What are your 3 biggest concerns for TPA?

[Jeff Strong]

I think it's important to have a poll like this in order to provide some feedback for Farsight in regards to what issues the community is most concerned about. Please pick 3 options. I tried to keep the options broad, so feel free to provide specifics in your post after you vote, but keep the feedback constructive.

 

[grashopper]

Well I picked
Physics, art issues, and table bugs.
physics: seem decent overall but a bit too predictable. Not sure if the balls going through objects and flippers would fall into this section but that is a big concern.
Art issues: BLACK KNIGHT and a few iffy textures here and there. A lot of tables look faded and lack the life the real tables had. Even the things like looking at FunHouse and seeing the bottom of the table cut off really distracts me.
Table bugs: Yeah.... Those

 

[Jeff Strong]

For me:

1.) Platform Specific: The PC release delay is a huge bummer for me. I think it's time to release it on something else besides Steam (possibly Origin or Gamefly). Also, the poor nudging controls on touchscreens is a biggie for me as well.
2.) Table Bugs: Self-explanatory. Wish this was more of a focus, even if it meant a few more days between DLC.
3.) Physics: The ball going through the flippers really needs to be fixed. It happens almost every game for me. Additionally, I really wish the plunger was more realistic.

 

[Pop Sergeant]

My personal opinion ... in order or importance to me personally.

Yes, I'm complaining, but only in the sense that I enjoy TPA so immensely that I feel like I have a personal stake in making it the best it can possibly be -- I certainly feel like I've gotten more than my money's worth on every single purchase and I gladly drop my hard won goals and scores to clean install each beta to contribute whatever I can to the cause. I've never felt that strong a commitment to any other piece of entertainment software that's for sure.

Complaining about it kind of makes me feel like Joe Dirt griping about my trophy wife's perfume attracting mosquitoes at the Victoria Secrets annual bikini picnic on the Côte d'Azur.

Oh well, be a good girl Heidi and pass me them fries and and that jar of mayonnaise and get me a cold beer ... then find me that Prince of Wales guy, I bet he's got some good fishing stories with a name like that ... and tell those picture taking friends of yours to stop calling me Mr. Klum!

....

1. Physics. Ball passing through flippers is a huge issue and a factor on every table and each game played; multiple balls occupying the same physical space (example: two balls in a saucer at the same time) is a major distraction and effects game play; flipper friction (or lack thereof) effects realism and shot making.

2. Table Specific Bugs. Bugs in a single release are understandable. I imagine that pinball emulation is complex and I don't recall geometry and physics being my best subjects, and the acme of my drafting skills is a cube, so I appreciate that things slip through. (And I don't want to pay $50 a table just so FS can hire 10 more quality assurance folks.) That said, the same bugs in subsequent releases, over and over again, is not acceptable. If the production schedule is driving releases based on operating capital, great, I get that too, but then bugs should be (1) fixed or (2) suppressed or (3) masked in that order even if it means a departure from realism in the short term until they can be revisited and correctly emulated.

3. Leader boards and high score tables. This is pinball. Pinball is meant to be a social game. That's why they put them (or used to) in bars and arcades. One of the inherent objectives of pinball is to score points and poke your buddies in the eye with them. That's how many of us learned to multi-task, not on a computer, but by entering the same three initials in 15 seconds or less while balancing a beer, cigarette, and fist full of quarters at the same time while getting jostled by some stoner (no disrespect stoner dudes, rock on) trying to find the Pac Man machine. So after a working table that is worth playing, meaningful leader boards are a must. It's (arguably, I know) what it's all about.

If I could have picked more I would have added 4. Platform Specific (nudging on Android and iOS) and 5. Graphics/Art issues (optional HD version or art packs for tablets).

I think this is a great thread Mr. Strong and you've taken the right approach. Constructive criticism is what separates us from the FB crowd (shudder) and FS has always shown a great willingness to work with us in that environment.

Cheers!

 

[Leonardo Myst]

For me, the main 2 were bugs and art.

Only bug I've come across so far (keep in mind that my games are rather short, lol) is the multiple balls in launcher.

