Too easy tables (PC version)

[MontanaFrank]

I am just glad that I am a journey-man, bronze level, pinball player for now. Since I've never played TPA with a controller. It's going to take a lot of practice for me to start being bored with a table.

It's a challenge for me even to nudge with a controller. It's a whole new concept for me. I know I will get better because I am scoring much higher with the pc version than Android.

 

[JenniferS]

<Sigh> it just gets tiresome. OK, you're all Gods of Pinball, and congratulations to you. I love pinball myself, too, I'd play much more, if I could. But I can't, there's lots of things I have to do every day. TPA gives me a chance to play, at home, at the end of the day. To me, it's a great balance. It keeps me coming back. Every new table, every one of them, has a new thrill for me.

Too easy? Hardly. Most of the people in this world are not pinball immortals. Although I wish I could be, it's never going to happen. TPA has to be like a real arcade would set their tables. If they're so difficult that the the average, everyday player doesn't have a chance, why would they want to keep playing? Why would they keep spending money to play something, real or virtual, that's going to destroy them time after time? I know I wouldn't. I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't.

I obviously don't belong here. Games are too easy, this table sucks, and so on. I am a Pinball Arcade fan, and I'm sure I'll see some of you in the Terminator 2 tournament, but I don't think I'm the right sort of fan for Pinball Arcade Fans.

 

[JPelter]

Jennifer, it sort of is in context of one table vs. the next...

I don't consider myself even remotely good but certain iterations of certain tables have made me literally bored out of my gourd by ball 2 because it feels like you couldn't lose the ball if you tried. That was not really true in the "earlier" platforms vs. PC

If you'll notice, some folks (borderline even me) have said adjustable in BOTH directions, "easier" and "harder" so everyone can find their own mojo.

TPA has had a consistent "feel" up to this point, and I'd have to agree the advanced physics of the PC version points out a few of the areas that could use a bit more tweaking.

Anywho....YaY Minnesota!

I don't think the PC is any easier than PS3. If anything I'd say it is slightly harder due to the currently broken analog nudge.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Jennifer, i think you're missing the point a bit. Video games almost always have difficulty options for a reason. Emphasis on the word options. They're there if you want them, but you don't have to use them. Thing is, you don't have to be a pinball god to want more of a challenge. I'm not that great, but I like for the challenge to be similar to the real thing because that's what I grew up with and it extends the replay value of the tables. Plus I also like shorter game times because my hands aren't what they used to be, and I'm only in my early 30’s!

Anyway, I hope you stick around! We need all sorts of opinions here. It's what keeps this place interesting and helps the game improve

 

[smbhax]

If they manage to make tournament setting leaderboards later like Bobby King alluded to in the postcast it'll all be fine anyway.

Yep, really looking forward to that. In the meantime I'll be using Pro menu settings on every available table to turn off extra balls, maybe even crank up the difficulty setting (Scared Stiff still runs too long with extra balls off, hafta see if the ROM difficulty setting helps that somehow).

 

[Rudy]

tbh, I think this is less that tables are getting easier, and more that we've been playing this videogame for an extended period of time and some of the more intense players have managed to completely master it.

It's the same controls on every platform, skills are transferable across platforms (well apart from the android/iOS but that's another story) and the more we play a table, the more we work out it's ruleset. Plenty of you have played loads of pinball before picking up TPA so you know roughly what to shoot for, but for everyone else it's a game of pot luck until you get adjusted to each game.

It's just generally how things go, if you played a Tony Hawk's game for 2 years you'd probably master it, if you played any first person shooter game with bots for 2 years you'd probably master things and get bored of the AI. The only effective 'challenge' that could be had is to play head to head with other players, with the pressure of not making a single mistake being enough to ramp up the difficulty.

The problem is, for 95% of all players, the difficulty is just right. That's just how it goes. Twilight Zone failed as a commercial product because it was too hard for the casual pinball fan to pick up, play and enjoy. Do we really need to kill off this resurgence in pinball games by making it an exclusive collectors club, when we're having plenty of fun with it as it is?

