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Pinball Arcade - the ultimate pinball simulator! - Page 9

post #241 of 267
Electro Mechanical vs. Solid State? smile.gif

They are usually considered to be two different eras of machines. I think he just meant from that era.
post #242 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

In what ways are EM tables different from non-EM tables?

EM tables use switches and wiring. The next generation of tables, which are Solid State or SS, added a circuit board or boards. All pinball tables are just fancy adding machines that you use a pinball to input the numbers instead your fingers. Solid state electronics allowed pinball tables to get more complex. Any SS table could, in theory, be done using EM technology. Forgetting the DMD (dot matrix display - the usually orange display on newer pinball tables) in theory Medieval Madness could be made by using wires and switches. However there would need to be so many switches and so much wire that it would take up a very large room to contain it all. On an EM table you might have a row of targets that once lit lights and activates another target that once hit increases your multiplier and lights the corresponding X light. Just doing that will take up a fair amount of space under the table. EM tables are thereby limited in how complex they can be. I think this is why some people don't like them and others love them. They are simpler but that doesn't mean easier. The good ones really were designed to hook you with well designed game play. Some newer tables forsake good game play for fancy doo dads and gizmos. In my opinion a table like Medieval Madness has a great show and really good game play. The best EM tables have good game play and good art. They can't compete with really deep rule sets and fancy toys.
post #243 of 267
Thread Starter 
I see. Thanks for the detailed reply.
post #244 of 267
My first impressions of table pack 7 are that Scared Stiff is fun but easy and Big Shot is fun but hard. I've never, to my knowledge anyway, played either table. My first game of Scared Stiff lasted over half an hour and I finished all of the standard goals. My first game of Big Shot wasn't so good. Took me most of the evening to finish the standard goals and I think my best score of the night was around 100k. Big Shot has targets on the sides of the upper playing field with a large bumper in the middle top. Large expanses in between which is common in a lot of EM games. This makes SDTM and random bounces to the outlanes common. You have to be nudging on this table to have a chance to do well. With 5 balls per game I was titling about once a game just to keep some control over the ball.
post #245 of 267
I have played Big Shot before, back when it was new. It is very hard in this version, I don't remember what it was like on the real table, that was a LONG time ago. Scared Stiff is fun. I was starting to feel the lag might be very minimal or gone in these two tables, but firing up Zen 2 right after reminded me how much more reactive it seems to be. I'll be playing these two tables more though, I like them both.
post #246 of 267
Thread Starter 
Well, if you initially felt an absence of lag, that shows that what is there isn't too bad at all.

~~~

My latest project coming into the weekend was to master Elvira and the Party Monsters. I wanted to get a good grip on that "backlog" table before trying Elvira: Scared Stiff.

Once I got the hang of Party Monsters' rule set and ball control, I could really appreciate how well designed the table is. The flow is probably the most enjoyable of any of the TPA tables. The ball is constantly flying towards a wide variety of specific targets when you know what you're doing, and you don't have to trap the ball too often in order to get good scores unlike some others.

I ended up tripling my old score and barely missed top 100 on the leaderboards with a final tally of 45 million. I also unlocked all of the Wizard goals in the process. I guess I can consider this one conquered so it's time to move on to the next challenge.
Edited by joeblow - 2/19/13 at 10:21am
post #247 of 267
Been playing Ripleys and Black Hole. Not really digging Ripleys all that much, but have really been enjoying Black Hole which I was surprised by since I figured it would be the opposite. Hit 6.3 million on Black Hole last night which seemed like a pretty good score. Going to try Theater of Magic next.
post #248 of 267
Thread Starter 
Whoa, 6.3 million in Black Hole is an amazing score! I only climbed over a million once. I can't wait to see what you do with Theater of Magic.
post #249 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

Whoa, 6.3 million in Black Hole is an amazing score! I only climbed over a million once. I can't wait to see what you do with Theater of Magic.

Thanks man! I definitely had some sort of breakthrough that game as my previous high was about 1.2 mil. Figured out a few things that boosted the score, mainly spelling out BLACK and HOLE in order which doubles and triples your points on the lower table and then making sure to run around the circle down below until you get to the max 5x multiplier. Besides that, I think I just had a lucky game! tongue.gif

Having a blast though and this is money VERY well spent. cool.gif
post #250 of 267
Thread Starter 
Great news!

- Star Trek: The Next Generation is coming out for PS3/Vita this Tuesday.
- Table Pack 10 (Attack From Mars, Genie) will arrive on March 26th
- The PS4 version has been announced!!!
post #251 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

- The PS4 version has been announced!!!

Wondering if we will have to re-buy the DLC tables.
post #252 of 267
Thread Starter 
PS3/Vita cross buy is awesome. PS4/PS3/Vita cross buy would be insane.

