Centaur Screens

[kimkom]

I hope the reverb will be on by default with Centaur so we won't have to buy the pro pack to adjust it.

Now you're just giving FarSight more ideas!

 

[norbert26]

first of all centaur is not just a pin. it is my #1 table i have not seen in 29 years. I encountered 3 different versions in the real world:

1) college game room centaur two: 3 balls per game. loose the ball everything resets (orbs and such). replay 1,500,000 points 2nd replay 3,000,000 points replay for completing ORBS special.

2) arcade a few miles from college centaur one: 3 balls per game. ORBS and such holdover on lose of ball. replay 1,400,000 points. 2nd replay 2,500,000 points and replay for completing ORBS special. NOTE: high score was left at over 6,000,000 from the PREVIOUS arcade which had it set for 5 balls per game.

3) Mall game arcade Centaur two: 5 balls per game. All holdovers on lose of ball. replay at 1,800,000 and 3,200,000 and replay for ORBS special. TILT penalty LOSS of GAME. NO tilting allowed.

All versions were 25 cents per play. All versions 3 replays for high score.

 

[Kolchak357]

Norbert26, you either have a great memory or played a ton of Centaur. I think this pin will surprise a lot of people that haven't played it before. There is a lot more there than just pretty artwork.

 

[DrainoBraino]

first of all centaur is not just a pin. it is my #1 table i have not seen in 29 years. I encountered 3 different versions in the real world:

1) college game room centaur two: 3 balls per game. loose the ball everything resets (orbs and such). replay 1,500,000 points 2nd replay 3,000,000 points replay for completing ORBS special.

2) arcade a few miles from college centaur one: 3 balls per game. ORBS and such holdover on lose of ball. replay 1,400,000 points. 2nd replay 2,500,000 points and replay for completing ORBS special. NOTE: high score was left at over 6,000,000 from the PREVIOUS arcade which had it set for 5 balls per game.

3) Mall game arcade Centaur two: 5 balls per game. All holdovers on lose of ball. replay at 1,800,000 and 3,200,000 and replay for ORBS special. TILT penalty LOSS of GAME. NO tilting allowed.

All versions were 25 cents per play. All versions 3 replays for high score.

Centaur has quite a few dip switches for varied play. Check out the manual for more info:
http://mirror2.ipdb.org/files/476/Bally_1981_Centaur_Manual.pdf

I wish TPA would allow tinkering with menus and dip switches without shelling extra money. Kinda silly if you ask me.

I agree that this is one of the best pins ever.

 

[dtown8532]

Guys, if you want some more Centaur info, here's a link to a 2011 seminar talk that Jim Patla (the table's designer) and Paul Faris (the table's artist) gave on the history of Centaur. Scroll down close to the bottom of the page. It's called The Story Behind Centaur. You can listen straight from the page or download the mp3.

http://www.pinballnews.com/shows/expo2011/index3.html

 

[norbert26]

Norbert26, you either have a great memory or played a ton of Centaur. I think this pin will surprise a lot of people that haven't played it before. There is a lot more there than just pretty artwork.

i sure did play this table a lot ! i used to go to the five ball version arcade at the mall and play all afternoon on one or two quarters. After two or three hours i would walk away usually leaving a credit on the machine for someone else to play ! I kept popping the ORBS special and getting a replay by 1,800,000 points. Needless to say i am bursting at the seems waiting for this to be released DESTROY CENTAUR !!!!!

 

[tripleplonq]

Even just a little darker lighting on the playfield would make a big difference:

A hint of lighting would probably do wonders, especially on devices that can't render all the SFX we see on the XBOX screenshots. And baked lighting on the textures costs nothing in terms of render time, gameplay. But it would add a lot more depth and realism.

My hope was that the TPA tables would improve over time, that the new releases would look better than the PHOF ports, but that didn't happen. Instead, the new tables look dull, sterile, like something you'll expect to see on PlayStation1.

I really hope that TPA moves ahead and transforms into the perfect pinball simulation I always hoped to see, regardless the platform. I just like pinball.

 

[dtown8532]

A hint of lighting would probably do wonders, especially on devices that can't render all the SFX we see on the XBOX screenshots. And baked lighting on the textures costs nothing in terms of render time, gameplay. But it would add a lot more depth and realism.

