Good looking game. Flippers work a lot on this one. Doubt if I will ever let mine go.

The audits had the flippers at like 135,000 shots. Ballparking that number. 1300+ games
2300 centre drains alone. That’s only 1.5 year, I did a clear 1 year ago in september.

I keep flirting with the idea of selling my LE. I’m so torn because I want a new DMD game but every time I turn on Transformers I can’t imagine letting it go.

Plus I still haven’t gotten to Cybertron. Has anyone ever?

Sold my TFLE this week. Been a good run, but i was ready to make a lineup change. Still think its an under appreciated title.

I’ve completed Cybertron.

You need to play it slightly differently I think if you want to get to Cybertron. Take no risks. Only hit the hard shots when you have to. Left ramp, right loop only to start modes. Only collect the All Spark when in a mode so that you get Add More Time. Don’t forget you aren’t chasing points, just progress.

So Im going to bump this thread because transformers is awesome.

So with the quarantine I have been playing A LOT of pinball. There is still one part of this game I dont totally understand. The combos...Ok so I had a game where I just went for combos to get my initials in of course. I was hitting them like crazy and ended up getting a "64 combos" total with a "double 16 way". Ok so does that mean my longest streak was 32 combos just using ramps or what....? Does anyone know?

I believe it's total combos. My most is 120ish on the game...I can assure you that I didn't hit 120 shots in a row.

Batman 66 works the same way. Certain amount of combos will get an extra ball, will show Alfred ride his bike, the batboat go across the screen, etc. It isn't combos in a row, just total combos that the game keeps track of.

I only own 2 Gomez games, so I'm not sure if that's something strictly with his games.

Does anyone believe Kaneda's rumor about a Transformers '84 game?

Me personally, I don't want to see a re-skin, I'd rather see an entirely brand new game, with clips from the cartoon. Bring in Peter Cullen and Frank Welker to do custom call outs. You can easily do Optimus Prime & Ironhide for the Autobots and Megatron & Soundwave for the Decepticons. Plus, whatever audio you can pull from the series.

Do something along the lines of Batman 66. There's just so much material that can be used.

I agree. I would have preferred an entirely new game and it would have been a must buy for me. If they simply reskin it, would they go to a lcd, or just update dmd? That will be key in my decision to get this game. It has to be fully converted with art, animations and call outs otherwise why bother. Excited to see it though.

It’s interesting hearing those combo scores. I checked and they are on Premium/LE’s. The right ramp shot on the Pro is killer.

I brick my right ramp shot on my pro A LOT

I just can't imagine it being a re-skin. It's not like Spider-Man, where it has this fantastic layout.

If you ask me, if Stern just did a re-skin of Dark Knight into Batman 66, the sales would've flopped. I absolutely hate the way Dark Knight shoots.

I hope Gomez is reading this. If they can do a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (rumor) based on the 1989 cartoon, they can easily to a brand new Transformers '84. The one thing they should keep, is the 2 different rule sets. I really like how you can play on either side. If I were doing the game, I'd take from the 1st episode right up to the movie. Post movie, the series was just not as good.

I really hope we see this game. I'd buy it in a heartbeat. I would put both machines right next to each other.

As a side note, I wouldn't mind a He-Man '83. The voice actor of He-Man in still alive. I don't know if he's too old now to do the voice or if they can get someone who can come close. That would be another must buy.

I played quite a few games on mine yesterday and that shot is one of the hardest shots in pinball.

I don’t think the layout is a problem. I enjoy the shots on the game and like the random nature of the Optimus Prime ramp shot.
I think it needs a code revisit though. There are just so many basic things missing. The spinner is practically pointless.

I love the layout and the way it shoots.

If they use the same layout, it destroys the value of the current games. With a new layout, it justifies having both in a lineup.

I don't know if it would destroy the value - it would just be a different art package. Some may prefer the modern movie assets. That said, if they do an LCD version with the cartoons - ouch! that would hurt value a bit more.

Can’t see them changing the layout after the first game sold so poorly.

Yeah, spinner attains an EB, is you can light it, prob the least EB’s in all of my games is TF

Also, super spinner! Although I do like the voice call and the spinner sound.

It only sold poorly because people (stupidly IMHO) expected an actual transforming toy on the game. I realize Gomez said something along the game having something like that but serious, how would they make something fully transform. Only people whom don't have any Transformers or never have played with them in their life wouldn't realize that wasn't going to be possible. Takes way to many moves with twist and turns to accomplish. Thus the lifting megatron was born.

The other major complaint was the voice actor for Optimus. Yeah, it's not right but, let's be honest, unless you are a diehard fan you aren't noticing it. If you are a hard core fan, then it's a valid complaint but I've gotta believe that a VERY small % of owners these days now that they are slowly finding there way into the hands of players.

