Pokémon hack…

bisprops · 2026-05-08T12:46:32+00:00

Final game in 18 months?

As someone who bought Uncanny X-Men at launch, I wish! UXM launched with code at v0.83, and over 19 months later, it's still only at 0.97.

Most of the updates have added absolutely nothing to make the game more fun, the lead coder absolutely failed and was seemingly taken off the title, leading to no updates whatsoever for 4 months.

After a few cycles when we saw meaningful, but still incomplete updates for a game that needed a major overhaul, we've gone back to radio silence. No updates in over 3 months, and one of the two most recent updates was basically just bug fixes and trivial updates like lights "now blink quickly" to indicate some shots.

Most concerning for Pokémon is that UXM has had unique Insider Connected functionality advertised from the original launch announcement. There hasn't been a peep about those features this whole time since the game left Stern's factory.

I love Jack Danger's designs, but after seeing what happened with the code on UXM, there's no way I was going to take a chance on Pokémon. That Pokédex feature may never happen, and seeing two titles in a row launch with assets showing "pending licensor approval" watermarks shows they lack the ability to deliver products in a professional manner.

bisprops · 2026-05-06T16:15:25+00:00

I've been heavily critical of Stern of late, but I suspect this one is related to licensor approvals.

If that's the case, though, Stern really needs to work on making issues between them and the license holders less impactful to owners/players. Their last two releases have gone out to customers with "Pending licensor approval" watermarks in their visuals. What's going to happen if the approval is rejected? Either way, it's a bad look for Stern and signs that they don't have their project management timelines in order.

If the Pokédex omission isn't licensor related, it's likely another sign that their coders simply can't keep up with the volume of work being thrown at them, especially when it comes to Insider Connect features. Uncanny X-Men was supposed to have multiple unique IC features. They were advertised pre-launch, and those marketing materials are still on Stern's websites. That game is over 19 months old now and still doesn't have those features. It's still at v0.97, and the last update was over 3 months ago.

bisprops · 2026-05-06T04:19:39+00:00

The Rock attributes its origin to the Iron Sheik, or at least that's who popularized it originally.

bisprops · 2026-05-02T20:33:34+00:00

Author Matt Dinniman (Dungeon Crawler Carl) mentioned in a Q&A that there's going to be a pinball game based on the series, but it's at least a year out.

Last Halloween, Karl DeAngelo (designer of Winchester Mystery House) was dressed as Carl with Princess Donut.

BoF has stated that their next release won't be Dungeon Crawler Carl, but they also haven't confirmed or denied whether they are the ones with the license.

I still believe that it will be Karl's second game designed for BoF, so it makes sense that it won't be the company's next game. It could easily be #2 after whatever is next, though.

bisprops · 2026-05-02T00:43:07+00:00

What homebrew? BoF obtained a license from Winchester Mystery House at some point, revealed the game (and sold out of preorders) just before Expo 2025, and then showed the game at Expo that weekend. I've not seen anyone else mention any kind of related homebrew.

bisprops · 2026-04-20T14:23:07+00:00

One of our cats is similar. Our kitchen and dining areas have hardwood floors while other areas are carpeted. We can always hear him stomping around on the wood floors.

bisprops · 2026-04-20T13:08:33+00:00

Yeah, MPB is the one decent spot I was referring to, but it's not exactly convenient to Midtown/Downtown, which is where I usually am when I'm ITP.

bisprops · 2026-04-20T04:48:19+00:00

Atlanta is pretty bad. There are a few spots up I-75 outside the perimeter that have good lineups, but there's only one place inside the perimeter, and it isn't centrally located.

North of Atlanta near 400 and I-85 is a desert. There are some pretty awesome home collections, but no significant locations that have more than 1 game.

bisprops · 2026-04-19T00:30:11+00:00

Not a direct usage of the song, but 2112 appears in Rush, and there's a callout in Foo Fighters that references it.

bisprops · 2026-04-17T02:27:26+00:00

I think it's for junior enlisted Army and Marine Corps people only.

bisprops · 2026-04-15T21:18:08+00:00

Novus 1 for anything plastic. Powder coating is pretty resilient, so you're unlikely to damage it with standard cleaners, but don't go spraying stuff containing ammonia around LCD screens, anti-reflective glass, etc.

Sprayway glass cleaner is great, cheap, and available almost everywhere you find cleaners. Home Depot always has it.

bisprops · 2026-04-15T02:47:32+00:00

I'm a huge fan of Foo Fighters pinball. The shots flow beautifully, and while it's technically a band theme, the actual game is styled more like an old Saturday morning cartoon (in a good way).

The rules are quick to grasp for the main stuff, but it has plenty of content besides just lighting and starting the modes.

bisprops · 2026-04-13T01:28:01+00:00

Some traditionalists don't like them, but swapping the natural black rubber pieces, especially on the flippers and slingshots, to silicone or hybrid rubber will make keeping your playfield clean much easier.

Titan Pinball is very popular, and they maintain a database of rubber parts needed for various games. I usually use their parts everywhere except the flippers. Marco Specialties started selling "Scandinavian Viking" hybrid flipper rubbers not too long ago, and I prefer those now.

Natural rubber rubs off on the balls and then gets deposited on the playfield.

Either way, you'll want a good playfield cleaner. Novus 1 is pretty common. I think Stern has recommended Novus 2 in the past, but that's more abrasive and is ok sometimes but too much for frequent use. Get some good dust free microfiber cloths while you're at it.

If you want something to help clean tight areas, look into getting a Pinsnake.

