I can totally understand people’s disappointment. And JJP really shouldn’t release a game until they know what they’ve got. But let’s not just assume the game sucks now.

Remember STLE? I personally thought the coolest feature in the game was the catapult kicker that was to shoot the ball from the lower left side of the playfield up to the upper right flipper. But guess what? Before the game shipped Stern removed the feature because they couldn’t get it to work. Not sure why, since Fish Tales had that feature 20 years earlier, and so did MM. I guess Gary and Steve and all the other folks at Stern just couldn’t figure it out, so they put in a garden variety vertical upkicker instead, that was not just uninspired -oh, let’s have it feed the left flipper via the i lane - but added absolutely zero to the game. At least STLE had the tinfoil to make up for it.

And speaking of Stern, they aren’t exactly brilliant or innovative in their toy output. The trunk in Aerosmith is cool, but outside of that, they haven’t done much of anything since the Ironmonger.

I hope JJP overcomes this setback. And I also hope they offer a lower price point machine at some point. I’m out at $8k, spinning discs or no spinning discs.

Levi, that’s kind of a bit of BS. Sterns QC has been SOOOO BAD at times. Avengers was an absolute joke, Ghostbusters was as bad or even worse...and that’s just on game features AS DESIGNED! I’m not even talking about decals peeling, clearcoat chipping, cabinets splitting, boards frying, etc.

Stern has had more problems than just lackadaisical code development. They have been very irresponsible with some of their releases.

Just sayin’.

You just lost the Interwebs on this day.

Maybe we should just blame Canada for this mess?

My point is that maybe Stern should redesign stuff post reveal. Or delay their own reveals/releases even longer to ensure their mechs and toys actually work. But instead, they spend the next 12 months replacing parts, rebuilding mechs, etc.
And what about GOT? They had to change the game’s rules because their freaking orbit didn’t work.
And STLE, changing the catapult to a VUK. I’m sure there are many examples, but the bottom line is that Stern stuff usually isn’t that inspiring. So when they change something it doesn’t really matter, because no one cares.

Added over 6 years ago: Stern probably knows some of their game is garbage prior I release, but releases it anyway, hoping for the best and, as stated above, sending replacement parts to customers when stuff inevitably breaks.

Exactly. And that describes Levi. But that’s probably your point.

Great idea! https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/potc-save-the-3-disks-poll

Gary “expertly dodges”. What a crock. A lie by any other name...

I keep hearing this, but what’s the big deal? It’s different (uh-oh, look out). If you don’t want to go up to the mini playfield, than don’t hit the damn ramp. I love ramps in general and the fact that they usually return the ball to the flipper, because it’s fun and flowy. But most ramp shots are no more impactful than any other shot on the playfield might be. So in this case, the ramp serves an actual purpose other than collecting one reward on one shot, that is, delivering you to the ship.

What’s the big deal?

Jack has been hunkered down with Jpop for the last 72 hours. Finalizing the licensing for the Real Solenoid Quickstep that’s going to save the spinning discs.