I am a fan and would love to see Elvira 3. I have both previous games and would love to see a third. However, I would want to see a modern game that pays homage to the other two to make a trilogy. I would NOT buy a Nellie retheme (though I would like to get an actual Nellie someday).

However - unlike BM66 where I took a leap of faith and bought an LE - I'm almost certainly not a day 1 buyer without evidence to show that Stern's playfield issues are behind them and we have some sort of roadmap on what to expect when for code.

And part of me wishes that it's JJP and not Stern doing the game, though I guess it really wouldn't be a fitting sequel if Dennis and Greg weren't involved.

No one has answered the original question- what do you want to see in Elvira 3?

At minimum, it has to have a left orbit lock shot and a really wild ramp. I'd like to see it have a specific nod to a mode in each of the first two games and glow in the dark plastics.

I'm sure Greg will knock the art out of the park, so I'm not worried about the art package being a photoshopped aberration. I would absolutely love new organ music and the related jokes. That sequence in EATPM is one of my favorite sound sequences ever.

I have mixed feelings about what the display should be. I don't know if it would be best to use the new Stern LCD and use old video or if they should go retro.

Mostly I want the game to be what Cassandra, Greg and Dennis want it to be without any Stern "we know better" changes.

Going to have to make room for Elvira 3 ...

That is the expectation.

If true, that's good news. I would rather see the game held back until code is complete (or close) than have another Batman debacle. I'm guessing there is some decent overlap between Batman owners and potential Elvira owners so delaying the release seems like a good move on Stern's part.

Not unless Stern clones Lyman. He's still working on Batman code.

Unless Stern wants to compound the problem, they will let him finish Batman first. I'm not buying Elvira unless Batman is done AND Elvira is substantially complete.

I'm pretty sure that Stern doesn't care. But Stern made and unprecedented statement about letting Lyman work on Batman until it was complete. Walking that back doesn't help them. And people are beginning to get tired of buying a box of lights at release. At some point it will impact sales to the point where Stern will pay attention. All I can do as an individual buyer is not to support Stern by not buying incomplete games even if it means not buying a title I'm very excited about.

This issue isn't unique to Elvira, but I hope Elvira will become he turning point where Stern finally decides that feature complete code at release matters.

But buyers can't continue to count on Lyman finishing the code on his own time. It's great that he has done so in the past, but we have got to buy games for what they are, not on what they might become.

Anyone know whether the game is truly dead?

Well, they really weren't supposed to say what they said at TPF last year ...

Great news from TPF!

I don't have room for both. Will be a tough choice, but Elvira would have the edge unless I get rid of EATPM or SS.

We have deferred a decision on Munsters until we see Elvira. Prepared for an Elvira LE purchase if the features and art look good.

My wife isn’t necessarily keen on having it next to the other two, but I hope it will be worth the wait. If not, I’ll probably have an awesome EATPM and/or a SS available.

I just wish there was credible intel on if E3 will finally be released in 2019. Is there confirmation that this is indeed Lyman’s next game or is that just wishful thinking?

She thinks the two Elvira’s is one too many. For me, part of the appeal is to have all three.

Absolutely. Probably wouldn’t work in a smaller collection unless you were a super Elvira fan.

EATPM is a great System 11 game, SS is so-so (very easy) for a WPC game. If we don’t get E3, I presume SS would be the most likely of the remaining two to go though I love the ramps.

I have much higher expectations for game than most. Dennis/Greg/Cassandra with Lyman on code should be a home run.

But if Stern screws this one up, I’ve probably bought my last NIB from them.

No chance I’m paying Batman SLE money for ANY game no matter how much I want it. I also don’t think the title can support an SLE.

If there’s no Pro, that’s fine.

Hopefully only 3 months to go!

Anything could happen ...

... except we aren’t gong to announce the title that best fits with a full moon on Friday the 13th and everyone knows is coming.

Not as good as Ted’s proposed title.

I want this, but not buying unless Stern or my distrib gives me a good guarantee they will take care of my House of Horrors playfield if that turns out to be a house of horrors. Don’t want a playfield that reminds me of melting wax, no matter how well it might fit with the theme.

That’s clearly the LE playfield. We’ll have to wait a couple days for the details and better pics. I don’t like the cabinet art on the Premium (my wife said it reminds her of Cirqus Voltaire).

