Why I did not buy twdle.

FINISH THE CODE.

I've never seen a thread like this before.

The code on TWD is already pretty damn good.

The common denominator on "great and finished code" is always Lyman.

For me, its not even about boycotting, I'll never buy another Stern pin that doesn't have Lyman all over it.

In summary,

1. Must be Lyman
2. Must be finished or close to it
3. Must play it first

Or NO buy

Yes it has got beyond a joke game is fun and more than playable but it needs to be finished!! You'd think we would have learnt from Metallica.

STERN FINISH STAR TREK PLEASE.

Stop buying incomplete shit

I have taken a leaf out of RDs book... A TWDle over here is $12.8k... for that money,so far I have obtained a WW. Flintstones. Popeye. T2 and still have 2.5k left over

I know he said it was 'broken', but I don't believe he implied it was a 'train wreck' though. However the whole process of Stern getting this game DONE is an absolute train wreck though. Has there been any work done on the game since the last release? If not then it really doesn't bode well that this game is ever going to be 100%. And that's a real shame because ST has some pretty unique qualities about it even with the fairly simple layout.

- Fix the bugs reported in the bugs thread
- Tidy up the animations (playback speed, missing sound etc)
- Give LE owners their features
- Add a timer stop to level 1 missions, I don't think anything else is really needed. Or make the timer stop an option in the game settings.
- Correct the sound mixing. Some callouts are too quiet, some repeat etc
- Fix the crew combo callouts not happening or volume too low
- Revamp Vengeance 3 because it sucks
- Add a reward for warp 7
- More black hole awards
- Add setting for number of weapons awarded for target completion (1-3). 3 is too many IMHO
- Add more 'instant info'. Warp level, bonus x count, number of combo's, number of warp ramps, mission levels, etc
- Have away team do something for level 2/3 missions. Hogtieing it just to level 1 missions was wrong.
- Do not light captains chair insert for super modes, only light it for the 3 wizard modes.
- Reduce 'Shoot The Vengeance' display priority so other (mission) animations can still play

Well that's just what I can think of off the top of my head. Please fix the code Stern!

Rob

I'll trade you a 90s Williams for your Star Trek

I use to think the same but have since found myself playing the $hit outta some newer Stern titles as of late. I'm really liking ACDC Pro and IMV. To say Stern games lack substance wouldn't be fair at all. STPro is a solid game as well.

STeve can't fix the code. He is not a programmer. He designs the game. Please do not put the blame on him. The programmers are the ones that need to fix the situation.

I'm pretty sure that, like most employer/employee relationships, Stern decides what gets worked on.

rince and repeat.
i don't hope for anything anymore, nothing will change as long as people still buy them.
it's that simple.

It appears he can't allocate what he is not given. Namely programming resources. There appears to be little to no passion from the programmers to get this done, let alone done right.

Rob

TWD Pro code is excellent , one more update and it will be amazing .

So maybe beginning with TWD , stern has changed their tune? Not sure about the code on Mustang .

I agree, if they sell pinball with code unfinished, which would have is to update it more quickly detected faults customers are not cheap toys, you imagine games playstation or xbox to be sold with the game half do, you will come to a stage and I say wait for the code is finished!!!, none were would sell. also those who have bought the LE're still waiting for the features on the LE.

Stern should change their motto to:

"STERN PINBALL, INC. is the leading maker of REALLY INCOMPLETE pinball games in the world!"

Rob

I appreciate your passion. If we just settle for status quo then that is what Stern will continue to give us. Although I'm not sure what we can do to change anything except letting Stern know we still want our code!

Rob

Does it get you anywhere with them?

A few days ago Stern posted on their Facebook page a topic of "May all your pinball dreams come true".
Everyone was posting wishes for machines that did not even exist yet, so I posted "Yes, new Code".
It was immediately deleted.
I made a follow up post simply asking why and it was just deleted.
Now I am not looking to start a rehash of the Stern Facebook people deleting whatever they want thread, but this is ridiculous.
My post was in no way a "Knock" against Stern. Just my real pinball wish.
I sent an email to their real web page, but have received no response as of yet.

I agree, this code needs to be finished. Star Trek is good for new players but after owning it for a couple months I can say I wouldn't recommend it to anybody who likes a deep pinball game.

Great comparison.

Did your Star Trek burst into flames? I'm assuming you have been around long enough and decided to take the risk and buy a Stern title without Lyman involved. You gambled and lost. Better to just cut bait and sell and get something else.

