I haven't played it, so read into that what you will, but I've watched quite a lot of it being streamed. It seems to me like there are few modes and features, and they instead chose to make almost everything stackable in different ways, which is fine, but doesn't make it very interesting or full. I guess you could call it artificial depth. A shortcut to making the code seem like it has more to it than it really does. Yes, as you say, the playfield is pretty barebones, but they can be as creative as they want with the code. It appears they don't want to be though.

I suspect the "We're finishing Star Wars now" comment is a ploy to sell Star Wars & I dont trust it.

When the fuck has Stern ever finished their 2 month old release prior to the half dozen previous unfinished games spanning 3-4 years?

Never.

"It's a trap"

Maybe it shouldn't be surprising that you've never played the game but repeatedly comment about how shallow the code on SW is. I'd suggest giving it a try, you might even surprise yourself and enjoy it. If nothing else you'll sound more credible when you attack it.

As for your "few modes and features" observation, I guess that depends on your definition of "few." There are 16 "basic" modes (four each for Tattoine, Death Star, Hoth and Endor). And then there's Escape Bobba Fett, Lightsaber Duel, Tie Fighter Multiball, Hyperspace Multiball, Victory Multiball and Jedi Multiball (I may be forgetting one or two, but that's the bulk of them). There's plenty going on in this game, even with stacking turned off.

You don't have to like the code, the shot multiplier implementation, the playfield, or anything else about SW, but to say that the code is "bare bones" suggests that you have little experience with it and are just fishing around blindly for reasons to rag on it. And let's face it, that's kind of a lame thing to do.

Believe it or not, there's not a lot left to fill in on SW. All the modes are complete, there don't seem to be the issues you read about on other games with missing multiballs, or certain inserts never being used. We'll see what they end up adding, but at least from my perspective, beyond a few bug fixes, they're very close.

Well Aerosmith has received little if anything new since its release, and remains to be seen whether it will in what will probably be its final update.

It's very obvious that Spike and Spike 2 titles have not had anything like as much time spent on them as some of the SAM games did, particularly the holy quadrality of Met/ACDC/TWD/ST. I don't think we should expect to see machines like that again from Stern for the foreseeable future, in terms of coding effort.

SW may not be as full as Aerosmith, but it seems like the idea is to bring things to completion much more quickly now, even if that does mean much more shallow efforts than their best titles.

TLDR, I think it's more than conceivable that they will release final, or at least feature complete code for SW by the end of the year.

Stern used to release all games labelled as "1.0"+ no matter what the state of the code was. Now there is some effort to show us what they consider feature complete is.

Both Dwight and Lonnie always released heavy front-loaded releases that change little from the initial release. I don't see how Star Wars is much different than a previous Dwight release, other than it being numbered below 1.0. When it gets to 1.0 it likely will be as featured and deep as any of his previous games.

Nah, sorry bro. You just played yourself. Read fosaisu 's comment above, check the rulesheet on the Tilt Forums, give the game some run yourself, then report back here as to how shallow SW code is. Seriously. Give it some run-time before slamming its current code state.

I get your sentiment regarding the overall Stern of the Union address, but you're wrong on Star Wars.

I've read the rule sheet, and watched it plenty. Why do I need to play it? To make you feel better?

I haven't commented on how it feels to shoot, nor will I, since I haven't played it. Code is perfectly fair game and requires absolutely no play.

You haven't actually refuted anything I've said. Nor has he. All you're doing is saying I'm wrong, with no basis.

It's boring flying in the space shuttle. I saw it on t.v. once.

No. That's a terrible analogy.

You and he are effectively saying that astronomers and astrophysicists can't have a valid opinion about space until they become an astronaut.

Hmm. I think you got me on that one. Hang on, I'm trying to think of a cargument

Star Wars code is NOT bare bones...

I've watched a ton of videos and read a lot of books on parenting. Therefore, I know what parenting is like...even if I don't have kids, or take care of kids, or have anything to do with kids. Actual contact with kids has nothing to do with parenting.

And how exactly do you define "barebones" code? Inquiring minds want to know.

Maybe you’ve been watching DE Star Wars video all of this time?

My basis for saying you're wrong is that I’ve played the game and experienced most of the many modes I listed off. I cannot reconcile that experience with your claim that the SW code offers “few modes and features.” You are, objectively, incorrect. If you said the modes were lame, or boring, that would be one thing. But there are plainly a lot of them. And you are wrong.

