Pro Value

[Picklebeerboy]

Could someone please explain what additional value you receive for purchasing a pro table/pack?

 

[Baron Rubik]

See this thread...
http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/4978-Please-help!-PRO-table-Versions?p=86126#post86126

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

A Pro table:

• Allows you to access the table's operator menu, wherein you can change things like the table difficulty, number of balls per game, whether extra balls are on or off, turn family mode off, and adjust various other table-specific features.
• Allows you a free-roaming camera with which to examine the table.
• Includes a ball-control feature that lets you push the ball around the table.
• Includes a set of "Pro Tips" from various champion-level real pinball players like the Sharpe brothers and Cayle George.
• Also, and this one is not advertised anywhere, the table ROM for the Pro mode does not reset when you exit the table and return. This means three things:
  • The table ROM itself keeps a separate high score list. Note, however, that the "local high score list" - the one that appears after the game is over - is shared between normal and Pro.
  • Secondary score lists, like Medieval Madness's Damsel Champion, Twilight Zone's LITZ Champion, etc., are preserved from game to game instead of resetting like the normal table does.
  • If you turn on the reflexing or auto-percentaging features in the operator's menu, the table will start tracking that information and adjusting itself according to your play. For example, if you play a lot of Twilight Zone Pro and do well, you may notice that instead of 9 Robots for an extra ball it is now 10, and instead of 250M for a replay it is now 300M.
• Does not allow you to post on leaderboards, earn achievements, and complete goals while the table is in Pro mode. If you return to normal mode, you re-enable these features. You can switch back and forth between normal and Pro mode freely.

 

[Picklebeerboy]

Thanks gents....pro isn't for me

 

[shogun00]

Thanks gents....pro isn't for me

The only pro table that might be worth checking out in Scared Stiff, because the table is set on Family Mode on the regular version. In the Pro Mode, you can turn it off and hear some of Elvira's more raunchier lines. As it is now, you are only hearing about half of her lines.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

A Pro table:

• Allows you to access the table's operator menu, wherein you can change things like the table difficulty, number of balls per game, whether extra balls are on or off, turn family mode off, and adjust various other table-specific features.
• Allows you a free-roaming camera with which to examine the table.
• Includes a ball-control feature that lets you push the ball around the table.
• Includes a set of "Pro Tips" from various champion-level real pinball players like the Sharpe brothers and Cayle George.
• Also, and this one is not advertised anywhere, the table ROM for the Pro mode does not reset when you exit the table and return. This means three things:
  • The table ROM itself keeps a separate high score list. Note, however, that the "local high score list" - the one that appears after the game is over - is shared between normal and Pro.
  • Secondary score lists, like Medieval Madness's Damsel Champion, Twilight Zone's LITZ Champion, etc., are preserved from game to game instead of resetting like the normal table does.
  • If you turn on the reflexing or auto-percentaging features in the operator's menu, the table will start tracking that information and adjusting itself according to your play. For example, if you play a lot of Twilight Zone Pro and do well, you may notice that instead of 9 Robots for an extra ball it is now 10, and instead of 250M for a replay it is now 300M.
• Does not allow you to post on leaderboards, earn achievements, and complete goals while the table is in Pro mode. If you return to normal mode, you re-enable these features. You can switch back and forth between normal and Pro mode freely.

So do the secondary score lists and settings changes like turning family mode or auto-percentaging on persist even after the application is exited? If so that would be amazing for when they (hopefully) implement cabinet mode in the future.

 

[TomL]

So do the secondary score lists and settings changes like turning family mode or auto-percentaging on persist even after the application is exited? If so that would be amazing for when they (hopefully) implement cabinet mode in the future.

No, it reverts to Normal Mode.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Bummer, hopefully they could add some code to have these things persist so when you start up the application you wouldn't have to set them all for each machine and so that the secondary scores would save.

 

[TomL]

Bummer, hopefully they could add some code to have these things persist so when you start up the application you wouldn't have to set them all for each machine and so that the secondary scores would save.

Agreed.

(But wouldn't a cabinet setup be always running the app? So, in theory, you'd never exit out of TPA?)

