I'm playing Metroid Prime Pinball right now, and sometimes I do decent, and then it all comes crashing down when the ball just drops straight into the pit and there's nothing on earth that could stop it. It arcs and passes between the flippers with perfect form, not to be touched. Is this how pinball is? You have to sacrifice a ball (and your sanity) every once in awhile to the pinball god? ... or am I playing it wrong/badly? What's the deal?
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How does pinball even work
- Thread starter Stopdoor
- Start date
WhupTroyGAF
Member
Gravity. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.
Poimandres
Member
Physics. You should hit up some real pinball machines then it will all make sense.
For what it's worth I'm pretty awful at pinball but hoo boy it is fun!
For what it's worth I'm pretty awful at pinball but hoo boy it is fun!
SatoAilDarko
Member
That's what tilt is for I think.
Though I've rarely been able to prevent the ball going straight between the flippers.
Though I've rarely been able to prevent the ball going straight between the flippers.
Shadoron
Member
The idea behind playing pinball well is the same idea as in pool. You need to not only think about the right "angle" to hit the ball to make it go where you want, but also where the ball will go *after* you hit. Similar to "english" in pool. No pinball machine is designed to drain your ball off a feature or ramp shot, as long as you hit them correctly. You also have the nudge "tilt" ability to get yourself out of a pickle, if need be. Most modern era (80's and up) pinball machines will give you one "freebie" tilt nudge before actually tilting the machine. It'll show a message and make various sound effects to indicate a warning tilt, and will full on tilt if you have to do it again on the same ball.
In short, practice my friend!
In short, practice my friend!
if you are hitting your shots correctly, you have much less risk of losing a ball, but there has to be SOME chance or else the game would just go on forever... (some videogame pinball is probably easy enough and lacking enough randomness that a sufficiently skilled player would just play forever though)
at first using tilt might make you lose more balls than not, but if you get good at it you can definitely save a decent percentage of otherwise lost balls
at first using tilt might make you lose more balls than not, but if you get good at it you can definitely save a decent percentage of otherwise lost balls
Maybe not every game, but I thought you get penalized for tilting. It makes sense until you're flappers(?!) get paralyzed. I'm guessing people mean use it sparingly
Personally, some pinball games(design) are just cheap and bad. Out of the 10 or so Sonic pinball games, there was literally only ONE that I enjoyed, and still got bored quickly.
Mario....Pinball...Land. Easily the best Pinball game I've ever played, besides the real ones of course.
Personally, some pinball games(design) are just cheap and bad. Out of the 10 or so Sonic pinball games, there was literally only ONE that I enjoyed, and still got bored quickly.
Mario....Pinball...Land. Easily the best Pinball game I've ever played, besides the real ones of course.
runnin_blue
Banned
Is this the new "Y can't Metroid crawl?"?
Fitting that it's about Metroid pinball.
Fitting that it's about Metroid pinball.
You can get penalized in games for tilting if you do it too much. Otherwise you're good.
SatoAilDarko
Member
Slide a finger across the touch screen to tilt.
NameGenerated
Who paid you to grab Dr. Pavel?
You're lucky you even have flippers. Back in my day...
Real pinball machines have a physical plumb bob that when moved too much will give out warnings or tilt the machine. Shake the game too much and you lose your ball and bonus.
You need to learn how to control your balls. You can change the angle of your shot by letting the ball roll down the paddle and hitting it with the tip instead of hitting it whenever you can. You can also hold your ball in place with the flipper.
Since this is a pinball video game thread, can I just use the opportunity to say that Kirby's Pinball Land and Pinball Quest are the coolest? I love combining pinball with more traditional video game progression. Never got the chance to play Odama but it looks pretty awesome.
Since this is a pinball video game thread, can I just use the opportunity to say that Kirby's Pinball Land and Pinball Quest are the coolest? I love combining pinball with more traditional video game progression. Never got the chance to play Odama but it looks pretty awesome.
JoeyJungle
Banned
Yep for balls that drop straight down you gotta tilt to save it.
But how would they include the rumble???
PhilipDoesMatter
Member
Play Pinball FX 2 and you will understand.
KojiKnight
Member
Your missing the two Pokemon pinball games!
valinthyne
Member
Is it weird I want a pinball game on Switch now in which you can bump the console (or controllers) against your leg/waist to get a tilt effect?
Soapbox Killer
Grand Nagus
There was a time back in the 90s when I was more into pinball than Street Fighter, that makes me feel so old. I even remember when the multi ball was introduced and dear God was it a game changer. It was like adding a double jump to Mario Bros.
I think it was called "Earthquaker"
Going to Barcade this weekend just because now.
MY GOD..you are so right! And you could turn it vertically!
I think it was called "Earthquaker"
Going to Barcade this weekend just because now.
MY GOD..you are so right! And you could turn it vertically!
LordRaptor
Member
magic everywhere in this bitch
Haha yup, had this happen many times. I'm a pinball junkie. When I went to arcades, I'd always check to see which machines they had before anything else.
Iva Demilcol
Member
Nothing like a GAF thread asking how pinball machines work to make one feel old
lol indeed.
I'm happy the young ones discover the magic of pinball but it does make you feel old.
I remember having one of those toys that were handheld-like. I don't remember playing in a real one though.
Kageshinzo
Member
You should have invested time in Windows 95 Space Cadet pinball OP.
When I was in college back in the 90s, pinball machines in the arcade section in our local supermarket were my jam. Lost so many tokens in the Indiana Jones Pinball Adventures one.
When I was in college back in the 90s, pinball machines in the arcade section in our local supermarket were my jam. Lost so many tokens in the Indiana Jones Pinball Adventures one.
gate stormer
Member
I miss real pinball machines badly... :-(
They were a huge part of my childhood.
They were a huge part of my childhood.
I want a Switch pinball game where you place the switch console in a vertical tablet orientation into some small demented plastic pinball table accessory
ThEoRy...
Member
Wow. Lots of wires, switches, buttons and lights. More impressive even is the amount of hand labor that goes into making a table. Plus, Lord of the Rings. Win.
Skilled pinball players can go hours on a single credit. Every shot is aimed to go somewhere for points, table effects and jackpots. Hitting the ball with purpose and nudging the table helps avoid the out lanes and hole.
Pinball FX for virtual machines with cool video game effects.
Pinball Arcade for digital versions of real life machines. If you don't wanna pay for tables, pick up copies of Pinball Hall of Fame Williams Collection and Gottlieb Collection.
One day I'd like to get one of those virtual pinball machines with all the lights and feedback sensors. I wonder if they're making them with 4K (OLED!) screens now. I would go for real machines but I don't have the room for multiple machines and I definitely don't have the skill, resources and patience to maintain them.
Pinball FX for virtual machines with cool video game effects.
Pinball Arcade for digital versions of real life machines. If you don't wanna pay for tables, pick up copies of Pinball Hall of Fame Williams Collection and Gottlieb Collection.
One day I'd like to get one of those virtual pinball machines with all the lights and feedback sensors. I wonder if they're making them with 4K (OLED!) screens now. I would go for real machines but I don't have the room for multiple machines and I definitely don't have the skill, resources and patience to maintain them.
GenericBadGuy
Member
Wow what a ballache it is to make a machine! Can't imagine what its like to be a hobbyist and have to make some repairs.
electroflame
Member
Heh, you haven't played any of the more recent Sterns, have you? (Especially the ones with the extra-wide flipper gap)
Yup, it's less about the number of times you nudge the machine and more about the force you use. Here's how the actual mechanism looks (shamelessly taken from Google Images):
Basically, if the plumb bob in the middle touches the ring, it counts as a tilt (or tilt warning). The goal is to get the strongest nudges you can, without rocking the bob around too much that it makes contact. The longer you keep nudging things the more your nudges affect the swing of the plumb bob. It's just something you've got to practice, and the actual tilt sensitivity varies from machine-to-machine, as you can tweak it with the set screw (i.e. if you raise the bob up higher, it takes less force to make contact with the outer ring). For games with tilt warnings, it's generally okay to get aggressive to save a ball, as long as you don't go over the number of allowed warnings.
I mean, this obviously applies to real pinball machines -- digital (game) machines work differently.
Tainted
Member
You only have to hear stories from Pinball owners on how much of a pain in the ass they are to maintain or worse if something goes wrong.
As lovely as these things are...it's alot less stress jsut sticking to the virtual recreations via FX2 and Pinball Arcade, but unfortunately they do not come close to the real experience.
Ban Puncher
Member
How is pinbball formed?
Affeinvasion
Member
No video game has ever come close to emulating the ridiculously loud and satisfying PLONK sound that happens when you get an extra ball.
This reminds me: I need to write the pinball chapter in my dissertation.
This reminds me: I need to write the pinball chapter in my dissertation.
the androgyne
Member
When you can mess with the big boys, check out the old high scores thread 
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68696&page=3
I haven't played for a while but think that record in there still stands as my best!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=68696&page=3
I haven't played for a while but think that record in there still stands as my best!
LinkSlayer64
Member
THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT?
I bought this at GS used for 3 bucks and couldn't figure that out. Brb going to play pinball.
This is true. I found a pinball arcade in the city this past summer. I forget which machine it was but on one of my first games I got the ball bouncing after a strong flipper hit. That's something I have never seen simulated in hours of playing Pinball Hall of Fame, FX and Arcade. IRL ball behavior is more erratic and unpredictable. In video games, the ball "feels" magnetically attached to the playfield and gliding along in far more predictable ways.
I used to play pinball a lot in smaller arcades we have it here. I was pretty good at it too. Managed to stay a long time and with a great score using a single ball.
I used to know where and when to hit so that the ball wouldn't fall in the middle. The few times that it did, it was slightly off course so I managed to save a couple of times by hitting with one flipper so that it would bounce on the other one.
Now on this thread I learn that the machine should have a tilt and I never even thought of using lol
I used to know where and when to hit so that the ball wouldn't fall in the middle. The few times that it did, it was slightly off course so I managed to save a couple of times by hitting with one flipper so that it would bounce on the other one.
Now on this thread I learn that the machine should have a tilt and I never even thought of using lol
Yeah, I do know this is a thing, but that certainly doesn't feel intuitive in this game. I was kind of hoping there might be some other magical strategy, heh.
Tainted
Member
My local pinny arcade back in the 80s used to be run by this grumpy old so and so....whenever I nudged the machine I would get the death stare from her, so I became too scared to even try in the end. I think people who triggered a tilt got kicked out
I remember trying to explain to her once that its a legit tactic...but I can see it from her point of view if people were wrecking the machines driving up the service costs.
Tainted
Member
You physically nudge the chassis to change the trajectory of the ball. If you overdo it, the machine will Tilt causing the flippers to stop working and lose the ball.
As stated earlier, each machine has a tilt threshold which you need to learn...so a pro player will nudge skillfully as part of their general play.
NoblesseOblige
Banned
Pinball was a game meant to consume currency for a profit.