Stern Pinball Arcade for Gear VR

[krisguy]

I picked this up for my Gear VR a few weeks ago. Frankenstein is free, Star Trek is 10, Starship Troopers and Ripley's are 5 each.

First thoughts - impressive. The Gear VR is smooth in the motion of head tracking. I use a SteelSeries XL Bluetooth controller for my controls, but it does support the Gear VR track pad. Headphones seriously recommended.

The action is similar to the regular TPA tables, but the fact that you can look around at an old school arcade is boss. I'm working on a way to record sound so I can put some videos on YouTube.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

[nudnick]

I picked this up for my Gear VR a few weeks ago. Frankenstein is free, Star Trek is 10, Starship Troopers and Ripley's are 5 each.

First thoughts - impressive. The Gear VR is smooth in the motion of head tracking. I use a SteelSeries XL Bluetooth controller for my controls, but it does support the Gear VR track pad. Headphones seriously recommended.

The action is similar to the regular TPA tables, but the fact that you can look around at an old school arcade is boss. I'm working on a way to record sound so I can put some videos on YouTube.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

My S6 lags considerably on gear vr with Frankenstein in multi ball and on Starship Troopers especially around 3rduring flipper ... rather disappointing. Have not tried other 2 tables in fear of performance issues.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I have found that if I put my Galaxy Note 5 in airplane mode (but enable bluetooth for the controller) that I can get Frankenstein to run pretty smoothly, even in multiball. I bought Starship Troopers and it runs really bad, so I haven't bought others. Really wanted to play Star Trek, too.

The potential is there but the low resolution makes table details muddy. I think VR pinball will be much better with something like PSVR or Vive since it will be more powerful and you can move your head further and closer to the table and look from different angles.

 

[lio]

You can cycle through different view points when using a gamepad (3 heights at two different distances). Frankenstein and Ripley's play fine for me on the Exynos version of the s7 edge. Haven't purchased the other two. Would like to try Startrek first before possibly wasting 10 bucks...

 

[HotHamBoy]

It's ridiculous that they don't let you try a table before you buy it.

 

[lio]

Oh well, I could just not resist and spent the cash on Star Trek - luckily I cannot confirm any of the performance issues so many others reported on that table. Physics/ball speed is on par with Ripley's and Frankenstein for me even during (3 ball) multi-ball.
So if you have the european s7 edge model with the Exynos soc it should run ok.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Oh well, I could just not resist and spent the cash on Star Trek - luckily I cannot confirm any of the performance issues so many others reported on that table. Physics/ball speed is on par with Ripley's and Frankenstein for me even during (3 ball) multi-ball.
So if you have the european s7 edge model with the Exynos soc it should run ok.

The problem might have been the recording software. That might have been slowing it down, since it takes up the memory in the phone along with the game.

 

[Metalzoic]

I have found that if I put my Galaxy Note 5 in airplane mode (but enable bluetooth for the controller) that I can get Frankenstein to run pretty smoothly, even in multiball. I bought Starship Troopers and it runs really bad, so I haven't bought others. Really wanted to play Star Trek, too.

The potential is there but the low resolution makes table details muddy. I think VR pinball will be much better with something like PSVR or Vive since it will be more powerful and you can move your head further and closer to the table and look from different angles.

In Airplane mode both Starship Troopers and Frankenstein run really smooth on my S7 Edge.

 

[zmcvay]

So....Gear VR is down to $60 on Amazon today. Worth it at that price? How much use are those of you who have one getting out of it? Is the Stern app working any better?

 

[lio]

The stern app has not been updated for quite some time but it's working pretty well for me. If you've got a supported phone I'd say it's certainly worth it. Not sure if I'd recommend the older 2015 Gear VR at that price over the updated 2016 model though. The newer version has larger and better lenses, is more comfortable to wear and works better with larger IPD (pupil distance). Also it comes with the ability to attach external USB devices.

 

[Heretic]

pretty cool, how does the hardware in this compare to the newer samsungs?

http://www.pcgamer.com/qualcomms-all-in-one-snapdragon-vr820-headset-could-reduce-cost-of-entry-into-vr/

 

[zmcvay]

Thanks lio for the reply. It was tempting at $60 for an impulse buy, but decided to pass on it for now. I've got a compatible Samsung phone, but I later noticed like you mentioned that it was the older model they were pushing.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

New screenshots!

 

[HotHamBoy]

Thanks lio for the reply. It was tempting at $60 for an impulse buy, but decided to pass on it for now. I've got a compatible Samsung phone, but I later noticed like you mentioned that it was the older model they were pushing.

For anyone interested, the deal is still live.

If you have a compatible phone and aren't ready to spend hundreds to jump into VR, the GearVR is a steal at $60. The new version is marginally better, but not necessarily $40 better. Regardless, i recommend either model as a must buy for a Samsung owner.

Only a few video games are truly worthwhile atm, but the ones that are good are pretty amazing. Heck, even just Minecraft makes it worthwhile.

IMO, the really awesome part about GearVR isn't the games, it's everything else. 360 movies and photos are awesome, a real game-changer, and virtual tours and "experience" apps are amazing. The virtual movie theater app is pretty great, too. You can put digital movies on your phone and watch them in the theater and it really does feel like you are watching a massive screen. Cool enough for 2D movies but by far the best way to watch 3D films. The 3D is better than it is with the glasses. A bonus benefit of the enclosed immersion is that if you are ADD like me you won't be able to be distracted by your phone and the internet.

Sadly, Stern Pinball Arcade hasn't been updated since launch (big surprise!) and runs pretty bad on my Note 5. It definitely needs more camera options/tweaks, too.

If you bite on a Gear you should remember to factor in the price of a bluetooth controller. Almost all the good games either require one or aren't very fun without one. I went with the MOGA Pro and have been pretty happy.

 

[devilmaycry]

I picked this up for my Gear VR a few weeks ago. Frankenstein is free, Star Trek is 10, Starship Troopers and Ripley's are 5 each.

First thoughts - impressive. The Gear VR is smooth in the motion of head tracking. I use a SteelSeries XL Bluetooth controller for my controls, but it does support the Gear VR track pad. Headphones seriously recommended.

The action is similar to the regular TPA tables, but the fact that you can look around at an old school arcade is boss. I'm working on a way to record sound so I can put some videos on YouTube.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Is pinball arcade available for Gear VR?

 

[lio]

Well said [MENTION=4638]HotHamBoy[/MENTION] - especially the bit about the controller... I wouldn't nearly use my Gear VR as often without a controller - even the apps that don't require one are often a lot better with controller (I consider it to be essential for Stern Pinball Arcade).

[MENTION=6311]devilmaycry[/MENTION]: no, regular TPA is not available. SPA is currently the only pinball game on the platform.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Mustang and Whoa Nellie are confirmed for the app!

http://sternpinballarcade.com/

 

[Heretic]

sweet i look forward to woah nellie

 

[CycOd3liC]

AC/DC looks awesome....... One of my favorite modern Stern tables but I hope they do Metallica also.

 

[Crawley]

Oh nice with Whoah Nellie. It's been fun every time I've played it.

Mustang I've only played the once and haven't seen it since. So will be interested in getting to play it more.