Just started watching, very nice video, you guys do a great job at explaining the game and details about it. Thanks!

Awesome video guys! I had a few reservations about POTC but this video helped sell me on it. I think this is going to be my next game.

Not yet, definitely want to get some time in on the game before ultimately deciding to buy. Your video though is easily one of the best pinball overview videos I've watched. You asked a lot of great questions and it was awesome to hear from Eric and Keith talk about the games design and code in detail.

One of the things I took away from the video is just how well the game is designed. After listening to Eric you can tell he spent a ton of time designing the game, thinking about every shot and making all shots and targets serve a purpose.

I'm just getting into the Keith Johnson part of the video. I love Keith Johnson games and think he's pretty much the Yoda, the Grand Master, of objective based rulesets, haha.

I like the "This is Keith Johnson, rules and code God" line from the video, lol, damn right.

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Great video review! I thought I was set in Houdini but then I watch the Pirates video and now I can't decide between the two.

Any chance we could get a "This or that" Pirates or Houdini video?

I wish I could, need a bigger house and a second job for both, haha. Both of these games look awesome and I really enjoyed playing Houdini. Pirates for an LE is going to cost $2500 more then Houdini but I think its justified as Pirates is packed with so many interactive toys and the amount of work going into the software, audio and animations appears to be beyond anything seen before in pinball.

For $7k though you get so much game with Houdini. Having 125 modes in POTC is amazing with 25 randomly selected per game but if all of the main modes are about hitting the character shots from that movies scenes and you can't hear those characters voices during the modes (as well as see video) I'm not sure how that's going to play out in terms of them feeling unique.

I wonder if the Gibbs callouts recorded by Kevin McNally have lines that are specific to the events in a scene that a mode is based on?

After seeing Iron Maiden pro I'm going to guess that it will be Greg's first NIB pin! Looks pretty cool. I'm not an Iron Maiden fan so I won't be buying one for my home but definitely look forward to trying one on location.

Update - yeah maybe I'll buy a pro one day, lol .

I hear ya there, I just can't get into their music, at least not enough to justify a $5600-$9k purchase. For that type of money I need to at least enjoy the music and theme. For a moment I did think about getting an Iron Maiden premium over a Pirates LE...then I went to play a Pirates LE prototype and after 5 games I knew that is the game for me, lol. Still looking forward to playing Iron Maiden out on location.

Agree! I like how Greg and Zach share their honest opinions, are not influenced by one manufacturer over another, and like you said just tell it like it is. That adds integrity and integrity is something missing in a good amount of coverage over a wide range of topics nowadays in my opinion.

Yeah, I understand, TNA does look very cool, looking forward to playing one. I don't mind the wait for Pirates as I think it will be well worth it. Pirates has a deep objective based ruleset but the rules are also pretty straight forward. There's a main shot on the playfield for each of the 5 movies, hit them enough and chapters for that movie lights. Start the mode at the spinning magnet shot area (not sure of exact name, lol), play all 5 modes for a movie and unlock that movies mini wizard mode.

Multiballs are then started based on completing tasks in certain areas of the game. I think for Curse of the Black Pearl MB you need to sink a ship using the mini playfield. Play and / or beat everything (25 modes, 5 movie multiballs, 5 mini wizard modes) and unlock the Break the Curse super wizard mode. That's a very simple breakdown of the rules as there's also a ton of strategy to add using chapter multipliers, multipliers for beating modes, multipliers for number of super jackpots collected, character abilities, etc.

Curious to hear Zach and Greg's thoughts about JJP removing the 3x spinning disk mech from Pirates plus the feature of the chest opening (still physical ball lock but chest will remain open). Do you guys think JJP should now lower the price of the game due to these changes?

New disk mech below

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I hear ya there. JJP is going from a mech like below with 3x spinning disks, each with LED's, 3 motors and an entirely custom design to a traditional spinning disk mech like below (from Tron). Even though most, or all, of the r&d costs for the 3x disk were done they will not be in production games. In a $8500-$12500 game how much value did the 3x disk mech represent compared to a traditional disk? I would say at least $500 and because of that I think customers deserve $500 in value put back into the game.

JPP 3x map mech pic 1
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JPP 3x map mech pic 2
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Traditional spinning disk mech with 1 motor (from Tron in this case, similar concept I'm assuming)
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I want to watch the next live stream on Wednesday and ideally play an updated prototype before making decisions. If I don't buy a POTC I'll likely end up buying a Dialed In for my next game.

Just watched the latest episode with the part about Pirate changes. Great points guys, I didn't think about it from a couple of those perspectives. You guys are right that even with this change JJP is still offering a game that has more in it then nearly every other pin.

Also, the new map animations on the main LCD to replicate what the 3x disk did look incredible. I don't see any other manufacturer offering that level of quality when it comes to animation work.

I have to completely disagree for the reasons below. I think the review by SDTM for both pins is fair and who knows both may change over time.