My hope was that the TPA tables would improve over time, that the new releases would look better than the PHOF ports, but that didn't happen. Instead, the new tables look dull, sterile, like something you'll expect to see on PlayStation1.

I really hope that TPA moves ahead and transforms into the perfect pinball simulation I always hoped to see, regardless the platform. I just like pinball.

I agree. After seeing the screens, one word comes to mind, FLAT. No dynamics, just FLAT. I agree with the white artwork being, well, white. It didn't take long for that artwork to fade so many that you see no longer look this white. With TPA it just seems that every new release lacks any real dynamic lighting. Even on the consoles. Disappointing.

 

[smbhax]

With TPA it just seems that every new release lacks any real dynamic lighting. Even on the consoles. Disappointing.

Based on what Bobby King said in one of the interviews, you're gonna have to wait for the next console gen for that.

 

[norbert26]

Centaur has a sound board called the say it again board. It creates a reverb sound for the voice calls. Since no other game, other than Centaur II, uses it, sometimes it's missing. When not present or working properly the voice calls are missing that effect. Makes a big difference, especially for Centaur nuts like me.

On the two versions of centaur 2 i encountered in the real world this option was not enabled on either. They should have shipped with this enabled by default rather then leave it to the arcade operator. I don't expect this to be enabled in the TPA version.

 

[dtown8532]

On the two versions of centaur 2 i encountered in the real world this option was not enabled on either. They should have shipped with this enabled by default rather then leave it to the arcade operator. I don't expect this to be enabled in the TPA version.

We'll see. I can guarantee that if it isn't enabled, they'll be a LOT of flaming.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

We'll see. I can guarantee that if it isn't enabled, they'll be a LOT of flaming.

How would that be any different than now?

 

[Fuseball]

On the two versions of centaur 2 i encountered in the real world this option was not enabled on either. They should have shipped with this enabled by default rather then leave it to the arcade operator. I don't expect this to be enabled in the TPA version.

Missing reverb in a Centaur is almost certainly due to either a missing or defective Say-It-Again board. There are a couple of trim pots for volume and regen (feedback) on the board but no conventional operator setting.

I doubt that the Say-It-Again board will be emulated. It's analogue audio technology and traditionally these are difficult or impossible to emulate. It could be simulated with a standard digital delay algorithm with a bit of low pass filtering, which would be better than nothing even if it didn't perfectly reproduce the analogue murk of the original board's Regen setting.

 

[norbert26]

Missing reverb in a Centaur is almost certainly due to either a missing or defective Say-It-Again board. There are a couple of trim pots for volume and regen (feedback) on the board but no conventional operator setting.

I doubt that the Say-It-Again board will be emulated. It's analogue audio technology and traditionally these are difficult or impossible to emulate. It could be simulated with a standard digital delay algorithm with a bit of low pass filtering, which would be better than nothing even if it didn't perfectly reproduce the analogue murk of the original board's Regen setting.

it would probably be too much extra work to employ a standard digital delay algorithm on first release. This could even delay release of the table . However perhaps this would be doable in a later update release.

 

[PiN WiZ]

Fear not...the reverb in Centaur is emulated beautifully.

 

[Kevlar]

Got to back PinWiz up here, the voice is incredible in the beta.

Excellent explanation of the rules in the following vid, its about Centaur 2 but as far as I can tell the only difference is the cabinet. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The voice sounds exactly like this;

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Excellent explanation of the rules in the following vid, its about Centaur 2 but as far as I can tell the only difference is the cabinet. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

You are correct, Centaur II's only difference is the half-height backbox.

 

[dtown8532]

Fear not...the reverb in Centaur is emulated beautifully.

Very good news.

 

[DaPinballWizard]

Fear not...the reverb in Centaur is emulated beautifully.

But is it included for free?

 

[tripleplonq]

The sounds sound really good. The game design + artwork is interesting. So far, I think, this is the highlight in TPA's 2013 lineup.

I always liked the unlicensed tables more, their themes and artwork often reflect the spirit and culture of their time in a very unique manner.
Tables like Centaur, Gorgar, Flash, Phoenix, Spectrum etc. with their sometimes cheesy artwork have their own identity.

And half-height backboxes and other extreme pinball mutations make me physically ill.