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

I prefer The Pinball Arcade over Zen, but that doesn't mean we should ignore all the problems with this release and Farsight in general:

- The poor sound, lack of vibration, etc. is inexcusable.

- The disappearing PS+ deal (back yet?) adds to the frustration. May not be Farsight's fault, but that doesn't make much of a difference to the customers affected.

- The extreme nickle-and-diming going on here for people who bought the tables on PS3 is just ridiculous. It doesn't help that the deal was changed at the last minute (supposedly a Sony issue, not Farsight, but Farsight shouldn't have announced anything if they weren't sure). In contrast, Zen is offering upgraded tables for free to previous users. Moot point for me in both cases, but still.

- Overpriced Pro version. More nickle-and-dime BS.

- Stealth retail release, which would normally be a welcome surprise, but it's apparently "behind" compared to the digital version and needs to be patched. (I think I read that in this very thread, but if not, I'll try to track down the source.)

- Zen's release date, which was actually announced in advance, got bumped for this. Seems a bit unfair. Normally I'd welcome this first over Zen, but Farsight seems so disorganized and cheap that it's hard to feel any goodwill toward them.
 
The game is up in Europe now as well.

One big problem though. I have the season 1 pass for PS3/Vita, but the season 1 pass for PS4 is showing up for €30 for me. :(

The half price version is showing up but I can't buy it as it tells me that I don't have bought the season pass 1, while it does show up in my purchase list. :-/

Since you're in Europe, aren't we getting Zen this week? We got a message on the EU Blog suggesting that it is still on for this week only yesterday I think. Secretly hoping that Europe still gets Zen 2 this week.
 

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
- Stealth retail release, which would normally be a welcome surprise, but it's apparently "behind" compared to the digital version and needs to be patched. (I think I read that in this very thread, but if not, I'll try to track down the source.)

That is in no way their fault. The build they had when it goes to press was one-two months old, so of course they'd be improving on the game since then.
 

meppi

Member
Since you're in Europe, aren't we getting Zen this week? We got a message on the EU Blog suggesting that it is still on for this week only yesterday I think. Secretly hoping that Europe still gets Zen 2 this week.

Thanks for reminding me! Didn't see it pop up in the site, but when you go look for it on PS4 on the store it does indeed show up. Downloading now. :)
I have a ton of tables for that as well so I'm gonna grab the ones I missed as well now.
 
That is in no way their fault. The build they had when it goes to press was one-two months old, so of course they'd be improving on the game since then.
It's part of a bigger problem that has affected the industry at large. It wasn't that long ago that games on disc were actually, ya know, finished and ready. Not the case these days, where everything launches as a glorified beta. Farsight obviously isn't to blame for this trend, but saying it's "in no way their fault" gives them too much of a free pass. Gamers really have gotten complacent and put up with way too much shit. I realize this is a drop in the bucket compared to, say, the Battlefield 4 ordeal, but maybe if gamers took a stand with their wallets instead of standing idly by and kissing these companies' asses, the industry as a whole would improve. Newsflash: these companies do not give a fuck about you - only your money. I won't lump Farsight in the same category as EA, but let's not pretend either of them actually care about you.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Since you're in Europe, aren't we getting Zen this week? We got a message on the EU Blog suggesting that it is still on for this week only yesterday I think. Secretly hoping that Europe still gets Zen 2 this week.

Both are out via search on the UK store
 
So wait a week or so for a patch? Doesn't seem like life or death to me. :)

They're different games though, I don't see why people can't like both. Each have pros and cons, ZP2 is going to probably be more polished I agree, but it also has the issue where you can play a single ball on a table for like 10 hours (I already saw comments the new Dr Strange table is guilty of being able to never worry about a ball draining). I dunno, patience is important with TPA, flaws do generally get fixed, you just need to wait a little bit sometimes.

I don't think they're saying the game is worth more either, just that the improvement (in graphics) from the PS3 > PS4 will be larger than the graphical improvement from Zen going PS3 > PS4. Zen has fantasy tables, and TPA has real tables, you can't really get a full experience from either product, both lack something the other offers.

Edit: Also compared to other bugs we've seen in the past, like the camera ones, where say on Black Hole the camera didn't return to the play field after entering the lower playfield, this doesn't render the gameplay impossible like that did, and there's actually been very little complaints so far from PS4 users about the sound issue (none til this morning on their facebook page) - where if the sound was actually missing entirely or something like that, I'm sure you'd see a whole lot more people complaining.

sure it's missing basic features like sound and vibration, but at least you're able to see and play the game unlike previous versions ahahaha next gen farsight is here
 

Benedict

Member
So I caved in.. and bought the remaining tables for Pinball Arcade season one so I would get a cheaper upgrade to PS4...
How do Farlight and SCEE reward me?
By not allowing me to purchase the discounted pack...
LLShC.gif


Description in the store: Players who own all of the Season One tables on PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®Vita are eligible to buy this discounted table pack.


Not available for purchase,
Pressing the Tell me more>> button....

