Mark,

I never said you guys were stuck with it, and never said the game was a TURD...

As far as ME selling...the game just wasnt for me... theme didnt grow on me..shoulda known that before buying...

but love the PF shots too much..gave it a shot,but it didnt work out..never found the complete package love for it... fair enough ?

What i am calling CRAP, is Stern giving us a bug ridden game out of the box, the game came out in Sept/ August...still bug ridden, and their weak attemp at code is a disgrace to wait that long for, what is seemingly nothing of signifigance...

I think this game could be simply amazing to play if done right....

but with the money shelled out for this title none of "us" or your guys, i guess i should say now, should be in this perdicament...

this game shoulda been a way better total package a long time ago, and it should be just about 100% dialed in and done by now...

WE...you and I are not to blame for that !

There is only one suspect here, and that is the guys we bought it from...

I wish for all of us that they would just get their shit together, and give us something "kinda" tested and done once in a while...

I love you man...

I sent an e-mail saying that I was unhappy and disappointed with the new code. Nothing to specific except that the Wolverine making "hit quotes" when other shots were made was inexcusable and should have been caught on ball one of the first ball played with the update.

I felt that there was no reason to go into much depth as I'm guessing most, if not all, e-mails are ignored anyway. I said I just wanted to let then know to count me as someone that is disappointed and unhappy with the update.

To be honest, the biggest thing that upsets me is that very little is added, fixed or thought out on this update. It's like they just got what was in the game before and shook it around. No fixed Beast voice, no added use of the inserts to describe what you are doing in a mode (which would be largely useless now with 4 hero modes going at once), no ball save quote, still busted (sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't) and inaudible outlane drain sound. I'm also not very happy with BEAT modes still being replayable. It's not quite as big of a hassle now that hero modes are super stacked, but why even do it? I've already beat that mode...I don't even want to give it any more speaker or DMD time again that could be used working on another mode, until the final wizard mode has been passed.

I may try changing my setting to make it harder to start hero modes, but to be honest....my gripe isn't that they are too easy to start or beat now....it's that they are stepping all over each other by running at the same time. I was a big advocate that the rules needed to be softened up. Mainly the villain modes...but making the hero modes all stack, 1 hit to start them and they don't need to be beat to get to Danger Room seems like a bit of overkill to make it easy.

Speaking of which......so what is the incentive to beat a hero mode now....besides points? Goal wise is there any advantage to beating them now? I think if I were to change hero mode things from 1.22 I would have made it so hero modes started about the same (2 hits). When in one hero mode you could still qualify the other shots for their hero modes....but they wouldn't start until the running mode was finished and that shot was hit again after being qualified. Also beat modes would not be replayed. When all hero modes are played...DANGER ROOM. If all hero modes are beat....SOMETHING ELSE??? I would also rework the inserts to better describe each hero modes goal. I would also implement the option to "Run away and live to fight another day" when hitting the scoop when Villain is lit. This would give the player the option to actually just play the game in a hero-centric way if they chose to.

Doing things this way would give each mode it's own turn to shine (DMD animations, audio, and also let the game use the inserts to describe the modes goal) without stepping on the toes of another mode. This would also make it easier than any previous version to get to Danger Room, but not as easy as it seems to be now and not the cluttered wreck it is. I honestly don't think most peoples suggestions of changes from the old code was that the hero modes were too hard anyway. Most of the real issue was that the multiball targets were dead during modes and the villains were too hard and needed softening up (hopefully in a creative way instead of the generic "takes fewer hits" way that they implemented).

I hope something is done and would really like a statement released about the mistake that this release is. A "We're sorry we missed the mark. We are listening to your suggestions and reworking things to better the game". Just curious...have there been any other Stern updates that have been widely received so poorly?

This sounds like Rarehero's review...

Your right..its a mess..

I feel bad that alot, or most ,or whatever percentage of you guys are disappointed...

Our boys at Stern, should be ashamed at this feeble attempt...and the status of XM to date overall.

These guys build pinball machines for a living !

I think they are all turning into meteorologist's...

they get paid piles of money to be wrong EVERY day...

and seemingly have no risk of loosing their jobs....