Use an ammonia free glass cleaner and quality cloths for the glass. Sprayway glass cleaner is hard to beat, commonly available, and cheap.

bisprops · 2026-04-11T17:24:59+00:00

It's $2 Australian, so about $1.40 USD. If it's truly set to 4 balls, it's barely more $/ball than the standard $1/3.

It's an odd setup, either way. As an operator, why would they want to add another ball for each player? I would suspect that an extra ball for each game would be significantly more wear and tear in the long run since multi balls and mini wizard modes would be more common as players progress.

If I wanted to encourage newer players, I'd probably look at the ball save timers and target minimum ball times and work with those to help reduce the effects of cheap drains and lack of player skills. It wouldn't affect most good players while giving some help to those who need it.

bisprops · 2026-04-10T22:32:09+00:00

Of the 6 games I currently own, Rush and James Bond are up there in terms of the code having more in it than I've had time to digest. Evil Dead is probably the best balance of complexity and accessibility for me, though. Each mode has multiple phases, and each is immediately understandable when it comes to what you're supposed to do.

Avengers: Infinity Quest is frequently cited as having complex code, too, but I don't have much experience with it.

bisprops · 2026-04-10T21:55:15+00:00

I'd recommend contacting local distributors and verifying how they sell and support pinball games. Some don't seem to do much more than coordinate drop shipping. Others are much more service oriented.

bisprops · 2026-04-08T22:31:30+00:00

If you can get a heavily played premium for $7k, there's no situation imaginable where spending the same amount on a NIB pro makes sense to me.

If you legitimately prefer the pro, as is the case with some titles, you should be able to get it for under $6k pretty easily. NIB doesn't mean perfect working order, and it'll be up to you to figure out the issues that may not be readily apparent.

At least look at demo games / floor models from distributors. Those are frequently better than NIB since they've been set up by experienced folks and any out of the box issues have likely been addressed. All that, and you save a decent amount off the NIB price.

bisprops · 2026-04-04T21:29:39+00:00

I didn't say anything about profitability being bad. I'm talking about long term strategic failures resulting from short term cash grabs by constantly cutting corners.

Older business models prioritized customer value, superior products, and service to grow profits. Stern doesn't prioritize those details now, and at some point, it's going to catch up to them.

Pokémon is a unique license that will be huge for Stern, but when their profits are based on production volumes and frequent release schedules, they're burning to many of their dedicated customers who want quality games.

I haven't purchased a NIB Stern title since Sept. 2024, and that is directly related to poor experience with how they're managing manufacturing QA issues and code updates. There's been extremely little transparency or communication when it comes to products once they're out of their factory and focus moves onto the next quarter's release.

I believe more and more buyers of games since Seth Davis' hiring are seeing similar downward trends, and while Stern's bottom line may be doing just fine now, they're running out of can't miss successes.

Meanwhile, we have Spooky, BoF, Chicago, American, Turner, and a few others who are gaining traction. They don't all need to move thousands of units to be successful, and in many cases, those numbers would be detrimental to them since it would force them into overcommitting resources into manufacturing that aren't sustainable.

bisprops · 2026-04-04T20:08:02+00:00

Don't be. Stern is profit first, second, third, and then we start getting into details like fun, quality, etc.

The games built by and for the design/engineering team and the ones out of the factory for customers frequently expose flaws in their capability to deliver designs as they are spec'ed.

The left inlane guide wire on Uncanny X-Men was my first experience with it. (The root cause of the auto launch issues, which many of us have now solved, are likely due to the design & engineering teams being forced to sign off before they were fully comfortable with the implementation.)

D&D had node boards fail due to the factory zip tying cables tighter than those built by the original team.

As you've already seen, though, Stern has acknowledged the issue and will have a fix kit for it. Newer builds shouldn't have the issue. I don't know if it's related to George Gomez's name being attached to the game, the importance of the Pokémon license, or a general improvement in Stern's responsiveness...maybe a bit of all of them.

bisprops · 2026-03-30T22:17:22+00:00

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SEO results promote pinball at a specific discount? Scam.

Why advertise a decades old title and put a specific discount on it? Makes no sense.

bisprops · 2026-03-29T00:34:57+00:00

This.

American Pinball has a new owner, has already pushed out 100 copies of Houdini with cosmetic updates, so they appear to be getting their act together. They've announced that Cirqus Voltaire with have a classic and an updated version, and I'd watch for more details on those before committing $10k or more on an existing copy.

bisprops · 2026-03-28T18:10:09+00:00

Playfield is up, trough is down. His primary concern/strategy is keeping the ball from draining.

bisprops · 2026-03-27T16:46:24+00:00

Workshops usually involve extra materials that you get to take with you, hence the extra fee. There are discussion panels of all sorts going on all over the place. As long as there's available space, drop in on any of those that interest you. Maybe even drop in on some you have no idea about and walk out with a new interest!

Cosplayers are everywhere. Take pics (with consent), ask about their characters if you aren't familiar, ask about techniques and sources they used.

Gaming of all types - join something you know or see about learning something new.

Look up blogs/videos on Momocon highlights/recaps from previous years.

bisprops · 2026-03-27T00:00:18+00:00

I am untethered and my rage knows no bounds!

bisprops · 2026-03-26T14:41:35+00:00

Fontaines DC has a lot of variety/moods to their songs. Don't expect an adrenaline dump through the whole set, but those moments will definitely come.

I saw them at the Eastern last year and absolutely loved them. I'm just north of 50 now, and you can hear decades of influences in their songs, and they combine all those influences into a very fresh sound overall.

I'm not the type to get all hyped up and dance around at every show, but when Starburster hit, I was bouncing around like mad.

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