Latest NEWS And INFORMATION On FarSight Studios' The Pinball Arcade

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Pinball Arcade Fans Moderator Jeff Strong conducts an EXCLUSIVE 30 minute audio interview with FarSight Studios Lead Designer Bobby King...ROUND 1!!!

You can access the audio interview and discuss it HERE. Enjoy!

Thanks goes out to Jeff Strong and Bobby King for taking the time to put together this informative interview. Stay tuned for Round 2 in the near future!

I'll update this news thread with info from the interview, but I want to give everyone time to enjoy the interview first before I do so.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Quick update...more to follow later this evening!

• The Texas Pinball Festival kicked off today and FarSight Studios is in attendance. If you're going to be in the Dallas, Texas area this weekend, be sure to stop by the festival where you can meet with some of the wonderful staff from FarSight Studios and of course, play hundreds of real world pinball tables.

• Table Add-On Pack #12 featuring Cactus Canyon and Central Park should be available later today for Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Mac.

• The Pinball Arcade March newsletter should be hitting your inbox today!

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Lots of news, information and official announcements coming from an audio interview with Bobby King, the PlayStation Blog and The Pinball Arcade Newsletter #13...plus Cactus Canyon and Central Park arrive!!!


• Android version 1.12.0, iOS version 1.2.5, Kindle Fire version 1.12.0 and Mac version 1.1.2 featuring Cactus Canyon and Central Park are AVAILABLE NOW!

• Some of the staff at FarSight Studios are currently in Dallas, Texas attending the Texas Pinball Festival where they are currently holding tournaments for attendees and showing off the stereoscopic 3D support on PS3 which should be included with the PS3 update following Attack from Mars and Genie.

• Bobby King announced that The Pinball Arcade is on its way to the PS4 and will feature rendering tech for per pixel ray casting, area lights/shadows, point lights, screen space ambient occlusion (which is a fancy way to say even more shadows) and updated physics and gameplay on all of the DLC tables they release.

• Table Add-On Pack #9 featuring Star Trek : The Next Generation should be available for PS3 (NA) and PS Vita (NA) on March 19th and PS3 (EU) and PS Vita (EU) on March 20th.

• Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie should be available for PS3 (NA) and PS Vita (NA) on March 26th and PS3 (EU) and PS Vita (EU) on March 27th.

• News for the release status of The Pinball Arcade on Steam coming shortly after GDC 2013 ends on March 29th.

• FarSight has submitted the OUYA version of The Pinball Arcade to QA and hope to have it available day one of the OUYA’s launch.

• Gottlieb’s 1993 Tee’d Off has been officially announced for The Pinball Arcade.

• Following the popularity and success of the first ever table poll, in which Centaur was chosen by the PAF forum community, three more table polls will be run exclusively here on the Pinball Arcade Fans forum throughout 2013 with the first coming in early April.

• FarSight has made great strides with ROM emulation which now includes support for Gottlieb and older solid state MPUs.

• Black Knight will be the first of the five released scripted solid state tables to be updated to full ROM emulation within the next couple of months.

• Another round of artwork fixes coming for Android and iOS within the next couple of months.

• User adjusted camera settings, which includes the ability to set the zoom and angle of each table, coming late 2013.

• Hints for Table Add-On Pack #13 : It’s opposite day! A new table that has the opposite of a space theme and a re-released table with a theme that will take you into the darkness...think you know what the next tables are? Share your thoughts here on the forum.


Have a great weekend!

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE PS3 version 2.08 (NA) is AVAILABLE NOW! (263 MB)

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #9 featuring Star Trek : The Next Generation is AVAILABLE NOW! on PS3 (NA) and PS Vita (NA).

I'll do a major update when I get off work later tonight.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #9 featuring Star Trek : The Next Generation is AVAILABLE NOW! on PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU).

Star Trek : The Next Generation is available for $4.99, £3.99 and €4.99.

The Star Trek : The Next Generation Pro Version is available for $7.99 USD, £6.49 and €7.99. You save by purchasing both the table and pro upgrade together.

The Star Trek : The Next Generation Pro Upgrade (if not purchased together with the table) is available for $4.99 USD, £3.99 and €4.99.

Pro Version gives you exclusive access to the Pro Menu which features the Operator's Menu, Ball Control, Table Exploration and IFPA Pro Tips.

