The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual]

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual]

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

Dre2Dee2 posted:

Eight on the Break in Dunellen, NJ

Did you get a Break Steak?

Also, there's apparently a place nearby (thanks for the Pinball Map link Niwrad) with a 2011 Rolling Stones table. Any opinions on that table?

There's also another place with an Avatar table and a place that's a small bit of a drive away with a LOT of different tables (Mechanical and Solid State) that apparently has a Star Trek: TNG table. I was really hoping to see a few more of the recent Sterns to try, but I guess I'll be waiting for California Extreme for those. Since it seems that some people are bringing a Transformers Combo LE, Tron: Legacy LE and THREE X-Men tables. No AC/DC listed yet.

It even seems that someone's bringing an ORIGINAL Big Bang Bar.

# ¿ Apr 14, 2013 06:46

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:22

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

Niwrad posted:

It's OK. There really isn't anything special to it and it feels sort of generic. Then again I'm not much of a Stones fan. It was the last Stern game before they really started taking off. Definitely worth a play if it's near you, but I wouldn't travel far for it.

I like Avatar a lot more than most people do. I think how the ball shoots back at you is a real fun aspect of the game. In fact, a lot of Sterns over the past 10 years are underrated in my opinion.

If you're near Santa Clara, this place doesn't seem to be a far drive (http://pacificpinball.org/home). I don't know anything about it, but the reviews of it are great and they seem to have a ton of games to play.

The place where the Stones table is is actually pretty close-by, and that's interesting to hear about the Avatar table.

Also, that place is just a bit too far for me for a regular trip sort of thing. I mean, I rarely head over to San Mateo of all places (to stop by Game Center, a pretty cool little arcade right near the CalTrain station, no pinball though), let alone San Francisco. So heading out to Oakland doesn't sound so viable (gently caress gas prices) unless I manage to get a trip set up with a couple of friends in advance. I'll probably look into heading up there at some point.

# ¿ Apr 15, 2013 15:48

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

xarph posted:

I was at California Extreme today and have some brain droppings:

* Tron Legacy LE is the most goddamn gorgeous and best sounding table I've ever played.
* Rollergames has an atrocious theme but is my new favorite table to play due to Steve Richie basically going, "gently caress IT! MORE ~~RAMPS~~ HABITRAILS!" over and over again during development. When I realized that the game was slinging around the two locked balls through the various tunnels and rails while it waited for me to lock the third ball I about lost my poo poo. Pity that such a fun game got stuck with such a terrible license, and the rules/scoring seemed a bit weird. Still, a lot of fun things to play with, but somehow it isn't so cluttered that you can't tell what's going on in the back half of the playfield.
* Avengers seems kind of but the sound was turned down to practical inaudibility, so that didn't do it any favors.
* It was both sad and kind of depressing how many people brought machines that were obvious game/dorm room machines that died horribly upon contact with a real arcade atmosphere. There was a Firepower that was the most beautifully restored machine I've ever seen (it seriously looked like it could have come off the factory floor at the same time as the above-mentioned Tron LE), but the coin drop button that was rigged up broke and no one could find the owner to unlock the coin door and add credits. A lot of owners also didn't bother to check the level of the table when they put it in place, which rendered a bunch of machines unplayable.
* Are all flippers on EM tables extremely weak or do they just wear down over time and replacing them is non-trivial?
* WOZ: Holy poo poo is this table is overbuilt to the point of almost collapsing in on itself. I hated it; it reminded me of a rice rocket. Then again I am kind of biased against tables that have a ton of crap on them; I like maybe one cluster of jets, a toy, and the rest of the space embellished with targets and ramps. WOZ is all toys all the time.

Finally, this has nothing to do with pinball, but Killer Queen is totally awesome when everyone is playing on one big projected screen and it degenerates into 10-player Joust with objectives. My voice is hoarse from screaming "PROTECT THE SNAIL" over and over. http://kotaku.com/nobody-makes-awesome-arcade-machines-anymore-but-these-504480102 Hokra was right next to it but it wasn't as batshit insane as Killer Queen, which was mobbed all to hell for good reason.

