The Walking Dead Remaster features improved mechanical play quality but minimal new code additions at delivery

Stern displayed approximately 200 pinball machines at Pinball at the Beach show

Beetlejuice playfield design mirrors Attack from Mars layout structure and accessibility philosophy

Beetlejuice allows approximately one hour of play time on a single ball due to accessibility design

Jurassic Park Limited Edition is one of the hardest modern pinball games, and mastery of it translates to proficiency with other games.

Harry Potter pinball has poor code quality despite good playfield design by Eric.

Jersey Jack Pinball's Elton John machine uses unreliable USB-C board connections that caused failures during UK Open deployment.

Jersey Jack Pinball games require premium locations to achieve profitable payback, limiting their viability on route.

Used Elton John machines in the secondary market sell for approximately 8,000-10,000 GBP, with European sources common.

Neil McRae purchased Spooky's Dungeons & Dragons at the Stern launch in Chicago nearly a year ago.

Spooky's Dungeons & Dragons has been in Neil's storage unit for 6 months without being set up at home until this stream.

Neil McRae started new employment this week, significantly reducing his available pinball play time.

Lyman added code to The Walking Dead Remastered to change how the flipper magnet pulses based on button input

The Walking Dead Remastered has different scoring on the Barn shot compared to the previous version

Neil was banned from the UK pinball forum for multiple reasons including challenging moderation, operating two accounts, and allegedly cheating in his own tournament

Neil prefers the original voice callouts to the new ones in the Remaster.

Neil's Remastered unit arrived with non-functional special lights and speakers that were fixed via settings adjustment.

The forum has declined in quality since Neil's ban, with more low-quality posts and fewer people challenging bad advice

70% of the community found the 'Jaffa thing' funny, 30% did not, and the person it was about thought it was amusing

Jaws is one of the best pinball games

Premium version of The Walking Dead Remastered has more power than the Pro version

The middle ramp issue persists in The Walking Dead Remastered

Spooky Evil Dead experienced magnetic ball compatibility issues requiring use of Polaris balls

Star Wars feels rushed and doesn't match the weight of the IP compared to Harry Potter

Evil Dead's wide body design doesn't feel spacious due to tight shot layout

Harry Potter's topper was a late backup plan after original contractor withdrew

Beetlejuice is upcoming from Spooky for 2025 and the community is excited about it

Harry Potter is Eric's best-shooting game by a mile

Walking Dead is currently shipping with incomplete code and artwork pending approval

Stern had significant quality control issues with Aerosmith cabinets including wood separation at joinery

Pinball Communism t-shirt slogan will be worn at Pinfest

Spike 3 has dramatically better sound quality than Spike 2 due to processor improvements

Star Wars has been bulletproof during month-long venue placement with no reliability issues

Jaws just reached #1 ranking on Pinside after code finalization

Stern is expanding European operations with staff based in the region, with John Buscaglia moving to Amsterdam

Walking Dead LE is sold out across US and UK distributors

The popper mechanism is sending the ball straight down the middle on approximately 2 out of ~100 shots during the playtest

The remake version of this machine has a newer flipper power system that is more reliable than the original design

The machine has been played approximately 47-100 times total since being acquired before Christmas of the previous year

Batman 66 Limited Edition machine is signed by Adam West, George Barris, and Lyman

Indianapolis 500 was acquired from eBay in bargain condition and required flipper rebuilding after 10 years in storage

Spooky Games uses soft lead connectors and superior finish quality compared to competitors

Spooky Games' build quality is superior to other pinball manufacturers and competitors should learn from their approach

Stargate is Neil McRae's favorite game of all time

Star Trek was the first pinball machine Neil McRae ever played at age 16-17

The playfield layout makes it difficult to execute shots outside of a specific area

The machine populates multiball through a specific mechanic that the speaker finds appealing

Extra balls have been disabled on this machine for at least 6+ months (since June)

The Walking Dead Premium arrived one week before Christmas and was plugged in on December 27th

TNA gameplay is excellent and rules as a gaming experience

TNA has a proper back glass, which McRae considers a positive quality feature

Spooky's ball component is significantly larger than Stern's standard ball

TNA machine was delivered on the day of filming

Monster Bash was purchased from a German company with initial concern about authenticity but arrived in beautiful condition

Ghostbusters is one of Neil McRae's best games

All AFM machines the speaker has played have shown weak coils when heavily used

Evil Dead LE delivery to UK took over 1 year; deposit paid in August, balance paid in August, not yet delivered at recording date

Winchester is Barrels of Fun's most challenging game to date with difficult shot placement

Carl D'Angelo was working on Winchester Mystery House; intelligence obtained in April 2024

Neil saved approximately £3,000 purchasing Star Wars LE internationally compared to UK retail price

Neil saved approximately £3,000 by purchasing Star Wars (LE) directly from a US private seller compared to UK retail pricing.

