First Impressions

[night]

I cannot understand why previous table purchasers do not support the progress and skip buying tables in certain months? Support TPA each month or you may never see that table you want regardless.

TPA is not a welfare organization helping starving kids in slums of Afrika. I buy the tables I like and skip the onces I don't, let's not get too emotional about supporting, it would be very strange behavior to buy products you don't like.

 

[PinballLizard (Mark Wyda)]

Meh, have to pass again.

So... When does season 3 starts to catch up with season 1 and 2? It should be the biggest season yet. Fish tales is fun, but then..... Not even c-pins.... And all for triple a price.

I was expecting premium pins but so far its very dissapointing this season.

I hope they move more towards modern sterns.

For the price story. I have baught fish tales, is 4,49.

Wont buy rest season 3 whats out now, is still 4,49.

If they would still have normal prices, i would have baught 4x 2,49 even i am not a fan of who dunit pirates and bk2k, is 10......

So by making the price twice more they earn half from me. I am sure i am not the only one.

Totally disagree. I'd much rather pay 5$ for one good pin like the last 3, vs 5$ for two crappy ones like the tail end of season 2.

 

[Zaphod77]

Anyone who's tried to catch the killer on this table in real life has had the same stuff happen. As i said, the catch is the needed shots send the ball out of control.you have to hold pass just to get a right taxi shot off if you accused from the phone, and when you DO shoot it you have to fight for control and get the ball into that phone before it times out. And bricking any of these shots can and will lead to a drain.

It's a combination of nerves and tricky design that keeps doing ya in when you try to catch the killer.

 

[Jazza]

Great table. Enjoy the flow and variety with multiple objectives in play simultaneously.

Few bugs with sticky m/b and random disabling of right flipper but other than that i find this a fun table.

 

[pinballchris]

TPA is not a welfare organization helping starving kids in slums of Afrika. I buy the tables I like and skip the onces I don't, let's not get too emotional about supporting, it would be very strange behavior to buy products you don't like.

I don't know TPA's financials, but to me pinball is pinball. There are a lot of tables I don't like but I say support them so they can make more. But just my opinion I guess.

 

[Rudy]

Since my initial problem with catching the killer I've had three very long games racking up around 6billion points in my highest scored game, but haven't caught the killer since.

I've finally managed to master taxiing the ball and hitting the first shot, but I cannot hit the phone for the life of me. I always hit just to the left or right of it and it doesn't go fully up the chute. I can't understand how I managed it in my first few games and now I fear I might never be able to do it again.

It's almost as big a choke as me trying to hit the cannonball shot in Black Rose. 99% of the time I completely miss it, but the one percent makes it worth it.

 

[CycOd3liC]

WhoDunnit is enjoyable, though I never played the real table IRL. Does seem a bit easy though and way too many extra balls.

I've been happy with this season so far, BK2K may be my new favorite table.

 

[Zaphod77]

After shooting the roulette upkicker, try to shoot the phone by flipping just as the ball passes the center of the flipper.

It can also be backhanded from the left flipper if you can trap it. Of course that's easier said then done before the shot times out and resets.

A lit mystery target will count as the taxi orbit at this time, but of course can drain.

Yes, the phone always seems to be hardest to hit when you are trying to cash in that hurryup, and it's a legitimately difficult shot. Or when it has the extra ball lit on it.

This game also causes a lot of anguish in a competitive setting, what with all the random ball saves from outlane drains and that Roulette wheel. There's nothing quite as rage inducing as having your opponent getting a second chance off an outlane drain on ball three, and not even making it, but getting a chance to risk it all and nearly double their score for the WIN. Compared to that, failing to collect that penthouse key and loosing to someone who did get it is mild.

 

[superballs]

Hmm, is it really an easy game? Dunno. I mean, I had a couple of great scores, but that's more because of mere "flipping around" than thanks to deliberate aiming and hitting targets. As already noted in this thread, the flippers are really slippery. Basically you're just flipping to keep the ball alive than actually really going for something, so finishing modes and collecting points are just side effects that come out of it. It reminds me of how Fish Tales used to be in the beginning.

And... yeah, once the roof mode starts and you're supposed to chase the killer the table suddenly swallows the ball in most inventive ways. I thought it was just me and my typical bad luck, but since someone else here is experiencing the very same I wonder if there's actually a "drain script" or something.

But what I mentioned above doesn't really matter in the end, because even on its own terms I don't think that this table is particularly fun. :-/ I do like the theme of Clue-like crime solving, but the execution is just all over the shop. Trains? Elevators? A slot machine? Roulette? And I don't find the rules all that accessible; they seem pretty "zig-zag" to me. I'm just never very sure about the what, where and why. Somewhat unfocussed table design, IMO.

To catch a killer is something you need to make swiftly and calmly.
First shot, the right taxi, will send the ball STDM real fast if you hit the left post off the left flipper. The fact that you know it's going to change to the other shot just adds pressure to hit it quick. Keep calm and shoot that...then when it screams around the loop, leave the left flipper dead and nudge to the right and the ball will bounce to the right flipper and give you plenty of time to line up the shot.

