/vr/ - Retro Games

>>4710251
I guess I'll repost this new Iron Maiden footage since it wasn't in the old thread for long. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=456THtyKy7s

Fun fact: Did you know Pinball FX 3 doesn't have staged upper flippers present in the game in any form? And I'm 90% sure that staged upper flippers are missing from the PS4 version of Pinball Arcade as well?

At least I'm pretty sure on both of those. FX 3 might have been fixed in the last month.

Someone is streaming Iron Maiden now, apparently. Spam filter is blocking me

https://www.twitch.tv SLASH coloradopinball

>>4711176
Are you talking about some sort of bug? I have FX3 and no problem with upper flippers.

>>4711347
Staging upper flippers is a way to hold the lower flippers up while not activating the upper flippers. It's present on all modern (physical) tables with upper flippers. You press the button in halfway. It's pretty important for optimal multiball play. Often you'll be cradling a ball in each flipper and need to shoot a jackpot. But the upper flipper will be up, and blocking the shot. Or you're cradling a ball on the lower right and want to shoot a jackpot with the upper right flipper but can't without risking the cradled ball.

So, is Pinball Arcade dead or not?

In what sense?

This channel has a lot of tournament footage, if you've already watched everything on the PAPA channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5DgelK9DTPpqtOKEfSZPDQ/videos

>>4712552
Pinball is not sports.

>>4711435
interesting stuff

>>4711176
I know for a fact that Zen started phasing out staged upper flippers in FX 2. I grabbed some of the later star wars packs and immediately noticed that wasn't happening, but older tables still supported it.

Got to play Iron Maiden at MGC yesterday and I had fun with it. Got a couple games in with a friend I bumped into there and my wife. I caught a small recording of my friend on the machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtBcVV0_kvc

>>4714206
Looks good.

>>4713794
what? who said it was? it's still a fully competitive hobby you clueless fuck.

>>4714206
>fat
check
>dad bod
check
>pedo specs
check
>soy beard
check

Does he collect lego aswell?

>>4714206
Where's the shit talk?

>>4714206
Soy.

>>4714206
Was the game on mute or is Stern making their games even cheaper?

>>4715586
Volume was cranked way down low. Honestly most of the machines at MGC were real quiet. I think the Houdinis were the loudest tables in the hall.

I'm curious, was High Roller Casino from 2001 the last game with slingshots halfway up the sides, like you mostly only see on 1980s SS games and EMs?

>>4715693

>>4715693
I can't think of any after that.

So I tried the Stern 24 and CSI tables and they didn't seem that bad, but IPDB shit all over them. Why don't people like these tables?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g474QUDsB-w

>>4716615
The layout itself is fine, but the whole theme and sfx/music are just... yech! Six or seven out of ten seems fair to me.

>>4715693
The Hobbit has a single upper slingshot above the E-L-F drop targets.

>>4716615
I've played CSI once years ago and really don't remember anything about it. I've played 24 recently and thought it was fairly good, it is Steve Ritchie after all. Never seen the show, but the theme works well as a general "action movie" scenario. The sniper has got to be one of the goofiest gimmicks I've ever seen, though. I started laughing the first time he started spazzing out.

>This is what Pinball General actually believe

>>4716773
>0:16
I did something like that the other day playing Pinbot. Makes you feel like a goddamn sorcerer.

>>4716802
More like a conjurer of cheap tricks. Try doing this instead:
https://youtu.be/Y8c43MU7rqs?t=1h44m1s

>>4716651
I've seen far worse themes. Does the generic TV action/crime show look really piss people off that much?

>>4716773
That guy with the aviators is too cool for school.

>>4716773
Literally me.

Hear me out:
Flippers that change steepness. In mid-game.

Also Twin Peaks and Dr Seuss and Pokemon

>>4718538
So a vertical Fireball. Can't say that it's terrible but anything like that needs to be well integrated.

My local place got iron maiden today. Nice.

My country not having pinball machines makes me so angry.

I don't have social skills so can't meet collectors to go to their houses to play.

Reeeeeeeee

>>4719690
Sneak in.

>>4719682
Lucky.

Just received a replacement book screen for my Hobbit, so I figured I"d increase the pitch as well as flipper and shaker motor strength. Game's playing great now.

