Something off here...

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So Yeti put the art experts here in place. Thx Yeti

Next I assume there is going to be some LCD, sound, light show, theme immersion and basic kick ass crow to eat next week

I just watched some of the Buffalo stream of DI. For those that like it, more power to you

I turned it off after 15 minutes. Sorry but the theme is a bore fest and yes, the artwork is terrible.

I suspect Star Wars has a few surprises on release plus we are fighting the evil empire and iconic characters and movie trilogy versus Bob the builder and cell phone sim city

Oh it's definitely fair. If the marketing department only releases low res pics and a third party video instead of a gameplay video and proper pics, they get what they deserve.

Totally agree.

Stern can control the reaction if they properly market their games. GB looked awesome so pics of the playfield were adequate but for games like GOT and SW, gameplay videos with player reaction would have been better initial reveals.

It's no biggie but I have just noticed that there is no metal plate with a laser cut design surrounding the illuminated button the lockdown bar on all three of the models which had become standard with games that had the button

Big thumbs down to everyone bitching about pinside.

We only have the artwork and layout, so that's what people are going to talk about. They are just giving their opinions. Most pinsiders proclaimed that they loved GB and AS artwork, but now they are branded Stern haters because they don't like SW artwork as much? Life isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Players know that you can't fully judge a game until you play it and rules are fleshed out, but lots of collectors are just as into the artwork as gameplay.

If you don't like reading opinions, stay off of internet forums.

Frankly, I am glad to have a thread this long to read and have everyone share their opinions, good or bad.

So the art and playfield isn't what I was expecting, but it looks like it might be fun. I think the coloring on the playfield is just to bright, so if that was dialed down it would look better IMO, but it may look better in person too.

Funny thing is I like the premium better and mentioned to my wife at least I won't be spending LE money. Then she sees them and says the LE is absolutely the better artwork. She explained the movies were always about the people to her, and the pic of the rebels in the ship captures it all.

So now I'll have to figure out if I want a premium or an LE, really wasn't expecting that.

I noticed that too, makes them look cheap. I hope the actual production machines have a laser cut design on the lockbar. The one on ST looks awesome.

I enjoy the Star Fights

Why can't we be critical? The overall opinion is that it does not look good and poorly presented. It's not like there are just Stern haters or people upset over a bad theme. I don't speak for everyone but I get pretty selective when spending upwards of $6000. Visuals are a big part of pinball. Gameplay is still king but gameplay has to be really top notch to overcome sub standard visuals.

It's easy to "blame Pinside" when it's been botched at higher levels and you aren't getting the response you wanted.

There are more pinball buyers on Pinside than any other place in the world. Companies should be crafting a "Pinside strategy" and how to make the best impressions with the buyers here.

But it's always an after thought, and then blaming the customer, literally, that they don't understand it because they haven't seen it in it's entirety.

As a fan I am excited to play the game, cabinet artwork on the premium looks awesome! If this truely is what the playfield will look like, I do have to say I'm a little disappointed. Doesn't seem to be a whole lot of depth too it, especially after some of the more recent releases like the ghostbusters premium. I know they are moving more towards the LED features on the playfield, for me thats not enough. Don't know if it's worth spending the money on one, but I'm still looking forward to playing it, just because I'm a huge fan of the movies!

I upvoted! It was hilarious. Thanks for that moment of levity in an otherwise sad thread.

Option to use alternative Translite on the Premium? My wife had similar comment, FYI.

No reason whatsoever. Just have a little tact.

I do think it is overpriced (like basicly all pin´s these days ...)

but it does look better to me like Got or Star Trek and could be a solid game.
but (at least here in europe) i would rather get a dialed in then a premium since it should be around the same price.

the new jar jar

I've been waiting for a new Star Wars pin announcement since I got into the hobby. I buy games from the licenses I care about and not so much on the gameplay. Since I am pretty much a terrible player, I don't focus as much as others do on the gameplay and shots. I own LOTR and ST because of the themes. They just happen to also be great games.

Deposit placed on an LE. I do like the look of the premium more, but I didn't want to miss out on the LE in case I change my mind down the road.

Agreed, please reference Steve Ritchie's last few games and keep calm and play some pinball. Currently some of my favorite games of all time and many others will agree:
AC/DC, Star Trek, Game Of Thrones

All got dogged with comments about how bad they looked, art sucks, poor release info, "insert same damn comment over and over". Let the game come together, lets see game play, lets see animations on 2 LCD screens, lets hear sound package and then we can all lose our shit over it.

...but, in the movie, the Death Star doesn't just "crack in half"...

I think the pic's are computer renditions of what will be not actual pic's of games

Here is the jar jar Binks it has much better artwork

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exploding jar jar? take my money!

Next month's Penthutt should have a great article about the artwork

might be, they did that with got.

i am gonna go ahead and open a "wheres the code" thread for star wars.
were gonna be needing this soon.

Because Dwight's recent games have launched without decent code?