All content is single purchase for both the PS3 and PS Vita.

North American Kickstarter backers should have received their redemption codes already. If you have any problems redeeming your codes or haven't received them yet, please PM Rob Mann here at the forums.

European Kickstarter backers should receive their redemption codes soon. If you received redemption codes for the North American market, please PM Rob Mann here at the forums and request codes for the European market.

NOTE : You must be a forum member to send other members of this forum private messages. If you're not currently a member, please take a minute to register and join the forum.

NOTE : You must have the latest update for The Pinball Arcade installed to see the new content.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE The News thread hits its one year anniversary today! It seems like only yesterday that I created a simple thread that consisted of a few lines of information posted by FarSight on their Facebook wall and now it has grown to what you see before you.

I'll post the latest news and updated Table Add-On release time frames tomorrow.

Have a great weekend!

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE The Texas Pinball Festival and the Midwest Gaming Classic saw the debut of some highly anticipated features coming soon for The Pinball Arcade!


• Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie will be available on PS3 (NA) and PS Vita (NA) on March 26th and PS3 (EU) and PS Vita (EU) on March 27th. Xbox 360 release time frames TBD.

• Table Add-On Pack #11 featuring Dr. Dude and Firepower should be available on PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU) by the end of April. Xbox 360 release time frames TBD.

• Table Add-On Pack #12 featuring Cactus Canyon and Central Park should be available on PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU) by mid May. Xbox 360 release time frames TBD.

• The Star Trek Custom Ball Pack, which features three Star Trek themed custom balls, will be in the next PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU) Title Updates which should be released by the end of April.

• FarSight recently showed off The Pinball Arcade running in 3D on the PS3 at both the Texas Pinball Festival and the Midwest Gaming Classic and hopes to implement this feature as early as June 2013.

• FarSight showcased The Pinball Arcade on the iPad running inside an iCade at the Texas Pinball Festival and hope to roll out support for this feature soon.

• FarSight now has someone working full-time on the UI and are looking to improve the overall look of the UI while maintaining its current functionality.

• FarSight is currently looking into improving the 2-stage flipper feature on consoles.

• FarSight is currently investigating what they can and can't do and what Sony will allow them to do as it pertains to patching Table Add-Ons with bug fixes and improvements.

• FarSight is optimistic that the long awaited PC version of The Pinball Arcade will be available for purchase by the end of May...more details to come following GDC 2013.

• Table Add-On Pack #13 will LIFTOFF! in mid April on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Mac.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie is AVAILABLE NOW! on PS3 (NA) and PS Vita (NA).

Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie is available for $4.99.

Table Add-On Pack #10 Pro (which includes Attack from Mars Pro and Genie) is available for $7.99. You save by purchasing both Table Add-On Pack #10 and the Attack from Mars Pro Upgrade together.

The Attack from Mars Pro Upgrade (if not purchased together with Table Add-On Pack #10) is available for $3.99.

Pro Version gives you exclusive access to the Pro Menu which features the Operator's Menu, Ball Control, Table Exploration and IFPA Pro Tips.

All content is single purchase for both the PS3 and PS Vita.

NOTE : You must have the latest update for The Pinball Arcade installed to see and purchase the new content.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie is AVAILABLE NOW! on PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU).


Table Add-On Pack #10 featuring Attack from Mars and Genie is available for $4.99, £3.99 and €4.99.

Table Add-On Pack #10 Pro (which includes Attack from Mars Pro and Genie) is available for $7.99, £6.49 and €7.99. You save by purchasing both Table Add-On Pack #10 and the Attack from Mars Pro Upgrade together.

The Attack from Mars Pro Upgrade (if not purchased together with Table Add-On Pack #10) is available for $3.99, £3.19 and €3.99.

Pro Version gives you exclusive access to the Pro Menu which features the Operator's Menu, Ball Control, Table Exploration and IFPA Pro Tips.

All content is single purchase for both the PS3 and PS Vita.

NOTE : You must have the latest update for The Pinball Arcade installed to see and purchase the new content.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Now that April Fool's Day is a week behind us, it's time for more news and information on The Pinball Arcade!


• Due to the length of the delays on the Xbox 360, FarSight is offering to switch Kickstarter backer platforms to any other platform they support. If the base game is needed to play (for example the PS3), FarSight will be happy to provide a means to getting the base game free of charge. Please contact FarSight at PinballArcadeStarTrekCodes@gmail.com if you'd like to switch platforms.

