What's Better, TPA or VP?

After just buying all three TPA Seasons, I think I might have wasted my money. VP now is making better, more accurate tables than TPA (especially the first season). The new TZ and MM play close to the IRL versions near me, and a lot of other tables play close to the real thing.

For pick-up-and-play, TPA hands-down. For tinkering, VP is way better because there's a whole community of people developing both the engine and the tables for it.

Tpa is better. Mainly better ball physics but also better looks. Taken by the looks even Future Pinball is better.

I like both, but TPA is better. TPA is much more consistent for making the shots. On most VP tables, the shots wont go where they logically should go off the flipper. Some shots are impossible to make. Anything not off the tip of the flipper seems to angle in an odd direction. Maybe the new physics update fixes some of this? I don't know.

TPA also wins because I can play on my mobile, in bed, while watching sports highlights.

I've been playing the various versions of Visual Pinball since it came out. Love it; it's not perfect, but I've always had a great time with it. But, when a table which I have on VP is released on TPA, I have a tough time going back to the VP version. Seems like an exciting time in VP, though, with the gorgeous lighting, the update to directx 9 and VP 10 coming out.

TPA has much better graphics and physics, on the other hand VP has an unbeatable quantity of tables and has near complete cabinet features. As a Pincab owner I've stopped giving my money to Farsight and will instead donate it to active creators in VP until Farsight wakes up

I´ve only recently started playing VP, and the quality between the different recreations varies wildly.

For instance, the VP9 version of Indiana Jones feels really weird, like the physics are tweaked completely wrong. On the other hand, Addams Family (by a guy called "melon") feels incredibly authentic (TAF is one of the few tables I played in real life). It also uses fantastic mechanical sound effects.

The quality between the TPA tables is much more consistent, though there are still some pretty significant differences in how they are tweaked. Cirqus Voltaire on Android still feels floaty and unsatisfying, Monster Bash is even worse, while Attack From Mars is one of my favourite tables because it just plays so fast and in such a consistent manner.

Each VP table also has its own camera position and mechanical sound effects, which can add or distract from the original tables qualities.
Being able to mess with the camera settings has made the VP9 version of Rollercoaster Tycoon playable for me, as in this picture:

Click to expand...

In both cases, I simply changed the camera to a more top-down view in order to better see the upper playfield and the upper flipper. On other tables like Roadshow, I simply zoomed in a lot more, cutting off the (for me) unwanted cabinet part below the flippers in order to see more of the actual playfield (in landscape mode).

And if I understood more of the actual physics, I could even modify all the settings on each table myself, making them faster, harder, easier, bouncier etc, but I don´t have any of the real tables nearby, so I would have no idea how realistic that would be.

It´s apples and oranges. At the moment, I prefer VP, but that´s because I get to play TAF, Roadshow, Guns´n´Roses and No Fear.

Oh, and yeah, VP is pretty confusing to get it actually running, I had to very closely follow the instructions after a few failed attemps of thinking "ah, who needs the manual, I´m not a baby anymore" Understanding the difference between the ROM and the table data took me a while - even though I´m used to rather user-unfriendly software like early MAME versions.

(Please, please, Farsight, implement some heavier flipper sounds. The ones we have right now are outright pathetic and easily the single biggest gripe I have with TPA compared to VP.)

Quality of VP recreations is all over the place. And i am often not happy with recreations that many people say are awesome.

and yes when i try something that oughta work (because i can make the shot in real life) and it doesn't work at all ever in VP it tends to make me ragequit the table forever.

When I made a VP table, i paid special attention to making sure that all shots that are supposed to be possible are actually doable.

I love both. Each have their quirks and each have their advantages and disadvantages. I'm thankful for both. I run both I give both my money.

Love them all though I must say the latest physics mod for VP may have elevated VP over TPA. Still, this doesn't mean TPA is now garbage, overall its still a great product.

That's interesting changing the camera angle on the Desktop versions of the tables. I didn't know you could do that. I hated all the default camera views on the desktop tables so switched to the full screen tables once I got a monitor that rotates. Those two camera angles you modified for the desktop tables looks like an improvement - although the toys look a bit squashed. But would rather have the better camera angle.

Richard B said:

After just buying all three TPA Seasons, I think I might have wasted my money. VP now is making better, more accurate tables than TPA (especially the first season). The new TZ and MM play close to the IRL versions near me, and a lot of other tables play close to the real thing.

Click to expand...

Not having to fight anyone for time on the TV for my Pinball fix is the reason why TPA Android will *always* win over VP for me.

until you get an occulus rift for xmas then all bets are of morgs, one can dream

Crawley said:

That's interesting changing the camera angle on the Desktop versions of the tables. I didn't know you could do that. I hated all the default camera views on the desktop tables so switched to the full screen tables once I got a monitor that rotates. Those two camera angles you modified for the desktop tables looks like an improvement - although the toys look a bit squashed. But would rather have the better camera angle.

Click to expand...

That option is hidden rather well in the "backdrop" panel:



And you´re right, some of the static elements are indeed squashed. On other tables like Simpsons Pinball Party it messes up everything, the animated Homer head for instance stays in its original place, and I´m not experienced enough to fix that myself. It´s definitely not something I´d call an "official feature", but rather a simple hack.

VP obviously really shines in cabinet view, I even have a spare screen that I can leave permanently rotated, but not enough desk space yet

I like them both as well.
Have all 3 seasons of tpa.
With the implementation of 3d meshes in vp and dx9 support I think they will quickly become more even in the looks category.
The toys on monster bash for instance, the vp version well outshines tpa version.

Both versions don't really play quite like the real table, but the mod of the vp version for the physics build plays very close to the real table, although I haven't released it yet on the forum

I enjoy PBA, for me at pinball shows VP just seems too flat and I just can't get into it.

Vp is better on the cab and TPA better on IPAD. They both have strengths and lows but to be honest the pendle is swinging towards VP at the moment for me. Love them both!

Gotta love the variety of pins on VP. Would take a lifetime for TPA to catch up. And they don't ignore EMs.

I am crossing my fingers,because I'm getting my PC upgraded today. Hopefully I'll be able to use VP properly afterwards...

Nightwing said:

I am crossing my fingers,because I'm getting my PC upgraded today. Hopefully I'll be able to use VP properly afterwards...

Click to expand...

If it is Windows 8 you are going for I have no problems whatsoever running VP.