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SDTM Episode 32: This or That?

Straight Down the Middle·video·31m 6s·analyzed·Sep 4, 2017
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

SDTM hosts debate pinball game selection preferences across modern and classic titles with community submissions.

Summary

Zach Sharpe and Greg from Straight Down the Middle host a 'This or That' episode where they present pinball game selection dilemmas to each other and their community. They discuss preference scenarios across modern games (Dialed In!, Star Wars, Tron, Spider-Man, Metallica) and classic titles, revealing their individual philosophies on game selection, collection building, and what makes a machine worth owning. The hosts also debate the merits of different coders (Lyman Sheets vs. Keith Johnson) and their signature game designs.

Key Claims

  • Dialed In! retails for approximately $9,000

    high confidence · Zach discussing pricing in first 'This or That' scenario comparing Dialed In! to Spider-Man and Game of Thrones bundle

  • Spider-Man and Game of Thrones each retail for approximately $4,500

    high confidence · Zach comparing bundle pricing to single game pricing

  • Greg owns a fully modded Tron worth approximately $8,500-$9,000

    high confidence · Greg discussing his personal Tron machine modifications and cost

  • Iron Man and Avatar are similar in layout and rules

    medium confidence · Community discussion comparing the two games; hosts debate whether they're actually similar

  • Popeye is one of the top 10 pinball games of all time

    medium confidence · Greg's opinion when comparing Popeye to The Flintstones for $700 each

  • Lyman Sheets coded The Walking Dead; Keith Johnson coded The Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons, The Hobbit, and The Wizard of Oz

    high confidence · Hosts discussing coder comparison in final 'This or That' segment

  • Batman 66 was not worth saving and Code will not improve it

    medium confidence · Greg's opinion on Batman 66 code salvage efforts by Lyman Sheets

  • Tron Elite is available on Pinside for approximately $11,500 unplayed

    medium confidence · Zach mentioning recent Pinside listing when discussing 10th pin collection scenario

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm going with the tandem pair because I like both of those... Always quantity over quality.”

    Greg@ 4:20 — Reveals Greg's philosophy of preferring multiple games over one premium machine

  • “There is just something about Tron. The way it shoots, the way it looks, and you could argue that same thing with the music, the lights, everything.”

    Zach@ 8:08 — Demonstrates Tron's broad appeal across multiple game dimensions

  • “I think Popeye's maybe a top 10 game of all time.”

    Greg@ 15:09 — Strong endorsement of classic game quality

  • “If you guys only have $2,000 to spend on a pinball machine... buy Popeye. There's not anything comparable for it.”

    Greg@ 15:16 — Value proposition and recommendation for budget buyers

  • “The Walking Dead is the only one that does it for me... He is the best coder for a reason, but The Walking Dead is the only one that does it for me.”

    Greg@ 25:22 — Acknowledges Lyman's coding excellence while expressing personal preference for his signature work

  • “Keith Jeff Johnson just does it like no other. He makes people want to have pins in their home.”

    Zach@ 27:15 — Endorsement of Keith Johnson's overall coding philosophy and impact

  • “Code will not save that game... Code will save that game.”

Entities

Zach SharpepersonGregpersonPat LawlorpersonFlippin' Out PinballcompanyStraight Down the MiddleorganizationDialed In!gameStar WarsgameTrongame

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Multiple sponsor partnerships demonstrating monetization success: Flippin' Out Pinball, Pinball Larry (new Stern distributor), Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball, Chicago Gaming Company, Penn Stadium Lights, Penn Graphics

    high · Host segment thanking sponsors: 'Flippin' Out Pinball, Pinball Larry, who is now a Stern distributor... Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball... Chicago Gaming Company... Penn Stadium Lights... Penn Graphics is our newest sponsor.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Straight Down the Middle actively soliciting game selection scenarios from community via YouTube, Pinside forum, and direct viewer submissions; integrating crowd-sourced content into main show format

    high · Multiple scenarios attributed to YouTube commenters (Awesome Fox, Mach the Magic Man, Chuck Robert T. Smith) and Pinside users; hosts explicitly thanking viewers for submissions and encouraging more

  • ?

    community_signal: Active Pinside forum community providing game selection scenarios and collection advice; demonstrated by multiple Pinside users featured in this-or-that questions

    high · Multiple Pinside user submissions: ASOA with 10-pin collection question, Kiosh asking second pin recommendations, Awesome Fox asking Whitewater/No Fear/Junkyard comparison

  • ?

    community_signal: Straight Down the Middle expanding streaming presence with multiple weekly shows (Zach Friday mornings, Greg hosting, Chuck Wirt Wednesdays, Waspy contributing); building consistent content schedule

    high · Discussion of streaming schedule: 'On Twitch, We Are Pinball live streaming. You're doing Friday mornings... Chuck Wirt doing Wednesday nights. We have Waspy helping out.'

