IDK maybe it's not even from the game? Something else in the Stern factory? I looked over the top and bottom of the playfield and see no where that weird bolt would go. Plus I've never seen something like that in a pinball machine before......Thoughts anyone?

Subway crawler mech.

EDIT: I just realized you said it was ON the playfield. Maybe not.

That’s all I could come up with too, but how would it have made it to the topside of the pf?

I'm REALLY close to pulling the trigger on a premium but had a few questions...

1. How deep is the game compared to other "deep" games (my metrics are WoZ and LOTR for deep and something like WCS94 for simple)?

2. How friendly is it to new players/casuals? I remember one thing I didn't love about Star Trek was that the mode start shot was borderline impossible for my wife and other friends who never play pinball. Combos, loops, "big toy" targets are fine...But if you can't make any meaningful progress without incredibly accurate shots, it sort of ruins the excitement for lesser skilled players.

3. I've been reading this thread pretty thoroughly and see a good number of issues (some super small and simple to others quite in depth)...I'm assuming it's a crap shoot re: how good bad it is? What about the clear coat?

I believe there's a pro somewhat near me in Indy, but I don't know of any premiums nearby (there may be about an hour away after some additional research). I'm gonna do my best to get some games on one first, but I figured I'd get some input from y'all who currently own and have put a good number of games on one!

I installed the CM ramp fix today by tdiddy and it was simple process. First game I was 8 for 8 on the Captain Marvel shot. Prior to this fix my machine would have gone 4 or 5 out of 8. Awesome piece

It really isnt.

Almost looks like the size for the back box hinge

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Yep it does, but its silver and both back box hinges are ok. It was one of the first things I checked. Still a mystery

Do you have a shot of the bolt from another angle? It looks like there’s something on the head of the bolt, almost like a plastic.

Yeah its a round clear sticker on it.

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Turn your slings down to comparable levels with other games if you are not getting into this game. I went from 22 to 10. Much more enjoyable, comparable experience

Agreed. Love them pinstadiums!

My game was built on Feb 8, 2021 as well and although Stern said new games would have the fixes to the rails there was nothing obvious on my game. My Antman guide was close to the playfield so I added the Cliffy protector.

the other location people talk about is the Thor guide. I assume you all mean the guides to the left and right of the Newton ball? The left side of the newton ball is actually the right side of the CM ramp.

Which ball guide am I looking at? Does anyone have a photo of where they added the washers to?

Thanks!

Page 16 of the image gallery for this thread you can see the damage the guide does, the washers would be under the posts for the guide I presume.

Thank you! I see it. I saw it weeks ago but couldn't remember where and I did not have the game yet for context.

I did a quick fix to see if this will solve the problem long term. I removed the nut under the playfield. I have nylon washers. I cut a small gap in the washer and squeezed it in and then turned it so the gap was inside the captive ball path and the front and back of the guide are resting on the nylon washer. I then tightened the nut under the playfield so that the guide is snuggly resting and holding the nylon washer in place.
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I installed the ramp clip tdiddy makes on my machine tonight and played a quick test game. I can definitively say that the clip makes an incredible difference in how the ramp shoots. Very smooth ball travel now with zero rattling or clunked shots back out of the ramp. I highly recommend the clip for any Prem/LE owner frustrated due to CM ramp rejects. It really makes that big of an improvement, to the point the CM ramp shot now seems easier than a post-pass to the right flipper.

I'm looking forward to getting mine...CM ramp is my most frustrating shot now that I have dialed it in a bit.

KME also said on the loser kid podcast that he likes to keep his marvel ramp waxed. This will make a huge difference in addition to whatever ramp mod you choose to add.

I think I figured out where my strange bolt came from. It's the magnet core for the tower. Also looks like the thread is broken off. Guess I can't play my new game till I get parts from Stern :-/

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Thanks for the love man, I was blown away the first time also. I use to find myself trying to avoid the CM ramp, now I'm going after it for combos

Wow that’s a new one, I’ve never heard of this part failing before now. I hope Stern makes it right for you quickly!

I am guessing either the thread was just defective since its birth, or someone over tightened the nut and fractured it. The first ball strike probably completed the failure of the thread. I'm sure they'll get me parts, hopefully quickly cause I wana play!

I was invoiced for my Premium on February 11 and told 7-10 days for delivery. No call yet from the shipping company. I feel like a kid on Christmas morning only Santa is late....

For depth, I think you'll be satisfied. The gem quests are all the same every time, but the ability to bring in portal locks for multipliers adds some strategy. You also have choices about where you place/use gems that adds another layer to things. Add to that things like pulling in timed modes with gem quests with multiballs and you've got some good stacking opportunities.

On the other hand, starting a gem quest is pretty simple. Spin the disc a few times, then shoot the big hole to start a mode. Thor MB is also very achievable, and can be a great "my first stack" with a gem quest as you're getting better at knowing where to shoot. It's also nice that draining out of a mode ends the mode. Even though it's a loss, it means you can see something different on the next ball. Soul gem is also pretty easy to stumble into, and makes you think you got to something really cool (which you did-that mode is neat!). It might be frustrating if you don't know how to read the PF (there could be better callouts/screen indicators of what to shoot), but it's at least achievable.

