Thought one of the podcasts with George or maybe even Pinball news write up mentioned they have to licensed tracks in the game.

Yhe point being referenced here is the team in question have been known not just to reuse common libraries but to literally have started from a previous build and just hack at it because all the prior games assets (game specific) are still in the build at freaking GA.

That’s not reuse - that is fork and hack.

There are so many places in the Phoenix area to play pinball and it's really hard to actually justify buying a new inbox when they're so readily available here many premiums and LEs on location as well.

I saw a "Bonus Held" in there. Has that been in many recent games? I like the idea of bonus being a bigger part in the scoring like it used to be in the late EM and Classic SS days. Hopefully they get back to that. I have balls on my Paragon where I score more on bonus than I did in the ball itself. Deadpool is also cool the way it counts down the bonus old school. With some multipliers you can really build up some bonus. I haven't seen a bonus held in that game though.

Seems to be very early code:

1. Where is the staging? I expected a nice light show for the bird one rocket multiball sequence where the focus would be on the rocket, something like Metallica does with Sparky.

2. What is up with the spinner diamond light? Does not light when spinner is hit.

3. Ball times seem to be long…very long

Hoping this is very early code.

I am really considering the pro version but still uncertain until the stern reveal gameplay video. I really have no idea from the video what is going on.

I see it all the time on my B66. But I honestly haven’t played enough of the modern sterns long enough to know where else it shows up.

I'm just happy to see play finally, knowing its probably less than 50% coded. Give it some time, it has the possibility of being a great pin. I have faith in GG.

Could be because that's Martin Ayub playing.

Yeah in the Stern interview Gomez said "eventually the jetpack will be user controlled." I imagine there are a lot of things that will "eventually" happen in this game.

Bonus is held in GB too

I like that shot to the rocket on the left hand side of the left drop target, flies around the rocket and back out into the left orbit for an upper flipper shot.

Looks great when Martin hits it a couple times in the video. Shots look fun and looks like combos should be a big thing.

Lit ring around the rocket is a nice touch, didn’t notice that before

What you guys think of the long ball time?

I am not worried because I am nowhere near as good as Martin who has a long history as a tournament player. For average folks like me I am sure it won’t be crazy long times as we see here in the video.

Martins had some time on the game, compare the initial video he did to this one and he’s hitting the shots here. Plus he’s a very good player.

I have plenty of experience with commercial-level code, thanks.

The point is if that is being used in the rushed base version shown, what modes are also being repurposed like Lonnie commonly does, like the Aerosmith code he brought forward from KISS, with a known bug and all. He's the only one I can think of that is this sloppy with reused code from prior games he did.

Agree and it's god awful sounding.

if course its proto, and early code, but :

4 good players on this, and you'll get minimum 2 hrs without a doubt
seems you're quite never in danger at outlanes (and that's a great change for more than few last STERN)

ps : yes, the spinner sound will make people crazy (lol)

“Hoping this is very early code.”

Well, the game isnt shipping for months…so, yeah, it is early code. It even tells us that at the beginning of the video.

Which poses a question to the group… What is the quickest time that recent Stern code made it to version 1.0? Godzilla just hit that mark and it took almost a year to get there.

Some are annoyed by that…personally I am cool with them taking feedback and implementing and improving the experience. Seems prudent.

Also in agreement…that spinner sound has got to go! OOF!

It leans so much to the right, its painful to watch.
@5057

...Trying to hold back from watching...the...video...Kinda don't want to see something that is half-baked at this point. I'm thinking the shots and flow are going to be excellent.

The jetpack feature could be a lot of fun if say, it starts up a two ball multiball and you can lock a ball on the jetpack, than as it's moving around you need to hit the front dragon car target which drops the jetpack ball on the top, double smash that thing! It would be a cool timed super jackpot.

Also, I'm thinking, as cool as the sketch art side blades on the LE may be...mirror blades would look super classy.

The sketches are all mostly found in books like the art of bond and bond by design, they are cool but most hardcore fans likely have the artwork at home in book form and they don’t really go with the game imo.

“Rushed base version”

Bit of a loaded statement, don’t you think?

Please tell me the difference between a “rushed base version” and simply “early code with a picky licensor”, since you claim to have “plenty of experience with commercial-level code”

Is the glass off? Thanks for posting but kinda unwatchable due to the flippers..

KISS and Aerosmith SHIPPED at 1.00, but the numbers are essentially meaningless at Stern, so not a good guide.

Here are the days to final large release of a Lonnie-lead coder game (I didn't count the Insider Connected updates since they came years later for most games):

KISS - 1261 days
Aerosmith - 650 days
Guardians of the Galaxy - 1337 days
Stranger Things - 350 days

So based on this recent sampling, best case for Lonnie Bond is a year to final code, but AVERAGE for his games is about 2.5 years for final code.

Yeah the idea of using 007 sketches as side art sounds weird in theory, but I don't know for some reason I really like how it looks in the LE. I guess we'll see in person but something about it feels cool and classy. But I hear you it's definitely an odd choice, not really sure why I'm liking it.

Yeah, I've owned every recent Lonnie game. It's his MO. Generally speaking, sloppier, more boring code than all the other top level coders at Stern. KISS is my favorite that he did, but he had help. Lyman's mode helped a LOT. The rest? Meh. He's generally Mr "good enough" and I'm not a fan of that.

IMO, of course.