  • ?

Topics

Game Selection PhilosophyprimaryModern vs. Classic Pinball MachinesprimaryPinball Coder Comparison and ImpactprimaryGame Pricing and Value PropositionssecondaryPlayfield Design and MechanicssecondaryCommunity Engagement and Viewer QuestionssecondarySponsorships and MonetizationmentionedStreaming and Content Creationmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Generally enthusiastic about pinball games and community engagement. Hosts display genuine passion for game design and mechanics. Some disagreement on specific games (Batman 66, code quality) but disagreement is friendly and community-oriented. Overall tone is celebratory of pinball diversity and accessible to viewers.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.093

What's happening guys? This is Zach from Straight Down the Middle. So before we begin the video, we're going to do our drawing for the dialed in signed trans lights by Pat Lawler courtesy of Flip N Out Pinball. So let's do that now. I've got two of them. So the lucky, the first guy that's going to get one is, and they were all guys by the way, Michael Jones. Michael Jones, congratulations. one a dialed in sign translate by Pat Lawler all right second one second one is easy to love this Schmitty it's all yours buddy Jason Schmidt local guy here one of my friends just bought a dialed in so he's gonna love this Jason I know your address Michael I think I have yours as well again we'll send those out Congratulations to the winners of the dialed in trans light signed by Pat Lawler courtesy of Flip N Out Pinball. Let's get to the video. The wait is over. A revolution in LED lighting for your pinball is finally here. Fully customizable full spectrum lighting from Pin Stadium Lights. Order yours now at pinstadium.com. Let's kick this shit. Hey, what's happening, everybody? This is Zach and Greg with Straight Down the Middle of Pinball Show. Greg, this week, we're going to do a this or that. I love these things. I don't know if you guys love them as the viewers, but they're fun. You know who we need to bring in to this or that? Who? I hate to say it. Oh, no. That's right. We need to bring Wasp in. No, we don't. That's a three-hour long video. Well, guys. Do I want Pinbot or do I want Elvira or do I want Jurassic Park? Or should I go with a dialed in? the T-Rex doesn't work but I've got it's got yellow powder coat well now it's just somebody spray painted it oh poor guy he'll settle down someday no he won't he's the only guy that I know that literally had a game coming to his house and Arnie was trying to trade it because he didn't like it but he didn't play it back on track waspinator Okay, this or that. So Greg and I are going to bring up a scenario, whether it is a dialed in or it's a Star Wars, and we decide, would you take this one or would you take that one? Or like a bundle kit. I usually go with that. I'm more of a this guy. That's very true. You probably eat the right Twix, too, like an idiot. So that's what we're going to do this week. Any housekeeping before we do that? Thanks to our sponsors. Yeah. Yeah, all right. Let's get into it, my friend. You ready? You haven't seen these. No. You know nothing about these. This is my compilation of this or that. Most of them I got from Pinside and from a lot of you guys, viewers of our last month's this or that, suggested a lot of them. So thank you for that. And keep them coming. Let us know what tough predicaments you've been in and what machines you'd like to know this or that. So without further ado. Give me the first one. So let's hear it. All right. Would you take We're going to keep current here And talk about Dialed In We've got Dialed In Ellie That's almost unfair I'm going to throw Dialed In Would you go Dialed In Ellie Which we both love Or Spider-Man and Game of Thrones Pro Yeah So you've got Dialed In Ellie That's going to retail about $9,000 You've got Spider-Man about $4,500 and a Game of Thrones Pro which is about $4,500. You put them together you get about $9,000 worth of machines. I'm going with the tandem pair because I like both of those. I knew you would. Always quantity over quality. Is it? Always? Almost. Pretty close. Line them up for Greg. It's pretty close. That's why you drink PBR. You'd rather have 10 PBRs than you would two crab beers. I swear to God that's the truth. That is the truth. That's the way I roll my shit. It depends on the night. If the night is looking a little harsh, I'm in a case of PBR. Actually, it's a 30-pack is what they come in. But you know what? If I'm like, you know what? This week's been pretty smooth. It's so funny. I went up in Greg's. I was going to get a drink, and I went up into the refrigerator, opened it up, and I swear to God, it's like light shined on me. And it's nothing but Zima and Mike's Hard Lemonade. Every