I can't find much fun when playing modern tables.

[foxystyle]

Is it just me or there are more pinball enthusiasts who prefer older tables (especially Williams System 11 ones) over new ones.

Whenever I play old tables such as Rollergames, Fun House, Black Knight 2000 I don't have to follow so many complex rules to achieve good score. I don't have any objectives, I just try to hit whatever is lit. I can rack up high score as long as I can keep the ball on the playfield and I can manage to do consecutive ramp, loop hits. On modern tables it's much harder to enter the leader-board without understanding all the rules and following the game story and this play style is completely different, more linear, slower, more about precision of aim and hitting particular objectives within a time limit.

It changed since modes were introduced to pinball machines. On Black Knight 2000 for example I can gain good score either of hurry-up bonuses or completing the W-A-R letters during the 2-ball multiball or even when I manage to hit the skyway loop many times in a row. Basically everything scores well especially if you can hit the same ramp/loop a couple of times in a row.

 

[night]

Overall I prefer the older tables as well, with exceptions of course, but with all the toys and DMD animations there is sometimes so much distraction from good old fashioned pinball. I prefer tables from around the 80ties, Haunted House, Firepower, Space Shuttle, Fun House, the Zaccaria tables and so on. Tables like Twilight Zone and Ripley's are not my piece of cake, it's a different style of pinball I do respect a lot, but every time you shoot a ball it ends up somewhere in a challenge or complex puzzle which takes away the action for me.

 

[Espy]

80ties

Eightyties?

 

[night]

Eightyties?

Yeah, how do say that in English, 80's?

 

[mmmagnetic]

There are quite a lot of examples of modern DMD tables that have simpler, more action-oriented rulesets - Attack From Mars / MM comes to mind, Cirqus Voltaire, maybe White Water, Scared Stiff. Tables like Twilight Zone or RBION are obviously on the other end of the spectrum, but I´d say that Flight 2000 is a good example of an early game with rather finicky shots that punishes mindless shooting.

I´ll add, though, that I don´t compare my scores to anyone else, at all. For me it´s all about setting my own personal high scores, then trying to beat them. I never cared for leaderboards and I never will, which means I can enjoy almost every table on my own terms and don´t get frustrated nearly as quickly.

 

[goo_back]

Is it just me or there are more pinball enthusiasts who prefer older tables (especially Williams System 11 ones) over new ones.

Whenever I play old tables such as Rollergames, Fun House, Black Knight 2000 I don't have to follow so many complex rules to achieve good score. I don't have any objectives, I just try to hit whatever is lit. I can rack up high score as long as I can keep the ball on the playfield and I can manage to do consecutive ramp, loop hits. On modern tables it's much harder to enter the leader-board without understanding all the rules and following the game story and this play style is completely different, more linear, slower, more about precision of aim and hitting particular objectives within a time limit.

It changed since modes were introduced to pinball machines. On Black Knight 2000 for example I can gain good score either of hurry-up bonuses or completing the W-A-R letters during the 2-ball multiball or even when I manage to hit the skyway loop many times in a row. Basically everything scores well especially if you can hit the same ramp/loop a couple of times in a row.

I could play any System 11 Williams table over anything else.

 

[Espy]

Yeah, how do say that in English, 80's?

Haha, yes, 80s is right. Didn't realise English wasn't your first language

 

[Bowflex]

I defnitely agree there are many more "modern" tables with simpler rulesets. In fact, not only do games like Attack From Mars and Medieveal Madness have easier rulesets, they also have great, fast layouts that are a lot of fun to play. Even if you aren't trying to achieve the goals of the table, plenty of rewarding shots to make.
I think the Stern, and especially JJP table have very complex rulesets. JJP did one good move which was to make the experience rewarding for beginners whereas many Sterns still require lots of rules to follow for any meaningful rewards.

 

[danivempire]

I prefer tables with dmd and "complex" shots, I find them more fun, unless when I don't play good... ^^

 

[superballs]

I can't say I really have a preference. I mean I love Big Shot, it's easily one of my top 5 tables in the whole collection. RBION on the other hand is a table that I didn't like for a long time, and in fact ranked as my least favorite (second least favorite after HD) until something clicked and made it also one of my favorites.

