Quoted from Eskaybee:

Comb--comb--combo breaker! Your logic is flawed. Law of averages always plays out and since ST has been out nearly 2 years, it's average is settling in quite right as with most pins. The other thing you forget to adhere to is a good amount of those ST ratings were given by previous owners who just couldn't wait out ST's next level update. And for that, they are determined to never give the pin a chance nor update their ranking accordingly (queue in quarter grabbers thypical thumbs down for even mentioning the letters S & T).

Quoted from QuarterGrabber:

I don't know why people get so bent out of shape about thumbs downs. All it means is I disagree. ST is a top 10'game, I disagree. Top 40 maybe. ST is the best game ever made, I disagree, there are lots better. Ect... I actually like the layout and shots of ST and if the code was better it could have been a top 10 game. The code is what holds this game back for me. So monotonous and boring. If you played the first mode you played all 18 of them, shoot lit shot I do like ST but in small doses. It makes a great location game or a game in my buddies collection but because of it monontony I won't have it in my small collection.
Now I do agree ST likely needs a polish update but I don't like the entitled attitude of ST owners thinking they should get a polish update before older games like Xmen or Avengers. That's why I disagreed with your post about the update. But reflecting on it I guess you didn't say you wanted it first, just that you wanted it. So I guess it was out of place for that post, I will remove it for that post.

Quoted from Taygeta:

You and QuarterGrabber are actually two peas in a pod. How dare someone say they don't care for a game you own. For you apparently is ST and him it's TWD.
What isn't productive is to say that any game is top5, top10, best of all time when the game is still so new it's still in production.
I love Metallica and feel it is Stern's best game to date. However it is still new to me and new to everyone with its current code. Who knows how I (or anyone else) will like it in 10 years?
Threads like these and statements like "game I just bought NIB is bolted to the floor and will never leave!" are horseshit.

Quoted from QuarterGrabber:

the modes themselves to feel different from one and other then I stll think the code would be very monotonous to me personally anyway, IMO.

Quoted from Eskaybee:

