The Official Latest NEWS And INFORMATION Discussion Thread

[Sean DonCarlos]

Raúl Juliá had been battling cancer a couple of years before dying from a stroke. I can not find anything on the internet but this is what I remember. After his death his wife Merel was commenting about fans wanting another Addams Family movie and Street Fighter movie with Raúl in them in some way aka Peter Sellers in The Trail of the Pink Panther which was made after Sellers death using footage cut from other movies, stand ins and voice over work by a Sellers sound a like. Merel said that Raúl would not want such a thing and implied that he said as much when he was being treated for stomach cancer a few years prior to his death. In my opinion from what I can remember, he just didn't want new works to be made with his face or likeness. I think making a digital version of a pinball table that had already been produced would be along the same lines of making a DVD release of the Addams Family movie even though there was no DVD when the movie was made. Or maybe like creating an anniversary poster for a special anniversary theater run of the movie.

Assuming there's any truth to this at all (and I have no information that would confirm or deny it), I hope his estate would see it more as a re-issuing of an existing work (albeit in a different format) than as new work. It is not as if Raúl's likeness would suddenly be peddling erectile dysfunction medication or hawking a new clothing line. And it would not be using footage cut from other works, body doubles or voiceovers, since all the likenesses and voice work would be taken directly from the physical table.

At any rate, I hope FarSight is able to make it work one day.

 

[esp2000]

So we can get buy the Pro mode for TZ? I thought access to the operators menu was an exclusive for $100 backers? (Not complaining as I didn't back for that much and this is the one table I'd actually pay for pro)

When the next version is released, you will be able to purchse pro mode for TZ and SS.

 

[wannabepba]

When the next version is released, you will be able to purchse pro mode for TZ and SS.

I think his question was related to what the Kickstarter rewards were:


"Pledge $100 or more

Get a special version of the Twilight Zone pinball table with access to the table operator’s menu on every platform (again, except the Xbox 360). You'll also get an entry into the Pinball Arcade Supporters Tournament!
Estimated delivery: Nov 2012"

At the time, it looked like only the $100 and above pledgers would get the operator's menu. This is the sole reason that I donated so much, but now it looks like people can get the same thing for only $8 instead of $100. I guess I'm not technically complaining either, but it is kind of misleading.

 

[Canadian365]

@wannabepba
I agree about the Kickstarter Backer reward being misleading! I donate at the $100 dollar amount because, If I remember correctly (I could be mistaken) that's the amount originally to get your name in the game credits. I believe it was later reduced to the $40 amount. I must admit I probably wouldn't have donated $100 if it was available at $40. But happy to support TPA nonetheless. (It's not always about the money, but to support FS development) I would donate another $100 or even $500 for a guarantee of TAF! Keeping fingers crossed that TAF is going to happen, not just the proverbial carrot in our face of false hopes! With the new projected Kickstarters that have been mentioned, I will continue to support FS efforts to digitize future tables!

Finally got an e-mail for the $100 backer level. FS wanting to know how I would like my name to appear in the credits! How about bold italic at 48 font!? lol

 

[Rudy]

If I knew that the special pro tables were coming to TPA AT THE SAME TIME AS THE REGULAR TABLE IS RELEASED then it's unlikely I'd have donated £50 or so. There's a big problem here where now everyone understands what the kickstarter rewards are actually like they'll be less likely to contribute as much as they previously did. If the amount of money needed for T2 is more than Star Trek then it's not going to happen. Even slightly less is probably not going to happen

 

[DaPinballWizard]

If I knew that the special pro tables were coming to TPA AT THE SAME TIME AS THE REGULAR TABLE IS RELEASED then it's unlikely I'd have donated £50 or so. There's a big problem here where now everyone understands what the kickstarter rewards are actually like they'll be less likely to contribute as much as they previously did. If the amount of money needed for T2 is more than Star Trek then it's not going to happen. Even slightly less is probably not going to happen

My thoughts exactly. I donated $100 thinking I would get access to the pro menu that others wouldn't. Next kickstarter, why would I contribute more than $10? What is the incentive? There is none. I guess these will be the last special packs we will see.

 

[PiN WiZ]

I can assure you that the reward tiers will be upgraded for FarSight's next Kickstarter project.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

I sure hope so. I want to see them release a lot more premium table packs. I am in for $100 for each one so far. My main reason was the pro menus. I didn't realize they would be for sale for a few dollars. No big deal, but will I be willing to kick in $100 for the future tables? I don't know.

 

[Daniel Osborne]

I'm never ever backing a kickstarter again. I can't login, even after exchanges with a farsight employee, so no android version here. He said I should be able to receive the xbox version however. I'm not massively fussed about the phone version, but I donated 20 dollars when I couldn't really afford it.