What up CAX Buddy. :hfive:

My personal thoughts from today would be this:

- They're not Pinball related, but it's been so long since I've played The Grid, I LOVE how they got the full 6-Player setup this year. Also, Panic Park is a blast with a friend. And I also love how the first thing you see walking in the Ballroom Hall is a giant Pac-Man Battle Royale machine.

- I was meaning to try the Tron Legacy LE there along with the other newer Sterns, but oh man, getting sidetracked SUCKS (even when it's still fun).

- ST:TNG is just as brutal as I imagined it would be. :allears:

- All the Gottlieb Tables I played today were wonky as hell. While I really only played two of 'em, they were odd. The "classic" Street Fighter II table was just...weird. Weird skill shot, what I think is odd placement for main shots, and ramps that seem to require more power than you can get on a controlled ball (or maybe it's just that I still kinda suck at aiming and lining up shots). The other table was the Super Mario ~~World~~ Bros. table (It's totally a Super Mario World table). Word to the wise, unless it's in PERFECT condition (and maybe even then), the table is just not very fun and is just plain annoying with certain things. The Castle shot itself doesn't seem too hard, think the Kickback Relight on Banzai Run (shoot for a trigger hole between some Pop Bumpers), but being able to progress the main goal is the real pain. You're supposed to spell out SUPER and then make the Castle Shot, repeat 7 times to "win". The problem comes with how you advance the SUPER lights. There's one major ramp, the Yoshi Ramp, that leads to a Pseudo-Upper Playfield where you can either Relight the Kickback (and go back to the Left Flipper), a Yoshi Bonus and the Advance Super "ramp" that takes you back to the right flipper. I believe that on a normal, well maintained table, this should advance it every time you effectively loop it. On THIS table though, it triggered probably every one in seven or eight times. Not to mention that there's a second way to advance the SUPER lights, but it doesn't seem to have consistency either. As is standard though, if you drain the ball before making the shot, you lose your chance and need to spell SUPER out again. On a machine like the one I played, it is a NIGHTMARE. The other real annoying thing is that one of the bonuses is grabbing a Starman and becoming Invincible. I don't actually know what bonus it gives, but what it DOES DO is effectively strobe three BRIGHT rear end WHITE LIGHTS OVER AND OVER until it stops. They're so bright that standing about two WIDEBODY widths away, playing another table, you can still notice it. After spending more time with this table than I thought I would (and actually "beating" the game through repeated "continue" abuse because gently caress trying to trigger seven successful SUPER Castle Shots in three balls on what does seem to be a well worn out machine), I never want to play it again. If I want to play a Mario Pinball table, I'll stick with the other, smaller, what seems to be a kids table, Mushroom World table. That one is, while simple and loopable with basic shots, kinda fun for what it is. SMB is/was just an exercise in frustration.

(Wow. More :words:

than I thought that wouldd be for the Super Mario Bros. table)

Also, I agree with you so much on Killer Queen. That game was amazing once I fully understood how it worked. Snail Victory is Best Victory. Gonna be playing that some more tomorrow/later today. Lastly, while also not Pinball related, Billy Bowl is AWESOME. If you get a chance, check it out. It's a fun little Billiards/Bowling Hybrid.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2013 12:42

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

Eegah posted:

Did anyone go to California Extreme last year? Think I'm gonna do the weekend and was wondering how much, with the hotel room.

I'm in the same boat as Same Great Paste. It's pretty much right in my backyard, so I just paid the cost to get in. That said (even though it's not Pinball), if they have it again this year (and they likely will since it's like a tradition now), you need to check out Panic Park. Also, Billy Bowl and The Grid if they have 'em as well (especially if The Grid is the 6-Player setup).

