So, since I ordered a BSE UM I can expect to wait until ALL the HW and UM CEs are made? If I understood that right then we won't see any BSEs till at LEAST next year.

Yep, we planned to get our BSE sometime this summer. It is sounding more like NEXT summer now. Means we'll have the space for ONE MORE machine till then.

What are you talking about here? I picked the BSE because of the dark powder coating, not the electric blue. How could anyone even possibly know that since not a single BSE has been made?

I was very surprised to get an email from our distributer today regarding our BSE UM. Apparently Spooky is finishing up the last few CE builds and will be moving on to BSE this month. The most recent UM I have seen mentioned here in the forum was 258, have they managed to make 165 more games in the last month? I ask because we are number 423, so I was surprised they had jumped that far. I thought I was being hopeful to get it early in 2023.

Hopefully not just an error I want to see UM next to R&M in my living room

I got the email to select butter and confirm shipping options a week ago and we are BSE number 423. According to our distributer we should expect the final bill sometime in early August. Either they have completed way more HW CEs done than it seems, or they are just going to keep rocking and knock out the last few UMs BSE and SEs

This is some amazing new for us since our UM BSE is #423 and the distro just sent me an email and I'm expecting the the final bill any minute.
They said it should be shipping soon.

I am curious what the average wait is between paying the final bill and getting your game (either shipped or in hand). We got the final bill early last week and paid it mid-week and was told at the time our game was "on the line". How long do we have in your best guess? We are getting really excited here

We actually have a BSE, BSE number 423, so if they are making Standards ours might actually be in QA or packing

Hmmm sounds like they skipped well past our BSE, still have not heard anything. I am guessing yours shipped quicker because you got it direct?

Got the shipping notification on our BSE number 423. The notice came roughly 2 weeks after we paid the balance and it looks like it will be here Thursday! Looks like they are getting really close to the end of this run. Hopefully we get the next game announcement soon.

Nice! BSE423 is on a truck from Benton to Colorado. If the shippers estimate is right we will have a REALLY good Halloween at my house

Agreed, the CE Powder coat is really nice. I am expecting my BSE Monday so getting really excited. I saw in your picture that they INCLUDED the felt leg spacers. I wish those had come with my Rick and Morty, before we realized the issue missing these would cause the legs dug into the cabinet and stretched the artwork pretty badly . Make sure you use those felt spacers and enjoy your game! If it is anything like R&M I also highly recommend rattle tape for the glass.

Well, my UM is here, in Denver sitting in a trailer somewhere but T-Force never called or anything despite it being the scheduled delivery date. Called the CS and they told me they were a WEEK behind. I obviously got upset and told them that was not my problem and an unacceptable answer. After a few minutes they finally agreed to an "appointment" between 9am and 5pm Wednesday . I expected (probably stupidly) that a freight shipment that cost over $500 would mean some attempt to keep it on time, not to mention the longer it is their "care" the more chances of it being damaged.

Anyway, enough venting. Did any of you have similar issues? I told them the driver will not be able to leave until it is completely unboxed and inspected since they missed their delivery promise.

New lesson learned: shipping sucks if it is through UPS, FedEx, or a freight company.

Beware, that the "estimated delivery date" (even on a $500+ shipment) is probably not when your game will show up, sadly. We had to argue and fight with the shipper, it arrived in Denver late last week, and delivery was scheduled for the 31st (was gonna be a good Halloween) but when I finally got a person on the phone they said that despite it being here in town they were a full week (at least) behind. I did manage to get a delivery appointment for tomorrow . My fingers are crossed they actually show up.

I was just surprised such and expensive shipment would be treated like that. If someone paid me that much to deliver something I'd have it there within a day.

This. This is what I expected, I mean why would you want to hold onto something so expensive and maintain that liability. I'm giving it a thorough inspection before I sign, that's for sure. Hopefully tomorrow is NPBD

They showed up! Just waiting on my assistant to come help me get it unboxed and inside. UM423 BSE is finally home!

