When you're playing to keep that time limit from going down... I don't mind it in that regard.
Having said that, it's probably my least played table. But not because I'm avoiding it, just that there are others I'd rather play.
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The Pinball Arcade |OT| play them all from Soho to Brighton
- Thread starter AMUSIX
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Having said that, it's probably my least played table. But not because I'm avoiding it, just that there are others I'd rather play.
I "needed" to test out my new credit card so I ended up buying season 4 on steam last night. Really enjoying Earthshaker the most so far, Phantom of the Opera and Party Zone are both okay but I haven't really dug into either of them much. Starship Troopers is just dull. Looking forward to trying out Addams Family when it launches, the only chance I have had to play it in real life was at the Melbourne Airport and the machine was beyond busted. Also I must be weird because I still really enjoy El Dorado.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I enjoy El Dorado, too.
I actually enjoy most tables really. Goin Nuts is just my least favorite. :3Gentleman Jack
Member
El Dorado is just repetitive and dull. Endlessly aiming for drop target banks while that obnoxious SFX loop thrums in the background gives me a headache. Big Shot is way more engaging and the core concepts aren't even that different.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
I'm just waiting for High Speed II next month.
It better come next month.
EDIT: Some chucklebuster edited the TV Tropes page for TPA to say that Red and Ted's Road Show is the table for March. I want that game, but I want High Speed II even more...
It better come next month.
EDIT: Some chucklebuster edited the TV Tropes page for TPA to say that Red and Ted's Road Show is the table for March. I want that game, but I want High Speed II even more...
Pretty sure someone here confirmed that they saw download files on PC and one of them was definitely Getaway.
I have a feeling we can lock in both that and Road Show this "season". Can't really call what else we'll see, though. Probably a few mid-low tier Sterns like Monopoly or RCT. Have a feeling next KS could well be TSPP (or maybe one of the Indys).
I have a feeling we can lock in both that and Road Show this "season". Can't really call what else we'll see, though. Probably a few mid-low tier Sterns like Monopoly or RCT. Have a feeling next KS could well be TSPP (or maybe one of the Indys).
Gunstarheroes
Member
I'd be happy for this, mostly because it was one of the first tables i played.
Monthly tournament last night. Did a bit better at Addam's Family, but not so great on Atlantis, Star Trek, and World Cup Soccer. Finished 19th out of 20. Got some pretty awesome scores afterwards though. 717 million on World Cup Soccer, which netted me a free game plus a match so three games for the price of one. I also got 1.25 million on Atlantis, which also got me a free game. Good times. Also excited for the local WWE Wrestlemania launch event next Saturday.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Man when will Stern learn its lesson with the ultra bright lighting behind the backglass. I'm surprised that game is playable with the glare that causes on the playfield.
Yeah, if anything, the LEDs in Star Trek give it amazing contrasted lighting straight from the factory. Never had any glare issues.
But the ruleset is a bit meh, suposed to get updated. But no chance in hell this local machine will ever see that. At that one venue, all tables simply run until they break more and more. And then they are left like cold dead fish :-\
But the ruleset is a bit meh, suposed to get updated. But no chance in hell this local machine will ever see that. At that one venue, all tables simply run until they break more and more. And then they are left like cold dead fish :-\
I despise the ultra bright look of all new Sterns. They shouldn't be using SMD LEDs without lens caps to diffuse light. Pinball machines shouldn't be bathed in white light across the playfield, there needs to be bright and dark spots. When evenly lit, it's like looking at a game under a spotlight.
Went to the other main location in town for some pinball tonight. Excuse the terrible phone picture, but the lineup is Rollergames, The Walking Dead Pro, Taxi, Tee'd Off, Data East Simpsons, AC/DC Premium, Space Jam, and WWE Wrestlemania. I found out last night at the monthly tournament that this WWE happened to be the first production machine off the line, which is kinda cool. I haven't really figured out the rules, yet. From what I heard, you want to keep hitting the ramps to get up into the ring as much as possible. The ring takes some getting used to since it is like controlling slingshots with the flippers. Not a bad game though. We have a launch event next Saturday so I wanted to get some practice.
Playing some Starship Troopers tonight I have noticed that on the Steam version when you get the ball into the Arm Nukes hole if you don't touch the flippers when it shoots the ball back out it will continuously bounce back into the same Arm Nukes spot. It does this repeatedly as long as you don't touch anything until you get the extra ball. For some reason it will then miss the hole after around the 16th time. Yes I have too much time on my hands.
