Digital Pinball Help and Recommendations

[szycag]

Vote for Pinball Arcade to arrive on Steam!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... d=95907686

[PC Engine Fan X!]

That's great news to see the old ProPinball series revived by the same dev team again. It'd sure be cool to see a real Timeshock! pinball EM in the flesh if it's "greenlit". Perhaps it could make a special appearance at a future CAX show?

I bought the cool silver-foiled embossed boxed PC version of Timeshock! when it first hit the retailer's shelving back in the day. The accompanying full-color slick TS manual was impressive to gloss over.

It's about damn time that a new ProPinball table was created from the ground up.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[BrianC]

It'd sure be cool to see a real Timeshock! pinball EM in the flesh if it's "greenlit"

EM's are the machines without a CPU. I would love to see a real Timeshock machine, but definitely not as an EM. It needs the DMD and full rule set to be worthwhile.

[DJ Incompetent]

Japan Game Museum (日本ゲーム博物館)
Inuyama City, Japan.
http://www.pinballnews.com/sites/japang ... index.html

[Klatrymadon]

'Zen Classics' pack for Pinball FX2 is out today:
http://blog.zenstudios.com/?p=2623

Tesla, El Dorado, Shaman and V12 - the first tables from the PS3 version, IIRC. 800 spacebucks. They all look great, and it'll be nice to play something that isn't a Marvel licence...

Ed: bah, wrong thread.

[Ruldra]

^Played the shit out of those tables, like them a lot (with the exception of Tesla). Even with so many tables available nowadays, El Dorado is still one of my favorites.

[Klatrymadon]

I haven't figured Tesla out yet. I started a multiball really early on in my first game, but there didn't seem to be any specific objective in this mode - I was just knocking the balls around the ramps for 10 minutes. Will have to have a read of the rules. I liked how easy it is to activate the ball save, though.

El Dorado seems great, yeah. I find it harder to aim shots with such a wide open playing field, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. The tables all seem a lot better than the original Pinball FX bunch, anyway. Extreme, Rocky & Bullwinkle, etc - fucking rancid.

[Klatrymadon]

Is getting up to the small 'electromagnetic' area the only way to start objectives on the Tesla table? 'Cos I'm finding it rather difficult to make the shot you need to get up there, let alone actually complete the challenge...

[Ruldra]

Yeah, that's how you start missions on this table. At least in Zen Pinball 1, you just had to shoot the right orbit hard enough and then keep the upper left flipper raised, the ball would enter the electromagnetic area nicely. I don't know if that's still possible with the updated physics.

[Klatrymadon]

Thanks! I'll give that a try. I was just experimenting with where on the upper left flipper to flick the ball from, since I can't see the hole I'm aiming at. I was getting up there about 10% of the time.

Edit: aye, works beautifully!

[Ruldra]

Star Wars tables coming for Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball FX2! First pack includes Empire Strikes Back, Boba Fett and Clone Wars. More to follow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RyhoN5AJRM

[szycag]

I'm really excited for the Star Wars stuff, but I'd trade that for the Pinball Arcade 360 update with Twilight Zone and Star Trek in a heartbeat. So sick of playing them on my Nexus 7, not the same!

[xris]

I've been playing pinball on my phone consistently for awhile, mainly Zen's World War Hulk for the last few months. I know this is considered a fairly easy table, but I have a hard time getting multiple goals completed in the same game. Can anybody point me to some videos on YouTube that can show me some of the more complicated stuff you can do in digital pinball? Stuff like passing the ball, etc? I tried a few search terms but couldn't get any thing helpful. Also, how do you bump the table in the ios versions? Thanks.

[Remembrance]

Watch this guy's videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/Hypno74

According to these, the most consistent trick is basically nudging the table as the ball rolls down one flipper to pass it to the other. (Not that this reliably works in reality)

As far as I can tell, in the iOS version you can only nudge the table by shaking the device. I have yet to get this to reliably register without instantly tilting...

[Austin]

The best technique you can use in the Zen games is a dead flipper bounce. Basically, let a falling ball bounce from one flipper to the next. Other techniques like the post transfer (hit the bottom of a slingshot to pass the ball to the next flipper) is unreliable in the Zen games (works perfectly in the Pinball Arcade though, heh). For the Zen games I really recommend being good at your shots. Use ramps to get the ball to whichever flipper you want. Use the flipper bounce for falling balls.

[szycag]

Flipper passing isn't the same in Zen as TPA or a real table, yeah. While Zen's physics feel great for the tables they're made for, you'll notice a big difference after playing Pinball Arcade for a long time. I don't do the flipper bounce that well, probably why Austin nails my scores so much, but it's sufficient enough for you to just aim for a ramp you know puts you on the side you want like he said. Clone Wars is a really good table for practicing aiming your shots.

[Moniker]

I've been trying out Future Pinball - any recommended tables? Visual pinball looked like a PITA to set up, so I held off. Only thing that bugs me is a lack of proper dot matrix viewing/support. I guess I'm spoiled by Zen, but I'd like to play something good on a laptop.

[BrianC]

I've been trying out Future Pinball - any recommended tables? Visual pinball looked like a PITA to set up, so I held off. Only thing that bugs me is a lack of proper dot matrix viewing/support. I guess I'm spoiled by Zen, but I'd like to play something good on a laptop.

There are some Mega Man and Metal Slug tables I liked. I haven't played FP much since getting into the Pro Pinball tables, though. Those games have some of the best simulated pinball physics I have seen. I also like Pinball Pulse for DSiWare.

[Moniker]

Found some pretty bangin' tables for Future Pinball; thought I'd share. Some of them rival PBFX/Zen, IMO

Three Angels
Dead Hunters
Road Girls
Junkyard Cats
Blue vs. Pink
Metal Slug

Some really cool ideas in some of these - esp Dead Hunters & Three Angels. You can get most at pinsimdb.org (although you have to register). You have to do some minor table editing (switching score display from backglass to HUD, essentially) on some if you want to play on a single screen. Or you can PM for the edits, since I've already done them.

[Gozer]

The Pinball Arcade was officially greenlit for Steam today.

Hopefully all the available table packs will be released day 1 as well.

[Vexorg]

Hmmm... Guess that means I've got to buy it a third time now.

[Austin]

That is great news! It's been on there for a long time now. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever be greenlit.

[Gozer]

Looks like Pinball FX2 hits Steam on May 10.

It's a bit fucked up that this got a proper release and Pinball Arcade was stuck in greenlight for so long.

I've never played any Pinball FX myself. I've always heard mixed reviews about it. Are any of the tables worth checking out?

[Moniker]

Looks like Pinball FX2 hits Steam on May 10.

Hallelujah! I already own most of the tables on 360, but yes please, I'll have another.

[BrianC]

Marvel Pinball 3D for 3DS is on sale for $3.99 this week.

Edit: Zen Pinball Tables on iOS, Mac, Android, and Wii U are also 50% off.

[Gozer]

This is impressive.

[Obiwanshinobi]

Is there any digital pinball written chronicle online, in the vein of BulletMagnet's write-ups on Racketboy?
I don't have much history with pinball, but I have had some fun with Revenge of the 'Gator this week and now I want to know how advanced the game was for its time and age. It's a humble early GB title, but pretty neat at wee-little things it does.

P.S. From that thread.

Which of the Saturn pinball games are realistic and which ones are pure video pinball like Revenge of the Gator?

Does Revenge of the 'Gator mark the point when some digital pinballs gave up on simulating the real deal? I'm not sure how popular the genre was on computers and consoles before 1989.

[Moniker]

Public Service Announcement:

Before buying any tables on Pinball FX2: Steam, make sure you do a trial run. There's massive input lag for me and apparently many others.


That is all.

[Vamos]

Yeah and i think Pro pinball has ruined me because this shit doesn't look as good and the physics are terrible!

[drunkninja24]

Public Service Announcement:

Before buying any tables on Pinball FX2: Steam, make sure you do a trial run. There's massive input lag for me and apparently many others.


That is all.

Really? Can't say I've noticed any...