I heard that on the LOTR VE when you destroy the ring the DMD shows an animation of Golem drinking coke on the way to the lava.
When I got the chance to playtest it I did not get to destroy the ring but I can tell you that the balrog roar was replaced with a refreshing "ahh"
Quoted from Crile1:Yes. Mine had comet LED's and the ghosting drove me nuts. I went to non-ghosting CT premiums and they were perfect. No ghosting at all.
The CT non-ghosting bulbs will solve the problem, but so will the Comet non-ghosting bulbs. Just wanted to make sure people knew we had 'em too.
I used frosted, 1SMD, non-ghosting in my LOTR.
Anyone with Pinsound installed using the Wool mix notice a loud static sound between some of the music tracks?
Quoted from ryanwanger:The CT non-ghosting bulbs will solve the problem, but so will the Comet non-ghosting bulbs. Just wanted to make sure people knew we had 'em too.
I used frosted, 1SMD, non-ghosting in my LOTR.
Sorry, didn't know you sold non-ghosting as well. Did not mean any disrespect to Comet LED's. I've used the ones I pulled from my LOTR on other games and they work great.
Quoted from adamross:Anyone with Pinsound installed using the Wool mix notice a loud static sound between some of the music tracks?
I haven't noticed loud static but there are certainly odd areas of near-silence when certain animations are playing and the mix has very low volume, etc. These issues are entirely consistent so might be 'fixable' somehow. I haven't confirmed if the clips are normalized, have wrong gain.txt values, etc. Perhaps there is an issue with certain file formats or certain overlapping samples.
My game will NOT STOP magnetizing balls literally within three games of putting them in.
I have the plastic protector from pinbits (which apparently has done nothing) installed. I tried using the Ultra Gloss Premium Pinballs Super Shiny from Pinball Wizard, they magnetized into uselessness after two short games. I tried using the Carbon Steel chrome-plated ones from Ball Baron, they magnetized after three games. Is this impossible to fix???
That's weird. I've had the game for 13 years and never once had a magnetized ball. I swap them annually or so based on plays.
Quoted from talking_goat:My game will NOT STOP magnetizing balls literally within three games of putting them in.
I have the plastic protector from pinbits (which apparently has done nothing) installed. I tried using the Ultra Gloss Premium Pinballs Super Shiny from Pinball Wizard, they magnetized into uselessness after two short games. I tried using the Carbon Steel chrome-plated ones from Ball Baron, they magnetized after three games. Is this impossible to fix???
Ive had the same problem with Carbon Steel chrome-plated they suck
Quoted from talking_goat:I tried using the Carbon Steel chrome-plated ones from Ball Baron, they magnetized after three games. Is this impossible to fix???
Plenty of threads about that. These inexpensive carbon steel balls work fine in my LotR, TZ, and Met pro:
http://www.marcospecialties.com/pinball-parts/PB116-5
Anyone know if this is a known problem with LOTR? This ramp keeps popping out of the two holes. All the time. For now I've bent the ramp pieces down and its working for now but looks like crap because you can tell they've been bent. Any suggestions to permanently fix this problem?
I use pinball life regular pinball with no issues for 1 year and counting. My understanding is the super shiny ones from any place will magnetize. Just go with regular balls.
Quoted from QuarterGrabber:Anyone know if this is a known problem with LOTR? This ramp keeps popping out of the two holes. All the time. For now I've bent the ramp pieces down and its working for now but looks like crap because you can tell they've been bent. Any suggestions to permanently fix this problem?
I had that problem. There are supposed to be post rubbers to hold the ends of the ramp to the sword right ramp. Just slip them on the underside, can't see them and they stop that.
Quoted from PinballTilt:I had that problem. There are supposed to be post rubbers to hold the ends of the ramp to the swirl right ramp. Just slip them on the underside, can't see them and they stop that.
OMG why didn't i think of that! That's perfect. Thank you so much!
I use generic carbon-core balls and change them every 6-12 months, and always after a show. $5 tops.
Quoted from BENETNATH:A good poll subject...
