Should I give up playing pinball games, particularly TPA ?

[Fungi]

Of course not, there are tables on TPA that take me 3-6 months of playing before I realize how to control and score. Then you get that "ah-ha" moment. Give it time, it will come.

Took me months to find the key to Firepower. Ohhhh, AVOID the main targets that are screaming "shoot me!". To quote Ackbar, "It's a trap!"

 

[Deltaechoe]

You already gave that advice in another thread started by me, but how is that done, particularly when the ball has so much speed that it will roll of the flipper even when holded up ? Is it done by nudging sideways ?

Post trapping is a bit tricky, you have to make sure the ball hits the flipper in the right place so that it will bounce into the post at the bottom of the bumper, you may have to nudge. You want to make sure that the ball is coming high on the flipper, you will hold the flipper up and if the ball is in the right place, it will bounce between the flipper and the post losing all its momentum and trapping nicely on the flipper in question. I attempt that instead of attempting live catches on TPA, but don't try doing that on a real table since the ball is much more unpredictable.

Since all tables are a bit different, you will have to practice it; you will eventually get the feel for it on most, if not all, tables

 

[RetroDude]

Sounds like a Homer Simpson quote.

Not even close.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/quotes

 

[Dascoyne]

Not even close.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077975/quotes

I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd regard that movie as a classic ... or when I'd lament that a younger generation couldn't appreciate the reference. That's when I start to feel my age.

 

[warh0g]

Also, practicing on TPA is dirt cheap. Before I bought my Jack*Bot table i tried it out on location. I blew through 20 credits in less than 30 minutes. 1 credit here in Sweden is ~ $1,50. So i spent 30 bucks in less than 30 minutes. Now how much was that season pass again?

 

[Mick Morry]

Practice, practice, practice. Never give up! Pinball is like any good sport....the more you play...the better you become.

 

[chadderack]

I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd regard that movie as a classic ... or when I'd lament that a younger generation couldn't appreciate the reference. That's when I start to feel my age.

Ha, easy. I'm pushing bigger numbers, too. I just didn't recognize the quote.

 

[Ton]

Once more thanks for all the replies. Great advice, particularly the tip to concentrate on one, not too difficult, table. I did that on SS and I am seeing good progress now. Could start Stiff-O-Meter several times meanwhile, got a few high scores (around 20.000.000). Still have to reach Monster Multiball though. The last game I could play for around 20 minutes, thanks to a few extra balls.

I have 2 more questions:
1) I also started with TOM but noticed that it is more difficult to get the ball under control than with SS. Could that be true or is it also a matter of more practicing ?
2) I use the bumper buttons of my (new) Xbox 360 for flippers but unconsciously am inclined to do that with excessive force where only a light touch is sufficient. Is that more or less "normal" behavior for beginners ? I am almost sure that more relaxed flipping will improve my game.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Once more thanks for all the replies. Great advice, particularly the tip to concentrate on one, not too difficult, table. I did that on SS and I am seeing good progress now. Could start Stiff-O-Meter several times meanwhile, got a few high scores (around 20.000.000). Still have to reach Monster Multiball though. The last game I could play for around 20 minutes, thanks to a few extra balls.

I have 2 more questions:
1) I also started with TOM but noticed that it is more difficult to get the ball under control than with SS. Could that be true or is it also a matter of more practicing ?
2) I use the bumper buttons of my (new) Xbox 360 for flippers but unconsciously am inclined to do that with excessive force where only a light touch is sufficient. Is that more or less "normal" behavior for beginners ? I am almost sure that more relaxed flipping will improve my game.

1.) Yes, TOM is faster, plus it has more "bouncy" physics in TPA, so control is harder. Still an easier table since you can hit a shot almost anywhere since there's so many shots, so ball control isn't as necessary.

2.) Probably. Also, just out of curiosity, you aren't hitting both flippers at the same time all the time, are you? That's a common rookie mistake, so just checking.

 

[Ton]

No, I already read about that and I try to avoid it as much as possible. But I seem to think, again unconsciously, that I have to apply much force on the flippers. I will try to concentrate on relaxing more.

 

[Jeff Strong]

No, I already read about that and I try to avoid it as much as possible. But I seem to think, again unconsciously, that I have to apply much force on the flippers. I will try to concentrate on relaxing more.

Yeah try to relax as much as possible. Your wrists will thank you later.

 

[superballs]

Others have probably already said this, but you can't expect to be great after 15 hours. You have to practice and work to improve your pinball skills. I know this may seem strange since so many video games are watered down these days and can be mastered in one day, but that's not the case with pinball. It's a game that requires you to put in time if you want to master it, sort of like a musical instrument.

We did quite a lot, but we didn't bomb Pearl Harbor.

@topic: try to get the ball under control. That's the first important thing. Just trying to avoid draining the ball isn't going to give you great scores. You can watch some videos on how to do that. Maybe check out Pinballwizb45's videos, just to see, how he does things.

A good table, which is not too difficult, would be Scared Stiff. Attack from Mars is also quite beginner friendly, as most shots aren't too risky.

No, I already read about that and I try to avoid it as much as possible. But I seem to think, again unconsciously, that I have to apply much force on the flippers. I will try to concentrate on relaxing more.

I tend to do this more on real tables.

Honestly, on PC, I've gotten used to using the triggers because i like the two-stage flippers. It's really helped me be a lot more accurate with the triggers because i like to feather between the two flippers all the time, just to maintain control of the upper and lower flippers at all times. It's also proving to be much easier on the fingers doing this.

Before, on the 360, i moved to the bumpers but the triggers feel a lot better on Steam with the 360 pad.

 

[Ton]

For me the triggers are also feel easier, but I don't like the longer stroke it takes before the flipper is activated. Maybe a matter of getting accustomed to ?

 

[superballs]

For me the triggers are also feel easier, but I don't like the longer stroke it takes before the flipper is activated. Maybe a matter of getting accustomed to ?

Yeah, I think i sorta hold the triggers slightly for a faster reaction from the flippers, but compared to the 360, it's a lot less travel