************************************************************************** * * * STERN PINBALL, INC. * * (C) COPYRIGHT 2020 STERN PINBALL, INC. * * * ************************************************************************** * * * BLACK KNIGHT SWORD OF RAGE - LE/Premium * * * ************************************************************************** HELP US, HELP YOU! If you have any suggestions, questions, need technical advice, find errors or have comments, contact us through our website: http://www.sternpinball.com/contact.shtml or call 1-800-542-5377. You can also email bug.report@sternpinball.com to report any software problems. This text file and all other documents relating to this product, playfield components, features, rules, programming and operation are subject to change without notice (Service Bulletins, if applicable, will be available through our website). Installation notice: This code release is in zip format. The zip file downloaded will need to be unzipped before installing on a USB stick. Update instructions: 1 - Download the zip file 2 - Unzip the file, this will create a folder that contains SPK file(s). 3 - Open folder, copy only the file(s) to the root level of a USB stick. Do not copy the folder. 4 - Power game off 5 - Insert USB stick 6 - Turn on game 7 - After game boots up it will give the option for software update 8 - Volume buttons change options for full or quick update. Enter selects the option and starts the update. 9 - Once update is completed game will prompt user to power game off and remove USB stick. LE V1.01 - February 11, 2020 ========================== Fixed: - Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from earning KNIGHT letters from a mode that had been continued on a subsequent ball. - Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from having the correct number of target hits required to relight catapult multiball. - Fixed an issue that sometimes kept foreground display effects on the screen during KNIGHT multiballs. - Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented the war hurry up display effects from playing over the main play display effects. - Fixed an issue during modes where players could sometimes share mode shot progress. - Extra ball is lit display effect will no longer play if extra ball is not lit. - Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause the left ball save not to save a ball when the player took a tilt warning. - Fixed an issue that prevented the War Hurry up champion high score from getting updated. - Fixed an issue that caused the mystery awards to be shared among players in a competition game. Each player's mystery awards are now tracked individually in competition play. - Fixed an issue that could cause Black Castle mode to remain lit if a player tilted while playing Black Castle mode. Tweaked: - Deep Freeze mode shots will always start with the same shot array, even when the mode continues from ball to ball. - Reduced the intensity of GI effects during the mystery award light show. - Shield Diverter Disabled adjustment will allow you to start all shield features by bashing the shield. - Catapult multiball now has background text to show the value of jackpots and super jackpots. These messages are also present during Super Catapult Multiball which is earned by completing Last Chance. - Removed critical lights from skill shot and war hurry ups light shows. - Changed the TKC Multiball start video to play after the mode start video. Lock videos still play before the mode start videos. - Last chance mode is now disabled in competition mode. - Locked out the Horse Whinny sound for game start - no credits for 30 seconds after it is played. - Moved the War Hurry up priority above mode priority. This makes it easier to see hurry up and score values for the war hurry up shots. - Added flail movement logic to Retro Multiball. - Added additional flail movement logic to Triple Knight's Challenge Multiball. - Removed shoot again light from the Magna-Save light show. - Added a display effect to show how many left bank completions are required to earn Ball Save. - Lowered the default slingshot power to 16. Competition install will set slingshot power to 24. - Modified the Extra Ball display effect to show the score if the game is set to award points instead of an extra ball. - Changed KNIGHT feature start rules. KNIGHT modes can be