Sounds like you haven’t even played the game. The shot variety is about is as good it can get. The Compass mode is awesome, moving the shot with the spinner. First time I’ve seen that.

This one is simple: take a Chapter mode into Demodog 1 and play them together, or start a multiball. If you start DD1 by itself it means you screwed up, and now you have to get past the demodogs before you can make any further progress. It’s a fun mode to me, and a great way to boost a multiball, since now everything you hit scores points.

I’ve owned Shadow, played AFM hundreds of times, and I’ve had my STH Pro for about 6 months. Here’s my take on just the layout, leaving code aside.

AFM has the most satisfying ramp and orbit shots. They’re very similar on STH, but a bit tighter, so it takes a little more skill to hit the right ramp and left orbit. Hitting the scoop on AFM is more satisfying than the mystery shot on STH.

STH has a very satisfying inner loop shot, Burn It Back, that can be shot from either flipper. The left orbit, while tougher than on AFM, is incredibly satisfying since you get the spinner sounds and the ball feeds to the right flipper so you can hit it repeatedly. The center section of STH - 4 drop targets, 2 stationary targets and the Demogorgon - absolutely destroys AFM’s stationary targets and saucer.

Let’s talk about Shadow. The ramps with the Phurba diverters are cool, and the lock shot is awesome. But playing Breakout with the flipper buttons is the least amount of fun I’ve had playing pinball. Overall I’d rank Shadow at the bottom of Eddy’s efforts, but the callouts are what made me sell it after 4 months.

Doctor6 you should add a poll so we can vote there instead of downvoting your opinion.

If you think the demogorgan looks like a vag, I’d suggest finding better porn.

Pretty much every good game has shots that you need to strategically avoid until the right time. I kind of like that the DD1 mode cock-blocks your progress if you stupidly stumble into it. The Mystery shot is another example. If you don’t want “Add Time”, don’t shoot it while you’re in a mode. If you just want to smack the ball around, I can see where you may not like that style of playing.

I noticed it. The flipper coils get hotter than on most pins, because it’s faster than most. I used PinMonk’s fans and it solved the problem for me.

It’s more noticeable on STH because of the Demogorgan ramp.

Downvote just means “I disagree” in my case, I’m fine with what you said. I just disagree. Same thing with previous owners who came here to vent. It would be nice if people could say what they disliked without using words like “shitty” and “turd” though.

As an aside, my friend has a Hook and I think it’s lots of fun. I’m a glass-half-full kinda guy though.

There are 2 kinds of players in pinball. The first walks up to a game and after shooting it a few times, tries to learn how to get the most out of it. “Is this shot better backhand or forehand? If I rip the left orbit, can I backhand the rebound to make the eject shot?” This kind of player tends to like most pins. Instead of bringing their biases to the game, they try to meet the designer where he lives.

The second kind of player mostly wants to be entertained. When a shot makes them feel bad, they blame the designer. This type of player tends to focus on how many toys are on the game, things they don’t like about the art, etc., instead of figuring out what they need to do to get into the flow that the design team intended.

I feel like almost any game can be great if you try to be the first kind of player. I’ve had a lot of fun playing Munsters, Wheel of Fortune, CSI, and other games that some people write off. The only truly “bad” game I’ve ever played was Thunderbirds.

Tell your mom. Dude seriously, you come out swinging and expect everyone to agree with you?

Have you tried a ball of twine? It’s a lot cheaper than a falling castle

Wait till you see how many different ways there are to approach STH.