Request General Game Polish

[Kemetman72]

I'm not and probably never will see any actual 1080p texture work on any of these tables. They took on too many platforms way too quick. Unless some bugs are eliminated on the PS4 I will not be buying any more tables. One more thing there are no table packs in S3. It should just be table #26 or whatever. For the love of Peter, Paul and Mary fix the sound! Turn the dang ball shadows on. Give Rudy his Hotdog back!

 

[Xanija]

Where did you get the idea Season 3 is the end? We have plans for Season 4 and 5 at the very minimum. Unless in August suddenly everyone who likes Pinball will no longer like it for some reason.

I am so happy to read this, you can't even imagine how much I appreciate every table being released already and in the future. And thanks for being open in your communication, it's always great to read from developers who don't have to get every word they say approved by their marketing department.

 

[BlackRainbowFT]

Where did you get the idea Season 3 is the end? We have plans for Season 4 and 5 at the very minimum. Unless in August suddenly everyone who likes Pinball will no longer like it for some reason.

That's some fantastic news.

 

[joeblow]

Mike, we are appreciative when FS is in the replying mood. Can you give us an update on the head scratching problem with the audio in the PS4 version?

Yes, the problem has been acknowledged, but if it were a mere oversight (left unpatched for four months!), how is it possible that newer tables have been made, according to some reports, with the same audio issues? More importantly, when will this be taken care of, considering it is the #1 requested PS4 glitch fix?

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Wait, what is this about Rudy not having a hot dog? I never noticed a hot dog in the real Funhouse machine.

 

[jaredmorgs]

I haven't done any PS4 submission work, so I'm not sure what's involved in the patching process. Many of the consoles make it really hard (or impossible) to fix stuff like this. I'm not sure where PS4 is in that regard.

Patching on Steam is one of the easiest. I would need an upgraded art asset, rebuild each table (a bit time consuming...but doable). And then I create a new patch.

I'm not sure what we have in as far as texture quality, if I get some free time I'll look into it.

The only thing that can be an issue is we don't currently have a good way to let the user choose higher/lower res textures. And it's not a trivial task to implement due to how our engine works. And I fear that if we put in a really high res texture, it might cause performance issues for people with older pcs.

I'll see what can be done.

Hi Mike. Is High LOD on Android different to high textures on PC? Because we can select between the two LOD types depending on device limitations.

 

[Espy]

I don't believe there are Polish versions of the roms available so this is unlikely.


I'm here all week! Actually, I'm here indefinitely. Pretty depressing, huh?

 

[shutyertrap]

After reading through this thread, I've come to a conclusion...I'd be a horrible tester! There are so many issues you guys have brought up that I've either shrugged off, not experienced, or did and didn't know it. Some of the art issues I've never noticed, because I'm not attuned to what to look for (but of course now I am!), while others bugged me at first glance and then I look past 'em.

I fall into the camp that would like to see each tabled polished to the point of "any further complaint is just being nit picky". I respond more to the art side of things, as that's what attracts me to the real machines. The PS3 super patch renewed a lot of faith in the company for me, as it showed a willingness to fix what wasn't right even on a platform that people are already or eventually planning on moving forward from.

Each month I play in a pinball league, and each time there has been at least one table where the machine does something wonky that people on this forum would describe in TPA as being a 'game breaker'. To me, it's part of pinball. Now I know in the digital world it should be perfection, but to me it is what it is. I've had a machine reset on my while playing an incredible game, and 2 games later it do the exact same thing. I've had kickouts that weren't set properly, causing the ball to center drain with nothing in your power to stop it (short of not shooting that shot). I don't kick the machine, smash the glass, or curse and yell. I might ask for my quarters back, but that's about it. Same goes for TPA. I don't throw my controller, I don't fire off letters to FarSight about how my leaderboard topping score failed to record because the ball got lost. I hit reset and play another game!

I do agree with what Jeff said earlier though about FS shooting themselves in the foot. The game needs curb appeal. It is why I want the new UI so badly. If you walk into a home that was beautiful on the outside, you are less likely to notice the imperfections on the inside. By contrast, walk into a house that looked like it needed a bunch of work outside, you're going to key into all the work that needs to be done on the inside too.

