The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual]

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

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Electromax posted:

So the table theme is big titties?

Yes.

here's some coverage.

ABC News posted:

Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons� pinball takes players on a journey through the Mellon Family farm renowned for abundant produce. Players shoot for and score points on the farm operated by the lovely Melony Mellon and her twin sisters while avoiding the wrath of their over-protective shotgun-wielding father. The colorful easy-to-learn game features a fun classically-styled pinball playfield tuned for a balance of randomness and skilled shooting challenges that rewards players of all skill levels.

"We wanted to create a game that everyone can enjoy, so we started with a more accessible layout from a classic era of pinball," said Dennis Nordman, co-founder of Whizbang Pinball and famed pinball industry design veteran. "This is the first new electro-mechanical style game in over 35 years."

Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons� pinball delivers the most tactile pinball experience since the advent of electronic pinball...

I'm not saying the table itself is badly designed or plays poorly, but with that kind of language(and there's a lot more in the press release), there's a lot to dislike before you even get to that point.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Oct 16, 2014

# ¿ Oct 16, 2014 20:14

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 09:13

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

What was that horrible/magnificent primitive 3D adventure-themed dinosaur pinball game? I think the publisher was Sierra.

# ¿ Oct 27, 2014 22:35

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

That's the most incredible thing I've ever seen-especially the soundtrack.

# ¿ Dec 14, 2014 23:42

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Luigi Thirty posted:

One of the guys stole �60K from the company, pissed off NBC/Universal's licensing department with parts of the table design, got cancer, and is panic refunding orders to lower his debt liability in case the company goes bust because his Dutch SSN equivalent is attached to it.

Not quite- the guy who took the money and violated the licensing is one person, the guy who has liability, with cancer, refunding orders en masse is a separate person.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2014 21:14

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

I Am Not A Lawyer, but here goes.

It looks like a big factor is that the guys who built and demoed the machine to PAPA don't understand the potential and likely consequences of a licensing agreement violation- the guy who the US company is in the name of does, and is (rightly) terrified of what would happen. The studio is in a position to require the pinball company to withdraw the entire run of machines, eat the costs, and pay separate damages. Since it also involves the likenesses of the actors, who would get their own slice, it's more probable that the studio would pursue action, whether they want to or not.

As I read more of the thread, I can see the whole thing is completely imploding. If the studio has any sort of way to withdraw from the agreement (they probably do), they almost certainly will at this point.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2014 21:42

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

What old IPs would you want for licensed tables, thread?

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 07:31

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Clue (the movie) - I can practically visualize the table, it would work so well.
Johnny Mnemonic
Jackie Chan
Sweeney Todd
Pirates of Penzance
FF7 -no, I swear there's a hidden wizard mode where you can run Aeris multiball a second time in a single game!

Forums Terrorist posted:

Does the Metal Gear franchise count?

Of course. Imagine the moving metal gear figures and voiceclips... :allears:

MGS4 was a terrible game, but its reliance on big dumb action pieces and sets of regular figures would make great pinball.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Dec 16, 2014

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 07:56

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Robnoxious posted:

That one was actually done in 1995. I didn't like it.

http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=3683

Aw man, that looks boring. Where's Room Service Multiball? The simulated power failure when you hit the super jackpot at the end of the self-hack? The moving dolphin figure?

vvvv The gloves? ugh. Those should be for video mode, maybe on the field by the bumpers.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Dec 16, 2014

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 08:10

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

HORMELCHILI posted:

God licensing poo poo is so hosed, you gave them the rights to make the table, just let them loving go. What does it come down to? Wanting a fatter pile of cash to aythorize the use of a couple more pictures on a pinball table? How would these tables even be making enough money for Universal to give a poo poo? The Big Lebowski license is just sitting there gathering dust anyway.

A factor is that every actor involved in the movie IP usually also has separate rights to their likeness. Songs from the movie also have their own authors and separate rights. Other properties also often have residual rights, and therefore have to be separately negotiated with their owners.

Robnoxious posted:

It's not quite that simple. Dutch Pinball got a stock licensing package from Universal/NBC for likenesses and things like that. They were given the specific parameters they could use. The guys in The Netherlands figured they had carte blanche to do whatever the gently caress they wanted after that including throwing in movie voiceover quotes which was never on the bargaining table. That's the part Roger has to work out before Uni scuttles the entire thing because of a breach.

Under the circumstances it's astonishing they haven't pulled the plug already, regardless of who is now acting as negotiator.

# ¿ Dec 16, 2014 09:27

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Weird Al would make a good band theme. There's also a movie IP to license!

# ¿ Dec 17, 2014 21:27

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

As someone whose pinball experience is almost entirely from lurking this thread from the last few months, can someone lay out what makes Goin' Nuts so terrible? It's practically a thread meme.

