omg I just got through 10 pages of it took me several hours, read a lot of info...

I just bought this game ( I am in Canada ) and I am getting it next month, I read about coil fading, coil fans (???), shooter lane protectors, mylar, shakers....

Can anyone from Canada direct me to the right place to get the parts that I will need to be prepared. I do not like waiting for parts and would like to have a nice arsenal of parts that would/could need replacement...

looking for protectors for this game: cliffys, playfield, etc. I am located in Canada.
Where do you guys get your stuff?

thank you for this!!

newbie question here,

what would be considered as normal operation here? the ball never taking off the PF?

that is pretty cool, I suspect it won't be long until fans start adding movie clips....

I just subscribed even though I do not speak French, lol.

sooooo....

I know some of you have said 'do not bother with the PF protector' but because this is my first game I went ahead and bought it.... it is here now.

I do not have the game yet, I am just getting ready for when it arrives so I am now wondering (did not think of this before):

Can the spinning disc be adjusted/elevated so it can compensate for the thickness difference once the protector is installed?

I am thinking of making TMNT my pin #2 after AIQ.... do not want to derail the thread with a TMNT comment but ... but... I will go check the TMNT thread I guess... lol

I asked before but I will ask again.
Has anybody reached out to Stern about this... is this causing a gameplay issue or are we just being fuzzy about it.... has anybody considered that the ramp might have been designed like this so it makes the shot more difficult...

There must be some logic behind this design vs a totally enclosed ramp.

I understand we are trying to get the best out of our games and this forum has provided lots of feedback to report and fix other issues (that affect gameplay) but if this is a defect or design flaw, should not the ramp and wire be replaced by stern???

Why do I have to go out of my way to add a piece of plastic to a $8000 dollar brand new game??? I simply can't understand this logic

This is what I mean, if they made that design and now the games are shipping with different wire forms... that is red flag for me.... I suspect Stern is going to be replacing all these ramps soon.
but not if nobody reports this to them.... maybe it is a production issue that was not caught due to these being made during covid? which affects most production lines, assembly lines, etc...

I strongly disagree with this. I am not paying $8000 to play Keith Junior and redesign ramps.
I do understand that minor tweaks are needed... This is not a minor tweak and if minimizing it makes you feel better then power to you.

Until Sterns comes out and confirms this is the actual design, then I am not adding any plastics to it.

As shown in the pictures: the ramp was obviously designed differently and the production game came out with a shorter wire form...
Stern needs to confirm why.

hahaha

with all due respect, I think you are missing the point:

There is a picture of a totally different ramp on one picture (stern website - it has been posted here, look at it) and the production ramp is different (and causing issues to some players)...

I don't have any issues with maintaining, which is totally different from 'redesigning' a part or component...

Using your example of 'working on your game' and the analogy of changing the oil...
Are you changing the diameter of your pistons while changing the oil too? The answer is no, so why do I have to change or add 5 inches of plastic to my game...

Adding a piece of plexor isn't maintenance or tuning... specially when stern themselves posted a photo of a totally different ramp.

If these ramps have issues, Stern should address it as they did already with the subway and spinning disc.

Yes I did, I am waiting on their response.

good luck to you.

I noticed this on all the other videos as well. the ball always gets pushed to the left as soon as it starts to climb.

THAT IS COOL!!!

as the delivery of my new AIQ is getting closer, I wanted to collect things that might come in handy..

Do you guys know the name of the tool used in the video shown above? I want to order it to have it handy, I might install a playfield protector (undecided) and this tool seems like a must have for adjusting the disc....

With that said, how many of you are running Playfield Protectors?

How is this happening? Is it too tight from the factory or does it happen during gameplay?

so chrome balls work alright in this game then?

I got the game 2 days ago. some facts:

the shots are incredible
love the premium features
the game is an absolute blast
loving the rules and exploring it, lots to do on this one!

I can't find anything wrong with it, I love it. I am very impressed by it and I am very picky.

last but not least, it has been flawless out of the box AND the game was made on my birthday, so it was meant to be? lol

loving it!

Can anybody tell me please what tool is this?

I will be installing a playfield protector and I suspect that I will have to adjust the height of the rotating disc and would like to know what is the name of the tool used on this video so I can buy it...

I was inspecting my AIQ and notice that this post at the top left corner, around the turn after the hulk spinner, is missing the rubber bumper sleeve... wondering if it is missing OR if it is actually supposed to be missing.

IMG_5530 (resized).jpeg

great to know ok so it is normal then, no post sleeve on that one. Thanks for that!

now another question, I am worrying that my antman guiderail and Thor might be digging on the playfield. I have played a few games, did not count how many but might be close to 100..t I noticed that in both of these locations (antman and Thor) some dust was developing around the rails... no scratches or anything visible at the moment so not sure what it was, PF is mint.

I took a closer look and there is no damager to the PF, but would be annoyed if I miss the chance to correct this now while it is mint and not once the damage is there....

What is the preferred method to correct this? I have the cliffys set, installed the shooter lane cliffs tonight but the antman cliffy is an eyesore so I am looking at other options...soooo... washer?

I presume adding washers involved disassembling most of the playfield to lift this up.... I might just do it when I install the playfield protector.

and last, (lost of questions sorry), how often are you guys replacing balls? the factory balls look really beat up just after 50 games... I might just toss them out very soon, this game is fast and the balls take a beating? or is it that the factory balls are shiteza?

I have at 7 and I like it a lot. super fast.

in 80 games I have had zero issues, nada, with any ramps or the subway. Capt Marvel ramp works, do not know why people have issues with it. Subway works.
Maitenance? that is pinball, if you do not like maintenance in my opinion then you should not own pinball machines, just enjoy them elsewhere...

I have been working on a 90s game for the last month, did a lot of work, after receiving my first stern 2 days ago, I can tell you: there is not a lot to go wrong with a modern game. I can't be happier with the newer Stern, I find it is built really well.
Sure it does not have the old schools decals, the 90s game had, do I care? no. Are the decals cheaper when/if need replacement, yes. WIN WIN.

The electronics in new games are smart, minimalistic, I love it.... Less clutter under the PF, working on a new game is EASY when compared to a 90s game (or older).

Ok so now: dimples? less talk about them for a sec (and stop here) My 90s games has a GAZILLION dimples, the fact you can't see them has nothing to do with the wood used nowadays vs 90s. IT IS THE SAME, you just need to play the game a few thousand times and the dimples will disappear.

What else? Nothing. I am VERY impressed with this game, the flow is AMAZING. I love the game, I am happy with my purchase and I am a 90s pinball kid! I love my 90s pins, but I can't find anything wrong with modern games, in fact, I prefer them.

Stern makes a good game in my opinion!

Now coming back to issues:

I think my Dr strange isn't perfectly flat but not sure it can be? how flat does it have to be all around, I think I can see one side as being slightly higher than the rest but do not think this can be corrected?

Is everyone Dr. Strange disc perfectly flat? levelled with the PF? mine does not seem to be at the moment, but this has not caused any issues so far...

I can try to lower it but do not think the actual disk is actually flat, I might need to take a closer look.

IMG_5532 (resized).jpeg

That is right, mine is like that too, so if I lower the high spot then the low spot might be too low and trap the ball. I don't have any air balls though so it might be just right then?

Can you share a pic of this?

you are missing Stranger Things. it is an awesome game.

mayday mayday, lol

I am installing a playfield protector (first time ever) and I am not sure how to remove the ramps.
I do see the screws on the PF top, but can't figure out what is holding these from the bottom.

Can someone give me a hand with instructions on how to remove these? I do not want to tug forcefully until I have a clear idea.

I am in the midst of it now, so if you want to chime in with help now, it will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

has anybody installed the art/plastic protectors from Playfield protectors?

I am not sure if this are installed under or over the art? I know this might sound like a stupid question but hear me out: I have them in another game and they are installed under the art, they are not meant to protect the ART but more to protect the plastics from air balls hitting on the edges, so they are installed under the art and protrude a few mm to protect the plastics...

These I got from playfield protectors do not protrude, they are an exact match so that makes me think that these are to be installed on the top?