started while modes and WAR Hurry ups are running. Doing so will end all running modes. KNIGHT modes cannot be started while any multiball or wizard mode is running. - Made Sword of Rage easier to qualify. - SWORD OF RAGE DIFFICULTY adjustment defaults to EASY - Prior to starting 1st mode - Sword is 70% completed. - After power is activated - Sword is 40% completed. - Rest of game - Sword is 0% completed. - Center target and right drop target bank add more progress to filling sword meter. - Sound balancing and additional audio enhancements. - Various Scoring Tweaks - Reset the value of upper playfield loops on every ball. - Increased the value of Magna-Save bonus. Starts at 2.5m. Increases by 750k for every successful Magna-Save. - Removed all the existing score mystery awards (250k, 750k, 1.5m, 2.5m) and replaced with high scoring awards (2m, 3m, 4m, 5m.) - Increased mode scoring. - All modes have a base value starting at 2m. - Increased by +200k for each mode completed. - Increased by +950k for each lap of modes completed. - Draining while a mode is active will reset the mode scores to the base 2m. - Increased the score bonuses for shooting the flail prior to a mode starting. - Flail bonuses are reset when the mode starts and cannot be earned until the next mode is qualified. - Flail bonuses are reset when the ball drains. - Shooting the flail when it's closed awards +200k. - Shooting the flail when it's spinning awards +400k. - Shooting the flail when it's open awards +250k (increases by 25k.) - Increased the scoring in Hydra and Lich mode on mode shots that did not progress toward completing the mode. - Changed default mode difficulty to MEDIUM. - Tweaked the number of mode shots required to complete modes. - Molten Fire (Magma Beast) - Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Wicked Cavern (Hell Hand) - Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Mud Bod (Hydra) - Easy: 3 heads sealed to complete. 1 sealed for KNIGHT letter. - Medium: 4 heads sealed to complete. 2 sealed for KNIGHT letter. - Hard: 5 heads sealed to complete. 3 sealed for KNIGHT letter. - Deep Freeze (Lich Lords) - Easy: 3 liches defeated to complete. 1 defeated for KNIGHT letter. - Medium: 4 liches defeated to complete. 2 defeated for KNIGHT letter. - Hard: 5 liches defeated to complete. 3 defeated for KNIGHT letter. - Burning Sands (Sand Worm) - Easy: 6 shots to complete. 2 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Medium: 8 shots to complete. 3 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Hard: 10 shots to complete. 4 shots for KNIGHT letter. - Increased war hurry up scoring. - Base Value for all hurry ups is 3m. - Score for subsequent hurry ups is set to the value of the hurry up when it was awarded or when it was terminated. - The left pop bumper increases the value of the flail hurry up by +225k+(5k*number of left pop bumper hits for this player this game) - The bottom pop bumper increases the value of the target hurry up by +175k+(5k*number of bottom pop bumper hits for this player this game) - The right pop bumper increases the value of the target hurry up by +195k+(5k*number of right pop bumper hits for this player this game) - Increased max value of each hurry up to 25m. - Modified the Super Feature rules and scoring - Super Features now run with no timer. - Super Features are started at level 1 (Green) by hitting the center target. - All running Super Features are boosted by 1 level when a player shoots the Left VUK during single-ball play. - The Super Jackpot value shown on the UI is now collected by having a ball roll over the right return lane switch within 5 seconds of a player activating their Magna-Save. - The Castle Spinner (Pro Only) will score 5,000 points. Super Spins scoring will not boost the value of this spinner. - New Super Feature Scoring - Super Lanes Level 1 (Green) -- 50,000 - Super Lanes Level 2 (Yellow) -- 75,000 - Super Lanes Level 3 (Red) -- 115,000 - Super Lanes Level 4 (Magenta) -- 140,000 - Super Orbits Level 1 (Green) -- 115,000 - Super Orbits Level 2 (Yellow) -- 185,000 - Super Orbits Level 3 (Red) -- 275,000 - Super Orbits Level 4 (Magenta) -- 400,000 - Super Pops Level 1 (Green) -- 35,000 - Super Pops Level 2 (Yellow) -- 50,000 - Super Pops Level 3 (Red) -- 95,000 - Super Pops Level 4 (Magenta) -- 115,000 - Super Slings Level 1 (Green) -- 100,000 - Super Slings Level 2 (Yellow) -- 