# ¿ Dec 24, 2014 21:05

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

While looking for more information on Pinball Circus, I found a blogpost saying a boutique group was planning to remake it. No further information, though so take it with a grain of salt.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2015 19:40

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

OK, here's another thread question: what elements make a table good or bad for competitive play?

# ¿ Jan 18, 2015 19:05

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

So, based on this feedback (and other opinions, of course), What table is best for competition play?

# ¿ Jan 19, 2015 01:44

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

MarxCarl posted:

Papa's game notes are here - http://papa.org/learning-center/director-resources/directors/game-notes/

Barb Wire's notes always crack me up

So, this is getting me toward my question- I saw that Wheel of Fortune was used at a tournament a little while ago. Why?

edit: that's odd, Goin' Nuts isn't on the list.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2015 02:13

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

TheMcD posted:

When you blow up the snackbar, the game does say "NO MORE BAD FOOD", but as far as I can tell (and the rulesheet on IPDB can tell) it does nothing. I mean, it could maybe give you a slightly better chance of not getting food, but I think somebody would have figured that out if that were the case.

I think it's just a joke about snack bar food generally.

PAPA posted:

Jungle Queen
Gottlieb � 1977
Tournament Issues: Players may become frustrated and scream loudly at this game. Otherwise, there are no major competitive issues.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Jan 19, 2015

# ¿ Jan 19, 2015 02:57

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Domus posted:

Do PAPA players seriously abuse the "valid playfield" condition? If you're lucky, it boosts your score by literally one or two switch hits, while making you have to sit there for half a minute while the ball drains and reloads. While I can believe some people are spergy enough, I'd hope that someone would just yell at them to stop being stupid or threaten to disqualify them.

I've never seen footage of anyone actually doing it- the combination of difficulty and poor sportsmanship seems te be enough that it functions as a soft ban. It helps that most of the players obsessive enough/good enough to do it don't really need to do it.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2015 06:49

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

TheMcD posted:

When your balls have gone black, you are in ball-trouble.

Clearly you just want to play more Twilight Zone, racist.

# ¿ Jan 27, 2015 00:46

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

TheMcD posted:

Also, does anybody have a rulesheet for Stern's Star Trek? I went to a local casino with my dad yesterday to play the Mustang they had and saw that they had Star Trek in new, so we played that instead, and I spent most of the time trying to figure out how the gently caress to get to The Captain's Chair. Never managed to do so, and it still confuses me.

My understanding is that you have to clear one level of each of the 6 modes. There are subsequent, higher captain's chair modes for doing the same with each mode at levels 2 and three. The details still aren't known- it's complicated, and rule changes are still inbound. here's a papa tutorial that I think is still up to date. It's pretty awkward- you can see Bowen is pitching the table, but he can't get over how opaque some of the modes are.

edit: 18 modes and two wizards to get through en route to the top wizard. That's a steep climb! I'm looking forward to finding out what it is. Search for Spock?

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Feb 17, 2015

# ¿ Feb 17, 2015 18:36

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

djfooboo posted:

Still waiting for whatever this means...

Goin' Nuts Limited Edition

# ¿ Feb 20, 2015 22:15

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

I like it, with the understanding that they're going for a very strong retro aesthetic. The central ramp, and the Simmons tongue thing, both look pretty dangerous to fail.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 19:40 on May 6, 2015

# ¿ May 6, 2015 19:28

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

As a Millennial I posted:

Are there any aftermarket mods to replace the art/music on Metallica with that of a good band? I would consider buying one if so.

Nickelback and James Blunt.

# ¿ May 6, 2015 21:04

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Ludicrous Gibs! posted:

Went to the Ann Arbor Michigan Pinball Showcase last weekend. I highly recommend it to anyone who's got even a passing interest in pinball. 250 tables, all in pristine condition and set on free play, crammed into a remodeled VFW hall. It's once a year so you'll have to wait until next May, although last Black Friday they did open up for a food drive event.

Wow, that's a lot of classics, too!

edit: list of tables here. 20 from the 1950s! 15 from the 60s!

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 21:02 on May 18, 2015

# ¿ May 18, 2015 20:56

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

FishBulb posted:

Robot boobs and snakes, together at last

It's easily the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'm going to ask my wife to tattoo it onto her face.

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 20:41 on May 19, 2015

# ¿ May 19, 2015 05:42

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Rollersnake posted:

El Dorado: City of Gold makes more sense when you read it up on it and see it was the last of many themed variations on the same table layout, which first debuted in 1975. I think it plays fine, but it's no accident that it's generic as hell.

DLC pack Detected.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2015 04:22

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Tony Phillips posted:

What if GRRM is writing the code?

Lotta versions, but the final will never be delivered. Expect a number of modes/rules that makes Simpsons look like Goin Nuts.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2015 18:16

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

prefect posted:

I think his day job is something like "math teacher". He's got that computer-brain ability to do the pinballs and make many many points.

He's a high-level math curriculum designer, particularly for linear algebra and geometry. Basically exactly what you'd expect.

