Quoted from Pimp77:Yeah, Stern ALWAYS uses the cream of the crop hardware to make their games.
lol
Quoted from Pimp77:Yeah, Stern ALWAYS uses the cream of the crop hardware to make their games.
lol
I can take the Red DMD which looks very good in person, but I would rather the fire button be lit in blue instead of red.
For every red picture you find I can find a blue.
That's why Star Trek should have, needs to have, deserves to have a Color DMD or to sum it all up it was perfect for an LCD.
Quoted from SaminVA:For every red picture you find I can find a blue.
That's why Star Trek should have, needs to have, deserves to have a Color DMD or to sum it all up it was perfect for an LCD.
Thanks for your opinion. For the millionth time.
Quoted from RobT:Plenty of red in ST too
But your avatar is Tron. Surely, you must like blue!
Quoted from Part_3:But your Avatar is Tron. Surely, you must like blue!
Yeah, but all the cool stuff in Tron is red.
Quoted from John_I:Wow! Hitch has been here for 2015 years! I will certainly listen more closely to anything he says now.
Hitch9.jpg 50 KB
It's not the years, it's the mileage.
Dang, I feel old.
Quoted from Part_3:But your Avatar is Tron. Surely, you must like blue!
Ill take this one for you rob....RobT hates blue pinballs!!!!!!!!!!!!! ...I think he's secretly getting an ST PREM
Quoted from SaminVA:Well, it's hard to explain but I'll try. For me I guess it's a lot of little things that all adds up to disappointment so far but being frustrated at the same time because we still don't know if the LE will have a red DMD as we haven't seen one yet, only a photo shopped picture. I have always been a big Star Trek fan and a video and pinball game collector. My first game was a Bally Star Trek I bought at auction back in 1982 followed by a SEGA Star Trek vector game in 1985 followed by DE Star Trek 25Th in 1999 and another Star Trek vector dedicated upright in 1999 and the captain's chair cockpit in 2000 and STTNG in 2003. In 2004 I bought a NIB Star Trek Voyager Kit and in 2009 I bought a Star Trek Voyager cockpit and now I have ordered a Stern Star Trek LE so you can see I am passionate when it comes to Star Trek. On another note I have always loved the idea of games like Baby Pac-man which I have and Granny and the Gator's which I would love to have if I had the room and I thought when pinball 2000 came out that was the future of pinball and I would love to have both of those games some day but I am not rich and I have ran out of space but I will make room for the ST LE.
The first time I heard anything about Stern making a new Star Trek pin was in a thread on KLOV, my other hangout, in a post about what should be JJP next pin and I said I would want a Star Trek 50 Anniversary pin with the LCD like WOZ and it could have video from all the ST series and movies including the new movies. Then someone replied Stern was already making a Star Trek pin so I then searched for everything I could find and was happy when I read it was supposed to be Stern's first LCD pin. I don't know if that was only a rumor because JJP WOZ had a LCD or if they really plained to make it their first LCD game. You would think with the new back box and slanted display it could be so but who really knows. Some still have hopes it will but I think we all know that's a pipe dream at this point.
Now why do I hate The red DMD, I guess their ok on a pin like BS Dracula which I have played. I thought the movie sucked and the pin was slightly better. Sorry BSD fans.
Blue is my favorite color and I think it goes better with Star Trek or any space theme.
At this point if we are stuck with the red DMD then I hope ColorDMD will make a color DMD kit like I have on my STTNG but boy an LDC screen with real movie clips would have been awesome.
Wow all that cause it has a Red DMD??? Gimme a break just go buy a blue xpin DMD and move on for chrine out loud.
Quoted from Hitch9:It's not the years, it's the mileage.
Dang, I feel old.
900k karma in 2015 years means less than 500 karma points / year... that's one post every 2-3 years !
Quoted from Sly_Old_Devil:SamVA these should tide you over until the lcd mod from sony comes out
And they look spacy and cool too.
images.jpeg 10 KB
Yea they should work.
How about a blue GiantDOTS topper.
GiantDOTS.jpg
Quoted from Part_3:Funny, since the Premium would be the one I would purchase....and change the DMD to blue.
That blue DMD from Stern has a msrp of $399! Why not just get a ColorDMD and run it in Sigma mode, they're due to have the Stern version out any day now. Who knows, it may end up colorized.
Quoted from GaryMartin:That blue DMD from Stern has a msrp of $399! Why not just get a ColorDMD and run it in Sigma mode, they're due to have the Stern version out any day now. Who knows, it may end up colorized.
