The Pinball Thread

Anything from run & guns to modern RPGs, what else do you play?
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Sumez
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by Sumez »

Twilight is great especially for how unique it is! I can't get enough of it, but I wouldn't recommend it as anyone's only pinball table if they were to go out and invest in anything.

STTNG... is a masterpiece. It feels brutal at first, but it's very manageable when you learn the shots. The wizard mode is ingenious because you can cheese your way up there by timing out several modes, or you can start risking some of the more dangerous ones to collect more artifacts. I'm not normally a fan of widebodies, but I adore STTNG.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by PC Engine Fan X! »

It's cool to be able to play a real wide body "The Twlight Zone" pinball machine at the local McHenry Bowl bowling alley based out of Modesto, CA (although it takes quarters to credit up a game). It does certainly get challenging to play with the lighter plastic-based "Power Ball" if it's put into play (making for a greater chance for it to "go down the drain" that much quicker if you will).

From what I can glean of the current pinball machine collection at the ol' local bowling alley, they have an Addams Family, Twlight, and even a Guns 'N' Roses pins to try your hand at (they seem to be part of a personal pin collection as they're never rotated on a monthly/yearly basis whatsoever and thus remain as a permanent fixture within the bowling alley's arcade hangout -- everything else is brought in and/or maintained by the local Patton Vending Co. as usual).

And if I head on down to the local "Kid's Space" Arcade, they have a single Stern pinball machine by the name of "The Avengers" but it's currently out of commission/out of order. When it's up & running/working 100% properly, it's quite a challenging pin unto itself. I personally think this particular amusement establishment needs to hire a real pinball technician to get it up & running again imho (which sucks big time as it is). Why is that?

The local Funworks amusement park/Arcade has a working No Fear pinball machine that's cool to play as well -- it's set to allow one the "golden opportunity" to continue up to three times with the optional "Buy In" feature if so desired (an option that was implemented for a couple of years & then discountinued).

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
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Sumez
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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I hate it when a location has pinball tables and no technician who takes cares of them. Pinball tables are usually quite easy to fix, but it takes some dedication, and they break a lot.
A saying usually goes that for every hour someone played a pinball table, an extra hour must be spent fixing it. That's a bit exaggerated, but it gets the idea across.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Sumez wrote:I hate it when a location has pinball tables and no technician who takes cares of them. Pinball tables are usually quite easy to fix, but it takes some dedication, and they break a lot.
A saying usually goes that for every hour someone played a pinball table, an extra hour must be spent fixing it. That's a bit exaggerated, but it gets the idea across.
On the event I went, the owners had to make constant little repairs on the tables, up and down the stairs like they were doctors on duty. By the end of the day, half the tables were turned of for being beyond a quick repair and in need for a deeper look. But most of the times the table stops for very stupid reasons, like when a girl managed to tilt while the ball was still locked just above the plunger, freezing the game, waiting for that unreachable ball to drain (I believe it was Stargate). Anyone could fix that, but takes someone that can open the table.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by Sumez »

All of that sounds very common for pinball tourneys :D
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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"It does certainly get challenging to play with the lighter plastic-based "Power Ball" if it's put into play (making for a greater chance for it to "go down the drain" that much quicker if you will)."

I'd just like to take a moment to clarify that the Powerball is most definitely *NOT* made out of plastic. The Powerball is a ceramic ball, which, yes, is definitely lighter than a standard 1 1/16" steel ball, and obviously is not affected by any magnets in the game. Ceramic balls have been purposely used in subsequent games here and there (Avatar LE and Rolling Stones LE by Stern, for a couple of examples), but it's never been as well-integrated and interesting as it was when it was used in TZ, understandably so.

A plastic ball would get murdered in a pinball machine and I can't even begin to imagine the problems it would cause (Stern's Viper used some kind of rubber coated balls for glow-in-the-dark purposes, but they did *not* hold up well over time).
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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boagman wrote:"It does certainly get challenging to play with the lighter plastic-based "Power Ball" if it's put into play (making for a greater chance for it to "go down the drain" that much quicker if you will)."

I'd just like to take a moment to clarify that the Powerball is most definitely *NOT* made out of plastic. The Powerball is a ceramic ball, which, yes, is definitely lighter than a standard 1 1/16" steel ball, and obviously is not affected by any magnets in the game. Ceramic balls have been purposely used in subsequent games here and there (Avatar LE and Rolling Stones LE by Stern, for a couple of examples), but it's never been as well-integrated and interesting as it was when it was used in TZ, understandably so.

