Hobbit!

Hobbit was actually completely off my radar...I was all in on GB...but as much as I played it and played it, I couldn't find the fun factor. So - got a refund and bought a Hobbit since I had my GB refund money burning a hole in my pocket. Now I'm kinda glad I had my GB "60-to-zero" experience since it led me to Hobbit, which is absolutely f*cking incredible and insanely fun!

I hope I get there with the Hobbit ... not slamming it, as we each have our own preferences. It's a beautiful game -- top quality, excellent finishing touches. I was simply bored playing it much of the time. That said, maybe what I need to do is bring headphones with me because on location, it's usually too difficult to hear. TZ was really slow to grow on me, so maybe the same will be of the Hobbit.

Dude I didn't even think that was possible!

The audio is essential for Hobbit. Absolutely essential. I mean, I think I'd say that for any game from the late 80's on up...but especially something as cinematic as Hobbit.

Hobbit was completely on my radar, preordered. But I played it and did not like it at all. Cancelled and switched to GB. Hobbit is a most beautiful game but just not my cup of tea. Different strokes for different folks.

Different strokes, of course - but Hobbit does need a few days to gel. This is unfortunate for those who want instant satisfaction from a game...but if you're able to explore Hobbit a little bit and understand what does what and why - once it clicks it's just insane and extremely satisfying....but perhaps only if you enjoy a cinematic quest style game like LOTR.

I was the opposite. I tried to like hobbit. Played from the early days like 3 years ago, till now and just cannot get in to it no matter how hard I try. But GB was the opposite. Knocked my socks off from the get go. In your face, balls to the wall ball buster. Love it. Great for league, great for when people are over and groups. Long ball time games are only good for when you are by yourself and have time to kill. My LOTR is not used any other time.

Well different strokes for different folks for sure, I cant stand the Hobbit and it bores me to death. Ghostbusters on the other hand is a really fast, fun playing game that gets the adrenaline pumping. Everyone has an opinion but the Hobbit is not even in the same ball park as Ghostbusters.

With all due respect I do not think you really gave Ghostbusters a fair shake and you never owned one. You began talking about the horrible gap, and cheap drains months before your game was to arrive. I hate to say it but your thoughts and opinions about the gameplay became fact before you even really had the opportunity to give it a chance. Your thoughts become your actions and you psyched yourself out of the game before it arrived. Time will tell, but I have a good feeling you will be dumping the Hobbit and eventually will see the light on Ghostbusters.

You don't have to own a game to play it. I played it a ton - many different machines....Pros, Premiums, and LEs. I gave it more of a chance than most - most bought it without even playing it. Modding it with trinkets before even playing it. I played it...a lot. There's no light to see. Everything I wrote about GB was based on my gameplay experience. I'm not the only person who came to dislike its design flaws and wonky rules. Plenty have posted about it & podcasted about it. Long time collectors, players, and pinball professionals have privately told me how much they hate it, even if they won't address it publicly. Glad you enjoy it, but don't dismiss the game's flaws and the opinions of knowledgable people who can't get past the flaws.

Maybe all that was need was some time to tune in the game. As a 20 year collector after spending two weeks of tweaking and making mine it plays butter smooth

Perhaps. Still -the 10 or so games I've played all had issues. Are hey all fixable? Perhaps - but it fundamentally bothers me that such an expensive game with such a phenomenal license got zero testing before production. Too many kinks to be considered "things to dial in". All design flaws. But let's say they can all be tweaked ....I still don't like the rules or bugs, so there's that. I'll reconsider in a year or two if the code is ever finished....and to get back on topic, I'd probably just go with the Pro.

I'm in the same boat. Huge Ghostbuster's fan but the current state of the code is underwhelming and the design flaws are not acceptable.

As prices of NIB games have continued to go rise so have my expectations for what I should be getting for those crazy prices.

I have to admit I was getting a bit frustrated too.. This type rubber here, adjust this switch, adjust ramp height, adjust Slimer. ect,ect,ect, and the list goes on and on.

I try to be a perfectionest and tear things apart 10 time just to get the right if I could. If you where closer you could play a few and I really think you would enjoy the game.

I've already played it a ton. I just don't enjoy it.

Nimblepin even said the game takes longer to dial in than avengers. So that says a lot there about the flaws. I thought the one at ayce gogi played well and I had fun on it, but only got 3 games in so really didn't get to stretch its legs to the full potential. Interesting why you say you'd go pro? I really think the magna slings are cool and make the game easier than the traditional slings.

Except when they decide to just dead drop the ball down the middle, adding another cheap drain to an already cheap game.

Reasons I'd prob go Pro:

-Magna sling is a gimmick I can live without. I'm assuming the regular slings have strength adjustments like other recent Sterns? If so, you can dial them back if they're kicking down the outlanes too much.

-Ecto Goggles are a gimmick that don't seem to have any impact on gameplay. I can live without.

-Slimer's left to right movement doesn't have an gameplay reasons for movement. Mick-on-a-stick & BDK's crane required to you hit them in certain positions to light inserts...this made them purposeful and fun. Slimer's position is irrelevant. Plus, he looks clunky when positioned over the buildings...on the Pro he's more aesthetically pleasing when hovering and facing the player. He looks cool bobbing up and down when in play.

-On the Prem/LE's I've played, the right ramp sucks. It's almost impossible to hit and when you do, it rolls back most of the time. As weird as the Pro's right ramp is, I find it more satisfying to hit.

-Molded buildings...I can live without them. They don't actually do anything.

-The Buffalo podcast made a good point about the physical lock vs the virtual. The physical causes a new ball to launch which then sits in the pops for a while. Virtual kicks it back out into play.

-At this point, for me GB's appeal is all in the art and music. The Pro has all of that.

GB is definitely one of the Sterns you can get away with the pro without losing a hell of a lot. and i'm a premium owner.

IMO the pro is great but the premium is better and that's why I bought it

As for the magna slings being a gimmick that's like saying the power on TAf is also. Cool stuff if you ask me

**Bad advice alert**
This could cause damage to the playfield.
Just a heads up I have seen this first hand!

bullshit. I would know better than anyone about this. I've done 100's of rails. And I mean 100's. I discussed this fully in other threads on why these will not damage the field.

only ones that damage on the way up are ones that are crimped with a butterfly on the ends. Which Stern does not do.

I think you nailed it! I do like the manga slings but with only about 5-6 total games on it, I experienced one sdtm drain from them. So not bad but if you play it a lot, I could see that getting irritating.

This could damage the playfield.

tell me how then? Since apparently 11 years experience isn't enough insight. I'd like to know how a smooth rail going backwards 1/4" is going to damage the playfield. The only way it could possibly do damage is if damage is already been done. Say if the playfield is already cracked around the rail, then a chip could fall out. Or if the rails were put in like 5 hours after clearcoating, and the clear stuck to the rail, and attached itself, and somehow was able to hang on tight enough to bring up a little clear with it.

Seriously, these rails are smooth. Very smooth. I've never had a smooth rail bring up anything ever. Even on old ass games that have lacquer cracking all over the playfield. Paint flaking off when you blow a fart. And they still don't chip out, from not only raising the rails, but taking them out completely. Butterflys are the ones that wreak havoc on the holes.

Even taking star posts off when you clean it, "can" damage your playfield. I've seen more chips in surface wood from screws than anything else. Or again....if the clear was still sticky when assembled, could stick to the star post upon removal. Seen that happen too. So does that mean you are never going to clean your playfields and take the star posts off? Only if you want to do a halfassed job of it.

Placed an order for a GB Pro five weeks ago. Haven't heard anything. Just curious if anyone knows if Stern is working on the Pros. Anyone else waiting on recent order. How long? If they are making corrections then I am in no hurry.

Agree. I never understood the gimmick knock. Everything in a pinball machine that manipulates the ball is a gimmick. If you take the gimmicks out you are just left with ramps and orbit shots, that sounds boring. The more stuff that interacts with the ball the better in my opinion, especially at these crazy NIB prices.

I think when someone calls someone a "gimmick", it's saying that its a feature that isn't a game changer or noticeable if missing. What does a sling do? Kicks the ball back and forth. What do magna slings do? Kicks the ball back and forth (but sometimes not as well, and sometimes just drops the ball down the drain).

Now let's look at a magnet trick like BSD - the mist ball. That's a trick that couldn't be done another way, is cool as hell, and is an actual gameplay function (you have to hit the ball off the moving magnet to start multiball).

Could damage the playfield is what is said.
Just be careful.

Do as you please Captain!
Just be careful with your playfields pinsiders with less experience!

Totally fine to not like the magnaslings, but I think they are pretty innovative. Never had a drain because it held the ball over the middle. The idea that they get 'haunted' and tinker with ball is cool. Not earth shattering, but a nice change.

This describes every physical ball lock. I guess you could turn it off, but honestly, complaining about a physical ball lock slowing down the game is a bit niggling... most seem to prefer physical ball locks.

Again, to each his own, which is why it's important for each person to check out the game to decide if the changes are worth it.

...but on GB specifically, the ball can hang in the pops forever...not all games auto-launch the ball into the pops (or never-ending pops)

If you have a bunch of games Magna slings are a nice change up. Are they gimmicky? Yep Are they as cool as hell? Yep. They also change what hey do as the game progresses. Rarely on my gble did I ever get any cheap drains and the cool shit they did made up for it. That said the pro is a great package and I would possibly steer to that down the track.

GB Premium owner of about 3 weeks. Have had my share of pins over the years and currently have a Scared Stiff, Road Show and a Bobby Orr Powerplay.

Had to save my pennies...wait who am I kidding....had to save my hundred dollar bills for some time to afford my first NIB pin and decided GB Prem was going to be it.

Even after the wait, the disappointment of one coming damaged in shipping I couldn't be happier! This game is crazy good! A true "one more" type of game.

The theme and graphics are stunning as well as the sound and music.