I find the phone to be the hardest shot to hit consistently so I do agree with you there. If you don't think you will get it...slow down, park the ball on the left flipper (or the right if you prefer to hit the taxi from there) and wait for the phone to time out, even if you have to do it over again, it's an easy 25 million just to hit the taxi shot again.

Personally, I like how the table doesn't force you to focus on any one shot over and over and over again.

The table is fairly easy to figure out more or less after a few games. The table seems to reward making almost any shot, which makes it seem easy but bricking the few key shots can prove to be major drain hazards. The theme and play mechanics offset the ease by making each case feel somewhat unique.

 

[oqvist]

First impression like most very floaty. Don´t know yet if it´s good or bad but at least it´s different. Good table I am relieved we aren´t getting any booring vintage tables yet and they are all better then Fish Tales

btw I through it in here if anyone play on PC do you know where the save files are put? I have lost all my progress after a reinstallation of windows but I kept the old intact.

 

[Zaphod77]

Yes, it's supposed to be this floaty, for that old time feel.

When you chose correct suspect at the phone, hold both flippers up and trap the ball. take a quick breath, then shoot the right loop. try to trap the ball and take a shot at the phone. If you miss, try to trap the ball again and let the phone time out, and shoot the taxi again. Bricking the phone shot almost never causes a drain.

 

[kinggo]

meh...... I just don't get this table. Never played one IRL so I don't know how it feels but on my tab it's so weird. The ball is somehow slow (the flippers to, maybe because of my old HW) but still, it's impossible to catch it on the flipper even if it barely moves. Plus, right outlane is such a drainer. People talk about billions, my highest score is ~800 millions.

 

[night]

meh...... I just don't get this table. Never played one IRL so I don't know how it feels but on my tab it's so weird. The ball is somehow slow (the flippers to, maybe because of my old HW) but still, it's impossible to catch it on the flipper even if it barely moves. Plus, right outlane is such a drainer. People talk about billions, my highest score is ~800 millions.

I only play this one in demo, but you are right, can't catch a ball and the physics seem off. Fish Tales has such nice physics, but this one is like playing some of the first tables from season 1.

 

[Kolchak357]

Who Dunnit is a pretty easy table in real life. I assume the slick flippers are an attemp to keep this table from being too easy on TPA.
You can always just hold both flippers up on any return and the ball will roll off the one flipper and gently pass over to the other flipper for a trap. So it's not really a problem.
It is an easy pin but I enjoy the theme, music, and DMD animations. I am having a lot of fun playing it.

 

[Zaphod77]

It's still easy in TPA. Just have to adjust to the floaty physics.

As people said, hold passing works very well. about 33% of the time the hold pass from the lock eject will fail because of a random weak eject, and sometimes it's so strong it won't stay on the other flipper, but it's totally reliable in nearly any other circumstance, such as the roulette eject, the phone/sewer eject, and the left or right elevator.

And backhanding is very useful, and is doable after a hold pass. The right taxi/train is a very easy backhand, the phone is a doable backhand, and the left taxi is a tricky backhand which should not be relied on.

 

[Roo]

I must say I don't get all the comments about "floaty" physics, "slippery" flippers, etc. Different tables have different slopes, different inlane angles, different flipper angles both at rest and when engaged, etc. by design. This affects the ball speed in various scenarios and how hard it is to trap or control the ball. I don't think it's an inherent flaw in TPA's physics or anything -- the tables are designed differently.

I'm sure Farsight is doing their best to emulate each table's design and make it behave the same way (at least the same way as the particular demo machine they have).

To me, these differences are part of the challenge of playing different tables. I notice the same thing when I go to expos and play 50 different machines in a day. Going from a machine with flippers that are steeper when engaged to one with flatter flippers is a big adjustment in terms of judging if you'll be able to trap the ball.

Go play Cue Ball Wizard for an extreme example of different flipper design.


All that said, I must say that the DMD animations in Who Dunnit are some of the best I've ever seen and I think it's quite a fun table!

 

[AntonR]

Just played a nearly six hour game and got quite a ridiculous score. Once you adjust to the floaty physics it's pretty easy to keep the ball alive as long as you don't try anything stupid.

 

[kinggo]

I must say I don't get all the comments about "floaty" physics, "slippery" flippers, etc. Different tables have different slopes, different inlane angles, different flipper angles both at rest and when engaged, etc. by design. This affects the ball speed in various scenarios and how hard it is to trap or control the ball. I don't think it's an inherent flaw in TPA's physics or anything -- the tables are designed differently.

I agree. And that's why I always play the same table for a few days. But with this one physics seems somehow off. The theme, the music, the DMD animations, the sound, the layout..... all is fine. But still it feels like the machine is filled with some transparent jelly or oil and I just don't get along with it.

 

[Paul Petrissans]

I really like this table, especially the sounds which is a big deal for me. Championship Pub annoys the heck out of me with its music and sfx. This table feels like it has real style and I love the noir feel. Strange to me that I've never seen it IRL which is a first among the more recent tables.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Whoa, I just noticed something. The actual game has a feed to the bumpers from the Train, if there was a weak shot. I spotted in the flyer: