Holy quarter-year Batman!

Today is 90 days since the last Gomez Drop.

gomez drop 8-23 (resized).jpg

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Not confusing - irrelevant.

On a positive note, I got a call off Pat yesterday at Stern with a date for my BM66 playfield replacement, the playfield should be built/complete this Saturday so hopefully shipped to me direct next week

Should be any day now...my machine is in pieces.....

Just topped 3.6 Billion on awesomely fun game!

I'm afraid to ask this question.

Does the topper do anything beyond attract mode? At least i have that working now!

No lights during gameplay.

I'm taking a mid week beer break right now, I'm LOVING this pin.

On the SLE, the bat signal lights up when the phone is ringing.

What was wrong with your playfield that you needed a new one? Btw thanks for the graph Manimal! I spit my drink out from laughing so hard.

Same for PRE.

Ok let me check that now. Bat signal is flashing in attract mode.

Please lord let it work. I've been through many boards, toppers and wiring

Actually, I'm talking about the topper, not the bat signal.

Topper does nothing during gameplay. Not gonna worry about it. I'll wait for code update rather than reinstall.

I have been following your topper ordeal, what a bummer.
Hopefully you are at the end, just in time for new code!

Topper beacon on LE stays on solid during attract mode, turns off at start of a game, and cycles on when Batphone " rings" , then off when " answered"

Topper itself only comes on in attract mode, w current code.

Beacon on backboard flashes randomly in attract mode, then at certain points during gameplay....flashes only.

Topper beacon and backboard beacon don't cycle at the same time ( currently).

Hope yours is finally sorted......

My LE is just like you described it. So thats probably as designed. To me it looks like both posts are intended to stop a stray air ball from settling in either corner of the apron.

couple of guys with LE's in the UK got machines with premium play fields, unsigned... taken a stupid amount of time to be resolved in my view. Of the 4/5 LE's that were shipped to the UK I was one of the lucky ones were my play field was LE and signed! Still waiting for my disty to tell me what Stern are going to do about my ghosting ghostbusters though...

Cheers,
Neil.

Thanks Neil! Btw great interview on Kaneda's podcast. Enjoyed your insight.

thanks

Sorry dude didn't see your post, pretty much as Neil said above, me & one other LE owner got Premium playfield installed in our LEs.

It's taken a while to get it sorted but Pat Powers & John Buscaglia @ Stern have worked hard to get it sorted and our playfields should be complete this Saturday, with the hope of getting them shipped next week and to us within the next couple weeks.

Awesome! Glad to hear Stern is making it right.

Yesterday I was very close to put my BM66 on sale... please come up with a code update soon

Don't sell it, cant say anything as I was asked not to and I don't believe I was lied to as there is/was no reason to as I already paid for my BM66LE, but we are going to get a very packed and polished update when it drops.

If anyone in the know told you not to say anything, that is BS.

Stern owes all Batman 66 owners an update, not just a select few. I'm patient to a fault and expect Lyman to make the game great, but what purpose does it serve to dribble out information to a select few?

Because I pushed and asked can we expect something and to be blunt asked not to say any of the details which I won't. Take it for what it is something is in the works and knowing Lyman is the man doing it I believe we will all be more than pleased.

I simply said what I said above so frg doesn't sell his game now and then has to pay more to get one back should the game rise in value like most of Lymans do once he finishes code, simply trying to look out for a fellow pinhead.

I'm not criticizing you for keeping your word not to say anything. I'm criticizing whoever asked you not to.

Hello,fellow Bat fans!! Something strange just happened playing my pin!! Ball #2,I defeated Catwoman,and hit both R&L ramps,then 2 joker targets,and started Catwoman mode all over again?? Cattleman lite was on indicating I had completed that sequence! Any body explain why Catwoman started again?? Is there a way to stack modes ??

Edit

Honestly it's no more than what we have already been told and had posted in here from those who know more than most of us.