Then there were all the, "starting a mode is wood chopping because you have to hit X number of shots to start a mode". Then when you start a mode they are all the same. I never understood that complaint. First of all, the modes are not all the same. People may not like them but to say they are all the same felt ignorant to me. Pinball is a game of shoot the flashing light and with TF that light moves around based off modes. The only real, valid, complaint was the Optimus roadblock which they got rid of. But to further expand. People bitched about this game on how you start a mode. Hmmmm... How do you start a mode in Iron Maiden or Jurassic Park (just taking examples from 2 of the most celebrated games right now). Yup, that's right, you have to shoot a couple of shots on the PF to light them. Again, I know people have a right to their own opinion but the hate for this game was super high from original buyers that expected something they didn't get.

I agree, there isn't much to a spinner. But that's not really unlike 90%+ of games out there. Metallica for instance only serves to make a drum sound and count for switch hits in one mode for the whole game (Fade to black) but people with the Pro fall over themselves to add spinners to the game. Spinners in most games are just there to score points and make sounds. I find very few games actually use them for anything meaningful anymore. Maiden does a good job using them for modes and switching your modes, Deadpool uses them for several things too, but most just seem to be for points.

Agree 100%. The way this game was hated in when it was first released was ridiculous. People moaning about chopping wood ? How many times on Metallica do you have to hit that damn metal block ?

I love the game but think it could really benefit from a code update.
Make the Super Skill Shot immediately light the playfield multipliers.
Expand the Super Spinner mode so that a set number of spins gives a reward. 50 spins for 5 million points. 100 spins for extra ball etc. You would also need to make Super Spinner achievable, say by getting x4 bonus multiplier.
Add a Status Update. It would be great to be able to check your progress.

Despite its limitations it is still one of the games I find myself playing the most. The sound effects are killer.

Had some spare LED strip laying around so knocked up some speaker lights. Not bad for (practically) free.

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Add to the list of code updates. It would be really nice to have Roll Out and All Hail Megatron not be so freaking boring. LOVE the sounds in it but those mini wizard modes are on par with Portal for being the lamest wizard modes out there to actually play. Uninspiring to just have to hit each shot twice. It's Transformers, make me battle something to where you shoot the shot lit in the color of your team and shots of the other color do damage to you. As you progress through beating the other robot less shots are lit for doing damage to the other team. Just spitballing, but SOMETHING please.

I've owned this game since day 1. Not one I play all the time but still good enough to keep around. I wouldn't complain but would be a bit bummed if they reskinned the game to be G1. Not because I would feel hosed, I mean the game is what almost 10 years old now. It would be that I would want the newer one. Oh well first world problems.

Hi all, first post on pinside and in this group. Picked up a TF LE a few months back and have been enjoying it - very tough game!

I consider myself a beginner at fixing issues w/the machine, mostly just tinkering, but I’m learning

Have come across my first major issue with my game; so thought I’d post and see if anyone has seen the same issue....
Anyone have a problem with the Megatron drop target before? When it is up and you hit it, it doesn’t go down or register at all, ball just bounces off. Mechanically it seems to work, ie goes up and down; when the ball sneaks behind it or if I manually move it underneath the playfield.

Any thoughts? Is it an easy fix? Or do I need to call an expert?

Congratulations on your purchase. Transformers is an underrated game. I love mine.

Does the drop target work if you nudge it with your finger (does it drop and reset) ? You will need the glass off and door closed to test this. Do you know how to use the switch test menus ? If the switch isn’t working the target will drop but not register or reset.
Stern drop targets are notorious for not registering hard, direct hits (especially when they are so close to the flippers). There are a number of fixes scattered around on Pinside. I seem to recall it was a problem with Ghostbusters machines.

If the drop target doesn't go down with hard hits but will go down with softer hits (or your finger) you need to increase the tension of the spring that pulls the drop target down. Over time, they will lose some of their "spring" so this is needed periodically. Easiest way to do it is to just pull one side of the spring off, move down about 3-4 coils and bend it 90 degrees (you are making a new catch spot) and then put it back on at the new catch spot. This will slightly increase the tension and should fix your issue.

Hey guys, thanks for the replies here - no it doesn’t go down with soft hits or by doing anything from the top of the playfield. I have to go underneath and pull it down OR if the ball sneaks behind, then it goes down automatically to shoot the ball out.

It does seem pretty loose when I wiggle it from the top... not sure if that’s normal.

I did the switch test and couldn’t get it to register at all.

Update - drop target snapped in half! Maybe that’s the issue

Anybody know the best place to buy one or what kind?

Check Marco

Pff, Ain't no one gonna buy that from you. LOL jk. Thanks again for delivering this for me.

Not sure if this is a "dead" thread or not but as a first pinball machine for me and new owner to this game thanks to mrm_4 I wanted to browse around for the
owners thread" but seems like this is the next best thing? I see some other machines with an owners thread.

