Yep - the Stern distributer here in Australia basically said it was end of the licence and they won't be manufacturing any more (at least not for the foreseeable future). So I literally nabbed the last premium order available - it arrived with the distro on Monday, so it gets here next week! Woo hoo!

After months of waiting after my initial order I've finally got one of the very last IM Premiums to come off the Stern line! Boy it took a while to get here (Australia) - with our dock workers strike not helping matters (don't they know some of those containers have pins in them)???

I'm so happy with this game it's incredible - the shots/layout feel fresh and it flows superbly - I haven't played enough yet to comment on the rules/code but it certainly seems pretty solid. To top it all off the artwork is stunning. I now have 3 ZY machines (IM, DP, GB) sat next to each other and they are all glorious works of art.

Also, I just have to mention how much difference it makes installing a Pinwoofer in this one. I thought the factory/stock sound was surprisingly disappointing for a music based pin, but wowsers - it absolutely rocks now (although my neighbours may disagree).

Seriously if you are a real fan of this machine I'd consider the upgrade - Dan at Pinwoofer is so awesome to deal with, the installation is super easy and while shipping is a real bitch to this part of the world, you can just order the amp kit and source speakers locally like I did.

Up the Irons!

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One thing I'd like to know about Pinstadiums - I don't know if its from the camera/lens, but every time I see a pin with them installed, I find those reflections across the ramps and wireforms pretty distracting. Is it really like that, and does it bother anyone during play?

I second this - the Stern topper is (now) ridiculously expensive and pretty underwhelming, whereas Tiltopper's one looks fantastic and it's much cheaper.

I also had a diverter down switch problem, but it was easy to see something wasn't quite right because as soon as I booted up the game, the diverter would raise, lower, then raise again etc... and wouldn't stay down. Is that happening with yours, or does it stay in the down position?

On mine it was the switch behind the diverter (actually behind the backboard). When it lowers, it presses a leaf switch in to tell the system its in the down position, and that leaf switch had been moved ever so slightly so that it was no longer activating. I just had to reposition it and also (carefully) bend the switch arm a little.

Now I have another problem - when I hit the orb dead on, I don't get a hit registered it has to be a side, or glancing hit. Probably just needs some adjustment to that contraption underneath. Are there any recommendations on adjusting the captive balls? They seem to be a bit hit and miss at the best of times.

100% agree with this - out of all the machines I have, Maiden is definitely the one you can just hit and have fun and still have a decent game, progress through some modes and get a respectable score. But you can also employ a few strategies and improve your game with some structure if you so wish. It's absolutely brilliant for that...

)

Awesome! I think I'm getting very close to Number of the Beast. I finally cracked the 1 billion barrier this week with an absolutely phenomenal Cyborg Multiball.

This game man.... just fantastic!

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Is there a quick fix for the ball getting hung up on the back of the centre ramp when going around the loop. Happens when the ramp is up, and the back of the ramp stops the ball. A ball search does eventually release it, but there must be a solution for this (I can't seem to find one on here - but maybe I'm just useless at searching)?

I had one issue with mine after delivery on these things - the orb was registering on every flipper button press. It was a simple leaf adjustment, but I must admit, as soon as I raised the playfield and saw those (quite frankly, over-elaborate) mechs I did think to myself: "blimey - who thought that was a good idea"?

Make no mistake I love this game - it's still Elwin's masterpiece and it's utterly brilliant, but these captive ball mechs... hmmmm...

I still have some issues with the both captive balls occasionally not registering even with a straight, dead-on shot - but now I've basically accepted it part of the game.

Such a shame... I think this is one of the best machines ever made, but I have to say if mine was out of action for 5 months, I'd be p*ssed to the point of getting rid of it too.

All for the sake of a new board - that's incredibly poor service. Unfortunately this seems to be the way its going at the moment - all the emphasis seems to be getting thousands of orders for new machines, never mind when they can actually get made or availability of spare parts etc.

Darn - turned on my IM last night to find that the all of the lower/middle playfield lights are out. GI is ok, and everything else seems to work fine. I had a quick look at the manual, and I believe all those leds are controlled by chained extensions from node board 8 CN3 - I had a look, re-seated the CN3 connector as well as the connecter on each led board (8b,8c, 8d, 8e I think). Still no joy - anyone have any ideas?

Ah yes good point, that actually happened recently on my GB and caused the flippers to die.

