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Stern Star Wars. Your thoughts

It’s a tough one the old pro vs premium question. I think first question is do you have the budget for either, then it’s do you value the extras on the premium. Personally I do value the hyperloop - it’s the big payoff moment and the super satisfying shot. But it does need to be set up nicely to work smooth. Sometimes I can hit it whenever I want immediately and other times (like tonight) I just can’t get it at all! It really divides opinion too (just look at the sdtm guys arguing over it in their latest video). I say go premium.
Final question is do you think it’s a keeper or are you just scratching an itch and will move it on after a while. Mines probably the last pin I would let go as it’s got so much depth, so I’m glad I went premium as it’s harder.

Plus i’ve just had all the music upgraded to the full John Williams score and it is EPIC!! For home use it’s made so much difference.
 
Jazzbouche said:
It’s a tough one the old pro vs premium question. I think first question is do you have the budget for either, then it’s do you value the extras on the premium. Personally I do value the hyperloop - it’s the big payoff moment and the super satisfying shot. But it does need to be set up nicely to work smooth. Sometimes I can hit it whenever I want immediately and other times (like tonight) I just can’t get it at all! It really divides opinion too (just look at the sdtm guys arguing over it in their latest video). I say go premium.
Final question is do you think it’s a keeper or are you just scratching an itch and will move it on after a while. Mines probably the last pin I would let go as it’s got so much depth, so I’m glad I went premium as it’s harder.

Plus i’ve just had all the music upgraded to the full John Williams score and it is EPIC!! For home use it’s made so much difference.
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Thanks for the detailed reply and you have raised some good points! I do value the Hyperloop shot, but it’s just whether it’s worth the £2k.

It’s a tough one, but it’s good to hear that it has some love! I cannot wait to get one!
 
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I played the le (or possibly premium) in Texas, I really liked the ramp up into the Death Star and the big loop is pretty great (first time at least) not sure its worth £2k but then I’m a skin flint..

I have played the pro in an arcade up in the north west, I think it is completely adequate, doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but is otherwise the same game minus the bling.

If bling is important (or the money isn’t an issue) go for the higher spec machine, personally I’d buy the pro and get a de Star Wars with the spare cash (or another pin)
 
BigIan said:
I played the le (or possibly premium) in Texas, I really liked the ramp up into the Death Star and the big loop is pretty great (first time at least) not sure its worth £2k but then I’m a skin flint..

I have played the pro in an arcade up in the north west, I think it is completely adequate, doesn’t have all the bells and whistles but is otherwise the same game minus the bling.

If bling is important (or the money isn’t an issue) go for the higher spec machine, personally I’d buy the pro and get a de Star Wars with the spare cash (or another pin)
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Thanks for the reply! Yeah, I am probably edging towards a Pro and then add some extras, but after hitting that Hyperloop shot on the weekend, it’s got me thinking!

BBH has to leave first, as I am out of room at the minute.
 
I have played them both a fair bit and thought I do like the bling on the sw le but I find the angle on the hyper loop very odd and very difficult to hit so I get very frustrated the pro on the other hand I think plays much better I would say if you like your bling go for an le if you are not bothered then you will be more than happy with the pro
Think you would struggle to find a premium the le out sold that about 3 times and huo pro are a bit thin on the ground I can only think of 3 people on here who bought nib
 
Jazzbouche said:
It’s a tough one the old pro vs premium question. I think first question is do you have the budget for either, then it’s do you value the extras on the premium. Personally I do value the hyperloop - it’s the big payoff moment and the super satisfying shot. But it does need to be set up nicely to work smooth. Sometimes I can hit it whenever I want immediately and other times (like tonight) I just can’t get it at all! It really divides opinion too (just look at the sdtm guys arguing over it in their latest video). I say go premium.
Final question is do you think it’s a keeper or are you just scratching an itch and will move it on after a while. Mines probably the last pin I would let go as it’s got so much depth, so I’m glad I went premium as it’s harder.

Plus i’ve just had all the music upgraded to the full John Williams score and it is EPIC!! For home use it’s made so much difference.
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Where did you get the updated rom from? Would love a copy please
 
ianw said:
Where did you get the updated rom from? Would love a copy please
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It's a 'paid for' mod by a chap on Pinside; PinballMIX. He is offering to customise the sound package for any pin (predominantly newer Sterns I think). You can see his thread explaining what he offers here: https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/introducing-pinball-mix-your-music-in-your-machine
In a nutshell, you must own all of the tracks and he will mix them and reformat them for the machine. You could of course do it yourself if you know the program and have the time. The mixes are intended to be unique to each request, but with SW we agreed that if there's enough interest in the John Williams epic version it will be more of a generic offering with a lower price tag, but you'll need to contact him for pricing. As it's a mod that he is selling I can't share it I'm afraid. I do highly recommend it though if you value the original score. I've put a lot of time in testing it and making some changes, and for me it completely changes the experience and is hands down the best mod for this game.

You can see a video I made of the first test mix here.

There have been some changes since then (volume has been balanced a lot better and a couple of tracks swapped out), and some of those tracks on the modes like Bounty hunter are more specific to me (you can ask for whatever tracks you want). On the latest version PinballMIX has also balanced out all the audio of the film clips so you hear the character callouts better too.

Hope that helps.
 
wilbers said:
Been back and had another 12 games on it as next time I could have gone after this weekend is about a month hence.