>>4719690
I wonder what would happen if you just were upfront about having bad social skills? If I was you I would say that I'm willing to compensate for having bad social skills by open to honest criticism and advice. What country?

What's your favorite Zaccaria table?

>>4720494
"Hello. Nice to meet you. I don't have very good social skills so please excuse me. Can I come to your house to play your expensive pinball tables, please?"

How can anyone say no?!

>>4720782
Honestly I'd accept just to give him the old hot Cosby.

>>4720284
Is it really that common to do mods on tables? What happens with a tournament, are there stock settings for everything?

>>4720717
>Zaccaria
Magic Castle or Robot.

>>4722404
They're not even mods but basic settings adjustments, but I wouldn't be surprised if major tournament scenes had specific settings, coil strengths, and pitches set up for the tables. Most tourneys disable EBs or don't allow players to play an EB should they get one.

How do i git gud at pinball (I mostly play video pinball)? Like if the object of the game were to make the ball go down the center out of range of the paddles I would Grand Champion of the world.

>>4720782
It depends if you're living in a high-trust society or not.

>>4722458
Nudging sends the ball in the opposite direction. Here's some gifs that show you different ways to "catch" the ball. http://www.deadflip.com/tutorials/
The three main skills for cradling are dead flip, live catch, and drop catch. You can find more videos on them on youtube. The most important multiball skill is the cradle separation. Once you know those, work on your aiming.

>>4722660
>http://www.deadflip.com/tutorials/

Holy shit that's awesome! Thanks Senpai.

>>4722697
No problem! Pinball is made up of three main families of skills: Defensive skills (catching the ball), offensive skills (aiming the ball), and rules knowledge. There's also a lot of tournament footage online; if you're interested.

Discussion topic:
If you were broadcasting an invitational pinball tournament on ESPN, which five (5) games would be the most entertaining (or least boring, more likely) for someone watching competitive pinball for the first time?
For me, it's:
Medieval Madness
Attack from Mars
Twilight Zone
Total Nuclear Annihilation
Batman 66 (casuals would love the LCD, presumably)

>>4722774
To be clear, this is being broadcast on ESPN 8. Not actual ESPN.

>>4722660
>>4722697
Dead flip is the easiest and I think the most important. Drop catch is the hardest. At least it is for me.

>>4722774
One more thing: Champion Pub seems like something casuals would love to spectate, but I don't think I've ever seen it played in tournament so I dunno.

>>4722774
Average viewers would have no fucking clue what was going on. You should include some EM tables that are easy commentate and understand.

What's the easiest way to play pinball online with others?

I'm sure it can't compare to real life, but what are recommended digital pinball games?

>>4723219
Pinball Arcade is the best if you want simulations of real tables. Pinball FX3 has original tables and is supposedly okay, but I haven't tried it personally. Pirate and try the games first before paying any money.

>>4723219
Pro Pinball series. Timeshock! and Big Race USA are absolutely essential. Fantastic Journey isn't quite up the standards of TS! and BRUSA, but still pretty great.

>>4723243
Uh, I don't know... Sure, Pinball Arcade has a shit-ton of real tables, but the physics are ass. To be honest, if you want to simulate real tables, I'd get Future Pinball and hunt down fan-made table recreations instead.

Pinball FX3 I haven't played myself, but that series is firmly in the vidya side of the spectrum rather than trying to be any kind of simulation with its otherwordly table elements and gimmicks. Seems to be pretty well liked, but based on watching gameplay footage, I can't help but getting slight "babby's first" vibes from the FX series; seems the tempos are quite lax and the flippers seem to be placed really close to each other on most tables. The approach doesn't seem to be arcade challenge at all.

>>4723303
>but the physics are ass.
In what way exactly? Sure, it doesn't play like physical tables, but then again, no game does. How is it worse than Pro Pinball?

Can modern science explain why live catching works?

>>4710251
So I finally bit the bullet and bought this thing. It's in pretty good shape, even in early access. Fun table with a lot of shots and the physics are pretty good (not perfect).

http://store.steampowered.com/app/595960/Pinball_Wicked/

>>4723382
20 bucks for a single table from literal nobodies is pretty steep price.

>>4723442
I know, I figured I could just refund if it sucked, but it's pretty good. I'm going to keep it.

