Official Williams Volume 2 news

[kimkom]

We got the new beta to test today, and I'm happy to report the ball in Black Rose is much brighter now.

Great!

How about the ball on PZ, that looked very dull too.

 

[kimkom]

Probably. They did change the uniform colors of the General to Army green and tan, looks way better in my opinion, fits the color scheme of the table. Floating walkie is fixed and animations all sync properly now too.

That sounds good too. Bet you can’t wait to see if strobe multiball has been updated!

 

[kimkom]

Do you have the unaltered versions now too?

 

[kimkom]

And another thing...

Have the flashers been improved?

 

[kimkom]

You know, I think I really need to be on the beta test team

Mel? Akos?

 

[Captain Caveman]

kimkom you should just edit your post instead of posting multiple posts constantly..

 

[Narc0lep5y]

Those screenshots look gorgeous. 4k capture?

 

[shutyertrap]

That sounds good too. Bet you can’t wait to see if strobe multiball has been updated!

Strobe is much improved, especially the flashers. Still not as dark as I hoped, but a good realistic compromise. And no, we still have not seen the unaltered versions.

 

[kimkom]

Strobe is much improved, especially the flashers. Still not as dark as I hoped, but a good realistic compromise.

Nice one, that sounds promising

Thanks

 

[Badfinger]

Zen needs to get out of repeating old TPA fare as soon as possible? That has to be hurting sales.
[edit: apparently it isn't and nice that the fantasy FX players embraced real tables and hopefully are just as vocal about MORE!]

I'm not enough enamored with these 3 in pack 2 either, that and emu is pretty good as well.

I have every TPA table except the gold ball Addams Family on PC and 2 seasons on OUYA, don't need 100 repeats to 0 new!
I did get pack 1 and own every FX2/3 table too, I've spent enough, gimmie NEW pretty please *cough* Bad Cats!

 

[Blkthorne]

Zen needs to get out of repeating old TPA fare as soon as possible? That has to be hurting sales.

I'm not enough enamored with these 3 in pack 2 either, that and emu is pretty good as well.

I have every TPA table except the gold ball Addams Family on PC and 2 seasons on OUYA, don't need 100 repeats to 0 new!
I did get pack 1 and own every FX2/3 table too, I've spent enough, gimmie NEW pretty please *cough* Bad Cats!

Mel Kirk said they sold through the roof for the first volume and that was with the censorship issue still over them, while I can understand those that have all the tables of TPA, like me, Zen is trying to lure their fans of fantasy tables and those people that never knew about TPA to the Williams' Collection so they will go with the heavy hitters for awhile. I'm not really worried about them getting to those tables that Farsight never got to, they seem to have a fairly fast paced(every 3 months) schedule for each volume and it looks like they have the license for the forseeable future so eventually we will start seeing the tables we never got for TPA.

 

[shutyertrap]

Zen needs to get out of repeating old TPA fare as soon as possible? That has to be hurting sales.

I'm not enough enamored with these 3 in pack 2 either, that and emu is pretty good as well.

I have every TPA table except the gold ball Addams Family on PC and 2 seasons on OUYA, don't need 100 repeats to 0 new!
I did get pack 1 and own every FX2/3 table too, I've spent enough, gimmie NEW pretty please *cough* Bad Cats!

Not hurting sales as far as Zen is concerned, because it sold better than they were hoping for. Essentially they are selling to 2 audiences; the Zen crowd that never played TPA (shockingly their numbers are many), and the TPA crowd who already owns many of these. Hitting the big titles already done is for the first group’s benefit. It also serves the second crowd by allowing them to directly compare and see just how well Zen is treating these titles. Now that they know these are being received well, it’ll be safe for them to do some of the unmade titles but their lead time is much greater than FarSight’s ever was, so don’t expect anything of this nature till pack 4.

 

[Badfinger]

Glad to hear they are roofing it, so more more more, but never fast enough! 8)

Black Rose and Party Zone I didn't think deserved to be this early, but I have too many choices, perhaps.

New tables just better for everyone! ...and we are ready!!!!?!!!!!

 

[kimkom]

but their lead time is much greater than FarSight’s ever was

Yeah, thank God! And I think we can agree that Zen's tables are all the better for it

Farsight crippled themselves by trying to get too many tables out, on too many platforms each month. Quality suffered greatly as a result.

Hopefully Zen have learned from Farsight's mistakes and don't drop the ball by maintaining a consistently high standard.

If they do, it would be a sure fire way of losing customers, especially those of us who have already been down Farsight Road.

 

[kimkom]

Having said that, I still think there is room for improvement...