For me I tweek my games. But I agree the that he made it too easy. Still like the game. Love the theme. Gerry you knew that when I was all over it a CA extreme.
I have been around for a while and I saw one person comment about SM. Yes SM was the same way 5 years ago. People were dumping them so fast it wasnt funny. Then they brought out the BSM and I ordered it. I got it for the shots. Then 6 months he got to update to 2.0 and the rest is history.

I hope it follows that path. Will I get rid of the game? No It is a keeper. Am I truly happy,No not even close. Stern needs to keep on tweeking it .
I am going to email them tomorrow and state my need for more code changes. Will this stop me from buying another stern. No I have a ACDC prem ordered. But it did stop me from buying a Avengers. I will wait till Star Trek to see if my wallet will open for another NIB before it being out for a while.

Don't mind the voices. Need to make the combos work, which are on the score card. and make more tweeks.

What makes me upset is the lack of direction from Gomez. As VP of game development he needs to be approving of the code. If I played it the way it was released I would have blown a gasket and said get back to work.

I am so so so disappointed.i am going back to 1.22.i never heard
Any voice others than wolverine all shots all the time

But Gerry, didn't you run right back out and pre-order the very next LE that Stern offered up?

I'd say, do less talking on the forum, via type, and more talking with your wallet, via keeping it locked down. It's obvious from this update that Stern does not read what we type, or care. But they do care about dollars and cents, and they will listen if those dry up.

What % of NIB LE sales do you think Pinside/RGP is responsible for? I'd have to guess 1/2, maybe only 1/3?, not sure. But it's significant enough that if we on Pinside collectively said, "We will not preorder any more new Stern machines while others are left unfinished" they would listen. Distributors would listen first, then Stern would listen to their distributors. Stern really doesn't listen to us, because we don't buy from them. The LE's are out of their hair from day one, thanks to our preorders, and so the LE code goes to the very bottom of the priority list, and they give just enough teases and drops to ensure the next LE preorder sells out. It's insultingly obvious at this point.

I say to everyone, talk with your wallets because that's the only way. Otherwise, as they just showed us, we are just wasting our time typing about it on the forums.

Just email them directly as did DugFreez above!

Anyone experiencing lower volume sounds or muffled sounds. After the update to me voices seem a lot lower than on previous versions. It almost sounds as if I have blown speakers now. This makes me nervous as it seemed fine before update. Though who knows with this game

I like the code update. I like how the stacking works and I think it makes the game more fun. I like how the Magneto Super Jackpot qualifies a wizard mode (but see my suggestions below for more on this). I like that completing the heroes adds a bonus multiplier. I also like that the villains are more accessible and therefore more fun. Do I think the game is finished? No. Do I like it better than the previous version? Definitely. Here are my suggestions for a future update:

*Combos and Combo King in some way shape or form.
*Put the Danger Room back to the award for completing all of the X-men modes.
*Add a Deadpool mini-wizard and make that the award for Magneto SJ.

My comments are about the Pro, not the LE, so I obviously don't have any Iceman Ramp/Nightcrawler worries that have been stated by others in this thread.

Merry Christmas everyone!
--Luke

Here's the special Christmas delivery of the code! Makes me wonder if this was just hype by stern to help sell Avenger games, after all, we were venting our frustrations and Gary assured us the code problems would be addressed at Christmas.. convieniently after the Avengers release. I'll admit, I was pumped and believed Gary when he told us they were going to make things right. This new code for X-men was an insult to us IMO and they obviously did not take a respectable amount of time working on it.

11111ddd.jpg

They need to go back to 1.22:
- fix the damn ramp timings in both Sabertooth and Magneto MB and any other issues with the ramp.
- add combos
- add progression to the villains

release that fix, then worry about adding/changing stuff.

The spinner and magnet look fantastic now with the start to magneto multiball. Huge difference now that its working properly.

Okay. You are an ass. Merry Christmas and all, but just calling a spade a spade as you say...

Not exactly what I was expecting, but not as bad as what I've been reading here (just my opinion). I think, in general, preconceived expectations typically lead to disappointment. Sounds to me like the hero mode stacking, which is what everyone asked for, has been delivered. I agree that the player should have to shoot each shot several times to start a specific hero mode (like stacking the monsters in Monster Bash). If this can be accomplished by changing a setting in the software, problem solved. I'm not sure what people were expecting. How do you program a game enabling multiple modes to run simultaneously (one mode has to take precedence, usually that last one that was started make since to me)?