A plastic ball would get murdered in a pinball machine and I can't even begin to imagine the problems it would cause (Stern's Viper used some kind of rubber coated balls for glow-in-the-dark purposes, but they did *not* hold up well over time).
How well did Hercules' ball hold up? That machine used a pool ball (ceramic cue ball, I think), if I remember correctly. Too bad that machine isn't very fun to play.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by boagman »

BrianC wrote:
boagman wrote:"It does certainly get challenging to play with the lighter plastic-based "Power Ball" if it's put into play (making for a greater chance for it to "go down the drain" that much quicker if you will)."

I'd just like to take a moment to clarify that the Powerball is most definitely *NOT* made out of plastic. The Powerball is a ceramic ball, which, yes, is definitely lighter than a standard 1 1/16" steel ball, and obviously is not affected by any magnets in the game. Ceramic balls have been purposely used in subsequent games here and there (Avatar LE and Rolling Stones LE by Stern, for a couple of examples), but it's never been as well-integrated and interesting as it was when it was used in TZ, understandably so.

A plastic ball would get murdered in a pinball machine and I can't even begin to imagine the problems it would cause (Stern's Viper used some kind of rubber coated balls for glow-in-the-dark purposes, but they did *not* hold up well over time).
How well did Hercules' ball hold up? That machine used a pool ball (ceramic cue ball, I think), if I remember correctly. Too bad that machine isn't very fun to play.
Held up/holds up fine...and it was, indeed, a cue ball. But you're right: the novelty of that game is its size, not its gameplay.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by orange808 »

Hercules is awful. Although, I admit I haven't played one in really good condition since I was a kid, but I recall hating the game when it was new. They charged two quarters to play it--and the game play was worth a nickel.

Atari and Game Plan machines were almost always disappointing.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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orange808 wrote:Hercules is awful. Although, I admit I haven't played one in really good condition since I was a kid, but I recall hating the game when it was new. They charged two quarters to play it--and the game play was worth a nickel.

Atari and Game Plan machines were almost always disappointing.
Your last statement is very accurate. And I *have* played a Hercules in really good condition...and it's lousy. Bigger does not mean better.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by Sumez »

I have never even seen one.
But yeah, looks bad.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Played a few Hercules in my time. All trash. Still remember playing one on vacation in the late 80's and my mom telling me it sucks. But nope, I had to play it. Cost $1 back then which was like OMG territory. After the first ball, I told my mom this sucks.

Been playing some tournaments this year around the US. Did total shite in a few, but my last 2 I finished 5th. Past one at Free Play Florida I ended up paired up against the Sharpe brothers in the Classics and Main Finals. Was pretty cool to be sitting there talking pinball with Roger Sharpe and playing against his sons. Lost to Josh in my Classics group, but beat Zach in my Main finals group.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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caldwert wrote:Played a few Hercules in my time. All trash. Still remember playing one on vacation in the late 80's and my mom telling me it sucks. But nope, I had to play it. Cost $1 back then which was like OMG territory. After the first ball, I told my mom this sucks.

Been playing some tournaments this year around the US. Did total shite in a few, but my last 2 I finished 5th. Past one at Free Play Florida I ended up paired up against the Sharpe brothers in the Classics and Main Finals. Was pretty cool to be sitting there talking pinball with Roger Sharpe and playing against his sons. Lost to Josh in my Classics group, but beat Zach in my Main finals group.
You beat Zach Sharpe. Color me impressed.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by Sumez »

Zach doesn't seem to do as well in the "classics" as the more modern (DMD) pinball tabels for some reason.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by sven666 »

Classics and modern play very differently, id say theres a big difference in 90s era vs current era pins aswell..

A bit like space invaders vs raiden vs dodonpachi if you want it in shmup terms...
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Sumez wrote:Zach doesn't seem to do as well in the "classics" as the more modern (DMD) pinball tabels for some reason.
I lost to Josh in Classics, beat Zach in the regular tournament. He had pick of games. Picked Metallica, Radical, and Aerosmith. Both of them are really nice guys and not overly intense like some of the guys who honestly get crazy while playing.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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sven666 wrote:Classics and modern play very differently, id say theres a big difference in 90s era vs current era pins aswell..