For example, I think the shaders for the clear plastics could still be better.

They still suffer from the 'ghost' effect as seen in the above screen for Party Zone, where they're almost completely invisible in parts. This may in part be due to the shader itself or a lack of depth to the geometry, as they tend to look like they're constructed from single sided polygons, without any real depth to them.

It's a difficult one to get right, especially if Zen are trading to improve performance. But I hope they can improve the look further, before tackling White Water

 

[dmil666]

It also serves the second crowd by allowing them to directly compare and see just how well Zen is treating these titles. Now that they know these are being received well, it’ll be safe for them to do some of the unmade titles but their lead time is much greater than FarSight’s ever was, so don’t expect anything of this nature till pack 4.

I own all of the FX3 tables and TPA tables for the PC (except for AC/DC,Mustang and TAFG) and I really like being able to compare tables directly. The Williams #1 pack was such an improvement in play and looks that when I go back to TPA to play other tables I'm really struck by how slow the tables play and how washed out they are in comparison. There are many tables in TPA that I really like and have had a lot of fun with, and I'd like to see them get the Zen treatment, even if the tables will kick my butt afterwards.
Having said that, I'm also eagerly looking forward to new Williams/Bally tables that Zen comes out with. Ya can't have too many good tables.

 

[kimkom]

The Williams #1 pack was such an improvement in play and looks that when I go back to TPA to play other tables I'm really struck by how slow the tables play and how washed out they are in comparison. There are many tables in TPA that I really like and have had a lot of fun with, and I'd like to see them get the Zen treatment, even if the tables will kick my butt afterwards.

Agreed.

I'm even at the point now where I don't go back to TPA at all. Just being able to play at 120 - 144Hz is reason enough for me but given all that other Zen polish on top, it's impossible for me to go back, no matter how much I like the other tables.

Given time, I'm sure the majority will be produced to Zen's higher standards, and they will kick butt.

Just as they should do

 

[shutyertrap]

Having said that, I still think there is room for improvement...

For example, I think the shaders for the clear plastics could still be better.

They still suffer from the 'ghost' effect as seen in the above screen for Party Zone, where they're almost completely invisible in parts. This may in part be due to the shader itself or a lack of depth to the geometry, as they tend to look like they're constructed from single sided polygons, without any real depth to them.

It's a difficult one to get right, especially if Zen are trading to improve performance. But I hope they can improve the look further, before tackling White Water

And see, I love the look of the plastics! If you go into table view and look, you can see how the light adjusts through the transparency, sometimes with a rainbow like shimmer. It looks how brand new, clear plastic should. Being used to seeing yellowed or scratched or heat warped plastic, I saw a Whitewater with perfect plastic and it was a revelation. I was reminded of that as soon as I saw what Zen was doing, and my first thought was I couldn’t wait to see Whitewater, No Good Gophers, and Creature.

 

[wilbers]

Yeah, thank God! And I think we can agree that Zen's tables are all the better for it

Farsight crippled themselves by trying to get too many tables out, on too many platforms each month. Quality suffered greatly as a result.

Hopefully Zen have learned from Farsight's mistakes and don't drop the ball by maintaining a consistently high standard.

If they do, it would be a sure fire way of losing customers, especially those of us who have already been down Farsight Road.

Also very good that while Zen must have internal targets for when they expect tables to be released, they don't say something like pack 3 will be released in mid-March (or whenever their target actually is), but wait until its nearly ready before announcing a release date so if it needs an extra month of polish it can get it, and as far as everyone else is concerned its released on schedule.



I made a point on Zen forum asking why we can't see table description after buying it (where it changes to how many stars got etc.), got a reply from Zen straight away.



wilbers
Junior Member
Join Date
Jul 2018
Posts
4

Table Description
On the My Collection screen (on Steam, but presumably in all versions) with all the tables there is a description of the table if its one that hasn't been purchased; and changes to a line showing achievement, number of stars etc. for purchased tables. Is there any way to toggle between the two? If not, maybe it could be changed so the Y button does it as that doesn't seem to be anything useful there.

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11-28-2018, 10:12 AM
#2
McLovin
Community Manager

Join Date
Apr 2017
Posts
603


Interesting idea, maybe cycle it every X seconds so you can see both?

I'll add this in the system, I like this.

 

[thetrout]

I'm personally fine with them covering the same ground as TPA, because Zen's versions blow those out of the water. I want Zen versions of all those great tables now, regardless of whether I'm technically buying tables I already paid for in another game. TPA tables are like the VHS versions to me now. It's worth the upgrade to Zen's Blu-Rays.