Hi.

What are NIB buyers paying for their TWD's right now?

I realize that a person can easily search for current prices online ($5.6K and $7.2K for Pro and Premium, respectively), but Pinsiders I talk to say, Don't assume that posted prices are the lowest prices. Call the dealers and ask!

So, did buyers of NIB TWD's on this thread get better deals than the prices above? Did you buy from regional dealers 'cause there is no other option? You can't, for instance, buy from some distant dealer 'cause his price is lower than your local dealer? I thought Stern was fairly strict about such things.

I would like to buy a used TWD, but the few I find are priced at very nearly the cost of a new machine. As a result, I'm looking harder at buying NIB.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks for reading my post!

J

*** Flipper Bats for TWD Premium ***

Are they unique to the Premium to accommodate the crossbow? As in, are they a little shorter in profile than those of other Sterns?

Or can something like this work if I want to replace the bats?

http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=269

Thanks in advance.

*** TWD Pro Bulb Breakdown Requested for DIY LED Kit ***

I've been looking at the Stern manual for this pin online, hoping to figure out just how many of each kind of bulb are used on this pin, but the numbers I see listed are none that I can cross-reference to common numbers - 44, 555, etc.

If any of you have recently LED'd your TWD, or have bought a kit which included a list of the included bulbs, I would love to hear an approximate breakdown. Something like, 35 2-LED 44's for the GI; 49 1-LED's for the inserts; 5 4-LED ? for the flashers. That kind of thing.

And no, I've never done this before, so excuse me if my request is newbian.

Thanks in advance!

*** Pinball-Browser; Cataloging Sounds in TWD ***

Has anyone done any cataloging of the sounds in the v.1.6 code in Pinball-Browser?

If you don't know what I'm talking about, Pinball browser displays "Requests" by number, which correspond to sound samples. There is no description of the sound. For example, the sound for an inserted coin is listed simply as Request 168, 01s770ms. This makes it impossible to scroll through and find the samples that interest you.

It would helpful to know, for example, the request numbers of, say, the main song, etc. I have started cataloging, but there are *many* requests/samples. Has anyone here on this thread who has been using Pinball-Browser done any cataloging he/she can share? I will certainly share mine when I have more, but if there is work done already by another person, I would love to see that rather than slog through this myself.

Thanks!

Thanks for your reply, E. Sorting by duration helps, as it put the main song sample at the top, allowing me to find it for the first time. Sorting by group, however, is proving elusive. Can you be more specific?

J

Er, wait. I *may* have it now. Searching by "Scripts" allows me to see certain script numbers that have multiple entries, each with a different alpha ending. Trying one example - "It's gotta be in the brain!" reveals a series of similar/related callouts. Is that what you mean by "groups"?

Thanks.

J

Thanks, E, for your help - again!

And I agree: sample lists compiled for older code versions are useful only in so far as they indicate the length of a given sample, not its true request number. I will replace all the of the lacking songs (which play during modes) and perhaps a handful of the SFX I can identify. I just thought it would be fun to customize the sound of my pin. That's all.

J

*** SALE PENDING: Suite of mods for TWD ***

All mods are in good shape. They were installed/removed carefully in/from a new TWD pin. When taking them out, I used the original instructions to guide me, so as not to leave any parts of the mod behind. Still, just to be clear, I encourage you to look at the pictures and judge for yourself.

1. Speaker Light Kit w/red acrylic TWD grilles.
http://www.speakerlightkits.com/Type-9.html

2. Mezel Mods TWD Tower mod
https://mezelmods.com/collections/walking-dead-pinball-mods/products/walking-dead-pinball-prison-tower

3. Laseriffic Fishtank mod w/strip LED and leads. I can’t find this particular mod on Joe’s site, but I’m fairly sure it’s his work. It ties in with splice clips to the Tower flasher – or so I read in the instructions. It adheres (double-sided tape) to a piece of aluminum that is screwed to the back panel (hole already present) and the leads snake into the cabinet through the left ramp’s hole in the back panel. If I had to guess, I would say this was made by Pinsider mod maker “mikeincali,” but I don’t know.

4. Cointaker Lighted Flipper Kit, clear
https://cointaker.com/products/led-flipper-button-kit-deluxe-stern-pre-spike-dmd

5. Woodbury sign

6. Hand-painted Zombie shooter rod, 7-7/8” x 3/8”. I don’t know what artist made this fine mod, but the quality is a notch or two above “cheap toy,” for sure. This is hand-painted. It’s made from a fairly hard material, so it doesn’t “squeeze” when you pull against the plunger spring, etc.

Retail for this set of mods is approximately $300. I’m asking $150, shipping in the cont. U.S. included. All mods were in good working order when removed, but they are sold here AS-IS.

