Scared Stiff
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- May 18, 2019
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Zen has been releasing tables for Apple Arcade. That’s all they have been doing. No announcement of future plans that I am aware of.
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Welcome Back to Digital Pinball Fans - please read this first
Multiple FX Pinball announcements today, plus first looks!
- Thread starter Scared Stiff
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Zen has been releasing tables for Apple Arcade. That’s all they have been doing. No announcement of future plans that I am aware of.
I've been playing the "Zen Pinball Party" on my iPad Pro --- And the tables look and work *great* on that platform!
Here are the (currently) included Williams/Bally tables:
* Theater of Magic
* Gateway: High Speed II
* Attack From Mars
* Medieval Madness
* Champion Pub
* Black Rose
* Junk Yard
Also included:
* Six "Animated Heroes" Tables (Garfield, Snoopy, How to Train your Dragon, etc.)
* Five "Zen Originals" Tables (Biolab, Son of Zeus, Wild West, Adventure Land, CastleStorm)
Since this is via "Apple Arcade" there are no ads and no "daily grind" to play these tables.
Do have to say the lighting they did on the latest table releases (Bride of Pinbot, Funhouse, Space Station, Dr Dude) is pretty fantastic. A very noticeable improvement over the previous FX released tables. BoP and Funhouse are particularly well done. Can enjoy an actual light show are your playing. In Space Station I managed to get multiball going and the table changing from white light to green lighting had me stunned for a few second - caused me to drain all three balls almost immediately. So good stuff!
Want the same TLC with the lighting applied to all the other Williams tables released so far.
Also some nice enhancements to the UI. It technically hasn't change navigation/layout wise but it looks a lot less bare. Kinda like turning on enhanced graphics mode on the Williams tables.
Update: Didn't realize I had ray-tracing on. These are the first tables (specifically BoP , Funhouse and Space Station) where ray-tracing effects are actually noticeable. With ray tracing off the lighting still looks ok but flat. With ray tracing setting on the light show is pretty amazing.
Want the same TLC with the lighting applied to all the other Williams tables released so far.
Also some nice enhancements to the UI. It technically hasn't change navigation/layout wise but it looks a lot less bare. Kinda like turning on enhanced graphics mode on the Williams tables.
Update: Didn't realize I had ray-tracing on. These are the first tables (specifically BoP , Funhouse and Space Station) where ray-tracing effects are actually noticeable. With ray tracing off the lighting still looks ok but flat. With ray tracing setting on the light show is pretty amazing.
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dmil666
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- May 19, 2018
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Hokay, I've installed the latest update (0.1.3 (52386)) and the the tables play ok until I enable cabinet mode, then things slow to a crawl and becomes unplayable and eventually ignores all input and you have to alt-ctrl-delete out of the program. If you disable cabinet mode before it hangs, it doesn't help, it's still very slow and unplayable and you have to exit and restart the game.
Anybody else experiencing this?
Anybody else experiencing this?
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gameaddict4life
Member
- Oct 15, 2013
- 290
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I haven't heard anything. The PC version is in early access and based on some of the issues and bugs I've read and heard about the console launch could easily get pushed back. For starters apparently in some cases the ball actually ignores rails and just flies off the table for no reason. Wouldn't be surprised if Summer turns into Holiday. The console version needs to be decently polished. What's acceptable for early access on PC isn't going to cut it for a console launch.
I just bought decent laptop and decided to give Pinball FX a try - it immediately reminded me why I left PC gaming in a first place. I tried only free tables but spent more time finding optimal settings than actually playing 
. I guess that I will wait for console version.
Is it only on my side or HDR implementation is horrible? On my screen it is either too dark or colors are washed out when I increase light level.
. I guess that I will wait for console version.Is it only on my side or HDR implementation is horrible? On my screen it is either too dark or colors are washed out when I increase light level.
