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This is the last time I'm going to comment on this, not interested in a back and forth. Feel free to PM me if you really want to continue, or post whatever you like, I'm just not going to respond. I can't imagine anyone really wants to keep reading this conversation.

Bottom line? If Andrew has a problem he can bring it up with me. He's not my babysitter, he doesn't read all my posts, but if he has concerns I'm happy to listen.

I have a day job. I don't bad mouth our competitors in it, no. I'm fully aware of the kind of professional behavior you're referencing, there's no need to not be able to wrap your head around it, I get your point, it makes perfect sense.

Pinball is my hobby. Part of that is designing things for it, because I enjoy it. Taking on Alien was a lot more of a "job" kind of thing than I was really looking for, but I decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I made a conscious decision to not become a different person here on Pinside after doing so. I'm aware of the cake and eat it too aspect of that, and I'm good with the downsides that might come with it.

Maybe that will mean someone doesn't buy Alien, I dunno. I do know that I get a lot of emails from people telling me that they're only interested in it because I'm working on it. Which is flattering and an ego boost, and makes me slightly uncomfortable to be honest. I'm just a guy in the forum, not some kind of design superhero. If I had to guess, in a dickish totally vain manner, I'd say those people outweigh anyone who would choose to not buy a game I was involved in because I said that another game looked rushed and sloppy.

Like I said, my post in this thread about it sucking was just screwing with Rob. I freely admitted it was probably taking things too far, so while I don't regret it, I'm not going to beat that joke to death by continuing. Otherwise all I said was that no one should feel they have to apologize for the dragon looking cool. It does! I full expect people to come around to this game after they play it, that's the usual pattern. I'm going to hold out, because I won't be able to get over with how unhappy I am with the package. Plenty of people won't feel that way, and they shouldn't apologize for it. It's just pinball. If you like it and it makes you happy then enjoy it.

I think the dragon looks great !

I thought we already decided that the dragon is cool and we're done with that topic.

Everyone seems to think that a certain person in a high position at the worlds biggest pinball manufacturing company is a jerk. We still buy his games.

Bingo!

And who really cares if someone doesn't buy an Alien because Aurich is involved. It's just more for everybody else. I would be more upset seeing Stern get the license and butcher it. Compare Aurich's translites to Stern's and tell me who did a better job. Stern has some of the laziest uninspired artwork out there, and Aurich's contributions to this community are greatly appreciated.

Ive uncovered secret pics of the BITM Smaug code animations.

Put your balls in here

The original Smaug sculpt with the rock shroud and no teeth was pretty bad. Smaug has improved a lot.

I think it would be funny if somebody used pinball browser to make the dragon say BAO when hit.

Aurich don't be intimidated by these passive bullies. Keep telling it like it is.

Haha, no one here is a bully, if I'm allowed to have opinions so are they. All good.

Let's get back to talking about pinball. The dragon looks great, so what's the deal with the black bracket on the front? If it was down low and interacting with the ball I could see that making some sense, with a kicker in there or something, but why have that if it's up in the air? Cheaper to reuse the same base from the LE? Or is there something about it that's still functional on the Pro? Nothing comes to mind for me.

I wonder if that mech below it allows it to come down to the playfield level.

I guess GoT looks 'ok', but I mean damn I thought they were going to pile on JJP's Hobbit and make it look bad. Between the two I would prefer The Hobbit. JJP has been playing with an open hand for Stern to see all along - so I was surprised to see that being their offering.

But if you want GoT, go for it, and enjoy! I don't think Smaug is all that bad, it is actually growing on me a bit. And when I look at other Stern games I like - AC/DC, ST, even TRON the PF isn't amazingly beautiful - but doesn't take away from the game for me. I just was expecting more from GoT in the aesthetics - but whatever - Stern will keep on keeping on. I am glad we are getting more choices all around.

So.......................what does this dragon do other than have a light in its mouth? Any videos showing anymore than that? What exactly does it do?

No one really knows, but it's obvious it flaps its wings at least in some fashion.

Pretty risqué avatar you got going there, buddy.

Looks pretty awesome to me, guy.

No doubt. Political correctness is a weapon of the dishonest. And in the end it hurts the ones it was intended to spare. See propaganda.

Naked '70s chick vs. LSD-trip impressions.
We're pretty much in the same boat, my friend.

To me, the more movements and interactivity, the better. For that reason, the GOT dragon looks AWESOME!!

HOWEVER...

For that same reason, Smaug looks AWESOME too.

As someone who loves audio-animatronics and dabbles in it as a hobby, seeing that the GOT dragon will have multiple articulations/actions gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. I will play a million games just to make that damn dragon move.

Conversely, Smaug, while not being a complete representation of a whole dragon looks to have more intricate movements and precise audio sync, which to any animatronic lover is something you just can't wait to see and would likely never tire of. I know I wouldn't.

The two approaches are as different as two animated dragons could be. I'm personally just super psyched to see both of them coming soon. Some people seem to harbor personal grudges for whatever reason, but outside of that I think we can all agree that if you appreciate animatronic dragons, your day has come!

LOL, I did not say 'ALL' whiners got no pins.

I'm on boat with a more 'constructive criticism'. Thinking and fact checking before one types seems to be lost on many.

I must be one of the few that has yet to voice an opinion on the GoT. Why? Because I don't have one yet nor have I really seen one. Lighting counts and affects the look. Game play is important as is the sound and dots. I think I will watch & play a few games before I offer anything up in terms of an opinion. The most I would say is, "Looks like it could be a fun pin."

I'm not a big fan of people throwing out uninformed opinions. The herd mentality kicks in and people start to take these opinions as fact. Not good. I also believe that there is nothing wrong with NOT having an opinion or perhaps a limited one. For example, I now own a KISS pro. People ask me about it. My response is: "So far, it is fun. Once the code is finished (it takes a few updates), I think/hope it will be even better. Check back with me then."

XM and MET are good examples of where early code releases and careless opinions hurt a game. MET bounced back whereas XM was out of production by the time the code was completed. I still enjoy playing both XM & MET.