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The Pinball Arcade |OT| play them all from Soho to Brighton

Flib

Member
Getting into the billionaire's club in BoP was very satisfying and surprisingly easy. I'd recommend everyone read the instructions for that table, as there are two ways to automatically score a billion points.
 

depths20XX

Member
I love it so much it's seriously made me consider hunting one down in real life, buttons to the cost. People can go without food for a few months right? No matter how much I play it I can't help think of how much more amazing it would be if it were real.

I have a problem, someone help :(

This is how I feel now too. I've actually been trying to find a table locally. Not that specific one though, because from what I've seen, it's pretty expensive. Anyone here own tables or know the best way to go about getting one? Searched craigslist but most of those were 70's and 80's tables in need of some work.
 
I picked up both last night. I remember playing a physical version of MM but Bride of Pinbot is all new to me. BoP is crazy awesome. I was shocked when I first saw her face flip, i wasn't expecting that at all. I might have take a trip to the Pinball Hall of Fame in Vegas when I go in a couple months. They have that table so I'll get a chance to play the physical version. Also, glad to see I'm not the only one who thought MM felt too fast.
 
In what way aren't they accurate? Keep in mind that the slope of the machine is adjustable by the owner on physical pinball machines, so that alone could make a game not feel the same.

It just feels easier to control the ball in real life. Like it doesn't bounce around as fast or as far. Like you said though, it's possible that the machines I was playing were set up to play a bit easier than normal.
 

Wonko_C

Member
I got this on 360 and really love it. I'll probably get it on Vita and maybe PC too eventually. I've been spending almost all of my time so far with Theater of Magic. I've never played this one in real life but it's easily one of my favourite tables of all time. I love it so much it's seriously made me consider hunting one down in real life, buttons to the cost. People can go without food for a few months right? No matter how much I play it I can't help think of how much more amazing it would be if it were real.

I have a problem, someone help :(

lol, I'm exactly the same way.

I've been watching video clips on YouTube of people playing the real table and looking around on eBay and the like to see how much one costs. Realistically though, I can't afford it right now and I have no space for it, but one day maybe.

I'd be happy just if I could find a table to play on the arcades in my city, but all they have now is pump-it up and bootleg king of fighters 2002 machines.
 

blackflag

Member
This game is so bad on the Vita. Can't see enough with regular orientation. It would be great vertical except they stuck tilt on the back and I can't help but hit it every single time.

Glad the fix is out for iPad 3. It is pretty good on that. Haven't tried it on my PS3 yet.

The ball is really fast. Is that more accurate than how it was in Pinball hall of fame?
 
The problem is that the PS3 version of Pinball Arcade is significantly laggier than the other versions of Pinball Arcade. The flipper response is off by several frames (I'd estimate anywhere from 5 to 10), enough to be visibly noticeable and a distraction to gameplay.

Xbox 360--quick and responsive.
PS3--slow and laggy.

Well I've played the 360 demo and was considering the PS3 version since I need a reason to use my PS3 more. Not a good sign.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
Yeah...I think I'm just going to stick with PHOF until they fix up the PS3 version. Will definitely buy once it's patched up, though. Especially if they do end up getting the license to do Twilight Zone.
 
I only bought the full version of this game last night on XBLA, but holy shit I'm loving it.

I FUCKING SUCK at multi-ball...omfg.

Multi-ball is designed to only last a short while, 2 of the 3 balls always die for me real quick, unless I'm missing something.
 

jvm

Gamasutra.
I bugged them on Facebook about the Kindle Fire version again.
We don't have a set time but its top priority now that we have the new SDK! Stay tuned!
The hold-up was in-app purchases before. Those are implemented and caps have been raised on how big the IAP can be.
 

Bebpo

Banned
The tables all move pretty damn fast in this game. I went and played Marvel Pinball after playing a few hours of Pinball Arcade and Marvel Pinball was like playing in slow motion and super easy.

The ball physics are heavier and move faster than Williams HoF or any of the Zen Pinball tables. Not sure about comparisons to real life since I haven't played real pinball in a while. I don't remember real pinball ever going as fast as it gets sometimes with the balls here. I've had more than a few games where I lost because ball had flown down and roll straight off the flipper before I even saw it and had time to react.

I like the game a lot, but it does seem really tough compared to other pinball games including their own Williams HoF.
 
Just bought the april pack on my ipad 2, and yes, Medieval Madness feels quite different, faster, and the flippers are too far one from another, i´ve never played the real table so i don´t really know if they screwed the measurements for this table in this game or in Hall Of Fame.

