Avengers-Pure Satisfaction

[Honey Badger]

With all the tight shots in Avengers, I have never played a pin more satisfying. Making any of those difficult shots gives me such a satisfying feeling that I have never experienced in any pin before. I love that this game kicks my ass and I have not been able to stop playing it since the code was updated.

 

[frolic]

I'm a big fan. I hated mine at first because it was too hard. It was not levelled properly. Once I got it dialed in and I learned the shots and I got to see how deep the game was, it won me over.

Adam came over to my place yesterday and was showing how the current code allows competition players to just keep shooting the same shot, but for someone like myself who is a fun player, that doesn't affect me. I work on modes, try to start/collect/finish the avengers, score is secondary depending on my progress of the game. I enjoy the light show, sounds, etc, the whole package. And if I can hit that black widow multiple times in a row I feel like a million bucks.

I expect that the code will see a few more updates, so some of the exploits will probably be addressed, but again, for me, as it stands it is a really great game.

 

[Vengeance]

Now that I understand the game, I racked up around 365 mil on Chris's machine in my second attempt.

The game is much to repetitive and linear for me.

Shoot X shoot 4 times to start it
Shoot same shot 7 more times to spell out name
Shoot same shot 4 more times to start Vs

Then you have the issue of the singular overpower strategy, "whole lotta loki" which basically you just shoot the left loop, over and over and over again. There is no reason to shoot anything else, as that spots hawkeye, gives you a nice safe feed to the right flipper to make the shot again, spots a letter in loki for the lock and works towards your vs multiball. I played the hawkeye vs mode in that game like 5 times

There is some talk on Stern on how to nerf that strategy but it still won't change that the game is extremely repetitive and does not use the layout very well.

Also IMO, this is another case of LE not being worth the money. If I ever buy a Stern again I don't see myself ever buying another LE. Every single LE that has come out from Stern thus far (Tron, TF, Xmen, ACDC, Avengers) not one of them has a single feature that makes the extra cost worth the extra money.

In the LE for avengers you literally only have a diverter ramp and the ramp that gets thrown up by hulk during mulitball, that is it. It has no overall affect on gamelplay and really I don't want the ramp diverting anything anyway so I find it useless. Yes I know the LE has LED's and art package, and chrome and backglass an all the other stuff, but for me from a gameplay perspective I want features that are going to affect gameplay not look pretty.

It's why I went with the LE for Xmen and TF. The added toys had the potential to really make the gameplay very different between the Pro and LE, but unfortunately Stern has no actual vision and Wasion is the worst programmer to ever program a pinball and it shows in the piss poor integration that have happened in the LE's thus far.

Anyway if you enjoy the game more power to ya, but I find the attrition of playing the game kinda boring. They could very easily fix that issue simply by lowering the number of shots to start each feature and requiring if you want a VS mulitball to shoot both characters. I don't see why that wasn't their first inclination anyway.

The software should play out like:

4 shots to hawkeye, light hawkeye
4 shots to widow lights widow
vs multiball begins.
Then that vs muliball should be locked out until the player starts a different vs mode

It would force the players to play the entire machine rather then sitting there hitting the left loop over and over again.

 

[frolic]

I wrote Gomez, he wrote me back

Thanks Chris. Very happy that you like it. More often I hear about all the things I did wrong.

I think most of Adam's issues can be addressed with software, so hopefully they'll balance the game so even Adam likes it . After the xmen fiasco no one will assume anything will get done, so time will tell.

 

[Vengeance]

After the xmen fiasco everyone assumes nothing will get done, so time will tell.

Fixed it for you

And yes software is the Key, every pinball in existence lives and dies by the software (even EM's without software )

Also this isn't Gomez's issue to fix, he has done his job, the layout is interesting, my only complaint layout wise is the way he has completely obscured the inlanes so you can't tell which letter in loki is lit. Like Xmen the layout feels unique and different and I like what he has done.

But software is the games downfall and this is with Waison and Ropp who are uninspired hacks IMO (or at least they are compared to Lyman).

