BlahCade Podcast #20 - Forum Questions Part 1

[jaredmorgs]

Fresh from the grave yard shift, BlahCade returns with a slighty larger cast: Chris, Jared, and Kay (Bonzo).

Some definite pinball talk features in this episode, not least of which is the interview with our gracious (and patient) friend Bobby King.

He’s holding over the second half of questions until next month, but there are some surprising reveals about game stats and rankings in this great Q&A.

You won’t believe how highly Big Shot ranks in the table play stats!Other topics include Slurpees, Spiders, Safe Cracker, Season 4 20/20, Sound Improvements, and last but not least PC Tourney and ToTM.It’s 1:49 of back to back chat.

http://shoutengine.com/ThePinballBlahcadePodcast/20-forum-questions-part-1-11085 (you can download the show from here as well)

Lastly, for all the Apple junkies, the iTunes version can be found here.

Time Stamps
(so you can skip over crap you think you won’t like but probably will )

• Intro
• 7-Eleven Slurpee Day - 2.5 mins
• PC Tourney - 9 mins
• Safe Cracker Difficulty - 20 mins
• TOTM - 25 min
• Bobby Interview - 28 mins
• Hypothetical - STERN Digital Pinball - 46 mins
• Spiders - 58 mins
• Tech Talk - 68 mins
• Season 4 Review - 79 mins
• Movie Talk, and brains - 90 mins
• TotM Prizes and Close - 100 mins

On Twitter...

• @BlahCade
• @shutyertraps
• @jaredmorgs

On Google+

https://plus.google.com/111201633898451444599/posts

Via Email

BlahBlahBlahCade@gmail.com

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Dammit Jim, I can't stay up late for this!

Might as well listen to it tomorrow when I'm awake. Been busy finding bugs in the game.

 

[francis247uk]

Great listen, thanks guys

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Listening at work right now ...

... anyway, any chance of a transcript of Bobby's answers for those who can't/won't listen to the Podcast?

And for those of us who did listen anyway but then listened to the remaining hour plus and, well, forgot pretty much all of it in the intervening time (we're all looking for GIANT SPIDERS!!) ?

That John Hughes movie though - 1991. Interestingly, look at his screenwriting credits post-1991 and pre-1991. Very distinct separation there.

 

[shutyertrap]

... anyway, any chance of a transcript of Bobby's answers for those who can't/won't listen to the Podcast?

I'll post a transcript in maybe 2 weeks. Gotta make sure we get our listener numbers in first!

 

[invitro]

I'll post a transcript in maybe 2 weeks. Gotta make sure we get our listener numbers in first!

I'll hold you to that . I'm mostly deaf (over 70% hearing loss in both ears), and listened for awhile, but I can't figure out half of what you're saying, or any of what the other guy is saying . It sounded like the 1st question was about TPA having 2 more seasons confirmed, but my poor brain was getting a headache trying to decipher the audio... I'm thinking about seeing if the US Gov't will hire me a transcriber for things like this. Hey, it's a disability, I think.

P.S. A lesson for the kids: don't listen to too much loud rock n' roll, or this could happen to you.

 

[Flipperdeflip]

It's not your hearing, Bonzo was reading Bobby's answers with a slightly German accent and either had a bad quality microphone or a bad connection.

 

[Fungi]

I haven't heard it yet so I have to ask. Bobby sounded like Bozno's Zsolt?

 

[shutyertrap]

I haven't heard it yet so I have to ask. Bobby sounded like Bozno's Zsolt?

Correct. We call it BlahCade Theatre!

 

[Gorgar]

Did the em people not listen to this yet? I thought for sure that someone would post something about that on here. If I understood correctly, Farsight plans on making EMs separately from the season tables (which will still come out monthly) which means that there will be more than 12 tables per year. A win/win situation for everyone, even if you dislike ems.

 

[Spork98765]

Did the em people not listen to this yet? I thought for sure that someone would post something about that on here. If I understood correctly, Farsight plans on making EMs separately from the season tables (which will still come out monthly) which means that there will be more than 12 tables per year. A win/win situation for everyone, even if you dislike ems.

Yeah, and FS will release that EM app right as soon as "Pinball After Dark" is making a profit.

It's almost like the EM people did listen to this.

 

[Gorgar]

Yeah, and FS will release that EM app right as soon as "Pinball After Dark" is making a profit.

It's almost like the EM people did listen to this.

Why do people even care about Pinball After Dark? If it happened, it would only have about two tables. (Sopranos and Bog Bang Bar.). It seems like a waste. They could just give both of those tables their own app and it would be the same thing.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

yes but in the same block of questions was how well do the current EMs play out? and the bobby k. answer included a bit about how "big shot" is still so often-played, the lowest it's ever gotten in their records was - what, 11th, 12th place? that's not insignificant... that's awesome! there is a definite charm to older machines (i think big shot's 'wait' screen while you have it selected in the table list is the best of them all!) i didn't get any gist it would be a separate app; did he say anything like that?

