Only have one stern and that is a sw pro. Fun and has never given me any issues. Happy with the game. Glad your having a good day

Sounds like a great day!
Not sure I understand where you went though.

I like happy brokenvette. Been a while.

Damn, I was hoping to read another Stars realization story or about Nine Ball or something.

...but hey, I'm glad someone around here is finally voicing their praise for Elvira and Jurassic Park!

I went through a gradual shift from B/W to Stern starting in ‘04 when I bought LOTR. B/W used to be the budget option, until prices got silly. Stern DMDs are solid as a rock, if you don’t mind fixing optos once in a while. I don’t have a verdict yet on Spike pins. I’ve put 2 Pros on location (JP3 and Aerosmith), and they did well but I’ve had some minor weird issues. Overall they’ve been great, and I’m still a buyer for the right title.

(Minor issues: JP3 gives me errors at boot time, but eventually is fine. AS intermittently throws an operator error for the VUK during Toybox multiball. These are probably easy to resolve, I just need the time to do it).

I've collected Bally Williams DMD machines so far, but own one Stern. Have to agree, they don't deserve the hurt everyone throws at them. I had issues updating software a few times, but worked it out.

I understand the pundits cookie cutter debate, and overall build quality issues. I have had WAY more problems with my JJP machines (Which I love).

So, I am officially standing on both sides of the fence here, and wish you happy times with your new GnR sir

Yup playing games usually bests sitting around bitching about them

Everyone is a very loose term for how many pinsiders give Stern hurt. U have the B/W JJP hardcore fanboys and.......................thats about it, they are far from a large group. Stern pins are the most fun to play, but if u need the flash to enjoy the experience then JJP, B/W? classics but kinda easy and for me anyway now feel dated.

Well...you were perfect until LZ. That's awesome as well. You just need some time on it.

Stern’s are fun but I feel GnR is on a higher level.

Congrats on your G-n-R.

I havent owned any newer Stern games. LOTR and Avatar were the only 2 I've had. My father in law has a Monopoly, and at work they have a Sopranos machine. All have been fairly trouble free. Anything will have some issues no matter who made it.

I would love to get some time in in newer stuff. Maybe now that things are loosening up that will happen.

Enjoy your new game and glad you had a good day!

Chris

I've always loved most of the Whitestar/SAM era of Sterns...tons of great games. I was talking up how fun they were when the majority of the vocal hobbyists were "Bally/Williams or GTFO". Strangely, it's the current era of Sterns I'm not too crazy about...but everyone seems to be going bonkers for them. Metallica, IMO was the last "perfect game" from Stern...just hit it out of the park in every category...and I never liked any of the SPIKE games enough to buy one. Tons of themes I love, but they missed the mark IMO. I think JP is actually really awesome, though...and I think I've come around on Deadpool. I might possibly end up getting 2 or 3 of this years titles if I'm feeling nutty enough!

I didn't like Deadpool at first...but people are going nuts for it now, and the code does seem to have improved it. I'd have to play it more to really decide, though. GOTG was ruined by matching horrible fake voices with real video. Destroyed the game. IM seems fun & people love it...I haven't gotten a feel for it yet, need to play it more. Haven't played BK3, but want too. Munsters is gorgeous and plays nice, but the rules/code/limited content kind of kill it.

Man, its always interesting to read other peoples take on machines. I like Metallica, but cant stand the Wood chopping nature of the rules. Guardians on the other hand, I like way more than Metallica, and it is essentially the same layout. I love the theme integration, and the voices dont bother me in the least.

Like yourself, I have been collecting a long time (since 99) and have had a ton of games go through the doors here..... I have been gravitating to the newest Stern Pros, simply because they are hard to beat from a bang for the buck perspective (talking used). All of those B/W titles I used to pay under $1k for have crept up to Stern pro territory, just not seeing the value. Stern SAM games are hovering around Spike game pricing too, again, for the most part, not seeing the value.

I will say, my sleeper title is Ninja Turtles. Holy hell do I enjoy this game. The layout and speed are incredible. I don't give a shit about the theme, never watched Ninja Turtles, nor did my kids, but the theme seems to work well for this title.

The CIU requirements were lowered in later software releases to lessen the grind. I find once I get into the first multiball, the game opens up after that, alternating between CIUs and other multiballs without too much chop-chop.

Depends on what you're looking for. I've gotten all three of Elwin's games and agree they offer incredible gameplay for the money. OTOH sometime's I'm in the mood for a quick(er) game of Jackbot or DrWho. Those two are still pretty cheap compared to new Sterns.

That’s some crazy take. If you know what you’re doing, you can qualify Crank It Up on the 2nd ball. I think it’s Lyman’s best code ever (but I haven’t drilled down on TWD a yet, so I’m looking forward to that). I’ll get to EOTL some day.

Yeah, see - for me, that's another one like GOTG. I was massively obsessed with TMNT in the 80s/90s, loved the show...and the fake voices totally kill it for me. Plus, I didn't find the gameplay that interesting and the rules were typical modern Dwight convoluted.

I don't own any Sterns currently, but that sounds typical to my approach. When I started in the hobby budget DMD games were $1000 - $2000. My first machines were games like Jurassic Park, Fish Tales, Johnny Mnemonic, Bram Stokers Dracula, Congo, and The Shadow. The Shadow was the only one of those that I paid over $2,000. Those games were the best value. I eventually ended up selling a few of those games and was sitting on some cash. At that time I only had to add a bit more to upgrade to a newer Stern. The first Stern I fell in love with was Metallica. I wasn't seeking a Premium, but that's the version that turned up locally. That increase in those budget titles really made a lot of the high end machines more reasonable. After my run on budget DMDs my next purchases were games like Lord of the Rings, Total Nuclear Annihilation, Attack From Mars, and White Water.