On the playfield my first reaction is the ramps are disappointing. Nothing iconic like the water slide or honey beast ramp. And the mansion better do some cool stuff if we are indeed looking at BM66 price points. The Batman turntable is a formidable multistage mechanism. Unclear if the mansion is more than a fancy sculpt. And it does look a little too wide open.

I’m expecting the code will be deep (because Lyman). But my biggest concern is whether these games will ship with the playfield clear problem fixed. I hear that Stern considers minor playfield pooling is acceptable and that is unacceptable to me. I still expect LE slots will sell quickly so I’m going to have make a tough call next week - is there enough here and is the playfield crapshoot worth the risk? I’d love to have the entire trilogy but a defective playfield would bother and upset me tremendously.

Pricing hasn’t been announced. Expect more details next week.

People are getting bent out of shape because of the rumor E3 has a Batman-like pricing model. It appears that E3 has less on the PF than Batman and there is no integrated topper so I don’t think we are going to see LEs at $10k.

You need an anatomy lesson.

Distributors had a presentation at 1am Chicago time this morning. Art, gameplay video and rule set shown, but no pricing details.

Sounds like we might hear more this week.

No verification. No models or pricing have been announced.

400 LE seems to be consistent with what I have heard. But it seems 696 would have been a better number. I’m interested to see the differentiation between the three models.

Robert, I usually defer to you in all things Elvira - but E3 is much simpler and has already been used for the last two years while we waited for official confirmation of the title.

That didn’t matter for Munsters.

The lack of Pro pricing on Batman was more related to the BOM cost than anything else. Many attributed to the KaPow licensing, and I’m sure that played a factor, but the turntable is such a massive and involved toy there really isn’t anything you could have removed from the Premium to make it a Pro.

I hope we will see that the E3 mansion has a lot more to it than just the sculpt and that the lowest model is a Premium because there just wasn’t enough you could take out to have a Pro price point without neutering the game.

Poll up:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/what-should-the-abbreviation-for-the-new-elvira-game-be#post-5206295

I started it and am surprised by the current vote. But if EHOH wins, that’s what I’ll use. Unless I get tired of typing EHOH (not the easiest acronym to type on an iPad) in which case i’ll use Elvira 3 or E3 and assume people will figure it out

I suspect MSRP is 7899/9599/15k for Premium/LE/Signature Edition (not Super LE)

Similar to Batman (three levels/no Pro/same playfield features) but no topper. Despite the price, I think the 50 SEs will sell out pretty quickly to Elvira fans, though I personally can’t justify that $5k leap.

I’ve been told the leaked pictures don’t do the game justice, so I’m looking forward to see what comes next.

Just got confirmation from Rob Berk that Cassandra will have autograph sessions both Friday and Saturday at Expo.

I was on the fence about Expo this year, but that may be the push I need.

I still don’t think 400 is very limited, but it’s a step in the right direction. But it still remains to be seen if there is enough to justify $1700 more for an LE. At least the Batman LEs had the cool topper.

Domestic LEs apparently shipping first this time. Bet some have games by Halloween, maybe even Expo. I suspect this means a very high likelihood we will see E3 games on the line during the factory tour. Sure hope the playfield clear problems have been fixed...

None of the editions will come with a topper. Don’t know if Stern will offer one as an accessory.

Signature Edition is autographed and has hand drawn cabinet art, couch memorabilia and some other stuff.

Haven’t hear that. Would be awesome if true, but not holding my breath.

The $1700 delta between Premium and LE is in line with other recent titles so I doubt we see more than different art packages, art blades, shaker, powder coated rails, shaker and maybe Stern low glare glass.

For production pins I agree with you. For LEs only Batman 66 could truly be considered limited at 240. And it was the art package and topper that made the difference. Stern’s best LE to date was Star Trek and that certainly wasn’t limited at 799.

I think Stern has probably set the Elvira number at 400 because that’s low enough to move the fence sitters at launch without leaving too much money on the table.

But the current concept of LE is really meaningless because if you really want one you will be able to get one so “limited@ is more marketing gimmick than value.

I don’t have any of the Stern anti glare glass but the other two brands make a significant difference in my game room.

Unless the reveal is an absolute dud I’ll bet 400 LEs are presold by Halloween, if not by the end of next week.

Don’t know how the Premiums will sell, but 400 LEs will sell quickly and easily. I’m pretty confident Stern has a good handle on demand.