My distro has got back to me (they are fantastic), and said to eliminate each led board, as one bad board can cause the whole chain to fail. Go all the way back to the node board then try swapping that. I'll check out that CN3 connector plug too as you suggest - thanks.

So I'm still at somewhat of an impasse on this. So far I've tried the following:

- disconnecting each led node extension board along the chain from node board 8 (8e first, then d, c, and b) and powering up
- using the chaining cable from 8b to 8c and replacing 8 to 8b with that one (lights on node 8b did not come on), so I can eliminate problems with the CN3 connector plug on the cable
- swapping node board 8 and 9 and re-setting dip switches

Still no lower playfield lights!

Am I looking at maybe a bad LED board (I'm only guessing 8b because that's the first one in the chain from node board 8, and the only one that can't be eliminated from the board tests)?

Tested continuity across the connector pins from node board 8 to 8b - all good.

Same test on the input connector to output connector on 8b itself, 2 pins are not registering anything. So looks like a problem on 8b?

Edit: Hmmm apparently not, my distro said those 2 pins are for clock/serial data so won't show continuity anyway. Back to the search...

It's normal for your scores to take a bit of a hit when you get to know the game and begin strategising. You'll go for riskier shots in order to get the pay-off, and you'll also do things like delay starting multiballs for maximum effect etc. You almost remove a lot of the luck from the equation, but you need the skill to pull off the strategy - which probably comes a bit later (or not at all in my case LOL).

Nope I'm afraid not - I'm guessing mine is a fault with node 8b too, since everything along that chain is out, and everything else checks out ok (cables, connections, node board 8 etc).

I can see why the pro is so appealing, the extras on the premium for IM seem a little superfluous. However, I really love the secret tomb entrance and the sarcophagus lock it's very cool (although it's not without its problems).

Whenever someone new plays the game, spells mummy then shoots the left ramp - it's priceless watching them look for the ball.... "where the hell has it gone"? and then.... "oooooohhh"...

So my IM has been compromised now for over a month (all the LEDs are out on the lower half of the playfield), but I really have to give crazy props to the distro here, who straight after the Xmas break have been constantly troubleshooting with me up until today - literally responding to my emails within 10-20 minutes, and have now sent a new led board overnight express.

People may knock Stern for the customer service, but they have an absolutely stellar distributor here in Sydney (Amusement Machine Distributors). They even always help me with the same level of service for machines I haven't purchased through them. Best guys ever.

Also, IM = best machine ever.

Mine has just started doing this too after a year of working flawlessy. I reckon this whole mechanism of hitting the loop correctly hinges on very exact alignment of the ball guide, plunger, angle of the machine and so forth. Any slight change to any of those factors can cause this to go out of whack. I'm sure I can get it to work again, but yeah it's a little annoying.

Yep it worked 100% on a full manual plunge. I'll check the edge of the ball guide first - and then begin the other re-adjustments if there's still a problem. It's a minor annoyance - agree it's more of a "maintenance" issue on this pin..

Not getting any errors at all - in fact the game is playable just without lower playfield LEDs - basically any of the LEDs coming off boards 8b, c and d. I tried disconnecting each board starting with d backwards, but nothing ever came on from board b (which lights the modes). I also tried disconnecting the lamp on 8b (which lights the "shoot again" insert). Still no joy. I tested the cables, connectors and the continuity from node board to 8b - all seem ok. I swapped around node boards 8 and 9 just to be sure it wasn't the node board but same result. I can't really think of anything else besides a bad LED on the 8b board? I have a replacement coming soon - will see if that fixes it.

Yes you are correct, sorry if I wasn't clear but we came to the same conclusion and we ruled that out by the swap. However, there are a series of LED sub-boards chained off the node board (8) that control all the lower playfield LEDs (8b, 8c, 8d). So the node board is fine yep I agree, but given that 8b never has anything lit no matter what i disconnect (if i disconnect 8c and 8d further down the chain, 8b still doesn't light up) - we suspect 8b has a problem and affects 8c and 8d further down the chain.

I hope that makes sense I get confused just typing it.

Yeah seems to be just all the inserts - GI is working ok. I realise my post was misleading because I did say ALL the LEDs.

The pop bumper LEDs seem to be out too though, not sure which circuit they are part of, but I think they are coming off node 8d? I can't remember, I could be wrong...

Yep, you are quite right. However I assume I have eliminated these as problems if I disconnected 8e from the chain and the remaining connected LEDs were still out?