I do have one question. Is the ball supposed to bounce off Primes nuts and onto the plastic? or do I have the let right leveling off? also is it possible to turn off the flickering effect mid game that matches the music because Damn that is annoying especially in low light situations. I cannot quite tell which bulbs its coming from.

Also how can I find covers for the LEDs? I believe these were not originally LED? but some of the lights are directly in your face and diffusing it would be more of a pleasant experience?

I thought about splicing a variable resistor in the wiring for the blubs but figured that's a waste of time and effort. unless light covers for pinball LEDs do not really exist?

If anyone has any suggestions on this game like settings to set etc I would be happily open to hearing them.

Thanks

I believe the LE is the first led Stern. The pro was not led. I have the LE, no covers on the side guides. I don’t know of any available. If yours is pro, use a different led. The LE stock is colors, no lens, not unbearable. The ball does bounce off of everything, air balls are an issue. I use blue rebound rubbers to control that. I do love mine, simply because it is fast and fun. A Cliffys set is great, but, you gotta tweak it a lot. Your light issue sounds like it is on the attract mode.

Attract mode when playing it? lol.

Also mine is the LE model. But the previous owner I quoted above had some regular bulbs in a package I thought were the originals or some of the originals. must be for a different thing then. Thought the LED's were an upgrade. Is it possible to put a diffuser on the leds? like a frosted cover for example? to tone down the harshness of the ones pointing at the player?

Also how can I reset all the high scores?

You can get some frosted LEDs that might help with what you are looking for, ( https://www.cometpinball.com/ ) those extra bulbs are replacement flasher bulbs, those are a different style for inside of the all spark, above the slings, and various lights under the playfield

Its normal for the ball to roll down the platform over top of bubblebee when you hit Optimus

I think the music synced flashing of the general illumination you are referring to is when you raise the ramp to optimus, never looked into a way to stop that or tone it down, thats just the design of the game but someone else might know a way or experimented with that and can chime in

As for the scores, there are a few steps to go through in the menu, its fairly easy but a bit to explain here, there should be a few videos on Youtube showing how to do that, also might be in the manual

If you’re talking about the plastic over Bumblebee then yes. The ball will also bounce off of Prime and shoot through the rubbers and go into the mini playfield sometimes! Primes nuts must really be bouncy!

I have an Autobots LE and it has leg winking bad. Can anyone point me to a place I can buy a decal set?

Stern warrantied my set after calling them with my serial number. They sent a complete new set with the metal leg spacers. It took almost a year to get them since that was back when they were moving, but they finally came through.

any pictures of it?

All four areas around the legs on mine were wrinkled when I bought my machine last August.

I was able to fix them all by heating them up with a heat gun and reapplying them.
Then I cut around the legs and my leg protectors so it doesn't reoccur.
It's good as new and has not happened again.

Looking to purchase a Transformers Pro. PM me if you have one for sale. Thanks!

It’s an amazing game. You will not be diaaapointed!

First post here I think. Busted out my deceptichops and GC'd autobots. They don't make games with audio like this anymore. This game is WILD!

I just had my best deception game ever tonight. I needed a couple more shots or a decent bonus to get the GC. Alas, I did not, back at it I suppose!

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I will be putting mine up for sale soon. Wish I could keep it but I just don’t play a lot of my pins these days and I have other things I could put the money towards.

Still a great game though, but ready to move on and maybe get another Gomez game, thinking DP premium eventually.

I have both TFLE & DP premium and you will definitely not be disappointed with DP premium. Only thing is that TF quality is better than DP... IMO.

I always think I can get rid of TF but every time I play it its a blast, I love the theme, the flow and the sounds/sound effects. I think if I ever get rid of it I would regret it.

I hear you. I also have LOTR and MBr so I figure moving on from this one won’t be a big deal. Who knows when or if I’ll ever get a DP though. My reason for selling won’t be to find another pin at this point.

Guys, get the DP, un-friggin-real game, prob best game i've ever played.

Yeah makes perfect sense. Right now I have six games and really like all of them and the mix of designers. 2 Steve Ritchie, 2 Gomez, 1 Eric Meunier and 1 Scott Danesi.

Adding another will eventually happen (no rush) but I wouldn’t want to have 3 games by the same designer in my somewhat small collection. I’d like to have a Keith Elwin game but just not looking forward to buying another of Stern’s over priced poor quality games. We’ll see what Keith does next and if it’s not something I’m interested in then I might be adding JP eventually.

Does anyone here know of any options to the back board of TF?

I don’t really care for the black and white and or the imagery.

Still better than my Monopoly, ha! A.....red.......board

Ha ha, that is shitty!!!

How do I set the rules so I don't have to complete modes to progress? I thought i had it set this way at one time but can't seem to now.