532 replies to this topic

[ComputerSpaceFan]

HammR25, on Wed Apr 4, 2012 7:09 AM, said:

Random Terrain, on Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:24 AM, said:

I hope we'll be able to try demo versions before buying each one. Is it April 4th yet?

Yes it's April 4th yet.  There's a trial version but I just immediately bought it.

It was not on PSN last night and Sony does their updates on Tuesdays so I am wondering does that mean us PS3 folks have to wait till next Tuesday or is it out today?

[Austin]

The collection is good, except that it didn't upload my correct score for Theater of Magic. I made a 10 billion point game, and it registered my score as 272 million? Um... My bonus was higher than that the majority of the time!

[ComputerSpaceFan]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Wed Apr 4, 2012 8:30 AM, said:

HammR25, on Wed Apr 4, 2012 7:09 AM, said:

Random Terrain, on Sat Mar 31, 2012 12:24 AM, said:

I hope we'll be able to try demo versions before buying each one. Is it April 4th yet?

Yes it's April 4th yet.  There's a trial version but I just immediately bought it.

It was not on PSN last night and Sony does their updates on Tuesdays so I am wondering does that mean us PS3 folks have to wait till next Tuesday or is it out today?

So I read on a forum that yes the game comes out for PSN next Tuesday. Oh well, what's one more week I guess.

[Austin]

Well, I've experienced a couple of glitches (note: these are only in Theatre of Magic, as that's what I spent my time with last night). Sometimes when you press "A" to start a new game, it won't start the game, load a ball and take you to plunger like it is supposed to. It just sits there with its up-close, floating camera (that is normally for show). It's like it gets stuck and you can't do anything. You have to exit, then start a new game (or possibly call the attendant, but I didn't try that). Also, I nailed another 10 billion point game last night. And guess what? My score reset again. It's as if the game cannot handle a score that large. Maybe it was a quirk of the original pinball game ROMs, but hopefully not, otherwise there's not much point in playing for the rankings on this one. Basically, after I hit the 10 billion mark, the "10" in the digits of my score disappear, leaving me only with what millions are on the board. I ended up with a score that was around 2.5 billion (after forcing myself to drain after realizing my score I had worked on for 45 minutes was mostly wiped away), when it should have been 12.5 billion.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

I read one reviewer say that the Ripley's table is hard to play due to the view not zooming in enough in the upper playfield, is that true? And he also says the graphics aren't as sharp as the disc-based Pinball Hall of Fame games, would you agree?

[Austin]

I haven't tried Ripley yet, but on ToM I play with a locked camera angle (usually #2). Haven't had any problems with ToM in that regard.

As far as the graphics, I can't say because I am playing it on a standard CRT. Right now it seems about the same to me, although I can definitely tell the textures are nicer, and there are some subtle glow effects (for instance, on the lights under the slingshots). Also a thing of note, it's full-screen on my TV and not letterboxed like most modern games today (even the XBLA releases). I might hook it up to my LCD monitor to see how a higher resolution fares.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Oh and how are the ball physics, by the way? Light and marble-ish like Marvel Pinball/Pinball FX or heavy and underwatery like the Williams Collection?
I like the way they were in Williams Collection.

[Austin]

The physics are like the Williams Collection, but slightly improved. There feels like there's a little more "pull" on the ball, making it bounce and feel a little more like a real pinball machine. It still somewhat floaty and it feels mostly like the old Williams collection. The ball looks much, much nicer now though, which is a welcome improvement.

[moycon]

I kind of liked the presentation better in The Williams collection, that is the tables arranged around an arcade.
Not a huge deal, but the tables just floating in a line just doesn't do as much for me. I do like the game. Looking forward to picking up some beloved favorites from the past.
Can't wait for Creature From the Black Lagoon!!

[Austin]

moycon, on Thu Apr 5, 2012 3:44 PM, said:

I kind of liked the presentation better in The Williams collection, that is the tables arranged around an arcade. Not a huge deal, but the tables just floating in a line just doesn't do as much for me.