Anyway lets see what happens with the new 8b board, as I should have it in the next couple of days - and need to give myself a little break from connecting/disconnecting things.

Cool - so received the new 8b board (thank you AMD you guys rock) - installed and fixed the issue.

Kind of a bummer in design that one bad LED can take that whole chain down, but hey it's fixed so I'm happy.

Thanks for the help and suggestions too, it's very much appreciated.

Your mileage will definitely vary with regards to pro or premium, and I'd say IM falls into the category where a pro is fine, and premium simply comes down to how much you like those features. Personally I love the Egyptian theme so I really wanted the tomb/sarcophagus/underworld and the Egyptian themed artwork - for me it was worth the extra $. If you aren't fussed about that, I don't think you'd miss it, it doesn't change the gameplay substantially. I mentioned it somewhere else in this topic, but anyone who comes here and plays it and hits the secret entrance loves the way that works - such a small feature but so cool.

Compared to something like Avengers IQ, where you have an extra (and very cool) inverted wireform ramp and a portal lock/subway system - I'd say that's a more significant difference.

I was always very happy with DP as a pro - and actually, I really wish I'd kept it now. In trying to upgrade to a premium I may have forfeited owning one of my favorite ever games (Stern and their delays/cancellations grrrr), and for the length of time it's now been gone from my games room, I don't think the premium differences are worth the wait anyway. Bah.

Sounds like the switch might need a small adjustment - bit of a pain with it being in the sarcophagus. I haven't had to take that apart yet, but I assume its one of the more complicated bits.

I still have 2 minor issues I haven't resolved yet:

1) Balls not registering in the underworld - I shoot under the ramp and the game just pauses, eventually goes into ball search and then kicks the ball back out. The switch arm under there is tiny, I'm sure the ball just doesn't press it all the way down sometimes depending on how it rolls into the scoop/saucer.

2) Ball keeps getting stuck in the upper loop behind the ramp when it is open.

Minor problems aside - this game is just incredible! Those of you getting this delivered, you are really in for a treat.

I've had a few billion point+ games, and each time I had an absolutely killer Cyborg multiball - you'll know because you will reach cyborg level 2 and above.

It helps when you are not just smacking the ball around randomly - during Cyborg MB, just like getting to the MB itself - you have to shoot pops, ramps, targets, orbits and spinners to qualify for jackpots at the captive ball. Look at the flashing triangles to see which ones you are missing for the jackpots (it's usually ramps last for me) and try to concentrate on those.

That's so far beyond my skill level it's hilarious. Getting there just once for me is a very significant moment. I guess I won't be getting to 2 billion any time soon!

People reckon the pro is fine, but I absolutely love the premium features - the artwork, plus secret entrance/sarcophagus lock is extremely cool if you like the egyptian theme (as I do), and the lifting ramp/underworld is great too!

Just don't make the mistake of selling your pro too soon that's all. I did the same thing with Deadpool, and sold my pro late last year thinking I'd just have my premium in a couple of months - no problemo. Well, we all know how Stern manufacturing schedules have gone recently... Now I'm wondering if I'll ever get the premium I ordered, and I'm seriously regretting selling my pro.

That's a very interesting change... The dead end shot has never bothered me and there's plenty of flow on this pin - but I'd be really keen to see that in action. Be sure to post the finished product!

Just wonder how it will affect the gameplay when you hit a shot that usually would have hit the standup, but it's not powerful enough to get up the ramp. I guess it will depend on the opto placement. Also the effect of being able to loop shot that target continuously, which I don't think the code would be expecting. Like I said - interesting!

The thing is, the layout of the IMDN plunge does count on all the stars being aligned - sufficient power, playfield angle, shooter lane alignment etc... Its a bit of a pain for most of us to get dialled in correctly and there are so many variables that can affect the path of the ball that maybe a lot of us don't realise. It only takes a teeny-tiny change in one of the variables to make this inoperable. Mine worked fantastic 100% out of the box, but over time, the rails got burred a little, maybe the shooter lost an inkling of power, or the shooter rod shifted, the playfield got a speck or two of dirt etc... and there you go it stopped making the loop most of the time.

But that's all part of my maintenance now - clean playfield, check shooter rod/tip, check launch lane for any misalignment/or rough edges etc... This game is a work of genius it really is, but I do find some of the mechanics of it require more attention than other pins to have it running perfectly over longer time periods (captive ball mechs for example). Still perfectly playable when its a little out of whack - but of course you always want every switch/shot to work 10 times out of 10.