Government shutdown (not tariffs) caused delays to UK game arrivals by affecting air freight and customs processing.

Winchester Mystery House is Barrels of Fun's most challenging game to date with difficult shot angles.

Lyman Sheets was the original coder on Monster Bash, Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, Metallica, Walking Dead, and possibly other remakes.

Carl is willing to put in extraordinary effort on game design and streaming work, representing a gold standard for pinball content creators.

Keith Elwin design work is responsible for the modern pinball renaissance and represents the best all-time selling game ever.

US government shutdown affected air freight, customs, and TSA operations impacting pinball machine deliveries

Lyman Sheets was lead code designer on Monster Bash, Attack from Mars, Medieval Madness, Metallica, and Walking Dead remasters

Spike 3's audio system is the most impressive technical achievement, with separated tweeter and main speaker design that provides exceptional clarity and bass detail

Avatar sold poorly despite beautiful artwork, likely due to code and gameplay issues

Star Wars Fall of the Empire will be the best-selling Star Wars pinball game ever made, comparable to or exceeding Steve Ritchie's version

The game is not coming to Europe due to Disney Europe licensing refusal

Star Wars Fall of the Empire features a fan layout closer to Stranger Things than Metallica or Guardians of the Galaxy

Avatar (Jersey Jack) is a missed opportunity with code that does not prioritize fun gameplay

Dune worm mech has been observed malfunctioning at least twice during PAPA 22 event

Barrels of Fun games feature underpowered flipper feel

American Pinball appears to be winding down operations based on minimal factory activity

Expression lights are exclusive to LE and Premium versions of Star Wars Fall of the Empire; Pro version cannot add them

Stern's Mark and team achieved outstanding audio quality on Spike 3 that exceeds expectations

Spike 3 audio system is significantly improved with separate tweeters and main speaker configuration producing exceptional clarity

Barrels of Fun games consistently have underpowered flipper tuning

Jersey Jack Avatar has poor lower playfield design and problematic code that prioritizes licensing over gameplay fun

Spike 3's 35% larger screen is the perfect size compared to Jersey Jack's screen which is too large

Star Wars: Fall of the Empire will perform as well as or better than Steve Ritchie original Star Wars

The game will sell like hotcakes due to visual appeal, audio quality, and accessibility

Star Wars: Fall of the Empire is the best Star Wars pinball game ever made, by significant margin

Disney now owns at least half of all major entertainment IPs including Avengers, Star Wars, Predator, Alien, and Tron following Fox acquisition

Every location pinball machine in UK pubs and venues is guaranteed to be Stern Spike 2 or CGC; never JGP, Spooky, or American Pinball

Pinfest 2025 drew fewer attendees than previous years despite improved venue layout

John Borg designed Star Wars: Fall of the Empire; Ray Day is rumored to be handling code

Spike 3 features Raspberry Pi 4 CPU, dual HDMI outputs, on-board Wi-Fi with antenna port, improved amplifier, and silent power supply

Star Wars is the best-selling Stern game after Godzilla; Data East Star Wars (1990s, designed by John Borg) is second best-seller

Disney EMEA region considered European pinball market too small to justify licensing Star Wars game

Star Wars: Fall of the Empire is based on Episodes 4-6, and this was announced four months ago on the Great British Pinball Podcast

Evil Dead is the busiest game at Pinfest 2025; follows pattern from prior year when Pulp Fiction was busiest game

Disney EMEA's refusal to license Star Wars will likely block future European pinball games based on all Disney IPs including Deadpool 2, X-Men sequels, Tron Remastered, and Pirates of the Caribbean

UK Open tournament offers £5,000 prize for main event winner

Metallica Remake is McRae's most-played game of the year

Neil McRae has owned King Kong for 2-3 weeks and played it approximately 20 times

Neil McRae has sold 800+ sheets of Legends of Wrestlemania reflective glass

Keith Elwin has been playing pinball for approximately 30 years

King Kong playability is slightly better than Godzilla

Godzilla is the best-selling Stern game of all time

King Kong will be bigger than Godzilla in five years

Neil McRae is backing out of future LE purchases due to dissatisfaction with Jaws 50th and recent LE strategy

Dungeons & Dragons Premium LE dragon fire-breathing failures were caused by overly tight cable ties stressing the motor cable

Stern is using node boards from at least three different manufacturers (green, blue, red) to address supply chain and reliability

Jaws remains at version 0.x code after one year of release, longer than typical for a major Stern title

Stern's holiday tournament infrastructure requirements diverted programmer resources from individual game code development

Lightning flipper modifications on Indiana Jones are achievable but increase difficulty; players adapt after initial adjustment

John Wick has not received a meaningful code update since December (pre-Christmas)