There, I didn’t even need an analogy!

As usual no love for wwe code update

He already defined it as having “few modes and features.” Which is clearly false.

But you’ll never get a satisfactory answer, just like I could never get him to explain the basis for his claim that JJP and CGC would combine to ship 8,000 games in 2017.

I think it has more to do with the fact that I don't see your messages anymore, because you troll constantly. It's not worth answering you.

You claim I repeatedly go on about how shallow and bare bones SW code is. Would you like to search my post history by "Star Wars" and then sift through what I've said about it? Practically nothing. The game really doesn't interest me, having looked into it, so I've no compulsion to do so.

Per the production numbers, you think nothing of making things up to suit your own agenda, when you don't like something someone posts. You do it with others too.

The numbers I quoted are because of the numbers that JJP and CGC have publicly commented on, and what I hear through the grapevine. CGC publicly stated their goal for numbers on these boards months ago. I went into it in detail numerous times. You couldn't refute it, didn't try, and just started trolling, as you're doing again now.

Since you asked ... In this post from a few days back, you apparently had the compulsion to opine that someone was selling their SW LE because of "basic/unfinished" code. That's where my "repeatedly" came from.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-dark-night-for-stern/page/28#post-4057271

Fair enough to question whether two references constitutes "continuous" discussion, I was probably conflating this issue with your other posts ragging on Star Wars (which could be read as complaints about the aesthetic package rather than gameplay or code). But the fact remains that your statements about the code don't align with reality. If you've decided the code is boring or fails to create a "world under glass" or whatever, that's your opinion and I cannot fault you for it. But to say it's not there at all is simply incorrect.

For instance?

Stick to the facts (or opinions and conjecture that are identifiable as such and not guised as facts, for that matter) and you’ll get no complaints from me.

Wait. You skipped over the seemingly valid parenting analogy.

Another address today hopefully - curious on the latest code status.

WWE?

Hope so, maybe they’ll announce a code update for meteor!

http://www.sternpinball.com/community/stern-of-the-union-address-december-2017

STERN OF THE UNION ADDRESS – DECEMBER 2017
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:

Guardians of the Galaxy Launch Parties:

The official IFPA sanctioned Stern Army pinball launch parties for Guardians of the Galaxy have been announced! Many have inquired how to host an official launch party and the first criteria is to be an official Stern Army location. Official launch parties are only held at Stern Army locations so if you’re interested in getting your city on the map for a future launch party, please reach out to [email protected] for more information on becoming a part of the Stern Army.

Stern Army Updates:

The Stern Army continues to grow and expand, spreading the word of pinball across the nation and we are proud to announce some of our newest members!

Private John Bowes out of North Carolina (Level Up Bar Arcade and Boxcar Bar + Arcade)
Private Sean Bueter out of North Carolina (Reboot Arcade Bar)
Private Krystle Gemnich out of Illinois (Logan Arcade)
Private Augustus Eustis out of New Hampshire (Southern NH Pinball Club)
Private Schuyler Lane out of California (The Dip)
Private Kevin Grillo out of Georgia (My Parent’s Basement)
We are also proud to announce the promotion of the following members from Private to Private First Class:

Private First Class Mitch Curtis out of Massachusetts (Flat Top Johnny’s)
Private First Class John Jundt out of Minnesota (The Mermaid)
Private First Class Blake Pierce out of Minnesota (Mortimer’s Bar & Restaurant and Tilt Pinball Bar)
Private First Class Jesse Baker out of Ohio (Arcade Legacy)
Private First Class Gene X Hwang out of California (Gestalt and The Myriad)
Private First Class Justin Blair out of Rhode Island (RI Pinball)
Private First Class Steve Keeler out of New York (Rock Fantasy)
Private First Class Matt Walton out of Oregon (Level Up Arcade)
For more information or to become a part of the Stern Army, please reach out to [email protected]

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; as usual we will release them as soon as possible. Here are some of the latest updates and status of things in the works and as always, if you do encounter any bugs please feel free to provide information to [email protected]:

Guardians of the Galaxy – We have several updates coming before the holidays, with 1.0 slated for January. We’re still working hard on balancing and polishing sound assets; it’s an ongoing process and clearly we are aware of some of the issues. We have every intention to make the audio package and game experience spectacular.
Star Wars – The team is hard at work and we’re still looking at releasing 1.0 code in early December. In case you missed it from last month the updates will include bug fixes, score balancing and additional speech. Some of the content will be:
Escape from Hoth, Escape from Tatooine, Battle Above Endor will get polish and rule enhancements with some cool added effects
Depending on which character you select, the heroes will receive additional perks with Leia’s bonus increasing all scoring in the 4th missions, Han increasing the timer to last longer during the Escape from Boba Fett mode and Luke’s bonus adding a higher scoring opportunity in the Light Saber Duel mode.
Batman ’66 – The dedicated programming team is still working on another release around the New Year. This will include additional minor villain modes into the mix.
Ghostbusters – With Star Wars coming to completion soon, we will be focusing on a final update for Ghostbusters.
Aerosmith – Aerosmith will be getting a little more polish.
KISS – KISS code will have a final update in the near future as well.
Just because a game isn’t listed on here doesn’t mean there can’t be surprises from time to time either! (i.e. The Walking Dead v1.60)

Star Wars News:

With the newest movie coming out next week and 1.0 code coming even sooner, we wanted to share a special behind the scenes look at this remarkable game! Check out our Making of Star Wars video here -

As for an accessories update, unfortunately the full line of Star Wars accessories won’t be available for sale until after the holidays. The team is still working extremely hard to get these out as soon as possible and we will make a more formal announcement once they are finalized and available for sale.

Stern Pinball Arcade

Ghostbusters is now available on the Stern Pinball Arcade on Steam! For more information and to download, please visit - http://store.steampowered.com/app/744380/Stern_Pinball_Arcade_Ghostbusters_Premium/

Stern in China

Stern recently announced the appointment of Guangzhou Stern Electronic Technology Company Ltd. (GSET) as its exclusive importer and distributor for China. Click here to read the full press release on this monumental distribution accomplishment! http://www.sternpinball.com/community/2247

Good stuff. Nothing definitive, but Stern is acknowledging some issues. Glad to see these updates from Stern.

Some highlights:

1. They have heard that GOTG's audio package has not been well received;
2. Star Wars code should be close to complete very soon;
3. Star Wars accessories won't be out until January at the earliest.

Looking forward to the final KISS update

And very curious what code surprises there may be in the future?

Other highlights:

The Chinese invasion has started.

Great game video. Peaks my interest while demonstrating creativity and it captures design team's passion. Stern has a hit video.

OK, so expect 1.0 code for SW before next Thursday. Hell yes.

What happened to it. No Stern of the Union in 2018?

It will be next week (9th) due to the holiday. Stern posted on their Facebook.

Sorry I missed it! Thx. I’m curios about Ghostbusters code!

Man, just noticed your city and it jogged my memory - spent a few days there with the wife and enjoyed it. (Ringhotel Wittelsbacher Höh). Will have to go back again one day

You’re welcome!

What time does this happen at today?

Not sure but it is today.

Lets hope for good news.

cmon ghostbusters!!!

Update posted but still no hint of a Timeline for GB or Aerosmith code

"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; as usual we will release them as soon as possible. Here are some of the latest updates and status of things in the works. As always, if you do encounter any bugs please feel free to provide information to [email protected]:

Guardians of the Galaxy – We had several updates this holiday season including the addition of two new songs! We are still on track for more code updates this month with additional balancing and polishing of the overall game experience.
Star Wars – We are working on bug fixes, polish and minor tweaks in the near future.
Batman ’66 – Look for another new update this month!
Ghostbusters – Ghostbusters is still in line for a final update.
Aerosmith – Aerosmith is still in line for an additional update and polish.
KISS –KISS is still in line for a final update.
Just because a game isn’t listed on here doesn’t mean there can’t be surprises from time to time either!"

No word on Star Wars accessories.

Where is it posted?

Ridiculous - some update!

Where the heck are the Star Wars accessories!

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

More Star Wars and BM66! Woohoo!!

OMG it's like all of my questions weren't answered what a shock

Fantastic update!

thanks (resized).png

Pretty much same as last month

What a snooze-fest!

I can see why they needed that extra week to pack all those details in there...

The whole "Stern army" thing is so cheesy. What's the point? Am I missing something here?