Hi guys,

as pinball hobbyists, collectors and players we often complain about the time it takes Stern to complete code, put out updates, etc.

So I was wondering how much do we know about how their developers work? What development platforms, tools do they use? Are they still writing stuff in assembler (probably not)? Is the length of time it takes a result of an aging platform, etc?

As a former application developer myself I am interested in the behind the scenes stuff. Does anyone have any insight on this or can point me to a link that discusses this?

Hoping to keep this on the positive side of discussion as opposed to ranting about Stern. really curious about how it works.

Thanks in advance everyone.

Nobody is interested in this? OK, back to shopping my Shadow and playing LOTR.

There we go ... The start of some interesting discussion.

There must be someone out there that actually knows how stern does this. I wouldn't think they have a very sophisticated development environment because if they did code updates would roll out in a more timely fashion. I know they have to focus on the most recent games but I think they could easily sell enough extra games if they had a better release schedule. Hiring an extra programmer would not be that expensive or that hard unless the development environment was just not what newer developers are interested in. (Kind of like the issues we had as mainframes started to die-off - couldn't get a new grad to touch it with a 10 foot pole).

I am enjoying the discussion. I agree that some languages might be better "out-of-the-box" for certain applications. Which one is best is a matter of opinion, knowledge and abilities.

I would be interested in how software development has evolved Stern. Stern started out as a manufacturing company but has evolved in part (whether they like it or not) into a software development company. I suspect this evolution was more organic and less a carefully scripted plan which means it likely has issues as a result. This is understandable given the very thin profit margins at Stern during the lean years. The important question is what are their plans to get them where they should be (and hopefully where they want to be) with respect to a more consistent development and release management cycle. I don't mean locking themselves into arbitrary deadlines like a release every quarter but a commitment to a (for example) 2 releases per year. Does anyone think these types of discussions are happening (or have happened) at Stern?

Oh, it will happen - just not yet. eg. United Airlines is now charging to use the overhead storage bins. Big businesses are great at nickel-n-diming their customers to death. Once you get so big (and bold) you stop caring about the customer experience - just the size of your bank account.

In response to Chadderack ... I really started the thread for a few reasons:

1. just plain curiosity

2. to see if some of the coding issues at Stern might be related to a legacy platform (and trouble attracting the right skillset)

3. and most importantly to stimulate some intelligent conversation (other than reading about how we don't like high prices, etc.) about something that hobbyist programmers and pin collectors would find interesting.

and yes I would consider the hardware and any tools used to be part of their platform.

Let's keep it moving. Might not be the most active thread but that's cool - it's interesting.

This is true but pretty much everything in our society is now built upon something else. Software is built upon libraries, drivers, etc. from 3rd parties. Cars are built with components from outside sources. If manufacturers try to re-invent the wheel every time they would quickly be out of business. As part of their project management discipline they need to make these tough decisions about when to develop from within and when not to. When you try and do "it" in-house (solely to save money) it often turns into a mess because the expertise required just isn't there or isn't required in sufficient demand to justify in-sourcing for the long term. Yes, sometimes a company may find themselves at the mercy of their 3rd party components too. These are the challenges that come with project and supply chain management for sure.