I already mentioned that in a later post.
Quoted from GaryMartin:Why not just get a ColorDMD and run it in Sigma mode, they're due to have the Stern version out any day now.
I'd be all over this if that is true...
Quoted from GaryMartin:That blue DMD from Stern has a msrp of $399! Why not just get a ColorDMD and run it in Sigma mode, they're due to have the Stern version out any day now. Who knows, it may end up colorized.
Is that an official statement that colordmd will be running stern LCDs soon.
Quoted from TomGWI:Is that an official statement that colordmd will be running stern LCDs soon
Great question!
Quoted from jfh:But start with Star Trek.
They definitely won't start on a game with code actively being worked on. My guess would be LOTR or TSPP.
But there is always the SIGMA route!
Quoted from TomGWI:They definitely won't start on a game with code actively being worked on. My guess would be LOTR or TSPP.
But there is always the SIGMA route!
True on both counts. Didn't think of the first one.
Quoted from TomGWI:They definitely won't start on a game with code actively being worked on. My guess would be LOTR or TSPP.
But there is always the SIGMA route!
SIGMA is fine with me....until the code for Star Trek is written.
Quoted from Part_3:SIGMA is fine with me....until the code for Star Trek is written.
So what is the SIGMA option? Using the current Color DMD's but they only are in one color?
Quoted from Asylum:So what is the SIGMA option? Using the current Color DMD's but they only are in one color?
One color to choose from out of 49 I think....plus you can use dots, lines, or HD smoothed out images.
Choices are good until the programmed multi-colored ROM comes out for your title of choice.
Just played about 5-6 games on this and had fun. I guess the software doesn't support the captains chair thing yet? But slamming the Vengance is pretty fun and that upper left loop from the upper right flipper is a fun shot. Black hole add-a-ball is nice too. Can't wait to play it more. Pretty fast overall and the dlingshots and flippers are powerful!
Quoted from genex:Just played about 5-6 games on this and had fun. I guess the software doesn't support the captains chair thing yet?
Nope, no captain in the chair yet
And the frowny face is because I sort of expected it to be there and was disappointed when I played it and it wasn't. I had read all the release stuff about all the modes and mini modes and figured something written on the playfield like that would be in the alpha release.
Hardly the first time something on the playfield is missing from a Stern game. Metallica still doesn't have the wiz mode, band member modes, etc...
Finally saw and played this myself for the first time this week. Distinctly unimpressed. Honestly, the playfield is so stripped down and devoid of things that interact with the ball, it looks like The Pin with a DMD. Really, a single plastic ship that shakes with one magnet underneath it? Put it next to Tron (a game with a generally similar look) and it looks pretty bare-bones. Put it next to any typical feature-filled game of the mid-late 90's and it looks like a junior home version. And no, sticking in a bunch of super-bright white LEDs doesn't make up for what's lacking on the pf. My main impression was that Stern is REALLY cutting back on what they put in a game with this title. And raised prices to boot? Wow.
Gameplay impressions: Same old, same old. Same twitchy flippers, fast, cheap/flimsy feel to everything, similar clear-plastic/blue-white-light/lightweight look that we've seen in Avatar and Tron. Except with much less to shoot at or interact with the ball. Ball moved fast (like on any new or well-kept game) and the side ramp loop shots came around fast. Nothing grabbed my interest--saw no depth or interesting shots. Changing the color of inserts on the very few main shots for different modes does not make things interesting. The Pin with a DMD and bright white LEDs. Sad.
OTOH, I also got to play MET and liked it. Far more interesting playfield and the artwork and lighting were appealing. The flippers seem to have more 'feel' to them--not sure if that was a physical difference or just based on the layout and appearance, but it felt more connected and fun. Seeing these 2 games side-by-side, my takeaway is they really stripped down the actual pinball elements in ST and try to hide it with lots of bright, shiny LEDs...
Quoted from StevenP:Finally saw and played this myself for the first time this week. Distinctly unimpressed. Honestly, the playfield is so stripped down and devoid of things that interact with the ball, it looks like The Pin with a DMD. Honestly, a single plastic ship that shakes with one magnet underneath it? Put it next to Tron (a game with a generally similar look) and it looks pretty bare-bones. Put it next to any typical feature-filled game of the mid-late 90's and it looks like a junior home version. And no, sticking in a bunch of super-bright white LEDs doesn't make up for what's lacking on the pf. My main impression was that Stern is REALLY cutting back on what they put in a game with this title. And raised prices to boot? Wow.