damn flavor, too. I don't know how you found the nectarine peach, but you found it. Oh, shit. All right. So I would go Spider-Man's whatever, Game of Thrones whatever. Give me a dial then, Ellie. I played one again last night at Schmitty's. Oh, man. I said that on our stream a while back, how you played that when I was streaming Metallica. Yeah. And I said that because there was somebody on there, I think Turbo. TurboGrafx. TurboGrafx had one. And I'd asked him about it, how he felt. I told him what you'd said, that it played a hell of a lot better than even what you remembered playing it. Yeah, at the shows I had a blast playing it at the shows, but it shoots even better than that. Yeah. Oh, man. I love it. All right, so I'm going dialed in. You're taking the tandem in Spider-Man and Game of Thrones. That's a Richie duo versus Pat Lawler. Okay. Hey, you know what? That's just a hell of a combo, actually, to begin with, because you've got one that's really deep. I was trying to think of, because that was one I made up. Spider-Man people kind of get tired of, but it's a fun game to shoot. Game of Thrones, you've got plenty of rules. Yeah, so you go to Thrones. It's a good tandem. Yeah, do some of that. It's a good tandem. That's going to be fucking awesome. Yeah, that'd be a good little duo. Before we keep going, how many Stellas are you in right now? This is the only one. I am high on life right now. I am so pumped to be back filming. I was afraid you were about to say something else. I'm glad to be back filming. I am too. Yeah, I love this shit, man. All right, next one. Here we go. Loosen it. Here we go. Would you rather have a Tron? Fully modded out like the one I just got. Fully modded out Tron Or I know where you're going with this Terminator 2 Jurassic Park Last Action Hero And F-14 Tomcat God, I don't even know All those Four pins F-14 Tomcat That's a whole arcade For one game That's right F-14 Tomcat Last Action Hero Jurassic Park And T2 Now I did the math Fairly equivalent to the Price wise My Tron Pro's Clocking in Unfortunately About $8,509,000 as much shit as I put in that thing. So where would you go? This or those? And we're doing real life scenarios based upon our facilities. Sure, what we have now. I'd go with the Tron. Wow! I did not see that coming. I don't know if I'd have the room to throw the others in here. Hey, sure. What are you talking about? I'd maybe go with the Tron. I can't move my table out. The wife will get mad. I got a little room over here. for like 10 to 12 machines in here. So you would go Tron. Man, Tron is just pretty, and that's a fun game, and I afraid that I would have as much fun with Tron Look at you It hard That a hard thing So when I think about that I think of T2 that shit I don want that I think of F14 eh Yeah it fast I could pick up a turd one for 700 somewhere. And then I'm thinking Jurassic Park, Last Action Hero, both underrated pins that I really do like. I agree. It is kind of hard. I just, I don't know. There's something about Tron. There is. There is just something about Tron. The way it shoots, the way it looks, and you could argue that same thing with the music, the lights, everything. I'm going to go Tron as well, buddy. My current collection, Tron, would make more sense, I think. But, I don't know, ask me on a different day, it might be different. I like all those guys. If you wouldn't have thrown in F-14, that's what kind of fucked me up. Well, I was going to add an EM. It depends on which one. Because I had about $1,000 left. Have you thrown Dolly or something in? Dolly. You want a little Dolly? her breast are flaking from that back glass part of her breast is down here okay next one this is a this is one that um i think between you and i and our friends we've been talking about a lot of uh we talk about iron man yes and we talk about it being very similar to Avatar. Yes. So, Iron Man or Avatar? This or that? Easily. No, easily? Yeah, because I was offered Avatar. I am one of the few people, and I hate to shoot the guy down because the price wasn't terrible, but even though Avatar is cheaper, I just don't like the movie. I never liked the movie. I thought it was like a Blue Man version of Dances with Wolves. It was better than Dances with wolves dance wolves sucked i fell asleep like four times during that movie that's great i've seen avatar probably 10 times it's one of my favorite films ever made james cameron is one of the greatest directors uh ever ever um yeah without a doubt i'll go avatar i don't like either machines i'm going to preface it with that um i think both are one ball games and i do not do not like one ball games yeah i had iron man for a week hated it yeah a lot of people love it it's It kicks your ass. It's fun. But why do so many people dislike Avatar but like Iron Man? Because