FEATURE REQUEST TO STERN

If possible, try to get the color of the Avengers Tower (tan) on the video to match the playfield mod color (blue). Of course, our mod community can do the reverse.

Tim

Still under consideration. I missed the first part of stream (watching grandkids it was my daughter and son in laws anniversary,) and assumed it explained rules. I caught the last 45 minutes or so and was completely lost. Keith said he was going for something about a computer and played for the longest time.

I would like to see the pro but that's on a family members birthday dinner friday. One thing if I bought this game I would get the pro, that's really all I need and I'm normally a pro buyer.

So they geeked out about the trophies a lot, but it’s been said MANY times it’s not the main focus. They are like tomb awards in maiden and fossils in JP.

The main focus are the gem quests. Think paddocks. And battle Thanos is visitor center.

The grid targets are like the control room modes.

Collecting the avengers are like the power modes in maiden with those 2 wizard modes being like cyborg MB from maiden.

Sprinkle in a lot of other side stuff to do like leveling up avengers, making gem quests into MBs, placing gems around the playfield, you have avengers.

Now you’re speaking our language!

What exactly do gems do when you place them? And it looks like you can place a gem at one shot and a different kind of gem on another shot. And if you don’t like where they’re at, you can move them when you hit the scoop?

Was there anywhere in the UI that said what each gem does? I thought it might be nice if on the Gem Quest selection screen it says what each gem does.

It looks and plays fantastic! Great job so far!

If anything, I’d like to see and hear more Thanos taunting.

Also, it really needs the Dwight show for lights.(TMNT) It has it, however it’s in very sparse areas; end of the ball bonus totals or skill shots and gamma ray.
I kept thinking it needs dynamic playfield lights like those for each character. Have the strobes flash all over when you hit the captive ball for Thor. Maybe have all the lights create a spinning effect for Dr. Strange.
I love the subway light effect when the ball enters and travels, but kill all of the lights. It will give it a transport simulation.
Hopefully there will more immersive theater with sound effects and lights not just flashing inserts in the final code.

There is complexity for those interested it seems like. Strategy of the gems and their powers, strategy of powering up avengers, definitely lots to consider with bingo grid BUT.....
the barebones are simple and fun for everyone "iron lanes" three locks multiball, thor captive ball hits multiball, "strange" spellout to start gem modes. In my mind perfect balance between accessible and fun "main quest" and some deeper considerations for those who like to plan out scoring opportunities. In my book hobbit falls into this category too, you can grind out modes all day, play multiballs to advance to wiz modes OR lose your mind trying to mess with the map/ order of modes for max points. Play your way.

For Jurassic Park they issued rules guides that described the perks of all the dinosaurs, and the perk for the paddock you're about to go into is onscreen when it's selected and all the perks you have are listed onscreen also. I don't know for sure of course, but I'd would think they will do something similar for the gems in this game.

And yes, they were moving gems around but I don't know what the rules are around what can be moved and when. Again, I'd guess they'll release some rules guides similar to what they did for Jurassic Park.

This is why we didn't go into tremendous detail. We need to polish up the gem perks but here is the rundown...

On computer grid drop targets-
Mind gem lets you select which award you want with the action button
Reality gem hit 2/3 drop targets to collect award
Power gem collects current flashing award plus spots another
Time gem adds time to computer modes and ball savers
Soul gem collects soul gem jackpot
Space gem the action button rotates the gems to different locations

For the rest of the shots
Mind gem- use your mind to collect the shot (action button)
Reality gem- shot multiplier
Time gem adds time to computer modes and ball savers
Soul gem collects soul gem jackpot
Space gem the action button rotates the gems to different locations

Depending on how leveled up the avenger that is holding the gem also effect these perks but I will get into that on the next stream.

Again this is all frosting on the cake and has nothing to do with game progression. Simply playing the quests leads you on the path to Thanos. But needless to say the more gems you possess the easier it is to defeat him.

Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to respond to some of the questions!! Really excited to play this game.

Honest question because I don't know the answer: With so many posts about how complicated this game seems, have there been many pinball games where the rules ended up really being too complicated to understand if you looked them up and played more than a few games on them?

I've only played Star Wars a few times and I hadn't reviewed the rules so I didn't understand moving the multipliers and some other nuances to the game but still had fun shooting it just going for normal modes, etc. And other people playing Star Wars who did understand the rules didn't seem overwhelmed by them.

