Quoted from mechslave:

What you mean you don't like watching players stand and time out modes?
That seemed to be the strategy in ST today. Play Space Jumps, try to bring 3rd mode into multi, and time out modes to reach Kiwasaki multiball. I've brought up concerns about ST software in three different threads, and everyone keeps ignoring how simple and stale the software is right now.
I think you should be forced to complete a mode to get credit for it. Needs a lot of rule enhancement but that'd be a good start.

Quoted from mechslave:

Yep, but they were still doing it. They play 2-3 modes, maybe a 4th Vengence MB. If you aren't in Super Ramps or a multi, then they'd time the other modes out. I know, your jackpot total will be less. But that's what was happening. Re-read the thread title to see what we're discussing.

Quoted from mechslave:

I don't understand the 2 and 3 deep modes, like Space Jump II and Space Jump III.... what's the advantage to going 3 deep? You'd get Super Ramps but you also get it with the normal 3 in a row, which gets you that much closer to Kobayashi?
Of all the matches yesterday, the games on ST were definitely the most boring, and every player (I believe) timed out modes in their games on it. Every game on ST looked to roughly go the same strategy towards Kobayashi, by way of Space Jumps/Save the Entr/Prime Dir, bringing a mode or Super Ramps into the main multi, and then timing out the final 2-3 modes on the other side of the triangle. Definitely more "boring to watch" than the other games, no doubt, and since all the games followed roughly the same strategy involving timing out modes, it felt stale.

Quoted from BC_Gambit:

Maybe rather than turning on instant info if you are standing there with a ball cradled they should just start playing something like the Jeopardy theme really lound to try to shame and embarass, and at the very least annoy, time out players.
Or they could code the game to give less of an incentive
And the 3 deep modes don't make sense to me either. What is the point of going 3 deep (do the points escalate nicely?) vs just going for KM multiball?

Quoted from mechslave:

LOL It was a question, how can I be wrong when I simply asked what it does? Ok, so playing (or timing out) 3 modes deep will give you a shot multiplier. I didn't see anyone trying to do that, so the path towards Kobayashi with mode time-outs is the preferred strategy.
The point remains. ST was the most boring of all the games to watch. Every game, at some point, on ST involved watching a player stand around and time out modes. And it was the only machine whose rules encouraged mode time-outs, which I hate.
I feel the rules would be less stale if mode completion was required to get credit for a mode. And if it was actually difficult to accomplish... like you have to hit two combos in certain amount of time (hit a shot which lights another shot for a couple seconds), chase a shot around, lighting the shots for mode completion is qualified by one initial (tough) shot or combo, etc. Things like that. Those are interesting to me. These modes seem to all merge together a bit and just don't seem very interesting. Hey, it's an opinion! There's nothing I saw which is as interesting as Fireball Frenzy or Seek and Destroy, or ....pick almost any mode in LOTR or TSPP. To me, the way you can time outs modes and complete them makes a ruleset seem stale by comparison, and yes I know, I know, you won't get as much credit for it in the final multiball. Adding that helps, sure, but I'm not overly impressed by this ruleset yet.