SM does have great flow, but I've always thought that TOM had the best flow of any pin that I've owned.

The previously mentioned DM has really good flow too...but it is completely destroyed by the Cryo Claw.

Go play mustang and tell yourself that's a well thought out design. Yeah several shots lead to the pops but its not what you think, buy an LE set it up and then we can talk again.

Wrath of Olympus is the new king of flow. Sorry guys, but SM is not even in the same league, esp due to the limited number of shots.

For currently produced games TOM is by far the flow monster with great return to flipper and combo maneuvers.

Mine hits the pops more often than not coming out of left loop, whats the set up procedure

Mustang is more fun to play at this point. Maybe not as good a theme but it is more fun.

LOL!

Left orbit is not left loop. Left loop does go into the pops. The right orbit ends up in the pops often. The WB shot ends in pops also.

I'll have to give SM a try, it sounds like a fun machine.

My vote goes to Attack from Mars and The Shadow, good flow, plus you get the 5 or 6 way combo for your efforts. Ironman can deliver some insanely fast flow if you can manage to hit the ramps and orbits off the War Ma-chine kickback and orbit returns.

I had TOM for a bit and would say it probably has the best flow of any game. My buddy had black Spider-Man and even though it is a much better game than Tom it certainly didn't have the flow you're talking about.

Gotta disagree there- Iron Man is fast and you can combo like crazy if you nail down the timing, but it just doesn't have the feel to it- even when you're hitting left-right ramps or orbits one after another, you're on edge and it usually requires nudging to keep the ball off of the slings.

I'd go for Shrek/Family Guy. You can rock that right orbit-inner right orbit-left ramp-etc. over and over. Feels great and pays off as well. The stop/relief shots on the scoop and left standup lanes are also extremely well done and the slings allow a clean feed from the orbits. Bonus points for not relying on the figure-eight ramp flow that seems pretty popular here (MM, FT, SM, JM, ST, AFM, MB, AC/DC, DM).

As for bad but flowy-esque I'd say Monopoly. Once the bank is open hitting that center ramp is trivial and it gets old fast.

I wish ACDC played more like SM. ACDC has the two great ramps and fast but does not flow or combo like SM in my opinion. I wish Metallica had better flow as I thought or try to love the layout but game does not move like SM. Maybe LOTR as a runner up for great flow? On a side note when I first played ST it did remind me or play fast like SM than any other pin Stern has made since then. Still need to play TWD for an opinion.

Love my SM, but when both me and my Shadow are dialed in, it is a flow monster.

Agree about SM being the whole package. Combos VERY satisfying on SM.

But making a Shadow sing with phurba orchestration is so very sweet.

I think MB would be the best flow for me atm.

Yes! So true!

have you even played it? It seriously is some of the most amazing flow in any pin and twice as amazing since it is a wide body.

It definately has more flow than SM and feels similar to TOM in how buttery smooth the ball movement is. Granted it has some tighter shots so until you get tuned in to the geometry you will be bricking targets/posts.

This.

If you are a fan of flow, No Fear is what you need. There is only one shot on the whole table that really stops the flow. Everything else returns the ball to you quickly. If you want to do a ranking based solely on flow, this is clearly #1.

This machine, though, is a perfect example of the limits of chasing flow above all other considerations. It's not as fun as it sounds which is why it is pretty low on any list.

In the words of John McEnroe: You can't be serious!?!?

For me the single best Stern title and the best SR game ever.Awesome flow and rule set.

I always refer to that game as No Fun because the shots are so narrow that instead of flow, you just get rebounds off all the rubber posts.

So, technically, it should flow but instead it's all just missed shots.

Why?

Tron has excellent flow. There's nothing remotely wrong at all with mentioning Tron as one of the best flowing pins.

The only thing that ever stops the ball on Tron is the scoop.

I had TOM for years and have STLE and SM now. There is no question that TOM has much smoother flow. The sound system on it is awesome too compared to SM and STLE.

I had a TOM no way its smoother than STLE, as for sound maybe its time for a hearing test my friend. STLE kicks TOM ass is the sound department.

Who's you? Once I get in the groove on No Fear, there is no stopping it. No brakes whatsoever. Flow city. End of story.

And left loop to pops...

Not really.

The ball never stays in the pops on Tron more than a few seconds. And more often than not, the ball just goes straight through them and SDTM!

A couple of seconds = broken flow IMO. Same time as hitting the scoop and double flipping to get it back.

Are pops always flow killers? If so, why?

-mof

BFD.

The point is that Tron has superb flow, so TheFamilyArcades response implying that the mention of Tron in this thread is a joke was ridiculous.

I had Tron LE too....and definitely do not think that the flow is better than TOM.

You aren't arguing with me.

I already mentioned in this thread that TOM has the best flow of any pin that I've owned. That includes pins like SM, Tron and DM. The ball spends even less time in the pops on TOM than Tron.

No Fear has no pops. No pops, no stops.

Tron v No Fear v TOM.
I don't own these, so I'll use PAPA videos as reference.

If I compare just these three against each other, I'd give the big nod to Tron. The use of the upper flipper appears far more frequent and useful compared to the other two games.

I'd say the TOM pops have the most stop-n-go
I'd say the Tron pops barely come into play

3 and 4 flipper games have the most "flow" imo, since a flipper is involved more frequently (YOU).

-mof

And bricked Gem shot. But it's better flowing than my previous retort would indicate. Superb? Maybe to you, not to me. I personally don't feel its flow is particularly notable, let alone superior, to many recent Sterns, which was the claim made.

The left orbit feels clunky and doesn't it also stop the flow? I find the right orbit tough to hit consistently as well and it doesn't have the smooth feel of a typical flowy orbit shot.

Don't be ridiculous!

Not. Go ahead!

I love TWDLE but I tried today to make the left loop a direct feed back to the flippers. I failed but if I had the skills to fabricate a metal lane guide I would remove the pop bumber closest to the right of the cab, make the return smooth back to the flippers.

TWD idea.jpg

Agreed....TRON flows very well if you get a few ramp shots going, and left orbit pretty smooth, as well...ramps slightly tighter on SM, and do enjoy when you can get a rhythm going on it.....

I've never played a TOM, so can't compare....

lol

Here's a hint for ya: ANY bricked shot on ANY pinball machine will reduce the flow.

Left orbit only stops the flow if you have the diverter engaged. Most people who own Tron disable the pop up diverter in settings. There's really no reason not to.

whats your pitch setting

BTW if you swap over that stern post sleeve to the fatter bally/wms style hurts the flow either way @ the tunnel shot

I did and it helps with time in the pops but nothing major. It would have been nice if the Barn shot was a smooth orbit back to the flippers. The B/W sleeve didn't do much, it doesn't affect the tunnel shot at all. I still think its flows very well.

I have been considering doing something along lines

Please let me know if you come up with something, I removed the entire pop bumper and tried a few things but it needs a metal lane guide. I think it would put the flow of this pin over the top.