Premium on order. So many cool and interactive toys

Time to hype this release some more, lol.

I honesty think Ghostbusters pinball has the potential to be a top 10, heck probably top 5, pin. All of be right pieces are in place for this to happen.

For one we have a unique layout offering not just a lot of shots but a variety of unique shots. There are two scoop shots, drop target shots, two ramp shots, orbit shots, inner orbit shot, captive ball shots, etc.

Two. The toys Oh how Stern has clearly upped their game with this release when it comes to interactive toys. The toys in the premium / LE version are not just for show or are bash targets but rather are unique and interactive. We all know what they are and I can honestly say I've never seen another Stern pin with as many interactive toys as GB has. Magnetic slings, steel ramp that drops under playfield into a physical ball lock that is integrated with a VUK, Ecto Goggles toy, moving Slimer toy, etc. All of the main toys on the premium / LE are truly innovative.

Three, the artwork. Amazing and beautiful. One of Sterns best artwork offerings. Thank you ZombiYeti!

Four, a deep progression based ruleset. 9 interesting and unique scene modes that requires the player to work the playfield (not just hitting the same shot over and over again). I've also heard from Dwight that there are 5 multiballs in the game.

Five, proper licensing + original music. Stern nailed the licensing package with this game. There will be custom callouts from Ernie Hudson, the actors voices / likeness can be used, and the original theme song is in the game. Also, according to Dwight there will be 30 original tracks in the game plus 3 variations of the main theme (1 for each ball)

Six, charm + comedy. Not many pinball themes offer this and some of those that do (Attack from Mars, Medevial Madness, Monster Bash) are some of the best of all time. There are so many comedic elements to Ghostbusters that will make the pinball machine just a joy and fun time to play.

Get hyped!!!!

I'm wondering if the change is only for Mass Hysteria MB or for any mode in the game? The entry written in the change log makes it sound like reverse flippers can happen at any point in the game.

Thanks! Forget my last post, lol.

I think Erinie did a pretty good job overall, I just wish there was more variety with his call outs. The quality of the callouts are far better then the Karl Urban callouts as Stern had Ernie record them in an actual studio versus over the phone with Karl...(read that a while back on here).

Are some of them cheesy as others have said? Yes. In Pinball Browser I've heard a "Smoke em if ya got em" Ernie callout, lol.

I thought I read a week or so ago that Stern has already corrected the outlane issue by raising them slightly on pros going forward. With premiums not even on the line yet I would think that fix will be in the game.

I'm going to finally order a Ghostbusters Premium. Game looks very cool and it appears that a good number of issues, especially playfield related, have been worked out.

Also, a friend of mine messaged Stern on Facebook the other day and asked if any more code updates for Ghostbusters are coming. They said "yes!".

Thanks for the tips, will do!

I'm also ordering a GB Premium and have waited a year to do so because of the playfield issues. For several months now there has been steady reports of playfields with no issues. I now feel comfortable purchasing the game. Still, I'm now reading that some people are having issues with the one way gate on the left orbit of the game?

Also, as others have said purchase Arts airball protector plastic.

Would anyone recommend installing a full playfield protector on new Ghostbusters Premium? I'm wondering if it's worth the extra expense and time investment. I won't have my game for at least a couple weeks.

Agree. So many other Stern toppers just duplicate something that is already on the playfield but to a larger scale. The Ghostbusters topper is truly unique and replicates one of the most iconic pieces on the Ecto-1.

I think the price is what turns a lot of people off considering that their are no actual rotating beacons in the topper (just simulated) and there is not a functioning siren.

I'll probably buy one eventually if it's integration is expanded with a future code update.

Those do look cool. Does anyone what bulb socket type the mode ladder inserts use? I haven't received my game yet but may order some colored LED'S for those inserts.

Thanks for the tips. The pinball life protector looks nice as like you said you don't have to remove as much. The protector must stop at the orbits, I wonder if the protector would lift up near the edge as the ball rolls over it from orbit shots?