 
I prefer The Pinball Arcade over Zen, but that doesn't mean we should ignore all the problems with this release and Farsight in general:

- The poor sound, lack of vibration, etc. is inexcusable.

- The disappearing PS+ deal (back yet?) adds to the frustration. May not be Farsight's fault, but that doesn't make much of a difference to the customers affected.

- The extreme nickle-and-diming going on here for people who bought the tables on PS3 is just ridiculous. It doesn't help that the deal was changed at the last minute (supposedly a Sony issue, not Farsight, but Farsight shouldn't have announced anything if they weren't sure). In contrast, Zen is offering upgraded tables for free to previous users. Moot point for me in both cases, but still.

- Overpriced Pro version. More nickle-and-dime BS.

- Stealth retail release, which would normally be a welcome surprise, but it's apparently "behind" compared to the digital version and needs to be patched. (I think I read that in this very thread, but if not, I'll try to track down the source.)

- Zen's release date, which was actually announced in advance, got bumped for this. Seems a bit unfair. Normally I'd welcome this first over Zen, but Farsight seems so disorganized and cheap that it's hard to feel any goodwill toward them.

I see your point, but most games nickel and dime us nowadays. And Zen Pinball has pretty crappy ball physics compared to Pinball Arcade. I am very pleased with the PS4 release, especially the fact that it feels more like the 360 version. The PS3 version has really bad input lag and twitchy flippers. My main complaints with the PS4 release is not being able to use the triggers for the flippers and the sound issue. I do think they will patch the sound eventually though.
 
I also can't buy the discounted Season One pack, and definitely bought the Season One Pack for PS3/Vita, so this appears to be a technical issue. :(
 
Really impressed with the new lighting. . . haven't tried all of the Season 1 tables yet, but Blackhole in particular is a HUGE improvement visually with the new lit bumpers.

It's a shame Farsight didn't opt to extend cross buy, or be a little more generous with the discounts. That said, I bought the season 1 pro at the discount without any problems, and at least now it seems like an individual download - on PS3/Vita I would buy the bundle and then have to download each table and pro unlock separately which took for ever.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
I see your point, but most games nickel and dime us nowadays. And Zen Pinball has pretty crappy ball physics compared to Pinball Arcade. I am very pleased with the PS4 release, especially the fact that it feels more like the 360 version. The PS3 version has really bad input lag and twitchy flippers. My main complaints with the PS4 release is not being able to use the triggers for the flippers and the sound issue. I do think they will patch the sound eventually though.

They commented about patching the room brightness not being saved per table, and flipper remapping, hopefully they can get the sound fix in for that second patch with the flipper remapping as well.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
The PS4 version of this looks so.damn.good. Tables are almost eery real looking sometimes. The Bride of Pinbot and Medieval Madness looked especially stunning of all the tables I tried. The ball and flipper physics are practically perfect, no input lag - I'm buying the hell out of this.
 
Has anyone in Europe got the table discount for owning all Season One tables? Because I sure haven't! Farsight get your shit together for god sake! Unbelievable!
 
The PS4 version of this looks so.damn.good. Tables are almost eery real looking sometimes. The Bride of Pinbot and Medieval Madness looked especially stunning of all the tables I tried. The ball and flipper physics are practically perfect, no input lag - I'm buying the hell out of this.

Circus Voltaire looks fantastic, especially the neon blue light on the right ramp.
 

cakely

Member
I downloaded the free table "Arabian Nights" and I'm very impressed.

It reminds me of "Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams collection" on the Wii. Is this the same developer?
 

JP

Member
I'm not getting the discounted Season Pack price. I'm just wondering if it's because I bought all the tables separately as they were being released? Has anybody done it that way and still been able to download the PS4 versions?

I'm waiting for Zen to download at the moment, bought all the tables on that too so hopefully that works better.

EDIT:
Looking at it on the PS4 it does say "Players who own all of the Season One tables on PlayStation 3 or PlayStation Vita are eligible to buy this discounted table pack" so it does seem to refer to buying them individually.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
From what I've gathered from the posts about it in the last page or two, there seems to be an issue in the PS4 discounted price redemption. It should work for buying the season 1 pack or all the individual table packs from season 1, but it doesn't seem to be registering for everyone. Some people have found a way to the discount after a bit of digging around (might be a regional thing too, maybe NA works and not EUR). Most likely Sony just has to fix something on their end to make it work for everyone.
 

JP

Member
From what I've gathered from the posts about it in the last page or two, there seems to be an issue in the PS4 discounted price redemption. It should work for buying the season 1 pack or all the individual table packs from season 1, but it doesn't seem to be registering for everyone. Some people have found a way to the discount after a bit of digging around (might be a regional thing too, maybe NA works and not EUR). Most likely Sony just has to fix something on their end to make it work for everyone.
Cheers, no real hurry for it was just worried that I wasn't going to get them due to not buying the season pack which wouldn't make much sense. Zen seems to be working fine which is nice. For me, somewhere between these two games is probably the perfect pinball game.
 
