ST:TNG Kickstarter is (now complete)!

[Supermans]

First of, I'm not a Trekkie in the least, I do like STTNG (mostly season 3 and later), but dont own any on DVD or Bluray. I do like the STTNG movies. I dont care for original Star Trek. So now you know where my allegiances are

In regards to your comments:

Dont forget some PAPA tutorials are made to make sure you get the most score out of only 3 balls with everything set to the most difficult, so certain video's show you how to avoid any sort of risk to get to the most lucrative score. Some PAPA video's are more meant to show of the table and it's capabilities, but from all the video's Ive seen, this one is the one that shows that the least and is a barebones: how to get a high score by reaching Final Frontier. It is also known as a difficult machine, so in a tournament, players like to avoid all risk.

When you have more balls at your disposal and the table isnt set AS difficult, you should abolutely play the modes as that is where the meat of the game is. It is one of the deepest rulesets

You might say it's not the best Tournament machine for that reason (as the risk/reward leans a bit too much towards the Risk ratio), but one of the better machine to have unlimited access to, and just play for fun. It has a very deep ruleset, and you'll discover new things constantly. I'm inclined to say you might wanna skip reading the instructions on this one, to avoid spoiling surprises. Despite its deep ruleset the table communictes VERY well on what needs to be hit.

It's known as one of the "slower" Ritchie tables, but it does have the typical Ritchie flow. You mentioned the open playfield and that is true: and I love it. This avoids the lawlor/jpop STDM drainrisk of the usual TPA fair (dont get me wrong I love em both) and instead we get a lot of room for longer clean shots and tons of toys aroudn the whole playfield.

If I would have one machine in my home, it would be TZ, TAF or STTNG, and out of those STTNG would probably win because of the deep theme integration with the modes and *the* absolute best overall presentation values in a pinball game. The full cast cooperated with developing this machine, which is why each castmember received a "free" custom table. It's the single most immersive table for that reason.

To just watch and hear the table, maybe look at this video to give you an impression how someone like you and I would play it.

This table is using a custom rom set with "funny" commentary though and has the custom canons. As for pinball arcade, I hope they use the Hallmark ships which are more detailed instead of the stock ones that are crap. It is the only flaw in the game visually that is easily corrected.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

In connection with the Pro Pinball Kickstarter, it's worth mentioning that Pro Pinball: The Web played an awful lot like a mirror-imaged version of Star Trek: TNG.

 

[bavelb]

In connection with the Pro Pinball Kickstarter, it's worth mentioning that Pro Pinball: The Web played an awful lot like a mirror-imaged version of Star Trek: TNG.

Apparantly so is Agents on pinball FX2

 

[Fuseball]

Apparantly so is Agents on pinball FX2

Except Agents somehow conspires to make it seem like the dullest game in existence!

I'm not a Star Trek (any series) fan and the theme almost put me off owning an ST:TNG machine. What a mistake that was! I've owned two of them now, both fixer-uppers and I can't see myself getting rid of it any time soon. Regardless of the theme it is simply a brilliantly designed pinball.

What I love about it is that you can play it in many different ways. Some games I focus on the missions (tournament sad-sacks can let them time out but where is the fun in that?), all of which are great fun to play (Time Rift and Asteroid Threat are my favourites). Some games I really go for multiballs - hitting the Borg locks and particularly the Neutral Zone for some of the coolest stuff. Sometimes I really work on getting the Warp Factor ramped up - worth it for the Factor 9 sound effects alone.

It has some fiendishly difficult shots too, which make nailing them oh so satisfying. The open playfield is the game's strength. I love TZ but the gameplay is so stop-start and the playfield so cramped that it is hard to get a proper rhythm going. ST:TNG is all flow and rhythm. Maybe slower than most Steve Ritchie games but still a fast game.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

I love TZ but the gameplay is so stop-start and the playfield so cramped that it is hard to get a proper rhythm going. ST:TNG is all flow and rhythm. Maybe slower than most Steve Ritchie games but still a fast game.

That is one thing to be said for FarSight's choice of these two tables: both stop-and-go fans and flow fans can get their fix.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

Some games I focus on the missions (tournament sad-sacks can let them time out but where is the fun in that?), all of which are great fun to play (Time Rift and Asteroid Threat are my favourites).

That bit of ST:TNG incidental music used in the Asteroid Threat mode is burned into my brain after almost twenty years away from the machine (unless you count a recent bout with an unplayably broken one). *boom* BAH BAH BAH BADADUM!

 

[mmmagnetic]

That video really makes TNG look a lot cooler than the PAPA video I also love the prominent role of the spinner, one of my favourite playfield elements.

 

[BrentMpls]

ST TNG Kickstarter Bonus Features

Does anyone know how the bonus features will work?

-Wallpaper of choice
-Virtual Pinball of Choice
-Access to table operator menu (what is in this and what does this do exactly?)

