It is the cliffy Carbon protector. That was an issue with mine immediately after the protector was put on. I removed it after trying everything else. Problem went away immediately I used dental floss under the cliffy to remove it by sawing back and forth and then goo be gone to remove the residue.

It is unbelievable that that thin cliffy can cause that issue but it does ( on some machines).

See post: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twd-prison-optos-dont-always-register#post-4200067

Isn't this just a simple science lesson - change the magnet orientation and the ball path will change? Not sure why folks that complain about SDTM haven't tried this. Many TWD do not suffer from this issue at all (like mine) but the one I used to play on location did it frequently - frustrating for sure.

That is 100% your issue. Just be careful when you remove it. You can reference my post on how I safely removed mine.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/twd-prison-optos-dont-always-register#post-4200067

I did the same thing a month ago. I have no idea why Stern went with cold white on such a dark themed game. I went with warm white Comet LED bulbs for the GI and inserts. I have a few coloured Red LED bulbs in the inserts (Blood Bath & stab targets). Do it - it is a much better look. The bright white when playing in the dark was my only complaint with the game. It is perfect now.

It is the carbon cliffy for sure. Remove it. You can use a piece of dental floss to pull underneath the lip to make sure that you don’t damage the playfield when removing. Then just remove any remaining glue.

Aaargh. I love to hate this game. Managed to get to LMS once in over 2 years. Siege maybe 3 times and only if I try specifically for that goal. I do manage to get to Horde a little more often now though - great mode! Geese this is a tough game. Between this and IM it is a wonder I am still sane! I love how it kicks your ass and makes you hit that start button again or sometimes just flip the switch off and walk away.

I may have to seriously think about adjusting my settings to make it a little easier. Owning this game makes me want to throw pinballs at my TV when I watch the show! Aaaargh!

Just discovered a weird bug (I think). I had a ball get stuck because an LED came out of one of the spots and got in the Outland which caused the ball to get stuck. I removed the glass and put the ball in the trough. I didn’t turn the game off cause I was having a decent game and I knew that with the coin door ball save on I would get my ball back. However, once the ball was returned to play the prison doors would not open as if the high voltage coil for that did not get the message to get re-enabled despite the fact that all the other coils did. The next ball everything was good again.

So I tried to figure out what was going on and after a while I was able to recreate this. If you are playing a ball and open the coin door and let the ball drain (with coin door ball saver on) the ball gets put back into play when you close the door but the prison doors won’t open. Sometimes after playing a while (perhaps after a multi ball ends or something) the doors start to work again.

It was kind of frustrating during my decent game as I couldn’t start Prison multi ball for the second time on that ball. And my last ball was brutal.

Anyone able to confirm that this is a bug? Or is it something with my game only?

Are you not a believer in science? How does changing the orientation of a magnet not affect the magnetic field’s effect on a metal object that passes over it? Of course it does. Even rotating the used core (which has a wear pattern) will have an impact. It may be subtle but it is there. The magnet pulses and no matter how you set it up it is going to sometimes throw in down the middle but in some games it is way too often. Rotating the magnet will change this behaviour.

Due to the under playfield mechanisms on each pin being different the locations will be dependant on that. Simply loosely attach them with the nut to the apron area first and then position them to where they will fit and not affect an assembly. Then mark the spot where you need to drill. I use tape on my drill bit (but make sure the tape does not slip down before drilling your second one). It is pretty simple - I have done 5 Sterns this way.

Why do tournament players not like this game?

Ok. I misinterpreted tournament players fear of the game for dislike. I love the game but am not a tournament player.

Thanks for the explanation. Makes sense.

And replace those cold white insert LEDs with warm. No idea why Stern went with cold for this title. Nothing in the TWD world is cold white. It looks much better.

I love the game but stopped watching the show after season 7. Too much rinse and repeat. I liked (to hate) Negan at first but I agree that they kept him around too long as a protagonist. I do like him whistling during the game if my ball rests in the shooter lane too long - it is like a call to arms.

How can Siege be so hard to get to? I have only done it 3 times in all the years I have owned it and even then it is only because I make it the primary objective of the games. Tough, brutal, anger inducing game. I love it!