To see a gallery of images of these very mods…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/30661173@N07/albums/72157689107238902

Payment via PayPal is fine, but only as “Friends and Family.” Otherwise, add four per cent.

Thanks for looking.

Fishtank.mod.cu (resized).jpg
Tower.mod (resized).jpg
TWD.speaker.light.mod (resized).jpg
Zombie.shooter.cu.II (resized).jpg

*** Struggling to Update Code on Pro ***

Hi.

At the risk of revisiting an oft-discussed subject, I can't get my board for recognize the freshly formatted USB drive with code that was downloaded directly to the drive from Stern's site. The file, as you all will remember, is apparently a BIN file. Can such a file just go straight onto the USB drive, or must I extract it first? In which case, what freeware extractor would you suggest? When I read threads about other people who have struggled with this process - for SW, for instance - they talk about "sdk" files. Is that what I have to extract from this BIN?

And if you're thinking my drive needs formatting, I have formatted this drive in all available formats, one after the other, and none has worked. I have also tried a second USB drive, from a different manufacturer, again using all three formatting schemes (exFAT, FAT, NTSI).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Jason

Hi.

Sorry to leave that detail out: you're right, dip switch #8 must be in the on position to do this procedure, followed by a resetting of the machine, followed by the insertion of the USB, etc.

I know the sequence. I have the manual pages in front of me, as well as links to at least a few YouTube tutorials. The drive is my undoing. I don't want to drive to a computer store to buy yet another drive if I can make either of my current drives work.

J

That's all I've done, and the drives are small - 4GB Data Traveler and an 8GB Micro Center.

Yes: flipping dip switch #8 switches the pin's menu to the update sequence, first asking me to press select to reset the pin, and then prompting the insertion of the drive, etc.

*** Aggravated by Ball Lingering in Pop Bumpers. Are There Fixes? ***

I just bought a TWD Pro. I played another example of a Pro a fair amount at my local barcade, so I understood the pops and how the ball can hang out in there for too long before it dribbles out into the area above the flippers.

Now that I have the pin in my home, I'm truly exasperated by the pops. The ball can't escape. That lowest pop bumper is like a gate keeper. Each time the ball tries to trickle past, the pop says, "Not so fast!" and sends the ball ricocheting back up into the pops for yet another bash around, etc., etc., etc.

I want to disable the pops. I hate waiting for the ball to escape from the pops. It's just too much time to stand there and watch the ball dance. I did see a game-settings menu item addressing how "hard" the pops are. Could that have anything to do with how sensitive/powerful they are? Or is that just about scoring?

Would the game's scoring be completely disrupted if I disabled the pops? Obviously I wouldn't get my pops points, but would other scoring sequences be foiled, etc? What would be the simplest way to do it? I looked at their connections beneath the PF but there are no simple connectors, only soldered leads.

I've played perhaps a hundred games and the problem isn't getting any better. What can I do? It's really turning me off.

J

Thank you, all of you, for your helpful replies.

Are you telling me an adjustment of the pops will have to come from the switches themselves, *not* from the Service Menu?

If so, just what is that setting in the menu for the pops ("Easy," "Normal," "Hard")?

FYI: the pin's pitch is set to slightly steeper than normal, but nothing crazy.

Jason

Thank you, Gweem, for your photo of the pop mechanics. I addressed the switches, one by one, widening the gap, and that helped a lot. My first go 'round, I all but disabled the pops with a gap of 2.5mm. Now I'm at c. 1mm and things are a little better in terms of time lingered in the pops. SUPER helpful!

And thank you, Fox, for your suggestion re: leveling the PF, not the cab'. Got it.

Jason

*** Source for Replacement Star Rollover Switches? ***

Hi.

Speaking to a tech at Stern today I learned that my star rollover switches in my TWD Pro need to be replaced. I'm disappointed, naturally, but better to just replace them and move on. So, my first impulse was to check Pinball Life, Pinball Resource, and Marco to find replacements.

Nothing doing!

I'm thinking that some of you have had bad star rollover switches in your TWD's in the past and might have been in this position. If so, where did you get your replacements if not from a Stern distributor?

Part number is 520-6824-18.

Thanks.

Wow!

You are so helpful!

This is just what I need!

Of course, I missed this in my own searches as apparently I didn't know how to look properly, using the right terms, etc.

Actually, I'm out big money, 'cause, not finding these switches at either PBL or Marco, I ordered them from a Stern dealer, plus shipping. Argh! I ordered them only hours *before* your replied to my post!

Live and learn, I guess. (Grumble, grumble...)

