Stern Pinball Confirms that Improvements Were Made to New Run Stranger Things Machines

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Oct 6, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Stern confirms ST Vault improvements: TK Lock redesign, Demogorgon fixes, new projector.

Summary

Stern Pinball has confirmed mechanical improvements to the newly announced Stranger Things Vault game run, including redesigns to the TK Lock magnetic ball lock and Demogorgon shot to improve reliability and predictability. The new Premium Edition also reportedly features a newer projector version that is not backwards compatible with original machines, though this was not officially mentioned by Stern.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball redesigned the TK Lock magnetic wall ball lock on the Premium Edition to make it more reliable
high confidence · Brian Eddy confirmed in interview with Joel Engelberth; official confirmation from Stern designer
Stern made tweaks to the Demogorgon shot to make it work better
high confidence · Brian Eddy confirmed in interview; part of mechanical improvements to Vault run
The new run of Stranger Things has a newer projector version that is not backwards compatible with original run machines
medium confidence · Described as 'skuttlebutt' (rumor); not officially mentioned by Stern, only industry speculation
Some mechanical solutions may have been available to original Stranger Things owners via Service Bulletin issued in August 2020
medium confidence · Speculative analysis; author notes uncertainty about exact details of changes

Notable Quotes

“Stern Pinball's newly announced Stranger Things run contains a couple of updates to make the game more 'predictable.'”
Knapp Arcade author (summarizing Brian Eddy) — Confirms official acknowledgment of mechanical improvements from Stern designer in real-time interview
“the skuttlebutt is that the new run of Stranger Things has a newer version of the projector that is not backwards compatible with original run machines”
Knapp Arcade author — Identifies unconfirmed rumor about projector incompatibility; distinguishes speculation from official statements

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyBrian EddypersonJoel EngelberthpersonStranger ThingsgameTK LockproductDemogorgonproductVaultproductFlip N Out With Friendsevent

Signals

?
business_signal: Stern positioning Stranger Things as Vault special release with mechanical improvements and hardware upgrades to justify re-release premium positioning
medium · Author notes improvements are 'as rumored and is often the case on Vault games'; standard practice for special production runs
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product_strategy: Stern redesigned TK Lock magnetic ball lock mechanism on Stranger Things Premium Edition to improve reliability and predictability; Demogorgon shot also tweaked for better functionality
high · Official confirmation from Brian Eddy in interview; describes pattern typical of Vault game releases
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product_concern: Original Stranger Things machines had TK Lock and Demogorgon reliability issues requiring service bulletins; improvements needed for new production run
high · Author notes solutions may have been available via August 2020 Service Bulletin; new run implements permanent mechanical redesigns
?
technology_signal: New Stranger Things projector version reportedly not backwards compatible with original machines; potential service complications for mixed collections
medium · Described as unconfirmed 'skuttlebutt'; not officially mentioned by Stern, only industry speculation about newer projector hardware

Topics

Mechanical improvements and reliability updatesprimaryStranger Things Vault re-releaseprimaryHardware compatibility and projector versionssecondaryService bulletins and post-release supportsecondaryGame design iteration and predictabilitysecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Positive framing of Stern's proactive improvements to address known issues; appreciation for reliability enhancements. Neutral/informational tone regarding unconfirmed projector speculation. No criticism or negative sentiment toward manufacturer.

Transcript

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This afternoon, Joel Engelberth, the host of the YouTube pinball show Flip N Out With Friends, conducted a great interview with Stern Pinball's game designer Brian Eddy. Joel and Eddy discussed a number of topics, but to me one of the most interesting ones was that as rumored and is often the case on Vault games, Stern Pinball's newly announced Stranger Things run contains a couple of updates to make the game more "predictable." Stern redesigned the magnetic wall ball lock aka the TK Lock on the Premium Edition of the game to make it more reliable. They also made some tweaks to the Demigorgon shot to make it work better. I don't know the exact details of the changes that were made to these mechs. Some of these solutions may have been available to owners of original Stranger Things machines that utilized a Service Bulletin that Stern issued back in August of 2020. There was no mention of the projector for the Premium Edition of the game, but the skuttlebutt is that the new run of Stranger Things has a newer version of the projector that is not backwards compatible with original run machines. This is just the tip of the iceberg for the hour-long interview. Click on the embedded vid below to check it out...