And if the game shoots well and Lyman makes the code as immersive as Batman those “no Pro; not buying” folks will drop that mantra and take a serious look at a Premium.

True. But this is the case with every game. Don’t you think Stern has a really good idea of how many LEs distribs can sell through at announce? Look at Munsters. Very anticipated theme. Presold the initial LE allotment so fast they increased LEs to 600. Games were sold to customers before anyone realized the code was going to be so basic.

This theme + Lyman will sell 400 to end users no problem. I agree with whoever said if you want an LE call your distributor soon. 200 in the US is a slam dunk.

MSRP of $9599 is a good bet, but nothing has been announced.

I’ve been on the interested parties at my distributor ever since the TPF “announcement”, but I don’t think anything is reserved until you have a deposit down so there may be 19 interested people but not 19 sold.

The $1700 difference for an LE question is tough for me. I’m confused that the leaked photos show the same translite but different cabinet art. I was expecting different translites for each level.

I really don’t care for the all words version of the sides, but could probably live with it since the game would be in the middle of a row with the sides not all that visible. So then it becomes “how much value is their in the extras?” and if I were going to do them all it’s probably $700-$900 so the extra cost for the LE is $800-$1k (not counting tax). But it seems like Stern has relaxed restrictions on selling LE parts to non-LE owners so maybe a Premium and LE side art makes sense.

My biggest concern is not so much the cost delta, but the fact that a commitment for an LE pretty much has to be made before there is any chance to play the game (concern lessened only because Lyman is on code) and without knowing if the playfield bubbling/pooling issue has actually been fixed which turns a $1700 gamble into a $10k one.

I’m fine if it’s like the flowy ramps on EATPM and SS where they almost have to be plastic, but I’m not thrilled with plastic on E3 especially after the metal ones on Munsters turned out awesome.

Maybe the SE has the LE side art but on the fancy foil like BM66SLE?

A little disappointed that Stern didn’t do the formal announce today (Cassandra’s birthday).

And I really hate waiting ...

We better see kickass video and high res pics tomorrow ...

I think the NIB cult is just a very vocal minority, as is the “if it wasn't made in the last five years, it’s not worthy” group. I can’t believe any rational pinball fan would consider Zach or Jack objective; their agenda is to sell new games. I think most of the so-called “influencers” actually know very little about pinball and do the hobby a disservice when it comes to helping those new to the hobby find their way. If you understand they are just salesmen trying to move the widget of the month, you can get some useful information and entertainment. Both of the gentleman you mention put on great productions but entertaining certainly <> objective.

My collection is at the point where to bring a new game in, one has to leave so I’m never going to be in the “buy every new game” club (and there’s probably only three themes that I’d even consider buying new at these prices). Rational critique is both helpful and welcome, but for some whom theme is key, emotion will usually win out over logic if a dream theme is involved. I know, because that’s where I am with Elvira today.

This could be good and cripple future SLEs. That’s a lot of almost nothing for $5k+. Might be fine for the few Elvira fans that $5k doesn’t matter to, but that’s it. All this does is help Jack justify the cost of JJP Collector Editions which have far more for less.

Get Cassandra to sign an apron card at Expo for $50 (or whatever) and put it on a Premium or LE. Done.

Because I don’t think they will sell 50 at $15k with that feature set.

Batman 66 a holy grail type theme for many. The initial hype and interest in Batman 66 was off the charts compared to a third Elvira title.

You really think a distributor is going to give you such a warranty? If so, please post a copy of the response.

BTW - I agree with you 100% on the concern. It absolutely sucks that the LEs are going to be first off the line.

Hi Dennis - glad to see you are following the thread. Hope you can give us some more background/details on the game after the official announcement. Would love to hear about the design considerations and how the game differs from the original design (if at all). I’m personally curious about why no wacky/fun ramps like the water slide and boney beast ramps in the previous games.

I’m sorry - the absolute most important question is “Has Stern fixed the playfields?” Bad playfields in the domestic LEs (apparently first off the line) will absolutely tank game sales no matter how great the game is. And that would be practically criminal on Stern’s part.

Lyman is on code and he is the perfect fit along with Dennis, Greg and Cassandra. Talk about a dream team. I’m sure the code is much further along than Batman was at release but I don’t care because Lyman’s track record speaks for itself and I’m sure the game won’t be done until he’s happy with it.

