I'll try to keep this short as I know I can go on a tangent writing how I feel, etc... So I was frustrated with PBA since last year when all the delays and issues happened... I started to get back into it again when that Tom guy came around and was listening and being some what open to us and I'm sure in most of our views, did try really hard to fix things the best he could...
Even after the semi big update that kind of fixed the lighting, the was still something off and like usual with every update, something gets broken or messed up even worse than before... I think that Tom guy said things was a mess and he was trying to fix and patch up things with the coding, etc... Though I might be wrong or mistaking something else he said?
There was some posts I was trying to make before this, but I get si passionate about this and it gets super long... Basically I and I'm sure everyone here love this game and we just want to be excited about it again and want it to be the best it can be, however it's still in a state of unknown, especially with the whole losing of the licenses and a ton of really good tables being removed... Farsight "says" they are still going to support them, but they say a lot of things... We've all pretty much got to the point where we'll believe it when we see it, when it comes to anything Farsight says...
I've been watching videos on YouTube, mostly older ones as there's not to many current ones and I try to watch PS4 footage just so I can see what kind of settings other people use, but the one thing I've noticed is how good the PS4 version USED to look... There is even an older video from E3 when the PS4 just came out and Farsight was showing off PBA on it for the first time I believe, it was something the Star Trek TNG table and THAT looked soooooo much better then it does now.... You could see colors, the lights, bulbs, etc. And it was vivid and looked extremely good....
But something happened somewhere since then till now??? You would think it would have got better, but instead it's gotten worse... Though I admit it has started to kind of get better again, but there is still something off.. I used to play this game everyday, sometimes for hours... Now it's lucky if I play it once a week or so... When the lighting got messed with right before that long drought of no updates is what got me to play it less and less because it was ridiculous.... I'm trying to get back into it, but that "something" being off keeps taking me away from getting back into it, even though I'm trying really hard to like it again and trying to get used to how it is now,...
The only thing I can think of is we have some hybrid port from last gen consoles and some of the newer lighting options from the PC version, but because it's a hybrid port from like 2 systems, if not more, it's clashing with each other... The actual bulbs or what's supposed to be an actual bulb on the table just don't look like independent bulbs... When they light up, they just look like a bright color lighting up, but it's supposed to look like a white bulb or LED inside a colored glass lighting up... Basically having a bulb and then putting a cover over it.... Something like that has a different look to it than just a red or blue light blinking...
Now not all lights are supposed to be or look like that, but now that I'm thinking more about this and explaining it like I just did, it kind of looks like someone decided to group up all the colored lights and code them to look the same, no matter if it was an actual colored led bulb or a white bulb with a colored cover over it.... That's why I always would say that if you look at the Frank Thomas table on PC and compare it to the PS4, you would then see the huge difference with the lighting and how the colored lights/bulbs looked that was at the bottom to the left and right side of the flippers... When you look at that older E3 from 2013 video showing the Star Trek TNG table on PS4, you can also see how that looked more like how the PC looks now...
So something had to happen that completely jacked everything up... Maybe they had to do the coding separately for each table and the lighting, so to make things easier they went and grouped it all together si that way they didn't have to do separate coding for the lights? They just wanted to copy and paste?? That could be why some tables will look ok, but then others don't?? That's probably where the is that option to have one set lighting seeing across all tables???
That is like the only thing I can think of... Other than Farsight just using old coding from last gen and ported over to the next gen consoles, but never updated it so it could take advantage of the systems hardware.... But like I mentioned, I think they did have it a little more complex and probably more time consuming to code the newer tables and stuff, that they went to this easier copy and paste across all tables, because it USED to look amazing and used to look like how the PC looks now more or less, maybe slightly less resolution, but was still looking really good....
That's why I always said to look at older videos... Even the ball looked like a steel shiney ball with a bright look and reflection to it... You can see in the older videos where it looked great and how it should and then become a dark matte looking ball with no shine or reflection to it...
Is there anyone from Farsight that can comment on this and or look into it? Is that Tom guy still working with this game on the PS4? If so can you shed any light on this and if I'm on the right track? And if so or even if I'm not, but can understand how I'm explaining things like the graphics and lighting, is the a way it can get improved on??
