First Impressions: Diner

pm1109

New member
Dec 18, 2013
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I decided to start this thread so that everyone can express their thoughts on Farsight's newest release, Diner

What does everyone think about it?
 

Martin Rusby

New member
Nov 6, 2012
66
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Nice table.One of the first i played IRL in a pub in Sheffield many years ago! Reminds me of Taxi which i never had the chance to play for real.
 

MWink

New member
Jan 13, 2013
190
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My first impression of this table is quite positive. I like the layout and it seems to play well, though the audio isn't particularly great. It does remind me a lot of Taxi, which is another table I like.
 

kinggo

Active member
Feb 9, 2014
1,024
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Best one so far in S3. I just hope they will fix those visual glitches on customers.
 

kinggo

Active member
Feb 9, 2014
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+1
there are (is) a machine that can be finished, at least, that's what I heard of. But Diner is not one of them.
It's simple, serve all 5 customers and collect the jackpot. Repeat. And aim for higher score. That's the point of pinball.
 

Captain B. Zarre

New member
Apr 16, 2013
2,253
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They really appeared to improve the physics on this release. I occasionally get solid bricks from shots up the right ramp or the Today's Special sinkhole. Artwork looks decent as well.

IMHO this feels like a combination table: the rules of Taxi combined with the rules and layout of Black Knight 2000. The music and rules have convinced me to play this table more often than others.
 

tyche

New member
Oct 6, 2012
146
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The outlanes are just brutal on this table. I can certainly see its Taxi heritage. Overall I like it but probably won't play it much.
 

shaderbytes

New member
May 24, 2013
132
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The outlanes are just brutal on this table....

Noooo! don't say that! :mad:

Just this once, ok more than once, I would like a table that does not require using the nudge as the primary control mechanic and the flippers as the secondary ;) I will have to wait and see when it eventually makes it to ps3.
 

PitchBlank

New member
May 10, 2014
11
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I never tried Drainer... sorry, Diner back in the day, but I did play Taxi a few times and given the similarities I assumed the gameplay would be somewhat Taxi-esque. Unfortunately it was more reminiscent of Fish Tales. A great score on Taxi is the result of solid, patient and consistent labor. A great score on FT or Diner is the result of getting lucky with a few bells and whistles that put the score in a whole different league. I prefer the Taxi way, but that's just me.

Design wise I love it, the layout is sweet, the artwork and theme are very fitting for pinball. I have an issue with the rollover lane lights, they're obstructed in all four views, but FS can't help that.

Gameplay wise I found it to be one of the most difficult tables on PBA (right up there with Fish Tales). Nobody like Mark Ritchie to make it feel like the flippers are so far apart the Titanic could've passed between them. Out of the 50 PBA tables so far, this one has to take the cake when it comes to reliance on nudging, which sucks if you're on iOS. I got to 14.'6k HoF points without bothering with nudging (even on Central Park), but for this table I guess it's more important than controlling the actual flippers. These outlines are so ravenous they give Cirqus Voltaire a run for its money. A magic invisible hand actually stops balls that are already in the inlane and make them go back and sneak around the bend to the outlane, and it happens so fast you wouldn't have time to react even if you were prepared to nudge. This combined with unsurpassed drainorama down the middle makes it a hopeless case for nudge-free playing. I haven't quit and restarted as frequently on any other table.
 
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PitchBlank

New member
May 10, 2014
11
0
The outlanes are just brutal on this table. I can certainly see its Taxi heritage. Overall I like it but probably won't play it much.
Taxi is benign by comparison, not a third as merciless as this one. The drains are crazy random and lightning quick. You see something zap across the screen on a demented trajectory and the ball is history before you know it. The huge open area on the lower playfield is the worst. AFM has that too, and then some, but I'm never worried... you rarely get weird, unpredictable drains on AFM and when the ball does drain you can't help but think it was pretty fair. Heck, even Taxi is fair. Diner (or PBA's rendition of it anyway) is not fair, it's flagrantly sadistic.
 

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