*** Can't Hit Tunnel Shot to Save My Life! ***

I'm a novice player. I bought TWD because I'd read how fabulous it is and because I'd enjoyed playing a hundred-or-so sub-twenty-million-point games on one at my local barcade. Now that I own one (my first pin of any kind), I'm really struggling to be play it well enough to actually advance through the game.

In ascending order of difficulty, I rank the shots as follows:

6. CDC
5. Barn
4. Riot
3. Arena
2. Woodbury
1. Tunnel

Tunnel, as you all know, is a "Borg" shot. It has no margin for error, as even grazing/activating a pop on the way by deflects the shot. You can't "rattle" your shot through there. It has to sail through without touching a thing 'til it finds the corner at the very back/right of the PF, etc. I first experienced a shot of this kind on KISS, and I thought it was absurdly hard there, too.

I hit Tunnel by accident far more often than I do aiming for it. When I aim, I hit it perhaps once in twenty attempts. This is a problem. To help me avoid total frustration, I have set the game to settings that allow me to make at least *some* progress toward scoring goals. I still find it murderously hard. (Believe me, I don't advance all that far, despite all the gimmies!) I typically spend most of each ball trying to clear a single bank or drop targets to earn a shot at starting a mode. I rarely get to the mode as I more often just drain trying to clear the target bank. Clearing the target bank keeps you down near the deadly slings, and once the ball gets to ricocheting around between them, it will all too often find its way into the outlanes in a flash, etc. Still, on rare occasions, I have actually started Horde. (I count four times at this point.) Being resolutely unable to hit Tunnel, this a problem, as it's just a matter of time before I'm "bitten" by an advancing walker on the middle-right. Really, my skills are not up to Horde in general, but in particular because I can't hit Tunnel.

Oh, if you're thinking my pops have switch gaps that are ultra-tight, making them ultra-sensitive, I actually got in there already to *expand* those gaps to make the pops *less* sensitive, as all that pop-bumping on every plunge was driving me bananas.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

J

You funny, bruh'. That was sixteen years ago! A.I. is still my dawg!

Fair enough. Time to put in a solid week of practice and see where I end up. I've played c. two-hundred games to date, averaging 10M on three balls.

My nudging is poorly timed and ineffectual. I often drop catch, but I flip instantly. It's not like a true "catch." I just meet the ball with the flipper up, then decelerate the ball by lowering it with my flipper, then flipping instantly. Kind of like a tip in basketball. I rarely if ever do live catches on this pin. I began learning them on my first love, IM, since the ball comes to the right flipper from the pops on that pin in a way that invites a live catch. ToM is another title that invites *lots* of right-flipper live catches. My dead flipping has come a long way. I'd say it's one of the first flipper skills players begin to improve on when they commit to getting better. I can post pass reasonably well, allowing me to transfer a cradled ball from one flipper to the other, etc. I will invariably post pass to my left flipper whenever Extra Ball is lit. I've never done a slap save, I don't think. I don't really try to save SDTM drains. I fight outlane drains as much as I can, but not well.

Thanks for your reply to my post!

*** Where to Buy Well Walker Plastic Alternate-Strike-Point Mod? ***

At one point I noticed a mod here on pinside for a red plastic alternate plate, to be fitted at the Well Walker's belly.

I'm convinced that the bulk of my ball wear comes from strikes to the stock steel plate, so I'd love to get a plastic one in there instead.

I've searched the Market section devoted to new mods but don't see it.

Thanks.

That's interesting. I guess shooting a woman - albeit a zombie woman - in the head for a skill shot was just too insensitive to AMC. Come to think of it, all of the mutilation animations that mark walker kills are of men, no? I would like to see the rejects. The keepers are gruesome enough!

Thank you, Woody!

I've developed this issue with a Pro, too. I plunge, and rather than see the ball glide smoothly out of the plunge lane and up past the star rollovers, it gets snagged/disturbed at the one-way gate, there at the top of the plunge lane. This becomes a problem when trying for a Woodbury shot, as I can't gently plunge all the way to the star rollover switches.

I believe this problem arose when the one-way gate shifted position, perhaps as a result of the shaker I just installed. Moreover, the one-way gate at the very top of the "Woodbury" lane, just before the ball is dropped above the rollover lanes, is misbehaving in the same way, although worse, as sometimes it will simply block the ball entirely.

My intended fix will involve shifting these one-way gates (each has lateral adjustibility +/- 3mm) and then tightening them down properly. The trouble will be accessing the gate at the top of the plunge lane, as it sits below the Arena ramp and some additional plastics.

Good luck to the rest of you who will address this on your own pins.