Machine Bride of Pinbot is a BLAST, i hope they put the original Pinbot too, amazing table.

Edit: They really need to work on the interface, is fugly and looks lazy, some small icons with the logos should be enough, and do not put the tables i don´t own in my face, a shop icon would do the job, show a pop-up message over it for the new tables and that should be enough.
 

Kalnos

Banned
Tales of the Arabian Nights is interesting for me because my dad owned the machine, which I have inherited and have no room for currently. The machine requires tons of upkeep, especially the magnet(?) that catches the ball when you hit the genie, so it's cool to be able to play an ideal version even if it doesn't have the charm or feel of the real thing.

Would love to see Attack From Mars, we used to own that machine as well... probably my favorite ever.
 
I tried a round of Pinball FX2 recently (since playing a ton of Pinball Arcade)

I don't think I can go back to the Zen Studios stuff, it just doesn't feel right.
 

Blu10

Member
I'm having trouble spelling Harem on the Arabian Nights Table. Damn ball lock is always on.

You're going to have to just waste an entire game going for it. It seems I always hit the trapped ball and active tiger loop, but finally got it after a few games.
 

lobdale

3 ft, coiled to the sky
yep.

this the last regular goal on all the Vita tables I have left.

Same for me, and it's part of the way I noticed the flipper lag in the PS3 version, since you gotta hit it so perfectly off the tip of that flipper and it feels like it just doesn't respond quickly enough. I bet I knock it into that loop when I'm trying maybe 1/10 times. Have a much better shot nailing it with Harem sneak-ins totally by chance.

One suggestion is activating the Sinbad and the Roc event... then if you can hit it up the left side it'll knock into a raised peg that pops up above the bumpers during that event, giving you a better chance of the jets knocking it into the Harem sneak-in hole. Just keep the event going without completing it and repeatedly make the shot up the loop.

One of these days...
 
I tried a round of Pinball FX2 recently (since playing a ton of Pinball Arcade)

I don't think I can go back to the Zen Studios stuff, it just doesn't feel right.

Different style of games imho, Zen has some real great original tables, i absolutely love Tesla (i´m terrible at it tough) El Dorado is great, Mars and Paranormal quite fun...but yeah, the physics are plain bad for the most part
 

nexen

Member
Is the PS3/PSVita getting the new tables today? Please say yes.

Also - Is the leftmost top rollover on Black Hole not work for anyone else? I can get the other two but the left one just ignores the ball. Am I supposed to do something else to get it? I've played the HOF version and even the real one and I don't remember this.
 

Shaneus

Member
To clarify for most of you all, MM (at least on iOS) is definitely not as accurate as it should be. Flippers are definitely too far apart and the ball is *far* too light. Note: I'm aware of the difference between a fast table due to angle and one due to ball weight. If MM was fast due to angle, then it would struggle to make most of the ramps and the loops would be slow as well. As it is, it's like in some areas (most if not all, actually) the ball weighs a fraction of what it should, meaning it takes loops at a ridiculous speed and you don't have time to react or sometimes even for the DMD animation to finish. If the ball had the weight it does in, say, Bride... it'd be a big improvement.

Also, the ball will get stuck amongst the jets far too frequently (IRL it takes around 7-8 goes to get the full 40 jet hits, here it takes maybe 2 or 3)... although thinking about it, this could be due to ball weight. And there's no texture on the other side of the drawbridge. And there's no red light on the castle when you hit it.

I've spent a lot of time on this machine in the past ;) The PHOF version is still the definitive one at this stage, with it feeling a lot closer to the real machine.
 

Bebpo

Banned
I don't get why they would be different though in things like flipper spacing. You would assume for the tables they did in Williams HoF they'd literally just reuse the code/models/design and just change the lighting with the new lighting model. Re-arranging where objects are on the table makes no sense unless they felt the HoF version was inaccurate.
 

vg260

Member
Same for me, and it's part of the way I noticed the flipper lag in the PS3 version, since you gotta hit it so perfectly off the tip of that flipper and it feels like it just doesn't respond quickly enough. I bet I knock it into that loop when I'm trying maybe 1/10 times. Have a much better shot nailing it with Harem sneak-ins totally by chance

Regarding PS3 lag, what native resolution does the game run in? The 360 can upscale in hardware to 1080p and output a 1080p signal, whereas the PS3 often can only output a 720p signal and TV has to upscale. Perhaps for a PS3/1080p TV, that might be an issue, but then again you might have noticed lag in other games if that was the case. Just thinking out loud...
 

lobdale

3 ft, coiled to the sky
Regarding PS3 lag, what native resolution does the game run in? The 360 can upscale in hardware to 1080p and output a 1080p signal, whereas the PS3 often can only output a 720p signal and TV has to upscale. Perhaps for a PS3/1080p TV, that might be an issue, but then again you might have noticed lag in other games if that was the case. Just thinking out loud...