That's either very good sarcasm or you thought maybe it was 3 billion...?

Ha ha that's great stuff! I don't know what my lowest score ever is, but it can't be far off that - I think we've all had those games where its plunge -> drain -> ball saved -> drain x3.

I've had JP (for a short while), Avengers and IMDN. The only one I still have (or want) is Maiden - they are all amazing games, they really are, but Maiden for me is still clearly the best. What makes this even more telling is that its the only one I didn't buy for the theme - I hired it for a month and ordered one immediately afterwards. The gameplay, rules and layout are *this* close to perfect.

I would also say that if I have people over, this will usually be the last machine people try - but by the end of the night it's the game most people want to play.

I haven't played Godzilla - i'm actually trying not to because I'm sure I will want to buy one and I have too many other machines coming. But - I am so happy to own IMDN, and I truly think its one of the all time greats.

Yep, I have - Pinwoofer plus Kicker 5.25" in the backbox and Kicker Sub in the cabinet. Sounds amazing!

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In my very limited experience, soldering is only tricky when you have lousy equipment. If you have a good iron, decent solder and a bit of patience anything is within reach of the average hobbyist (ie, me).

Has anyone powder coated their premium? Was considering giving mine some special treatment and giving it a nice colour makeover. I did look at Marco's airbrush kits, and wowsers the IMDN one is so great, but it's very pricey.

But looking at the colour scheme of the premium, what would be a nice match?

This - it's happened to mine before, and it was the *tiniest* little raised burr on the end of the ball guide/shooter lane, it can cause really inconsistent plunges. Filed it off and has been good for months (until it isn't again LOL). It's just one of those things about this game unfortunately - extra bit of maintenance (along with all the other shooter lane checks/adjustments listed).

Such a phenomenal game... It'll go down as one of the all time greats, well done Stern.

I've always had a premium - I'm kind of curious to play a pro just to see if there is any noticeable difference. The extra features probably don't add too much gameplay wise, but I really love the secret entrance/sarcophagus mech it really adds to the overall theme of the game - so does the underworld. Seems to be a lot of discussion around maintenance of these mechs though - although so far I've never encountered any issues with mine. Perhaps my opinion will change if I ever have to take the sarcophagus apart.

Maiden CAN be brutal on the outlanes especially, but it's also a machine where you really can nail the shots with practice. I think out of all my machines, I'd put Maiden in the middle somewhere in terms of difficulty, but I think I can get to the mini-wizard and achieve pretty reasonable scores more consistently than all my others now.

Edit: I've still NEVER got to Number of the Beast though (very close many times)! As for RTTH, forget it - it's a dream...

It's personal preference obviously, and steel ramps always look nice/timeless/classic I agree 100%.

However, in some cases the decals are actually pretty great and just add that little bit more to the world. In the case of the IMDN ones, I reckon they look awesome.

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Yeah I reckon this game is all about the ramps and the spinner for modes, eg, for mummy MB just concentrate on hitting spinner and captive ball and it's a lot easier. The ramps are pretty heavily used in all the modes, especially Icarus if you can combo the ramps in that mode the score skyrockets.

As others have said simple progression on this game usually nets better scores - if you can get to Cyborg Multiball that can really blow the score up, especially if you can get to level 2/3. I'm pretty sure I've had 500-600 million from that multiball alone before, by getting to cyborg level 2.

Nice - where did you get the LE translite from? I don't think I'd swap out for my premium one, but I'd definitely like to put one in an LED frame.

100% get a premium - the artwork is amazing especially if you are into the Egyptian theme. Plus, people say the sarcophagus ball lock and underworld aren't worth it, but the first time (and every time after) you hear the secret entrance opening (and feel it through the shaker), then smack the ball up the left ramp and have it disappear behind the backboard and reappear/get loaded into the ball lock - believe me it's well worth it. Just ties in with the premium art and the theme brilliantly.

I have the backboard on the way (for a premium) but I do have a LED strip ordered just in case the back of the game looks a bit dark. However, I'm also curious as to where the best place would be to mount the LED strip. Along the backboard, or at the top of the cabinet above it (which would be a bit of a problem with cabling attached to any GI lighting when you want to take the playfield out)? Has anyone added an led strip and can suggest a good mount spot?

Gotta say Lior's backboard complements the apron beautifully. I'm almost done with my Maiden now all that's left is to powdercoat it when I get my new side rails. Such an awesome game.

