Must be system overload

I can ´ t see it ... Just pub and after nothing

Seems to be working now.
I see no lights in the speaker grill.

I had to stop watching due to lag. Hopefully this gets posted later as I would really like to see some game play footage of the LE with the rules explained.

After a few minutes, they seemed to 'reboot' and it streamed great. Really enjoyed watching the gameplay.

they fixed it. to me, code seems pretty deep and complete. wanted THAT question asked and answered by the heavy hitter sharpe bros and kerins.

need........theme.........music............NOW!...................

It is the Only thing i find sad with my stle ... No main theme ... If this theme was included , it Will be one of the best stern pinball for me

Pinball Browser should be able to solve this problem for you.

-Wes

Guess I could put a tape recorder in the cabinet and just have it playing all the time. sigh.

From what I've heard we will not be getting the ST theme music on the pin.

That's the worse news I have heard so far.
I can deal with no LCD screen
I can deal with the shitty red DMD
I can deal with the starfield projector that doesn't project stars
But I can not deal with no Star Trek main theme music.
You hear that Stern, totally unacceptable if true.
Why license a theme with out including the most iconic music that defines both new Star Trek movies. Un freaking believable.

Heard from who. Seems like it's just conjecture on these boards.

In a sense, yes. They don't have RIGHTS to the code itself, but the license holder gets to dictate HOW their license is portrayed by Stern. Open sourcing the code means that hobbyists can edit in things that aren't approved by the license holder, which could breach Stern's contract for the license.

These properties are protective of their brand(s), so they don't want it being used in unauthorized ways. Do you REALLY think Marvel or Paramount is going to be okay with just letting anyone add something to how their licenses are portrayed in the pin? I'm sure Stern gets a long list of things that they can't include into the machine (nudity, swearing, certain characters or phrases) or code by the holders at the start of the process.

Why is this a big deal? Just edit the music in Pinball Browser. You can make e music whatever the hell you want!

From Waison per Echovictor

And he still posts with optimism asking for it

Don't give up hope

I did take away something from Gary's talk.... we can be flippant about choices they make, think we can do better, but it really seems to weigh on him the fact that there are 200 jobs at stake at the company. If we think they are slow to react or take chances, it is because of that. Shake things up too much and the whole thing could go away.

It also seems like he confirmed the continued direction for LE pricing. He stated that they cannot exist by only selling "$8,000, $9,000, and $10,000 dollar LE's"

Yo mama.

Just got home from SPF, but my 16 year old had just finished playing STLE when it had to be moved to the 3pm room and my daughter got invited to help with the demonstration, she declined.

If Stern doesn't choose to add certain key obvious components (such as an LED in the Tron Recognizer, or obvious iconic music) Then it's up to us to do it, aftermarket. I don't worry about the "retail prices". I've seen T2's sold for 6 grand back when they were $800 - $1200 everywhere. The owners go to sell them, and get hit with a reality check.If Stern fails completely on a title, then we can scoop them up cheaply and do them right.

So far, win-win for us. I don't really care how great Stern cranks them out, I'm just pleased that they don't stop.

The only thing that has happened with pinflation is some of us have lost all our sources for quick, high-dollar, pin-flipping...oh well. The concept of the LE is flat out hilarious.

Stern and others have turned the pinball market into the car market. It's no longer about who can make the best, most interesting pinball machine, it's how many options can I get for my money? I would like to see it done better, but I'm pretty sure today's modders will become tomorrows builders...so we wait, and see.

-Dan

And color me "not buying" Stern games.

Sadly, after watching that interview, he obviously doesn't give a rat's ass, about the HUO collector buyer......

It's just the way it is, accept it and buy pins that eventually get completed. "We won't do original titles like Ghosts from Hell because my French distributor would say send me two prototypes and we'll see what happens, with a licensed theme they will happily send the $300,000 up front payment........"

Bitch, moan, complain, whatever, the individual buyer doesn't mean shit.......

it sounded to me like he was talking about the industry as a whole.

It's about bending over the LE buyer and then hoping for the volume sales to OPS on the pro......

The whole LE thing is just jacked up. Almost 2x the price for some sort of false 'exclusivity', and another 100 bucks on the BOM. But then again, man they do look nice...

-Wes

It looks phenomenal, problem is like every other release, he doesn't give a shit about the code because once he has cashed the $300k checks its F the HUO guy because the OP and casual player doesn't care......

That's it, simple as that, unless you have a huge seller like Ac/dc......

So to sum up this Gary Stern Hour. Only licenced themes. No Scary Ghost pins. Also get your ass out to a barcade, and enjoy pins, vodka, and craft beers. 'Easy to learn, hard to master'.

I was at the speech in person and that did not seem like his attitude ICE.... I think he was just trying to get the point across that with out the overseas and PRO market there would not be the opportunity to make the other models.

when I stood up and asked for him to talk about the coding process and what it takes for updates to be made and sent out.... he knew what I ment..... with out me attacking the question of where are the code updates.... we shall see what happens in the near future. the guy is smarter than he leads on to display...

I also thought it was interesting that he stated that he felt the term "hobby" should not be used when referring to pinball. That he felt it was insulting.

I like to think of it as a lifestyle... Im sure some people would agree... when you tell people "I play pinball" they are like what?

Thank you for recording the presentations this year.

Papa tv rocks

A lot of what he says makes good business sense like the use of licenses. I question the future of pinball on location though. Especially in the uk nobody wants to go to a bar to drink and play pinball. Arcades are dead in the uk because everybody has home consoles now.

In my opinion, they should concentrate on the enthusiasts just as much, use popular licenses to get new people in, embrace social media and put more into sponsoring competitions and tournaments. Make pinball a sport instead of just a game. Get some high profile players to promote the sport and stop relying on the old idea of trying to get new people into it by arcades route. Talk to the fans and respond to feedback. Engage the customer on a personal level. If you can't look after them because they aren't placing $300,000 orders you have failed in the long run.

Pinball needs a face to tour around the country demonstrating the new machines and get on tv. Take Taylor guitars - they have dedicated super star players touring round the world demonstrating their guitars. You see one of them showing you what a Taylor guitar can do and you want one. Why not pinball. Get some ambassador's for the sport. Get celebrities playing it. Get a face of Pinball instead of just a manufacturing company. Make it the must have accessory for the home with wifi, mp3, internet connectivity. Take it away from just a game you play in a bar and make it a social event in your home. On location no matter how simple they make the machine for the casual player, most people will never get it until they are shown by someone how to play. Education and promoting it as a sport is the way forward.

I thought your question was worded well. Asking where is the code without just saying that and turning him off.

I thought his answer for the question about why there isnt a headphone jack in modern pins was just tone deaf... Cant cost more than a few dollars. Playing pinball in a bar is impossible to learn the rules or hear what u are supposed to do etc....

If he thinks that on location/op routing is the future of pinball then I worry. There are very few games in the wild that i see. And most of them are barely playable/broken. I think he downplays way too much the effect of broken games and poor first impressions that pinball makes on young players. Once they play any pin and its a horrible exp, do you think they are gonna try it again.... Hell no.

Again, you are wrong, there are things you can control and things you cannot as the licenser. Once it leaves the factory, it's out of Sterns hands. I am not saying Stern should market on the platform of open code, but they could certainly make it easier for us to hack. Pinball browser allows you to change almost all of the licensed aspects of the game.................Has Stern been shut down? Once you buy the machine, it's yours to hack, there is no contract the purchaser signs that bans them from doing so. The art which is one of the most important aspects can easily be changed.............Is that not similar to "Open source", after all it is very easy to change? Do you REALLY think Disney is going to be chasing a bunch of pinball collectors? REALLY????

No question, they should at least include it on LE and premium models.

While I was at SPF, I did not get to hear Gary Speak this time.
What I can share, is after a grueling week at IAPPA, where even one day is exhausting,
Gary went right from that show on Friday to SPF...he chatted, mingled, played, helped people.
An amazing man, with energy levels and passion for pinball, we all should have.
I have watched help help kids learn to play, debate rules, sign autographs, and play 2 player games
with anyone.
Sure, he isnt going to answer everyones needs and questions to their Satisfaction,
But for an icon, and Great Guy, that single handed, has the hobby alive today,
I simply think anything less then a, "Thank you", is misplaced.

