(Topic ID: 161795)

Hey Stern! Are you serious?

By mayuh

7 years ago


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#396 7 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

Normal, Maple shooter lane:

-
-
Odd, Birch shooter lane:

The "odd" pic is my game. It has zero wear or insert issues after being played quite a lot since I bought it new. So...I dunno, I'm fine with odd.

#795 7 years ago
Quoted from Astropin:

All pinball machines dimple. And as long as they keep using wood for playfields and steel for balls they will continue to do so.
Stern's dimple no more or no less than any other machine ever made. Modern LED lighting and people buying NIB has highlighted the effect.

There are definitely different levels of dimpling. Minor is to be expected - but minor dimpling still looks pretty smooth unless you shine a super bright overhead light on it. I've seen a few instances of dimpling that looks like the surface of the moon. Those playfields are never going to even out...there's definitely something too soft on those - either the wood or the clear.

#811 7 years ago
Quoted from vid1900:

No matter how hard a clear coat is applied to a wooden substrate, the wood below will dimple because steel is harder than wood.
-
Or if that does not make sense to you, think of it this way:
A clearcoat is 4 mils thick (.004").
If you took a piece of .004" thick steel, bonded it to the playfield and played a game of pinball, you would get a ton of dimples instantly. Thin steel is no match for a 1.06" diameter pinball.
Even your car hood, made of .06" thick steel (that's 15X thicker than a clearcoat), can not survive a pinball being dropped on it without denting.

I'm not a "dimple denier". I'm just saying sometimes it's more pronounced than others, and in some cases IMO is unacceptable. For instance. I had a STLE and so did a friend. Mine had some minor dimples, but otherwise was pretty glassy. In less than 100 plays his looked like a flabby fat guy after acupuncture.

Any of the Stern games I own look pretty glassy, but if you shine a light on them you can see the dimples. To me, that's acceptable. However, if it looks like hell without really looking for it - that's not a good playfield.

#1112 7 years ago
Quoted from coz6:

Local barcade buys new le's makes a huge deal about it packs the place sell $4.00 drink $1.00 a game and the place is always packed. More ROI then what goes in the coin box.

That's an excellent point about location pinball these days...it's not just about a single machine and what's in the coinbox...it's that the machine is part of an overall larger concept...the cool pins get people in the door, but the real money is made from food/drinks. The pins are essential - but just a fraction of the overall business.

#1134 7 years ago
Quoted from flashinstinct:

Correct but every example that you mention are on games that are more than 20 years old. I'm sure the industry as learned from their mistakes since then. Show me a Stern games that has ghosting that is from 2003 to 2013.

Look at almost any AC/DC LE...does the cloudy window count as ghosting? They did end up fixing it for the Premiums!

1 month later
#2938 7 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

That was not called a Limited Edition. Elvis was the first modern Stern Limited Edition, as in, it was called LE and had a numbered plaque. Was the monopoly even numbered on the plaque? I thought it just said "Platinum Edition."

Elvis didn't have a numbered plaque, and neither did Spidey Black or Dale Jr. Every LE has the same plaque on those titles. The first LE w/ the individual number stamped on it was Avatar....which was also the first LE to have different features/toys/code.

#2964 7 years ago
Quoted from LTG:

Yes it did. I had one. It was centered above the DMD. Said "1 of 500" I believe. Black with brass lettering. ( as best I can recall, got rid of it years ago )
LTG : )

Every Elvis Gold plaque said 1 of 500. That's not "numbered" ...that's a generic plaque. Starting with Avatar, each game got a specific number, unique to each unit.

#3161 7 years ago
Quoted from Bing_Party:

Exact same thing my disti stated. All 10 LE units they got have zero issues. So I believe that this issue was limited. It's the only reason I am keeping my prem order but it's maddening to see issues like KPG and not knowing the resolution. It's that obvious of a defective unit.

Keep in mind some buyers might not even notice ghosting or chipping ....some buyers might be hoarding the games in the box. Clearly there's an issue here and it's doubtful that it's limited if all the playfields were manufactured with the same process.

