Williams' Collection Volume 5 impressions

[Scared Stiff]

Yay. Just unlocked arcade play on CV. And just played my first neon multiball. Spectacular. I had been running through each color beforehand to see which one I liked the most. Purple was my final color to play in my test and I am real glad I was playing with that color when the neon multiball came up. It’s my favorite and I think it stands out the most and looks the best.

I can honestly say that I never thought I would see lighting on a mobile device look so good. But it does. It looks absolutely amazing on CV. Who knew all those years ago while playing these games when they were new in the arcade, that I would someday have them in my pocket? And it would be good. Real good.

Thank you Zen for doing such a good job on this!

 

[Striker]

My initial impressions: A well-done pack, even though CV was the only one I really wanted to play. Physics feel about the same as the Monsters Pack, which are both much better than the one with Road Show.

CV: Very crisp look. I agree with whoever said there needs to be an option to turn down the room lights. CV is such a cool pin to play in a dim room. Left ramp is hard to hit. Can’t backhand right flipper shots at the Ringmaster like you could in TPA, which was so easy to finish off the Ringmasters.

NGG: made by Pat Lawlor, but something always felt off about the theme here. At any rate, ball control is easier than TPA, and there’s no difficult shots except the hole-in-one shot.

TOTAN: I hated this one in TPA. I couldn’t follow the objectives and achieving five million was my best effort. Couldn’t hit any ramp or shot to save my life. Only thing I could consistently hit in TPA was the skill shot. Here = what a difference the clear playfield makes! Still not one of my favorites, but no longer in the category of pins I avoided.

 

[Cloda]

Here is something interesting from the PAPA tournament directors guide ...

"So what happens when adjusting a competitive game away from the manufacturer’s recommended setting? Many players assume steeper is always harder, but the truth is it depends on the design of the game in question. When a game with a difficult center feed is made steeper, such as Avatar, ACDC, or Terminator 2, the reduced lateral motion of the ball can cause an increased amount of center drains. For games with wide outlanes or side posts removed, a shallower game can induce more side-to-side movement which leads to more outlane drains. Combine a shallow game with tight slingshots and you often have a far more lethal combination for players than merely steepening the pitch.

The main problem with reducing a game’s pitch, or making a game feel floaty, is it can dramatically inhibit competitors’ ball control skills, and that setup decision is rarely in the best interest of an event. The key to pitch is deciding which direction each game should be set based on its design and to set the game subtly in that direction. More often than not, the manufacturer’s recommendation will work well in any competition setting."

TotAN on Classic Arcade plays for me with pronounced side to side movement resulting in super hungry outlanes (especially the right). Nudging to prevent a ball going out is near on useless because the post rubbers are very bouncy... you are more likely to bounce a ball that was not going to go out by itself out, than keeping a ball in that was on its way out.

The more I play, the more I'm convinced they simulate it on a flatter slope. The ball is very bouncy. It is e.g. much harder to do a post pass than on even the Universal Monsters pack. Attack from Mars I could do it all day long. Live catches are also very uncertain because of the bounciness and it is very difficult to get close to a clean live catch. Then also the deadly outlanes as discussed in previous message. I definitely prefer the faster ball, where it is actually easier to control the ball.

 

[dmil666]

I've been playing the android versions a lot ever since I figured out that I could plug an Xbox controller into my phone and use it instead of the screen (derp). I'm old, gimme a break.
I like the new tables a lot, especially the appearance, although the camera 2 view on CV is a real wrench especially comparing it to every other Zen table, camera 5 kinda replaces it but the auto-scrolling and low angles on multi-ball play suck out loud. I'm hoping for a fix.
NGG isn't my favourite table but it's ok to play.
TOTAN is a much harder game compared to the TPA version. The ramp is a bastard to hit sequentially and you real have to hammer the lamp to build up points. Still a fun table though.
I like the challenges for the new tables, I just wish Zen could get all the tables co-ordinated into a common set of challenges. I'm sure there's a reason for the way it is, but it'd be nice if it got fixed.

A good pack and definitely worth the 10 bucks for the 2 star.

 

[Dok5555555]

I agree that ToTAN is harder than in TPA. You need to be super precise to hit the ramp. I actually think hitting the ramp is easier on Classic Mode than with the Zen physics, which is wierd. Also, on occassion I've had the ball shoot out of the genie magnet straight down the center with no chance to save the ball, which is annoying.