I output in 720p to my 720p native set and haven't noticed any other lag in any other pinball games I play or any game at all.

"Lag" is probably the wrong word, but the one that is getting associated with this problem, when it mostly is "sluggishness," like things are responding just a shade after you do them. For what it's worth I notice it most on Tales of the Arabian Nights, especially compared to the PHoF version, which seems much "snappier" overall. I wonder if the emulation routines on that particular table are slowing things down or something.
 

Remy

Member
To clarify for most of you all, MM (at least on iOS) is definitely not as accurate as it should be. Flippers are definitely too far apart and the ball is *far* too light.

Wanted to check and compare the flipper distance, and it looks like it's about a centimeter wider.

Here's a screenshot I just took from the iPad 3 version. Notice how the left flipper just barely touches the bottom left of the scroll, and the right flipper is down and to the right of it.

Here's a photo of someone's playfield. Both flippers are clearly overlapping the scroll.

Bizarre.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
To clarify for most of you all, MM (at least on iOS) is definitely not as accurate as it should be. Flippers are definitely too far apart and the ball is *far* too light. Note: I'm aware of the difference between a fast table due to angle and one due to ball weight. If MM was fast due to angle, then it would struggle to make most of the ramps and the loops would be slow as well. As it is, it's like in some areas (most if not all, actually) the ball weighs a fraction of what it should, meaning it takes loops at a ridiculous speed and you don't have time to react or sometimes even for the DMD animation to finish. If the ball had the weight it does in, say, Bride... it'd be a big improvement.

Also, the ball will get stuck amongst the jets far too frequently (IRL it takes around 7-8 goes to get the full 40 jet hits, here it takes maybe 2 or 3)... although thinking about it, this could be due to ball weight. And there's no texture on the other side of the drawbridge. And there's no red light on the castle when you hit it.

I've spent a lot of time on this machine in the past ;) The PHOF version is still the definitive one at this stage, with it feeling a lot closer to the real machine.

The good thing is as they release updates they are fixing problems with tables, so hopefully they address these issues as time goes on. :)

I actually find the UI to be a better fit on the iPhone than the 360, that's another area that definitely needs work.
 

larvi

Member
You're going to have to just waste an entire game going for it. It seems I always hit the trapped ball and active tiger loop, but finally got it after a few games.

The tiger loop light will go out if you trap the ball for a few seconds. I found the easiest way to get the harem is to trap the ball on the right flipper as it comes out of the bazaar and shoot up the left lane from there, just make sure you don't hit the genie too many times to light the ball lock. It's much easier now than in the HoF version where even when the harem light was lit, most of the time it wouldn't register when hit the rollover. I had to resort to getting lucky with 3 harem sneak-ins to get the goal in that version.
 
The tiger loop light will go out if you trap the ball for a few seconds. I found the easiest way to get the harem is to trap the ball on the right flipper as it comes out of the bazaar and shoot up the left lane from there, just make sure you don't hit the genie too many times to light the ball lock. It's much easier now than in the HoF version where even when the harem light was lit, most of the time it wouldn't register when hit the rollover. I had to resort to getting lucky with 3 harem sneak-ins to get the goal in that version.
Good deal, thx for the tip. Ill give that a try asap as its really working my nerves to the point where ive been going for the 3 sneaks instead but getting nowhere quick.

after that its the 8illusions, and the whole apprentice package wizard goals that im guessing is my next big hurdle.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Just wanted to say that after the update some tables finally seem to play at almost locked 60fps on iPad1, Medieval Madness is one of those, they also upgraded the physics although on MM the ball seems so light... dunno, never played a real machine.
Tales of the Arabian Nights still suck tho, it fluctuates between 25 to maybe 40, with hiccups inbetween.
I also hate, HATE, the flat texture with fake points of specular lights on the ball, wish they'd upgrade that since it would help SO MUCH for the immersion :/

Two questions:

Will Farsight ever integrate Game Center? Such a stupid decision to go for Facebook only, I want to see the leaderboards with my fellow 300+ gaffers!