63710493624__026474A2-E45D-4C66-BA07-96AE5EAE8641 (resized).jpeg

not sure they are pointless, I have seen broken plastics on many machines. you can do with yours what you want right? just trying to take care of it that is all.
We will see if they are useless or not, it is just a hobby, you learn by trying things and maybe your experience will change your opinion over time.

what is really funny is that I was not going to do any of this, but this morning I dropped a post all the way back into the PF, the only way t get to it was by removing a ramp, at that point I said 'F this, I am doing the PF protector then' lol and here I am, 12 hours later still going at it.

At the end of this am I getting a diploma or something?

you are not alone, I had the game for almost 2 weeks now and I find the rules impossible to figure out unless you read them or watch someone who does understand them. I watched a video on YouTube made by Bowens (papa) and it helped but still it is hard to memorize it all.
That and not to mention that 80% of the time the ball drains to either right or left Outlane, it is quite brutal.

I really like the game, I am not sure it might stay too long in my collection due to how difficult it is to play. I do not mind deep rules, it is just that the rules do not present themselves intuitively sometimes and I find myself getting really low scores after lots of work.

Still to early to decide, I need to play more. I love the ramps and the layout is genius, lots of combos and stuff but the game is --for me-- very difficult.

I will read the rules and see if I can improve my scores too.

I love the premium features, my favourites the actual portal and the antman scoop as they give me some time to breath and think. This is a very fast game otherwise.
Cpt Marvel ramp is ok, but the rejects can sometimes get hung up in between ramps (this can be solved by removing a piece of the rail but this is big mod for the ramp and not willing to do that. I am not sure why they have not done this at the factory and would remove the possibility of balls getting stuck there. It only happened once in 200 games for me but it will continue happening...

Wondering if anybody got in touch with Stern about modifying Cpt Marvel ramp? am I dreaming here?

Also if the ball does not make it as it comes down it goes straight down the middle which is very annoying lol...

this is the part that I think should be removed, withtout this part of the rail a ball that comes off the Cpt M too soon will not get hung up here.

IMG_5665 (resized).jpeg

Thank you so much for doing these, this is an amazing contribution and you are doing it for free and not like the other people who are gauging pinbalers for hundred of dollars for 3d printed stuff... good for you. Thank you.

Is the handle at the back so you can lift the table up and down when putting up for service?

the washer is a great idea and yes I noticed how you left it open on the side. I wish I had seen this a week ago, lol, as I disassembled my entire PF to add two metal washers under there. I had to modify them too so they would fit, but they are in now...
I do not have a printer but maybe I will add one in the future, I think it will be fun. I will download your files and have them ready for the future!

Thank you so much! this is awesome.

I agree

I was having a hard time with side drains, then I took extra time to really really level the playfield and things improved dramatically... yes I still do get drains of course but not no much now, specially balls coming backwards from Hawkeyes loop (secret skill shot).
It a was a minute adjustment -it was very close to level before -, but making sure it is absolutely bang on did improve things for me.

this happened for the 2nd time, it always happens when I am having a fantastic game and of course it ruins my score, as it is really hard to continue the game once this happens....

What is the best way to fix this? I tried bending the ramps to create some space in between but I did not succeed, of course I was being gently... I also tried to adjust the gauntlet ramp before the drop, just to try to bring it up... If the 2nd post of the gauntlet ramp was slightly higher I think this would solve the problem.

What is everybody else doing for this?

IMG_5679 (resized).jpeg

IMG_5680 (resized).jpeg

yeah I was going to try this, just a hair clearance so it. can slide under should do it.

the ball falls out of the upper bend (as it turns left) I presume all ramps are like this.

I solve the issue by adding two plastic washers (as they are thicker) under the post closer to the ramp (or second gauntlet post) and now the ball, if it ever falls out will slide over the rails and fall into the wire form, gameplay will not be stopped and therefore the glass does not need to be removed any more...

WIN!

I find this ramp quite easy... cpu marvel on the other hand, I almost try not to hit in fear of a reject and automatic down the middle drain.

yeah need to practice this shot more... it freshly waxed but I still avoid it, lol... I wax this game weekly! no joke. a good opportunity to clean off ball trails and such too.