Edit: After being able to duplicate the same thing three games in a row it now seems to not work so I have no idea what the specific circumstances were that was causing it to occur.
Edit: After being able to duplicate the same thing three games in a row it now seems to not work so I have no idea what the specific circumstances were that was causing it to occur.
Same! I have a feeling licensing would be a bitch though. I guess they could always replace things like Splice and GamePro to something like "Orange" and "GameMag".
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I want to play and enjoy SST because I love obscure games...But honestly, the hardest thing is dealing with the 3rd flipper when playing on Android. Really, any table with a 3rd flipper or magna save is tough without a controller.
In other news, I played a bunch of Genie and Fish Tales last night. FT is an OK game. Genie, however, is amazing. Once you know what you're doing, going for a high score is a damn rush!
E: Also, I would LOVE to see some lower-tier Sterns come up.
Go for the wall!!! I did and I really like it, mainly because the playfield seems designed to keep the ball in the middle and away from the outlanes. Normally I lose most of my balls to the outlanes, but not as much on this game. Still learning the rules and can only occasionally make it up the ramp, but it is a fun beginner friendly game.
These machines and the ones at the other location I posted earlier are all used for monthly IFPA tournaments. They are all owned and maintained by local collectors, so they are kept in great condition. The guy who owns the four machines at the other location says he spends a good 5-6 hours every week cleaning and maintaining those machines. Too bad not all operators have that level of dedication.
BobTheFork
Member
A wrestlemania appeared at Game Xchange here in Denver. I haven't gone by but a few people did. IT's hard to judge the table because like so many other Stern's, it was released with wildly unfinished code. There should be a launch party for it soon so I'll keep an eye out for that. Everyone who has seen it seems to like the design up close and the look of the table.
Actually got to play Walking Dead for the first time, today at Santa Cruz boardwalk. What I appreciated probably more than the game itself was playing on an actual new machine, since on such high-traffic/tepid-maintenance locations the older machines are usually littered with issues (they have a small but very good selection though).
I dug the game but not the theme. Only thing is Pro Sterns without any upgrades feel so samey. Like it reminded me of the old T3 at work even. Something about the build style. I'm getting pretty serious into buying an actual pinny for home play and I'm not sure about any of these Stern themes either. Gah! Of the modern machines unless you are super into one of the new Sterns it feels like you're compromising big-time on something. I guess maybe my dream machine would be a super blinged Simpsons Pinball Party (yeah yeah Stern too) because it's such a home run on theme and even plays pretty well, but even there shallow ruleset.
Gah!
I dug the game but not the theme. Only thing is Pro Sterns without any upgrades feel so samey. Like it reminded me of the old T3 at work even. Something about the build style. I'm getting pretty serious into buying an actual pinny for home play and I'm not sure about any of these Stern themes either. Gah! Of the modern machines unless you are super into one of the new Sterns it feels like you're compromising big-time on something. I guess maybe my dream machine would be a super blinged Simpsons Pinball Party (yeah yeah Stern too
) because it's such a home run on theme and even plays pretty well, but even there shallow ruleset.Gah!
Simpsons Pinball Party is actually known as one of the deepest of the modern era Stern titles. Ripley's is up there too, but I think TSPP is even moreso (but not to the extent of LotR).
You won't find one cheap, though... I believe the theme alone means it fetches a pretty good price, and with it only just being added to ColorDMD's repertoire, I don't think it'll go down in price.
You won't find one cheap, though... I believe the theme alone means it fetches a pretty good price, and with it only just being added to ColorDMD's repertoire, I don't think it'll go down in price.
BobTheFork
Member
I personally hate Simpsons PArty Pinball; at least I hate ever playing it in competition. The entire game is driver through the garage so it becomes this awful game of chance as everyone has to keep slamming a shot in the top-center of the table. Success or drain feels like a crap shoot.
Yeah, I honestly don't see the appeal in it whatsoever. IMO it was a fairly poor era for Stern... just look at this list:
2001-01 High Roller Casino
2001-06 Austin Powers
2001-09 Monopoly
2001-11 NFL
2002-01 Playboy®
2002-08 RollerCoaster Tycoon
2002-11 Harley-Davidson® (2nd Edition)
2003-02 The Simpsons Pinball Party
2003-06 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
2003-12 The Lord of the Rings
2004-03 Ripley's Believe It or Not!
