Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Star Wars Fall Of The Empire Pinball, I Played It – Let’s Talk About It

Dirtypool Pinball·video·50m 31s·analyzed·Sep 12, 2025
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Hands-on Fall of the Empire preview: fun, accessible, but Death Star lock rejection concerns

Summary

Dirtypool Pinball provides a hands-on first impression of Stern's Star Wars: Fall of the Empire pinball machine after visiting the factory. The host discusses gameplay, Spike 3 platform improvements, audio system details, Pro/Premium/LE tier differences, and identifies specific concerns including Death Star lock rejection issues and Sarlacc pit visual clarity. The game is positioned as accessible and fun but potentially lacking depth for veteran players.

Key Claims

  • Death Star shot rejects balls frequently due to catching air off the ramp and hitting the upper lip, preventing locks

    high confidence · Direct first-hand observation during gameplay; host demonstrates the issue multiple times on screen

  • Magna-sling ball save with dual functionality (pulse at J, full save at JEDI) is the primary feature differentiating Premium/LE from Pro model

    high confidence · Confirmed by Johnny Two Slaps (Stern game producer) during stream; shown in promotional video

  • LE models available end of September, Premium end of September/early October, Pro early-mid October

    medium confidence · Host states from memory; notes he didn't take written notes and requests Johnny verify if incorrect

  • Star Wars unavailable in international territories due to Disney regional divisions rejecting pinball representation

    medium confidence · Information provided by Stern during visit; host acknowledges this is 'surface level information'

  • Spike 3 is an iterative improvement, not revolutionary innovation; improves upon Spike 2 incrementally

    high confidence · Host's direct assessment after discussion with George Gomez at Stern

  • Premium/LE have high-frequency tweeter; Pro has dummy plug but can be upgraded

    high confidence · Host discusses audio system specifics; notes uncertainty about Pro upgrade availability

  • Game features dual slingshot layout with floating pop bumpers for randomization

    high confidence · Host describes playfield layout from direct observation

Notable Quotes

  • “This game is fun. It's really fun. It's a fun layout. Everything's really far back. It's fast. It's got that John Borg flow kind of deal to it.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~2:17:00 — Core assessment of gameplay appeal; establishes John Borg's design signature as a positive

  • “The Death Star rejects a lot of shots. And it's not because you're screwing them up. It's because as the ball's coming up here, it catches too much air off the ramp and it's hitting this upper lip of the Death Star.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~1:45:00 — Primary critical concern; identifies potential quality/design issue affecting core multiball mechanic

  • “Spike 3 is excellent. It is for sure very excellent, but it is also an iterative step. It is not like if you were expecting like an absolute like innovation in pinball technology, it's not here.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~48:00 — Sets expectations for Spike 3; clarifies incremental vs. revolutionary advancement

  • “The word accessible is a scary word and I think that puts off a lot of people, but it should be fun.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~2:05:00 — Acknowledges potential tension between casual appeal and veteran player depth

  • “You can be mad at Disney for why you cannot get Star Wars in your local country.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~2:22:00 — Clarifies licensing responsibility; defensive of Stern's role

  • “Everything's really far back. It's fast. It's got that John Borg flow kind of deal to it. And the second word is it's very accessible.”

    Dirtypool (host) @ ~2:05:00 — Describes design approach as deliberately targeting new/casual players while maintaining fun factor

Entities

Fall of the EmpiregameJohn BorgpersonGeorge GomezpersonJohnny Two SlapspersonSpike 3productDeath StarproductDirtypool Pinballperson

Signals

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Game designed with emphasis on accessibility and fun factor; host questions longevity for veteran players due to apparent reduced rules depth

    medium · Host: 'The question is is like is it going to have longevity as like a homeowning machine if you are like a really veteran player and I cannot say that we have had enough time on it to say that'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Sarlacc pit spinner lacks visual clarity; missing mouth decal despite being famous franchise element, reducing thematic representation

    medium · Host notes: 'I really wish that they had put a decal in here that was like the teeth of the Sarlacc because as the way it reads right now, it just looks like it's a like a whirlwind spinner'; acknowledges as 'really nitpicky' but consistent with game's high toy count

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Star Wars territorial licensing fragmented by Disney regional divisions; North America approved, Europe and other regions rejected representation

    medium · Host reports Stern stated Disney regional divisions made independent approval decisions; positioned as Disney brand strategy, not Stern limitation; hopes visibility will change future approvals

  • $

    market_signal: Fall of the Empire positioned as two-pronged accessibility strategy targeting casual/franchise players alongside existing enthusiast base

    high · Host: 'Stern's pushing their initiative to try to get more people into pinball using the greatest giant biggest franchise that they could use...Costco machines...and Star Wars machines to go out to people that aren't into pinball and like Star Wars'

  • ?

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:03
[Music] That's not the right one. There we go. What's up everybody? Uh, it's me and I'm in my voice is gone. And why is my voice gone? That's an excellent question because I have been traveling and talking for forever and uh and we're here to maybe talk about that in a minute. But, you know, we got to wait until all the fun stuff happens. So, let's uh let's shoot the [ __ ] until that happens. I'll fix the chat, which is clearly not set up correctly. Gosh, I know. Gosh, what kind of what kind of I know. Gosh, what kind of what kind of like amateur hour is this? Thank you, Joe. I know.
0:45
Uh, yeah. So, we're going to talk about Stern's new Cornerstone game, and I will be able to ask you all or answer all sorts of questions about it. And, uh, yeah, Army webinars in an hour. What the hell? I don't even know what that means. What does that mean, Howard? Oh, you broke you. You took it off so you could watch this. Amazing, my dude. Ask you a qu. All right, Brad. Uh, Brad, Ask you a qu. All right, Brad. Uh, Brad, should pineapple be on pizza? That's what I want to know. These are That's what I want to know. These are the real questions we're dealing with right now. Look at all this stuff. Look at all this stuff that's messed up. I haven't used uh this particular uh layout since we redid all the stream. Here, we'll put that over my face. Boom.
1:32
Um, is the pro model stripped down? We'll talk about that in a little bit. We got I can't answer any any of your your pin stern related questions until they do their silly video live because we're dealing with Disney and Disney is well, you know, Disney is as Disney does. What is this? Yeah, my allergies are killing me right Yeah, my allergies are killing me right now. Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Stern Pinball. I mean, now tell me if the audio is I mean, now tell me if the audio is coming through clear. An epic pinball adventure. Oh, the army deal weapon. Oh, the army deal weapon. Iconic monsters of all. Iconic monsters of all. So, they gave us part of that So, they gave us part of that presentation when we were there. King Kong. King Kong. Oh man, we got to fix that, too.
Stern Pinball
company
Disneycompany
Sarlacc pitproduct
Magna-sling ball saveproduct

announcement: Official Spike 3 platform features include 18.5-inch HD display, dual tweeter/woofer audio with enclosures, improved Wi-Fi (2.4G/5G), faster CPU, potential range extender antenna

high · George Gomez official presentation; host interview with Johnny Two Slaps confirms specs; enclosed speaker backbox mentioned as future feature pending implementation

