Yeah. That would’ve been sweet and easy to do and could also make use of the projector. Have them block the ramps. Just a couple would’ve been awesome.

Is there anywhere to play this in NYC?

Disagree, from a theme perspective that wouldn’t make sense imo, 11 is on your side so causing cheap drains and fighting’s against the ball/player wouldn’t make sense.

Now a magna save between the flippers activated by the lockbar button would fit the theme and put the player in 11s shoes giving you her powers to save yourself (she’s constantly saving everyone in the show so why not put that into the game?.. theme integration) could have magna save on each outlane too with additional buttons each side of the cabinet giving you complete control to save yourself once you have earned the kickback/ball save.

Something like what TZ had with the magna flippers would have been cool on this.

We absolutely can. We can see the art, see the features, see the layout, watch streams, hear the sounds. We know whether this pleases our eyes and ears. Many of us have played enough games to get a solid take on what any new game is about at launch. Our opinion may change once played, but impressions upon reveal are not to be discounted entirely.

The re-introduction of Magslings would have been great for this game. I thought that was one of the coolest features of Ghostbusters. Having a mode where the ball(s) could be held then flung around like how 11's powers in the show works would would have been awesome. A video playing of her throwing shit around while that happened would have been perfect.

I've seen a lot of good ideas thrown out in this thread with magna flippers, ball save magna and even a BH style reversed lower playfield for the upside down [a reverse exact playfield of Munsters would have been great].
Having played the game, I wonder why Stern didn't consider any of this? The game is so vanilla.
I don't think a projector will make any difference. Next.

I hope the lighting effects on the pre/Le are much more interesting and impressive during the under world.

I think the pops scroll through the modes, kind of similar to how the spinner in IMDN scrolls through the modes.

I believe one pop goes one direction and the other pop goes the other direction.

I can't say if that's good, but I believe that is what they are doing!

So if that is accurate, you can shoot it up in the pops to have a chance at selecting a different mode to start.

There is definitely need for light show improvement. I wanted to see all the lights flicker randomly they way they do in the Byers house before the demigorgan shows up. Hopefully they put something like this into the game, would be perfect for upside down mode.

These are the same ideas everybody suggests for every pin.

Every theme is “perfect for magnets!!!”

Every game needs another bad upper or lower playfield.

Every game is too vanilla.

For a group of people who beg for “innovation” all the time, everybody seems to just want to see the same gimmicks from decades past over and over again.

No game should ever have magna slings ever again, ever. Let that idea die in hell with John Trudeau.

Or if the game could go very dark, limited GI and show those white floating things in the Upside Down on the projector... That would be cool

The intro to that could be dramatic and random lights flickering a bunch then go dark. Maybe similar to Star Trek before the laser light show.

Noooooooo I liked those man !!

But

You reminded me of something.

John Trudeau. Totally forgot about that guy and his story. Good point.

Bit of an exaggeration there Levi, magnets are mentioned occasionally at least from what I’ve seen, hey you may spend more time on pinside than me so have seen something I haven’t but a lot of people don’t wish for lower playfields as most suck.

And there’s always a half it sucks, half it’s the best pin ever with each new release.

Here's what I would have tried (maybe they did) :

Have 5 "petals" for the mouth each on a joint. Opposite side of joint have a linkage connected to an actuator rod behind the sculpt.

The 5 rods connect via linkage again to a ring/disc. This disc can be snapped back and forth by a single solenoid (like MM) So not only could the petal mouth snap shut on the ball but also "talk" and snarl at the player.

Also weird they didn't put any sort of guide on the ramp flap. It's not a carnival game you make the shot the monster should eat the ball.

Cost. The design team has to stick within a budget set by management. Let's say adding 3 magnets adds $50 in parts, wiring, and additional coding per game. Adding metal ball returns adds another $50. That's $100 more per game. How is Stern supposed to justify that? By raising the price of games? Well, they did and still included very little which shows that Stern is often a company driven solely by profit rather then passion.

I don't doubt Stranger Things will be fun. Once the code is completed I'm sure it will be a fun game. Is it $6k - $9k fun? I don't see it. Comparing Stranger Things to Jurassic Park makes me question if both games had the same budget as JP seems to have more in it.

Watching the stream and i get a Elvira feel about this game.
And that is a GOOD thing.

Watching the stream I got a Hurricane feel from this game.

