Bug Funhouse - Not so fun sometimes. But it could be!

[timedragon]

I joined this forum to report bugs in Funhouse. It was my favorite (real/physical) pinball table growing up, so now that I have it in my ps3 I play A LOT. I skimmed this table's forum and saw a few familiar bugs, but not as many as I expected to already have been reported. That said, I would like to just group all of my observed bugs here, and I apologize if they have already been reported, but they obviously haven't been fixed. Please excuse my lack of pinball lingo knowledge.

Bug #1: (I will go into depth on this one in particular) Ball shoots in random directions when it launches out of the Mystery Mirror return hole. Especially if two balls have entered the Mystery Mirror in a very short time frame, together. And by the way the first ball shoots out, it almost seems as if it is bouncing off the 2nd ball which on the real table would be located below it, but in the game it seems to interpret it on the same plane and it just veers off crazily and unpredictably towards the left flipper. I know there can be some odd occurrences on the on the real life table, but this is not ok. The ball should spit out of that hole EXACTLY the same way every time, no matter what. And sometimes when only one ball has entered the Mystery Mirror, the ball will shoot out of this hole more towards the left flipper instead of down to the right where it is supposed to hit and bounce over to the left one if desired.

(on a side note, I have witnessed something similar happen when a ball is traveling down the path to the 2nd plunger after hitting the big ramp, and another ball passed under it. That ball passing under the one above acted as it had just bounced off the one above, like it was struck by it on the base plane).

Bug #2: When ball is shot up the ramp to the left plunger, it frequently falls through the space between that area and the left flipper gutter(/alley?). Even happens sometimes when I am already securely launching in the left plunger fire line, as the ball falls back down if I did not reach the first of the three pointer finger slots.

Bug #3: Ball launch is unpredictable and yields random results. Specifically when I am trying for a skill shot, which requires the plunger handle to be pulled back maybe around 65-75% force, I will often have the ball hit the left side of the part where the painted wood section of the table turns into a metal ramp which takes the ball up to the left curve behind Rudy's head. The skill shot is already hard enough, but this happens A LOT to me. Then the ball just falls down into the right flipper lane. Also, sometimes I will attempt a full power ball launch and the ball will not even budge. Sometimes I will attempt around %80 ball launch and it will behave as if I just did around %10 - not even making it out of the gate.

Bug #4: Rudy Gulp sends ball straight to left gutter - immediate drain... SOMETIMES. Shouldn't a Rudy Gulp be passed back to us the EXACT same way every single time? Or is this sadistically intentional?? Also Rudy Hit yields random descent path results, but THAT is understandable for real life because he is not always hit with the same force. Which is why I stress that a Rudy Gulp return should ALWAYS be exactly the same descent.

Bug #5: Ball launch after Hidden Hallway shot (the one that brings the ball to pass by the upper left flipper) yields random path results. I know without a doubt because I have tried both holding the upper left flipper active and watched where the ball travels, or left it dormant and watched where the ball travels. There at least 4 varying paths the ball will take. And again, to me something like this should yield the EXACT same path every single time.

Possible Bug #6: I read that 6 Rudy Hits "lights the mystery mirror". Well, when I complete 6 Rudy Hits, nothing happens. Maybe I am missing something. But then, so is this guy who said the same thing about halfway down the page at his "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror" goal point. http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/938773-pinball-hall-of-fame-the-williams-collection/faqs/52466 : "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror, leading to a lit Extra Ball. Every chance you get, hit Rudy in the mouth. This is supposed to light the Mystery Mirror, although in my experience it doesn't always work (could be a misunderstanding). Always shoot the Mystery Mirror when lit, since this is probably the easiest way to light the Extra Ball."

Perhaps I am being overly analytical? If what I have called a "bug" here was intentional, feel free to let me know. As it is now, I feel really frustrated by ball drains that to me look like glitches. This is the only pinball table I really care about, and I am EXTREMELY grateful that it has been recreated in digital but man it is really ruined by these problems. This is the only table I care about my score - all the other ones I play casually just trying to complete goals for the sake of completing them. I really love this table and I feel like I know it well - but I am haunted by glitches.