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pro/Premium/LE tiers differentiated primarily by cosmetics and single mechanical feature (magna-sling); Pro ramp static vs. Premium/LE actuating ramp

    high · Host: 'all of the things that are different between the pro and the premium are cosmetic except for one thing or two things'; magnasling exclusive to Premium/LE; Pro described as 'totally awesome choice if finances are an issue'

  • ?

    product_concern: Death Star lock mechanism experiences consistent ball rejection due to ramp air-catching and upper-lip impact, affecting fundamental multiball lock reliability

    high · Host demonstrates rejection issue multiple times during gameplay; characterizes as 'artificially hard' and 'frustrating'; concerns about player experience and perception of 'mysterious skill issues'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Spike 3 represents incremental hardware evolution rather than revolutionary platform change; maintains Spike 2 foundation with iterative improvements

    high · Host: 'Spike 3 is excellent...but it is also an iterative step. It is not like if you were expecting like an absolute like innovation in pinball technology, it's not here. It's all the things you like about the Spike 2 platform...and they're all improved slightly'

    • 2:13
    Was it before I changed how the rewards are doing here? Let's fix all this stuff. There we go. That'll have to do. What's up, to guy? I miss you. All right. sounding good. Fantastic. You love to hear it. You love to see it. Um I will say like I mean I can talk about the non uh SW related things. Your Star Trek stuff. Your Star Trek stuff. Uh YouTube prepare a thing. Oh, Uh YouTube prepare a thing. Oh, thank you. Star Wars. Yay. Tough guy does look excellent. That's very true.
    2:51
    Is it this guy right there? It's definitely not me. That's awesome. What's up, Nuclear Black? Good to see you. Oh, now I can see. Oh, now I can see. Look who's joining me. There's an Look who's joining me. There's an Illuminati lady who may have not snuck a 13-inch dildo into my goddamn bag when I went to go to see Stern. Thanks for that. His eye. His eye. Yeah, if you don't follow me on If you Yeah, if you don't follow me on If you don't follow me on Instagram, then you missed the hilarious uh journey of me going through TSA with a 13-inch dong. So, that was fun. Yeah, that's pretty much what it looked like. Thank you, Eric. I appreciate that,
    3:34
    actually. Ow. Stop hitting me. They can't even see that. Hell yeah, dude. TSA precheck all the way. And do you know why I was TSA pre-check? Because this girl set it all up. She helped with everything with the trip. She did the booking. She did the focusing going out. Get out of here. Nobody cares about you, Aragorn. Uh yeah, she she handled everything. It was so amazing. All I I got to focus on packing my gear, bringing my camera. Uh I will be posting a metric ton of uh content regarding this trip. So, um look forward to that. I hope if you are interested in in seeing any of that, we'll have it soon. Oh, Oh, one minute ago. We're live, baby. You one minute ago. We're live, baby. You guys ready? Wrong one. You're so good at this. I'm me internet You're so good at this. I'm me internet good. Okay, welcome everybody. Uh, the moment that many of you probably have been waiting for. This is Stern's new Cornerstone game, All the Empire. Let's take a look at the trailer and then I will tell you all about my experience. As a little preference before I hit play on this, I'm I like Star Wars. I am not a huge mega Star Wars fan and you should know that going in that some of my criticisms on this are going to be from somebody who is not a huge Star Wars fan. Um, so if that makes you buttth hurt and you don't like what I'm saying just because it's from someone who doesn't like a Star Wars franchise as much as you, I'm sorry, but that's this is my my opinion. Um, so yeah, I played the game for a few hours. And another important point is that like we spent a lot of time kind of like talking and mingling with everybody that was there. So this isn't the same assessment as like having a game in your home and like just obsessing over it and playing it for hours. So, you know, take take all of this with a grain of salt that a lot of these opinions aren't going to be fully like, you know, vetted, right? There's a lot of stuff about the game that may not be, you know, aware in an hour of playing. All right, let's get I'll get into that, Joe, in a bit. So, let's watch this.
    5:42
    Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Stern Pinball, and we're here today in a galaxy not far away to launch you into the legendary Star Wars universe with our latest game, Star Wars. So, this is the LA model So, this is the LA model with it. The LA model is themed as pop with it. The LA model is themed as pop culture and remains the pro is andor and the premium is kind the pro is andor and the premium is kind of like in between. We're excited to bring Star Wars to a We're excited to bring Star Wars to a new generation of pinball players, taking them on an epic adventure to relive key parts of the Skywalker saga and save the galaxy once and for all. Fueled by Hey, what's up Johnny? Two slaps Hey, what's up Johnny? Two slaps technology pinball Star Wars. I got to meet Johnny in person and I was I got to meet Johnny in person and I was pretty [ __ ] stoked about it. The story that started it all. Players The story that started it all. Players will experience this is the premium model through a pinball adventure like none other. This premium has the sidelighting This premium has the sidelighting upgrade technology features a robust enhanced CPU and that in the background there is integrate highquality film assets and custom animations that really larger full HD display game assets including John. game assets including John. So I'm going to pause it real quick. The So I'm going to pause it real quick. The HD display is awesome. I like that it's not them trying to imitate uh Jersey Jack by interfering with the kind of central back glass artwork, which is kind of like a pretty big staple of pinball. Um, and we'll talk about what they've done with the speakers here. Um, because that's there's some good stuff and some strange stuff. They sound amazing on our allnew audio They sound amazing on our allnew audio system. And this is just the beginning of the Spike 3 platform. Over the course of the next year, you'll see an array of additional Spike 3 platform features that will continue to enhance performance and usability. So, we talked a lot about Spike 3 uh at So, we talked a lot about Spike 3 uh at Stern both during the presentation and then again afterwards I sideline George and asked him a bunch of audio questions and stuff. So, I have some information on what Spike 3 is going to be and what it is currently. I will say set your expectations. Spike 3 is is excellent. It is for sure very excellent, but it is also an iterative step. It is not like if you were expecting like an absolute like innovation in pinball technology, it's it's not here. It's all the things you like about the Spike 2 platform or don't like and they're all improved slightly. And for me, that's fine. I don't think it needs to be anything more than that because I don't think Spike 2 was really deficient in many ways and in things that couldn't have been fixed with code and stuff. In addition, like better