What's so special about special?

[hawk]

Am I the only person who didn't need to win free games?

I mean after playing at least an hour who needs free games awarded for collecting special and the grand champion score spot, it's not like I wanna play all day long

The special award should be available for those who failed at the first and the second ball to get in with the 3rd ball or should do something other than giving a free game like a 60 second ball saver to be activated when needed

 

[Espy]

Am I the only person who didn't need to win free games?

I mean after playing at least an hour who needs free games awarded for collecting special and the grand champion score spot, it's not like I wanna play all day long

The special award should be available for those who failed at the first and the second ball to get in with the 3rd ball or should do something other than giving a free game like a 60 second ball saver to be activated when needed

If you regularly get hour long games on real pinball machines you are probably world champion material.

Specials were designed for real tables where average game time is much lower. Getting a free game and hearing the pop is immensely satisfying. I would say the longest game I've ever had on a real table is probably less than 20 minutes, and that's an exception, not a trend.

That said, often I like to leave on a high, so if I get a great score on a machine, I will walk away even with a credit or two left, as I know I won't be able to beat it. It also leaves the score in the DMD for the next person to see

 

[DrainoBraino]

Am I the only person who didn't need to win free games?

Yes.

I mean after playing at least an hour who needs free games awarded for collecting special and the grand champion score spot, it's not like I wanna play all day long

Of course you want the grand champ score!

Playing for an hour on a real machine is incredible. If you are that good at a particular machine, yea you probably don't care about free games. But I guarantee you're gonna get excited if you get a replay on, say, the new Star Trek or Metallica.

As far as TPA goes, and free play machines in general, the only thing free games are good for is the satisfaction and the knocker sound.

 

[hawk]

On some tables (real machines) it is quite easy to play long by repeating the same pattern and mastering 2-3 targets, unless there is something wrong with the pin like weak flippers it should work.

Example: BK2K, you hold the flipper when the ball goes from the upper playfield, you need to master 2 ramps and the skyway loop

 

[DrainoBraino]

On some tables (real machines) it is quite easy to play long by repeating the same pattern and mastering 2-3 targets, unless there is something wrong with the pin like weak flippers it should work.

Example: BK2K, you hold the flipper when the ball goes from the upper playfield, you need to master 2 ramps and the skyway loop

Just that easy huh?.....

 

[Espy]

On some tables (real machines) it is quite easy to play long by repeating the same pattern and mastering 2-3 targets, unless there is something wrong with the pin like weak flippers it should work.

Example: BK2K, you hold the flipper when the ball goes from the upper playfield, you need to master 2 ramps and the skyway loop

Sounds to me like you are describing digital pinball. The big difference between digital and real pinball is you can't rely on repeatable patterns. The ball is wild.

 

[soundwave106]

Sounds to me like you are describing digital pinball. The big difference between digital and real pinball is you can't rely on repeatable patterns. The ball is wild.

Some (real) pins too are pretty easy to exploit with repeatable patterns.

I wouldn't say BK2K is one of them, at least on a well maintained, properly set machine (which would mean setting it be so fast that repeating the three shots you need actually is a challenge).

 

[pezpunk]

Some (real) pins too are pretty easy to exploit with repeatable patterns.

I wouldn't say BK2K is one of them, at least on a well maintained, properly set machine (which would mean setting it be so fast that repeating the three shots you need actually is a challenge).

i am not sure you can make lancet statements like that about a game -- one B2K might have a repeatable pattern while another doesn't, due to differences in wear, flipper position, coil strengths, the angle the game is set at, and even the settings. honestly if a game has an easily-repeatable pattern that allows for infinite play, then the operator isn't doing his job in setting up or maintaining the machine properly.

 

[soundwave106]

Yeah, I agree, repeatable patterns in real life are more on a pin-by-pin basis than a game-by-game basis.

 

[brakel]

Some (real) pins too are pretty easy to exploit with repeatable patterns.

I wouldn't say BK2K is one of them, at least on a well maintained, properly set machine (which would mean setting it be so fast that repeating the three shots you need actually is a challenge).

i am not sure you can make lancet statements like that about a game -- one B2K might have a repeatable pattern while another doesn't, due to differences in wear, flipper position, coil strengths, the angle the game is set at, and even the settings. honestly if a game has an easily-repeatable pattern that allows for infinite play, then the operator isn't doing his job in setting up or maintaining the machine properly.

You just said the same thing that Soundwave said while seemingly disagreeing with him. So I guess I don't understand what you mean. Maybe it's because I don't understand what a "lancet statement" is.

 

[Eaton Beaver]

I always enjoyed the special on Mr. Do while playing it at my local arcade in the 1980's. I think it was the only video game I have ever come across that had it. People in the arcade would always gather around to see if you could get the diamond and the loud pop was awesome. I listened to a seminar on some podcast that said specials should be replaced with an extra ball award on pinball tables and agree with it from an operator's perspective. The owner of the arcade that had the Mr. Do in my town always thought the machine was messed up when hearing the loud pop of the credit and would walk over.

