Official Williams Volume 2 news

I just played the new "Attack From Mars" for about a half-hour on my VPCabs Vertigo.
Just using "Classic Single Player" mode the new physics kicked my butt!!

And the new animations are *great*. I especially like the rockets at the bottom right spinning around and pointing to the saucers as each ball is locked for multiball.
The actual multiball is, of course, fantastic as the rockets launch!!

Only disappointment so far: The "Martians Attack" mode is pretty standard. I was actually expecting more animations for the Martians in the "Remastered" mode. (The camera does zoom in on them briefly when the mode is activated.)

Other than that minor complaint everything's great!
(Unfortunately, I have to go to work now ... *sigh*)

Maybe I've got a bad day for pinball, but is AFM supposed to be such a drainfest?
Rest of the pack doesn't really bother me, because PZ was always a ****ty and annoying table for me and BR was only better by a slight margin for my taste.

Same here, I was draining like crazy. Oh well, not like its eating my quarters...(or SPA VR "gold")

What, nobody comments about the ability to turn on and off 'family mode'?

For those wondering how to, just go into options, select the interface tab, scroll down. There you can also turn on and off the 'action cam', the match DMD screen, and more.

And for those wondering, yes Fish Tales is even fully restored.

No videos out yet?

Oh don't worry. I'll be streaming this pack soon. Give me about an hour and a half.

Zappa said:

Same here, I was draining like crazy. Oh well, not like its eating my quarters...(or SPA VR "gold")

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I was draining with regularity as well. In the 30 minutes I was able to play I started hitting the nudge buttons on my cab just about every time I hit the saucer. (And I also adjusted the ball speed off the flipper down as well.) And I haven’t even tried “Arcade” or “Tournament” mode yet!

shutyertrap said:

What, nobody comments about the ability to turn on and off 'family mode'?

For those wondering how to, just go into options, select the interface tab, scroll down. There you can also turn on and off the 'action cam', the match DMD screen, and more.

And for those wondering, yes Fish Tales is even fully restored.

Click to expand...

Just for you, "Cool! I can turn family mode on and off!"

Yay for the return of the fisherman's stogie and pelican's pipe.

The switch for the action cam is very welcome. I had it on when I first tried to shoot the cannon on BR, and the shift in viewpoint really threw me. Probably would have shot myself in the foot if it was possible.
I can't find (or recognize) the switch for turning off the match DMD. Can you give me a hint?

I like what Zen has done with all three tables and they're kicking my butt 6 ways from Sunday. The DJ from PZ is mighty scary looking though, either as a talking head or an animated rocket jockey. Those teeth!!!

Played all of the tables in this pack. Obviously AFM will most people's favorite but I must say, I'm really enjoying Black Rose.

Party Zone - Well I got to say, It's just as meh as it was in TPA. Never got into it. And I don't think I can eagerly await Dr. Dude as I think it would be on the list of tables coming to PBFX3.


Black Rose - I've always enjoyed this table in TPA and was IMO one the better tables in season 2 (or was it 3?) at any rate, the cannon is really neat and shooting that still takes some timing. I'm curious though once players get the timing, might it be too easy to get high scores on this table. This is by far the better version and a bit more difficult than it's TPA counter part IMO.

AFM - I'm glad that shooting the center targets can lead to drains SDTM. It makes the table much more difficult. I found the TPA version much easier than it should have been.

Toggling the enhanced version is really neat. It's subtle enough where it isn't distracting and I don't think I will play any Williams/bally table released without the enhancement.

I think there are some audio issues in AFM. When I lock a ball where on the lane to the left of the center targets, the sound seems static and then gets back to normal.

Anyway. A good pack and looking forward to more play time as well as any news of Volume 3 coming our way lol.

suffocater said:

Maybe I've got a bad day for pinball, but is AFM supposed to be such a drainfest?

Click to expand...

The real thing can be very brutal. Last time I played the AFM at my local arcade a few weeks ago, I pumped more than a couple bucks into it within a very short span. Needless to say, it kicked my ass!

I`m one who never says much about physics , but have we got something special . the draining , the bounces , I`m bloody really happy , it feels like you are playing a real table . at the moment my scores are what you would call poo poo haha !!!

AFM is fun but brutal and is going to take a lot of hard work from me to get to the wizard mode and the achievement. I find hitting the right ramp and then also shooting at the saucer from the left flipper very risky. You can avoid shooting at the saucer with the left flipper but eventually you'll have to go for the right ramp if you want to get to the wizard mode. The left orbit is also quite tricky for me to hit.