interface for the menus and like better interface for the menus and stuff. The game also highlights vibrant The game also highlights vibrant handdrawn artwork. And now I'll hand it over to the artwork to take you through. Yeah. So they they hired a bunch of Yeah. So they they hired a bunch of different uh uh asset designers for the back glass. They had a specific person that did character likeness because they wanted to I'm talking and moving like I'm the only camera and I'm not I'm not It's cool. She's in focus. So I'm going to talk but she's going to move her mouth so it looks like she's talking. You ready? Uh, so they hired a bunch of people to do make sure or they hired a guy specifically to do likeness to make sure that all of the faces like came off perfect as they were supposed to be. Um, Giant Two Slap says the game still has lower spike 2 cabinet, but this new backs box is all spike 3 electronics. So, and part of that is also like so, uh, the speakers are much deeper and at some point George said, I don't know if that's already in, but they're going to be an enclosed back box around the speakers which is going to help that audio fidelity. Um, they've moved the power transformer. It's in the middle of the box as well now to make space for that. So, I think logistically, get out of here, dude. Now is not the time. We're talking about Star Wars. It keeps focusing on me. It keeps focusing on me. Yeah, I'm going to fix that. Yeah, I'm going to fix that. I'm trying to get in line with you. I'm trying to get in line with you. You're like, you're the star right now. You're like, you're the star right now. I get it. It's cuz I have Princess Leia on. It's cuz I have Princess Leia on. It's true, though. She does. Everybody, It's true, though. She does. Everybody, let's put her slightly out of focus. This should be good. All right. Anyways, um yes. So, the Wi-Fi is now both 2.4G and 5G combo. It's got a better antenna. They talked about some sort of possible range extender antenna that you could put on it as well to give it even more range if you're in like a basement or far away from your router or something. All right, Johnny Two Slass. By the way, everybody, Johnny Giant Two Slass is from Stern and uh met and talked in person. Uh game producer, I believe, is your official title. Um so they're here to also answer some of your questions, too. So this is some of the stuff about the artwork. So concept art was done by Vince Pros. I hope I'm saying that right. The likeness guy, that's Bob Stevick. He did an amazing job. I'll pull up the artwork for the premium and you got to see that. It's it's really impressive. Um, so yeah, let's finish the video. All of the exciting features in Star All of the exciting features in Star Wars: Fall of the Empire.
    10:17
    May the Fools be with you. Hi everybody, I'm lead game designer Hi everybody, I'm lead game designer John Borg here to This is lead game designer John Borg. This is lead game designer John Borg. Thank you. Thank you. Show you everything in our latest game, Show you everything in our latest game, Star Wars Fall of the Empire. Players can take down the AT-AT by attaching their snow speededer's toe cable and shooting the spiral ramp to send it crashing down. Yeah. So, the ramp kind of emulates the Yeah. So, the ramp kind of emulates the pattern of the, you know, little snow speededer or whatever going around it. I know some people were we were speculating that the mechanic for this was probably going to be like the old Avatar mech like the ear the early Stern Avatar and that it was going to drop it. Um, I someone expressed to me that they wish that this moment of it being dropped down onto its legs was like a bigger bigger moment in it. And there just isn't enough playfield space. And I totally get their decision here. Um, the star the Death Star has a mechanic that you'll see in a little bit. I'm sure that is much more exciting and engaging, but there are some things about it that I'm concerned about and and we'll get into that. Mirroring the breathtaking scene from Mirroring the breathtaking scene from The Empire Strikes Back. I don't know if you've seen that movie, I don't know if you've seen that movie, but that's what happens in it. dismantle the battle stations during Death Star multiball in order to so dark there's there's some cues from so dark there's there's some cues from the from the John Williams score and then there's a lot of music that was written for the pen itself directly the center the center all of the music is not all from the all of the music is not all from the movie take down the salacious crumb drop take down the salacious crumb drop target to access the starlac pin so this is this is one thing that I I'm so this is this is one thing that I I'm going to bring up as a as a criticism early that we talked about was uh little influencer groups there. So, this is supposed to be the Slarlac pit. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. I really wish that they had put a decal in here that was like the teeth of the Slarlac because as the way it reads right now, because as the way it reads right now, it it just looks like it's a like a a white water spiral, you know, the the white water thing. I can't think. Someone in chat's gonna have to help me out here. There is lots of music or there is There is lots of music or there is music. Okay, there's two licensed tracks. It's the main theme of the Imperial March. Honestly, who really remembers any of the other cues off the top of their head? Actually, I can think of a few. And I love when the TIE fighters are coming in when they're like trying to defend the Millennium Falcon. That's a great one.
    12:35
    Anyway, so, uh, I do wish that there was a decal on here, but having said that, if you look at this, there are absolute toys galore. They really elevated the amount of sculpts in this game by like a billion. and comp compared to like normal stern offs. So, you can tell by the trim here on the edges that this is the LE because it's blue. It's got the impression lighting system or whatever they're calling it. And I believe the Johnny, can you help me with this? The the premium does or does not come with the with the uh lighting package. I know you can add it because it's it's set there with the inlays. The Pro doesn't, but you can modify it. So, we're going to the the difference between the Pros and the Premium/LE is not a lot. It is mostly cosmetic with the exception of one thing. There was one What is this? What is this? What is this? What is this? Get ready. Get ready. Pink ninja man, stop bombing my stream Pink ninja man, stop bombing my stream with your your goddamn World of Warcraft play. You're a Jersey Jack guy. Why are you even here? And by that I mean, what's going on, man? Good to see you. Uh, so all of the things that are different between the pro and the premium are cosmetic except for one thing or two things. And we'll they're going to say that right now, I bet. Here it goes. Fighters. Fighters. [Music] Battle stormtroopers and play through your favorite character modes and missions.
    13:58