1. At today's NIB prices flow is overrated when it results in less toys and features. Iron Maiden premium / LE has far less features then POTC. There's no comparison in my opinion, even after the Pirates changes. At $9k+ I want interactive features such as those offered by Pirates.

2. Pirates destroys Iron Maiden in the software, rules, animations and audio department. Code plays a big part in a games perceived value for myself and many other buyers. POTC easily has 5x the amount of code that Iron Maiden does and much of it, such as the animations, are on a different level.

3. Theme: A majority of Iron Maidens music is about death and depressing topics. A lot of buyers want a fun story based theme, especially when their friends and family play the games with them. I choose fun.

I'm not a big fan of Iron Maidens music so that doesn't help with my opinion of the pin, lol. For those that are I can see why they really love the pin. It's also nice to see Stern going with more of a unique design with the pin as well.

Yes it does for me and many other buyers. If I'm going to spend $9k+ on a pin, or $6k+ even, then I want deep and unique rules that provide years worth of entertainment. JJP games do that thanks to the rulesets being designed by Keith Johnson, Ted Estes, and Joe Katz. I'm no longer interested in games that have me just hitting ramps and loops for points over and over again, that's not fun long term in my opinion when games cost as much as they do today. I'll play the adrenaline ramp and loop points games on location but they just don't have the staying power for me to buy one for my home.

I love how just about everything in a JJP game is building towards something and that theres always something to achieve or progress to. With a JJP pin I end up caring more about how much of the game I progressed through then how many points I earned and thats due to their ruleset designs. Stern is just not doing that on the same level as JJP and thats probably the main reason why my collection will eventually be all JJP pins, lol. I'm keeping Ghostbusters though, lol.

Same and a lot of it comes down to theme and ruleset design for me. New Stern pins are almost $6k-$9k depending on model and for $6k-$9k I better like the theme and music, lol. Gameplay is not enough to get me to drop that type of dough on a pin. Star Wars does have a traditional fan layout but the premium / LE models offers a unique twist on it with the hyperspeed loop toy, exploding Death Star toy, fork ramp, outlane ball save mech, etc. Then there's the theme itself, its Star Wars and the original films at that featuring licensed music, original hand drawn artwork by Disney, actor audio and actor video. To have all of those licensed assets in a pinball machine is huge as most pins don't pull that off.

To top it off Star Wars now has one of Stern's deepest objective based rulesets that does a great job of telling the trilogies story through the 4 different locations. I can see why people like Iron Maiden (its a cool looking and fun playing pin) but as someone who never really listened to them and isn't a big fan of their music I can't see owning one for my home collection but will gladly play it on location. With all of that being said I'm sure the exact opposite can be said for someone that loves Iron Maiden but isn't a Star Wars fan.

Great episode guys, my favorite line.

"We just picked Star Wars over Iron Maiden and you know what...happily". Lol, agree.

Lol, that's awesome! Excellent form and very precise box cutting, saved a lot of time there. The critical moment of lifting the game to put the back legs on was also on point, lol.

The game looks great, looking forward to hearing more about it.

Lol, yup. JJP putting out the huge 2.9 update really helped elevate the game to a new level. Looking forward to whatever 3.0 contains.

Hey Greg and Zach,

Have you guys thought about creating a Patreon for the show? You guys do an awesome job covering pinball and I'm sure all of the trips, equipment and any depreciation with buying / selling NIB pins for the show can get expensive. I don't think many people covering pinball could pull off a Patreon but I think you guys can as a lot of people enjoy the show and yours guys banter, lol.

For those that are not familiar with Pateron it's a way of supporting content creators on YouTube and other sites that otherwise would receive zero to little compensation. Paterons for creators typically have a $1, $3, $5, etc monthly pledge with different features being offered at the levels. Most creators offer their standard podcast / video for free but offer extra shows, videos, meetups, etc for monthly backers. Some content creators start a Patreon with a low pledge amount just as a way of supporting them. There's small Paterons pulling in $50 a month to sites with a full time staff pulling in $10k+ a month.

An example of a Pateron I'm supporting is Cloth Map which is creating video game documentaries. I would happily do the same for SDTM and toss a few bucks a month towards the show.

Just an idea

https://www.patreon.com

I think this is a question that has to be asked...Beatles or TNA?

Oh yeah, Ghostbusters is easily one of the best representations of a world under glass in pinball, just incredible. Ghostbusters is my all time favorite movie and Stern absolutely killed it with the playfield, toy, and feature offering with a ton of detail in between. Now if they could only finish THE DAMN CODE! lol.

Great episode guys.

Zach, I'm with ya 100% that the Death Star shot on Star Wars premium / LE is one of the best in pinball. The shot is challenging yet makeable, and serves multiple purposes including allowing the ball to be held for mode select, blowing up the Death Star toy, and going into that sweet Hyperspace toy. Meanwhile the lift ramp on Walking Dead premium allows the ball to bounce off a rubber zombie head and there's already one of those in the barn lol.