A bit like space invaders vs raiden vs dodonpachi if you want it in shmup terms...
Yeah, I would agree with this. Plus its less of how much have you memorized of the code, and just go out and play and make the obvious shots.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by Sumez »

I think on this level it definitely comes down to a question of simply having played each individual table more, and some people just spend more time on modern tables than older ones. I'd say I'm overall better at 90s williams tables too, but I'd probably do comparatively better on a Taxi, just due to having spent an absurd amount of time with that table.
Keep in mind, when we're talking "classics" in pinball tournaments, it's usually the 80s electronic tables with alphanumeric displays, not the old electromechanic ones. :)
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Oh, you're talking Williams System 11 machines with the alphanumeric displays. Yeah, I grew up on those and still consider those my favorite machines ever. Those are also my best machines. I'm also pretty good at anything Gottlieb System 80 too with the blue LED displays.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Sumez wrote:Keep in mind, when we're talking "classics" in pinball tournaments, it's usually the 80s electronic tables with alphanumeric displays, not the old electromechanic ones. :)
caldwert wrote:Oh, you're talking Williams System 11 machines with the alphanumeric displays. Yeah, I grew up on those and still consider those my favorite machines ever. Those are also my best machines. I'm also pretty good at anything Gottlieb System 80 too with the blue LED displays.
The best ones to compete. Recently we had a little tournament in one of those that had four alphanumeric displays (one for each player). I believe it was Snake Machine. Anyway, I tend to prefer that kind of table.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by boagman »

Udderdude wrote:Giving this thread a bump because I've been fooling around with Visual Pinball X and Future Pinball tables. There's some pretty good original tables that've been made (no ROMs to be found here, mods plz no bannarino).
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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I miss going to Flippers in NC. Lots of Sterns and some classic tables too (not to mention one of the locations of the original run of Big Bang Bar). That said, I also like video pinball quite a bit, but it isn't the same.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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While playing the real thing is great, you gotta remember all the tables I linked aren't based on anything that exists in the real world .. :mrgreen:

I'd also recommend Pro Pinball Ultra if you're looking for a high quality simulation. http://store.steampowered.com/app/28790 ... all_Ultra/
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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Udderdude wrote:While playing the real thing is great, you gotta remember all the tables I linked aren't based on anything that exists in the real world .. :mrgreen:

I'd also recommend Pro Pinball Ultra if you're looking for a high quality simulation. http://store.steampowered.com/app/28790 ... all_Ultra/
I fully understand. I have just never, ever been able to get any kind of enjoyment out of video pinball. To each his own, but my refrain will always be the same. The absolute worst real, physical pinball machine will always be better than the absolute best video pinball simulation.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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boagman wrote:The absolute worst real, physical pinball machine will always be better than the absolute best video pinball simulation.
I disagree there. There are some terrible machines out there that just aren't any fun to play. I rather play a well made video pinball game than suffer through those again.

I did like some of those FP tables. There was one based on Metal Slug that was quite a bit of fun.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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boagman wrote:
Udderdude wrote:While playing the real thing is great, you gotta remember all the tables I linked aren't based on anything that exists in the real world .. :mrgreen:

I'd also recommend Pro Pinball Ultra if you're looking for a high quality simulation. http://store.steampowered.com/app/28790 ... all_Ultra/
I fully understand. I have just never, ever been able to get any kind of enjoyment out of video pinball. To each his own, but my refrain will always be the same. The absolute worst real, physical pinball machine will always be better than the absolute best video pinball simulation.
Well, I think some of the older simulations were pretty garbage. The physics were never quite right. Pinball FX and Visual Pinball 9 (non-Physmod 5) are especially not that great. Visual Pinball X and Pro Pinball are pretty damn close, though.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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BrianC wrote:I miss going to Flippers in NC. Lots of Sterns and some classic tables too (not to mention one of the locations of the original run of Big Bang Bar). That said, I also like video pinball quite a bit, but it isn't the same.
Flippers is nice. I wouldn't mind getting down there again myself, but there's a lot of pinball around here that's a lot more local and easily accessible. You're in Maryland, right? Have you visited any of the various locations in that state for pinball? Great mixture of classics and modern games in the area between the various places to play.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

Post by boagman »

BrianC wrote:
boagman wrote:The absolute worst real, physical pinball machine will always be better than the absolute best video pinball simulation.
I disagree there. There are some terrible machines out there that just aren't any fun to play. I rather play a well made video pinball game than suffer through those again.
And we can agree to disagree without being disagreeable. Though I will spot you that there are, indeed, some terrible machines out there and that they can be a challenge to have fun playing. Having said that, they're better than video pinball could ever have a hope of being. There's just so substitute for the real thing for me.
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Re: The Pinball Thread

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BrianC wrote:I did like some of those FP tables. There was one based on Metal Slug that was quite a bit of fun.
Yeah, the original one is here.

http://www.pinsimdb.org/pinball/table-137-metal_slug

There is an updated version for Visual Pinball X, however I had to comment out parts of the script to get it to work (it kept choking on anything referencing 'controller.'), also you'd need to download both version 1.0 and 1.02 because 1.0 is the only one with the UltraDMD files.

http://vpinball.com/VPBdownloads/metal-slug/
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