Outlanes...

[Jeff Strong]

I don't mean this in a rude way, but I guess I really don't get when people complain about outlanes in TPA. The tables are already easier than the real machines as is, so if they tone down the outlanes, then the tables would be even less realistic, there would be less of a challenge, and the game times, which are already too long on a lot of the tables, would be even longer....no thanks!

Tough outlanes have been a part of pinball since the beginning. They need to be at least slightly scary, or else pinball just wouldn't be the same without them.

This is where it'd be nice to be able to adjust such things, but as the default setting for leaderboard eligibility, I think they should be similar to the real life machines. This is supposed to be a pinball simulation. We already have Zen for the tamer side of pinball, right?

As always, people are free to complain about this or anything else (myself included...see my latest Genie rants in the PS3 section). I just needed to get it off my chest that I don't understand this particular complaint. Carry on...

 

[grashopper]

I think they need to tone down the nudge and decrease the out lanes a hair on a few tables. Think the nudge is the real problem... You can save almost anything. So increase the difficulty by toning that down and you can have less grabby out lanes and still make a tough table.

 

[Jeff Strong]

I think they need to tone down the nudge and decrease the out lanes a hair on a few tables. Think the nudge is the real problem... You can save almost anything. So increase the difficulty by toning that down and you can have less grabby out lanes and still make a tough table.

That's a good point. On consoles, the nudging feels sort of like cheating sometimes, especially with the low tilt sensitivity on most tables.. And even despite the awkward nudging controls on iOS, I've gotten used to them to the point where nudging almost feels just as cheap on my iPad.

 

[smbhax]

Man, this reminds me that I suck at outlane nudging; slap saves I can do but with the outlanes I seem to lose the ball by nudging more often than I save it--and usually I don't even get a nudge in, just sit there like a boob until realizing too late that the ball has decided to go down the bad way.

 

[Kaoru]

This is supposed to be a pinball simulation. We already have Zen for the tamer side of pinball, right?

Oddly enough I never found Zen as easy as everybody else seems to think it is. In TPA I can sometimes save a ball from the outlane with a nudge, whereas in Zen I feel a nudge never does a thing (except for a warning message).

Anyway, there are tables on which I don't mind the outlanes much, even when they're very mean and greedy. But that's mostly the older ones like Gorgar and such. And the reason is that there aren't that many objectives to go for on them. If it's supposed to take a long play to get certain modes activated then the last thing you want to see is a stream of cheap drains. Others may feel differently about it... but after few plays in this style I start to lose interest and move on. (I'm looking at you, Star Trek!)

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Having played 16 of the corresponding real tables, I can say that on 15 of them the outlanes behave about as I'd expect them to on the real table. The one exception is Cirqus Voltaire, which even with the outlanes almost fully open seemed less hungry than TPA's version. On the 360 I can live with it, as the superior nudging control negates a lot of the viciousness, both in staying out of the outlane area in the first place and in saving a ball that does get in there. On iOS, on the other hand, I find the outlanes very annoying, as they are eating balls I know the real table would not and there is no way of executing the "diagonal" nudge needed to make a save.

What I'd really like to see is Pro Mode extended to cover physical settings, such as playfield pitch, outlane post position and maybe some flipper rubber options (fresh, soft, bouncy/squirrelly, etc.)...but I'm not sure how all of this would affect Bobby's tuning of the tables.

 

[Fungi]

I just don't like the outlanes that seem to me "unfair". I know, nebulous. Out of all the tables, that just boils down to STTNG, FP, and CV. Heck, I don't even have a problem with TZ even after the bumper removal. Although I am suspicious sometimes when the ball magically moves horizontally to the left over the slingshot and under the bumpers directly into the left outlane.

 

[pinballchris]

Most wouldn't be an issue if there was a way to remove some of the props blocking the views. Such as in ST, CC, NGG, I think Taxi too. The ball gets over there and you don't know if you should nudge to try to save, or not nudge and allow the ball to continue.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Although I am suspicious sometimes when the ball magically moves horizontally to the left over the slingshot and under the bumpers directly into the left outlane.

I can assure you the real table is quite capable of doing that; I've seen it hundreds of times. (It looks supernatural on the real table, too.)