    Use the Jedi ball phase to save your ball on your journey to defeat the Okay, Okay, this [ __ ] is so cool. And this is the thing that's different between the premium and pro. There is a Magna sling ball save directly underneath the flippers and it functions in two ways. You can level up your character or you get powerful enough that you can hit it and it will capture the ball completely and throw it up the playfield. That's what he's showing here. Like that, right? And the other thing Like that, right? And the other thing you can do is a emergency. This is like uh when you when you're not leveled up cuz the whole thing is like you're getting more powerful as you like learn to use the force. Uh it is a it is a ball save like uh I forget if it's a kickback or if it's just like you hit the button then it gives you the the ball and shoots it back in the shooter lane. Um but there is no Yeah, there's no mag to save your ballot and mission. So that that's the level one ball save So that that's the level one ball save where you have to time hitting it and kind of get a magnusling pulse to throw it back up into the shooter lane. That's how that works normally. And then the second one is once you level it up, you can hit it and it will grab it and throw it back up into the force is with us after all. the force is with us after all. And it the throwing back up on the And it the throwing back up on the playfield works really good and consistently. It seems fine. Uh the catching it so that it goes into the uh shooter lane is much more difficult and I I'm bad at pinball so that might have some
    15:29
    something to do with it. But in reality, I don't know if that's something that you could just like skill out or if it's going to be like, I don't know, Grand Lizard, where you kind of just hit it and and pray to God that it works. Uh, all right. Here, Johnny's got more info on exactly how that works. You spell Jedi with the switch closures, and when you get to J, you get the pulse magnet. And then when you spell Jedi completely, it'll save it for you. There you go. So, it's like a two-stage uh mechanic. Spell J, you get a pulse. You spell Jedi, oh god, you get gassy. I blame I blame this Polish food that Stern eats. There's this place called Tatas. Tadas uh perogis. No, it was actually it was such it was so good. I'm gassy because of the plain food. Seriously though, if you go to visit Stern, you got to go to this Polish place. It's delicious. Shout out to Poland. What's up? Okay. Uh Uh oh dear. Pinballs are everywhere. oh dear. Pinballs are everywhere. Johnny knows what's up. Obviously Johnny Johnny knows what's up. Obviously Johnny knows what's up cuz they eat there for lunch. Kyle, I'm thanking Kyle for that Kyle, I'm thanking Kyle for that recommendation. I've been talking about this Polish place the whole time. I got back. I was like, "Yeah, Storm was great, but this Polish place Fall of the Empire is available in Pro, Fall of the Empire is available in Pro, premium, and limited edition models. Relive the legend. Rewrite the fate of the galaxy. This is more than pinball. This is Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, available now at sternpinball.com." Okay, so let's talk about release dates and availability and then I'll talk about some of the stuff that is different from the pro and premium that is not included in this promo video. Uh the less are going to be ready by the end of September. Um and the premiums are going to be kind of at the end of September, beginning of October with the pros being in the beginning or middle of October if I remember correctly. I didn't take notes. This is from memory. So Johnny, if that's incorrect, please let me know. Uh but in general, the game is going to be available very soon. So, this is not like a wait till after expo or something kind of situation. Um, let's talk about the audio because there's some stuff in here that isn't mentioned about the audio. So, the audio system on the premium and the pro model has only the mid-range tweeter here, mid-range cone and the woofer inside of the cabinet. The highfrequency tweeter here is a dummy plug on the premium and the uh pro with the LE coming with the full speaker like assembly including the high frequency range tweeter. You can purchase at least on the premium I know the expanded tweeter and add it to it. Uh but I don't know if uh that is available for the pro. So that's that's that's another question for for Johnny or someone above my pay grade. Um the the system can get very loud without distortion. That was something that they were uh advertising really big. They were like, "Oh, it's so many more wattage is more." And if you know anything about speakers, wattage is [ __ ] and doesn't mean anything. It's just how hard you can drive it and how loud it can get. Which is fine. And anybody who's used the Spike 2 system knows that it already got plenty loud. So it really wasn't a big deal. Um, the things that are actually exciting about this is that they have true enclosures for the speakers back there that prevents an issue with static pressure or what's called uh uh room modes where you get crossover frequencies that either cancel each other out or amplify each other and it [ __ ] with how the cones moving and producing audio. So, the sound sounds great like is the bottom line. And really really what it comes down to is like when you have a pin, the quality of the speakers is important, but what matters way more is like how it's tuned to the room. Like if you have your game in the corner of your basement, it's going to be super bassy and boommy. And you're going to have to go in and tweak the EQs that Sterns had in Spike 2 for forever, or at least as far as I can remember. And you can even turn it to an advanced mode and use it as a parametric EQ. So like you can already tweak this stuff big time. Uh, so you know, just being able to tune your game for the space is way more important than a lot of these upgrades. So just keep that in mind. If you don't like the way your game sounds and you're thinking about getting new speakers, sure, you replace your paper cones if you have paper cones that came with your old Stern Spike 2, but then make sure that you get like into the audio menu and tweak it for the room. Um, all right, enough of that. This guy does sound. It is It's my job. Look, there's keys on the wall. You know, anybody who has stuff mounted on their wall clearly does it for work, right? Uh, all right. So, let me catch up on chat. That's kind of my spiel. Uh, the only other thing I remember that's different is I think the the ramp doesn't actuate on the premium or I'm sorry, on the Pro. Um, there's this hyperspace shot down the middle, which is super cool. Oh, right. There's one other thing I want to talk about. This is my only really legitimate concern. I'll tell you a little bit how it plays and then I'll field all the questions that I can before my mind goes insane. Uh, all right. So you can kind of a [ __ ] me. Where the hell is it? Come here. Hyperspace shot. Where are you?
    20:20
