Battle of the Tables - The Final!

[DanBradford]

i already voted so i should probably butt out and shut up ...... but i wonder what would happen if we ran the comp again and this time did the reverse of what is fair, and doctored the contest. i'm talking about giving B titles a better chance by putting them up against other B or even C titles, protecting them for another round.

Prelim round
Space Shuttle v Central Park 33-1
El Dorado v Flight 2000 8-24
Champions Pub v Harley Davidson 28-6
Gorgar v Goin Nuts 32-1
Cue Ball Wizard v Big Shot 16-17
Haunted House v Class of 1812 15-18
Genie v Teed Off 10-24
Victory v Dr Dude 13-20
Firepower v Black Hole 13-20

from this round i learn that next time we keep HH/1812 and CBW/BS apart

next round
Creature from the Black Lagoon v Champions Pub 21-12
White Water v Gorgar 25-8
Black Hole v Medieval Madness 6-26
Flight 2000 v T2 10-24
Star Trek v Theatre of Magic 15-17
Ripleys Believe it or Not v Taxi 21-12
Cactus Canyon v Scared Stiff 9-23
No Good Gofers v Whirlwind 15-17
Black Knight v Pinbot 2-30
Big Shot v Monster Bash 8-25
Funhouse v Tales of the Arabian Nights 10-20
Centaur v Bride of Pinbot 19-14
Dr Dude v Attack From Mars 3-30
Cirqus Voltaire v Space Shuttle 23-8
Class of 1812 v Elvira and the Party Monsters 3-29
Teed Off v Twilight Zone 4-29

ok so keep STTNG/TOM apart, and keep NGG/WW apart.


etc

i'm a bit drunk so may be talking total bollocks again, but i'd like to see a contest where similarly-matched tables are kept apart til the last opportunity. this is not just because i think a game like STTNG would have done better if it had been up against an eventual semifinalist, it's just .... ok it is exactly that.

my innate sense of fairness raises a yellow card and blows it's whistle: the best possible situation would be an infinite number of contests between all titles, with all tables eligible for every round, but that would need a lot of user input and voting. that would definitively provide a result of what the most popular tables are.


i think i need another drink

 

[David Pannozzo]

I love MM's sense of humor a lot, but I have to go with TZ because it seems as though Pat Lawler games got me into pinball in the first place.

 

[neglectoid]

MM

 

[shutyertrap]

Medieval Madness

I love Lawler's tables, but I've never gotten hooked on TZ. Even though I've had MM in TPA for 2 years, I STILL play it often.

 

[Sean]

Medieval Madness

 

[bluenose79]

TZ

 

[Deltaechoe]

Mm because barnyard multiball

 

[oqvist]

MM

 

[Clawhammer]

TZ

 

[thejake01]

MM

 

[JefferyD]

Medieval Madness. Very tough choice. The Trolls get me down a bit; I hate those guys and avoid starting them if I can help it. I like the various chores on both tables. I've been much more successful on TZ than on MM, and I hated MM for a long time because it is hard and sometimes tedious with the repetitive hit-the-castle-drain-down-the-middle nonsense that owns me. But today, MM wins... because I finally nailed Barnyard Multiball for the first time last night. If that hadn't happened the story would be different but there is a honeymoon/hangover kind of thing going on right now.

 

[doveton]

Voting is closed, and the winner, by a score of 30-17 is...

MEDIEVAL MADNESS


So there we go, I'm sure a few people will disagree but I reckon we have a worthy winner, can any of season 3's tables challenge its title next year?

Thanks to everyone who voted, I was a little worried we would have 6 or 7 votes a round but the response has been great. Hope you all enjoyed taking part

 

[Bowflex]

Hoorary for Medieval Madness! I am not sure there are any tables that can defeat it unless maybe Addams Family happens. Even if Indy Jones could come along, I can't see it beating MM.

 

[Worf]

Wow, that wasn't even close.

I guess it's the reason why well, MM commands $15-20K. At least until the repros come out and sink the market so normal people can afford it. Let the "original MM no repro" people pay the inflated prices while everyone else just gets to enjoy a good pin.

 

[ER777]

Voting is closed, and the winner, by a score of 30-17 is...

MEDIEVAL MADNESS

As it should be. I think the best competition for MM was AFM and they met a couple rounds too early..

 

[Fungi]

As it should be. I think the best competition for MM wa AFM and they met a couple rounds too early..

AFM woulda been my vote, as it was when it happened.

 

[JPelter]

I'm really happy MM won. Farsight completely destroyed the feel of a classic table in TZ by making it arguably the easiest table in the entire game, whereas the real TZ is extremely brutal. Completely changing the dynamic and making it possible to just chain lost in the zones over and over till you don't even have the slightest bit of fun any more is just ridiculously stupid.

MM isn't perfect and can be gamed if you really get down to it, but it's still a very very good table and much closer to the original. It wouldn't be my personal choice for the best table but probably in the top 10 so far at least.

 

[Worf]

AFM and MM would be a hard choice, since MM is basically a re-themed AFM - practically down to the shots.

Heck, I remember the initial reviews of MM - "it's just AFM" was a common comment I saw.

 

[amv71]

I'm really happy MM won. Farsight completely destroyed the feel of a classic table in TZ by making it arguably the easiest table in the entire game, whereas the real TZ is extremely brutal. Completely changing the dynamic and making it possible to just chain lost in the zones over and over till you don't even have the slightest bit of fun any more is just ridiculously stupid.

MM isn't perfect and can be gamed if you really get down to it, but it's still a very very good table and much closer to the original. It wouldn't be my personal choice for the best table but probably in the top 10 so far at least.

What did FS do to make it easier? (genuine question; don't own the table despite buying it on KS...)

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

What did FS do to make it easier? (genuine question; don't own the table despite buying it on KS...)

1. Shoot left ramp.
2. Shoot right ramp.
3. Shoot piano.
4. Repeat Steps 1 - 3 thirteen times. (At one point, you will battle the Power for an extra door panel.)
5. Play Lost in the Zone.
6. Repeat Steps 1 - 5 ad nauseam.

The problem is that the slot machine kickout is far too predictable (on a real machine, it can vary quite a bit even in the same game), and that the ramps are too easy to loop (on a real machine, they tend to reject shots that aren't full power). While all TPA tables have similar problems, on TZ they're bad enough to completely ruin the game...to the extent that people are talking about legit 40B, 50B, 60B scores on TPA TZ. On the real machine, 500M is an excellent game and 1B is considered phenomenal.

I think TZ probably would have won the voting - or at least been a lot closer - had the TPA version not been neutered. If you ever find a real TZ in working condition, put some quarters into it and you'll very quickly see the difference.