I thought the style of animations was a requirement of Marvel? But like you, been a long time since I heard that comment on a podcast, so I could be mistaken. I actually don't mind the animations.

Only issue with the voice work there';s always someone counting down some shit & I don;t know Whom it is or what they want from me
Animations are fine. I've read people complaining aboot the way the Hulk falls over in the Trophy room scene and it really irked them. That's like, next level, too much time on your hands shit to me.

The voice countdown happens for two things: either a Super mode (started from the computer grid) is timing out, or the super jackpot during Iron Man MB.

Yeah, that is a poor piece of design that you don't know what it's for. The voice quotes mislead the player - "we have to hurry" makes you think a gem quest is timing out, but they don't have a timer, what's timing out is just something minor that it really doesn't matter if you get. (And the one important thing that does time out - the Binary hurryup - doesn't do the countdown.)

I'm generally curious, why do so many people knock it for the theme? I'd argue that avengers in itself is an A theme and when this title first got released we were not quite at the superhero fatigue we are seeing today.
In terms of theme the avengers has been in pop culture since 1963 and captain America since 1941 and has been pretty relevant for 60 plus years. So I would have a hard time that boomers to whatever the heck generation we are on now haven't had some sort of dabbling in the theme.
I'm curious to hear from the people who don't like the theme and would like to know what kinda theme resonates with them.
I can understand people not really liking tmnt, venom, jurassic park, etc. If your not an 80s kid. Maybe because it's too cartoony or only really in movie/music pins.

Two fixes:
1. You can buy lane posts that are double-wide. If you set them at the lowest hole in the PF, they make the gap smaller to the outlanes. It isn't a huge difference - you still get outlane ball drains - but it makes AIQ's outlane ball drain percentage comparable to most games.
2. The movie code mod integrates movie scenes with the stock Stern callouts and animations. I'm a broken record on this subject. The movie code mod changes the game experience for the better, IMO.

I love the scene in A Beautiful Mind where John Nash explains AIQ rules.

Vector-Calculus-in-A-Beautiful-Mind-Math-in-Movies-Abakcus (resized).jpg

Being one who is just tired of Disney/Marvel overload, I think the comic art and animations are a welcome breath of fresh air.

AIQ is a very underrated game. The complexity of the rules I think leave a lot of players not liking it. I was a bit that way at first, but after buying a premium and spending some more time with it, I realized a player doesn't have to understand every nuance to AIQ to have a blast playing it. Easily one of Elwins best shooting games imo. I also think AIQ prem is one of the best deals on a prem level game in the used market. Definitely wouldn't want to buy it NIB, but buying used it's a great deal.

CM ramp has always been my big issue.
I dont find the outlanes that bad, & the movie theme doesn't really improve it much for me. You have the weird cetion art with movie video which just seems sloppy.

I never understood the hate towards this game because I love playing the Pro. It's flows better for me and I love the extra spinner in place of the loop, but to each his own. The callouts and animations don't bother me and if it ever started to, I'd just get the alternative code. If I were in the market for a new pin, an AIQ pro would be at the top of my list as there seem to be some pretty good deals out there for HUO models.

Yep

There's also the PoMC code that stays with the comic theme but is better than Stern code / better music, etc.

They don't exactly knock AIQ for the theme, but for the other stuff around it.

They knock it for being comic art instead of real movie media assets, it feels like a cheap knockoff compared to GOTG.

They think they knock it for the the theme being fighting Thanos, when really what they don't like is the difficulty and punishment when you lose a gem.

I personally knock it because the layout doesn't match the theme. The core of AIQ strategically is shooting all those combos on the flow layout to get the portal locks before every gem quest. That's... not what you expect going in, and feels chorey and grindy in the game, you want to get on with the gem quests, not spend ten minutes preparing portal locks first. AIQ would have been better with a big bash toy for fighting the villains rather than endless combo loops. The Marvel ramp is physically cool but really has nothing to do with the villains and game progression.

I wish AIQ's layout had been used for a theme and rules structure better suited for flowy combos. Rush would have been perfect, their songs are so flowy.

don't you mean, every JJP game?

