[The perfect Dark]

Is there really no local highscore list?

[bradigor]

Is there really no local highscore list?

There is, it is a top 5 local leaderboard. It is at table level. Whereas online is at menu level.

[The perfect Dark]

There is, it is a top 5 local leaderboard. It is at table level. Whereas online is at menu level.

Thanks!

hmm maybe I'll buy it but I constantly have the feeling that there's something ...missing...

[Minsc]

Thanks! hmm maybe I'll buy it but I constantly have the feeling that there's something ...missing...

Well, it may not be perfect (though hopefully it gets there), but the general consensus is you won't find a better pinball simulation anywhere!

[Parallax Scroll]

3) Bounciness, the ball feels a lot more "rubbery", its not impossible to control, as I got 3 billion on theater of magic, but I found myself judging bounce passes wrong, post passes wrong, and not able to flipper pass with regular predictability. Its not that the physics are broken, it just means I have to take the time to get used to it. It's a minor thing but not as bad as getting so many drains due to angle of ball placement like in TOTAN, thats really frustrating.

This is where I'm at right now. I feel like I need to learn ball control all over again. Nothing wrong with that though.

[Brashnir]

There is, it is a top 5 local leaderboard. It is at table level. Whereas online is at menu level.

The leaderboards have taken a step in the right direction from PHoF, but the reality is they needed to take about 3 steps, so they're still not where I'd like them to be.

It amazes me that Geometry Wars: RE 2 came out almost 4 years ago, and so many score attack titles still come out and fall short of the mark.

[added_time]

I noticed the ball go right through an upper flipper once... but other than that I'm loving it on XBLA! I hope we don't have to wait too long for more tables!

[tw1164]

Every time I get a score (1.7B) I'm proud of I read a post on here and remember I'm not that good. Man, these machines feel different from the FX2 machines. It will take a while for me to get used to the ball having so much weight. I do like is the goals each machine has, maybe it something the FX2 guys can add to their future machine. My GT is tw1164 if want people for your leader boards.

[TheyTookOurJobs]

Is there a way to configure the controls to map the flippers to the top bumpers?

How and where?

[Brashnir]

Is there a way to configure the controls to map the flippers to the top bumpers? How and where?

Yes, it's in Help + Options -> Settings

[surly]

Does anyone else think that the framerate seems low on the XBLA version? I play Pinball FX2 a lot - and I know that's a different style of pinball game really - but it's really buttery smooth, while I felt that the framerate was kinda low with this.

[Rlan]

Farsight really need to get a better UI designer. PInball is good, but the menus are shockingly budget and awful to use.

[Minsc]

Does anyone else think that the framerate seems low on the XBLA version? I play Pinball FX2 a lot - and I know that's a different style of pinball game really - but it's really buttery smooth, while I felt that the framerate was kinda low with this.

Seems to be perfectly smooth to me with not a hint of choppiness anywhere... i wonder if it makes any difference what resolution it's outputting at, since it outputs upto a native 1080p. Does it get any better if you set your Xbox to 720p as a test?

Farsight really need to get a better UI designer. PInball is good, but the menus are shockingly budget and awful to use.

I agree, hopefully it's in their plans down the road to make a virtual arcade with all the pinball tables in it which you can walk around.

[Kai Dracon]

The leaderboards have taken a step in the right direction from PHoF, but the reality is they needed to take about 3 steps, so they're still not where I'd like them to be. It amazes me that Geometry Wars: RE 2 came out almost 4 years ago, and so many score attack titles still come out and fall short of the mark.

Most titles seem to follow one of a few generic UI hierarchies for where to stick the leaderboards and how to organize them. Sadly, it's not very good.

It should be standard that EVERY game where score and leaderboards matter hits a few points:

- Next highest score listed during play, configurable to friend, personal position, or global best.

- Leaderboard integration with mode and event select screen.

- Timeline of last 10 (or whatever) personal bests displayed after game ends.

Pinball FX2's UI is a bit f**knuts with stuff all over the place but it does present a boatload of useful information and scoring context during live gameplay.

