Star Trek (Stern 2013) - THOUGHTS

[Captain B. Zarre]

I just got to play Steve Ritchie's all new Star Trek machine at Lanes & Games last weekend. And lemme tell ya... it IS somethin'.

Pros:

Flow is just OUTSTANDING. Making repeated shots to the right loop feels awesome.
The WARP feature is cool, kinda like the Jump in NF, except it's not enclosed. If they create a feature where this is in effect (something to the tune of Jump This in No Fear), I'd love it even more.
Color changing LEDs! Who doesn't love those?
Missions are a lot simpler than AC/DC's. I still love that they kept the overall structure.
That left captive hole shot is extremely tough! I was trying to make it, but I couldn't!
Animations are well done for hand-drawn ones.
Exploding ship looks really eye-catching.

Cons:

Quotes get a little boring after a while.
Lock isn't that interesting, just shoot the ball, it falls out.
No award for Picard Maneuvers
The FIRE button needs to be USED for something... at least, it's better than a points award... EDIT: Never mind, it's actually used for Vengeance Battle progress.
My eyes! The asteroids! They do nothing!

Overall, a very well-done game. I'm looking forward to the next software update. Until next time... keep on Trekkin'!

 

[Fungi]

Does it play like TNG minus the life sucking outlanes?

 

[Clawhammer]

Played one on location here in Denver. The code, as with every new Stern, feels very unfinished. Modes are one dimensional and there just doesn't seem like there is much to do. I do loves me a nice spinner, and the one on ST with super spinner and the flasher underneath is a great touch. I also like that that the wizard mode at the end of the missions isn't a gimme as far as points are concerned, and timing modes out doesn't seem like a necessary strategy. I will admit, when the pictures where released, I was very underwhelmed, feeling like Steve Ritchie recycled SM (and other games) in a major way. After playing it, I still feel that way. I'm not a "flow-ho" as they say, meaning I like stop and go games as that's more my play style, but the shots do feed very well into each other and Ritchie/flow fans will probably love the layout. The upper loop is quite difficult to repeat and the return on the machine I played was lightning fast. The ramps are easily backhandable. The start mission shot (like the spider sense shot on SM) where you have to hold up the right flipper to feed it back to the shooter lane feels good. As with any new game, the code will make or break it. Time will tell, I suppose.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

Does it play like TNG minus the life sucking outlanes?

Yes, exactly.

 

[SpiffyRob]

I'm really curious to see how the Premium/LE plays compared to the Pro. In addition to the magic laser show (likely to be premiered at the Expo) the left outlane area is totally different on the Premium/LE. Much, much wider (hello soul sucking!) but also featuring a kickback the Pro doesn't have.

 

[Kolchak357]

Does it play like TNG minus the life sucking outlanes?

I played a Star Trek pro today and that is exactly what I was thinking as I walked away from it. Also, the lighting on it is super nice.
But I much preferred the Metallica that was right next to it. The artwork on the Metallica is so impressive when you see it in person too. Looks and plays great.

 

[PS Garek]

I enjoy the layout and the lighting, but the code is super lacking. Supposedly a decent sized update should come for it before the tournament at Expo though, so hopefully that should address the relative simplicity of it at this time.

I hope that a Metallica update is in the pipe now too.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Star Trek Tutorial tomorrow http://papa.org/

 

[Mayuh]

I played it at the Hungarian pinball championship. It's the first Stern Pro, that does not feel to be a downgraded machine. It feels complete right from the start. Every shot is there, nothing is missing... And the sound is just awesome!
I haven't had the chance to see or play a premium yet, but I would buy the pro without a second thought in the blink of an eye.

 

[Kolchak357]

Has anyone seen the laser thingy that is supposed to be on the premium and LE versions? I looked for vid of it and couldn't find any. Why isn't Stern releasing video of this? Would boost sales, wouldn't it?

 

[Espy]

For a long time I never realised that the pro models of Stern machines had actual gameplay features removed - I thought it was just bells and whistles. The realisation came when I spent ages trying to figure out how to load the coffin on a pro Metallica...

 

[Mayuh]

Has anyone seen the laser thingy that is supposed to be on the premium and LE versions? I looked for vid of it and couldn't find any. Why isn't Stern releasing video of this? Would boost sales, wouldn't it?

Well, kinda... http://www.pinballnews.com/shows/expo2013/index.html about one third in there's a video from a LE version that is currently not in production yet.

 

[Kolchak357]

I like the speaker panel and the lights on the cabinet sides. But they still didn't show the lasers. I won't be buying one, but I'm very curious. We won't have long to wait. I'm sure LEs will be hitting the streets fairly soon.

 

[Deltaechoe]

It's Star Trek and pinball, nothing else matters, gimme

 

[Pinballfan69]

Got a chance to play this table last night. It's great that individuals offer their homes to play pins that you will likely never see in the 'Wild'.

Definitely requires Accurate shots Although I did think the ball time was a bit long considering. (not complaining)

I think it's easy to get into since most of the 'modes' are basically shoot the flashing lanes a certain amount of times to finish the mode. There are levels to each mode so the next time you have it going, it requires more shots to make.

Table is nice and open compared to the latest sterns that have been released.

