Williams Pinball App Discussion

[shutyertrap]

Zen has released Williams Pinball to the App Store in iOS, and the Android version will be coming soon. Share your thoughts below!

[shutyertrap]

Here's some basics you'll want to know in getting started with this app...

1. You get to select one table right off the bat. Each table has 4 stars to unlock, this first one will automatically be set to 2 stars. Make sure you pick a table you enjoy because you are going to be playing it A LOT at first.

2. When you do a daily challenge, you will have 5 cards to flip. 3 are no cost, one is flipped by watching a video, and the last one costs 1 Z Coin. Watch the video, spend the coin! Though supposedly random, it's amazing how often table parts (which are used for unlocking those stars for each table) are hidden underneath those two.

3. Once you've earned some table parts, unlock those first stars! Select 'arcade play' from the main menu. If a table is ready for upgrade, it'll have a little animated arrow. Select the table and pay whatever the ticket cost is to upgrade. Don't worry, you'll earn tons of tickets early so no need conserving these. Zen Coins are the rare item, but it's still worth using those to flip cards as you'll earn more each time you level up in XP.

4. To play daily challenges that use a table other than the one you initially selected, you'll need to get them to 2 stars. The reset for challenges is frequent early and stretches longer as abilities are earned, so make sure you get the maximum amount of plays in each time frame so you can unlock those tables and have even more opportunities for challenges each cycle.

5. The tables start with regular Zen physics. Once you upgrade to 3 and 4 stars, you'll be able to choose the enhanced graphics (all the animations), tournament rules, and the new WMS physics.

Beyond that, it's grind city unless you fork over money to buy Zen Coins. In the beta it took me a little over 3 weeks, but our daily reset cycle was much more frequent and we had all 3 daily challenges available to us right from the start. What I'm saying is, don't expect to fully unlock all 7 tables in one week. It's gonna take some time, especially considering that final star takes 30 or 40 table parts (can't remember which).

[Citizen]

About how much real money does it cost to just 'buy' one table?

[shutyertrap]

About how much real money does it cost to just 'buy' one table?

250 Zen Coins per table for full unlock. You can by piles of coins for the following...

50 coins = $1
150 coins = $5
350 coins = $10
800 coins = $20
2250 coins = $50
5000 coins = $100

So $45 will get you all 7 tables with no grinding. (two 800 coin stacks and one 150 coin)

Yes, that is wildly more expensive than consoles or Steam. You're either going to be wildly offended by that I suspect if you are the sort of person who just like to buy outright a game rather than grind, or you'll be in my camp who are the sort that never pay money to mobile games and think it's great there's a way to earn everything over time. Having done this myself in the beta, I know it's possible and I'm doing it all over again now as the whole game got reset for us testers too.

[petewhitley]

Though I'd rather just be able to purchase the tables for a reasonable price outright, this is pretty fair and unique for a "free to play" game. I'll slog through the daily challenges for awhile and if I can unlock tables regularly (once a week?) it's a great deal. Starts out a little slow with only having one table unlocked and being unable to participate in all of the daily challenges.

[Kolchak357]

This model is the type I hate, move on from, and forget about your app.
I hate grinding games. By the time I earn a table, I will never want to play it again.
Charge me a few bucks and let me play when I’m in the mood to play.
TPA is looking better and better to me all the time.

[shutyertrap]

This model is the type I hate, move on from, and forget about your app.
I hate grinding games. By the time I earn a table, I will never want to play it again.
Charge me a few bucks and let me play when I’m in the mood to play.
TPA is looking better and better to me all the time.

Well essentially they are charging you $5 per table, which is the same as TPA. You just have to purchase the in-game currency first. So is it really any different? No, not if you are comparing to TPA. Compare it to other Zen pinball apps and yes, the price is significantly more.

[DA5ID]

This model is the type I hate, move on from, and forget about your app.
I hate grinding games. By the time I earn a table, I will never want to play it again.
Charge me a few bucks and let me play when I’m in the mood to play.
TPA is looking better and better to me all the time.

I was with you when I started the beta - I avoid all forms of microtransactions and was concerned that this was going to suck.
A while back I bought phone holder attachments for bikes so my son and I could bike around town catching pokemon (bonding experience only - i hate pokemon go). I ended up grinding forever to earn a backpack and when I realized I could have just paid a buck to get it and I stopped playing permanently.

This economy strategy was actually done well. You get access to the base tables (free play) after the second star which takes no time at all. the zenified version after 3 stars and full unlock at 4. I really started enjoying the daily challenges and earning table parts. On the PS4 version i only played the challenge that unlocked the rewind power up. On the mobile version the cosmetics that you also earn are pretty cool (balls, flippers, ball trails).

Get everything free (faster if you watch ads) or pay a bit more than average for instant gratification. I like grinding with purpose.

[Kolchak357]

Well essentially they are charging you $5 per table, which is the same as TPA. You just have to purchase the in-game currency first. So is it really any different? No, not if you are comparing to TPA. Compare it to other Zen pinball apps and yes, the price is significantly more.

Thought we paid $5 for a two packs for all of the early seasons on TPA. No heavy licenses going on here. These are 7 for $45. No?

[Gord Lacey]

If you want all 7 at once, yes. If you want to buy them one at a time you’re looking at more; just over $7 a table (buying 350 coins at a time), but it’d cost you $10 a shot.

$10 = 350 coins = 1 table and 100 coins
$10 = 350 coins = 1 table and 100 coins (200 total)
$10 = 350 coins = 1 table + 1 table and 50 coins leftover

So if you spend $10 you have 1 table. $20 you have 2, but spending $30 gives you 4 tables. On PS4 it’s $10 for 3 tables.

[Kolchak357]

Thanks for doing the math GL

[ScotchYeti]

What is hideous is that they came up with 2 currencies (Zen coins + table parts). Someone has studied human psychology to a invent such a scheme.

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Two currencies is pretty much the norm in a lot of Freemium games. Some have more....

[Kolchak357]

Hope they come up with a landscape version soon. Very hard to reach the nudge area with a tablet.
Would also like some much lower camera angles. I feel very tall with these camera choices.

[strells]

Not liking how touch nudge (my go to method on TPA) is working on my iPhone 8. The tutorial shows the nudge region from left edge to right edge above the flipper regions, but I only seem to get a nudge (not sure which direction) when I tap near the center of the region. Why no nudge at the bottom between the flipper regions? And why do the flipper regions seem to go so far up the sides? I miss the options available in TPA.

[MadScience2006]

Hope they come up with a landscape version soon. Very hard to reach the nudge area with a tablet.

I don't know that it will change...the reason being is that Zen Pinball has the exact same nudge zone area and scheme settings (if I recall correctly). I don't think those have changed in years. The current nudge zone is virtually impossible to use while playing in portrait mode and thumbs. How the hell can one reach up above the halfway point on the screen for the nudge zone with thumbs on the flippers at the lower section of the screen?

[MadScience2006]

Here's some basics you'll want to know in getting started with this app...

1. You get to select one table right off the bat. Each table has 4 stars to unlock, this first one will automatically be set to 2 stars. Make sure you pick a table you enjoy because you are going to be playing it A LOT at first.

snip

Thanks for the synopsis. This will definitely help those who are just starting up with the game. This whole thing was clear as mud and it took me awhile to figure it out on my own.

[MadScience2006]

This economy strategy was actually done well. You get access to the base tables (free play) after the second star which takes no time at all. the zenified version after 3 stars and full unlock at 4. I really started enjoying the daily challenges and earning table parts. On the PS4 version i only played the challenge that unlocked the rewind power up. On the mobile version the cosmetics that you also earn are pretty cool (balls, flippers, ball trails).

They have changed the frequency of the daily challenges.

It was a grind before, now it's even grindier.

[MadScience2006]

Why no nudge at the bottom between the flipper regions? And why do the flipper regions seem to go so far up the sides? I miss the options available in TPA.

Exactly my feeling as well.

[Kolchak357]

I do love the lighting, especially the inserts. And the mechanical sounds (flippers, pops, etc) are really really good.

[francis247uk]

What does it feel like compared to the consoles guys? And compared to mobile TPA?

[shutyertrap]

What does it feel like compared to the consoles guys? And compared to mobile TPA?

Feels and behaves like the Steam version. Compared to TPA app, looks way better. Physics of TPA will not be terribly more noticeably floaty until you unlock the Pro Physics, and then it’s night and day.

[abouttreefitty]

250 Zen Coins per table for full unlock. You can by piles of coins for the following...

50 coins = $1
150 coins = $5
350 coins = $10
800 coins = $20
2250 coins = $50
5000 coins = $100

So $45 will get you all 7 tables with no grinding. (two 800 coin stacks and one 150 coin)

Yes, that is wildly more expensive than consoles or Steam. You're either going to be wildly offended by that I suspect if you are the sort of person who just like to buy outright a game rather than grind, or you'll be in my camp who are the sort that never pay money to mobile games and think it's great there's a way to earn everything over time. Having done this myself in the beta, I know it's possible and I'm doing it all over again now as the whole game got reset for us testers too.

It’s pretty messed up how they’re tricking people with different values of coins. Your best bet is to buy at 50 coins for $1 or 5,000 coins for $100. All of the other denominations are ripoffs. Using that method, it’s $35 for all 7 tables. Just buy 5 packs of 50 coins per table.

50 coins = $1 = 2 cents a coin
150 coins = $5 = 3.3 cents a coin
350 coins = $10 = 2.8 cents a coin
800 coins = $20 = 2.5 cents a coin
2250 coins = $50 = 2.2 cents a coin
5000 coins = $100 = 2 cents a coin

[Pinballwiz45b]

Android has them at 25 coins/$1, making them $2 for 50. So we might be good on that front. Still though.

[abouttreefitty]

I could have sworn at one point in the iOS beta that the value per coin was constant across all amounts and then they changed it in the last 2 or 3 revisions.