Glad you guys are enjoying it so far. I can't wait for my LE to arrive!

Last night I stacked Blood Bath with Prison and WW multiball + had CDC running. It's amazing how fast the score shot up. I love this game!

Yes. I started off the game solely focusing on blood bath. You have to complete the drop target bank for all three items, and then complete it a fourth time to start the mode. It took me two balls to qualify blood bath, and then I started prison multiball on ball three. I proceeded to pound the WW until that multiball started running also. With so many balls flying around, the drop targets got hit without me even trying. Bingo! I had very little points before starting Prison multiball, and I wound up with over 120 million when all the multiballs finally ended.

Can someone please explain to me how exactly you get 2x playfield going.

That's awesome. You can always count on Lyman for good rules. I've seen the tower insert light up, but never put two and two together.

So every time you complete the lanes + kill 2 walkers it increases the lit inlane multiplier? Can this be stacked with 2X playfield? If you have a 4X inlane multiplier and 2X playfield running, is your next shot worth 8X? If so, that's f***ing awesome!

That explains my confusion. I hit BG right away last night with an inlane multiplier and only got 750,000. That's gotta be a bug. I would think the multiplier should apply to ANY shot.

When was your game built? I'm curious if it came with the ramp fix from the factory (foam pads underneath the flap), and if the well walker base is bare metal.

I have another LE/premium rules question. When the left orbit is lit, there is some kind of flame thrower bonus that goes up every time you hit the spinner. How do you cash this in?

Cool. Thanks! Can you combine it with the inlane multiplier?

You can start Blood Bath on its own or during a multiball. I find it's easiest to get it qualified, start prison multiball, and then go for the targets during the ball saver.

It's kind of like how nobody mentions the second unit director on a Spielberg film.

The premium/LE has a lot of added features that I really like, but the main reason I prefer it over the pro is its comparative difficulty. The crossbow shots are easier to make on the pro, and Bicycle Girl is WAY easier on the pro. Every time you shoot the left ramp, the ball is returned safely to the right flipper for another attempt. On the premium/LE, it can be quite a dangerous shot. Because the theme is one of survival, the more difficult premium/LE just feels right to me.

I'm going to be ordering some Titan silicone rings for my TWD LE, and I'm torn between staying with black or going with the translucent ones. Any opinions?

Unfortunately, you can't change it. You can only lower the volume or turn it off completely.

Adjustments -> Standard Adjustments -> Knocker Volume (#44)

You can set it to Normal, Low or Off.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe I discovered an interesting strategy that applies to the premium/LE. If you are only one shot away from starting a multiball, and the lockdown bar button (walker bomb) is lit, it's almost as if you have a free ball. You can safely shoot whatever you want, and even if you drain, just press the button right away and the multiball will start. It's similar to how you can use the VIP passes in AC/DC.

LOL! For some reason, I had only ever thought to use them during multiballs or Horde. To be honest, I discovered this purely by accident. I was on ball three and I drained. I saw that the button was lit up, so I quickly pressed it a few times just to add some points to my score. I do this on Star Trek all the time. Imagine my surprise when it prolonged my ball and started multiball.

I've never owned AFM or MM. I know both games have bombs, but I have no idea how to use them.

I assume you mean 550M?

And this is precisely why I bought TWD without batting an eye. I knew that with Lyman doing the code the game would get the love it deserves. Installing now ....

I don't think there is as much that can be done with the GI lighting effects on the pro. The premium/LEs have separately controlled red and white GI strings. As far as I know, the pro is all white.

I think the topper is cool, but it's a bit too small for my taste. I also think it's somewhat redundant if you have the premium translite. Between the topper, the translite and the playfield, that's six fish tanks.

This is a design flaw which is not limited to the pro. I've seen this happen on the premium/LE as well. When I do the combo, the ball will sometimes do exactly what you are describing, where it jumps off the Arena ramp and comes back to the right flipper via the BG return ramp. Other times, it will travel behind the playfield and then jump off the ramp as it re-enters the playfield. When this happens, the ball can get stuck behind the flasher dome near the diverter magnet.

