That first ball sucked. Yeah, restart.

[Andassaran]

Restart game would be a very good idea, but it could mess up the emulation.

I'm prone it to just restarting after cheap drains just because I can, I suppose it makes me a bad pinhead but it's probably saved a controller or two

Restart game option would be nice, and easy way to make it not mess up emulation is just slam tilt it so it rebooted the machine.

 

[Worf]

Or just allow us to hold the start button during a game. That's the normal restart method (assuming there's credits available).

 

[Mark W**a]

Depends on the table. I am guilty of doing this. However my best game ever of Arabian Nights started with a terrible first ball and I just let it ride, 350 million points later.

 

[neglectoid]

i never restart after a bad first ball, or even two consecitive bad balls. you may have noticed that if your score is very low after a drained ball, the random reward will often give you an extra ball. i have had amazing 2nd balls that almost equaled my top score.

if i have two very bad balls in a row... i use the third to practice shots and passes.

 

[neglectoid]

also have to say. if you are playing IRL and have a particularly bad game/streak with low points. you are MORE likely to match for a free game. (i am talking about modern machines) if you think the match system is based on 1/10th probibilty, that everyone should win a free game one out of ten times. you are mistaken.

just my opinion and VOODOO.

 

[angrytilter]

also have to say. if you are playing IRL and have a particularly bad game/streak with low points. you are MORE likely to match for a free game. (i am talking about modern machines) if you think the match system is based on 1/10th probibilty, that everyone should win a free game one out of ten times. you are mistaken.

That depends on the table, I'm able to win the match game on Gofers fairly reliably... You just have to know when to press the flippers.

 

[Man-Machine]

I have never restarted a game in my life. If the first ball is lost I might use the rest for practice - trying new angles and tactics. But restart is a no-no.

 

[Sumez]

I'm pretty much sure the "tactical match" (ie. reflexing) goes back at least as far as to Black Knight.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

also have to say. if you are playing IRL and have a particularly bad game/streak with low points. you are MORE likely to match for a free game. (i am talking about modern machines) if you think the match system is based on 1/10th probibilty, that everyone should win a free game one out of ten times. you are mistaken.

It's not actually 1/10, but I had the impression that the match probability was just something the operator could set. Is there really something more complicated going on?

 

[Matt McIrvin]

This page (by a guy who'd apparently just had a conversation with Steve Ritchie) says the match algorithm is pretty elaborate, and indeed depends on a lot of things, including how well you've just done:

http://cheaptalk.org/2009/11/17/the-economics-of-pinball/

 

[DJWhoDunnit]

i restart all the time, on TPA and on real machines.
I'm surprised no one mentioned here the little bug on iOS:
if you try to restart too fast, sometimes it just won't do it.
So you have to resume the game and quit it again.
and this time tap the screen a little slower...

another bug is on mm and AFM if u restart right after the diverted opens, i.e. super skill shot or third loop in AFM, you will have to exit the machine totally if you want your ball to ever end up in the pops...even starting a new game will still make a normal launch skip the pops, and every loop shot too

 

[Sumez]

It's hardly a secret, since you can sey the actual pct in the operator's menu
It's also a known fact that multiplayer games are more likely to yield a match. So if you want a more likely extra credit, play against yourself

 

[shutyertrap]

Well I admit it, despite my earlier claim to never restarting, I do it now on certain tables.

Look, a game of RBION for me now averages to at least an hour of play. If I lose that first ball immediately, sure I could 'practice' with the rest, but that is one loooong session! Same thing goes for Creature and MM, where losing the first ball is an immediate handicap to hitting a high score. On tables where a good game for me only lasts 20 minutes, yep I still play no matter what. But those long games now, I don't have that kind of time to waste on practice.

 

[inspector42]

I am a horrible restarter if I'm going for a high score. I need to be pretty perfect to achieve the scores I'm going for. If I botch ball one, especially on a long play table like TZ or RBION, it's not usually worth the time to continue. On drain monsters like Genie and Big Shot I will almost always play the whole game regardless of ball one.

When I'm playing for fun or learning a table, I always play out the game.

 

[Kevlar]

I'm very guilty of this also, on TPA and on my own Getaway. I sometimes have to remove the coindoor key and move it to the other end of the room to stop me automatically reaching down and opening the door after a poor first ball.

 

[Sumez]

@Kevlar: I guess you don't want me to tell you about the easy way to instantly restart a WPC game then.

 

[Kevlar]

@Kevlar: I guess you don't want me to tell you about the easy way to instantly restart a WPC game then.

ummm........well I don't know and I thinks its best if we keep it that way! , although on 2nd thoughts it could save wear on my coin door hinges and buttons

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

press start after your ball drains if you do it before it adds a player.

 

[Day]

ST:TNG - i think i've exited out of far more games than the times i've seen a game through to completion (bail-factor 10 captain).

this table can be downright brutal. example: guaranteed that any strike to the left post on the right ramp, following ball release to left inlane, will result in a 100% certain drain to left outlane. Or a SDTM or right outlane drain that results in "Here is another ball" seems to have a higher chance to also drain (usually bobbling-over the right kicker to the right outlane).

This table plays mean, and I need 3 decent balls (and the extras as well) to reach final frontier. no way am i continuing a game when the table is in a mean mood. sooner or later a good game will come along. i understand when ppl say the tables are emulated and not scripted, but i have the feeling my shot possibilities have all been pre-programmed for me, and are not so random. I mean, for any given ball position on a flipper, for any given angle of entry/arrival at flipper, and for any given speed, there seems to me to be a lookup-table of possible outcomes. Like i know exactly which shot will happen even before i have flipped. Some shots may have more possible outcomes, and some, like the two examples above, seem to have far fewer outcomes, or a higher number of pre-programmed unfavourable outcomes. It's this that gives me the sense that sometimes the table is simply playing mean and that no matter what i do, a bad outcome for a given shot will occur. The feeling the outcome was completely unfair.

I know computers don't do true randomness, but a larger number of shot outcomes that give the player an impression of randomness.....and more rewarding of skillful play, that'd be great for my sanity (and my tablet, which lives in fear of harsh reprisals and vented frustration)

Fair-play (or lack of).... that's my only reason for bailing

 

[Sumez]

press start after your ball drains if you do it before it adds a player.

Holding it down, actually..... oops. Well, it can be turned off anyway.