There's also this one which is a full playfield protector.

https://www.playfield-protectors.com/Home/Details/58joTtBkSk2BFnxLz17wyw?catgoryid=22&name=Playfield%20Protector%20Ghostbusters%20(Premium)%20%7C%202016

Update: nevermind, looks like the Pinball Life protector is a full protector as well.

Damn does that game look good! Congrats. I'll be ordering a premium in another week or two. How do you like the topper so far?

Interested in knowing as well. I didn't realize that most light mods get powered from the LED node boards. I ordered the left and right LED scoop mods from mezel for my game. If I'm only going to be running these two light mods should I be ok?

In terms of how modes are played is there an option to enable the next mode to automatically start when one is completed as well as an option to force the player to hit a mode start shot for the next mode? I think I may have seen both options in gameplay videos but I'm not sure which one is default.

Wow...sorry to hear that is happening to your game. This is BS that this is evening happening on new games. Has your distributor said anything about taking care of the issue?

I was planning to order a Ghostbusters premium this week but then heard about the cabinet issues. I called Stern to ask about the issue and if I should wait a month or two to order. I was quickly told there is no issue with cabinets and that every once in a while one doesn't get enough glue...There are now too many people reporting the problem for it to be just a one off issue.

Finally decided to join the club. Almost joined the Aerosmith club but the distributor I was going to go through was taking a long time to get back with me which made me feel uncomfortable.

I talked to my wife and friends to get their thoughts on both games and decided to go with a GB Premium. I was honsetly to the point of writing a list of pros and cons for both games as I couldn't decide, lol. I ordered the game from CoinTaker and it's shipping out today. According to CoinTaker the game was made about 3 weeks ago.

GB Premium has some of the coolest toys I've seen in a pinball machine so it's hard to pass up. I know some people knock it for being difficult but I welcome the challenge and have no plans to add a center post or make any lane modifications.

I have the airball protector for the ramp. Is the Ecto Goggles protector really necessary if the ramp airball protector is on the game?

Has anyone installed the Lasseriffic backboard LED mod? It looks pretty cool. I already have two single LED scoop mods from Mezel Mods. I'm wondering with the backboard mod (6 LED's) and the 2 scoop LED mods if it would be drawing too much more from the game? I read some concerns about drawing additional power from node boards.

http://cointaker.com/products/ghostbusters-backboard-lighting-kit

Received my NIB Ghostbusters Premium yesterday! Build date is 3-25-17, playfield 2-20-17. Cabinet looks great but I still installed the Williams brackets for it.

Only issue I had was with a portion of the left outlane area, part of the left orbit and all under the apron of the game having a residue left on the playfield. The area did not feel smooth like the rest of the playfield but rough. Visually it looked the same. I used Novus 2, buffed it like crazy and now it's fine like the rest of the game. Maybe dried wax?

Some guys are thinking maybe it was clear over spray? Whatever it was I'm glad it buffed out, Novus saves the day again.

Does anyone know if it's normal on the premium for one side of magna sling flasher inserts to remain lit at times?

I've only played a couples games as I've been installing mods / protectors but have seen this occur a couple times after the magna slings activate. Once the ball drains the lights do go out and I think during gameplay I saw them go out when the magna slings were activated again (can't recall for sure).

Ah ok! Makes sense. Thank you! That's cool Dwight coded that in.

Finally had a chance to play a good 10 games tonight on my new premium after a few hours of installing mods, flipper button protectors, Williams leg plates, shooter lane cliffy, mylar in shooter lane, Pinnovators sub adapter, lighter speaker kit, and then cleaning / waxing the playfield. Still need to install the official art blades but they are on the way.

Wow, what a fun game! The game is super fast and tough as nails. Audio quality is very nice and the Pinnovators subwoofer kit combined with a 10" Polk sub sound awesome. I really like all of the skill shot options, I never understood them until I took some time and went through them tonight.

Everything mechanically is working great out of the box. The magna slings are very cool and seem responsive. The magna slings and subway ramp are both really unique features to have on a pinball machine that I've never seen before. Very happy to have added this game to my collection.

Agree. The game is not complete and needs to be finished.