The most frustrating one for me is the missed Woodbury shot that ricochets off the blue rubber and flies straight down the left outlane ...

It sucks that you are having issues, and you have every right to be frustrated. I don't think it's fair to compare the game to Avengers, though. With TAV, the need to majorly tweak it was pretty much inescapable. Other than perhaps a few switch adjustments for the bash toys, TWD is generally quite a solid player right out of the box. Yes, the left ramp was a problem on early builds, but that has since been corrected by the factory. The crossbow issue you are experiencing is not common at all.

This was happening on my game when I first bought it. IIRC, some wiring coming from the backbox was slightly blocking the ramp. Slow balls weren't a problem, but a hard shot would get some air and then lose velocity when it hit the obstruction. If this is what's happening on your game, it should be an easy fix for the op.

I believe yoyokopter sells them.

Did you bring in the factory outlane posts, or leave them in their original locations?

Does Lyman realize how hard that tunnel shot is with the crossbow? I've only ever made the shot clean once, and that's with the laser to make it easier. There is literally no leeway at all on the shot. If you are off by even a couple millimeters, it will get rejected. I love the crossbow, but there needs to be some kind of rule tweak, or I will never see crossbow multiball.

It's amazing how walker kills seems to have almost no correlation to your score. I had an 800M game the other day, and only finished with 34 kills.

These are the ones I have on my game ...

http://www.pinballcards.com/Pinball-Cards/The-Walking-Dead

And here's a thread with some more options ...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-walking-dead-custom-instruction-cards

I still have never started Siege. I think I was reallyt close last night. After starting all the modes, I completed the drop targets one or two more times, and then all the modes started flashing again. Would any of those shots have started Siege?

I love the Riot shot. It's so satisfying when you nail it. It can be frustrating, though. My worst shot by far is the Tunnel shot. Last night, it was the only mode I still needed, and I kept bricking it over and over.

Oops. That's what I meant. Escape Terminus. Incidentally, I've never started Siege either.

The BG light is a must, as is Yoyokopter's crossbow mod.

I think it is. Others may disagree.

It's not installed on anyone's game from the factory.

I do not agree. Other than when the BG ramp is up, the pro plays slower. Because there isn't a drop target, the ball winds up in the shooter lane a lot more, and thus back in the pops.

Those are really cool photos. Where were they taken?

That's an excellent question. I had it going for what seemed like quite a while several times, and I've never beaten it.

Make sure the game is level side to side and at about a 7 degree pitch.

If you hit your flipper buttons a few times, it will usually cause the magnet to pulse and keep the ball from draining SDTM.

You should be able to adjust the switch gap to make it more sensitive.

I've owned an STLE since it first came out, and never knew this. I guess you learn something new every day.

I've noticed that once the ball is loaded into the crossbow, it sometimes takes a long time for the mode to actually begin. Because of this, if I wait to shoot the ball until the crossbow is on its way back to the home position, the game occasionally goes into a ball search. Is this an issue with my game, or a bug in the software?

I wonder why Stern changed that part.

The only thing I don't like about that fix is that it makes and already difficult tunnel shot even more narrow.

I took mine off and never looked back. I see no downside to just having the plain metal.

I had this same problem. In my case, it was a flaky switch. I swapped it out with a new one, and all has been good. Put the game in switch test mode and slap the playfield. You will most likely get phantom well walker hits when you do this.

It's not a leaf switch. It's a micro switch. I tried adjusting the actuator on mine, but it didn't solve the problem. The switch was simply flaky and would get triggered even without the actuator clicking the push button. I suspect this is what other people are seeing as well. It's possible that Stern got a bad batch of micro switches.

The worst is when you go for Woodbury or the Arena ramp, nail that blue rubber in between, and the ball flies straight down the left outlane. Happens to me all the time.

