Good luck with that one - I wish that would happen too!

Lowering the prices a bit would be nice

It will probably help them to maintain their low purchase cost. Not lower it.

Can someone post a pic of under the play field of the GOT Pro?

I personally think the SPIKE system sucks! Here's why:

1. Power supply fan noise
2. No true flashers anymore.
3. Power switch location.

Stern has cheapened it up way too much, while keeping prices high. It is almost a glorified "The Pin" now.

The new system could have been designed similar to MMR's beaglebone CPU, and still kept the features that make pinball, real pinball.

I type this as my MMR sits near my KISS LE. CGC/PPS did the redesigned system right. Stern got it all wrong, plus Stern's SPIKE board cost almost twice what a beaglebone cost.

Ok, let's try these in a poll...

1. Stern will add a color LCD and lower the overall price of the game.

or

2. Stern will add a color LCD and jack UP the prices of the games.

Hmmmmmmm, I'm guessing 2. Stern will never lower the price of a game. And for everyone that points out that they have before, no, all they did was list a lower price on a less popular game. But the street price still goes up.

Haha. GOT has at least 10 flashers. Maybe he is referring to the classic dome flashers and not the spot lights. In that case there are at least two of those in GOT too and every other new stern I can think of.

I'm curious too. Please elaborate.

I guess we all see things differently from time to time. I think the flasher effects on KISS & GOT are awesome.

I've been noticing that the physical switches (not optos) don't register all the time on the GoT pro on location near me, particularly the outer orbits and the standup targets. It's not like "oh, that switch is flaky" - all of them just don't register something like 5% of the time. Feels like an early solid state with the caps snipped off.

Come to think of it, are there any other cherry or leaf switches on the game? I can see how it'd be pretty sparse under the playfield.

Anyways, could just be me, could just be that game, my impression was that it was something new due to the system but I hadn't seen that kind of problem on KISS. I hope it's something they can address in software.

Same thing back in the day when Pins switched from EM to SS.

Huge savings in production costs and weight, but the price of games went up.

The manufacturers said the price went up to pay for the R&D required.

The operators did not complain, because the SS pins were EARNING! EM pins only a year old looked like dinosaurs.

Yes I'm talking about the domed flashers. Yes Got and KISS have them, but they are nothing more than another led, software controlled to imitate a flasher. MMR also has LED's as flashers, but they are much brighter. I guess if most people can't tell the difference then that makes Stern's decision, that much better. But I personally think the flashers suck on every Stern after TWD.

You can turn up the brightness in the software.

Many people were complaining how bright the flashers were in GOT, that is until someone pointed out that you can dial them down...lol

I noticed the orbits not registering sometimes too.

I agree...PPS/CGC did a GREAT job on MMr

From the SPIKE manual.

image.png

Okay, and? So they're just like regular lights, but brighter because they draw more power. Just like ... flashers? I don't understand the problem. Seems like people thought GOT was too bright, so it can't be that they're not bright enough. How else are they deficient?

I don't get it either. The simplified wiring, "sparse" underplayfield appearance, and homogenized parts (like using the same LED boards throughout) are all features, not bugs. This stuff all contributes to making the games lighter, less likely to suffer shipping damage, easier to service, and almost certainly more reliable.

The SAM system had a good run, but modern high speed/bandwidth digital circuits render the old point-to-point matrix-based approach largely obsolete. Pinball has used the same basic architecture for nearly 40 years, time to move forward.

Yes, it might also boost Stern's margins a bit, but that just makes their long-term outlook brighter, which is good for all of us!

Personally, my speculation is that Stern is taking a conservative approach to rolling out the new system and is simply waiting for it to prove itself reliable in games of the same caliber as SAM titles before they stretch it to its fullest capabilities. (Actually the first application for Spike was The Pin, simpler than a normal game.)

The same way a strobe is different then a flashing light?

Of course stern won't lower their price even if it costs them less in parts and labour. It's a business. Maybe one day unicef will get into the pinball business but until then you have to pay full pop

Disclaimer: I know a lot of people on here are super serious so the above was a quote from the movie "Joe Dirt" and it is a joke.

