wave file assets in the build. Are they all being used currently? No. More than a thousand of them are from the three Hobbit Movies.

There were licensing challenges for the custom wizard character and his script was neither wide nor deep. Still the wizard character is instructive at times and there are over 200 custom callouts.

ddt

Is sound for Hobbit done...or is there more to come (or enable) yet?

Can you elaborate more about the custom wizard guy? Was this a third wizard not in the films? (No I don't have a hobbit yet ); am I inferring correctly that more callouts could/should have been recorded but werenT? (Due to the script not being ready for the full version of the game) (?)

It's Gandalf, but legally they can't say it's Gandalf.

That's some fine breaking news to my ears.

As far as creating new assets for The Hobbit.. The Hobbit is done. I have submitted the last invoice though I do support the work and if something was done wrong or if some minor changes were needed I would do that.

Will more assets in the build be invoked by code? It is possible but I can't speak to that.

In my head I refer to the custom voice as "Gundolf" who is Gandalf's cousin through marriage.

Of course it is Quinton Kappel who did a fine job.

ddt

You can also postpone modes or locks with the ring button. Any shot will recharge the ring. There are other functions too like backstab or extra points but I don't know if the ring function is random or tied to particular shots.

Has any of this been "officially" written up or is it all piecemeal on a forum? I'm all about discovering a game on my own but this seems to have enough that you'll miss a lot of it without some guidance.

Lol@ "Gundolf the Slate"

I can tell you now that my 9 year old son plays Hobbit more than anything else. He caught on to the rules quickly and can get into the fire. He likes the multiballs, the longer ball times, and the theme. Hobbit is a great pin for kids and adults. He also appreciates the beauty of the jjp pins vs our Stern's. He says our jjp pins need to stay forever, and I can agree with him.

Someone mentioned lack of layout earlier. I look at SW and think the same thing. I was soooo excited for SW, but lack of any great features ruined it for me. I can't help but compare it to Hobbit in terms of layout and code. While SW may eventually be cool, I can see far more to do on Hobbit, and I would take Keith's coding everyday over others. Hobbit truly does play differently from most games, and that's the allure to me. Tons of people talk about lack of shots, but there really is more than meets the eye, unlike SW.

Glad your 9 yr old likes TH. Although a final wizard mode would give adults something to do. DI already has a wizard mode

I just read the owners thread but I think the LCD screens give you all the guidance you need. It certainly helps to watch someone else play.

I agree, a final wizard mode is needed, and I believe it is coming. That would be the final piece missing imo.

Between comments that Keith has made and the empty folder in 2.0 I think it is very safe to assume the final mode is coming, only a matter of when.

Though I want a final mode I actually want some other mini achievements in there more (for completing a certain number of modes for example). One time I did make it through all the current "wizard" modes and was let down after BofA so it would have been nice to make it to THE wizard mode.

I hope in the meantime he can release a 2.01 patch to fix the beast lighting bugs that popped up in 2.0 (no pun intended)

I don't think Hobbit currently has 100 different callouts, much less 1000, unless a ton changed with that last update. That was another thing I was always so disappointed in, it seems Smaug said about 5 things and that's it. I think most were under the impression he would be like Rudy and mock/talk to you the entire game

There is at least a few hundred...I'd say closer to 500 callouts.

Rudy has almost no callouts. Are you serious?

daudioguy....the person that put them in the game code: "there are 1,324 callout wave file assets in the build. Are they all being used currently? No."

I'm sure it's more than Funhouse

I'm sure this was a reference to how Rudy is always talking and addressing you as the player. I remember the earlier assumptions that Smaug was going to taunt the player. Rudy doesn't have a ton of quotes, but he has more than Smaug. Hell, he probably has about as many nicknames for the players as Smaug has actual quotes. Regardless of the specific numbers, I find it hard to argue that Smaug has always been grossly underutilized (not even counting the early over-promises of his interactions with the ball).

Smaug yaps at you non-stop during smaug MB. Sure, sometimes I wish he was talking more during regular play - but I see why they made the creative decision to save it. Whenever a guest is playing and they get that 2nd lock where he speaks - they're always surprised and excited when it happens.

Isn't he more reciting lines from the movie? I've never really felt like he was addressing "me" and certainly not in the Rudy-esque way people originally hoped.

Sounds like the studio said no-go on new dialog for the characters (hence the non-Gandalf wizard narrator). So they could only use soundbites from the movie for Smaug talk.

Yeah it's lines from the movie...but if "you" are Bilbo....Smaug was talking to and taunting Bilbo the entire time...so - he talkin' to YOU!

