A VERY dangerous thread!

[c-dub]

By decreasing priority:

1. Better communication. What bugs are you working on? Which ones can you reproduce? And please don't make me go to Facebook to see news.
   
2. Bug fixes
   
3. Bug fixes
   
4. Bug fixes
   
5. Better regression testing of performance. It should never get worse in later versions.

(Nice to haves would be better flipper physics, better lighting on platforms that can support it, and support for uploading achievements/scores that should have been awarded previously once online, but I care FAR more about bugs/performance than new features.)

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Here's the things I'd like to see:

1 - Fix reported bugs. After all is said and done, the playability of the tables is most important.
2 - Implement GI lighting where possible
3 - Add some randomness to play, especially in scoop releases
4 - Add a free roam camera mode as a standard part of all tables
5 - I'd love to see more interactivity with leaderboards like other games have done recently, especially with friends leaderboards. Being notified when you've passed friends on the leaderboards, dynamically generated challenges, or the ability to send/set up challenges would be great. Something like the autolog feature that's been done in recent EA games would be great!

 

[xAzatothx]

I'm glad to see more people are highlighting bug fixes as a priority...... I was beginning to think people valued graphics and sound over a playable table

 

[Michael DiFilippo]

for android, the black screen in the beginning is still causing issues.. the gui is getting better but the back button should be on the right side of the vertical list of tables.

AND/OR

Have tables sort able by Manufacture (ex. Williams, Stern etc.) The list is going to get longer and will need to be sortable

More camera views

 

[Deathtickle]

A glass off sounds button, I like to play my Williams High Speed sometimes with the glass off for a more in your face sound, not always but once a month. The ability to adjust brightness of each table. Also the game ending bugs need to be fixed. There is also a game starting bug in my PS3 on NGG, not always but once every 10 or so games I have to restart. Customizable buttons would also be welcomed. Perhaps a 3D version for 3D TV's.

Over all I am more than happy with your product. Keep making them and Ill keep buying them.

With all of your experience by now; it would be nice to see Far Sight venturing in to make your own virtual pinball tables. You might even down the road have Stern get a License for a table from you. To start 'Ancient Aliens' I believe would make a fantastic pinball theme.

Keep up the good work.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

1. Fix known table bugs.
2. Keep improving the physics, flippers especially. New packs are much better than older ones, but flippers still don't respond to fleeting micro-flips like a physical solenoid-driven object would.
3. Higher-detail art for the older packs on mobile platforms, where possible: some Android and iOS users have screens approaching PC resolution.
4. Keep refining the menu UI; it's not there yet. Smaller mobile screens need particular attention here.
5. Emulation for older Williams SS tables, particularly Black Knight.

 

[Tom]

1. I would like a mode without extra balls that has its own seperate leader board.
2. remove the extra balls from the tournament mode.
3. improved ball and flipper physics.
4. update the physics of the older tables.
5. change all the replay and special settings to the factory settings

 

[Gorgar]

I would like to add the ability to be able to post on the leader board and local high scores when you turn family mode off in the pro menu (but only if that is the only thing you change)

 

[SilverBalls]

1. Portrait mode for forthcoming PC build. And why not for Xbox and PS3?
2. Lighting slider or day/night mode, and better lighting in all tables.
3. Hardcore mode that plays as difficult as the real table.
4. Better mechanical sounds including sound of mechanical scores resetting in EM tables.
5. Separate volume control for ROM sounds and mechanical sounds.
6. Cabinet features - multi-screen, configurable controls.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

#1 consistency across all tables, GREAT updated physics on NEW tables now make the rest that good.

 

[karl]

Thanks for doing this Rob. It is very much appreciated
Here is my 2 (or 5) cents on the topic. Everything has been mentioned before but since the more the merrier, here goes:

1. Lower the nudge field (swipe and touchscreen) or allow for us to customize the nudge field ourself. This is very important to everyone using a tablet for playing.
2. Better lighting and Night/day slider. If this is not possible on older phones and tablets, make it an option for the ones(and consoles) that can handle the extra horse power needed)
3. Better flipper physics all around to let us perform some flipper magic like the real thing. The flipper physic is already good but there is a lot of tricks that can't be done as it is now
4. Portrait view and mapping keys for the pc is a must, even if you do not own a cabinet you would want this very bad
5. There will alway be bugs but it is important to include it here to ensure high priority. There is still a hand full of game breaking bugs on most platforms. This is slowly getting better but keep your sharp eyes still on the bugs

 

[Sumez]

Considering how difficult and risky it is to mess with the flipper physics I'd say it should be a low priority for FS. Yeah, I'd love flippers that act like real life flippers, but as it is now, TPA's physics make the games really fun to play, and if I were FS, I wouldn't want to jeopardize that in order to achieve more realistic flipper physics, something no other game has achieved yet.

Programming realistic physics is hard

 

[Russell Bergman]

Thanks to Rob Mann for daring to start this thread! On a serious note, it continues to prove that FarSight Studios listens to the fans and customers, and continues to improve every table from Tales of the Arabian Nights to Genie and beyond! Here is my master request list:

1. Flipper hum and mechanical scoring wheel sounds for Electro Mechanical games like Big Shot and hopefully the upcoming Ace High, Central Park, Fireball, and Jive Time (yes, I said Jive Time, Lol!). With sounds like flipper hum and scoring wheel sounds, it gives the EM machines a unique and classy feel to them compared to the Solid State machines and gives the player a more enhanced feel for EM machines. In short, more COWBELL on the EM machines. Lol!