AIQ is pretty deep and you shouldn't be disappointed. Much deeper than older games like Twilight Zone which were once heralded as super deep. (I still love TZ, though!) I don't have much play on WOZ or LOTR unfortunately. If you are good player and a little lucky with the outlanes, you can have 30+ minute games, similar to Deadpool in game depth in my opinion. In comparison it took me 12 months to "complete" Deadpool, but I have beaten final Thanos a couple times in 3 months... my best trophy count is currently 22, so I haven't been to Trophy Mania wizard mode yet. Many different ways to attack AIQ, so should have staying power in a collection. The Battle Royale Challenge mini game is also a different way to enjoy the game and has it's own unique ways to attack it.

AIQ has great shots and combos. New players can enjoy it without needing the huge rulesheet. Sure understanding all of the nuances will help your progress, but not needed for casual enjoyment.

If you are getting a Premium/LE, definitely do the Captain Marvel ramp mod... either Lexan or the new 3d printed option by @tdiddy. Makes the shot much more enjoyable. Also keep the playfield nice and clean and you will be ripping combos!

Yep, same here. Distributor says they arrive there today and I will have shipping info as soon as it’s arranged.

I’ve posted here before as I am now having autoplunger issues. Everyone has been helpful with ideas, and I will readily admit, I have not done all the detailed analysis of taking videos and bending the auto plunger, etc. up until about a week ago, it was fine. could it be mechanical? Failure of the auto plunger whatever it’s technically called?

My new best for Soul gem!

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It makes lotr and woz look like a children’s book and this is a suspense novel.

It is really deep. If you aren’t a good player who can’t hit combo shots and all ramp and lane shots it is not for you. The out lanes eats the balls so you have to plan shots so the ball comes back the ramps to you. He has the angles setup perfectly to make you pay if you miss a shot. That third flipper blocks a lot. My daughter was having a bad game and had 13 million starting her third ball last night and was playing that ball and multi ball for 35 minutes and scored 746 million. So can be really deep. Black order is key. You need to read screen and hold flippers in prior to game to practice black order mode. She lost it by one shot. It is our favorite game now. Buy it!

Could be a variety of factors. The best way to evaluate it is what you already mentioned by taking video and seeing if the prongs of the auto launch are lined up on the ball to push it straight out.

Mine hadn’t had issues since I’ve owned it until about a week ago. Then I noticed the ball was veering left a bit just before it left the shooter ramp and entered the orbit. That meant it was hitting the left wall of the orbit and losing power. So I experimented with using the leaf adjustment tool to lift up the left side of the shooter ramp. It instantly worked great, but then after several games the ball started veering left again. So I put something under the left side of the shooter ramp as a shim to put pressure on it from below. It’s worked great since then and seems to be staying consistent again after 3 days of playing. Here are pics of what I did.

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On my 73 Flips Soul Gem Quest...

Missed my first couple of tries at Black Panther, so I used one of my Level 1 Mind Gems, got lucky and didn't miss any more shots the rest of the way and used one more Mind gem on the drop targets.

Also luckily I was recording a few games and was able to record this one!

Thanks for the help. A lego fix is at high end of my technical competence so I will investigate. The ball does rattle around a bit. I guess I’ve just been lazy. I kind of think that for what we have paid something like this should just work.

I'm confused as it seemed like your getting shots counted for during Soul Gem mode even when not hitting them. So if you have the Mind Gem you can hit that shot and it counts towards the next Soul Gem is that correct? Think my best so far was 53 flips left but that was with completing all eight shots.

Watch this:

So it looks like you own LOTR and WOZ, yes? Most people have never "finished" LOTR or WOZ, but seems as though a decent number of folks are taking down Thanos. I'm curious about how you've come up with your comment regarding the depth of this. It's not meant as disrespect as much as genuine curiosity!

And everyone is talking about how hungry the outlanes on this game are...Is that just geometry being geometry? I'm assuming this is with posts as tight as they can be, too?

Lol, yep a Lego block with a cabinet bumper on top of it. The block alone wasn't quite tall enough to work.

Does anyone know if the Stern lit shooter rod came and went already, or has it still not been made available? I have only seen a quick flash of it, but is it basically the JP rod in clear without the mosquito in it? RGB lighting then?

My distributor has been hounding them for a tracking number but has yet to receive one.

Yeah, 64 flips was my previous best. It's tricky to get a Mind gem setup properly on a level 1 Avenger, let alone have a second level 1 and the Space gem ready... to do even better. Level 1 Avenger with Mind Gem allows you to use the "Boom" button for a single "best" shot available, three times. In the case of the Soul gem, you don't want the Avenger to be Level 2 since that is one use for getting all lit shots. (That does work great in situations like going for the Reality gem!)

