Memory Required? & other qustions... new to iOS

[RetroDude]

Hey Folks,

I'm thinking of moving over to the dark side and possibly getting myself an iPhone and/or an iPad.

I'm trying to get a feel for how much I need to spend on such devices, memory wise.

How much total storage do all the games released so far take up.. including saved scores, etc.?
How much more space could I reasonably expect for each new pair of games to take up?


How about the whole "cloud" thing...
If I'm online, could games be saved remotely and simply re-loaded quickly, so as to not take up storage locally?

The other question concerns the whole "online/offline" thing.
On an iPhone, I suppose I'd be connected almost all of the time, but if I got an iPad, I'm most likely to just get the Wi-Fi version.

What difference is there if I don't have an active wi-fi connection when I play?
Any limitations in game play?

Is the only thing lost pushing new high-scores online? (or have they figured out a way to save them and push them online later when connected yet?)




Sorry for all the questions.
I'm a PC guy and still don't have any platforms that I can play Pinball Arcade on.. so I've not played more than a sample game or two on other people's machines. I also have almost nil experience in the Apple world in the past decade.


Thanks!

 

[sotie]

The space required is very minimal. I have all current tables installed and the total space required is only 191MB.

 

[francis247uk]

If it's only for TPA then any of the 16gb models will be more then adequate. Depends if your going to put music and films on it, and also some of the newer games are over 1gb in size (infinity blade as an example)
You definitely don't need to be connected online to play, I believe it updates your game center score next time you connect. From a personal viewpoint I do find TPA much better on an iPad to an iPhone though, bit small and a tad laggy on my iPhone 4, absolutely fine on my iPad 3. Also once you purchase TPA on the App store you can download on iPad and iPhone for free; you don't have to purchase twice like you do with some other apps.

 

[shutyertrap]

I feel your pain of slipping to the dark side! I too have been on a PC for years (my last mac was one of those all in one classics with the 9" monitor back in 1990!), don't have a smart phone in general, but the tide is turning. First it was an iPod. Then my wife wanted the new iPad (was a better choice than a laptop for her needs), and now I'm being forced into needing a MacBook Pro for my job (they don't deal with PC's). The final straw will be when I finally do get a smart phone, it almost inevitably will be the iPhone.

It's almost like I'm in this vortex and Apple's greedy hands are pulling me in while I try to cling to safety!

But yeah, if you're only looking to play TPA, don't worry about memory. You start wanting to download movies and store music, step up the memory or be prepared to hop in the cloud.

Or avoid Apple all together and buy a PS3 or Xbox!!

 

[Tony C]

If you are not online, your scores won't be sent to the TPA leader boards. Not sure whether Game Center syncs when you reconnect or not. (I'm always at home on my iPad and only play on my iPhone if I'm out.)

As others have said, the 16GB units should do you fine unless you want to carry days worth of movies or music with you.

I have no issues with TPA on iPhone 4 or iPad 2.

 

[RetroDude]

Thanks for the info, folks!

 

[Heretic]

I use 16gig versions , and i dont think id enjoy having to tether it just to play a game or two, but the beauty of icloud is aslong as your near a good wifi connection its really a non issue, some games like max payne are 1.7 gig....for me if im on the move i load a playlist load an ep or two and a few games...id love to have my entire collection offline on disk but this is the next best option

I dunno how i only have 500mb left tho! If you can afford more storage do so as its more useful if connections are sparse in your area.

If your looking to get a foot on the ios ladder and have lots of good wifi, its easy to swap large apps in and out.

Of course theres always laptop backup too, but toting both isnt practical at times...

Id like more space but tbh with good wifi they arent worth the massive price jumps

 

[RetroDude]

to the moderators.. sorry to veer outside the pinball realm with some of these questions... please move the thread to another area if needed. Thanks!


There are a few wi-fi hard drives available now... Anybody have experience with them?

The Segate GoFlex Satellite.. 500 GB drive with wi-fi access and no plugs/cables needed.
You must connect directly to it via wi-fi from your iPhone or iPad.. thus losing your wi-fi connection to the rest of the world though.
http://www.seagate.com/external-hard-drives/portable-hard-drives/wireless/seagate-satellite/

Also the Kingston Wi-Drive.. also wi-fi access to remote storage. It's only 32 or 64 GB of space but it's smaller than the Segate and allows you to access a wi-fi connection while connected to the drive as well.
http://www.kingston.com/us/usb/wireless

A third option is the AirStash... acts like a wi-fi hard drive, but uses removable SD cards for the actual storage.
Like the Wi-Drive, you can access the internet through a wi-fi connection while using it.
It's the smallest solution in physical size, but it has some real benefits...
You can carry an entire pocket full of additional SD cards, so your total storage is effectively unlimited.
You can also immediately load files from a camera card to your iPhone/iPad using the card slot.
http://www.airstash.com

 

[Tony C]

Sorry, I still remember the days 2400 baud modems and having a machine that was half the size of my desk and yet only had two 20MB hard drives for storage. A single MB of RAM in that machine took up more space than an iPad.

If you need that much storage, pay for it up front or pay for the extra storage on iCloud.

 

[pezpunk]

I believe it updates your game center score next time you connect.

i don't think this is the case. if you're not online at the completion of your game, i don't think your score will count towards your HOF score.

other than that, though, i feel like iPad is the perfect platform for this game.