I included art because after I got Pinball Hall of Fame today, I discovered that the colors were much more vibrant in HoF. This is especially noticeable in Gorgar and Black Knight.

I would say the physics are better in Pinball Arcade as in some games on HoF it feels like the flippers are too heavy.

 

[The Doctor]

graphics and sound should be bundled together, especially considering people are voting for graphics/art based on black knight and its sound design is not on par with the real table either

 

[LordKthulu]

My opinion:

1) Platform related issues, like Jeff I'm waiting for the PC version.
2) Table bugs, it's self explanatory really. It's a brilliant piece of software but more time need to be invested into testing and quality control.
3) Menu/UI/Leaderboard Bugs/Issues. I would really appreciate it if the Leaderboards and Achievements were fixed. Pop Sergeant has summed it up nicely.

 

[Kevlar]

1) bugs - some bugs I can live with but when they are so rampant on a particular table that you completely avoid playing it ( I'm looking at you Cirqus Voltaire IOS ) then something is wrong.

2) graphics and art - I tend to notice missing textures, holes through the playfield, blurry textures and misaligned inserts all the time, I just can't help it. I guess they can only spend so much time on these issues as they try and push out the next table pack. There seems to be a huge difference in the quality of the visuals from one table to the next, for instance NGG while very playable looks shocking, non transparent ramps, blurry textures etc. compare that to TOM or TOTAN and you could be forgiven for thinking they have 2 separate teams working there.

3) physics - the ball travelling through the flippers is obviously a major issue. Another issue that has only recently come to my attention after buying my first real table is ball spin, I was quite shocked when playing my Getaway by how much the ball can change direction as a result of spin. As far as I know there is no ball spin in TPA.

 

[Hinph]

Well, it's easy to say physics, sounds, and graphics, as I would obviously like to see the games recreate the experience of a real pinball table as closely as possible. I know the physics can never possibly be as good as real life, but the issues that temporarily break the illusion are distracting. The tables look good enough for me, with the exception of the unimpressive lighting effects, but I'd really like more from the sound... think of all the pleasant sounds you hear while playing a table! Again, I know it's impossible to strive exactly for that, but some more variety in the effects would be great!

Bugs... obviously, but I expect they will naturally get ironed out throughout the continual development of the game. I know they are a small team that doesn't have the vast resources of a big developer, so I'm naturally more forgiving than many.

I wouldn't be opposed to Farsight occasionally taking a month off from new tables to work on this stuff and make the current tables even more awesome. .

 

[night]

For me there is only one BIG issue and that is the camera/ball stutter problems I experience on my iPad2 iOS6.

As I am a graphic designer and (3D)artist myself I like to give some suggestions on the 'graphics' issues for the iOS:

Tables could use some color saturation, chromework on some tables need an update (TOTAN for example), often parts with low resolution image mapping (also very low res blue digit numbers in BH when the camera zooms in on the lower playfield) much better lighting simulation, better transparent plastic texture simulation. (CFTBL has one of the worst looking plastic renderings..) Tables compared to originals lack sometimes depth/3 dimensional feeling, could be the cause of the lack of better shadows/good lighting simulation. For example Creature from the Black Lagoon is a beautiful table but has become one colorful mass of little objects that could benefit from better use of lighting/shadow simulation.
-The blue planet carpet is HIGHLY distracting, the tables are full of details and colors, the background should be monochrome or simply black. This will give the whole appearance of each table more class, the carpet makes them look cheap.

 

[Squid]

Had to go with bugs, physics and missing features. I would like to see a music option and a movable camera to check out the features of a table including backglass art.

 

[Crush3d_Turtle]

1) Platform Specific Issues: The PS Vita version of the game has had bugs like the flipper game on MM, slow framerate on a few tables, and a completely lack of transparent textures on BoP for several months now. There have been numerous patches, but all they do as add new tables that seem to have even more bugs.

2) Bugs: Similar to my first concern. The first 4 tables were fantastic in quality, but nearly every single DLC table has at least one major bug that has been identified for several months and still has not been fixed.