I could do the list of 10 ten tables in the other thread, but the problem is, that with exception of a few that will always be my favorites, by the time I'm done compiling the list, the list will be out of date as my favorites change depending on what kind of mood I'm in. Star Trek TNG for instance can go from favorite to don't want to touch it.

I find all the tables to be fairly simple once you get the rules. RBION is one example. Most of the modes are shoot center ramp then right ramp and then the particular jackpot shot you should be going for (idol, left ramp, penguin loop).

 

[smbhax]

Yeah although you can stack modes in RBION if you want to make things more complicated for yourself. : D

My own sweet spot is tables from the late 70's, right around the EM/SS transition. Long flippers, clear objectives with rules built for fun shooting and scoring off things like spinners, saucers, spot targets, and progressive drop targets. : ) We *still* need a good spinner-based game in TPA!

 

[Jeff Strong]

My own sweet spot is tables from the late 70's, right around the EM/SS transition. Long flippers, clear objectives with rules built for fun shooting and scoring off things like spinners, saucers, spot targets, and progressive drop targets. : ) We *still* need a good spinner-based game in TPA!

Same here, and yes we do!

 

[smbhax]

Oh yeah, and bonus multipliers that actually meant something, I miss those. : )

 

[superballs]

Yeah although you can stack modes in RBION if you want to make things more complicated for yourself. : D

My own sweet spot is tables from the late 70's, right around the EM/SS transition. Long flippers, clear objectives with rules built for fun shooting and scoring off things like spinners, saucers, spot targets, and progressive drop targets. : ) We *still* need a good spinner-based game in TPA!

If you ever use VP, check out the table by BOB5453 "The Beatles"
It's one of the best tables I"ve ever played on VP but unfortunately does not exist. Honestly, it plays like an EM or early SS but has features like newer tables (samples of beatles songs and fairly complex table lighting).

All the stars on the playfield light up with each spin of the spinner, when they are all lit the spinner value increases from 10 to 100 then to 1000 points making the spinner really valuable. The apple targets activate outlane ball savers. Great table.

 

[switch3flip]

I can somewhat agree that simple rules are a lot of fun. But when you learn the rules of more complex games, for me they gain another dimension and are more fun. Like sterns spiderman for example. I didn't even bother to try it out at the local arcade at first as I had no clue what to do and the table rules didn't reveal much. But after watching some papa videos I got to know the rules and strategies and now it's my favourite. And MM, LOTR, MB and TotAN are next to it. I think the more complex tables are easier to get high scores on because the better you know the rules and strategies the bigger the chances are you have an edge over other players.
Also most tables, even the older simple ones, do have playing strategies and "secrets" that you can benefit from learning.

 

[Espy]

I honestly don't have a preferred style. Maybe due to the fact that my knowledge of pinball more or less started with TPA, so there isn't a nostalgia factor for any particular era. I appreciate the complexity of TZ, but every so often just load up Big Shot to hit some crunching drop targets. And everything in between.

That Beatles table... that's a horrible combination of art styles!

 

[norbert26]

i prefer the pre DMD era tables. My pinball hey day was at a time EBD and Centaur and HH were in arcades. Furthermore i don't understand the rulesets in the DMD tables. Give me EBD or Centaur where i understand the ruleset and how to play.

 

[mmmagnetic]

We *still* need a good spinner-based game in TPA!

That´s funny, I was planning to make a "most valuable spinner in TPA" thread, because I absolutely LOVE spinners.

It´s also a shame how lame most modern spinners sounds, especially the one in Monster Bash. The ones in Gofers can get really loud (another reason I love Lawlor designs), but the ones on the early 80s machines that scream like somebody knocks over a rack of analog synthesizers are still the best. Since the TPA versions mostly lack the satisfying mechanical sounds of real pinball machines, abrasive spinner noise is something I really appreciate for some satisfying shots.

I wanna rip some spinners!

 

[Punisher]

I prefer the 90's, maybe early-2000's era of pins. There are some late 80's that I like, such as FH and BK2K. But the ones Stern has been putting out, recently, ehh... They don't feel so... energetic as pins did back then.

 

[Man-Machine]

Early 80s for me, please. But they are good from any era, just keep em coming.