2. Enhanced backglass animation would really bring out the attraction to each machine. The backglass on Big Shot looks turned off (the Gottlieb HOF version looks more lively than TPA), and it would be great to see flashing lights behind the backglass to liven it up along with all the other pinball machines. Also, Black Hole has movement in the backglass that would attract players to play the machine. Seeing Black Hole and other backglass highlights would be awesome! In short, more COWBELL on the backglasses. Lol!

3. Camera zoom-in opportunities were missed in my opinion and would like to see various zoom-in features come into play. For example, The Williams Collection version of FunHouse, when the ball enters the second plunger, the camera zoomed in on which steps entrance to aim for, which is absent on the TPA version. Another example is when something special is happening on a table, and the action stops and the table is doing a "song and dance" so to speak, and the camera can zoom into that action. For example, on Elvira and the Party Monsters, when Elvira says "Let's Boogie!" the camera can zoom into the dance action, which the current version does not. Kids (including myself) would love to get a close up on the action. Plus on an added note, it would be cool to try to animate the Boogie Man's arms flapping, amongst other tables now and in the future that has rubber toys that wiggle and jiggle.

4. Buy a Ball feature in appropriate games and more authentic knocker sounds in the game along with match to win on older games that feature it, like Gorgar. Gorgar is missing the match game. I know it's not essential for obvious reasons, it's just my pinball OCD is taking over! Lol!

5. Missing artwork, plastics, and music would help me tremendously for my pinball OCD. Missing artwork in Cirqus Voltaire on the ramps and neon, the missing clear plastic over the upper right demon lizard lane in Gorgar, and the two missing songs in Creature from the Black Lagoon rounds out my improvements. I know the issue with the missing music, but if there was ever a chance at a later time to get the music license for cheaper, it would be great to implement it!

Thanks everyone for reading (and tolerating) my top five requests!

 

[Kevlar]

3. Camera zoom-in opportunities were missed in my opinion and would like to see various zoom-in features come into play. For example, The Williams Collection version of FunHouse, when the ball enters the second plunger, the camera zoomed in on which steps entrance to aim for, which is absent on the TPA version. Another example is when something special is happening on a table, and the action stops and the table is doing a "song and dance" so to speak, and the camera can zoom into that action. For example, on Elvira and the Party Monsters, when Elvira says "Let's Boogie!" the camera can zoom into the dance action, which the current version does not. Kids (including myself) would love to get a close up on the action. Plus on an added note, it would be cool to try to animate the Boogie Man's arms flapping, amongst other tables now and in the future that has rubber toys that wiggle and jiggle

Completely agree, I forgot about the close ups, I used to enjoy those. Unfortunately since the Monster Bash Frankie cam problems Farsight have steered well clear, hopefully they can sort out whatever caused the problem and give us our close up back. I know some people didn't like them so maybe we can have an option to enable/disable them.

 

[Tabe]

I only play on the PS3 (and very rarely, the Kindle Fire):

Tough to narrow to just 5 but I'll try:

1) Bug fixes - specifically the problems with flippers and flipper lag but all game-altering bugs.

2) Graphics fixes - The colors are waaaaay off on the consoles on several games while other games (Black Knight) have art that is just a mess.

3) Performance - not the tables themselves but the UI. Make it faster/easier to select a game, faster to load a game, faster to exit a game, etc.

4) Separate the leaderboards. At least separate PS3 away from mobile or PS3/360 from mobile.

5) Fix some of the gameplay-related issues that aren't exactly bugs - like how difficult the skill shot in Funhouse is or the wildly inconsistent power levels from the plunger on Bride of Pinbot and other games.


Tabe

 

[Russell Bergman]

Oh, on the Buy a Ball in game, that would be a cool feature in the pro mode.....even though I know people will whine and moan, but usually when you do a buy a ball game, like in Williams Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure, you are immediately put into a choose a mission mode, where if you are missing a mission to complete the game, you can buy a ball and try to finish the uncompleted mission.

 

[xAzatothx]

4) Separate the leaderboards. At least separate PS3 away from mobile or PS3/360 from mobile.

wow - I hadn't realised the PS3 scores were lumped in with the Android/iOS scores!?

 

[silverjaguar7]

A higher resolution option for Android devices.

 

[Gorgar]

Separate leader boards for ps3 is a must

 

[shutyertrap]

I play on PS3, so these are slanted towards that...

1. Lighting adjustment / gamma option. No Good Gofers and Taxi should not be that muted.

2. More mechanical sounds! The new pop bumper sounds are a good start. I want my tables noisy. I especially want more ball noise, whether it be ball roll or during multiball actually hearing the balls clacking against each other.

3. The following like Zen does...if I'm close to a friend's score, alert me. If I pass their score, alert them. I hate having to check the leaderboard to see if anything has changed. I also want the stats like Zen does.

4. Online multiplayer. Again, look at what Zen does. Those 5 minute score attack games, or the various other mini games they do are crazy fun.

5. Any options like the ones listed above, or even like the 2 stage flipper, should be able to be turned on or off at a users preference. Anything that does not affect scoring should not affect being leaderboard score material.

6. To be able to play a table in tournament settings without actually playing in a tournament.