J

*** Pro Owners: How to Trap Ball Returning from Arena for Controlled Crossbow Shot? ***

To load the Crossbow, I must hit an Arena shot (at the prescribed moment). Fine.

The problem comes *after* I hit Arena, when the ball returns to the top of the left inlane, stops, drops to the PF, and then trickles down to the left flipper. It has just enough pace that I can't trap it on the left, and too little pace to allow either a roll pass or a tip pass to the right. This forces me into a rolling Crossbow shot, as I can't trap first.

How are other Pro owners trapping in this scenario, for a better chance at a good Crossbow shot? (I say "other Pro owners" because I assume that the Premium's return ramp, with its alternate design, delivers the ball slightly differently to the left flipper.)

Is the only move here a tip trap, where the ball is moving with pace enough to dribble over the flipper and you tip in a way as to keep the ball on the same flipper? This is an advanced move, for sure. I've had zero success with it in this situation so far.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Oh, my gosh! You can roll pass to your right flipper after an Arena shot return! My Pro just has the ball drool off the end of the left flipper and drain!

My pitch is set to normal. (Bubble sits dead center.) I have no idea how I can improve this.

Thanks for your reply.

Please tell me who makes this "chicken wire" side art for TWD.

Thanks.

Chicken.wire.side.art (resized).jpg

Opinions from Owners of This PR Mod Sought:

To any of you who have this Pinball Refinery mod in your pin, I'd like to know how you like it.

It seems to introduce quite a lot of light - more, perhaps, than Pinstadium.

Also, is the "blade" portion of the mod simply mesh, or is it mesh over mirrored art?

Thanks!

Chicken.wire.side.art (resized).jpg

Your BG toy is kind of hot.

Ha!

** An Upcoming Run of TWD Premiums From Stern? **

Who is hearing rumblings about a run of TWD's this spring/summer? Anyone? I was talking to another collector, telling him about my hunt for a HUO TWD, and he casually asked if I was hearing that a run of NIB games might be coming. I told him he was the first to mention it. Is he onto something? We did get a run of MET Premiums last summer, so why not some TWD's *this* summer? Who has the inside scoop?

Left Ramp Fix For Premium?

Please steer me to the mod that improves the initial roll up onto the left ramp. I believe I remember reading about an extension that makes the transition from PF to ramp slightly less abrupt. Hopefully it's a completely different ramp section with a longer acrylic face and a spring-steel tongue/flap.

Thanks.

Ramp Fix Mod: Still Available? If So, From Whom?

I asked on this forum recently for a referral to a source for the mod that extends the left ramp flap on the Premium/LE. I got a friendly reply and a link. The link led me to a three-year-old thread, a portion of which I've pasted below. You'll notice the author tells interested shoppers to contact PinPlay to order, but that Pinsider is now "inactive." So, where can I find this mod or does none actually exist?

"For all you TWD LE/Premium owners, we will be making a left ramp fix kit that will make it super smooth. I came up with the idea of putting foam pads under the ramp flap to make it play better a long time ago, but that is nothing compared to this. If you bought a pro instead of a premium because the left ramp was smoother - sorry

Installation takes less than 1 minute!

Price: $29 including shipping in USA

Please PM user PinPlay (see post #41 - or me) if interested."

Oh, gosh.
It's only adhered? I was sure it was riveted!
The real question might be, why not make yourself a longer ramp from plexi and rivet a ramp flap on it? Maybe that's in my future.

LED Color DMD, anyone?

Just wondering if any color DMD users recommend LED over LCD for TWD if your taste leans to dotsXL and away from smoothing.

Where to Find Magnet Surround Mylar?

Just wondering who sells a pre-cut mylar ring for the PF that surrounds the magnets. I guess I'm less keen on the carbon-fiber ring I often see. Just mylar is fine. Or is there no such thing?

Thanks.

FYI:

Machine - For Sale

TWD Premium in MN - HUO, Low Plays Archived

HUO - Undocumented (Home Used Only) - “For Sale: Stern “The Walking Dead” Premium Pinball Home use only c. 500 lifetime plays No PF wear apart from light/normal dimpling No shooter lane wear No Well Walker hip...”

2020-01-18

Minneapolis, MN

Jason_Jehosaphat

5,925 (OBO)

Archived after: 216 days

Viewed: 1151 times

Status: Not sold

Crossbow Multi-ball, anyone?

The Rulesheet at Tilt Forums says you can start a MB in Crossbow mode if/when you finish all the Crossbow shots.

Who has done this?

It seems impossible to me. I mean, how on earth do you hit Tunnel with the Crossbow? You can't see it. I s'pose you could carom the shot off the hip of Well Walker, but what are the odds of that? This MB must be for PRO owners only, as only by using your flippers can you hope to hit all the Crossbow shots. I s'pose you could disable the Crossbow mech on the Premium/LE and use your flippers like PRO owners do. That doesn't seem right.

Setting your Premium/LE to shoot crossbow shot with flippers, anyone?

In the "Game" adjust menu, there are what appear to be the only three adjustments related to the crossbow:

* Disable Crossbow Motor
* Disable Ramp Magnet Diverter
* Crossbow Motor SW Lockout

Disabling the first two succeeds in basically taking the whole mode out of gameplay. Crossbow will light on the right ramp, but then hitting the ramp does *not* begin the mode.

The default setting on the switch lockout (whatever that is) is 750.

Has anyone succeeded in setting his Premium/LE to shoot Crossbow shots with his flippers? I figure flipping is the only way I'll ever hit Tunnel.

Wow. Impressive!

The "Fence"mod with the EL wire was made by Steve at Pinball Refinery in MI. He goes by HemiOrange here. You might look on his website or drop him a line.

Wait: five times? You racked up 100 kills five times? Five times in your life? My kills record is below fifty.

This makes no sense to me. I can't see Tunnel from my Crossbow. Like, the sight line does NOT reach the Tunnel lane in the upper-right corner of the PF. The ball would have curve around to the right, like a masse shot in billiards. Impossible!

Roll Pass, Anyone?

Just wondering if most of you have games that can reliably roll pass. By that I mean, will the ball roll through the flipper lane after returning from a ramp shot with enough momentum to roll up/over a raised flipper and across the gap to the opposite flipper for a trap, or is a tap pass necessary for most of you? I find tap passing exceedingly difficult as it requires the faintest contact of the flipper switch. When I try to tap pass, I almost always flip too vigorously, creating the chore for myself of regaining control of the ball, etc.

Schatz, Anyone?

Not sure on spelling here, but a "Schatz," as far as I understand it, is a late flip to the opposite flipper lane. (IMDN even has a Schatz target above the left flipper lane.)

I can't Schatz deliberately, really, but it happens by accident on many layouts during multiballs - or it happens in many games but not, for some reason, on my TWD. If I inadvertently Schatz during a MB on TWD, the ball will race to the elbow of the ball guide and then get rejected and return to the flipper. It will *not* proceed past the elbow and squirt out the top of the flipper lane. I attribute this to the molded-plastic ball guides used in this layout. Their elbows may have tighter radii than the laser-cut stainless guides of, say, MET or IM. It's not like I *need* to Schatz, particularly, but I do like the ball to flow through the flipper lanes in either direction. It's part of the action of the flipper zone and I miss it when it's not there. Are the rest of you Schatzing regularly? Just wondering.

I have grappled with noisy/buzzy Stern flippers on a few games and tried a fistful of things and NONE of them made any difference at all. Dressing the original stops with a file, replacing the stops, changing the coil, changing the plunger to a Williams version, dressing the plunger with a file, omitting the expansion washer, substituting a spacer for the expansion washer, etc., etc. None of these measures resulted in a quieter game. My buzzy games were TWD, MET, and IMDN. You will read testimonials from people who succeeded in finding solutions, but I'm not among them. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful, but my "help" to you in this case is to suggest you prepare yourself for no solution.

In The Dark!

I'm having trouble seeing the ball during many of the modes in TWD. I get that the lighting is supposed to be chaotic and generally dark, but many modes seem to kill the GI altogether - or at least the white GI - and suddenly I'm all but blind when tracking the ball. Has anyone here ever used brighter GI bulbs? I was thinking about the absurdly bright Optimus Maximus bulbs from Comet. Not the entire GI, but a fistful scattered around. I have one OpMax wedge for a spotlight and it's stupid bright. If only I had a #44 instead, I could try it in my GI. Even the throbbing red GI during Horde leaves me basically blind. I have factory GI, which, as many you know, is clear-lens 2SMD. Pinball Life makes his "Bright-Fucking-Bulb" 4-SMD's, but they are lensless, which is less ideal for GI. Is the OpMax my only alternative to 2-SMD frosted if I need more illumination in my GI?

https://www.cometpinball.com/products/opmax-bulbs?variant=12387007168556

Thanks, Erik.
Good point!
Still, more intense red GI will help me during Horde.

Riot tighter on the PRO? How do you figure?

Hold on. You can backhand CDC on a Premium? My god! How?

Speaking of backhands...

Just how many are there on this layout? On the Premium, I count two: BG and WW.

Really, I can only hit BG from the left flipper from a trap, and it's debatable if a shot from the right flipper to WW is actually a "backhand." Perhaps there's only one backhand on this layout.