>>4723309
>In what way exactly? Sure, it doesn't play like physical tables, but then again, no game does. How is it worse than Pro Pinball?
In PA, the balls feel strangely floaty, as if they're not steel balls with proper momentum but something else entirely. It also feels like there's no friction is modeled between the ball and the different kinds of playfield components. For example, handling the balls with the flippers feels off because the balls seem to roll on them the exact same way as on every other surface on the table.

Also, many PA tables feel like they have quite a few "scripted" spots. Like for example shots of certain strength WILL go up ramps or do complete orbits whereas the ball wouldn't do that if it behaved purely on the physics modeling alone. Feels really odd when you start noticing the situations when the scripting kicks in and balls get sucked up the ramps.

There also seems to be spots where the ball always behaves exactly the same way, e.g. balls ejected from scoops (usually there's slight variation on real tables) and rolling down entry ramps to upper playfield sections (it feels the ball always comes down these ramps at the same speed and angle.

The controls, namely nudging, doesn't help exactly help with immersion either. At least on the version I tried a while ago, keyboard nudging was completely useless, since it was totally "digiltal" nudging - no matter how you pressed a nudge button, it always resulted in a full-force nudge (as opposed to, say, Pro Pinball, where the length of the nudge button press determines the strength of the nudge. Guess they got proper, controllable nudging for analog pads...?

Try them out and compare. PA has free trial and the 3 PP tables GOG are cheap.

>>4723348
>Can modern science explain why live catching works?
Pic related. When the flipper is activated at the right monent, it transfers to the ball the same amount of kinetic energy as the ball has at the moment the two meet. Result: the ball stops.

>>4723571
>When the flipper is activated at the right monent, it transfers to the ball the same amount of kinetic energy as the ball has at the moment the two meet. Result: the ball stops.
Transferring kinetic energy to something should make it move faster, not stop. The only physical explanation is that the paddle somehow completely absorbs all the kinetic energy of the ball, but I'm not sure how.

How do I git gud?
I currently own the Corvette one

>>4723573
Live catches are about equal and opposite reactions. Newtonian physics, nothing more.
- Ball travels down.
- Flipper is activated.
- Flipper applies to the ball the equal amount of energy it has, in the opposite (more or less) direction as the ball is traveling.
- Ball's kinetic energy is negated -> ball stops.

Drop catches, on the other hand, are about energy absorbtion with the flippers.

>>4723613
>Ball's kinetic energy is negated -> ball stops.
You can't negate kinetic energy, only absorb/transfer it. You're mixing up kinetic energy and momentum.

>>4723619
Yeah, I transferring is what I meant.

Hmm, based on this, I think I'm convinced on energy absorption:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-live-catch-magic-or-physics

>>4723640
It's just unintuitive how the complete absorption happens only if you flip at the exact right timing, but not if you held the flipper up the whole time.

>>4723647
Yeah, especially when it also depends a lot on how much 'slop' there is on the flippers.

On a scale of 1 to jackpot, how's your dong expansion status?

Also, twf it's unlikely you ever come across the chance of playing a physical TS! machine.

>>4723663
Looking good so far.

What is the hardest shot in all of pinball?

What are the odds of this happening?

>>4723663
I have to admit to not being a big fan of Timeshock's layout or rules, but that looks sick.

>>4723821
I don't think it's the absolute hardest, but the hole in one shot on No Good Gofers is pretty damn tough and you will get goosebumps if you land it.

>>4724171
I overlooked this game because of the theme. Hitting gofers in the face is great.

>>4724390
Yeah. I didn't think much of it from first glance of the playfield and theme, but it's one of my faves now.

>>4723219
Seriously dude check out Zaccaria. I never see anyone talking about it, but it's awesome. It's a sim of these electro mechanical tables from this Italian company, so the rulesets are more on the simpler side, but the gameplay is great. It has a ton of options to tweak the physics too, so you can configure it to be as realistic or arcadey as you want. Even though it's "Early Access" the game is basically totally completed.

Seriously Zaccaria's awesome. I wish I could play the tables from pinball arcade in the Zaccaria engine.

>>4723303
Is the recent remake of Time Shock on steam worth getting? I have the GOG one, so I'm wondering if they made any improvements to the remake to make it worth picking up.

>>4722660
Fuck loop passes. I've never been able to do one that didn't end in immediate disaster.