I got my premium last week and find it so much fun! It is my sixth pin in my collection and we are having a blast with it.

Seems to be a trend in some recent Stern titles to sharpen your axe and chop wood before playing a mode. Rush and Foo Fighters also come to mind. Can't stand that style of gameplay. I don't want to work, it's a game, let me earn things by PLAYing modes.

It's a high bar comparing everything to Godzilla, but in that game there are countless fun things to do that all contribute to power ups, just through the natural course of play, not work.

It gives multiple paths/ways to play the modes so generally I'm ok with it.

That said in AIQ all it tends to mean for me is I have another ball or two in a gem mode that head for the outlanes well before I can get anything done in the gem mode. I still have to stack portal lock'd modes with another multiball that has an actual lengthy ball save / add-a-ball option for me to survive to completion and victory laps.

Whereas in DP, it (team-ups) can easily mean the difference between a long juggernaut/mystique/2nd round Sauron-joined battle or a couple boom button slaps into a quick kill shot.

No, its a good game. Its a punishingly deep game that rewards players who want a challenge.

I’ve got 100+ games on my AIQ premium and have never thought the outlines were frustrating. Really strang IMHO to hear this.

The outlanes aren't any different than any other machine. What's a pain on AIQ is the playfield seems designed to direct balls into them. Every rollback from the upper loop heads directly towards the left outlane, and for the right there are a lot of rebound paths from the drop targets and disc area that go there too. This does vary quite a bit on each particular machine, so you might have a lucky one if those don't happen so much.

Right now it's the only game in my (small) collection where the sling post is higher than the outlane post. I've seen machines where they're pretty much equal, and on my other two newer Sterns the outlane post is higher (a smidge on STh, moreso on DP).

How hard is it to understand "see that little target? Hit it three times for multiball."

Here's what I am really still struggling to grasp.

I be like: "I simply don't like this game because A-B- and also C".
Fans respond:
"Oh, you must not understand how to play bro or, you suck at pinball in general bro. Mod it up bro."
I be like:
"Nope, actually I been playing for 20 years and I tried it again (put 50 games on it) and the game is just total shit and I just don't like these specific things about it."
Fans respond:
"Nah, that's not possible bro, you see... blah-blah-blah-blah. Also, don't call my game shit, I spent 8 grand on it!"
I be like:
"Actually back up a bit, you are starting to creep in on me and crowd my personal space a bit."

I'm kinda kidding but, this is the SAME old song and dance for the last 10 years in every fucking thread. Pinball forums are so exhausting. Having differing opinions is awesome. Stop trying to convince and persuade others away from what they know is true in their pinball heart. Pinball is not politics or religion [thank you little baby Jesus].

AIQ is not a horrible game but I don't have to spell out all the reasons I can't stand it. MANY others share my opinions on the game and then the fans of the game disagree on every point-in perfect harmony. Yay!

Your participation is voluntary. Especially if it's an answer to a question you know will bring forth these responses.

90% of pinside is self-serving time-killing rhetoric, one price thread / tell me should I buy game X Y or Z even though you have no idea what I might like / which is better: pro vs. premium / etc thread at a time.

100% agree. But, the side arguments back and forth are usually unnecessary. I don't see a need to try and convince someone else why their opinion is wrong in a thread when that member is simply answering the OP. That's all I'm saying.

The terms change but yes it's always the same. A decade ago it was "you must have never played a 'dialed in' version." yeah I have, I fucking unboxed them when they were brand new; I remember.
Of course the internet increases the needing to be last heard by 100x sp that's the issue.

Edit: weird, shows Yancy to me

Screenshot_20230809_202705_Firefox.jpg

Wow, that’s very strange. Stranger still that I know Yancy and have even played some games in Chicago with him a few times.

Freaky. I didn't post that, but I agree with my mystery friend.

That is the excuse a ton of jjp owners use on their games. Often, in some of their threads, they assume people don't k own the rules, thus why people don't like it. It is exhausting. It is exacerbated by the fact these defenders spent a lot more money on them than almost any other game, so the desnsiveness gets jacked up as well.

