We need an actual incentive to buy Pro Mode

[Kemetman72]

I remember I tested SS and you can change the family mode and get the goals but nothing else can be changed. I think 3-4 dollars is a tad expensive considering a pack of tables is 5 dollars. Perhaps if there were an exclusive ball for only the people who buy the Pro Mode? It would be cool if we could have harder goals based upon the harder settings in the rom itself. Like we could all vote on specific or upcoming tables on what those harder settings would be and FS could have an extra goals page based upon that. But what would be the reward since trophy wise we are tapped out?
I am just introducing this idea because as it stands I see no reason personally to fork over that kind of money for it. I think at most they should all be $1.99 period. I even think it should've been free starting with the the main program. Just suggestions that's all. I know companies need ways to keep the cash flow going, but as it stands now there is little incentive for me to purchase them. I highly doubt, even if we wanted it, that we would ever get the Sopranos and I am willing to bet most of us are way over 18. The Sopranos does get annoying with the same F-bombs used over and over again though.
So what's everyone else's take on the matter? And to make it clear I meant all platforms.

 

[netizen]

I remember I tested SS and you can change the family mode and get the goals but nothing else can be changed.

ORLY, are you sure about this. According to the in game menu simply opening the coin door will disable the leader bords and bypass the goals. In older builds you would get HOF points.

I think 3-4 dollars is a tad expensive considering a pack of tables is 5 dollars.

Then don't buy them. It's not like FS is actively pushing them, and making exclusive content in pro packs that would entice/force people to spend more, or have it seem like anyone without is missing in anyway.

I am just introducing this idea because as it stands I see no reason personally to fork over that kind of money for it.

Then simply don't. This is a dead topic. Has been for the longest time. A simple search would have found this covered numerous ways

I think at most they should all be $1.99 period. I even think it should've been free starting with the the main program.

Oh, so where's your TPA killer app. Got a link. Tell me about the development costs?

I highly doubt, even if we wanted it, that we would ever get the Sopranos and I am willing to bet most of us are way over 18. The Sopranos does get annoying with the same F-bombs used over and over again though.

Bobby King already explained about The Sopranos in an interview. They haven't digitized it because of James Gandolfini's Death so recently, not because of the language. There may be a Pinball After Dark, for the less E rated machines, in the future though.

So what's everyone else's take on the matter? And to make it clear I meant all platforms.

Personally, for my own self, I <3 Pro Mode options; sure there could always be more.
Based on your example of just Family Mode I will assume that you haven't actually used the operators menu for anything but, and have no idea what you can do in the adjustment menus.
Maybe once people begin actually using the features in entirety they can have a conversation. As it stands FS may as well have just put in a toggle for family mode.

 

[vpalmer]

btw, AFAIK some emulated tables as Centaur f.e. has no Pro mode - does anyone know why?

 

[netizen]

btw, AFAIK some emulated tables as Centaur f.e. has no Pro mode - does anyone know why?

Probably the same reason Monster Bash doesn't

That reason being .... because it doesn't.

 

[canuck]

It probably has to do with market demand. Those who want the features have no problem paying the price, those who don't, will not purchase. There is no incentive to lower the price.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

btw, AFAIK some emulated tables as Centaur f.e. has no Pro mode - does anyone know why?

I can think of at least two reasons:

1. The Pro mode tables' operator menus take a very long time to implement and test, and Pinbot (the other table in Pack # 14) has a Pro mode. So there may not have been time in that month's release cycle to give Centaur one, too.
2. When a table is in its Pro mode, the ROM state is preserved from game to game, even across games on other tables or closing/restarting TPA. Some MPUs (like the Bally one in Centaur) may have problems with maintaining their state accurately or may have not been tested fully enough (Centaur was the first table emulating that Bally MPU) at the time of release for FarSight to feel comfortable allowing access to the Pro mode.

However, this is "educated speculation" on my part; I do not have inside information on why Centaur has no Pro mode.

 

[netizen]

When a table is in its Pro mode, the ROM state is preserved from game to game, even across games on other tables or closing/restarting TPA. Some MPUs (like the Bally one in Centaur) may have problems with maintaining their state accurately or may have not been tested fully enough (Centaur was the first table emulating that Bally MPU) at the time of release for FarSight to feel comfortable allowing access to the Pro mode.

Even though the F2k Pro Mode doesn't behave like this, and never will, I suspect that even if/when Centaur got a Pro Mode it won't behave like later era tables either because of the way the changes are made. It is all done through dips, not changes to the ROM settings, the same as F2k. Which means that as a digitization it will always start from a pre-set state that can then be altered.
Ryan told me that F2k cannot save state and Pro Mode settings will have to be adjusted each time you start a new game if you want to play with non-default settings.

 

[DarkAkatosh]

I think it should be free. They're taking away features that should, IMO, be in the base game and hiding them behind a paywall. That's one of the few things that Zen has over TPA. They give you everything up front after one purchase.

 

[TripleT]

I remember I tested SS and you can change the family mode and get the goals but nothing else can be changed. I think 3-4 dollars is a tad expensive considering a pack of tables is 5 dollars. Perhaps if there were an exclusive ball for only the people who buy the Pro Mode? It would be cool if we could have harder goals based upon the harder settings in the rom itself. Like we could all vote on specific or upcoming tables on what those harder settings would be and FS could have an extra goals page based upon that. But what would be the reward since trophy wise we are tapped out?
I am just introducing this idea because as it stands I see no reason personally to fork over that kind of money for it. I think at most they should all be $1.99 period. I even think it should've been free starting with the the main program. Just suggestions that's all. I know companies need ways to keep the cash flow going, but as it stands now there is little incentive for me to purchase them. I highly doubt, even if we wanted it, that we would ever get the Sopranos and I am willing to bet most of us are way over 18. The Sopranos does get annoying with the same F-bombs used over and over again though.
So what's everyone else's take on the matter? And to make it clear I meant all platforms.

