Vote for a classic Bally table! (Closed)

[Rudy]

About now we've probably got to concede that Fireball is the pinball equivalent of the Green party.

It's now a heated battle between 8 Ball Deluxe and Centaur

 

[Pop Sergeant]

8 Ball Deluxe, but honestly, my main decision factor here is based on the nostalgic value for me personally -- having slotted so many quarters into it in Aladdin's Castle all those many years ago, it would be great to get some revenge for all that lunch money lost!

My order would be: 8-Ball Deluxe, Centaur, Fireball.

Bottom line is that I'd be glad to add any and all of these to my collection though, in any order, all classic greats that promise many hours of frustrating fun and flashbacks!

 

[Sinistar]

Please, PLEASE tell me you're kidding. You don't know pinball if you think Eight Ball Deluxe and Fireball have "no reputation". Both of them were popular enough to get multiple re-releases and revisions over the years.

Not to say anything negative about Centaur, but you're giving it way too much credit compared to the others.

Centaur comes up (as does 8 Ball Deluxe to lesser extent) when you type "pinball" and seearch for pictures with google , that speaks volumes about the table , and yes the table art really impressed me , Im not against any new tables , except Jive Time .

 

[k88dad]

"Quit talking and start chalking"

 

[Jeff Strong]

8 ball deluxe here. I would love to play that table again!

+1

 

[Captain Groovy]

Action is more important to me than the art (I have a "Centaur" and although fun, it's possibly the ugliest machine I've seen).

That being said, "Eight Ball Deluxe" is still more fun in terms of action.

Never owned a "Fireball" but it always looked like a cheap nothing game. Doesn't even have lanes, right?

Jeff

 

[Gord Lacey]

Why are the poll results suddenly visible?

FarSight originally wanted them hidden, then decided we should make them visible.

 

[Rafie]

Well all 3 sounds phenomenal, but if I had to place a vote for a May or June release....it would be for Centaur! ALL DAY!!!

 

[Rudy Yagov]

Centaur comes up (as does 8 Ball Deluxe to lesser extent) when you type "pinball" and seearch for pictures with google , that speaks volumes about the table , and yes the table art really impressed me , Im not against any new tables , except Jive Time .

When you search for pinball on google images, you get bombarded with fake tables, Gottlieb's Super Mario Bros. pinball, a few pictures of Tommy, and No Fear. It means absolutely nothing.

 

[karl]

Hey mods, adms, you people in charge of this fab forum. Has there been any new members signing in because of this poll? Since it was announced on Facebook I would guess a few of the lost souls (but good people) might find their way here to our lovely, cozy and friendly place by the (hot) fire ;-)

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Hey mods, adms, you people in charge of this fab forum. Has there been any new members signing in because of this poll? Since it was announced on Facebook I would guess a few of the lost souls (but good people) might find their way here to our lovely, cozy and friendly place by the (hot) fire ;-)

Somebody must be at least dropping by, because there were 465 simultaneous users online yesterday evening shortly after the post went up on Facebook directing people here to vote. Previous record was 201.

 

[Bowflex]

FarSight originally wanted them hidden, then decided we should make them visible.

That's funny...visible results completely altered the way I voted. Based on past polls, I am guessing that at the time I voted, about 60-75% of all votes have been cast. I would have voted for Fireball but it was in last place with Centaur ahead by a decent, but closable gap. Not that I don't love Eight Ball Deluxe but I'd rather see Centaur. My vote ended up being more to support Centaur since my game looks too far behind.

Of course, here's hoping to all three and hopefully Fathom will come out because it is crazy. Medusa and Xenon would be very welcome as well.

 

[Jeff Carpenter]

I love Centaur it's a fun pinball. ;-]

 

[Lord Boron]

Pinball.org has gameplay video of Centaur as well as a complete tutorial for Eight Ball Deluxe.

http://pinball.org/videos/

 

[FelixTheCat]

IPDB Top 300 Rated Solid State Electronic Pinball Machines based on 22928 ratings and 16336 comments total on file, for 674 different games:
Centaur (1981) - 53
Eight Ball Deluxe (1981) - 99
Fireball (1972) is not Solid-State and on the Mechanical list is 47.
This FarSight Bally poll compares two solid-state machines to a mechanical one built 9 years earlier.
http://www.ipdb.org/lists.cgi?anonymously=true&list=top300

 

[tripleplonq]

I voted for Fireball, but on second thought I think those older, simpler EM tables like Big Shot and Fireball are only fun to play if the physics are perfectly modeled and displayed. And that is something TPA and the tiny phone or tablet screens can't deliver.

 

[karl]

To Felix: So what? All 3 are classic Bally. Where does it say all have to be Mechanical or ss? Just choose and be happy ;-) It is about what table the fanbase want this time. Not the IPDB.

 

[karl]

How strange tripleplonq, I find that Big Shot is very well done and I have no concerns about the old EMs at all

 

[robx46]

Xmas day here, which is the day of the year my pins get played the most by various family members. EBD yet again was the winner. It got the hell played out of it, yet my other 3 games might all rank higher on IPDB. That list means very little to me. I mean, just look at the top 50, its nothing but modern style games with ramps & flashers.
The fact that EBD barely cracks the top 100 there is pretty much a joke. The game was so popular it had 4 production runs. Every EBD you see saw so much action, hence why when people started making reproduction plastics & PF's, EBD was always first on those lists.
Wipe Out by Gottlieb ranks right about the same as EBD!!!! Wipe out is average on a good day. They even have Flash ranked notably higher than EBD. I bought a Flash a few years ago for $300 because literally nobody else would buy it from the poor seller. I restored the game to like new, & I had a hard time selling it myself, I lost money for sure.
Flash is an OK game, but saying it is clearly better than EBD is a travesty.
So anybody looking at IPDB lists to determine what is the better game, maybe check other sources as well. EBD is a top 25 game all day long in my book. & certainly should be top 50 in anybody's book.

I had to write this since I have an EBD that is currently still warm from all the action it just saw today.
I wrote about this last night as well, & I had the same discussion again today with those playing it... that its just super addictive for whatever reasons. Nobody thinks when they try it that its gonna be as fun as it ends up being, but somehow it sucks them in every time.
& I love that I got a few novice opinions on the game today. I love getting opinions from people playing for the first time like that. Fresh opinions. They all seem to be the same. I'm overdue to make some trades & get some new pins in my small collection, but I might have people very mad at me if I sell EBD.
I am endlessly fascinated by how this game even in 2013 (almost) still has the appeal it had 32 years ago. The way it can suck in a noob, yet keep the seasoned vet entertained as well is a great quality to have.

I am still concerned that FS might not be able to transfer all of that magic over to a digital version of this particular game. There are little quirks about the game & how the ball behaves on it that might get difficult to reproduce digitally.

 

[Matt McIrvin]

The only one of these I've actually played is Eight Ball Deluxe, but I voted for Fireball because the idea of an EM with all that stuff fascinates me. It really pushed the envelope for 1972, and seems to have been well loved.

(And Big Shot is one of my favorite TPA tables, though the simulation of its chugging electromechanical logic is not as realistic as it could be.)

I'd be happy to see any of these, though. Centaur looks fascinating, though I haven't encountered one in real life.