JP2 definitely has less assets with none from the movie. Stranger Things has all the likenesses and audio from the first two seasons and a lead from the show doing call outs.

None of that is free and it could be the price you pay.

The new JP had nearly universal praise, which is rare. The only real grumbling was about assets. The layout itself was very well liked.

Yeah JP2 is the rare exception, probably should have said more often rather than always there’s a half it sucks, half it’s the greatest pin ever divide.

Yeah would have been ace, have them white which would have been a nice way to hide the requirement for the white screens, when they pop up project animated demodogs and other enemies onto them.

Even those who have played it feelings seems to be mixed around here. There certainly doesn't seem to be as much hype over this as past games.

As for old ideas vs new ideas. Hard for us to compare the innovation of the projector when they've yet to show us much. I certainly can imagine what it SHOULD be, but we don't know yet if it is. What we can do is look at things we are familiar with and think about possible gameplay elements that would have fit well with this theme and are sadly missing and the only reason is cost.

On the plus side we can say they didn't just take a license and slap a coat of paint over a generic playfield because the backbox magnet lock at least shows some intuition of the show content. I too feel they could have done more with the demigorgan mouth rather than just a static gaping hole. The projector really has nothing to do with the license and most likely between this and the license costs ate up much of the budget. In the end, code is going to make this a great game or a mediocre game (but then...isn't that true with all modern games?)

Bring back cool features like manual ball saves from BMX, Spirit. !

I really wanted to see magna style saves on in both of the outlanes and even the center drain.. would of been an emersive moment being saved by 11's powers in a Multiball.

Here's what I would have liked...(I'm still holding out my hopes for the Premium Stream)

Granted these are all physical world under glass wishes...I can see where Stern is going and why they did the layout like they did if their goal was to use a projector..it still doesn't alleviate my feeling of missed potential for physical items on the playfield. So hopefully with code, they can create a Star Wars esqu feel of immersion, but if it's just quick video clips without creating moments, I feel it may get repetitive, especially the demigorgon - that needs to be more climactic both in sound, video and buildup ...But my SW Prem has some defining shots that are really satisfying physically outside of the LED screen - Ala Death Star, Horseshoe, L & R orbits - I don't see that with this game from a first look. - although the balls to the wall lock has potential

...anyways, here's my list:

A tunnel system where the ball goes under the playfield (like the rot tunnels in the pumpkin patch) - maybe like the subway in Ghostbusters although various holes could open up (like irises) around the playfield and the ball could fall into them - acting as a ball lock - then various shots could recapture the balls

Large physical christmas bulbs around different shot lanes that would have to be hit in order to first communicate with Will

Physical demidog toys that could pop from different areas of the playfield, maybe even from below, and attack, not just static in the middle

Better use of GI to simulate upside down...I just see a 80's retro lightshow right now

An interactive physical D&D 20 sided die - could have tied into a D&D video mode

A large physical lab which could have been the centerpiece with diverters, ramps...and that could have flipped or spun around (ala Batman 66) in the table representing the upside down

An arcade or sign that could be shot at opening up an actual video game video mode

Eggo waffle inserts or pop bumpers

A unique shooter lane where the ball was introduced by magnets under the playfield which could have been like 11 controlling the ball instead of a physical plunger

Walkie Talkies as drop targets

A Complete blackout mode except for only a projected image showing up on a lane or area to represent 11 in the communication realm

That is prob what JJP would have done for 12k and people would have loved it.

FFS seriously.

My favorite variant in this thread is after reading 500 posts that it's a AFM clone, Eddy should of added in pop up like Medieval Madness.

So you wanted all this in the same standard sized cabinet? Not sure this is physically possible.

I do think for the topper it needs to be some form of this:

st (resized).PNG

Guess what? stern won’t be changing the layout so the most we can hope for is incredible code/modes and light shows. Let’s talk about wish lists for those

Definitely need better lighting for the upside down. The initial change in the game and music is great but I hope the projector does a good job of showing the ash everywhere.

Also I’m not thrilled with the upside down being random. Would be cool if it was punishment for doing poorly in modes and you have to hit shots unlike the mode you’re in to get back out.

Definitely need to be able to kill the demogorgon via hits alone and not require the mouth shot. It’s a 1 in 20 at best shot.

I will have to see where this game is at in a few months too. I’m sure some of this is already in the works.

