Questions Answered - FarSight

Hey Guys! Didn't want to leave you hanging on these good questions from "Ask Me Anything FarsightStudios - I will reply.".

Here goes!

@jaredmorgs: When will the Stern Pinball Arcade app embargo be lifted so other platforms can play the game?

We expect to be releasing to other platforms by late this fall.

@jaredmorgs: What other tables are planned for this season?

Both the classic and Regenerated Doctor Who tables will be released next month as part of Season Six! The rest are still to be revealed.

@jaredmorgs: Will VR on mobile be limited to Oculus? Or will the Google platform get access as well?

For now, Stern Pinball Arcade VR is exclusive for Oculus. We will be porting nonVR versions to other platforms late this fall. Personally, I hope other headsets as-well but I don't have anything to report officially on that yet.

@Jeff Strong: What ever happened to this? http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/9696-BREAKING-NEWS-New-Difficulty-Mode-w-Separate-Leaderboards-Coming!

There are complications to adding this feature in terms of table emulations and our game engine in general. It was no where near as simple as we'd thought. We're not giving up, though! - Bobby King

@invitro: Do you have a license to put Capcom tables in TPA? Is there any chance of seeing a Capcom table in TPA this season?

It is possible we will digitize Capcom tables in the future.

@pedersonsx: I think we all expect a Season 7 on certain devices. Will we get Season 8, or get tables periodically...say every 3 months or so, double pack of EM's?

We will continue to release tables as long as there is demand.

@Snorzel: Will you guys please give Black Knight a proper makeover?

Yes. We don't have an ETA but we are going to do this.

@Snorzel: Please add some of the missing mechanical sounds to your EMs like the reset ect. Also please check thescore reel animation.

Yes. All mechanical sounds will be added along with the flipper hum.

@Snorzel: What table do you like most irl? What table are you most excited to bring to TPA in the future?

Favorite table right now: TNG. Most excited to bring to pinball arcade? I am stoked about the Regenerated Doctor Who table.

@Snorzel: Will you bros please fix the mirror on ToM and the multiball cam for MB on DX11?

We have plans to fix this but no ETA.

@Trackball: Will you please fix Medieval Madness' flippers? That asymmetry is driving my OCD crazy!

On the list with other tables that have this same issue.

@Trackball: Why do some machines, such as Monster Bash, not have a Pro Menu available? Some of us like to turn on Tournament Mode!

Pro mode was a feature we started implementing late in Season One. We went back and added a few to the early tables but not all.

@pm1109: Will older stern tables still make it to Pinball Arcade or are they all exclusively for Stern Arcade now.

It's still possible that we will release older stern tables to pinball arcade.

@Locksley: There has been mentioned a new physics engine (or a tweaked one) for Stern Pinball that was pushed forward; there was talk about incorporating some of that into TPA - any news on that, anyone working on a new physics engine at all?

We've been working on ball spin which we hope to be a big part of physics 4.0 update. No ETA yet.

@EldarOfSuburbia: ROM emulation for all the SS tables that don't have it - gonna happen? I'd start with Black Hole, since it's the same MPU as Haunted House which is emulated. Then obviously BK, get that monkey off your back.

Yes we will do this in the future on tables that need emulation.

@Captain B. Zarre: When will the new physics come to older tables on iOS?

We've been adding the physics to a few tables each month. We will continue until the entire collection is complete.

@Gorgar: Upcoming Ps4 update. Which tables will be included? Will there be a fix for the sound issues? What about the always lit bumpers in Gorgar?

We will be releasing Rescue 911, Last Action Hero and TX-Sector next month. We do plan to have the sound fix in for this one. If not it will come in a patch following the release. Always lit bumpers will be fixed but no ETA yet.

@Xanija: Are there any plans to go back to Season 1+2 tables and update graphics on them as well as fixing bugs on them?

Yes. We plan to do this at some point but it is going to be a pretty big task. Many tables will have to be dissembled and re-captured.

@Night: It would be great to see table and glass reflections.

This is not something we are planning on implementing.

@Kaibun: Just wondering, were both match sequences on Frankenstein and Last Action Hero removed by default because they were deemed too violent?

Not because they were too violent. Emulation conflicts required us to end the game early. We plan to put them in once we resolve the issue.

@Kaibun: But then again, Starship Troopers and was a pretty gruesome tables already (and there's DMD animations on LAH that are bloodier), so I don't really understand the logic. Tales from the Crypt was previously said to be a bit too extreme for PA before, but since it's about as gruesome as ST (or less) it has a chance of showing up now, right?

Tales from the crypt does have a chance but it's all up to our licensing department.

@DA5ID: How about PlayStation VR?

Exclusive to Oculus for now.

@Nightwing: Is Season 6 the last full season of Pinball Arcade? And will you ever release Banzai Run for it?

We plan to continue releasing tables as long as we can. We can't confirm but would love to do Bonzai Run.

@Ecktown: Are you going to add the mirror in Theater of Magic (DX11) at some point or not?

Yes. We will fix this at some point.

@Ecktown: Are you going to get rid of the semitransparent playfield of the Black Hole table (again DX11)?

Yes. We plan to fix this is a future update.

@Gorgar: What about pro modes for more season 1 and 2 tables, especially Creature from the Black Lagoon. The default game is set to family mode, but it would be cool if you could turn that off and perform Fatalities on the peeping tom.

It's possible but not currently on the list.

