Windows 8 isn't even really available yet, but you can already play Pinball FX2 on it. That's what we would call being "on the ball" ... if we were interested in terrible puns, which of course we aren't.
Windows 8 is available today in a consumer preview build, and Zen Studios' pinball game is included in the download, with the "Sorcerer's Lair" table. Of course, more tables will be sold as DLC. It's only fitting that this version of Windows, which touts some kind of Xbox Live functionality, will include one of Xbox Live's most popular games. To put it another way: free pinball!
Hnnnnnggggh. This is my first gaming PC. Do I really want to install Windows 8? I suppose I could. I have a 500 Gig external drive for my best Steam titles, as well as all my metal albums, and I have separated my work laptop from this gaming PC. I might be able to pull it off over spring break...which starts tomorrow.
Hnnnnnggggh. This is my first gaming PC. Do I really want to install Windows 8? I suppose I could. I have a 500 Gig external drive for my best Steam titles, as well as all my metal albums, and I have separated my work laptop from this gaming PC. I might be able to pull it off over spring break...which starts tomorrow.
I've got an SSD as boot and all my user directories/steam games on an HDD, so trying this out should be relatively painless for me. I'll probably do it in a few weeks post exams.
Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Next table is announced in the new Game Informer. I'll be honest - I forgot that we'd eventually get a Hulk table.
I'm still pretty "meh" on it because I have never found the Hulk all that interesting, but I will say, if nothing else, a green-focused table is actually a nice prospect.
Here's a pic of an Avenger Chronicles table in the upcoming Game Informer.
Huh. Hulk table. Why does he have a Bionic Arm and sword? We need a Marvel vs Capcom table. And a Guilty Gear table. Shit, every fighting game needs a table to outdo Street Fighter 2.
World War Hulk looks damnably impressive, actually. The Avengers also has an appeal to me. Infinity Gauntlet seems kinda "meh", but I am largely judging that on the art style seeming lacking. Fear Itself looks neat, and I wonder how cool it would have been to have released this simultaneously with Thor to have that counterbalance unto itself. But in any case, this as we're getting into more obscure properties I am becoming more intrigued with these tables, since they give me more of a chance to explore the worlds I know nothing of.
Also, the Avengers multiball that has the different balls for the different heroes looks like an incredibly bad-ass effect.
Hey thread. Pertinent to our interests, Pinball Arcade hits Xbox Live this Wednesday. That's the downloadable pinball title from Farsight Studios, makers of both the Gottlieb and Williams Hall of Fame collections. Digital recreations of physical tables. Available on iOS for over a month now, it's finally making the jump to TELEVISION. Assuming the same tables are coming home, we should be getting Tales of the Arabian Nights, Black Hole, Ripley's Believe it or Not, and Theater of Magic. And I am so, so excited.
re: Daredevil - So, am I crazy for thinking that if such a table were to ever exist, a "radar sense" mode would be awesome? Or even some sort of echolocation bonus mode, where the table goes black except for where the ball is impacting? Hopefully there would be some sort of ball save protection, a la Spider-Man and Mysterio mode, but it could be an interesting gimmick.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
re: Daredevil - So, am I crazy for thinking that if such a table were to ever exist, a "radar sense" mode would be awesome? Or even some sort of echolocation bonus mode, where the table goes black except for where the ball is impacting? Hopefully there would be some sort of ball save protection, a la Spider-Man and Mysterio mode, but it could be an interesting gimmick.
Yes, sounds fantastic. Now, try to get Zen to do that. =P
According to the Pinball Arcade's DLC trailer, Medieval Madness and Bride of PinBot are the first two DLC tables. If they are smart they'll keep them comparable in price to Zen's offerings.
If they are smart they would have also cribbed Zen's entire multiplayer/community features for the PSN/XBLA releases.
DoctorArch on
Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Just topped my previous best by over 100 million on...
MARS.
Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?
Anyway, Pinball Arcade tomorrow. For realsies, this time! I hope.
