Agreed. Only Lyman has kept the surprises coming.

what ever happened to the ghostbusters streams mod they teased

Some of the new guys just started; I wouldn't have my expectations too high yet.

Code update for Star wars via their facebook 5 min ago

"Stern Pinball has posted Star Wars code v 1.01.0 for the Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition models.

This code contains bug fixes and enhancements.

Pro Code v 1.01.0:
http://www.sternpinball.com/games/star/pro

Premium Code 1.01.0:
http://www.sternpinball.com/games/star/premium

Limited Edition 1.01.0:
http://www.sternpinball.com/games/star/limit

Additional details can be found in the read me file.

This update and read me files can also be found on our website www.sternpinball.com in the game code library."

All the pro update does is this, didnt read the others...

"PRO V1.01 - March 01, 2018
==========================
Moved to System 1.95:
- Added USA_12 Coinage 1/$0.25, 5/$1.00
- Added audit for total number of one, two, three, and four players games
that have been played.
- Improved sound proccessing
- Interactively update the backbox brightness while changing Attract Mode,
Game Play, and Service Mode adjustments in the service menu
- Added adjustments for backbox speaker bass/treble, cabinet speaker
bass/treble, and cabinet/backbox speaker balance to service menu
UTIL->VOL. Speaker balance allows lowering the volume level of cabinet
speaker or backbox speakers vs. the other.
- Improved sound issues at power up

Fixed:
- BONUS CHAMPION was not being displayed during attract mode.
- Install Hard or Extra Hard will now work correctly
- Changed the lamp #15 to SKILL SHOT to match the manual
- The game will now abort mission selection if the ball makes it to the
trough. The ball will not end and a new ball will be served."

I wonder when the LCD games will get a new menu system rather than the DMD screens on an LCD lol.

Well Star Wars just got another update, small one but still a nice update to continue polishing the game.

I have to hand it to Stern with Star Wars. They are really refining that code in a timely manner. A+ for code integration.

Haha totally agree...it's ugly as shit.

"- The game will now abort mission selection if the ball makes it to the trough. The ball will not end and a new ball will be served."

YES!!!! Great fix Dwight, this one in particular was irritating as can be!!!

Hey Dwight, when are you going to polish up GOT?

Hey Dwight, when are you going to polish up GB?

You guys should pitch in to buy him one of each, maybe he'll get inspired!

The thing aboot Dwight is he's made a lot of games I like, therefore I would never buy him a large doorstop like that.

I would like a Super Skill shot on Iron Man and maybe adjustable number of drones for Do or Die Multiball.

Or Riverboat Gambler!

It's up!

http://www.sternpinball.com/community/stern-of-the-union-address-march-2018

at least upscale better or reuse the old super dmd stuff (from the sega games)

stern (resized).JPG

Yes how about some IM attention! Someone get Lyman an IM for his gameroom Could sure use some basic polish that would bring it to an all-time classic:

Super skill shot, non-random earnable extra ball, mode leaderboards, dots for DOD hurryup completion, etc.

Always nice to get a surprise code update on a fan favorite title after many years.

It was just up! I refreshed and it's gone. They may still be working on it.

Nothing new on Star Wars topper.

Batman '66 and GOTG will have new code at TPF.

GB, Areosmith, and KISS will be this summer.

STERN OF THE UNION ADDRESS – MARCH 2018
People have inquired on the timing of when the Stern of the Union Address will be sent out and it will always be on the first Tuesday of every month (holiday and vacation pending!). Without further ado my fellow pinheads:

Stern Army Updates:

The Stern Army continues to grow and expand, spreading the word of pinball across the nation. Here are our newest members:

Private Dick Curtis out of Texas (Pinballz Arcade and Buffalo Billiards)
Private Amanda Grabowski out of Michigan (Round 1)
We are also in the process of expanding the Stern Army globally. For more information or to become a part of the Stern Army, please reach out to [email protected]

Stern at SXSW:

Going to the SXSW show down in Austin? If so, make sure to stop by the Nerdist booth and join Dead Flip’s Jack Danger for a daily high score pinball tournament! For more details visit - https://nerdist.com/nerdist-sxsw-2018/

Stern of the Union – Texas Pinball Festival Edition:

If you’re going to the Texas Pinball Festival, make sure to check out George Gomez’s seminar at 7pm (March 17). We will also have sneak peeks of our latest Guardians of the Galaxy and Batman ’66 code releases exclusively for TPF in the Stern Marco booth. Stick around for an autograph session as well as challenge matches against other Stern employees including, but not limited to George, Lyman, Mike Vinikour, Steve Ritchie and John Borg for prizes and giveaways. If you can’t make it in person make sure to tune into Jack Danger’s Dead Flip stream for all of the action!

Status of Code:

We are continuously working to update and improve software for our machines. There are always code updates and bug fixes in various stages of development; we will release them upon update completion. Here are some of the latest updates and the status of things in the works. As always, if you do encounter any bugs please feel free to provide information to [email protected]:

Star Wars – Latest code update was released earlier today.
Guardians of the Galaxy – We will be having a sneak peek of the next code release at the Texas Pinball Festival in the Stern Marco booth. This code update should be released in the coming weeks after the show.
Batman ’66 – We will be having a sneak peek of the next code release at the Texas Pinball Festival in the Stern Marco booth. This code update should be released in the coming weeks after the show.
We continue to add resources to our software department to address updates, enhancements, bug fixes and various polish to our catalog of previous titles including Ghostbusters, Aerosmith and KISS. We expect for these code updates to start releasing by mid-Summer.
Just because a game isn’t listed on here doesn’t mean there can’t be surprises from time to time.

