Modern Pinballs from 1991-2012 prefered pls

[Sean DonCarlos]

I'm still new here so forgive me, but just need clarity: so Funhouse/Bride of Pinbot those are Alpha-numerical, correct? And when you say electro-mechanical, you mean wood and steel rail, pre electronic games, right? So what would a Xenon or a Gorgar be called? Early electronic? Just trying to get my lingo down.

Evolution of pinball in 60 seconds:

• Electromechanical: A table that is electrified and uses relays, switches, etc., but does not have a microprocessor running code to control game features. Example: Gottlieb's Jet Spin (1977).
• Early solid state: A table that is microprocessor-controlled and that runs a program to control the table. Displays are 7-segment, numeric only. Example: Williams's Firepower (1980).
• Alphanumeric solid state: A solid state table that has multiple-segment displays that can show letters and punctuation in addition to numeric data. Example: Williams's Whirlwind (1990).
• DMD solid state: A solid state table that uses a dot-matrix display to present information and animations. Example: Bally's Twilight Zone (1993).
• Pinball 2000: A solid state table with a monitor projected onto the playfield, allowing the ball to "interact" with the projected images. There are only two of these: Revenge from Mars (1999) and Star Wars Episode I (1999).
• Post-DMD solid state: A solid state table with an LCD monitor in the backbox instead of a DMD. Only one exists so far: Jersey Jack's Wizard of Oz (2012).

 

[Mark W**a]

Ok, thank you for that clarification.

I said previously that electromechanical (i called it wood and steel rail era) wouldn't fit the aesthetic of tpa and I stand by that, but I wanted to clarify I adore tables of that age not only for their historical significance but , as one poster said, the artwork is amazing on them too. Plus my Dad tells me stories how him and his buddies used to destroy those games , how on one quarter he'd spend all afternoon and then leave the table with a ton of free games on it. So I would love to see a pre 1977 collection in the future.

Glad to see Xenon get mentioned here and there on this forum. If you follow my post history you'll see that I have been campaigning for its inclusion so to speak quite a bit lol.

 

[Mark W**a]

Unless my Dad meant early solid state games... I was born in 84 so he could have meant 79-83 is when he did that. Reason I say this is cause I'm wondering if it's even possible to earn free games on ems... How would that even work?

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Ok, thank you for that clarification.

I said previously that electromechanical (i called it wood and steel rail era) wouldn't fit the aesthetic of tpa and I stand by that, but I wanted to clarify I adore tables of that age not only for their historical significance but , as one poster said, the artwork is amazing on them too. Plus my Dad tells me stories how him and his buddies used to destroy those games , how on one quarter he'd spend all afternoon and then leave the table with a ton of free games on it. So I would love to see a pre 1977 collection in the future.

Glad to see Xenon get mentioned here and there on this forum. If you follow my post history you'll see that I have been campaigning for its inclusion so to speak quite a bit lol.

I hold a special love for Xenon, as it was not only among the first tables I ever played, but it also started its production run in the same month and year I was born. I feel like Gorgar and Xenon are the Adam and Eve of modern pinball, so yes, I think TPA needs to include Xenon in the near future.

I don't completely agree that EM tables should be excluded from TPA, but I also don't believe we need an overwhelming number of them. If you check out my "Ultimate 100" wishlist for TPA, you'll notice that I only include four (though I may replace one more Williams table with Doozie, now that I think about it). So out of 100 desired tables, I really feel like five or six of the best would be more than enough to represent that era. EM tables like Four Million BC and Big Shot utilized some neat design mechanics that set the standard for future solid states, and Mata Hari may be the only table that had both an EM version and an SS version.

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/1585-TPA-Wishlist-The-Ultimate-100

 

[Mark W**a]

Looks like we are getting an EM table after all. If that list you posted is correct, Big Shot is confirmed, and since it's 1973, it has to be EM correct? I eat my words then! Looking forward to it.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Looks like we are getting an EM table after all. If that list you posted is correct, Big Shot is confirmed, and since it's 1973, it has to be EM correct? I eat my words then! Looking forward to it.

Yeah, Big Shot has been a favorite EM for decades. FS confirmed it for an update from PHoF a couple months back, and I suspect they'll eventually do the same with Gottlieb's Central Park. If I had to venture a guess, they will probably pack it with Dr. Dude in the October or December release, assuming Twilight Zone is still set for November.

Big Shot was also the first successful pool-themed table, and we've gotten plenty more in the solid state era. Central Park's not really a personal favorite, but it's well-known. Bally's Fireball or Williams' Skylab would balance out Gottlieb's EM domination nicely, and Four Million BC and Doozie have the zipper flipper mechanic that would show TPA players just how charming EM can be. That being said, I still wouldn't want FS to get on an EM kick and flood TPA with them. They're typically cheap and non-licensed, but I would only want the best.

 

[Kolchak357]

I think Evel Knievel was EM and SS. I've only seen the SS version in real life, but I think there was an EM version also. Came out around the same time as Mata Hari too.

 

[Brian Clark]

I like older and newer pinball games. I would love to see EMs in Pinball arcade, especially ones from the 70s (when they had 3 inch flippers and drop targets). I definitely want to see some Gottlieb machines, but I like some from Bally and Williams, as well. I also like 50s and 60s machines and how a few of them were about getting the ball in the right hole to earn credits (though I hope Farsight does something with credits when or if these come around). Many from that era had unique rules like a baseball themed game that counts runs or a tic tac toe grid, as well.

One thing I noticed about a few of the late EMs that had SS models is that the SS version is often the more common one. The EM for Mati Hari is rare.

 

[Kolchak357]

I was recently playing Doozie (Williams) and really got a kick out of the zipper flippers on it. I'd like to see TPA add a table with this feature.

 

[Fungi]

I was recently playing Doozie (Williams) and really got a kick out of the zipper flippers on it. I'd like to see TPA add a table with this feature.

I was always a fan of Fireball because of them.

 

[Kolchak357]

I was always a fan of Fireball because of them.

Yeah! Fireball would be great.

 

[Dutch Pinball ball]

I agree with topicstarter. The newer, the better.

 

[Fuseball]

I agree with topicstarter. The newer, the better.

The better designed, the better! ;-)

Actually, I would say that Bally/Williams did get better at designing games as technology improved, or at least more consistent. That said, I would take a good number of their early-SS games over pretty much anything by Sega or even Data East. Even Gottlieb struggled to design many great games for the DMD era. Great design is all that really matters and what keeps you coming back for more. The very best games of the DMD era are the pinnacle of pinball thus far, but after that it gets a lot more varied and I hope TPA continues to reflect that.

 

[mpeman]

I like all era's of pinball. I remember playing early 70's tables all the way up to to later day releases. I would like to see more 70's and 80's tables for the next couple releases but enjoy the later 90's tables.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

I said previously that electromechanical (i called it wood and steel rail era) wouldn't fit the aesthetic of tpa and I stand by that, but I wanted to clarify I adore tables of that age not only for their historical significance but , as one poster said, the artwork is amazing on them too. Plus my Dad tells me stories how him and his buddies used to destroy those games , how on one quarter he'd spend all afternoon and then leave the table with a ton of free games on it. So I would love to see a pre 1977 collection in the future.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection had a bunch of electromechanical tables, so they've got some history with this. (The Williams Collection had only one, Jive Time, which was not a very good example of the genre, though the artwork was kind of cool.)

The pre-solid-state era, of course, has its own divisions: mechanical bagatelles, flipperless EMs, flipper woodrails and flipper steel-rails. Everything prior to the introduction of the standard flipper arrangement, with inward-facing flippers around the center drain, would seem very strange to a modern player, but I think there's room for some 1960s and 1970s electromechanical machines.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Gottlieb Collection had a bunch of electromechanical tables, so they've got some history with this. (The Williams Collection had only one, Jive Time, which was not a very good example of the genre, though the artwork was kind of cool.)

The pre-solid-state era, of course, has its own divisions: mechanical bagatelles, flipperless EMs, flipper woodrails and flipper steel-rails. Everything prior to the introduction of the standard flipper arrangement, with inward-facing flippers around the center drain, would seem very strange to a modern player, but I think there's room for some 1960s and 1970s electromechanical machines.

My thoughts exactly. I think FS should keep Jive Time, Ace High, and Playboy out of TPA, but Central Park and Big Shot would be fine. I think the furthest back they should go is Slick Chick from 1963, nothing flipperless or without a backglass.

 

[Rooter]

I definitely agree that I enjoy the newer tables more. It's not the DMD that makes them great to me though, I just can't live without multiball. As soon as I get the wizard goals on the SS tables, I stop playing them. I will continually play the newer tables to beat my high scores. The SS tables were okay, but pinball has evolved. The new games learned a lot from them and added a ton more to make them better. I think it is a lot like music. When people become teenagers and really start to get into music, they love that music their whole lives. If you started playing pinball on SS tables, they have a special place in your heart, if not, it can feel like they are missing something. Don't get me wrong, I had some fun with Gorgar, but I would never put it in my top 20 list.

 

[Fuseball]

I agree about multiball. All my favourite games have it in there somewhere. On the early-SS games it was often quite difficult to get. That is what makes BH and Fathom so enjoyable and challenging. There's an operator setting on Black Knight that makes achieving multiball far more difficult (you have to make the multiplier turnaround to light the locks), which is how I have mine set. And then there's Centaur with an up to 5-ball multiball...

Nostalgia aside - I used to play a lot of pins at university union bars - I don't rate a lot of mid-80s games as they went for a back-to-basics approach with single ball games like Black Pyramid and Bad Cats.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm for classic games from all eras being represented. I enjoy the modern tables, but it's a rare session of TPA were I don't bang around on Black Hole or Gorgar a little bit before kicking out for the day. There's a charm to the simplicity of those games, and I have the nostalgia for them as well since I missed out on the modern tables.

 

[Tom]

I definitely agree that I enjoy the newer tables more. It's not the DMD that makes them great to me though, I just can't live without multiball. As soon as I get the wizard goals on the SS tables, I stop playing them. I will continually play the newer tables to beat my high scores. The SS tables were okay, but pinball has evolved. The new games learned a lot from them and added a ton more to make them better. I think it is a lot like music. When people become teenagers and really start to get into music, they love that music their whole lives. If you started playing pinball on SS tables, they have a special place in your heart, if not, it can feel like they are missing something. Don't get me wrong, I had some fun with Gorgar, but I would never put it in my top 20 list.

You got it wrong, the SS tables are the "new" ones.