I am very VERY happy with our UM, it is a beautiful machine and the play is phenomenal. I have a roll of Rattle Tape I plan to put on the glass (Like I've already done for Rick and Morty) which should help with some of that rattle. I also turned down the amp to just a notch above minimum (also like R&M) and so the sub it's rattling much. BUT, that shaker, damn that shaker is practically moving the machine and certainly shaking my entire condo. I went through all the settings and did a search in the forum but found no mention of the shaker.

Is there a way to dial down the intensity of the shaker in UM? I don't want to disconnect it, it has some cool effects, especially when fighting Kaiju, but at some point my neighbors or my fiance are gonna get annoyed at all the shaking.

I guess the Standards don't come with a shaker at all. But, I am curious how much it affects gameplay, there is a nice shake when the lifters are going off and when Kaiju are approaching. I've muted the knockers on my other games with a felt pad, but the shaker doesn't work the same way. I am guessing that there should be options in future code to turn down the power of things like the shaker and flippers. Those options are in Rick and Morty so hopefully they are planned.

Thank you! This is the answer I was looking for, keeping some rumble but lowering it enough for non-concrete floors.

This worked like a charm, I put rattle tape on the glass and set the weights to be opposite each other. Now the shaker is more like a phone vibrating and less like a jack hammer trying to get through my floor. This is such a beautiful and fun game, I don't for a second understand the hate it has gotten. No regrets and its bolted to the floor next to Rick and Morty now.

Thanks lpeters82 for the inspection and setup you did at the factory, the game plays perfectly.

I've now had the ball disappear into the playfield a few times. Each time I've had to pull the PF all the way up and scoop the ball from inside the cutouts for the uppers. Without pulling apart to top layers I can only see the plastic guard from beneath (highlighted in pics). Is there an adjustment or something I should add to avoid this. It's not at all convenient to retrieve the ball.

BTW, when I lift PF the ball is sitting right by that plastic by the middle ramp. Could be a gap I cannot see without disassembly.

Thanks in advance.

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My BSE 423 didn't come with any kind if badge. I bought the after market badge off pinside, but no signed badge at all. Guess I need to reach out too.

It happened again . I'm having a blast with UM but every day or so a ball goes up the center ramp and disappears completely. Every time I can pull PF to service position and it's inside the cutouts for the uppers. I have to be missing a gap back there but can't find any info on this or HW threads.

Below is a pick with the ball still trapped in there. Please if anyone has any ideas I'd be game to try it our. I'll reach out to Spooky next week, but this seems like a minor adjustment to me.

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I'm about to be out of town for a week so can't do a tear down today. When I get back I'll take the top apart cause I want to check the diverter too (getting lots of rejects from HQ). Only had it a few days and this has happened 4 times. Really breaks the flow when you have to pull the PF up.

About the disassembly of the uppers. Are there only two bolts holding the cover on the top PF? When I first lost a ball I tried removing those but the cover didn't budge. Could just be a tight fit.

Anyway, thanks RM and I'll get it taken apart next week.

Over in the Halloween threat they someone announced they are making a station wagon mod that looks pretty cool.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/halloween-owners-threadhes-coming-home/page/220#post-7227837

What I was thinking for UM was a similar mod but with the Science Patrol Car. The cars are easily obtainable, but I would like to have one that lights up like the one they did for HW. If anyone wants to give it a go there are hotwheel sized SP cars on Amazon and elsewhere online.

https://www.amazon.com/Bandai-Tamashii-Collection-Exclusive-Ultraman/dp/B01HZ6Q7M6/ref=sr_1_1

There is a model version that is very fragile, I bought the ship model since my BSE doesn't have one and even glued together (technically a "snap" model) it doesn't seem sturdy enough to handle even a single errant ball hit so I don't think I will put it in. We will need to find a "hotwheel" style of the Science Patrol vehicle.

