I love honest reviews from owners.

After spending some time with one on location I felt the same way, walked away with 2 or 3 credits still on it

Man I dunno what to say to people who think hitting a variety of shots on a super fast and flowy layout is boring. You are shooting for combos right? And lighting locks and Vengeance modes while you do that?

I'm sure it will get better as the code is real young. I had the exact same issue on the pro I've played. The first round of modes just kinda blend together with no real meaning other than shoot the blinking light. There's really not much else to do except maybe try to start MB.

It got boring rather fast

all the code needs is the captains chair mode imo. mega combo sensation

Chopping wood sounds painful.

I agree somewhat with that Robert. Try going for two supers in captains chair at the same time. So plan the mission selections out so you can complete two strings of three at one time. That way you can get super ramps and super spinner or pops at the same time. Adds a bit of strategy and fun plus points in completing the super modes.

Also I'd suggest adjusting in the menu warp ramp extra ball award to 3-5. It being random by default is silly IMO. I love hitting that warp shot a few times in a row! Trying to tie in/stack multiball and a regular mode is also fun to shoot for strategy wise and helps get more points.

Hehe.. so a not positive review is 'honest'?

Oh come on Dude..... Make it Warp 6!

i like choppin' wood kinda games

I thought this was a Transformers thread by the title.

Well that's not the best setting for those that don't play often or just aren't that great. It's a tough shot for those that haven't played it a ton. Maybe one or two pinheads (besides myself) got extra ball via warp set at three including the New Years party. Rolled in a while back n promptly put up grand champ and #1 score at Phoenix where where your initials? Just bustin your chops micro is one hell of a player.

I know what you mean. You get so deep into a game then you have to start all over again. I like what people refer to as shallow games. Simple rules to me = fun.

When I read the title I thought you were going to say you were playing POTC today, lol.

You came to Phoenix and didn't give me a heads up?!?! Hmmm....

All will be forgiven when I can play Metallica 1.5

My best on the STLE is >300 Mil. Finally got to level 2 wizard mode!!!!!!

Haven't gotten near that game since

I thought this was going to be a Transformers thread.

That is a monster score I haven't gotten close to 300 mil or level 2 wizard mode yet. Right now it kind of seems like they are making it a bit tougher to progress because some things haven't been ironed out yet code wise.

I know I'm bad about letting friends know I'm rolling over there. David was there shopping out a TZ so I did get to chat him up a bit.

I have my TOTAN on the chopping block. Need room for another pinball. I view myself as a collector as much as player. STAR TREK is the game I am thinking about replacing TOTAN with. Never played STAR TREK this thread is fine. Just not really what I want to hear. May be I will wait. for code up date . The issue is by that time the Limited Editions will be long gone.

Find one and play it yourself. Not everyone feels the same way about it.

Heh, I clicked in this to see how IJ4 was treating you.

IJ4 is my total chopping wood game, although sometimes I really like games like that where I can turn off my brain and just flip

ok...ok... i'll buy it from you

So we got our Premiums at the same time.

My ball doesn't get stuck in the pops. (There's a thread with fixes for that though.)

My flippers don't lose power. If you don't nail the right ramp dead on you're going to lose ball power scrubbing up it and it will come back at you. That's the design of the game. There's a callout for it, Bones goes Uh oh!

The slings are adjustable, not sure how that's a complaint. Don't turn them down so much?

I dunno man, I'm just not having those problems. Maybe I got lucky with the pops part, the other two don't really seem like issues to me though.

It does get kind of boring after a few games. It doesn't have that one more game pull to it like Xmen does, for me anyway. It is probably the least played game in my collection right now and I have a tiny collection. Waiting for a code update to improve the mode variety. The modes all feel the same to me at this point.

You can only play so many new games that have a "been there, done that" feel to the layout before this starts to happen. Rules or no rules, it's just a very bland experience. I don't own it, but have played it on location since the beginning. It fell out of favor for me pretty quickly. It's like top 40 music-- easily digestible at the time, but will be gone and forgotten in the near future.

play my frickin' Tron daily for years now.
still a blast



still a blast

Ah... choppin wood.

Its cause as of right now SM is the far superior game.

im-a-lumberjack-ok.jpg

I am loving STLE! add an external subwoofer (the sound this game belts out is awesome) and stack the missions 3 deep so you spend less time in level one modes.

Wow I can honestly say I have experienced none of these issues with my STLE after 100's of games.

If you have no strategy, it can feel like chopping wood. If you add strategy, it's a lot more fun.

Here's a simple strategy to try: Finish the right side of the triangle (which will start super ramps), then start Klingon battle. KB is the only level 1 mode where you can shoot the ramps repeatedly and keep scoring mode points while also collecting huge super ramp points. Plus, you get big combo points and increase Hibachi MB points later. Once you finish KB, you'll have a lot more points and only two modes left to get to Hibachi MB. Easy money.

The left ramp should be backhandable no matter how hot the flipper coils are. If you can't backhand the left ramp from a cradled ball, you may have an issue. Right ramp is always harder from either flipper.

Hang ups in Pops is an issue for some on all models but if you do some of the things mentioned in thread linked below and you can eliminate that.
http://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ball-getting-stuck-on-st/page/3#post-1487418
Slings being adjustable really make it user error if you don't like where there at. Great new adjustment option. I've not heard of one other person with complaints on flipper strength though so you may want to look into what's up with that. None of the ST pins I've played (about 4-6) had flipper problems.

The layout is pretty wide open with shots that can be hit from either flipper enhancing flow. Ramps made to maximize momentum and a center shot that will fling balls right back to the flippers make the game feel like harnessing speedy chaos which can really get your adrenaline going.

The rule set as is now does feel a little repetitive. Most games you need to hit shots to start modes here they are always available with one shot and timed during level one layer modes. One refreshing thing is that the code was further along upon release than most of their other newer pins. I thought the look and sound are pretty well done other then the playfield being a bit monotone. I liked the game enough to buy the Refinery Pro and I'm happy with the game I got for what I paid.

Sound advice right there.

The game that seems like work to me is LOTR. Every time the ball goes to the POTD the fun comes to a screeching halt. ST by comparison does not have any shots that I dislike.

Sometimes they tighten the flippers too tight so there's no "play". Do you have a flipper gap tool? It might be worth "re-gapping" the flipper bats.

I've never had the pops hang up some of you guys are having. Lucky, I guess! Exits every time.

ST definitely doesn't have the nuance of some other games...but I still am finding it very fun and it doesn't feel wood-choppy due to the way you can pick your missions. If I don't feel like doing all the Level 1's, I'll try to do all 3 'episodes' of a mode instead. I know this isn't the "tournament way" of approaching things, but I like when pinball has a narrative, so I find this enjoyable. I love the Multiballs & the tight Vengeance shot (and kickback). Klingon Multiball is super fun and I find it challenging to get the Double & Super Jackpot...I *LOVE* the Klingon voice. I really love the music in the game, even if it's not ripped from the movie...Thiel did an amazing score that evokes Star Trek while being original. And, of course - it just feels really great to shoot. Getting multiple Warp ramps in a row is addicting and feels good. At the end of the day, sure it's not perfect - but the entire package is just really compelling and addicting, IMO. It can only get better with updates.

Have STLE, PotC and SM, Tron and acdc . All fun all the time.

Hi Robert,

I've had an STLE for 2 weeks and have to agree…the "Level 1" missions don't have much personality (other than having different colors with different sounds). Having all of the modes on 30 second timers contributes to the monotone feel. The sounds are cool, but not very distinctive and pretty chatty when nothing is actually going on. I want a mode to roar when I'm "killing it", and to be in the background when I'm not. The combo-fest orientation seems fun at first, but diminishes their value given how easy they are (don't remember a pin when I could hit a 7-10 combo).

One way to have more fun is to play all levels of one mode before moving to the next. Might not be the best from a scoring perspective (haven't done the math), but is much more fun, since you aren't forced to play all 6 30-second modes before mixing it up.

It's a stunning/fast/flowy pin. I'm hoping they can spice up the rules a bit.

snaroff

I have a flipper gap tool.. I like mine tighter than what the tool sets, just a little play off the bushing. I also don't run my machines on route and rarely do marathon sessions.

While I definitely agree that the level 1 modes feel monotonous I would have to say that I am surprised to hear that you would feel that way after owning it for such a short period of time. It took me a lot longer to feel that way because there is a lot of cool stuff going on.

But yes, clearly the modes need to be re-worked. They all feel the same.

One has Lyman.

One does not.

It seems some times all people do on Pinside is complain about code updates to all those that feel that way go out and buy 90s williams games that way you know what you are getting .

Well I prefer the layout of SM as well so it's not all about the code for me.

It's never ALL about the code. But it sure plays a huge role in whether or not a pin is going to be great... or not.

So true. There is nothing about Star Trek's layout that's holding it back. Yes, you can call it generic if you like, or the culmination of SR's fan flow, either way it shoots great. It's not a Lawlor, it's a SR, and it's pretty obvious up front what you're getting. But the rules could take it to new heights.

I don't have as much problem with the code as some, but I don't disagree with the people who wish for more variety and strategy either. I guess I'd just call it a good game that I hope will be great, and if you don't find it at least good I kind of wonder if you're missing some of it. Or not, not everyone has to like the same things!

No not everyone will like a pin or like it as much as each other does. I didn't indicate the layout was bad but merely stated I don't like it as much as SM which is probably my favorite pin of all time. So that's not taking a shot at ST. ST code does need to be spiced up a bit though to help with lastability IMO.

That baffles me. To me, the layout of ST is way better. It's like SR took the best of HS, STTNG and Spidey and rolled them all into one package. The warp ramp shot is way better than the Venom ramp shot. The ability to shoot the ball under the upper flipper back into the shooter lane was rumored to be originally on Spidey, but somehow left out in the end. The flow on ST is ridiculous. Way more than the other games I listed above.

While the software is different than Spidey, it's still plenty of fun. In my not so humble opinion, the people doing the most complaining about the level 1 modes being boring are the ones not using any strategy. There are plenty of strategies you can use, if you just use your imagination.

It baffles you that someone has a differing opinion then yourself? That baffles me but seems to happen in the forum a lot. Trust me I use strategy to maximize fun on all the pins I own. I love flow but I equally love somewhat challenging shots of which there are only really two on ST the rest are very wide open. For me regardless of strategy used at this point it does get a little repetitive (in a home use environment) and I'm hopeful future code updates will address this.

No, that happens all the time. With ST, the evolution to something better each game seems really evident to me. It's the natural progression of SR's designs. Much like the progression of Lyman's designs. AFM ----> MET. We're all very fortunate to be able to see and play their creations. Both have stumbled along the way, but both are firing on all cylinders now.

I told Steve a couple of weeks ago that if this is recycling, keep it up. I don't think he liked that word, but he knew what I meant. d