The ice ramp works better in iceman mode now, but I noticed during Magneto MB that the ramp moves too quickly still and that generates SDTM scenarios. How do you get a Magneto super jackpot anyway? I'm not a great player, so I'm usually watching the flippers during multiball. I wish there were sound effects or call outs to let the player know when a super jackpot is achieved. One of the things I've always liked about the big three (MM, AFM, and MB) is that they let you know when you've done something special. Imagine AFM without the great "Super Jackpot" call out - one of my favorite things in the game.

Voices - I never expected these to change due to licensing agreements, so no surprise here. Start Beast then start something else if you don't like his voice.

I never had an issue with the Magneto lock; mine always worked fine (never had a two ball release).

I like the fact that the villain modes are linear and the hero modes are now stackable. That gives you two different games in one. I can now realistically get to danger room (when the hero modes are set to hard), but will still probably never beat all of the villains. This gives you a mini wizard mode with the heros and a virtually imposable (TSPP like) wizard mode for the villains.

I think Stern has some tweaking, but they are closer. At least they offer updated code releases.

Setting it to hard or very hard does help, but if you screw one up and need to restart the mode it takes quite a bit more work. I can't believe they bothered to stack heroes, they were all so easy and fast you could already complete 5 heroes in less than a minute, its pretty hard to tell how much time is left on any given one when multiple are running now.

Completing all the hero modes and getting absolutely nothing for it sucks bad, whats the point? might as well time out all the heros now. I was able to complete them all on the previous code 1 out 5 games or so, now I do it every other game but its soooo lame.

I doubt there are two less used or more poorly used playfield toys on any machine as the Nightcrawlers and Iceman ramp at this point. The entire point and fun of the ramp is to repeatedly hit the shot. Its how it was in original code and it was really fun to nail it over and over and over! It's just been a hindrance ever since.

Going to start ignoring hero modes and only working on villains now, should at least be able to see Dark Phoenix finally.

JWC

mechslave

Senior pinhead
pkp: 5,896

Location unknown.

12 23

0

0

0

15
No votes
1 hour ago

But Gerry, didn't you run right back out and pre-order the very next LE that Stern offered up?

...

Yes i did, at the time i still had XM, outside of the sucky ramp movement, and an extra ball fallin out of the lock, the game was mechanicly sound...

figuring code would take care of it i was kinda content waiting for the code...also expcecting it to be worth a wet squirt of shit....

I played XM pro and LE at CA Extreme, drgnlair AKA "Bruce" I and ron Hallet....

I was in luv with the layout and the challenging shots...

but dould care less about the theme..bought it anyway..kinda dumb !

AV's.... the PF blew me away.... AND I LOVE LOVE LOVE THE THEME....art rocks too...

I had to roll the dice... 3 out of 2 things to like, i took the chance...

the other 2 being, audio...which till the day i die i will stand by my statement they dropped the ball.. a movie based pin with NO movie audio.... really? there was nothing to think about there..

Gameplay being the other...gut told me it would be good...so far the reviews of it sound promisimg...but the tales and vids of balls stuck here and there, along with about 10 other QC issues, not to excited about...

but i will take it on the chin and finish their job for them, and make the game dialed..

lastley code, scared to death of that, but i got XM with 1.2 already in it, so i was thinkin how bad could AV's possibly be...

good to hear AV's code seems much more advanced than XM was at the start... feewwww !

Still pissed about having to fix shit THEY should take care of before it even goes in a box...

and dont get me wrong i'm all for tweakin, thats what is part of the fun in pinball, but i'm not into having to work on a game right out of the box just to make it play as it already should....

every NIB Stern will NOT be pre order from now on... I wont do it... its not worth it to me..

i will wait and see what it turns out to be first.... i may have to pay more, but at least i will feel comfortable in knowing Gary and co. isnt dry docking me....

its terible a customer has to feel this way about a manufacturer....

and whats worse is that they are really the only game in town... still..even with JJ on the horizon..

if you want to get a pin in your house thats NEW..Stern is it right now...