Pulp Fiction LE will arrive within a week via air freight

CGC had to redo topper parts for Pulp Fiction LE before shipping due to quality issues

X-Men features unprecedented innovative ball paths and shot design that exceeds comparable Stern releases

Jack Danger's X-Men design rivals Steve Ritchie's legendary flow design, making him a 'challenger to the king'

X-Men will become Stern's number one game and retain value better than recent releases

X-Men prototype experienced zero mechanical failures or glitches during extended play session

X-Men code structure is similar to Deadpool, using mode selection from ball lock

X-Men IP is not niche but mainstream and broadly appealing in UK pinball community

Stern moved into their Chicago facility in a hurry and is making ongoing improvements to the building

X-Men's shot design includes more innovative and unpredictable ball paths than typical modern Stern releases

The ball-locking mechanism at the left ramp uses a mechanical finger rather than a magnet

X-Men's playfield feels wider than it appears in photos due to Jack Danger's layout design

X-Men prototype had no mechanical glitches, ball sticking, or confusion issues

X-Men will become the new number one game in community rankings

X-Men Pro and LE versions have no significant gameplay factor differences

Jack Danger's X-Men design exceeds prior expectations about his tier relative to Keith Elwin

American Pinball sales in the UK are not strong; few games available for purchase at reasonable prices

Legends of Valhalla is extremely difficult to play and provides negative user experience

Robocop is a standout classic with excellent back glass and music despite being alphanumeric rather than DMD

Pinfest 2024 tournament scheduling is problematic with Open playoffs at 7pm Saturday conflicting with other activities

Gary Flowers runs the legitimate UK Pinball Hall of Fame and owns the trademark

Godfather has great playfield layout but terrible, overly complex code with excessive menus

Venom Premium is an excellent game deserving of play despite negative community perception

Tron LE is a good Stern game but overrated; market downturn has affected resale value

Monster Bash remake is bulletproof and requires no maintenance despite 1,500+ plays, making it superior to original for practical use

Monster Bash original games typically sold for 10,000+ GBP; Neil acquired German machine for 6,500 euros in 2016

CGC Pulp Fiction SEs have declining build quality with chipped playfield edges, failed opto boards, and mylar defects

Neil McRae sustained an AC joint dislocation and calcified tendinitis from playing Judge Dredd, experiencing severe nerve pinching that caused hand discoloration and loss of feeling

CGC's perfectionist philosophy means games 'done when it's done,' resulting in delivery delays but higher quality

Neil McRae is permanently banned from Pinball Info after three strikes from different moderators

ElectroCoin adds approximately £2,000 in margin on top of US pricing for UK Stern distribution

JJP Elton John features significantly improved flipper engineering compared to Guns N' Roses

Turner Pinball completely redesigned their cabinet between Chicago (6 months prior) and TPF, improving from joke status to industry-competitive quality

Texas Pinball Festival 2025 was scheduled during Texas Spring Break week, resulting in lower attendance than previous years

Attack from Mars was unexpectedly delivered on Christmas Eve at Neil's door

Elvira Premium units inconsistently feature a post on the one-way gate mechanism

TPF's absence last year significantly impacted the UK pinball community's ability to trade and acquire machines

Williams 90s games like Star Trek, Judge Dredd, and Demolition Man require approximately 20 times more maintenance than simpler games like Indy 500

Roadshow's clock face mechanisms are designed in a way that causes excessive maintenance challenges

Pulp Fiction manual is detailed and to-scale, suitable for creating plastic parts using the PDF

Butch Pealey is primarily responsible for high-quality manual creation at CGC

Dutch Pinball is more likely to announce Back to the Future at Chicago Pinball Expo than TPF because Chicago is more industry-focused

UK pinball community modders and creators have put the UK on the international pinball map

Texas Pinball Festival is more socially-oriented and better for meeting community members than Chicago Pinball Expo

Tarantino was involved in the design of Pulp Fiction pinball

Pulp Fiction feels fresher than Jaws despite the long wait because of its unique design choices (retro art, no screen, no ramps)

The central post mod on Ghostbusters does not adequately solve the flipper gap problem

Pinball modding culture is more celebratory and accepting than arcade restoration culture

Jersey Jack Pinball does not provide adequate customer support to new buyers

Princess Bride is a well-regarded film with 96% Rotten Tomatoes score

007 Bond scoop mod sold hundreds of units at approximately £400 each

Ghostbusters Premium has a fundamental flipper gap design flaw that reduces gameplay quality

Jet lag significantly impacted tournament performance after game 7 at Indus

New Stern flipper bushings use glass-filled polymer material with less than 6mm end play vs old nylon with ~50mm end play

Stranger Things Premium has the most powerful flippers I have ever used

Turkey Fry Up tournament at Pinball Republic had 60 registered players and was won by Andy Foster

Stranger Things Premium's TK lock mechanism hasn't been meaningfully fixed despite ramp shortening