Key features from the IGN piece:

The titular House of Horrors, an interactive toy with a spinning turret on top, and three entrances to shoot for, including one under a lifting staircase ramp.

Two ramps on either side of the playfield. The left ramp has a Scared Stiff-style crate that opens up to divert balls into a multiball lock.

A Dead Head Crypt bash toy that also opens up to gobble a ball. This crypt delivers balls to other parts of the playfield via subway, including one vertical upkicker on the lower right that shoots the ball across the playfield to the crate targets.

Lots of little, leaping gargoyles behind targets.

3 super-hidden pop bumpers behind the Crypt.

Custom video featuring Elvira

Clips from 40 movies

Trailer is nice but hard to watch. Would like to see more wide/long shots rather than rapid fire clips.

Too soon to tell.

Looks like stand ups on the sides, not drop targets.

So, you’re in for an LE?

JJ is great. Don’t think you will see much variation in pricing on this title. Stick with Game Exchange.

So where is the Stern press release?

By the way, for those that say Stern doesn’t do subways this game has one.

From Stern:

76D0134F-EFC4-4839-8A1D-2B24F532561A (resized).jpeg

Domestic LEs ship first

My biggest complaint is no drop targets by the trunk.

But hey - at least there isn’t a mono target!

Poll up: Are you a buyer or potential buyer?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/are-you-a-buyer-or-potential-buyer-for-elviras-house-of-horrors#post-5211848

That’s what I was told though it’s unclear if that meant no topper with the LE/SE (like Batman) or no topper period.

As long as you voted honestly at this point in time, that’s fine.

If people want to vote simply to skew results rather than give an honest opinion, not much that can be done about it.

I haven’t heard anyone say the pooling/chipping issues have been resolved; only that Stern said they were. But the distribs I spoke to were unwilling to be specific about what would be done if there was an issue indicating that Stern would have the final say. Coupled with the statement that “Stern considers some pooling to be normal” did little to ease my concern about the clear issue.

Wednesday, 9/25, 7pm Central
DDB1A71F-855F-4B7F-97D6-4F9CC5E924C6 (resized).jpeg

Yes, but it would still be better with drop targets.

Some LEs should be out before Expo. Premiums in November.

Where are the flyers for the game?

Do you see what thread you’re in?

There have been a few comments suggesting that Cassandra’s contract required the game be released by Halloween 2019.

To those saying the code should be further along because Lyman has been on the game for three years, that would only go fair if the final version of the game were available to him for that long which clearly isn’t the case. I’m sure he can only program so much on a computer or Spike simulator or whatever the development platform is before needing to see it on a real game.

I got the impression from the stream that we were seeing a relatively small subset of the code because it was either incomplete or they disnr want to show some modes. We do have a good idea of the overall theme and structure (haunted house, return monsters to film to sell the house unlike Batman at a similar point in time where the overall game play design hadn’t really been decided.

My initial impressions mirror many comments here:
1) floating deadheads need to be improved and made more translucent

2) pop bumper swimming rings are fine but seem a bit jarring because the colors are so bright compared to the underlying footage. Maybe make smaller or confine to the sides/corners or the screen.

3) need Elvira call outs other than the custom video stuff. Didn’t hear the double entendres I expected. Apparently we will get more from the narrator,so that’s good

4) would like to see Lyman use the channel changing function from Batman somehow to see multiple movies at once or something that fits into the “channel changing” construct. People absolutely love that when they see it in Batman and since Elvira also uses a TV for video that fits.

5) Game shoots well but we will have to see how well the code leverages those shots

6) I think the stream gives us an idea of where Lyman is going. I like it and think the game will end up feeling like the third game in a trilogy (that’s good), but suspect we will still hear a lot of negativity at release about how unfinished the code is. The big difference is we are dealing with Lyman who (a) is an awesome player (b) is a perfectionist and (c) is working on a theme he really wanted to do (like Batman) so I’m fairly confident E3 will become a deep and varied game that makes use of the AV assets better than any game other than Batman.

I like what I see and want the game. That said, I’m not buying one anytime soon.

I almost violated the promise I made to myself two years ago when I started a thread called “A Dark Night for Stern” about how Stern’s presentation at Expo 2017. I said “I'm no longer going to buy a game for what it might become in the future or what a company tells me they are going to do. Actions speak louder than words. I'm going to be buying on what I get today, not promises of what I'll get tomorrow.”