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

The answer to the question on the subject is the same as the answer to the original post: The special is referred to as that because a "special" can be something other than a free game and can be adjusted by the operator accordingly (at least from the solid-state era and onwards), hence why it's called a "special" and not a "replay" or a "free game." You can see it right in The Pinball Arcade, where all specials have been changed to be an extra ball.

In modern games, a "special" is a replay by default, and most operators are perfectly fine with that, as the odds of a player obtaining a special is infrequent, and I think most people who'd step up to a pinball machine would be delighted in getting a free game. Some operators might not know it can be changed to something else, but they're okay with that too for the same reasons. Specials on these machines can also be an extra ball or a point value. In electromechanical machines, a wheel counter displays the number of credits put into the machine, and racking up specials is one of the objectives. The idea is that you want to have more credits than you started with. Once you have a number you're satisfied with, you notify the operator, who's usually at the establishment, and he or she will reset the counter back to zero and compensate you. (Most often, this system happens at bars, and you get a free drink for each of a certain number of credits you redeem.)

Of course, if you can regularly get hour-long games, you are a vast exception to the norm, and you should try competing in PAPA or IFPA competitions. I think the longest game I ever got on a real machine was about 30 minutes on Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, with the second-longest being about 18 minutes on Spider-Man.

 

[Espy]

In modern games, a "special" is a replay by default, and most operators are perfectly fine with that, as the odds of a player obtaining a special is infrequent, and I think most people who'd step up to a pinball machine would be delighted in getting a free game. Some operators might not know it can be changed to something else, but they're okay with that too for the same reasons. Specials on these machines can also be an extra ball or a point value. In electromechanical machines, a wheel counter displays the number of credits put into the machine, and racking up specials is one of the objectives. The idea is that you want to have more credits than you started with. Once you have a number you're satisfied with, you notify the operator, who's usually at the establishment, and he or she will reset the counter back to zero and compensate you. (Most often, this system happens at bars, and you get a free drink for each of a certain number of credits you redeem.)

Some machines have their replay score set too low. I have stood at certain pinball machines for up to an hour having only put in two or three credits because the replay score is so low.

Not sure what kind of arcades recompensate credits, though. Have you been at a place where they do that? I don't think it's common behaviour.

 

[shoemakesmusic]

For me, special, is just another goal to achieve during multiball.

 

[hawk]

honestly if a game has an easily-repeatable pattern that allows for infinite play, then the operator isn't doing his job in setting up or maintaining the machine properly.

Probably this is how I managed to play long on some pins

I remember I could easily get high score on Gateway because of the angle the table was set

 

[Zombie Aladdin]

Some machines have their replay score set too low. I have stood at certain pinball machines for up to an hour having only put in two or three credits because the replay score is so low.

Not sure what kind of arcades recompensate credits, though. Have you been at a place where they do that? I don't think it's common behaviour.

It's not common anymore, and I'm sure it's downright extinct by this point, but it used to be common in the '70s and earlier when pinball machines were found frequently at bars and restaurants. That's why some EM machines would proudly proclaim that you could get massive amounts of specials.

The only thing that would concern an operator is if it's costing more to repair than there is money going into it, or if the broken parts render the game unplayable or difficult to play. If the operator set the replay score low, then it likely means there are a lot of low-skilled players or beginners at the machine who would be very unlikely to even reach that score. In this case, the operator's still turning a profit. I encountered a Street Fighter II with a replay score fixed at 55 million, for instance (a good player can reach that in one ball), and I kept surpassing it and getting replays from it. It really didn't matter though--aside from the occasional expert who would get billion scores from the thing, not many people were able to reach that score, and it was not the focus of the arcade (which are Japanese-imported fighting games). The machine's still tere, and it's still receiving proper maintenance (the replay is now variable, though the minimum is still 55 million and is almost always at that point when I enter).

 

[Espy]

Personally I'm too time-poor for specials. I generally put in three credits as that's the most value for money on a machine (most modern machines have three-for-two). But if I have a really long first game, I run out of time and have to leave the arcade with the same credits I put in. It's a shame. I sometimes point out to another player there are some credits left on it if one is around.

 

[Zaphod77]

Yeah, if winning replays on a game is really easy then the other players suck.

And i've been in the "win many replays in a row' camp many times, lasting for a couple hours on a single credit.

But people like to see good play, and then when i get grand champion i leave the credits on the machine for someone else to try and beat me. They usually fail, but have fun, and then put in more coins.

So even though some players get lots of replays the game still makes money.

As for repeatable patterns, its often a problem with premiere games, such as Tee'd Off, which you can max out lightning storm in real life once you get a ball on each flipper and the drop targets out of the way of the middle shot. I've seem people OWN rescue 911 by collecting multiball jackpots over and over and over.

 

[netizen]

Yeah, if winning replays on a game is really easy then the other players suck.

or the machine is set to autopercentage and no one has played it in a while.