It's certainly among the greats. It's unfair to say anything is the absolute best, given variances in taste, but it's in the conversation.
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The Pinball Arcade |OT| play them all from Soho to Brighton
- Thread starter AMUSIX
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It's certainly among the greats. It's unfair to say anything is the absolute best, given variances in taste, but it's in the conversation.
Yeah, perhaps I should just say "it's my favourite". I honestly really miss the days when pinball music was properly scored and not just a streamed audio file like it is now. A lot of modern console games still do it (pretty sure Resogun does, at least), the team behind a pinball machine should be the same.
TBH, IMO the only machines that should be able to get away with audio streaming is the JJ stuff with their LCDs.
TBH, IMO the only machines that should be able to get away with audio streaming is the JJ stuff with their LCDs.
plagiarize
Banned
a lot of Zen's Marvel tables do a pretty good job of conveying that feeling, not that they're on par with Steve's stuff, but I've been playing them a bit recently and they've got that feel. obviously peeps at Zen are Ritchie fans.Not only would I say it's the best pinball music ever, but I'd go so far as to say that I think it's the best non-recorded/streamed game music ever written. It just suits the theme so goddamn perfectly and puts you right in the mood for it.
When I say I picture BK2K to be like Highlander, I think I mean because of this song. It bears some striking similarities (in style, not composition) to the BK2K theme, as well as being in the position of putting the main protagonist in the ultimate fight of good versus evil (or something).
I can't remember where, but S. Ritchie has said that in all the games he designs, he likes to put the player in a position of fighting the machine, as if it has a personality or at least progressing through a story as a clear-set protagonist. Obviously he hasn't been in the position to design games like that in the last 10 years or so (look at AC/DC and to a lesser extent, Star Trek) but almost everything else matches that MO:
* Rollergames - Fighting against each of roller derby teams
* High Speed/The Getaway - Running from the police
* F-14 - Gen. Yagov
* STTNG - Playing as a crew member on the Enterprise/as the Enterprise
* T2/T3 - As T800 against T1000/whatever that one was in T3. The hot one.
* Black Knight/BK2K - Against the Black Knight (duh)
* Firepower - The alien... thing.
* Spiderman - I think you play as Spiderman? If so, it's putting you in an aggressive position of "fighting" things.
Anyway, it puts you in a role to get invested rather than just clearing modes a la pretty much every single goddamned Stern game that's been released. Even X-Men, a game that would lend itself perfectly to you playing as a character to fight against enemies... just has you clearing modes.
Oh, and I think she was the T-X wasn't she?
Gentleman Jack
Member
Haha why does the black knight say 'gimme your money HA HA HA.'
Before all he wanted to do was joust. How the times have changed.
I was thinking about the difference between that and Funhouse. Rudy says "Hey Biff, play again!" and BK2K is all "Give me your money". Lawlor's games are definitely "nicer" in that regard. Depends on if you want to play "with" a machine or against it... and that shows in the length of play each designer goes for. TZ/TAF and to a lesser extent FH are relatively lengthy games compared to HS/HS2/BK2K.
BTW That's Steve Ritchie's voice as the Black Knight. He also voices one of the police on HS/HS2, the skull in No Fear and Shao Kahn in the MK series (it was also his idea to call it Mortal Kombat rather than "Combat", adding the "mortal" and the "k").
Ugh. Just received an email talking about an official IFPA-sanctioned open tournament (the first in Australia or something) and of course, it's on the same week as the fucking F1. Can't catch a goddamn break!
Guess I'll have to earn some points at whatever they have at the Texas Pinball thingy instead
Guess I'll have to earn some points at whatever they have at the Texas Pinball thingy instead
BolognaSoup
Member
This shit is a crime against humanity. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PlGhKuE1Rc
Given that those guys make a living selling machines, I trust that then know when one is too far gone to salvage. They probably stripped off the worthwhile parts before making the video.
Yeah I hear you. The videogame cabinets not so much given the state of emulation, but pinball, despite how well TPA does it, is still impossible to properly replicate.
ThreePiMatt
Member
Then I'm sure you probably know that the voice of Rudy is that of Mortal Kombat kreator Ed Boon, who also had done the voice for all iterations of Scorpion, even his movie appearances. As well as having done work on BK2000 and a handful of other tables.
