Playing on the Big Screen

I use my nexus 10 to pre-view tables before they come out on the PS3. I don't really get into playing on the small screen and I am really used to a controller and not the screen controls. The other day I decided to try the HDMI out on the nexus and play on my 55" LCD. It worked great other than a couple of handshake issues. Of course I still had my limited ability to use the touch screen.

I haven't really been following TPA on Android since I only use it as a pre-view. Is FS planning on adding controller support and button mapping?

brakel said:

I haven't really been following TPA on Android since I only use it as a pre-view. Is FS planning on adding controller support and button mapping?

Click to expand...

Yes.

brakel said:

I use my nexus 10 to pre-view tables before they come out on the PS3. I don't really get into playing on the small screen and I am really used to a controller and not the screen controls. The other day I decided to try the HDMI out on the nexus and play on my 55" LCD. It worked great other than a couple of handshake issues. Of course I still had my limited ability to use the touch screen.

I haven't really been following TPA on Android since I only use it as a pre-view. Is FS planning on adding controller support and button mapping?

Click to expand...

Hopefully in the next release, Brakel. You've come onto Android at just the right time.

Thanks. I thought it looked decent also. I could see playing seriously on this platform once I can use a physical controller.

Just curious - can you tell me what the advantage of a playing with a controller? I have a N10 and "shake" nudge + touch screen for the flippers seems like you could not get a more "real" pinball experience.

I wish there was a "sensitivity" setting for shake nudge, and that the entire half of the screen would function for each flipper button (rather than just the lower half) but otherwise I can't see how it would be improved with a controller - so I would like to know what you like about using a controller specifically.

etamme said:

Just curious - can you tell me what the advantage of a playing with a controller? I have a N10 and "shake" nudge + touch screen for the flippers seems like you could not get a more "real" pinball experience.

I wish there was a "sensitivity" setting for shake nudge, and that the entire half of the screen would function for each flipper button (rather than just the lower half) but otherwise I can't see how it would be improved with a controller - so I would like to know what you like about using a controller specifically.

Click to expand...

Real buttons!
Sixaxis App & PS3 controller.

etamme said:

Just curious - can you tell me what the advantage of a playing with a controller? I have a N10 and "shake" nudge + touch screen for the flippers seems like you could not get a more "real" pinball experience.

Click to expand...

Yes, real buttons. Knowing that your fingers are on the buttons at all times. Being able to nudge while keeping your fingers on the flipper buttons is important to me. On a real life table I rarely take my fingers off the flipper buttons. When I nudge with my hands on a real table I do it right over the flipper buttons. Basically I'm resting my palms on the top edge of the table and I tap the sides with those palms. My fingers don't really have to leave the flippers on a real table except to plunge. I have a hard time holding my 10" tablet and moving my thumbs up to the nudge area and back down fast. Nearly impossible for me if I need to do a quick right/left or left/right nudge. Then there's the fact that I'm using my thumbs to flip the flippers instead of my middle fingers. My neural pathways recognize TPA as pinball. I look at a table and my middle fingers start to want to twitch. That's 40 years of brain to muscle communication that is not easy to overcome. Using my thumbs to play pinball reminds me of when I broke my right wrist and I had to write left handed for 8 weeks. Never got used to that!

Baron Rubik said:

Real buttons!
Sixaxis App & PS3 controller.

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Quoted for emphasis. Getting Sixaxis and a PS3 controller was such a huge addition to playing on my tablet. I'm barely even mad about the status of Xbox 360 and PC releases!

SpiffyRob said:

Quoted for emphasis. Getting Sixaxis and a PS3 controller was such a huge addition to playing on my tablet. I'm barely even mad about the status of Xbox 360 and PC releases!

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It's true, I prefer my N7 with ps3 controller to my xbox for TPA, even if xbox had regular dlc.

Does the ps3 controller have a IMU to sense "nudge" through shake? Since I nudge with shake already, I dont have to move my thumbs from the flipper part of the screen.

etamme said:

Does the ps3 controller have a IMU to sense "nudge" through shake? Since I nudge with shake already, I dont have to move my thumbs from the flipper part of the screen.

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No, not through 'Sixaxis' - nudge is currently only mappable through buttons.
I use the D-pad.

etamme said:

Does the ps3 controller have a IMU to sense "nudge" through shake? Since I nudge with shake already, I dont have to move my thumbs from the flipper part of the screen.

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When I use my PS3 controller on my PS3 I use my index fingers for the flipper buttons and my left thumb for nudging. I wouldn't want to use the controller movement for nudging since I move my controller while playing.

etamme said:

Does the ps3 controller have a IMU to sense "nudge" through shake? Since I nudge with shake already, I dont have to move my thumbs from the flipper part of the screen.

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If you like shake nudging, then holding the tablet is the only option.

personally, I'll never use a controller on the Android version since i like shake nudging and I don't have to move my hands, except to plunge.

The only think i think i could wish for (though it would block a small portion of the screen) is some sort of mechanism that clamps onto each side of the tablet and puts an actual leaf switch type button connected to the end of a capacitative stylus that makes contact with the bottom corner of the screen when the button is pressed to flip. This way you can shake to nudge and have the tactile feel of buttons.

Baron Rubik said:

No, not through 'Sixaxis' - nudge is currently only mappable through buttons.
I use the D-pad.

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That is how I do it with visual pinball, pro pinball, and any other pin games on my PC. I'm patiently waiting for PA to add controller support because I'm not going to root my tablet.

Anyone tested Miracast? (Wireless stream Andriod screen to TV)
Miracast support is included in Android 4.2 devices.
Some new TV have Miracast support or a Miracast receiver (like Gamestick) could be plugged in to HDMI.

utblick said:

Anyone tested Miracast? (Wireless stream Andriod screen to TV)
Miracast support is included in Android 4.2 devices.
Some new TV have Miracast support or a Miracast receiver (like Gamestick) could be plugged in to HDMI.

Click to expand...

I thought Miracast would be the solution to those apps like Pinball Arcade that would look great on a HD display. Especially for those devices that don't have HDMI out (like the N7).

However I did some research on the standard, and it isn't looking that great (yet). Each app needs to provide a method for Miracast to send the vision to the screen. And it is more suited to video playback and photo viewing. Not gaming (which typically runs at 60fps).