Let's be honest here, there is really no excuse on why the PS4 doesn't look like the PC version or even how it does on mobile devices... I can say without a doubt that PBA looks better on my Samsung S8+ phone then it does on PS4 and the mobile version doesn't even have the lighting options to adjust like there is on the PC and PS4....
I truly think if Farsight would have rolled out a whole new upgraded version of PBA on PS4 to where it was taking FULL advantage of the consoles hardware, kind of like how Zen did with Pinball FX3... They would have gotten more sales and more importantly, it would have gotten even more people to get the tables that will be going away after this month... Especially the ones that have been on the fence and still leaning to not get them or waiting till the last minute to decide...
A whole new version with a new UI, layout, look, and a graphics update, especially with the lighting, would have generated hype and buzz and the would have been a lot more positivity about PBA and Farsight... It would also show people, especially the ones who haven't already invested in this game like majority of us here have, that Farsight is serious about still supporting the tables that will be removed from purchase as well as still bringing other newer tables, besides porting the ones from Stern PBA over to the regular PBA....
See, no matter what I still have a big post, but it's still shorter than the ones before it and this one I think I was able to explain the lighting and what seems off to me a lot easier than before as well... All we can hope for is someone at farsight sees the are still people passionate about the game and just want it to be the best it CAN be and how it USED to be...
If Farsight hasn't been able to make money on the PS4 and i'm assuming XB1 versions or I should say consoles in general, then it's because they have been lazy, there is a lot of negativity about this product when it comes to the console versions... Considering that just released it on Switch, then there is still some hope for changes or upgrades, but if they just did a quick port to make a quick buck before they lost the Williams/Bally tables then they are going to fail again and make even more people upset and it's not going to end well in the long run...
If there is something in the works, like a whole new version of the game, not just newer tables, then I hope it is enough to get me and others back into this game and make it exciting again... If we just had to wait for you all to get the Switch version up and running then I'm sure most of us can forgive Farsight and move on... I and I'm sure everyone else can understand Farsight might have pulled everyone from the other versions to get the Switch version out before the licenses expired so those people could have a chance to get those tables, then so be it.... Just remember we are still here waiting and PS4 is still going to be the last console to have ALL the tables, well I should say this generation of consoles will be the last, unless you all get the licenses back??
Please make the PS4 version great again....
Even after the semi big update that kind of fixed the lighting, the was still something off and like usual with every update, something gets broken or messed up even worse than before... I think that Tom guy said things was a mess and he was trying to fix and patch up things with the coding, etc... Though I might be wrong or mistaking something else he said?
There was some posts I was trying to make before this, but I get si passionate about this and it gets super long... Basically I and I'm sure everyone here love this game and we just want to be excited about it again and want it to be the best it can be, however it's still in a state of unknown, especially with the whole losing of the licenses and a ton of really good tables being removed... Farsight "says" they are still going to support them, but they say a lot of things... We've all pretty much got to the point where we'll believe it when we see it, when it comes to anything Farsight says...
I've been watching videos on YouTube, mostly older ones as there's not to many current ones and I try to watch PS4 footage just so I can see what kind of settings other people use, but the one thing I've noticed is how good the PS4 version USED to look... There is even an older video from E3 when the PS4 just came out and Farsight was showing off PBA on it for the first time I believe, it was something the Star Trek TNG table and THAT looked soooooo much better then it does now.... You could see colors, the lights, bulbs, etc. And it was vivid and looked extremely good....
But something happened somewhere since then till now??? You would think it would have got better, but instead it's gotten worse... Though I admit it has started to kind of get better again, but there is still something off.. I used to play this game everyday, sometimes for hours... Now it's lucky if I play it once a week or so... When the lighting got messed with right before that long drought of no updates is what got me to play it less and less because it was ridiculous.... I'm trying to get back into it, but that "something" being off keeps taking me away from getting back into it, even though I'm trying really hard to like it again and trying to get used to how it is now,...
The only thing I can think of is we have some hybrid port from last gen consoles and some of the newer lighting options from the PC version, but because it's a hybrid port from like 2 systems, if not more, it's clashing with each other... The actual bulbs or what's supposed to be an actual bulb on the table just don't look like independent bulbs... When they light up, they just look like a bright color lighting up, but it's supposed to look like a white bulb or LED inside a colored glass lighting up... Basically having a bulb and then putting a cover over it.... Something like that has a different look to it than just a red or blue light blinking...
