Way too quiet around here, time for some news...

Right like maybe some zombie yeti sketches

maybe gary and the boys will feel generous and pony up the money to include the layered sheets. it's a pipe dream I know, but one can dream

The book comes out months from now. I wouldn't expect down-to-the-minute updates. That would be setting yourself up for a long and frustrating wait. My advice as someone who has backed a couple thousand dollars in Kickstarter projects before this is to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the book when it comes out. Try not to worry about it.

For the people who have never used Kickstarter before - it's not uncommon for companies to go quiet for a month after the initial "successfully backed" update. Some projects you'll get lucky and the content creator will update every day or week (Kingdom Death: Monster), other times they go silent for several months at a time (Yooka Laylee). Either way, once they're funded they have to handle getting the funds and then distributing them to the various companies so people can begin working on the finished product. Not a trivial process. Heck, most companies have to figure out what the "final product" should even look like in terms of scope.

Not worried, not looking for minute-by-minute updates, but checking in to say "Hi" once in a while would be nice. Joe hasn't posted in 21 days--we sure were kept up to date before this funded fully...

Funny how that works....

All backers were messaged a link to a private forum to discuss the book as it progresses, that is where the discussion has moved.

I don't remember getting an invitation...never mind. registered.

Oh yeah! Another common post-KS strategy. I had forgotten about the new forum. I checked it when they announced it and it's flooded with spammers but really... it's a book. I don't need news unless it's "book is done, ships next week".

What's there to talk about

Except the forum never seems to work--and there is very little activity on it when it does work. New forum or no, there would not be a book without Pinside, a little news here on occasion is not asking too much.

We were told backers would have input as to what was going to be contained in the book. That would be nice. There is a lot more flow of information here than what has been generated so far on the PF forum.

Hmm, I did not get an invitation. I paid in late...probably why I was left off. Will try and figure it out tomorrow.

Production numbers for machines not in production...would be so awesome. One can dream!

I have not been on the forum since the day they sent the link out, I prefer to "forget" about Kickstarters until they are ready to ship.

I still haven't received my cardboard xmas ornament

I got mine but it was after Christmas. Didn't get the invite to the forum.

Same

Ditto. That said, not overly concerned at all.

There is a backer post on the kickstarter page. Hit the link register.

Hey Guys sorry I haven't been on here much.
The kickstarter wiped me out, then the holidays, then getting back to work here in the new year.

But I'm here, we have a great announcement for tomorrow!
And we will be active on our forum starting tomorrow too!

Thanks for hanging in there.

Can't wait to hear how things are going!

hey joe, I never received my xmas ornament. were those mailed out to everyone?

They were, I'm very sorry you didn't get it, I heard some people are still getting theirs late. If you want I can email you something. Just PM me.

Just got mine yesterday! Thanks!
If the envelope and paper/printing used for the ornament is any indication of this book we are in for quite an amazing product. I was pleasantly surprised by what you put together as a free thank you.

OK here you go! I think this is an exciting one...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/paperflock/keeping-the-ball-alive-30-years-of-stern-pinball/posts/1787981

Glad to hear it!

Prediction. People who are angry at Stern and derided this project from the getgo will contribute their unsolicited and inappropriate questions for Stern.

I hope I'm wrong.

Small world. Zack, your author, did a piece recently on my arcade:

pasted_image (resized).png

That's a very pretty arcade.

Book launch party at Frolic's? I'd fly out for that.

Hey Joe,

Forum overrun by spam....

LMFAO OMG THAT FORUM IS TRASHED! Good place to find Viagra it looks like...

A little quiet in here ...

I was thinking the same thing, but the last time I mentioned the quiet I got lit up some...so now I'm just waiting to see what happens and hoping for good things.

• No kickstarter update for a month (I am ok with that, kinda normal)
• Forum overrun by spam. This happens, but should have been fixed quickly or the forms axed.
• No updates on pinside or to PMs after months of daily / hourly updates.

None of this on it's own is concerning but all together it is.

I'm sure it will all shake out in the wash (most likely), but I would like to have some of the input that had been promised. Perhaps anything Stern is gonna have issues...(cheap shot, I know).

Project is still alive. Got word back. Thanks Joe.

I never doubted the project was alive. All of those are par for the course for Kickstarter. Even all 3 at once. The forums should definitely be made more robust though. Need a strong spam filter and if I had to guess a couple of moderators. I'm a heavy forum user in general and only spent about 10 seconds there before bouncing and never returning.

Admittedly I might be spending to much time in the JPop thread.

But I did get to give a location B66 a try today. Way more fun then I expected. Sucked me right in. Great job Stern!

IMG_8379 (resized).JPG

I loved the nixie tube displays in the bat computer for the match sequence

I found the catwoman ramp and the right orbit (ball lock) both a bear to hit for some reason, but had no problems hitting any other shot

Same here.. must be by design. Would make the game fun to own.

Saw it hadn't been mentioned but - an update went out to backers 3 days ago. Here's the text from the email

Hello Kickstarter Backers!

Just wanted to give you a quick update and let you all know that we are progressing nicely. Dameon and I met up with our writer Zack in Chicago for a mad 3 day interview session. Chicago was freezing (they told us it was a warm spell, too), and we learned that while you can't trust Turo for car rentals, you can absolutely trust Dwight Sullivan's lunch recommendations.

We shot 15 interviews in 3 days! Zack conducted the interviews, and was able to uncover some very interesting stories. Even Gary noted that he hadn't talked about some of this stuff in decades. We also spoke with several people we didn't meet last time, including Lyman Sheats.

And of course we played a lot of pinball. Zack is a very good player and super knowledgeable about the games and how to play them.
We got to really dig deep into the development stages of these games and understand how much goes into it. It really is an insane amount of work!

I think we captured a lot of fantastic material, and Zack is currently going through the interviews we have so far (including those from the Kickstarter campaign) and transcribing what he feels is important.

Thank you all for your support in this journey!

-Joe and Dameon, the Paperflock team

Sounds great to me! There were also a couple of pictures. Pretty excited for the book really. Mostly for the pictures (like any book ) but I think there'll be some interesting stories.

Perhaps an update might be in order.

Yeah next month or this Summer we should be getting them I hope.

For those waiting for this book to come out: why not kill some time by ordering and reading Pinball Magazine No. 4? Issue 1 an 3 are also still available. These magazines are more like books anyway with issue 3 and 4 having more pages than Stern's book supposedly will have, cheaper to buy and immediately available www.pinball-magazine.com/shop/

Thanks for all the work you put into the Magazine. I have all 4 and love reading them! I have even gotten the missus interested in pinball by getting her reading the mags and appreciating all the info/hard work that goes into making the pins we all love!

When is No 5 coming out?!

Hopefully around October, maybe sooner.

Already did, and read it all. Looking forward to numero cinco.

May is fast approaching. I was looking forward to seeing some ZY Jacket and art by now.

cricket (resized).jpg

Have any of you guys who have contributed to this heard any news at all?