Looks cool to me, if gameplay is there I'm in for a Pre.

I'm positive I'm selling a few pins as well:

Coleco Fonzie - $40
Zizzle POTC - $80
Raven - $300

That should be enough to get a GOT Pro in 6 months.

Funny... I don't think acdc looks that bad. It has it's own thing... Totally boosted by its stellar play

I think the features look pretty good and I think this game is going to be fun to play. After all it's SR.

So which game can we already tell is going to get bumped out of the current top 10 to make room for GoT? Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars, Monster Bash, TAF, Metallica? All we can say at this point is the game didn't make a good first impression due to art. Fortunately, one strike isn't a strike out, so it's got an opportunity to improve our perspectives in the future with superb game play, but already hyping it as a top 10 game before one rolls off the assembly line is why we can't expect better from Stern in the future.

It is what it is...you mentioned ACDC and you might like the way it looks and cool, I don't think that's the mass opinion though (I could be wrong though...but you still mention gameplay whenst talking aboot looks).

I like the theme, a lot. That's positive.

I own ACDC Premium. I had a Star Trek Premium. I did alt translites for both, but on my personal games I only had the Star Trek one installed. I actually like the ACDC Premium translite. It's got a good mix of typography and imagery, I like the composition. Some people are weirded out by shirtless sweaty guitar action, but it doesn't feel out of place to me. It's a rock and roll band, that what they look like. The Metallica Roadcase translite was terrible, because it was a cheesy PR collage. ACDC was well designed.

The playfield is kind of unlovely, but without the face it's mostly just that it's a bit busy and noisy, and the inserts between the flippers are kinda just crammed together. But I like the blue and red plastics, the sea of people holding up the horn bands. The train is cool, the bell is awesome. The dancing band sucks (I know some people love it, not me), the flames that light up are ugly, the canon is dumb, and the diverter coils are ugly too. It's a clunky looking game. But it's all fixable or forgivable really. I'm happy to own it. Steve and Lyman made something special despite those flaws.

Star Trek had a really dumb insert matrix between the flippers. That bevel and embossed look was a harbinger of things to come sadly. I never liked it, never warmed to, and always thought it was corny. But I could deal, the rest of the playfield worked for me. I don't know why people hated on the space dust galaxy cloud thing, I thought it was cool. And with the RGB lights it all worked. I disliked the headshot translite, but everyone knows I had a fix for that.

For me the bottom line is that they weren't perfect, awesome art packages, but they had enough going on that worked that they were just kind okay, and the rest made up for it. I don't think Star Trek is remotely a top 10 pin, I sold it and never missed it once, the code didn't do it for me. But that's just me. I don't care much about rankings, they're silly.

GOT doesn't approach either game in the art department. It's just got some seriously bad decision making on it, and I cringe to look at it. I wish I didn't have to feel so harsh, but I'm just being honest. It was not well done. That big gradient is just an easy example to point out, it's emblematic of the issues. When I see that what I see is someone saying "I don't give a fuck". I just can't look past that. I want to play it, it's a new Steve Ritchie pin! But man, $6500 for that? And boy, I hope the Premium art is better than the Pro art. Because the level of bad on that is off the charts too. It's a mystery to me what happened behind the scenes on this one.

I buy pinballs to play them, but also to enjoy them. The art is part of that. It's part of what's always made pinball cool. I'm not ready to give that up just to get something new. Plenty of other games out there.

Edit: Shit, sorry, got caught up in the debate again, forgot this was the positive thread. My positive thinking is that Ritchie and Dwight will make the game fun, and plenty of people will not care about the art the way I do and will buy it and enjoy it. I wish them lots of fun.

To be fair, I said "in or around the top ten". 9 is in the top 10. 13 is around the top 10.

Ugh...Do we really need to read "War and Peace" AGAIN!!

I was talking about the stuff that Aurich was working on. I have seen the GOT stuff to much already. I would like to see what someone can do when he gives a darn about his work.

I'm in for a lannister edition ....

Would expect nothing less from a Pats fan.

At first glance, yes. But House Martell with longer timers could make a huge difference.

In any case, and because this is a Positive thread, I am sure Steve R will make all houses interesting. Stern may not listen to feedback regarding artwork, but they generally do for rules. No way SR will allow a flawed ruleset in which one House dominates so much all other choices would be dumb.