That was primarily about code. I let my guard down a little when I ordered an Elvira LE after I saw the game announcement, confident that Lyman would do the game justice. I cancelled the order primarily because I have near zero confidence Stern has fixed the clear coat issues or would take care of me if my new game was impacted. I’ve decided that I need to stick to my promise to myself and only buy the game when I’m happy with what I know when I buy it. It’s very hard to do because this is a dream theme for me and it sucks that I will probably not end up with an LE, but a used LE or NIB Premium in the next year when I know the entirety of the machine seems to be the smartest move. Thanks to the early adopters that makes that approach possible for me.

I agree with pretty much everything Zach said, distributor or not.

I’m sure one has existed for a while, but not years or substantially longer than the average development cycle.

Because it’s not accurate.

Domestic LEs first, then overseas LEs. Includes SEs.
Then Premiums (probably see domestic Premiums in the wild before overseas LEs just because of shipping and distribution logistics)

Don’t know why the order changed this time, only that it did. I’m guessing it has something to do with the oft-repeated rumor that Cassandra required the game to be publicly released by Halloween.

Backglasses in name only. Isn’t it like STLE where it was glass fused to plastic?

No differences in game play between any of the models. Differences are cosmetic only.

Please tell both your distributor and Stern.

No difference in the final outcome as far as game code/game play is concerned.
Updating by USB will update node board firmware as required.

Yes. But I wouldn’t mess with an SD card update unless there’s a good reason to do so. USB update is a lot less hassle

What do owners think of the sound? In the streams I’ve seen it sounds very repetitive/ monotonous. Is that just my imagination?

Yeah, the simple rule set worked so well for Stern with Munsters ...

Just to be clear - I’m not the one that said that maybe the goal was to have a simple rule set. I can’t imagine a modern Lyman game with a simple rule set. I’m expecting Elvira to be epic when done.

The flyers do exist

977C5340-28BD-460B-983E-3F0FC86F2195 (resized).jpeg

D038B13E-056C-4F88-B550-0938E262224F (resized).jpeg

According to Greg Ferres the deadheads are going to be reworked to address some of the concerns about them. I would like to see references to some of the deadheads in SS but apparently that’s not in the cards.

Dennis said the original DD ramp was scrapped because it would have had to be very steep to get the momentum necessary to make it over the humps.

Nothing has been announced. Rumor is there is no official one from Stern, but I haven’t been able to confirm that.

This has been covered before. Most mod makers don’t get LEs so they don’t have games yet.

Flyers are up:

https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Elvira-Premium-Flyer.pdf

https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Elvira-LE-Flyer.pdf

https://sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Elvira-SE-Flyer.pdf

I guess I’m unclear as to what gate issue you reference. Can you detail what the problem/fix is if it’s different than adjusting the spring tension?

Whysnow My old eyes can’t read the text at the bottom of the pic. Can you post the text? Thanks.

Are you getting a game spfxted ?

Memel Mods may skip HOH. Any other moders looking at options for the game?

As designed. If I understood him correctly, a Stern tech at Expo told me they could be adjusted. Some are worried that may damage the glare prevention coating on the LE glass but that coating is on the top side of the glass, not the bottom.

Ditto. I think my game will be here a little before the protector, but I’ll wait. $100 or so is cheap insurance for the playfield on a $8k-$10k game, especially since the wood these days seems quite soft. I’ve had one on Batman 66 since close to Day 1 and have had no issues with it.

I used to feel the same way, but not about the new thinner ones that the playfield protector guys do. If it bothers me down the road, I’ll take it off. But seeing moon crater dimpling or other playfield damage would bother me a lot more.

The following sales page seems to indicate that there is an official topper and shooter coming. Any one have any details?

https://pinballandmore.com/elviras-house-of-horrors-premium-pinball-machine/

Optional Upgrades:

–Elvira’s House of Horrors Backbox Topper – TBD
Official Elvira Pinball topper features a fully interactive RGB LED lighting that will elevate any Elvira Pinball playing experience to the next level. Easy install. Fits all Elvira’s House of Horrors game models.

–Elvira’s Custom Shooter Rod – TBD
Officially Licensed Elvira Shooter Knob and Rod. Fits all Elvira’s House of Horrors models.

If I had a card, that’s the one I’d want for sure.

I’d like to get one of those card frames with the film decal. I have a nice pic with Cassandra from Expo that I’d put there.

Do you know when this was corrected in production?