Flipperdeflip
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- Feb 17, 2015
- 175
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Welcome Back to Digital Pinball Fans - please read this first
Not impressed with dr.Who
- Thread starter Garycope
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
That's exactly what I ment when posting this
Kaibun
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- Sep 21, 2014
- 455
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I'm looking forward to everything on this tourney, EXCEPT that table. If I was getting paid to do it, maybe.
rehtroboi40
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- Oct 20, 2012
- 1,668
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I thought I was the only one having problems with flipper accuracy. The time expander is much harder to hit than any IRL table I've played. And those daleks........I never thought I would hate centered stationary targets so much.
My only other complaints is the tinny sound and music. DW still looks very sharp, and it does play very well overall. But still the physics should have been much better, and I'm sure we'll all cry foul if the next table has better physics than this one. If the next TPA table had a kickstarter, it would have probably raised $0.08.
Have to admit...I'm a little disappointed too. Perhaps it's the way the table has to be scanned or what ever, but compared to say a Zen table, the quality isn't brilliant. The sound is also very tinny...in fact, it's the one table I was most looking forward too because of the music...but I'm finding myself actually turning the sound right down. Looking at games like battlefront where the graphics are incredible...id have thought with the technology that is available modern pinball emulations would also be superb...but that doesn't seem to always be the case. But on the flip side, I'm pleased that companies like FS are able to provide us with these emulated tables...they are great fun...just not sure why visually it isn't that bit better.
Rich Lehmann
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- Aug 26, 2014
- 522
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If it wasnt Doctor Who I would hate it. As far as game play its down toward the bottom for me. Hope they didnt pay for the rights on the actors voices because I cant make out a single actors voice and I have watched most every episode.
I disagree about the original Dr Who sounds (respectfully). I think they're cool. It's a bitrate problem. The bitrate on TPA sounds is ridiculously low. Too crunchy and compressed!
The original Dr Who is a great, well designed table with a super art and sound package. Table slope is the excitement killer here. The ball just drags. F14 (even with TPA's lackluster physics) is exciting. Wish we had that slope on Dr Who. Earthshaker is another that plays well on TPA.
YMMV. No offense to those that love all things TPA. Really!
The original Dr Who is a great, well designed table with a super art and sound package. Table slope is the excitement killer here. The ball just drags. F14 (even with TPA's lackluster physics) is exciting. Wish we had that slope on Dr Who. Earthshaker is another that plays well on TPA.
YMMV. No offense to those that love all things TPA. Really!
The real game is phenomenal. Some games don't survive the transition. This one doesn't feel right. I'm actually having a hard time playing as well as I would IRL, especially locking balls.
Tarek Oberdieck
New member
- Jan 18, 2015
- 451
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I've given up to go for multiball and jackpots with these physics. The table is reduced to W-H-O and video mode only.
- May 29, 2013
- 1,348
- 0
Ok, if you confirm this, I know I'm not just dreaming it is easier on a real table than on TPA. I thought I am just bad at it. I am though, but that doesn't seem to be the exclusive reason.
dave950lam
New member
- Apr 20, 2012
- 838
- 0
Here's some gameplay on a real table (skip to around 4:30 to get to actual gameplay):
The slope isn't steep on this particular table, making gameplay kinda slow. And this guy is having trouble hitting daleks, so maybe FS got this right.
The slope isn't steep on this particular table, making gameplay kinda slow. And this guy is having trouble hitting daleks, so maybe FS got this right.
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They definitely didn't capture the feel of the Who tables I've played. I can lock balls all day IRL. In this version, the loop left of the locks eats up most of my shots or I hit the stand up target. Meanwhile, the right ramp is too easy to hit loops on. Daleks are much easier for me to hit IRL, too. The few times I've gotten multiball in this version I've really struggled to get jackpots.
The outlanes are monstrous but I think that is authentic. My memory is fuzzy on the center drain width but it definitely feels just wide enough to gobble up balls that other tables wouldn't.
