Just 1 question

[PaulJansen]

We are almost closing the first half of the year 2021. Haven't seen 0 new new Williams tables. Yep, 0. That is zero! So I am wondering: is the digital Williams table fan better of with Zen than with TPA?

 

[trash80]

We are almost closing the first half of the year 2021. Haven't seen 0 new new Williams tables. Yep, 0. That is zero! So I am wondering: is the digital Williams table fan better of with Zen than with TPA?

This was expected. Zen has stated that there will be no new tables until the new Pinball FX platform is released later this year (Q3/Q4).

TPA was great when it initially came out, but Free alternatives finally surpassed TPA's poor physics modeling, and the long list of bugs in TPA just kept getting longer. Zen has brought along superior physics, but the issues associated with properly licensing old IP is showing that the Free alternatives are still the best solution for the Williams table fan.

Ranked for what is currently the overall best platform for the Williams fan.
1. VPX
2. Zen
3. TPA

But admittedly, this is unfair since the fan-generated content of VPX is unhindered by licensing and development costs.

 

[yespage]

The answer is better off with the Zen tables that exist and the TPA versions for tables not in Zen. I'd be hesitant to purchase TPA now, but there is Zaccaria to checkout.

 

[strells]

Slightly off-topic, but I've starting looking into VPX. I haven't tried playing a table yet (need a PC), but does each creator fine tune the physics for the table they create or is there just a general physics for the whole platform and it's all based on the objects they put into the table?

 

[trash80]

Slightly off-topic, but I've starting looking into VPX. I haven't tried playing a table yet (need a PC), but does each creator fine tune the physics for the table they create or is there just a general physics for the whole platform and it's all based on the objects they put into the table?

Each creator will tune the physics. However, there is a fairly standard set of script based physics routines for various objects that are starting points. After you have downloaded and played a few tables, you will find that specific authors tune tables a specific way. You can also adjust and tune the physics, lighting and camera POV to your liking for any table.

 

[vfpcoder]

The answer is better off with the Zen tables that exist and the TPA versions for tables not in Zen. I'd be hesitant to purchase TPA now, but there is Zaccaria to checkout.

This is, 100% the correct answer.

Also, I purchased the Arcooda Cabinet Enhancement for TPA back in June 2018. This package included 4 different cabinet-specific views as well as slightly enhanced physics along with some animated backglasses. I still play these versions of the tables on a regular basis to this day. Since the lighting can be adjusted on a per table basis, these remain fun and effective faithful emulations of "Addams Family", "Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Twilight Zone", "Terminator 2", and other Kickstarter-based cross-licensed tables. In some cases these tables remain better than the current VPX counterparts. TPA was eviscerated for their physics, but by the time they got to "Eight Ball Deluxe" they were actually pretty decent. And those routines were used for many of the Arcooda-enhanced versions.

Now I will say this: With the exception of "Attack From Mars", I do prefer the Zen recreations over the VPX and/or TPA iterations -- especially in their imaginative "Remastered" versions. For "Attack From Mars", though, I prefer the VPX "G5 Authored Version" due to the dramatic lighting effects. (These lighting effects aren't on the original table, but they do add a lot of *fun* to the proceedings -- more than the Zen Remastered effects.) And the "Medieval Madness" VPX "Skitso Mod" is very close to the way the recreated versions of the original table plays.