Iron Man's a badass man's theme. So you feel it's just a theme thing. Yeah, and for me, I love Iron Man theme too. What's so similar about him? Layout? Rules. Rules. Strategy. Oh, okay. Layout and everything is not. No. Nothing. Not that I'm thinking. No, not really. What has the better layout, you think? I like Avatar it's kind of funky I kind of like it it only has one ramp so I'm fine with the one ramp Iron Man to me shoots well it shoots fine it's got cool stuff in it it's just it does nothing for me I know that if I drain ball one then I'm like to get to that wizard mode I have to do it all in one ball so I'm like why am I even playing three balls it should just be a one ball game and that's it you know what if I had an Iron Man I think I would set it up for one ball games Then I might actually like it. So that's the way Avatar is. You've got to get certain things within a one moment. Now, I haven't played Avatar a ton, so I don't know. But I'm going to go Avatar here. Somebody will tell you if you're wrong. Oh, yeah. Thank you. Thank you for telling us. All right. So you're going Iron Man. So we are only one for three. We're not doing as hot this time. No. Agreeing. We don't agree too much on it. You're one for three here, so you're not doing too bad. I'm three for three. You're one for three. Okay. Now on our YouTube, a guy by the name or a lady by the name of Awesome Fox asked, whitewater or no fear or junkyard? Oh, whitewater. Without hesitation. Without hesitation. Which one gets ruled out the quickest? Junkyard's a little better. Junkyard, no fear, whitewater. No fear, probably. Okay, for me, junkyard is essentially that, junkyard. Really? Yeah, it's just, I've played it a couple times. It's different in a wild way, and I'm just not feeling that. And I'm not crazy about that Yowsey artwork. Okay, so now you're at No Fear. I do like No Fear. I will say that. Really? That surprises me. Yes, I do. That is one of my, I think that's one of my favorite Richies. Huh. Maybe a top five Richie for me. I like the upper ramp, how it jumps. I do like that. That's neat stuff. I like the loops. I do like No Fear. I hate the theme. I think it kills me. Yeah, it kills me. It reminds me of being back in middle school. Yes. And the people had the No Fear stuff. Because we're from country schools. That's right. And that was huge at country schools was No Fear. And I've never owned an article of No Fear. No, I haven't either. And I think that's one of the things that kills me. Because I have a lot of fear. Like I hate it so much. I'd be like, lots of fear. I've got the fear of two beers. That's right. That's right. So I have a lot of fear. I'm neurotic. Yeah, it's understandable. I never felt good with No Fear. I'm going to go Whitewater. It's the best game. It's the best game. Would you go Whitewater or No Fear and Junkyard without worrying about money? I'd still go Whitewater. I would, too. It's a good game, man. It's neat. It's pretty. It's cool. It's different. It's way different than a lot of other games. I like it. Yeah. Now, Mock the Magic Man on YouTube also asked this, and we've kind of covered this a little bit. Goo is a huge viewer, by the way. Thank you, sir. Yeah, we love Mach the Magic Man. So he said, or she said, Tron or Spider-Man? Oh, Tron. Now you are like the biggest Spider-Man fan. Yeah, I'm huge on it. But Tron has something special. It's different. I told you that before you got yours. I said it's special. I'm not a big Spider-Man fan. So you guys know Tron away from me. Tron, yeah. Okay, thanks Mach. Just playability. It's a beautiful machine. I still like a pretty Spider-Man over Tron. Some people bash me for that. but looks wise I like Spider-Man. What did you just say? Yeah, I like Spider-Man. No, you said something like the beauty of a Yeah. You just matched something aesthetically to Tron. Yeah. I don't know if I were a viewer right now if I could even keep watching our videos after the bullshit. Some people would be like oh, I understand. I love it. I love it. I don't think there's one person out there that would ever say that a Spider-Man would ever look better than a Tron. People will say it just to not agree with you. I agree with that. I agree with that. Yeah. Okay. Now, on Pinside right now, there's a thread going on. I thought it was kind of interesting. A guy's wanting to know if he could get a super-ass cheap Popeye and a super-ass cheap Flintstones. Did you see that thread at all? No. Okay. And he's getting them for like $700, and everybody's like, hey, dumbass, buy them both. And he's like, my wife won't let me buy them both. I'll buy them both. Like, who gives a shit? Just buy it and sell it. Leave it out in your driveway. No lie. So, Popeye or Flintstones. You're a big fan of Popeye. Huge fan of Popeye. Flintstones once. I'm a fan