Ghostbusters has been riddled with bugs and incomplete since release over three years ago. Almost no updates at the beginning, either.

Game of Thrones (while I like the code) has a fair amount of annoying bugs that should be easy to fix. No fixes forthcoming.

Star Wars fared a little better (maybe because of the Disney license?) and got enough updates to take it from blah to pretty good.

Munsters is literally almost point for point at the same place Batman '66 was when it launched very poorly. And Dwight is on record saying it's pretty much done, so no Lyman rehab of the whole thing is coming to save it.

So based on what Dwight has said on the record about Munsters code, it will not follow the dribbly trajectory of incremental improvements over time that a Lyman game would. I hope Stern changes this, but we didn't stick around to find out.

One of the most inaccurate and ignorant comments I’ve EVER heard related to pinball and that’s saying something

To compare BM66 at launch, which I owned then and now, with Munsters is just plain STUPID, biased and ignorant

You are an operator assistant that doesn’t own games or care about them.

All you ever do is whine and bitch about shit that doesn’t matter AND you are so clueless when it comes to Munsters I can only think it’s a “hater mentality”

Just like you went on and on about BM66

Just simply F ing WRONG

Agreed. Munsters is a very good game, that could use some more TV show theme integration and then it will become a classic. It has all the other markings of a classic. My opinion is: Dwight said it’s done because he didn’t wish to be hounded incessantly like he’s been on GB. It’s really up to Stern if more is added and will happen if enough of us continue to request it.

It’s not depth we want, it’s really Munster’s show theme integration modes that most of us desire. The game is good now, but could be so much more with just a little effort.

Star Wars is an excellent coded deep theme game now. If Munsters were to receive that treatment, everyone would be happier.

It will NEVER be BM66 because Dwight isn’t Lyman and he doesn’t care

Look at GB 3 yrs later

“Sleepy Dwight” is my new nickname for him

It is what it is

Munsters is really good now BUT.....

Cut and paste code is no bueno long term

Well he better start caring or his games will be marked by all of us and won’t sell. I think his total reputation is resting on what he does with Munsters to make a theme that is close to Batman in many ways and should get a similar treatment. But Stern is his boss and tells him what to work on and when.

If you are interested in a serious discussion of code:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-would-you-like-to-see-the-munsters-code-evolve#post-5043902

You also said in the Ghostbusters code thread that the game doesn't need an Are You a God wizard mode, bug fixes or really anything else...

For today's NIB prices a majority of owners are expecting not only deep but but also unique code. If Munsters was intended to be a more basic game with less code thats cool but that should be reflected by a lower price. When a Munsters premium costs as much as a Batman premium and Star Wars premium it's reasonable to expect similar code depth.

so...

as you're also saying GB being an OK game (when talking about the code), you can't be serious !?
or its just because your own these 2 games ?

To be clear, the discussion doesn't upset me, the bad faith actors and trolls like yourself are annoying though. You have literally nothing constructive to add to the conversation. We get it. You don't understand how something that isn't "chess" can still be fun because you are such a cerebral pinball player. Cool. Bye!

Dude, this is really bad faith arguing.

I explicitly said GB does need bug fixes and that I would love for AYAG to exist, but it not existing doesn't make the game worthless and some travesty of "false advertising" like you were claiming.

This is not reasonable at all!! You are paying for entertainment. Some like deep, some like shallow, some like both. This is very unreasonable though to expect a price difference.

on that point, i'm with you, STERN seems to make last games (BK3 too) more "approachable" to touch much more people on location... not sure this have to be linked with the price

i'm OK with that, but as a "player", i'm not happy with it, simple as that (and than i'm not buying these games)

You are also paying for the work that goes into the game and that includes code. Any pinball machine is just a box of lights without code. The more code added to a game, and the more unique it is the greater the amount of resources (programming time) went into the game overall.

Theres no reason for all Stern games to be priced the same when some have more features and far more code work then others.

This is a thread about "worst code ever" - what about that title led you to believe there would be constructive comments about the code? This isn't a club thread where everyone talks about how great it is not to have all that code to learn. It's a thread about how bare-bones awful Munsters code is - easily the worst since launch time Batman '66. It DOES seem like conversation about that reality is upsetting you.

