Is Scared Stiff the Only Table with a Family Friendly Censor?

[ZREXMike]

Bring on the Playboy & Penthouse tables TPA!

 

[Spork98765]

The weird thing is, Monster Bash also has its Family Mode turned on by default...

...but unlike Scared Stiff, there's no way to turn it off, because Farsight won't let us use the Pro Menu with that game, even if we shelled out the money for it.

Seriously, take a listen to this play of the real table. How many quotes can you spot that aren't in the Pinball Arcade version?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_Xt7Pxz88

This is one of many reasons it continues to baffle me why, as great a job as Farsight has done otherwise, they continue to not give us access to the Pro Menus of some of these season 1 tables. You can't access them on No Good Gofers, Taxi, or Bride of Pinbot, either, among others.

I searched this whole website, and either I'm missing something glaringly obvious, or Farsight never gave us a straight answer on this matter.

If you notice the DMD in the video says "Free Only" where it would normally show the credits. That means it is running a home ROM. Which is something that FarSight is not allowed to let us use, and is a totally separate issue to what you're complaining about.

With regards to the lack of pro mode on Monster Bash ... the ROM version we have in TPA is the final official ROM version. Unless FarSight gets permission to allow different ROMs to be loaded via Pro Mode, something that has been requested, then you're stuck with what they give you or VP if you really, really, want that other ROM.

 

[Trackball]

Wait, so does Monster Bash even HAVE a Family Mode option?

I'm not asking about different ROMs--though I admit I missed that Free Only detail you pointed out, thanks for that. Seriously, that slipped my notice until now.

Still, I can't help but think this game has some more quotes we're missing out on...and why we're still not allowed to hear them here, when we ARE allowed in Scared Stiff.

I don't mind the lack of ROM-changing much. What I'm talking about is why they don't allow a Pro Menu on several early tables. What made them restrict Taxi, of all things?

I get they're trying to keep the rating down, but after Scared Stiff let us hear the extra quotes if we paid up, a whole new can of worms has opened up.

 

[kinggo]

Family Mode should be outside of Pro Mode. Period. Quotes does not affect game and scoring and should be allowed during normal gameplay. Or make pro mode in a way that not everything blocks scoring. Or at least, make pro mode not to reset local scores.

 

[mpad]

We have discussed this long time ago. It really does not make much sense.
Apparently Farsights technical capability is limited when it comes to this, because it is too much connected to the emulation method. So they can't do anything about it.

 

[invitro]

Bring on the Playboy & Penthouse tables TPA!

They're working on the Bally Playboy. There is no Penthouse pinball (thank God).

 

[Spork98765]

Wait, so does Monster Bash even HAVE a Family Mode option?

Still, I can't help but think this game has some more quotes we're missing out on...and why we're still not allowed to hear them here, when we ARE allowed in Scared Stiff.

In the version that is in TPA, NO.

The "extra quotes" you hear are due to it being a different ROM that is unofficial. Much like the uncensored setting on Medieval Madness; where is your outrage about the lack of swearing option in TPA? If it isn't available in the official ROM from the manufacturer, it isn't an option we will see.

 

[invitro]

In the version that is in TPA, NO.

The "extra quotes" you hear are due to it being a different ROM that is unofficial. Much like the uncensored setting on Medieval Madness; where is your outrage about the lack of swearing option in TPA? If it isn't available in the official ROM from the manufacturer, it isn't an option we will see.

I don't get it... the MB ROM is unofficial, yet we won't see anything unofficial in the ROM?

 

[kinggo]

unofficial is the one in the video

 

[Trackball]

In the version that is in TPA, NO.

The "extra quotes" you hear are due to it being a different ROM that is unofficial. Much like the uncensored setting on Medieval Madness; where is your outrage about the lack of swearing option in TPA? If it isn't available in the official ROM from the manufacturer, it isn't an option we will see.

Oh, I misunderstood. Sorry.

I just didn't think more lines would be recorded for an unofficial version. My mistake.

Seriously, I apologize if I came across as stubborn or unpleasable--I genuinely didn't know the home version had more lines.

But it still bugs me why some tables don't give us Pro Menu access...I like turning Tournament Mode on when I don't care about achievements. Why would they prevent us from messing with No Good Gofers' settings?

Anyway, sorry for the trouble, and for momentarily derailing the thread. I'll get out of the way for this to get back on track.

 

[ZREXMike]

They're working on the Bally Playboy. There is no Penthouse pinball (thank God).

I only found this, Virtuapin. I left out the naughty parts of the pic.

Edit: Too bad, the Stern 2002 Playboy looks way better.

 

[Trackball]

I just hope it's not the bagatelle Play-Boy (note the hyphen) that actually WAS in one of their older collections.

 

[ZREXMike]

I guess not, since it's a Bally, & the thing you got there is a Gottlieb.

