Should I give up playing pinball games, particularly TPA ?

[superballs]

Learn, practice, but sometimes, you just have to put it down. Sometimes, a table i'm normally good at just doesn't jive with me, at that point I usually move to a table that I normally don't like much and find that it turns out that I'm in the mood for that table.

 

[Jeff Strong]

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.

 

[Storm Chaser]

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

I am sensing a disturbance in the force here.

Pinball, in my mind, is a game of probabilities and skill. The more skill you achieve, the less probable you are to drain and accurately hit targets. You will still drain, and drain quite often, but your games will become longer and you will achieve more on average. Then one day, when you are at the top of your skill and have an unlikely great game and you are about to hit the best high score of your favorite game - TPA will crash...but that's a different story

Gorgar is a good game to practise on, it's not super easy but offers wide spaces and a few "outs" that you can learn to avoid and how to nudge away.

 

[Xanija]

Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

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.

 

[Chris Dunman]

Jeff's movie quoting again. Animal House comes to mind....

As far as OP goes, when I first started TPA or real pins in my dim and distant youth I did terribly. Still do but with practice rewards do come. Draino is right, learn the rules, keep calm and keep trying.

You'll improve on the easier tables and those lessons will help on the tougher ones.

 

[Xanija]

Jeff's movie quoting again. Animal House comes to mind....

LOL ok, didn't know this quote haha...

 

[Kolchak357]

Harley Davidson is also a good starter pin. Lots of multiball so you can learn to deal with that and easy to hit targets.

 

[Chris Dunman]

LOL ok, didn't know this quote haha...

Laughing, no worries Xanija. Just thinking about John Belushi makes me grin

 

[Ton]

Thanks again for all the help and tips.
I am still having fun fortunately and will keep practicing.

Btw, a happy new year for all of you.

 

[Dascoyne]

Let me put it another way for the OP

What frustrates a beginner is that they don't feel as if they have any control of the ball or the pace of the game - that, for them, their endurance is a matter of luck and that they aren't acquiring any perceptible skills.

To the OP: start playing some of the more forgiving tables for a while. Eventually you'll develop a degree of flipper control and that's where you start building skills. If you play enough and pay attention you will learn.

Even after learning some control each table offers unique challenges. The point is that it's going to be a learning process. So often I've just about given up on tables I swore were more chance than skill until I started to get a feel for them.

Lastly, if you're frustrated then put the table (or TPA) aside for a while and come back at a future date. There's no point in playing while frustrated. You won't learn. Approach it again when your head and emotions are clear.

I think just about everyone's been where you're at. It's no different with real tables. (Excep it won't cost you a fortune in quarters to learn)

 

[MonkeyGrass]

Pinball is very much like Golf, in my eyes...

In both cases, it's you and your skill (plus random luck/physics) vs the playfield. Course knowledge is critical for good scores. Nobody tries to "block" or "defend" your shots. It's 99.9% mental.

It's simply you, the playfield, and a round ball. What happens next is a combination of physics, hand/eye coordination, and skill.

Also like Golf, it is a game that will continue to challenge you for your entire life. The challenge is to get better - YOURSELF.

Folks in the video game/console era forget something sometimes... Pinball machines were designed to TAKE YOUR MONEY. Not give up easy replays and "wins". Completely different from video games, which are designed to be "won" or "solved". I find that younger players (those who grew up with more pinball sims, and not real tables) have a hard time intrinsically understanding that. Pinball is not a video game. You have to accept that challenge and enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Buzz1126]

Actually, if I played a game for as long as some of the times I've read, I'd quit playing THOSE tables! For me, I play a game (pinball, video game, computer game, whatever...) until I feel like I've gotten good at it, then I move on. I may come back on occasion to see if my (limited) skills have dropped off. It takes me longer to get good than it used to, my supple wrists and crazy flipper fingers just don't work like they used to. IM(very)HO, don't give up on pinball. Working to get good on a table is more than half the fun! I look forward to seeing your initials on the back glass!

 

[Tann]

Last week, I played for the first time TPA on a mobile platform (Android). Currently, I play on PS3 version.

What I can say is that TPA on mobile is a LOT harder than on console. Mainly because of the nudge with a touch screen (or by shaking the device...). On PS3, nudging is so accurate (because of the stick), that you can play for hours (litteraly) on most of the tables.

The tiny screen doesn't help too (I can barely see the ball sometimes).

 

[Baron Rubik]

Last week, I played for the first time TPA on a mobile platform (Android). Currently, I play on PS3 version.

What I can say is that TPA on mobile is a LOT harder than on console. Mainly because of the nudge with a touch screen (or by shaking the device...). On PS3, nudging is so accurate (because of the stick), that you can play for hours (litteraly) on most of the tables.

The tiny screen doesn't help too (I can barely see the ball sometimes).

Hook up a Moga Pro, or any native controller and Android has analogue nudging now (since pack 20) via the controller's left stick.
As for the screen size - try a tablet.

Mobile has a couple of tricks up it's sleeve over console. Portrait, Portability (I play on my lunch break mainly), and open beta and first access to tables.

 

[soundwave106]

The real TZ is rather difficult. TPA's version is not.

In my opinion, though the TPA TZ is less difficult than the real life pin, it still isn't a "beginner" table! Too many insta-drain shots even in the TPA version, if you don't have ball control I don't think you will last long.

Scared Stiff and Monster Bash are much friendlier tables for the beginner, as are the Sterns (Ripley's and Harley). All four of these tables are also good at having lower key goals that are satisfying to get while having a nice high-level challenge that's a bit tougher to obtain; they also have less insta-drain shots from what I recall.

I've barely touched mobile once I got the PC version... the nudging just was too weird to do. Coming from PHOF on the Wii where the nudging was nicely implemented, that was a disappointment. Nudging matters a lot in pinball.

 

[Deltaechoe]

Great table to learn on in TPA would be funhouse, it's a pretty forgiving table. I will say this though, when you first start playing pinball it's going to be a bit painful, pinball is a game of extreme skill. None of the pros flip around randomly as it leads to inaccurate shots which frequently end up being bricks (hitting something poorly leading to a nearly impossible to save drain), but if youw ant to play like that you have to practice. It took me a long time to get even decent at pinball games and as far as TPA goes, I was bloody awful for the first month despite being relatively competent on real machines. Give it time and you will find that you are improving, and look up advanced pinball techniques (warning: live catches don't work well on TPA, use a post trap instead) and make it a habit to use them to hit difficult shots and/or combos

Also, to Sean Doncarlos, real TZ kicks my butt. I can make all the objectives on TPA but on a real TZ I have yet to even score a jackpot

 

[Ton]

....use a post trap instead) and make it a habit to use them to hit difficult shots and/or combos

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 ?

 

[RetroDude]

Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no!

Germans?

Forget it, he's rolling.

 

[pinballchris]

Meanwhile I have played about 15 hours, mainly on my PC/TV, but I am still not able to play more than 10 minutes maximum (often even less) on a table before losing all 3 balls. It is really frustrating sometimes. Now I wonder if I should give up playing pinball games or keep practicing more. In other words, is it more or less "normal" and have I played too little or am I not fit for this kind of games ?
I already tried to keep the ball in game by nudging, but mostly I am too late.
Should I keep practicing more, do you have any tips for that ?

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.

 

[chadderack]

Germans?

Forget it, he's rolling.

Sounds like a Homer Simpson quote.