Indus tournament operates on another level compared to other tournaments

Coil stops fail within 200 plays on some new Stern games

Gottlieb games like Arena and Rock feature complex modes and interactive toppers contrary to common perception

Venom is a better game than most people realize and deserves higher regard than community sentiment suggests

Pokemon is rumored to be an upcoming Stern Pinball machine

Cactus Canyon delivery is now expected after December 24, 2024, preventing Christmas delivery

Cactus Canyon final payment was made on September 22, 2024

Stranger Things rerun is priced higher than the original release and UV kits are no longer included in the base package

Pulp Fiction will ship to UK customers in early 2025

Chicago Gaming Company is losing interest in renewing Williams pinball licenses for games beyond those already released

Jack (from Northern California) won the Golden State Pinball Festival

Colin Urban is a former IFPA World Champion

Zach Sharpe is the Pinburgh World Champion

INDISC organizers adjust machines after discovering exploits to maintain competitive balance

Neil McRae ran UK Open for the second year

Venom is the worst-selling Stern game in recent memory

Guardians of the Galaxy launched at IAAPA without music, causing a 'literal riot'

Venom was designed specifically for low-skill players who love pinball

Insider Connected's networking code is not resilient enough to handle Wi-Fi packet loss at tournament scale

James Bond has become one of the best Stern games ever made through code updates

Every Stern game at UK Open experienced rebooting issues related to Insider Connected

UK Open ranked as the top 8th tournament by WPPR championship points value

Over 60% of the top 20 WPPR-ranked players attended UK Open

Spinal Tap requires a thorough rebuild of code and video assets

Metallica had flipper power issues during tournament play

Neil McRae owns Metallica, Godzilla, Bond, and Foo Fighters pinball machines

Neil McRae traveled from the UK and is the furthest traveler at PATL 2022

Paragon's multiplayer code has a bug where hitting three switches ends the ball prematurely

Carl D'Angelo's streaming PC became completely unbootable after Indisc and required replacement/repair

The UK Open grew to 150 players, exceeding expectations and demonstrating event scalability

The UK has approximately four barcades total

Europe's pinball market is 5-7 years behind the US in development and maturity

Every competitive pinball player in the UK except one attended the UK Open

European pinball market has one distributor per country vs 2-3 per US state, making everything more expensive and creating a feedback loop of smaller market size

Travis's zero-score plunge at Indy Disc was caused by a multiplayer code issue in the Gottlieb machine where hitting three switches would deactivate the plunge in multiplayer but not single-player mode

Carl D'Angelo's streaming PC at Indy Disc suffered catastrophic hardware failure (would not boot) but the stream continued to look high quality despite the issue

Every single competitive pinball player in the UK except one (out of town) attended the UK Open

UK Open 2024 attracted 150 players, significantly larger than typical European tournaments of 60-70 players

European pinball market is approximately 5-7 years behind the US in terms of market development

Andrew Foster is the UK #1 ranked pinball player

INDISC previously held at Museum of Pinball in a remote location requiring 20-minute drive for food

Andrew Foster is competing in the World Championships in Florida later this year

Neil McRae from UK traveled overseas to attend the Super Series

Neil McRae organized the Stall Ball competition offering an iPhone as first prize

Neil McRae generously paid part of the cost for hiring industrial air-conditioning units.

Industrial air-conditioning units were hired for the event due to forecast temperatures of 25C+ and the venue's lack of existing air-conditioning.

High pinball prices following vintage car market boom/bust pattern risk making hobby unsustainable for mid-market players

Pinburgh tournament is expanding to 1,000 players and sold out in 5 seconds

UK has only 4-5 pinball location options for play, most with 6-7 games or fewer

Beatles LE pinball costs £12,000 in UK, approximately twice the cost of two Stern Pro models

Flip Out London has operated for approximately 18 months with ~45 players attending Thursday league night

Tournament newcomers should prioritize learning and social connection over competitive results

Flip Out London requires ongoing founder member financial subsidies to maintain operations despite ~18 months of business

LE pinball pricing in UK has risen approximately 50% over ~3 years, from £7,000 to £10,000+

Pinball is a social game that is most fun when played with people

Steve Ritchie and Dwight knocked it out of the park on the latest Star Trek game from Stern

Space Shuttle is Neil McRae's favorite spinner pinball game of all time

Bride of Pinball was the first pinball game Neil McRae ever played

There are only four places in the entire UK where you can play pinball on location

Flip Out London is a member-owned pinball club with 30-35 machines in South London

The new arcade construction in London started after New Year and is nearly complete

Neil McRae met Neil Armstrong at MIT in 2009 during the Apollo 40th anniversary event

Gene Cernan's motto was 'You'll never count yourself out, dream big go out and make it happen'

Neil McRae flew a long distance to compete at ReplayFX