23
#3179 7 years ago
Quoted from PinballAlley:

Go to my website and see my customer reviews. It's just too bad you haven't been able to find good customer service. I never said we keep LE playfields in stock. Go reread my post. I stated we try to keep essential parts in stock. I would give the customer a refund or the choice of another game or to stick it out and try to make the current situation work. To be honest you seem to be a troll. Trying to inflame the people on here. The reality is Stern sells many pinballs that have been perfect. I have not had a "ghost" unit yet. I have had issues with a different manufacturer and issued full refunds. We don't just do this for pinball. We do it for all the lines we carry, dart board, juke boxes, pool tables etc. Sorry reputable business is a foreign idea to you. Stern does have responsibility here. They are never going to deal with people individually they are going to deal through distribution. I have been doing this a long time. It is via the dealer that it will get resolved.
-j

We get it Jerry - you're the best distributor in the world and everyone else sucks.

Oh wait actually no - the destribs we buy games from are awesome, and Stern fucked up. Your whole "shoulda bought from me" schtick is transparent and getting really old. I've always bought from Trent, I'm always going to buy from Trent. If my GB Prem comes with a shit playfield, that's Stern's fuck up and I expect they'll resolve it.

#3306 7 years ago
Quoted from kidchrisso:

I love it when it does that! Feels so gratifying

There's a huge difference between a "controlled" glass hit from Whitewater's ramp and the "fly everywhere, hit everything, over and down the drain" airballs we're seeing on GB.

#3327 7 years ago
Quoted from NeilMcRae:

My concern is that one: this isn't just been on ghostbusters and 2: why keep shipping faulty machines if you know you have a fix coming? Or you know but it's months away....
Neil.

Their business functions on "keep the line moving". It's probably a small percentage of customers who are anal enough to notice the defects we are noticing. It's better for them to keep going and replace things for the few people that notice them vs. stopping the line for insert issues most customers won't notice.

#3458 7 years ago
Quoted from kpg:

Ok, another update... back to being pissed off at the situation
So, Trent gets back to me about this "Program".
This program is.. let's see.. if I can put this lightly... lame as fuck.
Trent said Stern is undergoing a review process of my playfield, and if approved for replacement, they will send me an empty box that I send my playfield back to them where they swap all components to a new playfield and then send it back.
Sounds like this would take months to me! Screw that.
I then said no way, I want a populated playfield advance replacement. He said even if they did approve it, it would go on his advance account and he would need a check for get this - $5,000 - to ship me an advance replacement.
Really puts a damper on the hobby itself to me. No more Stern NIB's after this shit.
Is this how other distributors work? Send another $5,000 to do an advance replacement of a fucked up playfield? That would mean I would be $13,000 in the hole - and have an empty GB LE cabinet for months to show for it.
What a goddamn joke.

I know a few people who had cloudy playfields on their ACDC LE. Stern sent them a fully populated playfield, and wanted the originals sent back. If I remember correctly, one of them sold their populated playfield. So, I can see why Stern wants something sent back first...so people don't take advantage of the situation...but still...a quicker swap program would probably be better. Have playfields prepped and ready to go.

#3595 7 years ago
Quoted from Enaud:

Aren't the GBLEs supposed to come with two coats of clear? I wonder if the problem playfields have the two coats on them.

LE's have the same clear as Prems and Pros. The only game ever advertised to have extra clear were LOTR SE and Avatar LE. Never again after that. I've seen/owned/played lots of Stern games since, and there's no way the LE's are made with a different process.

#3601 7 years ago
Quoted from Damon:

If I recall correctly stern used to add an extra layer of clear as a feature for LEs but I think Xmen (maybe it was avatar?) was the last game to have that feature, all models since then use the same amount of clear coat.

It was Avatar. I had an X-Men LE and it had a shit Swiss cheese playfield.

41
#3665 7 years ago
Quoted from Ed209:

Well clear is starting to chip off in my GBLE shooter lane. =(

LE = Lemon Edition

2 months later
#4696 7 years ago
Quoted from HighVoltage:

Ghosting
I just had the opportunity to play a brand new GB Premium this weekend. It was put straight into public play after being set up. I talked to the owner about the playfield issues, and he said the playfield date was October. I also noticed and verified that it had the new thin PET-G playfield protector installed. It probably had over 100 plays by the time I got there to check it out. The Super Jackpot had ghosting. I came back the next day to check again, I estimate 100+ plays later, and now Add A Ball and Tobin's Spirit Guide had also ghosted significantly. I will add the pics I took later.
Playfield Protector thoughts
Obviously, the protector did nothing to prevent ghosting. Some other thoughts on the protector... Curiously, contrary to what I've heard, it slightly dulls the sheen of the new playfield. The playfield looked glossier at the exposed edges. I did not notice any difference in play physics. The game played fast and there were tons of air balls, but that seems to be standard on GB. I did not notice any shifting of the protector. The owner hoped it would protect from dimpling, and looking closely, it did probably help a little: the dimpling looked less pronounced then on the new, unprotected ST Premium I recently acquired.
GB Premium thoughts
A shout out and big thanks to the owner for putting it out in public, I really enjoyed playing it. I did think it was more fun than the pro. I was looking forward to see the Pepper's ghost effect, but was underwhelmed by that. The right lower "270-degree" ramp (not sure what folks are calling it) seems to have been a compromise to the original design. I probably played close to 20 games and many seemingly good shots would almost make it up, but come right back down. I wonder if that's common and if it can be tuned, I think I only hit it twice. The lane guide jumping is as annoying as I've heard. The scoop shot SDTM about 50% of the time, but fortunately the ball save helps. I hadn't heard the screaming lady (librarian?) when I played the pro before, and that was impressive! With the flipper gap and outlane hopping, the game is definitely more challenging than most, making for some lame-scoring games. But I still had fun, scoring 200m+ a few times, and getting on a roll for 750m one game. Thumbs up from me.

I played the same game at the Portland Expo, and experienced all the same flaws you did ...stdm from the kickout, airball city, cheap 10-mile gap. Interesting that you gave it a thumbs-up. I think people are still swooning over the theme and art. I've played enough GB Pros, Prems and LEs to conclude that it's a poorly designed game with too many things destroying the fun factor. On top of that, I saw 2 Premiums this weekend with ghosting inserts. I've waffled enough - done waffling! I cancelled my order...I'm done with Ghostbusters. To celebrate, I had some epic waffles in Portland for breakfast.

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#4701 7 years ago
Quoted from HighVoltage:

I said hi to Ben, and he mentioned you were around. Is that your hotel breakfast? Where did you stay? I always look for full buffet to fuel up for the show. Oxford Suites had decent buffet and wasn't too far.

Yeah I shot the shit w Ben for a bit on Saturday night! We were playing a 4p on GOT and the thing reset on us mid-game. STEEEERRNNNN!!! The epic waffles are from a place called AND Cafe. Vegan waffles stuffed with "sausage and cheese", topped with tofu scramble and country gravy. My girlfriend got Pumpkin waffles. I love Portland! I think I'm gonna go over to Sizzle Pie and get a slice of pizza heheh

image (resized).jpegimage (resized).jpeg

14
#4730 7 years ago
Quoted from misfitdart:

Makes me laugh that everybody is on this again with ZERO confirmation that there's still issues. "This machine that my brothers friends sister heard about was made in October and has ghosting" let's see some PF date pics please!!

Zero confirmation? I saw two new Premiums this weekend with the ghosted inserts. That's 100% confirmation.

15
#4732 7 years ago
Quoted from thall17:

Yes, but what are the play field dates?

Who cares? If they're the old ones, they're shipping Premiums with old ones! Not taking that risk.

#4738 7 years ago
Quoted from Rob_G:

Aren't you supposed to be eating waffles?
Rob

I would if I was still in Portland! MMMMMMM

1 week later
#4949 7 years ago
Quoted from 85vett:

Nope, coincides with a game that air balls like crazy but all games dimple. Clear will not prevent dimples.

Games with better wood and better clear don't dimple as much. There is "normal dimpling" and "holy shit my playfield is made of clay!!!" ...If you find the latter acceptable, well...enjoy! Some people don't.

1 month later
#5118 7 years ago
Quoted from embryon:

I agree, its no big deal. This is why I believe pinball is not really designed for home ownership. Pinball from any manufacturer is trouble and they break continually. If you want a game that's trouble free, then play pinball on a console. It is not a hobby for the faint hearted that's for sure.

Since these are commercial machines, they're actually MEANT to be played hard and often and NOT break continually. Since home use games are played considerably less than on location, a home game should be relatively trouble free. No operator or homeowner is going to be happy about their game breaking after 40 plays.

#5122 7 years ago
Quoted from PinMonk:

BDK would disagree, unless you count B'66 as "getting BDK right." BDK is still a boring mess, but maybe that's the Lonnie influence? Wasn't Lyman the lead on that, too?

BDK is 100% Lyman.

#5124 7 years ago
Quoted from RobT:

BDK is pretty much the only pin people can point to that Lyman did not hit out of the park code wise. Needless to say, he's got a pretty good batting average.

At the end of the day, BDK is pretty well coded. Most of its flaws are beyond his control.

#5148 7 years ago
Quoted from jar155:

I'm still waiting for things to get moving on my GBLE playfield replacement too. It's starting to get really old playing this waiting game. There's absolutely NO REASON why a manufacturer defect should take so long to correct other than that Stern simply doesn't care. There's absolutely no reason to believe otherwise.

Quoted from kpg:

Status update of my trashed GBLE playfield:
Was originally told October by Gary Stern himself.. then was told November possibly.. now Patrick Powers latest email he wont give me a time frame and now just says "It has been pushed back".
Awesome.
Stern is giving the run around and might be hoping this shit will die off quietly. NOPE. Not going to happen.
I am considering taking the legal route at this point. I would want to this to help all people affected by this, as it seems no one with a GBLE has had Stern make this right with them. They seem to be more focused on selling and releasing new games, then making it right with customers who already purchased their defective products.
If they think they can pull this shit - then they will learn quickly there are some customers who won't easily disappear, thats for DAMN sure.

Holy crap guys....wtf!!!! They're seemingly putting good new playfields into Premiums right now...sooooooooo why aren't some of those good playfields ready to rock in your game? Is it cuz Trudeau has to sign them all? I'm not sure if you guys care about the signature (I wouldn't) ...but could you get them to swap your playfield w/ a new Premium one?

#5156 7 years ago
Quoted from kpg:

That's exactly what I am doing.. I want AS Pro, but I am not buying shit until they make it right w/ my GBLE, period. I wonder how many others are on the same page.

I don't have any Stern games that need issues taken care of...but I'm standing by those who do. No buying!

1 week later
#5384 7 years ago
Quoted from jfh:

1) if a playfield has ghosting, does it get worse over time

Sometimes. Clearly some of these GB playfields are getting worse by the day and have chipping clear at an early age. Not a good sign. I have one insert on my TSPP with a sliver of ghosting...but the game was built in 2005 so I don't see it getting worse at this point. Same with my CV...a game that was notorious for it. It has very minor ghosting, and since it's held up for 20 years I'm not worried. There's a GB Pro on location near me with minor ghosting. Since its played all day and night and hasn't had any other damage - maybe that's as bad as it'll get.

1 month later
#5637 7 years ago
Quoted from PW79:

I'm in a weird place right now pinball-wise.

You're in a normal place. Pinball is in a weird place.

Quoted from PW79:

I spent time on GB Premium & GB Pro. Both piss me off. The Pro is missing cool shit while the Premium under utilized or botched (IMO) the cool shit. Weird!

See? It's a weird game. You're normal to see it for the trash monster that it is. Congrats!

#5638 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

Magna slings are the best ever, there's no disputing that!

*ahem*

Magna slings are not the best ever.

I just disputed it. Thank you.

#5650 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

You need to lay off the drugs Rare,

I've never done a drug in my life...but I have dated an infamous drug addict. She was super loopy...she'd probably like GB lol

Quoted from Who-Dey:

they are bad for you! First you said GB sucks and now you're saying magna slings suck. You cannot be serious, magna slings are an absolute riot. I'm not saying put them on every pinball machine or anything like that, but they are perfect for GB! Maybe if they ever make The Munsters they would be great on that game too?

Meh - when they work normally, they work like regular slings, which already exist....and when they do goofy shity for no reason, it's just another cheap down the middle drain from your friendly neighborhood Ghostbusters!

#5655 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

Haters gonna hate!

How about "Pinball enthusiast who has played pretty much every modern game and knows what works and what doesn't forms a reasonable opinion based on their expeirence" ...well OK, that doesn't quite have the same ring to it

#5658 7 years ago
Quoted from nitrojcrawf:

Opinions vary, even reasonable ones!

Yup! My opinion doesn't make me a "hater", though. That's a very simplistic term that marginalizes the validity of experiences & reason that led to an opinion.

#5698 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

Theres no way they can make 100% flawless playfields, its just not possible.

When did you get into pinball? Stern's quality generally used to be better, and the games cost ~$3700 NIB...people complained about the quality back then, too! Lol. So when you see people complaining - that's the point of reference for many of us. Now it's ~$6500-$15,000 for the full featured version of a game, and the pf quality is questionable. I had a 2004 Elvis with 40,000 plays and after cleaning it up it looked newer than a new Stern with 100 plays.

#5724 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

It's nothing personal toward the people, I'm sure they are good people. I just don't like their games.

I don't either, but Spooky are good peeps. I'll criticize the games, but would never talk smack about their company.

#5732 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

How about the peeps at Stern? They are some pretty good peeps too but you don't have any problem talking smack about their company do you? Hypocrite much there Rare?

I've made it clear that I have massive respect for almost everyone at stern. My issues are with the people who make the unrealistic schedules for the programmers and designers, and those who make decisions that affect QC....and whoever decided to sell a Stern for $10k-$15k. No hypocrisy at all.

14
#5744 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

You mean 10K like the TBL that you have on order that you'll probably never recieve from a company that is brand new in the business?

You are the king of context, aren't you? Let me explain it for you:

1.) I paid $8500
2.) I paid in 2014 after playing a beautiful prototype that was leagues beyond anything Stern was offering in design, innovation, and quality.
3.) It's a NICHE theme of my favorite movie. Stern would have never made this game. I wanted a Lebowski game. Dutch made a Lebowski game. It's as simple as that.
4.) None of us saw the ARA/Dutch standoff coming...so don't act as though the red flags were there and I was too stupid to see it.

Quoted from Who-Dey:

They are why pinball is what it is and they are the same guys who are responsible for making it possible for us to be able to even buy a NIB pin today, but instead of support them you decide to trash them publicly

I was supporting Sterns when you didn't know what pinball was! I was buying Iron Man when everyone was saying it was a piece of shit with no features, no rules, and Wal-Mart toys. I have 7 Stern games in my collection and have owned many others, which I still enjoy and will recommend to people. I have EVERY RIGHT to criticize their current problems, and have the experience in the hobby to back up my opinions. They're not infallible!!!

Quoted from Who-Dey:

but YOU need to not be such a hypocrite about it.

You need to look up the definition of the word "hypocrite". Do I say one thing and do another? No.

#5747 7 years ago
Quoted from Who-Dey:

More BS from Rarehero! Ive been playing pinball for over 40 years DA! Just because I didn't start owning my own machines until a few years ago doesnt mean that I didnt know what pinball was until then. And yes you have the right to criticize anybody you want to and so do I. What you dont have the right to do though is be a hypocrite and tell me what to say, and when you do im going to call you on it! Oh yeah and please stop acting like you're the God of pinball, thats lame as F dude for real.

It's been fun, but done arguing with you. Please add me to you ignore list so you don't have to see me anymore. If you respond to anything I post from now on, I won't see it. Bye!

4 months later
10
#6198 6 years ago
Quoted from jar155:

Let's be honest about the art though, the VE crushes the original Spider-Man. After that though, the original wins in all measurables.

Crushes? It's OK, but I think it was a massively misused opportunity. They used the same exact art as the original, but slapped on Ultimate Spidey assets where the movie assets used to be. I was hoping for an entirely new art package with a true dynamic comic book look. The translite is just a random comic panel instead of a custom composition or at least a composition that works well as a backglass image. The cabinet makes the game look like a box of plates for a toddler's birthday party.

#6203 6 years ago
Quoted from smassa:

Come on you think it's horrible???? Austin Powers is horrible. Original SM is not that bad.

Yeah, I could nitpick the shit out of it - but it's relatively cohesive and not offensive like 24 or GOT.

25
#6218 6 years ago
Quoted from jar155:

I hope there's not a widespread issue. It's seriously the last thing Stern and the community needs right now.

After the GB QC issues, B66 exploitation cash grab & code debacle, cabinet splitting issues, and unresolved code issues on older games, the "community" needs to STOP BUYING THESE GAMES!!!!! Stern has shown us their cards over and over. Stop buying. Stop. Just stop. Thousands of great pinball titles exist. You don't need the new ones to be "in the hobby" or a "collector".

#6222 6 years ago
Quoted from EricHadley:

I stopped. Got a AFMr LE on order and backed out of a SW LE

Good. I feel like CGC might be the only pinball company left offering something that I can see the value in. Sure, it's an "old" game...but you're getting a known COMPLETE game & a bonafide classic that you KNOW is fun and plays well...plus you get improvements and extra bling, good communication from company employees, they're quickly implementing suggestions to code and QC...the price isn't totally bonkers for what you're getting compared to other new games on the market...if I was in the market for a new game, a CGC remake would be where I went. AFM isn't quite my bag, but I'll be keeping an eye on their future games for sure. If they do BBB with the giant screen and "HD dots", I'm in.

#6229 6 years ago
Quoted from T-800:

SW is still incredibly fun to play and sounded absolutely amazing.

So's a $15 Blu-Ray.

#6232 6 years ago
Quoted from T-800:

I get your sarcasm... but don't really find it all that funny.
Even with the code as is, this version of SW is by far better than any other previous SW pin out there. I know that's not saying much, but it's fun.

I'm not a SW fan, so I don't really care about any of the SW pins....however, I highly dislike the Math-Chess rules, so if I had a choice I'd play the DE version...if anything I like the funky music in that one. My girlfriend is a huge SW movie fan...I took her to play the new SW pin. She hated it. She'd also rather play the DE one.

-3
#6245 6 years ago


Quoted from T-800:Everyone on pinside knows you don't like a little thought in your pinball rules

Personal attacks. Got it. Well fuck you, too.

Added over 7 years ago: We hugged it out

#6248 6 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

But you don't have to focus on them at all...you can just play the game without working on the multipliers.

I would, but there's nothing satisfying or fun to do other than bat the ball around a featureless flowfield. I'd rather just play something else. Dialed In will get my location quarters at the moment. It's fun enough on the surface and satisfying to play....I want to continue to play it and will learn its depth eventually.

#6250 6 years ago
Quoted from T-800:

My apologies; wasnt intended as a "personal attack." You've made your opinion known in multiple threads, multiple times that you dont like complicated rules.

I love AC/DC. I love Metallica. I love LOTR. I love TSPP. I love Hobbit.

Those are all deep games. Some might say complicated.

So, no, I've never said I don't like complicated rules. That's what you said to passive-aggressively infer I'm a dopey dope who only likes da stoopid games for dum-duns. I like rules that are organic to the theme, have interesting and satisfying features, and can be satisfying on that level to start - then you start learning the nuance and it opens up another level of enjoyment.

13
#6273 6 years ago
Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I've seen this sentiment over and over... and I simply don't get it. Why do people want the biggest company in pinball to fail??! Aren't we all supposed to be "In to Pinball"?!

Who said anything about failing? I want them to be better. To me, they've failed, and I won't buy their products until they improve. Being "into pinball" doesn't mean being a Stern sycophant.

Quoted from MapleSyrup:

Do you ACTUALLY think Stern doesn't care?!

Some people there do....but the product speaks for itself.

Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I despise the "call to arms" to stop buying new pinball machines. I love all eras of pinball, but my favourite machines of ALL TIME are TWD and MET.

Met came out in 2013, TWD in 2014. A lot can happen in a few years. The "SPIKE era" has not been good.

Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I hate waiting on code too. That's one area where I wish Stern would really up their game.

Put your money where your mouth is. If you buy an unfinished, untested game in 2017, you deserve an untested and unfinished game.

Quoted from MapleSyrup:

rarehero, I find your GB rants mostly amusing. I sold my GBle, but I don't HATE it. It just wasn't the game for me. It's certainly not the flaming bag of diapers you make it out to be! Haha.

My overboard shtick is just that - shtick...but, it represents how I feel about the state of new games = not buying it.

Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I was playing in the Arcade at NY NY in Vegas yesterday. I was playing Avatar, cause I don't see it much. I watched an older British couple play one game of AC/DC, and then about 10 games on Ghostbusters. They were having a blast. At one point, I said to them, "You've chosen a notoriously difficult machine to play!"

They'd walked past MET, ST, SM, IM, TWD, Avatar etc to play GB because it interested them. It was kicking their asses, but they were having fun... again, that's what it's supposed to be about, right?!!

Art and theme go far. Perhaps older/British have no interest in the other themes...but GB is universally loved by all demographics. We're enthusiasts here - we know the difference in gameplay and rules from game to game. GB does great on route. Its earning power has nothing to do with how people like us may judge it.

12
#6279 6 years ago
Quoted from MapleSyrup:

I bought a BM66... and I'm waiting.

My condolences. You bought an overpriced prototype. You have to believe Stern will come through, since you took the plunge. You're still in that zone where waiting is no biggie. I used to be there. Sometimes, like Metallica - it all worked out. Other times, like X-Men and Stern Trek, the games took forever to get a decent update and when they did, they were still abandoned with remaining issues. Granted, when I was there - they weren't selling prototypes for $10k and $15k. Anyway - I no longer have "faith" in buying incomplete and untested product. It's not any of our duty to keep Stern in business. It's their job to make a product great enough for us to consider purchasing.

#6326 6 years ago
Quoted from Metengo:

Don´t know, when they left their old building, but for me it looks like they forgot the QC there.

Haha! The reality is, they've always had QC issues. It seems worse now because the designs are simpler, so it seems weird that such simplicity can result in things not working right, and - the prices are higher, which makes it more of a kick to the crotch.

If we go back to 2003-2005, playfields had massive discrepancies in color & alignment. If you've ever seen a bunch of LOTRs and TSPPs, every playfield can look so different. I've seen LOTRs with green Gollums, some that have deep reds, some with no red, some that look washed out, some that look deep and lush. Then again, in 2005 you were getting a full featured game for $3500 NIB. Collectors still complained, but Stern was the only place you could get new pinball so it was what it was.

Color consistency was fixed from 2006 on, but we still saw alignment problems. My Spidey looked like a 3D comic - red and blue were misaligned. That problem seemed rare though - I think by the end of 2007 they figured that one out.

I feel it was around 2007-2010 where we started seeing playfields with "ribbing" ...you could see the woodgrain, and it didn't have that glassy surface we expect. Not sure if it was due to certain wood or certain manufacturer - but it was a crapshoot. I remember my clearance WOF, built in 2009, I think - had the most beautiful perfect color glass-surface playfield I'd ever seen on a Stern. My 2010 build of BDK had a perfect playfield, too...but my 2010 IM had a ribbed one. Again, keep in mind these were $4k NIB, not $5k-$15k like today.

15
#6377 6 years ago
Quoted from J85M:

My point was and it still stands imo, is if Sterns biggest fans and supporters start dropping out of LE (hell even premium) orders, that is a big old indicator on the barometer of whether a company has pushed things to far with its customers.

I was a fan, client, regular customer, beta tester, and friend. They could count on me to buy the new games if I dug the themes. I bought NIB: BDK, IM, TFLE, Avatar LE, AC/DC Prem, X-Men LE (x2!), IM Vault, Met LE, STLE ...not to mention countless routed and HUO games, supporting the 2nd hand market (many of those people were reinvesting in NIB).

I'm out. 100% out. Sure, I'm one guy, and I'm sure another customer has replaced me....but that's my story.

#6402 6 years ago
Quoted from Bendit:

There you go, Rarehero. You just haven't been drinking hard enough... That's your problem!

Haven't these people noticed that I never respond to them any more? Amazing that the people who I've had on ignore are still thinking about me. Creeps.

IMG_1352 (resized).PNGIMG_1352 (resized).PNG

#6408 6 years ago
Quoted from beelzeboob:

Well, THAT explains it!

I can still see you, beautiful!

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