You may need to upgrade the wiring harness. Stern offers a beefier version that is better suited for the task. Since it is a known issue with the early builds, they sent me the new harness for free.

It is my understanding that since this is a known design flaw, Stern will replace the harness even if the game is out of warranty.

Yep. You definitely only have to roll over the switch for the shot to count. In fact, I've had times where after hitting the Riot shot the ball comes back the opposite way and triggers a second Riot hit. It's like a 2-for-1 special!

I am just loving the game more than ever with this new code! In my opinion, TWD has become Lyman's masterpiece. He took all of his experience from every game that came before it, and used it to create a ruleset that is truly like no other. It's challenging, strategic, and most of all, fun as hell! How many other games have three mini wizard modes (four if you count Crossbow Frenzy), plus an extremely difficult to reach main wizard mode? Heck, even the mini wizard modes are hard to achieve. I still haven't seen Siege or Escape Terminus yet. In terms of depth, there are very few games that can rival TWD. The only ones that come to mind are LOTR, TSPP and WOZ (all Keefer games, by the way). The main difference between TWD's gameplay and all of those games, however, is that it's so DAMN HARD to keep the ball in play. The depth combined with the difficulty creates a playing experience that perfectly encapsulates the theme of fighting for your life in a world filled with "walkers".

We should all take a moment to appreciate just how lucky we are that we have a guy like Lyman coding games. He is an irreplaceable asset to our hobby.

I like the crossbow, especially now that Lyman has tweaked the code, but the walker bombs are the biggest difference between the premium/LE and the pro. They fundamentally change the game and make it more fun with a lot more strategy.

Crossbow Multiball still exists? I assumed it wa replaced by Crossbow Frenzy.

What is this "Tower EB" that you speak of? Are you awarded an EB for lighting Tower a certain number of times?

I had the magnet chuck it into the prison twice the other day, scoring two prison hits ...

Exactly. TWD is the type of game that rewards the player for smart play, and punishes the player for attacking the game without a clear strategy. The prison zombie is one of the most dangerous shots in the game. It's much more dangerous than the prison doors, because the head absorbs the speed of the ball, causing the ball to fall straight down towards the center drain. To minimize how many times you have to hit the shot, try to take out as many prison yard zombies as you can by shooting the blue lit arrows. You can also use prison bombs to safely score a hit to the prison. This is especially useful if you only have one hit remaining in order to start multiball. It basically acts as a free ball save.

If you follow the wires coming from the Well Walker switch, you will see that they are connected to the switch matrix via this type of connector ...

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=2095

Z_Connector_(resized).jpg

That's entirely subjective. I really like them both.

Just like in Tron, the game is designed so that a left orbit shot feeds into the pop bumpers. A lot of people don't like this, so they tweak the game so that it bypasses the pops and goes straight to the flippers. It speeds up gameplay and reduces the chance of a center drain, but it's not how the game is supposed to play.

Also, make sure your X-bow isn't hitting the glass.

I don't have any experience with that one, but Mezel makes quality mods. I have yoyokopter's version, and I'm very happy with it.

Like you, the first thing I do is try to get the prison doors open while the ball saver is still on. Once the prison is open, I concentrate on the drop targets, but specifically go for prison bombs. After getting a couple of those, I try to take out all of the prison walkers via the blue arrows, starting a mode in the process. After that, I pretty much just wing it.

Had Crossbow Frenzy and Horde running simultaneously for the first time last night. That was fun!!!

There are three stages to starting prison multiball. The first is opening the doors. Once you do this, you must clear the prison yard of walkers. Each time you shoot one of the blue arrows, it will kill a walker in the prison yard. You can also kill them by bashing the prison walker head, but the blue arrows are a much safer way to do this. Once all the blue arrows are extinguished, I believe it takes two more hits to the prison walker to start the multiball.

I agree that the Titan post sleeve aren't the best option for that spot. I just completely changed out every rubber in the game with Titans, but I put a red Stern post sleeve there.