3) Physics Issues: Balls going through the flipper is a huge problem especially when going for highscores. Also, everything is too clean and repetitive to the point where you can trap the ball every single time on some shots. Ball spin and other variable factors need to be introduced to the game.

 

[Nik Barbour]

Went with (in order of importance to me)

1 DLC - specifically xbox.

2 Physics - mainly flipper related.

3 Missing features - still dont have a useable free view camera (I own the 2 pro tables now, but still can't rotate or easily control the view) - also I'd like more audio options (indv. control of music vol)

I put them in that order, mainly because I would rather have something broken to play, than wait for it to be fixed.
The scripting on BK is a big anoyance, but other factors were more important to me.

 

[ND3G]

1) Lacking Features/Options - Full screen mode is an absolute must for me. The ability to have the backglass/DMD on different screens are also highly desirable.

2) Platform Specific Issues - In order to build my pinball cabinet a non-dumbed down PC version is required. If the PC version is like the MAC version, it will be a huge disappointment.

3) Physics Issues - The more realistic the physics the better the game.

 

[Richard B]

1. Bugs - self-explanatory.
2. Physics - Not only are there issues such as the ball going through flippers, and flipper interaction lacking too many subtleties, but there is terrible inconsistency among existing tables (especially the earlier releases). MM is one of the best tables IRL, but one of the worst on TPA. Good recreations shouldn't have such anomalies.
3. DLC - 360 is my primary platform. Do I really need to say any more?

 

[Tom]

my biggest concern is how much easier the tpa tables are compared to the real ones. that is partially due to the physics but also because of the extreme amount of extra balls it is possible to get on alot of the tables.

the play time on most tables is way to long, i had a 2 hour scared stiff game the day after it was released which is just to damn long for a game of pinball.

 

[brakel]

My biggest concern is that FS may not ever give fixing the games and platform specific issues the amount of resources needed to resolve the issues. Case in point is support for multiple controllers on the ps3. This is something that I reported to FS the week that TPA was released on the ps3. Every other game for the ps3 that has multiple turn based play such as golf and mini golf games has support for multiple controllers. The response that I got from FS at the time was that they couldn't figure out how to support the profile for each person's controller. When I pointed out that that is an xbox feature and on the ps3 everyone plays on the same profile they said "Oh, we didn't realize that. We'll put it on the list but I don't know when or if we'll get to it." Really? That should have been there from launch!!! Just fix it already! This isn't a "feature", its broken!

 

[shutyertrap]

1 - Table Bugs - The fact that the community finds 'em almost instantaneously with every table release, and at a rate far exceeding what FS corrects them at. Didn't used to be a concern of mine, as I figured they'd get to them in a timely manner. Now there are so many tables and so few fixes, I don't know.

2 - Physics - Pinball is only as good as the physics running it. Ball through flipper, never once had that on Zen. The wild disparity between bounciness of rubber both on flippers and posts from early table releases to current. And yes, in multiball two balls occupying the same space or passing right through each other.

3 - Platform Specific - I play on a PS3. Seeing as how nothing is currently being released on Xbox, you'd think more effort would be going into making the one console available rock solid. Not so much. I hear all the gripes from Vita users, Xbox of course, and those that want PC. Falling similarly into the category of bugs, I didn't used to be worried about FS being stretched too thin, but all these tables and all these platforms...good enough isn't. They need more eyes on these things before release or something.

Those being the choices made for this poll, before everyone of those statements I'd put a "I love this game, but..." because I really do feel like they are 90% of the way there. It's the finishing details that need working on. Here's hoping that is what FS can take away from this all.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

bugs
art
physics
My concern is the more tables come out the larger the problem becomes of fixing all the bugs. Art issues, I can see how some get by but others it makes you wonder who got a perscription or is the whole art department partaking. Flippers and a ball are essential to pinball and that should have been nailed down but thats not the case. I just hope some freak blizzard doesn't trap FS employees in the office for months forcing them to really take a look at what they've made. there positive/critisism

 

[Jeff Strong]

I sent this link to Bobby, so hopefully he can read some of the feedback and get a better pulse from the TPA community.