STERN code updates for X-Men and Transformers Pinball

At long last, STERN Pinball today released code updates for its Transformers and X-Men pinball machine models.

Both these machines really needed a code update, and owners had been waiting a long time, and feeling pretty neglected.  Time will tell if these updates satisfy them, there hasn't been a lot of reaction yet in the community.  I did have a chance to check out the new code on a Transformers LE just now.  I don't know the game well enough to know how dramatic an improvement we are talking here, and I liked the game before this.  I will say, I just had the best game of Transformers I've ever played, so it certainly didn't hurt. :)

You're damn right I'm a Decepticon!

These two code updates are so fresh, there aren't even any patch notes yet.  I will come back and post them here when they are live, just to provide an example of the kind of changes a code updates involves.

As most pinball owners know, you can get the latest STERN code updates here, on their website.

4/3/2013: below is an example, the update notes from the Transformers LE update.

V1.8 - March 14, 2013
=======================

- First pass of the redemption system.
    see http://www.sternpinball.com/downloads/Stern_Pinball_Redemption_System_Software_Manual.pdf
    for details.
- added an adjustment for launching balls after a locked ball.
- fixed a bug where Optimus/Megatron Super Jackpots were not initialized correctly when MB progression is turned off.
- The Optimus Prime Multiball progressive Super Jackpots are now scored based upon how many times Optimus Prime MB was started prior to scoring the Super JP.
  1 start = 100% of Super jackpot escrow.
  2 starts = 75% of Super Jackpot escrow.
  3+ starts = 50% of Super Jackpot escrow.
- The Megatron Multiball (A) progressive Super Jackpot is now scored based upon how many times Megatron MB was started prior to scoring the Super JP.
  1 start = 100% of Super jackpot escrow.
  2 starts = 75% of Super Jackpot escrow.
  3+ starts = 50% of Super Jackpot escrow.
- added Optimus Prime & Megatron Multiball minimum Super Jackpot scoring logic.
- added Autobot/Decepticon HSTD info to instant info
- added MB progress adjustments
- added Decepticon High Score tables.
- added Autobot High Score tables.
- added redemption ticket sounds
- added rule progression to the Optimus Prime Multiball rules.
- added rule progression to the Megatron Multiball rules.
- Changed text coordinates for redemption award display effect.
- Added game-specific display effect, lamp effect, and sound effects for redemption.

Reality Rush - Silver and Gold

Lately reality tv on the Discovery Channel has been all about gold.  First there was Gold Rush, with my boys the Hoffman Crew.  Then Bering Sea Gold, which also won us over.  So I was quite interested as the latest seasons of Gold Rush and Bering Sea Gold neared their ends, to see Discovery pimping a new series; "Silver Rush".

I expected something similar to Gold Rush, but about silver mining.  I was wrong.

Silver Rush is way cooler than that.  It's about the hunt for sunken ships and the treasures they took down with them.  It's a mix of oceanography (my college major), history, and a lot of the thrill of the hunt elements that make me like the gold shows.  In other words, I'm SOLD, possibly even moreso than I was with the prior two shows (never mind that Jungle Gold, that doesn't count, not even when the Hoffmans were down there).  So far, they are even following in the grand tradition of having equipment break regularly.

Silver Rush is kind of a misleading title for this show, but they wanted to keep the brand identity they'd established with Gold Rush. Fair enough. I joked to my husband that they should make a show called "Copper Rush" and have it be all about people breaking into abandoned buildings and stealing wiring and such. Though now that you mention it...

Yeah. I'd totally watch that.
 

STERN Valentine's Day code updates

This past February 14th, STERN Pinball made a couple code updates available on their website.  These were for the newest pinball machine, Avengers, and TRON: Legacy, a well-received machine from 2011 that, rumor has it, is going to be "reprinted" (i.e., STERN is going to produce another run of TRON machines).

I had just done my morning coffee run that day when I happened to catch the post on Pinside mentioning the Avengers update.  It was a surprise, really, because Avengers was still pretty new, and had launched with fairly complete code already in place.  Avengers owners were already pretty happy.  But I quickly downloaded the file, and put it on a thumb drive.  I then printed out the documentation, which I left on the kitchen counter along with a "Happy Valentine's Day!" note and a few candy hearts sprinkled about.

I think this was my husband's favorite Valentine ever from me. :)  But the surprises weren't over, because a bit later on, I discovered that TRON had gotten an update too.  We have a TRON. 

So when I got home that night, we applied both updates.  The process for updating the code on modern pinball machines is actually quite easy, just a matter of plugging a thumb drive into the motherboard behind the backglass.  The directions .pdf STERN has available for this is clearly explained and easy to follow.

