Latest word on some code from a source close to Stern:

A TWD code update long awaited is in the final stages of polishing at the
Stern Pinball PD department. We anticipate a code release very soon, and
plan to post a video of the game running said code on our facebook page
within the next 1-3 days.

No word on WWE code at this time, but it is true that Stern is doubling
down on code development with team-based assignments designed to relieve
stress and increase update times.

awesome, thanks for the update Zucot!

Anything on mustang by chance?

Trudeau casually told me he wanted to do one more update at PAGG, no idea how that's looking. I wouldn't rule it out.

Star Trek 1.7?

after watching the AC/DC show in Hockenheim / Germany together with 105.000 other people.... where is the code ??????

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acdc_Hockenheim_2.jpg

Enough with this nonsense. There are tons of other games to "polish" before ST. What gives it up most priority?

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twd & avengers, please!!!!!!

Because some of us own it.
I'd be ok with other sold projects getting priority; by we all know stern is playing with KISS code as the priority. (

I am not able to tell you who I heard this from. It's a very well known source that can be trusted.

Come on. Star Trek is awesome now.

Yes. Like I own it. Star Trek is in great shape. It no longer warrants complaints. It's comments like this that hurt this movement.

who cares if there was an Acdc concert? The code on Acdc is great and does not warrant complaints here. If you are unhappy with the code in Acdc then you will never be happy with code in any game.

stern absolutely has to keep its factory line moving or they are out of business. No one wants that. It's a very tough task that no one appreciates. You need a factory line that is capable of cranking out games when necessary but you can't have 50 employees being paid to do nothing. You can't lay them all off for three months or you won't have any staff when you need them. Look at how long it took JJP to produce its games or spooky. The regular release cycles are required to keep the factory line moving and the staff employed. For example, they could fire half the workers and take twice as long to do runs of games. But then there are backlogs of orders.

As long as the code gets awesome in a month or two after release I am ok. It's the 1 year wait that sucks ass.

It's quotes like this that really hurt your credibility.
Honestly, where do you come up with this drivel?

In the past 3 years, Stern has produced some of the finest pins ever made:
AC/DC, Metallica, Tron (3rd run), Iron Man VE, etc etc.

Perhaps it's time to bury this thread once and for all.

What?! Sure after waiting 2years for completed code... these games are good.
I'm not sure why you seem to think 2yrs to take full advantage of a game you spend over $8k for... is OK.

Stern needs to put the interest of the consumer in a better priority list. Releasing incomplete games ... for more than 6mths is not excusable.

Seriously? I've been one of the biggest supporters of Star Trek, and not a whiner about its code. Star Trek is awesome now! Could it use a final release to squash bugs/polish? Yes. Was just politely poking.

Jeez.

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See above.

Trekkies need to go away.... we want our updated Tron LE software ....give us a video mode that pro owners can't use

Spoken like someone that didn't play MET on release code. That game was CRAP when it first hit the streets. Once Lyman got the code going is when it became a fun game and that update took quite a long time to come out.

Tron and IM really don't count as they were finished games from prior year and actually support his comment of putting profit in front of good product.

Look at the release code of games before giving him crap about his comment.

Met, X-men, TWD, Mustang, ST, WWE, etc all were pretty bad on release code. Under current code most of these are pretty good games now with WWE yet to be seen and TWD needing some features integrated in. As Markmon stated, it's the 1-2 year wait to get the game good is the problem and where this thread started off at. Pretty sure if games would get to the nearly complete state in 6 months (or less) of release you wouldn't see the bashing/concern on coding.

Get a clue dude.
I owned one of the first MET pros off the line.
I even posted the first full gameplay video, before most people had ever seen one:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/ajk-plays-metallica-pro-106-hd-glass-off

I also compiled the first and only rule sheet:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/metallica-rules-how-to-play-pro-v-106-rulesheet

MET was fun from day one, and only got better with time.
It is now a modern classic.
To say stern puts profit before product is total nonsense, and I have no problem calling out bs when I see it.

Me either and you are full of that bs. Met sucked big time when it first came out. There were basically no rules, no wizard modes or side modes. It was go for MB and that was basically it. Most every MET owners game started to collect dust months after getting them. And this is coming from an owner of a LE. To me, MET had some of the worst out of the box code in recent times. Fortunately, Lyman made it pretty awesome in the end.

You can keep trying to but just because words are coming out of your mouth doesn't mean that you are teaching anything anybody wants to learn.

Pushing out games before the code incorporates the items advertised and present on the PF is 100% pushing for profit ahead of quality. If you can't see this then I now fully understand why you felt MET was good out of the box. It's not me that needs to get a clue....

It is clear you don't understand how the rules of a pinball need to evolve over time and extensive real-life testing, as the game is played, strategies exploited, etc. Code needs to evolve over time, yes it could happen faster, and Stern is taking steps to ensure it does.