2004-08 Elvis
2005 Grand Prix/NASCAR
2005-02 The Sopranos®
2006-02 World Poker Tour
2006-07 Pirates of the Caribbean
Obviously I'm somewhat biased, but I don't think I'm too wrong in saying that out of that list the only really solid machines (in build and design) there are RBION and LotR (and I'd now argue Pirates... I think I kinda like that too). Even though they're from the same era, Simpsons (and T3) feel considerably cheaper than LotR and Ripley's.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Oh man, TSPP is fantastic. It's arguably the deepest ruleset next to LotR, and has AI Multiball. I can sort of see why someone doesn't like it, but I think that person should put more games on it first! I hated it after my first few games...But 20 games later or so, I was HOOOOOKED.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
It's deep and can be confusing at times, but once you get in the groove and figure it out, it's a lot of fun. However, I can understand when someone says it's not for them after giving it a chance.
But you like X-Men, your opinion is invalid.It's deep and can be confusing at times, but once you get in the groove and figure it out, it's a lot of fun. However, I can understand when someone says it's not for them after giving it a chance.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I think most everyone who has played the newest code would argue that X-Men is quite fantastic. The LE is still my favorite pin ever at this point, haha.
Code doesn't dictate how much fun a game is to me as much as some people, I think. It could have the best/deepest code in the world but if I don't dig the layout, I will never think the game is good. Which is why I doubt I'll ever really enjoy titles like X-Men, Avengers or TWD (amongst many, many others). Hell, I even think that more complex code can turn me off a game. For example, I really enjoyed the early Metallica code because it reminded me of an early-mid 90s WMS title. Then everything had to get all complicated and stuff and now I don't find it anywhere near as fun.
plagiarize
Banned
I can agree with this. Code can only get you so far. Like as poor as the code / rulesets are in Bride, I still go back to it time and again because the basic fundamentals are so solid. Heck I'd probably put code below theming in terms of importance.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I guess I just prefer strong depth and code, haha. Like, Avengers. I didn't enjoy it. However, if I had one to play everyday, I think it would grow on me...The rules are surprisingly deep and require you to be a great shooter to progress.
X-Men is insane, so I don't quite know how someone doesn't like it. The number of shots, combos, modes, and features are through the roof. The theme may not be for everyone, but holy hell is the game feature rich.
I haven't had a chance to play TWD, so I can't comment on that.
My general thoughts on complexity of a game are that I've become a pretty damn good pinball player, so I LOVE games where the rules are deep and require me to use my skills accordingly. RBION is a great example of super deep rules that REALLY reward the player for accurate gameplay. Atlantis and Frog Frenzy are like Valinor to me, ha. I don't know, I get that rules, code, and complexity don't do it for some people...But my general opinions have changed a lot since I started playing pinball more seriously.
That's what I don't like about it though. There are far too many shots and loops and giant Wolverine is a hindrance to the flow of play IMO. Playfield just feels kinda cramped. Conversely, Star Trek has fewer shots (I think) but feels like a more well-rounded feel to it, like it's actually been "designed" (vs. X-Men, which just kinda feels like it's a Frankenstein's monster of different parts of the playfield).
There's a horrific problem with the playfield (ergo, can't be fixed via firmware) where the ball can drain right when it comes out of the pops. And there's no clean orbit shot either because of the placement of the pops. It's a frustrating game to play.
See, I don't see RBION as being all that "deep" per se. There are a number of modes and some can be stacked, but it never feels like there's more than enough to do with it. As opposed to something like X-Men, where there's a bunch of MB modes, a stack of bosses to defeat (all of which have different opportunities for scoring) but it's never really clear what sort of progression one is making. I still have no idea what the benefit is of picking one "boss" over another. Or completing which mode lights which particular bonus (like Wolfie for MB, or the other ones for some other kind of bonus).
Complexity can be a good thing, but really only when you have the opportunity to spend hours upon hours playing a game. IMO it's to the detriment of the arcade market that all these things are done to pander to the home user. I think something as simple as High Speed could do well in arcades today with it's flashing lights and 100% obvious goals/rewards... can completely sympathise with the majority of the arcade-going public when they walk up to a modern machine and not have a fucking clue what to shoot for (because it happens so often for me, and I fucking LOVE pinball).
Yeah, it was interesting hearing Trudeau talk about how code is developed at Stern these days. A great interview with him on Broken Token had him saying he basically designs a game and it's almost entirely hands off, then it's left to the coders. He was pretty pissed about it too, saying it's the only part of the process these days that he doesn't like. Vs. while at Williams and Gottlieb of course, where software releases were basically only to fix bugs.
