I just want to remind everybody to please keep it civil. Thanks!

Lots of pinball passion tonight.

Fully agreed with you on this. When MArkmon and I played this to make the LED kit we both didn't like the game on the first 4-5 games. We made the kit, changed up the lighting to not be the overpowering cool whites and then hit up maybe 10+ more games and began to really like it. Started understand the rules and it became way fun!

I really like the look of TWD and The Hobbit, how can anyone judge a pin by a few plays or just seeing it being played by cosmetic value? does that really encapsulate a pinball machine.

What really stinks to high heaven is 0% LE play footage or info other than press releases. Wtf????

If I didn't already pay for mine in full I'd not buy one on principle!!

It'd be a pretty sad world where we all agreed on everything.
This is true for pins & every other choice we have in life.
I for one welcome opinions and reviews but will be making up my own mind for sure once I have played enuff games on my LE due in December.
We are spoilt for choice in our chosen hobby plus all the aftermarket add ons/mods we can use to enhance the game play experience.

Bring it on, I say, cheers Fitzy

December? I thought they were shipping early November? Did the timeline change?

Australia.

Ah I see. Sorry for some reason I always thought Australia received theirs first. My bad.

Pros first. LE is on a backwards schedule.

6-8 weeks on the high seas means my LE is coming down the pike either this week, last week or next week

Jeez, seriously? You have operators who try mods to improve the game? Are you living in Paradise ? Minneapolis is the place to be then.

Because here most ops would not even update the code.

I have been messing with the lighting on mine for days and I keep going back to the stock version, which I didn't believe would be the case. In the end I just ended up color matching some inserts and changing the back splash lighting to purple and red. I have played a ton of games and love this game. My brother and nephews stayed at my house this weekend and plAyed it all night. Rudy has been sitting next to this machine with a dirty look on face because nobody is giving him any love.

There are obvious flaws with the software but mone doesn't really sdtm. The magnet does it 1 out of 3 times but I am sure that will be fixed. I can't remember the pop bumpers sdtm.

Lol, so true, so true.

You show Stern! Keep shoving money in their face for games sight unseen... I`m sure they will rush to change their practices.

I have no problem with someone with full disclosure stating "Hey, I only played 3 games on it, but I was bored and here are a few things I disliked..."

Everyone here is smart enough to read into his review, self-stated as being half-assed, and take it as simply a quick first impression. Relax.

We really didn't need 2-3 pages of negativity and back-and-forths which have nothing to do with TWD. Grow up people, and be respectful of others' opinions!

Wow, that makes a HUGE difference aesthetically and creates a natural mood and aesthetic which is more suited to the horror theme. Great example

I was at Expo and played several of the Walking Dead machines in the main vendor area. I'm thinking that they didn't properly level any of them. They all played differently. One of them was leaning so far to the right that you would get tilt warnings with the slightest movement. On one of them the prison magnet did shoot the ball sdtm consistently. But that was just on one of them. The games were all on carpet so they wouldn't move a whole lot - so I'm guessing they just were straight out of the box - eye ball leveled. On the ones I played they also had the sounds off - and they had the mustang pins that were next to them cranked up to ear splitting levels. Not sure if they were trying to hide the sounds since there has been so much negative feedback on that aspect of the game? So all I can really say about the experience is that I like some of the shots (the ramps are very satisfying to hit) and I like the dots. Other than that i feel like I still don't know how they will truly play. Without knowing the rule set and having no sounds to guide me I was just up there taking practice swings.

Thought process at Stern in the marketing and sales department:

Crew: "Hey guys, Expo is coming up and we should have our TWD LE displayed out there front and center"?

Gary: "Why, they have all been committed to distros haven't they? Why should we care now?"

Crew: "Because there are a lot of people considering and already have backed out of their LE purchase"

Gary: "Well, the code for the LE is in terrible shape and all we can really do is turn on the machine in attract mode". What's the big deal anyhow, nobody else will have any pins there

Crew: "Right Gary, So what, everybody knows code won't be ready for another year anyhow!"

Gary: "Well, screw it then, Stern is the only manufacturer of pinball machines in the world, who do these other people think they are"!

Today's recap of the Expo at Stern offices:

Gary: "man that white russian sure looked tasty"

Crew: "I thought we were the only pinball makers in the world"?

Gary: "yeah, did you see all those new pin makers and great projects, where the hell did they come from! I thought I only had to deal with Jack and didn't you guys see that TH blows! I told you Jack would blow it"

Crew: "its ok, we have a new facility coming in January, pinball people don't want all that new shit and innovation……hey, it's Stern, no problem"

…………………….crickets

I realize that proper leveling can be an issue with the EXPO pins, But...