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Thanks fellas - we all have different tastes obviously ha ha...

However I will say the picture angle probably makes it look like the apron is huge/dominant, it's actually not.

I did add a strip of warm white LED from comet above the backboard - it does improve the lighting at the back from losing the GI, and you can also get an inline dimmer so the effect isn't so in-your-face.

Yeah what can I say I really dig the Egyptian theme, so it's great from my perspective. Also the reason I prefer the premium cabinet over the LE.

Ooooh thanks - they would definitely gel a lot better I might give those a try.

I don't have a pic, but I mounted it underneath the plastic glass channel at the back. That does mean the wire is attached to the cabinet from the playfield - however, it isn't really a problem, and I can attest to that because I'm currently fixing an issue with Maiden (right flipper is completely out) and I've had the playfield in/out multiple times and the wire isn't getting snagged or caught and has plenty of slack.

One extra thing - the glass channel is slightly concave underneath, so it hides the strip quite nicely from view if you attach it in the middle of the channel (ie, inside the curve).

Ha ha I know right??? I missed out on the first run...

Won't miss it again.

Im currently having a problem with my lower right flipper not firing too - the coil itself fires in coil test, and its the cabinet switch that's not being activated. Have checked all the continuity from switch to node board, have checked the switch itself is closing, and all the pins on CN9 on the node board are good. The flippers EOS switch activates if i manually move the flipper, and I have also swapped node board 8 & 9 which didn't do anything - bit of a loss as to what this could be now. I'll have a tech here on Thursday but wonder if anyone had any other ideas on what to check?

Board switch takes 5-10 mins its very simple - just remember where each cable plugs in (its pretty obvious), and change the dip switches when you swap them over.

As others said, it's been discussed a few times recently - but if you lean heavily into the whole egyptian theme like I do (love it), definitely go for the premium. Not only for the amazing cab/translite art, but the extra mechs are very "tomb-y".

Yeah personally I think the warm white makes it look a lot better - I got mine from Comet who also have a dimmer you can plug in inline. Very handy/useful to get the exact effect you want.

Agreed - actually I should give thanks to RVH who suggested the tilt graphics heiroglyphics blades - because they look far better in my machine than the official Stern ones did.

I know not everyone is a fan of what i've done - but I really wanted to go full-on Powerslave on my machine (sorry, but I just love the whole mummy + Egyptian theme). To that end, I've installed Tiltoppers premium topper, Lior's apron and backboard, the heiroglyphic art blades and flipper toppers, the wizard mods speaker panel + coin door, the right ramp archway and the stairway ramp decals.

I've just acquired some side rails, and I really wanted to finish this machine off with a nice theme-appropriate powdercoat. Just wanted to see if anyone had done some sort of brass or Egyptian Gold powdercoat on a premium and how it turned out?

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Yeah it's by far the hardest shot on the game for me. Hitting the standup isn't so bad, but getting the loop shot is really difficult.

If you're gonna have a beer playing Maiden - you need an appropriate vessel to drink it from!

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Yep this ^^^. It's brilliant!

Yeah the Aces High is a cool topper but really doesn't go with the premium. Tilttoppers one is fantastic.

Daaaaamn... I just did an order from you for several of my games to save on international shipping, and was actually looking for a Maiden premium start button! I should have held off for a bit longer!

I've had mine 3 years and I'd probably consider it the best machine I've owned so far (pretty close with DP, but I just sold that after 4 years). People tend to initially gravitate towards games like Jurassic Park, Deadpool, Rick and Morty etc when they are here, but once they play get around to playing Maiden its usually - "wow this one is reeeeeally good!"

I've had to leave the club unfortunately - sold my premium after 3 years of absolute joy. I've owned Avengers, still have JP and have played GZ a fair bit. This for me is still Elwin's best game and probably still the best Stern I have ever played or owned. To me it's almost the perfect game - amazing shots, great flow across the whole playfield, very engaging code, great for beginners and experts, killer artwork and yes, the music suits it perfectly too.

Really only sold it because I knew it would sell quickly for a good amount. JPs here are selling for peanuts and everything is getting hard to move on due to most people ordering the avalanche of new games. Similarly, I need the cash and space due to new games coming in - but at some point, I am definitely considering an LE later on. I've moved a few games on during my pinball time, but for sure I was pretty sad to see this one go, and I'll be back in this club in future.