How many destroyed the ring
How many went to Valinor
Agreed. That would be interesting to see. I don’t think many have made it to Valinor.
Quoted from Rockytop:Agreed. That would be interesting to see. I don’t think many have made it to Valinor.
I've owned the game for around 8 years now and still no valinor. Although most of that time it was on tournament mode with no extra balls. I finally turned on extra balls and came somewhat close about a month ago. I got all elf gifts and finished fotr and ttt multi. Still needed rotk multi and destroy the ring a second time. That game was about 40 mins long.
Quoted from ruzeo:I know custom shooter rods aren't very popular here but I was bored and it can always be taken out easily enough. Bought a cheap replica of sting and took the blade out and made it into my new shooter.
Quoted from ruzeo:I know custom shooter rods aren't very popular here but I was bored and it can always be taken out easily enough. Bought a cheap replica of sting and took the blade out and made it into my new shooter.
Looks great until the first time you or a guest walk into it and skew your palinters.
Quoted from Yelobird:Looks great until the first time you or a guest walk into it and skew your palinters.
It is luckily against the wall side and people are mostly sitting in the stool but I will probably just put it in for special occasions anyways. Was simple to make, its sturdy and feels great to pull back on a metal sword with some weight behind it.
I've played TNA on co-op mode a few times now (4-player), and it gave me a great idea. The next time I have a party, I'll put LOTR on 12 ball play (4x3), and have people play a "4-player co-op" game on LOTR to see how far they can get. If there are a few good players, they should reach TABA easily, and they have at least a shot at Valinor. This seems way more fun than slogging it out to Valinor myself.
Quoted from paynemic:Sounds fun! Does it max out at ten ball or am I making that up?
You may be right about that. Maybe leave extra balls enabled, and if you get one you pass it to the next player?
Do any of you have tips for aiming/aligning the Ring ramp? Most of the Ring shots on my game bounce out, and multiple attempts at adjusting the ramp haven't improved things.
Also, is there a way to modify the Balrog travel? I occasionally have balls from the right VUK get stuck, pinned between the habitrail and the Balrog. This wouldn't be happening if the Balrog didn't swing as far to the right.
Quoted from HughesDForce:Do any of you have tips for aiming/aligning the Ring ramp? Most of the Ring shots on my game bounce out, and multiple attempts at adjusting the ramp haven't improved things.
When it comes to making the ramp shot you might need to tweak the spinner. When the spinner is at rest if it's not at the right angle the ball will be significantly slowed down. On mine I just added a super tiny amount of lube at the spinner joints to make it spin like hell. Balls fly up the ramp with ease now.
That's not the only possible culprit though. Your flippers might need adjusting if they are old or are dragging.
The ramp itself shouldn't need to be tweaked unless the flap is bent and causing balls to brick and slow down. It's possible the tip of the ramp is getting deformed but that's probably not the main cause of missed ramp shots.
I don't know about the Balrog mech, haven't had any experience tweaking with it yet.
Quoted from HughesDForce:Do any of you have tips for aiming/aligning the Ring ramp? Most of the Ring shots on my game bounce out, and multiple attempts at adjusting the ramp haven't improved things.
Check to make sure you spinner is aligned properly. The bottom of the spinner should be tilting back.
Quoted from FlippyD:When it comes to making the ramp shot you might need to tweak the spinner. When the spinner is at rest if it's not at the right angle the ball will be significantly slowed down. On mine I just added a super tiny amount of lube at the spinner joints to make it spin like hell. Balls fly up the ramp with ease now.
That's not the only possible culprit though. Your flippers might need adjusting if they are old or are dragging.
The ramp itself shouldn't need to be tweaked unless the flap is bent and causing balls to brick and slow down. It's possible the tip of the ramp is getting deformed but that's probably not the main cause of missed ramp shots.
Quoted from Lermods:Check to make sure you spinner is aligned properly. The bottom of the spinner should be tilting back.