The game play is fast and furious and the shots are very satisfying...yes even the right ramp. I have not tweaked it and can hit it 3 out 5 times with the other two rolling back down and I'm not that good of player! I Do feel with a simple tweak it will be 100%.

Magna slings are simply frickin cool. The things they make the ball do are awesome (even with the drains) and give it a "ghostly/haunted" type feel....bravo!!!

Ecto goggles I agree are a little weak and hope future code will take advantage of them a little...ok alot more!

Outlanes are simply BAD, the ball hops are just glass smashing frustrating and can't imagine how that passed production. Not comfortable bumping up the rails or drilling my play field, I ordered the out lane protectors from modfather. I installed last night and have maybe 10 games with them installed and they make a huge difference. I still see the ball bouncing of the top of the rail to the outside drain...if anyone has suggestions I would love to hear...

Airballs are still ever present even with Art's airball protector, next step is the foam and bending the targets forward.....

The flipper gap while extremely noticeable...is what it is...the way the game was designed and don't feel a center post is the answer as it was not intended...hopefully it will make me a better player.

The subway is very cool and enjoy sending the ball there...

Again I am extremely happy with my purchase and do feel the premium is worth the extra money...

Here is to some tweaks and future (hopefully not too future) updates...

Happy busting!!!

I could not ever decide on either so I got this instead.

IMG_0941 (resized).JPG

The point wasn't that the physical lock slows the game down, rather it takes an already difficult game (GB Pro) and makes it even more difficult/random.

On the pro, when you lock a ball it holds it in the right saucer, then returns it to your flipper to continue play. On the premium/LE it locks the ball under the playfield then throws a new ball into the pops, putting the ball in danger of a SDTM drain from the left exit, or hitting a magnasling on the way down from the right.

Is there a virtual lock setting on the prem? If so, seems like an easy fix for anybody that it does bugs like nick

Placed an order for a GB Pro 5 1/2 weeks ago. Haven't heard anything. Just curious if anyone knows if Stern is working on Pros. Anyone else waiting on recent Pro order? How long? For those that received recently how long did it take?

I ordered my pro 2 weeks ago. Distributor got stock in on Friday (3 or 4 I think) and mine should arrive tomorrow. So they are definitely still working on pros

A question for those that have extensive gameplay on both machines. Pre/LE gameplay versus the pro gameplay, I have only had the chance to play the pro which I found very fun and tough with that one more game feel after each play. My question is: Is the difficulty of the pre/LE dummied down to much from the pro feel as far as difficulty?

Ah, that's a valid reason, although I don't recall that being a problem. I'm sure it's happened, though.

That said, the comment I was replying to specifically was, "The physical [ball lock] causes a new ball to launch which then sits in the pops for a while."

So, without additional context, it certainly seems to imply the point that it was slowing the game down. The ball can sit in the pops for awhile.

bumping up the rails is an easy 4 min fix. Have one person hold the field up. Take the backside if a drill bit. Set it on the where the rail pokes through the back. Tap with a hammer. Don't even have to do it hard. Tap until it's about 1/4" in from the back surface of the field. that's it. No danger, nothing to it, and saves you $40 and having to have a ugly ass piece of plastic on your game. Plus it works much better as it reduces the amount of side drains you get.

Congrats with TH. it is a masterpiece of programming and eye candy. Unfortunately I had mine 3 weeks before I sold it. Why? Not one shot came close to the satisfaction of at least 3 shots on gb and all of the shots on ST for example. Just not a good shooter. That left ramp to subway is one of the most satisfying shots in pinball. All just MHO.

I was going to get the plastics, but didn't like how they looked. So bumping them up eliminates the jumping of lanes? thx for your help

yes it not only eliminates the jumping over, but also reduces outlane drains by 30%. I explained in several other threads how that's even possible.

To add to Neo's supposed "bad advice", I found that the smaller center rails are just as guilty as the outer rails in launching the ball skyward. Checked the height of them compared to my Wolvie and sure enough, they also sit lower.
(Frankmac, probably doesn't want to hear what I did next...)

Surprisingly the drill managed to stay in the toolbox, where it belonged...
I did however equip a refreshing screwdriver once completed.

Day eight of GBP play testing/tweaking continues.
Maybe one day this game can finally consider itself "Dialed In."

It is your pin do as you like!

I've had my GB Pro on order for a few weeks now. After playing the LE at the Freemont Arcade (Las Vegas) I emailed the seller and upgraded to a Premium.

I think all I need to do is add a shaker motor to make game play on the premium the same as the LE. Is this correct?

Don't get me wrong, the pro (at Lake Alice, Riverside, CA) is also a great game but for the price difference it was a no brainer for me to pay the price and upgrade.

Thanks for starting this thread.

I happen to love the magna slings on the premium. Cant get enough of them..

When debating to get a premium or a pro the magna sling where the one thing deterring me from buying a premium....turn out they happen to be one of the coolest features on the game. For me I would buy a premium again even if i had to save up to get one.