Started by picking Leia and didn't get very far, so switched to Han after a bit. Managed to get through the first mode of blowing up the bunker on several games and was hoping to complete the one after that so I could see what destroying the death star looked like, but didn't quite manage it. Is Han least popular to pick?, as I was surprised when I got high score for Han with a low actual score - only finished 2 modes.

Also found the Shrek, but it was set up with a hefty lean to the right, and ball wouldn't go to the upper playfield when it was supposed to. Still, at least they make a decent lunch there.
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Been back again today. Makes me wonder how much it gets played as my non-high score for Han is still the high score and I set a similar non-high score for Leia today. Luke & R2D2 must have been played by someone that had a better idea what to do as they were substantially higher. Had a slight lean to the right (still playable with it) that wasn't there in May.
 
To give a bit of context . . .

I have been playing pinball for a very long time but my friend is a publican who had an AF for 10 years and my other mate has had a TOM in his stable for 20.

In short I have been borrowing the same 2 books from the library for the best part of 30 years (I now have my own Popeye).

I'm a Star Wars fan who has watched the original trilogy more times than I care to remember, so I was really looking forward to playing the Stern Star Wars today.


I was disappointed. The callouts were all good and the licensing was clearly top notch but the game-play was poor. There seemed to be quite a few dead zones and precious little fluidity to the shots and ramps. There were pillars that would pop out of the ramps and stop the ball then cut to an animation where I'd have to make a selection on the very impressive screen. I didn't want the ball to stop though, I wanted it to continue on it's journey so as I could hit it again.

Now I'm aware that today was really my first experience of a modern machine but I also played Deadpool by the same manufacturer too and that was really impressive.

As I'm sure everyone is aware there is a small screen on the playfield with three targets underneath. Despite hitting the targets the ball would rebound quickly and directly between the flippers (If I want that I have a Bluto at home who is very good at it 😏)

I also thought that the playfield was quite sparsely decorated. It was situated alongside a CFTBL which is so festooned with ramps and assorted detritus that barely any playfield is visible . . . . very much chalk and the proverbial cheese.
 
Gonzo said:
To give a bit of context . . .

I have been playing pinball for a very long time but my friend is a publican who had an AF for 10 years and my other mate has had a TOM in his stable for 20.

In short I have been borrowing the same 2 books from the library for the best part of 30 years (I now have my own Popeye).

I'm a Star Wars fan who has watched the original trilogy more times than I care to remember, so I was really looking forward to playing the Stern Star Wars today.


I was disappointed. The callouts were all good and the licensing was clearly top notch but the game-play was poor. There seemed to be quite a few dead zones and precious little fluidity to the shots and ramps. There were pillars that would pop out of the ramps and stop the ball then cut to an animation where I'd have to make a selection on the very impressive screen. I didn't want the ball to stop though, I wanted it to continue on it's journey so as I could hit it again.

Now I'm aware that today was really my first experience of a modern machine but I also played Deadpool by the same manufacturer too and that was really impressive.

As I'm sure everyone is aware there is a small screen on the playfield with three targets underneath. Despite hitting the targets the ball would rebound quickly and directly between the flippers (If I want that I have a Bluto at home who is very good at it 😏)

I also thought that the playfield was quite sparsely decorated. It was situated alongside a CFTBL which is so festooned with ramps and assorted detritus that barely any playfield is visible . . . . very much chalk and the proverbial cheese.
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For me Star Wars is a slow burner........

Played it first time and hated it (and I already had a couple of pinball machines at home at this point) and thought they had wasted the licence. Gave it another go and thought it was OK. Ten plays in (on different days I might add) and I was in love with it!

Move on 12 months and I now have an LE in my Games Room, that I cannot see me parting with. It's a really deep game, with some great shots. The call outs are perfect and the theme is very well integrated.

Give it another few goes, as a Star Wars fan, it should get better with time.
 
Gonzo said:
There were pillars that would pop out of the ramps and stop the ball then cut to an animation where I'd have to make a selection on the very impressive screen. I didn't want the ball to stop though, I wanted it to continue on it's journey so as I could hit it again.
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If you think that's bad, you should try safecracker.

Except that I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone.
 
I have owned both and I think it’s a great game bit of a thinkers game with lots of good strategies I love all the toys on the premium and le but I prefer to play the pro as I find the shots very tight on the le the pro is much more friendly I do get the complaints of the stop start thing to run the footage for the mode but if you are a Star Wars fan then this is good lots of good modes with totally different shots and skill levels it’s a winner for me but I am a big sw fan
But I must say I have a got le and with the code update I think this game is my no 1 stern game followed by bm66 then sw
 
I've always enjoyed playing Stern's SW whenever I've had chance, and only ever played the pro. Don't really get why people slag it off so much. I'm sure I'd like it even more if I understood the rules, so would like to own some time. Would prefer LE or premium though, the hyperloop thingy looks cool.
 
I wouldn't go that far but it definitely looks better than the premium.
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Both are way better than the originals and I actually quite like the look of the Premium with the focus on Darth Vadar and Boba Fett :thumbs: I'm tempted.....
 
Star Wars LE For Sale........... ;)

I love the Cabinet and Backglass, but I have to say I think the Playfield looks worse than the original. Looks too much like the DE one to me!

I will have to try and get one of those Blackglass Translites though.........

Surely this might mean the Topper is on its way, along with a code update?
 
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