I think all the Smaug clips are awesome and fit the game perfectly. I love the game over bits like "I think our little game ends here!"

If "you" are supposed to be Bilbo, they should have gone with a Hercules-sized machine (with extra-long legs, of course). Now that would have been something.

God no!, it is already too damn heavy.

Picked up an LE. Loving it so far. Not hard to figure out what to do after a dozen games or so. The "Book" function just changes what mode/page of the book will activate next correct?

Something I noticed playing it at shows and now more so in home use: the reset for the ?targets I guess, is fairly loud...sort of a grinding rattle sound. I heard it at shows but it was covered with the other noise of games.

Completed Into the Fire so far...at least I think I completed it. Not sure how you tell.

This thing is multiball city. My kids love it so I'm not changing any settings yet.

Another funny thing I noticed. On some really fast drains the ball will bounce off the center post, up the left side and the kickback will send it back into play

Just joined the club on Monday. Really enjoying he game - I LOVE the fact that you can pull the entire playfield and bring it down separately from the cab. Wish you could do that on WPC games...

It was just too heavy to dolly Down our very right stairwell, so I pulled the game, laid it down on a moving blanket on the lawn, pulled the PF, removed the backbox, and brought the 3 huge pieces down the steps. (Had help)

Amazing game - I still suck at it so I haven't even completed into the fire, but I'm really enjoying it. Very fun

I was trying to deliberately go through and get the arkenstones but most of the time if I get a Smaug multiball, another couple multiballs seem to start within it and then when it's all over I'm pretty much at Into the Fire--maybe a couple spinner hits left...not much planning involved in my playing!

Yes

Unfortunately they are loud. I have no idea if there is way to silence them or not. Anyone have any ideas? Felt pads???

When you complete a mini wizard mode like Into The Fire you will get 'victory laps' to bump your scoring for about 30 seconds or so. That is how you know you completed it. I don't think there is anyway to tell from the lights or back glass LCD at all.

Sure is...

I have had this happen too - kind of like a 'unintended' ball save - If you have the kick back lit.

The windlance shot, where it holds the ball in the kickback to "fire" and I think you hit the ring button...what am I doing there? You can't aim at anything...do I need to hit a lit shot after firing it or something?

Depends - sometimes when starting a mode (not sure when) it will allow you to fire, using a power meter on the back monitor,, the windlance into the M A N drops to get points/or an add a ball.

For 1 mode, cant remember the mode name, you shoot the right ramp to load a black arrow, you then fire the windlance using the ring button (you can't control the power) - and it feeds the top right flipper to get a D W A R F shot to hit Smaug and complete the mode. If you miss that shot you have a quick chance to hit from shooting from the bottom flippers, but you don't have much time if you miss from the top right flipper.

The final step of killing Smaug is similar except you have to hit a certain D W A R F target without hitting the remaining drops that are up. And that is a hard shot for me to hit - so much so I haven't done it yet The way I have seen it done, is you would cradle one of the pinballs on the right flipper and then use the left flipper to shot the right ramp, to load the arrow, fire it, and shot the target from the right flipper. That shot is much easier than the top right flipper. If Keith wants to make it harder to kill Smaug he could turn off the bottom right flipper for 1 second after you fire the windlance to drain the held right ball(s).

There is a power bar cycling up and down in the screen. The object is to time it by hitting the ring button when it is a high enough power to hit the lit MAN targets on the right. Hitting them gives you a mystery award such as points or a 2x pf.

Another example as a reward for making this is extra time during the mode you are starting.

It occurred to me reading this thread that most "club" threads are about "how do I fix [xxx]", but this game is so damn complex, the thread is "how do I play?"

Plenty of that over here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/hobbit-owners-thread

Has anyone found decent side art for the hobbit?

Not yet..Mirror may be the way to go...There is another that some mod company sells as hobbit that is NOT hobbit.

I've seen a generic map design with a compass which is not for my tastes but some like it. I have gold mirror blades just need the confidence to fit them.

Mine came with these installed (I'm the second owner). I think these are PERFECT for the game, by far the best ones I have seen. They may have been made for LOTR(?)

https://images.pinside.com/8/f5/8f50c407f255ca1066a22b2a680ba9897b730acc/resized/largish/8f50c407f255ca1066a22b2a680ba9897b730acc.jpg

Yes I just bought a set last week, havent recived them yet. I think they looks awesome as well.

From where?

(if I may ask)

Of course, those ones are by pingraffix:
https://www.pingraffix.com/product-page/the-hobbit-pinblades

Thank you Sir.

Do the colors match the playfield well?

What part of Middle Earth is that from?