All that said, thanks FARSIGHT STUDIOS for bringing my favorite pinball table to my TV.

Sorry for the essay... Just trying to be thorough in hopes of helping to find fixes for what I have seen as bugs / glitches. Also, excuse me if bug reports are not supposed to include how the bugs make a player feel. This is my first time on this forum, or any forum for that matter, in a long time.

-TD

 

[Zaphod77]

Bug #1: (I will go into depth on this one in particular) Ball shoots in random directions when it launches out of the Mystery Mirror return hole. Especially if two balls have entered the Mystery Mirror in a very short time frame, together. And by the way the first ball shoots out, it almost seems as if it is bouncing off the 2nd ball which on the real table would be located below it, but in the game it seems to interpret it on the same plane and it just veers off crazily and unpredictably towards the left flipper. I know there can be some odd occurrences on the on the real life table, but this is not ok. The ball should spit out of that hole EXACTLY the same way every time, no matter what. And sometimes when only one ball has entered the Mystery Mirror, the ball will shoot out of this hole more towards the left flipper instead of down to the right where it is supposed to hit and bounce over to the left one if desired.

This only happens when there are multiple balls in the scoop. and not all the time. yes the kickouts when balls are stacked up inside are nasty, but it is otherwise very consistent. the behavior is by design.

(on a side note, I have witnessed something similar happen when a ball is traveling down the path to the 2nd plunger after hitting the big ramp, and another ball passed under it. That ball passing under the one above acted as it had just bounced off the one above, like it was struck by it on the base plane).

this is new. probably not easy to reproduce.

Bug #2: When ball is shot up the ramp to the left plunger, it frequently falls through the space between that area and the left flipper gutter(/alley?). Even happens sometimes when I am already securely launching in the left plunger fire line, as the ball falls back down if I did not reach the first of the three pointer finger slots.

really odd. never seen this when i played it on ps3 back in the day. physics errors can happen on tales, but i've never actually seen that one.

Bug #3: Ball launch is unpredictable and yields random results. Specifically when I am trying for a skill shot, which requires the plunger handle to be pulled back maybe around 65-75% force, I will often have the ball hit the left side of the part where the painted wood section of the table turns into a metal ramp which takes the ball up to the left curve behind Rudy's head. The skill shot is already hard enough, but this happens A LOT to me. Then the ball just falls down into the right flipper lane. Also, sometimes I will attempt a full power ball launch and the ball will not even budge. Sometimes I will attempt around %80 ball launch and it will behave as if I just did around %10 - not even making it out of the gate.

this is a general issue on ps3 platform for all tables. analog plunging is not very consistent.

Bug #4: Rudy Gulp sends ball straight to left gutter - immediate drain... SOMETIMES. Shouldn't a Rudy Gulp be passed back to us the EXACT same way every single time? Or is this sadistically intentional?? Also Rudy Hit yields random descent path results, but THAT is understandable for real life because he is not always hit with the same force. Which is why I stress that a RudTy Gulp return should ALWAYS be exactly the same descent.

To prevent this, nudge. totally intentional.

Bug #5: Ball launch after Hidden Hallway shot (the one that brings the ball to pass by the upper left flipper) yields random path results. I know without a doubt because I have tried both holding the upper left flipper active and watched where the ball travels, or left it dormant and watched where the ball travels. There at least 4 varying paths the ball will take. And again, to me something like this should yield the EXACT same path every single time.

Again, solenoids do not always fire at precisely the same strength. they move about in the plastic sleeve. But a shot from that feed at the rudy jaw is nearly always safe.

Possible Bug #6: I read that 6 Rudy Hits "lights the mystery mirror". Well, when I complete 6 Rudy Hits, nothing happens. Maybe I am missing something. But then, so is this guy who said the same thing about halfway down the page at his "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror" goal point. http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/938773-pinball-hall-of-fame-the-williams-collection/faqs/52466 : "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror, leading to a lit Extra Ball. Every chance you get, hit Rudy in the mouth. This is supposed to light the Mystery Mirror, although in my experience it doesn't always work (could be a misunderstanding). Always shoot the Mystery Mirror when lit, since this is probably the easiest way to light the Extra Ball."