I have been thinking a lot about a COOL topper too, and have fallen into a DEEP hole of Kaiju Monster models and demolished buildings for "train sets". I want to have at least Red King, Jira and UM along with some burning buildings and maybe a couple power lines sparking

They make a really detailed and cool looking Beta Capsule, it only costs around $350. https://www.amazon.com/Factory-Entertainment-Ultraman-Capsule-Replica/dp/B092VKHZX7/ref=sr_1_2

I am leaning more to a detailed diarama with UM fighting some Kaiju. I can use "fire LEDs" and "lightning LEDs" to have sparks and fire, and there are LOTs of videos on YT about building realistic minitatures (best ones from WETA who made LOTR) and it seems that it should be relatively easy (but time consuming) to make something better than what came on the CE.

LoL, I will NOT be making more than one, but will gladly share the process and where I get the stuff from

I expect something like I am envisioning will take MANY hours to build and get working right with lights etc. If someone really wants ME to make one it'll be closer to $10k

RM was 95% right. When you hit that "super skill shot" (the science patol lock to the right) immediately upon launch it will catch that ball (trap it) and give you another ball just like RM said. However, if you hit that shot AFTER you've hit any other target it is not an automatic lock. If you hit that science patrol lock AFTER hitting any other targets (like after skill shot or skill shot failed displays) then you have to hit the back of that lock THREE times to get a lock. So, your game is working as expected! Enjoy!

It very likely IS 4 or 5 times. I was just trying make it clear that it would not immediately lock unless it was a "skill shot" done before hitting any other target and beyond that it will only register this hits until whatever number is satisfied before locking it.

100% agree, we need some more detailed rules, BUT, I am also hoping for some major updates and potential rules changing so we shouldn't put TOO much effort into it yet, IMHO.

I am hating the severe lack of Ultraman mods, there are like 5 pages of them for Godzilla (still a Kaiju thing) but obviously there are only 500 UMs out there in the entire world. I'd love to get something like the balcony mods decals they made for HW. I can see no reason the headquarters can't replace those clear plastic and metal bits up there.

Where did you get those Kaiju you have in your game? I've only been able to find Red King and UM figures and a few Baltan ones but there are enough of those in the game. The problem I've run into looking for these is they are either SUPER cheap and small, or the exact opposite VERY detailed and like $400. I did get the ship used in the LE games as well as a plastic model of the Science Patrol car. Thanks in advance for any info!

Nice! This is the answer. I already ordered a Red King and Belumar.

I clear coated and installed the Science Patrol car and ship on the two upper playfields. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out and those two places on the PF haven't seen any stray balls so I think they will be safe.

I also got the Red King and he does fit on the clear plastic above the drops. But, I think it's too much obstruction of the ramps behind it. Maybe I'll save him for a topper.

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I sure hope so!

I am just planning to use the one I use in R&M. As long as you wipe the data before you transfer the update files it should be fine.

See the LONG history of Rick and Morty pinball. The code has developed extensively since the game started shipping and we got a major feature update less than six months ago while UM/HW were being made. Updates still trickle out for bug fixes and suprise updates. But they didn't slow the updates until it was a complete game.

They have more than once promised an EXTRA full year if updates to UM/HW with HW getting a major update just the other day. UM updates are coming soon, don't give up, Spooky cares about this game at LEAST as much as you and I.

I have noticed that each subsequent time I get to the Spacium store it is choppier and slower than the previous time. I haven't gotten into the store more than three times in a single game but it definitely gets choppier each time. I think I need to get better at finishing modes to have it crash.

But, more than that I want that Diverter Adjustment option in the menu, I think that might be the biggest improvement on the HWN update that recently came out.

Was playing our UM BSE tonight and noticed there was no light coming from the edge of the middle playfield. As you can see below, the lights are off after the first few.

Is there a fix for this? Or, am I gonna have to replace that light strip. Has anyone put plastic/rubber diffusers on these strips? Not because of their brightness, that's good, but because it seems like a single ball hit could short out a whole strip.

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What did you use to cut that smoothly? Just razor blade and sand paper or something? Did you add some Lexan above the scoop too?

