Waste of money

[9u1d0]

Am I the ony one who really hates this machine?
Oh my.... Was the real machine also such a pain in the a$$?
I would not put any money in there after trying a few of those drainy games.

 

[Zaphod77]

Yeah the real machine had that big flipper gap and nasty outlanes. but the audio was a big draw. the real game had major bass, and the mirror effect looked mroe awesome.

also, the left ramp was a bit easier to shoot.

 

[MWink]

While there are some aspects I hate about this table (it is drainy), overall I like it. I agree that the audio is one of its better features. I think the TPA version has plenty of bass (assuming you have decent speakers).

 

[Zaphod77]

Yeah but real pinball games have subwoofers. laptops and ipad's don't.

This game is totally evil for tournaments. The only pain worse then losing because you bricked your double score is not getting the chance for one because ramp millions overrode it. And worse then that is a house ball off the plunge robbing you of your chance for it. house balls form the bumpers naturally go down the right outlane... "NOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" indeed

 

[IGoFirstIndy]

I like everything about this table except the game play. It was clearly designed as a quarter burner. Odd choice for TPA, to me the replay value is limited. I'll play a game every once in a while, but it's too frustrating to try to master, especially with nudging being what it is on IPad. It's hard for me to invest time in more than a game or two. Hopefully this is the weakest table in season four and at least we got it out of the way early.

 

[Storm Chaser]

This is one of my top hated tables (along with Genie, Class of... etc). It has some of the worst features from tables:

- Lots of sideway movements. Most movements from the upper part of the table ends up in the sling-shots, side-targets, back to sling-shots and eventually down an outlane. This is probably what I hate most with this table.
- Very bad balance between what you are supposed to do and the tools you have to do it. Many countdowns but most of that time is spent in the mid part of the table bouncing off sling-shots. Very frustrating.
- Bad music / sound effects
- "Magnets" on outlanes.
- Very bouncy flippers that adds to the general difficulty to apply some skills to the table.
- One incredibly important shot. Basically, your high-score are HIGHLY dependant on one skill-shot (sort of like Bride of pinbot and Who dunnit).
- No real gameplay. Just: get multiball, fail to increase the jackpot, get the puny jackpot. Repeat.
- Super difficult Wizard goals (that makes me come back for more torture). The 5M ramp shot seems possible during the right circumstances, but the constantly resetting 5x jackpot? WTF?

It was nice to get that out of my system

 

[Pinballwiz45b]

This is one of my top hated tables (along with Genie, Class of... etc). It has some of the worst features from tables:

- Lots of sideway movements. Most movements from the upper part of the table ends up in the sling-shots, side-targets, back to sling-shots and eventually down an outlane. This is probably what I hate most with this table.
- Very bad balance between what you are supposed to do and the tools you have to do it. Many countdowns but most of that time is spent in the mid part of the table bouncing off sling-shots. Very frustrating.
- Bad music / sound effects
- "Magnets" on outlanes.
- Very bouncy flippers that adds to the general difficulty to apply some skills to the table.
- One incredibly important shot. Basically, your high-score are HIGHLY dependant on one skill-shot (sort of like Bride of pinbot and Who dunnit).
- No real gameplay. Just: get multiball, fail to increase the jackpot, get the puny jackpot. Repeat.
- Super difficult Wizard goals (that makes me come back for more torture). The 5M ramp shot seems possible during the right circumstances, but the constantly resetting 5x jackpot? WTF?

It was nice to get that out of my system

What? You hate this music? Man, you should just listen to it.

 

[Zaphod77]

Yeah that 5x jackpot build goal is the bane of my existence.

hit trapdoor, cancels jackpot build.
start multiball, cancels jackpot build. end multiball, cancels jackpot build. get a phantom letter, cancels jackpot build. oddly enough locking one of two does NOT cancel jackpot build. I think even magic mirror cancels jackpot build.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You CAN go infinite on this table in theory... there are two extra balls available on every ball. but just try it.

 

[Kolchak357]

I get that the flipper gap is big and I'm ok with that. But those f###ing outlanes. Almost impossible to make a save in iOS when a ball get in the outlane area. So that is where I'd like it eased up a bit. I like the rest of the pin. But the outlanes ruin the fun for me.

 

[pinballchris]

Having never played the real table, obviously others say the ramp is easier to hit on the real machine, but what about the jackpot build...does it reset after these nuances as well?

 

[Zaphod77]

yes, the jackpot really does behave like that.

i rarely see it over 2x in real life.

it's actually a pretty accurate recreation considering how physics works. the real table's kickback behaves just like it, sometimes having the ball bounce right back in nd getting kicked out, sometimes going into the mirror, etc.

also, i finally got a lot better at shooting that ramp, and now think it's only a little harder than real life.

 

[JJH516]

Finally have my copy tonight! It's just as awesome as I remember it being from back in the day. This is one that I tried to acquire several times, but never worked out. (People usually wanted an arm and a leg for the table) The artwork, the music, and the gameplay is stellar, I'm not sure how anyone can truly hate this table?

 

[Reagan Dow]

Yeah but real pinball games have subwoofers. laptops and ipad's don't.

This game is totally evil for tournaments. The only pain worse then losing because you bricked your double score is not getting the chance for one because ramp millions overrode it. And worse then that is a house ball off the plunge robbing you of your chance for it. house balls form the bumpers naturally go down the right outlane... "NOOOOOOOOOO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" indeed

Pardon my ignorance but having never played in a tourney I don't know what a house ball is. Please advise?

 

[Reagan Dow]

I get that the flipper gap is big and I'm ok with that. But those f###ing outlanes. Almost impossible to make a save in iOS when a ball get in the outlane area. So that is where I'd like it eased up a bit. I like the rest of the pin. But the outlanes ruin the fun for me.

I went into the programming and there is an "average ball time" option. It's set at 30SECONDS by default. That's weak. Just for the heck of it I changed it to 59 seconds and for the first minute it kind of slowed it down by not having the slingshots so powerful etc. Of course as soon as the minute was up I'd drain almost immediately. It's maddening that DE would purposely design a pinball machine that was made for the sole purpose of sucking quarters and giving you very little enjoyment for your money.

 

[TomL]

I went into the programming and there is an "average ball time" option. It's set at 30SECONDS by default. That's weak. Just for the heck of it I changed it to 59 seconds and for the first minute it kind of slowed it down by not having the slingshots so powerful etc. Of course as soon as the minute was up I'd drain almost immediately. It's maddening that DE would purposely design a pinball machine that was made for the sole purpose of sucking quarters and giving you very little enjoyment for your money.

I don't think slingshot strength is varied by that parameter. I think you're imagining things.

 

[WhiteChocolate]

i'd just gotten poto for the ps3 just as a little stocking stuffer for myself, and it's quite fun, if simplistic! if bsd was the "gothic horror" table for the season, this one is kind of the "gothic sexy" companion. i can understand being underwhelmed by the layout/gadgetry of it - i seem to remember there were some of the same complaint for bsd initially! that seems pretty complex in comparison now. but it sure seems -just- slower than bsd enough to keep up with better (although, that might be because i'd practiced a good amount of bsd by now).

 

[Kratos3]

Finally have my copy tonight! It's just as awesome as I remember it being from back in the day. This is one that I tried to acquire several times, but never worked out. (People usually wanted an arm and a leg for the table) The artwork, the music, and the gameplay is stellar, I'm not sure how anyone can truly hate this table?

It's difficult, but realistic IMO. Most real tables are much more difficult than they are on TPA. I play mostly on the Vita, so I guess I have to wait a bit.

 

[Slam23]

Pardon my ignorance but having never played in a tourney I don't know what a house ball is. Please advise?

Hi Reagan,
A houseball is a drain directly after plunging and without the player getting a chance to hit the ball. i'm not sure where the meaning originated, but to me it sounds like a very sarcastic version of " this one is on the house", cue evil laughter...
On modern machines you get a decent ball saver, and I don't know if it's still called a house ball when you get it back, there could be some requirements that I don't know of. This is what I know anyway

 

[Reagan Dow]

Thanks slam!! I always wondered what the term meant. I like the added evil laughter for effect. POTO blows monkeys for quarters anyway so as far as the high score bug is concerned I don't play it enough to really come close to grand champion. I really dislike the table.

 

[tyche]

A houseball is called that because you're spending money to play 3 balls and you launch one and it drains effectively screwing you and the owner ie The House just won by giving you 1/3 less time for your money. The house got a ball and you got two to play.

My take on it.