Android tablet - launch button in HUD vs. launch 'direct from table'

[mikehg]

Just a curiosity really.

On Attack From Mars, for example, when the viewpoint 'steps back' to launch the ball, the fire button disappears from the HUD and tapping anywhere launches.

On BSD, the HUD button persists, and is the only way to launch. This seems slightly suboptimal for a few reasons:

1) Ergonomics. It's a bit more awkward to reach the button than just to tap anywhere.

2) Usability. I have my button positioning set up so the floating button is only about 1cm away from the 'actual' button on the table, which probably makes this worse, but irrespective it seems arbitrary having two identical buttons, and disabling the 'actual' one.

3) Immersion. It just feels a bit more right tapping the table to me (perhaps ideal would be mapping the launch button to where it appears on the table..)

Only counterargument I can think of is that the skill shot is about timing, so this might be a deliberate bid to stop accidental launches.

Any ideas?

 

[kinggo]

the thing is, on each table where the launch button has some other function apart from launch itself it is like that. It is there because it has to be there.

 

[TomL]

I would like if the flippers controls could still be triggered independently of the start button. If the start button was triggered by any tap, then you couldn't choose super skill shots, or enter easter egg codes like: left left right right right left start.

 

[mikehg]

Aha, good thinking, I guess that's the answer - so you can see the report. The one on AFM is fairly useless in-game.

Sorry, should have figured that one out on my own...

Cheers.

 

[Reagan Dow]

Any chance of so,done starting an Easter egg thread? I'd love to be able to have them all in one place?

 

[TomL]

Any chance of so,done starting an Easter egg thread? I'd love to be able to have them all in one place?

All one page : https://web.archive.org/web/20140807120620/http://hem.bredband.net/b257182/Cows&Easter.htm

 

[superballs]

Aha, good thinking, I guess that's the answer - so you can see the report. The one on AFM is fairly useless in-game.

Sorry, should have figured that one out on my own...

Cheers.

It does act as a smart bomb during video mode and activates troll bombs during trolls

 

[mikehg]

I understand why you need the button in-game on some tables... The confusion was why it was there between balls in BSD, which doesn't have any Easter Egg codes as far as I can Google.

Got to be the report - it's sometimes very useful to know how close you are to a target (in theory... I just keep whacking 'em up the table )

 

[kinggo]

well..........
http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/8740-Beta-1-30-(8)?p=166780&viewfull=1#post166780

 

[mikehg]

But you'd still be able to do that (and get your twenty points ) if any tap launched the ball, a la AFM.

Thanks for pointing out the thread though - normally my Google-fu is fairly strong (I use Linux, they beat you over the head until it becomes strong...), but I'm having broadband issues at the minute and forced to use my phone, so it's easy to miss stuff.

 

[mikehg]

It does act as a smart bomb during video mode and activates troll bombs during trolls

And i just reread that, and understood what you meant - I was saying the report is useless in AFM compared to BSD, because of the latter's parallel locking mechanisms.