Re: Message to Stern Pinball: Unfinished Code

It's not just the home buyer. Those of us who play on location not only have to deal with unfinished software, most of the OPs seem ignorant of the fact the games need software upgrades to be complete. As long as the casual player keeps dumping quarters into the game, there's no reason to put the effort into upgrades.

I spoke with an OP in Ocean City MD last year who still had the original release code on SM about how easy it was to download code and update these games. First of all, she didn't seem to have an idea they were flash upgradeable instead of having to burn ROMs. Second, her reply was that they had made the cost of the game back during the season so there was no reason to make any changes to it.

Maybe it's an education thing. If so, Stern needs to make sure the OPs understand the upgrade process and how important it is. Although, getting back to the original point, they don't seem to understand either. All I know is that I still haven't played a SM that has a wizard mode.

I guess I shouldn't expect upgrades thought, most location games never see a repair unless they're completely unplayable let alone a rag and some novus.

I know there are good OPs out there. I played Ron Salny's games for years when he had them on location and he'd make adjustments to the games only collector would understand.

Good luck getting answers, I know there are a lot more of us that would also appreciate them.

azpinlawyer wrote:
I now have 3 Stern games I bought NIB: S-M, WoF and IJ4. What do
they ALL have in common? Unfinished code. This is completely
unacceptable. HIRE ANOTHER PROGRAMMER, already!! WTF?! IJ4, the
most recent of the 3,hasn't had an update for almost a month. WOF?
No "wizard bonus" inserts are even used. The release of S-M 2.0 has
been nothing but rumor for more than 6 MONTHS!!

This is not right. It's not fair to the home buyer/user. It's a
truly crappy business practice. I'm calling you out, people!!
SOMEBODY from Stern Pinball, goddamnit, let us know what's happening.
You've got some splaining to do!!
.

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