Stern SAM2 System

[Richard B]

It's a Future Pinball recreation. There's also a Family Guy remade for Future Pinball as well.

Don't forget their nice Iron Man build. They also have WIP versions of Stern's Indiana Jones, Spider-man, CSI, and NBA.

 

[Jeff Strong]

I downloaded it and got it running, but I can't change camera angles, and the default is terrible. BTW, we have two different threads on this same topic, and it's getting confusing. Can we shut one of them down?

Just merged the two threads.

 

[Rooter]

I downloaded it and got it running, but I can't change camera angles, and the default is terrible. BTW, we have two different threads on this same topic, and it's getting confusing. Can we shut one of them down?

Use the function keys to change through the camera angles. There is a free moving camera as well. You can also play in arcade mode and customize the view.

FYI to the person that mentioned computer speed, Future Pinball needs far less resources than Visual Pinball tables, but the game play is far less accurate. Pinball Arcade is the best of both worlds, without any legal gray areas.

 

[Richard B]

Use the function keys to change through the camera angles. There is a free moving camera as well. You can also play in arcade mode and customize the view.

FYI to the person that mentioned computer speed, Future Pinball needs far less resources than Visual Pinball tables, but the game play is far less accurate. Pinball Arcade is the best of both worlds, without any legal gray areas.

Thanks for the help. I noticed they were able to simulate the ball having a lot of weight in FP, something TPA and VP don't always do successfully.

 

[Carl Spiby]

That mini cab looks ace!

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Thanks for the help. I noticed they were able to simulate the ball having a lot of weight in FP, something TPA and VP don't always do successfully.

Incidentally, a standard pinball weighs only 80 grams. There are times, particularly during multiball when an incoming ball disturbs a ball at rest cradled in a flipper, where you get weird floaty behavior even on real tables.

 

[Jim O'Brien]

Can't wait to buy a new PC, I've played Future Pinball before on a friends lap top and it was so much fun. If anyone here does play FP give Gorgar - Hellfire Edition a go. Those flipper bats are so loud and impressive on most FP tables, Farsight should really take a good look at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kntbkf3t6iA

 

[RetroDude]

What FarSight is doing is replicating pinball tables as they really exist.
Why would they want to replace the existing sounds with different ones?

 

[Logan812]

What FarSight is doing is replicating pinball tables as they really exist.
Why would they want to replace the existing sounds with different ones?

The sound replacements and rule changes are exactly what turn me away from some of the "ULTRA" tables for Future Pinball.

ON TOPIC: If FarSight does begin recreating newer Stern machines, then I have my fingers crossed for AC/DC and Iron Man (I don't know about the licensing costs though.)

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

ON TOPIC: If FarSight does begin recreating newer Stern machines, then I have my fingers crossed for AC/DC and Iron Man (I don't know about the licensing costs though.)

While AC/DC would indeed be amazing (but only if they did the LE), the licensing costs would be astronomical. Not only do you have the band itself, but you have 12 of their greatest hits as well. I'm not even sure how Stern managed it, to be honest.

 

[pseudokings]

While AC/DC would indeed be amazing (but only if they did the LE), the licensing costs would be astronomical. Not only do you have the band itself, but you have 12 of their greatest hits as well. I'm not even sure how Stern managed it, to be honest.

AC/DC is such a huge band that their record contract may have the kind of concessions in it where in an example like the pinball table since the band's name, likeness & etc. are licensed as well (as opposed to just, say, a song on a movie soundtrack) the music is part of the package. It is also possible that AC/DC technically owns their Brian Johnson era music and licenses it to the record label in the first place, I don't know, but I would bet that they did dictate which songs could be used, as no Bon Scott era music is used in the pin, and a good percentage of their best/most popular material is from that era. I do know that the guys on the Stern development team would have used songs from Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (which I believe is their best, and best selling album) if given their druthers, in fact, in the Stern hype video (on Youtube) for the pin various members mention their fave songs and many are Bon Scott era tracks.

 

[Richard B]

While AC/DC would indeed be amazing (but only if they did the LE), the licensing costs would be astronomical. Not only do you have the band itself, but you have 12 of their greatest hits as well. I'm not even sure how Stern managed it, to be honest.

Bobby mentioned this in the last Q and A session. He said that real pinball machines are a vanity project, and bands will agree to them for much less than they would charge for traditional video games. Not only is there a cost issue, but the band refuses to allow any of their songs to be downloaded - they can only be distributed via discs. Doesn't make much sense if they're hoping to stop piracy, as discs can easily be ripped. Since this machine has a dozen recordings in their entirety, they probably will take issue with it as DLC.
Stern has said that not all the songs are all greatest hits. Like many aging rock bands, they don't want to be thought of as a nostalgia act, and want to live under the pretense that anyone actually cares about their new material, hence the inclusion of Rock and Roll Train and War Machine over much better known hits like Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Money Talks. They also haven't released a greatest hits CD (the closest is AC/DC Live), so it could simply be that they want people to buy entire albums to get the one or two tracks they want. So, it probably won't happen, though I would also like to see it. The table not only features great music, but incorporates it well.
BTW, I've only played the Pro version, and thought it was great. Is the extra ramp and lower playfield really that spectacular that the table isn't worth playing without them.

 

[pseudokings]

BTW, I've only played the Pro version, and thought it was great. Is the extra ramp and lower playfield really that spectacular that the table isn't worth playing without them.

The total package is much more impressive, speaking as someone who has played the Premium/LE, I would only buy it (if I had the money), and if you were recreating it for TPA, why would you do anything short of the best available version?

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Stern has said that not all the songs are all greatest hits. Like many aging rock bands, they don't want to be thought of as a nostalgia act, and want to live under the pretense that anyone actually cares about their new material, hence the inclusion of Rock and Roll Train and War Machine over much better known hits like Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap and Money Talks.

I had just assumed Rock and Roll Train and War Machine were on there to promote the latest album. Kind of a "hey, we're not dead yet!" type of thing.

BTW, I've only played the Pro version, and thought it was great. Is the extra ramp and lower playfield really that spectacular that the table isn't worth playing without them.

I won't go so far as to say the Pro version is not worth playing; but the LE upgrades make a significant difference to how you play the machine.

 

[unclewilly]

Sam is emulated in pinmame. Has been for a few years. Just can't release the tables yet. But quite a few are floating around . And quite fun to play

 

[Mark W**a]

It's really hard (for me;derp) to find SAM1 and 2 specs.
I've seen the white star specs... And they are so weak. The fastest chip is a 40 MHz sound part.

Ripleys and Harley are both Whitestars... And Ripleys has a touch of slowdown I've noticed (on ios).

But this is a system from 1995. Sam debuted in 05 or 06, does FMV (smoothly I might add). Won't this be a problem for weaker platforms like ios and android?