 

[invitro]

I just hope it's not the bagatelle Play-Boy (note the hyphen) that actually WAS in one of their older collections.

I was sure* that the Playboy that is mentioned several times in the TPA game files is this 1930's machine. But recently I noticed a few references to a Grotto Bonus or something like that, and a Mansion, I think. Maybe they were just messing around... I shouldn't have said that they're working on it now, as I don't know about that, but that they have worked on it to at least some extent .

* Because the names of all the other pinball games that are in the Pinball Hall of Fame games but not in TPA -- Sorcerer, Ace High, Jive Time, and Strikes N' Spares (1995) -- are mentioned in the TPA code somewhere or have been.

 

[vikingerik]

Apparently Farsights technical capability is limited when it comes to this, because it is too much connected to the emulation method. So they can't do anything about it.

This is the right answer. The underlying constraint is that TPA doesn't know what's going on inside the ROM. TPA can't set family mode on/off directly because it doesn't know where that flag is inside the ROM. Only the ROM itself can do that, via the operator menu. And once TPA lets you into the operator menu, TPA doesn't know what you're changing, it can't tell between a harmless setting like that or gameplay-relevant options.

It is possible for Farsight to find that family mode flag within each ROM on a per-table basis. That's how TPA reads the scores from each ROM. But Farsight has other priorities for their effort than the tiny minority of people who get themselves annoyed that their virtual pinball machine isn't swearing at them.

 

[StarDust4Ever]

Another not so minor annoyance. I just purchased Scared Stiff Pro mode on my Wii-U, and the danged thing doesn't save your settings when you exit. If I back up to the table selection menu, then reenter Scared Stiff, PRO mode is disabled. I have to manually reenable PRO mode, open the operator door, Goto A, 2, scroll backwards until I hit "family mode", and turn it off. The "factory default" indicator is not illuminated with the default setting of on so in fact the operator menu is not stock in the game. I also kinda like turning on the "boogie dancers" option (immediately following family mode on the menu) though it is disabled according to factory specs.

Stupid thing TPA does not remember my operator settings upon exit of the table so I have to manually enter the operator mode every time I wish to use uncensored. My high scores are remembered however, despite accidentally reseting them once. The game only appears to record the high score when you post your initials, so if you accidentally delete the high score table by hitting the shiny red reset button, DO NOT PLAY A GAME and immediately exit the table so your scores will not get overwritten.

I was having so much fun playing uncensored that I scored a 21 million followed by 20 million. I input "SEX" instead of my regular initials when using uncensored mode, and both scores are visible along side the paltry 6 million I entered playing the normal table using my real initials "AJW." I used to play on the Ouya a couple years back and TPA used to remember PRO mode and the operator settings when I exited SS. Upon my return, PRO mode and uncensored settings were still active. Then at some point Farsight updated the app so that it defaulted to PRO mode off every time I played.

= = = = = = =

Also one other question are there any secret features in Xenon's operator menu I might need to know about? I'm kind of an "art appreciator" as well as a pinball connoisseur so I may purchase PRO mode on the Xenon table just to get an unobstructed view of the playfield and backglass.

EDIT: Just a few DIP switches. Keeping it old school...

= = = = = = =

Another thing, there is no way Farsight is running unmodified ROMs. I watched the entire DMD demo on Scared Stiff. At the very end of the sequence before it loops, there's a message "Questions? comments? Like us on Facebook." Followed by a second splash screen, "The Pinball Arcade is now open." Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how it is possible to inject splash screens into the DMD unless they made edits to the ROM.

EDIT: Mideval Madness has a similar splash screen for Facebook and another with url to the pinball arcade site.

 

[Spork98765]

Another thing, there is no way Farsight is running unmodified ROMs. I watched the entire DMD demo on Scared Stiff. At the very end of the sequence before it loops, there's a message "Questions? comments? Like us on Facebook." Followed by a second splash screen, "The Pinball Arcade is now open." Maybe it's just me, but I don't see how it is possible to inject splash screens into the DMD unless they made edits to the ROM.

EDIT: Mideval Madness has a similar splash screen for Facebook and another with url to the pinball arcade site.

Those messages are there by way of the custom message option in the operators menu.

With Pro Mode you can enter your own messages or disable them entirely.

 

[rehtroboi40]

I was sure* that the Playboy that is mentioned several times in the TPA game files is this 1930's machine. But recently I noticed a few references to a Grotto Bonus or something like that, and a Mansion, I think. Maybe they were just messing around... I shouldn't have said that they're working on it now, as I don't know about that, but that they have worked on it to at least some extent .

* Because the names of all the other pinball games that are in the Pinball Hall of Fame games but not in TPA -- Sorcerer, Ace High, Jive Time, and Strikes N' Spares (1995) -- are mentioned in the TPA code somewhere or have been.

All of these should be included in TPA at some point-I'm surprised this hasn't happened yet.

Especially Sorcerer!!!