If people still want the look of the 3 spinning discs then why not put a clear window and LCD to take the place of the mech? No more worrying about parts breaking and making them level. I guess the only problem with that might be sourcing the right size and resolution screen.

I remember when everyone, including me, went bonkers because JJP had like 3 or 5 JJPOTC games to show at the unveiling. 6 months later and they aren't pumping them out of the factory.

Stern shows up to MGC with 50 NIB games, 30 of which are Iron Maiden.

I think the game would work more reliably with only two flippers.

If I read one more post from us pinball hobbyists discussing the removal of the 'spinner' I'm going to loose it

It would would help them go out of business.

Do you really think they can afford to just throw away $500 per game?

If pinside ran a pinball company it would be tits up in a week.

I got to play JJP POTC at TPF and the machine I played the disc was broken at the time and didn't spin once.

That being said, game was still a blast to play. But I'm not in on one nor ever will be so YMMV

LOL. True very True!!!!!

It's disappointing for sure, but honestly the game play will probably remain about the same. I loved that disk as much as anybody, but it sounds like it was a maintenance nightmare. I'm confident that jjp is reading this thread and will do something to make it better. At the very least, they'll reskin the disk art, and I'm sure the game will still be fun and beautiful. Just be patient and see the final game before deciding. Disappointing, but it obviously had to be addressed.

Thanks for the laugh

Yes, the new artwork on the spinning disk needs to GO! It's ugly and doesn't blend into the playfield artwork at all. JJP shouldn't even make it look like a map. I think a much better option would be to have it look like a hand drawn maelstrom with coloring that matches the rest of the playfield. Let the spinning map live on through the LCD but disassociate it from the spinning disk.

maxresdefault (resized).jpg

For me personally, I do not like the single rotating disc toy at all... I had that on several other machines, never liked it. What was nice about the triple disc design is that it did influence the ball, but not very much.

Also the original was much more beautiful on the game, it added to the aesthetics AND was directly recognisable from the movies. The thing that they put on it now is just ugly. I would rather have had a bunch of inserts instead which would make up the rewards and no disc whatsoever.

I agree, get rid of the single disc and replace with a LCD screen. Or offer the 3 disc mech as an option for those willing to deal with the maintenance and the effect on ball movement.

As an operator, the single disc mech or LCD may be the way to go. But for the collector, give me the 3 disc mech.

Classic bait & switch.
Can't wait for a New York based podcast on this topic.

So the consensus is that JJP needs to add more features to make up for the disc.

Possibly R&D to get our a functional quality game. The cost of our toys is not completely derived in the materials used for production.

If 65 people back out of this game as the poll is showing at say $9.5k a piece on average thats over $600k in lost sales

For that type of potential revenue loss I say get the original mech to work. I know that may be dreaming at this point.

You can't seriously think that this is 'classic' bait and switch especially with a refundable deposit and the very real possibility of losing potential sales.

There is no doubt in my mind that the disc is the primary reason for delayed production. Look at all of the negative feedback in these forums, there is no way anyone in their right mind would take that approach, let alone JJP.

I do feel for Eric and the full JJP Team. This is however my money and I certainly hope that there is something better that comes out of this, I can wait it out.

just my two cents...

Eric, take all of this in and see what can be done. Keep communicating with us in the mean time.

Wow this is truly an unfortunate shit storm,I'm waiting for someone from JJP to interject
and stop the bleeding!

I think its more about keeping the discs in some way. By reducing to just two spinning discs or just waiting a little longer till they come up with something that will last. This is a great feature along with the rocking ship, I have faith that they can get it done. And as Panzer said they stand to loss a lot of cash over this!!! I am 90% sure that the spinning discs is what sold this game!

With this decision being made now, do we have an idea when production will begin? It was supposed to ship first quarter, I’d hope to start seeing them before June.

I am glad I found this hobby several years ago.

Previously, I had never been exposed to an entire industry that defines operational dysfunction while continuing to, apparently, generate profits.

I was on the fence trying to justify paying that much for a game. Think I’m out now.

I can picture Jack saying: "Cut, Print it" after that video take.....

I agree that the LCD screen would be great, restoring the original behavior and centerpiece while solving the noise and reliability issues.

And looking at the mech, it has to cost at least $300 - 400?