 

[Cloda]

Tales of the Arabian Nights, on Pinball FX3 Classic Arcade, plays relatively easily, but to maximise your scoring potential you need to make use of the nifty scoring design. In this tips & strategy guide, I show you a solid approach to ensure that the points keep on coming while you rescue the princess.

As I started playing the table, I immediately recognised similarities with Theatre of Magic (also by John Popadiuk) and it got me wondering if the same scoring mechanism is at play. Indeed, it is, but actually in a much more interesting, fun, and challenging way. It is simple in principle, accumulated end of ball bonus, but it is not all that straightforward to put into practice which adds to the fun

 

[Gorgias32]

Awesome video, thanks for putting this together!

 

[dmil666]

I agree that ToTAN is harder than in TPA. You need to be super precise to hit the ramp. I actually think hitting the ramp is easier on Classic Mode than with the Zen physics, which is wierd. Also, on occassion I've had the ball shoot out of the genie magnet straight down the center with no chance to save the ball, which is annoying.

Yeah, I've had the genie do that to me too, kinda gets up your nose.

 

[HighFive]

Ok, here is my one week impression.

TOTAN: Well, its simply the best table! Having it on Switch it play like a charm, it now surpass everything else and now my no.1 table. I just cant put it down!

CV: Gave it a better try with Zen version, and its not a bad table, its fun to play, but call me crazy i think this table is a bit overrated imo. I even feel im having more fun playing Hurricane. Its a great looking table, a good one, but not for me one i will consider in the tops.

NGG : Well Zen version didnt made me change my mind about it, its a table that i simply hate. Got difficulty to know where to shoot, understanding it, the sand shot is hard to understand, shots are hard to make, well, everything seem to piss me off about it.

Overall, even if im not a fan of the last two, TOTAN for me is worth the entry price. The TPA version can now rest in peace.

 

[yespage]

Tales of the Arabian Nights, on Pinball FX3 Classic Arcade, plays relatively easily, but to maximise your scoring potential you need to make use of the nifty scoring design. In this tips & strategy guide, I show you a solid approach to ensure that the points keep on coming while you rescue the princess.

As I started playing the table, I immediately recognised similarities with Theatre of Magic (also by John Popadiuk) and it got me wondering if the same scoring mechanism is at play. Indeed, it is, but actually in a much more interesting, fun, and challenging way. It is simple in principle, accumulated end of ball bonus, but it is not all that straightforward to put into practice which adds to the fun

Yeah, the video was quite helpful. Despite TOTAN being the first and free table in TPA, it was a bit foreign to me. Had no idea about right flipper to the Bazaar.

 

[Cloda]

Awesome video, thanks for putting this together!

Yeah, the video was quite helpful. Despite TOTAN being the first and free table in TPA, it was a bit foreign to me. Had no idea about right flipper to the Bazaar.

My pleasure, and I'm glad that it is of use. Since the video (actually while making the video) I realised that you can only bank 105 lamp spins for the End of Ball Bonus. The next lamp spin, maximises the amount at 120 (still awarding you with a Make a Wish) and then it appears that you can't do further lamp spins for that ball which in effect means that you can't get further Make a Wishes from that.

 

[MBeeching]

TOTAN - Aside from the sound issues good job overall.
CV - Excellent presentation but gameplay feels off and I'm not enjoying it. (playing the real cab was one of my pinball highlights of the year).
NGG - Really growing on me, I hated the TPA version. It feels cramped and looks somewhat unfinished due to the opacity of the ramps.

Despite these criticisms I rate the pack quite highly.

 

[Pete]

I finally did get the pack and i am loving it! the enhancements are garbage but i don't play with that stuff on anyway. the sculpt of the head on CV is so spot on perfect when you look back at TPA. I just completed all the challenges on CV and then went back to the TPA version to really take in how much better it is. dumped it all on a random youtube channel ive been using to dump video game stuff on. PS4 let's you broadcast your game play to youtube so ive been using youtube as my personal vcr, i dont really make these for anyone. these contain allot of attempts before i finally pull off the challenges since it was going live and not edited. 5 minute took me a while, had to really get down taking 4 ringmasters out in the time limit. here's the video of 5 min, including the TPA vid i made 4 Cirqus Voltaire videos but i can only post 1 here.