Pushing out a product with "finished code" immediately after release will never happen, and it shouldn't happen, for very good reason.

All right, it's about time I drain this thread once and for all.
Carry on with your whine-fest, negativity, and utterly useless pursuit of perfection:

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Please drain as you are not adding any value at all to the thread. Saying that code has to evolve is nonsense. It can evolve to make it better but it should at least incorporate the main view of the game as it's intended upon completion. Updates should be to fix bugs and add some added features, not get the game functioning fully. Williams and Bally weren't putting out games with code so basic it didn't incorporate game features and had placeholders in the code. They made updates to improve on things but they were nearly complete when launched for the most part.

I love how people that have no way to argue their point fall into the "crying" pics and comments when they are the ones in fact crying about things. Ironic, isn't it... Seriously man. Grow up and act like an adult at least. Want to throw out flack to someone and you get challenged on it and your response is to call that person a cry baby and then you want to take your marbles and go home. My 5 year old is more mature than that....

Back on topic. Stern's making a lot of improvements and getting better. Hopefully they continue the trend of better communication and add to that a little more complete game upon initial shipment. Those two things will go a long way with winning back some NIB customers (myself included).

I find it crazy that some people say one game does not need new code because their game has not been updated in awhile.
Any new code is good for everybody. I could care less if it is for game A,B,or C.

Far too much common sense for Pinside......

It's not that one game doesn't need code because it hasn't been updated in awhile, you are missing the point. It's the fact that, it seems mainly ST owners (which is what I'm assuming you're talking about) keep whining about new code and they just got a release. I think the "fair" way to do it is to FIRST update the games that actually need code and not just a polish, like WOF, Avengers, TWD, WWE, ect.... Then "polish" the games that are pretty well final, in order they came out of course, like FGY, Avatar, xmen, all the way down the line until they reach ST. Of course you won't agree with this because you own ST and it seems most ST owners have a sense of entitlement and want their game first, right now, when other games have needed a polish much longer. That is the point.

WTF, are we really talking about "polishing code" on Avatar now?

I sold my Star Trek, I don't personally care what happens to the code. Here's the reality though: it still needs some bug fixes and general tweaks. And it's a game that's still on the manufacturing line. Stern would be morons to not make it a priority (alongside TWD and WWE).

You're a sad delusional little man quarter grabber.

Right back at you

WWE needs code more than TWD. I own both so I feel like I can credibly say that.

All I know is that this conversation is ridiculous, and not because any of us are being idiots, but because the situation is just dumb. We shouldn't even be in this position in the first place.

I think Star Trek is a good game. But I just sold it because owning it with the incomplete and frankly not all that compelling code for so long burned me out on it. By the time the code was fixed up (it's still got issues, but it's much better now, if it had initially shipped with this code it would be a different story) I was tired of it.

Didn't have any trouble selling it, could have moved several more for my asking price, had to turn people down just from posting a single mention in the CA sale thread. There's demand out there. Stern probably doesn't need to worry about it.

But I'm not buying any more NIB incomplete games. It's not only a crap shoot, as far as what you'll end up with and if you'll like how they do it, but the waiting sucks and can ruin the game for you.

My sense is that Stern gets all that. And they're going to work on it. And that's great, I wish them the best. But I'll need to see it in action before I'll change my mind.

I've had zero interest in any theme since Star Trek, so I haven't even had to think about it yet. We'll see what the story is with Ritchie's game. It's had a long time to bake, maybe Stern will surprise us all.

Yes, This ^^^^^^^^

I still feel bad for WOF and Avenger owners though, they need code for sure.

Avengers and TWD are the clear winners right now in the "need more code" competition.

Fresh from Sterns facebook

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There's been code updates since launch.

The time from last update doesn't mean time from launch.

LEs shipped at the end of October. We re splitting hairs at that point though.

Hiring Jared has meant a huge uptick in communication. That's what we've been asking for. Obviously we'd all love to have tons of code, right now. But given the reality I'd just be happy to get regular status updates on it. It seems that's happening.

I completely agree that Jared is much better at FB for Stern than anything/anyone they've had in the past. I also agree with Nate at C2C that the frequency might be a bit too much. I have seen many unique posts in the last few days about KISS. The location posts and news clips are a different thing altogether, those are great. One or two of those every few days is nice to see, but I think I've seen KISS at every workstation in the factory at this point. I love tours and seeing stuff get built, but do it in a single post por favor.

Not Stern but BOP 2.0 just got another official update

They will adapt besides people will complaint whatever they do. Im sure they just want people to really notice a change

I'm sure they will be fine as well. I bet Jared has had a lot of things he wanted to touch on and containing that or pacing it would be understandably hard.

After they switched to a modern programing language? Probably a fair amount. It saves time, but if pinball software development is anything like the rest of the world testing takes ages.