TPA is that hot chick that doesn't know how to dress the part. It isn't 'putting lipstick on a pig' or 'polishing a turd'. We just need to keep reminding FarSight that the hot chick is there if they'd only stop shopping at TJ Maxx and instead buy something nice from Nordstroms.

 

[Heretic]

dont dresribe tpa as a pretty girl thats just disturbing

 

[brakel]

After reading through this thread, I've come to a conclusion...I'd be a horrible tester! There are so many issues you guys have brought up that I've either shrugged off, not experienced, or did and didn't know it. Some of the art issues I've never noticed, because I'm not attuned to what to look for (but of course now I am!), while others bugged me at first glance and then I look past 'em.

I fall into the camp that would like to see each tabled polished to the point of "any further complaint is just being nit picky". I respond more to the art side of things, as that's what attracts me to the real machines. The PS3 super patch renewed a lot of faith in the company for me, as it showed a willingness to fix what wasn't right even on a platform that people are already or eventually planning on moving forward from.

Each month I play in a pinball league, and each time there has been at least one table where the machine does something wonky that people on this forum would describe in TPA as being a 'game breaker'. To me, it's part of pinball. Now I know in the digital world it should be perfection, but to me it is what it is. I've had a machine reset on my while playing an incredible game, and 2 games later it do the exact same thing. I've had kickouts that weren't set properly, causing the ball to center drain with nothing in your power to stop it (short of not shooting that shot). I don't kick the machine, smash the glass, or curse and yell. I might ask for my quarters back, but that's about it. Same goes for TPA. I don't throw my controller, I don't fire off letters to FarSight about how my leaderboard topping score failed to record because the ball got lost. I hit reset and play another game!

I do agree with what Jeff said earlier though about FS shooting themselves in the foot. The game needs curb appeal. It is why I want the new UI so badly. If you walk into a home that was beautiful on the outside, you are less likely to notice the imperfections on the inside. By contrast, walk into a house that looked like it needed a bunch of work outside, you're going to key into all the work that needs to be done on the inside too.

TPA is that hot chick that doesn't know how to dress the part. It isn't 'putting lipstick on a pig' or 'polishing a turd'. We just need to keep reminding FarSight that the hot chick is there if they'd only stop shopping at TJ Maxx and instead buy something nice from Nordstroms.

If you're ever in the Chicago area SYT, let me know. I'd like to meet you to play some pinball around the city. Besides you annoyingly saying what I'm about to say, I think we'd have a good time.

 

[Mark W**a]

After reading through this thread, I've come to a conclusion...I'd be a horrible tester! There are so many issues you guys have brought up that I've either shrugged off, not experienced, or did and didn't know it. Some of the art issues I've never noticed, because I'm not attuned to what to look for (but of course now I am!), while others bugged me at first glance and then I look past 'em.

Just keep an eye out for half of a key hanging on a backglass texture, unreadable text, or tons of missing elements that don't even make sense.

1st page btw in case you missed it.

 

[Espy]

After reading through this thread, I've come to a conclusion...I'd be a horrible tester! There are so many issues you guys have brought up that I've either shrugged off, not experienced, or did and didn't know it. Some of the art issues I've never noticed, because I'm not attuned to what to look for (but of course now I am!), while others bugged me at first glance and then I look past 'em.

Working with testers, I can tell you that they do not shrug off anything Testers are the parking wardens of the software world. They're a necessary issue, and some times you just wish they hadn't noticed that bug that is incredibly minor but a pain in the rear to fix.

 

[kimkom]

I've felt from the very beginning that the lack of polish has hurt their sales. In some ways, they've improved on this over time, but not as much as they really should have focused on it (this is nothing against the developers, as it's really the management who makes those calls). Cranking out new DLC is good, but if you lose customers along the way who are turned away by the bugs, shoddy art/UI, and lack of features, then you've kind've shot yourself in the foot. There really should be more of a balance between adding new DLC and polishing and improving the overall product.

Great post, Jeff.

This is exactly how I've been feeling about TPA for a few months now. Hence why I'm spending less and less time here in the forum and with TPA in general.