Really hope we get another code update in the near future that adds to gameplay. The theme and game deserve it! Hoping an "Are You a God" super wizard mode makes it into the game as that is the coolest name ever for a super wizard mode, lol.

It's disappointing that "if" was instead of "when". For $5k-$8k owners expect a complete game with bug fixes and deep as well as unique code. With the current bugs, scoring issues and lack of an "Are you a God" wizard mode the game isn't complete.

Many pins could be so much better if only the proper code support was given. Sadly Stern loves to pump and then dump most of their games. Stern puts so much time and energy into revealing a game, doing video web docs, talking about accessories, etc all to sell a ton of games early on but as soon as the next game is announced it's silence about the last one.

Everyone here should ask Stern on their Facebook page when the next code update for Ghosbusters is coming. Keep pressing them.

Not sure if anyone else saw Sterns Facebook "Stern of the Union address" post but they said that a final Ghostbusters code update will come after Star Wars is complete. The wait will likely be a while but at least we know that something is coming.

From Stern's November "Stern of the Union Address". It's nice how games with code in development have notes next to them with what is be worked on.

"Ghostbusters – With Star Wars coming to completion soon, we will be focusing on a final update for Ghostbusters."

http://www.sternpinball.com/community/stern-of-the-union-address-november-2017

$5k-$5200 as a starting price.

Hi guys,

Today I noticed that about half of the LED light boards are out on my Ghostbusters premium. I've checked connections underneath the playfield and everything seems good. Is it possible that a node board went out? I also reinstalled the latest update and that didn't correct the issue. It seems that all of the upper playfield LED's are out. All flashers work expect for the containment facility which and the flasher between the pops.

Any suggestions?
20180930_201212 (resized).jpg

I pressed on a few connections under the game and all of a sudden everything was back. I started playing again and the same group of lights all went off again. Weird. I'm going to open a tech thread for the issue just in case any owners with other Spike games have seen this issue.

Update: It was a bad solder joint, fixed!

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lights-out-on-ghostbusters

An email from ColorDMD regarding their next release was sent out today! Looks pretty cool. I sure hope this doesn't mean that a larger code update from Stern isn't in the works and is still coming. Either way it will be nice to have a ColorDMD in the game.

Capture (resized).JPG
Capture1 (resized).JPG
Capture2 (resized).JPG
Capture3 (resized).JPG

It's just the LE head decals being sold, no side art. Still, should have to go directly through your distributor and provide your games serial number.

Thank you for sharing the notes! The wait has undeniably sucked for the next Ghostbusters update. Even Gomez admits that its one of their most popular games. PUT THE RESOURCES ON THE GAME STERN! The only good thing is that we now know that Stern has admitted that the games code is incomplete from a mode perceptive (Are You a God is coming), and it sounds like a lot of polish is coming. These are all good things despite the terribly long wait as we now know that the update won't be a simple bug fix update.

Stern's next "State of the Stern" address is this coming Tuesday where we will learn the state of the upcoming KISS update. I can see the KISS update taking the rest of the year with the holidays coming up. A substantial Ghostbusters update by next spring sounds likely...

I read in another thread that it took the last 2 years to do the work for the Ghostbusters ColorDMD.

The good news is that we know an update is coming and have Gomez on record saying what is missing from the game. Those items need to be added. There's no excuse for it if they don't. If Stern doesn't properly complete the games code then for me Ghostbusters is the last new game I'll ever buy from them. Such an iconic theme and loaded pin deserves to have its code finished.

Lol, yeah, I bought that game used from the original owner and was pleased with the pace of the updates for the game. Code support for Star Wars has been stellar and the game feels very complete. I hope the same thing happens for Ghostbusters, which I bought new. I bought my Star Wars LE less then 2 months after Stern put out their October 2017 "Stern of the Union Address"...ugh.

Capture (resized).JPG

I would think that both Game of Thrones and Star Wars are complete at this point. Sounds like the Ghostbusters update has been delayed until Dwights next game is released...

They should work great. I've been using Ball Baron Ninja Chromes in my Dialed In and that game has 5 magnets. If the balls ever do become magnetized I'll swap them out for the same ball. Best ball in pinball in my opinion.