    It's right there. It's hiding behind the Millennium Falcon. There we go. Okay. So, there's a ramp that you shoot and it goes into this hyperspace. It flies through. Yeah. On the Pro that this the ramp is in the static position, right? So, this this ramp kind of goes up and down. Uh, and on the Pro, I'm sorry, on the premium, the LE and you use it to shoot this hyperspace shot. And the moments in in the in the game or in the game are awesome. like the way that they've incorporated each of the primary modes and whatnot are good. This is what I'm concerned about. This Death Star, this Death Star rejects a lot of shots. And it's not because you're screwing them up. It's because as the ball's coming up here, it catches too much air off the ramp and it's hitting this upper lip of the Death Star. And when it hits the upper upper area, it doesn't enter the mouth. So locking balls in this is artificially hard in a way that's like kind of frustrating. Um, it happened a lot when we were playing and I'm not sure if it's something that can be adjusted because this is like a curved uh it's not like they can put a little plastic hat on it to keep it. Um, it's just as it goes up the ramp it rattles and then jumps and hits that lip and then comes back down. So, you're making like arguably decent shots up there, but you're not getting the lock. Um, so that sucks. Uh, here's the thing that they didn't talk about. Let's talk a little bit about playfield layout. So, this game basically has two sets of slingshots. There's the main slingshots down here, and then there's two floating pops symmetrically on both side, and it adds for a lot of fun randomization. Uh, yeah, you probably have to get your Dremel and get that exhaust port out. That's pretty funny, Brad. Um, no, there uh so there's two scoops that uh are connected with subways, I believe, on either side. There's a there's one over here. I mean, maybe there isn't one on the right. It's a It's a vertical target. Anyways, there's a scoop up above this that it shoots out to the right flipper over here. And oh, you can't Yeah, I am on the right screen. Uh, and that one I believe connects to that. Uh, and also when you shoot uh, for example, the slurlac pit on the right, it ejects it out to the right outline. So, the right and left orbits are crazy. They're kind of like um, Pulp Fiction, but without the stop where it goes down the center. If you hit the right or left orbit, it's coming back on the other side like honking fast. Like crazy fast. Honking fast. Honking fast. Honking fast. This game is Honking fast. This game is brutally quick. And this I this I'll talk a little bit about how it plays now. So there's I'm going to use two words to describe this game. And I think that many people are going to dig the first one and I think some people are going to be concerned about the second one. This game is fun. It's really fun. It's a fan layout. Everything's really far back. It's fast. It's got that John Board flow kind of deal to it. And the second word is it's very accessible. You can tell that Stern's pushing their initiative to try to get more people into pinball using the greatest giant biggest franchise that they could use. And they're doing it with a two-pronged scenario. They've got their Costco machines going out for people that are new to pinball for and they don't have a lot of money. and they have all of these Star Wars machines to go out to people that don't, you know, aren't into pinball and like Star Wars and do have a lot of money. So, this is like a two-prong kind of like get people into pinball through Star Wars initiative in my opinion. And you can tell because of how it plays. So, the word accessible is is a scary word and I think that puts off a lot of people, but it should be fun. It's the question is is like is it going to have longevity as like a homeowning machine if you are like a really veteran player and I cannot say that we have had enough time on it to say that and I cannot speak to the modes and stuff as much as I'm sure many of you would like just because we just didn't play it enough to do it. So there are two multiballs that I'm aware of. Uh you can hit the AT-AT walker where it says light lock very clearly here. And to the left of that is kind of like a a saucer that ejects that vucks up into the uh swirly loopy shot. So you shoot it into this downward alley here. It goes up, it flips around and flies out. Woo! And you do that three times, you get your ball lock, and then that's one of the multiballs. So uh I don't know what OCE is. Is this international related stuff? Oh, okay. So I can talk about that. So why is why is Star Wars pinball not available in every territory, right? Surprise, surprise, this actually isn't Stern's fault. So the way that the licensing agreements work for this is Stern spoke to Disney but and get to get approval for whether they would give their pinball machine in their territory. The way Disney works is they're broken into different kind of like factions of Disney in different territories. So Disney North America was all on board for this and got it approved and it was done. Everything was happy. There are Disney's in other territories like Europe and other countries that don't like pinball or just did not think that this was representative of the brand and did not give it approval. So you can be mad at Disney for why you cannot get Star Wars in your local country. And that yeah, that is at least the surface level information that we were given. Um, that checks out to a lot of degrees. It doesn't sound like it's a money issue. It just sounds like Disney of other foreign territories was just like, "We don't want a Star Wars pinball machine here. That's not representative of Disney Europe or Disney Tazakistan or whatever." So, yeah, if you are international, I'm sorry. They're hoping, Cerna said they're hoping that once they see that this game is doing well and successful in North America that other countries will lift that concern and and approve having it shipped there. And if that's the case, I mean, it's not difficult to swap it to 240 volt and send it out. So, you know, I I would imagine that you will probably see these games overseas at some point. So, hi Johnny. You just came back after I gave all my criticisms about the game. welcome. Maybe that's good, maybe that's bad. I don't know. We were just talking about uh how the the game is not available in territories outside of America right now, but that that has more to do with uh Disney in other the Disney factions that run Disney Europe, Disney Tesakistan, etc., etc., not being on board for wanting a pinball machine that represents Star Wars there. And that hopefully that they will come on. She can tell that my voice is shot. So, I got to I got to hydrate up. Don't you dare don't you dare pull that reward. I know when he was gonna do it. Don't do it. Talking about Star Wars.
    27:06
    It is a weird move. Do it. Do it. I know. I appreciate that. Anyways, all I know. I appreciate that. Anyways, all right. So, without further ado, fire away. Let me tell me what your spiked questions are. And since Johnny's back now, maybe they can do it. Johnny, I do want to express my major concern with the game. Uh, if you are still here, hopefully you are. Um, the major concern I have is that we had nothing but rejection shots from the Death Star shot. Every shot that I made up there that seemed good would somehow reject off the top lip by catching too much air or by catching, you know, rattling on the ramp and then hitting it. Like, no matter what, it seemed like perfect shots that should attribute a lock were not giving them. And uh I think that could be frustrating to a lot of players. I don't know if maybe putting a plastic hat on the ramp itself to keep it down. Sure, you could tell me it's a skill issue, but I have a feeling when a lot of people get their hands on this, there's going to be a lot of mysterious skill issues out there. But I I'm worried that the consistency of this lock shot is not in alignment with kind of what it seems like it should be. Um, the other criticism was that I feel like the Slarlac pit needs a decal on it for the for the mouth, but I imagine that getting art assets and approving new