Pinball... a game just for old-heads?

[gigantes]

ah, that's a shame. i hadn't heard about any of that.

i guess it's a pretty vicious old cycle in which there's continued diminishing customer base and stern needing to charge more and produce games faster in order to stay afloat.

also really irritating to me that williams somehow grabbed a copyright on intelligent recovery of machines with play issues. meaning, if something was broken on a williams, they would code it so that there'd be workarounds and you'd still be able to achieve all the modes and goals.

they want the remaining manu's to pay licensing on that, but the money just isn't there. now when these modern games have problems, a lot of times the game is crippled until the issue can be fixed.

[9erempiree]

Not to be a Debbie Downer here but what is the lure/attraction to pinball? I've played it when there is nothing to play but I don't get entertainment side of it.

Are you guys infatuated with the game or the mechanics of a machine?

This is the greatest machine in my opinion....

[gigantes]

Not to be a Debbie Downer here but what is the lure/attraction to pinball? I've played it when there is nothing to play but I don't get entertainment side of it.

Are you guys infatuated with the game or the mechanics of a machine?

This is the greatest machine in my opinion....
http://www.moreeuw.com/histoire-art/pinball.jpg

to me, pinball is a nice test of hand-eye, thinking ahead, exploration of the table / ruleset, and the building of flipper / nudge techniques.

it takes hard work to be a good player, but there's also pretty direct reward. pinball is also kind of visceral and immediate in a way that you rarely get with video games.

back in the day i remember being totally absorbed trying to beat a table, making slapshots like karate chops and moving around enough so that i was actually sweating after a little while. crazy, but it actually become a decent aerobic workout on a regular basis.

pinball at advanced levels also has as an aspect of chess + sports that you have with something like table tennis.

[outbreak]

9erempire - when you've played pinball have you tried to learn the tables rule set and modes? Pinball machines have a lot of depth in the game play that the average player doesn't realise a lot of the time. Most pins have multiple modes/goals which when completed unlock more modes and goals leading towards a final wizard mode in which you can beat the table. When I was younger, like most people, my main goal was just keeping the ball alive as long as possible but once you learn the modes and what shots will do what there's a lot more going on then most people realise. There's also a lot of tactics going on, sometimes it's best to hold off on starting certain modes until you have picked up points multipliers or started another mode (if they stack) for example you may need one easy shot to start a multi ball but you may wait on that until you start a double scoring mode or pick up another mode that is easier in multi ball.

It's also fun seeing your game improve as you learn these things and your coordination improves, when i got back into pins a couple years back I played a lot of transformers and lord of the rings near me work on lunch breaks, went from struggling to break a few mill points to being able to consistently hit the replay goals so often that I'd have to leave credits on the machine or else I'd be really late back to work, it's also a lot more fun once you know a table and know what your shooting for and what each shot will do.

Pinball used to be huge before video games aswell, I wasn't around then but in documentaries you have multiple arcades just chock full of row after row of pins and people from all walks of life in their mingling and playing. The problem was that when arcade machines came out they were far more reliable and cheaper to maintain while also bringing in more money as they were the new thing, were harder to beat, took up less space and couldn't be chain replayed like pins can be if your good enough. Now days most location pins are in terrible condition as well, if a pin isn't maintained and is set up poorly then your not really going to have a good time. I've even walked away from games because they just suck when not levelled correctly or when key features are broken, the industry really hurts itself by having so many messed up machines out in public but the ops now don't care so long as it lights up and takes coins from kids

[9erempiree]

9erempire - when you've played pinball have you tried to learn the tables rule set and modes? Pinball machines have a lot of depth in the game play that the average player doesn't realise a lot of the time. Most pins have multiple modes/goals which when completed unlock more modes and goals leading towards a final wizard mode in which you can beat the table. When I was younger, like most people, my main goal was just keeping the ball alive as long as possible but once you learn the modes and what shots will do what there's a lot more going on then most people realise. There's also a lot of tactics going on, sometimes it's best to hold off on starting certain modes until you have picked up points multipliers or started another mode (if they stack) for example you may need one easy shot to start a multi ball but you may wait on that until you start a double scoring mode or pick up another mode that is easier in multi ball.

It's also fun seeing your game improve as you learn these things and your coordination improves, when i got back into pins a couple years back I played a lot of transformers and lord of the rings near me work on lunch breaks, went from struggling to break a few mill points to being able to consistently hit the replay goals so often that I'd have to leave credits on the machine or else I'd be really late back to work, it's also a lot more fun once you know a table and know what your shooting for and what each shot will do.

Pinball used to be huge before video games aswell, I wasn't around then but in documentaries you have multiple arcades just chock full of row after row of pins and people from all walks of life in their mingling and playing. The problem was that when arcade machines came out they were far more reliable and cheaper to maintain while also bringing in more money as they were the new thing, were harder to beat, took up less space and couldn't be chain replayed like pins can be if your good enough. Now days most location pins are in terrible condition as well, if a pin isn't maintained and is set up poorly then your not really going to have a good time. I've even walked away from games because they just suck when not levelled correctly or when key features are broken, the industry really hurts itself by having so many messed up machines out in public but the ops now don't care so long as it lights up and takes coins from kids

I have huge respect for a pinball table. I might come off as someone that has limited knowledge, which is half correct, but I can appreciate the mechanics involved in such a machine. That's why I ask if people were more intrigued by the game or the mechanics. I guess there is a correlation.

