Thanks for the video!

So....the backglass lcd is now projected, and the lcd just has distracting scrolling scores? Kinda weird. And well....distracting.

Phew!!!

Saw your post here yesterday, and coincidentally had binge watched up to episode 6 of season 3 in a week or so.....

Then finished it off, and was dozing off during the final 10 minutes or so at 5am.

Definitely liked the show more than I thought I would. I was expecting to actively dislike it, and grew to appreciate some of the characters overtime, and some never grew on me.

Billy had a nice arc, and at least felt redeemed. Though most male characters on that show seem to be fodder. They fall into the dead, dumb dumb foil, or villain category all too often. Female characters seem written a bit more teflon, fairly dominant, and lacking less flaws.

The effects and monster designs seem to get better season by season, and I really hope they introduce different monster types/an entirely new enemy altogether. By the end of season three, the cycle of events feels a bit stale.

Cinematography is really surprising for a streamed show, and has some impressive marriages of real shots with nice lighting and CQ effects.

I was also surprised how well the 80's backdrop slotted in. I feared things would be heavier handed than they were.

Overall, much better than I expected. Now onto playing the pin more!

Lacking less flaws than male characters. Many of the male leads in the show seemed foolish, evil or unable to have their own agency. And or die, get killed, disposable, etc. Fodder.

Kinda flip flopped from how most scripts were oriented in lots of media. Ideally a balance can exist. Ideally.

No need to derail, just thought I'd share impressions on the show considering I'd never watched it all of these years.

Damn. I forgot about her. I liked her. Seemed a nice balance for Nancy. She did get shit on hard. I'd trade her for Will, frankly.

She was a pretty fun character and actress. Steve grew on me a lot too, (Feels like a Nathan Filion Jr.) and I felt kinda goofy for hoping they'd become a couple.

Looks better than I expected.

I wish the bonus screens had some more animation. Things still look a bit unfinished or like placeholders.

I think people are just offended that the groundwork for a feature exists in their games already, and now rather than boost those customers faith in their purchase, Stern sees the $$$$$.

It wasn't upfront at all. This wasn't like Stern magically discovered the UV ink. A preplanned, accessible to every existing game, future mod that went unannounced at launch is a shitty business practice.

How much does Stern charge for those headphone jack kits?

I know the toppers are $500 and up.

Those are existing cables that can be accessed for things not even gameplay, directly, functional. A playfield with specific ink qualities, integrated into every game, is not a gratuitous add on feature. It's the literal definition of a feature....BAKED IN.

Besides, those toppers should have been included in LE purchases.....

You missed/negated my point.

The playfield is a LITERAL gameplay feature. An add-on headphone jack, is not.

Yeah but.....this is a moot point. IF Stern started selling extra game mods and features, (like that might not be a possibility already in the pipeline) then that would be a poor business practice as well. Selling a bare game initially, then adding it back in piecemeal, kinda like what they're doing here....

It's not even about not buying one, for me anyway, for sure the people that own this game. It's about creating and establishing NEW ways to gouge the customer, versus rewarding them for loyalty, and them clearly paying way too much for the game initially.

Bad business practices, become the new standard. Home buyers saw that happen with the LE/Collector market.

I remember you being excited for that CE when they were initially announced. Basically a blind buy on your part, and almost a year later....... That makes me sad.

Oh sure, ultimately if we don't find value, we don't buy it. And if it doesn't change the market, people not buying, so be it. If it does, the same.

I daily scratch my head how this hobby exists for home owners, outside of owning older preexisting games. So really, for me, I don't understand much of anything in this business.

10 hours ago equation doesn't make sense. Not in something preexisting that you've already accepted within a certain reality.

If a gal you're dating has, say crabs...or worse, and you find out later....isn't that a bit dishonest and shitty as well?

NO ONE should be happy their new Stern Strangers Things game has crabs. Maybe not even that plonkfest "crab" monster in the middle of the playfield.

So. Many. Crabs!

I'd love this announcement, if Stern said they were sending this "upgrade" out post launch, as a freebie. That would be marvelous! Since it isn't, it's shit. And either way, most people seem to be on side of the fence or the other. For me, this definitely doesn't help the prospect of me buying from Stern down the road, as tempting as a solidly built JP2 might be.

Well, they sold people initially a fairly stripped down, undercoded, and sound effect/voice over deficient game at launch. Now after slumping sales, assumedly, and consumer backlash....they tack a cheapass feature on, that clearly was planned for into EACH and EVERY game sold so far.

Point is....if this costs consumers $300. We ALL know it costs Stern $100 or under. So yeah, you can't give that shit for "free" to customers that bought in early for an unbaked game???