 

[zmcvay]

I was initially excited about the enhancements when pack 1 came out, but as time goes on I've been turning them off for the most part, except for score pop-up which is a great feature. As a suggestion, I found 5-minute challenge on CV is much easier to clear by going after high-wire multiball instead of the ringmasters, with the rewind power to keep multiball alive as long as possible.

 

[Gorgias32]

I'm finding No Good Gophers (on Android) to be really difficult. Really hard to maintain ball control, hard to see the ball coming down the right orbit to time the cross-shot, and just generally unforgiving in every way. That is to say, it plays like real life. I actually like that it's this hard, but if it's this hard in Zen physics mode I'm not sure what it's going to be like in tournament/pro (I have not unlocked them yet).

The hole in one shot seems impossible - has anyone actually hit this on Android using Zen physics? I feel like maybe once or twice it got kind of close but most of the time it's not even close, it feels almost like the flippers aren't powerful enough to get the ball all the way to the hole up the transparent ramp.

I'm not complaining, I love having a really challenging table in the collection for those times I want a quick adrenaline rush.

 

[dmil666]

I'm finding No Good Gophers (on Android) to be really difficult. Really hard to maintain ball control, hard to see the ball coming down the right orbit to time the cross-shot, and just generally unforgiving in every way. That is to say, it plays like real life. I actually like that it's this hard, but if it's this hard in Zen physics mode I'm not sure what it's going to be like in tournament/pro (I have not unlocked them yet).

The hole in one shot seems impossible - has anyone actually hit this on Android using Zen physics? I feel like maybe once or twice it got kind of close but most of the time it's not even close, it feels almost like the flippers aren't powerful enough to get the ball all the way to the hole up the transparent ramp.

I'm not complaining, I love having a really challenging table in the collection for those times I want a quick adrenaline rush.

I've gotten a hole in one exactly once on android. A very tough shot.

 

[Cloda]

A disaster for the Ringmaster! Cirqus Voltaire tips & strategy guide (Classic Arcade)

In this tips and strategy guide for Cirqus Voltaire in Pinball FX3 Classic Arcade, I manage to do both Join the Cirqus and the lucrative Ringmaster Battle twice. I hit the sweet-spot on the table and I'm quite chuffed that I can present this guide with me being in the top spot on the leaderboard at the making of this video!

The table is not very complicated but there are certain things that you have to concentrate on to ensure that you maximise your scoring opportunities and play as safe as possible. I aimed throughout the guide to point out all these little key strategy points that are required to build a big score.

 

[Cloda]

Does anybody know how this 100 million value thing work in Cirqus Voltaire and how to collect it? It seems like I missed out on big points during this game because it was ready to be collected but I didn't notice.

At this stage in the game, I beat the ringmaster, so I didn't think you can summon another ringmaster again, and I was just about to start the wizard mode. I didn't notice quickly enough that the value built up to more than a 100 million and that it had 3x 100million at the top and said I have to hit WOW to summon the ringmaster (39:36 - 40:50 in the video above).

 

[Cloda]

Does anybody know how this 100 million value thing work in Cirqus Voltaire and how to collect it? It seems like I missed out on big points during this game because it was ready to be collected but I didn't notice.

At this stage in the game, I beat the ringmaster, so I didn't think you can summon another ringmaster again, and I was just about to start the wizard mode. I didn't notice quickly enough that the value built up to more than a 100 million and that it had 3x 100million at the top and said I have to hit WOW to summon the ringmaster (39:36 - 40:50 in the video above).

I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the 100 million 100 million 100 million at the top of the DMD means. In the end it is actually a bit stupid. It is just another way to display your score.

For instance, in the screenshot my score is 300 517 070. Rather than showing the 300, they show 100 million 100 million 100 million... strange but true!

 

[Gusbomb]

Of course Thank You for a tutorial that is informative and valuable, but your calm style of presentation also is much appreciated. I would enjoy watching your video and listening to you describe the logic and sequencing or play even if I had no interest in video pinball games. Contrast this to most internet videos, in which I am drawn it for the alleged content, but just as quickly repelled by the spastic style, stammering stumbling narration, or general buffoonery.