Did you do that by beating the table? Because that's worth 100M points.
Otherwise, what possessed you to go back to that (now that I think about it, very themeatically appropriately) desolate table? ;P
Just topped my previous best by over 100 million on...
MARS.
Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?
Anyway, Pinball Arcade tomorrow. For realsies, this time! I hope.
Did you do that by beating the table? Because that's worth 100M points.
Otherwise, what possessed you to go back to that (now that I think about it, very themeatically appropriately) desolate table? ;P
Nope. No beating. Just banging around, finishing some missions (over and over, Spider scanning...) and never finishing enough to trigger the final mission. As to why? I think I fired up Pinball FX2 and was like "I haven't played Mars for a while...".
I also topped my previous best on Iron Man, by about 7 million. Didn't play Rome, don't have Xtreme. :P
Oooh! OOOOOH!!! That ping from the TV means Pinball Arcade is done downloading!!! Umm... I'll be back. Later.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Oh right, I should queue that to download later ...
Kudos on the uppidy of Iron Man. I still very much enjoy that table, despite its semi-repetitive nature.
Since I haven't purchased Pinball Arcade yet, I don't know if this is just a bug in the trial game, but the camera controls for Theater of Magic seem bugged as in there is no way to have the camera follow the ball, while you can for every other table. Has anyone else had this problem?
Otherwise, my initial impressions are that Pinball Arcade's gameplay feels as solid as Farsight Studios earlier offerings (i.e., Williams Pinball Collection), which is wonderful. However, the menu interface is overly cumbersome and could take inspiration from Zen.
Since I haven't purchased Pinball Arcade yet, I don't know if this is just a bug in the trial game, but the camera controls for Theater of Magic seem bugged as in there is no way to have the camera follow the ball, while you can for every other table. Has anyone else had this problem?
Camera controls lock/unlock to flipper view with X, and change view angle with B. I can vouch for ball-following in Theater of Magic.
I have a lot more to say, but moments left on my lunch and a sandwich to eat. Leave you with this: 12th place on Ripley's! (for now)
Since I haven't purchased Pinball Arcade yet, I don't know if this is just a bug in the trial game, but the camera controls for Theater of Magic seem bugged as in there is no way to have the camera follow the ball, while you can for every other table. Has anyone else had this problem?
Camera controls lock/unlock to flipper view with X, and change view angle with B. I can vouch for ball-following in Theater of Magic.
I have a lot more to say, but moments left on my lunch and a sandwich to eat. Leave you with this: 12th place on Ripley's! (for now)
Weird, I was trying that and I couldn't get the camera to follow the ball at all. I'll try it again and if it keeps happening I'll assume it's a glitch in the trial.
As promised, I'm back. With IMPRESSIONS. And stuff.
First off, I have to say that I've been looking forward to this release since the initial announcement back in Two-Aught-Eleven. Loved, loved, LOVED the Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection disc - so much so that I bought it for the Wii, then the 360. So I'm a little discouraged that Farsight hasn't really played to the strengths that Zen has capitalized on.
Let's get that out of the way. All that awesome community-based stuff that Zen does is all but completely absent from Pinball Arcade, and I'm surprised how much I miss it. Leaderboards are great and all, but knowing that you're closing in on someone's score (no matter how many times I've choked because of it) thanks to in-game integration is superior. I'm hoping that Farsight will copy the (mostly) a la carte nature of Pinball FX2 so that if all you really want to play is Bride of Pin*Bot (for example), you can get away with grabbing the demo and just buying the individual tables you want.
That said, the biggest problem is the camera. 3 options with a smart-cam/flipper lock toggle is not enough, especially when the disc version had 5. I know. I went back and pulled out my copy earlier tonight to compare Tales of the Arabian Nightses. Even then, the 3 camera options are better than the ONE plunger cam. Ick.
Second biggest issue? Unless I'm completely daft, I can't find any way to save or suspend play mid-game. Awkward if, for example, I'm playing before work and have 2 extra balls lined up. So while leaving the Xbox idling for 4 1/2 hours until my lunch break was a solution today, that's not really viable.