I'm not getting a the PS Plus discount, nor am I getting the Season 1 discount. I own the base game through Plus so could that be what's stopping me getting the discount?
 

beanman25

Member
Didn't own the game on vita/ps3, but am considering buying all tables. I always play the heck out of pinball games, is 29.99 worth it?
 

blackflag

Member
Didn't own the game on vita/ps3, but am considering buying all tables. I always play the heck out of pinball games, is 29.99 worth it?

Absolutely. Especially on PS4. Noticed none of the flipper lag issues I had with PS3 and it looks great. Sound is kinda jacked but they've gotta be working on a patch. That can't be intended.
 

beanman25

Member
Absolutely. Especially on PS4. Noticed none of the flipper lag issues I had with PS3 and it looks great. Sound is kinda jacked but they've gotta be working on a patch. That can't be intended.

Good to know. I'll buy it then for sure. I had still been playing one of the old versions on PS2, haha.
 

meppi

Member
Good to know. I'll buy it then for sure. I had still been playing one of the old versions on PS2, haha.

Then you're in for a teat! The PS4 version is looking gorgeous. The new dynamic lighting engine is so beautiful and very representative of playing the real cabinets.
Also the ball physics seem to be greatly improved. Balls feel a lot heavier and move just like the real thing.

If is wasn't for the fact that I should be getting it for €13,50 perhaps even as soon as tomorrow, I would immediately pay the regular €30 price.
As soon as the 2nd season is released, I'll be grabbing that as well along with any table that comes after it.
 
Ha! A $3 discount was way too generous for them, I see. Incredibly.
Who's to blame? Farsight or Sony? If it's Farsight, they really have become ridiculous with their nickle-and-dime tactics. Once the Plus discount went live, it should have stayed that way. This just looks bad and leaves a sour feeling. At this point, I'm more inclined to just wait for the retail release to drop to $10-$15 (which it will).

I prefer Pinball Arcade to Zen, but damn if Zen isn't kicking their asses when it comes to taking care of longtime fans.
 

Lord Error

Insane For Sony
Absurd. This is first time I've paid attention to this series and it's really made a terrible first impression.
It's the best version of the game, so cut them some slack. They must have worked hard to make it so upgraded on all of the tables. Seriously just compare how it looks like on iOS compared to what you get to see on PS4.
 

Bebpo

Banned
It's the best version of the game, so cut them some slack. They must have worked hard to make it so upgraded on all of the tables. Seriously just compare how it looks like on iOS compared to what you get to see on PS4.

"best version" includes the whole package. Sound is just as important as visuals. Bad sound and no vibration keep it from that title already.
 

Minsc

Gold Member
Absurd. This is first time I've paid attention to this series and it's really made a terrible first impression.

This is actually a relatively smooth launch for them. People have suffered way worse than a price hiccup or a couple things needing patches... try a half dozen delays or months with no updates only to find out there will never be any more updates, and that's just getting started. You can write a book that would have made Robert Jordan or George R. R. Martin proud about all the things FarSight gets wrong. But at the end of the day, they're still just about the only player in town for real pinball simulation (unless you want to go Visual Pinball or Future Pinball, and you're only kidding yourself if you think the average community created table is better off), and they do sometimes get things right eventually.
 
This game is both awesome and a comedy of errors at the same time.

Yes indeed. But the more I think about it, the less I feel my 40 dollars was well spent.

+Awesome Tables
+Awesome Visuals
+Awesome gameplay

-Awful Sound
-Awful implementation of leaderboards (No Friends sorting)
-Awful that there is no vibration
-Awful that I can't use triggers
-Awful UI
 

JP

Member
Looks like the PS+ price for season one was a mistake. It's been crossed out on the PS Blog post.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/12/16/dyad-free-for-ps-plus-members-starting-tomorrow/

:/
Europe does get a 10% discount for Plus members but it's not showing up at the moment. It looks like they've pretty much messed everything up with the next-gen launch, I wonder if it was rushed out due to Zen being out the sam day? It's a pain but it;s just a matter of being patient I think.
-Awful that I can't use triggers
To be fair, if the triggers are anything like they are in Zen then you really don't want to use them, you have to press them quite a way in for the flippers to move and I just couldn't hit anything. I went straight back to L1 & R1.
 

GuyKazama

Member
They responded to my whining on Facebook about the lack of AFM Strobe Multiball by saying that it will be added later. They turned down the volumetric lighting due to complaints.
 

baphomet

Member
Dont worry folks, theyll start patching the game to fix things like sound while also breaking stuff like high res textures and other things at the same time.
 

vg260

Member
-Awful that I can't use triggers
-Awful UI

These are getting patched.
Vibration likely will be too.

I didn't notice the sound thing, but was playing at rather low volume. That might be a bigger issue.

I'm ok with it for $15, but I can understand the frustration at full price. I'll probably skip the rest on PS4 and wait for the PC update /sale for season 2.
 
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