• SCEE has confirmed that the Star Trek codes are now cross-buy for the PS3 and PS Vita. Unfortunately, the already redeemed codes cannot be fixed so FarSight will be sending out new codes to ALL European Kickstarter backers within the next couple of days.

• The OUYA was recently shipped to OUYA Kickstarter backers on March 28th and The Pinball Arcade is currently available for purchase on the OUYA Marketplace for those who have received their OUYA consoles. FarSight will make an official announcement on the release of The Pinball Arcade shortly before the OUYA’s official launch on June 4, 2013.

• FarSight’s meeting with Valve at GDC 2013 went very well and hope to make an announcement on the details of a PC release soon.

• The Wii U version is currently in submission with NOA/NOE and the process is moving along very quickly. FarSight hopes to have good news relatively soon.

• FarSight is continuing to work with the bankruptcy court to get the legal issues with their Xbox 360 publisher sorted out and they remain confident that they will be able to release all of the new tables on the Xbox 360 soon.

• FarSight is currently working to correct the swipe nudge bug that causes the game to crash on iOS and hope to make it work better.

• The stereoscopic 3D functionality for the PS3 will be included in an update after FarSight has had a chance to perfect and balance it. What they displayed at the shows was still in development and wasn't 100% working on some tables.

• FarSight is currently looking into the possibility of using the PS Vita as a cross-controller for The Pinball Arcade on the PS3.

• Challenge Mode is still in the works for all platforms and devices and will be included in an upcoming update.

• FarSight is still in the process of revamping their official website and hope to launch it soon.

• FarSight will be making an announcement on the next tournament very soon.

• An announcement on Table Add-On Pack #13 coming this week!

• More information on Table Add-On Pack and platform specific releases coming soon from FarSight Studios!


I would like to thank jhamdotme and the rest of the forum members for pitching in and posting news and information in the “The Official Latest NEWS And INFORMATION Discussion Thread”. Keep it coming!

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE The Pinball Arcade, which is currently accessible exclusively by OUYA Kickstarter backers who have received their OUYAs early, is AVAILABLE NOW! and is FREE to download with Tales of the Arabian Nights unlocked for unlimited free play.

Cactus Canyon, Central Park, Dr. Dude, Firepower, Attack from Mars, Genie, Star Trek : The Next Generation, The Twilight Zone, Scared Stiff, Big Shot, Elvira and the Party Monsters, No Good Gofers!, Taxi, Harley-Davidson Third Edition, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Black Knight, Monster Bash, Gorgar, Cirqus Voltaire, Funhouse, Medieval Madness, The Machine : Bride of Pin•Bot, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Theatre of Magic, and Black Hole are all available for purchase from within the game.

The Pinball Arcade will be available for non-Kickstarter backers when the OUYA officially launches on June 4, 2013.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #13 featuring White Water and Space Shuttle hits Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Mac and OUYA this month!

White Water was released by Williams in 1993 and features design work by Dennis Nordman (Dr. Dude and Scared Stiff) and the artistic style of John Youssi (Cactus Canyon and Medieval Madness). The primary objective of White Water is to move your raft down the river to Wet Willy's in order to get the Vacation Jackpot. Along the way, you’ll encounter other objectives including the Whirlpool, Big Foot Hotfoot, Lost Mine and multiple multi-ball modes. To master this classic table, all you have to do is, “Go with the flow”.

Williams’ 1984 Space Shuttle returns to virtual pinball fully ROM emulated for the first time ever! Featuring the voice of Steve Ritchie, Space Shuttle offers brilliant design and engineering innovations for its time such as a replica of NASA’s space shuttle on the playfield and a mission control system that guides play with verbal commands and read-outs. “Space Shuttle is a once-in-a-millenium masterpiece”.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Quick update!


• Table Add-On Pack #13 featuring White Water and Space Shuttle should be available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire, Mac and OUYA by the end of this week.

• The Pinball Arcade Newsletter #14 should be hitting subscribers' inboxes towards the end of this week and will contain info on Table Add-On Pack releases, console specific releases and clues for the identity of the tables that will be featured in Table Add-On Pack #14.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Valve Gives The Pinball Arcade The GREENLIGHT!!!...PC BUILD For Kickstarter Backers Coming Late April - Early May!