>>4722774
BSD. Ultimate ruleset stacking combined with punishing shots. Imagine a good color commentator going nuts if somebody maxes out the super jackpot during all three multiballs.

>>4724952
In a similar situation but with only moderate or slower ball speed, it's often possible to catch the ball by not holding up either flipper, letting the ball bounce off the left flipper and over to the right, bouncing off that too. Then activate right flipper to catch the ball.

>>4725639
Too risky if the ball is coming from an angle such as in the image.

>>4724865
I'd say yes. Gameplay-wise the remake is practically identical (as you'd expect), but adds online leaderboards for all your e-peen expanding needs, and it looks fucking phenomenal, with resolution options up to 4K.

>>4725685
>still no Ultra Big Race and Fantastic Journey

On that note, has anyone played The Web? I haven't, and heard it's notably weaker than the other three.

so what do you guys think about the remakes of 90's Bally/Williams pins?
I love the "HD" Color upgrade displays they have, heard Monster bash is probably the next one to come out, can't wait to see the color dots for it

>>4725776
I think it's fine that they're remaking those games but I'd be more willing to save up cash if they'd do Big Bang Bar or Kingpin. I don't want to pay $7000 for a game that I can pay the same and get an original. Also color DMD made me want to buy a Baywatch.

>>4725721
>still no Ultra Big Race and Fantastic Journey
I sure how they'll get around doing those too, but to be honest, I wouldn't hold my breath, considering the time TS! Ultra took.

>On that note, has anyone played The Web? I haven't, and heard it's notably weaker than the other three.
I have, though not in a while, as it's a bit of pain in the ass to get running properly on modern Windows versions.
While it's not bad at all for a mid-90s pinball game, it's by far the weakest in the Pro Pinball series. The physics are nowhere near as good as on the following installments, the the table's theme is kind of generic, the voice samples rather uninspired, there's far less animated mechanical parts on the table, etc.
The advances made in pretty much all aspects for Timeshock are something quite mind-boggling. Basically one giant leap from a pinball game to pinball machine, except there's no physical game around.

If you get the chance to try it out without paying through the nose, The Web is definitely worth checking out, if anything, for the sake of seeing where the series started. Just don't expect same levels of refinement as on the last three PP games.

>>4725806
>Baywatch
This table makes me cringe like no other. Absolute garbage tier theme.

>>4725776
What I love is just how fantastic the build quality is.

>>4725806
Hey, at least a Kingpin remake is in the works by another group.

>>4723026
Yeah, good point.

>>4723578
See my post further up the thread.
>>4722660

>>4723026
This is a good point. 2001 seems like it would be the simplest EM to understand. Something with lots of drop targets, at any rate. It might be tough to see if they were up or down on the overhead view. Fireball would be the flashiest.

>>4725269
It would be great if there was some way to do a HUD for what the current multiplier is. Like with use of a ROM, for instance.

>>4725806
I've heard Medieval Madness in good condition goes for more than 7000 dollars.

>>4726298
idk what prices are like nowadays but I'd regularly see people selling AFM's or MM's for 10K+

Why does the pre-production backglass on Grand Lizard look so much better than the art they went with? It's not every table you see a guy uppercutting a baboon in the face.

Yo, does anyone know how to get b2s to work on that Ghostbusters vpx table?

>>4725776
HD DMD makes my PP go Wee Wee

>>4724171
I can't think of a harder shot. It's a shot that can't be done consistently by anyone, as far as I know.

send help I'm trapped

I have an idea. You guys are gonna love it. Here it is:

A pinball machine that scores in base 16.

>>4725269
30 MILLION

>>4726912
Spidermans leg is like 6 feet long

>>4726851
Screw you, Jeff Goldblum.

This table is so fun despite the boring theme.

>>4711435
He looks like a young H.P.Lovecraft.

>>4716773
>>4717346
Dammit i have seen that movie way back in the 90's thanks to USA Up All Night.

>>4726581
I miss those Sword and Sorcey themed pinballs back in the day. Sorry but the Game of Thrones pinball doesn't fell into that category.

>>4727660
Well, they both weren't so fond of Jews.

>>4726581
I want to fuck that lizard.

>>4724865
>Is the recent remake of Time Shock on steam worth getting?
absolutely fucking YES.