I use to play just to survive, like keeping the ball alive for as long as I can. This was when I was a kid. Now when I play, I implement a strategy and try to hit it at certain spots to multiply my points.

To be honest, I didn't think you can beat a pinball machine like beating a video game. I always thought a pinball machine is infinite in regards to points. The highest points makes you the top player didn't know a machine can be beaten.

[outbreak]

I have huge respect for a pinball table. I might come off as someone that has limited knowledge, which is half correct, but I can appreciate the mechanics involved in such a machine. That's why I ask if people were more intrigued by the game or the mechanics. I guess there is a correlation.

I use to play just to survive, like keeping the ball alive for as long as I can. This was when I was a kid. Now when I play, I implement a strategy and try to hit it at certain spots to multiply my points.

To be honest, I didn't think you can beat a pinball machine like beating a video game. I always thought a pinball machine is infinite in regards to points. The highest points makes you the top player didn't know a machine can be beaten.

Beating a machine can have different meanings in pinball, with older machines you can reset the score by reaching the highest possible score the display can show which then goes back to 0, on modern machines they have a final wizard mode which you can reach which is considered the end but your score will keep going and the machine will likely go back to the start again for example on my ripley's the main goal is visiting each continent which starts a mode when you visit it, if you beat all the modes it unlocks a hidden continent of atlantis and starts a wizard mode. They do have end mode type things, in lord of the rings you get to destroy the ring at the end, in attack from mars you fight off the invasion in all the countries and then you get to attack mars

[gigantes]

random note: i like how working on EM's prepared me for this... the little heatstream 1000 that i use to warm my feet
during these chilly days just broke down.

i cracked it open, saw a leaf switch and a plumb-bob, and now it's all coming back to me. just bend / polish the metal on those
mofos, problem solved.

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Never liked the real thing. Too ****ing loud.

But I played the shit out of the pinball game that came with Windows XP. Think it's my favorite stock Windows game of all time. That or minesweeper.

[gigantes]

if you like elvira, williams made a brilliant and wickedly funny pinball table about her in 1996 called "scared stiff."

you can play it for free via visual pinball, and i believe pinball arcade has it as well for a variety of platforms.

[outbreak]

if you like elvira, williams made a brilliant and wickedly funny pinball table about her in 1996 called "scared stiff."

you can play it for free via visual pinball, and i believe pinball arcade has it as well for a variety of platforms.

there's also Elvira and the party monsters, I've been keeping an eye out for one around here because scared stiff is far too expensive.

[gigantes]

there's also Elvira and the party monsters, I've been keeping an eye out for one around here because scared stiff is far too expensive.

there is... just that it hasn't aged well, for me.

SS, early-style DMD... from that bally / williams period when they were making similar 80's-kitsch tables,
like dr. dude and all those. for some reason i had a hard time getting in to those.


i haven't thought about buying a modern pin for a long time. if i did, i'd probably want to find some other
pinheads in the area to swap machines with every once in a while. that was my impression of what a lot
of EM owners did in the philly / NY / NJ area, but it's probably a lot easier with EM owners since the machines
are a lot cheaper.

[reppy]

There is a really cool bar-arcade (barcade) in Portland, located in the Burnside area, called Ground Kontrol. I used to go there all the time back when the Satyricon venue was still open. Good music, awesome arcade, Voodoo Donuts, and a sweet pizza joint called Dante's all within a few blocks of each other? Many a good nights were had.

Anyway, here is a list of all their arcade machines and pinball machines: http://groundkontrol.com/arcade/

The dream of the 90s is indeed alive in Portland.

[gigantes]

btw, this empire strikes back table on my tablet is ridiculously good, although quite hard. i had to adjust it all the way
back to very easy mode to complete some of the missions. can't remember ever having to do that before.

regardless, the moving PF toys are just amazing.

[reppy]

When I was a kid, my uncle owned (possibly still does) an airforce-themed pinball machine. I spent a lot of time as a kid at Christmas parties up on their second floor, where they kept the pinball machine and a decent pool table.

I have no idea what its name was. But I know that one day I want to have at least one pinball machine in my house. And also a MAME cabinet.. preferably with the Mortal Kombat 2 cabinet housing it.

I'm by no means a pinball enthusiast, but it seems like it'd be a fun way to unwind. And it's a much more physical experience than playing games in a virtual environment.

[outbreak]

was this it?



I have a mame cabinet too but mine is in an australian style lowboy cabinet and only has a 4 button set up so no mortal kombat. I had plans to make one from scratch for sf and mk but never got around to it. Metal slug and tekken 2 get played a lot on mine as well as classics like space invaders, frogger etc.