Better be GB first at this point. Ghostbusters code needs a lot of work. I think GOT code is likely done at this point, maybe some bug fixes down the road.

Below are some notes I took regarding Ghostbusters code from the new Head2Head Pinball podcast interview with Dwight. Good stuff.

1. Highest item on Dwight's list for Ghostbusters is to do something about the game being too messy, said too many things stack. Would like to see Loopin Supers played on it's own and not stacked with other modes, should be a moment type mode to get to

2. Library insert - was never intended to be a feature or mode (used as indicator to shoot for in Librian mode) but will now get it's own little rule

3. Are you a God? - First off Dwight said yes he is (good answer lol), never meant to be part of 1.0, putting Are You a God on instruction card was a mistake, doesn't know if it will happen...

4. We Came We Saw - could be more polished, should be worth more and be more interesting

Dwight also went into how he will have more time after Munsters to work on other stuff. He said that it took Stern a long time to get to where they are at today. Mentioned how working on Spike revisions impacted code updates and how George Gomez has worked on hiring more programmers. According to Dwight Stern now has 9 in house programmers and 3 external. Programming staff used to be spread too thin but now is better. Finally he mentioned that programmers now get time after a release to work on other stuff and that he will get that time after Munsters.

Yeah the Are You a God comment was a bummer. That is an advertised feature on a game that people paid thousands of dollars for it. It should and needs to be in the game.

Seeing "Are You a God" on the rulescard first made me think "Wow, what a cool name for a super wizard mode, that's perfect". If it doesn't get added it will forever be a glaring reminder that Stern didn't keep their word and opens the door to people questioning whether or not Stern will do something similar in the future. Personally if it doesn't get added I'll likely never buy a NIB Stern again.

Gomez referred to "Are You a God" as missing from the game at Expo so I hope he would push to have it added.

giphy.gif

Over two years now since the last code update! Completely ridiculous and unacceptable. I wonder if the final code update will even come out by this summer?

Its KISS all over again. Stern finally finished KISS code but I believe it took them over 2 years. Hopefully once Dwight finishes Munster code he can work on Ghostbusters. Here's also hoping it's a massive code update.

Dwight seems like a great guy but 2 years since the last code update is not only a ridiculous amount of time time to wait but also unacceptable. The wait has led me to sell another Stern pin and buy a competitor's product.

Munsters looks cool but I feel I would be a fool to buy one, or any Stern pin, while still waiting for Ghostbusters code to be properly completed.

Ordered the damn topper. Yes it's overpriced in my opinion but it looks like the are out of production and only a couple distributors have them in stock. I figured at this point I'll never own a real Ecto-1 so this is the closest I'll ever get lol.

Sounds like most pinball machines too lol. Looking forward to getting the topper.

I hope with the final code update Stern increase the uses of the topper a bit. A shot to the left orbit should always activate the topper and trigger a strobe effect on it considering the shot represents the Ecto-1 in the game. Just that change alone would help a ton.

Sweet! I also saw this post on his Facebook page. Can't wait to see how the code changes.
Capture (resized).JPG

Yeah, just wow. Here's what Dwight said...

"When Munsters is done I will work on other things, not making any promises, Ghostbusters will definitely get some attention at some point"

26 months after the last code and that's what is said...wow.

Yup, same here. Dwight seems like a great guy but I won't buy another one of his games after this whole GB code debacle. Not going through this again at these prices.

I'm pretty sure the new vault edition is going to be LOTR.

Just hearsay from multiple people saying they heard from person A that LOTR is next. Could be complete BS too. Dwight joked around though on the Head2Head pinball podcast about a GB vault with an LCD screen so that's not it lol.

Would like to post an April fools joke about new Ghostbusters code being released today but I don't think I can even joke about that anymore lol.

Lol! Damn it I knew I shouldn't have created that thread

"What a dream of an update" Hmmm, that makes it sound like it's gotta be a pretty substantial update!

or someone at Stern asked them to delete the post / comments. Please let this be real! lol

That sounds like it is real! Lol

That's exactly what they would be doing if its real

From Facebook

Screenshot_20190603-101921_Chrome (resized).jpg

It was from a different source, their Facebook page, with a different comment. Guess we will know today if it was all BS or not with the June Stern of the Union update.

Complete BS at this point. 29 months and counting.

Is this a recent comment or the one from months ago?

Lol I hope not as the 3rd movie hasn't event started filming yet and none of the original actors are confirmed. This update needs to happen soon!

I appreciate what ZombiYeti said but he also said a similar comment months ago. Either the update is currently being worked on or he has just heard "it's coming" which from Stern may mean "Ghostbusters update remains in our schedule".

Software development for a code update doesn't take 30 months. Stern has coded multiple entire games over the past 30 months so yes they could easily put a code update out within that time.

The wait at this point has passed ridiculous levels, it's embarrassing. If someone at a company repeatedly told their boss for years that "the task has been delayed but remains in my schedule" they would be fired. That's how reality works.

Please come back to the thread, there's a big party next Tuesday celebrating 30 months of no code update!

Stern-Epic-30th-Anniversary (resized).jpeg

Great news!

Absolutely. If it was going to be a minor update Dwight could likely do it himself. After what Stern said I'm hoping the update is comparable in size to the final KISS code update, meaning lots of changes and additions. Also, the quote below from Stern makes it sounds like the update is being worked on right now.

"We’ve recently allocated additional resources to the Ghostbusters update".

At bare minimum I'm guessing bug fixes, making the library insert do something, and adding an "Are You a God" final wizard mode. Those last two items were brought up by George Gomez at Expo 2018 in regards to them being missing from the game. I would also expect some of the existing modes to have more choreography added and hopefully a few additional topper effects added. Still hoping a Slimer multiball is added.

I can see Dwight acting as a project manager for the update and providing guidance to the team about what needs to be addressed.

Just wondering if you are having issues with the LED's on that board? I had that issue on I believe the same board and reflowed the solder which fixed it.

Probably why "additional resources" have been put on GB code, now it makes sense with Dwight working on GOT code.

Dwight starts talking about the GB code update right here. Top Men are working on it!

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/453279905?t=00h03m20s

The community feedback provided to Stern on Pinside, at shows, and on Sterns Facebook page over the past 30 months has definitely had an impact on the code update. Without it I would have expected a minor update, most bug fixes, but nothing on the large scale that we have now heard it will be.

If the community had no impact we wouldn't have heard Dwight making comments in the GOT code stream such as "let's address the elephant in the room". I'm just happy Stern is trying to make owners happy with this update by going all out with it.

Premium / LE is probably Sterns most loaded game to date, can't go wrong it. Metal subway ramp that drops underplayfield with physical ball lock, magna slings, moving Slimer, PKE ramp, actual 3D molded features, and more.

Same. One day it will happen and it will be a day long remembered lol.

Yeah, both models are great. It's amazing how everything license wise came together for Ghostbusters. Stern was able to get audio assets from every main actor (including some minor ones) across two films, hired Ernie Hudson for custom callouts, licensed the main track, and use the actors likeness on the back glass / playfield with a cool art style. That combination is extremely rare in pinball today. Combine that with the unique layout and multiple interactive toys / features and all the game needs to become a masterpiece is a final code update Can't wait.

Yeah! Code is now in testing which means we could see it within the next month or two. I bet it will be out by end of October at the latest.

It sounds like it's going to be a huge update, even larger then the last GOT update. Does anyone think Stern has added an Are You a God super wizard mode and or a Slimer multiball?

Good ideas. Some more topper code would be awesome, it's an amazing topper but not used nearly enough. Just some extra effects added to it would be nice. When all the lights go crazy during the Storage Facility MB intro it would be cool if some lights on the topper triggered as well.

Yeah, even better! If Dwight is concerned about the effects occurring too often there could be a setting for it in the menu. Have how it is today as the default setting and then also have a another setting that enables more effects. Probably too late for anything new to be added at this point but hopefully something topper related is in the update.

Update sounds incredible so far, wow! Are you a God confirmed!