So, if they sell 2000 games and say $350 for mech, that is $700k saving.

Replacement mechs cost something so don't forget to deduct from the "savings". Also keep in mind if they only sell five hundred or a thousand machines because of this, they become closer to extinct than ever before.

I still don't understand all the hyperbole of releasing a machine name and design six months or more prior to production.

That's the problem of not being Stern and producing 3 pins in 5 years and trying to get POTC out the door as #4

I was on the fence with the game at this price and figure that American Pinball will be announcing its second game shortly after POTC starts shipping. So this made it easier to say no to buying it at this time, and made it easier to wait for AP's next game too.

The animatronic Jaws shark that swam around the playfield to eat your ball was pretty cool though, you gotta admit.

almost as epic as mick on a stick

As Stern survived their “Dark Night” 6 months ago when pinside’s best and brightest declared them finished, so too will JJP.

I wish them both the best.

This is nothing that another Invisiglass sale can't fix....

I see what you did there

"What size T-shirt do you wear"?

I can't believe there is so much whining over a spinning disc. Think of the rest of the game. The disc is just a bonus feature, and now that it is a single disc, it is STILL COOL. I can't believe people aren't going to buy this game for one little feature. In my opinion, "toys" or mechs are not essential to a solid pinball experience, but functionality is. People should appreciate JJP taking the time to make the most reliable product.

Never thought of it this way. Good point!

For those who didn't preorder, nobody cares about the change.

For those who did preorder, please see any of a million threads about preorders.

Cancelled. You can't take away 2 features, one of which was the most expensive point in the game and not significantly pass that cost on to the consumer. To me, it's a 1k difference with the new mechs instead.

I'm still going to keep an open mind and see what they do to address the pizza. Looking forward to the stream.

While functionality is essential the question is at what cost?

Maybe next time they won't release a game until its ready to ship. Seems like you can plenty of in house testing before hand. However Stern does it.

This thread is getting spicy.

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So essentially you are saying: take out all the stuff that can make the machine unreliable and than they do a great job. Yeah right.

Essentially it is three discs spinning. It can be made reliable, but not with the simple design they made. Even in the old days, taperecorders used belts to do reliable turning all day and all night long.

I don't think it's because JJP can't engineer a spinning disk or a trunk to open (at least I hope not since the other companies have developed advanced trunk-opening expertise technology).

It's more like... "there's no time left to redo this so cut it and let's roll - oh and we already have a warehouse full of these damn trunks so prop 'em open and now they work".

If they delayed another 8 months it's not like customers would be happy either but JJP really have a history of redoing it until it's right. They redid all the art for Hobbit for example.

Product reliability is a given for any company or it goes out of business.

JJP promotes a premium experience and price to match. Those non essential features, mechs, or toys are marketed as a major part of it. Wish Eric and the game well but disappointment today by their consumers built on this expectation is hardly whining.

So you take a car for a test drive, make a deposit and month later the dealership call you and says... "Sorry but the manufacturer couldn't get the power windows to work so put in manual. Oh and AC failed during tests so they just put in a larger fan instead. Oh and it's the same sticker price."

You're not too sure you like this then salesman calls you a whiner.

Let people think this move by JJP is not fantastic for awhile - it's bad news either way so don't try to sugar coat it. We love JJP but this is a step backwards and pizza is not great. At least change that please! Time for a JJP art redo ala Hobbit to get this right - maelstrom disk please - makes a lot of sense but surrounding art needs to be tweaked now either way.

mealstrom or a ships wheel

Well I actually sent my email to cancel my LE order. I really liked all the toys and without the disks and the trunk opening/closing your left with a lot less toys.

The three disks spinning in different directions at different speeds added a lot to the craziness of the multi balls at TPF. They seemed to be having issues by the end of the show but I was told several times by JJP people that the production ones worked just fine. Replacing them all with a single disk is a big disappointment.

The ships at TPF only rocked one way also but was told they would rock both ways in production.

Now I’ll wait and actually play a production game before deciding if I want back in.

Also the playfield looks awful now. I’d almost rather see them just pull the one disk out and add several magnets underneath and put some better art on.

With the way Iron Maiden is looking, I was starting to worry about JJP and Pirates. Now this comes up.

Not good for business at all.

Playing it at TPF, at least I got to experience what it was meant to be.