I played at least four different TWD's, and they ALL had SDTM Draining issues!

Especially from the right side or if you hit the Well Walker just wrong.

I haven't been that frustrated in a newer title in quite awhile.

I thought that Stern's Mustang was just Meh until I played TWD, and then the Stang looked a little better. However, I still think Stern is 0 for 2, with their last two releases.

Some friends and I got some play time in on my TWD last night. Yes the code is basic at this point, no argument there. But, the more and more we played, and the further we got into the game we kept discovering new things. As the person playing, it was hard to tell what was going on because the game is so fast and brutal. We really had to "learn" by watching others play and see what is happening. We all enjoyed playing it and can't wait to see what updated code brings. Wasn't everyone ready to dump Star Treks until the code was released recently, now they are keepers? Can't see how everyone says bail when the games has only been out for what, 2 weeks? It is a tough game as shots off the well and the prison can be devastating down the middle. As far as roll outs from the pop bumpers, they look like they are going to drain every time, but they rarely did. Yes, my game is level side to side and has a 6.5 degree slope. The bumpers actually serve a purpose to the game as well, it's not just meaningless game play when the ball is in play up there. For those that have not played, get some time in on a machine first and then make a judgement.

That's the first one I played. It wasn't just a little off, it was WAY off. The one in the free play area is the game I spent the most time on. Other than the well walker not registering some hits, it played great.

Stern is hardly rushing, and yes, I got your sarcasm.

I bought mine because I've been lobbying for two years to get this title built.

I'm sure the LE will be a great pin. Theme is strong and pf looks like fun.

You missed my point that it isn't sterns product I'm upset at it's the marketing.

Preordering ain't changing that.

The angry mob has spoken...does not matter if you are Stern, PPS,JJP, DP, SkitB, Heighway, Spooky, JPop, Roit (I am sure I am forgetting a few others) subpar customer service, poor build quality along with incomplete code and S&M I got handcuffed excuses will not be tolerated. Plus the preorder system that keeps your money indefinitely BS has finally come to an end thanks to at least one manufacture out there. Now with more choices than ever, we are going to vote with our dollars. And the masses will have no loyalty unless it is earned. A lot of us feel betrayed with over promising and under delivering.

Very well said. It seems most pins early reviews are unfairly critical and then following code updates etc they usually end up becoming great pinballs. It seems too many are looking for the "perfect pin" when each persons idea of perfect are so different. I agree that the pricing is very very high however I am also thankful that a company (now two companies) are still making pinball machines and we are not just fixing up our old ones. Everyone needs to chill out a bit. The Walking Dead pinball looks amazing and the LE version will be that much better. After doing some mods and letting the code mature a bit I believe this machine will be one of the best machines of this decade.

exactly, you know a lot of guys in Toronto who are avid pin collectors and members of pinside stay away from these forums and to a degree I'm starting to see why. Tron no one had any love when it was released, IM, STLE, and so many others same thing yet they still bash a game into the ground before allowing any time to really see what the game has to offer and why? call outs and toys aren't what they should be, what a load of crap. All that says to developers is make it shiny and forget substance. Foolish.

I can't complain!

Minneapolis and the surrounding metro area has a lot of great places to play pinball, and a lot of friendly and enthusiastic people who play and collect pins.

Move to Minneapolis for the pinball and the lakes, stay for the 9 months of Winter!

yea you would learn what not to do with some time. My first three games were terrible. Like is said, 15 second ball times. Then it started clicking. My average score was 30-50 mil per game and it stopped feeling brutal. It's no different then say ironman in this regard. The well walker can cause a middle drain but not SDTM. It's too far off to the side. Shooting the walker with aimed shots from the right flipper was working a lot better.

I really like what a customer, Dario did, with a couple of Purple and Red Faceted on the backsplash....
I am waiting on Pictures with Some?/All Gi changed to Sunlight.....

(I like the Purple here)

TWD.jpg

Blues work really well in making the ramps glow on ST but I think red is going to be perfect for my TWDLE, double leds of course.

Working on the led kit for it to add a bit of game specific style - surprising no pinks or purples used from us for once, ha! Just didn't fit this artwork with them it seems The spots and flipper lighting is really help even it all out and less the overall cool white brightness factor. Was actually much easier to play after the change. Colored a bit of the inserts,but not all of course, and that really help the playability without so much blinding cool white I think.

walkingdead-ba.jpg

Yes, I believe stacking the two multiballs is possible this way, anyone know if you can go prison to well walker as well?