That's sooooo freaking funny!!!! I laughed so hard I woke up my wife.

I do think Stern should have a small test group off of pinside to just bounce some preliminary art ideas at and swear them to secrecy. That might be a bit too much work for them though. Could lead to some awesome things in the future.

Absolutely! Aurich would have done it. Now that he's involved with Heighway, maybe RareHero would instead. Either way, the playfield art fukcing sucks, and this is coming from someone who doesn't really care all that much about art.

Looking forward to Alien(s)!

I respect your ps skills. Your work is great.

I haven't touched ps in 8 years. Ps is a resource hog. All pictures for button and layout. I get the graphic artist to create for me. What take me an hour. He does in minutes.

The thing is this.
HBO has their own visual art crew. Their ppl I'm guessing are larger and better than sterns guys

Hbo must have had direct input on what is acceptable and not

The final design had to go hbo for approval.

I really think they went with a very neutral design to appeal to everyone. It's a game. Games are meant to enjoyed by everyone. Which includes children. It's easy to criticize someone else's work. But these guys are pros. There is a legit reason why that playfield looks like something a "child" can create.

One of best things about the show the wonder years is. Is that the town it set in doesn't have a name.
The creators and writers did that Intentionally. The reason so everyone that watches the show can relate to it and say that town and neighborhood was just like theirs

I looked at the LE, then the pro, and decided I actually liked the pro better. Yes, its "has less stuff" but that upper playfield doesn't thrill me. Its just another hard to access, difficult to repair set of flippers on a mini playfield that doesn't do much. Just more crap to break. The pro looked like a fast, simple game and my clientele is going to jump all over it because of the theme just like they did with TWD.

Yes the playfield art is pretty bland but the show is pretty visually bland as well. Dirty, often dark, or out in a desert in an ocean of tan. If the game play is good it will be good enough for me.

Is the playfield and artwork missing characters as many people have complained? Sure, but there's so damn many characters in GoT that how do you include them all? People have bitched about the LE not having enough characters on it but I view that like the Avengers Hulk LE. Why aren't there more Avengers on the Hulk LE? Because its the Hulk LE! and based on a dominant, popular character much like the GoT LE.

My only negative thing about the Pro is that the Iron Throne isn't incorporated except in an insert. But that sounds like a mod waiting to happen.

I have a pro on order for a location and if the premium ends up being awesome (and I get to play test it and the mini playfield really adds a lot) I'd consider it for another location.

Remember LOTR? Lets not even talk about the art on that game and its a favorite of mine. GoT will do just fine if its fun and I'm realy looking forward to playing my pro.

As someone who is only 12 episodes into the series, I think they should've done an art package without the characters. The throne would make the perfect back glass. Shots of Kings Landing could've been used on the cabinet sides. A sword on the back box sides.

Well, that's part of the problem. GoT, the books and show, is not meant to be enjoyed by children at all. This may be why we feel the game didn't capture the feel of the show in any way.

Imo the playfield on pro seems stripped down and pricepoint should be brought back down not increased. That said, I've never come across a Steve Ritchie pin that wasn't fun to play. Weeks from now folks are going to be saying what a fun player the pro is. Still won't justify the 6k msrp cuz there are plenty of 2.5k pins that are just as fun to play.

I think the dragon is going to be way cool one you see/hear it during gameplay

I've read a number of comments on both sides of this issue, and have posted a few in the other threads. This started out with torches and pitchforks, and now, a lot of maybe's, it's not so bad, I may buy it, etc.

In reality, Stern will sell these machines without effort. People will buy because it's new, some won't, but 700 LE machines will sell. From a business standpoint, the market is captive and hungry. No incentive to change what is making Stern money. It's a proven formula that works with this type of market.

Stern can make a player's game. I really like STLE, and Tron to play. The one thing STLE and Tron have in common with the worst of the worst of Stern games is their execution, artwork style, use of photoshop, etc. GoT is no different, and no one really should have expected it to be any different.

To me, Stern's strong point is that they know how to quickly bring a game to market, and still have it be good enough to satisfy customers, and have it sell. None of that will change as long as people buy the games, and there's nothing wrong with that, as long as your expectations don't exceed reality. And, none of this has anything to do with gameplay. GoT may very well be the next best game to play. Take a look at the top 100. Eight of the top 20 games are modern Stern games, as of today. So, something's being done right.