I mean, I welcome the idea of difficulty levels, but that's going to be incredibly problematic because each individual table may need to coded with a new physics engine to accommodate such a design, which COULD vastly improve the gameplay of TPA or it could irreparably damage it. We've all seen games in the past which had a 'balancing' patch which had to be withdrawn, this is something that would require a very long time to implement and I'd much rather FS spent more time on things that affect 95% of players, instead of things that affect only a few people in comparison.

 

[Fungi]

I actually have taken to looking at the different tables as levels of difficulty. If I feel like playing a marathon game, I fire up TZ. A long game with challenge, AFM. A short game, STTNG. A short game that pisses me off and makes me wanna chuck my iPad across the room, Firepower.

Some of the games may be easy, but those never frustrate me. The hard ones, I never play again. When it comes to that, I feel I only get my money's worth from the easy ones.

 

[DrainoBraino]

<Sigh> it just gets tiresome. OK, you're all Gods of Pinball, and congratulations to you. I love pinball myself, too, I'd play much more, if I could. But I can't, there's lots of things I have to do every day. TPA gives me a chance to play, at home, at the end of the day. To me, it's a great balance. It keeps me coming back. Every new table, every one of them, has a new thrill for me.

Too easy? Hardly. Most of the people in this world are not pinball immortals. Although I wish I could be, it's never going to happen. TPA has to be like a real arcade would set their tables. If they're so difficult that the the average, everyday player doesn't have a chance, why would they want to keep playing? Why would they keep spending money to play something, real or virtual, that's going to destroy them time after time? I know I wouldn't. I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't.

I obviously don't belong here. Games are too easy, this table sucks, and so on. I am a Pinball Arcade fan, and I'm sure I'll see some of you in the Terminator 2 tournament, but I don't think I'm the right sort of fan for Pinball Arcade Fans.

I don't get why it's tiresome for you and you think you don't belong here.... This is a forum for fans of Pinball Arcade to share their opinions. Your opinion is that the difficulty is fine. My opinion i that it is too easy and I would like to have difficulty settings. All well and good.

We are all not all pinball immortals, but most of us are very passionate about this game. "Fan" is short for "fanatic", and most of us are just that.

Keep hanging around, and keep playing!

 

[JPelter]

Also, is it me, or does the ball seem "floatier" these days? it kind of remind of the old PHOF feeling ..."Boing"...an hour later.. bonk it hits something..

It also seems to come and go. I've been running Fraps to confirm a solid framerate, that's not it. It also seems to get worse as the game progresses and after major multi-ball modes.

I'm probably crazy, and if it's just me, I'll feel better so I can stop trying to get my hardware to stop doing it

I haven't noticed any ball physics differences between PS3 and PC apart from small physics improvements in a couple specific spots on a few tables. The general movement seems identical.

 

[kristian]

I obviously don't belong here. Games are too easy, this table sucks, and so on. I am a Pinball Arcade fan, and I'm sure I'll see some of you in the Terminator 2 tournament, but I don't think I'm the right sort of fan for Pinball Arcade Fans.

I wasn't aware that anyone in this thread said the tables "suck".

If the developers won't get any feedback of its obvious problems how could the product improve? I'm sure the devs appreciate constructive criticism from people who have actually played the real machines. Most people I know who have tried it agree with me... some tables are ridiculously easy. You don't have to be a "Pinball God" to see that.

 

[The loafer]

Def would like to see harder difficulty, but it has to be as an option. people like Jennifer probably represent the majority of TPA users, so the default is probably ok as is.

Let us remember the casual gamer (which TPA is targeted at) is not representative of the average Forum members. Most of us commenting here are real pinball addicts, who've played many hours on the playing real pins.

I can't remember where I read this Kristian but I think one of the manufacturers (Williams?) REQUESTED farsight make the games easier to play than the real world counterparts.

Extra ball option: I hope to see a default harder mode that does not give extra balls for hitting high scores, etc BUT if I manage to get a feature extra ball (ie: firepower) I still want an extra ball for that. So I would not like a "no extra ball" option at all.

 

[JPelter]

Extra ball option: I hope to see a default harder mode that does not give extra balls for hitting high scores, etc BUT if I manage to get a feature extra ball (ie: firepower) I still want an extra ball for that. So I would not like a "no extra ball" option at all.