The outlanes are monstrous but I think that is authentic. My memory is fuzzy on the center drain width but it definitely feels just wide enough to gobble up balls that other tables wouldn't.
Slam23
Active member
- Jul 21, 2012
- 1,279
- 2
Well, after playing dr. Who on and off the last couple of days, I must say I'm a bit conflicted in my final verdict. I have (recent) experience with two different real dr. Who's to compare the TPA version with, and the real machines both played really alike to each other.
- I don't find locking balls on the TPA version that difficult, sure they are tight shots but the real machines rejected some lock shots too, akin for example to the "trouble" with rejected shots at the mode hole in IJ. I have had a lot of success by one-timing the right lock from a flipper pass from right to left flipper after a release from the 'Police Box'. The left lock is a tight backhand from the left flipper, or a precise shot from the right.
- Shooting the jackpot doors however is too difficult in the TPA version. The fact that you have more success shooting them via a ricochet from the "repair" targets says a lot. Things do look up if you shoot them from controlled stationary balls, but that is quite a tall order in a MB situation. The real machines were more easy in that respect.
- The combo W-H-O shots are about even I think. It's the most fluid and comfortable gameplay on the TPA Dr. Who, although it still needs precision shooting to avert misses and drains. On the real machines the shots had to be quite clean to reach the top of both ramps. The power from the flippers is far stronger (as usual) with the new-out-of-the-box TPA flippers than with the real machines, so TPA shots will more than often clear the ramp, even with a slightly off angle.
- Outlane drains are quite brutal and in my experience more so with TPA than the real machines. Or I'll have to adjust my nudging technique to get more frequent saves, they all feel unavoidable now.
- SDTM drains are easier to avoid with TPA, just being able to "graze" some of those stray balls with the flipper tip, especially with the stronger and more predictable nudge control on TPA. In that respect those Lightning flippers on dr. Who are not as bad as for example with BSD or FT.
- They got the round targets at the "2nd" level of the Time Expander just right in my opinion. Enough randomness in how the ball behaves after hitting them, but not too much.
- I don't recognize the "ball drag" or floatiness that others have pointed out, the real tables I played had about the same ball flow.
There are also some bugs I encountered:
- the game sometimes gives two balls after a lock. The last time this happened, also one of the locks was empty, as if the ball shot through the back of the lock area (clipping error?). The game adjusted to this in most cases, breaking one game by not recognizing there was still a ball in play after a (quick) drain.
- also, the right lock can be prone to having two balls locked on top of each other (they fully clip, not stacked). A quite lengthy ball search cleared that problem. Not frequent, happened 2-3 times now in a lot more than 2-3 games.
- HOF points are off or really stingy. I got 1 HOF point for a 1.1B game. So it needs more than 1T for the full 1000 points. Even 100B is quite the challlenge, seeing the duel between Tarek and Dizzer.
All in all, I say this is a good release, BUT the issue with at least the jackpot doors should be fixed, this takes away a lot of the fun, and not in the least also a viable scoring strategy. The combo shots are a nice challenge. I like the way you can play around with the Doctor bonuses, adjusting the choice to the particular situation. I like the video game: easy to learn, not too long and enough of a challenge now (although I see it getting boring after you learn the patterns). The TPA version forces you to be precise in your shooting, otherwise it will punish you.
- I don't find locking balls on the TPA version that difficult, sure they are tight shots but the real machines rejected some lock shots too, akin for example to the "trouble" with rejected shots at the mode hole in IJ. I have had a lot of success by one-timing the right lock from a flipper pass from right to left flipper after a release from the 'Police Box'. The left lock is a tight backhand from the left flipper, or a precise shot from the right.
- Shooting the jackpot doors however is too difficult in the TPA version. The fact that you have more success shooting them via a ricochet from the "repair" targets says a lot. Things do look up if you shoot them from controlled stationary balls, but that is quite a tall order in a MB situation. The real machines were more easy in that respect.