Gunstarheroes
Member
Don't you hate on Street Fighter. That was one of my favorite tables growing up....
Most definitely! Though Dan Forden was more the audio genius at Williams/Midway during that era... there's nothing he didn't work on! Eugene Jarvis was massive at Williams as well, Ritchie speaks very highly of him in the days of Firepower.
Haha sorry man. I'm a MASSIVE Street Fighter franchise fan. As a pin, sadly, it was really poor. I stopped wanting one after playing it for a couple of weeks locally.
Man, you know I freaking love this game, but why does it play so goddamn slowly? Every other new table since T2 has been brutally fast (T2 and Fish Tales, even BR to an extent) but this just feels sluggish.
Play the game, then compare it to this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUTgj90iB7M
I'm not saying it should be as brutally fast as that, but it should at least try to represent it. As it is, it just feels sluggish and slow. On both PC and iOS.
And let's not forget the fact that we STILL don't have proper emulation for the original BK (or Firepower). It actually makes it *harder* to time loop shots on the upper playfield because of how not-right it feels.
Edit: For those who may have been wondering, these are the files on the PC version that have been updated:
The earliest ones are from when I received the major update when I first fired up Steam this morning, but while I was playing BK2K it started running really bad... that was when that second update hit.
BK, Gorgar and BH were all scripted, weren't they? Maybe they've been fixed? Why not Firepower?
Play the game, then compare it to this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUTgj90iB7M
I'm not saying it should be as brutally fast as that, but it should at least try to represent it. As it is, it just feels sluggish and slow. On both PC and iOS.
And let's not forget the fact that we STILL don't have proper emulation for the original BK (or Firepower). It actually makes it *harder* to time loop shots on the upper playfield because of how not-right it feels.
Edit: For those who may have been wondering, these are the files on the PC version that have been updated:
The earliest ones are from when I received the major update when I first fired up Steam this morning, but while I was playing BK2K it started running really bad... that was when that second update hit.
BK, Gorgar and BH were all scripted, weren't they? Maybe they've been fixed? Why not Firepower?
Gentleman Jack
Member
I just don't see it as a valid justification when consoles are whole seasons behind. There's never been parity.
Corleth the Fey
Member
Seriously? Fuck Apple. I suggest everyone moves off of iOS as soon as possible. You can do it, I did. I saved money and got a better product - who'd of thunked it!
In better news, I hope that new license means some Earthshaking Pinball action.
In better news, I hope that new license means some Earthshaking Pinball action.
Minsc
Gold Member
As cool as it is to hate Apple, this is totally FarSight's choosing, they are just using Apple as a scapegoat. There's absolutely zero reason they had to switch the way it works elsewhere because they're doing it on iOS.
Selling the discounted season packs after the season is completed sorta makes more sense anyway, for them. That is how it was for the first season, you couldn't buy the season pack, you had to buy all of season one's table individually, and it was a lot more money for them that way. Discounted seasons should be incentive for people who are coming late to the party so to speak, those that are sticking around for each month's release will likely buy it each month.
That said, I own all three season packs on Steam, so maybe I'll find myself more annoyed when Season 4 hits, and I have to decide between buying individual tables or waiting 10 months for a discounted bundle.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
I'm so ready for that cheesy awesome music.
Dash Kappei
Not actually that important
Just came back from a local bowling/pool/arcade place where there a bunch of machine a (along with 4 seats of Outrun2 C2C, 6 cabs of Grid, triple screen Ferrari Challenge 2, Silent Scope X, SEGA's Go Kart racer and so on) and man was I pissed.
The Sopranos table was absurdly (albeit slighty) titled to the right (enough to completely your plays but so little that the average-joe won't notice) and it was so fucking uphill that most of the times if was basically impossible to hit the ramps without having the ball come back straight into the drains.
AC-DC, I'm not exaggerating believe me, it was simply impossible to play: there was a blue neon light directly bouncing off all over the glass, thus sparking a thousand reflections so that I couldn't see SHIT.
Didn't know what the fuck was going on half the times.
Just to let you understand how bad it was, I spent the rest of my change on that über fucked up Sopranos table.
The other three tables were out of order and covered with a cloth so I don't even know what I've missed, but considering the working order of the other two...
