Wow - being a Star Wars fan and having bought 5 Stern LEs in the past, I thought SWLE would be a guaranteed purchase for me.

I'll hold final judgement until I see game play and better photos, but it's looking like a pass.

So disappointed!

OK - so I slept on it a couple of nights, studied the pics a bit more, consulted with the wife, etc.

I still don't like the PF art.....but.....I also don't love the PF art on Tron and it's my favorite game of all time.

I actually like the cabinets and backglasses of all 3 games. I am going to hold out hope that the game is immersive like Tron is.

So....I'm in on an LE!

In the words of Han: "C'mon baby, don't let me down!"

Maybe Lando said it too, but this was the quote I was referring to:

In general, LEs hold their value and slowly gain value over time. Sometimes they do dip below their initial price due to unfinished code (STLE) or gameplay issues not initially addressed (GoT, GB) or both (TWD, TH). But after those are resolved, the prices generally start creeping back up again.

Star Wars may have a slight advantage due to the theme - just look at the price of DESW right now.

Heh - I remember that thread:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/signed-de-star-wars-estimated-value

only a matter of time...but yea, more mod $$$

No real backglass on the LE, but the matrix states:

Limited Edition includes all 3 original themed translites featuring hand-drawn art

Is this a new feature?

All new EZ Slide cabinet brackets for smooth and easy playfield access

It would be hard to swap in the Prem/Pro translite if the LE was a backglass. But yea, I'll miss having a real backglass.

"interactive Magnetic Hyperdrive Ball Accelerator speeds multiple balls furiously around a circuit above the playfield"

Will be interesting to see how this works. I applaud the use of the word "furiously".

It looks like all the armor is powder coated gloss black on the LE.

But yea, they should have thrown in a shaker on the LE and then it would have been a little more bang for the buck.

I agree - needs new pop caps, new playfield LCD bezel, side art and maybe some fancy EL type lighting on the ramps.

I wish the tie fighter was darth vader's tie fighter and could spin when you blew up the death star (in addition to wiggling).

Yea, it's dumb that 1990s BLY/WMS games still have better rails than Stern. Hopefully they are similar now.

Yea - I think they are pushing the limits on how little they can do on the LEs and still have them sell well.

Basically they are down to:
All 3 translites
Different side rails
Powder coat

Whereas with STLE:
Real backglass
Stainless speaker panel
Powder coat
Custom backlit side rails
Lit backbox emblems
Shaker

That's pretty sad considering their cost on 2 extra translites and powder coat is $100-$200.

I think the layout is fantastic and it will play as smooth as butter. I'm excited *if* the LCD/Audio are well integrated.

SWEP1 had a magnet and it didn't salvage the game for me.

What I'm bummed about is that they cheaped out on the LE whereas they gave Star Trek LE so much love. I wish all of us LE buyers would band together and boycott the LEs and let them rot to send a message. It depends on the price I get back from my distrib for the LE, but I'm seriously considering moving to a Premium for the first time ever.

I'm curious to see how the hyperdrive is integrated into the game - ie how often it's used and if it makes any difference in gameplay.

The hyperdrive, death star egg and lane gate are going to cost us $1700 over a pro.

I think they may have changed their mind as the Prem/LE prices are on the website now. I doubt they would increase them now.

Not that great:

Hybrid_Cab (resized).jpg

With Pro:

Hybrid_Cab2 (resized).jpg

I agree - colors blend a little better.

Sorry - I was meaning my super fast MSPaint rendering wasn't that good. But it gets the point across.

Do you really feel that Stern wants to come across as taking pride in their products?

To me, Stern comes across as wanting to make as much money as possible.

They could have easily made SWLE as cool as STLE. At least add EL paper under the side rails, keep the real backglass, add a shaker. Maybe that's $200 BOM to do those changes. But that's $200 that's not necessary if we keep buying all the LEs.

This is hands down the most stripped LE that they've ever produced. But it's Star Wars and they knew they could get away with it. It's disgusting really.

tbanthony - thanks for the pics.

Can you confirm that there were actual clips from the movies? I saw the post that there were 400 video scenes - but I didn't know if that meant actual scenes from the movies or game specific graphics like the ones in the pics.

Could you hear any of the callouts? I would be interested to hear who was doing those...hopefully not the TWD callout guy.

You forgot about the one feature that I'm most excited about on the Prem/LE - the jump ramp. Ramping balls up into the death star is going to be the most rewarding shot in the game IMO - you won't be able to experience that on a Pro.

For all of you that keep saying, "it's less than I expected but at least it's Star Wars and will play well", I give you this:

Wrong-Leia (resized).jpg

Quote the opposite BY A LONG SHOT.

Linear mode progression in GB SUCKS - worst idea ever. If I want linear mode progression, I'll play a video game.

In all fairness, I love everything about Ghostbusters except the linear mode progression - but I detest that so much it kept me from owning the game. Someday I *hope* they add an option that allows for randomizing the modes.

OK - I'm back to Star Wars...but I'm not sure what else we have to talk about until we see some gameplay footage.

Come on - I agree with 90% of what you say, but this statement is just silly. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it a terrible game and certainly not "one of the worst ever".

I don't know how one would define "serious pinball player", but I would define anyone that has a pinball machine in their house as a "serious pinball player". Everyone agrees the rules need a little more polish to make the game more cohesive and incentivize mode play, but it's not a terrible layout. Gold Wings is a terrible layout.

Look at the playfield pic closer. The jump ramp doesn't interrupt the hyperloop. It allows you jump balls directly from the playfield into the Death Star.

This is actually the biggest difference between the Pro and Prem/LE IMO - it will be a very satisfying shot.

I don't know that the jumped ball stops at the Death Star or if it continues through and around to the front.

But if you look at the bottom of the wireform, there is no place where the jump rails could move past freely. And even if it did, the only place the ball could go off of the wireform is into the side of the Death Star - and then bouncing off wildly into the glass.

I think it shows the jump ramp lifting in the promo video and it only moves up an inch or two, so I think that flap under the Death Star has to just be a continuation of the ramp.