I prefer to have my opinion / enjoyment of a pin spelled out for me in line-item BoM & coil ledgers

I’m puzzled by this post.

Either we are allowed to discuss why we like or don’t like something, or we aren’t.

Everyone has their own opinion and they are valid. Yet there’s nothing wrong with people saying “hey I disagree” or “perhaps consider x y or z”.

Someone who blindly moves forward with their view that a game is poor is no different than someone who constantly states they love it.

But implying people aren’t allowed to profess either view or present data to change another view, imho, means no discussion is possible.

And if someone doesn’t want to participle in a discussion, perhaps they should simply not read or post in the discussion thread.

Wow!

Finally beat Soul Gem!

Killer mode — what a rush. That mode should be enough to convince anyone!

Not at all! Everyone has opinions. (Well, except for the people who flag reviews just because they're negative reviews for a pin the flagger likes. Trust me, there are loads of them)

I just played a bunch of games at the Asheville Pinball Museum and I enjoyed it. No idea what I was doing but got to several Gem modes and bombed out. Interesting pin and would like to play more.

Right beneath Grammar Nazis is suckatude.

Ahem, "in."

So easy to flush them out...they can't help themselves!

Oh. You mean the one that's lit? But everything is lit. That's right. Just guess. Regardless on what you hit. You can will be rewarded for slop because everything is lit.

“…PLAY BETTER!”

In all honesty, AIQ is one of the best games I've ever played. I hate Godzilla btw, and I thought I loved Iron Maiden, but when it comes to AIQ, it's just something weird about it that draws me in.... It is now literally the machine I play every single day. It's the closest machine (besides Deadpool) to playing a console game. Perhaps that is why I'm drawn to it. It's like a Marvel RPG video game.

I couldn't care less about the Avengers movies content, or voice overs, etc. It's not that kind of game. AIQ is more like Midnight Suns (great game), because it's an original take on Avengers than the films.

Once you feel confident in keeping the ball alive, don't take risky ass shots, and play the modes you are good at, don't let the code overwhelm you, there is plenty to do on YOUR time. This is a game where you slow your brain down and you actually will play better.

Have fun!

My 10 yr old son is 5 for 6 on his Soul Gem quests this weekend. Putting me to shame, LoL.

[message willingly redacted]

Yes running into a much better game while looking for an AIQ has derailed many AIQ hunts.

It’s “better” to have a couple or few games on your want list. Buy a huo JP or AIQ on your list that comes up on the market local to you. Has to be a deal though. Buy on the lower end of current price ranges and you should be fine. Buy and try and sell later at minimal loss.

With the market making a transition back to “more normal” pricing after the box is opened this is a great time to do this.

You can't go wrong with either, especially since you already have 2 great games besides it. Though a straight up AIQ vs. JP poll around here will probably go 75%/25% in favor of JP, there's probably a price difference as well to consider.

JP borders on a masterpiece. AIQ is damn fun. Learning curve on JP is shorter which also helps its popularity. You HAVE to read AIQ's rulesheet to have any semblance of an idea of what to do. But once you learn about gems, what they do, and how to place them strategically, it's awesome. Soul Gem is one of the best breaks in a game ever (compared to the likes of TMNT Team Up or SW's Lightsaber Dual), and Portal Locks are a really cool way to introduce PF multipliers.

One thing I would consider is whether your son can nudge or not, because if not AIQ can be BRUTAL!

JP - Benefitted from the recent code update which now has ball saves on both outlanes.
DP - Posts between Inlane/Outlane are higher than the top of the slings. This allows for more balls to fall into inlanes.
AIQ - Same posts are LOWER than tops of slings. Once a ball is there it will want to naturally fall into the outlane because it's heading that way, and the adjustable post at the outlane side rail is too high to really make any impact. Outlane drains are brutal.

For AIQ I added a rubber bumper on the left outlane rail and a Top 100 player recently called that out at the new owner's house. Maybe for him it's unnecessary, but for us mortals it was crucial. My son got sick of owning it and stopped playing it outright because it was too hard to keep the ball in play. Take that for what it's worth into consideration.