I just banged 3 games out, Ball 1 was 150 million, about 30 alone was binary points... haha I got the hang of it on the ball and combos were flying it was really fun, then, things got real and all went to sh** the next 2 balls were pretty sad...

All that to say, I am going to focus on the cpt marvel ramp because it is a points maker for sure, and it is quite fun now that I see how it works with BW ramp...
Now I get what the PRO is missing out on, once you get the feeling of this ramp it is must have for this game.

now that I fixed the balls getting hung up in between the gauntlet ramp and CPT Marvel, I will be shooting it more for sure.

Thanks for the tips!

Mine is like yours, the ball can and will fall out the upper bend, it is only retained into the ramp once you are past the bend, not before, and certainly not right after the Flexi thing in (plastic) in front.

I reached out to Stern and got in touch with Pablo, they opened a ticket for me and they will look into it. I mentioned that the ramp is tight at the upper bend for some people (also it was mentioned here). I recommend that you reach out to Stern to let them know, the only way for them to fix your and future games is by people reaching out, and not by re-engineering games here on the forum... Of course I appreciate the tips and tricks to get a game going when something small like this happens...

I am just thinking bigger picture, how many hundreds of games have this issue with the ramp, and how is this going to affect operators until they find the simple fix?

At any rate, they will look at it, but the more people that reachs out about an issue makes the issue stand out -- will not be considered a ONE OFF -- and Stern will have to fix it with a bulletin and parts replacement program. IF you do not do this, we will continue adding washers to our games.

you can bend the ramps hook slightly so it forces the ramp to come down closer to the PF, a light bend is only needed. I did it on mine and saw and improvement however it is not perfect.
This is something that should are brought up to Stern as well imho!

I just had my first 450+ million game and got to do the black order MB and defend the gems. It was a lot of fun.
Maybe the sounds and music are a bit underwhelming for sure but it was a lot of fun just trying to get the shots.

I do agree with a lot of people that the game is still lacking better music and callouts during these parts of the game. It takes a lot of work to get to it — for me at least — and I wish there was more stuff happening, better callouts, thanos really mocking u when you miss a shot, etc.
Avengers callouts could improve too, as you are almost done with a mode I wish there were other auditive cues as to how close you are to defeating your opponent or being defeated, with callouts indicating one way or the other. The game can be cery fast so looking at the screen can cost losing the game/ball.

I only had the game for a couple of weeks and this has been happening to me but with the Soul gem, even when not getting it during the soul gem mode, I do not know what I am doing after and sometimes I get the Soul gem regardless.... weird.

I am also having hung up when I have 2 balls in the portal, if I drain, the game does not register the drain, instead it starts searching for a missing ball and it eventually spits one ball out of the portal and continue playing normally until I drain.

I am running the latest code. Other than that I did not notice anything else.

this only happens to me when I have only 2 portal locks, it never happens with one portal lock.
Is the issue you mention with any portal locks? or just two?

than you, will inspect this right now. How do I fix it? I have not figured out the easiest way to search for things on threads here yet.

I just inspected the leg, they all look the same... mmmh...

I get where you are coming from but I paid $1500 for this and I refuse to workaround its malfunction by not using it

the code in my opinion is better in the premium, the combos are more fun, better flow... you really have to play to see it... this game is a premium game in my opinion.

I recently took all my ramps out to install mylar under the flaps. I did not notice anything weird on this ramp, so unless his was not bolted down properly there is not much to 'adjust' the ramp is held down to the PF with 2 or 3 bolts/nuts under the pf and there are also 2 screws that held the ball guides for Thor.

yes for the most part, but what I meant is the code works better in a premium in my opinion, you are missing the physical portal lock and one ramp and that is incorporated differently in the PRO

Gotta nudge left to right, just before the shooter lane exit and it will prevent it.

Mine does that too. Money making feature lol

This game is so difficult, I try to play a game to relax and and have a good time and end up all worked up cursing at the cheap drains and the crappy score after sweating like a false witness. Lol

This game is hard!!