If this game was in Lyman's hands I'd say you had nothing to worry about, but with Waison and Ropp history has proven they don't change much, fix the bugs but the overall core gameplay always remains the same.

So hopefully you like avengers as is cause I doubt you'll see any major code rewrites like ACDC got.

 

[REVOLUTION]

This is more so a Ropp game than a Waison game I think. Especially with the "Hit X 5 times to start mode, hit same shot 5 times to end mode" line of thinking. Which is just terrible.. Ropp's light shows aren't bad, but his rulesets are always the same boring shit. IMO every game should go to Lyman for final approval. Unfortunately the only time he fixes a game that isn't his is at home on his own time.. so if he doesn't like the layout, the game doesn't get fixed.

 

[Vengeance]

I say fire Waison, Fire Ropp and steal Keffer back from JJP and let him and Lyman collaborate on all the software going forward, you'd never see a shitty game from Stern again.

 

[frolic]

You would think, with the fact that Lyman's work turned ACDC into one of the best sellers of the last decade, that the bean counters at Stern would realize that he turned that game around sales-wise and they made a shit ton because of it. Better software=more money. I'd love to get an insiders account of why that isn't obvious to them.

 

[frolic]

With the unbelievable stress Keith is under at the moment, I wonder if he longs for the days when he was at Stern and the whole company wasn't riding on his shoulders.

 

[movingpictures]

The game is much to repetitive and linear for me.

Shoot X shoot 4 times to start it
Shoot same shot 7 more times to spell out name
Shoot same shot 4 more times to start Vs

game is extremely repetitive and does not use the layout very well.

+1
TRON it ain't! (sorry Jason)

I've put a bunch of games on the PRO and found it very repetitive.
The black widow ramp is fun, the other shots just don't satisfy.

 

[Vengeance]

Not likely as I said yesterday, Gary is a bit of a moron, it wasn't until the last 2 years or so that he finally admitted that the home market was a major component of his business. He wouldn't even acknowledge our existence as a underlying factor in his game sales.

I'd say it's another 5 - 10 years or more before Gary Figures out that software is what makes and breaks games :lol:

You would think, with the fact that Lyman's work turned ACDC into one of the best sellers of the last decade, that the bean counters at Stern would realize that he turned that game around sales-wise and they made a shit ton because of it. Better software=more money. I'd love to get an insiders account of why that isn't obvious to them.

 

[mwong168]

Someone on pinside received a nice little package from Stern which started as a complaint about them applying the right head decal over a chip from the factory. Stern sent him a new set of head decals as well as these which address minor ball hang up issues.

- extra post and rubber to put on the right side outline drain that can get a ball stuck there sometimes if you move the post down
- new hulk plastic piece behind hulk with some downward posts to stop balls from getting stuck there
- thick sticker to put in the Loki ball lock lane that makes that rivet level with the ramp
- another plastic piece to put under the hulk saucer drop

 

[frolic]

I got that same package last week and had installed it before this weekend, so it got a lot of play and nothing weird was happening.

I'd say my Hulk technically is playing very well. I think the only technical thing left is the inlane lights that for whatever reason Gomez wanted covered so I don't know if it will be changed. So you have to move your head down or up to check them out.

 

[Honey Badger]

How would I go about getting one of these packages for mine?

 

[mwong168]

How would I go about getting one of these packages for mine?

I think you could either go through your SB sales rep or contact Stern direct with your bill of sale which would show purchase date and serial #

 

[frolic]

I contacted Stern tech support.

http://www.sternpinball.com/Contact.aspx

It wasn't a big deal, obviously they are ready to send these things out, but they need to know you exist.

 

[nics135]

I contacted Stern and asked for new plastic and a post to fill in the right out lane so ball will not get stuck...to date I have gotten 2 packages, the first had the new plastic and an arm for hulk, the second arrived two weeks later (couple days ago) contained another arm. Still no post...

 

[juninhodecio]

Hello,

Do you guys have picture of the extra post and rubber installed? I don't know where this update is installed.



Thanks !!!!!


Decio Junior