To me, the presentation of the Stern machines, is in itself something I don't like. Not a fan of their toys, playfield artwork, or the feel of the games.

I've gone on and on about how I dislike the art in various threads but have made a point to say that I think the layout looks really fun. I am waiting to see the gameplay on the LE as I'm curious to see how the upper playfield will disrupt flow of the game. Could get tedious if the ball is up there constantly. I have faith in Steve Ritchie, though, that the whole game won't be spent there. The pro looks fast as heck. Though it's sorely lacking one good toy, it's not much different from AFM in concept. Considering AFM is almost universally loved, I don't think the pro is going to be a total flop.

Not a fan of the GoT books or series so i'm not in the market for one. I do know that if I were a fan, I would not be buying one for my home just based on the bad art. I think this will be a winner for operators, though. Pinheads will pump quarters into it on location if it plays great and the casual fan is gonna drop a few quarters into it here and there just as long as it has GoT pasted somewhere visable. Playfield art won't change either too much. I venture to say that some won't mind buying it for home use regardless of the art but most people start to get real picky when putting stuff in their homes, so the art package could have an effect on those decisions.

TLDR?

Cliff notes: Will probably play great but look awkward. Gottlieb 80B, 2.0.

This has probably been mentioned before but to me it looks like it is an intentionally generic medieval theme. Who knows, in a few years we might have (insert your favorite dragon/Knights/wizard movie here) with the same layout.

I think many people are over reacting and pre maturely reacting. Stern is not asleep at the wheel here.

Not to belittle the effort, but they do release a new game every 6 months or less. In the scheme of things, it's not a big deal. It's certainly good enough and may turn out to be quite awesome. From the big picture, not every game is a hit.

Stern has shown flexibility in the last few years. Who would have predicted Whoa Nellie, Lucy, Monsters and VEs? Even if they stick to the current LE art, they still have options for the premium and pro. They could do new art for either. Maybe they already have a castle mod for the pro, but we won't see it for 6 months. If it looks like a mod will fit there, they have likely already noticed.

I am positive that SR was playing minecraft the night before he designed the castle....

I don't know how GoT is going to look in person or play in person. only have pictures to go by. The old saying goes "never judge a book by it's cover" I have always stood by that. The first chance to see and play Got is going to be at EXPO in October. There I can feel and touch it all I want. Then ill make a decision if this game is worthy of picking up sometime down the road. Honestly I have never seen the show. So I don't know the characters or would recognize any of the call out. I think that is why i'm attracted to TWD because that is one of my favorite shows. So the positive as I can't wait til EXPO to play it. Anybody that is putting more games out good or bad is ok in my book. Just more games to play

Not generic at all, playfield art is populated with the gears from the opening sequence.
That does not translate to a "(insert your favorite dragon/Knights/wizard movie here) with the same layout."

That's actually brilliant. Quick re-theme to Minecraft. It'd be hard to mess up that art package, wouldn't it?

GoT LE looks amazing. I actually love the art package (love the dragon). Can't wait to see it in person.

Yeah.....I had no intentions of buying a GOT; now I have the pro and I'm loving it. Great rules and it's super fun to play. Art is still meh.

Bought a pro. Love it. Best game ever for me. Very, very well designed and thought out. Fun, stimulating, challenging, exciting, fast, sounds great, looks great, super engaging game. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. People will be scrambling to get these games in future.

My opinion, GOT pro is probably the best value Stern pinball has produced in a long time. Current, popular, theme. High quality sound package. 2nd most advanced light show behind GOT Premium they have ever produced. Game play is fun. Time will tell if the rules stand the test of time...

-Jeff

This is my sign... to drain the thread now before I get carried away... lol

Sure, I'll update my thoughts between 4 months ago and now. I ended up buying a Pro.

My impression after looking over the renders and the shot map were blah. It just seemed like it would be a boring ugly game. Yes, Steve designed it, but I was not impressed at all. I wasn't really jumping up and down disappointed, I was just "meh". But then I got to play a Pro, and WOW. There was something about it that felt fresh right away. I barely understood the rules when I bought one after playing it a couple of different nights.