Pretty sad !

One thing that would add a lot to the idea of heroes vs villains is that completed hero's shots would be lit for extra damage while playing a villian mode. You could even specify that certain hero shots help against specific villains and not others.

However, easy for me to suggest and maybe hard to program considering what is currently programmed. I don't know but the code complexity may have a lot to do with why much of what is suggested won't be implemented.

That said, I think the update has made some improvements to gameplay. One thing I disliked most is that so many shots were useless while you were in a hero mode. Allowing progress to other things makes the whole game more fun.

I would like to see the existing issues like the lock and ramp movement cleaned up, combos added and perhaps some more polish. I just think that the anger and nastiness towards individual employees here is boorish behavior by keyboard commandos that wouldn't act that way in front of those Stern employees.

How about a civil campaign of emailed suggestions and concerns to the x-men team?

Peace,
Dave

Did anyone else have problems downloading the update due to Adobe? Unfortunately my PC automatically updated Adobe a few weeks ago and I have nothing but problems now, and extra screens to click on when playing videos.

Changing this solves them from stepping all over each other.

Adobe has nothing to do with downloading these files.

According to update, it fixes issues with night crawler going down properly? If so those of us who had issues in past should rejoice! There is a positive!

Edit : I still have issues with my night crawler going down properly. Before anyone says anything, it's probably NOT related to ongoing issues in past. So I am not saying it was a code issue.

Gerry your a broken record. Enough spamming this thread.

I also believe adding some simple high score awards would go a long way as to look like something was added. I can't imagine having a "Champion of Heroes" (most heroes collected...meaning beat) and "Mightiest Mutant" (most villain modes complete) would take very much programming resources. Then again there are much more important issues that should be addressed.

> will do the right thing w/ this game....that's the only reason you haven't seen a "FS" post from me yet lol.<

And who would buy this game now? I am done with NIB Sterns also. Gonna finish my collection of Bally/Williams pins and older Sterns ( pre-Tron). Otherwise my money is on JJP. Goodbye Stern, you won't be missed. Go make 'The Pin' in China. They'll buy that garbage I'm sure.

Always was a 2nd best company, always will be. Keep building pins with your wallet and leave the passionate to the pros. Lyman, Steve, even George, get out now. Save yourselves!!!

Now, these are the rantings of pure frustration only. If Stern came out with a Zombie pin, well, I'd be their biggest fan!

Ah collectors...we are a fickle bunch, no?

Rick. "I'm gonna have me some fun." #190

Resident evil machine would be great.

SPAM just for you....

How bout a SPAM sandwich...

I love grilled SPAM on italian... M....mmmmm...

dot dot dot... SPAM sickles rock too...

I worship SPAM

Its Americas cheap meat, and its called SPAM !

Here is some Merry Christmas SPAM..

Merry Chrismas Jeff.......... Happy SPAMADAYS !

Maybe....but you don't know how preposterous it is that a player of my skill level would make setting on a game harder. Making the game easier (mainly the villains) was one of the main suggestions I had for the game....but they just went the wrong direction completely on doing that.

Someone mentioned earlier that people had been clamoring for hero mode stacking. I don't remember that at all. Stacking as in being able to qualify other things (multi-balls, villains and even other heroes) would be fine, but running timed modes all at one time is a mess.

I also saw someone mentioning timing out hero modes now. As much as I dislike the new code...that would be even more silly to suggest timing them out now. With all of them stacking on top of the other (and no need to beat them to progress) it makes more sense to just ignore them and slap the ball around the table. Every shot is going to start a new mode anyway...so might as well go nuts.

As I said above...I sent a short and tasteful email to the Stern software department letting them know I was disappointed and unhappy with the code. I would hope that others do the same. At least when they see e-mail explaining our disappointment they will see we are upset enough to actually say something to them about it.

I don't own Xmen.

Nice thought, but all indications point to the same X-Men team doing Metallica.

I don't own XM anymore, either - despite Gerry insisting several times that I do. You know how you should be able to tell that I don't own XM? Because I haven't commented on my thoughts of the new code update. You know, since I haven't played it and am completely ignorant on the subject and have no basis in logic, theory or reality to comment on what the code plays like. Just like Gerry.

it's really irrelevant. Try it anyway it solves one of the main issues with the update.