I was thinking something along these lines: Muzata 3PACK 33FT/10M Continuous Milky White LED Cover Tape Light https://a.co/d/e4HPYnf

But, sizing is confusing to say the least.

So true it hurts

Spooky did give us some hope, but only in the HW thread this morning. LPeters posted in the HW thread that they are working hard on HW and UM every day and we can expect a LOT of new things with impending updates. Like more wizard modes and better theme integration as well as LOTS of new callouts and clips for UM at least. However, he did NOT give any kind of estimate on release which I admit is very frustrating. I love this game but want to love it more with better code.

A few weeks ago I noticed the led strip around the middle PF on my relatively new UM BSE was only lighting the first few and the rest was blank. Explained why the front of the PF was so dark.

Anyway, I requested a replacement from Spooky (along with the official badge) which they promptly complied. I had to make some kind of an effort to avoid the same fault (apparently a short from a stray ball nailing one of the zip ties).

I bought the plastic shielding linked below and after I wired and stuck the new strip, before I put the zip ties on, I put a long piece of the shield on. It would probably handle the curve better with some light heat, but I am happy with the results and am not so worried about it breaking again.

Here's the part on Amazon: Muzata 33FT/10M Continuous Transparent LED Cover Lens Clear Tape Light Seamless Plastic for U1SW U Shape Aluminum Led Channel LC03 TT (ONLY Cover No Aluminum LED Channel Included) https://a.co/d/6M2qLq0

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Maybe I'm just not good enough to see the issues in this game. I just had my best yet game and it was my third time getting to the ZetonMB (I think that's the name). Scored north of 37mil and it was a blast. Getting the ball across the bridge when in MB is SO satisfying.

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I also put some kaiju, an Ultraman and a destroyed building on top.
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Nice, you gonna be selling nice prints of these? Or should I take it to the FedEx store?

This is my plan too.

Everyone in my house knows every time I get across that bridge. I think it might be my favorite most satisfying shot in pinball. I start Baltan way more than I should just to get the chance to go across.

LoL, that makes no sense, UM is a blast to play, I turn that one on more than any of my other games these days.

I'm curious about mode progress saving too. Also, will there be more menu items, like diverter adjustments and other missing menu options? How about other high score possibilities? Super excited to put this onto my UM.

Just before the new update comes out I got my Vimtoman(spelling?) mod kit yesterday. It's a major ascetic and game play improvement.

I love the addition of the bridge! Otherwise, the Scoop mod is an absolute must have (had my best game ever after installation today, 43mill). Finally it included a newly engineered Beta Capsule that has no hot glue and the bulb is now accessible.

Here are some pics of the amazing new mods:

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This is a sight for sore eyes

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I think I was having that same problem. But I didn't go that high, I bumped it and all is well.

I'm loving the update, especially finally being able to dial in that diverter at the top of the middle ramp. Anyone have suggestions on this setting? It's close on mine, but not perfect. I'm a little confused whether left means "ball going left" or "diverter on left side".

I also lowered the trough power a bit because I was having balls come out and pop right back into the trough. Lowering it like 5 notches helped there.

This and a LOT more are optional in the menu.

Yes! We need better mods for this phenomenal game. Add me to your list, I'll buy a set.

Yes, take out the balls and put on your art blade protectors then lift the PF into service position. On the middle of the bottom is a big circuit board (the Pinataur board). Right in the middle of that board are two connectors called LED 1 and LED 2. Check those connections and if possible follow the wires to the connectors (buried in the gap for the uppers) and make sure they are plugged in too. If they are all good them reach out to Spooky for a new one.

You are not alone, I absolutely LOVE my UM, I play that game as much or more than my others and LOVE the unique layout. Also, there is NO shot in any game more satisfying than getting across the "bridge" from the third PF. You're in for a treat, enjoy the game!

Yes! And you are absolutely right! That shot is amazing and I TRY for it every ball - sadly I only succeed like a third of the time. After the drops are down I am usually going for Jiras so I can do that bridge shot.

