Just curious why Stern always has three pop bumpers. It seems to have effect on a designers’ creativity, when you always have to save room for pops. Thoughts?
Just curious why Stern always has three pop bumpers. It seems to have effect on a designers’ creativity, when you always have to save room for pops. Thoughts?
Quoted from zacaj:Kiss has 4 I think?
I assume it's a directive from the top or something :/
Exactly so.
Gary Stern is a big believer in odd numbers of pop bumpers (whenever possible) being good feng shui, and that good feng shui leads to good fortune.
Least important thing to me in a pin, infact u could get rid of them all together and I wouldn't mind. Now put one in the middle of the PF somewhere that interacts with the gameplay ok but otherwise.
Quoted from Hazoff:Least important thing to me in a pin, infact u could get rid of them all together and I wouldn't mind.
I have always said its the reason that The Shadow is such a great game. No need for them in every game.
It took me an embarrassingly long time to notice my No Fear didn't have them. Great game there, no pops at all.
Don’t like them, they do nothing for me, and always can’t wait till the ball comes out from the pops.
I think it depends on how they're utilized. I agree that usually they are a simple time killer....take a drink while the ball bounces around. They're even more boring when they only have one exit. I like the way GB uses them as a "slot machine" to award the mystery. It's a great spin on the traditional "mystery lit" scoop shot.
Quoted from TechnicalSteam:There are a few games that have no pop bumpers. What are they?
Sof
Quoted from TechnicalSteam:There are a few games that have no pop bumpers. What are they?
Fire! Big Guns!
Quoted from gunstarhero:Monopoly has 6.
I didn’t realize that. Not usually a fan of them, but I definitely applaud the non traditional approach.
Jungle Lord, Solar Fire, Pharaoh, Elecktra, Champion Pub, lightening, Blackwater 100, Grand Lizard, Arena, Car Hop, BMX, No Fear, Judge Dredd
This is the single biggest issue for me regarding Sterns and probably explains why many collectors say their designs are all the same. Their foolish “pop bumper” design rule holds back their creativity. My favorite layout is Shadow and that has no pop bumpers.
I think pops are mainly used to let the player know a ball is in play and get ready for it to come down the playfield. Thats especially when the ball is launched.
I've heard that pops are there to randomise the ball direction, though the pops only usually feed out in one or two exits which is hardy random.
A spinning disc does the same job. I think f14 firepower and rob zombie make good use of pops. If your shooting is off your going to lose ball control big time.
Quoted from thedarkknight77:My favorite layout is Shadow and that has no pop bumpers.
So has Street Fighter!
(I actually want that game. )
Quoted from fugus:I think pops are mainly used to let the player know a ball is in play and get ready for it to come down the playfield. Thats especially when the ball is launched.
I've heard that pops are there to randomise the ball direction, though the pops only usually feed out in one or two exits which is hardy random.
A spinning disc does the same job. I think f14 firepower and rob zombie make good use of pops. If your shooting is off your going to lose ball control big time.
TZ too I think
Quoted from fugus:I think f14 firepower and rob zombie make good use of pops.
It’s the only good thing about RZ.
Quoted from Tuna_Delight:I like the pop bumpers' locations and action on JJP Pirates.
The spinning one drives me nuts.
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:Fire! Big Guns!
Judge Dredd! No pops and its great!
Pops are fun, but having them in every game make them lose their luster. I understand flippers, slings and italian bottoms. Those probably aren't going anywhere, but pops can be used much more creatively when they are not always used, and and not always in nests of 3!
Love Star Trek and Spider-Man layouts EXCEPT for the pop bumper areas which are irrelevant to game play as they just come out that one exit and do so almost the same way each time. Seems like wasted space and no randomization at all.
I recently ran into a Transformers machine in a local pizza shop. I didn't get to play it but gave it a good long look. I don't remember seeing any pops. Am I wrong?
Quoted from woodrailwizard:I recently ran into a Transformers machine in a local pizza shop. I didn't get to play it but gave it a good long look. I don't remember seeing any pops. Am I wrong?
I just checked the gallery for it. Looks like there’s three in the upper left corner.
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:The spinning one drives me nuts.
Not me. I like it.
Easily remedied though.
The answers you seek to "What makes pinball fun?", have *nothing* to do with pop quantity, and have everything to do with the quality of the layout of the pops (or the removal of them altogether).
-mof
Quoted from cody_chunn:It's the holy trinity. For maximum ball action you need at least three.
" Because Three, is a Magic number"
- School House Rock.
Quoted from woodrailwizard:Am I wrong?
You're wrong. Three pops in upper left corner.
Quoted from phoenixpin:Love Star Trek and Spider-Man layouts EXCEPT for the pop bumper areas which are irrelevant to game play
What????On my ST,the bumpers give you a lot of points while you go from completing stage 1 and so on!!!
Quoted from Vino:Maiden made Stern pops matter again.
Well Kiss and Aerosmith both had exposed pop bumpers, and both of them had 4.
Sheesh!!! Don't point it out! Next in their tier system the Pro will have 3 and the LE will have none, and we'll be paying less for more - OR - they'll see it as "you want innovation...you're paying for it...!"
Quoted from hawkmoon:What????On my ST,the bumpers give you a lot of points while you go from completing stage 1 and so on!!!
You’re right, I’m sorry. It is relevant to gameplay as far as code. I meant it is irrelevant in terms of the effect on the motion of the ball as it comes out the only exit.
I enjoy pops with consistent enough action to get repeated rollover completions, and/or when they are open enough to the playfield to introduce a lot of randomness and the occasional loss of ball. This junk with them always leading to a single lane exit for a dribbling safe return from the pops every time is lame though...
Quoted from woodrailwizard:No pops in Stern's Transformers
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/why-do-all-sterns-have-three-pop-bumpers and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.