Yep, same here. A lot of the charm found in the original WAS the arcade and some of the original tunes as well. Getting more tables in the future though will definitely negate that, but I feel they could have spruced things up more (I'm surprised they didn't, considering their older collections).

Can't wait for Monster Bash, Bride of Pinbot, and Creature myself!

[onlysublime]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Thu Apr 5, 2012 1:42 PM, said:

I read one reviewer... And he also says the graphics aren't as sharp as the disc-based Pinball Hall of Fame games, would you agree?

I don't agree with this view at all.  The graphics are definitely higher resolution in Pinball Arcade than Pinball Hall of Fame.  And the colors just pop in the newer version.

[Random Terrain]

Austin, on Thu Apr 5, 2012 12:40 PM, said:

Sometimes when you press "A" to start a new game, it won't start the game, load a ball and take you to plunger like it is supposed to. It just sits there with its up-close, floating camera (that is normally for show). It's like it gets stuck and you can't do anything. You have to exit, then start a new game (or possibly call the attendant, but I didn't try that).

I just had that happen to me. Calling the attendant didn't work. It said nothing was wrong. I just had to restart the game.

I got an extra ball with Ripley's, but I was putting in my initials and that seemed to cancel out the extra ball. I hope they patch up these bugs.

[Random Terrain]

I don't know about anyone else, but I hate putting in a disc just to play pinball, so now I'll be able to play the good stuff any time I want no matter what disc I have in. And I'd rather play recreations of real pinball games, so for me, this is going to kill Pinball FX 2. I'll probably never play Pinball FX 2 again.

[Austin]

Random Terrain, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:20 PM, said:

I don't know about anyone else, but I hate putting in a disc just to play pinball

My Williams disc has very rarely left my 360's drive since I got it.

Random Terrain, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:20 PM, said:

And I'd rather play recreations of real pinball games, so for me, this is going to kill Pinball FX 2. I'll probably never play Pinball FX 2 again.

Same here. I prefer the physics of the FarSight games more than the Pinball FX games, and I feel the real tables are designed much better overall and are much more engaging overall. Granted, they were designed by industry veterans, but still.

I just wish (asides from some of the bugs), they spiced up the menu here as well as added some more fleshed out score comparison options like in Pinball FX2. That's where that game wipes the floor with the Pinball Arcade.

[Random Terrain]

Austin, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:26 PM, said:

I just wish (asides from some of the bugs), they spiced up the menu here as well as added some more fleshed out score comparison options like in Pinball FX2. That's where that game wipes the floor with the Pinball Arcade.

Hopefully they'll keep updating and improving it over time. And I don't mind not having the arcade setup and music. I just want to play the games. I don't want to have to unlock anything or have any other speed bumps. I just want to get to the game I want to play as quickly as possible.

[Austin]

Random Terrain, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:41 PM, said:

I don't want to have to unlock anything or have any other speed bumps. I just want to get to the game I want to play as quickly as possible.

That's one thing I don't miss at all--having to unlock tables that are already there. It was especially bad in the Gottlieb collection. Ugh.

[ComputerSpaceFan]

Some footage of the 360 version I found on YouTube.



Luckily Black Hole plays way better than the version I have on GameCube's Gottleib Collection (some times the ball flies so fast I have to lock the view so the whole table is seen) but what does concern me here with this footage is the ball seems to lose frames occasionally. Is this true? Maybe the guy capturing the video here didn't set his video properly but I'm curious if it has missing frames like this footage shows.

[onlysublime]

Austin, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 7:22 PM, said:

Random Terrain, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 6:41 PM, said:

I don't want to have to unlock anything or have any other speed bumps. I just want to get to the game I want to play as quickly as possible.

That's one thing I don't miss at all--having to unlock tables that are already there. It was especially bad in the Gottlieb collection. Ugh.

I think the lack of polish to the games is because they're not a big company and they're spread way too thin.  They're making Pinball Arcade for virtually every single platform out there.  iOS, Android, XBLA, PSN, PS Vita, 3DS, Windows, and Mac.  That's a hefty list.  They definitely could've left out at least the Mac and the Vita as the user base is so small.

On the other topic, I still haven't unlocked Jive Time for PHoF: The Williams Collection!  how the heck do I do that???

[Austin]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 9:04 PM, said:

  Is this true? Maybe the guy capturing the video here didn't set his video properly but I'm curious if it has missing frames like this footage shows.

That's a quirk of the guy's recording setup. The game (and ball) moves silky-smooth.

onlysublime, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 9:07 PM, said:

On the other topic, I still haven't unlocked Jive Time for PHoF: The Williams Collection! how the heck do I do that???

It's something stupid like making every standard goal or something like that. The PSP version gives it to you right out of the gate, heh..

[onlysublime]

ComputerSpaceFan, on Fri Apr 6, 2012 9:04 PM, said:

Luckily Black Hole plays way better than the version I have on GameCube's Gottleib Collection (some times the ball flies so fast I have to lock the view so the whole table is seen) but what does concern me here with this footage is the ball seems to lose frames occasionally. Is this true? Maybe the guy capturing the video here didn't set his video properly but I'm curious if it has missing frames like this footage shows.

Never judge recorded videos to be a true indication to a game's visuals, especially if the destination is Youtube.  There are better places that allow better quality video but most places don't allow gameplay video because they are considered copyright infringement.  In fact, if the company wants your gameplay video removed and complains to Youtube, they will remove it (I've had some removed at the request of the copyright holder).  Youtube doesn't allow 60 fps videos either which hurts games like Modern Warfare, Forza, Pinball Hall of Fame, etc. that are 60 fps games.  Also, Youtube compresses the heck out of many videos.  Sometimes the Youtube transcoder does a good job.  Other times, it really destroys the video.  Regardless, it really compresses the bitrate down.  That's the Youtube side of things.  

But then there's also user side errors.  I've had virus scans kick in while I was recording (and didn't realize because I was playing).  I've had my notebook go to sleep during recording because I forgot to turn off power settings.  I've had random USB disconnects (I use a Hauppauge HD-PVR with a laptop).  I've had the wrong recording settings.  And if you're editing the video, most edits are destructive and will require transcoding or re-encoding, resulting in lower quality video.  If your PC isn't quite good enough to handle your settings, that will also result in dropped frames, requiring you to either tone down your settings, get more RAM, get a faster computer, or get faster drives (like an SSD or faster HD).

But I love recording gameplay.  It's my gaming history.  I can look back years from now and see what I played at so-and-so time.  Just like flipping through picture albums or old videos.  I still remember an old video my dad recorded of my brother and me playing Atari way back in the day.

[onlysublime]

for those still on the fence about getting the game (and why are you???)...

720P recordings:

Ripley's Believe It or Not!  0:48 start of gameplay.


Theatre of Magic  0:50 start of gameplay.


Black Hole  0:49 start of gameplay.

Note that Pinball Arcade is a 60 fps game but Youtube caps videos at 30 fps so you're not getting the true sense of animation smoothness and speed that the game actually offers. Also, sorry about the high compression that is occurring that is outside my control (hence the softness of the video). I'll try to play with the encoding settings so that the video is not so heavily compressed and later reupload if I can.  Youtube's transcoding is awfully heavy handed.

I wish the camera changes were as easy and flexible as Pinball Hall of Fame.  That's one of the few gripes I have with The Pinball Arcade.

[keilbaca]

I didn't get these tables as I bought them on the Android. Androids just got an update, with two new tables: Medieval Madness and........ Bride of Pinbot! I'm already in first on the leaderboards on Bride of Pinbot. One of the two games I wanted to play is finally here, I am so stoked! All I want now is Black Knight 2000 and I'll be in heaven.

[keilbaca]

There is a glitch with Bride of Pinbot. Sometimes the table won't let you plunge the ball when you get it back in the plunger slot. Resetting the ball works unless you're in multiball. I just had to end a 2 billion score because of the glitch.

[Austin]

I managed to get the 10billion reset issue on video. Skip to the 45:00 mark to see it reset.

[Rex Dart]

Anybody else think the table art is really pale / washed-out looking?