stickers on it at this point is probably too late. I also understand that that's really nitpicky, but it is in line with how many mix and how many sculpts are in this game, which is a highend high and beyond I mean pretty much any other Stern game I've seen. Like there's so much good stuff on here. Um, here we go. Okay, so this is the problem. It comes up here. It catches too much air and it's hitting this under lip here and then it's rattling and then coming back down. No, like a decal on the actual like uh the white water uh funnel cuz it's supposed to be a slarlac pit and none of us got that. We were just like, "Oh, right. It is." Um I realized it's really far back there, but like it is visible enough. And I mean I guess in most of the Where the [ __ ] is the slack pit? Help me out here guys. Joe, you probably know by memory what Joe, you probably know by memory what time it is in this video. multiball hyperdrive by hitting the center jump. That's the ramp they always go up. This That's the ramp they always go up. This is this is the ramp that's up all the time on the pro. Take down the Take down the which is not a big deal. The pro is like which is not a big deal. The pro is like totally an awesome choice if if finances are an issue. This is a great great like option. Oh, I do want to point out okay here. Fantastic. Okay, this is the this is the slurlac pit or however you pronounce it. Uh that I feel like a decal on here of just like [ __ ] the m the teeth. It's such a famous mouth, you know? If you talk about famous mouths in movies, like that's probably one of them. I'll give you like it alien. alien. Alien. Like what other famous mouths can Alien. Like what other famous mouths can you think of in in like movie movie history? What's your favorite mouth? Internet, I want to know. Tell me. What does the ball feed when the ramp is down? That's an excellent question. Uh I I don't know. Johnny.
    30:01
    Hopefully Johnny is still here. Dune has the best mouth. All right, that's another good mouth. Dune. Butthole mouth. I'm talking movie mouths, not like pinball mouths. Dude, that's a good one. Predator for sure. Um,
    30:17
    okay. I'm catching up on the mouth of Sauron. Sounds dirty. Madman, thank you everybody, by the way, for hopping on. I appreciate it. I hope uh Yeah. So, the Yoda eyes are trippy. They blink a lot and they like they stare into your soul. They really do. So, both of his eyes are uh We should talk about the artwork, too. I think the Playfield artwork is okay. Um I think it is slightly better than the 2017 Richie game. Yeah. Yeah. But the Playfield artwork is a slight But the Playfield artwork is a slight creative direction different than the cabinet and the and the back glass. And the cabinet and the back glass, and I say this with all confidence, are [ __ ] amazing. They really are. They look beautiful. Every single version. People have been saying like the premium and the LE should be switched, but honestly I think depending on what your favorite movie is or whatever, you're gonna you're gonna love them. You're going to love all of them. Um the Andor one, which is the the green one, uh is is great. The premium is like kind of like the movie poster style one where it has everybody on it. And then the Ellie is like the the Hoth one. And that's the that's the ice cool one. So here, let's go back and take All right. So that's the premium. I'm sorry. Uh, that's that's the pro. This is the Ellie. Let me see if I can find a better shot of it. Yeah. Star Wars redefined pop culture. Star Wars redefined pop culture. So, yeah. I don't know. They're just So, yeah. I don't know. They're just awesome. They all have this really like hard silver like border on it. And I think it really fits with the like it feels kind of like you're getting a VHS like artwork box from like the the video store. Like the nostalgia is there in like the best possible way. Uh, all right. I really am reading for questions now, so fire away if you have questions and I will do my best to answer them. That's an excellent question, Drain Wave. I asked that question in the meeting. No. Uh, the dimensions for the backbox and head are all identical. Uh, they have narrowed the speakers and added a vertical tweeter on it to make up for that additional space. So, uh, if you look at your current Spike 2, there's kind of like a black bar above the L LCD screen. Essentially, they have stretched it to fill that void and then shrunk the speakers down slightly. But the the glass dimensions and the headbox dimensions are the same as a Spike 2 system. No. Okay, Zaron, that's a great question. When I say accessible, do I mean it's easy or shallow? Okay, so I don't think that the game's rules are shallow or going to be shallow. I can't really speak to that just because we didn't play it long enough or focus on that. you know, we're just flipping it for flow and seeing kind of like what's going on by being and being distracted by talking to people. Um, what I mean is like it's a fan layout, so it is easier to get dialed in on the fan shots because of how much playfield there is between it, but it's it's less it's uh it's less mean. It's more forgiving than the 2017 one. And I think that part of the issue I think the reason that they added the two pops on the playfield here, let me um give me a second here. See if I can get an asset of the playfield real quick. They sent over stuff for us, but like a little late. I understand that they didn't want it leaking, which I totally understand. All right, here we go. I'm pulling up the top uh playfield.
    33:39
    I hope we'll find out. No, you don't want to do that. Come on. No, that's cool. Then we'll download it and post it. I know how to internet. The internet good.
    34:04
    Stand by. It's a good opportunity for you guys to mole some questions and then I'll I'll throw them in. Thank you everybody for the the subs and Thank you everybody for the the subs and the followers. I really appreciate it. Uh you know I I'm gonna say something sappy here in a second once I get this stupid playfield pulled up. Uh where the [ __ ] did I put it? Internet. Okay. Look at that big big beautiful playfield.
    34:33
    All righty. Here we go. Look at this big beautiful playfield. Okay. Sappy thing. First off, I went to Stern. And do you know why I went to Stern? Cuz all you [ __ ] supported the channel. That's right. You paid for me to go to Stern and I seriously appreciate that. Not only was it an opportunity for me to connect with people that I have been watching on the internet for a really long time, but just the follows, the support, the I mean that emotionally, just like telling me you like my [ __ ] and everything has helped drive me to keep producing this stuff. And then financially, all the people that are following and subbing and stuff help pay for that ticket. So, I appreciate that and I hope that you know this content I'm putting together a pretty sick ass video, which I'm trying to uh get out as soon as possible. I wanted Thank you, Doobie. I appreciate that, my dude. my dude be. Thank you, Johnny. I appreciate the subs, man. Look at that, man. Stern Stern is giving out subs. And I bet Johnny's doing it out of pocket. So, really, you should give Johnny the biggest goddamn thank you right now. Um, Um, anyway, so enough of that. Thank you. I anyway, so enough of that. Thank you. I hope to bring more of that to you guys in the future. And, uh, yeah, this video I'm putting