Well, I got the ramp sticker mods from RussMyers and today I took a little time to give UM a cleaning and install the ramp mods.

As you can see from the attached pictures they look awesome and were super easy to install. Just cleaned the ramps and then peeled the stickers and installed. The choice of backing was well done, I was able to easily adjust them and got this result.

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That does NOT sound right, I play several games of UM almost every day and have never had that happen...EVER! I would guess that you have something wrong under the PF. Maybe a loose connection, or bad solder joint. I would highly recommend reaching out to support[at]spooky and they will help you properly and quickly diagnose the problem.

Since you are in a VERY different timezone you could try putting the PF into service position and do a thorough inspection, make sure all the connectors are snug and that there are no issues with other connections. But, it could be a faulty part that Spooky will replace without issue, so I would at least email them.

I always do a "quick format" in NTFS format before updating UM and the update happens really fast, like less than 10 minutes.

Mine is out for delivery today and I can't wait to install it in my UM

Yesterday the post office delivered me the best mod I've ever bought. Even more surprising is it was made for our poorly represented Ultraman games by Vintomods (hopefully I spelled that right).

As you can see in the pictures the mod covers the previously blank and boring crossover with a cool alternative. The lights are customizable, and the screen plays UM stats and other cool videos. There is an SD card so you can even make your own videos to have playing. On top of all this, it was one of the simplest installations I've ever done, maybe 10 minutes and 3 of those I was picking music to listen to.

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Have you watched any of Bug's walkthrough's on YouTube. There are several of these videos where he plays through the various modes and explains scoring etc. I have learned a LOT of new approaches and techniques from these videos, highly recommended. He does similar videos for Scooby once you get yours.

I highly recommend adjusting the weights inside the shaker. My preference is to balance them so the shake is more of a vibrate. On default fully weighted to one side, it's way too much. A simple fix to make the game a lot more enjoyable.

The powder coat on the BSE is why I have a BSE UM, I thought the sparkling black was amazing (especially if it's near a window you can open up).

Did Bug say in the stream when we'll get the new UM update? I only made it to the drawing and he hadn't gotten anywhere near the wizard mode. I hope it's awesome, even though I may never get there myself. If I heard Bug right he said you have to COMPLETE all nine other modes to get the wizard.

Not yet, but apparently when they do it'll be on Bug's stream channel, which is separate from Spooky.

https://youtube.com/@BugsScreamNStream?si=5PqsrtW9XP6OK3_s

Updated the game and immediately tried out Ultra 7 mode. I wish there was a challenge mode with high scoring because I got 288 million (230 over my current HS). That new mode has INSANE scoring, can't wait to get there for real.

So, when I had to fix the overlay (that sheet that covers the screens) on my Rick and Morty I noticed that too. So, on top of adjusting the settings on the display, I added a few washers to the top bolts on the screen. That has given that screen a slight angle (I'm not super tall) but it helped. I plan to do the same with Scooby and UM because I think it made a big difference.

I think I remember there being a discussion on the R&M thread about making an angled 3d printed bracket, that might help with a gap if a taller person needs a steeper angle.

Yes! We need challenge modes for the wizards and lots of "vanity" high scores. Spooky needs to take a clue from their most fully programmed game - R&M - and give us ALL the HS opportunities.

I've this happen on UM too, I think that the cabinet is just a little askew. I think the fix is to move the front legs over left just a LITTLE, like a millimeter without moving the back legs and it should square the cab. I'd make the adjustments in very small incriments and take the glass out first.

My servos on two Baltans gave out about a month ago. The other day I finally took the time to fix them. It was much easier than I thought it would be.

Couple tips I wish I'd had before though:
The buildings are what actually holds the servo in. So when you first replace it they will seem loose until you put the building back.
Secondly, only take off the middle screw (the one that holds Baltan to the servo). Reuse the connector, the stand everything except the tiny black screw in the bag with the replacement. I attempted to remount the Baltan onto the new black stand pieces and it was a major PITA, do not recommend.