Edit: Sorry if it sounds like I'm having a go at you nicoga, I'm honestly not! I'm just passionate about what I specifically love about pinball (and even moreso about what I don't).
How's WCS going, by the way?
I don't think that it is a bad thing for pinball machines to target one market or another. Since the mid-late 90's, the vast majority of sales has been to the home user who generally wants deep, challenging games that last a long time. This is when you have games like Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons Pinball Party, and more recently X-Men. In the past few years, pinball has been making a comeback so more machines are being put out on location. This has lead to more simpler, approachable games to be released like Iron Man, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, and even the new WWE Wrestlemania. I think it is more of an issue with the operator putting the correct games out on location. A deep, complex game may draw a casual player in based on theme or an enthusiast looking to try it out before buying, but those machines generally will only get the most hardcore of players playing more than 1 or 2 games.
I actually can't argue with you there. IM and ST are definitely easier to understand than the "deeper" Stern titles, even right up to Metallica. As god-like as people revere coders like Lyman Sheats, his complexity I think is a turnoff for location pinball.
You make an excellent point, especially in your last sentence. But there does need to be something to keep people drawn in as well. My regular tourney location has replaced a Mustang LE (which I was growing to enjoy) with an IM. I don't hate it, but man am I sick of it... and there doesn't seem to be enough to do. That's just an example of the code having nothing to do with a layout that just doesn't resonate with me.
But yeah, I think it's the operators that can't really judge what to put on location. Especially with older games like TSPP and FG becoming cheaper and more guaranteed to draw people in at least once, that's what we'll see out. At least in Australia, where ops seem to be by and large pretty clueless and somewhat lazy. Can take solace in the fact that within walking distance of my work is a ToM
So the stream for TAF ended. Here are some notes of interest.
-Gold table will be available for purchase in the future.
-Gold table will have a separate high score table from the regular one.
-New ball pack comes with balls that can alter the physics of the table. Balls include:
-Golf ball: Lighter than usual.
-Lightning ball: Considered the "anti-powerball. Also had bolts come out of it.
-Hurricane Irene ball: Lighter(?) than usual. Pages fly out of it.
-Thing ball: Lets you move freely around the table.
-What ball: Unknown, as trying to play with it crashes the game.
-Fester ball: No real change. Light bulb in his mouth lights up.
Table, and next newsletter, is coming tomorrow. Can't wait for it.
-Gold table will be available for purchase in the future.
-Gold table will have a separate high score table from the regular one.
-New ball pack comes with balls that can alter the physics of the table. Balls include:
-Golf ball: Lighter than usual.
-Lightning ball: Considered the "anti-powerball. Also had bolts come out of it.
-Hurricane Irene ball: Lighter(?) than usual. Pages fly out of it.
-Thing ball: Lets you move freely around the table.
-What ball: Unknown, as trying to play with it crashes the game.
-Fester ball: No real change. Light bulb in his mouth lights up.
Table, and next newsletter, is coming tomorrow. Can't wait for it.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Oh shit
Welp, that's Farsight for you. Guh.
Minsc
Gold Member
Was it ever 100% confirmed to be that? Or just you thought it? I think it's mostly a matter of pricing though, personally.
Has there ever been anything in a prior kickstarter that was exclusive? Even the backer custom ball skins are purchasable, but those are a bit smaller scale than a whole table skin.
I think if they price it at more than what it costs for backing, then it'd be ok (which was what $500, I forget). If it's like $50 or less, then there could be a big upset. I don't see them selling it though, because it'd probably be a big can of worms, and who'd want to spend $500 on a skin for a table, and if it were to ever go on sale for cheap, people would get angry.
Edit: Also to bring something a little more worthwhile to this post, I don't think this Addams Family video was linked, which illustrates the differences between the PC release and the PS4 enhanced lighting version (which is "in alpha, vs the PC's beta", but still looks much more dynamic).
bloodydrake
Cool Smoke Luke
the ps4 version looks so much better..not just the lights ..but the way the grey plastic in the back looks so flat with the old lighting..then turns into this beautiful semitransparent plastic I can't wait for this patch to go live.
twinturbo2
butthurt Heat fan
Here's hoping that the hint shows that High Speed II is next month's game. I would love to have Red and Ted's Road Show, but two Lawlor games in a row is unlikely.