Honestly, I don't consider the ship to be "interactive" at all. Like Sparky on MET, the ship on AFM, etc., it does not interact with the ball at all and adds nothing to the gameplay. It's just window dressing.

I see it a different way. The Pros are not really a lot of value these days; it's just that the LEs are ridiculously overpriced for just a few inexpensive mechanical features and some colored trim and fancier lights (also inexpensive). Compare current Pro models to the 'regular' Stern games of just a few years ago, like SM, LOTR, WPT, POTC, etc., and see how much LESS is put on the playfield these days.

Is anyone else disappointed with the highly-touted "starfield projector"? Or are the majority of pinball collectors that easily distracted by bright blinky things?

Y'know, a blue laser would look cooler and more like typical stars, and dots would look far better than the red lines in STLE. The "starfield projector" looks more like a cheap laser pointer with a rotating disco-ball attachment. (Oh wait, that is pretty much what it is! ) Seriously, it may have been a good concept, but execution was incredibly weak. I see the "starfield" and don't think of stars (no, they don't look like stars at all), but rather a monochrome disco ball effect.

[Waiting for RobT to Thumbs Down this post, just because he does that to most posts I make here regardless of content. ]

Nevermind.