Request Flipper sensitivity/lag issues

[Spyk Saturn]

So I absolutely love this game! I am so happy to have found it but I have two major issues that, after playing a real pinball machine for the first time in years because my area has nothing anymore, are really just killing the experience for me.

I'd like to start off by saying this game is very important to me and many of you may think that that is silly, but a short explanation is we haven't had pinball in my area sense I was probably about 12 and am now 28, I work long hours and this is my destresser as I have no time for the long games I used to play in my youth, and I can not yet buy pinball machines as I plan to until we get the house to put them in (which will be in about a year or so). So as stupid as this sounds, this game means a great deal to me being born and raised in the arcades and on video games.

Now going into the actual issue. After playing Star Trek TNG in the newly opened pinball store at my local mall (CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY JUST OPENED THAT UP!), my suspicions that I kept saying weren't real and put off as not having played a pin in a long long time were realized. There is a TON of flipper lag and the sensitivity on the flippers leave you unable to do many of the flipper skill moves needed leaving the game almost only playable by tilt mechanics, ball trapping when able, dead flipper passes, and accuracy. Changing to the triggers instead of bumpers helped a bit but not totally. Changing the mode on my TV from and to game mode did nothing. When I played the actual TNG table today I found my self easily able to do many of the flipper tricks I can't on the game (passing the ball from flipper to flipper by tapping it over as it reaches the edge is one example) and hitting the ball way too early for the first few games because of how used to the video game I was. I researched the ever living hell out of this online and I found that the internet seems to be divided between people who say there is no issue and people who say there is an issue. I have found no solutions for those that say there is an issue that have worked for me. I have also scoured this forum under PS4 and haven't been able to find this topic so I do apologize if it is somewhere here for PS4, if you link me and its not one of the solutions I said I have tried, I'll be glad to take it. Does anyone have a fix for this? I tested the lag issue and I can literally hit the flipper and my finger come all the way off and just as its off the flipper finally hit. It's a quick movement, but definitely obvious it takes that long for it to register. Also the flipper sensitivity. I dunno if this ties in with the lag, or if the physics just are not there yet, but the unrealistic way the tapping feels is pretty hard to work around although using the triggers does help. Anyways done rant. Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance.

 

[Gorgar]

The word is on the street is that the flipper lag can be reduced by changing your tv settings to game mode. Personally, I have never noticed a lag on PS4, but it is somethin you might want to try.

The later tables (from Cyclone onward) utilize what Farsight coined Flipper Physics 3.0. This makes it possible to utilize new flipper techniques such as a drop catch. However, it still isn't perfect and you can't do the flipper pass from the tip of the flipper that you described (at least I don't think you can.) I believe Farsight plans on rolling out this physics 3.0 on all of the older tables once they release the new user interface. However, it seems like they already added it to Big Shot and Party Zone.

 

[Spyk Saturn]

The word is on the street is that the flipper lag can be reduced by changing your tv settings to game mode. Personally, I have never noticed a lag on PS4, but it is somethin you might want to try.

The later tables (from Cyclone onward) utilize what Farsight coined Flipper Physics 3.0. This makes it possible to utilize new flipper techniques such as a drop catch. However, it still isn't perfect and you can't do the flipper pass from the tip of the flipper that you described (at least I don't think you can.) I believe Farsight plans on rolling out this physics 3.0 on all of the older tables once they release the new user interface. However, it seems like they already added it to Big Shot and Party Zone.

Super helpful. Especially the last bit. I didn't know that all the new physics were put out on the newer tables only and that things like flipper passes have been in fact deemed impossible because of software limitations. The software is amazing compared to anything else out there though and I friggin love it! As for the tv bit, game mode helps but there is still noticeable lag where in other games I have 0 (even not in game mode). It makes me have to be preemptive with shots and when that ball goes super fast, I have no hopes of recovery unless I do the one thing no one should ever do which is hold the flippers up and hope it works. All in all, best pinball software around! Thanks again!

 

[Rayder]

I had a 24" Samsung that I used for a long time for my PS2/3/4. About a year ago, I got a great deal on a 32" Insignia. When I first hooked it up, I had a hard time with TPA because I was constantly hitting the flippers way too soon. Kinda funny actually, because it took me a while to adjust, it almost felt like the flippers were moving a split second before I pressed the button.

But it got me thinking.....I didn't even realise how much lag the Samsung had (even in game mode) compared to the Insignia (which has no game mode selection). The Insignia took longer to find the "happy medium" video settings for all games, but the reduction in lag was freaking amazing. All games seemed snappier and more responsive, but TPA was the most noticeable. I can't believe I went as long as I did with that Samsung lag monster, and I didn't even know it.

Trust me, if you feel like you're getting flipper lag, it's your TV/monitor that you need to look at.

 

[ScotchYeti]

[MENTION=6072]Spyk Saturn[/MENTION]: I assume you have already turned off the "staged flipper"? This might improve the responsiveness as well.

 

[phreaker47]

Definitely need a good game mode with low enough latency, as PA in particular makes latency that is usually imperceptible a lot more noticeable.

The game runs well on my Sammy 7100 55" with game mode on, but if I ever forget it's in another mode and attempt to play, the input lag is immediately noticeable.

 

[Spyk Saturn]

Wow Rayder I have an Insignia now. Funny you mention that brand. It's a 55 inch. My problem is opposite yours though. Game mode is helping but there is still this good amount of lag behind it that believe it or not I don't get on mobile phone. Go figure . Yeah I am that addicted to this game I have it on the go now . Maybe there are options I can turn on/off that will fix this?

ScotchYeti I didn't know that was an option!!! Where would I go to change this?

Phreaker47 any tips on things in settings on the TV to turn on or off? I actually noticed a few tables can be less responsive. Maybe this is the unpredictability you speak of?

 

[Tann]

Input lag also on PS4? Oh boy.

My problem is opposite yours though. Game mode is helping but there is still this good amount of lag behind it that believe it or not I don't get on mobile phone. I actually noticed a few tables can be less responsive.

I'm on PS3, and there's definitely a huge input lag in 1080i/p. And it does not come from my TV which is a CRT with a HDMI port (Philips 32PW9551).

Basically, my TV is not even "true HD", but when I set the PS3 to 720p resolution, "plop", no more input lag (excepted on some complex tables, on which some input lag is still noticeable, even in 720p: CFTBL, TZ, TOTAN...). But, on 720p, TPA is lot more grainy and jaggy.

So, the flipper lag is definitely a software problem, not hardware.

You're on PS4 (meant to not have any input lag problem), so just by curiosity, can you try to set your PS4 to 720p only, to check if you still experiment some flipper lag?

This makes it possible to utilize new flipper techniques such as a drop catch. However, it still isn't perfectt and you can't do the flipper pass from the tip of the flipper that you described (at least I don't think you can.)

Actually, it's possible with the physics 3.0: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPopc-98jbg&t=0m45s (official Farsight video)

But I never succeeded to willingly do it (on PS3, on the few tables having physics 3.0)

 

[Spyk Saturn]

When they going to make that possible on all tables because let me tell you something, its a friggin necessity for Bram Stokers Dracula.

 

[ScotchYeti]

ScotchYeti I didn't know that was an option!!! Where would I go to change this?

On the main screen select Options, then Settings. It's the "Upper flipper" that you can change.