 

[Timelord]

The outlanes in Firepower were absolutely brutal in real life Fungi. I must have paid for several machines one "quarter" at a time during my lifetime.

Timelord ...

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

The ball passing through them perfectly makes you wonder why theres a post with rubber there. I know this is slightly off topic but balls hitting the top of the slingshot at an angel say from right to left instead of rebounding to the right SLIP left straight down the outlane? very unnatural. AFM perfect example of this also LOOK how narrow they are how does the ball go through the left side?

 

[Timelord]

The ball passing through them perfectly makes you wonder why theres a post with rubber there. I know this is slightly off topic but balls hitting the top of the slingshot at an angel say from right to left instead of rebounding to the right SLIP left straight down the outlane? very unnatural. AFM perfect example of this also LOOK how narrow they are how does the ball go through the left side?

Interesting, my eyes are getting old and I missed this up to now.

AfM is one of my favorites (along with CC) right now. I'm gonna have to look out for that one, S_S.


Timelord ...

 

[netizen]

The ball passing through them perfectly makes you wonder why theres a post with rubber there. I know this is slightly off topic but balls hitting the top of the slingshot at an angle say from right to left instead of rebounding to the right SLIP left straight down the outlane?

Interesting, my eyes are getting old and I missed this up to now.

AfM is one of my favorites (along with CC) right now. I'm gonna have to look out for that one, S_S.

The R Outlane on CC is another great example of of this.

 

[DopedToInfinity]

I think the outlanes should resemble the real machine as much as possible, if the real table is a drain monster then the TPA version should be a drain monster too.

I love pinball, so when I want a "real" experience I play TPA, and when I want to chill I play Zen.

It's Farsight's fault I played Zen so much last month, Dr Dude is a real *****! Well done Farsight for accurately portraying this bastard of a machine

 

[Lord Boron]

Really the only out lanes I have a real problem with are and STTNG on ios and CV on PS3 and iOS. The lack of nudging makes it next to impossible for me to save the ball. And CV on the PS3 seems to have magnets in the outlines. The ball just loves going there!

 

[brakel]

I don't mean this in a rude way, but I guess I really don't get when people complain about outlanes in TPA. The tables are already easier than the real machines as is, so if they tone down the outlanes, then the tables would be even less realistic, there would be less of a challenge, and the game times, which are already too long on a lot of the tables, would be even longer....no thanks!

Tough outlanes have been a part of pinball since the beginning. They need to be at least slightly scary, or else pinball just wouldn't be the same without them.

This is where it'd be nice to be able to adjust such things, but as the default setting for leaderboard eligibility, I think they should be similar to the real life machines. This is supposed to be a pinball simulation. We already have Zen for the tamer side of pinball, right?

As always, people are free to complain about this or anything else (myself included...see my latest Genie rants in the PS3 section). I just needed to get it off my chest that I don't understand this particular complaint. Carry on...

I think the same thing when people complain about the flipper gap in Medieval Madness. Really? You want to make MM easier than it already is? I'm ok with the difficulty of TPA as is. I'd be ok if they made it closer to real life. Optional difficulty levels would be even better. They could have a three tier setting of "amateur", "pro" and "wizard" but then I'd rather they fix the existing problems first before more new features.

 

[Fungi]

The outlanes in Firepower were absolutely brutal in real life Fungi. I must have paid for several machines one "quarter" at a time during my lifetime.

Timelord ...

Yep. Good on FS in duplicating this. I still don't like 'em. On the real machine, I shake the table like crazy. I don't really have that option on iOS.

 

[shimoda]

Indeed iOS options for nudging just plain suck. Swipe doesn't really work and slapping the top of the screen when your thumbs are at the bottom makes no sense. Same as tapping the top. I have noticed all of these tables play fast.

 

[MontanaFrank]

Most wouldn't be an issue if there was a way to remove some of the props blocking the views. Such as in ST, CC, NGG, I think Taxi too. The ball gets over there and you don't know if you should nudge to try to save, or not nudge and allow the ball to continue.

Props that obscure the outlanes of a table has bugged me for years. It's one reason I hardly played ST-TNG when the RT came out. I also seldom play the TPA version for the same reason.

 

[Jeff Strong]

But those awesome cannons are so worth it!