The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual]

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Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I picked up Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection on the Wii at my local Wal-Mart for $10 and I felt I got my money's worth and more out of it. The Wiimote + Nunchuck controls are perfect for it and does a decent job at making you think that you're playing a real pinball machine. If you can find it, I highly recommend getting it. I gave up on it because of one of the regular challenges on Whirlwind (I forgot which one it was, but I remember that you had to complete it on one ball since the entire board resets when you lose a ball :argh:

).

I do wanna try Pinball FX2 though, I never played the original one (my 360 did come with the demo for it, but I never tried it), but a pinball game with downloadable tables sounds awesome in my book. Do they release new tables every week like they do (or did, if GR dies soon due to Krome's closing

) in Game Room?

# ¿ Oct 30, 2010 05:28

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 10:20

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Thanks to this thread, I decided to pop Williams Collection back in my Wii and try to get that final regular challenge done in Whirlwind. The challenge I was stuck on was the one where you have to hit the button near the top of the field about 10 times to make the red and yellow bumpers blink and once more to get 100,000 points. It took nearly an hour, but I finally did it on my last ball (even though that doesn't matter much since the bumpers reset after you lose a ball). :dance:

Also, I demoed a couple tables in Pinball FX 2 the other day and while it looks like a lot of fun, I think the balls move a little too fast. I think it's because I'm used to Williams Collection, but it feels a lot more hectic than it should be (which I don't think I like, but I'll try it again tomorrow for a second opinion).

# ¿ Nov 4, 2010 12:17

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Some of you guys are lucky that you live near places with actual pinball machines. The closest place that I can find online that has pinball machines is ~80 miles from me. :gonk:

There is another place that's about half the distance that might have pinball, but they don't list it or even mention the word pinball on their website. The town I live in does have one movie theater that might have some arcade/pinball stuff, but I don't wanna buy a ticket for a movie that I won't watch just to play those games.

Edit: I just remembered something I wanted to ask. A long time ago (maybe about 15-20 years ago), did a company make a plastic tabletop version of Earthshaker by Williams? I want to think that I used to have that, but it got thrown away years ago. I don't remember the company who made it (I don't think it was Williams themselves), so I can't go by anything else aside from the name. I've searched the internet on and off about this, but found nothing in regards to a tabletop version of the game.

Obeast fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Nov 6, 2010

# ¿ Nov 6, 2010 02:45

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I finally caved and bought the PFX2 core pack. My GT is below.

So far, my favorite is probably Biolab, but the others are pretty fun too. I just wish I can be better at watching the score display and the ball at the same time so I know what the gently caress is going on.

# ¿ Nov 7, 2010 08:59

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I just finished a really good game (in terms of a second or third playthrough) of Pasha where I got myself into second place out of my friends who played it. I would've gotten first if Desdinova didn't get that super high score he got. :argh:

The General posted:

I don't have my glasses, and can barely read the screen. I just shoot at flashing poo poo.

This is what I'm starting to do. I don't wear glasses, but I'm playing on an SDTV with composite cables, which might be just as bad if not worse. Hopefully, I should have my 360 setup on my old 19 inch LCD monitor via VGA within a few days, which should help with games that have problems on setups like mine. :shobon:

# ¿ Nov 7, 2010 13:24

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I'm really getting pissed off at Firepower on the Williams Collection. I'm trying to do the Wizard Goal of getting the 50,000 point FIREPOWER bonus, but it's not happening. I know what to do, but the ball seems to have a mind of it's own and wants to either not hit the POWER targets on the right side of the field or it will find some way of falling directly down the middle of the field or go off the sides. It doesn't help that you have to do the bonus four or five times ON ONE loving BALL to get it. :argh:

ponzicar posted:

After getting tired of Pinball FX2, I decided to pick up the Williams Collection for the 360, even though I already owned it on the Wii. It was worth it, since the game looks much better, and the new tables are all great. Medieval Madness is now my new favorite table. I just wish it had the leaderboard and friends list features that Pinball FX2 has.

I think it would be awesome if they made a Williams Collection 2 with downloadable tables (and maybe community/friend stuff similar to PFX2) and/or if Williams released some of their tables for PFX2.