together is all-encompassing. It involves the Stern tour. Um, there's some really funny Easter egg moments that happened and many of that is because of how cool everybody at Stern is. Here's here's the one thing I learned going to Stern and all of you are going to be like, "No way, Jeff." Like, you're crazy. The the marketing aspect of Stern feels The the marketing aspect of Stern feels like a really cold corporate thing and that it's like kind of like we're just making pinball. We're trying to make money and people are very critical about pulling like they're cutting corners here and here and QC and stuff is going out the window. The experience at Stern was the polar opposite for me. It is like a welcoming environment filled with people that really love pinball. Like Dwight came out, we talked about D and D. We sat down about like new ideas for it. Dwight was like very receptive of this Dwight was like very receptive of this and like went and tried to incorporate some of them. Like the the atmosphere there is of people that really do care about pinball. And whether the bean counters are trying to make money or not, the core group that is actually creating pinball machines is the same people that love pinball and that's a huge relief to me and I love that. So for whatever that's worth. Uh back to Star Wars. Here we go. So this is the play field for the premium I believe. Yeah. So let it rip. I'll move it around. We can zoom in on stuff and we'll talk about whatever the hell you want. Um, these are the two pop bumpers that are randomizing everything. This is the uh the Darth Vader uh helmet is holding hiding the scoop shot that fires out over over it. So, I believe there's a subway that connects to this, but I do not remember off the top of my head uh how many or what shots actually feed to it. Uh Stern also was feeding us alcohol, so that may or may not have had something to do with that in terms of my memory. Uh,
    37:38
    that's not constructive though. If if you say that a shot sucks, Joe, you need to be able to say why the shot sucks. And that's the important part. Like I think that Stern and especially Dwight is very open to hearing feedback, but you can't just say you don't like a thing. You need to say why you don't like a thing and maybe provide a solution for how to make it better. And that's more the direction I think that that Stern resonates off that kind of feedback. And pretty much anybody would resonate off that kind of feedback. Um, yeah. So, Scott, I agree with you on that. That's why I was saying like the artwork for the playfield is mixed in my opinion. Um, there are elements I'm going to be posting. In fact, I'll post it on Instagram pretty soon. I took my own kind of like spot shots of everything. Stern has a bunch of on their website as well. I'm sure it came over in the press kit. So, um, you suggest they throw this all away and start again, scribble. Well, you could make your own Star Wars pinball, I guess, if you feel that way. Uh, the back glass artwork. I wish that more of that style came through on the playfield. I will say this game is a lot more fun to me than the 27 Steve Richie one. And I don't dislike the Steve Richie one. I just I thought it was okay. You know, it's punishing and fast. So, yeah, yeah, it's just it's just I didn't connect as well. I didn't connect as well. Yeah, I I know a lot of people that have Yeah, I I know a lot of people that have mixed reception of it. I love the mechanic of building up huge multipliers and all that, but So, I'm talking about the back glass and the animation is really good, too. Uh I should make a note of that. They went very minimal with it. Compare this playfield art to say X-Men or Venom. You want me to do that? I think it is less good than X-Men or Venom as a playfield, but I think that the cabinet artwork is better uh than Venom. Maybe not as good as X-Men. I think X-Men's art package is really excellent and under underrated. So, but again, I mean, that's so totally subjective. It feels like you're reading a comic It feels like you're reading a comic book when you play X-Men. Yeah. has Madison, Virginia calling me. Yeah. has Madison, Virginia calling me. Big big pinball is calling me because I criticized the pinball machine. They're coming to get me, guys. Help. No, it's just No, it's just Oh. Uh, is it better than Borg's X-Men? Oh. Uh, is it better than Borg's X-Men? I don't know. How do you feel about Borg's X-Men? These are not help. Come on. Ask questions about Star Wars.
    39:50
    Chromeplated. Oh, he's probably talking about the wire forms if I had to guess. Am I buying one? I am not buying a a Star Wars. Um, and that has not to do with the fact that I don't think it's a good game. It's because I don't have space for one and and two, I'm just not a big enough Star Wars fan to feel like I need it. Um, I'm not the biggest fan layout person. I do like Jaws. I think that the side flipper on that really changes it up a little bit. Um, but just in general, like I'm not I'm not like a fan layout guy. It really comes down to that. Six balls. Excellent question. I think so. Yes, because Joe Oh, here's a good story. So, I was talking with Borg about uh he had a pinball nightmare. A real pinball nightmare. Apparently, Borg woke up and had a horrible nightmare that the Slurlac pit was getting jammed with six balls and that it would break the flow of the game. And Borg said that he came in the the beginning of the morning and threw six balls in there and kept slamming them in there to try to make sure it wouldn't lock up. And uh and it didn't. So, there you go. If you are in a situation where you successfully get more than or get six balls into the uh slarlac pit, then you're scarlock. Help me out, internet. I can't talk. Uh it will not jam up apparently. Should you trade Kong for a Star Wars if you're a huge Star Wars fan? I don't know. That's a question only you can answer. I like the flow on Kong better. Um but I have played Kong for hours and hours and hours. Like I own a Kong. I don't own this and I played this for and you know an hour and a half of combined time at max at this event. If IP is really important to you like I would say then yes you should. Um because I know that people don't Oh, right. Builtin HDMI out. Yes. So the streamers streamers rejoice. There is a dedicated HDMI out with audio integrated into it on the new Spike 3 system board that is independent of the display out to the regular display. Apparently, the output to the display is still LVDS, but there is already the translation board built into it that provides the HDMI out on audio out. Yes, there is. There is wireless audio in this. Now, Spike 3 system has uh new wireless audio for home users. So, there is no camera. Um they would not officially say if the wireless audio was Bluetooth or not. Uh but it is low latency audio. In fact, I talked to Oh my god, Johnny, help me out. I'm going to mess up his name. Mark. Mark, who's the software insider connect guy that is doing the audio programming stuff for the wireless audio? Make me not look more dumb than I normally look. Johnny, please. Please, Johnny. Please, Johnny, save me. Uh, anyway, so he said that they they've Uh, anyway, so he said that they they've worked very hard to make sure that the latency is down. Yeah, that sounds right. Uh, he's made sure that the the latency for the wireless audio is like almost non-existent. Wolf man, thank you so much for the follow. Welcome. Welcome to the cult. How are you not already followed? Did you unfollow and then come back and follow or are you a different Wolf man? Uh
