Zen Pinball FX3 Williams Pinball Volume One

[Kolchak357]

Love this news that the licenses will be used. But supposedly not coming to ios. So I will probably never play it. Does nothing for me.

 

[shutyertrap]

You've been sitting on this info for 3 weeks and happily keeping it quiet from us? Impressive.

Happily? It's been killing me to not say anything! If you listen to our last few podcasts, you can probably hear it in our voices when we say, "yeah not a whole lot about digital pinball to talk about this week".

 

[shutyertrap]

Love this news that the licenses will be used. But supposedly not coming to ios. So I will probably never play it. Does nothing for me.

Not immediately. They have plans for mobile, just not there yet.

 

[Kolchak357]

Not immediately. They have plans for mobile, just not there yet.

That would be great. Please let that happen.

 

[GAH1068]

Appreciate all the work and appreciate the updates. Any word on if it'll support cabinet mode? Happy to buy these gems again but that's my only sticking point currently.

Just did a direct table launch of Fish Tales from PinballX and it is working so certainly looks like they plan to support it still.

 

[Fungi]

Happily? It's been killing me to not say anything! If you listen to our last few podcasts, you can probably hear it in our voices when we say, "yeah not a whole lot about digital pinball to talk about this week".

Ah. Ok. I'd gone bonkers knowing this news and keeping quiet about. Again, impressive.

 

[Kaibun]

Those are some seriously big news, I wasn't expecting them to go all the way to Zen. I'm pretty shocked here.

Been enjoy the beta honestly, they did a pretty good job with the tables so I have no problem with buying them again. But I just wonder how many tables per year they'll release, with Zen's slow release schedule and all.

 

[scendr]

Here's a great FAQ:
https://www.pinballfx.com/?page_id=7989

WILLIAMS™ PINBALL FQA – PUBLISH ON SEPTEMBER 04 2018

When are the first Williams™ Pinball tables releasing?
We will be announcing our release date for the first pack of tables in a few weeks. You do not have to wait long for Volume 1.

Which platforms will receive Williams™ Pinball tables?
Williams™ Pinball tables will first launch on Pinball FX3 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows 10, Steam and Zen Pinball 2 on Mac. There will be a dedicated game page for Williams™ Pinball content in Pinball FX3 and the first set of tables will launch in a pack.

Are the Williams™ Pinball tables coming to Zen Pinball on iOS and Google Play?
At this time we are not planning to bring the Williams tables to Zen Pinball on iOS and Google Play. We will be making specific announcements for our plans on mobile in the future – we definitely have some!

How many tables do you plan to release within a year?
We are launching 4 tables with the first release, and we should have another 4 tables out before the end of 2018. 2019 will be very busy with releases, you will not be disappointed!

Which Williams™ Pinball tables are in the initial release?
The first set of tables includes Fish Tales™, Junk Yard™, Medieval Madness™ and The Getaway: High Speed II™.

Has there been any change to the physics for the Williams tables, or are they in line with Zen’s current physics offerings?
We have invested a lot of time and energy adjusting the physics simulation for the Williams tables, so they play true to form – it feels like real pinball. Early feedback suggests physics are spot on; however, we certainly welcome your own feedback as well. We think the ball moves and handles extremely accurately to the real thing, including accurate ball spin and “tricks” as well.

Will this game be very simulation heavy, or will there be options to have something like in Zen, where you can have score numbers popping up, etc.?
All Williams tables can be played with or without normal Pinball FX3 extras, such as score pops and in-game notification, allowing the table to be played in its purest form.

Do you plan the same kind of tournaments and leagues as in Pinball FX3?
All Pinball FX3 features are available for all Williams™ Pinball tables. This includes user-generated tournaments, multiplayer matchup and a brand-new tournament difficulty mode that is based on International Flipper Pinball Association (IFPA) rulesets. There will be no shortage of pinball competition in Pinball FX3!

Will you have modes like 1 Ball- challenges and 5-minute challenges as well?
Yes, each table has the FX3 feature set, all of these modes are included.

Does Zen’s license include both the Williams and Bally collections?
Zen has licensed the entire Williams collection, which also includes the Bally collection.

What kind of lighting can we expect? Is lighting being based on incandescent lights, like they originally had, or modern LED lighting?
The goal was to re-create as much of the original tables and their authentic pinball experience as possible, so we favored something very close to the behavior of their original incandescent light bulbs, as opposing to LED lighting.