Yeah, here's what I mentioned in other thread. Minor spoilers regarding how to get there but I turned down game audio once they got there and didn't look at the animations.

Sounds like "Are you a God" is a level you are trying to reach in the "We're Ready to Believe You" wizard mode versus its own mode standalone mode. However, still seems like its a unique mode as it's a final progressive based level you play after getting to a high enough level within "We're Ready to Believe You". Very cool!

Hi Rob, thanks for sharing more details about the update. Is there anything else worth noting in the update that wasn't mentioned by Dwight in the stream? Sounds like there's a bunch of tweaks, small additions, and bug fixes in the update as well.

No Slimer multiball I think that is a missed opportunity. Slimer is the main toy in the game and the game already lacks an each to achieve multiball. A 2 ball Slimer multiball would be a great addition.

Oh yeah, so much cool stuff has been changed and added. Just heard towards the end of the stream that new topper and shaker code has been added as well! Dwight also said "theres so many things we haven't talked about".

Incredible update!

It was removed just for the stream but is still in the game.

Sounds like theres a lot of extra little tweaks and additions that we didn't see on the stream. Dwight did say at one point "theres so many things we haven't talked about". Work for the update apparently began in May so it's been being worked on for a while.

On the stream Dwight mentioned there's adjustments to change some settings back to the way they were pre update. I'm hoping there's an adjustment for not letting ladder modes be marked complete if they are not completed. I'm sure that's one of the adjustment in there. Would be nice to combine that setting with not letting modes auto start after one is completed. I want getting to "We Came We Saw" to represent a really good game, and then getting to "We're Ready to Believe You" and "Are you a God" to be that game of a lifetime.

Please don't come into a game club thread and bash the game, not cool. Sounds like you don't own the game anymore, it's not in your collection. Why come in here and bash the game, especially when owners are about to receive a massive update?

Theres far more then 3 shots in GB premium. As far as main shots that pass through an area or drop into something theres 7 shots. Toss in targets, captive balls, etc and theres many more. Take another game, Batman 66, theres 6 shots that pass through or drop into an area.

Personally I think GB premium / LE is one of Sterns best layouts as it's the complete opposite of a fan layout. GB is the anti fan layout game, filled with unique ramps, scoops, two captive balls, a physical ball lock, drop targets, magnets, and more. Simply put its Sterns most loaded game to date in my opinion.

Yeah! It really shows just how much code can impact and change a game.

Personally I think that is awesome as Loopin Supers is now it's own set piece moment. Sometimes stacking results in too much going on and for individual modes to be lost in the process.

I look at it this way, GB was worked on by dozens of people, far more than just the designer. The designer however is a convicted felon and has a personal item in the game with that being an animation of his cat in the Ecto Goggles. No one else that worked on the game has something personal on that level in the game.

I think the designer should have that personal touch stripped away considering what he did. I don't want to see a convicted felons cat in the game, he lost that privilege with the sick crime he committed.

Hi guys,

Does anyone have instructions for the Modfather Ghostbusters subway mod with LED's? I'm not sure where the lights need to be powered from. I tried emailing Modfather but haven't received a reply and don't see the instructions on the site.

https://modfatherpinball.com/collections/ghost-busters/products/ghostbusters-subway-mod

Capture (resized).JPG

Awesome, thank you so much!

Just want to make sure I'm doing this right before I turn my game on. I've noticed that GI light terminals on GB have one end wrapped with tape or something from the factory. Can I connect one alligator clip to one terminal and the other to a separate terminal like below? These are lights for the PKE lanes.

20200219_115620 (resized).jpg

Thanks. Yeah I would prefer connectors like those above versus alligator clips. If I did want to move forward with the alligator clips can I safely connect them like above or should they each be on one GI build versus 2 like I have in the pic?

20200219_115620 (resized).jpg

Yeah. I did get the mod installed and powered using the alligator clips. I just zipped tied the wires to the existing wiring harness to help secure them in place a bit better.

20200221_165846 (resized).jpg

It does make them harder to see but its doable.

Did that one get listed for 14.5k Canadian? With or without topper?

Ah ok cool. The 14.5 price, was that Canadian?