I'm Not Really Having "Bug" Problems - Anyone else in the same boat?

Let me start this off by saying if so many of you are finding bugs in TPA, they certainly must exist. I am absolutely not debating that, or questioning anyone on this forum.

If fact, when I first downloaded TPA, I had the dreaded "flipper lag" bug. But that problem seems to be fixed.

And I do see that a few of the tables have muted, washed-out looking colors. Yes, those tables could look better, but they play fine.

One bug I do notice (and I don't think anyone here has mentioned it) is sometimes during multiball (and it has happened on several of the tables), the game frame rate seems to drop and the graphics get a kind of horizontal "scan line" look to them. It usually last 5-15 seconds, and then the game goes back to normal.

Now, I probably don't play TPA as much as some (maybe 2-3 hours a week?). I mainly play BOPB, FH, TOTAN, TOM, MM, and most recently Elivira, Taxi, Monster Bash, but I've definitely spent time playing all the tables. (By the way, I own an actual Taxi pinball machine, so I do know how that table is supposed to play.)

Now to my point. Maybe I've just been lucky, or maybe in my old age (I'm 49, and have been playing video games since Atari Pong) I just don't notice, but I have not experienced any serious bugs while playing TPA. I experienced a ball fly off a table once, and a few times the ball seemed to jump through a flipper, but no bugs have made any table unplayable. In fact, I can play any of the tables in TPA and not have any frustrations with bugs.

Anyone else having a similar experience, or am I just the luckiest guy who owns this game?

PLAY MORE...you'll see.

You don't play enough to notice them

What Skill said.
Some of us play 2-3 hours a night.

I sometimes play TPA so much that I find it wasteful that I'm not beta testing for Farsight... or am I?

Sometimes I play so much that my soft tissue disease acts up so much that I can't raise my arms above my head. But its worth it!

Hey EGRyan beat me in the old farts contest. (45) , the flipper lag is a case by case BUG in PS3 , 85 people do not have the issue ,but 15 people do . Near as I can tell it's a TV issue with certain model TVs not liking the game or playing better on some other brand . TPA shows its ugly bugs when you try to get every goal achieved , because eventually something in the DLCs mostly ,(Funhouse and Circus Voltaire the worst culprits) will rear it's ugly head.

I notice the bugs but I don't find too many of them to be completely gamebreaking. Of course they can ruin a game in progress but don't affect a very high percentage of my games

Sinistar said:

Hey EGRyan beat me in the old farts contest. (45) , the flipper lag is a case by case BUG in PS3 , 85 people do not have the issue ,but 15 people do . Near as I can tell it's a TV issue with certain model TVs not liking the game or playing better on some other brand . TPA shows its ugly bugs when you try to get every goal achieved , because eventually something in the DLCs mostly ,(Funhouse and Circus Voltaire the worst culprits) will rear it's ugly head.

Click to expand...

If its the tv then why don't I have the problem in PHoF or Zen? I don't buy that its an issue with my tv. They seemed to have made the issue much better than it was so that says to me that it wasn't an issue with my tv. To me the lag is tolerable but I'd like it to be as lag free as PHoF and Zen are.

Sinistar said:

the flipper lag is a case by case BUG in PS3 , 85 people do not have the issue ,but 15 people do . Near as I can tell it's a TV issue with certain model TVs not liking the game or playing better on some other brand . TPA shows its ugly bugs when you try to get every goal achieved , because eventually something in the DLCs mostly ,(Funhouse and Circus Voltaire the worst culprits) will rear it's ugly head.

Click to expand...

A TV cannot differentiate between what game you are playing, thus if it were a TV/PS3 incompatibility issue then lag would feature in every game to varying degrees. Farsight have already acknowledged this is an issue with their game on these very forums and are working to find a solution to the problem.

As has been mentioned time and again, Zen shows no lag and the same can be said for other "twitch" type games (FPS, NFS, Burnout, Rhythm Action Titles) or titles where timing is critial. Singstar even lets you calibrate your game to compensate for any visual and audible lag to make sure the game's timing is correct for the input method.

All you have to do to appreciate the lag in PS3 TPA is play the Xbox version.

Input lag is a case by case issue. I think it depends on which PS3 model / revision you have. Some games didn't even start on the old fat 60 GB PS3. Farsight probably develops on new machines. Oh hey wait... this isn't the "input lag theory thread" ... but I don't mind.

EGRyan, I just wanted to let you know you're not alone. It could simply be a perception thing for me. First, I'm never going to come close to having a top 500 score so I will never know the frustration of losing a high score. When my games freeze or won't continue it simply does not matter to me beyond the desire for a perfectly coded game. Perfection is something I've yet to encounter and I have adjusted my expectations accordingly.

Probably the biggest attitude that contributes to my bug blindness is that above all, no matter what happens, I have access to a game that I missed out on for twenty years of my life. I can't tell you how many machines I passed up as a kid when on vacations with my family. 99% of my pinball memories are passing by a machine, never touching it. They're still good memories though, because of the wonderment and awe each machine would inspire, and that, coupled with the pure, ultra-concentrated, super-condensed ball of fun I had playing the few times I did are the foundations for the never waning ocean of joy and gratitude that protects me from not enjoying the game, a fate worse than death. I do however find it interesting that as far as gaming goes, I have experienced more emotion, and intense emotion at that, in a game of pinball than I have felt since I was a child capable of throwing controllers across the room. I think I've invented no less than seven profanities, one of which singed the hairs in my ears.

So, in summation, my love for this game blinds me to its faults. For instance, I came on here to report a bug on PS3 Harley Davidson, instead I'm in a thread typing about how much I love this game and don't notice bugs. Often, what other people call bugs I consider quirks of the game, like the dragon ramp in MM (although that one in particular I suspected was off because it defies the laws of physics).

You know, I'm not really sure why I posted here. I have experienced a few bugs. There are bugs in this game, I'm sure they happen independent of whether I notice them or not, and my game is just as likely to have them as anyone else's. More than anything I just wanted to offer a counter to the ridiculous belly-aching that often accompanies the bug reporting (which is completely legit, necessary, appreciated, and EXPECTED). I wish I was still young so I could admonish grown folk for behaving like they don't know any better but I'm nearly 30 now and can't ride that high horse anymore Its something that's in every game forum I've ever been to and it's absurd to me. It's absurd behavior, based on absurd expectations, formed by absurd reasoning, supported by the absurd fantasies dancing around in that head of theirs. Its completely unfair to people who may just want to vent some steam as well, as legitimate complaints or people who can be taken seriously are mixed in with tons of garbage not worth the time it took to notice it's existence. Well, its not like anything I ever point out is going to help these people, the first step to letting other people help you is admitting your perception is just one of billions and far more likely to be wrong than right. Or buggy, that would be a much better word.


Oh, and on game lag, I had Battlefield 3 lag and it was my tv, changed it to game mode. Best I could figure is that it was being changed from 1080p to 720p as that was the only setting changing. Of course, they made it as difficult as possible to know that's what was being done, for some stupid reason. Supposedly, they also admitted their game had lag or released a patch for it. All I can tell you is there have been many times I think things are related, or caused by, whatever the theory, ignoring my ignorance about the subject, only to be ashamed of myself and embarrassed that i actually believed whatever wrong thing it was I believed...cause its usually REALLY wrong lol. But thats me.


/Rant