He was a Joy to have, and SPF was blessed to have him for 2 days at the show!

.....and yes the show has been so much fun, lots of us enjoyed, "libations for everyone!"

the reason operators are needed is because they destroy games. Collectors baby their games. Ops put them on route, make their money, then ditch them and buy another one. home collectors max out of space, starting trading with others, but if the bubble does not continue then the whole collector's market pops.

I'm sure he likes our money just fine, but there is not enough there to keep his company going. That's all he's saying.

We may not like the answers, but from a business perspective they make sense. a factory that must churn out product every day, 200 families at stake, that is a lot of pressure.

The license answer was very honest. "That's no way to run a factory".... that says it all. He has to sell product sight unseen. He does not have the luxury to send out tester machines and build inventory and then ship it out later if they want it.

The code issues will continue to be a concern, but there is an easy solution... buy the game after it is proven. That is our privilege.

Pretty clear and agree with everything you said. Especially the "buy the game after it is proven".

It's just a business, like he said, and the HUO guy is at the low end of the totem pole, rightly so in a "business".

I give him no credit for going from IAAPA to SPF, a "grueling" process, and signing, chatting, etc., it's his job in his business to promote his pins. I'm glad he kept pinball alive in the spirit of his father and obviously for his own passion but it was primarily a "business decision" to keep it alive.

So it's just this, "buy the game after it is proven".............if not, don't bitch about code not being done or whenever it gets done because they are making a business decision that it either doesn't matter and its time to move on to getting the next pin out the door or it goes to the back of the line for an undetermined wait time......

I'm glad to see these last two posts, acknowledging the business side of things.
Pinsiders (many of them, anyway) throw some pretty big rocks at Stern when things aren't done the way they want.
The truth is, Gary and co. are trying to make money. I have no idea how much they make, but until I see Ferrari's in Sterns parking lot, or diamond grills flashing in the mouths of the people on the production line, it is my belief that they're squeaking by, paying the bills, and maybe not too much more. Unfortunately, we, the home users/collectors, are worth no more than say 10% of the business. Maybe less. We don't buy enough for Gary etc to change the way they run their company.
That doesn't mean they don't like us or wish we'd go away. It just is what it is.
I expect we are the 10% of buyers who take up 90% of their customer service team's time and energy though.
"When are you shipping StarTrek?"
"My Hulk scratched his arm! I want you to ship me new ones!"
Etc etc.
Accept Stern for who they are and how they operate. Like em or leave em.

The good thing about the LE situation being exploited by both JJP and Stern with their huge production numbers, is we no longer need to feel the pressure of "buy now or never!". There is so much new product coming available, we the collectors can sit back and cherry pick. They might not like that either but that is the situation that has been created.

I don't see how adding the theme music would hurt the license. In fact I believe it would improve their position.

What do we want? THEME MUSIC! When do we want it? NOW!

What do want? THE MUSIC!!! When do we want it? NOW!!!!

He said it was a good idea, and that some of his games used to have them (my Guns & Roses did).

But he also said that every good idea can't be immediately added.

Back in the day, I once asked a Ford Motor electrical engineer why the hell can't Ford put 2 cigarette lighter jacks in the dash for all my 12v accessories. I said that it can't cost that much since I can buy an accessory jack at Autozone for $12.....

He said that it was a popular request, but the actual cost per vehicle was $150 by the time all the wiring, labor, engineering, fusing, documentation, testing and molding .....

Of course now, every vehicle has 4 "power ports" in the dash and a few in the backseat too, but it did not just happen overnight.

Right now the Dr. Dre "Beats" headphones have 60% of the market; making it stylish to wear conspicuously sized headphones in public. Should this trend continue (like needing more 12v jacks in your auto), I bet it won't be long before headphone jacks return.

Still, some things need to be decided, like should the jacks be the more durable 1/4" size, or the tiny 3.2mm size like on an iPod??? No matter what, someone is going to bitch that they should not have to carry around an adapter....

Although it is a nice feature, I don't use the headphone jack on my WOZ. Too me, if you want one, you can add it as an aftermarket mod. I would rather designers and pinball companies spend there time designing better games with new features then worrying about the little extras people may or may not want.

Have you ever tried it?

I tried it once and the volume was too low for my old ears to hear.