I've rebuilt the flippers and they're strong enough, so I don't think that's the issue--most of the ramp shots hit the Ring and bounce back. I think they're hitting high and right of the hole, which would be the opposite problem: the ramp aimed too high or the balls traveling too fast. The game is a re-import from Italy, and I've found lots of unusual stuff in it, so figure the ramp might be off somehow.
I'll definitely look at the spinner and the tip of the ramp. Those could both be adding variance
Quoted from HughesDForce:I've rebuilt the flippers and they're strong enough, so I don't think that's the issue--most of the ramp shots hit the Ring and bounce back. I think they're hitting high and right of the hole, which would be the opposite problem: the ramp aimed too high or the balls traveling too fast. The game is a re-import from Italy, and I've found lots of unusual stuff in it, so figure the ramp might be off somehow.
I'll definitely look at the spinner and the tip of the ramp. Those could both be adding variance
Which coils are on the flippers?? Coils too strong will overshoot the ring all day......
If you're overshooting the ring then I'd suggest the easiest fix is just to raise your play field angle. The extra energy in the shots would get used up climbing the steeper slope.
I picked up a sweet HEP LOTR yesterday from a buddy in Nashville.
It not only looks great, it plays so solid. It feels like a Bally/Williams. I’m guessing Chris changed the flipper mechs...I’m not sure what other magic he worked on this thing, but it feels and shoots amazing.
(Sorry for the bad pics...I was too lazy to take the glass off right now)
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Quoted from Rockytop:I picked up a sweet HEP LOTR yesterday from a buddy in Nashville.
It not only looks great, it plays so solid. It feels like a Bally/Williams. I’m guessing Chris changed the flipper mechs...I’m not sure what other magic he worked on this thing, but it feels and shoots amazing.
(Sorry for the bad pics...I was too lazy to take the glass off right now)
I see Gollum is still after the ring
Quoted from AUKraut:Which coils are on the flippers?? Coils too strong will overshoot the ring all day......
Quoted from FlippyD:If you're overshooting the ring then I'd suggest the easiest fix is just to raise your play field angle. The extra energy in the shots would get used up climbing the steeper slope.
I'm using the "regular" coils. I had the PBL extra-hot ones for a while, and my plastics took a beating, so I went back to stock.
The playfield angle is 7.5 degrees right now--the middle of the bubble level. Raising it a bit higher might work, though I'm afraid that might make the left (Legolas) ramp too steep. We already see plenty of balls rolling partway up and then back down.
Thanks for chiming in, I appreciate it!
Quoted from HughesDForce:I'm using the "regular" coils. I had the PBL extra-hot ones for a while, and my plastics took a beating, so I went back to stock.
The playfield angle is 7.5 degrees right now--the middle of the bubble level. Raising it a bit higher might work, though I'm afraid that might make the left (Legolas) ramp too steep. We already see plenty of balls rolling partway up and then back down.
Thanks for chiming in, I appreciate it!
Middle of bubble would be 6.5 degrees. You should be able to go to 7 degrees, making it less floaty and reduce the velocity going up the ramp.
If you have a iPhone download the Pinguy app and check your readings with it.
Quoted from swampfire:I've played TNA on co-op mode a few times now (4-player), and it gave me a great idea. The next time I have a party, I'll put LOTR on 12 ball play (4x3), and have people play a "4-player co-op" game on LOTR to see how far they can get. If there are a few good players, they should reach TABA easily, and they have at least a shot at Valinor. This seems way more fun than slogging it out to Valinor myself.
Co-op on LotR would be killer!
Turn on all the extra ball awards:
special audit 3: replay award = EB
special audit 6: special award = EB
special audit 9: EB limit = unlimited
Quoted from Rockytop:Picking up a sweet HEP LOTR tomorrow from a friend. This will be the second time I’ve owned LOTR. I think it’s the only game I’ve sold that I missed.
I’d really like to make it to Valinor. Just curious, how many owners on here have got there?
I've been to Valinor. Factory settings, factory coils. It was not easy.
Hey guys, just joined the club with a supposedly HUO standard edition, looks and played great.