 

[brakel]

Some kickstarters are just a way for a person or small company to sell pre-orders but others are a way to raise capitol for something that otherwise wouldn't be produced. FS didn't see a way to pay all of the license fees and still have a price point that would work for most consumers. You weren't buying anything with your kickstarter donation but FS was giving you a little reward in appreciation. No way is a pro table worth $100 but you helped make the table even possible! That's the greatest reward!!!

 

[karl]

Agreed Brakel! And for a hundred you get the game and pro menu on not just one but all ports. If you play on everything thats 5 or 6 versions with pro mode. That said, I hope Farsight comes up with something different for T2 kickstarter. It will get harder and harder to get backers the more kickstarters they do and even though I do not crave for awards myself, it has been known that exiting rewards will get more people's support. (Some people who know nothing at all about what Farsight actually earn form all this make the assumption that Farsight has made millions on this game and are being greedy for doing kickstarters). Let's just hope TZ and TNG sell a lot of copies. Then Farsight will probably contribute a bit of the license money by them self. If T2 is 60 000 or more, it will never make it because of all the setbacks and delays on 360 and pc. I really think you should give beta access for 100 not 500. It is just to much. Look at how many 500 contributors TNG got.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

True, but I started out with a $25 donation. Once the new tiers were created, I thought I would increase the donation because of the access to the operator's menu. That was the incentive to increase my donations. The incentive for the $25 donation was the exclusive pinball skin.
I know they wouldn't have been able to produce it without the kickstarter. I want to see more of them, but I just don't see them reaching the goals as easy by making these features available to just anyone for almost nothing. I hope I am wrong and they are able to reach their goals. I will donate, but I think I will just treat it like a pre-purchase, and others might too.

 

[brakel]

It might be cool to have an exclusive reward or a timed exclusive. But I don't understand why $100 tier donors would think the reward was exclusive or would cost the same or more than their donation. $10 donors got the game on their choice of platform. Did they think that this was an exclusive reward or that the table would cost more than $10?

 

[Rudy]

When pro mode was first talked about in the kickstarter blogs the assumption was that it was an exclusive mode for premium kickstarter donators so you had to pay the premium to unlock it. I know, it was a bad assumption, but because nobody was willing to clarify some of the kickstarter tiers we had to just put blind faith into some of our tier choices.

I mean, on one hand it's a good idea that pro mode is available to non donators because it's not fair on people just discovering it to see a huge amount of content being blocked out to them forever, but I think the bitter pill to swallow was knowing that it was available at the same time as the regular version for non-donators. A tiered release could have resulted in kickstarter backers getting the pro mode as an exclusive for say, three months before the rest can buy pro mode which would be more of an incentive for early bird backers. The ability to play pro mode of their favourite table for three months before anyone else can.

Otherwise the incentive to pay premium for something like that makes little sense unless you REALLY want the table in TPA.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

I was thinking it was an exclusive reward. Not a big deal to me. I think it is wise for them to make it available and try to make more money. If they can make a profit and keep making tables, I'm happy.

 

[rob3d]

I think I'm in the minority here but I was hoping it wasn't an exclusive from the get go. Probably because I want Operators menus for all the tables, I was worried that putting that as a reward meant it would never make it to the rest. And really when I pledged I was more after the beta than anything else, the rest was just a bonus.

 

[silverjaguar7]

TZ's out w00t!

 

[Pinballfan69]

I don't understand the pro menu/mode upgrade pricing. Why so much per table and what does it really entail? Or is it per table pack. an additional $3.99 for options that should have been there in the first place?

 

[Kevlar]

I don't understand the pro menu/mode upgrade pricing. Why so much per table and what does it really entail? Or is it per table pack. an additional $3.99 for options that should have been there in the first place?

I'm completely with you. I have the pro menu with TZ and I don't see anything that would make me pay for it, not even 69p. The one thing that I thought I wanted, the freecam is very limited and once you've had a look around once there's no need to do it again and frankly this should be free anyway. The ball control mode is interesting but I don't feel the need to use it. The tips are throw away, you can get far more info reading the awesome guide on this forum. The operators menu lets you fiddle around with settings but once you do your scores don't go on the leaderboard so I won't be using that.

The only thing that interests me is unlocking the family mode in Scared Stiff but I won't be paying £2.49 just for that.

Question to those who really wanted the operators menu, do you actually make use of it? if so in what way?

 

[brakel]

I don't understand the pro menu/mode upgrade pricing. Why so much per table and what does it really entail? Or is it per table pack. an additional $3.99 for options that should have been there in the first place?

Its just called free market capitalism. There's a demand, there's a product to fill said demand, and there's a price for the product. There's no government mandate for what options should be included in a video game recreation of a pinball table, so they chose to charge for it. If this post makes me sound like a jack a$$, then please read my signature.