GOT has since become one of my favorite games. I'm hard pressed to say I am still in the honeymoon phase, because I've had it a while now. It is the rules that make the game. Stern really knocked this game out of the park, but I still have a hard time describing why it is so good. I think it is the way the game guides you. Once you understand what you are trying to do, it still gives you a bunch of different ways to do it. Each house has its own feel and rewards. But the multipliers just crush it. Finishing a house is one thing, but lining it up to finish that house with a massive multiplier is a ton of fun. They have dabbled with that concept in other games, but GOT took it to the next level and made it great fun. Sometimes I'll just keep trying to cash out Stark for a huge value. A lot of nights I pick a random house, not for trying to get the high score on the game, but trying to get that house champion. This game has legs.

It has not yet stood the test of time, but it has the potential of being great. It needs more, but the basic structure is there to be a very long term game, and I don't say that about very many games.

GOT is like a Choose Your Own Adventure story. The rules have depth, and breadth. The story has multiple start points with 2 boss battles along the way. ( hand of the King and iron throne. ) you must defeat 4 houses to reach the first boss battle and defeat two more for the final battle. Not only does your starting house affect the story, but the order you choose to fight the other houses decides how the boss battles play out. Add to this a couple different side quests that are multiball modes that you can play along the way.

Bought the pro for location, its killing it with the regulars. Gonna buy a premium for the house and may route it eventually. A really great game.

I agree! I told my buddy a few weeks back, I felt like the pin was a choose your own adventure. You always feel involved in the game not just reacting to the pin. You feel in control. Very fun pin!

Isn't it three more? That's the weird thing...you actually have to "defeat" the house you chose to play as, which makes no sense, but I would think you have to get all 7 houses to be solidly lit the color of your house to get to Iron Throne (I haven't gotten there yet, obviously!).

I missed this thread at first so didn't vote. At launch I was a "Hell no" due to the art and the videos. Fortunately, game play is different than watching someone play and the art is much better (to me) in person. Just feels like it fits to me.

I wanted a premium but my wife begged me for an LE (she collects Dragons). Should be here in a couple of weeks. I don't watch the show but I love the theme (medieval themes). Can't wait to start digging in to the deeper parts of the code. Right now I've just been playing to beat houses (have one on route by me).

I had my deposit ready to go for a LE, and then they released the photos I cancelled and ignored it for a month. After a bit I convinced myself it would be more fast/fun without the playfield and bought a Pro. No regrets, at least until they get the local LE one working and I try it out. After a month and a half I'm convinced I'm keeping it for the long haul and ordered the side armor and blades for it. Hoping they arrive today.

Played my friends LE quite a bit now. It's a good playing game. Fast with lots of death shots. The art still looks like it was slapped together by a photoshop beginner who has never seen the show.

It's next to impossible to play in a dark room. Even with the insert LED's turned to their lowest... those large shield inserts are very low in the playfield and the flashing is so bright that you have no chance of knowing what's going on during multiball after you've hit a jackpot. It's bright enough to give you a migraine.

Canceled my LE order after seeing the art originally. I still have zero regrets about that.

There's a pile of cash building... said no to GOT.. a very VERY BIG NO to SMVE after seeing the price tag. Not enough bang for the buck at stern anymore.

They've updated the code since and you have far more control over the flashers. Mine is not blinding at all (after I toned it down).

Glad to hear this. The lighting was one of my concerns with the game as I also play in a dark room.

Well they're probably still going to be bright in a totally dark room (I play with some room lighting) they are still "flashers" after all. But you can certainly tone them down compared to when the game was released.

The only version of it that i find tempting is the premium. I think the art on it is probably the best of the batch. The lack of whitewalkers and the backglass on the LE just didn't do anything for me. That ... and it looks like hobbit smaug side art. I still have yet to play a pro model.

Do the upper playfield flippers wimp out on everyones? My friends upper pf flippers just can't catch the ball when it rebounds half of the time. I haven't looked through the menu's to see if there's an adjustment just for those.

The upper flippers were adjusted in the latest code. Weaker flip, stronger hold.

The pro plays really good. I have not played the premium/le, but if I could have changed one thing, it would be how the right ramp works. It would behave the same as the pro, except have a diverter (if qualified) to redirect the ball to the upper playfield.

Rob