of Flintstones. It's a fun game. I think it's kind of easy, but it's fun. Yeah. I would say just looks. I'm not a big wide-body person. I would have to go Flintstones. Okay. That'd be mine. You'd go Popeye. Oh, definitely. I think Popeye's maybe a top 10 game of all time. Wow. That's cool, though. It's that good. The rules are that. If you guys only have $2,000 to spend on a pinball machine. Like the spinach. That's right. Yeah. He knocks on the thing during multiball, and Bluto says, who isn and he says your mother come on he punches him through the peephole it our show yeah if you got two thousand dollars for a pinball machine buy Popeye There not anything comparable for It cool And it hard It's super hard. Yeah. All right. Let's go. Chuck Smith, one of our favorite people on YouTube. Yeah, he's another great viewer. Chuck Smith said, would you go? Now, I think what he's meaning is playability, not value here. Okay. Because we know there's a big value deficit or difference here. Would you go Elvira and the Party Monsters, or would you go Elvira Scared Stiff? I've played a lot of Party Monsters, and it's enjoyable. It's a great game. There's not a lot to do, really. It's a great, great game. But it's fun as hell. Yep. Top three System Eleven, maybe. Yeah, I like it a lot. I haven't played a lot of Scared Stiff, though. Is it a System Eleven? Yes. I don't know. Well, it's not a DMV. No, I know that, but I don't know what it is. I don't know. Guys, is Elvira a System Eleven? I think it is. Okay. But, man, I don't know. I've only played a handful of games on Scared Stiff. Scared Stiff. I don't know. It's a better game. Beautiful. It looks better. I like the spot. Scared Stiff. Yeah. Scared Stiff is where it's at, Chuck. All right. Now, if we're talking value, I would probably go Elvira because Scared Stiff. It's outrageous. It's an outrageous priced game, and it's not very deep. No. But every time I say it's not very deep, I hear Rick, my buddy, saying, Damn it, it's not deep, but try to get to that spider multi-bowl and complete it. And then come back to me in six months. So I always remember my buddy Rick. Okay, so Trucks and More. Trucks and More helped us out in the past with some ideas. Loves this or that. Yeah, so Trucks and More said Demoman. I like it on my phone. It says Demon Man. Demon. Demon Man. or Judge Dredd. Judge Dredd. Me too. Yeah. Now, if you asked me a year ago, I would probably have said Demoman because I like the movie a lot. Yeah, I like the movie. I like Sly Stallone. Yeah. I like the movie a lot better. And Sly Stallone's not really in Judge Dredd. No. It's more the comic book adaptation. And I like the smoothness of it. I like the looks of Demoman. The flow, yeah. But then I owned one. Yeah. And then I owned one. yeah oh my god great and then I owned one I mean I've owned Judge Dredd too and I got rid of it because that damn music I hated that music but there's still more to do on Judge Dredd it's more mode based there's more toys and it's got one of the funnest shots where you hit down the drop targets and then you hit it back under the plane it into the scoop I love Dredd a lot alright I'd give it a Dredd if I could find one cheap now a guy on Pinside by the name of A-S-O-A Asoa Asoa Asshole Asshole Asshole What's up asshole Alright Now he Listen to this collection He's got He's wanting to know What's my 10th pin I need 10 pins Oh gosh Did you see this one No Oh this dude Has got the lineup man Dialed in LA Okay MMR LA Attack from Mars LA Damn These are both remakes too Spider-Man Vault The Walking Dead Premium Ghostbusters Premium The Hobbit Gold Smaug Edition Woz Ruby Red Star Wars LE Damn! He either sold like everything off or he is new and just went crazy. He just went the best of the best, newest of the new. So he needs that 10th pin. What's he wanting? Or is he just asking for it? Well, based on his, yeah, he wants to finalize the 10th pin. Anything else he gets after this is going to have to substitute a pin. So this is to complete the collection. Shit. Yeah, that's rough. Wow. On Pennside, what I said is the only thing missing in your collection is a Houdini. Because he tends to go all brand new stuff and all top of the line stuff. What are we missing? That's, to me, what he's missing is a Houdini. Yeah. That'd be my pick. Because I'm still down with Alien, but there's still problems. Yeah. It's not proven yet. Because I would maybe say that. Over Houdini? I don't know man Houdini's so pretty Houdini or Alien I'd probably go Houdini Hell I'd definitely go Houdini Just at this point So 10th pin for the guy Like I said How well Houdini holds up And how it does Once it's produced Is going to be the Determining factor On that pin Because it's going to jump Many spots Yeah yeah yeah Yeah I can see that Just because it's different So