Good god these are just so awful why would anyone want to play a mini video game that has nothing to do with pinball on a 2 color dotted screen using only 2 buttons for controls? These often give extra balls also. So you can't just skip them or you're at a disadvantage.

Finally, people don't realize. But coding video modes take a lot of time. Tis is time they could be used to improve the fun and rules in the game. I bet a video mode takes as long to code as say 3-4 good modes. Who here would prefer a video mode over say the 4 crank it up modes on metallica?

Another awsome point.

Spoken just like I might hear from someone that has no clue how to write code or what's involved in the process. Simply dismissing this point because the folks at williams decided it was a priority is silly.

A 128x32 2 color DMD cannot come close to comparing to some of these "phone screens". My iPhone has a 1920x1080 color display that competes with an hdtv. It's not even close. Further if you want to play those games you can play on your phone, then step away from the pinball machine and pull your phone out.

well we pass on it because it's not pinball. We don't add it as an option for a few complainers because it takes so much effort for something that is not going to fully integrate into the game because it needs to be optional. If the same amount of time to add a video mode is given to the developer, let him add some additional *pinball* modes instead. It's always a trade off.

And yes, games like CV would have been way better if they spent the wasted time they took to write two video modes and applied them towards enhancing the actual game. Perhaps if that happened, we wouldn't be hearing about CV 2.0.

I despise the video modes in all those games. But the games are still fun *in spite* of the video modes. Why would I sell the games? I don't have to like everything about every game to have the net result still be worth it. The video modes in sttng, congo, mm, cv, Johnny Mnemonic - those modes are just awful. And they can't be disabled either.

Imagine how much better a game like theatre of magic would have been had they spent the time they spent writing that awful pinball video mode on writing a decent wizard mode, fixing bugs when the outlane magnets fail, fixing the trunk timing issues that cause it to be mistakenly turned off When it doesn't have to be, etc.

As far as ruining the game, I sold Williams IJ because there were too many video modes. That game was ruined by them.

I actually think most pinsiders don't realize how time consuming writing a video mode is. They think "add an optional mode that can be disabled? Why not!" If it was clear that a single video mode code could take as long as ( or be replaced by 4 real pinball modes ), I don't think 70% would want it.

Great. Then by your definition of "video mode" based on the examples above, stern already has video modes. In metallica you have the crank it up video mode where you can select your crank it up mode. In Star Trek you have your mode start video mode where you can select which pinball mode to start. In acdc you have your juke box video mode where you can select the song to play.

Uh well with "the dmds" you don't get forced into stopping the play of the actual game for a 30 second long mini game on the screen. You can't see that as a difference?

They can be terrible. Cv has two absolutely terrible video modes. Johnny mnemonic is terrible. Most of them suck and you are forced to interact with them.

Other modes on the game don't take place with the ball stopped. Other modes on the game involve things like shooting ramps - you know, playing the game.

Your argument is so absurd that you can only be joking. No one could actually believe what you're saying and be for real.

Unfortunately, adding video modes and making them optional would not please everyone. People are already upset at stern releasing incomplete games and taking so long to finish the games. Adding video modes takes a ton of time to code so it would compound this problem. A single video mode takes more time to code up than several pinball modes. So you would either get much longer delays for finished code or you would get a game with video mode in place of several other modes. So making it at all is a problem. Optional or not.

Man you guys. Keith comes in here as a developer and someone that's been working in the industry for years and you guys "respectfully" ignore all his points and keep arguing for these lowsy video modes.

If the only innovation is in the form of new things to do in a video mode, then pinball is in serious trouble.

Luckily, it really doesn't matter about the poll. I'm sure stern isn't going to start investing the time into doing video modes. And you're talking with (ignoring) the JJP programmer who is basically telling you not only that he isn't doing video modes but why. So yea.

I doubt the failure to add video modes to a pinball machine are going to cost any company sales. There is absolutely no upside from a $$ perspective to add these wasted modes.

When Keith posted above, he posted (mostly) facts. Not his opinion. Those facts were based on experience from the last 15 years. You responded to each of those with some sort of "respectfully," followed by a statement that indicated you ignored what he said and pushed on with the crusade regardless. When someone posts facts, it's not an opinion ready for respectful debate. It's simply facts.

As for video sequences on the display, I'm all for that. Most the good devs let us double flipper out of them. But it's cool to have those. I find that completely different than being forced to stop playing pinball and manipulate some crap graphics on the screen. Sure, on woz hardware it may be a lot better and probably a somewhat ok video mode could be created for that. But it won't compare to what's on an Xbox one on people's hdtv so why bother? And if you have time for a video mode, add more depth to the actual game. That's all I'm saying.

Actually the graphics on many smart phone games do compare to the latest consoles when you take into account the small screen. But it's not a good comparison. A smart phone screen is full colored and capable of rendering anything clearly - just small. A DMD has so few picked in two colors and everything on it looks silly and ridiculous. It's only slightly better than putting a game on your calculator display. And so yea, the combination of ultra poor graphics and only two buttons for controls makes the mini game extremely not fun.

That would have changed tonight bad I felt better

Hey how can you say that?? Don't you see the poll? The public has spoken. You better get in this or people might go somewhere else. Nevermind that you have to spend 4 weeks on some crap you wont use yourself. Just make it an option and everyone is happy. Haven't you read the thread? I'm sure badbilly27 will ignore all this and start brainstorming for what type of video mode you will implement.

Haha that's funny. I wonder how happy Eric be if that guy implements it.