Dwight launches his games with pretty good code from the get go. He was pulled off of Ghostbusters too early though. Here's hoping that he gets plenty of time to refine the Star Wars code before being put on the next game full time. Ghostbusters still needs a code refresh.

It's hard for me to be objective about the art because I'm sick to death of Star Wars. If the art was dictated by Disney, then it's not really a reflection on Stern. Disney's artists are probably more accustomed to doing retail box art, and they probably don't care much about pinball. The layout of the playfield art reminds me of RFM a lot.

I'd love to see another playfield with a black background, like Congo.

Have to say that at these crazy NIB prices flow is over rated. I'm sure Stern loves to make these high flow games as there's far less on them compared to a game like Ghostbusters Premium which in my opinion remains one of Sterns most innovative and loaded games to date. Will still consider purchasing this title but need to play it first and should probably wait a year for any bugs to be worked out.

I really thought that Stern had turned the corner from the sucky art of their photoshop days. I thought TWD was OK, but games like GOT and ST were kind of lame (but slightly better than bad resolution clip art of people's faces), and everybody was real excited to see GB and Aerosmith. I thought that the excitement behind the Dirty Donnie and Zombie Yeti art work would have shown Stern what they were doing wrong.

This art looks like it drawn, but it resembles their photoshop days. It doesn't look cohesive on the playfield at all. The inserts are huge and seem weird for some reason. Cabinet art and translights are not that great. When will they learn that space ships are always awesome and characters are hit or miss?

Game play could be great! We don't know yet. Steve Ritchie fan layout doesn't look that unique, but could be amazing. I don't know if more toys would be better, but I think there is a definite lack of features on the playfield.

So much hype to live up to. We will see how it plays.

If it plays like I think it will, I'll be interested in buying one in the secondhand market, most likely a premium. It's Star Wars, the game is going to sound amazing, and Dwight seems to know how to do really cool stuff with lighting. Just wondering if it's going to play too close to AC/DC to really make it feel that different. It's never been an issue to play Spider-Man and Star Trek. They feel pretty different despite the layout recycling.

Why is everything a comparison? Can't you just talk about one title for its own merits?
If you like or hate Star Wars, talk about Star Wars. Why do you need to drag DI into it?
If you like or hate DI there is a thread for DI. Come on people!

you mean cabinet and playfield artworks are not "photoshoped"?

I would really love to see the comparisons of people's posts here trashing/defending this vs what they said about DI when it was first shown.

Not all new games with the lockdown bar button had a metal plate.

All versions of Batman66 used a vinyl sticker around the button. I found that somewhat disappointing considering the price of the game.

I'm just surprised Iceman was able to write one post without mentioning either GB, TWD or BM66. It's quite refreshing.

I find this thread hilarious!!! All these negative comments from guys that have zero Sterns in there collection and will never buy a Stern coming here to pounce on the game.

Game looks like a Stern, plays like a Stern(most likely), and even smells like a new Stern....its a Stern. These will be everywhere, every arcade that has new pins will have one, i cant say that for all the other new pins coming out thats a fact!

Cabnient art on the premium is sweet! Playfield art theres a few things off but overall i like it. Playfield shots looks like theres alot to shoot at and if the code is done right could be a epic Star Wars journey.

Thank you Stern !!

For making my Data East Star Wars
More collectible!

Oh .. Let's Crack a egg now
Time for breakfast

I think it's going to be a good player. However, I do agree with a Pinsider who stated that having more "structure" in the playfield design would be better. Meaning, if on the LE the player is flying the M Falcon, having some ship structure would look cool, mechanical type of structure. I also think there should have been some desert motif on the playfield, representing Tatooine. There's so much that could be done that its going to be an endless argument\discussion. I think that the lighting is going to be uber important to impression of the pf. I like STLE for the atmospheric lighting, feels like the inside of a spaceship should feel. Cartoonish hand drawn art of actors has been done before, e.g. IJ Williams. Lots of people complained about that, but I definitely liked it.

Because if you go to the DI thread all they are doing is trashing SW not talking about DI

Not that anyone cares, but as a Star wars fan first and pinball second. I think the artwork isn't that bad. Given all the other Star wars merchandise out there. Could it have been better? Of course it could. But everyone will have different opinions on what could have been done.

The layout? Similar to other SR pins.? There are all similar in ways. It's a SR pin so you can pretty much guarantee its gonna play great!
Dwight is doing the code so you know it will have some super cool things eventually, if not right from the start.

This is going to crush it on route. It is colorful and approachable. Because of that, I wouldn't expect it to get the deepest code. As it will sell on Star wars alone. But maybe.

However I was 100% in on batman 66. But once I played it.... Nope.

I would be in on Star wars. But because of all the quality issues playfield, cabinets etc. I am out, until I can be 100% sure it's corrected. I have played it, and find it shoots well. The code is good. Etc etc.

So maybe in a year or two.

take my money fry 01062017115233 (resized).jpg

I think its great can't wait to play.
I also think i have to play it first to make my final judgement.