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Bummer, hopefully they could add some code to have these things persist so when you start up the application you wouldn't have to set them all for each machine and so that the secondary scores would save.

It does. What Tom is referring to is that the table starts up in normal mode each time you enter it. But if you enter Pro mode again, your settings and secondary score lists will reappear. I play Twilight Zone almost exclusively in Pro mode, and it's remembered my settings and my 535M LITZ Champion score for several months now.

 

[netizen]

So do the secondary score lists and settings changes like turning family mode or auto-percentaging on persist even after the application is exited? If so that would be amazing for when they (hopefully) implement cabinet mode in the future.

Yes and no.

So long as you play with the operator menu turned on then yes. This is the point of Pro mode tables so that thges secondary settings retain their values, but you have to play with the operators menu turned on. Once you have set the ROM the way you want it, it stays that way until you want to change it and decide to change it.

If you play in the normal mode, then no.

The pro version sort of gives you 2 versions of the game. One is the normal pre-set, known state that always starts from a set position. The other is the version you can make settings changes on through the operators menu.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Agreed.

(But wouldn't a cabinet setup be always running the app? So, in theory, you'd never exit out of TPA?)

That would be nice, but I doubt that I would want to leave the machine on 24/7 and use all that electricity if nobody was going to be playing it. I suppose I could just shut the screens down and have the PC in low power mode. I'll have to figure all that out when I actually do the build.

It does. What Tom is referring to is that the table starts up in normal mode each time you enter it. But if you enter Pro mode again, your settings and secondary score lists will reappear. I play Twilight Zone almost exclusively in Pro mode, and it's remembered my settings and my 535M LITZ Champion score for several months now.

That's not too terrible then I suppose. It would be nice if they were to make the pro mode choice persistent eventually though.

Yes and no.

So long as you play with the operator menu turned on then yes. This is the point of Pro mode tables so that thges secondary settings retain their values, but you have to play with the operators menu turned on. Once you have set the ROM the way you want it, it stays that way until you want to change it and decide to change it.

If you play in the normal mode, then no.

The pro version sort of gives you 2 versions of the game. One is the normal pre-set, known state that always starts from a set position. The other is the version you can make settings changes on through the operators menu.

Sounds good. Thanks for the info all! Seems like pro mode would be a must for cabinet mode then if you want to get as close to an arcade experience as possible.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Does the pro mode allow you to turn off free play? If so how does it handle credits?

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Does the pro mode allow you to turn off free play? If so how does it handle credits?

Yes, at least with Twilight Zone. When you close the coin door it will add 4 credits to the machine. You then can use them as you would on a real machine, and earn them for replay, special and/or match, assuming you've made the appropriate adjustments in the operator's menu. If you run out, go back into the operator's menu and back out and it will add 4 more.

I haven't tried it on the other machines.

 

[Ark Malmeida]

Interesting. So this would all work out really well for a cabinet once they get a chance to put that in!

 

[Tann]

Croooow111 has made a video about pro mode, two weeks ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4VpUdqnSnc

I wanted to purchase the Season 1 Pro Pack (because the extra cost is minimal), but after seeing this, I think I will take the standard pack.

Sound test has no interest because of the background music loop, the camera flies continually, so you can't watch what you are testing on the table (lights, mechanical parts), and the control of the table exploration is very poor.

The only remaining value is the ability to set the table rules as you wish.

 

[Vyrastas]

Croooow111 has made a video about pro mode, two weeks ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4VpUdqnSnc

I wanted to purchase the Season 1 Pro Pack (because the extra cost is minimal), but after seeing this, I think I will take the standard pack.

Sound test has no interest because of the background music loop, the camera flies continually, so you can't watch what you are testing on the table (lights, mechanical parts), and the control of the table exploration is very poor.

The only remaining value is the ability to set the table rules as you wish.

Thanks for posting that, I've been curious about it myself. Definitely won't buy any of those now. The table exploration option should come standard with the normal purchase of a table, like it does with Zen. Being able to see the entire playfield in detail is part of the default playing experience, it's not an extra. You can stand over a table and explore it all you want in real life. Having to pay extra for that in the game is silly to me.