Does your well walker switch register during switch test if you bang on the playfield? This was the case with mine, and I tried everything you did to no avail. Ultimately, I had to replace the switch in order to fix the issue.

There is no way you can add the premium features to a pro. You either have to pay up for them, or go with the pro. The pro is a great game, and if that's all your budget will allow, then I say go for it. If you find that you absolutely love the game and want to explore upgrading to a premium later on, that will always be an option.

With the way Horde is currently programmed, I think it would make getting to LMS too easy. In fact, I wish Horde was a little harder. As it stands, it's not difficult to keep the mode going for a very long time, at least on the premium/LE.

I agree 100%.

What exactly do you need to do to reach and then start "Siege"? I've gotten two super jackpots during prison multiball a couple times. Was I close?

So it has nothing to do with supers? Just 12 jackpots of any kind?

I've been to Horde half a dozen times, and I've never been "bit" during it. When I first encountered the mode, I assumed it would eventually get to the point where the walkers were advancing too fast and you would get bit. Perhaps I haven't played the mode long enough to experience this, but they never seem to go insanely fast even after quite a while. Is there any type of setting where you can change the escalation rate at which their speed increases or change their maximum speed? If not, there should be.

This used to happen to mine. The tip of the WW's finger would occasionally get stuck on the edge of the Crossbow/Fish Tank sign. I slightly bent the bracket that holds up the sign, and it hasn't been a problem since. Just be careful that you don't crack the ramp while attempting this.

I take it you've never played Pin Bot ...

I'm pretty sure it's random, and I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever.

It's even easier than that. All you have to do is click on the little silhouette icon next to the post number, and it will show every post that user made in the thread.

posts_(resized).jpg

Way to make an entrance!!!

I installed the full set of Pinbits protectors on my LE. They are clear. I highly recommend them.

This is not normal. Check to make sure the tip of the plunger is striking the center of the ball.

That was me. Here's a link to my original post ...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-daryls-crossbow-mod-by-yoyokopter#post-2641360

Ever since I installed plastic protectors, shots from the crossbow to the Arena ramp will often bounce up and over the ramp, often landing on the BG return ramp. This never happened on my game before. Obviously, I slightly tweaked something when putting everything back together. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, how did you tame the problem?

Sounds like they accidentally got the connections reversed at the factory. Does a switch test confirm this?

Yep, there's nothing like the first time you get to Horde. It may very well be the best mode in all of pinball. Absolutely brilliant!

I was thinking about why this game is so hard. There are many reasons, but I think the main one is that the most important shot in the game is the 3-target bank. You simply cannot progress through the game without shooting those targets a shitload of times, and it happens to be a dangerous shot with a high likelihood of sending the ball out of control. Couple that with the brutal outlanes and the unpredictable magnets, and you have one of the most difficult games in modern pinball.

It's not perfect, and I agree with your points. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been bit, and I've been to Horde a dozen or so times. What happens if you get bit? Do you lose your ball?

So then it's better at some point during Horde to just cradle the ball and let yourself get bit than to keep on shooting until it drains? That does seem like a pretty big flaw. It's still a damn cool mode, though. So much fun!

Right, but there is a good chance you will lose the ball before that happens. If you are trying to get to Last Man Standing, it seems like it would make more sense to purposely get bit rather than keep going for points during Horde.

Why don't you shut them off in the settings then?

I'm obviously missing something. What the heck is this a picture of?

Judging from the photo, the protector looks pretty thick. I've never seen something like this before. Does it cover the entire playfield? What is it made out of?

Did nodyliab stop making his BG mod? That's the one I have, and it's awesome!

That WW switch can be a bitch to dial in. You need to tweak it a bit to make it a little less sensitive.

Interesting. Are most American shows dubbed instead of subtitled over there?

Your English seems pretty good to me. It's certainly a lot better than my German ....

Like others have said, the shot geometry makes it impossible for a perfectly clean crossbow shot to the tunnel. With the current rules, I don't even think there is a reason to ever attempt it.