This is not accurate. If by 'code' you simply mean the game rules, this is likely true. But the software as a whole is riddled with bugs and missing animations. Not quite complete yet.

LOL. So if I said "your car is complete" but updates will be on the way to get the windows to roll down, enable ABS brakes, and allow radio presets, you'd just go along with your car being released as "complete"? The software was not complete. Fixing bugs implies the code is complete. Adding animations that should already be there means it is not complete. It's really simple. What's your motivation here to ignore the facts? I don't get it. So strange. Are you PR for JJP?

There are a ton of bugs - maybe you don't play enough? Maybe you aren't a good player? I have no idea. I've reported every bug encountered to JJP. Hopefully they fix them. I'm not listing them all here but I'll give you one:

When a ball is hit slowly up the left ramp and it stalls at the diverter girl, the game should know that the second switch right after the diverter girl was never hit. So it should immediately raise the diverter to allow the ball to pass. Instead, it just sits there and you have to wait 15 sec for a ball search, which can result in your mode ending w/o a chance to play it.

Nope...literally nothing I said implied that or indicated that in any way. I think Stern releasing games with alpha/beta software and rules is well known. WMS games were released finished because they had to be. Burning and swapping ROMs isn't something people wanted to do back then. Now with USB updates, modern mfgs figure they can just release buggy stuff and they'll fix it after they already got our money. But my comment had nothing to do with anyone but JJP.

At my house.

We agree on this. My issue was simply that Jack claimed the code was 'complete' at launch and yes it's way further along than Sterns are at launch but it is not what I'd call 'complete'.

I hate when two people sidetrack threads and get into an argument that literally nobody else reading the thread gives a crap about. So I'm going to PM you now and we can finish the conversation that way and not gunk this thread up with me posting legit issues I'm having and you challenging them as not worthy of attention or worse, that I made them up because I'm a Stern shareholder, or I'm Gary Stern, or who knows.

It's funny to see the remarkable difference between Stern and CGC. If you're familiar with Six Sigma methodology, basically in a nutshell it's the process of incorporating engineer, QC, and customer feedback to eliminate product defects as soon as possible. While it may be more costly to actually fix problems quickly and immediately, it has proven time and time again to be healthier to a company's bottom line, reputation, and future growth.

On one hand you've got Stern who seems to follow the opposite of the Six Sigma process. Defects are ignored, products are rushed out incomplete. For someone that pinches pennies so badly that it's obvious to even a novice (glaring red optos, anyone?), Gary doesn't see the hundreds of thousands of dollars he's losing from people who are forgoing NIB Stern games (or buying used) because the quality is consistently terrible. It's staggering how much money they are losing from their reputation and they have no clue.

On the other hand is CGC. The MMR rollout was a friggin' disaster but boy did they learn fast. Virtually every screw-up from the MMR launch was corrected for AFMR. They got it all right. But not only that, they are employing many Six Sigma principles to ensure their reputation and customer satisfaction. After launch, folks complained about the Strobe being too dim. Boom, days later they announce a software update to allow adjustment. And better yet, Doug is posting in the Pinside AFMR Production Update thread every week with insightful images, status updates, and more. They are absolutely killing it over there. They get it and if everything remains the same, they - not JJP - will be the Mercedes of pinball companies....ironically, producing 20 year old games.

Disclaimer (I feel this is needed to avoid the appearance of favoritism): I own 3 WMS games plus MMR, Metallica, and Dialed In. I am not purchasing AFMR.

This Stern "ghosting is normal" BS reminds me of 15 years ago when LCD display manufacturers tried to pull the same crap, claiming that a deal/stuck pixel or two was "normal" and "within acceptable tolerances" and they would not accept warranty claims on displays with less than [I believe it was some insane number around] 7 dead pixels.

As you can imagine, this was to get their production numbers up because the companies that enforced this policy (I recall Dell being one that did) had shoddy ODM partners who made mediocre displays that were prone to dead/stuck pixels. Rather than rejecting displays with dead pixels, they told customers this was "normal" and....

....well this pissed off a LOT of people, and it was only a matter of time before Samsung, Viewsonic, Apple, and others began boasting of their no tolerance policies where even 1 dead/stuck pixel would be eligible for a replacement display. Today Samsung/Innolux/LG make virtually every LCD display that exists and their manufacturing is such that dead/stuck pixels are far more rare than they used to be. But if people never stood up and told these guys dead pixels were not normal, who knows if that would have ever changed.

Now we're seeing the same thing with Stern leading the charge that their playfield manufacturing defects are normal variances as if it were a pair of designer jeans.

Make no mistake ....ghosting inserts right out of the gate are due to a less than proper clear coating process....either due to rushing the curing process, cutting corners in surface prep, or using substandard paints and/or clear.

If you are a Stern buyer, make your voice heard. Not on here. Speak up on Stern's social media. Tweet them. Tell your disty. Call them. The only way they'll change is if they see and hear a lot of buyer backlash. Stern cares about profit above all else, so that's the language you have to speak to them.