LordPants posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEl6ywIOfdc

You have to be a tremendous dork like me to care but Bowen did a Roadshow Tutorial.

Holy crap- stick around for the second half of that video!!

Discendo Vox fucked around with this message at 02:41 on Oct 8, 2015

# ¿ Oct 8, 2015 02:21

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Payday 2 actually has all the elements to make for an excellent pinball table design-just not the playerbase numbers to work as a licensed table. Digital could work, I suppose.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2015 21:18

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Safecracker's all I can think of, though it's so experimental that it's hard to directly compare. Payday has a bunch of variable categories that could work really well for pinball modes and scoring systems.

For example, there's an heist that involves going to a meth lab to collect product- but when you arrive, the cooks are dead and the police are already on their way. Players have to use three ingredients, one each, in a randomly provided order given over radio by your shadowy boss. Using the wrong ingredient blows the meth lab up. That maps pretty perfectly to a timed, ordered called shots mode. Other heists include blowing open an armored truck convoy (hit each ramp x number of times to get into the corresponding truck), smashing up a mall as part of a protection racket (hit x number of switches within the time limit), and scrambling around the crash site of a drug smuggling plane, collecting as much product as possible before you decide to bail (complete random flashing shots to increase your final payout and add time to a timer, no payout if you drain before making the final shot or time runs out). Several heists are of course themed around getting into giant vaults, so a giant safe, equivalent to the MM castle, would be a good central ramp target/toy. The game is known for a currently unsolved "secret" that would make for a good wizard mode, and there's an annual "crimefest" event themed around mass cooperation that would be a good excuse for a four ball multiball. The different difficulty modes in the game have different money payouts and could represent field multipliers. There's even a list of colorful, tiered police "special units" that would work for one of those obnoxious "versus enemy" video modes, like in X-Men-though I'm perfectly fine ditching that particular idea.

# ¿ Oct 13, 2015 21:46

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

I'd love someone to mod the cabinet to just remove all of the women so that it's just a collection of pinball table designers openly sexually attracted to fruit.

Or maybe take the top backglass and swap the head of the woman and the dog.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2015 00:13

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

This seems like an incredible opportunity to pick up some machines, if they're not already spoken for.

# ¿ Dec 13, 2015 20:38

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

When is Farsight finally going to get to 3-D Ultra Pinball: The Lost Continent?!?!

# ¿ Dec 17, 2015 23:19

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Awesome! posted:

the new pinball arcade interface is up in beta form. im sure you all know how to get to a games beta branch menu in steam

i really do not like it and have already switched back.

Can you tell what they were going for from the changes?

# ¿ Jan 16, 2016 04:22

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

King Vidiot posted:

Did... did they really show a scrotum getting torn open during the ball save animation in that Rob Zombie game? Did I completely misinterpret what I saw there? I rewound and rewatched it and I swear that's what it was.

Well, it would fit the purpose.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2016 06:02

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Squashy Nipples posted:

Friend of mine found this at an estate sale:

Any idea what it's worth?
I'm assuming it's a straight gambling device.

Got any other identifying marks/names/manufacturer identification? Gerco isn't turning up anything immediately.

# ¿ Apr 2, 2016 19:02

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Crossposting from the help us remember the name of a game thread:

DancinBrud posted:

I'm trying to remember the name of a pinball game I played around 1985. I think it was sci-fi themed and the art featured a woman who was possibly a robot, so all my searches turn up Bride of Pinbot but that's definitely not what I'm trying to think of. I think the colors included a lot of black and dark blue, and there might've been a large face or eye in the art as well. Any ideas?

I already told them that this doesn't narrow it down as much as they'd hope.

# ¿ May 11, 2016 00:30

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Awesome! posted:

xenon?

Yup, someone else helped them to it- w2g!

There's probably some kind of "guess that pinball table" forum game waiting to be made here.

# ¿ May 11, 2016 01:18

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Some of those might be rare enough that folks from the broader community might want to make an offer. It may be worth posting about on Pinside.

# ¿ May 11, 2016 21:21

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

She Bangs the Drums posted:

This helped but now i consistently drain down the center!

look i found a guide for V12
http://blog.zenstudios.com/press/assets/table_guides/V12%20Table%20Guide%20By%20ShoryukenToTheChin.pdf

That wizard mode requirement is unbelievable- the sort of pointless, repetitive, numbers-based sadism that can only come from poor design. It's like scoring Super Bears on Addams Family 5 different ways.

# ¿ May 13, 2016 22:48

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 09:13

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Dr. Lariat posted:

Since Whoa Nellie and Pabst is a little too crass for the refined taste of the SA pinball community perhaps you guys could help fund this much needed, under represented theme for a pinball table.

https://www.gofundme.com/FursonaLandPinball

Does Party Animal not already exist?

But seriously, if this thing isn't sexual it might still manage to be less creepy than Whoa Nellie.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2016 21:39

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

«‹›3 »