My Crescendo plays just as well with more interesting stuff to shoot at, to me anyways.... The only advantage this thing is going to have over most EM's is serviceability. Putting in a real chime unit would go a long way towards relieving the ear-grating sounds which is mostly due to the fact they use ONE tone..and ONE TONE ONLY...hello? EM's usually have three chimes guys. I don't know about woodrails since they are usually bells, but the just one tone is a real kick in the nuts. If you're going to half-ass make it a modern game, then just get over it and put sound effects and stuff in.

While I respect you as a designer, I don't have to respect the changes that Stern made. As an EM, I was in. As a boutique product that's been modified to meet Stern's needs to sell a game, I'm out. Sorry if you have an issue with that, Dennis.

Game looks fantastic and plays great, but the sounds are F---KING ANNOYING MAN. They are BY FAR a bigger detriment to the overall package than removing the gobble hole and adding LEDs.

No...I was stuck in the tournament area all weekend..

I'll check this out when I get a moment.

Okay, so some good info there..

Good: Being able to add chimes/bells (Hopefully documentation is really good on this.. type of coils needed etc..), adjustable coil strengths (woohoo, finally! That's a much needed improvement that all future Spike games will hopefully benefit from as well.), score reel improvements (I didn't think the steppers were an issue on the one I saw.. it wasn't buttery smooth like Retro KOD, thankfully.).

Really cool that someone is out there building chime units for 120 bucks..

I still think the price is too high for what it is. I would have much rather been offered the option to buy the crate, or the decals for the crate and fabricate my own, than to pay hundreds (or more) to Stern for one. Given it was a Stern built game, I don't really feel like all of the wood trim was "necessary" either, but in the end, it's awesome that Dennis/Greg were able to negotiate that into being on the game with Stern and bust them out of their mold. Game feels great when playing it.

Just still not seeing the cost-to-value ratio on it for me, especially having to add stuff aftermarket. Time will tell if other people feel the same.

*Edit* Bring on the thumbs down, beetches.

" this was purchased by a client who got vetoed on his game room"

lmao...

It's really not that bad...just need some practice. Everything I know about soldering I know because of pinball. Acid repair and logic diagnostics is just about the only thing I still feel incompetent with. I've done trace repairs, solder stitches, repins, reflows, recaps, re-anything you can think of almost... and I'm only like 3 years into soldering...it's not like I'm some long time repair guy. The right tools, some patience, and a willingness to learn go a LONG way.