Round 3: Post Your Questions for Bobby King

[Jeff Strong]

Bobby King from Farsight has graciously agreed to do a multi-round forum interview*, where we get to nominate and then vote on 3 questions for each session!

So now it's time to start posting your questions for Round 3.

NEW RULE: Please limit yourself to posting 1 question per round, as this will make it more fair to everyone, and easier for me to select the questions.

This thread will be open for about a week (or UNTILL we get too many questions, whichever comes first), and then I'll pick 30 questions and create a new thread with a poll for voting on which 5 questions Bobby will answer. If your question doesn't get picked this time around, don't worry because this will be a reoccurring event, so you can always resubmit your question for the next round.

* dates will vary, depending on how busy Bobby is.

 

[Squid]

I, for one, would like to know if a jukebox option can/will be available.

By jukebox, I mean the ability to play your own music simultaneously through your respective device of choice.

A big part of my old-school experiences with pinball include random music in dark and smoky environments.

I don't like having to fosake the game sounds in favor of music. It's a tough choice.

 

[jrolson]

I would like to know if they plan on making it feel more like an arcade... Like adding ambient noises (like other machines playing in the background, ect.) and music...

 

[Crush3d_Turtle]

Are the large number of bugs, glitches, and other issues in the PS Vita version of TPA being addressed? It just seems like every other system here is getting confirmation of bug fixes and other upgrades. There is even a complete list of all of the identified problems that is growing day by day. I am not demanding that they be instantly fixed (although it would be great), it would just be nice to know that something is being done since the quality of the game has certainly gotten worse since release and there are several unhappy customers.

 

[Gail R Schwartz]

Who picks tables to put out & how do we get the tables we want in tpa ?

Hi Jeff. I didn't know how to put the question up there. Can u help? My question. How do we get the tables we really want in tpa. ( like Addams family/ baby pacman & kiss? Thanks

 

[Jeff Strong]

Hi Jeff. I didn't know how to put the question up there. Can u help? My question. How do we get the tables we really want in tpa. ( like Addams family/ baby pacman & kiss? Thanks

All you have to do is post your question here and I'll take care of the rest.

 

[JPelter]

This was asked in round 1 but sort of sidestepped due to being bundled in with the operator menu question.
I'd like to know if there are plans for a tournament mode fixed gameplay (sans extra balls, possibly other modifications) type with separate leaderboards. It would be extremely welcome with some older tables like Black Hole and Funhouse.

 

[IdontHave50cents]

Questions for BK 3

Sorry, I have three "inside baseball" questions that I tend to find more interesting that "when are we going to get X table or X feature."

1. Walk us through the time table of how long it takes from beginning to end to typically produce a table in TPA. What are the phases and how long does each step take? Which is the hardest/most tedious phase?

2. Of the number of staff currently employed at farsight, how many employees are allocated to each departments/team? (PR/community relations, Xbox team, Mac team, licensing, etc.)

3. we now know Twilight Zone cost $55k to license. How much did you pay to iicence each table we currently have available?

Thanks!

JEFF - you can only pick one of these. I just have to write them all so I don't forget what i wanted to ask for the next round!

 

[djwille]

Is there a chance that the PSvita version have a potroitmode 90 degrees to the right so that we can use the X button for the left flipper and the triangle button for the right flipper and the stick for the nudge control?
I don't like the nudge being controled by the touchscreen. I think many PSvita owners are begging for it. I never had a good nudge with that option on my vita.

Thanks

 

[BlindSpider11]

Is The Twilight Zone going to be in a standard "2 pack" or will it be a premium table not associated with any other tables during said month, IE: November.

 

[Brian Clark]

Hi Jeff. I didn't know how to put the question up there. Can u help? My question. How do we get the tables we really want in tpa. ( like Addams family/ baby pacman & kiss? Thanks

AFAIK, Baby Pac-Man is in license limbo since it was made by Midway without Namco's permission (Mr. and Mrs. Pac-Man is probably in the same boat). Bobby kind of answered the question about KISS in the last Q&A (not directly, but he said all of the bands questioned wanted a huge cut of the profits. Not sure if KISS was one of the bands asked, but it's likely since it's a fairly popular table). The license issues with tables were mentioned a few times. Some of these tables aren't so easy to get. However, Farsight mentioned they are close to securing the rights to another top ten table.

My question: What's the status on 2p simultaneous mode? Will real tables designed around 2p be made?

 

[Richard B]

Are the large number of bugs, glitches, and other issues in the PS Vita version of TPA being addressed? It just seems like every other system here is getting confirmation of bug fixes and other upgrades. There is even a complete list of all of the identified problems that is growing day by day. I am not demanding that they be instantly fixed (although it would be great), it would just be nice to know that something is being done since the quality of the game has certainly gotten worse since release and there are several unhappy customers.

I believe they have largely commented on this already, though perhaps a better question would be something like "what is your bug testing procedure - how long, how many people on it, what happens when a bug is discovered after release, how do obvious bugs like the flipper gap in MM make it through, etc."

 

[Crush3d_Turtle]

I believe they have largely commented on this already, though perhaps a better question would be something like "what is your bug testing procedure - how long, how many people on it, what happens when a bug is discovered after release, how do obvious bugs like the flipper gap in MM make it through, etc."

From my searches of the forums, I have only found 1 post by the developers relating to any problems with the Vita version and nothing on Facebook. The first 4 tables were excellent, but when the first DLC came out they screwed up the textures on most of them. Plus the tables that were released in DLC 1 had numerous issues such as transparency problems with BoP and an unstable framerate on MM which results in visibly jittery gameplay. DLC 2 was then released which did nothing to address the original problems other than a small fix to Blackhole. Also, the tables in DLC 2 have numerous issues, especially CV which has a very long list of problems. The table isn't much fun to play when important shots during the wizard mode simply clip right through the ramp. At this point, I am not concerned much about when the problems will be fixed, but the fact that they are at least acknowledged. I am planning to continue supporting the game by purchasing the new tables the first day they are released, but the lack of quality assurance does worry me.

However, to keep this post on topic a question like "How do obvious bugs like the flipper gap on MM or the transparency issues on BoP make it through?" would be a suitable replacement to the original question.

 

[Dan]

deleted, got another question.

 

[Jan Duin]

When will the Tournament and Challenge function be added?

 

[night]

Kill the iOS carpet.

 

[Fuseball]

How is emulation of older (pre-'90s) solid-state games coming along? And will already released games that use scripting rather than emulation (Gorgar, Black Hole and soon Black Knight) be reworked to use emulation instead of scripted rules?

 

[mite6]

Nobody says nothing about Indiana Jones` 93 so my question is:
Any chance to see Indy in TPA?

 

[Franky]

since we only have 3 questions i think we shouldn't ask for certain tables. Instead i would prefer questions about the development process as someone else already mentioned - like:

"How long it takes to create a new (not a phof) dmd table from start to finish and how time consuming the different stages are".

or another question i would like to ask is:

"Why they decide to release 2 tables every month instead of every second month?" or more generally "why they've announced such a tight schedule in advance at all?"

Franky

 

[Richard B]

Yes, no more questions on when / if a particular table will be released, or whether they've acquired certain licenses.