Rudy's jaw DOES relight the mirror, but after super frenzy is collected, the mirror is unavailable until you drain the ball. if hitting it does not relight the mirror, this is why.

 

[timedragon]

Thanks for taking time to read/reply, Zaphod77!

 

[pezpunk]

first of all, cool post!

Bug #1: (I will go into depth on this one in particular) Ball shoots in random directions when it launches out of the Mystery Mirror return hole. Especially if two balls have entered the Mystery Mirror in a very short time frame, together. And by the way the first ball shoots out, it almost seems as if it is bouncing off the 2nd ball which on the real table would be located below it, but in the game it seems to interpret it on the same plane and it just veers off crazily and unpredictably towards the left flipper. I know there can be some odd occurrences on the on the real life table, but this is not ok. The ball should spit out of that hole EXACTLY the same way every time, no matter what. And sometimes when only one ball has entered the Mystery Mirror, the ball will shoot out of this hole more towards the left flipper instead of down to the right where it is supposed to hit and bounce over to the left one if desired.

disagree with this one. i own a Funhouse, and i can tell you that the kick out *IS* different and somewhat random, especially when there is more than one ball in there. also, no, balls do not come out exactly the same way every time in real life. that would be (and is, on many TPA tables) boring.

(on a side note, I have witnessed something similar happen when a ball is traveling down the path to the 2nd plunger after hitting the big ramp, and another ball passed under it. That ball passing under the one above acted as it had just bounced off the one above, like it was struck by it on the base plane).

i've seen that, and i agree, that's a bug.

Bug #2: When ball is shot up the ramp to the left plunger, it frequently falls through the space between that area and the left flipper gutter(/alley?). Even happens sometimes when I am already securely launching in the left plunger fire line, as the ball falls back down if I did not reach the first of the three pointer finger slots.

not quite sure what you mean .. are you saying on a weak plunge from the left plunger, the ball will sometimes bounce over to the left flipper inlane? if so, that also happens in real life and is desired behavior, to discourage repeated tries at a weak plunge.

Bug #3: Ball launch is unpredictable and yields random results. Specifically when I am trying for a skill shot, which requires the plunger handle to be pulled back maybe around 65-75% force, I will often have the ball hit the left side of the part where the painted wood section of the table turns into a metal ramp which takes the ball up to the left curve behind Rudy's head. The skill shot is already hard enough, but this happens A LOT to me. Then the ball just falls down into the right flipper lane. Also, sometimes I will attempt a full power ball launch and the ball will not even budge. Sometimes I will attempt around %80 ball launch and it will behave as if I just did around %10 - not even making it out of the gate.

yeah, the plunger can be a little wonky...

Bug #4: Rudy Gulp sends ball straight to left gutter - immediate drain... SOMETIMES. Shouldn't a Rudy Gulp be passed back to us the EXACT same way every single time? Or is this sadistically intentional?? Also Rudy Hit yields random descent path results, but THAT is understandable for real life because he is not always hit with the same force. Which is why I stress that a Rudy Gulp return should ALWAYS be exactly the same descent.

that gulp kick out is a bit unpredictable in real life, it should not be the same every time, but it also probably shouldn't go straight down the gutter. solenoids do NOT fire exactly the same every time. tiny differences in voltage or ricochets or temperature or whatever do have real-world effects. pinball is rarely an exact science.

Bug #5: Ball launch after Hidden Hallway shot (the one that brings the ball to pass by the upper left flipper) yields random path results. I know without a doubt because I have tried both holding the upper left flipper active and watched where the ball travels, or left it dormant and watched where the ball travels. There at least 4 varying paths the ball will take. And again, to me something like this should yield the EXACT same path every single time.

again, i gotta disagree. these are physical machines and balls don't always kick out and ricochet the same way every time. that physicality and randomness is what makes the game exciting -- dealing with quick unexpected physical interactions. it's something that's very hard to simulate, but programming in multiple random options is definitely better than having one pixel-perfect kick out that happens every time.

