Doesn't do anything noticeable. I've even had the slings launch balls over a flipper and even make it around the right orbit.

When I go to play SM, what a difference! Why they changed from something so perfect to this absurd 50V rocketfest I'll never understand. Are the past Sterns that have slings on the 50V bus this bad?

If they change the mystery hole award to something other than 500K, it's going to ruin it when I yell "I WANT MY 500,000 NOW, BITCHES!" every time the ball goes in there.

Is anyone actually downloading the rom image to see if it's been updated? Seems like the latest ST rom image was on their site before they updated the readme file.

It's interesting to note that Spider-man came out in June 2007. According to Stern's read-me file on that game it had revisions April 2009, August 2009, November 2009 and November 2010. I'm assuming there were several other revisions before then. Doing the math, that's almost 3-1/2 years.

Since I just bought my S-M last year, I don't know if there were actual modes missing, etc, when that game was released or if it was pretty much complete... The read-me files history doesn't say anything about adding modes.

So I guess several years of code updates aren't anything new.

Can I get a big "Hell Yeah" to both of the above!!!

There. I fixed it.

I can tell the natives are getting restless. I'm guessing "soon" is first quarter of 2014.

The only poll (if you can call it that) is when they ask where you are going to play pinball this weekend. If you respond "in my basement gameroom", you get banned.

<<<in my best soup nazi voice "NO Stern FB for you...TWO YEAR!">>>

These are probably the flipper bats...
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=3145

From what I understand they are actual aluminum. Might want to email Terry and ask.

Thanks to the internet and the USB interface on the SAM boards, this is now the norm. Don't have to burn ROM chips and send out through the mail anymore. Build now. Code later.

January 13th is 5 months since the last update. If we see anything before March I'd really be surprised.

If the baby is crying...must be RELOAD.

reload-baby-crying-at-metallica.jpg

I think what he was asking is, what is the difference between the magnet at the coffin vs. the grave marker or sparky magnets? The ball sticks to the sparky magnet. The ball sticks to the grave marker magnet. Why doesn't it stick to the coffin magnet? We understand that if the ball isn't on the magnet the mode doesn't start. What is different about the coffin magnet that it won't hold the ball?

My fear is that Lyman has the code ready to go; but delays it one day for every post added to this thread. j/k. I couldn't wait 7 years...

IIRC, isn't there a software setting to turn off instructional call-outs?

Same here. For about the past week I've been trying. I was able to start S&D mode last night when I hit the captive ball; but the ball immediately went out the left outlane. Out of all my games, this is the biggest drain monster I have besides my EMs. I don't know what it is. But it's fun and frustrating at the same time.

I'm really confused, as to how Stern runs their business, if Lyman has to code from home. I work on 4 to 5 different projects at the same time. Sometimes they go out incomplete; but they usually get done within a few weeks after that. If there are issues with any projects (even from 2 years ago) I fix and update them during company time. That's how we do it. I've rarely worked on projects at home, and when I do, it's still charged to the company.

Does Gary tell the employees that we start the project on day X and finish on day Y and that's it. No more going back to fix, clean-up or massage code or hardware. It just doesn't make sense.

I know Stern has more than one programmer. Here where I work, I'm the only EE; so it makes it even harder for me to comprehend that Lyman has to work on this stuff at home and gets no help.

Well, the MYSTERY scoop is where you collect the extra ball; but extra ball is not a random award the MYSTERY will land on. Add Fuel does come up once in about every 20 or so awards.

Huh? In over 600 games it's NEVER...EVER come up as an award for me? Do you have a Pro or Prem/LE? Maybe there's a difference as I have a Pro.

I think he is referring to all SAM game updates being released, all at once, on one particular day. Kind of like a Super Code Sunday sort of thing...bam!

It's been a "few weeks away" since before Expo last year...

~~A Quote From Gary Stern's Day Off~~

Pinside: Metallica Code? Metallica Code? Metallica Code?

Gary: I heard it's going to be sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Lyman writing Metallica Code at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's seriously getting pretty close.

Pinside: Thank you, Gary.

Gary: No problem whatsoever.

Rules! You want the RULES?!?!? You can't handle the RULES!!!!

<sarcasm on> might need to wait until the BIG CODE DROP this week before adding the rules <sarcasm off>

32 posts to this thread in the past few hours...the code must be "soon"!

Eh. I've had my Pro since September last year and can't get past 140M. I played a Pro on route and on my first game got 180M. I could definitely tell that the route game was much easier to control and played a lot differently than the one I own. So it's not all just about "play better". Of all the games I have, this is the toughest and most frustrating (excluding the EMs).

"Exciting news very soon" translation: Metallica and Lang Lang are going to release a single of "One"

637.

I'm sure Chuck will at least spot the 3 hour time difference window between midnight EDT and PDT if it happens to fall close to the bewitching hour...

Votes end March 3rd. Winning songs decided March 4th. Available for download "soon" after songs are decided...

Eye of the Beholder and Harvester of Sorrow have been cast...

That's why Am I Evil is not available.

The songs will be available 'soon' after the polls close.

Huh? Metallica website says SONG choices will be available a few days after voting. Says absolutely nothing about code update coming soon.

Really. Read it again. It says nothing about code update.

Yep. Nothing about code. Just songs. I know you're reading between the lines, but that's not what the site is saying. Sorry.

I agree that they will probably bundle the code with the new songs as it makes sense. But that's not what Metallica's site says or implies.

Exactly what I'm thinking too...