Not a Stern thing but Magna Saves

Physical ball locks.

Got had a good system but true

Quality playfields and cabinets

How about lower prices?

I say original themes, but real knockers too ya kno like mammary lane....

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Targets in order would be my no.2, love them in f2k

All of the above?

This is service related. Would like to see passive ball gate used when raising the pf so all the balls dont fall out and possibly damage plastics. This was used in pin 2k systems and was a very nice feature.

They do that sometimes. See Metallica

B/W style leg mounting brackets and Titebond glue (for use with the above mentioned better quality cabs).

$4600 NIB prices.

Agreed, & I think we want them but that coding and this seems like a more physical design question

First two things that same to my mind. Was playing BK2000 & Grand Lizard last weekend. Such a great feature.

Physical ball locks are awesome as well, but could be a maintenance problem for operators. See original Judge Dredd deadworld ball lock design.

I know these aren't game features, but their loss makes my life more difficult.

The rotating backbox latch. As an operator, not having this is a PITA.

Power switch under the cabinet. Again, as an operator, not having it here is a huge PITA for location games.

Further down the list, regular lockdown bars with a lever. I'm tired of the latches.

I don't know if operators are still Stern's biggest customer, but from my perspective they don't care about us like they used to which is sad.

More inline drop targets like Met

I would like more inline drop targets and some lower pop bumpers/single exposed Pop bumper.

-backbox Quick Loc
-the taller under playfield support rails that used to give you enough height to work under the playfield or even a playfield prop rod
-the old lockbar mechanism

Magna-saves and Vari-targets!

Need a corresponding 'dislike feature X' poll. I dislike and avoid games with any feature that uses an additional button. Magna save, #starshiptroopers small flipper, Medusa #Freddy save mechs.

Ball outlane kickback.

They have tons

XM
Met premium
Got
LotR
Tspp
Not sure GB premium?

I hear this all the time. I must be the only one whom actually prefers the new latch style

A tad more effort to get the bar off but it just holds things much more securely.

As an operator I'm surprised you didn't mention the coin door interlock. it's nice as a player to hold a flipper up what a tech gets into the machine to remove a stuck ball but as the tech I see them getting popped all the time from slings, pops, etc... That's the one feature I truly miss.

Avengers
KISS

Exposed pop bumpers.

I know there's such a deep strategy and skill element involved in pressing the button to change lit rollover lanes above enclosed pop bumpers then watching it dribble out when it's done bouncing around, but enclosed pop bumpers are basically always the most boring part of a table despite all the "action". I want pops to ruin my day, not waste 10 seconds of my time.

Nobody is ever "the only one" of anything anymore thanks to the internet. You can always find people that believe whatever wacky crap you do.

I'm with you on the lockdown bar. The hasps are standard arcade control panel bits that ops have used for years and they're nice and solid on the pinball lockbar.

I don't get bothering to hate/complain about the backbox latch and power switch location either. Sure, they're different, but they're not measurably worse in any way that you can really defend.

Put a line of games on location and you'll understand the power switch issue. The employees can't figure out how to turn the games on or off. Every freaking game for the last 60 years turns on and off the same way. Now Sterns are different than everything but an old EM that you kick to turn on/off. Eventually everyone learns or figures it out, but the turnover in restaurants is very high. The new people don't always get the message and your game doesn't get turned on or off. I've had my games unplugged at the backbox because the person closing didn't know how to turn it off. Then the person that comes in the next morning flips the power switch and the game is dead. They see it is plugged in the wall, but don't know that it was unplugged at the head. So the game stays off.

Also keep in mind that a lot of people that work in restaurants are women. They aren't as tall as us guys and can't reach back to the power button. And if the games are close enough together they can't fit between them to turn them on. I'm not making this shit up, it is a real problem.

As for the latch, it is just plain convenient and easier than two bolts that are a different size than the leg bolts. I've got enough crap to worry about when moving games in and out of a location. I keep a latch key in my bag and once the game is set up you raise the head, secure it, and your done.

The lockdown bar, not the biggest deal. But I pull the glass on my games every day to check them. Believe me, you appreciate the lever when you are running down a line of games pulling the lockdown bars to check stuff.

Not on any Stern game. But incorporate the magnet ball like that from Doodle Bug.

Small point but they are not the same size...at least on mine.

@stangbat, amen brother! Anyone who operates gets what you're saying. Not to mention the super inconvenient location of the service outlet buried in the bottom corner of the backbox where its barely accessoble. I need to carry an extension chord with me because my portable soldering iron wont fit the narrows space its in. The only thing less convenient is no service outlet at all.

I totally agree with this. My girlfriend is 5'2" and loves playing pinball, (yay), but absolutely cannot reach the power switch on my KISS game. There's a reason the effing light switches in your home aren't on the effing ceiling. Cheap move on Stern if you ask me, and I for one would like to see them reverse it. The latch I can live with and don't mind too much. Nice to see the rails under the playfield again.

I want one Stern game sans the Italian bottom. I love the early Bally creativity and would love to see some unique perspectives in regards to flipper arrangement. Maiden with the four flippers is moving in the right direction, but other than Wheel of Fortune the bottoms are always the same ( I'm one of the few who likes that game). Also zipper flippers in an upper playfield like Medusa could be really cool to revisit again. While we are sticking with old Bally ingenuity, bang back lanes via Centaur or Viking or a flip save mech used on Zaccaria pins

Have the return ramps out in front of the sling shots like that of High Speed. Or is that too risky. ?? Are we spoiled that every shot is always (most of the time) set up.?

monopoly used one also so it isn't completely out of the realm.

Agreed. The other thing that sucks is if I have to power cycle a game during leagues. I have to wait for the person on the game beside me to finish playing so I don't disrupt them by leaning all the way to the back of the game just to power cycle it.

Put the power button back under the effin' cabinet.

The screech has gotta go....

jp-knocker (resized).jpg

You can use Pinball Browser to change the sounds in modern games. Record your own replay effect or ask someone who has created an alternate sound package to do it for you.
There is an obvious financial advantage to leaving out the knocker assembly. I don't see it coming back when software is cheaper and more reliable.

$30 retail for a coil, bracket, and wire. Wholesale? Probably half that. Really...$15 is that big of a deal? Make it an option then...or sell it as an add on. I dont want a noise from the speaker, I want that frightening THUD or THWACK sound. Its just something I prefer.

$15 + labor to install, plus tech support + returns X 5000 = $100,000ish for a run?

They could have several replay sounds as options for almost zero cost. Make it an adjustment in the menu. I like the add-on idea though. Include the connector in the harness and sell a kit. Win-win.

I voted original themes, because I'm bored to tears with licensed games, good or not.

All the other things in a vacuum aren't important to me, no game is good because it includes Feature X, it's the whole package that matters, but original themes are so overarching.

Just because it's not a license doesn't mean it will appeal, but maybe the designers will get to do something their heart is really into.

The only NIB I ever bought from them was $3400. Yea, I'm old...

Completing code would be good....

This was absolutely my first reaction to this question. And I’ll add, SAM. Whitestar was freaking awesome, and SAM took it to the next level. And now we have the consumer electronics version known as SPIKE. These are 3 issues that need change. Did you ever worry about the reliability of a SAM board? I’ll answer that for you... no.

I'd like the simple things back.

Metal aprons
Service rails
Sliding lockdown bar mech
Probably just me but i loved those tournament play toppers that used to come on Sterns.

I did this to all of my spike games.
https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=5023

No regrets other than a lighter wallet.