Looking at the photos of The Walking Dead I was initially very impressed. I like that Stern continue to make playfields that is mechanically more exiting that what they did some years ago. And I especially appreciate that the graphics work and print quality has improved greatly. Both for playfield and plastics.
However, The Walking Dead still features some Stern trademarks that I believe have room for improvement. I will address them as lack of artistic finesse for the "lack" of a better term.
1. The slingshot plastics on Stern games are too small. Too much of the rubber ring is visually exposed and the protection washer too. This has bugged me for years. If this design was originally done this way to prevent the plastic of getting cracks I wonder if there are better ways to prevent this. There must be.
1a. Same goes for pop bumper caps. Just too small. The tiny cylindical light is a bit too shallow too and tend to misalign. Although I must say that the double shoot through arrangement on TWD as well as the integration with the surrounding plastics for the lower one is brilliant.
2. What is the artistic reasoning behind having the rollover switches marked up this massively on the playfield graphics? And partially as bare wood? It must be possible to do better. I understand that switch location knowledge and switch hits feedback is important. And I understand that alinement of the grind work and the paint work is tricky. But still - look at the one in the top lane there. And how it sits with the ball guide. Gomez, please.
3. The roll under gate switches typically used as ramp enter are mounted on one side only. Screwed directly onto the plastic edge of the ramp. It does not look very nice and they misalign over time making it even worse. I guess they are developed to be cost effectivly and easy to mount. But then why not have them attach, or sit, somehow on the other side too. Without screws. By this, they at least will maintain alignment.
4. The fall through hole on plastic ramp returns are often seen as a pretty crude job. With rough uneven edges. I also remember a Mustang cup I notised that made me shake my head in complete disbelief.
These are some observations of mine that I hope Stern will improve on now that game design (both mechanical and software) keeps improving.
To me, Stern is taking a lot of unfair beating regarding the constant comparison with the Williams games of the 90's. And this post is actually inspired by some statements that was put forward in one of the latest PAPA shows that I disagreed upon to say the least.
I do find Stern innovative. And I believe they have good ball interactive toys within the limits of current times game budgets as well as great ball flow. Great games.
Just polish the chrome, please.
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