Gameplay impressions: Same old, same old. Same twitchy flippers, fast, heap/flimsy feel to everything, similar clear-plastic/blue-white-light/lightweight look that we've seen in Avatar and Tron. Except with much less to shoot at or interact with the ball. Ball moved fast (like on any new or well-kept game) and the side ramp loop shots came around fast. Nothing grabbed my interest--saw no depth or interesting shots. Changing the color of inserts on the very few main shots for different modes does not make things interesting. The Pin with a DMD and bright white LEDs. Sad.
OTOH, I also got to play MET and liked it. Far more interesting playfield and the artwork and lighting were appealing. The flippers seem to have more 'feel' to them--not sure if that was a physical difference or just based on the layout and appearance, but it felt more connected and fun. Seeing these 2 games side-by-side, my takeaway is they really stripped down the actual pinball elements in ST and try to hide it with lots of bright, shiny LEDs...
Tron is bare-bones, and people love it. Vengeance interacts with user far more than anything in Tron.
Quoted from Part_3:Tron is bare-bones, and people love it. Vengeance interacts with user far more than anything in Tron.
Vengeance interacts? Ah, no. Never comes near the ball. Just a plastic toy connected to a solenoid that bounces occasionally. Nothing else there. A spinner and a 3rd flipper. Tron is pretty basic but it has the arcade scoop by the right inlanes, and the spinning disc with lowering standups. That one little device is more than you see in the whole ST pf, sadly. I would hypothesize that Stern is cutting the BOM of every new game by an additional 10%, except MET actually has interactive stuff on the pf. Not a ton, but some.
Quoted from StevenP:I would hypothesize that Stern is cutting the BOM of every new game by an additional 10%, except MET
So every new game except the last one. That's a great hypothesis!
Quoted from StevenP:Finally saw and played this myself for the first time this week. Distinctly unimpressed. Honestly, the playfield is so stripped down and devoid of things that interact with the ball, it looks like The Pin with a DMD. Really, a single plastic ship that shakes with one magnet underneath it? Put it next to Tron (a game with a generally similar look) and it looks pretty bare-bones. Put it next to any typical feature-filled game of the mid-late 90's and it looks like a junior home version. And no, sticking in a bunch of super-bright white LEDs doesn't make up for what's lacking on the pf. My main impression was that Stern is REALLY cutting back on what they put in a game with this title. And raised prices to boot? Wow.
Gameplay impressions: Same old, same old. Same twitchy flippers, fast, cheap/flimsy feel to everything, similar clear-plastic/blue-white-light/lightweight look that we've seen in Avatar and Tron. Except with much less to shoot at or interact with the ball. Ball moved fast (like on any new or well-kept game) and the side ramp loop shots came around fast. Nothing grabbed my interest--saw no depth or interesting shots. Changing the color of inserts on the very few main shots for different modes does not make things interesting. The Pin with a DMD and bright white LEDs. Sad.
OTOH, I also got to play MET and liked it. Far more interesting playfield and the artwork and lighting were appealing. The flippers seem to have more 'feel' to them--not sure if that was a physical difference or just based on the layout and appearance, but it felt more connected and fun. Seeing these 2 games side-by-side, my takeaway is they really stripped down the actual pinball elements in ST and try to hide it with lots of bright, shiny LEDs...
Finally, a negative review on this game! Oh wait...nvm, I just saw who posted it.
Quoted from StevenP:Vengeance interacts? Ah, no. Never comes near the ball. Just a plastic toy connected to a solenoid that bounces occasionally. Nothing else there. A spinner and a 3rd flipper. Tron is pretty basic but it has the arcade scoop by the right inlanes, and the spinning disc with lowering standups. That one little device is more than you see in the whole ST pf, sadly. I would hypothesize that Stern is cutting the BOM of every new game by an additional 10%, except MET actually has interactive stuff on the pf. Not a ton, but some.
Wrong. Acts as virtual lock, and shoots the ball back during Vengeance Multi-Ball. Also, the player and the Vengeance engage in shooting each other virtually with the vertical strip of lights and the Punch It button.
Premium/LE version also crashes into the play field, and there may be more interaction in that mode.
Quoted from Part_3:Wrong. Acts as virtual lock, and shoots the ball back during Vengeance Multi-Ball. Also, the player and the Vengeance engage in shooting each other virtually with the vertical strip of lights and the Punch It button.
Premium/LE version also crashes into the play field, and there may be more interaction in that mode.
