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Farsight Studios
The Pinball Arcade / Farsight Studios
Platform Specific
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Too easy tables (PC version)
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<blockquote data-quote="Zaphod77" data-source="post: 222236" data-attributes="member: 2101"><p>Beyond one simple effect, slope does not significantly affect difficulty.</p><p></p><p>a low slope, like EMs had, encourages lateral movement, and makes outlane drains more likely.</p><p></p><p>a high slope makes center drains more likely instead.</p><p></p><p>what really affects the difficulty is how easy the shots are. When there are shots that are easy to hit and safe to attempt, we have a game that's way too easy.</p><p></p><p>It's always a balancing act with digital pinball. if the shot is too hard, then the table cannot be mastered at all.</p><p></p><p>That said there are a lot of effects not properly simulated in TPA that affect difficulty.</p><p></p><p>1) give and warping of standup targets. they shift position slight after each hit. this causes rebounds off of them to be slightly randomized. lack of this is what makes TPA T2 a joke. you could NOT reliably shoot the three bank with one shot in real life.</p><p>2) fatigue of rubber. similar to the standups rubber also does not precisely return. the effect is less than it is for standups, but it can make the difference between a ball rebounding into the inlane vs the outlane.</p><p>3) for many tables scoop kickouts are totally non random. while scoops ANGLES are very consistent when working properly, their strength is not. there should be slight variations which affect your ability to hold trap and dead bounce. they also would have randomized minor spin, which also affects dead bounces.</p><p></p><p>In real life, every single time you hit a standup that doesn't feed a flipper after, you are tempting fate. And that's usually not the case in TPA.</p><p></p><p>Were I a programmer, i'd add in this subtle randomness, and it would increase difficulty on most tables without being unfair. No one wants every failed shot to drain after all. stuff that's about a 50/50 chance of drain or safe shot is more like 100% or 0%. for that matter, what should be about a 25% chance is either 100% or zero.</p><p></p><p>Since live catches are now in, we can be more random with the scoop kickouts and still be fair.</p><p></p><p>PS: tables are usually set to default settings, then changed to add-a-ball mode and free play. If anything else is changed, usually it's the handling for specials. Also, the self percenting features are inactive on TPA generally. in real life the table will dynamically adjust the replay score and shots for extra ball to continue to challenge the players.</p><p></p><p>PPS: slope DOES change aiming. a higher slope will cause the ball to lose vertical momentum faster, which will make the flippers aim wider unless the solenoid is beefed up to compensate. If slope didn't change aiming, then thing flips wouldn't need to be recalibrated after a slope change.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Zaphod77, post: 222236, member: 2101"] Beyond one simple effect, slope does not significantly affect difficulty. a low slope, like EMs had, encourages lateral movement, and makes outlane drains more likely. a high slope makes center drains more likely instead. what really affects the difficulty is how easy the shots are. When there are shots that are easy to hit and safe to attempt, we have a game that's way too easy. It's always a balancing act with digital pinball. if the shot is too hard, then the table cannot be mastered at all. That said there are a lot of effects not properly simulated in TPA that affect difficulty. 1) give and warping of standup targets. they shift position slight after each hit. this causes rebounds off of them to be slightly randomized. lack of this is what makes TPA T2 a joke. you could NOT reliably shoot the three bank with one shot in real life. 2) fatigue of rubber. similar to the standups rubber also does not precisely return. the effect is less than it is for standups, but it can make the difference between a ball rebounding into the inlane vs the outlane. 3) for many tables scoop kickouts are totally non random. while scoops ANGLES are very consistent when working properly, their strength is not. there should be slight variations which affect your ability to hold trap and dead bounce. they also would have randomized minor spin, which also affects dead bounces. In real life, every single time you hit a standup that doesn't feed a flipper after, you are tempting fate. And that's usually not the case in TPA. Were I a programmer, i'd add in this subtle randomness, and it would increase difficulty on most tables without being unfair. No one wants every failed shot to drain after all. stuff that's about a 50/50 chance of drain or safe shot is more like 100% or 0%. for that matter, what should be about a 25% chance is either 100% or zero. Since live catches are now in, we can be more random with the scoop kickouts and still be fair. PS: tables are usually set to default settings, then changed to add-a-ball mode and free play. If anything else is changed, usually it's the handling for specials. Also, the self percenting features are inactive on TPA generally. in real life the table will dynamically adjust the replay score and shots for extra ball to continue to challenge the players. PPS: slope DOES change aiming. a higher slope will cause the ball to lose vertical momentum faster, which will make the flippers aim wider unless the solenoid is beefed up to compensate. If slope didn't change aiming, then thing flips wouldn't need to be recalibrated after a slope change. [/QUOTE]
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