Reminds me of the controversial (at the time) screen on Dialed In.

Better light show is a must. Hopefully they can pull Tim Sexton in on it, he seems to do a great job of this.

Pretty sure they already have the demogorgon shot do that in the code they were streaming, when Jack got to him the first time he hit the side of him and the animation on screen showed him acting like he was getting hit, and Jack asked if he got points for hitting him and not a mouth shot and they said yes.

Im undecided on the upside down mode, i liked what i saw but wont beable to say one way or another until i can play one.

Right but can you complete the mode from just hitting the demogorgon? That’s my concern.

Since Eddy did the design, and given Eleven's telekinesis ability, I was hoping for a revamped magnet "fling" similar to the Sanctum lock on The Shadow. Ideally, would have loved a player-controlled magnet grab&fling that you could activate, which would fling the ball into a lane/loop.

Regardless, I still like the look of how the game shoots, and I look forward to playing both the Pro and Prem/LE.

Almost all the games I’ve bought/sold over the years were from watching YouTube gameplay videos. I know after a few minutes if it will be a game I entertain owning. You don’t have to play it first to know.

2/3s of the games I have bought in the past year have been games I cannot play locally. Being able to try them out first honestly makes it more fun, but I'm generally not a NIB guy (R&M excluded).

No, just a collection of some physical ideas, I thought your question was looking for those, not necessarily a complete design per se...

Doesn't matter at this point though..as it's all going to come down to code now. Still holding out hope but this went from a sure thing for me to a maybe based on what I've seen so far.

Oh okay gotcha. I think the tunnel system is an interesting idea. Definitely possible since we know STTNG has a major subway system in it. That would be an all or nothing feature though I would think.

At the end of the day stern will always have 2-3 items they put into the prem/LE that makes the game full featured. It’s up to the buyer to decide if that’s enough for them to pull the trigger. They will never have a game packed with stuff like JJP. I’m okay with that. Hard to make a good shooter with stuff everywhere. Always good to have options.

Yeah, they definitely come through on fun machines. I know Mike and Brian are smart guys and with a little polish this can really be a great pin. The bones are there. This is where getting the sound and lighting just right can really pay off! Fingers crossed and I can't wait to see the projector working

To me, the game has 3 cool things. The projector, demogorgan toy, and ball lock. Looking at pics, obviously, one 1 of those things shows up...so at first blush it looks empty. We'll have to play the game to see the projector and the magnet ball lock in action.

I don't have an issue with the overall design...the game is going to sink or swim based on the code/projector.

Without altering the design too much, here are some tweaks that might have been cool.

1. Target bank instead of drops

I am curious why Eddy went with drop targets over a target bank. Was it a design choice or budget? Personally, I like a target bank. I think it provides more code options and feels like more of a moment when it lowers.

2. One more element to the Demogorgan toy.

It's cool as is with drops, saucer to hold ball, ramp coming down, shooting it in his mouth etc..but a kickback like the ST ship has or War Machine on IM that could lower out of the way, once it has been hit enough times, would have given the feeling of the Demogorgan fighting back. I don't think that has ever been done before and not sure it's possible to lower a mech like that though.

3. One more mech/cool thing in the game.

The far right lane just feeds the pops. Maybe 3 inline "Demidog" drops along the way.

Or

With the playfield open, pop ups seem a natural choice. Maybe demidog pop ups with magnets that sling the ball back at you?

I’m not thrilled with the right orbit either. If that was a lift ramp back there, I would have almost no issues with this layout.

Yep that's my only problem with the current layout. Wish a ramp lifted to reveal a full orbit.

I do hope they have a lot of variety of coding the demogorgan.

For example, the two angled targets behind the drops. I hope their are times or modes or a progression where you have to hit those a certain amount of times to qualify the battle and for the ramp to come down.

Little things like that in the code would add depth and challenge. I always like it when standups are an important part of the code (like the trap targets in JP2) and not just throwaway things that add random point when hit.

noone's cousin

Imagine if there were HD cameras under the playfield, tracking the ball as it traverses the subway, displaying the ball under the pf up onto the LCD screen. A user activated diverter could be switched with the player paying close attn to the ball under the table by watching the LCD.

Yeah but you remember how bad the playfields on Shadows became in that Sanctum area. Then you'd have Pinside going crazy about how they shouldn't have had that feature because of playfield issues. Can't ever make anyone happy lol