- The combo W-H-O shots are about even I think. It's the most fluid and comfortable gameplay on the TPA Dr. Who, although it still needs precision shooting to avert misses and drains. On the real machines the shots had to be quite clean to reach the top of both ramps. The power from the flippers is far stronger (as usual) with the new-out-of-the-box TPA flippers than with the real machines, so TPA shots will more than often clear the ramp, even with a slightly off angle.
- Outlane drains are quite brutal and in my experience more so with TPA than the real machines. Or I'll have to adjust my nudging technique to get more frequent saves, they all feel unavoidable now.
- SDTM drains are easier to avoid with TPA, just being able to "graze" some of those stray balls with the flipper tip, especially with the stronger and more predictable nudge control on TPA. In that respect those Lightning flippers on dr. Who are not as bad as for example with BSD or FT.
- They got the round targets at the "2nd" level of the Time Expander just right in my opinion. Enough randomness in how the ball behaves after hitting them, but not too much.
- I don't recognize the "ball drag" or floatiness that others have pointed out, the real tables I played had about the same ball flow.
There are also some bugs I encountered:
- the game sometimes gives two balls after a lock. The last time this happened, also one of the locks was empty, as if the ball shot through the back of the lock area (clipping error?). The game adjusted to this in most cases, breaking one game by not recognizing there was still a ball in play after a (quick) drain.
- also, the right lock can be prone to having two balls locked on top of each other (they fully clip, not stacked). A quite lengthy ball search cleared that problem. Not frequent, happened 2-3 times now in a lot more than 2-3 games.
- HOF points are off or really stingy. I got 1 HOF point for a 1.1B game. So it needs more than 1T for the full 1000 points. Even 100B is quite the challlenge, seeing the duel between Tarek and Dizzer.
All in all, I say this is a good release, BUT the issue with at least the jackpot doors should be fixed, this takes away a lot of the fun, and not in the least also a viable scoring strategy. The combo shots are a nice challenge. I like the way you can play around with the Doctor bonuses, adjusting the choice to the particular situation. I like the video game: easy to learn, not too long and enough of a challenge now (although I see it getting boring after you learn the patterns). The TPA version forces you to be precise in your shooting, otherwise it will punish you.
Slam23
Active member
- Jul 21, 2012
- 1,279
- 2
The speed does not feel off to me. Those two machines I played on recently were not tuned that differently probably, certainly not a slope like for example F14. I dislike tables which are on the extreme side anyway: too much weight or floatiness. Both are not the case for Dr. Who, in my opinion.
satandouche
New member
- Sep 27, 2015
- 42
- 0
For locks I'm using the same/similar shots as slam23. Hold up right flipper after police box, let the ball bounce up on the left flipper then quickly shoot it and it regularly gets the right lock or right target in mb. For center shot same technique but no bounce off the left just shoot it off the pass. Left lock I have problems with, but sometimes the previous technique hits that one instead of the center target. I'll have to try the left backhand shot to see if that's more consistent to get the left lock. Thanks slam, Great post.
Unrelated, but my leaderboard scores disappeared from Big Hurt and EBD after the iPad os update or maybe the tpa update. Sucks cause I had 33B on Big Hurt.
Unrelated, but my leaderboard scores disappeared from Big Hurt and EBD after the iPad os update or maybe the tpa update. Sucks cause I had 33B on Big Hurt.
Slam23
Active member
- Jul 21, 2012
- 1,279
- 2
D@mn, I lost my EBD and Big Hurt score too! I had a 20B+ score on Big Hurt that I totally lost, the EBD score of 13B is still in my local leaderboard. I have the HOF points to prove it though, maybe send a screenshot of those to support@farsight.com? I did a Restore HOF points, and that did what I expected --> I lost the HOF points I got on both tables.