You also get one "shot completion" for getting partway around the mini loop or Black Panther (ball falls back into pops - doesn't make it all the way around to the wireform return).

Thanks that helps clarify things and I will watch the video that was posted here when I get a chance. I'm also trying my best to read through all the rules again in hopes somethings stick this time! So much going on all the time it's hard to keep everything in mind. I also got to Black Order multiball last night for the first time so that was cool. Though oddly got there after I failed the first soul gem challenge. Which rarely ever happens as I find that to be the easiest mode to beat.

I'm usually not that worried about maximizing the Soul Gem number of flips since the points scored are relatively low no matter how well you do on it... it's more important to "Get" the Soul gem!

Shooter rod hasn't seen the light of day yet. Still waiting on it to start shipping. No details on it other than the initial accessories video Stern released when the game was revealed.

Just watched the video again. Definitely looks like a clear version of the JP shooter. That's not a bad thing, but they only showed white light, and that would be a bummer. It should cycle between the six gem colors. Maybe that is why there is such a delay. Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Yep it would definitely be nice if it can do different colors for each gem.

Deep? It is not. Very one dimensional right now - shoot the disc, play the battles, get gems. Rinse, repeat. Hopefully that might change with new code. Compared to other recent Sterns like Deadpool or Maiden, it's pretty basic. Difficult? Yes. Deep? No.

My experience observing 8 or so people playing it on their own here at the house over the past month (including my two kids) is that they are excited to try it at first but after a couple games everyone prefers my other games to Avengers. Primarily because of how difficult it is to keep the ball in play as a casual player. The outlanes are brutal. My 6-year old son is absolutely nasty at pinball and of the 10 games I own it's his least favorite (though he enjoys trying to beat the Battle Royale mode). If you like challenging games that kick your @$$ over fun factor, this is the game to buy. The shots are incredibly close together because there are so many so you will often find yourself angry that you got a multiball you didn't want because you were trying to get a mode going first. One of the only games I've played where I'm constantly trying to -avoid- getting multiball.

Deadpool is a great game and IMDN has been my favorite game since it came out (and still is), but AIQ has more depth than both combined. Getting timed modes/awards from the drop target grid, shooting combos to get a portal lock, spinning the disc to start a mode, bringing in a IM or Thor MB once youre back down to single ball play. Theres so much you can stack on top of each other and different ways to approach getting a big score, without even getting into the order to play modes in or which shot is most beneficial to place each gem on.

AIQ is rough around the edges with its presentation and A/V, but it has a brilliant layout and code to match. It's just going to be up to us to fix the shortcomings Stern couldn't afford or be bothered with, unfortunately.

I'm sorry, but anyone who says AIQ has no depth and is one dimensional simply does not understand the rules. This guy is obviously unhappy with his game and posts negative comments about it all the time saying it is poorly designed, unfairly difficult, and now shallow. I get it, we all have our opinions, but he keeps slamming the game and posting this stuff as fact when pretty much everyone that has actually played the game would say the opposite. I honestly think the dude needs to sell the game and buy something that he will enjoy. It's obviously not for him, and that's ok. Not every game is going to please everyone.

AIQ is very deep, has TONS of strategy, and has multiple paths to play. You could literally ignore the gem quests and still have a ton to do between the multiballs, grid rewards, and the three deep progression of collecting the Avengers for Soul Gem, Black Order, and Battle Royale. The gem quests add so many layers. You can choose to ignore the placement and use strategy and still have fun with them as they are such varied and unique modes in themselves. Or you can take the strategy as deep as you want it. I thought I had a decent handle on the basics of the game, but first today watched Karl DeAngelo's 2 flip Soul Gem and had my mind blown. I knew there were some differences in the gem powers based on where they were placed and the level of the Avengers, but man...I had no idea it could be THAT strategic. Then there are so many minor side things like shield bonus, combo bonus, arc reactor bonus, Captain Marvel awards, Hawkeye Challenges (and combos), Gamma Ray, Hulk Rampage, etc. Sure, there are longer games with even more breadth of things to do, but there is no shortage here, and the depth of what is here is huge.

This is my first New game purchase and I have been very happy. I find it challenging yet entertaining. I have only earned 2 gems in a game so far, so have a lot of improving. Question, how do you earn the Shied bonus?

Keep practicing, it will come! Two gems means you are close to seeing Thanos for the first time!

For Shield Bonus, here is a cut/paste from the Tilt Forums wiki:

"Shield Bonus:
Pop bumpers increase your current Shield Bonus based on how high of a level Captain America is, and also increases the base value of it by a much smaller amount. Shooting the upper loop lights Captain America for 15 seconds to collect the Shield Bonus. Once collected, the value resets to the base value (which will be higher than before, as pop bumpers both raise the current shield value, and the “reset” value). Each time you collect a Shield Bonus it will collect or upgrade a trophy. Completing the drop targets while the Shield Bonus is lit will double its value."