One of the only things I regret from last year is not spending more time on the recent Sterns since I haven't played many of 'em yet. Oh well, I'll take care of that this year.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2014 10:12

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

Yechezkel posted:

Heads up PS4 Pinball Arcade players: there is a 5 GB game update for the new tables tomorrow. The game update is larger than the installed game file size.

Hopefully, the table trials will work before the PSN update on Tuesday afternoon.

And unless they changed things for the PS4 (don't know since I'm still on a PS3), since it's an Update, you'll have to let it be the only thing going for however long it takes to download. No courtesy of setting it to download in the background and play something else. Oh no, you're leaving it there for the whole download and installation process. Hope you have other plans for while it updates that don't involve your PS4.

Again, I could be wrong and they changed this from the PS3 -> PS4, or it'll auto download through PS+.

# ¿ Jul 22, 2014 08:31

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# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:22

Volfogg: Dec 19, 2010; Some say she was raised by sentient birds, and that test subjects replicating her equipment were horribly broken.

All we know is she's called
The Hunter

TheMcD posted:

Yeah, as far as I can remember, both Mario tables were Premiers.

Yeah, and I just didn't like what I played of it back at California Extreme ("clearing" all the castles). Maybe it was just that a sensor was very worn from use, or maybe it was just bullshit.

The smaller kid-sized table, Mushroom World felt more fun despite being very simple and such. Although, I'm not a rules expert or anything. So, for all I know, the main SMB table could actually have a good rule set that I just didn't understand when I played it.

I think I actually made a post here about that table after last year's CAX (2013)...yep, found it. Cut out everything that wasn't related to the SMB Table.

Volfogg posted:

- All the Gottlieb Tables I played today were wonky as hell. While I really only played two of 'em, they were odd. The "classic" Street Fighter II table was just...weird. Weird skill shot, what I think is odd placement for main shots, and ramps that seem to require more power than you can get on a controlled ball (or maybe it's just that I still kinda suck at aiming and lining up shots). The other table was the Super Mario ~~World~~ Bros. table (It's totally a Super Mario World table). Word to the wise, unless it's in PERFECT condition (and maybe even then), the table is just not very fun and is just plain annoying with certain things. The Castle shot itself doesn't seem too hard, think the Kickback Relight on Banzai Run (shoot for a trigger hole between some Pop Bumpers), but being able to progress the main goal is the real pain. You're supposed to spell out SUPER and then make the Castle Shot, repeat 7 times to "win". The problem comes with how you advance the SUPER lights. There's one major ramp, the Yoshi Ramp, that leads to a Pseudo-Upper Playfield where you can either Relight the Kickback (and go back to the Left Flipper), a Yoshi Bonus and the Advance Super "ramp" that takes you back to the right flipper. I believe that on a normal, well maintained table, this should advance it every time you effectively loop it. On THIS table though, it triggered probably every one in seven or eight times. Not to mention that there's a second way to advance the SUPER lights, but it doesn't seem to have consistency either. As is standard though, if you drain the ball before making the shot, you lose your chance and need to spell SUPER out again. On a machine like the one I played, it is a NIGHTMARE. The other real annoying thing is that one of the bonuses is grabbing a Starman and becoming Invincible. I don't actually know what bonus it gives, but what it DOES DO is effectively strobe three BRIGHT rear end WHITE LIGHTS OVER AND OVER until it stops. They're so bright that standing about two WIDEBODY widths away, playing another table, you can still notice it. After spending more time with this table than I thought I would (and actually "beating" the game through repeated "continue" abuse because gently caress trying to trigger seven successful SUPER Castle Shots in three balls on what does seem to be a well worn out machine), I never want to play it again. If I want to play a Mario Pinball table, I'll stick with the other, smaller, what seems to be a kids table, Mushroom World table. That one is, while simple and loopable with basic shots, kinda fun for what it is. SMB is/was just an exercise in frustration.

(Wow. More than I thought that would be for the Super Mario Bros. table)

Volfogg fucked around with this message at 09:54 on Sep 13, 2014

# ¿ Sep 13, 2014 09:49

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual]