Fish Tales - First Impression

superballs

Active member
Apr 12, 2012
2,653
2
Ok, figured I would start this one.

Where to start. Ok this is a fast table.
Graphically, well it's kind of a mixed bag, the playfield and backbox look damn good, but the plastics look like crap. Otherwise nice geometry. I checked things out in the exploration mode and I'm pretty impressed, it is a nice looking table overall despite the gripe of the plastics.

A couple other issues I'll get out of the way. If you drain right after starting any modes it takes forever to register the drain (monster score and feeding frenzy did this to me). For monster score, it will count down to 5mil and finish then register and for feeding frenzy it sat there for about 8 seconds. Not sure if this is a ROM issue or not.

Ok, the good. This table plays fast, furious and will punish errant shots. The outlanes can be pretty hungry and once they lock their sights on the ball, say goodbye.

I'm not sure about how they are IRL but the two center ramps (Starboard and Aft) are pretty easy to get the ball around, but not always, and you can get the U-turn if it doesn't go all the way up, seems pretty realistic, but this is based only on my "pinball physics sense" since I've never played the actual table....in fact, I've never played this in VP either so this really is my first impression.

The tilt bob on this (Steam version on 360 pad) is nearly non-existant, and nudging can be performed quite liberally.

There are a lot of times i've carelessly shot the ball toward the captive ball (which is often suicide) only to watch the ball bounce around so fast that I lose track of it and just start flailing the flippers hoping that i'll slow it down before it appears on a dead flipper and goes DTM or ends up on the outlanes.

I've not figured out this table yet but I've cleared the standard goal. I find the shots to be not quite easy but not too hard...this is actually really nice, as every shot is missable, and I didn't feel like any ramps/loops had the vacuum effect.

Multiball is bonkers. This is the effect of really having little room in the center playfield, not to the point of feeling claustrophobic, but little enough that errant shots are hard to react to. Games have the potential to last a bit, but I've found them to be mostly a reasonable length. So far, this is the only DMD table that has almost as much of a "just one more game" effect that Big Shot had (still has really) on me, games don't feel long, but I'm sure I just need to learn it some more to get some epic marathon games.

I've not read the instructions yet but I have the impression that there is just enough to do on this table, It's still all about scoring points, first and foremost, which gives it a very old school appeal. This table is a must try for anyone who likes the early SS and even EM crowd. Despite being a fair bit more complex than this era, it really captures that pure pinball feeling.

I'm sure there's plenty more to be said about this table and as a complete newcomer to it, I must say that I'm certainly glad to have been introduced to it and it should be a welcome addition to nearly every player with any preference to tables style, I can't stress enough that it really seems to be a great balance of new(er) 90's style and earlier simpler SS tables. Most of all, it's DAMN FUN.

Just because I feel like ending this on an extremely pretentious note...if you don't like Fish Tales, you don't like pinball.

Post your thoughts below.
 

CycOd3liC

New member
Feb 28, 2012
404
0
It feels "off" to me. The 2 center ramps seem harder to hit than my experiences with the real table. That being said, I can't remember if the last table I played had the lightning flippers or not (if that even makes much of a difference). The outlanes are BRUTAL on TPA (not nearly as bad as my experiences with the real thing). The center captive ball seems harder to hit as well (I hit it way too much on the real thing). I like the flow of the table, some good shots, lots of humor and just so much fun to play. This is easily one of my favorite tables of all time (and one that I don't completely SUCK at).

The ROM doesn't seem right in places. Seems a bit laggy when the ball drains, with some missing sounds when it counts up the bonuses.

That being said, I LOVE THIS TABLE! And with JunkYard around the corner, I'm a happy camper. Consider season pass bought on Steam as soon as I post this.
 

superballs

Active member
Apr 12, 2012
2,653
2
It feels "off" to me. The 2 center ramps seem harder to hit than my experiences with the real table. That being said, I can't remember if the last table I played had the lightning flippers or not (if that even makes much of a difference). The outlanes are BRUTAL on TPA (not nearly as bad as my experiences with the real thing). The center captive ball seems harder to hit as well (I hit it way too much on the real thing). I like the flow of the table, some good shots, lots of humor and just so much fun to play. This is easily one of my favorite tables of all time (and one that I don't completely SUCK at).

The ROM doesn't seem right in places. Seems a bit laggy when the ball drains, with some missing sounds when it counts up the bonuses.

That being said, I LOVE THIS TABLE! And with JunkYard around the corner, I'm a happy camper. Consider season pass bought on Steam as soon as I post this.

On topic of the captive ball...have you hit it with what seems like a good solid hit just to see it move about a centimeter and do nothing?
 
N

netizen

Guest
Shots off the captive ball seems to come back with far more force and speed than they should.
 

CycOd3liC

New member
Feb 28, 2012
404
0
On topic of the captive ball...have you hit it with what seems like a good solid hit just to see it move about a centimeter and do nothing?

I've hit it a bunch for it not to move at all or very little. Is it just me, or is the captive ball too small? Maybe it's recessed too much as well. On the real thing I can hit it at will. The captive ball on the real thing is suicide compared to TPA as well. I can almost always recover on the TPA version.

The part that's killing me is I can't do the fastcast to save my life on TPA. I can do it at least 5x a game on the real thing.
 

Replacement

New member
Oct 27, 2013
8
0
Ok, figured I would start this one.
Ok, the good. This table plays fast, furious and will punish errant shots. The outlanes can be pretty hungry and once they lock their sights on the ball, say goodbye.

I'm not sure about how they are IRL but the two center ramps (Starboard and Aft) are pretty easy to get the ball around, but not always, and you can get the U-turn if it doesn't go all the way up, seems pretty realistic [...]
I used to know the real table pretty well as long as the real one is one of my favourite tables ever and I can say: Yes, It definitely is... realistic. I have found that, compared to some other tables released before, in fact the ball has a good sense of weightness, no vacuum effect on the ramps as you said before. And that applies very well to the possibility of U-Turns in case you don't hit the center ramps with the right speed, power and precision. I see that now there are some users who complain about the great difficulty of this table, but the real one was already an hard table, and in my opinion for once we should be just happy that the challenge is kept as it was intended on the real one. And if there is some unbalance towards an even more hard table I am happy because there is some challenge (and now we have infinite "coins" to improve ourselves), great challenge, and this is totally stimulating. In the past I have read of users complaining about the tables released before about being made too easy compared to the real ones. Now we have a tough one and we are not happy in the same way. How is that possible? Anyway, I have found totally playable this one, and even far (really far) from being a pinball wizard I can achieve even 7-8 center ramps in sequence, so I don't think that we have an impossible one.
 

Mick Morry

New member
Jun 9, 2013
394
0
I think they pretty much nailed it. I have to buy it now. My beta version disappeared a few days back and I am already missing it. :) I am waiting until next month for another table to get released. I did enjoy playing Fish Tales a heck of a lot in the beta though. It sure is a beautiful table. I have only played Fish Tales a few times on a real table, but it seemed spot on to me from what I remember of the real table.
 

curtisrollo

New member
Jun 9, 2013
4
0
Dudes! This table is cruel. I am having a hard time with this table, and restarting all the time because the ball drains within the first 10 seconds. Why is this table so hard???? I remember playing the real table when I was in college, and I do not remember it being this punishing. Is there something i"m missing? I can't hit lanes consistently, the ball drains through the side-lanes all the time, and the ball lock is near impossible to hit. It is maddening!

Fun, though.
 

CycOd3liC

New member
Feb 28, 2012
404
0
Dudes! This table is cruel. I am having a hard time with this table, and restarting all the time because the ball drains within the first 10 seconds. Why is this table so hard???? I remember playing the real table when I was in college, and I do not remember it being this punishing. Is there something i"m missing? I can't hit lanes consistently, the ball drains through the side-lanes all the time, and the ball lock is near impossible to hit. It is maddening!

Fun, though.

The real table is 10x easier for me in most areas. I can hit the center ramps, captive ball and the locks at will. On this version of TPA, it's inconsistent for me. I have yet to hit the fastcast shot on the steam version (I hit it ONCE on the android version, and that was a complete fluke on a strange bounce off the left flipper which bounced off the right slingshot back onto the left flipper and i shot it into the lock). I don't think I ever did that on a real machine that I can remember. Hitting the captive ball head on is suicide on the real machine whereas I can recover 99% of the time on TPA. The captive ball seems small and recessed a little too much. The outlanes are brutal on TPA, as you said, MADDENING! I can hit the ball locks with some regularity, but it's not a clear shot in contrast to the real thing.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy what it is so far, but it just needs some fine tuning and it'll be fantastic.
 

wolfson

New member
May 24, 2013
3,887
0
hi , since yesterday I`ve been having the time of my life on this table !!! I never played this table in real life.if this is the standard for season 3 then bring it on !!!:cool:
 

CycOd3liC

New member
Feb 28, 2012
404
0
hi , since yesterday I`ve been having the time of my life on this table !!! I never played this table in real life.if this is the standard for season 3 then bring it on !!!:cool:

Glad you like it, this is such a great table. I hope someday you can experience the real thing, it's a BLAST.

There's some good ones coming up this season. JunkYard is another one of my favorites.
 

Kaoru

New member
Mar 29, 2012
230
0
The real table is 10x easier for me in most areas. I can hit the center ramps, captive ball and the locks at will. On this version of TPA, it's inconsistent for me.
I've never played the real table, but there's definitely something odd about the shots. It's like I never can never accurately hit what I'm aiming for and the ball lands in areas I never intended it to go to. It's like the ball still keeps rolling or slipping for a bit on the flipper before it actually shoots up, it's very weird.

The multiball lock also seems pretty reluctant. There's a one in three chance that the ball comes rolling back out of it.

But yeah, minus those issues it's a fun table. (I don't quite get the UBERLOVE it seems to be receiving here, though. :confused: I mean... it's good, but I personally wouldn't place it in the top third of tables we had so far. But then again "Black Hole" and "Gorgar" are among my favourites, tables which hardly anyone seems to actually like, so... ahwell. ;) )
 

pseudokings

New member
Jun 10, 2012
362
0
Haven't played the TPA version yet, but I saw some screens, is the boat ramp plastic really that yellow color? Because I can tell you for sure that it is not on the real table.
 

JPelter

New member
Jun 11, 2012
652
0
Amazing table. I love how it plays and the music/sounds are great. It has some serious scoring imbalances but then again there are so few tables that don't I'm going to just overlook that. Smashing start to season 3.
 

Deltaechoe

New member
Aug 30, 2013
228
0
I've never played the real table, but there's definitely something odd about the shots. It's like I never can never accurately hit what I'm aiming for and the ball lands in areas I never intended it to go to. It's like the ball still keeps rolling or slipping for a bit on the flipper before it actually shoots up, it's very weird.

The multiball lock also seems pretty reluctant. There's a one in three chance that the ball comes rolling back out of it.

But yeah, minus those issues it's a fun table. (I don't quite get the UBERLOVE it seems to be receiving here, though. :confused: I mean... it's good, but I personally wouldn't place it in the top third of tables we had so far. But then again "Black Hole" and "Gorgar" are among my favourites, tables which hardly anyone seems to actually like, so... ahwell. ;) )

I agree, many of my hard shots that even barely deviate from a perfect entry end up getting rejected by the lock
 

xAzatothx

New member
Sep 22, 2012
824
0
people moan that TPA is too easy. Now moaning its too hard *GRIN*

I like FishTales. Frustrating but super addictive and no hour long games. Some nice sound effects on this table which I've not noticed before. (ball sounds).

...............Gone Fishing.......... leave a message.
 

DrainoBraino

New member
Apr 11, 2012
634
0
FS did a great job on this table. I am having issues with the captive ball, as others have mentioned. When you hit it, it flies up and down unnaturally fast.
 

DanBradford

New member
Apr 5, 2013
648
0
241M got me 28 points so I agree with the estimate above of 8.6 B for the 1000 points. Too rich for my blood, I'd be happy with one bil. Ecstatic in fact.

Gonna have to work out some tactics to score better, this table is kicking my arse so far
 

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