@wolfson: are we getting 3D on PS4,it`s bloody great on PS3 !!!

Possible we will consider this in the future but not currently planned.

@relaxation: What kind of priority do the leaderboards have? There's no integrity to them when you fix major scoring exploits 4 months later and don't reset them.

Yes. We do have plans to improve the integrity.

@karussellbremser: Why did you still not fix the scaling issue that pages of table instructions are truncated and can't be fully read?

This is one of the bugs introduced with the new user interface. Some devices scale differently. This will be addressed.

@Pinballwiz45b: When will a good chunk of these get fixed? http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/10511-Master-List-of-Issues-Within-the-PC-Version

We try to tackle as many of these as we can each month and will continue.

@dtown8532: Next PS4 release? Fixes and how recent are we with tables?

Expecting to release late next month. We should have a bug fix list in the newsletter.

@Pinballwiz45b: Gates are proving to be a problem on specific tables (Cyclone, No Fear, etc.) Are we expecting a rework of them anytime soon?

Yes. I believe this a tuning issue that we plan to address.

@Pinballwiz45b: Tap passing is an integral part of the game on most 70s and early 80's pinball games. Will we expect the flipper physics to change specifically for those games to allow the ability to tap pass (Doesn't have to be applied for mid-80's games and beyond)?

This is a challenge that we may try to tackle at some point.

@Pinballwiz45b: The quality of recent releases has improved much since Seasons 1 and 2. When are we expecting these improvements applied on earlier tables?

No ETA yet.

@Pinballwiz45b: ROM Emulation on Black Knight, Gorgar, Firepower, Black Hole?

We will emulate tables that need it at some point.

@Pinballwiz45b: Ball spin implementation (unless it applies to Physics 4.0)?

Hoping to have ball spin in with physics 4.0.

@relaxation: Will flippers get a rework so you can stagger flips on tables like Fireball?

It's possible but no ETA.

@relaxation: How's that Construction Set coming along?

Currently on Hold.

Oooooooooooh boy. It's popcorn time. (Thanks for the answers of course! I guess I'll go hibernate for three months and wake up for SPA.)

Thanks. Say hello to Fredo.

Thanks very much for these!

It would be cool to have Pro Menus for all season 1 and 2 tables. it probably won't happen, but i would love to have Funhouse, Cirqus, Creature, Gofers, Bash, Taxi and Elvira as Pro tables.

Thank you for stepping in and answering, Mike. I do believe there would be a huge outpouring of gratitude if Season 1 & 2 got remastered with both graphics and Pro modes.

Mike,

For me as a TPA fan, this Q and A was the single biggest morale booster to date. Thanks so much for providing straightforward answers to our questions.

I'm particularly excited to hear you guys are working on ball spin. Great news. Ball spin alone may well introduce just enough unpredictability to satisfy us "ball is wild" junkies. Thanks for working on it!

Thanks for all those answers

Interesting! Yay to potentially getting ball spin; that'll be (literally) a game changer and the single biggest improvement they can make in my opinion. Boo to no PSVR plans yet.

Great answers and a lot of yesses! A LOTR KS for TPA anyone?

Thanks Mike

What a nice Q&A

Thanks Mike/Fredo

And that Ballspinn eh, whoosh! Go physics!

thanks Mike,i`m in no hurry.

Thank you

Thank you, Mike.

Your answers are very much appreciated.

The game has come a long way since season 1 and 2 (at least on steam dx 11 where the new tables really shine) We all understand that going back and updating the graphics on older tables is a Herculean task but to hear you say that this is on your list for the future is great to hear.

2 things that made my day Ball spin and Capcom. On steam, the physics is starting to get really great. Tables like the latest EBD has really great physics (only a little to fast, but this is a bigger problem on mobile) Ball spin is the, without a doubt, most wanted physics feature that I miss. (just don't overdo it )

Rumors about capcom has been there a long time, but great to hear it from you also that it is a possibility.

Lots of other great answers, but to hear you say that you will continue to make tables as long as they are in demand is also damn good news. I just hope that people will continue to buy tables from the 70' and 80' and not only the 90', because that well is running try fast (at least the Will/Bally ones)

karl said:

Rumors about capcom has been there a long time, but great to hear it from you also that it is a possibility.

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Hope Zingy Bingy is on the list.

Nice to hear from the devs of course.

Doesn't sound like much is going to be happening anytime soon though...

shutyertrap said:

Thank you for stepping in and answering, Mike. I do believe there would be a huge outpouring of gratitude if Season 1 & 2 got remastered with both graphics and Pro modes.

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I completely agree. I own every table on PC and iOS and this would be my number 1 request. Improved physics with ball spin would be next (get rid of the railroaded shots. we need more wildness incorporated into it). Some of the best tables IRL are in seasons 1 and 2 and they deserve to be brought up to the standards of the tables being currently released. Also, thank you very much Mike for stepping in to answer all of these questions. This was huge on your part as far as FarSight's PR is concerned.

shutyertrap said:

I do believe there would be a huge outpouring of gratitude if Season 1 & 2 got remastered with both graphics and Pro modes.

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Would there be a huge outpouring of money? How much would you pay for such an upgrade, syt? Anyone else? I'll go first: hmm... $1 per table, on average. Season 2 has a ton of crappy tables that I'd pay nothing for.

I'd drop a tenner for a comprehensive update that brought all tables up to a uniform physics and graphics level and improved the sounds in general - I really want more mechanical/ball roll sound...