you're okay with Houdini It's going to add something with it I'm somewhat okay with it. I'd maybe throw your Tron in there. Okay. A little simplicity. He talked about, like, people have suggested Lord of the Rings, Simpsons, but he said that they feel a little too dated to him. Yeah. But Tron fits the bill because it's 2011. Now, he doesn't have an Aerosmith or an ACDC. Keep that in mind. Nah, we can't add either one of those to it. He doesn't seem like a music band. A lot of people are telling him Metallica. But he doesn't seem like a – I think he would already own one. But maybe he needs at least one music pin for a 10. I mean, if you're going to have a 10-pin collection. If I was going to do one, I would maybe go with Metallica. I'd go with, if I did one music pin, probably Aerosmith. I couldn't do it. Maybe ACDC, but probably Aerosmith. Yeah. Okay, so I think Tron would be a great over-the-top collector, newer. Tron Ellie. And there's a new one on Pinside right now that's never been played for like 11.5. All right. Next, a guy by the name of K-I-O-S-H on Pinside, Kiosh. Kiosh? Don't think about that last name. Kiosh? Kiosh? K-I-O-S-H. He said, now this is a little bit dated, but he said he already has a Ghostbusters. He's wanting to know what to get for his second pin. Should he go Metallica Premium? He loves the group of Metallica. Star Wars LE or Spider-Man Vault? So he's got a Ghostbusters. Oh, Spider-Man Vault. Oh, shit. Ooh. Yeah, Spider-Man Vault. All right, Metallica Premium. Metallica gets a little repetitive. In a two-pin collection, I think it'd get... Yeah, it drove me crazy a little bit. That's right. Okay, so that's out. Spider-Man Vault or Star Wars L.A.? Star Wars L.A., no. I think it's going to do the same thing. I just think there's so much value lost in that L.A. I do, too. That I can't recommend that. I couldn't do it, no. I think it's Spider-Man Vault. I think Spider-Man Vault's worth it. It's a pretty game. Yep. All right. Is there a hell of a this or that? I should have wrote this shit. I did good. This is good. Well, I'm saying it's lengthy. I ain't praising you. Greg, Mr. Neutral over here likes 10-minute videos. No, not 10 minutes. This or that. It's that nice little snappy one you put in there, like a little lunch break. We're only at 20 minutes right now. Really? Yeah. Hmm. Yeah. Sure. All right. Our last this or that. We venture away from pens and we talk about coders. All right, Greg. Oh, shit. Lyman Sheets or Keith P. Johnson? What do you think Keith's best pen is? Lord of the Rings. It's just two different coders. That's exactly right. They're way too different. Go, Keith. Lyman's best game is The Walking Dead. You going to go Keith P. Johnson Oh I don know man Everybody loves Lyman Everybody loves Lyman And he like a savior too He a player I know I'm going Lyman. Oh, you switched it. I'm going to switch it up. I'm going to switch it up. Oh, what do I... I haven't even thought about this. Because he saved some games. You know what he is saving? Batman 66 right now. Saving it from entering people's homes. Oh, that was rough. You wait. If they code that game, that game is going to be good. It's still going to be clunky. It shoots better than Dark Knight. It's still going to be shit. No, I like it. It shoots better than Dark Knight. Who gives a shit? Yeah, they're the same thing. Code can save that game. Code will never save that game. Code will save that game. No. If it comes up, it will save that game. What do you like shooting at on that game? One shot. Just give me one shot you love. I don't know. They're all kind of easy shots. They're all kind of shitty. Yeah, so why do you like it? Because it's just fun. The crane, maybe? It's just fun. No, L. Craig's not bad, but it's not my favorite shot. I like hitting that scoop where you feel like something's going to break. See, I don't think so. I guess Anses is better built than Super L.E. Because it's not like that one we played when we reviewed it. Yeah. It's a little more solid feeling. I don't know. Yeah. No. Code will not save that game. Well. All right. I think the dude should just move on to other stuff. Move along, Lyman. Move along. Save them. Save the games. No. Not that one. That one is not worth saving. It's worth saving. That one fell over in the Antonio Cruz ship. I'd say, you know, see, Batman? It's worth saving. I got Game of Thrones to mess with. Or not Game of Thrones. Guardians of the Galaxy. That's what I got. Sorry. Okay. I'm going to go Lyman or Keithy. Lyman or Keithy. See, here's where I'm getting hung up on the Lyman or Keith argument. I would happily and easily choose Keith. but I can't not think about The Walking Dead. I cannot not think about it. He can have all the other rule sets he's ever done, Metallica, all these other rule sets he's done, they're