Congrats Zach! Very cool news. I bought an Escalera from Larry a few years back and will definitely keep you guys in mind for future pinball purchases. Hmmm, if that Star Wars topper ever comes out I may contact you about buying one lol.

The TWIPY's were absolutely amazing, great job guys! I had more fun watching the TWIPY's than any live TV awards show. The whole night was about celebrating pinball like you said and was just fun all around. The intro videos that Zach created for each category were a very nice touch. My favorite moment was when John Rhys-Davies presented the best callouts award and said "I was told to say something along these lines...SUPER JACKPOT 1, SUPER JACKPOT 2" lol just awesome.

Sounds awesome, looking forward to it!

Two standard orbits and 2 ramps that return the ball directly to the flippers can get old after a while. I'm happy to see JP mixing it up with a unique layout.

Cool video! Sounds like you may have seen Erics next game from JJP?

Regarding licensed vs unlicensed themes I think there's been plenty of botched licensed pinball machines over the years. The Walking Dead, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates (both the Stern and JJP version), Game of Thrones, and probably a few others all fell short in regards to theme integration in my opinion as there's a lack of licensed assets. Either the manufacturer got licensed actor audio, but no actor video (or vice versa), or only had access to pictures of actors but then couldn't use their likeness in other areas of the game, etc. The same can even be said for Willy Wonka with the odd use of licensed assets since you often see a silent video clip from the movie playing but then don't hear any of the actors.

The above example is why I think a game liked Dialed In stands out and personally is why I prefer it over a majority of licensed games. No sacrifices had to be made with that licensed as everything is original. Nothing had to be comprised with the animations, audio, and rules due to licensing restrictions. When it comes to a modern licensed pinball machine having full assets probably only 50% of games check that box. Ghostbusters, Batman 66, Elvira HOH, Hobbit, Star Wars, and all of the modern music pins are some of the pins that contain what may be considered full assets.

Great unboxing video, one of the best! I really like the care that Spooky takes with packaging their games. The game looks extremely nice with a lot of attention to detail throughout.

TWD voice actor could have done all of the callouts lol. All I know is I cringe every time I hear the "We are going binary" callout from Black Widow in AIQ. What does that even mean?

"Look on me XMEN for I'm your oldest and deadliest foe"

"It's time to go binary"

DAMN lol

Watched the entire AIQ video review, thanks Zach and Greg, great info. I've been debating between an AIQ Premium and GNR LE, both are a lot of fun. The layout on AIQ is cool but like you said Zach there's just something about the rules that don't pull me in. The entire ruleset seems primarily focused on points for tournament versus creating a deep story based ruleset with a variety of objective based modes. The atmosphere of the game and mode choreography (animations, music, callouts, etc timed to shots) on AIQ is lacking in my opinion, especially compared to GNR. The AIQ callouts are just average and the presentation of animations comes across as a bit outdated with basically static images flying across the screen. As of today I'm going with GNR LE.

Always appreciate the content from SDTM, it's very fun to watch. Thank you for the video.

I'll say this about Toy Story 4 and that is people are not arguing over fun factor. I'm sure it's fun, pretty much all modern pinballs are. The issue for many is value and what customers are receiving for $12k - $15k. The value just isn't there with Toy Story 4 IMO and I say that as someone who has bought every JJP NIB. There are zero mechanical toys in the back 1/3 of the game, this may be a first for a modern pin and is bizarre to see. Mini LCD screens by JJP have been used to compliment a game and represent something from the theme. What does a 10" LCD, that takes up space typically used for a mechanical toy, represent from the Toy Story world? I can't think of anything.

The underside of Toy Story 4 speaks for itself and there isn't really much to speak about sadly. Hell, even the pop up Benson posts, which are referred to as a gameplay feature, seem there to simply prevent wild airballs off the pop up ramp. Overall fun factor alone IMO isn't worth $12k - $15k as the features, code, and overall theme (Toy Story 4 versus Toy Story) isn't there with this title. Speaking of code where's the mini wizard modes? There are none which is another odd and disappointing first from JJP.

I wish money was no object as I would buy a TS4 in a heartbeat, sadly that isn't the case and this will likely be the first JJP title I pass on for the reasons above. I need and want more for my money (mechs and code) then what is being offered.

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Zach and Greg, you know you can't post a video praising Toy Story, that's now against the law.

Great videos, thanks, the quality is awesome.

Thank you Greg and Zach for another great well produced video! You guys have a ton of passion for this hobby and it shows (as of course does the team that made this game).

I probably won't buy this product but it certainty looks cool and I hope to play one on location. It's really cool to see a 70's / 80's looking pin being made in 2023. It is a bit of a bummer not to see at least a small LCD on the playfield or apron to play animations and movie clips.