TPA Wishlist - The Ultimate 100

[JoshuaKadmon]

He said within the next six months or so, so it's confirmed.

He also mentioned that he's trying to get all the PHOF tables into TPA, but we knew this already. Whether he actually meant them all or just 'the good ones' is anyone's guess.

Cool, thanks. I knew they were trying to cover most of the PHoF tables, of course, but I personally hope they skip some of the Gottlieb oddities like Goin' Nuts and Strikes N' Spares. I think that time and money would be better spent on El Dorado City of Gold, Tee'd Off, or Central Park, in addition to confirmed additions Genie and Victory. The only one from Williams Collection that I would NOT care to see in TPA would be Jive Time, but I think that's how most people feel at this point.

I do admire their commitment to consolidate previously featured machines into this new and improved collection, though.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Jive time wouldn't be as bad as PHOF version with better physics mainly ball weight on PHOF it would float uncontrollably to those huge outlanes but in real life its more forgiving, I was one of the people boo'ing and hissing at the mention of that game but after I got my hands on a real one we'll as with all pinball the real deal is way better.

 

[k88dad]

I'd like to see more EM and 1980s tables. This isn't just nostalgia for the old pros. The PA should be preserving good tables, regardless of units sold or popularity. I realize that you can't completely ignore popularity, but a table that plays well will get good word of mouth.

Pinballs that I'd like to see (that haven't been announced) in alphabetical order...

Aztec (sold more units than Cyclone, a popular choice in these forums, and requires skill to maximize bonus)
Bad Cats (unique layout and jackpot feature)
Eight Ball Deluxe (best of the pool theme & a classic)
Firepower (17K+ units sold, first game to feature lane change with flipper button, first electronic multiball, first animated displays)
Paragon (best of the wide-body era)
Royal Flush (best of the card theme & a classic)
Spirit of 76 (a standard layout with great play)
Travel Time (maybe 3,500 units, but it controlled play by a timer instead of by ball count)

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

It's been a while, but seeing as the last several table packs have fallen in line with what we compiled for this list, I've taken a few minutes to update the original post. Feedback is welcome, of course.

And by the way, I just took a business trip to Orlando and found both Ripley's and Avatar in pretty decent condition sitting in a tiki bar near Universal Blvd:

 

[Kolchak357]

Never played Avatar. What did you think of it?

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Never played Avatar. What did you think of it?

Considering the film is among my all-time favorites, you would think I'd love the pinball machine, but the whole thing felt a little too gimmicky. The voice clips were pretty lame, and even though the playfield includes all the basics, none of it feels very interesting. Aside from the mech suit, most of the toys and targets just look like generic cheap hunks of plastic with Avatar stickers and branding on them. It's a typical post-competition Stern, with little or nothing to set it above older classics. That being said, RBION still felt fun and interesting, despite a sprung upper-right flipper that would only half-work after I would knock it into place with a previous shot. Believe me, I wanted to love Avatar, and I'm glad I played it. But if I had spent thousands on that table when I was at the peak of my Avatar obsession, I would've felt a bit ripped-off.

 

[shutyertrap]

Avatar as a theme for a pinball machine just makes little sense to me. You have an idea about inhabiting beings, about being one with nature, ultimately about being connected to the world that surrounds you. So how does pinball tie into that? To me it's a head scratcher right along side CSI and 24 and Shrek and...

 

[Squid]

You have an idea about inhabiting beings, about being one with nature, ultimately about being connected to the world that surrounds you. So how does pinball tie into that?

How does it not? *a wry smile crosses my face and a quiet chuckle resounds throughout the room*

 

[Kolchak357]

Thanks for the reviews guys. I've only seen vid of it on YouTube. Sounds like they wasted a good theme. It didn't look good on vid, but I was hoping it would be better when you actually played it in person. Sounds like a big no.