You don't need to be an 'art expert' to see those are drawings, and not movie stills or PR headshots, that's obvious. There's a massive library of Star Wars drawings and paintings, whether or not these came from that or were original for the pin I couldn't say. But even the most casual fan can see they're not film images.

When people wish for hand drawn art, what they mean is what Yeti did for Ghostbusters. What Donny did for Metallica and Aerosmith. An artist sat down, and drew the whole playfield, as a cohesive and complete vision. Stern is obviously capable since I just listed three modern games, and I'm sure in this case they didn't have that option. It happens. If they could have I'd think they would have.

It doesn't automatically mean gold! The Rob Zombie response wasn't that great, and that was a freaking oil painting. Data East Star Wars is hand drawn, people are dogging it in this very thread. It's just a style, good or bad isn't baked into it.

Photoshopped art doesn't have to be actual photos, it's just a reference to the collage style that you get when the license strangles your options. I think you can be disappointed that reality works that way, without actually being mad at Stern, or saying Ritchie always has shit art, or anything like that.

It's just a pining for the 'good old days' of pinball, when the art packages felt more soulful, and a little less commercial. The tradeoff is we get modern rules, modern screens, modern RGB lights, pinball hasn't withered, it's just that some of the old parts are worth being nostalgic over.

/art expert out

Cartoonish hand drawn art of actors has been done before, e.g. IJ Williams. Lots of people complained about that, but I definitely liked it.

If there was ever a chance to over-do a pin beyond the Stern standard, I would have expected it to be this one. I would have loved to have seen one so crammed with so much stuff, like Batman Forever, that you couldn't see 1/2 the playfield.

To me, this feels like:
1. They couldn't decide what to do because there's so many things they could have added, froze up, and had to put it together at the last moment.
2. Did the minimal amount of work to pass as a pin because they know it's going to sell well based on the theme alone.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but I understand that many love certain game designers, and certain game coders. But I feel that games shouldn't be on rotation, like servers at a restaurant. I feel it should be a team effort, like at an Advertising Agency. You have the hierarchy of people with decision making abilities. You work as a team to make the best possible design (game), and not leave it up to basicly one sole person. We'd never have a Jr. Designer, or even Sr. Designer create a whole branding campaign by themselves.

I am DEEPLY excited for this pin. Steve Ritchie design. Original Trilogy. Modern Sound and Lights, and video clips from the films on the new LCD... That ticks a lot of boxes for me!

I think it's disingenuous to say that the reaction here would be better if Stern had rolled this out any differently.The pitchforks and torches aren't stored in a shed behind the Pinside Barn, they are ALWAYS in hand! It's not the fact that there are dissenting opinions here, it's the speed and voracity at which they are issued. It's more important to come here and voice one's negative opinion immediately than it is to consider anything about this project.

If Stern had first released a slick trailer, and a link to Hi-Res images, the reaction would be, "F%$K Stern if they think they can dazzle me with a shitty commercial. Where is my KISS Code, Bitch??!! Once Bitten, Fool me Later!" etc etc.

They quite literally can not win here.

This is a Pinball Enthusiasts discussion Forum, but I think it's rapidly becoming a Forum Enthusiasts Discussion Forum.

I really enjoy pinball, so I'm excited that Stern is releasing a brand new, Original Trilogy, Star Wars themed pin! The dream theme of my youth, with modern sound, lighting, and code. Once I see better images, I'll decide if I'm going to pick up a Premium or an LE. I never liked the DE or Sega SW pins, so this one has me very excited.

The ONLY thing that's making me hesitate is the fact that I've had some more time on Aerosmith, and it's blowing me away. That pin its SO FUN!!

I look forward to seeing more info. As you were, Pinside.

Well put. This seems to be very hard to explain to some people.

I mean, again, it's not good or bad just based on the medium. Jurassic Park has had drawn art. People mock it all the time, laugh at the fingers, etc.

What's more important is style and vision. People got excited over Ghostbusters because Jeremy has style for days. He understands composition and color, he's got great line work, and when you put it all together you can see something he's done and it doesn't feel generic, it looks like a Zombie Yeti piece.

Ghostbusters took chances. Magnetic slings, interesting newton ball arrangements, a ramp that plunges through he playfield. It has an art package by someone who was clearly passionate about the theme, 3D plastic areas, it felt like the details were sweated out just looking at it sitting there, turned off.

The game isn't for me for various reasons, but so what? I give Stern tons of props for it. It's proof positive they're a company that can execute a vision with soul still in my opinion.

Star Wars might be super fun, when the sounds get going and the lights are flashing and the LCD screens are playing stuff it might be awesome. Anyone dogging that is an idiot, we haven't seen anything.

But just looking at it, all we can do, as a Star Wars super fan I just wish it felt like it had the same soul and passion that Ghostbusters did. It's not just the collaged playfield art, it happens, I know that better than anyone, it's just that it doesn't look like it was made by people who feel the same way about the license as I do.

Hey, life isn't catered to me, I'll get over it. But I don't think it's unfair or whiny or Stern hating to express those kinds of feelings when the license is important to you. Why else are we here if not to talk about how pinball has our passions?