200,000 - Super Slings Level 3 (Red) -- 350,000 - Super Slings Level 4 (Magenta) -- 500,000 - Super Spins Level 1 (Green) -- 14,000 - Super Spins Level 2 (Yellow) -- 20,000 - Super Spins Level 3 (Red) -- 28,000 - Super Spins Level 4 (Magenta) -- 38,000 - Super Targets Level 1 (Green) -- 100,000 - Super Targets Level 2 (Yellow) -- 150,000 - Super Targets Level 3 (Red) -- 250,000 - Super Targets Level 4 (Magenta) -- 350,000 New: - Added topper support. - Custom Black Knight speech plays when the flipper buttons are pressed during attract mode and during gameplay with a topper installed. - Full animatronic motion of the Black Knight head is synchronized with all Black Knight speech effects and interacts with events during gameplay. - Additional test menu support added for topper calibration. - Added speech calls for WAR when war hurry ups start and RAGE when mystery is lit from the inlanes. - Added announcer speech calls on mode completion. - Added alternate game soundtrack. - Added adjustment for shield hold power. - Added diagnostics icons to game menu. - Added flame panel test menu entry. - Added adjustment for backpedaling speech frequency. Defaults to NEVER. Also has adjustments for Occasional (30% of the time) and Frequently. - Added Butcher skeleton speech to Skill Shot. - Added auto-adjusting Extra Ball to U-Turn Combo rule. - Added new Adjustment "REQUIRE MODE FOR CATAPULT LOCK" - If enabled, a mode must be started to light subsequent Catapult Locks. - If enabled AND CATAPULT LOCK DIFFICULTY is set to hard, a mode must be started before Catapult Locks can be lit. - Install Competition sets CATAPULT LOCK DIFFICULTY to HARD and REQUIRE MODE FOR CATAPULT LOCK to YES. Moved to System 2.43: - Updated to nodeboard firmware v0.56.0 - Allow the knocker sound effect to play completely when a replay is awarded during the last ball bonus and ensure the normal game volume is restored. - Added Standard Adjustment "MAX PLAYERS PER GAME". Values are 1 to 4, with a default setting of 4. This can be used to limit the number of players that can be added to a game. - Using LEFT+START to end a game during bonus count could leave game graphics on screen while in attract mode. This has been corrected. - Added UTIL->VOL Adjustment "SELECT AUDIO FILTER". Values are: "NONE", "HIGH/LOW SHELF", and "10 BAND EQ". Default value is "HIGH/LOW SHELF". "NONE": No filtering will be performed on the audio output. Useful when using the Line Out as input for an external device. "HIGH/LOW SHELF": A High/Low Shelf Filter is applied to the audio output. The Bass Frequency can be set to: 125Hz, 250Hz, or Disabled. The Treble Frequency can be set to: 4KHz, 8KHz, or Disabled. The Gain can be set to -12dB .. +12dB On Spike 2 the Shelf Frequency and Gain can be set independently for the Backbox and Cabinet speakers. "10 BAND EQ": A full 10 Band EQ is applied to the audio output. Sliders are used to adjust the Gain of a specific range of frequencies. The Frequencies are: 31Hz, 62Hz, 125Hz, 250Hz, 500Hz, 1KHz, 2KHz, 4KHz, 8KHz, 16KHz. The Gain curve has a 60dB dynamic range across the -120 .. +120 Slider settings. On Spike2 the Gain can be set independently for the Backbox and Cabinet speakers. Moved to OS V2.0.17 LE V1.00 - July 24, 2019 ========================== Fixed: - Fixed an issue where the catapult lock light show did not always play in sync with the display effect for the lock. - Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented a player from starting super features. - During ball search, the right drop target bank would always try to reset 3 times. This has been changed to try up to 3 times if the bank fails to reset. - Fixed an issue where the Loop Champion high score could not be above 5 loops. - Fixed the formatting of high score entries that did not show score on enter initials screens. - Fixed an issue in Hell Hand mode where players could sometimes have an incorrect number of shots remaining. - Fixed an issue in Lich Lords mode where when multiple shots were collected at once they would not always advance toward a KNIGHT letter. - Fixed an issue where adjustment "Attract Flipper Speech" would not control flipper speech. Tweaked: - Refactored Black Castle mode. - Increased scoring for all shots. - Timer set to 99 seconds. - Black Castle mode requires hitting all 3 center shots, then hitting a remaining outside shot. - After hitting an outside shot, the center 3 shots are lit again with added difficulty to hitting the flail and shield devices. - Once 4 sets of inner shots are completed, as well as 4 outer shots, the shield will raise for a shot to start RAGE MULTIBALL. - Final shot scoring includes a bonus for time remaining. - If Black Castle mode times out, or is not completed, the Black Knight survives and all modes become available once again. - Changed default mode difficulty to EASY for all modes. - After every time playing Black Castle mode during a game, all modes will increase by 1 difficulty level up to the max difficulty level. - Modified super feature timer. Timer now pauses during multiball. - Default super feature time is now 20 seconds. Max time is 30 seconds. Starting a new super feature adds 15 seconds. - Increased the base scoring for WAR Hurry ups to 2,000,000. - Changed display effect priority when WAR Hurry ups were running so you can see the value of collected hurry-ups when a higher priority mode was running. - Changed the WAR Hurry up final shot display effect to show the value collected at the final shot before going to mode total. - Changed extra ball display effect to wait for other display effects. - Changed Extra Ball is Lit display effect to allow flipper buttons to dismiss. - Changed KNIGHT Spellout display effect to wait for mode shot display effects. - Modified POWER rules. POWER will only last until end of ball, mode completed, or mode timed out. - Changed Black Knight's Eyes to pulse throughout the game. - Boosted the vocals in the Retro and Ransom multiball tunes. - Increased volumes of RANSOM sound effects. - Raised the left drop target any time the player goes into the castle VUK in single-ball play. - Changed rules so upper playfield loops are only added to bonus on that ball and do not carry bonus value throughout the game. - Changed add-a-ball so it can now be awarded on the left drop target. - Changed Black Knight's mask color to green when he announces a ball lock. - Changed Hold Bonus so it cannot be chained together from a previously held bonus. - Added Millions PLUS scoring to Flail and LOOP during RANSOM Multiball. - Changed Macin' Loops display effect priority so it would not show during RANSOM multiball. New: - Added RAGE Wizard Mode. - Started by defeating the Black Knight. - Frenzy-based scoring. - 6-Ball multiball. - Added scoring increases to the base value of modes. - Each mode completed boosts a new mode's starting value by 200,000. - All modes boosted by 950,000 after Black Castle is played. - Additional shots to the flail before starting the mode will boost the starting value of the mode. - Added U-Turn scoring. U-Turns are lit by shooting an orbit shot. U-Turns are started by making another orbit shot and will open the gates. Making U-Turn shots in succession without hitting another shot will increase scoring and progress toward Extra Ball (Default 25 U-Turns.) - Added Catapult Lock difficulty adjustment. - On Hard setting, a player can only light 1 more lock than they already have locked. - Competition install sets Catapult Lock difficulty to MEDIUM. - Added an adjustment to keep left drop target raised during multiball. - Game Adjustment #29 DROP TARGET UP IN MBALL defaults to YES - Display Effects - Added text to mode award display effects showing shots remaining for KNIGHT letter and shots remaining for mode completion. - All modes when completed now have a (monster name) defeated display effect. - Added a Triple Knights lock status screen to instant info. - Added the pending super jackpot value to the game interface. - Added Black Knight Sword of Rage game logo to power on display. - Added U-Turn high score entry. - Added a Black Knight icon to diagnostics menu. - Lamp Effects - Added a light show for building Sword of Rage power at the right drop target bank. - Added additional light effects to indicate when POWER is active during a mode. - Added skill shot and super skill shot lamp effects. - Added KNIGHT spellout letter award light show. - Sound Effects - Added mode complete and mode timeout sound effects. - Added new Black Knight speech to mode progression after a few modes have been completed. - Added speech to KNIGHT spellout display effect. - Added sound effect for upper playfield lock kickout warning. Note: - Score balancing has been updated for this release. Scores earned on previous releases will be reset when moving to v1.00.0. Moved to System 2.31: Updated to nodeboard firmware v0.49.0 Added Service Menu selection UTIL->ENDGAME. This selection is only available when there is an active game. When selected the operator will be prompted to confirm that they wish to end the current game. Once confirmed and upon exiting the Service Menu, the game will be in attract mode. Added Standard Adjustment "ALLOW LEFT+START TO END GAME". Values are: "NEVER", "FREE PLAY ONLY", and "ALWAYS". Default value is "NEVER". During an active game, if the LEFT FLIPPER+START BUTTONs are held for two seconds, the game will be ended. Added Standard Audit "TOTAL PLAYS ENDED", which will track the number of times a game is ended via the Service Menu or FLIPPER+START BUTTONs. Added Standard Adjustment "CREDIT FORMAT". Values are: "ACTUAL FRACTION" and "REDUCED FRACTION". Default value is "REDUCED FRACTION". For a USA coindoor when inserting three quarters: "REDUCED FRACTION" would display "1/4", "1/2", "3/4" "ACTUAL FRACTION" would display "1/4", "2/4", "3/4" LE V0.97 - June 19, 2019 ========================== Fixed: - Fixed a timing issue which prevented players from getting credit for another lock or super jackpot when the ball was released from the catapult lock and quickly re-locked. - Fixed an issue which could infrequently cause the flail to move at a slow speed when it should have been in the open position. - Fixed an issue where catapult multiball would not award KNIGHT letters. - Fixed an issue where the Ball Saved animation could show when the ball was not saved. Tweaked: - Improved handling of outlane ball save during situations where multiball ball saver is active or in grace period. - Modified the Extra Ball light show to keep all the GI on. - Modified the Triple Knights lock light shows to include backbox lamp effects. - Changed the relight shots in Lich mode to the same color as unfreeze shots. - Changed the rules for WAR and RAGE lanes to keep the same lanes lit for a player on their next ball in play. - Reduced the amount of time the flail stays in open position after being hit in Catapult Multiball. - Volume Adjustments and Tweaks. - Install Competition Mode sets - LAST CHANCE MODE ENABLED to NO - PLAY BLACK KNIGHT INTRO to NO New: - Added RANSOM Wizard Mode - Lit by spelling KNIGHT a second time in a single game. - Started by shooting the left VUK. - Classic Black Knight 2000 Sounds, Speech, and 14-Segment Display. - Timed 60 Second 3-Ball Multiball. The ball saver does not expire. - +5x Bonus - FLAIL = MILLIONS - ORBITS = 750,000 - WAR = MILLIONS - EXTRA BALL IS Lit - EVERYTHING IS LIT - Added LAST CHANCE feature - To Qualify Last Chance: - Player must be on their last ball in play. - Player cannot have played a Catapult Multiball. - Player must drain down the left outlane with no ball save lit OR - Player must drain down the right outlane and press the magna-save button before the ball drains. - Timed Mode where the goal is to re-lock balls in the Catapult Lock. - Lower Flippers are Disabled. - Player gets unlimited balls served for the duration of the mode. - Player controls the launching of balls into play. - Completing RAGE lanes adds time and builds jackpot base. - Shooting the Light Locks target adds time and builds jackpot base. - Player must lock 3 balls in the Catapult Lock to start SUPER MULTIBALL. - Time remaining gets added to the jackpot base. - If the player cannot lock 3 balls, their game ends. - Added SUPER CATAPULT Multiball - 4 Ball Multiball, with new display art and lamp effects. - Base value of multiball jackpots set during Last Chance. - Locking a ball in the Catapult Lock sets jackpot multiplier to 2x until the ball is released. - Locking 2 balls in the Catapult Lock sets jackpot multiplier to 3x until the balls are released. - Added light shows for War Hurry up shots and War Hurry up Complete. - Added speech for Extra Ball, Extra Ball is Lit, and Shoot Again. - Added additional speech calls for mode intros. - Added light show for Match sequence. - Added shaker motor to the game intro when the Black Knight screams. Moved to System 2.30: Update Italian translation of "ENTER INITIALS" to "INSERISCI LE TUE INIZIALI" LE/Premium V0.94 - May 29, 2019 ========================== Fixed: - "INVALID" could sometimes show as a tease award during mystery but could not be awarded. This has been corrected so "INVALID" will never show. - Fixed an issue where sometimes the ball search would not raise the shield for long enough to free a ball trapped behind it. - Mystery Award: Light Ball Save now actually lights ball save instead of advancing the ball save. - Fixed an issue that would set shot values to 0 points during grace period. - Fixed an issue where the wrong color would show progress on Black Knight bashes later in the game. - Fixed an issue which caused some display effects not to play from the beginning on a jackpot shot or mode award. - Fix an issue where orbit shots were not awarded while the ball was launching on Premium/LE games. - Fixed an issue where modes would be randomized at ball start, even if the realm was locked in. - Award the jackpot shot in Triple Knight's Challenge on either the drop target or the castle VUK. - Fixed an issue that could cause the ball to sit in the Castle VUK if the VUK shot was the final shot in a mode and it would also start Retro Multiball. Tweaked: - Modified the rules for Catapult Multiball: - Changed the rules for catapult multiball so that every lower playfield shot always stays lit during the multiball for a jackpot. All jackpots build value of super jackpot on the upper playfield. - Added double, triple, and quadruple super jackpots to catapult multiball with appropriate lights and speech calls. - Adjusted scoring. - Enhanced the upper playfield loop base scoring. - Added bi-directional stacking to Catapult and Triple Knight's Challenge Multiball. Either multiball can be started and stacked with the other. - Added warning lights to upper playfield lock release. - Made relighting locks for the 2nd Catapult Multiball easier. - Added the upper flipper to ball search when ball search occurs outside of gameplay. - Changed catapult multiball default color to orange. - Pause the game timers while certain display effects are running. - Exclude shoot again light from knight bashed and realm ready light shows - Changed the skill shot behavior so the shield is not repeatedly activated during skill shot. - Changed default Modes complete for Extra Ball to 1. - Changed Mystery and Triple Knights Multiball locks so mode lights are not hidden while a multiball is running. - Super Features now light more frequently. - Increased the duration of the magna-save hold. - Modified the rules for Deep Freeze - Red shots collect all red shots on the playfield with a bonus added for each shot that it lit. - Added scoring increases for all Cyan shots. - Added scoring increses for non-seal shots in Hydra mode. - Added adjustments for default ball save time for all multiballs. - Changed default times for multiball ball savers. - Add time now adds 3 seconds on a hit to any target to start the timer and 12 seconds on a completion of the Add Time target bank. - Lowered base scoring for spinners. New: - Modified the behavior of the 5 main modes. - Modes now continue from ball to ball if a player drained while the mode was running. - Modes continue with the time the player had left when they drained. - If a player drained with little time left, modes continue with a minimum of 12 seconds. - Modes are only marked as completed if a player beats the modes. Modes that are started but not completed can be restarted from where a player left off. - All 5 modes must be completed (not just started) to play Black Castle mode. - Added additional shooter groove tunes for all modes. - Upper playfield loops now boosts the scoring of the running mode. - Upper playfield loop target now spots a shot during running modes. - Added flail behaviors to Catapult Multiball. - Added grace period to all multiballs. Catapult and TKC Multiball can restart each other from grace. Add-a-ball can restart all running multiballs. - Added Glowy font treatment to retro multiball score font. - Added light shows for: - Ball Save - Add-a-ball Lit - Add-a-ball Awarded - Game Over - Knight 1 Locked - Knight 2 Locked - Added shaker effects for: - Bonus - Ball Save - Mystery - Added Magna-Save bonus scoring and displays. - Added Loop Bonus to bonus screen. - Competition mode sets the starting mode to SAND WORM for all players at first ball. - Added attract mode game tutorial videos. Moved to System 2.28: Updated to nodeboard firmware v0.48.0 Coin door interlock switch support for Spike2. LE/Premium V0.93 - May 2, 2019 ========================== - Initial release.