 

[kimkom]

Avatar as a theme for a pinball machine just makes little sense to me. You have an idea about inhabiting beings, about being one with nature, ultimately about being connected to the world that surrounds you. So how does pinball tie into that? To me it's a head scratcher right along side CSI and 24 and Shrek and...

Seems to be the predominant trend over the last few years... all license, no game, no quality...

Bring back the good ol' days!

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I'm actually really stoked over Flight 2000 and Centaur, though I still hope Catacomb and Fireball are possible down the road. Those, along with Gottliebs like Victory and El Dorado City of Gold, are the kinds of releases that will keep me playing TPA for the long haul. Of course, everyone here should know that Swords of Fury and Xenon are at the top of my personal "Most Wanted". Now that FarSight has burned through most of the PHoF tables and doesn't have any major licenses lined up (that we know of), I hope we will see a strong run of non-licensed underappreciated entries fill out 2013. So far, that's the direction releases seem to be heading for the foreseeable future, right?

By the way, is it the general assumption that we only have the following PHoF tables to go, or are others like Goin' Nuts still a possibility? :

Whirlwind
Sorcerer
Ace High
El Dorado City of Gold
Tee'd Off
Victory

Personally, I think FS should skip Goin' Nuts, Strikes N' Spares, and Jive Time. They just don't scream TPA to me, maybe because they're gimmicky and lack that purist aesthetic...

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

Just made a few more slight adjustments to the list in the original post.

 

[Captain B. Zarre]

They are not doing Goin' Nuts, nor are they doing Ace High or (I think) El Dorado- they were all done with pictures, not using the real tables.

 

[shutyertrap]

They are not doing Goin' Nuts, nor are they doing Ace High or (I think) El Dorado- they were all done with pictures, not using the real tables.

And what, they can't buy those tables? Not sure I understand your logic here.

 

[JoshuaKadmon]

I don't really care much for Goin' Nuts due to its timed auto-launch gimmick, but I would like them to acquire real tables of Ace High and El Dorado City of Gold, as I believe they're worthy of further attention.

 

[shogun00]

And what, they can't buy those tables? Not sure I understand your logic here.

According to IPDB, Goin' Nuts never went into production. Only 10 prototypes exist and that's it.

El Dorado and Ace High are possible, along with Jive Time (in the William's Collection) which hasn't been mentioned yet.

One table that's on my wishlist is Rollergames, which is another Steve Richie table. It was the table that got me into pinball.

 

[shutyertrap]

According to IPDB, Goin' Nuts never went into production. Only 10 prototypes exist and that's it.

El Dorado and Ace High are possible, along with Jive Time (in the William's Collection) which hasn't been mentioned yet.

One table that's on my wishlist is Rollergames, which is another Steve Richie table. It was the table that got me into pinball.

Oh how I want Rollergames. I even sent Bobby a video link of the game since he was unfamiliar with how awesome it is. Lotta branding on that one though...

 

[shimoda]

Currently trying to get the Rollergames I bought fully working. Someone put some voodoo on it and kickbacks and other things don't work so well. Will post video whenever that happens. I'd like both of my games on tap though, just for when I'm away. RG and Bad Cats.

 

[DanBradford]

I recently sold my Rollergames. It had a dodgy fuse blowing issue at F4 on the aux power driver board. That or the one under the middle of the pf kept popping. All transistors and diodes etc checked. I had a circuit breaker in there in the end.

The magnet is also a pain, I could get it to mostly catch the ball by tweaking the nubbin on the end of the yellow ramp that delivers it from the pit, but I like my games steep, and I think the timing isn't quite right in the software. I even got the multimeter rigged to show me real time current at the magnet during game play, so I could optimise ball arrival time.

Yeah, I'd love to see RG on the pinball arcade, that would be devastating and kick butt.

 

[Troc]

i would like to see :

The addams family
WWF Royal rumble
High speed
Star trek (the 1991 table)
Terminator

Some tables of the 60s-early70s (i really enjoy those)

Some Stern tables