Psst. You can also ignore me and anyone else that upsets you forever with just a click. There are ways to fix your angina on this subject. You have the tools, why not use them? I do. My ignore list is not long, but a few choice cuts made the pinside experience much better. I highly recommend it.

Dunno about BK3 (we passed for location), but Munsters DID NOT EARN. Honeymoon period that usually lasts a month or more with a new machine lasted about a week with Munsters before it fell off a cliff. And this is not a location with pro players. It's mostly recreational n00bs. They just didn't like it. jjPotC earned more in a WEEK than Munsters earned in a MONTH on the route. Granted, jjPotC is at $1.50/Play $5/4 Play with 4 balls and Munsters was $1/play with 3 balls, but that price difference doesn't explain the huge earning disparity.

I haven't heard anyone but Stern say Munsters is earning great. All the OPs I talk to say Meh to bad earnings IF they still have it. So no, the "let's do less code" Stern model isn't automatically an earnings hit on routes.

Also, the recent report from the Stern tour where Deadpool and BK:Sor were all over the place on the floor and Munsters was absent reinforces the reality that Deadpool is suddenly very hot and Munsters remains very cold. If the demand was anywhere near the levels Stern implies, there would be a lot more Munsters being made.

ok, tanx for these infos

Stern says it’s selling like hot cakes (according to my source), but if it really is, why did they come out with the color premium so fast???

Plain and simple, needs much greater theme series integration, period. Then they will legitimately be able to claim, it’s selling well, because good theme integrated code will make it so automatically.

For another data point, Munsters was swapped out at our location after about a month and they put IMDN back in.

In addition to the personal experience on the route I help with (Munsters was the fastest in-to-out of any new pin ever), your story or variations of it are what I'm mostly hearing. Munsters is bombing on routes. It's not hard to imagine why. Stern CAN fix this, but will they?

Same in my area. Was on site for just over a month before being pulled and sold.

Everyone please write them and ask these questions.

How would a code update change the fact that it's an ancient obscure old man license that hipster millenial barflies don't give a damn about?

So, that's why Bible Adventures hit the skids? Lack of faith in the ancient theme? Ironic.

Seriously though. Wizard of Oz. I could never imagine playing one, let alone owning one. The code is what makes it good, and it does great on route. Real staying power. Code is more important than theme for lasting power.

Much better code would make Munsters do better. But as it is, it makes no sense (why is the player bashing Herman?), the theme integration is terrible (except for Midnight Madness - the best integration of this in any pin), and it's just boring to play after a while. I totally believe that it can be saved, but I don't think Dwight will do it. I'd love to be surprised, though. Make this another Deadpool terrible to awesome transformation with code alone and I'll happily promote it.

Don't waste your time. Pinside is a curiousity for Stern management, nothing more. You'll get PR BS and probably some outright lies. Play your pinball machines, it's more productive.

Seems like the 1 month in and out for Munsters is a common location refrain...

It didn't come and go in a month at the location I help out at, they still have it, but it doesn't earn. It never got that 1-2 month new game bump like basically all other games get. It's been a poor to middle of the road earner since day one. It's on route with 9 other pins there, all newer Sterns, including the new Black Knight and Beatles Gold. I help clean and maintain games there and I rarely have to clean Munsters because it just never gets played. With the shallow code, the more hardcore pinball players that play at this location choose other games to play that have more to them. With casual people, honestly I think Ben hit the nail on the head with his statement. The casual person under the age of 40 has no idea at all who the Munsters are so they don't have very much interest in playing it...especially when presented with other themes they do know. I'm 42 and I barely remember watching Munsters re-runs at my grandmother's house after church on Sunday mornings. When a casual person has the option to play Ghostbusters, Star Wars, Deadpool, etc...hardly anyone chooses the old school black and white theme they have barely (if at all) ever heard of. This location is a gaming bar with new and old video games, pinball machines, console gaming and more so people come there specifically to play games...but unfortunately as it currently sits, Munsters has failed to capture either demographic here.