Apparently that is to due to monitor refresh rate. Enabling vsync is supposed to stop it, or lowering your monitor refresh rate.
I haven't run in to the issue yet. I keep vsync off but have my monitor refresh rate down at 120. With my video card 120 refresh rate seem to be the sweet spot for most of the games I play in 2k resolution.
I just bought decent laptop and decided to give Pinball FX a try - it immediately reminded me why I left PC gaming in a first place. I tried only free tables but spent more time finding optimal settings than actually playing
Is it only on my side or HDR implementation is horrible? On my screen it is either too dark or colors are washed out when I increase light level.
Keep in mind its still in early access so may be more settings added/tweaked, and performance improved. For comparison, have you tried pinball FX3 yet?
Actually, all of my Pinball FX tables are on my PS5, I have not tried them on a same laptop - will try later.
Played a few games of it. Kudos to Zen for making another table that plays almost like a real-life table. They definitely took inspiration from the Wizard of Oz table - particularly in the sound department. Everything you hit, rollover, and ramp makes a cute fantastical sound or melody. The table sounds great with all of that going on. Shots are pretty tight, particularly trying to hit some of the ramps which are narrow. There is quite a lot to do on the table and I haven't had time to do much other than flail around.
The only fantastical pinball elements seem to be the witches powers. I had one where the wind was pushing my ball to the left which made the kickback go off then a few seconds later it drained down the same lane. Then other time which looked to make the ball a lot lighter. That one wasn't bad but as soon as the ball weight returned to normal it drained.
Do wish they did a bit more with the lighting. It's moody, but could use some crazy light shows like WoZ. Otherwise pretty happy with this table so far.
The only fantastical pinball elements seem to be the witches powers. I had one where the wind was pushing my ball to the left which made the kickback go off then a few seconds later it drained down the same lane. Then other time which looked to make the ball a lot lighter. That one wasn't bad but as soon as the ball weight returned to normal it drained.
Do wish they did a bit more with the lighting. It's moody, but could use some crazy light shows like WoZ. Otherwise pretty happy with this table so far.
Still here, so on today's Pinball Show (aside from some table, Epic Store and Apple news); yeah we're still talking to Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo, no news to share. If you're in early access or play Apple, you might want to watch it. If you're a console player, meh.
gameaddict4life
Member
- Oct 15, 2013
- 290
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Yes, I'm thinking no console release until 2023. Also the latest table is not a part of Pinball FX. It's a stand alone Epic Store game. I wonder if they are seeing if sales are higher because Steam holdouts are not wanting to invest in the Epic Store version of Pinball FX.
Homeworld still requires Pinball FX so not fully stand-alone. It's basically sold like Indy.
Do wish they would stick with one method of payment though. The ticket system has actually become ok with all the discounts they've added when you bundle tables together. I'm wondering if that's why this is a separately priced table where Gearbox wants a bit more control over the discounts applied towards their IPs.
But good news with the Gearbox IP. Hopefully get a Borderlands or Tiny Tina table in the near future.
For the Homeworld table I'm still digging in to it but it plays more like traditional Zen originals where you do lots of loop and ramp shots to get anything going. And it takes forever for the missions to start as you have to hit the center roulette thingie like 7 times to start a mission. I do like the theme but to me it not as good as the World War Z and Grim Tales tables as far as game play goes.
Do wish they would stick with one method of payment though. The ticket system has actually become ok with all the discounts they've added when you bundle tables together. I'm wondering if that's why this is a separately priced table where Gearbox wants a bit more control over the discounts applied towards their IPs.
But good news with the Gearbox IP. Hopefully get a Borderlands or Tiny Tina table in the near future.