Accessories:

The Star Wars shooter knob and topper accessories are still not available for sale. We will make a formal announcement once they are finalized and available.

Stern Pro Circuit:

Congratulations to all of the players and winners from the two most recent Stern Pro Circuit events! Chris Basler ended up taking the victory at the Louisville Arcade Expo and Adam Becker ended up winning the IFPA Pin-Masters tournament. The next upcoming Stern Pro Circuit event will be held at the Texas Pinball Festival (March 16-18). For more information on this event please visit - http://texaspinball.com/tpf/tournaments/texas-wizards-tournament/

For full details on the Stern Pro Circuit and to keep up with the current standings, please visit - https://www.ifpapinball.com/circuit/

Good news on GB update coming this summer. There is so much there they can work with.

I would hope within a couple months or so. One of their new hires has GUI experience so that it what I'm thinking he should be working on first.

well, Batman 66 came out Dec of 2016 so it doesnt seem to be a priority for them. Which is fine, the menus work, just look wonky. Rather have a good coded game than menus but at some point it should be addressed

I agree - they just hired this guy recently though so hopefully that's a sign of new LCD menus coming in the near future.

What's wrong with the menu? What a waste of resources. I rather have my gameplay updated. Who cares what the menu noone ever sees looks like.

It looks like ass

Imagine if they did like...both things at once.

Obviously we care, because we see it.

Wow, mid Summer for KISS.

I don't mind waiting extra long IF it is a nice update, not just a few bug fixes.....

No mention of upcoming release (Iron Maiden) at TPF...

We are starving for code updates on a lot of games. Stern has been doing a good job in releasing code this year but this is basically us still due to the backlog of games needing a bit of polish:

08AAA7FE-191B-427F-9492-EC805CC6611B (resized).jpeg

It looks like the days of upscaled HD. Watch old simpsons ep's on FXX and you see that it does not look right.

Mid-Summer sounds like a joke?!! It’s not even Spring... so approximately 5 month from now... it can’t be taking so long... GB last update came in Jan.2017... Hopefully it’s good then...

Kiss is taking FOREVER....

The SW update was lighter than I hoped for but at least there was an update and it included one meaningful big fix.

It's unlikely they started working on any of these until very recently. All 3 titles were abandoned.

It is very positive that Stern is highlighting code updates for some past games and they have added staff to back it up and make it credible. You can't expect to bring on new resources and have code updates out the next month and they were clearly way behind and falling further behind with the resources they had up to this point. Whether it is the new resources that work on the older games or existing resources that take that on while new staff take on new projects; either way it's all bodes well for better, more complete code. I think we can take it to mean that Stern is feeling the competitive pressure and 'constructive' feedback and whether its Gary that cares or others, I'm just happy that some action is being taken and some credible statements are being made about what will be updated and when.

With a solid code update, I may be tempted to buy a huo GB pro or prem. Since it sounds like six more months, there is hurry to decide. I'll just wait and see.

What is anyone expecting at this point? The new versioning system of calling something "1.0" seems pretty clear that Dwight is calling SW done at this point, short of bug fixes and small tweaks.

Calling something 1.0, or 10.0, or 3.14 are all made up numbers that don't mean anything to me. Got, by Dwight, 1.34. What does that mean to you exactly? 33 versions passed 1.1? 3 big version passed 1 and 4 minor tweaks?
Or did they release a statement aboot their numbering version system?

Can't wait for Kiss also, such a great game. I hope with the final,update this title gets the love it deserves. This is my all time favorite Stern title so far, Can't get enough!

For the last handful of games, there seems to be a concerted effort to unify the versioning of software. GOT was done the old way (call it 1.0 on day of release and then continue to update). They used to never release games sub 1.0.

So, yes, the made up numbers now seem to have some thinking behind them. 1.0 seems to be "all modes and features complete".

I will suggest that everyone temper their expectations about any major updates for games such as SW, BM66, GOTG and future titles, once they hit 1.0.

Another strategy is to buy when there is lots of supply to get the best price. But with GB they sold so many there really isn't a rush.

So it seems you don't really know; thanks.

You asked a question.
You got a reasonable explanation.
If you disagree with it, why don’t you explain why.
It makes perfect sense to me.

Good advice - at least for SW I think most people have been pretty realistic about the fact that more big features are not likely to be added going forward (unless Dwight gets inspired to keep messing with his own game and then shares with us, which is more of a “wouldn’t it be cool if” than an expectation).

I wasn’t expecting much. I was hoping for a little more. Rebellions are built on hope.

Fak, if we are lucky.....1.30 was mostly bug fixes.

This might be the stupidest thing I've read here on awhile.

Stern already has a track record of having slow and incomplete code releases and you think they should invest the resources in making your utility menu look pretty? A menu that works perfectly fine and is known by everyone already because you and one other person's eyes get hurt by looking at it.?

Well I hope it happens for ya.

Because it's based on assumptions. "Making sense to you," or me, doesn't make it true or an actual thing.
I thought I spelled it out well but in case I didn't, I asked him if they had made an actual statement regarding their numbering system.
He never answered that question and said 2 times "it seemed" like that's what they were doing. Obviously that doesn't really mean anything, it's just a guess.

Then you either don't hang out in the forums much, or you're illiterate.

My Sterns all have fine code, I'm happy; but this is garbage. I'm not worried though...i heard on a podcast tonight they brought in 3 new coders just to change the font and resolution.

20180306_233018 (resized).jpg