Iirc before release Farsight promised that every month at table would get discounted @99c, while I see they still are triple that for each table? Can't seem to find any deal besides the MM+BoP combo.
 

Shearie

Member
Two questions:

Will Farsight ever integrate Game Center? Such a stupid decision to go for Facebook only, I want to see the leaderboards with my fellow 300+ gaffers!

Iirc before release Farsight promised that every month at table would get discounted @99c, while I see they still are triple that for each table? Can't seem to find any deal besides the MM+BoP combo.

They're working on Game Center support but there's no specific date for it. I remember reading back when the game launched on iOS that they said that April would be the earliest for them to add it but it seems like they're gonna miss that best case scenario.

As for the table of the month, I guess they changed their minds on how it works. Instead of paying 99¢ you get to play the table that month for free but with ads (although when I played MM the few times on my iPad 2 before I paid for it, I didn't see any ads) and, if I'm not mistaken, no high score and goal saving.
 

Shaneus

Member
I don't get why they would be different though in things like flipper spacing. You would assume for the tables they did in Williams HoF they'd literally just reuse the code/models/design and just change the lighting with the new lighting model. Re-arranging where objects are on the table makes no sense unless they felt the HoF version was inaccurate.
Me neither. Obviously there are texture updates but the modelling of the table should be largely the same. Eh.


The good thing is as they release updates they are fixing problems with tables, so hopefully they address these issues as time goes on. :)

I actually find the UI to be a better fit on the iPhone than the 360, that's another area that definitely needs work.
My one concern with the constant updates is the potential to invalidate scores depending on what was broken/fixed. If it related to scoring points, it could get confusing/bitchy.
 
Mmm, i found a bug with the table views in Machine Bride of Pinbot (ipad, playing in landscape mode), once you activate the multiball mode, the camera zooms out, that´s the normal behavior, but once you finish the mode, the camera remains zoomed out until you lock/lost another ball, and that sucks.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
When does the Advanced Lighting Patch drop for the 360?

No set date, but all DLC tables will have it:

"The artists have been working on it, so in a future update you should see those changes and improved lighting. All DLC tables will have that treatment out of the box."
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
They're working on Game Center support but there's no specific date for it. I remember reading back when the game launched on iOS that they said that April would be the earliest for them to add it but it seems like they're gonna miss that best case scenario.

As for the table of the month, I guess they changed their minds on how it works. Instead of paying 99¢ you get to play the table that month for free but with ads (although when I played MM the few times on my iPad 2 before I paid for it, I didn't see any ads) and, if I'm not mistaken, no high score and goal saving.

Thanks for the answers. I guess I'll wait to Game Center support to kick in to go berserk and buy all the remaining tables.
 

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
Different style of games imho, Zen has some real great original tables, i absolutely love Tesla (i´m terrible at it tough) El Dorado is great, Mars and Paranormal quite fun...but yeah, the physics are plain bad for the most part

Honestly, I've never gotten the pooping that is done in Pinball FX for its physics... I realize pinball experts appreciate a "perfect" simulation, but comparing Pinball FX to this game (and simulators like it) is a bit like comparing Forza Motorsport to a semi-arcade racer like Project Gotham. The latter is not trying to be a sim and failing. Its physics are a balance of real and fantasy to facilitate the game design.

I can go back and forth between this and FX without FX feeling bad, personally. They're just different.
 
Well yeah, that´s exactly what i´m saying :p

Those tables are not simulations of real ones, so i really don´t care if the physics are not accurate in Zen games, their games are really fun and great value for the money just like they are, but the truth is what it is, that does not make them bad games though.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
They really need to add more views stat! It sucks there's only three.
Also Believe it or Not is waaaay too easy. My first time playing the table, didn't even read the rules/objectives on 360 I've got two specials, 4 extra balls, played half an hour I think till 100M (GT: dashkap) and then I had to go and let 3 balls drain just to post my score on the leaderboards where I was 280 or something all-time, and the top ones are 1B scores.. wtf. Can't invest 60m+ each play in this thing without some major reward and sans being pushed by a proper challenge, it's too fucking easy and getting top scores would be an excerise in boredom imo.
 

Dash Kappei

Not actually that important
Hence, why it's a shit table.

Ahah, so that is the consensus? Too bad because the table looks so fun, so much shit going with lights and sounds going crazy... They should at least fix the angle to add a bit more challenge. I'm sure the real table can't be that easy. Is there a date for when the iOS tables hit XBLA?
 
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