Seriously, fuck those people! I was so happy when I noticed they had pins and had a twnty changed into coins straight away, what a fucking waste of money
The Sopranos table was absurdly (albeit slighty) titled to the right (enough to completely your plays but so little that the average-joe won't notice) and it was so fucking uphill that most of the times if was basically impossible to hit the ramps without having the ball come back straight into the drains.
AC-DC, I'm not exaggerating believe me, it was simply impossible to play: there was a blue neon light directly bouncing off all over the glass, thus sparking a thousand reflections so that I couldn't see SHIT.
Didn't know what the fuck was going on half the times.
Just to let you understand how bad it was, I spent the rest of my change on that über fucked up Sopranos table.
The other three tables were out of order and covered with a cloth so I don't even know what I've missed, but considering the working order of the other two...
Seriously, fuck those people! I was so happy when I noticed they had pins and had a twnty changed into coins straight away, what a fucking waste of money
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
Ran through the standard goals in BK2K, I think this is my new favorite Steve Ritchie table.
ThreePiMatt
Member
They've been doing a Table of the Month since the beginning.
Exactly. This is the first thing they did that really pissed me off. Don't BS your loyal fanbase, which knows better.
When you say the beginning, as in years ago? I thought it just started a couple months ago. I only started paying attention when it hit steam but I though they announced table of the month as a new thing starting just a few months back with Whirlwind? Was there free tables of the month all along that I just didn't know about?
ThreePiMatt
Member
I didn't start playing day 1 on Android, but as far back as I remember they've been doing a Table of the Month.
Minsc
Gold Member
Table Pack 23, Season 3, yes it is on Steam. You just browse by alphabetical order though (per season) not table packs. PS4 version will come sometime 2nd half of the year most likely, PS4 only has Season 1 tables for now.
Gunstarheroes
Member
Black Knight always pissed me off, and i've never been a big fan of the table. Black Knight 2000 is one of the best tables i've ever played in the game, and i hope that one day i can play a real one.
Minsc
Gold Member
Yes, I have to agree with everyone else, I never played BK2K before, and now it's quickly on the way to becoming a favorite. The original wasn't horrible or great after getting the standard goals, but the newer version is so much more fun, just the music and voice alone put it on top, and of course it plays (and looks) a lot better too.
ThreePiMatt
Member
I had a pretty epic run on BK2000 this morning. Managed 10 million and 3 extra balls on the first ball and cleared up 3/5 of the Wizard Goals. I only finished up with about 17 million. The lower playfield can get crazy fast if you keep hitting U-Turns.
Champion Pub is the shit. Never seen one irl before, but it's becoming one of my favorite tables thanks to this game. Now I'm on a quest to find an actual one nearby.
I also love the really old pinball tables in here. I wouldn't want a ton, but I like every so often playing something like Central Park just seeing how completely different it is.
I also love the really old pinball tables in here. I wouldn't want a ton, but I like every so often playing something like Central Park just seeing how completely different it is.
added_time
Member
http://pinballarcadefans.com/showthread.php/7390-Friend-Leaderboards
What does this mean? I updated and can't see anyone from my Steam friends list on the Friend leaderboard...
does that mean they need to have a pinball arcade account? Maybe some people don't bother doing that?
They make everything so confusing in this game. Leaderboards are so simple and work with every other game I have.
What does this mean? I updated and can't see anyone from my Steam friends list on the Friend leaderboard...
does that mean they need to have a pinball arcade account? Maybe some people don't bother doing that?
They make everything so confusing in this game. Leaderboards are so simple and work with every other game I have.
Minsc
Gold Member
Isn't the sound from the ROM though? That shouldn't be any different, unless you mean like the mechanical table sounds? Looks should go up a notch or two once the PS4/DX11 level graphics are implemented, but I don't doubt the version you are talking about is quite nice... from time to time there are pretty outstanding tables done by the pinball community, but there's something nicer about having a retail product do it all in one package.
Sounds in TPA are all recorded and streamed back, none are emulated (at least, the music is... pretty sure game samples are as well. And not just mechanical ones). So technically they're from the ROM, but it's the reason they've varying quality across platforms. If you just emulated the sounds/played them from the ROM directly then the same clarity would be across all games. Or something.
I think that's why we occasionally see bugs with music playing over each other, with one playing and another starting before the other finishes. Wouldn't happen with emulated sound because it wouldn't synthesize two music tracks at once