Have a quick look on my post here earlier in the thread:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stle-is-a-top-5-pin-i-know-because-i-know-because-i-know/page/2#post-2549893
The sad truth is the shell of the onion all the missions have a similar appearance; shoot the lit shots. When guests come over, I tell them shoot lit shots during missions - the better you do, the more medals you gain. In between missions, shoot away team or mission start. Very simple right? and a majority of the complaints on this pin are derived from that conclusion. Now, during intermission and sharing a drink I explain to my guests the strategies behind the missions and when is a good time to do which mission. Another easy sample of this for beginners that I show my guests is getting 3-in-a-row awards you a captains chair super mode; and if you can get two 3-in-a-rows lit at the same time, you can have two super modes running. Boom! guest mind exploded already, but the truth is that is a very basic glimpse of a strategy.
Now lets peel the onion further; each mission for the most part has a foundation of what combos are built off of which shots. Here we look at the onion of galactic modes. I tell my guests each mission has 3 separate tiers, in the first tier of each mission you can shoot the away team shot to start that tiers galactic mission (or mode) which increases scoring dramatically and can be used to build progress towards another variable in the game. I also let guests know that once they achieve a gold medal in a tier 1 mission, it will end with a final shot. The tier 1 Galactic missions are as follows:
Prime Directive 1 = Galactic Lanes: Make shots to the lanes - right/left loops count towards goal and medals. Control gates are closed for this mission so loop shots feed the lanes. Lanes = upper flipper feed. Upper Flipper Feed = warps. Warps = good! Basic Strategy; use galactic lanes when you want to build your warp count.
Space Jump 1 = Galactic Vengeance: Shoot the vengeance and mission will be over. Basic Strategy: If played right, can be a 'freebee' mission to progress towards 3-in-a-row or kobayashi because it can be completed in seconds.
Save the Enterprise 1 = Galactic Warps: Shoot the warp ramp - left loop is lit to progress goal and medals. Basic Strategy: Use this to build warp count or if you have double scoring active, start this mission to get a shit ton of points if you can successfully hit the warp ramp repeatedly.
Nero 1 = Galactic Matter: Shoot matter targets. Basic Strategy: use this mission with multiballs to rack up points.
Destroy the Drill 1 = Galactic Spinner: Shoot the spinner - left loop & left VUK count towards goal and medals. Basic Strategy: Use this mission to build warps. The 'final' shot of this galactic mission is the left VUK and it awards a TON of points, more than any other mission. Hit it!
Klingon Battle 1 = Galactic Ramps: alternate left/right ramp. Basic Strategy: Use during double scoring for loads of points. Best if stacked with Galactic Ramps too! Or Vengeance MB since ramp shots count towards vengeance.
The next strategy to understand is beginner to intermediate. Now that you understand there's 3-in-a-row horizontal, lets look at 3-in-a-row vertical. Completing 3 tier missions vertically will award a 2X shot on the pf for the remainder of the game. These 2X multipliers are as follows:
Prime Directive: Left VUK
Space Jump: Right Loop
Save the Enterprise: Right Ramp
Nero: Left Loop
Destroy the Drill: Warp Ramp
Klingon Battle: Left Loop
With that said; lets peel the onion a little further and start to look at more intermediate to advanced strategies. This is where stacking comes into play. Do you want to play each tier 1 missions galactic mode in a linear fashion and get a basic 10-15 mil score per mode? or do you want to double, triple, or quadruple that potential?
Save the enterprise Tier 1 GAT mode (galactic away team mode) is warp ramps and left loop. So if you want to maximize stacking, you could drill down destroy the drill to light the warp ramp 2X multiplier and maximize galactic warp shots. But wait, thats not all! the left loop is also lit for galactic warps, so you could essentially drill down NERO and light the left loop 2X also. But hold on just a minute... you may want to drill down NERO before DTD so that you can light the left loop, then capitalize on DTD's GAT mode doing galactic spinner. You're average score will rocket through the roof following this stack. Here's an example of how i would play out this strategy even further:
1. Start NERO 1
2. DO NOT Play Galactic Matter; keep the mode active in its generic form
3. Focus on left loop > warp combos. The game just started; time to build that warp ramp.
4. Also focus on lighting your locks and vengeance mb.
5. Start NERO 2
6. Start one of the multiballs based on #4.
7. Complete NERO 2 during multiball.
8. Start NERO 3
9. Nero 3 is based on two targets associated to your flipper buttons. THe right flipper moves one target counterclockwise while the left flipper moves the other target clockwise. Once you get good at this mission, it can be completed in just a few shots! or you can maximize scoring and medals by stacking the two shots on top of each other.
10. Start DTD, start Galactic Spinner
11. By now you should have warp 9.1 ready; start it with Galactic Spinner. And, start a multiball if you have one ready.
12. Focus on Spinner and left loop shots. When DTD is down to the last shot, aim for the left VUK - you can get upwards of 6-10 mil for this shot alone > double it if you can combo. and hey, if you wanted to, you could have drilled down Prime Directive missions to light the VUK 2X but i dont want to blow your mind quite yet.
13. Start and play DTD2 in single ball mode.
14. Start and Play DTD3 in single ball or multiball mode.
15. If you did not get 9.1 warps started in #11. Nows the time to do it. Start STE-1 and start galactic warps. Start double scoring and if you can make left loops and/or warp shots you will see an insane amount of points come your way....my record is somewhere around 85million on this one stacked mission alone (i wish there were galactic mission high scores saved).
16. if you want to press your luck or wait til you have a warp ramp double scoring ready for galactic warps and get two 3-in-a-row captains chairs; you can do the freebie space jump galactic vengeance mode real quick followed by a prime directive galactic lanes. Keep in mind galactic lanes benefits from NERO-3 completion and having that left loop 2X opened up, so take advantage and hit that left loop to lanes!!
17. After cashing in this stack, it may be a good idea to start thinking about cashing in some medals! Do whatever is needed to complete the grid and get kobayashi going. You have probably played vengeance 1 at this point, so it may be a good time to do Klingon Battle 1 for the final pyramid mission and ignore the mode for the most part and start vengeance 2...why? because you probably need an extra ball at this point! Vengeance 2 = extra ball if you can do it.
18. Start Kobayashi
19. Play Vengeance 3 for a chance at 10/20/40% of your TOTAL SCORE.
Thats just a glimpse at the possible strategies to play in Star Trek. Look for other possible mission stacks and strategies on your own, there are literally dozens! This tutorial may seem like it was written very quickly and thats because it was! Im at work typing this on my lunch break.
Stay tuned for an in depth look at each tier 2&3 mission and the combos that surround those missions and which playfield multipliers stack well with them as well as which ones should be played on single ball vs multi-ball. Until then, play better...!!!