You guys have a strange definition of "interacts".
The Vengeance ship is a bobble head. It doesn't interact with the ball at all. The spinning disk on Tron, now THAT interacts with the ball.
So on STID, you've got a drop target with a magnet behind it and I think a kickback on up past that? Not sure about the third part but that's all of the "interaction" with the ball you get from the Vengeance toy. One drop target, one magnet. Color me thoroughly unimpressed.
Quoted from GaryMartin:Color me thoroughly unimpressed.
I'm sure we are all shocked by you (and StevenP) being "thoroughly unimpressed". SHOCKED I TELL YOU!!!
Quoted from GaryMartin:You guys have a strange definition of "interacts".
The Vengeance ship is a bobble head. It doesn't interact with the ball at all. The spinning disk on Tron, now THAT interacts with the ball.
So on STID, you've got a drop target with a magnet behind it and I think a kickback on up past that? Not sure about the third part but that's all of the "interaction" with the ball you get from the Vengeance toy. One drop target, one magnet. Color me thoroughly unimpressed.
I consider the ship, drop target, and the "USS Vengeance Disintegrator, Super-Speed Ball Kicker" to all be one item.
Pretty standard, really.
Quoted from StevenP:Finally saw and played this myself for the first time this week. Distinctly unimpressed. Honestly, the playfield is so stripped down and devoid of things that interact with the ball, it looks like The Pin with a DMD. Really, a single plastic ship that shakes with one magnet underneath it? Put it next to Tron (a game with a generally similar look) and it looks pretty bare-bones. Put it next to any typical feature-filled game of the mid-late 90's and it looks like a junior home version. And no, sticking in a bunch of super-bright white LEDs doesn't make up for what's lacking on the pf. My main impression was that Stern is REALLY cutting back on what they put in a game with this title. And raised prices to boot? Wow.
Gameplay impressions: Same old, same old. Same twitchy flippers, fast, cheap/flimsy feel to everything, similar clear-plastic/blue-white-light/lightweight look that we've seen in Avatar and Tron. Except with much less to shoot at or interact with the ball. Ball moved fast (like on any new or well-kept game) and the side ramp loop shots came around fast. Nothing grabbed my interest--saw no depth or interesting shots. Changing the color of inserts on the very few main shots for different modes does not make things interesting. The Pin with a DMD and bright white LEDs. Sad.
OTOH, I also got to play MET and liked it. Far more interesting playfield and the artwork and lighting were appealing. The flippers seem to have more 'feel' to them--not sure if that was a physical difference or just based on the layout and appearance, but it felt more connected and fun. Seeing these 2 games side-by-side, my takeaway is they really stripped down the actual pinball elements in ST and try to hide it with lots of bright, shiny LEDs...
Shocked that you don't love the latest Stern.
Quoted from GaryMartin:You guys have a strange definition of "interacts".
The Vengeance ship is a bobble head. It doesn't interact with the ball at all. The spinning disk on Tron, now THAT interacts with the ball.
So on STID, you've got a drop target with a magnet behind it and I think a kickback on up past that? Not sure about the third part but that's all of the "interaction" with the ball you get from the Vengeance toy. One drop target, one magnet. Color me thoroughly unimpressed.
This game has about the same amount of items that interact with the player as SM does yet that one is still considered a great playing pin. ST can get there with code updates but they both have similar features as far as "toys" interaction.
Quoted from jfh:I don't know Gary's history or if he is anti-Stern, but I can't fault his analysis.
I like the game, but there isn't that much to interact with on the PF, especially when compared to MET.
There are two different kinds of Pins. Fast flowing, ala Ritchie, or crammed with toys, ala Lawlor. Both have their place, but in a fast flowing game, the number of toys is less important.
Quoted from smassa:This game has about the same amount of items that interact with the player as SM does yet that one is still considered a great playing pin. ST can get there with code updates but they both have similar features as far as "toys" interaction.
Uhhh, no way, don't see it.......
Quoted from RobT:I'm sure we are all shocked by you (and StevenP) being "thoroughly unimpressed". SHOCKED I TELL YOU!!!
I'm totally "shocked" myself........bias?........I think he said he likes Met? Come on Jerry, you fanboy!
Need Markmon's lighting kit, looks too dark.....
Quoted from Part_3:There are two different kinds of Pins. Fast flowing, ala Ritchie, or crammed with toys, ala Lawlor. Both have their place, but in a fast flowing game, the number of toys is less important.
Yup, and I like both. (TNG has no shortage of toys)
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