# ¿ Nov 12, 2010 12:50

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

SnatchRabbit posted:

Cross posting from XBLA thread-

quote:
How does pinball FX2 compare to Pinball HOF Williams on 360, specifically related to ball physics? I remember playing the original FX and being completely turned off by how unrealistic it felt.

I have Williams Collection on the Wii (which I'm sure is more or less the same gameplay wise except for the controls), and the ball in PFX2 feels a bit faster than the one in Williams. I never played the original PFX, so I can't say if it's better or worse in this.

Sizone posted:

Oh, and the secret to the Firepower 50k bonus challenge is multiball, it takes A LOT of stress out of the attempt and makes it easier to hit the side targets by dumb luck.

I've tried getting it in multiball, but I still couldn't do it since I was still trying to aim for the POWER section. I might try it again later tonight, but I'll try to use dumb luck since that seems to be a better tactic for some of the table goals.

# ¿ Nov 16, 2010 00:34

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Is there a bug in Black Knight on Williams Collection (Wii version) regarding the Wizard goal for getting an extra ball in the lower playfield?

You're suppose to hit the two sets of drop targets three times each, then go up the left ramp to the upper playfield. But, for some reason, the game doesn't give me the Goal Complete pop-up when I do it (I don't think it gives me an extra ball either). There's nothing in the game's instructions nor this one FAQ I found that says I have a limited amount of time to hit the ramp, but part of me thinks that there's a very limited time window since the lights in front of the targets flash for a few seconds.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2010 08:40

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Sizone posted:

I got it, so it's not ungettably bugged. But my strategy for all the goals on that table was pretty much to hammer at poo poo randomly, so I'm not exactly sure what the trigger was. Usually you need to hit the drop targets one additional time, ala Sorcerer where you need to spell Sorcerer 4 times to light the special and once more to collect it and Firepower where you need to do the same. I'd suggest you just keep doing what you're doing. Only other suggestion is that you might not be able to collect the extra ball if you have fewer than 2 balls in play.

I just got done from trying it again with no success. I checked the other two FAQs on GameFAQs, and one of them said that you have to hit all of the targets three times and get the ball through the turn-around. The original one I read said you do the same thing, but you only need to hit the lower targets (unless I read it wrong, which I doubt since I read it a few times over). I'm betting that I have to what the first FAQ said since the in-game instructions say that's one of the ways of getting an extra ball.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2010 10:09

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I finally got it. It turns out that you do have to hit one set of drop targets twice and the other set once (the order you do this doesn't matter), then get the ball through the turn-around. The goal name really confused me since "Earn an extra ball from the lower playfield" makes it sound like you only do the lower playfield drop targets, then hit the ramp (which is what I was trying to do).

# ¿ Nov 21, 2010 12:53

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Sizone posted:

Shoot the mine ramp (11) 5 times (would someone count, please) to activate mine multiball. During mine multiball shoot the flashing ramps (11, 12, 16) to collect jackpot values, complete all ramps to collect super jackpot value.

I just finished playing a few rounds of Secrets after a little hiatus from PFX2, and I think I activated this by accident, because all of a sudden I had multiball and the screen, as well as my controller, shook at random. If this is the cause, then I love it for getting my Superscore up almost 20 points and getting me into 5th place of all my friends.

# ¿ Nov 28, 2010 05:14

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Everyone else a month ago?

I don't have it yet... :smith:

To be fair, though, I only have the four new tables (Biolab, Pasha, Rome, Secrets of the Deep). So, that's probably the main reason why I don't have it yet. :shobon:

# ¿ Dec 2, 2010 06:51

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

Actually, it's based on your friends scores. So load up your friends list with pinball players and you'll have it almost instantly.

I just got done playing a couple rounds of Secrets, and I think I see how they calculate Wizard Scores, which makes me think that we're both right.

Your Wizard Score is your SuperScore plus your friends' combined SuperScores, which is multiplied by the number of tables you bought.