Well damn that sucks. A Gomez game with a huge license like this deserves kick ass code. I hope he pulls it together

Totally get that, but I personally love stranger things. One of my favorites of all time. In terms of deep, stackable code combined with a solid, simple fan layout, the only reason it’s not top 10 here is because a lot of people still judge it based off it’s rough launch.

Hot take - it’s simply a better Attack From Mars.

The fact that Lonnie and MXV are teaming up again on bond is a huge selling point. Add to the fact that George Gomez always delivers, I have high hopes for this game to be a lot of fun.

I think it looks awesome!!

I hope he does, too, because it looks like Gomez designed the crap out of that playfield to maximize opportunities for flowy combos. But I can't understand why Gomez didn't go for Tanio again for this. Their Deadpool teamup turned out fantastic after a rough code start. I can't point to any Lonnie game that I would call "fantastic" that wasn't fixed up by another coder to make it so.

Maybe they see some licenses sell themselves, so the A team isnt always needed.

When I purchased the bond collection years ago I got all those sketches included with more than on the blades as a special deal.

Agreed...I rather the spinner noise be a machine gun !

Seems to me tho that things have changed a bit at stern with code. Used to be a long wait, now they are releasing code fairly regularly. And not all is IC related. Maybe I'm just being optimistic, but I think Bond will progress rapidly too. We need to give them a chance before condemning them,,

I'm just put out about taking things out of the game and calling it done since I had a Stranger Things as code development progressed toward final and was playing each changed rom. The video mode could have been awesome with shooting Demodogs like the one in Dracula, but they just deleted it (and the hidden mode, if I recall correctly) from the awards and called the game done. Stranger Things is probably the best Lonnie of the LCD era, but it will always be less-than. Unmet potential.

Completely disagree. Attack from Mars is a flow monster. Stranger Things...is not. There are similar elements but the sum of the parts is a totally different feel.

MXV has great ideas from what I've seen, but Lonnie has to execute. The "Lonnie has to execute" part is where the trouble starts.

Probably some truth to that, but it's pretty cynical. Great way to risk ruining a top license.

If pinsiders are able to "Rank" coders and rule makers, surely Stern does the same? Maybe not....

Haha. I'm not condemning Stern et al. Mostly just Lonnie, but that's earned.

Other coders of note at Stern:
Dwight? Great. (We just won't talk about Munsters)
Tanio? Golden.
Naegele? Platinum. (really, is there a better team than Elwin/Naegele in pinball currently?)

The majority of coders at Stern do a bang-up job. I just am constantly let down by Lonnie. I'd like that to change, so hoping Bond is the turning point, but not super-confident.

Yeah I remember a lot of people speculated that it might be Tanio. Certainly would have made sense. I’ll remain cautiously optimistic.

Unmet potential? Stranger Things has some of the most robust code in all of pinball. The pro is proving itself to be excellent in tournaments. Again, I think a lot of people, yourself included, are judging the game from early code, Covid slowing down the development/player feedback, and the uv kit fiasco. Despite all of the poor early reviews and review bombing from the uv kit, it still sits at #17.

Where Stranger Things stands today, when you combine the basic fan layout + great code with killer presentation in the form of the projector and uv kit, it’s an easy argument to make that Brian, Lonnie and Mike put together one of the very best pinball machines of all time.

I’m confident, especially with George as the lead, this game will be incredible.

Also, modes, like scenes in movies, get deleted all the time because of pacing issues. Heck, LFS had all kinds of other movies and deadheads planned for Elvira HOH, but he never got around to implementing them… so is that game “unmet potential” too?

I don’t have a issue with spinner sound but if someone has a better sound from diamonds are for ever that ties into movie, let’s here it…

Does it exist?

Nah, this is clearly the “gripe” thread, didn’t you get the memo?

Grown ass adults in this thread acting exactly like the children who watched and cried about the GTA6 leaked footage.

I smell a chart coming!

No, I'm judging where it ended up. I had one through the progression of code.

Very best of all time? It's good, but I wouldn't put it up against a Walking Dead, Godzilla, or a Jurassic Park, all of which actually ARE in the "very best of all time" class. JP and TWD had a rough start with code, but ended up amazing. GZ was white hot out of the gate.

So, I get that you're enthusiastic, but that Shaq Attack in your collection has made me understand your criteria for "very best of all time" may be looser than most.

You're confident Bond with Lonnie will be incredible, and I'm hoping but not confident it will be great. If we end up in the middle, it will be a miracle.

Fingers crossed.

Toes, too.

Haha! You have to really abuse my trust to get a chart. Gomez promising updates to my $15k SLE batman'66 every two weeks then skipping out for 140 days did it. This kerfluffle, however, will not.

I’ll make you a deal - you don’t judge me for my guilty-pleasure pins, and I wont judge you for selling cheap pc fans at 5x markup

All the fans I sell are in the best class on the market and OEM customized for me direct from the factory in volume. They're not off-the-shelf.

And thanks for bringing that up. Since you did, I'll announce there's a new "deluxe" flipper cooling kit level debuting for Bond that will be better and quieter than anything to date. It won't replace the existing kits, just provide an "ultimate" option for those that want it.

What a salesperson for me you turned out to be! Thank you!

Video looks good for early code - thanks for sharing.
Agree they need to change that spinner sound -
what is it - a xylophone ?!

Not good, but easy fix.