Now I get why people thing MM is just rehashed AFM...

[Worf]

I never played AFM before until TPA, but I know when MM came out, everyone said it was just rehashed AFM and wasn't as good. (This was way back when MM was new).

Now I understand why - damn the shots are so similar!

 

[Kevlar]

Yes they are extremely similar although personally I think MM is an improvement.

 

[Advalle]

Yeah, I took me to play AFM for me to understand MM. It just feels they only put different toys on top and thats it

 

[Sumez]

I don't think anyone is trying to hide the fact that MM is a rehashed AFM! From a business perspective it makes perfect sense - AFM was a popular table, and unless you're a pinball fanatic, you'd rarely see beyond the theme when discovering the game at an arcade, bar, or amusement park. So why not reuse what works? The result is not one, but two of the most beloved pinball tables ever, so obviously it worked well.

I'd say MB is sort of a rehashed MM as well, but on that one the changes are more obvious than the similarities.

 

[Richard B]

I don't think anyone is trying to hide the fact that MM is a rehashed AFM! From a business perspective it makes perfect sense - AFM was a popular table, and unless you're a pinball fanatic, you'd rarely see beyond the theme when discovering the game at an arcade, bar, or amusement park. So why not reuse what works? The result is not one, but two of the most beloved pinball tables ever, so obviously it worked well.

I'd say MB is sort of a rehashed MM as well, but on that one the changes are more obvious than the similarities.

MB is more of an evolution than a rehash, as making required shots starts features rather than just checking them off. There's also two Wizard modes - one for the average player, and one for true experts. However, MB lacks a really great central gimmick (nothing in MB is as cool as that castle in MM, or the saucer in AFM).

 

[Sumez]

Well yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
With a very similar table layout, MB is basically MM with a deeper ruleset, only really lacking the gimmicks that are the castle and trolls. Gameplay wise, though, the frankenstein shot pretty much matches the UFO and Castle, in how terribly risky it is. You can't really use a multiball to shoot it safely though, as it's basically what you are doing to start said multiball.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Yeah, after playing Attack from Mars on TPA, the first thing I did was to look these three tables up on IPDB to see who designed them. Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness were both Brian Eddy designs; Monster Bash was George Gomez, and note it's not quite as similar to the other two as they are to each other.

 

[Sumez]

All three of them were programmed by Lyman Sheats though. I think he took the same concept (and probably a lot of the same code) and improved on it for each release.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

They all do have similar concepts of goal progression, and a similar cheeseball, over-the-top sense of humor too.

 

[superballs]

I prefer the game flow of AFM over MM, and like that the risky center shot is not needed as often (until you're attacking mars anyway).

Both are great tables and among my favorites, but i feel AFM has better flow to it.

 

[DJWhoDunnit]

if the two were any more similar, they wouldn't be allowed to name em differently lol. MM when the ball comes out of the left loop it jumps out all randomly, with AFM it's the right one...the fact that the saucer shots are safer than force field shots is kinda backwards too but the fact that the saucer catches all 10 mars shots is awesome

 

[Bass Mummy]

Tables with similar configurations don't bother me too much so long as the theme is implemented in a way that sets it apart from similar tables. I think AFM and MM achieve this.

 

[Worf]

I kinda prefer MM though - but damn now I understand the hatred on the early days. I think AFM is a faster table than MM - MM is supposed to play a bit slower.

Of course, I don't think AFM commands the >$10K insane pricing that MM does though.

 

[Sumez]

Tables with similar configurations don't bother me too much so long as the theme is implemented in a way that sets it apart from similar tables. I think AFM and MM achieve this.

Most definitely!

 

[Anni2712]

MM when the ball comes out of the left loop it jumps out all randomly, with AFM it's the right one...

So does this happen also with real tables? I thought it was a bug in TPA..

 

[xAzatothx]

So does this happen also with real tables? I thought it was a bug in TPA..

yes it is an issue which FR are said to be looking into. I hope it gets fixed soon as it drives me nuts. Right orbit doesn't do this on a real table.

 

[Jay]

I had played MM in an arcade, so I was already familiar with it when I got TPA's version. What surprised me most about AFM was the similarity in dialogue (the Monty Pythonesque Frenchmen, the damsel in distress, etc...). But gameplay is much faster than MM (and consequently much more difficult).