So, this is making me think that the people who have the robes probably bought most/all of the tables available.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2010 07:54

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Howard Beale posted:

I like the goal system a lot though the credit system and unlocking tables that way doesn't feel like a real reward.

You can actually unlock a table without credits by completing all of the regular table goals on an unlocked table. That's how I unlocked the locked tables and I think I'm also close to maxing out my credit count (assuming the maximum is 999 credits) since the game still gives you credits even when you don't need them anymore.

# ¿ Dec 2, 2010 22:14

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Why does it seem like when I get down to one Wizard Goal on a table in Williams Collection, the difficulty seems to spike? I'm on Pin*Bot right now and all I have left is the "get to the sun and collect the bonus" goal, but I can't do it because the ball seems to be magically attracted to the side drains and the center area of the middle drain where neither flipper can hit it. I might end up taking a few days (or years) off from that game, because I feel like I'm at the point where I'm sure the game is cursed.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2010 09:42

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

PFCHudson posted:

Haven't stayed up for an xbla release in ages, when do they usually release?

Usually around 3 AM Pacific Time, but it doesn't hurt to wait an hour or more if you can since it's not a consistent thing.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2010 08:21

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

^^^ That's pretty awesome. I can't wait to see it when it's finished.

I think I'm done with Williams Collection. Even with Sizone's advice (which was good by the way, thank you for that), I still cannot do the 'get to sun, get bonus' goal in Pin*Bot. I did get to the sun twice, but barely missed the bonus shot on the right drop target, both times happened on the final ball. I'm convinced that whoever thought that goal up must've had a really lovely day or something, because this makes Mario Galaxy 2's final star look like a piece of cake. I might either take a break from the game in general or just move on to another table and come back to it at a much later time. On the upside, I found that Wiimotes are really sturdy when slammed on the floor in child-like rage. :shobon:

Also, about the Marvel PFX2 tables, does anyone else's eyes hurt when they look at Wolverine's table? I dunno if it's my monitor's color settings or what, but the yellow is almost too blinding for me to play on properly, which sucks because it looks like a pretty fun table (as do all of the other Marvel tables).

Obeast fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Dec 14, 2010

# ¿ Dec 14, 2010 11:48

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Rocko Bonaparte posted:

I just got the Williams Collection for the Wii. I couldn't find a way to forward nudge, and nudging generally felt pretty poor. The ball acted pretty much like it was on ice when side nudged, when my experience IRL is that a table with some friction will move the ball one way or another. It also seems to not so much nudge left or right, but shake all over the place.

I did pretty good are Firepower my first run around. I played that a lot in Future Pinball so I was somewhat familiar with it. I do like how it explains the game rules for each table. Unfortunately I will probably pass out before comprehending all the rules for Funhouse. I could just imagine what the rule explanation would be life for ST:TNG if they ever had that in a game.

I think I saw the probably a lot of people were talking about in Pinbot where the ball likes to go off the plunger, run around a little, then drain right out the left outlane before it ever graces the flippers. That was where I was trying to figure out how to nudge forward because I could have tapped a few of them from below.

I don't think you can forward nudge since all the game detects is whether you shake the Wiimote or Nunchuck and how hard you shake either one. I have no idea if the other ports have forward nudging since those probably mapped the nudge to the analog stick and/or d-pad.

# ¿ Dec 21, 2010 05:08

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I started playing Pinball FX2 after a long break because this thread seems to be getting noticed again (and because DKWildz friended me). I still only have the core FX2 pack, but I'm thinking about picking up one of the 200 MSP single tables. Which one do you guys recommend? I'm up for any table and theme as long as it's fun to play.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2011 13:04

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

The Mars table is up on PFX2. It's 240 MSP, which I wasn't expecting since the other single tables are 200 MSP.

From my impressions from the five minute (or however long it is) trial/demo run, it seems pretty good. It's very similar to the Iron Man table where you have to hit ramps and orbits to trigger various missions while having nothing in the middle between the flippers and ramps except for magnets that activate under certain conditions. So, if you didn't like how Iron Man played, chances are you may not like this one either.

Visually, it's very nice to look at and doesn't blind you like a few of the Marvel tables kinda did. But, there are ships that fly in front of the camera that can be distracting. I wasn't paying much attention to the sound/music, so I can't really comment on it.