Possible Bug #6: I read that 6 Rudy Hits "lights the mystery mirror". Well, when I complete 6 Rudy Hits, nothing happens. Maybe I am missing something. But then, so is this guy who said the same thing about halfway down the page at his "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror" goal point. http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/938773-pinball-hall-of-fame-the-williams-collection/faqs/52466 : "3. Hit Rudy to light Mystery Mirror, leading to a lit Extra Ball. Every chance you get, hit Rudy in the mouth. This is supposed to light the Mystery Mirror, although in my experience it doesn't always work (could be a misunderstanding). Always shoot the Mystery Mirror when lit, since this is probably the easiest way to light the Extra Ball."

hitting Rudy (once) definitely re-lights the mystery mirror, if the mirror is not already lit. what "lit" means is one of the features on the mirror will blink, and if you hit the hole, it activates that feature. (unless you've already completed the mystery mirror on that ball)

Perhaps I am being overly analytical? If what I have called a "bug" here was intentional, feel free to let me know. As it is now, I feel really frustrated by ball drains that to me look like glitches. This is the only pinball table I really care about, and I am EXTREMELY grateful that it has been recreated in digital but man it is really ruined by these problems. This is the only table I care about my score - all the other ones I play casually just trying to complete goals for the sake of completing them. I really love this table and I feel like I know it well - but I am haunted by glitches.

All that said, thanks FARSIGHT STUDIOS for bringing my favorite pinball table to my TV.

Sorry for the essay... Just trying to be thorough in hopes of helping to find fixes for what I have seen as bugs / glitches. Also, excuse me if bug reports are not supposed to include how the bugs make a player feel. This is my first time on this forum, or any forum for that matter, in a long time.

-TD

nah it's cool - love this game too!!

 

[timedragon]

You know what pezpunk, you've made me reconsider my perspective a bit. Now that I think I try to see it how you explain, a lot of it makes more sense to me. Like the variations in kickout or Rudy Gulp/spit... they can't always be the same in real life - and my experience with the real life table is actually a bit limited. Thanks for clearing some stuff up. This will allow me to feel a lot less anger when I lose control of the ball / drain from what I was thinking were ALL bugs. Thus, I will enjoy the game more.

not quite sure what you mean .. are you saying on a weak plunge from the left plunger, the ball will sometimes bounce over to the left flipper inlane? if so, that also happens in real life and is desired behavior, to discourage repeated tries at a weak plunge.

Yep, that is what I meant. MAYBE that did happen to me once in real life, but it is hard to remember so far back now. That said, who the heck would want to sit there and just pull weak plunges all day? Would there be a reason? And what is the reason to discourage doing so then?

 

[Zaphod77]

it's called not overshooting the frenzy award.

 

[pezpunk]

You know what pezpunk, you've made me reconsider my perspective a bit. Now that I think I try to see it how you explain, a lot of it makes more sense to me. Like the variations in kickout or Rudy Gulp/spit... they can't always be the same in real life - and my experience with the real life table is actually a bit limited. Thanks for clearing some stuff up. This will allow me to feel a lot less anger when I lose control of the ball / drain from what I was thinking were ALL bugs. Thus, I will enjoy the game more.

hey, awesome! glad i could be of service.

Yep, that is what I meant. MAYBE that did happen to me once in real life, but it is hard to remember so far back now. That said, who the heck would want to sit there and just pull weak plunges all day? Would there be a reason? And what is the reason to discourage doing so then?

well, if you're trying to hit the first slot for a quick frenzy, you might plunge it somewhat lightly over and over until it finally dribbles in. without the risk of it bouncing back into play, it basically gives you as many retries as you want to make that Frenzy shot as long you err on the soft side.

 

[Zaphod77]

To understand why this is a problem, see white water. There is zero penalty to plunging too soft.

It's so bad that when i was in league we had a rule that said if you undershot four times in a row you had to full plunge for attempt 5, or be penalized a loss for delay of game.