The Nostalgic TPA Thread

[Gorgar]

Since The Pinball Arcade is nearing the end of its third anniversary and The Addams Family seems like a strong possibility, I have decided to get all nostalgic and post this link, which is the first time Farsight alluded to TPA.

https://www.facebook.com/phofwilliams/posts/10150357293508669

Notice the lack of trolls.

Anyway, who was following TPA back then? Which tables did you expect when this project was first announced? Which tables did you want? Have they delivered what you wanted/expected? Are there any tables that you are still waiting for?

See? There is lots to talk about on Nostalgic TPA Thread

 

[Fungi]

I was there. I'm one of the 84 that "liked", but apparently I hadn't posted yet. I do remember one of the first trolls that kept saying he wouldn't rate it 5 stars until he had Taxi. I miss those days. But of course, that was long before a bunch of broken promises that fed the trolls to begin with.

I remember specifically hoping for Attack from Mars, and High Speed. Since those releases, everything else has been pure gravy for me.

 

[MadScience2006]

I wasn't following TPA until after Black Hole was released. I had "Pinball Hall of Fame - The Gottlieb Collection" for the PSP and quite enjoyed it. Once I got an iPad, TPA was a Godsend. I initially only purchased Black Hole (was it in a pack back then?) which was the only table I planned to buy but for some odd reason, I ended up with 50 tables instead (Harley Davidson is the exception).

 

[Jeff Strong]

Yep, I was there. I was the first one to suggest starting a forum (not because of trolls, but just because it's much harder to keep a disscussion going on facebook). What a terrible idea that was!

I remember when they announced they were going to be taking applications later in the day for the first beta before release. I must have refreshed their page a million times that day.

 

[jaredmorgs]

To be honest, this forum showed up before Facebook for me. It was about the same time as I did a search for "Pinball" on Google Play and discovered TPA. After playing TOTAN I remember saying "Imma let you finish, but instabuy" and got all launch tables, and then had to wait for the next DLC.

So that must put me pretty close to being an early adopter? Was BoP the first DLC, or is my memory failing me? Certainly, BoP has stuck in my memory due to all the issues with the a/n displays in this game on mobile causing significant performance issues.

I remember trying to play TPA on my Samsung Galaxy S2, and squinting away with my fingers taking up about a third of the screen. Then I upped to a TF300T, which wasn't bad. Then a Nexus 7 2013 (colossal difference). Then a Shield Tablet (out of superlatives).

 

[Espy]

I was a Zen addict that made the jump to TPA when it released on PS3, and it has educated me a LOT about pinball. I'm now pretty engrossed in the hobby, and go to cons etc.

 

[Jeff Strong]

[MENTION=459]jaredmorgs[/MENTION] yeah, MM and BOP was the first DLC pack.

 

[smbhax]

I went and "Liked" that FB post just now. ^_^

 

[Kolchak357]

I had no idea Farsight even existed at that point. I had never even heard of the two pinball hall of fame collections. After college, gaming kind of disappeared from my life. Then my wife bought me an ipad for my birthday. I was always a big fan of real pinball. I read an article about Zen pinball, did an app search, and found the Pinball Arcade by accident.

 

[Fungi]

I was such a fan of FS. I had the Gottlieb PHoF for the XB, and the Williams PHoF for PS2, and PSP. Then I rebought the Williams version for XB360 and PS3. So, since FS was already on my radar, I got the Facebook announcement immediately.

I was so excited, I couldn't wait and bought a used iPod Touch just to keep me satisfied until the PS3 version released. But then the PS3 version went the wayside when I got an iPad.

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

Farsight is the very reason I came to enjoying pinball.

Thank you for bringing the Williams Collection to the Wii! Without you guys, I wouldn't be competing at this level today.

 

[tyche]

I had both Wii pinball collections but it wasn't until around CFTBL that found out that there was an iOS version. I'd say they have released everything I hoped for. When TAF comes out, there isn't anything I am looking forward to but I've learned to be surprised how fun a table I've never played can be. Keep me coming.

 

[Fungi]

Keep me coming.

Wow. You REALLY like pinball.

 

[Dedpop]

Wow. You REALLY like pinball.

Another ruined keyboard

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

I originally discovered the Pinball Arcade when I was bored and checking out articles about the Gottlieb and Williams collections. One of the articles mentioned that there would be a new edition called the "Pinball Arcade" coming soon - and as it turns out, at that moment, it was already out. First table I played a lot of in the collection was No Good Gofers and I quickly grew to appreciate the game even more than I did with the previous collections. When Whitewater was released I officially freaked and started my account here on the forums.

 

[Jeff Strong]

Wow. You REALLY like pinball.

 

[pinballchris]

I discovered it in June/July of 2012 I think. TOTAN was the free table of the month and I just got my iPad. Played it for awhile then bought it. Then went and bought every other table pack before that and since. Definitely addicting, and the wife hates it. LOL. But I do get bored with it quickly now until the new release once goals and decent scores are attained.

 

[Larry]

Ok, I have both the PS2 CD's PHOF...
no offense to anyone... they were mind-blowingly fun at the time ... but... the physics are horrid and the gameplay very slow, not to mention the late 80's graphics (quality, the tables even at that point were basically spot-on for layout)... so, let me think about the last time I fired them up...hmm... it's been a while..

All kidding aside, it was, is, and will continue to be my favorite pinball platform, and I do happen to own a lot of Zen tables because the wife isn't as OCD about mode and goal accomplishment as I am

Great job Farsight, and it's truly been enjoyable! Here's to another bazillion years!

 

[shutyertrap]

Well this is fun.

So I was vaguely aware of the Gottlieb collection, but remember hearing it wasn't that good, and it was Gottlieb. I had Microsoft Pinball Arcade on the PC, and that was all Gottlieb. I never got much out of that program, but that led me to finding Visual Pinball. This all started for me back in 2002 or so. Point being, I had no intention of buying yet another Gottlieb game when I only cared about Williams.

Flash forward to January 2012, and the pinball bug once again needed scratching. I'm doing a search, find out that the Williams Collection existed. Huh. A quick search finds me a copy at a Game Stop a half hour from me. Seems worth it for the $12 they're charging. Get the thing home, and oh my god. I'm in heaven once more. I can't believe this game completely escaped my radar. A few Google searches later, and I find out about TPA coming to PS3. I didn't have an iPhone or iPad at the time, so I needed to wait. It was a day one purchase for me.

I don't recall how I found out about the forum to be honest. I joined it in March of 2012 (or at least that's the earliest thread I started). I once was very active on the VP forum, but it never impacted me like this forum has. Because of the forum, I started writing long form again, conducted my first ever interview, wrote my first article ever, started doing a podcast, and because of all these creative endeavors, I buckled down and wrote a feature length script and have now started on a second. That's how much this game has affected me.

Give you an idea of my gaming habits prior to TPA...

I was neck deep in playing Uncharted 3 online. I was halfway through XCOM and loving it. I had just picked up the new SSX, a franchise I used to devour. Guitar Hero and Rock Band were in heavy rotation. I get TPA, and I never went back to Uncharted, never finished XCOM, hardly touched SSX, and I've only flirted with GH and RB since. Tomb Raider and Mirrors Edge are the only 2 games I've finished, and I think that's because I could do it within a few days.

Oh, and let's not forget that I joined a pinball league and bought a table.

 

[DokkenRokken]

I've always been a pinball fan, and I had heard of TPA, but never really forced myself to check it out until I read online that they had AFM.

I bought all of Season 1 and half of Season 2 that very day.