Physics are vastly different between Farsight and Zen, so it takes some getting used to- or reacquainted with, in my case. Zen is zippier by far, but both versions of TotAN (disc and download) felt the same. A little floaty, actually, after so much time with Zen, but consistent. Mostly. I can speak from experience on both Theater of Magic and Ripley's Believe It or Not that I've had balls appear to glitch through flipper-tips during a desperate double-flipper whack. I also lost a ball on Ripley's during multiball. It's like the ball was eaten by the playfield - just up and vanished. I'm so glad they kept the "Call Attendant" feature!
As for the tables themselves, three out of four ain't bad. Theater of Magic is a joy to play, even as it suffers from mid-90's "score creep" with my best over a billion - so far. I didn't even think it was a particularly amazing run at the table! Tales of the Arabian Nights has some great mission progression, with a definite "final mission" like oh so many Zen tables. It's also apparently fixed from the on-disc version, although I haven't been able to trigger the Harem multiball on either version. But I'm not bitter. Ripley's is a table I'd only played once in real life, but already have several games under my belt digitally. I think I like it because it's a new experience for me. The table plays fine and has plenty of "throwback" vocal homages to other tables. (For the record, my top 12 placing has been OBLITERATED as of this writing.) Black Hole... It's not my cup of tea. I think I'd rather play Xtreme. Seriously.
All told, if you're accustomed to the Zen way of pinballing, this collection is going to take some getting used to. I'm not unhappy that I dropped MS Spacebucks on this right out of the gate, completely undemoed, but I've got big nostalgia for playing actual pinball table replicas. Give the demo a whirl - I'd say it's worth the points, but know what you're getting into. The differences in play are considerable.
Bought Pinball Arcade. Overall, I really like it. I'm not total newbie when it comes to pinball games, but the more modern tables feel rather daunting to learn. Ripley's manual has almost 400 individual parts, and there is so much shit going that it requires some time to really learn what is going on. Physics also seem to be top notch, but in the other hand, colors seem to be little washed out. Farsight has promised new lighting engine down the road tho'.
That's what I forgot to mention above. The game manuals are very, very thorough. I'm not entirely sure how many people will find them/use them, but it's one area where the Farsight group far exceeds Zen. I needed help figuring out skillshots on Ripley's. It was in there, but oddly enough, located after one of the wizard modes.
Also, I keep thinking the sound is out of whack on Pinball Arcade. It's hard to hear voices and effects over the table music, and there appears to be no way to adjust certain audio levels.
I will end up buying it of course (I am a pinball whore), but so far it feels a little half-baked, almost like Pinball FX 1, and certainly a step back from the Williams Collection. Plus, as Cell noted above, Zen has done wonders for presentation, interface, and leaderboard integration, and Farsight Studios could take some pointers.
Also, I keep thinking the sound is out of whack on Pinball Arcade. It's hard to hear voices and effects over the table music, and there appears to be no way to adjust certain audio levels.
Are you using home theater? At least using only TV sound mix seems to be in balance.
I will end up buying it of course (I am a pinball whore), but so far it feels a little half-baked, almost like Pinball FX 1, and certainly a step back from the Williams Collection. Plus, as Cell noted above, Zen has done wonders for presentation, interface, and leaderboard integration, and Farsight Studios could take some pointers.
I don't really care so long as tables are good, and the kinks in UI will be fixed with time. At least guys here are fair and reasonable with their critique, unlike guys in the game's Facebook page. Some of those guys are already bitching how Farsight has betrayed them, how the game is total crap, complete rip-off, and you should not even consider buying it. Why it is that most people who frequent in videogame forums lack social intelligence, and act like seven years olds?
Also, I keep thinking the sound is out of whack on Pinball Arcade. It's hard to hear voices and effects over the table music, and there appears to be no way to adjust certain audio levels.
Are you using home theater? At least using only TV sound mix seems to be in balance.
I will end up buying it of course (I am a pinball whore), but so far it feels a little half-baked, almost like Pinball FX 1, and certainly a step back from the Williams Collection. Plus, as Cell noted above, Zen has done wonders for presentation, interface, and leaderboard integration, and Farsight Studios could take some pointers.
I don't really care so long as tables are good, and the kinks in UI will be fixed with time. At least guys here are fair and reasonable with their critique, unlike guys in the game's Facebook page. Some of those guys are already bitching how Farsight has betrayed them, how the game is total crap, complete rip-off, and you should not even consider buying it. Why it is that most people who frequent in videogame forums lack social intelligence, and act like seven years olds?
Oh, Internet. Sometimes, you are the worst.
I was actually having a bit of a back-and-forth with someone on my friends list last night re: Pinball Arcade. "Half-baked" was also used in his messages, along with a little regret at having 2 "repeat" tables, as he has both the Williams and Gottlieb collections (as do I). I'll concede that point. My issues above aren't enough to say "DO NOT BUY", but they are enough to say "try this first and see." I know that after playing this until the Avengers tables hit Pinball FX2, I'll be griping about the "messed up Zen physics." ;-)
That said: tables you hope to see in the near future on Pinball Arcade, and tables you would re-buy (assuming you have the disc collections)? I'd rebuy Whirlwind and Funhouse in a heartbeat. Hoping for adaptations of Earthshaker and (super wishful thinking) Twilight Zone.
Damn... have been playing "Theatre of Magic" quite a bit. It is sheer joy to play, and I can definetily see why it has gained such a rep in pinball circles. It plays so damn smoothly, and doesn't feel cheap like Black Hole tends. Like Celloriffic said, it has also pretty ridiculous score creep.... My current personal record is around 1.3 billion, and some guy has already got 9.3 billions on it.
That said: tables you hope to see in the near future on Pinball Arcade, and tables you would re-buy (assuming you have the disc collections)? I'd rebuy Whirlwind and Funhouse in a heartbeat. Hoping for adaptations of Earthshaker and (super wishful thinking) Twilight Zone.
Let see... I'm personally waiting Funhouse, Gorgar, Genie, El Dorado, and Taxi. I had both Gottlieb and Williams Pinball Classics for Wii,but I must admit that I found Gottlieb pretty boring. It is just that most machines featured there were from late 70's, mid 80's, and I personally prefer more crazier and flashier pinballs of 90's.
elkatas on
Hypnotically inclined.
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ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
Finally tried Pinball Arcade. I was blown away. No way I could spend money on it.
Seriously, a noticeable delay on the flippers? The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth. I think there's a number of XBLA titles right now which are much more entitled to having my money.
Cheers to those of you who are enjoying it though. For me, it has almost made me feel a need to seek out and play real pinball tables, just so I can test for myself how 'real to life' those physics are ...
Posts
I've got an SSD as boot and all my user directories/steam games on an HDD, so trying this out should be relatively painless for me. I'll probably do it in a few weeks post exams.
I'm still pretty "meh" on it because I have never found the Hulk all that interesting, but I will say, if nothing else, a green-focused table is actually a nice prospect.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Huh. Hulk table. Why does he have a Bionic Arm and sword? We need a Marvel vs Capcom table. And a Guilty Gear table. Shit, every fighting game needs a table to outdo Street Fighter 2.
World War Hulk looks damnably impressive, actually. The Avengers also has an appeal to me. Infinity Gauntlet seems kinda "meh", but I am largely judging that on the art style seeming lacking. Fear Itself looks neat, and I wonder how cool it would have been to have released this simultaneously with Thor to have that counterbalance unto itself. But in any case, this as we're getting into more obscure properties I am becoming more intrigued with these tables, since they give me more of a chance to explore the worlds I know nothing of.
Also, the Avengers multiball that has the different balls for the different heroes looks like an incredibly bad-ass effect.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
The current Pinball FX2 tournament is (you guessed it) Epic Quest!
