Table of the Week Club...Week 30: BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA

[shutyertrap]

Blah, blah, I vant to suck your blood. Or something like that. Hey, guess what this week's TotW is? That's right, it's Bram Stoker's Dracula. None of that sparkling in the daylight crap here. Bats, werewolves, demonic succubus chicks. The proper kind of vampire, right? So let's see who has the skills to put a stake through this beast. Tips and strategies for putting a nail in the coffin of all those wizard goals will be much appreciated.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Dracula sucks.

 

[Extork]

Dracula sucks.

My favorite table. It's fitting for this time of year. You are crazy good at scoring. I wouldn't want to play any drinking games with you, or would I?

 

[Dedpop]

In 1897, Dracula fed on virgins.
In 2015, he died of hunger.

Ok, I go out.
I hate this table.

 

[Extork]

In 1897, Dracula fed on virgins.
In 2015, he died of hunger.

Ok, I go out.
I hate this table.

Seems like a love/hate thing, but it's the same with a lot of hated tables, when you get good at it, you like it. It's what I keep trying to say about Goin Muts. Just put yor mind to it and you'll like it Biff

 

[shutyertrap]

I can safely say these wizard goals are going to drive me nuts. Trying to hit the alter 15 times, I can do it about 8 if I'm really feeling it. Damn ball is an equal opportunity drainer of the outlanes and middle. I've gotten 2 levels of vid mode, yet to see the 3rd. And then there's that giant jackpot score that I haven't even begun to wrap my head around.

This is the first time I'll actually be putting time in on the table. I've yet to decide if it's just a so-so table or really freakin' good. My scores will be 100 million one game, then 1 billion + the next, which seems wildly erratic.

 

[mpad]

It's all about stacking. If you don't you have a hard time getting a few millions, if you do hundreds of millions will rain like blood on a vampire party.
Especially multiballs.
The table really comes to life (?) then.
But the goals are still insane anyways...

Hm, have to give it a spin after phys3.0

P.s. Still one of my favorite tables. I really like it to kick my ass.

 

[greatdane]

One of my favourite tables for sure. Stacking the multiballs is a real challenge (which I often fail at) but the satisfaction when you have all modes running is great. It seems like you often have either great scores or horrible ones on this one so it will be a challenge for the tournament, I think. Haven't tried it with the new flipper physics so guess it is time to revisit.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

Just played the table and scored a billion. I know I haven't said much about this table before but it really is an enjoyable table and one of the best in the game IMO. Also, the sound design for this game is amazing...

 

[invitro]

[MENTION=5136]Tarek Oberdieck[/MENTION]'s 15B in 15 minutes, all on one ball.

 

[Johni3w6]

I enjoy this table, though it can be frustrating at times. Really started to enjoy it after one of the Blahcade podcasts where this this table was explained.

 

[Gus]

One of the best TPA tables for sure. Very fun to stack the multiballs

 

[Xanija]

This is a 1 out of 10 table for me. One out of 1 games is great and fun, the rest is when the ball drains on the outlanes (die, left outlane, die die die!).

 

[Dedpop]

Seems like a love/hate thing, but it's the same with a lot of hated tables, when you get good at it, you like it. It's what I keep trying to say about Goin Muts. Just put yor mind to it and you'll like it Biff

I know it's not a shared opinion on here but I don't like anything on it.
The design, art, shots, flow, outlanes, lightning flippers... (OK dmd & multiballs)
I just can't get into it. I'll try to play it more this week.

 

[shutyertrap]

My favorite part of the whole table is the uber quick match animation!

So I finally shot the altar 15 times, lit the outlane, and then center drained. D'oh! I also finally got to stage 3 on video, but died on the 13th werewolf. Grrrr.

 

[invitro]

I love everything except the jokey DMD animations.

 

[invitro]

So I finally shot the altar 15 times, lit the outlane, and then center drained. D'oh!

It may be worth saying that the outlane special is one of those things that isn't caught by the TPA programming every time. There's a note or two about it in the BSD thread, and it took me 2-4 specials for me to get the goal.

You should wait to get Altar #15 until you're in multiball, or at least a shot away from starting it, but you knew that.

 

[Fungi]

After playing Safecracker and HS2 for so long, I'd forgotten what a hard table is like. BSD is destroying me. But because I know I used to do well on this table, I keep blaming myself and not the table. Which is a good thing.

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Tip for video mode: it's always a very basic pattern.

After Level 1 there's always the same number of wolves in each wave; this is Level#+1, call it N.

Wave 1 is always N wolves on the right.
Wave 2 is 1 on the left, (N-1) on the right.
Wave 3 is 2 L, (N-2) R.
And so on.

After N L, 0 R the next wave goes back to 0 L, N R.

Still, Level 7 is tricky.

 

[Slam23]

This is a nice tutorial: https://vimeo.com/29207410
It pays attention to little details, for example that made skill shots and certain ramp shots progress the Coffin locks.
Some quick tips that spring to mind (I'm still deep into cracking HSII):
- Altar shots can be repeated fairly easy if you deadbounce Altar releases back to the left flipper, and onetime them back into the Altar hole.
- In real life you definitely want to avoid the insta-drain center lock targets, in TPA you can hit them safely if you aim at the middle one from the right flipper. This will railroad back into the right inlane. You'll have to be very precise though!
- Ramp, ramp, ramp and good things will happen. Although for the really high multiple Jackpots you have to lock some Coffin balls too. Throw in a Mist MB and the party gets rockin'

In real life this is a very popular (competition) table, although it's also frustrating as hell. Key to competition play is to quickly get a high Bats bonus, because it's cumulative over the whole game. A high Bats on the first ball will almost guarantee a win if you play with average players. In TPA play it's also key to higher scores, I had it up at around 400-500M in my top game of 9.x B. Starting a Bats during MB can double or triple it's bonus. Not easy though.....