PS3 input lag issue

[ScotchYeti]

That's what I experience at well - the good old PHoF works perfectly fine and in TPA it doesn't. It's clear that the TV makes a difference but that doesn't solve the problem. ZEN has no issues and you can't really recommend to buy a new TV for a 10 dollar game.

I am pretty sure that it's a VSync issue in TPA. While it improves the graphic quality, it introduces the input lag that we are talking about. What about an option to turn it off? There are also other ways to deal with it but that's up to the programmers. I really hope they do something about it.

 

[RetroDude]

you can't really recommend to buy a new TV for a 10 dollar game.

For many pinball fans, the price of the game is irrelevant.
It's the PLAYING of the game.
Why do you think people spend THOUSANDS of dollars building pin cabinets for the *other* pinball simulations?





I'm not a video gamer.. I am a PINBALL person.
I've been waiting for the PC version to come out.

I don't currently have any platforms that I can play TPA on.
I'm likely to go out and spend the money to buy an Xbox system or a PS3 just to play this "10 dollar game".

When the PC version comes out.. if it has the features some folks are asking for (and FarSight is hinting at supporting), I'm likely to spend a considerable amount of money building a new PC, getting new monitors and possibly starting my own cabinet build.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Jake from Farsight commented on this issue here:
http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/955-iOS-Version-1-1-4-Bugs?p=12256&viewfull=1#post12256

So at least we know it's acknowledged and being worked on.

 

[Jan Duin]

Thanks for linking to that post Jeff.

 

[PinHead4Life]

I've been reading through the forum a bit and from what I can tell the only difference between the 360 version and the PS3 is the lighting, correct? Apparently, the improved lighting on the PS3 causes lag though. Is that about it or are the more differences? I also believe I read that the same lighting as the PS3 would be implemented to the 360 version with the release of one of the DLC packs. If this is accurate has there been any official word if the updated/improved lighting on the 360 would effect the lag? Or are we just left to wait and wonder?

 

[Crush3d_Turtle]

Jake from Farsight commented on this issue here:
http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/955-iOS-Version-1-1-4-Bugs?p=12256&viewfull=1#post12256

So at least we know it's acknowledged and being worked on.

Thank-you very much for posting that.

 

[Tabe]

Jake from Farsight commented on this issue here:
http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/955-iOS-Version-1-1-4-Bugs?p=12256&viewfull=1#post12256

So at least we know it's acknowledged and being worked on.

Nice to know that Farsight has acknowledged that the DOES exist, that the lag DOES happen, and Farsight disagrees with those who seemed to think we were making it up.

Tabe

 

[Supermans]

I tried out the PS3 demo of TOTAN and it is unplayable on my DLP. I have no lag playing zen pinball or any other game.

 

[brakel]

We have discovered something at our house that is interesting but I'm not sure what exactly it means. We have a couple of "old" controllers from the first couple of years that the dualshock 3 was available. We also have two controllers that we purchased in the last two months. These are Sony branded controllers and seem to be exactly the same as the "old" dualshock controllers that we have except that they are white in color. When we have both controllers turned on while playing TPA (even though it only supports one controller) we experience flipper lag. We also see lag when using the plunger. If we turn off one of the new controllers this lag goes away.

Now for the more interesting part. We also have Everybody's Golf 5. When we play with the new controllers with both of them connected we do not experience any lag. The golf game needs at least the same precise timing as TPA yet we have no problems at all with the golf game.

This leads me to believe that TPA is somehow processing or using the controllers in a way that is creating lag when used with multiple controllers connected wirelessly AND they are both newer controllers. Sony must have changed something in the radio or processing of the newer controllers since it is only happening with them. It would not surprise me that FS might have only tested TPA with original Dualshock controllers.

I thought that perhaps it was just these two controllers that had some kind of bluetooth radio conflict or something so I had a friend of mine bring over his controllers. He had just bought two new controllers also. He bought a red one and a pink one. When we hooked them up we had the same problem with TPA lag that I had with the white controllers. Could it be only the new color controllers are doing this or is it just that Sony changed something with the new controllers? Just as another check we played golf with new red and pink controllers and did not experience any lag.

Does this sound crazy or is it a clue? When I'm troubleshooting phone systems or call flow at work and I run into something like this I always say "This seems like too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence!"

Maybe there are different bluetooth radios that Sony has used in their controllers and maybe each need to have a slightly different protocol in the game to make them respond right? It really makes no sense to me that the game would have trouble with two being on and connected wirelessly but no problem when only one is. And it makes no sense to me that another game would have no problems at all with them.

I'd like to send these findings to FS but not sure how to write it up so I thought I'd post here first and get some feedback from you guys. I'd be willing to talk to them also if they think this might be a cause so that they understand what I've done to recreate the flipper lag problems.

 

[Fungi]

Maybe you can just paint them black.

Thank you I'll be here all week!

 

[BonzoGonzo]

- snip -

interesting stuff and not too far fetched either... i know for a fact that some ps/ps2 to ps3 pad converters stopped working on ps3 with new updates for example... so yeah, sony could be using some other protocols with newer pads and that is affecting the lag...

should be properly tested though

 

[Jeff Strong]

Very interesting indeed, Brakel. You should definitely pass this along to Farsight.

Btw, I only have one controller, and it's only a couple months old, so I can't do any testing in this regard, but Farsight needs to look into this for sure.

 

[Mike]

Im using a newer dual shock. My ps3 came with just a plain controller. Just the one controller here, same as Jeff. Game mode etc. seemed to help a bit but it is still too much lag to be accurate. I spent a long time screwing around trying to figure it out. As I've said in other threads, PHoF had lag too but you could still control your shots. Zen had about the same amount of lag as the Williams collection. Regardless of your configuration of hardware, there's no reason TPA should have more lag than PHoF on the same tv and ps3. Ultimately I gave up and play on iPad 2. It's great but I sure miss the control of the bumping you have on ps3.

 

[Arcflup]

Workaround

I've found a fix for my lag.

New PS3, bought to play TPA after being impressed with the iPad version.
Sony Bravia TV.

Using the wireless controller supplied other pinball (and golf) games have no lag, only TPA and it's ball-breaking lag too. Using the usb cable with the wireless controller makes little difference, maybe slightly less lag. So I had an idea. Years back I purchased a cheapy PS/PC controller adapter,.. I thought I'd give it a try...

I plugged my PS2 Dualshock2 controller into the adapter and plugged the adapter into my PS3.

BINGO!...NO LAG!!!

It isn't perfect, I have to use my wireless PS3 controller for the PS button to quit etc and something isn't right with the view change buttons they work but are very hit and miss.

Admittedly I haven't been playing the PS3 version much due to the lag but today I've been smashing my high scores like it's going out of fashion. It's surprising what you can do when the ball goes where you expect it to

Roll on Tuesday so I can have some good tables to play

 

[JavaJack]

http://home.roadrunner.com/~javajack/images/lagtest.gif

 

[Supermans]

http://home.roadrunner.com/~javajack/images/lagtest.gif

Yep, the williams collection ps2 game has no discernable lag being played on my ps3 while the pinball arcade does, and makes it unplayable. I will stick with the IOS version until there is a fix.

 

[Sinistar]

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/videooutput.html

http://www.askinged.com/39/how-to-reset-ps3-video-settings-from-hdmi-to-av/

Guys I want to help solve this , and maybe using the above links referring to HOW TO OPTIMISE PS3 for your TV , it just might be you have your PS3 set to a mode that is not best suited for this game.

everyone keeps posting they changed the TV , and im thinking to myself, maybe it's the PS3 settings? Set your TV with brightness, gamma , sharpness on normal levels , if your colors bleed then adjust them so you see no "Bleed lines' . using the above links let the Ps3 adjust itself to conform to your TV or monitor. During the release of Battlefield 3 last year , this issue also surfaced , so it really is a TV specific non-game software issue for some people.

Also , could be blue tooth interference caused by nearby appliances , another blue tooth device might be the problem . I have no lag issues for the game .

I use a Dual shock 3 pad
PS3 Slim 160 Gig
Samsung Syncmaster TA 350 hooked up with HDMI cable (3 foot)

 

[Dumahim]

We've got the TV settings covered.
Other games on the PS3 or the 360 do not experience the same lag that we see in TPA.

You say you don't have lag, but have you compared TPA to another pinball game on the PS3 or 360? People tend to adjust to what they're playing and it'll seem normal until you try a different game and find it isn't quite the same.

 

[BonzoGonzo]

You say you don't have lag, but have you compared TPA to another pinball game on the PS3 or 360?

this

(ten characters)

 

[Sinistar]

We've got the TV settings covered.
Other games on the PS3 or the 360 do not experience the same lag that we see in TPA.

You say you don't have lag, but have you compared TPA to another pinball game on the PS3 or 360? People tend to adjust to what they're playing and it'll seem normal until you try a different game and find it isn't quite the same.

Why would it be the same as another game ? The Pinball Arcade is it's own game , it does not have to conform to a standard set by a competing software , I will download a demo for Zen Pinball to see if I notice what you refer to , but again if you judge how one game is by how you "perceive" it should be , based on using another game ? I know TPA feels right to me , but im a slow old man with big hands and weak eyes , so maybe it's just me.