4 days left or so, so get looting/slaying/eating skeletons for breakfast.
The movie is still fresh in peoples minds. Give it another twenty years.
re: Daredevil - So, am I crazy for thinking that if such a table were to ever exist, a "radar sense" mode would be awesome? Or even some sort of echolocation bonus mode, where the table goes black except for where the ball is impacting? Hopefully there would be some sort of ball save protection, a la Spider-Man and Mysterio mode, but it could be an interesting gimmick.
Yes, sounds fantastic. Now, try to get Zen to do that. =P
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
One Day Too I May Fall
I Will Enter Odin's Hall
I Will Die Sword In Hand
My Name And My Deeds Will Scorch The Land!
Dammit! I just checked back in this thread, saw your earlier post, and went right to my Xbox to download, only to discover it's not there!
RAGE!!!!!
MARS.
Bet you didn't see that coming, huh?
Anyway, Pinball Arcade tomorrow. For realsies, this time! I hope.
If they are smart they would have also cribbed Zen's entire multiplayer/community features for the PSN/XBLA releases.
Did you do that by beating the table? Because that's worth 100M points.
Otherwise, what possessed you to go back to that (now that I think about it, very themeatically appropriately) desolate table? ;P
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Nope. No beating. Just banging around, finishing some missions (over and over, Spider scanning...) and never finishing enough to trigger the final mission. As to why? I think I fired up Pinball FX2 and was like "I haven't played Mars for a while...".
I also topped my previous best on Iron Man, by about 7 million. Didn't play Rome, don't have Xtreme. :P
Oooh! OOOOOH!!! That ping from the TV means Pinball Arcade is done downloading!!! Umm... I'll be back. Later.
Kudos on the uppidy of Iron Man. I still very much enjoy that table, despite its semi-repetitive nature.
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
Otherwise, my initial impressions are that Pinball Arcade's gameplay feels as solid as Farsight Studios earlier offerings (i.e., Williams Pinball Collection), which is wonderful. However, the menu interface is overly cumbersome and could take inspiration from Zen.
Camera controls lock/unlock to flipper view with X, and change view angle with B. I can vouch for ball-following in Theater of Magic.
I have a lot more to say, but moments left on my lunch and a sandwich to eat. Leave you with this: 12th place on Ripley's! (for now)
Weird, I was trying that and I couldn't get the camera to follow the ball at all. I'll try it again and if it keeps happening I'll assume it's a glitch in the trial.
First off, I have to say that I've been looking forward to this release since the initial announcement back in Two-Aught-Eleven. Loved, loved, LOVED the Pinball Hall of Fame: Williams Collection disc - so much so that I bought it for the Wii, then the 360. So I'm a little discouraged that Farsight hasn't really played to the strengths that Zen has capitalized on.
Let's get that out of the way. All that awesome community-based stuff that Zen does is all but completely absent from Pinball Arcade, and I'm surprised how much I miss it. Leaderboards are great and all, but knowing that you're closing in on someone's score (no matter how many times I've choked because of it) thanks to in-game integration is superior. I'm hoping that Farsight will copy the (mostly) a la carte nature of Pinball FX2 so that if all you really want to play is Bride of Pin*Bot (for example), you can get away with grabbing the demo and just buying the individual tables you want.
That said, the biggest problem is the camera. 3 options with a smart-cam/flipper lock toggle is not enough, especially when the disc version had 5. I know. I went back and pulled out my copy earlier tonight to compare Tales of the Arabian Nightses. Even then, the 3 camera options are better than the ONE plunger cam. Ick.
Second biggest issue? Unless I'm completely daft, I can't find any way to save or suspend play mid-game. Awkward if, for example, I'm playing before work and have 2 extra balls lined up. So while leaving the Xbox idling for 4 1/2 hours until my lunch break was a solution today, that's not really viable.