Not really. The villains are a lot easier. They require less shots so the default was to also reduce the time to 45 seconds. Just put the time back to 60 and your villains are easier than previous version.

again, setting the mode start to hard solves this. You could complain that this update sucks and hate the game or you could make this change and solve this problem.

with the stacking, there is no reason to timeout hero modes. Just ignore the mode. I actually like the stacking as long as the mode starts set to high.

This I do know. The Night Crawlers will start having issues when you're aux board starts going bad then more than likely a couple of fuses will blow. My F7 fuse in the blackbox blew shortly after my left NC started staying up. Then one of the 3A fuses at the top of the playfield blew as well shortly before my magnet caught on fire.

Do yourself a favor, call Stern and get replacements ASAP before you get a burned magnet. The new parts are perfect and the game is as fast as ever with no NC issues.

Adobe Flash should have nothing to do with downloading a file.

Adobe Reader sucks. Uninstall it and install FoxIt. It is an alternate reader.

It was Adobe Reader not Flash that was wanting to be the designated program for my bin files even when I installed WinZip. I had to go to my work computer to get it to work because I couldn't figure out how to do it on my IMac either.

I've never seen Adobe just take over other programs like that but it did. Can't find anyway to fix it in the settings.

Please oh please, point out where i insisted you owned XM....

No really, show me that...

your local state college has reading comprehension courses, with very flexible schedules...

you should try to enroll in one....

Reading is the key to this country's future...remember that my freind..

i dont always drink beer but when i do i prefer Dos Equis...

The update is a F'in mess, a trainwreck of variuos magnitudes... I'm NOT the only one that thinks so....

so i dont know why you have your man panties in such a bunch for over little old me.....

You are in serious denial, holidays get under your skin or something ?

let me buy you a drink.... Dos Equis ?

But you did. So you know what that code was like. Which, in case you missed it, was my entire point.

No, this wasn't really asked for. The request was to be able to start Heroes while IN Villain. You still can't do that...you can start a Villain while in Heroes, but that wasn't the issue because Heroes were quickies. The problem was that Villains were long and locked out everything else. Being able to start ONE Hero while in a Villain was the solution. The stacking that was added makes no sense.

Every time you hit a lit shot, you hear a "BREEEYOOOWREEYOWWW" sound effect. That's a Jackpot. Each one takes off some of Magneto's lifebar on the DMD. When you've whittled it down, There's a big flasher show (Magneto Flashers and Blue ramp flashers) & Magneto's lock shot is lit...that's the Super Jackpot. When you hit it, Magneto goes "NOOOO!!!!!" and there's a comic book panel "defeat" sequence on the DMD.

Well, mine was F'd up at first. Fixed with 1.22. It's F'd up again. Weird. *shrug*

Its Christmas Day. You guys need to chill out and have a truce. Remember what is important and hold your families tight.

I went through a similar level of disappointment a few years ago with WOF. There are still inserts that don't light on that game even with the latest code release. People weren't pushing it real hard because most thought the theme sucked, but it was a game my wife really liked so it was important to our family to have a "completed" game. Just be glad that people are being so vocal about this game as it will probably get Stern's wheels in motion again.

Gerry, Gambit and everyone else on Pinside, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas.

Sooooo. Load the new code or pass. While it needs an update I enjoy it now. Don't want to f it up.

I was reading this can be a problem. Uninstall Adobe, because it takes over. Then download it. Hope your feeling better. Merry XMAS

Hey guys - I went back to 1.22 and my lock is still acting goofy ...so, lets just say the lock issue probably isn't code related.

If anyone has an idea what PHYSICALLY could be causing my lock to act funny, I'd love to hear some ideas. The switch and 3 optos test fine and the lock has been working fine for a while now...what could be different that causes it to let out 2 or 3 balls now when it should be letting out 1?

Right click on icon then open with and then browse to select different file association, but why does it matter? It's for a pinball machine. Lol

I haven't read this entire thread carefully, but I gotta say I really like the update. I'll admit when I first read about the changes, it was really not what I or anyone was expecting. Loaded it up and played a few and it was pretty fun, but way too crazy with the one hit hero stacking. Crazy fun for a couple games, but I missed how it was a bit. I read someone say that it took the game from a shooters delight to more of a flail fest with too much happening. That was about what I was feeling. I even considered going back.

