lio
New member
- Jul 24, 2013
- 210
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Generally I'm very happy with how this recreation has turned out - BK2K has a special place in my heart (was the first table I ever played when I was a kid and is now also my first and only real table I own) so I'm a lot more picky here than on any other table recreation.
Overall it plays very much like my real game, so that's really good! Just the Skyway loop is way too easy which throws off the score... I'd say my score on a real BK2K is usually 1/4 of what I get in TPA.
I also like the visuals a lot - even though I would have prefered the medieval plastic set over the futuristic one (would be cool if that would randomly change just as the CV neon tube color!)
Also I'm really looking forward to seeing it in the updated engine with improved lighting!
Anyways, here's my -admitedly a little pedantic- list of "problems":
Gameplay:
-The Magna-Save magnet is too weak, on a real game it will pull back a (slow) ball that has almost reached the right outlane "last chance" insert (and balls swirl around a lot more violently until the magnet grabs them dead center).
-Skyway Loop shot are too easy, especially since even shots that don't make it all around count (balls that roll into the W-I-"N" lane often will still count as a made loop because they touch the gate) - ironically the easy loops make completing RANSOM harder because the ball does not fall into the W-I-N lanes nearly as often to complete WIN and light a RANSOM letter at the ramp.
-UPF exit "v-cutout" is not correctly modeled - to the physics engine this might just be cosmetic or might have an influence on gameplay - in any case a ball that drops from there can be trapped quicker by an upheld flipper on the real game, which makes it easier to score full score hurry-ups before the score starts depleting.
(-The real games I played tend to serve the VUK balls a little higher so an instant flip with the upper right flipper tends to send the ball up the ramp rather than around the loop.)
(edit: I guess I need to take that one back - I couldn't manage to do it yesterday but today I've managed to get plenty of locks directly from a VUK->UPF Flipper shot, the timing is a little different but it is absolutely possible)
edit: I noticed something really strange at the end of RANSOM mode: on a real game I don't plunge all 3 balls into play at the same time but always keep one in the shooter lane so that it is basically a "free" ball when all others have drained and the mode has timed out - here in TPA the ball I kept in the shooter lange was auto plunged into play right before RANSOM timed out?!
Sound:
-There a sound missing when you lock a ball - it's a weird sound that does not really resemble anything but it's missing in any case.
-the "collecting a "Hurry-Up" music" is too low in volume and sounds like a muffled recording - very unrewarding.
-the "you can do it" voice sample sometimes seems to get played once more even after you collect the hurry-up - never happened on my real game.
Visuals: [EDIT: if you rather look at pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fk3oe7rj30jle78/hjDDcFygAl ]
-The bumpers look really bland which is terrible given their prominent space on the game (give them the red bumper texture from NGG at least).
[better yet: also model the bumper skirt geometry properly with the holes in them to fit the bumper body and bumper rings properly]
-Also the bumper caps have the wrong orientation - the caps should be rotated 90° compared to the metal pins that hold the bumper ring so that the cap screws holes are at 12 and 6 o'clock)
-Missing UPF metal hinges (quite big hinges to hold the UPF in place which should clearly be visible)
-Missing UPF rightmost 1-sided red rollover plastic lane guide at W-I-"N" (same red plastic guides that separate the other lanes but it only has one of the plastic "flaps" - the one that points towards the "N" lane).
-HUD Scoring elements are not "italic" like the score display on the backglass, why?
-Cabinet rails are slightly too thick (a common visual imperfection on a lot of TPA tables)
-Cabinet walls are not high enough - certain plastics would penetrate the glass the way it currently is
-Apron rails are all the same height even though they should slope upwards towards the cabinet sides (a common visual imperfection on a lot of TPA tables)
-"STDM" Rails below the flippers are a bit too thick.
Also you can see that the right one does not "stick" in the playfield where it is supposed to if you look at the playfield photo texture - either clean up the texture and remove that hole or put the rail where it really belongs.
-Wood Rails are too light/brown (real ones are more black'ish)
-UPF double starposts are too translucent and the red color of them should be a tad darker
-The Drawbridge has a strange brown line on its' top along the entire plastic that should not be there.
-Shooter lane ball guide metal texture looks like a really bad compressed grey color gradient jpg but not like a metal ball guide - also there should be a screw on it.
Texture Cleanups:
-Area below slingshot plastics (facing return lane): there should be a continous black line between the red and violet and not some cloudy clone brush stamp touch ups
-UPF Lock area shows switches and lock-kicker coil on playfield
Misc suggestions:
-RANSOM memory should carry over, even if you quit the table...