Thanks

 

[BrentMpls]

also the exclusive tourny - how does this work?

 

[Dan]

Now lets stay on topic please.

Topic is contribution to STTNG.
Some forum users are expressing their opinion on this, and how surprising it may be to you, not everybody is happy.
You have a problem with this, Topicmaster?

 

[bavelb]

Topic is contribution to STTNG.
Some forum users are expressing their opinion on this, and how surprising it may be to you, not everybody is happy.
You have a problem with this, Topicmaster?

Indeed and we were going away from that topic by discussing the overall contents of your posts, glad you agree we should stay on track.

 

[Fuseball]

That video really makes TNG look a lot cooler than the PAPA video I also love the prominent role of the spinner, one of my favourite playfield elements.

The spinner is so important in the game. Recharging your shields with it is essential to a couple of the multiballs. I often find PAPA videos suck all the fun out of a particular game. Reducing ST:TNG to timing out missions and hitting the Picard Manoeuvre is not what the designers had in mind.

 

[bavelb]

The spinner is so important in the game. Recharging your shields with it is essential to a couple of the multiballs. I often find PAPA videos suck all the fun out of a particular game. Reducing ST:TNG to timing out missions and hitting the Picard Manoeuvre is not what the designers had in mind.

It's the worst video I have seen out of them. Most others are much more informative on what modes dp, which are effective and the interesting shots. Seeing that video, especially the first game, made me cringe a bit, especially when he made the nr 1 highscore with it .

 

[bavelb]

Does anyone know how the bonus features will work?

-Wallpaper of choice

A free theme for your console or something alog that lines, these usually cost money on consoles.

-Virtual Pinball of Choice

instead of a chrome ball you can select special textured ball with some sort of STTNG reference on it.

-Access to table operator menu (what is in this and what does this do exactly?)

Tables software have settings you can change, like number of balls per play, ballsaver time, kickback settings, amount of extra balls/specials you can earn per game or per ball, turn of tilt sensitivity. With this menu you can select which settings you want.

also the exclusive tourny

That one's a mystery untill we get Tournament mode/feature implemented

 

[BrentMpls]

A free theme for your console or something alog that lines, these usually cost money on consoles.


instead of a chrome ball you can select special textured ball with some sort of STTNG reference on it.



Tables software have settings you can change, like number of balls per play, ballsaver time, kickback settings, amount of extra balls/specials you can earn per game or per ball, turn of tilt sensitivity. With this menu you can select which settings you want.

That one's a mystery untill we get Tournament mode/feature implemented

Thanks. Since TZ isn't out yet I suppose nobody knows how this will exactly work though (redemption code for consoles makes sense... not sure how access is granted on iOS however)

 

[BrentMpls]

Also I'm bummed out I missed the tz one... wish you could still contribute to get the bonus features

 

[mmmagnetic]

It's the worst video I have seen out of them. Most others are much more informative on what modes dp, which are effective and the interesting shots. Seeing that video, especially the first game, made me cringe a bit, especially when he made the nr 1 highscore with it .

Yeah, some of them make cool games look pretty dull. High level play by exploiting high scoring strategies can sometimes suck the fun out of a otherwise great table. In the Earthshaker video the guy playing just keeps hitting one ramp for what seems like an eternity (for "miles", which I assume work similar to the "sky toll" in Whirlwind) before he starts with the rest of the game. It reminds me a bit of certain 2D shootemups, where, during boss fights, the player intentionally keeps the boss alive while performing the same action over and over again to maximize points, which is extremely boring to watch as well.

Anyways, I will pledge in the next few days until I figured out how much I can reasonably spend

 

[George Klepacz]

Just pledge $10 now, and then increase your pledge a few times during the next 20+ days.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

The spinner is so important in the game. Recharging your shields with it is essential to a couple of the multiballs. I often find PAPA videos suck all the fun out of a particular game. Reducing ST:TNG to timing out missions and hitting the Picard Manoeuvre is not what the designers had in mind.

I actually thought it was really interesting just because it was so different from the way I usually played the game back in the olden days (or would today at my fairly low skill level). Pinball at the highest tournament level can turn into a completely different game with a more abstract appeal.

 

[Sean]

My affection for this machine is certainly partly to do with the cleverly done theming (which includes a surprising amount of deadpan Trek-fan humor), and partly nostalgia: it was the single table I played the most during the period when I was playing a lot of real-life pinball, and it was the one on which I evolved beyond frantic two-flipper spamming.

I'd like to echo this sentiment. I had already evolved beyond spamming flippers by the time I played this machine, but it was the first DMD machine I played that I thoroughly enjoyed. The missions are just brilliant and I found myself trying to complete them actively because it was easy to follow what you were supposed to be doing next. I am also a big Trek fan and own most of the DVDs; the voice over stuff is very clever and always made me smile.