anyhow, i don't think that has much'a anything to do with 'after dark' - as intriguing as that is (what, couldn't they also do the playboy bunny tables from the past? ;0 though actually, those -could- be licensing nightmares with all the models involved each version, not unlike the hollywood tables), it all comes down to 'someday' - cuz they're still perfecting the main TPA, why not wait till (most! ;0) everybody can agree, 'it's finally -right-'!! then (with some backflips), make a duplicate-yet-separate app for any other projects. it wouldn't be as big of a market, just because... buuuut, remember 'naughty' can be a big enough seller; i'd say, if an AD were really good, it could perhaps do a third as well as TPA (at least in total users, but probably not revenue, without the 60-or-so tables all at the ready TPA already has)- wouldn't be anything to sneeze at!

p.s. lol was bobby's "we already did that" response about the flipper physics?? ;0 i laughed but was half-tuned out by that point, knowing i'd give it another listen... i was under the impression that was something that had to be added to each table with updates over time, but maybe that was about another tuning/part (the friend leaderboards or something?) - it would make some sense if that were just an app update and not in each individual table. anyhow i'm gonna give it a listen again - excellent stuff! only gonna get better, i bet!

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Why do people even care about Pinball After Dark? If it happened, it would only have about two tables. (Sopranos and Bog Bang Bar.). It seems like a waste. They could just give both of those tables their own app and it would be the same thing.

Right now in the Google Play Store, TPA is rated "T" for "Teen" - mainly due to the content in Starship Troopers. I believe it has an equivalent rating in the iTunes App Store.

That pretty much puts the nail in the coffin of PAD, which at best was a good idea that should never have been mentioned in public, and worse a very lame joke that's run its course.

If we get TFTC as the Halloween table, feel free to join me in shoveling dirt in the grave (Of course it may well rise up as a zombie, or do a Kill Bill-style escape from being buried alive, but yeah, it's dead or on the last gasp of life support with the family desperately arguing about whether or not to turn it off.)

 

[pm1109]

Dammit Jim, I can't stay up late for this!

Might as well listen to it tomorrow when I'm awake. Been busy finding bugs in the game.

In terms of bug finding you get an A+ for that.Thanks for the continued hard work.

Cant wait to listen to this on the weekend sometime.

 

[Spork98765]

Why do people even care about Pinball After Dark? If it happened, it would only have about two tables. (Sopranos and Bog Bang Bar.). It seems like a waste. They could just give both of those tables their own app and it would be the same thing.

Ugh, literalists. SMH

As I can tell by your responses you either didn't listen to the podcast, or you are willfully ignorant about what was said.

At around 29 minutes SYT makes a disclaimer that states:

"Yes this is coming from Bobby, but not everything he says is guaranteed truth because he does have a management team and does have bosses above him that can poo-poo things."

So, as that caveat was given, is it at all possible that any answer given in this podcast is not a guarantee of anything, or even something that the fans should rally around? Jumping Jesus on a Pogostick, how many times have we, as fans, been down this road already?

Can you show anything concrete that would make that EM app somehow more realistic than waiting until Pinball After Dark turns a profit?

 

[Dedpop]

^^ DokkenRokken ? Is that you ? Again ?

 

[Snorzel]

I listened you missed out on one of the most important aspects of slurpies, the brain freeze. The P/C tourney thing had me laughing, I often rage out just trying to top my own scores, let alone superhumans like VikingErik. Spiders are my friends, they suck the life from things I hate WAY more like mosquitoes, flys and pincherbugs (earwigs). Only spiders I merc are black widows .

On the subject of EMs and other future releases, I am interested in how the answers come out but have learned to take them with a grain of salt. I predict they may be planning to release the remaining PBHOF tables, specificly Ace High, Jive Time and hopefully Sorcerer. I could see them fitting that on top of the one new table a month thing.

 

[Gorgar]

Ugh, literalists. SMH

As I can tell by your responses you either didn't listen to the podcast, or you are willfully ignorant about what was said.

At around 29 minutes SYT makes a disclaimer that states:



So, as that caveat was given, is it at all possible that any answer given in this podcast is not a guarantee of anything, or even something that the fans should rally around? Jumping Jesus on a Pogostick, how many times have we, as fans, been down this road already?

Can you show anything concrete that would make that EM app somehow more realistic than waiting until Pinball After Dark turns a profit?

Well, for starters, Bobby said that the EMs would be a part of the current TPA app. And the situation with After Dark and Ems are quite different. The tables that they would use for after dark are licensed and/or have technical limitations (capcom emulation). It would be dumb to launch an app with no tables in it or the same tables as TPA. But there are literary thousands of possible EMs that they could add to TPA that have no issues at all.

You are correct that Bobby's answer is no guarantee, but I wouldn't compare it to After Dark, which will probably never happen. It is very encouraging to hear someone from Farsight admit that there is a fan base for EMs after years of hearing that EMs dont sell well. It is also encouraging that the first table that they are remastering with the drop catch and bang back physics is Big Shot. I don't think making an extra table every few months is much of a stretch, especially if they don't have any other projects.

I know that Bobby and Farsight have announced other things that have never came to fruition (wiiu, cab support, rom emulation for older tables, a new ui, etc), but they do get stuff done from time to time and I am sure they are still working on all of these things and they will be out soon*



*soon in Farsight time can represent anything from 1 month to 3 years.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Did you guys like the time markers I put on the Podcast this time around? For those who like to flick around to what they want to hear?