I haven't really spent much time on the Avengers since the update, but I will say that the changes to TRON were dramatic and instantly noticeable.  Many people are saying that TRON is now a whole different ballgame, literally, and I've seen more than one person say that they'd been planning to sell their TRON because they were tired of it, but had quickly changed their minds for now.  This update made TRON fun again for players who had maybe gotten bored with it.

And that's yet another example of an element of the pinball hobby that most people probably never thought about.  STERN still owes X-Men and Transformers owners some serious code updates, but the fact that something as solid and physical as a pinball machine can be changed like that after it's already sitting in your home... well that's pretty cool.

Kickstarter: pinball as an artistic medium

I recently heard about an interesting pinball-related Kickstarter, and wanted to share:



These guys have acquired five pairs of matching pinball machines from the 70's era.  Their intent is to restore one of each set to its original glory, and then take its twin and give it the deviantART treatment, applying a unique design to each.  I really like the concept of being able to physically see the full before/after versions of each machine in the flesh, side by side.

I love so many things about this project.  First, that Wade Krause is involved.  I'd heard of him before via Anna Newman's short film, "Wade Krause: Pinball Artist".  Here's the teaser for that film:



I also feel that when a subject matter reaches the threshold where people start creatively adapting it, there is a certain level of "you know you've arrived" that comes with that.  Shakespeare, for example, like when the BBC gave that David Tennant version of Hamlet a post-modern wartime setting.  A topic has to have captured a certain degree of fascination and ubiquity to start to garner that kind of dedication and creative rumination.  It makes me really happy to think that pinball has.

Another thing I like about this project is simply the backer rewards.  I've been struggling to find interesting art to deck out our gameroom with, and this would solve that problem, too.  So please, do me a favor and back Bring Back the Arcade! Custom Pinball Art Show.

In other news, my Google Alerts have been going nutty over that new Star Wars video pinball game by Zen Studios.  We even came across it in the latest issue of Game Informer (issue #239, page 66).  I wonder if people know about all the different Star Wars pinball machines that came before this?  I'm not a big Star Wars fan, but I have to say I really like the Data East Star Wars from 1992:

Pinball mods offer infinite customization options

As pinball has become a consumer market to a significant degree (i.e., more pinball machines being purchased by individuals for home use vs. your local pub or pizza joint) it has also joined the ranks of the modding world. There is a multitude of options for customizing your pinball machine beyond what the manufacturer's initial design created. Mods can be as simple as plastic protectors for spots prone to wear, or replacing the original incandescent bulbs with various LED options. Sometimes people even turn a machine into a completely new theme via modding.

Below are just some of the types of mods that a pinball owner might make to their machine.

Cliffy protectors

A practical mod that protects vulnerable exposed edges of playfield that are prone to wear.  Cliffy protectors are something that I think is almost a given for pinball owners, and should be for pinball operators as well. It not only protects the value of your machine, it helps ensure that your machine will be in good condition 10 years from now.  You can read more in my interview with the creator of Cliffy's Pinball Protectors.

Toys

Small action figures can literally be affixed to the playfield.  Our Lord of the Rings has tons of them, and we just added some to our new Avengers machine.  My favorite mod of this type, however, is the mini arcade machine we put in TRON that is actually emulating the original TRON arcade game code.  So awesome.  So meta.  There's also the Merlin mod you can add to Medieval Madness: holding a lit color-changing crystal ball.  Check out this thread about modding the Vokswagen van in JunkYard.

LED Lights

One of the first things we do with most of our new acquisitions is replace the older incandescent lights with LED lights.  These tend to be brighter, but burn much cooler, which is better for nearby plastic parts (anyone who has seen the damage incandescent bulbs can do to the clock in Twilight Zone knows this all too well).  There are all sorts of options for varying the intensity and color of LED bulbs.  Cointaker is a good source for conversion kits, but most experienced pinball collectors purchase individual bulbs vs. kits, for a more customized end result.

There are different camps of opinion on LEDs, but the good news is, you (or the next owner of your machine) can easily swap back to incandescent if you prefer.


Example of LED lighting, Hallmark light cycle toy mod, under-cabinet lighting, and mini arcade mod

Under-cabinet Lighting

I don't see this mod around very often, but we added it to TRON: Legacy when we were first getting into modding.  You can buy LED strips that go underneath the machine, and you can wire them in to specific triggers, like flashers, to make the under-cabinet lighting also flash in time with a specific event.  Pretty cool.

Color DMD

The only full-color DMD I've seen so far is in Medieval Madness, but WOW, what a difference it makes.  You can't get color DMDs for many games yet, as they take a lot of coding to create. I believe the next one being worked on is Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I think Addams Family is also available.