Physics are vastly different between Farsight and Zen, so it takes some getting used to- or reacquainted with, in my case. Zen is zippier by far, but both versions of TotAN (disc and download) felt the same. A little floaty, actually, after so much time with Zen, but consistent. Mostly. I can speak from experience on both Theater of Magic and Ripley's Believe It or Not that I've had balls appear to glitch through flipper-tips during a desperate double-flipper whack. I also lost a ball on Ripley's during multiball. It's like the ball was eaten by the playfield - just up and vanished. I'm so glad they kept the "Call Attendant" feature!
As for the tables themselves, three out of four ain't bad. Theater of Magic is a joy to play, even as it suffers from mid-90's "score creep" with my best over a billion - so far. I didn't even think it was a particularly amazing run at the table! Tales of the Arabian Nights has some great mission progression, with a definite "final mission" like oh so many Zen tables. It's also apparently fixed from the on-disc version, although I haven't been able to trigger the Harem multiball on either version. But I'm not bitter. Ripley's is a table I'd only played once in real life, but already have several games under my belt digitally. I think I like it because it's a new experience for me. The table plays fine and has plenty of "throwback" vocal homages to other tables. (For the record, my top 12 placing has been OBLITERATED as of this writing.) Black Hole... It's not my cup of tea. I think I'd rather play Xtreme. Seriously.
All told, if you're accustomed to the Zen way of pinballing, this collection is going to take some getting used to. I'm not unhappy that I dropped MS Spacebucks on this right out of the gate, completely undemoed, but I've got big nostalgia for playing actual pinball table replicas. Give the demo a whirl - I'd say it's worth the points, but know what you're getting into. The differences in play are considerable.
In other news, Farsight Studios said on their facebook page that they are planning to have a PC/Steam release of the Pinball Arcade this summer.
So yay, PC pinball from both Zen and Farsight on Steam!
I will end up buying it of course (I am a pinball whore), but so far it feels a little half-baked, almost like Pinball FX 1, and certainly a step back from the Williams Collection. Plus, as Cell noted above, Zen has done wonders for presentation, interface, and leaderboard integration, and Farsight Studios could take some pointers.
Are you using home theater? At least using only TV sound mix seems to be in balance.
I don't really care so long as tables are good, and the kinks in UI will be fixed with time. At least guys here are fair and reasonable with their critique, unlike guys in the game's Facebook page. Some of those guys are already bitching how Farsight has betrayed them, how the game is total crap, complete rip-off, and you should not even consider buying it. Why it is that most people who frequent in videogame forums lack social intelligence, and act like seven years olds?
Nope, only TV speakers.
I try. It ended up being longer than I expected. That's the English degree attempting to re-manifest itself.
Oh, Internet. Sometimes, you are the worst.
I was actually having a bit of a back-and-forth with someone on my friends list last night re: Pinball Arcade. "Half-baked" was also used in his messages, along with a little regret at having 2 "repeat" tables, as he has both the Williams and Gottlieb collections (as do I). I'll concede that point. My issues above aren't enough to say "DO NOT BUY", but they are enough to say "try this first and see." I know that after playing this until the Avengers tables hit Pinball FX2, I'll be griping about the "messed up Zen physics." ;-)
That said: tables you hope to see in the near future on Pinball Arcade, and tables you would re-buy (assuming you have the disc collections)? I'd rebuy Whirlwind and Funhouse in a heartbeat. Hoping for adaptations of Earthshaker and (super wishful thinking) Twilight Zone.
Let see... I'm personally waiting Funhouse, Gorgar, Genie, El Dorado, and Taxi. I had both Gottlieb and Williams Pinball Classics for Wii,but I must admit that I found Gottlieb pretty boring. It is just that most machines featured there were from late 70's, mid 80's, and I personally prefer more crazier and flashier pinballs of 90's.
Seriously, a noticeable delay on the flippers? The whole thing left a very sour taste in my mouth. I think there's a number of XBLA titles right now which are much more entitled to having my money.
Cheers to those of you who are enjoying it though. For me, it has almost made me feel a need to seek out and play real pinball tables, just so I can test for myself how 'real to life' those physics are ...
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?