Lyman always delivers so we can take comfort in that, once the code drops it's clear that the incremental update plan was scrapped (maybe it's easier for Lyman to build all the layers of the game in one giant update) and we are going to get a big update.

Once it does history has shown us if Lyman is coding demand/price jump up when that big update hits. It happened with SM, AC/DC, MET, TWD, BM66 is already expensive enough

It did not happen with Batman The Dark Knight. Lyman on a project is a great sign, but not a guarantee.

The big question is WHEN...when will the code drop. Really hoping for something tomorrow but I've said that every Thursday for the past 2 1/2 months! Trying to operate this game and keep people interested in it is a challenge.

Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either. A little honest communication goes a long way. I dont see the downside of confirming something is coming soon or not and maybe a little tease on what new modes or features are being worked on.

Specific dates are not needed but it would be nice to know if we are talking days, weeks, months, or heaven forbid years.

Maybe with Mr Sharp in place we'll get better communication going forward.

Honestly, if Stern posted a message on their Facebook site stating the code is near complete, would you really believe them? Stern has good intentions. The code will be done when it is done. Nothing we say or do will change that fact. All we can do is wait patiently and trust they will deliver.

Note, my breaking point will be Expo.

You've got a higher level of tolerance than I do. My breaking point on this one was four months ago.

My problem is too many hobbies and too little time.

I'm ready to break now. The not communicating is piss poor

Here's the lowdown
1. Stern wants to release 3 games a year
2. Spooky makes 2 games a year
3. Homepin may release 1 a year
4. JJP 1 a year
5. Heighway 1 a year
6. American Pinball 1 a year
7. Chicago Gaming 1 a year
8. Dutch is making more TBL again

That's approximately 10 games a year. There is no way the market can support this many titles and piss poor communication and quality issues are going to hurt.

So Stern has limited time to change their communication strategy or they risk losing several of us as customers. They move into a bigger building with more overhead. It doesn't make any sense the way things are run.

Just be honest with your customers and give us updates. 3 months and no communication is poor even by the already low standards this is sad.

As long as Stern does not fall in the same omen of Star Wars Episode 1(with their Star Wars(2017)... I'm pacient for my Batman 66 Code.

Seriously, what could they say that any of us would believe? I have zero faith in any further verbal updates, promises, etc. Until the code shows up, everything else is an empty promise.

I would believe Lyman. Why don't they let him post an update as to where he's at and his own eta on the next code update?

Pretty f ing simple.

I'm a bit more worried about Hurricane Harvey right now. It's barreling down on Port Aransas, a barrier island just north of Corpus Christi.

I've got a house there and just hope it survives! Should be ok, in a development and house is a bit back from the dunes, not right on beach thankfully.

We are gonna get flooded up here in Boerne too.

I stocked up on beer for the weekend, wife is taking oldest daughter back up to school and it will be a long rain soaked pinball weekend for me.

Best of luck and hoping all stays okay and everything just gets a little wet with no damage.

Well, they could give us
1) the readme of the code level that was in test or
2) the running readme of what Lyman currently has in the code
3) some general release target (a couple weeks, months, whatever)
4) roadmap of what needs to in the code before they consider it done
5) an apology for underestimating the resources it was going to take to deliver code fitting for a flagship anniversary release
6) an acknowledgment that expectations for code have changed
7) a general idea of how they are going to meet (or temper) those expectations.

This is not just a Batman code problem - see all the complaints about SW code - but a Stern problem. They have shown they pretty much have no commitment to any game that isn't actively on the line. That has been a workable approach for years, but, with many realizing the emperor has fewer and fewer clothes, that may be coming to an end sooner than Stern thinks.

How many non-operators are going to continue to buy games if they have to worry that code may never be finished, cabinets may not stay together, playfield clear and ghosting issues may be permanent issues, game specific node boards may not be supported in a few years? As a buyer, all of those things get harder to swallow as costs go up while games get cheapened and designs get sparser.

Lack of communication is what will eventually doom Stern. Some good faith non-marketing BS information on Batman would go a long way to showing Stern's end point consumers that they (a) understand that and (b) care enough to change.

Yet we keep on buying them, knowing all that.

Yikes...be safe!!!! ( let's not forget something for the beer to chase...preparation is key)

Batman66 was my 4'th Stern NIB in the last 5 years and will be my last. I've learned my lesson. If I like a future Stern title i'll wait until the code is done (or at least appears to be complete) and buy it used.

Stern should pamper customers who spend this kind on money on their games but they cant even be bothered with some of the most basic types of communications that were described in the prevoius post.

It appeared there Stern was on the right track with the whole "commissioner gordon" email sign up sheet thing that came with the game. I only got one email update via that and then nothing.

I thought I read that it was easier for companies to retain and cater to loyal repeat customers than to recruit new ones. Maybe thats not the case in the the 8K+ LE pinball market.

I still like their games and want them to thrive but I wont be a beta tester on future releases.

No code and just waited 8 hours for my flight to be canceled. Double kick in the balls Thursday!

Same here, my turn against Stern has been slow coming, but I'm generally not a knee jerk decision maker. In any case, I think I'm done with Stern NIB also, though I'm saddened to say it. BM66 was my 6th Stern NIB LE plus 1 Vault (IM). I figure I must have been in the top 5% of Stern customers considering my willingness to consistently pre-order non-band games (when my distributor didn't cut me out of an LE slot, but that's a GB story for another day). I never buy the Pro model and have defended the company in various threads. X-Men should have taught me a lesson, but I was a stupid idiot. Now, I'm paying close attention to the new manufacturers and will probably direct my next NIB purchase towards one of them, or just turn to a new hobby which is where I'm really leaning right now. I'm most disgusted with myself for biting on BM66. While the game is beautiful and a great theme, I really feel like I was a fool to pay so much and kind of got taken advantage of (I ordered before the poor s/w reveal at Expo). I literally had to finish assembling the game, it had so many loose parts, though I know that's a mild problem compared to the poor Iceman. I was really feeling down about it 3-4 weeks ago and marveling at how my TBL early achiever's edition #25 with it's ugly history and some 48% code is more complete and seems to have all working inserts.

So, I was starting to think about unloading the game, but I've since had a pinball party and BM66 was the hit of the party (all novice players). I set the game to 5 balls and literally showed my guests the entire BM66 game shebang on my second game and I'm an average player. All four villains captured, regular multiball, Villain Escape, and Bat Turn. Did I miss anything......I doubt it. What's there in the BM66 game code is outstanding, and I don't want to make light of it, the current code kernel is great, but far, far incomplete for even initial shipping, much less a year later! That said, my invoice is dated 30 August 2016 and here we are early morning on 25 August 2017 and that's it so far after I over paid and had to change distributors (GB LE wasn't my last former distributor let down) to buy their most special, anniversary game. So, my patience has expired and all that's left is an exhausted, WTF? We'll get a third Stern game since BM66 announced pretty soon, probably around Expo, and so many of the inserts aren't completely coded on BM66. It's a figgin' shame!

Unfortunately, we don't get that luxury here. Can't wait and see and buy a used LE when someone moves it on.

We only get 2 LE's of each game here and if you want one you have to get in quick.

Joe Kaminkow posted on my Facebook that code is coming soon. fingers crossed.

Neil.

+1 dealing with ghosting on my ghostbusters for two months not heard anything, no more NIB Stern for me.

The word "soon" is not quantifiable. It's obvious that it's not stopping at .75, but FFS the silence is stupid.

It is simple unbelievable that Stern don't communicate more with their customer base. Understandable 10 plus years ago but times have changed. They have time to write all sorts of junk on FB but they just can't give information on code updates which is what all their home use customers want.

Is it really too much? KISS was a fiasco but they might still be working on it..... why not tell us? And obviously BM66 - like others I suspect this game is going to be great and I kind of regret not buying an LE that came up local but the code stopped me.

Maybe with Zach joining, things will begin to change??!!