In case any of you out there is curious about what Comet 2SMD Warm White frosted look like in *all* of the GI, here you go...

The upper PF still looks quite red, thanks to the red and amber Op-Max bulbs that are in the back panel. I also have several accent lights in place, two of which are 2SMD Red Clear. Lastly, I have a 10SMD Sunlight strip light on the return ramp, just above Woodbury. Plenty of you appreciate the dark, red lighting design of this game, but I struggled to see the ball much of the time, so I tried my own mix. The Tilt artblades help reflect at least a bit of the light and add some design interest, too.

TWD.Warm.White.GI.jpg (resized).jpg

I Dream of "X."

I flub my "X" pretty much every time. I read about this feature of the code before I ever bought my game and I was excited to really exploit it for big payouts. I haven't...at all! I piss it away 'cause I can't possibly manage the "X" on the inlanes during multiballs - precisely the time when I must! I don't toggle the "X" away first to preserve it when a ball comes to the end of a return ramp. Sometimes I score huge "X" shots by accident. You should see my high scores. They're pretty crazy. My "X" high score is more than 200M. You can read how it was accomplished in the scrolling high scores and it might surprise you by just how busy/layered it is. You can stack a fork-ton of stuff in your "X" shot rather easily when things really get going.

I dearly wish I could trap balls as they roll through the flipper lane after dropping from a return ramp. My game, for whatever reason, will impart just enough velocity to the ball to *not* allow a trap on that flipper and too little velocity to roll to the opposite flipper in a roll pass. If I raise the flipper as the ball rolls though, it will dribble off the tip of the flipper and drain. The only option is the much-harder tap catch, where you flip oh-so gently as a slow-moving ball reaches the apex of the flipper, allowing you to then catch and trap on that same flipper. I succeed at this maneuver perhaps once in twenty tries. Ditto: the tap pass.

A "rolling post pass"? Oh, man! A post pass from a trap is hard enough! I'll never get that one!

What improves roll passing on any table? More- or less PF pitch? My game is set to 6.5-degrees of pitch. Would roll passing become more reliable with *less* pitch? Perhaps it's a wash. I mean, less pitch means less velocity rolling to the flipper but also less resistance from the raised flipper. Still, less pitch means less eagerness for the ball to drain off the flipper tip, mid-pass. A roll pass with less pitch is a bit like doing an Evel Knievel Super Jump with a bike with fewer horses in a stadium with less gravity, I guess. (Who doesn't like a simile!)

Oops.

"Ski jumps"! Funny.

Interesting idea: longer plungers would mean less flipper travel and less flipper angle - harder for trapping but easier for ski jumps. Got it. I've never seen a longer Stern plunger.

Wow.
Great tutorial.
Thanks!
It reminds me of how little I know my own game!
You make it look easy - surviving, hitting shots, etc.
Nice play!
(Oh, but get some light on that PF for your next video! I can't see anything!)

Game looks great!
I don't really use Walker Bombs all that strategically. I find them less useful than you might assume. For example, if I'm about to be killed by an advancing Walker in Horde, a Walker Bomb at that instant will more than likely kill a *different* Walker, allowing me to be "bit" just the same. Not helpful!

I need some "mind flow" myself. I think I generally have "mind stop-and-go."

Well, I don't doubt you know their utility far more than I do, but the Walker during Horde was a good example - to me, anyhow - of how using a Walker Bomb does *not* keep my ball alive. I use it, the wrong advancing Walker is killed, the Bomb is gone/wasted, and I still get bit. Brilliant!

Hmm. This sounds promising. I'm trying to visualize quite what you mean by "flipping it 180." I will have to investigate. My solution to this point has simply been to disable the magnet. Thanks for the tip.

How many TWD owners are doing this? I would love a true orbit from Barn, but there's a reason why the ball snags a pop as it goes by after a shot to Barn. It's a bit of a marvel, really. Every time I witness it, I'm impressed and I imagine that Borg gave it a lot of thought. The pop fires at just the right instant to redirect the ball into the last segment of the plunge lane, before finally stopping at the Tower target. It's quite a ride! Still, I would rather have the ball sail through to my left flipper!

The Dark Ages...

So, you need a custom part for your TWD, but you don't have CAD expertise and a 3-D printer?

No problem! Just go *backwards*, all the way to that nostalgic era when people used handtools! Imagine!

Get out the following:

1. Scrap of 16-guage stainless
2. Scissors
3. Posterboard/paper/tape/string/black sharpie
4. Hacksaw
5. Files/pliers
6. Bench vice
7. Drill press/drill bits

Throw in a lot of time and a taste for fabricating stuff and you can make...

THIS!