>>4716760
It's a Lawlor 24 is Steve Ritchie game

>>4727668
Titties

Played about ten games of iron maiden today. The game kicks fuckin ass.

>>4727660
Not young enough.

>>4727668
Yeah, we need more like that. Unfortunately it isn't at all popular anymore.

>>4728159
Stern needed competition, a good kick in the pants to git gud again.

>>4723219
I've been working on building a digital cab so I've been trying out a few. Visual Pinball is a pain to set up but there's litterally thousands of recreations and original tables, and the physics are fantastic. Pinball FX2/3 is a lot more "video gamey" but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The tables are fun but some of them feel small/cramped.

>>4727856
This shit is so cringe, but the table's ok.

Is this the ugliest 2000's Stern table? It looks so garrish. I can't stand the playfield art and the mix of drawings and photos looks tacky.

Pinball FX3 and that other Pinball game are on the Switch. Which is better with actual physics?

>>4729758
FX3 doesn't even bother trying to have accurate physics.

>>4729758
>>4729787
As I recall, FX3 physics are better. You can't do a cradle separation on the other one (Pinball Arcade). Also, I remember less "vacuuming ramps" on FX3.

>>4729715
>Is this the ugliest 2000's Stern table?
I don't know about Stern tables in particular, but that's just flat-out ugly af, period.

There's the mixing of drawings and photos you already mentioned, then there's no color scheme of any kind to be found, the graphical design lacks direction and cohesion, etc. etc.
I get the feeling the design process must have consisted of just a brainstorming sessionsof coming up with all possible Sopranos elements and memorable props, and then they were all just crammed onto one table. Ugh.

>>4729715
It's real ugly, but a great game.
>HBO spinner

>>4729758
Both have pretty garbage physics but FX3 wins out on account of at least not having scripted ramps IIRC.

>>4729989
And not being based on real tables, so it doesn't matter as much.

>>4730173
Some of them are direct ripoffs of real tables. Clone Wars is Gladiators.

>>4730173
>>4730471
I do like that they add some toys that bear inspiration/are lifted from real ones, like the Banzai Run backbox playfield in Paranormal or the WOZ outlane bumper in Return of the Jedi.

>>4723303
>Future Pinball
Isn't that now abandoned?

>>4730938
Some users are still releasing updated physics models. Latest is 2.7 I think.

>>4731078
How does it compare to Visual Pinball?

>>4731082
Still sucks compared to VPX but it's better than before.

This week in cool innovative ball locks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5CSpCv24RI

>>4711435
Cool photo of the goat.

>>4733665
Pretty neat

Here's a discussion topic: What are the odds that pinball machines will still be mass manufactured in 2050, and is there anything that could plausibly be done to increase the chances of this happening? There is a chance that there will be some sort of human extinction or massive change in the structure of civilization by then that will make pinball production impossible. Please feel free to not include that in your probability estimate.

>>4734970
Everything will be VR by then.

>>4734970
I don't think you'll see a large manufacturer like Stern by then but I think new games will still be getting turned out by smaller companies. Think more Spookys and Jersey Jacks competing with each other with the same number or so of games total but a much bigger variety. Homebrews are becoming much easier to do on the programming side or even just contract that out if you have a real knack for designing fun games.

When's the next major tournament?

I was interested in buying a pinball table but am turned off at the prospect of constant maintenance.

Is it possible to be a pinball table owner and not be handy or mechanically inclined?

>>4739026
not unless you have a friend nearby who will do it for you, a love for the maintenance and mechanics of the machine goes hand in hand with the ownership and hobby.

Pokémon pinball is th best pinball game because it changed the rules from getting the high score to getting all the Pokémon.

>>4739026
Well if you can afford someone to come in a fix them, than it's possible. I don't know how much that would cost. I guess it depends where you live.

>>4739082
What makes that any better than most pinball nowadays, where advancing the story tends to also be the best way to score?

>>4739026
You could also get one of those virtual pinball cabinets with pinball fx 3, Visual Pinball, and the rest of those programs. If you're not a stickler for the real thing, then it's a great value.

>>4740474
Now that's a design you don't see every day. I presume the upper playfield would have probably worked so that each player controlled one flipper?

Are all the machines at a pinball expo free or do you have to carry around a bunch of quarters?

>>4740474
that looks really cool

This rather obscure conversion for Flash makes the art 10,000 times better.