EDIT:
added a little dropbox gallery to better illustrate my visual "complaints" in comparison shots
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fk3oe7rj30jle78/hjDDcFygAl
The photo cutouts are not from my real game, I borrowed them from here: http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album350
Overall it plays very much like my real game, so that's really good! Just the Skyway loop is way too easy which throws off the score... I'd say my score on a real BK2K is usually 1/4 of what I get in TPA.
I also like the visuals a lot - even though I would have prefered the medieval plastic set over the futuristic one (would be cool if that would randomly change just as the CV neon tube color!)
Also I'm really looking forward to seeing it in the updated engine with improved lighting!
Anyways, here's my -admitedly a little pedantic- list of "problems":
Gameplay:
-The Magna-Save magnet is too weak, on a real game it will pull back a (slow) ball that has almost reached the right outlane "last chance" insert (and balls swirl around a lot more violently until the magnet grabs them dead center).
-Skyway Loop shot are too easy, especially since even shots that don't make it all around count (balls that roll into the W-I-"N" lane often will still count as a made loop because they touch the gate) - ironically the easy loops make completing RANSOM harder because the ball does not fall into the W-I-N lanes nearly as often to complete WIN and light a RANSOM letter at the ramp.
-UPF exit "v-cutout" is not correctly modeled - to the physics engine this might just be cosmetic or might have an influence on gameplay - in any case a ball that drops from there can be trapped quicker by an upheld flipper on the real game, which makes it easier to score full score hurry-ups before the score starts depleting.
(-The real games I played tend to serve the VUK balls a little higher so an instant flip with the upper right flipper tends to send the ball up the ramp rather than around the loop.)
(edit: I guess I need to take that one back - I couldn't manage to do it yesterday but today I've managed to get plenty of locks directly from a VUK->UPF Flipper shot, the timing is a little different but it is absolutely possible)
edit: I noticed something really strange at the end of RANSOM mode: on a real game I don't plunge all 3 balls into play at the same time but always keep one in the shooter lane so that it is basically a "free" ball when all others have drained and the mode has timed out - here in TPA the ball I kept in the shooter lange was auto plunged into play right before RANSOM timed out?!
Sound:
-There a sound missing when you lock a ball - it's a weird sound that does not really resemble anything but it's missing in any case.
-the "collecting a "Hurry-Up" music" is too low in volume and sounds like a muffled recording - very unrewarding.
-the "you can do it" voice sample sometimes seems to get played once more even after you collect the hurry-up - never happened on my real game.
Visuals: [EDIT: if you rather look at pictures: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fk3oe7rj30jle78/hjDDcFygAl ]
-The bumpers look really bland which is terrible given their prominent space on the game (give them the red bumper texture from NGG at least).
[better yet: also model the bumper skirt geometry properly with the holes in them to fit the bumper body and bumper rings properly]
-Also the bumper caps have the wrong orientation - the caps should be rotated 90° compared to the metal pins that hold the bumper ring so that the cap screws holes are at 12 and 6 o'clock)
-Missing UPF metal hinges (quite big hinges to hold the UPF in place which should clearly be visible)
-Missing UPF rightmost 1-sided red rollover plastic lane guide at W-I-"N" (same red plastic guides that separate the other lanes but it only has one of the plastic "flaps" - the one that points towards the "N" lane).
-HUD Scoring elements are not "italic" like the score display on the backglass, why?
-Cabinet rails are slightly too thick (a common visual imperfection on a lot of TPA tables)
-Cabinet walls are not high enough - certain plastics would penetrate the glass the way it currently is
-Apron rails are all the same height even though they should slope upwards towards the cabinet sides (a common visual imperfection on a lot of TPA tables)
-"STDM" Rails below the flippers are a bit too thick.
Also you can see that the right one does not "stick" in the playfield where it is supposed to if you look at the playfield photo texture - either clean up the texture and remove that hole or put the rail where it really belongs.
-Wood Rails are too light/brown (real ones are more black'ish)
-UPF double starposts are too translucent and the red color of them should be a tad darker
-The Drawbridge has a strange brown line on its' top along the entire plastic that should not be there.
-Shooter lane ball guide metal texture looks like a really bad compressed grey color gradient jpg but not like a metal ball guide - also there should be a screw on it.
Texture Cleanups:
-Area below slingshot plastics (facing return lane): there should be a continous black line between the red and violet and not some cloudy clone brush stamp touch ups
-UPF Lock area shows switches and lock-kicker coil on playfield
Misc suggestions:
-RANSOM memory should carry over, even if you quit the table...
EDIT:
added a little dropbox gallery to better illustrate my visual "complaints" in comparison shots
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fk3oe7rj30jle78/hjDDcFygAl
The photo cutouts are not from my real game, I borrowed them from here: http://christopherhutchins.com/gallery/album350
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