How do SPA tables compare to their TPA counterparts?

[Richard B]

On tables that are in both releases, such as HD, HRC, and SST, has anyone noticed a difference in quality? Did FS simply port the TPA versions to SPA, or did they rebuild them with the latest engine?

 

[Kolchak357]

On iOS, they look and play very similarly.

 

[DA5ID]

Yeah I played starship troopers in SPA beacause I have been playing it recently in TPA for the tournament.
Really can't see in difference with graphics or physics maybe sound.
Starting to feel like they are the same...
Was ok with buying them in the packs because they were the same cost as buying the 2 new tables AC/DC Star Trek and mustang ghostbusters.
I also wanted them in case there is going to be SPA tournaments in the future.
The biggest problem for me is doubling up tables on mobile devices with finite storage space.

 

[HotHamBoy]

Yeah I played starship troopers in SPA beacause I have been playing it recently in TPA for the tournament.
Really can't see in difference with graphics or physics maybe sound.
Starting to feel like they are the same...
Was ok with buying them in the packs because they were the same cost as buying the 2 new tables AC/DC Star Trek and mustang ghostbusters.
I also wanted them in case there is going to be SPA tournaments in the future.
The biggest problem for me is doubling up tables on mobile devices with finite storage space.

The are the same. Exactly the same. The only difference is that the older tables have the 3.0 flipper physics. I don't think that makes them worth rebuyung, especially since they might get updated in TPA eventually. The Steam version of TPA has 3.0 flipper physics on every table already, so they are identical on that platform.

FS said they were going to update the old tables on other platforms with the 3.0 physics but they've only done a few on mobile (and this is the second month with no new updates for older tables) and they haven't done any on consoles.

I was hoping with the release of SPA they would at least uodate the corresponding tables in TPA with the new physics because they are otherwise the same.

I do kind of regret not getting Bundle 1 instead of buying Star Trek and AC/DC seperate because I would get Ripley's on iOS with the newer flipper physics. Oh well.

I will be buying Bundle #2 when Mustang is no longer free now that Ghostbusters will be included.

So yeah, you get all the old tables for the price of 2 new tables, might as well buy the bundles anyway.

Btw, while consoles/Gear VR have all the table data included with the app, the mobile versions let you download tables seperately. So you don't need to worry about doubling up there.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

On Steam, your purchases on TPA transfer. It will likely be vice-versa with older tables from SPA to TPA.

So in getting the bundles, you're still paying full price for the newer tables. Every other table from TPA on SPA you'll get free if you do so.

 

[HotHamBoy]

On Steam, your purchases on TPA transfer. It will likely be vice-versa with older tables from SPA to TPA.

So in getting the bundles, you're still paying full price for the newer tables. Every other table from TPA on SPA you'll get free if you do so.

Wow, that sucks for everyone using any other platform.

 

[neglectoid]

it seems like the right orbit shot on hrc is fixed. ive only played it once (star trek takes up most of my pinball time). I was able to hit the right orbit shot everytime I tried. hrc (or any of the stern) was never my fav table so I cant say the tables are much more different.

 

[Richard B]

So RBION and HD, like all Season One releases before STTNG, retain the deliberate easiness that destroyed TZ?

 

[HotHamBoy]

So RBION and HD, like all Season One releases before STTNG, retain the deliberate easiness that destroyed TZ?

Oh, if you were expecting that kind of overhaul then you were always living in a dream. I think most of us were hoping for improved lighting, maybe a few little fixes and touch ups.

They are literally the same tables insofar as they haven't reworked them. I mean, they look identical, too.

 

[Kratos3]

At the end of POTO it goes to the back glass for the match. I don't think TPA does that, does it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Flipper bump]

How about the Ripleys table, there are some differences indeed when comparing between TPA & SPA.

Below the SPA Version, the colours are nicer imo and the DMD display is smaller:

And below the TPA version

They seem to play pretty identical though

 

[mpad]

Looks like a nice graphics update. Ramps look more realistic red and with better reflections. Decals are sharper.
Guess they had some art files instead of the photos for textures.

 

[Rayder]

The sound seems more accurate in SPA. Like it was produced directly from the ROM instead of using recorded samples. At least it seems that way on PS4. The whoosh and smack sound while hitting the flippers during the end-of-ball bonus count in POTA is not backwards on SPA, like it is on TPA....on PS4.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

The sound seems more accurate in SPA. Like it was produced directly from the ROM instead of using recorded samples. At least it seems that way on PS4. The whoosh and smack sound while hitting the flippers during the end-of-ball bonus count in POTA is not backwards on SPA, like it is on TPA....on PS4.

More likely it's using the original uncompressed WAV files.

Sent from my SM-T710 using Tapatalk

 

[MIK]

This colour tampering is kind of odd. Early versions of the TPA look closer to the real thing but later releases do not. Could it be some lame attempt at water marking each version of the game as it rolls off the press, or does porting the game from one machine to another causes these problems because of the different hardware?

 

[Kolchak357]

Ramps look much better though.

 

[Richard B]

The sound seems more accurate in SPA. Like it was produced directly from the ROM instead of using recorded samples. At least it seems that way on PS4. The whoosh and smack sound while hitting the flippers during the end-of-ball bonus count in POTA is not backwards on SPA, like it is on TPA....on PS4.

Only a few early SS tables used recorded samples, like BH, due to the inability to emulate older software at that time.

 

[Stemage]

The SPA version of LAH got rid of the bug where two music tracks play at the same time over the "enter initials" screen. So SOME work was done.

 

[Tripredacus]

I can't get SPA to run at the resolution TPA runs at, so I can't do a good comparison. For me, everything looks bad on SPA.

Here is High Roller Casino on TPA on DX9 mode, 1920x1080, default settings
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...858/A6F0EEF392A3B6C05F5D75A25D07035988CF8075/

Here is the same table on SPA in DX11 mode, 1024x638, default settings
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...832/FE62F24E9CF1C8FC29212D61EE38814D75687E10/

So consider that the native resolution of my display is 1080p, so SPA gets stretched to fit at full screen. It is quite blurry. Not too horrible on HRC, but it is worse on Mustang:
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...854/3CF91C1A192898CFF2989067E39194C2783D09DC/

 

[Brandon Garvin]

I can't get SPA to run at the resolution TPA runs at, so I can't do a good comparison. For me, everything looks bad on SPA.

Here is High Roller Casino on TPA on DX9 mode, 1920x1080, default settings
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...858/A6F0EEF392A3B6C05F5D75A25D07035988CF8075/

Here is the same table on SPA in DX11 mode, 1024x638, default settings
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...832/FE62F24E9CF1C8FC29212D61EE38814D75687E10/

So consider that the native resolution of my display is 1080p, so SPA gets stretched to fit at full screen. It is quite blurry. Not too horrible on HRC, but it is worse on Mustang:
http://images.akamai.steamuserconte...854/3CF91C1A192898CFF2989067E39194C2783D09DC/

I believe we've got a fix for the resolution issue working its way down, but in the mean time this might help you:

1. Open the Pinball Arcade configuration tool (NOT the Stern Pinball Arcade configuration tool!)
2. Set the settings on the Display (DX11) tab to what you would like to use
3. Use the file explorer to navigate to %userprofile%/My Games/Pinball Arcade
4. Copy the file called dx11_settings.dat
5. Use the file explorer to navigate to %userprofile%/My Games/Stern Pinball Arcade
6. Paste the file here, allow the operating system to overwrite the file if it exists