I agree. I buy the pro version to support FS. But I never use the operator menu.

Can't think of anything else that I would want though.

 

[WilliamPorygon]

Personally, my incentive for buying Pro mode is so I can go into the operator menu and turn the EBs off once I've gotten the hang of a table. On some tables I'd be going all day if I didn't...

 

[Pinballfan69]

Incentive?They're charging $4.00 per table/pack for basically and option to adjust settings, make the tables difficult or harder, turn extra balls off etc. That should be a standard feature.

Even if you change the settings it won't register on the leader-boards.

All I want is extra balls turned off in tournament mode. That is all. It should be standard.

 

[Worf]

The options are standard mode - where you can play as a normal player where you walk into an arcade and play a table. Or Pro mode, where instead of walking into an arcade, you walk to your little personal arcade where you can toy with every setting you want. You "virtually own" the table in Pro Mode and can configure and screw it up as much as you want.

To me, that's the incentive for pro mode. If you want to run your own tournament with your own rules using TPA, I'd say go for pro mode. Because the tournaments as set up by FS use different rules (i.e., what FS wants the rules to be). If you want that kind of control to run your own mini-tournaments, I'd say the extra fun of doing it is well worth the extra few bucks. And really, you may just want to disable extra balls today, but perhaps tomorrow you want to change the rules up a little bit.

And remember, it may be $3-4 per table, which really means you should've just bought the season pass - because they're $10 more for the Pro pass and get you 8-10 tables that have Pro versions. That's a steal.

 

[vpalmer]

here are only 6 Pro tables with pro mode in season 1 as i can see:
• Attack from Mars
• Medieval Madness
• Scared Stiff
• Star Trek : The Next Generation
• Tales of the Arabian Nights
• Twilight Zone, The
does some one know: has FS plans to make Pro mode for other already released tables?

 

[Espy]

I see it as a nice way to give Farsight a bit extra money so they keep making pinball.

You might think that's a bit odd, but not as odd as giving hundreds of dollars to their kickstarters

 

[smbhax]

I don't need an incentive. I'm happy saving money not buying them. : )

 

[RetroDude]

/Soapbox_mode=ON

Free?

Really?

Can I come to your house, sleep in your bed, eat your food, watch your television and use your utilities for free?
No?
Because you pay for all of that?

No matter how much they may enjoy what they do, the people who work for FarSight also get paid for their work.
As described in multiple posts above, it is not a trivial task to add all of the pro features to these pinball tables.

Not everyone wants those extra features, so everyone doesn't have to pay extra for them.
The vast majority of pinball players never have access to change operator settings when playing pinball. They are at the mercy of whatever the owner of the arcade, bar, bowling alley, club, etc. has chosen for the settings.

NOT having access to these features is currently the default, primarily because that's what the real world default is!

The extra effort made to add those features takes substantial time and effort from a team of well trained professionals.
The cost of that effort has to be paid by someone.

To keep the cost of the tables low for the average player, FarSight chose to offer these features as an option.
With that choice, they are spreading the extra development and testing cost to a much lower number of tables sold than for the main "regular" table itself.

My personal opinion is that if you want extra features, you pay for extra features.
Jeez-Louise... these games are dirt cheap, even WITH the pro features. For each game purchased, how many hours of play in an average arcade would it take to pay the same amount?


Personally, I've purchased every table, every pro version upgrade and all of the custom ball skins.

Not because I use the pro features.
Not because I really play all of the different tables.
Not because I am fond of spending money.

But because I want FarSight to be wildly successful, going on to digitally save as many different pinball machines as possible!
I support them in their effort and try to limit my criticism of them to CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, not just self indulgent whining about how everyone else on the planet should work harder to give me something for free.
(yes, I consider this post constructive criticism of the "me me me" crowd, if it opens up even one person's eyes.)


Nobody is forcing you to buy the pro mode.
Heck, nobody is forcing you to buy anything at all.

You are always welcome to develop your own games, get them licensed and attempt to sell them. (it's not easy or cheap, folks!)
Demanding things for free or cheaper without having a clue what it takes to develop them is the height of arrogance and selfishness.

/Soapbox_mode=OFF


Hope everyone has a great day!

GO FARSIGHT!!!

 

[vpalmer]

if additional payment for possibility to tune some extra properties is subject for discussions, the possibility to just explore game playfield must be free - you have not to pay for it in real life and i dont know another example like 4$ dlc "move your camera around your hero" in any other game, and btw other game developers pay to their staff too.
and to people who "buy extra options only to support FS" - you can simply send them some money on their bank account for that matter. maybe then FS will stop to invent new ways to collect cash and will simply add some options to the game.

 

[RetroDude]

I based my opinion on my personal experiences as a software developer and as a fan of pinball in general.
I've said all I'll say on this topic. I'm not going to argue with anyone over it.

Others certainly have their own opinions and are just as welcome to post them as me.

 

[4P47HY]

I might occasionally use table exploration feature, but main reason for purchasing pro versions for me is merely for the sense of completion.

 

[norbert26]

I might occasionally use table exploration feature, but main reason for purchasing pro versions for me is merely for the sense of completion.

Same here. Up until t2 i purchased all the pro versions when offered. however i cant really change any settings w/o disqualifications on goals so the point is moot except support TPA. Next time around i'll just buy the season pass .