Also, I don't know how unless the table is really nice about giving huge point values or someone already found a bug/glitch, but people are already breaking a billion points on it.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2011 12:43

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

ZebTM posted:

I love pinball but I'm terrible at it. How should I go about improving my game?

I only own a PC and nintendo handhelds, I've got Timeshock and Big Race USA off GOG though. (as well as a ton of unrealistic GBA games and oldass PC compilations)

Are the GOG games good? I saw that they were on sale for $3 a pop and I've heard some pretty good things about them. I wanna think I played Timeshock on the PSX (or PSOne for you hipsters) a long time ago, but that was before I really knew how to play pinball decently.

Also, anytime I see this thread in the top of my bookmarks, it reminds me I should play more Pinball FX 2 as well as (try to) finish Williams Collection.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2011 11:41

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Today, Good Old Games has Dream Pinball 3D on sale for $2.39 as part of their Hidden Gems sale. I'm probably not gonna buy it since my netbook (which is my main computer now) probably can't run it, but it seems like a really good deal.

# ¿ Jul 12, 2011 20:16

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I forgot to post this the other day, but Good Old Games has Rebellion Games' Pinball Gold Pack on sale for $5 this weekend as part of this Rebellion Games weekend sale. The pack includes Pinball Dreams 1 and 2, Pinball Illusions, Pinball Fantasies and Pinball Mania with a total of 20 tables in all. Seems like a pretty good deal unless most of or all the games are terrible.

Bart Fargo posted:

http://kotaku.com/5845271/pinball-fx2-gets-another-table-sorcerers-lair/gallery/1

New table coming in October! The Sorcerer's Lair, got a gothic horror thing with cartoon people motif going for it.

I'm kinda surprised that they're still making PFX2 tables. I assumed PFX2 died a quiet death, but I guess there are enough people buying tables that they can keep it going.

Speaking of which, I played some PFX2 earlier today for the first time in forever and noticed that they're having a tournament on the Wolverine table that ends in 14 or 15 days. I still haven't bought anything outside of the PFX2 core pack, so I sadly don't have any scores for you guys to beat on that table or any other non-core pack table.

Obeast fucked around with this message at 09:45 on Oct 1, 2011

# ¿ Oct 1, 2011 09:42

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I gave Paranormal a try earlier, and I think it's really good for being free. I still need to really learn how it works (I did read the instructions), but I'm liking it so far.

# ¿ Oct 29, 2011 01:57

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I'd never thought I'd see the day...

The only downside is that I'm sure someone who posts in this thread who I'm not friends with probably broke nine figures by now. Still, it's nice seeing my name on top of a scoreboard for once.

# ¿ Nov 15, 2011 12:50

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

ixnay posted:

FX2 tables are on sale this week

The Marvel, Core, and Classic packs are all half off (400 points). I've been waiting forever for the Marvel pack to go on sale and now I can finally grab it.

It's worth noting that this is for all LIVE members, not just Gold like most sales are.

If I had to choose one pack between classic and Marvel, which one should I get? I'd like to have a table similar to Paranormal since that's my current favorite of the five tables I have right now (PFX 2 Core + Paranormal).

# ¿ Nov 24, 2011 01:25

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Funkmaster General posted:

That's a tough call, both packs are pretty good. Personally I think that overall the classic tables are stronger than the Marvel tables, but one or two of the Marvel blow the classic out of the water (and specifically, Blade is among my favorites).

Keep in mind that the classic tables lack a lot of the polish the newer ones have - they are straight ports of the tables from FX1, and that means they have less neat effects and generally feel more like "real" tables, as opposed to the cool pseudo-magical tables you see in FX2. On the flipside, the Marvel pack is full of horrible obnoxious soundclips and bad VA.

Really though, I'd say to grab the trial versions and try 'em out.

I remember trying the trials and being mixed about the tables, but the time they give you to try out a table really isn't long enough for me to really "get" a table. Granted, I know they want people to get a taste of each table, but I feel like you don't get enough time to really enjoy it.