However my left pop bumper decided to grenade itself randomly after a few hours of play, the ring and rod had one screw/nut break off, the yokes broke, and it bent up the pop switch (stuck closed, which I corrected but will replace anyway). Murphy's Law...
I've ordered those parts to replace, but in discovering that, I actually noticed a potential problem with the switch matrix. Question for the group: Is it normal for some number of switches in the edges test to register both when closed and then again when released? It's a large number of the switches doing this, but not all. For instance all three sword locks, both shire and gimli vuk switches, and others. I'll have to compile a list if that is not normal. Most are not in the same rows/columns, so this seems odd to me.
All switches at least work, but to follow on with that the mini PF U.L. switch registers both itself and the top vuk for the orthanc shot when depressed (and is one that registers on press and on release). These are in the same row as that left pop, so I'm wondering if it's switch fried the diode or similar and is causing some or all of these oddities. Shire vuk switch seems slightly intermittent in testing too (also in same row with the others mentioned). I hadn't noticed any switch problems while playing, so not sure if these are related problems to the pop or just coincidence...
I'll check these on mine tonight. It's "normal" for the VUK fork switches to be flaky - it's the actuator, not the switch. I had to bend my forks up slightly to get Shire and Gimli to register consistently. Welcome to the club!
Quoted from PinKopf:Question for the group: Is it normal for some number of switches in the edges test to register both when closed and then again when released? It's a large number of the switches doing this, but not all. For instance all three sword locks, both shire and gimli vuk switches, and others. I'll have to compile a list if that is not normal. Most are not in the same rows/columns, so this seems odd to me.
All switches at least work, but to follow on with that the mini PF U.L. switch registers both itself and the top vuk for the orthanc shot when depressed (and is one that registers on press and on release). These are in the same row as that left pop, so I'm wondering if it's switch fried the diode or similar and is causing some or all of these oddities. Shire vuk switch seems slightly intermittent in testing too (also in same row with the others mentioned). I hadn't noticed any switch problems while playing, so not sure if these are related problems to the pop or just coincidence...
Quoted from HughesDForce:Do any of you have tips for aiming/aligning the Ring ramp? Most of the Ring shots on my game bounce out, and multiple attempts at adjusting the ramp haven't improved things.
Make sure the Ring Magnet is working, very common to have the fuse blown for that magnet.
Quoted from PinsOnly:Make sure the Ring Magnet is working, very common to have the fuse blown for that magnet.
Concur! I forgot that this is exactly what happened to me once. Thought for sure the ramp was screwed up, spent a ton of time tweaking things... Blown magnet fuse fixes it all!
I just started playing mine again last night and damned if the fuse didn’t blow after 5 games. I’m sticking a gum wrapper in there!
Quoted from PinsOnly:Make sure the Ring Magnet is working, very common to have the fuse blown for that magnet.
Quoted from FlippyD:Concur! I forgot that this is exactly what happened to me once. Thought for sure the ramp was screwed up, spent a ton of time tweaking things... Blown magnet fuse fixes it all!
I've been without a working Ring magnet for quite a while, and didn't think it was all that important. I put the fuse back in, and it's changed gameplay far more than I expected. The ramp still isn't 100% on target, but it's definitely helped.
Good call, thank you!
Quoted from PinKopf:Hey guys, just joined the club with a supposedly HUO standard edition, looks and played great.
I've ordered those parts to replace, but in discovering that, I actually noticed a potential problem with the switch matrix. Question for the group: Is it normal for some number of switches in the edges test to register both when closed and then again when released? It's a large number of the switches doing this, but not all. For instance all three sword locks, both shire and gimli vuk switches, and others. I'll have to compile a list if that is not normal. Most are not in the same rows/columns, so this seems odd to me.
All switches at least work, but to follow on with that the mini PF U.L. switch registers both itself and the top vuk for the orthanc shot when depressed (and is one that registers on press and on release).
Mine does the exact same thing! Weird....
I only found out a couple of days ago so I don't have had much time to investigate any further. I only did he jumper test on the mpu to find out whether my "mini pf u.l. switch triggering the vuk problem" is on the board or the playfield. It's not on the board.
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