(What do you mean you have no idea what it is? Just ask yourself, what would be darned handy on the TWD playfield?)

Installation images to follow...

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Not a single guess so far.
C'mon! Let's hear it!

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So, no. Good try though. This is a DIY mod to address perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this layout. Anyone?

Interesting. A mod to guide the ball into the Crossbow better? No. I have looked at how the ball makes its way to the Crossbow after the lane magnet does its thing. It basically dead-ends at a large rubber stop, then rolls gently to the Crossbow. It would be cooler if it glided right in there rather than first bump against that stop, but I wouldn't muck with that.

That can be done in the settings, as you know.

Again, what is the aspect of the layout that frustrates the great majority of players of this game? What pisses players off to the point that they just want toss the game in the river?

Wow. That's quite a list!
And, not surprisingly, the answer is here.
Let's see a photo...

Guesses now?

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Peek-a-boo!
I see you!

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Cheater? Sure.

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You are correct. The vital support tang behind the post is nowhere near the surface of the PF.

Good point. I took your advice and made Center Post 2.0. Cut away the sharp "nose" and excised as much non-essential material as I practically could with a hacksaw and files.

The post has been in for two days now. New GCS on the first night. So, yeah, BIG advantage. But you know what: this layout in stock trim kicked my ass mercilessly and it made it hard to enjoy the game. You could argue that I won't get better if I take away the challenges, but I'm able to do a fork-ton more shooting this way and see more of the game, rules-wise, so it's helpful to me and I'm glad to try it.

TWD.Center.Post.II.from.right (resized).jpg

Yes and no.
It's uncommon, but there are "mods" that address PF "flaws." The layout of Ghostbusters, for example, inspired mod makers to offer both a lane-hop-stop mod and a center-post mod. Fezmid suggested I simply use that mod on my TWD, but such a mod can't work on a TWD Premium as the Crossbow would conflict with it. The challenge of making a bracket for my TWD came from designing it to reside in the sliver of space above the ball and beneath the bottom of the Crossbow housing. Low tolerance!

Scoring Strategies for Horde?

Just wondering if there are ways to boost score during Horde. I find I zone out, just trying to make shots lest I be bitten. I never have a plan while I'm in Horde. I must be wasting opportunities. I have no "X" to work with, but can I light the 2x Playfield? The only score booster I sometimes take advantage of is to allow a given Walker to advance 'til more of the inserts at that shot are lit before I kill that Walker, etc, although I only dare do this on reliable shots like Barn, CDC, and Arena.

I believe the arrow inserts at CDC and Arena strobe blue during Phase II of Prison MB on the Premium. That reminds me: is there strategy in Phase II of Prison MB? If I ever get that far, I'm too tired to do much more than pick off a few ramps and drain. Is there a Super' that lights at Riot for Phase II?

Chuck is right, but you can turn the "Speech Attenuation" setting down, which I believe will effectively raise the volume of all callouts relative to the music.

A note about Pinball Browser:
Right now Stern is doing its darndest to thwart alteration of SPIKE 2 firmware using Pinball Browser by adding code to flummox the program. The good news is, I don't believe any SAM firmware has this new code. So, if you want to experiment with PB on your TWD, it's still smooth sailing. I have fun with PB. It's tedious, but it's another way to customize your game to "make it your own." That kind of thing. To me, it's the best mod' out there.

Thanks, David!
Super helpful!

Siege progress carries from ball to ball in v1.6, yes.

Sharp game! And loaded! Wow!

Awesome work to set up that huge payday! I never thought to use a Bomb to collect a Super. Smart!

A six-shot combo on the right side sounds sweet!
Frankly, twice around Tunnel is the best combo I know. Love it!
I've never strung together six shots in single-ball play. Nice!

Interesting! You traded your JP2 Premium for a TWDLE! You're a retro' baller! Either that, or you just like to punish yourself.

Congrats.
What's the paperwork?

+1

Don't mind the "redneck" at all. I've tried the Cleland ROM, and while it's impressive, it's also slightly confusing. The stock callouts tell you enough to help you navigate. The Cleland callouts are often only tangentially related and not immediately helpful to people who don't know the show well, etc. Just my opinion. To be fair, though, I didn't give a fair shake - perhaps a week.

Hmm.
A game lasting nearly an hour, but just how many points? Does the game roll over at a certain point?
Where does he get the energy?
That's a heck of a lot of pinball!
It's a bit challenging to simply watch the clip, frankly. It's so bright/flashy/red.
Numerous great outlane saves!
Expert use of "X" and 2x PF scoring, plus stupid-large Multi-kill values.
A chance to see LMS completed!
This is how TWD can be played if you can actually stay up and advance through the game!
Hats off to KME. You make it look easy!