I think the dmd animations and artwork are really good. The gameplay seems way to recycled and familiar to me. Bash this thing X number of times until the magnet grabs your ball and a multi ball starts. I don't like how the ball just dribbles out of the pops either. It feels like a subpar stripped down Metallica and X-men mash-up.

Call me crazy but I think Mustang is way better than TWD because it's actually DIFFERENT.

I don't think you are crazy but right about mustang Hi-Fi. The best thing going for TWD is the other new pins at the expo won't be ready for a while.

So after playing it for sometime I have found some of this to be far different. The ball went SDTM from the pops because it was flying so fast out of them on occasion and I had no time to bump or nudge slightly. The ramp flow is crazy fun. Remove the rubber on the end of the ramp for way better flow and faster ball drops.

Rules are not done, that is true. So, there is a bit of "bash this to start multiball" - but so are a lot of games, not just metallica. It's a lyman game so we know it will get super awesome rules, but take a bit. He takes his time,but they are the best rules around on his games usually.

Looks a lot like the Metallica layout. Weak.

I realize that everyone is entitle to their own opinion and lots has been said on the play characteristics of this pin. I bought mine last week and the more I play it, the more challenging and interesting. I won't go over specifics as they have already been discussed sufficiently so I will only mention two things. First is lighting. I used purple and red in the back. Since I had the side mirrors installed the ramps pick up the reflection of the purple light all the way to the apron and reflect very well on other parts of the playfield like the Well Walker. I added Color changing LED's to the mode entrance labels, and replace the white led's with purple in the crosshair inserts. Secondly, I also had a shaker motor installed and wow, what a difference it makes. Looking forward to all the mods that are being created to dress it up even better. The last comment I'll make is that it is a fast flow pin; take advantage of the ramps and combos as they yield good scores.

Oh, I will also add that today I played over 20 games and only once the prison magnet send the ball SDTM

I hooked a shaker up to mine as well. I think it works great with the game. I also hooked mine up to an external sub. That makes a world of difference. Really makes you feel part of the game and the added bass fits in perfect with the theme, since I think the factory speakers are lackluster. The music that comes in when you enter the different modes is really good also.

This BS isn't exclusive to Expo. Seems like it's the same at all the big shows. Ironically, the newest games are often the worst set up. With the availability of very accurate (and cheap) digital levels, there's no excuse for this. Takes 5 minutes tops to set pitch and level. Virtually all of the big vendors are guilty of this.

Also, I get the impression that the switch for the prison zombie wasn't gapped properly on lots of TWD's. That was the case on the one I'm playing and I saw others complain of this issue on Expo games. Hard shots to the prison zombie not counting. Again, bad set up by whomever brought the game. The switch is a simple adjustment.

Game volume being low is common at shows. What happens is they set the volume before all the other games are in the room and the show hasn't opened yet. The game seems loud enough without much ambient noise, but can barely be heard once the other games are on and lots of people are in the room.

I don't doubt what you say, but those things haven't been a problem on the game I'm playing. Yes, some balls exiting the pops are close, but rarely SDTM. And shots to WW were more likely to rebound down the left outlane than go STDM. A very safe shot to me, which i assumed is why it requires so many hits to start a multiball. So don't give up. Try another one when you get an opportunity.

IF YOU CAN AFFORD A BRAND NEW GAME, YOU CAN AFFORD A DIGITAL LEVEL. YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF AND THE HOBBY WHEN YOU PUT OUT A NEW GAME THAT'S NOT PROPERLY SET UP. STOP DOING IT!!!

I am wondering why people are installing colorful, purple and blue LEDs into a game that is supposed to have a dreary, dark feel to it. Seems like the warm white LED's that someone installed looked best. IMO

Agreed. We left some of the cools in the back, added a few spots and mostly warm whites. MAde those plastics and PF really pop nicely and not wash out or anything. Very cool art on this game!

I haven't got to play this one yet, but have seen some videos and do agree with the audio/sound package being pretty terrible. I hope they update this. It would be a shame to leave it like this. Otherwise the game looks fun and I like the unique layout, despite what people are saying. Gotta find one on location somewhere.

If you have seen it in person, it does not really have this feel to be honest with you. If feels like you are in a room with the lights off and then with the lights on. The monochrome nature of the game is either going to be liked or hated IMHO.

I look forward to playing it with better code, call outs and of course, the LE specific edition.

Monochrome? Unicorn puke is more of the color-scheme on this PF. I think the only color it is missing is guava green.
puke.jpg

Surely Guava is more of a Mauve come Wild Mulberry

I am loving mine, can't break 100 mill though.

I am probably in the minority, but i like the call outs and the theme integration

Nope I like them too.