I've said it before in many threads that nothing can save ST for me other then a complete dump of the current code and something completely different being done.

Do you have some ideas? This might be a fun project for me to p-roc.

Stern do what they do cause we support them doing it. They sell half assed products at varying levels of quality with generic code and they sell out, next title is announced - sells out before anyone's even seen a photo, ship them all, people ain't happy with the code, they move onto next title and the same people who where unhappy with the previous code buy next machine, Stern don't have to put any effort in so just rinse and repeat, until LEs especially don't sell out this will never stop.

There is only one way to get Gary to sort his shit out and that's to stop buying NIB games from them. If all potential NIB especially LE collectors (probably more so than the operators) hold out for one title, it would scare and force Stern into doing something. They can probably take a hit on one title but could they honestly afford to take the risk on a hit with two titles?

Bet we would see new code flying out of Stern just before they announce their next new title after a title flops from buyers holding out due to code.

Good luck. When a year went by without simple features like the extra LE lights working - I gave up & sold it. Fool me 8 times, shame on me, right? The only solution is to never buy a Stern at launch....and then only buy it a year later if Lyman programmed it. That actually was my mantra before ST came out - I wasn't gonna get it ...but the LE bling suckered me in, promises of Tanio's programming, and of course it's a Steve game. Lesson finally learned: NONE of it matters unless Lyman's coding it.

This is an amusing thread, as if this never happened before. I could substitute XM and TAV every time ST is mentioned, exact same experience. Be patient, code will come and if it's like XM and TAV, most of you will be very happy. If you can't wait it out, then you need to reconsider buying nib. I do think its fair to communicate with Stern periodically, but Ive learned to adjust my buying habits

Star Trek is a great game as is. Could it use tweaks? sure, but calling it a trainwreck and horrible is overreacting just a wee bit. Almost jerry springer level

18 modes just doesn't work for me. The multipliers are useless also. Maybe would like to see something similar to SM where you qualify the modes n get a 2x shot and finish the mode gets you a 3x shot. The 18 modes has to go though.

Owners are long past due on complete, or near completed StarTrek code.
Hopefully Stern will get it right very soon. It is sad when someone like Ritchie states that he's not happy with it.

BUT: you blaming Steve Ritchie is about as accurate as me blaming you. Steve designed the playfield. Yes, it has been said that he also works with the programmer and may have some input for code/rules, but he does not allocate employees at Stern. Your comments should be directed towards Gary Stern.
He's in control of who does what.

Lastly, you have learned a very important pinball lesson: buying a pin without complete code leaves you vulnerable. It's risky, as you might not even enjoy the rules when they're finished.
Look yourself in the mirror and accept that you alone are responsible for owning an incomplete pin.
Now forgive yourself and decide if you want to tough it out, or sell it and move on.
Fortunately, this particular pin has retained much of its value so you'll get a decent price for it.
Many among us were not so lucky with Xmen and Avengers.

Personally, if I were you, I'd sell it and get an ACDC or Metallica. Both are awesome games with great code.

I've never heard anyone say this who wasn't a current owner of the game. And yes I've owned both the LE and the Pro.

ST is nowhere close to a great game.

You're certainly entitled to that opinion, as I am.. it does not make either of us right in any way. Everyone enjoys the hell out of it when they play it here. The fact that I own one isn't a relevant thing at all, if it sucked to me it would be gone already. I owned a Metallica LE less than one week and it was gone because I disliked it so much. It's all subjective, but the real point is overreaction. Calling it terrible and unplayable is just is ridiculous as calling it the best game of all time.

Yes we all have our opinions but let me ask you this. How many threads have been started complaining about the code on Star Trek as opposed to Metallica? I'd check but don't feel like wasting a whole day looking up the countless threads of people complaining about ST's code. He'll there are 2 pretty active ones right now.

ST is a fun game to flip the ball around on for sure and that's cause it's a Steve Ritchie layout. Unfortunately that's where the fun ends as the code is just awful.

I don't think Stern fully understands the difference in selling operators and collectors. If a game was reliable and earned money the operator market was happy...code was not overly important to them so long as it made money and was cheap to maintain.

The home user wants bug free, sound, logical code with deep rules and maybe cool Easter eggs...

Stern makes blingy LEs for the home market...but they don't understand the importance of keeping the home user happy and how they need to change their thought process on code to do it.

You very obviously know nothing about software projects. Once the higher ups say move on to the next project you do. There is no allocating. It does not matter what you want. You do as you are told or you find a new job.