I'm thinking this might be a similar type of situation where a person can have fun playing with or without knowing all the nuances of the rules, but it just brought to mind a question of whether or not complexity of rules has ever truly ended up being a downside to a game in the past.

I think the rules are going to be just fine, there are many wizard modes to achieve and a ton of strategy around it that should keep us entertained for a while!! My biggest concern is the sound as that what really immerses you. I will agree the light show in TMNT is way better, they clearly didn't spend the $$ on that also seems to be something Dwight does well, Star Wars was awesome too.

When turtles was announced I wasn't that excited, watched the stream and I was sold! This one I was caught in the hype watched the stream and I was not as sold? But I think Friday will be telling as DeadFlip sounds like he is gonna direct capture the sound and I think that will really help.

If you beat Thanos, does the game end?

Wow! I can't wait to start playing with all this. Should make for a lot of interesting strategies to play. Thanks for your posts today on Pinside @sk8ball!!!

Yea. The machine turns off and you actually have to manually cycle the power to get it back on.

If Thanos beats you the game goes <poof> and you are left with nothing but dust. Incentive to try harder.

I think the game is kick ass. everything about it. i was sweating thinking about playing it

New Stern is released (elvira)...."rules are unfinished, definitely not complex enough, wont wanna keep it in your collection"

New Stern is released (avengers)..."way too complicated, hard to figure out, my family thinks its complicated (who cares)"

etc.

its elwin, and in covid days most are purchasing for home use now, dont you want a deep/complicated game when you're spending 5.5k+ on a toy? jp rules are perfect for a home machine imo, super complex and impossible to master. big reason im in on this one.

Lol, "it's too boring" vs. "it's not boring enough"

I understand and have read that, but my issue there is they seem to be an integral part of the main GUI. Initially I thought that area is where Avengers would stand, once collected, but instead it's a trophy case that's prominently on display, that whenever modes cycle through, it returns to that backdrop.

I'd understand it more if that trophy case was featured either at the end of the game, or by holding the flipper to access game info. This....is why I feel people have mentioned it multiple times.

Latest stern money making scheme , now we need to buy another one !

Bottom line though is don't worry about what opinions are here, just get whatever game appeals to you the most. I was just about to pull the trigger on either MBr or EHOH because I thought having a two flipper game that's a bit more straightforward in the lineup would be a nice change of pace, so I totally get where you're coming from. But then Avengers was announced and I quickly reconsidered Gotta just go with what feels good to you though.

This game looks great and it’s a designer that I kind of lucked into when I got my first NIB pin (JP2) based on theme, after that played a lot of Maiden and now I know that I want all of Keith’s tables.

I don’t know everything about all the Avengers, but I also don’t see how the trophies tie in. What do folks think about if the trophies changed into ‘worlds saved’? And, if you do good not great, the world survives, but is pretty beat up (bronze), and if you do stellar, the world is in mint condition (gold). These worlds could be displayed as a hologram on the main screen as a reminder of the Avergers’ battles.

Did anyone notice that the magnetic lock tower never held the ball as a physical lock? Will this be changed in the code, or is it in the settings? Apologies if this has already been addressed. I haven't read through all of the 100+ new posts.

It’s more of a limited staging area. I don’t think it’s held for very long ever. Longest I noticed was when you get a SJP in iron man MB. Holds it there, then if you hit it with the other ball, you get a 2x SJP.

I don't think it's designed to lock balls there. On the stream I think they said the longest it holds it is 15 seconds.

Re-watched the stream. I think having two pro players explain rules may have been the trip up that makes it seem so complicated. Those guys win tournaments on knowing the nuances of the machines, so that's what they focus on. Focusing (even briefly) on the rules you'll need to know for your casual 5 minute game in a bar would have helped tremendously before piling on the nuance.

Really looks like this game follows a similar framework to Iron Maiden.

S-T-R-A-N-G-E = E-D-D-I-E
Gem Quests = Song Modes
Thor MB = Mummy MB
Soul Gem = Cyber Multiball
Battle Thanos = Number of the Beast

Hopefully the deadflip stream tomorrow can highlight this.