On September 13, 2012, FarSight Studios launched their project on Steam Greenlight with the hope that the pinball community would pull together and help establish a solid base of support for The Pinball Arcade and convince Valve to allow them to publish one of the greatest pinball simulators ever on Steam...and seven months later, with support as strong as ever, Valve gives The Pinball Arcade the greenlight!

Thanks to the overwhelming support of every pinball enthusiast that voted for The Pinball Arcade, real pinball is finally coming to the PC...and FarSight Studios thanks everyone for their continued support of FarSight's mission to create the greatest pinball video game ever made!


Some info on the upcoming PC version has been released and is as follows :

• The PC version uses Directx 9.0c, which is also used on the Xbox 360 version, so the rendering engines are similar. They both use the same tech for the ball reflections (PS3 is done differently because of hardware differences).

• The HDR/Bloom on the PC version is different from the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions due to the nature of their hardware.

• The PC version uses much less compression on the textures with some of them completely uncompressed, while both the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions use DXT compression on the textures.

• Lighting model is the same as on the Xbox 360 version, but FarSight would like to add some more advanced lighting tech for higher end GPUs.

• Anti Aliasing on the PC version will be at a much higher level...up to 16X, whereas the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions are 2X.

• Portrait mode is not working just yet, but FarSight plans to setup portrait screens while they're redoing the main menu.


As far as when The Pinball Arcade will be available on Steam and how many tables will be available for purchase on day one, FarSight has to implement Steam's SDKs into The Pinball Arcade and redo the main menu to match the mobile and PS3 style before they can release on Steam. Also, they need to tune the lighting on each table specifically for the PC which means there's a chance not all tables will be available for purchase on launch, but the PC version should be caught up with tables releases shortly thereafter.

Last, but certainly not least, Kickstarter backers of The Twilight Zone and/or Star Trek : The Next Generation who chose the PC as their platform of choice (which includes those who pledged at the $100 tier and above) should be getting the special PC build towards the end of April or early May.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE PAF's Exclusive Audio Interview With Bobby King...Round 2! Plus, Official Classic Stern Table Poll Ongoing!


Earlier today, Pinball Arcade Fans Moderator Jeff Strong and FarSight Studios Lead Designer Bobby King got together for another round of Q&A addressing questions voted on by members of the Pinball Arcade Fans forum.

This round of topics include patching PS3/PS Vita Table Add-Ons., iCade support for iOS, PAPA settings for local and tournament play, Data East/Sega/Capcom tables, the recently greenlit PC version (including a release time frame for the exclusive Kickstarter PC build), the current Classic Stern table poll, expanding and improving customer service, plus other topics as well.

You can access the audio interview and discuss it HERE. Enjoy!

Thanks goes out to Jeff Strong and Bobby King for taking the time to put together another informative interview. Stay tuned for Round 3 in the near future!

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Bally's classic table Centaur is currently in production and on its way to The Pinball Arcade thanks to the pinball community making their voice heard by voting on which Classic Bally table they wanted to see first!

FarSight Studios is once again turning to the pinball community to help them decide which Classic Stern pinball table to release first on The Pinball Arcade.

Catacomb (1981)

Flight 2000 (1980)

Galaxy (1980)

Meteor (1979)

Nine Ball (1980)

Seawitch (1980)

Star Gazer (1980)

Trident (1979)​

The poll closes at 11:59pm Pacific Time on April 30, 2013.

You can vote for which Classic Stern table you'd like to see on The Pinball Arcade HERE.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Android Version 1.13.0, iOS Version 1.2.6, Kindle Fire Version 1.13.0 And Mac Version 1.1.3 Featuring White Water And Space Shuttle Are AVAILABLE NOW!...Pinball Arcade Newsletter #14 Sent Out Today!

All versions feature White Water and Space Shuttle plus a Pro Version for White Water.

The iOS version also features iCade support.

Table Add-On Pack #13 (which includes White Water and Space Shuttle) is available for $4.99.

Table Add-On Pack #13 Pro Version (which includes White Water Pro and Space Shuttle) is available for $7.99. You save by purchasing both Table Add-On Pack #13 and the White Water Pro Upgrade together.

White Water Pro Upgrade (if not purchased together with Table Add-On Pack #12) is available for $3.99.