The Klingon multiball Seems straight forward shoot the 3 targets next the the left ramp to light lock. (That is for each lock. Lock 3 balls and start the 4 ball multiball. It's kind of eery though the voice over says 'Klingon Jackpot!!!!' the sound byte sounds very similar to Attack from Mars. Did anyone notice that?

 

[Sumez]

Got a really good impression from Bowen's tutorial video. This game is a huge change from all the most recent Sterns which just have a lot of stuff going on, and make it difficult to identify your goals. I love the refreshingly simple playfield visuals, with the six colored modes in the bottom, and color changing LED arrows that match your goals for each mode. I grasped the rules within seconds, compared to AC/DC which I have now played multiple times, and still don't understand anything about.

My only real complaint, which Bowen seemed to share judging by the Q&A in the end, is that the modes seem really uninteresting, just repeating the same concept of shooting similar lit up shots, all with the same limitations based on whether you are on step 1, 2 or 3 (time, number of shots, both). It seems like it doesn't really matter what mode you choose, because they are all the same.
I guess it's a move that takes the table back to a more old school "classic" pinball concept, and probably good for people who aren't fans of modes, but I imagine it must make the table feel quite a bit repetitive.


Also, the theme seems a bit lackluster, not really feeling like a "Star Trek" table to me, like the classic STTNG did. It seems more like a standard pinball layout with some movie faced pasted on, the same vibe I got from Williams' Terminator 2, Demolition Man or Dirty Harry, etc.

 

[Pinballfan69]

Got a really good impression from Bowen's tutorial video. This game is a huge change from all the most recent Sterns which just have a lot of stuff going on, and make it difficult to identify your goals. I love the refreshingly simple playfield visuals, with the six colored modes in the bottom, and color changing LED arrows that match your goals for each mode. I grasped the rules within seconds, compared to AC/DC which I have now played multiple times, and still don't understand anything about.

My only real complaint, which Bowen seemed to share judging by the Q&A in the end, is that the modes seem really uninteresting, just repeating the same concept of shooting similar lit up shots, all with the same limitations based on whether you are on step 1, 2 or 3 (time, number of shots, both). It seems like it doesn't really matter what mode you choose, because they are all the same.
I guess it's a move that takes the table back to a more old school "classic" pinball concept, and probably good for people who aren't fans of modes, but I imagine it must make the table feel quite a bit repetitive.


Also, the theme seems a bit lackluster, not really feeling like a "Star Trek" table to me, like the classic STTNG did. It seems more like a standard pinball layout with some movie faced pasted on, the same vibe I got from Williams' Terminator 2, Demolition Man or Dirty Harry, etc.

Hey nice summary. Yes the modes are indeed uninteresting. It's still a pretty good table. Not in my top list for recent Sterns tables though.

Favorite of the modern Sterns

LOTR ( I will own one ....... someday)
TRON
X-Men
Spriderman
Iron Man
Pirates of the Caribbean
Transformers
Star Trek
Metallica
AC/DC

There are others released since LOTR but those are the ones I'm familiar with

 

[ER777]

I got to play a brand new Star Trek Pro on location for about an hour and a half tonight. It was pretty good overall, it played well and looked really good but didn't really feel like it immersed you in the Star Trek theme very well (not like STTNG anyway). The shots were set up nicely though, not too hard or too easy to hit.

I agree on the modes being somewhat uninteresting. While I was playing I was noting how they felt too similar, with the only differences being the order of shots, display animation, and the color the inserts lit up with (which was actually probably the most interesting part to me lol).

I'll definitely be going back to play again soon though.

 

[Mark W**a]

After WoOz the DMD is just outdated, old, and needs to go.

Even a small LCD monitor would do. It's time. It's 2013.

They were selling monitors at Walmart for 8.95$. It's not like this is some luxory addition that is going to wreck BOM for Stern. At least put it on the LE's.

My thoughts on Star Trek are that Stern machines are just snoozers. It's time for a radical design from a young designer that's not afraid to take risks, to drop movie licenses, and put out some interesting new toys and gimmicks. Certainly engineering has come some ways since the 90's, yet the pinnacle of cool toys and gadgets was the mid-late 90's. It's time to do something that would be exciting and fun. Even older Sterns like Lord of the Rings have better toys and mechanics, the new machines have some plastic ramps and maybe a toy if we're lucky.

Production values, just fire the whole software team. I watched the wizard mode on star trek and nearly fell asleep. Not even a call out for a 32 million super jackpot.

Arcades are making a comeback across the nation. More bars are having pinball in them. There's opportunity knocking. Stern needs better marketing, Dave N Busters doesn't even carry pins for poops sake.

 

[Sumez]

After WoOz the DMD is just outdated, old, and needs to go.

Even a small LCD monitor would do. It's time. It's 2013.

The technology, yes. Obviously outdated, and it's confusing to me why they still use it.

Style-wise, I think they should take good care not to put too much junk on the display, and I think the WOZ one is way too big. As a player you rarely have much time to look at the display, so it needs to purvey the information in a simple matter, that's easy and fast to absorb. So I'm still a big fan of monochrome animations, and using only the playfield and sound to tell the player where to shoot.