[larvi]

Warning, quitting out of a game will cause you to lose any of the goals you made for that game. I just beat all of the standard goals on the 1st ball of my 2nd game on the ToM table, then rather than finishing off that game I quit because I wanted to start a new game with the Wizard game goals active because it's very annoying when you have a good game that would have unlocked 1 or more of the Wizard goals but you don't get credit for them because you are still working on the standard goals. But even though I got the achievement when I quit out and started a new game I had to earn the same goals again.

So it must only save goal process at the end of a game, I don't recall that being the case in the Williams Pinball game.

[Parallax Scroll]

Most titles seem to follow one of a few generic UI hierarchies for where to stick the leaderboards and how to organize them. Sadly, it's not very good. It should be standard that EVERY game where score and leaderboards matter hits a few points: - Next highest score listed during play, configurable to friend, personal position, or global best. - Leaderboard integration with mode and event select screen. - Timeline of last 10 (or whatever) personal bests displayed after game ends. Pinball FX2's UI is a bit f**knuts with stuff all over the place but it does present a boatload of useful information and scoring context during live gameplay.

yeah but pinball FX2 is for people who don't like pinball

[TxdoHawk]

Oh man, I just unlocked the Wizard goals for Theatre of Magic, which led me to read how to get to the Grand Finale...there is no way I am going to manage all that anytime soon. D:

[Gentleman Jack]

I agree, hopefully it's in their plans down the road to make a virtual arcade with all the pinball tables in it which you can walk around.

Gran Turismo 5 style Photo Mode of my personal virtual pinball arcade?
I want it.

[Parallax Scroll]

Shit, I don't even know the ruleset for Black Hole and I'm already in the XBL top 10. Just wait till I know what targets I'm supposed to be aiming for.

[surly]

Seems to be perfectly smooth to me with not a hint of choppiness anywhere... i wonder if it makes any difference what resolution it's outputting at, since it outputs upto a native 1080p. Does it get any better if you set your Xbox to 720p as a test?

My 360 is hooked up to a monitor via a VGA cable, so the resolution is set to 1,680 x 1,050 (the native res of that particular monitor).

[Parallax Scroll]

Maybe I'm just an old man who can't recognize framerates anymore, but it seems fine to me.

[Wonko_C]

My 360 is hooked up to a monitor via a VGA cable, so the resolution is set to 1,680 x 1,050 (the native res of that particular monitor).

Perhaps it's because of the uncommon resolution? I played the demo in 1080p (which looks like upscaled 720p to me but I'm no pixel-counter) and it's a rock-solid 60fps.

[Brashnir]

Just took a couple turns at Ripley's. The flashing lights become a little less distracting as you get used to the table. I love hearing the guy shout SUUUUPPPAAAAHHHHH JACKPOOOOOTTTT. Scored 91 million, good for 30th on the LB with barely a clue of how anything on the table works.

[Gaspode_T]

Almost 1.2B on XBLA Theater of Magic - bring it on :)

First time I've ever been #1 on friends list with these pinball games, because I have a bunch of Penny Arcade elite experts on there...so I think it's just a matter of time (like 24 or 4 hours) before I am topped

[Spasm]

Runs like balls on my Transformer. Definitely sub-30 fps. Not to mention it's a crash fest. Need THD version, stat!

[Daigoro]

framerate seems solid enough to me. i certainly didnt notice any slowdown or fluctuation.

hmm maybe I'll buy it but I constantly have the feeling that there's something ...missing...

like what?

Farsight really need to get a better UI designer. PInball is good, but the menus are shockingly budget and awful to use.

they are simple and pretty budget looking, but shockingly awful to use? that's a bit much.

[Mrhorseshoe]

The Medieval Madness video they released a few weeks ago showed a bunch of dynamic lighting. It looked pretty amazing. I wonder if they'll patch it in for these initial tables.

I like Black Hole the best so far. All the games are fantastic, though. I hope FarSight keeps pumping out these classics!

As for the framerate complaints, you have to remember that the game is emulating the original ROMs and that takes a bunch of CPU power. They said they would be patching the games for improved performance on all platforms in the near future.

