I wouldn't have ever called myself a Rush fan, but listening more in anticipation of a reveal and damn. This will be some good pinball music.

I love me some Borg, so this may be a buy if the layout has more in it than LZ and the Pro is at least relatively close to the Premium.

Gotta be the return of Expression Lights for this one, yeah?

No YYZ, but 17 tracks is deeper than expected!

Guessing this is just their ASCAP publishing label. But I will hold out hope for some secret YYZ action.

I would love to know more of the backstory on why the original Zep design was nixed. Anywhere to read up?

Definitely curious to see how they integrate the songs. As Rarehero mentioned, I'm guessing for some of the longer tracks we're getting segments tied to modes. I actually really like how that was executed on Iron Maiden - pick your backing track of choice, but then for the Fear of the Dark and Rime of the Ancient Mariner modes the track kicked in at the more uptempo parts. I think this is kind of a happy medium and I'm personally hoping they don't just go with the Zeppelin-esque jukebox setup.

Who's gonna mod in some I Love You, Man?

Not a NIB regular, but I've gleaned that it goes Pros (for operators), LEs, then Premiums. Not sure what that will do to the Rush timeline but yeah February sounds OK?

Times like these I wish they would just reveal it all instead of just a teaser, lol.

That said, I'm curious what people are hoping for from the layout. I have TMNT and it's a blast to shoot when you're on and very punishing when you're not. I'd love something a little less demanding, but with Borg's penchant for a third flipper and flow. No need for a lower or upper playfield for me. Drops would be ideal, and maybe a shot through the pops like he's worked in on a couple other designs.

Let's hear your layout wishlist. What works best for the theme?

Just played about an hour of TMNT while jamming through Signals and a few other tracks. A little Borg + Rush preview.

Definitely could use some more Signals in this pin.

Was thinking about LZ sound package last night, and one thing that really irked me in that game was the sling sounds. They sound like lasers or something way more modern than I felt like should be on a Zep pin. I hope Rush has something that fits their vibe a bit better.

Link? Too many pinball podcasts lol.

Definitely curious about the older style 90-degree vuk there...

I'd take YYZ and then either The Analog Kid or The Camera Eye.

And TMNT Pro is also very comparable to Premium/LE.

Layout looks like a lot of fun - always love drops and an under flipper shot. I think we've got an orbit to hit from the upper flipper too? Only concerns at the moment are code (was not huge on LZ code) and holy cow the shots look tight. I know sales go fast these days but I think I need to see a little proper gameplay first.

Lotta multiballs too which I'm in for! Thank you Borg for generally making a comparable Pro.

Just realized the artist has done a bunch of stuff in disc golf - stamps for the PDGA and such. That's awesome in my book!

For anyone potentially on the fence regarding Pro vs. Premium, this feels very similar to TMNT in my opinion. On that one I borrowed a friend's Premium, fell in love with the game, and bought a Pro.

I haven't missed the Premium once - the gameplay bones are all so similar.

I think it'll be the same with Rush, which is so nice considering the gap in Pro/Pre differences in GZ and LZ. I really appreciate this about Borg, and it's very likely a Rush Pro will line up next to my TMNT because apparently I like to be punished by his designs.

Ha this is wild. Upper half layout is pretty similar but there are some significant diffferences between TMNT and Rush:

- Diverter is standard on Rush (Prem/LE only on TMNT)
- Up the middle has the Time Machine on Rush
- Lower half has thru pops, drops, and standups instead of two mono-targets.

I hope it's a little easier. I love TMNT (and iirc you do too) but when you're a little off you're waaaaay off. Hoping Rush is a bit more forgiving since there are some long jams.

Just noticed Jack's setup had yellow flipper bats. Hoping that's just a quick Rush job (lol) to get it ready for the stream because white goes much better with the art imo.

Game looks tremendous. Who's making a center ramp lighting mod for the Pro?

Is it too bold to say that Stern answered GnR with this one? Maybe not as far as total amount of toys and lights, but they knocked theme integration/assets out of the park. Super stoked to be in on this one!

One minor improvement I hope they can code in would be to have the time machine hold a ball for staging at the beginning of multiballs. I need to breathe for a moment! Otherwise looks phenomenal.

Definitely hoping this was proto and shipping with white.

Lol touché

Ok this is awesome, but where? Could cover one of the main ramp returns but that takes up a lot of visibility...

I'll politely disagree with the notion that they haven't made the modes somewhat story-based. Working Man requires getting the drum clock to 5 pm, Limelight involves hitting shots to increase your fame then escape it at the end, Spirit of Radio makes you "blast radio waves" by hitting the spinner. It's not in the rulesheet yet, but there was an RPM component to Red Barchetta Multiball, plus the aforementioned Fly By Night mode where you turn out the lights. I was actually pretty pleased with the balance of tournament-style and story-based rules this early on.

Doing chores around the house and letting Rush play on Spotify, and I never realized how much their 70s offerings sounded like the more exploratory Zeppelin stuff. I definitely prefer the Permanent Waves through Signals era, but the way the band evolved through the years is highly interesting.

I think this is just theme integration for the action button, similar to how they used Roll The Bones for the bonus. There was a spot on the stream where "Weapon Ready" flashed on the screen.

Agree to disagree. I love how Maiden is coded. If I want the full song I pick it at the beginning, but I still get some other songs throughout the process. I think it keeps things a little more compelling but that Rush just needs the transitions between tracks to be less abrupt.

Bastille Day is in

Watching the Deadflip stream, and it seems odd to me that when a multiball drains to single ball it still stays in the multiball song (instead of toggling back to the song mode you were in or the track you chose at the start of play). Not sure how I feel about that.

I think it just needs a little more staging/callouts and it'll feel better. Maiden changes songs all the time and I don't see anyone too upset about it.

Not sure, but I imagine after the first few games of piling on early achievements it's not firing off as much.

Hoping that I spy white flipper bats on that Logan Arcade pin...

Yessssss white flipper bats we are saved.

Dead end shot nicely trickles back to the right flipper, not a ton of shots being made to the Time Machine but man everything looks super smooth.

Not sure of video, but Stern has a podcast up: https://insider.sternpinball.com/exclusives/podcast/244

Currently streaming a Pro - the kid put up a bill on ball 1 earlier https://www.twitch.tv/pinballnetwork

I'll have to go check out HUPChallenge. My only gripe so far (regardless of model) is that the multiball tracks stay playing after going back to single ball. Other than that it looks to be fun and flowy!

I'm big on the Permanent Waves through Signals era and truly cannot stop listening to Headlong Flight. It rips.

For just one concert right?

I'd call it an outlier for sure, but it's grown on me the more I've listened. It screams 80s and sometimes I love it - other times not so much. I think it was considered a "hit" so hence the inclusion on the pin, probably.

If by "forgettable" you mean FULL OF JAMS then yes.

This game slams. Had so much fun playing it on location today. Lighting alone made JP look like poop, and JP is not poop. Time Machine shot trickier than I expected and the drop target area is plenty dangerous. Good times ahead people!

If I had to choose, I think I'd take off Far Cry or One Little Victory. Those don't feel as connected to the rest of the tracks in the game, sonically, as Big Money.

I'd be cool with it if it wasn't maybe the easiest multiball to start. It's fine but we're gonna hear it a ton and would've preferred Freewill there instead of behind the drops.

Oh those light blue Titans look tasty. I was toying with pink but might roll with these. What did you put on upper flipper?