Quoted from dri:

I guess it can't get more official than this?
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/jersey-jack-pinball-announces-iconic-game-designer-steve-ritchie-as-newest-addition-to-the-team-301345308.html

Quoted from porkcarrot:

What value did this whole thread serve that couldn't be had from a thread starting now with the official announcement? What did you gain from this?

Quoted from rai:

Stern had best be paying Keith and Lyman well.

Quoted from LyonsRonnie1:

I wonder if he's came up with a design that would be expensive, but he really wants to do, Stern wouldn't do it because of pricing, so he's going to JJP with a game already designed and they're wanting to increase production, i.e., it'll be out in a year?

Quoted from porkcarrot:

And you don't think it's weird to spread rumors and speculation about a person's personal business?

Quoted from 27dnast:

No. They already have Lawlor, who pushed Diamond Plate.

Quoted from pinballaddicted:

I call BS.
Diamond plate dimpled just as much as the playfields today. Pinsiders have done dimple tests to prove it.
I would rather believe SR.

Quoted from Frax:

There is not a SINGLE Stern game where I spend as much time in multiball (of any form) as Hobbit. Not even REMOTELY close. You can toss around words all day long and it's not going to change the simple facts.
If you're playing book modes on their own, you're doing it for one reason...to see the callouts and animations. Which is fine. They put a lot of work into that. But it's a stupid, STUPID choice if you're going for score. There is absolutely no reason NOT to stack in Hobbit other than that, and if you choose to handicap your progress or score.....I'm not about to stop you, and I'll gladly take that W. I don't think you need to preach to me about Hobbit rules in that regard. I had -triple- the score of my nearest competitor at a league night this last tuesday, and in fact, I did have +2 mode balls because I intentionally delayed the MB start to start the book mode with the +2 balls BEFORE starting the multiball. I had Into the Fire on ball 1 without even intentionally going for it. The game IS entirely about multiball, whether you're using it to give yourself more chances to make shots in a mode, or playing the "main" multiballs. Period. Hobbit without that would be a complete piece of trash. I understand thematically why they made that choice, and I *really* wish that it wouldn't be used as a competitive game, EVER, because of it. It plays way the hell too long for that crap, specifically because getting into multiball in any form is a complete and total joke, and you're just as likely to start Beast Frenzy on accident as you are intentionally. I've had 3 ball games of Hobbit where I am not even remotely kidding where I've had SIX+ Beast Frenzy MBs. It's ridiculous. It should not take an hour and a half for a 4 player league game, or 45+ minutes for even Colin MacAlpine, his kid, me, and my kid, to play a 3 ball parent child finals where it was 1 ball parents, 1 ball kids (Mine was like NINE at the time, mind you), 1 ball split flipper....and yet it did.
I actually enjoy a well playing Hobbit.....alone. But with other people? Hell no. Hard pass if I have a choice.
I'm sure all that is adjustable in the settings, but I have no control over that in 99.99% of situations.
Believe it or not, if they would just remove Jack from the company entirely, fix their QC issues, and get their pricing under control or at LEAST stop changing the prices mid-run and announcing 20 different versions of the same game just to milk more money out of people.....I'd probably be a JJP evangelist. But they seem determined to KEEP doing stupid things that have been bringing them down since WOZ. I was defending WOZ when it was not popular to do so. Dialed In has interesting things to it that I like, and Hobbit....as long as I'm in the mood to play a half hour or more of multiballs.....is to me the best example of how to do a video screen interface that's informative and visually appealing. That's one area where JJP leads the industry currently. None of Stern's LCD animations even remotely come close to the integration of video assets and interface design that Hobbit has.
Stern's screens are like .MOV files in the era of 4k YouTube. Functional.....but not good to look at.