BR I find it much easier to keep the ball alive and the table looks amazing especially with the enhancements on. It doesn't feel like there is too much going on, on the table so I doubt that it will become one of my favourites in the long run.

PZ is in fact not much of a party zone if you get my drift There is really not a lot happening on the table and it quickly start to feel a bit repetitive. It will definitely not be one of my favourites and if I wasn't so OCD about owning all the tables, I probably would not have bought it.

My ranking for the tables released so far from highest to lowest is: MM, GW, AFM, BR, JY, FT, PZ.

Played a few times on each Volume 2 table now and I have to say thank you Zen! Nice job on all three.

Some initial feedback:
1. Nice to see the option to toggle action cams
2. And great that we now have Classic or Family modes
3. Lighting effects on AFM look good.
4. Glad the texture hole in the JY plunger lane got fixed.


Audio:
Table music volume could do with some standardisation. I have the music volume set to maximum but most Bally/Williams table music is still very low compared to other table audio levels, which I've left at default.
That is except for Party Zone, which seems much louder (better) and more in line with the UI music volume and original Zen tables.
Plus, there are still some syncing issues.

Graphics:
Look great but I still think Fish Tales looks by far the best of all, with all round better lighting and contrast levels.

Physics:
Am I seeing some slight vertical bounces on AFM? Well cool if so

Thank you!

Cloda said:

My ranking for the tables released so far from highest to lowest is: MM, GW, AFM, BR, JY, FT, PZ.

Click to expand...

I have to admit, I didn't know what GW was until a went down the list. It's The Getaway 2. At any rate. I guess I should do a ranking as well. even though I've only played the new pack for less than an hour.

MM, AFM, BR, TG2, FT, JY, PZ.

I like the fact that AFM is brutal. I hope they don't change too much to cater to those complaining. They should just go with Zen physics in Single player and I shall deal with Classic Single player for the challenge.

Pinballfan69 said:

Black Rose - I've always enjoyed this table in TPA and was IMO one the better tables in season 2 (or was it 3?) at any rate, the cannon is really neat and shooting that still takes some timing. I'm curious though once players get the timing, might it be too easy to get high scores on this table. This is by far the better version and a bit more difficult than it's TPA counter part IMO.

I think there are some audio issues in AFM. When I lock a ball where on the lane to the left of the center targets, the sound seems static and then gets back to normal.

Click to expand...

In the beta initially, hitting the broadside at the rear of the table was near impossible in Arcade mode. We asked Zen to help a bit on that one, and now I feel you can dial the shot in and hit it without it just being the gimme it is in Zen mode or especially in TPA.

As for that static sound, it's supposed to be the sound of the missile launchers turning or locking into place or something. I too questioned it at first, but then it clicked what they were going for. If you turn off the enhancement, that sound doesn't play, same with sounds they added to BR and PZ.

Pinballfan69 said:

I have to admit, I didn't know what GW was until a went down the list. It's The Getaway 2. At any rate. I guess I should do a ranking as well. even though I've only played the new pack for less than an hour.

MM, AFM, BR, TG2, FT, JY, PZ.

Click to expand...

Actually the common way of listing it is HSII as the official title of the game is High Speed II: The Getaway

How's the music in PZ? Did they get the rights to Purple Haze?

Striker said:

How's the music in PZ? Did they get the rights to Purple Haze?

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Of course not. Nobody gets his music anymore.

It's a small thing, but my favorite enhancement might just be the animated silhouettes on the ship in Black Rose. Very cool. Great 2nd pack, still not feeling Party Zone, but the tables play great so far. Bring on pack 3!

They really improved the physics on AFM quite a bit in the beta. It was initially really hard to hit the center shots, but they nailed it after the first build and now you can rifle away...at your own risk of course! Now it feels as it should and your heart always skips a beat when you dare to fire one up the middle. The physics overall are some of the most exhilarating I’ve played in all of digital pinball. I was working up a sweat playing this baby today and loving every minute of it. Job well done, Zen!

edit: I’m talking about Classic physics, of course.

shutyertrap said:

What, nobody comments about the ability to turn on and off 'family mode'?

For those wondering how to, just go into options, select the interface tab, scroll down. There you can also turn on and off the 'action cam', the match DMD screen, and more.

And for those wondering, yes Fish Tales is even fully restored.

Click to expand...

Whaaaat? Sorry. I just got used to waiting at least a year for any changes to occur, if ever.