Flipper physics?

[Deltaechoe]

I play a lot of TPA and much to my dismay I still haven't been able to do a proper live catch or a drop stop. I was wondering if there was going to be a flipper update in the near future (like next 6 months or so) to allow for the possibility of perfectly inelastic collisions on the flipper like is possible on real tables instead of just having rather than just having mostly elastic collisions.

 

[jaredmorgs]

Flipper physics are constantly being tuned by Bobby, and are done per-table.

Do a search back through some of the Bobby King podcasts and other posts about this subject. There is some really great info about how much effort goes into tuning just this aspect alone.

You'll notice that later tables have much better flipper physics than earlier tables (at least those that haven't been re-tuned by Bobby).

 

[brakel]

It seemed like the flipper physics along with the physics in general have been improved some more in the PS4 version. The expo wasn't the greatest place to have a critical look at every aspect, but I came away from it thinking that the feel of the ball was better. Seemed more life-like.

 

[anonymatt]

I would say that the one thing that makes TPA much easier than real pinball is that the flipper hits the ball like it's a baseball bat. Wouldn't that interaction make your chance of a live catch much smaller?

 

[Deltaechoe]

No, I can live catch on most tables that I play at the arcade near me pretty consistently, but when I try it on the same tables on TPA I usually end up sending the ball screaming out of control. This aspect alone is what actually causes most of my drains.

Another thing that would be nice as far as flippers goes is a proper flipper taps, which we definitely don't have right now. If you try a tap it ends up using the flipper at full power so during multiball if you have multiple balls trapped on the same flipper or you're about to fumble the ball, the only way to save it is to shoot the balls off at seemingly random angles resulting in the loss of control. So double, triple, ect trapping is a huge risk with the flippers the way they are.

If those could be done we would have about as perfect of a digital representation of the physical tables as is possible with today's hardware.

 

[brakel]

No, I can live catch on most tables that I play at the arcade near me pretty consistently, but when I try it on the same tables on TPA I usually end up sending the ball screaming out of control. This aspect alone is what actually causes most of my drains.

Another thing that would be nice as far as flippers goes is a proper flipper taps, which we definitely don't have right now. If you try a tap it ends up using the flipper at full power so during multiball if you have multiple balls trapped on the same flipper or you're about to fumble the ball, the only way to save it is to shoot the balls off at seemingly random angles resulting in the loss of control. So double, triple, ect trapping is a huge risk with the flippers the way they are.

If those could be done we would have about as perfect of a digital representation of the physical tables as is possible with today's hardware.

Since the tables in TPA are so much easier than their real life machines, how does making them even easier a better representation?

 

[Deltaechoe]

I don't think that drop stops and the like will make the game easier, just less random

 

[switch3flip]

I don't think that drop stops and the like will make the game easier, just less random

Less random = more predictave = more controle...must equal easier, don't you think?
Every now and then I actually happen to live catch on pinball arcade, and it's happening on newer tables, so it might be headed in the right direction.
But taps on the other hand...at least on android nothing is happening. The flipper drops too fast, it's impossible to rglip it up before it reaches its bottom position, no matter how fast you repeatedly tap the flipper button (screen). On ps3 this is possible though. You can flip the flipper up again before it drops down all the way. The flipper really should just drop slower.

 

[brakel]

No, I can live catch on most tables that I play at the arcade near me pretty consistently, but when I try it on the same tables on TPA I usually end up sending the ball screaming out of control. This aspect alone is what actually causes most of my drains.

I don't think that drop stops and the like will make the game easier, just less random

If not having improved flipper physics causes most of your drains then having improved flipper physics would reduce the number of drains. Fewer drains means its easier. By fewer drains I mean more play time between drains because eventually the ball has to drain.