[Shaneus]

Farsight really need to get a better UI designer. PInball is good, but the menus are shockingly budget and awful to use.

Oh god yes. They use basically the same elements on each version, dating right back to the Gottlieb collection.

Does anyone else think that the framerate seems low on the XBLA version? I play Pinball FX2 a lot - and I know that's a different style of pinball game really - but it's really buttery smooth, while I felt that the framerate was kinda low with this.

Framerate seems fine on mine, but some tables feel like 60fps while others feel 30. I have no idea why, though.

The Medieval Madness video they released a few weeks ago showed a bunch of dynamic lighting. It looked pretty amazing. I wonder if they'll patch it in for these initial tables.

Pretty sure it's there on the two "darker" tables... ToM and Black Hole, from memory. They're the ones that feel like they're running smoother than the others, too.

[Chojin]

Okay I'm getting tired of these goddamn goalposts!

I just hit 7.8 million on Theatre of Magic. Guess what? Number one just shot up to 9.8 million. I'm #2 on the leader boards.


Number 2.

I feel like shit.



also I'm JPbishi on xbl so yeah.

[Daigoro]

Okay I'm getting tired of these goddamn goalposts! I just hit 7.8 million on Theatre of Magic. Guess what? Number one just shot up to 9.8 million. I'm #2 on the leader boards. Number 2. I feel like shit. also I'm JPbishi on xbl so yeah.

this is just the beginning im sure. those goalpost are only going to move further and further away.

i actually was right next to one of your scores on one of the boards earlier (forget which one), but probably not anymore.

im going into this whole thing for the pure enjoyement of playing pinball. if i went into it for score attack, im bound to be disappointed. this way if i get a decent score on a few tables it'll be icing on the cake.

[surly]

Framerate seems fine on mine, but some tables feel like 60fps while others feel 30. I have no idea why, though.

Yeah, that's kinda what I meant with my comment earlier.

If they continue polishing the game it'll be great, especially with all of the tables they've got planned, but right now I'd say it's very good but not quite great.

[Parallax Scroll]

Okay I'm getting tired of these goddamn goalposts! I just hit 7.8 million on Theatre of Magic. Guess what? Number one just shot up to 9.8 million. I'm #2 on the leader boards. Number 2. I feel like shit. also I'm JPbishi on xbl so yeah.

Grats dude. I'll chase after your score someday, but I don't know the table very well yet.

[Chojin]

Oh did I say Million? I meant Billion. FML :p My fingers hurt.

[Daigoro]

ok i need some pointers.

im playing Arabian Nights and im having problems hitting the far left ramp consistently. what am i doing wrong? actually i have problems going to the farthest ramp on either side.

im sure its my lack of ball control at this stage, but i need to know what i should be looking for to consistently hit these side ramps. please and thank you.

[FoxSpirit]

ok i need some pointers. im playing Arabian Nights and im having problems hitting the far left ramp consistently. what am i doing wrong? actually i have problems going to the farthest ramp on either side. im sure its my lack of ball control at this stage, but i need to know what i should be looking for to consistently hit these side ramps. please and thank you.

You have to wait just an instant longer before shooting for the ramp. That's it. And if you wait one instant longer the ball already starts rolling off. Needs a lot of practice, if those loops were easy you'd have infinite balls :-P

[Brashnir]

Oh did I say Million? I meant Billion. FML :p My fingers hurt.

We know. I'm pretty sure you get 10 million for launching the ball on ToM. :P

[Daigoro]

You have to wait just an instant longer before shooting for the ramp. That's it. And if you wait one instant longer the ball already starts rolling off. Needs a lot of practice, if those loops were easy you'd have infinite balls :-P

yeah i guess i just need to get used to it. its hard to find that sweet spot.

[larvi]

ok i need some pointers. im playing Arabian Nights and im having problems hitting the far left ramp consistently. what am i doing wrong? actually i have problems going to the farthest ramp on either side. im sure its my lack of ball control at this stage, but i need to know what i should be looking for to consistently hit these side ramps. please and thank you.

I seem to be able to get the left ramp pretty consistently by freezing the ball on the right flipper after it comes out of the bazaar then letting it roll down until almost the end of the flipper before shooting. I just got the Harem multiball by spelling Harem from the left lane, I was never able to do that on the pinball classics version, instead i had to resort to getting lucky with harem sneak-ins.

Now I have gotten all the standard goals for TotAN, ToM, and Ripleys. Just have Black Hole left to get then I can start working on the Wizard goals.

Edit - just got Black Hole standard goals (the lower table goals took me many tries, I just can't seem to control the ball well there.), time to go to work on the Wizard goals for all 4 tables.

[MightyHedgehog]

Gonna have to spend time with this soon, but what I've tried of it is about what I expected. Nice AA, nice ball reflections, better lighting and texture clarity. Also, better sound and samples. Can't tell for certain yet, but ToAN seems to run faster than PHoF Williams Collection, where several of the modern, multi-ball- and feature-heavy tables ran at reduced speed compared to older, simpler tables. Looking forward to years of this platform delivering.

[Parallax Scroll]

ok i need some pointers. im playing Arabian Nights and im having problems hitting the far left ramp consistently. what am i doing wrong? actually i have problems going to the farthest ramp on either side. im sure its my lack of ball control at this stage, but i need to know what i should be looking for to consistently hit these side ramps. please and thank you.

Only go for the ramps when the ball is rolling down the surface of the flipper - so either when the ball has come down the inlane, or after trapping the ball. If you look at the flipper while the ball is rolling down, there's a certain sweet spot the ball will be at where you need to flip it. Once you figure out where this sweet spot is, you're set.

Gonna have to spend time with this soon, but what I've tried of it is about what I expected. Nice AA, nice ball reflections, better lighting and texture clarity. Also, better sound and samples. Can't tell for certain yet, but ToAN seems to run faster than PHoF Williams Collection, where several of the modern, multi-ball- and feature-heavy tables ran at reduced speed compared to older, simpler tables. Looking forward to years of this platform delivering.

Arabian Nights definitely looks much nicer in this version than on the old PHOF. The table lights are a lot brighter and the 3D playfield toys look better too.

[Number45]

Old news?

PS3/Vita versions due next week and it's a buy one, get both setup. :)

[Jucksalbe]

There's a thread about it here.

[Agent X]

Old news? PS3/Vita versions due next week and it's a buy one, get both setup. :)

Not old news at all.

Before today's PS Blog post, I knew that the add-on DLC would be shared between both systems, but I thought that the core game engine needed to be purchased separately for PS3 & Vita. They've now confirmed that the game itself will be a "buy one, get both" shared purchase for both systems, for the price of $9.99. Awesome deal!

[Parallax Scroll]

I played so much Black Hole that my hands hurt, but my ball control's getting pretty damn good. Currently sitting at XBL #5 with 4.6 million.

[Dash Kappei]

Really hope the PSN version is gonna have a trial/demo.
How big is the download on 360?

[Chojin]

I played so much Black Hole that my hands hurt, but my ball control's getting pretty damn good. Currently sitting at XBL #5 with 4.6 million.

Awesome! I have an allergic aversion to Gottleib tables from the 70's and up. They always felt unfair and piss me off to no end. I don't think I'll get there with TBH.

[Parallax Scroll]

After playing a bunch of Black Hole games, on my first game of Ripley's I scored 183 million. I didn't even get wizard mode.

[gururoji]

Does anyone know what's up with Facebook-connected leaderboards for the XBLA version...are they not in? One of the big draws for me (since I already own this on the iPad) was going to be having one central high score between my device and still having my friends playing the PS3 version able to compete. If that's not in there I'm gonna be disappointed, I swear it was at least implied previously...though at least on TOTAN I can do way better on the console than I can on the iPad, so maybe the separation is warranted...

[daffy]

if the iPad ver is 99¢ and the Vita ver is $10, is there a difference between content on those versions?

[Shearie]

if the iPad ver is 99¢ and the Vita ver is $10, is there a difference between content on those versions?

There are two iOS versions. One's free with no tables unlocked and the 99¢ one has TotAN unlocked. If you buy all the tables in-game regardless of what iOS version you have, it adds up to $9.99.