I would try to attentuate the coil.
I've been through this myself on my game.
The ball eject from the factory was like a gun shot. I thought, fork, this is going to pulverize my poor shooter lane if I don't do something about it!
So I asked Chas at Stern about it and he suggested a substitute coil - which I bought/installed.
No help at all.
Then I tried a mechanical solution and it worked like a charm. I took an 11mm, six-point socket and cut the driver end off of it with a hacksaw, turning it into a sleeve about 15mm long. Then I put the sleeve on the coil's plunger (below the coil) to limit its travel, effectively scrubbing about a half of the coil's power. The result is a gentle-but-effective ball eject and no unnecessary wear to the PF in the shooter lane.
It would surprise me if your problem is being caused by a trough snout whose welds have failed. Did you take a closer look?

Sweet! Rock that shirt!

Bicycle Kicks Rule!

How many of you are hitting new shots on your TWD thanks to "bicycle kicks"?

In case it's not obvious, a bicycle kick in pinball happens when you backhand a ball out of the air, high on the flipper, sending it on a trajectory that is otherwise impossible from that side. For example, it's not all that uncommon to bicycle kick the Arena ramp from the right flipper, or the CDC ramp from the left flipper.

Today, for the first - and probably *only* - time, I bicycle kicked Tunnel from the right flipper. I know, I know! Tunnel is IMPOSSIBLE from the right flipper - even as a BK - so I must have caromed off the Well Walker's hip. It was CRAZY! I do wish there were more shots on this layout, so adding one, BK-style, is always welcome!

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First-ever BB Super for me today!

Hmm.
Nice control.
"Easy flicking"? "Kick flip"?
Unless you are flipping the ball right out of the air, mid-post-pass, you may not in fact be bicycle kicking to the drops. Impressive though.

Pinball Browser Request Number, Anyone?

Just wondering if any of you know the request number for a Well Walker strike. It's a dull/bassy thud that lasts about a second. Could it be 281?

Thanks.

I thought you were mistaken - no disprespect! - because I know I have posted higher scores than your rollover mark suggested I possibly could.

You do like your stats, YeOld. Nice work! Perhaps you love "maths," as they say in Great Britain.

Just one? Get up on your feet!

Personal best Horde today. Not my highest Horde score as I never Escaped, but longest effort and most combos. Still can't focus on much aside from juggling balls though. I play my game with headphones and the volume quite low, but there's no mistaking the energy/intensity of the mode. Great sounds and callouts and, of course, the throbbing light show!

Keep movin' and keep shootin'!!!
Go, go, GO!!!!

Sweet deal!

Machine - For Sale

The Walking Dead (Pro) Archived

HUO - Documented (Home Used Only) - “game has a few hundred plays, its been moved once. pretty much looks brand new ramps plastics cabinet playfield No mods 100% stock -”

2020-06-07

New York, NY

Gwaxt72

4,500

Archived after: 39 days

Viewed: 507 times

Status: Didn't sell to Pinsider

Ooh! An LE for you!
Sweet!
I s'pose you could buy a set of Yoyokopters outlane extenders to make the outlanes a little less ravenous.
The layout is diabolical. It has more ways to drain SDTM than you might readily notice. I hope you have a big collection. I have a one-pin collection and it's TWD. I could use something kinder to be go beside it, believe me!
Congrats on your pickup!

Great job. Looking sharp!
Love the firey glow of the drops.
Also noticed you applied alternate decals to your drops rather than "Will, "You," and "Survive?" Fly!

100M or 200M bonus upon completion of L.M.S:
What determines the doubled bonus? "X"? PF Double Scoring?

Fix For Reluctant Drop Targets, Anyone?

I realize that sluggish drop targets on MET are common, so I looked at that owners' thread for a fix, but the discussion is about the opto involved getting tripped by the light show.

My farthest drop target will often fail to drop, despite being squarely struck or glanced. What's the mechanical solution? Do I replace the drop target or do I tinker with the spring and the perch?

Thanks.

Prison Bash Toy: Why it Deserves Praise

Have you ever thought much about the kinetics of the Prison? That "toy" is *solid*! With the doors closed, it's basically a rebound machine. Every strike to Prison with the doors closed is reflected right back, like a standup target would. It makes a cool "pop" sound, too. Dwight Sullivan said recently on Loser Kind Pinball Podcast that Borg focuses on kinetics and really *only* on kinetics. Well, he designed the Prison to be a solid little hut of bent steel and it really does add to the kinetics of TWD, all because he made it so solid, with a rubber stop at the peak of the doors. It's a big part of why Prison MB is my favorite MB. Up the middle, baby!
Kudos to Borg!
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