If you're referring to location pins this is false

Just my personal experience helping on a route. The pins with the best code are the ones that last the longest - in general. Ghostbusters would be an exception (although there's plenty of code, there's a LOT of bugs), and there are are few others. Theme seems to carry it the first few months, but code keeps it going, on the locations here, at least.

Exactly!

It really depends on the location and the type of players who frequent the location.

Curious you guys thoughts on ACNC code....

I played it and was blown away by its code depth. To me, there was no comparison to any of the latests Sterns and even better than JJP stuff.

Those are fighting words Heck!!

LOL - NAIL meet HEAD

Got rained out at work so went back to the arcade to try out Munsters Premium again.
Paid for three games, won 7 more free games between a special, a match, and five replays.
I dont really feel the urge to play it ever, again. The mini playfield was cool the first few times but it has lost its luster. I couldnt imagine having Munsters at home, unlike Metallica and Maiden which I always want to play another game.
The arcade has Munsters, GOT, and Star Wars. I spoke to one of the attendants and he said Munsters is not earning at all. He said GOT consistently earns more than either of the other two and its been there for a few years.
Now that I have 30 or so games in on Munsters I can say that its not for me. A shame because its a beautiful game!

Van Es and I came up with a pretty cool monster/item/room scheme for ACNC. Each of the 9 monsters is vulnerable to 3 unique items you can collect as you explore, but the rooms as laid out in such a way you'll only be able to collect at most 2 per traversal. This way you never get to have a monster battle with all 3 active and "run out of ways to play the game". The items also all make sense both in where they are found and what monsters they affect. Really thought it was important to make the location (a castle) integral to the rules. So it had very deep potential even before Bowen came on board!

I haven't played Munsters enough to complain about its code. I just think it's too old of a theme. It's funny to think about but if location players actually drove themes we'd be seeing stuff like Power Rangers, Pokémon, anything Nintendo... Probably a big reason why Deadpool does well and Tanio is from the video game industry thus he infused a lot of those mechanics which younger players enjoy.

If Stern is doing Jurassic World/Park I think that will do well. It's the Millenial's Star Wars.

Read this and was thinking if Munsters is old theme....what is Alice Cooper?

Does anyone know when his #1 song was originally produced? 1972 !!!!!

He is one cool MF! That’s what.... and most certainly a pioneer

Bravo man. The foundation to some of the sickest pinball code I have ever experienced (that includes
LOTR). I was blown away truly... Munsters to ACNC is rocks to algebra.

I was thinking, beavis and butthead would be a sure hit

My MUN is earning. Has been for about 3 mos now. Not like DP nor IMDN at same point, but it’s no slouch. No it isn’t a smash hit, but count me as +1 for more than “meh” earnings on it.
More info: it’s not like it is performing because it’s the only fancy one, it’s holding its own in a collection that includes imdnprem, DPprem, GOTGle, bm66, bkle, got, met, stprem, afmrle. It’s not in a great position either, it’s in a corner sort of.

plus 1

So still no one saying it's earning great, but one better than meh and two more pulled after a month. That's not a great record. There's a reason Munsters came and went on the line, it seems.

I really hope Stern revamps the code to put an actual game in the cabinet, but if they don't, it's dead.

I agree AC is old, wasn't my choice.

Not only is the code "meh", but Herman is pathetic.

Just played MET, KISS, and TRON (all great Borg designs) and Sparky/Gene/Disk add sizzle to the respective games. Herman adds nothing.

I’m confused. I have played KISS only a couple of times but I did not notice Gene do much except spit out a ball. His head just sits there on the play field taking up space, as far as I could tell. Where is the sizzle with Gene?

The Premium/LE has a 3-ball lock and eject from Gene's mouth/tongue (above the PF). All models have a spinning disk (level with the PF) that throws the ball back. The spinning disk is a little anemic when compared with TRON (a similar mech), but it works pretty well. I agree the head is a little large, but doesn't detract from other elements on the PF.

Oh, what a thrill ! Sounds like Gene really leaves Herman in the dust. I need to go play KISS next chance I get. I sure missed all of that when I played KISS those 2 games a couple of years ago.

No firmware updates from Stern in nearly a month! Maybe a GIANT one is coming for Munsters and ALL the programmers are working on it?