The flashers are no way near as bright as the high voltage flashers on SAM/WPC etc. All you have to do is watch a video of, say, ACDC or MMR and then a Video of GOT or KISS, you will barely notice the flashers on the latter games. I am all for technology moving forward, cheaper, lighter, more durable, etc. My point is superbright flashers have been a part of pinball since the SS era started, STERN should have designed the flasher circuitry the way CGC did. Everyone has their own pet peeves with the new boards, I was just pointing out mine. Maybe as more people get SPIKE based games, you will have a better understanding of my point, when comparing them to the older games.

When I played GoT Pro a couple weeks ago, I never gave a second thought to what was happening under the playfield, or even considered the wire harness.
The flashers were too bright.
The video mode was ridiculously awful.
The overall game was amazing.
Can't wait to play more and to see the Premium model.

How about #3; LCD introduced and prices remain the same. I think this will be the case hence the long awaited delay of the LCD as they try to incorporate it at a reasonable worthy value

What happened to the thumbs down button?

Not a chance, $300 price increase minimum on the first LCD game.

Instead why don't you try to elaborate on why you think it doesn't suck?

I was getting too many so I asked Robin to remove it.

One of you is obviously wrong! And I've heard a lot of reports of the GOT flashers being too bright, so I'm inclined to believe it. I only played GOT under pretty well lit conditions.

I think the lighting in general on GOT is too bright, but there is very little difference (contrast) between the flashers and everything else.

Well the good news is that early reports of the latest code are coming in, saying that the flashers are no longer blinding.
Now if only they could make the video mode play like the Horde mode in TWD.
THAT'S a pinball video mode!

Man that would really suck seems like there has been a mark up on every single release now. I'm not sure how much more I can justify spending on a new pin. Their current price point is right on my limit.

If those are your only reasons,
1. Yeah the power supply fan sucks but with a exhaust fan mod, it cuts the high RPM fan noise down significantly.
2. I will mail you two old bulb flashers for every one of your Stern flashers. That way when the old flasher burns out you will have a spare.
3. Really, really, REALLY? The power switch is why you think the spike system sucks. Tell ya what, I got a selfie stick some one gave me, I will regift it to you, that way you can reach the switch.

Now 4 or five years down the road when one of your led display boards goes bad under the play field and you have to pay an arm and a leg to replace it, then YES the system components suck in the case that if one small led goes bad your average joe is not going to be able to micro solder that off and replace it and end up buying the whole led display.

Someone was fortunate enough to get an honest, candid reaction from Stern Execs once they read the above line.

hahaha.jpg

GoT guts:

GoT_SPIKE.jpg

got_CPU.jpg

GoT_Underside.jpg

So on a plus note, it looks like it will be super easy to pull the playfield out if you ever need to to install blades or something.

Thank you.

Thank YOU for all my glare guards

They just make VE games look so much better

Spike is a nice design. Why would anyone not appreciate use of more modern components and improved design? Companies exist to earn money - this looks like it would help Stern's profitability while creating the ability to provide innovative new features to its customers.

Exactly. SPIKE is a huge step forward. It cuts cuts manufacturing cost and increases serviceability and reliability. Without looking under the hood you would never know what a huge difference there is.

I have had a couple of good encounters and I don't even own a machine yet. First was installing a shaker motor into a KISS. There is now no need for the little board at all. Just install the shaker and hook it up. Also, since they moved the power switch there is a ton of room now to install the shaker on the right side instead of having to shoehorn it in on the left like before. The other cool thing is there are no longer diodes everywhere on switches and light sockets because there is no such thing as a switch or lamp matrix any more. I installed a Tournament button on a WWE and all you have to do is install the switch and hook up the wires. No more splicing diodes inline.

There have been a lot of threads about SPIKE already. Here is the official video:

It's more modern now so people's feelings don't get hurt. Think of it as "everyone gets a trophy".

This has been my feeling all along. The incremental increase in cost every couple releases the past few years have all been so that the eventual cost of the LCD models don't seem so "crazy". Meanwhile, the past couple years Sten could use the extra profit per machine from the cost increase to both fund their development of the LCD and SPIKE tech, as well as acclimate the hobby to the higher costs once the LCDs final land.

Op- care to shed some light as to what "huge" cost savings are. Yet another pinsider with intimate knowledge of sterns manufacturing, r&d and Bom costs are.
Spike is a fantastic system and well beyond anything currently out there. It wasn't cheap to design, manufacture and implement. It was done to improve game serviceability and reliability.