Pro Version gives you exclusive access to the Pro Menu which features the Operator's Menu, Ball Control, Table Exploration and IFPA Pro Tips.

Attack from Mars is featured as the Table of the Month and is available for unlimited FREE play (with ad support) until the next Table Add-On Pack is released on Android and iOS only.

The Pinball Arcade is FREE! to download with Tales of the Arabian Nights unlocked for unlimited play on Android and Kindle Fire only.

Mac NOTE : In-app purchasing on the Mac requires OS X 10.7 (OS X Lion). Also, this game requires 3D graphics acceleration. Older Macs and Macs without 3D graphics acceleration are not recommended.

Please post any bugs or other problems with the Android version HERE.

Please post any bugs or other problems with the iOS version HERE.

Please post any bugs or other problems with the Kindle Fire version HERE.

Please post any bugs or other problems with the Mac version HERE.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Table Add-On Pack #11 Featuring Dr. Dude And Firepower Are AVAILABLE NOW! On PS3 (NA/EU) And PS Vita (NA/EU).


Table Add-On Pack #11 (which includes Dr. Dude and Firepower) is available for $4.99, £3.99 and €4.99.

Table Add-On Pack #11 Pro (which includes Dr. Dude Pro and Firepower) is available for $7.99, £6.49 and €7.99. You save by purchasing both Table Add-On Pack #11 and the Dr. Dude Pro Upgrade together.

Dr. Dude Pro Upgrade (if not purchased together with Table Add-On Pack #11) is available for $3.99, £3.19 and €3.99.

Star Trek Custom Ball Pack (which includes three Star Trek themed custom balls) is available for $0.99, £0.79 and €0.99.

Pro Version gives you exclusive access to the Pro Menu which features the Operator's Menu, Ball Control, Table Exploration and IFPA Pro Tips.

All content is single purchase for both the PS3 and PS Vita.

NOTE : You must have the latest update for The Pinball Arcade installed to see and purchase the new content.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE Official Classic Stern Poll Winner Plus Tables Announced For Table Add-On Pack #14!


• Stern's 1980 Flight 2000 edged out Seawitch in the first Official Classic Stern Poll and will be arriving on The Pinball Arcade in late 2013.

• Table Add-On Pack #14 featuring Centaur and Pin•Bot should be available on Android, iOS, Kindle Fire and Mac by mid May, OUYA (OUYA Kickstarter backers only) by the end of May and PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU) by mid July. Xbox 360 release time frames TBD.

• Stay tuned to the Playstation Blog for information on Table Add-On Pack #12 featuring Cactus Canyon and Central Park which should be available on PS3 (NA/EU) and PS Vita (NA/EU) soon.

 

[PiN WiZ]

UPDATE iOS Version 1.2.7 Featuring New Additions And Various Bug Fixes AVAILABLE NOW!


This version features the following additions, changes, table updates and fixes :

What's New :

• New, temporary environment (goodbye space carpet!).
• Two new table menu options: Invert Nudge (on/off) & Event Camera (on/off).

What's Changed :

• Moved launcher button in Star Trek: The Next Generation to the bottom right corner. We will be adding an option to customize the location in a future update.
• Pinball Magazine is now the exclusive sponsor for the Table of the Month.

Table Updates :

• Attack From Mars (v6)
• Dr. Dude (v4)
• Space Shuttle (v4)
• Cactus Canyon (v3)
• White Water (v3)
• Firepower (v3)

What's Fixed :

• Space Shuttle camera on iPhone/iPod 5 (was too close).
• Attack From Mars camera on iPhone/iPod 5 (would fly upward awkwardly when ball was near the back).
• Space Shuttle local high scores weren't saving.
• Options menu would select EULA when using arrows in landscape.
• Dr. Dude's game over music would overlap table instructions music.
• Cactus Canyon's music would stop playing in table exploration.
• Swipe Nudge would crash certain devices.
• iCade keyboard would display when no device was detected. Current fix disables the keyboard in the Main Menu and Options Menu, allowing users to turn the option off. Please do not turn iCade on unless you have a bluetooth device connected.
• iCade would crash iOS 5.1.1.
• iCade wouldn't launch the ball when moving the joystick down in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
• Various minor fixes.

Please post any bugs or other problems with the iOS version HERE.