Powder coating

Powder coating is a very dramatic way to make a given pinball machine stand out as unique.  I have never heard of a powder coating job that made a machine look bad (unless it was a bad powder coating of course).  It does involve prying the siderails off your pin, and the coin door as well if you want to be thorough. 

Custom blue powder coated trim on Medieval Madness (Avengers Hulk LE comes with green trim)

 



Shakers and Audio Upgrades

Shaker motors can be added to a machine to cause it to reverberate during certain moments (for example, when multiball is about to kick off in AC/DC).  This is a cool mod to do, but one side effect you can run into is that it causes the playfield glass to rattle.  Enter another mod; anti-rattle tape for the edges of the glass.

Re-themed machines

Sometimes people go WAY beyond the relatively tame modifications mentioned above and completely re-theme a machine.  This involves not only changing the look of the playfield, but also re-coding the programming.  It's the ultimate mod, but certainly one that will make your machine uber-unique.  Two examples I know of this are one where a guy pulled off a Ghostbusters theme, and quite recently, a 1975 Abra Ca Dabra machine was re-themed into "Evil Mansion, a hand-painted LSD-themed pinball machine." Now that's creativity.

---

I'm sure there are loads of other mods to mention, but those are some that we've encountered so far.

Checking back in with Asheron's Call 2

I posted some weeks back that Asheron's Call 2, the MMO with an unexpectedly premature demise and a far more unexpected rebirth seven years later, was back.  AC2 true believers were ecstatic about the news, but would we be able to turn back time?

I know in my case, seven years later, a lot has changed.  I'm admittedly not as spry as I used to be, staying up till 2 AM to play games is a much rarer occurence.  I've got two young kids I didn't have the first time around, and many more responsibilities.  I feel like I have no free time to begin with, so the question is, even if the game is back and ready to pick up where we left off, are we who loved it capable of doing so?

So far, I would say the answer is yes.  I am feeling the same drive and desire to play that I felt back in the day.  Does the game hold up?  Yes, it really does, and it's a constant thrill to see familiar character names roaming around, or to come across a dungeon or vista and have the recollection hit of the times I'd been there before.  I'm also enjoying the discussions in general chat.  New players are present, and those experiencing the game for the first time frequenly comment that the lack of "everything being handed to you on a silver plate" is actually refreshing.

What that suggests to me is that probably more modern MMOs have gone too far trying to please the lowest common denominator.  The game is probably a bit harder than intended in that sense, too, because documentation is in short supply. On the positive side, players are extremely helpful to each other, and for the most part, general chat is actually fun to read, and that's unheard of in most MMOs.

The server stability issues that came up around Christmas seem to have been solved, and while you still can't add people to a friends list, that's certainly being worked on. 

In any event, I have suddenly found myself actually doing one or two of those 2 AM game sessions, and my carefully crafted blog article pipeline has evaporated.  Oops. :)

Be the leopard

I have sometimes been told that I am "too nice" at work.  There is an unspoken assumption that being nice doesn't get the job done.  That the only way to get the job done is to "get angry" and go head-to-head with other departments, to scream and yell until you get what you want.

I spent a good deal of time feeling insecure about this, feeling like I needed to change.  I also did try to take it constructively, and make sure I was being appropriately assertive about my own department's agenda within the company.  Sometimes the hardest feedback to take is the truest, and I didn't want to dismiss feedback without analysis.

However, I take issue with the base assertion that one can't be nice and still be successful at work.  That one must badger one's co-workers and just blindly push their own projects forward with no regard for the greater company picture, or the priorities of others.  I just can't accept that.

It led me to realize that I don't need to.  You can accomplish far more by earning the cooperation of your co-workers in the long run than by being "that guy" who only cares about his own projects at any cost and instills a fight or flight response in his colleagues.  We should always look to adapt and improve ourselves, but I don't intend to change my approach beyond what I have already, because to do so doesn't make optimal use of my own basic characteristics.  Being nice does get the job done, but often in a less visible and more subtle way.  This can put "nice" employees at a disadvantage, as it is perceived that the "sound and fury" employees are the ones being proactive.

In thinking about this, I kept going back to the old saying that, "A leopard cannot change its spots."  This concept frequently comes with an underlying negative, with the idea that the leopard should change its spots but is simply incapable.  Actually, the leopard's spots are an evolved asset.  The leopard should NOT change its spots.  We should evolve the best approach to our world that works with who we are.

So I made this image as a reminder to myself and others that just because conventional wisdom says you should change, doesn't mean they are right.  Special thanks to Tom Sciortino for making awesome motivational poster photoshop templates available.

PS - leopards as a species could indeed change their spots, and if there was a significant advantage to doing so, over time, they would.  That's how they got them in the first place.  But as an individual, a leopard has to work with what it's got. :)