I can kind of understand this but it really doesn't change much at all. Most tables that actually reward an extra ball for a replay dole out extra balls like crazy anyway so it makes barely any difference. The tables where extra balls are actually rare and hard to get already don't give extra balls for replays for the most part.

 

[Eegah]

While I don't mind the tables being easier when they're not trying to suck my quarters down, the PC version definitely comes off as easier to me than on the iPad. I bested my Funhouse score by a good 50% yesterday on my first full attempt despite not having touched it in months.

Part of it is because I'm a much better player now -- Funhouse was the first Pinball table I really got to know since the old NES Pinball when I was 12, and nudging is becoming much more ingrained on me now (even if I can't keep the direction straight using a controller). But I also think this has to do with tighter controls -- I can pull off thugs like a flutter pass or sometimes even a cradle sep with a 360 controller, neither of which I can manage on the tablet.

It's easier than real-world situations (my TZ score is about 15x higher than what I've pulled off in the real world), but I'm okay with that.

 

[Pinballfan69]

Although I don't have all the tables on Steam Just Tales of the Arabian nights, I find the tables easier than my PS3 version. Could be my pinball skills are better but I find that playing the same table after trying the demo, there is a difference. Weather or not it's because of the supposed Flipper Lag, it definitely controls much better on the PC than the PS3. I've tried all the table demos and notice the improvement of the tables. I've read there hasn't been an update to any of the older tables and they are planning on a 'Mega Patch' fix some of the issues of specific tables. There's a noticeable difference to me.

I'm thinking of converting to just the Steam network but I just don't want to pay for the tables again.

 

[RetroDude]

the average forum-goer here already does better than about 90% of the total playerbase.

citation needed

 

[Shaneus]

Also, Shaneus, if you could tell me what podcast you listened to that talked about Pinball Arcade...I'd love to check that out!

Bugger, you called me out on it! I honestly can't remember which 'cast let alone which episode, but I listen to Coast 2 Coast more than anything, so it could well have been that (but I've listened to some others as well, like Pinball Soul). Both are worthwhile regardless

There are a number of tables I feel have quite good "physics" (or feel or what have you) but probably more that don't. Off the top of my head, the benchmark tables are:
Bride of Pinbot
T2
Firepower
Funhouse

Tables that are mostly fine, but have strange feeling ramps or other areas where the speed is off for some reason:
ST:TNG
AFM
MM

More wonky than others IMO:
CFtBL
Monster Bash

 

[RetroDude]

I obviously don't belong here. Games are too easy, this table sucks, and so on. I am a Pinball Arcade fan, and I'm sure I'll see some of you in the Terminator 2 tournament, but I don't think I'm the right sort of fan for Pinball Arcade Fans.

There are some folks in these forums that are amazing pinball players.
There are also some folks in these forums that are self-entitled arrogant a-holes.
In some cases (please, nobody reply with any specific names!) those two groups overlap.

Some cases, not all, to be clear here.

I'm a pretty decent pinball player myself, but have absolutely nothing like the high scores from some of the folks here.I'm old enough to have played almost every one of these tables when they were new, and that does include the EM machines. I've probably played pinball long before most of the forum members were born.


Don't let the arrogance of some folks that may have the majority of their lives revolving around playing video games push you away from these forums.

In my personal experience, some of the most vocal people on Internet forums have the least social graces and life away from their games. Don't let them get you down.

All players of all ages and skill levels are welcome here and encouraged to post. If they aren't, that's a huge black mark for the folks that run this website and would be a huge dis-service to FarSight.


Once again, I plead with the other members to not reply with any particular members' names as it would serve no good purpose at all.

Thanks!

 

[seattlemark]

DrainoBraino and RetroDude, your two most recent posts were awesome. JenniferS, I hope you stay.
P.S. Personally my TPA scores were never that good. But now that I am on the PC version, with a controller, I am getting a lot better. Plus now I plan on actually studying the instructions, table rules, and Pro Tips when available - those will all help.

 

[netizen]

All players of all ages and skill levels are welcome here and encouraged to post.

+1

 

[wolfson]

RetroDude well said, not everyone is a superhero !!! it takes all types to make the world go round. JenniferS don`t take these fellas too seriously,you know what some are like !!!!