While the tables are run by their original ROM images, meaning no additional darkening to the tables, players might still find the lighting just a tiny bit more vibrant. This better reproduces the tables’ original radiance in those dark environments where we usually played them.

 

[Nomorestalker]

Happily? It's been killing me to not say anything! If you listen to our last few podcasts, you can probably hear it in our voices when we say, "yeah not a whole lot about digital pinball to talk about this week".

I'm so glad to have this forum and the podcast to listen to, I'm over here losing it and nobody outside of this forum is giving it the reaction it deserves haha

 

[shutyertrap]

Here's a good comparison shot of how the flippers are a bit more shallow in Zen compared to TPA. This of course has the effect of making the table a bit more difficult as trapping the ball isn't such a given. Look at where on the scroll the tips are touching.

This pic also gives you a good comparison of the lighting differences, where the pools of light are when it's only light from the table rather than an external source.

With this pic, check out the bus model, how Zen has shading and contrast which gives the bus a truly dimensional feel. Compare the lit slingshot plastics to see how Zen's is not blown out. And then most importantly, check out that center playfield image for how vibrant the colors are, how black the blacks are.

Lastly, go into table view mode and scroll to the top of Junk Yard, check out the plastics. The pic doesn't really do it justice, as what becomes immediately noticeable is how the light interacts with the clear plastic as you move the camera. With the Zen plastics, you can actually see rainbows of refraction in it. You can also see how crisp the hi rez images used are when looking at the lettering or the water splash decal.

 

[Nomorestalker]

Also since it's in my head now, I'd love it if Jared or Chris could get some info on the licence itself, since .....you know we've seen this licence pulled before. That said, they make em' I'll buy em.

 

[DA5ID]

Love this news that the licenses will be used. But supposedly not coming to ios. So I will probably never play it. Does nothing for me.

iOS and android have to wait for pinball fx3 - then it will happen

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

Well that's woken me up on a sleepy Monday, sorry, Tuesday....

Let's address the elephant in the room: these four tables (JY, FT, MM, HS2) are all either unlicensed or license-lite (in the case of some music). Will Zen be getting licenses we already have in TPA (ST:TNG? TZ? TAF?!), might they get the "holy grail" licenses (Indy?!?), or is that going to be a whole other story? Or should I catch up on podcasts for that kind of speculation?

Is there any news on pricing?

 

[shutyertrap]

Well that's woken me up on a sleepy Monday, sorry, Tuesday....

Let's address the elephant in the room: these four tables (JY, FT, MM, HS2) are all either unlicensed or license-lite (in the case of some music). Will Zen be getting licenses we already have in TPA (ST:TNG? TZ? TAF?!), might they get the "holy grail" licenses (Indy?!?), or is that going to be a whole other story? Or should I catch up on podcasts for that kind of speculation?

Is there any news on pricing?

No news on pricing and yes you should just listen to the podcast for the other stuff.

 

[Crawley]

The beta had to be released while I was on vacation. Turn the ship around!

Looking forward to trying these when I get back.

 

[steven120566]

There certainly is the question of whether people will want to buy the tables again. All I say is play the demo for 30 seconds and then tell me your answer. Or play Fish Tales for a good bit, then hop over to TPA and try it there again. I think the decision will be fairly easy. Or there's always waiting a while for a Steam winter or summer sale.

It will be tempting. I just hope the pricing is "reasonable". To me that probably means something different thatn the next fan, but we'll see I guess.

 

[Xanija]

You've been sitting on this info for 3 weeks and happily keeping it quiet from us? Impressive.

Trust me, this was the hardest part of all.

 

[infernogott]

At least we will have Williams Tables on Switch. If I buy them again it will be on there and enjoying them with my Flip Grip.

 

[shutyertrap]

At least we will have Williams Tables on Switch. If I buy them again it will be on there and enjoying them with my Flip Grip.

That Flip Grip looks pretty awesome. Even though the Switch is my kid's, I'm tempted to buy one.

 

[shutyertrap]

It will be tempting. I just hope the pricing is "reasonable". To me that probably means something different thatn the next fan, but we'll see I guess.

I agree. I'm hoping it falls in line with all of Zen's prior pricing, where say a 3 pack is around $10 - $12. That'd still make them less expensive than the $5 per that was in TPA. We'll have to see though.