I had 200m in the bank at ball 1, and it all went to sh!t so fast after that I could not believe. This game is tough!

yup, this is a common issue with this game. I have it. Pablo is aware of it and he will send you a new mech.
I am waiting for mine, however, I do not know if the new mech is going to solve the issue....

the mech on itself has a lot on slack on the last tooth and it does not come up properly. The new mech I believe is supposed to fix this.
I would not spend too much time on this, other than identifying whether the last tooth is at the same height as the other ones. If it is not, you need the new mech.

Current maybe? mine is from Feb and has the old mech.

the callouts are really bad, lol the only good ones for me are Hulk and Thanos, everybody else sound terrible and yes the music isn't great.

oh good to know, I thought there was a new VUK mech... certainly not interested in the same one, lol...

Those are not bad ideas.
What I do not like about the game is the possibility of choosing which gems you want to get first.

To me this makes the game repetitive because I would try to work and practice on a specific gem and try to build a strategy.
It takes all the randomness of the game away, because the only way to build a strategy is by practicing to see if it works.

Now the game adds to layers to it, gem selection and gem placement.

This means that someone more experienced, will find shortcuts or better strategies = boring and unfair. It is like knowing the answers before taking a exam.

Modes should be random, not selectable.

This will make each play different! fought in random orders and not in an order that can be selected by the player= random, fair and fun
I think the only input should give is the gem location, and that is already excessive.

Everything else is too much. The game is overly complicated and its repetitiveness in search of a ‘strategy’ is something I am not interested in when I play pinball.

The game needs more randomness in my opinion. It tries too hard to be a ‘make your own adventure’ but it actually backgires making it very repetitive and predictable.

Get 2 gems, get soul gem, defend gem, rinse and repeat.

At the moment it is my least played pin and I only have 2. I find Stranger Things to be leaps and bounds more fun.

I will probably put it on the chopping board soon if the next Stern is a title I like.

that is exactly my point.
I am not interested in following other peoples strategy, that not only makes the point of selecting a path moot but makes it boring as you tend to repeat the same path over and over.

Putting the hours to become better can be done and should be done like it always has been done in pinball, with skill and ball control by following the games randomness and not by manually triggering a sequence through an options menu that could lead to bigger rewards in a shorter ball time.

This puts a less experienced player at a huge disadvantage and it has nothing to do with actual pinball skill, it is simply exploiting the scoring system through the ruleset and taking the easiest path or better strategy. To me, manually selecting modes is the equivalent of removing the glass and pushing switches with my fingers.

It is not fair unless all players know the strategies available and that is not what pinball is about.

Pinball should be an approachable game that can be learned in matter of minutes/hours, not months.

Nope, I do not prefer that era... I enjoy them for what they are.
Choice is great, but the choice should be at random... selected randomly every time, not by player but by the computer. You still have your 'multiple paths' and multiple ways to play it, but randomly. To me that is way more fun that a selectable option.

Otherwise, as already mentioned before, the player tends to follow one path and it defeats the purpose of 'choice'

#1 is unfair and a way for someone with understanding of the rules to cheat the scoring system.

no, let me be clearer:
2 players knowing the rules, one has a better strategy = advantage.

If you remove the strategy factor, which is achievable by selecting what modes you play, you even out the playfield to just the rules. The advantage is then removed.

You just made my point: if you are playing chess, The other party adds its randomness the to the gameplay i.e. you do not get to choose your adversary nor his moves.

Bingo. And a good strategy will help someone with good stamina and accuracy a lot quicker. You want to make your points early in the game, not at the end when you are crushed.

the side drains are not as bad as in my Stranger Things though. lol

I do find that the side drains are 95% off the slingshots, so I lowered the power a couple of points and it helped... rest assured, a ball bouncing off the upper portion of a slingshot will most likely be shot towards the out lanes... having the slingshots too weak takes some of the fun out so it is a fine balance.... sooooo, all that to say, gotta master the nudge. a good timed nudged is key.

sling ring? you mean your disc?
very common issue, mine is a bit off but not as bad as yours. have a kit to level it being sent by Pablo @ stern but not sure if it will save the issue as to me it seems the actual disc is uneven, in other words, it changes elevation as it rotates, or, the elevation isn't on fixed location (if that makes sense)...

wondering what others did to correct this.

thanks for the heads up, I will follow up with Pablo and maybe he can send the replacement disc instead.