What separates the best players here from the rest?

[Tripredacus]

I've had the ball clip through the flippers (from behind the flipper back into play) in the lower playfield on HH, so if you do mash when you're down there that might be a reason why it may or maynot have seemed like its more successful (my experience was in DX11). Then there's other silly behavoir happening under the flippers that's been added recently so you can't hold a ball behind upper flippers?

When I first used pinmame, the idea that the ball going through the flippers sounded ridiculous. And of course you have this sometimes in other games like TPA and their previous versions. However I have learned that this isn't that big of a deal. The reason is because one pinball mechanic is missing from TPA and that is the ball going over the flipper, which happens in real life.

Which ties to the video you posted, and I've seen other people use it as well. This is a death save and is a real thing. TPA should be giving this action a warning or a tilt. It should never be able to be used constantly. I think Pinball FX2 has this issue also.
Here is a video of a death save being used on a real machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZljaPDYpXs

 

[switch3flip]

When I first used pinmame, the idea that the ball going through the flippers sounded ridiculous. And of course you have this sometimes in other games like TPA and their previous versions. However I have learned that this isn't that big of a deal. The reason is because one pinball mechanic is missing from TPA and that is the ball going over the flipper, which happens in real life.
]

I went to the local arcade yesterday. I could really tell the repair guy is away on vacation because Medieval Madness and Lord of the rings had signs "out of order", I played some 24 but the left flipper started getting stuck in up position after 5 minutes and finally was stuck permanently, so I played the only working pin that was left, Spiderman, which is my fave anyway so it was fun. But yeah, right now you can really say that pinball arcade is keeping it real

 

[relaxation]

This is a death save and is a real thing. ... Here is a video of a death save being used on a real machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZljaPDYpXs

In my example the ball hits the underside of the flipper and there's a vaccuum effect that sucks the ball up, it helps to watch it in slow motion.

 

[Snorzel]

Do any of you top TPA people play Zaccaria on PC? I am shocked tobe in making it to the top 10 on some tables

 

[Tarek Oberdieck]

Do any of you top TPA people play Zaccaria on PC? I am shocked tobe in making it to the top 10 on some tables

I've tried Zaccaria a few hours. The UI and the configuration options are great but I don't like the tables. Only played Farfalla IRL a few times 30 years ago. There's a very very big difference to the good old WMS tables. In addition I'm not satisfied with the ball physics. Maybe some day I'll try again...

 

[DanBradford]

Can someone who plays with a touchscreen (ie iPad or phone) and not with keyboard buttons and who is competent at nudging please do me a real favour by making a video? It'd have to be from above, so I could see his hands and the screen, and I could see what exactly he was doing when he nudged. I just can't do it.

Please? It'd be really valuable to so many noobs and incompetoids like me - plus I reckon that if I can learn to do it on TPA, it may help my real world pinball nudging skills.

Oh go on.

Anyone?
Pretty please?
With sugar on top?

 

[Xanija]

Anyone?
Pretty please?
With sugar on top?

I would do it - if I was competent at nudging on mobile. Have a free bump for the question instead.

 

[pezpunk]

i don't want to make this into a real vs. sim post, but being the best at TPA is pretty different than being the best at real life pinball.

since there is little to no randomization or wear or heating or anything like that, shots react the exact same every time they happen, to the point that on certain shots you know exactly where the ball will end up even if it's bouncing around in a way that in real life would be somewhat out of control and random.

in general, being the best at a a pin in TPA just requires you to reduce the table to a small number of risk-free shots. find the shot that always makes the ramp. find the way to catch out of the kickout. find the way to make the saucer shot from the left flipper. sometimes a shot can only be made from a cradle. sometimes only from a roll. sometimes only from a slow roll, or pass of some kind. logically, you THINK you can make the same shot from a variety of situations, and in real life you can, but in TPA you will learn that often times only one of them works reliably, and the others ALWAYS bounce off the left post and drain, or ALWAYS don't quite make it up the ramp, or whatever. the key is repeatability. unlike real life, every shot in TPA is perfectly repeatable. (in real life, you can fire the ball off of the flipper at an infinite number of angles, depending when you flip. in TPA, there are a suprisingly small number of potential angles)

gradually build up a small repertoire of repeatable, safe shots that allow you to progress through the different aspects of the table. that's really all there is to it. well, that and lots and lots and lots of free time.

by the way, i play on an iPad. PC or other platforms may vary.

 

[yespage]

i don't want to make this into a real vs. sim post, but being the best at TPA is pretty different than being the best at real life pinball.

My experience recently seems like line up appropriately, between TPA and IRL. Very good compared to general public, barely okay compared to the best. The reaction and anticipation is about the same. The difference is the timing, as I found out with Attack from Mars IRL verses TPA. But that is a feel you get. It took me several games to get the real life feel of timing for Theater of Magic.

I think some may do too well with the TPA version because of the limitations with the physics and people can anticipate that limitations and exploit them, but those people will likely be better at pinball anyway.

 

[Slam23]

i don't want to make this into a real vs. sim post, but being the best at TPA is pretty different than being the best at real life pinball.

since there is little to no randomization or wear or heating or anything like that, shots react the exact same every time they happen, to the point that on certain shots you know exactly where the ball will end up even if it's bouncing around in a way that in real life would be somewhat out of control and random.

in general, being the best at a a pin in TPA just requires you to reduce the table to a small number of risk-free shots. find the shot that always makes the ramp. find the way to catch out of the kickout. find the way to make the saucer shot from the left flipper. sometimes a shot can only be made from a cradle. sometimes only from a roll. sometimes only from a slow roll, or pass of some kind. logically, you THINK you can make the same shot from a variety of situations, and in real life you can, but in TPA you will learn that often times only one of them works reliably, and the others ALWAYS bounce off the left post and drain, or ALWAYS don't quite make it up the ramp, or whatever. the key is repeatability. unlike real life, every shot in TPA is perfectly repeatable. (in real life, you can fire the ball off of the flipper at an infinite number of angles, depending when you flip. in TPA, there are a suprisingly small number of potential angles)

gradually build up a small repertoire of repeatable, safe shots that allow you to progress through the different aspects of the table. that's really all there is to it. well, that and lots and lots and lots of free time.

by the way, i play on an iPad. PC or other platforms may vary.

True.
The first time I got to play real pins again at some regular frequency a couple of years ago, I played quite a lot of TPA beforehand and I got my @ss handed to me in no uncertain fashion. I just couldn't translate any of my TPA playing experience, actually handicapping me especially on tables that I also played in TPA because I expected them to behave like it's TPA counterpart. That's no knock on TPA because quite a few of the tables behave a lot like the IRL version, but more in broad strokes in that shots that can be made are similar, or flow in combo's compare, or a kickout behaves the same.
Now that I play both on a regular basis, I do see some crossover, especially in flipper techniques like deadpassing, flipper passing, flipper saves, cradling, post transfers and the like. The one thing that's too dissimilar is nudging. I'm quite good at TPA nudging (which is also far too easy, because the effect is too strong and predictable) and I really suck at IRL nudging, although my outlane saves have been improving somewhat. So after a couple of years of playing, I feel that TPA is helping my IRL play but not on all aspects. Beside technique TPA is offcourse very good for your table knowledge.