great. He is the best coder for a reason, but The Walking Dead is the only one that does it for me. Now when I think of Keith P. Johnson, I think of Simpsons, I think of Lord of the Rings, I think of The Hobbit, I think of The Wizard of Oz, I think of everything. I like the deck, but I also like some simplicity. I don't know, man. Oh, my gosh. It'd be hard to own a bunch of Keith's games in a small collection just because they're all so deep and so long. Whereas Lyman's games, they can be a little shorter, a little longer. Yeah, and it varies in difficulty. whereas Keith's games are all pretty damn hard or just drug out yeah so I mean that's my only but if you take Lyman's collective work versus Keith's collective work which one's more impressive? Keith's overall is more impressive so how do you not pick him? just because of that I like Simpsons but I can't stand something that would take me two hours or more to get to the damn wizard if I could ever achieve it. Why not? Lord of the Rings. I don't know. It gives you something to do. No, I just can't do it. I can't do it. I like something that would, I don't know, like 30-minute ball time, 35-minute game. I played Schminney's Hobbit last night for like 45 minutes. That's what I'm saying. Woo! It's wearing. Did I get tired of any minute of that? No. No. Do I get tired of Lyman's 20-minute Metallica? Yeah. Hell yeah. I'm going to keep going. If you're smashing it, it's great. Yeah. KJ, I'm with you, buddy. Keith P. Johnson. But I think the greatest coded game in the history of pinball is The Walking Dead. It's pretty damn good. So I'll give Lyman number two there. But Keith P. Johnson just does it like no other. He makes people want to have pins in their home. They're both needed in the pinball world. They're both the best. Yes. And I love, love, love their games. Yes. With the exception of a couple of Lyman games. All right. So I guess that wraps it up. I mean, this is that, sort of this and that. Yep. Right? I went with a lot of that. And like always, I go with a lot of this's. But we did agree on what, three? A couple. Who cares? Cleanup here. We've got, catch us on Facebook. Yes. Follow us on Facebook. Follow us on, what else? Well, Twitch actually. Subscribe to us. Do something fun. Yeah, you know. Throw us a bone. On Twitch, we are live streaming. You're doing Friday mornings. Yeah, Friday mornings. Call me with a Greg. We got Chuck Wirt doing Wednesday nights. We got Waspy helping out. So yeah, and we got me every now and then with some different machines. I kind of like the morning stuff, man. People are at work. Work sucks. It's like, you know, what? Check us out on YouTube as well. And on Twitch, make some comments. We're talkative fellows, so talk to us. We probably talk too much on there. Who cares? I have some bad balls. Is that how we're going to end it? Yeah. I have some bad balls. Also want to say thank you to our sponsors, Flip N Out Pinball. Larry, who is now a Stern distributor. Yes. You can go there for everything. Yeah, literally everything. Jersey Jack, American Pinball, and who am I forgetting? One Stop Shopping. Who am I forgetting? Oh, Chicago Gaming. Yeah. We also want to thank PinStadium Lights. Which will remake. Hopefully by the time I hear this, I'll have some in my machine. And be sure to use code SDTM to receive 10% off your entire purchase. Yes, that's pretty damn good. Oh, yeah. That is awesome. And then Penn Graphics is our newest sponsor. Fantastic blades. Oh, my gosh. Love that stuff. So, mods, blades, a little bit of everything. I do like blades. Love it. Especially since I went to IndiePens, and every one of his machines has got blades. That's right. I'm a big proponent of those blades. He does a good, good job. Become a fan. Or like the metallic, everything metallic as snake. Yeah. Like the fangs, the tongue, the wraparound. Oh, so nice. All right, guys. Until next week, thanks again for checking out the YouTube videos. Help support us. Buy some t-shirts. Check us out at the show. Say hi. Grab a beer with us. That kind of stuff. Until then, see you later. Alright, you ready? Yeah Sometimes I just rub it Cause I love it With the broken target? It don't matter there's always something broken I'll take them all broken snagger I still love her even with a broken snagger I still love her even with a broken snagger the sanctum and the snagger we need this or that a broken sanctum or a broken snagger a worn sanctum or a broken snagger oh my god that's the greatest oh my dumb ass actually thought about it i was like i don't like dirty you know that sanctum's kind of hard to repair but you know what nobody likes a broken snag nobody likes a snagger it's a big part of her what part of it is the snagger oh shit it's the one that is the thing that grabs the balls dude it's all true though

Greg vs. Zach@ 23:56 — Core disagreement about whether code updates can salvage poorly designed games

  • “I don't think there's one person out there that would ever say that a Spider-Man would ever look better than a Tron.”

    Zach@ 14:15 — Strong statement about visual design hierarchy between two popular games

  • Iron Man
    game
    Avatargame
    Spider-Mangame
    Metallicagame
    Lyman Sheetsperson
    Keith Johnsonperson
    The Walking Deadgame
    Popeyegame
    Whitewatergame
    Batman 66game
    Penn Stadium Lightscompany
    Penn Graphicscompany
    Michael Jonesperson
    Jason W. Schmidtperson

    competitive_signal: One-ball game format (Iron Man, Avatar) seen as limiting by competitive/casual players; debate over whether one-ball design inherently reduces replayability and engagement

    medium · Greg: 'I don't do not like one ball games.' Discussion of needing to complete wizard mode in single ball making three-ball standard feel artificial.

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Keith Johnson's coding approach emphasizes depth and complexity across all his games, contrasting with Lyman Sheets' more variable approach; Keith's games position as aspirational/collectible while Lyman's offer accessibility

    high · Greg: 'Keith's games are all Papa Duke damn hard or just drug out... Lyman's games can be a little shorter, a little longer... varies in difficulty.' Discussion of 2+ hour gameplay times on Keith games vs. 20-minute Lyman games.

  • $

    market_signal: Secondary market pricing for Tron Elite at ~$11,500 for unplayed machines; demonstrates collector demand for modded/collector-grade versions

    medium · Zach: 'And there's a new one on Pinside right now that's never been played for like 11.5'

  • ?

    community_signal: Lyman Sheets currently engaged in code salvage project for Batman 66; represents effort to rescue poorly received machine through post-release development

    high · Zach: 'Saving it from entering people's homes... If they code that game, that game is going to be good.' Discussion of Lyman's active work on Batman 66 code improvements.

  • ?

    product_strategy: Metallica Premium Edition appears positioned as music-pin option but noted as repetitive in multi-pin collections; suggests design may not differentiate sufficiently from other music-themed machines for collectors with multiple games

    medium · Discussion of Kiosh's second pin choice: 'Metallica gets a little repetitive in a two-pin collection, I think it'd get... Yeah, it drove me crazy a little bit.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Batman 66 perceived as poorly designed mechanically; hosts divided on whether code improvements can salvage the game; Lyman Sheets working on code salvage despite skepticism about game viability

    medium · Greg: 'Code will not save that game... It's still going to be shit.' Zach: 'If they code that game, that game is going to be good.' Discussion of mechanical shooting quality issues.

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Growing appreciation for Tron as superior to Spider-Man aesthetically; both hosts chose Tron over Spider-Man in direct comparison despite Greg being historically 'huge Spider-Man fan'

    high · Greg: 'I still like a Papa Duke Spider-Man over Tron. Some people bash me for that.' Zach: 'I don't think there's one person out there that would ever say that a Spider-Man would ever look better than a Tron.' Both ultimately chose Tron in this-or-that.