Now not all lights are supposed to be or look like that, but now that I'm thinking more about this and explaining it like I just did, it kind of looks like someone decided to group up all the colored lights and code them to look the same, no matter if it was an actual colored led bulb or a white bulb with a colored cover over it.... That's why I always would say that if you look at the Frank Thomas table on PC and compare it to the PS4, you would then see the huge difference with the lighting and how the colored lights/bulbs looked that was at the bottom to the left and right side of the flippers... When you look at that older E3 from 2013 video showing the Star Trek TNG table on PS4, you can also see how that looked more like how the PC looks now...
So something had to happen that completely jacked everything up... Maybe they had to do the coding separately for each table and the lighting, so to make things easier they went and grouped it all together si that way they didn't have to do separate coding for the lights? They just wanted to copy and paste?? That could be why some tables will look ok, but then others don't?? That's probably where the is that option to have one set lighting seeing across all tables???
That is like the only thing I can think of... Other than Farsight just using old coding from last gen and ported over to the next gen consoles, but never updated it so it could take advantage of the systems hardware.... But like I mentioned, I think they did have it a little more complex and probably more time consuming to code the newer tables and stuff, that they went to this easier copy and paste across all tables, because it USED to look amazing and used to look like how the PC looks now more or less, maybe slightly less resolution, but was still looking really good....
That's why I always said to look at older videos... Even the ball looked like a steel shiney ball with a bright look and reflection to it... You can see in the older videos where it looked great and how it should and then become a dark matte looking ball with no shine or reflection to it...
Is there anyone from Farsight that can comment on this and or look into it? Is that Tom guy still working with this game on the PS4? If so can you shed any light on this and if I'm on the right track? And if so or even if I'm not, but can understand how I'm explaining things like the graphics and lighting, is the a way it can get improved on??
Let's be honest here, there is really no excuse on why the PS4 doesn't look like the PC version or even how it does on mobile devices... I can say without a doubt that PBA looks better on my Samsung S8+ phone then it does on PS4 and the mobile version doesn't even have the lighting options to adjust like there is on the PC and PS4....
I truly think if Farsight would have rolled out a whole new upgraded version of PBA on PS4 to where it was taking FULL advantage of the consoles hardware, kind of like how Zen did with Pinball FX3... They would have gotten more sales and more importantly, it would have gotten even more people to get the tables that will be going away after this month... Especially the ones that have been on the fence and still leaning to not get them or waiting till the last minute to decide...
A whole new version with a new UI, layout, look, and a graphics update, especially with the lighting, would have generated hype and buzz and the would have been a lot more positivity about PBA and Farsight... It would also show people, especially the ones who haven't already invested in this game like majority of us here have, that Farsight is serious about still supporting the tables that will be removed from purchase as well as still bringing other newer tables, besides porting the ones from Stern PBA over to the regular PBA....
See, no matter what I still have a big post, but it's still shorter than the ones before it and this one I think I was able to explain the lighting and what seems off to me a lot easier than before as well... All we can hope for is someone at farsight sees the are still people passionate about the game and just want it to be the best it CAN be and how it USED to be...
If Farsight hasn't been able to make money on the PS4 and i'm assuming XB1 versions or I should say consoles in general, then it's because they have been lazy, there is a lot of negativity about this product when it comes to the console versions... Considering that just released it on Switch, then there is still some hope for changes or upgrades, but if they just did a quick port to make a quick buck before they lost the Williams/Bally tables then they are going to fail again and make even more people upset and it's not going to end well in the long run...
If there is something in the works, like a whole new version of the game, not just newer tables, then I hope it is enough to get me and others back into this game and make it exciting again... If we just had to wait for you all to get the Switch version up and running then I'm sure most of us can forgive Farsight and move on... I and I'm sure everyone else can understand Farsight might have pulled everyone from the other versions to get the Switch version out before the licenses expired so those people could have a chance to get those tables, then so be it.... Just remember we are still here waiting and PS4 is still going to be the last console to have ALL the tables, well I should say this generation of consoles will be the last, unless you all get the licenses back??
Please make the PS4 version great again....