I'd settle for being charged a next-gen upgrade fee to access the PS4 version ($2 a table?), but they might make it a full new purchase.
post #253 of 267
If I want the Star Trek table on my Vita, I have to buy the whole game for $10?
post #254 of 267
Thread Starter 
Four tables come with the game. All the other tables are DLC purchases for the game.

Most DLC releases give you two tables for one price. Twilight Zone and Star Trek:TNG are the exceptions because of the extra cost of licensing fees. The game and all tables allow you to play on the PS3 and/or Vita for no extra charge.

So by buying the game and ST:TNG you will have spent your money on five tables for two platforms.
post #255 of 267
Don't do it. You'll end up buying all 12 DLC tables and wasting hours and hours of your life having fun.
post #256 of 267
I finally remembered the name of one of my favorite Williams games. It's an old EM machine called Strato-Flite. I must have put a million hours on that machine. VERY FAST gameplay. Would love to see that one come to Pinball Arcade, with realistic gameplay.
post #257 of 267
I had the chance to play TPA in 3D at the FarSight booth last weekend at the Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee. It looked great even though they said it was still a work in progress. I played it on their dev PS3 and played AFM. 3D will be added as a game patch probably with the update for Space Shuttle (which was an interesting confirmation) or possibly the patch after. It will be a free option and the one patch will apply 3D to all tables.

FarSight has received their PS4 dev kit and they say that the system is sweet.

One of their guys said that in the last week they found the cause and probable fix for the remaining PS3 lag and will push out the fix asap. This probably means June since FS hasn't even implemented or tested it yet.
post #258 of 267
Thread Starter 
Fantastic report; thanks for the info!

I've been faking the 3D by messing around with the custom settings on my HDTV and the results look pretty nice. I know that it will look really good whhen proper support comes through, so I am looking forward to it.
post #259 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

Fantastic report; thanks for the info!

I've been faking the 3D by messing around with the custom settings on my HDTV and the results look pretty nice. I know that it will look really good whhen proper support comes through, so I am looking forward to it.

I've done the fake 3D thing also. It really looks pretty much just like the real 3D effect but the depth is optimized and you don't get any weird effects like the graphics on the flat table taking on 3 dimensions. I imagine that playing TOTAN in fake 3D is as close as one can get to video LSD!
post #260 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by brakel View Post

One of their guys said that in the last week they found the cause and probable fix for the remaining PS3 lag and will push out the fix asap. This probably means June since FS hasn't even implemented or tested it yet.

This is huge. Not only can I not wait to see the last of the lag out, but it confirms I'm not on drugs. smile.gif
post #261 of 267
I really like Attack From Mars and Genie but the lighting on Genie is really bad. Overly bright with no shadows. I really wish FarSight could get some consistent quality with the table builds. I also hope they can work something out with Sony so that they can patch the DLC tables.
post #262 of 267
Thread Starter 
We know that Sony is changing things for the PS4 when it comes to patching (like eliminating fees), but we don't know if the PS3 and Vita will get these developer perks as well. It sounds weird to have multiple sets of rules in place, so maybe the process will be universally standardized in the end.

And I absolutely loooooooove Attack from Mars!
post #263 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

We know that Sony is changing things for the PS4 when it comes to patching (like eliminating fees), but we don't know if the PS3 and Vita will get these developer perks as well. It sounds weird to have multiple sets of rules in place, so maybe the process will be universally standardized in the end.

And I absolutely loooooooove Attack from Mars!

I read the article about their new indie dev rules for the PS4. They didn't say in that if they would start to allow DLC patching. That's FS' biggest problem with fixing table bugs is that you simply cannot patch DLC on the PS3. Of course the other problem is that I am concerned about the here and now. FS said that they are inquiring to their Sony rep if there is a way that Sony will allow them to patch the DLC. If not then we're stuck with tables that will always have some bugs.
post #264 of 267
Thread Starter 
Based on all the pro developer moves they've announced so far, there is no reason to think that DLC patching won't be improved as well.
post #265 of 267
Quote:
Originally Posted by joeblow View Post

Based on all the pro developer moves they've announced so far, there is no reason to think that DLC patching won't be improved as well.

By improved you mean allowed, right?
post #266 of 267
Thread Starter 
That'd be my guess, but a guess all the same.

Remember - since 2008 they've been interviewing developers asking them what they wanted to see changed in the PS4. So far, from what we've heard it appears that they were listening closely. I can't think of a reason that they wouldn't accommodate this issue where patching DLC ultimately only helps serve the customer better.
post #267 of 267
Not sure what corners they cut on Dr.Dude trying to rush it out..

but it's easily the worst looking table of them all.

It so blurry and pixelated you cant even read the artwork next to the ball laucher "hold button for blah blah"

Disappointed.
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