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The Pinball Arcade / Farsight Studios
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<blockquote data-quote="Sean DonCarlos" data-source="post: 3818" data-attributes="member: 152"><p>Silly? Not at all. Watch some of the PAPA videos (<a href="http://www.pinball.org/videos" target="_blank">www.pinball.org/videos</a>) and you'll see professionals nudging the table almost every shot they take in order to survive the wicked tables they're playing on. PAPA's tables generally have the outlanes set as wide as they'll go, with their posts removed, and sometimes other modifications as well. Cruelest tables in the world, probably. Now, about TotAN:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>When the ball drops from the magnet:</strong> You'll know in the first quarter-second where it's headed. If it's headed for the drain, nudge to get the ball to whatever flipper it'll be closer to. You may need to combine with a slap save if the nudge isn't going to get it all the way to a flipper on its own, which is quite common. If it's headed for one of the lamp posts, nudge to the left when it hits the post and it should fall off the right side onto the right flipper.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Hitting the lamp from below:</strong> For this discussion, envision the lamp as a clock. The posts are at 12 and 6 o'clock, or 3 and 9 o'clock, or whatever. If the posts are at 12-6, don't hit the lamp from below. You're just asking for a drain. If the posts are at 9-3, it is <em>usually</em> safe to whack the lamp, but concentrate and be prepared to make a slap save if the ball comes screaming back down the center. If the posts are at an angle and you want to hit the lamp, aim for the <em>back</em> post if at all possible. This gives you more time to react if the ricochet is bad, and immediately after the hit the front post will swing around and sometimes interrupt the ball's descent.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Managing the tiger loop:</strong> Nudge the table right before the ball leaves the loop. This will both alter the direction of the ball and rob it of some speed. You may need to experiment with the timing and direction of the nudge to get the ball to land on a flipper and not on the slingshots.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"><strong>Direct genie shots:</strong> I've had a genie shot go SDTM, but I've never experienced a genie shot go direct to an outlane. I guess a really bad bounce off the lamp could do it, but for the lamp to be in the required position, it'd block the genie shot in the first place. Where are you taking this shot from when that happens?</li> </ul><p></p><p></p><p>Theatre of Magic is a <em>very</em> forgiving table. This is not to say it's not challenging - it is - but you can get away with a lot looser ball control on ToM and not be punished for it. A lot of this is because the entire upper half of the playfield is a ramp, orbit or lane. With the exception of the trunk, there's not much to ricochet off of up there.</p><p></p><p>Arabian Nights is a harsher mistress. An errant ball is quickly punished, too much side-to-side movement means a trip to the outlanes, taking a wrong shot (such as whacking the lamp when its posts are near-vertical) will result in a SDTM drain, nudging is required to save the ball frequently, etc. Proper ball control is not just a good idea, it's a must to survive on this table. Traps, post transfers, live catches (even with the bouncy physics, they <em>can</em> be done on TPA), judicious nudging are all your friends. And there's only one way to get these skills: practice, practice, practice. Take a game and ignore your score - turn the DMD off if you want - just work on your control. Whack the lamp at different angles and see what works, what's dicey, and what's an instant drain. Take another game and make those tiger loop shots and practice catching the ball from them. Not only will this improve your control, but after you master this - that first extra ball at 6 tiger loops? P'shaw! Child's play. You've essentially turned TotAN into a 4-ball game at that point (or 5-ball if you're at the point where an 8M score is also child's play). And unlike the real tables, you're not paying for each game and you're not hogging the machine while you practice, so have at it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sean DonCarlos, post: 3818, member: 152"] Silly? Not at all. Watch some of the PAPA videos ([url]www.pinball.org/videos[/url]) and you'll see professionals nudging the table almost every shot they take in order to survive the wicked tables they're playing on. PAPA's tables generally have the outlanes set as wide as they'll go, with their posts removed, and sometimes other modifications as well. Cruelest tables in the world, probably. Now, about TotAN: [LIST] [*][B]When the ball drops from the magnet:[/B] You'll know in the first quarter-second where it's headed. If it's headed for the drain, nudge to get the ball to whatever flipper it'll be closer to. You may need to combine with a slap save if the nudge isn't going to get it all the way to a flipper on its own, which is quite common. If it's headed for one of the lamp posts, nudge to the left when it hits the post and it should fall off the right side onto the right flipper. [*][B]Hitting the lamp from below:[/B] For this discussion, envision the lamp as a clock. The posts are at 12 and 6 o'clock, or 3 and 9 o'clock, or whatever. If the posts are at 12-6, don't hit the lamp from below. You're just asking for a drain. If the posts are at 9-3, it is [I]usually[/I] safe to whack the lamp, but concentrate and be prepared to make a slap save if the ball comes screaming back down the center. If the posts are at an angle and you want to hit the lamp, aim for the [I]back[/I] post if at all possible. This gives you more time to react if the ricochet is bad, and immediately after the hit the front post will swing around and sometimes interrupt the ball's descent. [*][B]Managing the tiger loop:[/B] Nudge the table right before the ball leaves the loop. This will both alter the direction of the ball and rob it of some speed. You may need to experiment with the timing and direction of the nudge to get the ball to land on a flipper and not on the slingshots. [*][B]Direct genie shots:[/B] I've had a genie shot go SDTM, but I've never experienced a genie shot go direct to an outlane. I guess a really bad bounce off the lamp could do it, but for the lamp to be in the required position, it'd block the genie shot in the first place. Where are you taking this shot from when that happens? [/LIST] Theatre of Magic is a [I]very[/I] forgiving table. This is not to say it's not challenging - it is - but you can get away with a lot looser ball control on ToM and not be punished for it. A lot of this is because the entire upper half of the playfield is a ramp, orbit or lane. With the exception of the trunk, there's not much to ricochet off of up there. Arabian Nights is a harsher mistress. An errant ball is quickly punished, too much side-to-side movement means a trip to the outlanes, taking a wrong shot (such as whacking the lamp when its posts are near-vertical) will result in a SDTM drain, nudging is required to save the ball frequently, etc. Proper ball control is not just a good idea, it's a must to survive on this table. Traps, post transfers, live catches (even with the bouncy physics, they [I]can[/I] be done on TPA), judicious nudging are all your friends. And there's only one way to get these skills: practice, practice, practice. Take a game and ignore your score - turn the DMD off if you want - just work on your control. Whack the lamp at different angles and see what works, what's dicey, and what's an instant drain. Take another game and make those tiger loop shots and practice catching the ball from them. Not only will this improve your control, but after you master this - that first extra ball at 6 tiger loops? P'shaw! Child's play. You've essentially turned TotAN into a 4-ball game at that point (or 5-ball if you're at the point where an 8M score is also child's play). And unlike the real tables, you're not paying for each game and you're not hogging the machine while you practice, so have at it. [/QUOTE]
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