Episode 261 – Zip Lines and Moonshine

TL;DR

Slam Tilt year-in-review: quality concerns, licensing failures, new cabinet design, accessory pricing

Summary

Key Claims

• Star Wars: Fall of the Empire has significant playfield ergonomics issues, including clunky orbits and ball routing problems where balls jump into the back panel

  high confidence · Ron and Bruce discuss their direct experience playing Fall of the Empire at RPC; Ron states 'It is super clunky to play. Even things like the orbits I had trouble hitting at first' and describes balls making 'the jump into the back panel, and it would rattle in there and then just pull out like a turd coming out of an ass.'

• The Magna-save feature on Star Wars: Fall of the Empire Premium/LE is malfunctioning, exhibiting weak electromagnetic grip similar to weak power on original Black Knight

  high confidence · Ron describes a save attempt: 'instead of just stopping it dead, it was just like, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh. And then it literally just died. Like there wasn't even a pulse. It just like, boom.' He credits Austin Code (Raymond Davidson) for ball saver compensation.

• Jersey Jack Pinball cannot afford Matrix or Top Gun: Maverick licensing due to asset/cost constraints ($15 million estimated for Maverick)

  high confidence · From recent Jack Guarneri interview: 'Matrix, there were no assets. You basically get the name. You get the movie poster. That's it. And Maverick...it's like $15 million. And it's like, yeah, no. We can't afford that.'

• Stern's new cabinet construction uses pressed 16-18 gauge steel rather than thicker gauge, which Bruce believes will cause flexing and 'twisty' problems over time

  medium confidence · Bruce argues about George Gomez's cabinet claims: 'These are probably 18 gauge. They're maybe 16 gauge...it's still going to flex and that's going to be the problem. Maybe I'll be wrong in two years, but I think we're going to see some of these cabinets get a little twisty-twisty.'

• Stern's manufacturing QA process is inadequate; machines leave the factory with unresolved switch issues and playfield problems

  high confidence · Bruce criticizes: 'the people who are testing them are just throwing balls through it to go through ball searches and make sure every switch works, which they don't even do right all the time.' He advocates: 'Don't push them out. Put games on location...Work out the bugs.'

• Fall of the Empire's Death Star drop target rejected multiple times during tournament play before receiving a fixed unit on Christmas Eve

Notable Quotes

• “It is super clunky to play. Even things like the orbits I had trouble hitting at first.”

  Ron Hallett @ ~13:45 — Initial assessment of Star Wars: Fall of the Empire's playfield design problems

• “I had so many that actually made the jump into the back panel, and it would rattle in there and then just pull out like a turd coming out of an ass.”

  Ron Hallett @ ~14:10 — Vivid description of ball routing failures on Fall of the Empire

• “Don't push them out. Put games on location. Who cares if they see them a week or two before? Work out the bugs.”

  Bruce Nightingale @ ~21:30 — Core manufacturing philosophy critique; argues for location testing before release

• “Matrix, there were no assets. You basically get the name. You get the movie poster. That's it.”

  Ron Hallett (reporting Jack Guarneri) @ ~26:15 — Reveals licensing constraints on Matrix game; indicates lack of visual assets from licensor

• “These are probably 18 gauge...it's still going to flex and that's going to be the problem. I think we're going to see some of these cabinets get a little twisty-twisty.”

  Bruce Nightingale @ ~37:00 — Skepticism about Stern's new cabinet durability despite George Gomez assurances

• “I'm in the boot of shame.”

  Ron Hallett @ ~07:30 — Personal context: Ron recovering from foot surgery, limiting pinball activity

• “You're paying $100 for a border and a Jaws 50th plaque thing.”

  Bruce Nightingale @ ~50:45 — Criticism of new Jaws 50th topper pricing ($1,100 vs $1,000 original) for minimal changes

• “It's got the C-3PO topper. Have you seen this? Yes, I have. It's basically the Black Knight Sword of Rage topper, except with C-3PO's head.”

  Bruce Nightingale / Ron Hallett @ ~52:00 — Discussion of Star Wars topper design; recycled Black Knight template with character swap

Entities

Signals

• ?

  business_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball cannot afford major IP licenses; Matrix has no digital assets, Top Gun: Maverick licensing estimated at $15 million

  high · Jack Guarneri interview: 'Matrix, there were no assets. You basically get the name...Maverick...it's like $15 million...We can't afford that'

• ~

  sentiment_shift: Rochester Pinball Collective league reports seven to eight machines in active repair; suggests industry-wide reliability concerns affecting venue operators

  medium · Ron: 'there's seven or eight in the repair area right now...I'm still working on that Mike Magoo's game...games everywhere'

• ?

  community_signal: Pinball community widely experiencing manufacturing quality issues across multiple Stern releases; collectors/operators receiving 'ultimate clunkers' on X-Men and Fall of the Empire

  high · Bruce: 'You've gotten the ultimate clunkers with X-Men and everything else...We've gotten every clunker...I've seen streams with ones that play way better than yours'

• ?

  design_philosophy: Fall of the Empire's Magna-save feature design flawed; weak electromagnetic implementation compared to intended 'golden eye save' functionality; ball saver compensation required

  high · Ron describes failed save: 'But you know if you're at a show...Black Knight...power's weak...That's what this looked like...it just died. Like there wasn't even a pulse'

• ?

  licensing_signal: Top Gun: Maverick licensing costs ($15 million estimated) prohibitive for boutique manufacturers; Matrix lacks sufficient digital assets for game development