For the Homeworld table I'm still digging in to it but it plays more like traditional Zen originals where you do lots of loop and ramp shots to get anything going. And it takes forever for the missions to start as you have to hit the center roulette thingie like 7 times to start a mission. I do like the theme but to me it not as good as the World War Z and Grim Tales tables as far as game play goes.
gameaddict4life
Member
- Oct 15, 2013
- 290
- 13
Ah, I stand corrected. Yeah still messing with the pricing model on pc and adding features. With Embracer Group becoming a mega corp in the industry I could see a 2024 release for console. Who knows. It's not like Embracer is hurting for money or doesn't have enough buns in the oven.
I don't understand how. The @Games pinball machine is $800. Not exactly affordable. And the virtual pinball scene is a hell of a lot more niche than playing pinball on your computer or tv.
As far as tables go @Games has the Gottlieb tables from Pinball Arcade, a bunch of Zaccaria ones, and some Taito originals. I don't recall people clamoring for any of those. Heck I have a Legends Ultimate Arcade with the optional pinball buttons and haven't even bothered to pay for the Taito games to just check them out - which are an expensive $25 a pop (3 different packs with 4 tables in each). You basically have to mod the machine to get the VPX or Zen tables to work on it - which I think requires a dedicated PC/Laptop. So another expense.
Pinball FX will be fine. They have all the good content. If they continue to push out the Williams/Bally tables and originals that play similar to real machines they've got my business. And while I'd love a virtual pinball machine (Those RetroPlay machine look fantastic) they are just too expensive.
As far as tables go @Games has the Gottlieb tables from Pinball Arcade, a bunch of Zaccaria ones, and some Taito originals. I don't recall people clamoring for any of those. Heck I have a Legends Ultimate Arcade with the optional pinball buttons and haven't even bothered to pay for the Taito games to just check them out - which are an expensive $25 a pop (3 different packs with 4 tables in each). You basically have to mod the machine to get the VPX or Zen tables to work on it - which I think requires a dedicated PC/Laptop. So another expense.
Pinball FX will be fine. They have all the good content. If they continue to push out the Williams/Bally tables and originals that play similar to real machines they've got my business. And while I'd love a virtual pinball machine (Those RetroPlay machine look fantastic) they are just too expensive.
AtGames (and others) isn't just a danger because of the stock tables (we'll pretend Gottliebs aren't included... even with haptics), it is also a danger because it is a gateway to VPX, which opens the door to making the machine a museum of tables itself.
No, it isn't cheap compared to PC gaming (but it is very cheap compared to the real thing), and the prices have dropped substantially from what they were for custom builds. I was playing the AtGames exclusively for the Zaccaria tables for digital pinball fixes, but since I stepped it up to the VPX, I've been playing exclusively VPX on it. It'll be near impossible for me to go back to console at this point. Especially in light of the lack of releases on consoles over the past couple of years.
No, it isn't cheap compared to PC gaming (but it is very cheap compared to the real thing), and the prices have dropped substantially from what they were for custom builds. I was playing the AtGames exclusively for the Zaccaria tables for digital pinball fixes, but since I stepped it up to the VPX, I've been playing exclusively VPX on it. It'll be near impossible for me to go back to console at this point. Especially in light of the lack of releases on consoles over the past couple of years.
Visual Pinball has always been available even before Pinball Arcade came out. And it's always had the same issues: 1. Setup is not just install and go. 2. Having to tweak the tables to get them to look right for your setup 3. Inconsistent table quality
I had quite a few tables for VP9 and it was neat playing tables I couldn't in TPA such as Tron, Big Bang Bar, and Lord of the Rings. But the time commitment to get everything running, looking, and playing right turned out to be too much of a pain.
So I see Visual Pinball still living side-by-side with commercial offerings. I don't think Visual Pinball in any way going to sink Zen.
I had quite a few tables for VP9 and it was neat playing tables I couldn't in TPA such as Tron, Big Bang Bar, and Lord of the Rings. But the time commitment to get everything running, looking, and playing right turned out to be too much of a pain.
So I see Visual Pinball still living side-by-side with commercial offerings. I don't think Visual Pinball in any way going to sink Zen.
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