Either way, I bought both packs since it gives me a shitload more tables to play and it will help my wizard score a lot.

# ¿ Nov 25, 2011 09:11

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Zen just posted a trailer for the final Marvel: Vengence and Virtue (which I guess is a 'sequel' of sorts to the original Marvel table pack) table based on Thor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOm0QXACl5g

I don't think anyone in this thread mentioned this new pack, so this is probably news to a lot of us. The other tables will be based on Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, and X-Men, and will cost 800 MSP on the XBLA and $10 on PSN.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2011 20:04

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

this catte posted:

I don't have an Xbox 360, and this thread is massive so I'm just gonna ask, what pinball is good on the PC?

The only one on Steam worth a poo poo is Slam-it, and it's buggy to the point of not being worth it - and I don't want to do visual pinball because i want install-and-play.

Recommendations? FX2 makes me want a 360 :I

Good Old Games has some older pinball games that are suppose to be pretty good for their age. I haven't played any of them except for Pro Pinball Timeshock (which my brother rented on PlayStation a long time ago), so I dunno which one is the best. But, GOG is nice since their stuff is install-and-play, has no DRM to worry about, and is optimized to work flawlessly on modern PCs. The only downside I can see is that there aren't any online leaderboards if that's something you want.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2011 01:40

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Going back to the GOG discussion we were having on the last page, GOG is having all of their games at 50% off starting tomorrow (they didn't say when the sale would end, but I imagine it will be a week long sale). That would be a great time to grab the three Pro Pinball games, which are supposed to be the best pinball games on the service, for a total of $9 instead of $18.

# ¿ Dec 12, 2011 08:09

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

I tried a little bit of the Pro Pinball games from GOG. While they look like they'd be a lot of fun once you know how each table works, the ball physics do require some getting used to, especially when you try to aim your shots. They're still fun games, though, especially for $3 a pop.

Also, the new Marvel pack for PFX2 is up. I downloaded the trial for it, but I haven't tried them yet since I just beat Skyward Sword (which is an awesome game) and I need to get to bed soon-ish.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2011 13:28

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Bloody Hedgehog posted:

After a bit of a hiatus on Pinball FX2, I'm getting back into it. If I'm not on any players Friends lists, add me to your list. Gamertag is Bloody Hedgehog.

Thank you for adding me and finally getting my wizard score past 100k. I'm now the proud owner of a the wizard robe avatar award... And, you guys are right, it is pretty terrible looking, but I'm gonna wear it with pride until I get a new avatar award and/or get sick of it. :v:

# ¿ Dec 17, 2011 12:14

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Remulak posted:

If you ever make it to the bay area, the pacific pinball museum in alameda is well worth the trip. It's a little smaller than I'd like but the machines are well-selected and play perfectly. The 50's machines are more fun than I expected; the 1957(?) Bally Circus (apparently the same as Balls a Poppin) is an amazingly fun table, now that I've played it its one of my favorites of all time.

For later tables I'd never played before Funhouse and Revenge From Mars were pretty terrific. Childhood memories of 8-Ball Deluxe kicking my rear end were vindicated, that thing just drained on me every time.

I googled the Pacific Pinball Museum and found this documentary about it when they were just starting out. It's pretty awesome to see some of these guys who are really passionate about pinball and see them try to keep it alive for future generations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9RLUCh7Hc

They also have a special thing on Google Maps Street View where you get to see the inside and take a little virtual tour of it. I think the documentary was made before they got the location they have now, so that's why they don't show it's current location.

It does look like a fun place to visit, though... If/when I move to the Bay Area (I live a couple hours from San Jose right now), I'll try to remember to visit it.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2011 00:30

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# ¿ Apr 26, 2024 10:20

Obeast: Aug 26, 2006; �_~ ANIME BABE LOVER 2000 ~_�

Zen Pinball 3D is available in the US Nintendo 3DS eShop for $7. It comes with the Earth Defense Force, Shaman, Excalibur, and Eldorado tables with more DLC down the road (I have no idea what the tables will cost or if they will be mostly bundles like PFX2).

# ¿ Jan 12, 2012 19:28

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