Then I read about setting mode start to hard, and honestly that made all the difference. To me that makes the perfect combination of bringing the sharp-shooting back, but having the extra fun of stacking. Sure, we didn't ask for hero stacking in this manner, but when you look at how Danger Room was changed, it makes sense to help collect them and assemble the team before battling Magneto. Cool stuff! Bumping it up to hard keeps it from getting too insane. I personally like how they did the stacking and do not find the animations, light shows, etc getting lost too bad in it (with the harder start at least). In fact, one of my new favorite things is stacking Storm and Weapon X. You still get that sweet Storm light show, but now combined with multiball and some of the lighting effects from Weapon X. I love it! Also cool that you can stack them into villians and multiballs..well done in my opinion.

Brotherhood and Hellfire are now obtainable regularly...very cool. This was my #1 want and they answered it perfectly. Freaking cool modes and I love that I can actually play them now!

My lock release is now perfect...I've played a couple hours worth now and haven't had it accidentally dump 2 balls at all yet. Before that happened every other time or so. Also the Magneto multiball start is now fantastic! I liked it before, but this is a ton better.

Villians now seem just the right difficulty, although I would still like to see progression since I suck, but it's ok as is. Dark Phoenix is still going to be tough to ever get to. I like having a stretch goal though!

Since Danger Room was changed, I'm guessing completing heros is going to be where we see Deadpool come into play in the future. Seems like that will be a perfect place for something special. Unless they save that for completing heros and villians...yikes! I bet something is planned for completing heros though.

As for Nightcrawler, it seems like I am seeing him about the same as I ever did. I don't remember them ever coming up when villian mode was lit...did they really do that before? I must have just never gotten that. How did it work? Were Nightcrawler and the villian stacked, or did it do one and then the other right away? I really don't think I ever got that. I do wish his mode would come up more often either way. It helps a little that Rogue regularly uses him, and Xavier too once in a while. But the mode is great. I wish there was a way to purposly get it. If only he had targets of his own to qualify him, similar to Brotherhood/Hellfire now. Oh well, I don't mind too much, and when the mode does come up, it always feels special.

While I still don't mind the Iceman ramp as-is, I am sorry to see that it wasn't fixed for those that do not like its randomness. Hopefully next time.

Overall, I know many aren't satisfied, and I can understand why, but I'm very happy with my Christmas present. I was hesitant at first, but that mode start setting really brought it together for me. My favorite game just got a lot better! Hopefully the rumored upcoming update will address a few more concerns and polish up a few things even better. For now, I'll be enjoying the heck out of what we have now.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Brian,

It doesn't like it in any other form than a bin file. The Adobe reader crap was causing an error when I loaded it. I used the same computer for 1.22 so it was an Adobe Reader update between August and now that made Adobe Reader the primary program to open up bin files. I won't waste any more time on this but just in case someone else runs into the same issue.

That is just what the OS thinks what program should open that type of file. Does not affect the file. Check to ensure the correct file extension

Yea, forget about all of my crap with the aux board and what not. I only played it on hard after I read as well and think the code is 75% there. I'd like to see everyone switch and give honest feedback if they like it a little better. Sounds like there is definitely a stark difference between medium and hard.

Even if the switch is testing fine, it could still be a timing thing related to how far the wireform has to be pushed before the switch actually "throws". I would try tinkering with the angle of the lever/wireform a bit and see what happens. It could be set too sensitive so when the first ball rolls off of it, it doesn't "unclick" at all before the second ball is already on it, throwing the timing off. This is going to be one of those situations where the switch needs to not be just working, but just the right sensitivity to work right. It could take a bit of work to get it adjusted just right. Just the nature of the beast with something that controls timing. Good luck!

Yea it's weird. It still says .bin file...which is why I thought it was fine. But, when you look at the contents in the USB drive you can cleary tell it's an Adobe file. It still says .bin but with the Adobe picture.

If that works for everyone, I'm all for it. Just trying to make everyone feel better.