    42:55
    he long long hair, baseball cap, nice guy. He messaged Shane directly cuz he wanted to say hi from Ontil by the way. Shout out to Onilt where you could probably buy a Star Wars if you want one. Uh so that is a very very good question. Uh, so that is what they're currently talking about resolving is how to handle multiple people with the wireless audio and how to make it transfer between players and stuff like that. I got a really interesting kind of like deep dive into some of the like creative challenges that aren't immediately like apparent to people. Um, so I can say that that's something that they're looking at, but that that I don't know there's no definitive on that right now. Um, but regardless, you can connect wirelessly to your game to listen to the audio on Spike 3. Like that can be confirmed. Uh, that I don't know. Is there a is there a hardline audio port on the front, guys, for uh the for for people who don't want to use wireless out? Yeah, Black Cat Pinball made this entire game. No one else No one else did that. No news to share there. Okay. Uh, has Insider Connect been integrated onto the board storage game image or on micro SD? Wow, that's crazy technical. I don't know about that. Um, the hardware is a Raspberry Pi like business edition or like not corporate. I forget what the mechanic name is. It's not the consumer grade Raspberry Pi. Um, but apparently it's it's beefier enough to handle all of the necessary things that they need for it.
    44:33
    There you go. Headphone still. I mean, that makes sense. the the headphone literally is just a a balanced output cable that needs to run all the way to the front so that they can plug into it. So, I can't imagine that's something that Spike 3 wouldn't microphone. What are you doing? You got to chill. Get out of there. My butt. Yeah, you can plug it into your butt. Where can I install the traveling dildo mod? Yeah. Again, we've talked about that earlier in the stream. She left, but somebody who was sitting over here a little bit hid a giant 13-inch dildo in my luggage when I traveled. So, uh TSA both LA and Chicago. I brought the dildo back, by the way. Fact, you can almost see it. There it is. There you go. This So, this thing came with me. That was fun. Uh, all right. What pinball? Okay. Are there characters to choose from? No, I don't believe so. Uh, I forget what selection is at the beginning. Um, oh, man. So, the multiball starts are really Oh. Oh, I can't believe I didn't think about this. The call outs are [ __ ] awesome. Uh, so C3PO does the call outs and uh like rejected shots do like R2-D2 like bleep bloops and stuff like it's awesome. The audio package is very engaging. Okay, so do you know on the Steve Richie game how like you felt like you were playing Star Wars but it felt kind of like a little like manufactured maybe like there was a bit of a disconnect. This one you definitely feel like completely engaged in the game both from an audio package perspective, from a video package perspective. Like the the engagement as like world under glass or whatever you want to call it is there and uh yes it is there. You just joined right after we talked about it. Uh there is HDMI out on it and also audio that goes out on that HDMI out lane. So you don't have to run separate cables for it. you can just capture the audio directly from that HDMI and that's separate from the LVDS that goes to the new giant uh display that's on there. So here, let me show that. So yeah, I don't have any pictures of inside the board. They took the glass off and I it was so dark in there and I grabbed my light to try to make sure that we could get footage of it, but it got sealed up by the time that was done. So maybe if someone if someone at Stern can politely send me a shot of what the inside of the backbox looks like, I'll post a Instagram and stuff. I would understand if they don't do that either. So, you know, no hate. That's correct, S. Taylor. So, the difference between the premium LE and the Pro is mostly the sculptures. It's that the ramp and the force ability, which is the ball save mechanic that you can hit the button and and it goes launching up. Um Oh, [ __ ] Also, I told uh I told um Enzo that I would hop over to their channel cuz they wanted me to answer questions for them. So, let me let me ping him and uh yeah, because I I think we're pretty much hitting the wall in terms of all the questions that were here. telling them we're wrapping up. Yeah. So, I was invited by uh Enzo and Gonzo from Gonzo Flipama to hop over there and and be a little guest areno and talk about my experiences with it. So, if you are interested in that, please uh head on over there. I'm going to figure out how to get Streamlabs hooked up and uh and drop in on them and do that. So, yeah, if you follow me on socials, if you know everything where how to get in touch with me if you have questions about it, fire away, man. I'm happy to answer them. Uh, again with my limited stuff, if your questions are about rules and stuff, I know you're curious. I just I cannot answer them. You know, I know how to hit some of the ball locks to start the multiball, but that's that's it. Okay, so that's a good question. The the goals of the game are essentially like uh the it's like get the power, destroy the Death Star. It's all of the like major moments from the film, but not like broken down like chapters like they were in the Steve Richie version. It's more like the experience of like of of of uh destroying the empire through different moments as opposed to like movie chapters. Um so yeah. Uh again, thank you. Sorry for the I just realized I went a little 15 minutes over than what I said I was going to. Uh no, I don't think less deep. Um all the modes are in as far as I know. There's a mini wizard mode that needs to go in and a final wizard mode is what Borg was talking about. So I think in general a lot of it is in there. Um, is a new hope represented much? Maybe. Again, it's more like the Slarlock Pit is the moment. The blowing up the Death Star is the moment, the dropping the uh AT-AT walker is the moment. So, like those are the experiences as you are like getting more powerful as a Jedi and not like this is the battle of Endor film, etc., etc. So, uh, okay. Anyways, I'm going to figure out how to get over there and go on Flipama and we we're going to talk about it more and uh I will answer his questions about that. So, thank you again everybody who dropped by. Please check out YouTube in a little bit. I'm busting ass trying to put this edit together of some sick ass footage of of all the people that you know that work at Stern, just my experience there in general. And of course, Star Wars. I've got some high-speed footage of of flipping. If you want to see flippers flipping high speed, I got you covered. Maybe assuming we had enough uh ISO going. And again, thank you. I really appreciate it. Uh yeah, signing off everybody. Have a great day. I'll praise the great pyramid and go check out Star Wars when it's available end of the month or beginning of next month. They probably start showing up at locations and uh shout out to the people at Stern who came in and took the time out of their day to make sure that stuff was going on in here and they were here to ask questions and answer questions. Like that's cool, right? I think that's cool. later.