smiley face ball lovers

[neglectoid]

i know some of you are out there.

 

[invitro]

I love custom balls, but I love the Dr. Dude one the most. I don't love the smiley face ball but I will try it next if I can remember.

 

[Fungi]

You found me.

 

[Kolchak357]

I'm more of an eyeball man myself.

 

[invitro]

I'm more of an eyeball man myself.

Didn't Hannibal Lecter say that?

 

[invitro]

I wish they would make more custom balls. There hasn't been any new ones in a long time, I think. I mean, there aren't many wishlist things people post that actually generate revenue, and I've purchased all of them. I also like the blue one with sparks that glow every couple of seconds, I use that on Gorgar. And the red Star Trek one. I use the plain ball on only a few tables, ones I have a certain "respect" for, like Attack From Mars. For some reason I think the plain ball goes best with that table.

 

[Gorgar]

The pinball hall of fame games had a cool planet earth globe ball that I would love to see in TPA. Also, I don't think the eyeball is available to buy on ps4 for some reason.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

i use mostly the 'zebra'-striped one to play; it seems to give me the best contrast to play with (esp on an old crt tv)... some tables like white water and i think cirquis voltaire i use green or yellow. grabs the eye easier a bit!

 

[neglectoid]

is the smiley face ball free of charge? I bought 1 ball back a long time ago and I don't remember what all came with it.
I use the smiley ball on every table cuz I seem to be able to see it better.

 

[Kaibun]

I find all the balls that aren't silver to be very distracting, so I only play with that one. I do like the pool ball though, and occasionally play with it once in a while

I wish the TAF golf ball didn't make you ineligible for the leaderboards , I love that one.

 

[invitro]

I find all the balls that aren't silver to be very distracting

That's actually part of the point, for me anyway... distracting means it's easier to see. I sometimes have a little trouble seeing the silver ball as well as I'd like, and started looking at the custom balls going just for a higher contrast with the playfield. But now I use them mostly for aesthetic reasons... :_)

 

[Zevious Zoquis]

Yeah I find the standard ball sort of hard to see at times on the PS3 as well. I've used a couple of the custom balls (usually the zebra one) to help that situation in the past....

 

[Kaibun]

I find 'em distracting as in 'hard to play with.' It kinda ruins the whole pinball atmosphere, IMO.

 

[Iguana]

I use the smiley face almost exclusively, with two exceptions: The eight ball for Big Shot (plenty of contrast on the playfield, and it fits the table theme well), and the green ball on Centaur (good contrast again, and it matches some of the lights... Stunning during multiball, IMO).

 

[dave950lam]

I don't use custom balls, but if I did I would use ones that fit the table being played (some are obvious):

Elvira tables - eyeball
Ripleys, AFM - there's a greenish/goldish ball that looks like earth
Big Shot, CBW - Most would use the 8-ball but I think a white ball (cue ball) fits better.
Tee'd Off, NGG - golf ball
TZ - zebra ball
BSD - red ball (blood)

 

[Tann]

I find 'em distracting as in 'hard to play with.' It kinda ruins the whole pinball atmosphere, IMO.

This.

Plus, on PS3, if you play with a custom ball, then come back to the standard ball (or play another table which is set with the standard ball), there is a nasty visual bug (never fixed by FS... ORLY!?): the ball is translucent (like it is made of glass), and even harder to see. Only way to get back the steel ball: reboot TPA. :/

00-503: Ball alpha values are incorrect and lead to odd appearance on PS3
First reported: 23 Jul 2013
Description: In various circumstances (see linked thread for details), the ball can become overly lit or darkened, overly shiny or translucent, acquire various colored halos, and generally look psychedelic. Depending on the specific effects experienced, gameplay can range from interesting to impossible.
Devices: PS3
TPA Versions: PS3 v2.14
Status: To be fixed in a future update (either v2.15 or v2.16...I'm not sure if the fix made the submission cutoff for the next update or not).

 

[Zevious Zoquis]

This.

Plus, on PS3, if you play with a custom ball, then come back to the standard ball (or play another table which is set with the standard ball), there is a nasty visual bug (never fixed by FS... ORLY!?): the ball is translucent (like it is made of glass), and even harder to see. Only way to get back the steel ball: reboot TPA. :/

ah that's interesting! I actually thought I was having an unusually hard time seeing the ball once after having tried a couple of the custom ones and then switching back to the standard one. This would explain it. So exiting the game and restarting it gets things back to normal?

Y'know I really enjoy these digital versions of great real world tables and I appreciate FS for bringing them to us but it really is shameful that all these bugs exist that are never addressed. I mean this isn't exactly a "cheap" product...

 

[Tann]

ah that's interesting! I actually thought I was having an unusually hard time seeing the ball once after having tried a couple of the custom ones and then switching back to the standard one. This would explain it. So exiting the game and restarting it gets things back to normal?

Yes, as long as you don't use again a custom ball (on any table).

 

[kinggo]

I find 'em distracting as in 'hard to play with.' It kinda ruins the whole pinball atmosphere, IMO.

+1
the only custom ball I use is that "milky" one and only in Fun House because it is way more visible when it is coming to upper flipper then the regular one.

 

[Snorzel]

Ever since I "won" the eyeball for ps3 in a very early tourney I have been hooked use it for BOP, Scared Stiff, and Centaur and others

Never did get into the smiley ball, maybe if it was the one from Evil Ernie

I use the TZ ball lots, on its name sake, Whirl Wind, Genie

Use the Taxi Ball on its table

8 ball on BS

1 ball on Victory

Green ball on many tables including Mars Attacks, Central Park, Black Hole.

The Dr Dude ball looks good on Fire Power but blends in kinda on Party Zone

The Cue Ball I use on its table + T2, POTO F14 and BK2K

The pinbot ball is cool on Fish Tales

My favorite right now is the Flight 2000 ball on Fireball


I use the balls for a combination of visibility and fun. I agree it takes from the realism but it is still digital pinball after all no matter how well they simulate it.

I wish they would do an all red ball and an all purple metallic ball. Honerable mention for the globe ball from phof