Not sure why the trophies being...er...trophies is causing annoyance. It's a video game thing. Most modern games let you earn trophies, even in games where a "trophy" would make no thematic sense. Been like this for many years. They are just following suit here. I think it's a great idea.

Everyone loves trophys!
I don’t really have a problem with it, just don’t really associate it with Avengers.
Seems more appropriate for video games or sports themes.

I think it's really hard to judge a game well on a stream. Not sure the pinball pros have cracked that code yet. For example - a lot of the appeal of this game is in the unique ramp design and verticality of some of the shots, and a primarily top down camera view just isn't going to show that off well.

But, along with everything else, it's another data point, and I'm still super pumped for my premium and my first elwin game!

I understand everyone advocates for games they own, and hates on ones they don't. But, I think we should have some foresight and keep encouraging deep games, solid licences, and new designers

First trophy I'm shooting for is the Participation Trophy.
AND... finally it's football time heck yeah see ya later bye.

Nice! Now for the big question. Which layout are you enjoying more, pro or prem?

Because it makes ZERO sense context wise. And it's visually a focal point. (I think one is the Gauntlet, which makes sense. That was collected when Raymond ripped the shit out of those loops. Crazy skill!)

When I first saw them, I wondered if Stern was implementing an achievement/trophy system across their games. That...would be following suit.

Sony's trophies followed achievements by Microsoft. The concept makes some sense as a system wide bragging/incentive system, in an ONLINE user based ecosystem.

Makes ZERO sense you being in the owners thread

It's a hype thread.

What a weird existence to be only all in on ideas or all out. I like a lot of what I see in the game so far, and this and any form ideally exist for....uuuuh, discussion?

Who says I'm not a potential owner? Keith's game all seem really worth buying, and frankly the idea of Pro ownership seems far more likely for me than the other brands presently.

Also, this thread temporarily was downgraded to a hype thread, and if a bit peculiar a small bit of criticism from someone you don't even know regarding a game you might own ruins enjoyment for you. As an owner of a Houdini game, I definitely understand people's criticism, and it doesn't at all affect what I do value in that game.

I did come out a little feisty, my apologies

It's cool, I do appreciate that!

I get that people putting out bigass money don't want that idea in doubt or incessantly shat upon, hence the Owner's Club's. Unfortunately I'm the type of person that's critical with all my purchases, which are all pretty ridiculous.

I'm more excited to shoot this than even JP2, and Maiden! Though I still keep wondering if I should buy a Pro JP2......but if this Captain Marvel ramp is interrupting flow, possibly, maybe the Pro with a spinner there might be a better choice...? We shall see, tomorrow!

(And I am far, far, FAR more irked at Houdini's LCD work than this or any Stern game.)

JP2 is awesome, and a great theme. But, I still prefer Maiden, even though I had never listened to their music before playing the machine.

Avengers/marvel comic books are my jam, so hopefully this game checks all the boxes.

Also, Houdini is a beautiful game that is challenging, but fun. I enjoyed owning it

Stick with Avengers. Monster Bash is coming up on it’s 25th anniversary here in a couple years. It is a classic, no doubt, and the updates they did with RGB lighting are great...but it does not hold up code wise to modern games. Enjoy the new modern game with the modern coding loaded with different things to do.

You’ll be much happier with modern deep code to play and explore for long time to come. MBr while a good game from the long ago past, is such shallow code that everything can be seen in one game easily. On a MBr, we saw everything twice playing just one game. All friends I know that purchased one have already moved on. Think AIQ will be the kind of game people will hold on to for a long time or not even on sell it at all.

I don't get why people are complaining about the incomplete rule explainations. The reveal stream was awesome compared to TMNT- going through all the rules without letting Jack play the game and the whole atmosphere suffering from it was cringy.

Everyone wanted to see how the game shoots - Keith just went to the machine and did his job... watching the NO 1 player and designer flipping his own creation was pure satisfaction to me and Ray did a good job with rule explanations. You expect to understand the whole rule set in one stream, but its more about to get a feel for the pin not seeing and understanding every aspect of the game. Reveal streams are exhausting enough to watch, i was totally overwhelmed with so much going on and the code isn't even finished yet.

I was disappointed by the audio capture of the game and zombie yeti was just to much, those are my points of critique for the stream.

4PM eastern on the marvel twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/marvel