The Pinball Megathread [Physical and Virtual] (2024)

Stan Taylor

Oct 13, 2013

Touched Fuzzy, Got Dizzy

I really like NBA Fastbreak, as a beginner. Rules are straightforward and the scoring makes it super simple to see how I’m improving. The little combo shots aren’t too tricky to aim for and help practice basic aiming and all that. Close to grabbing the top score for the Bulls on the table I play on.

The modern sterns are fun but the rules are a little too complex for me to feel like I’m engaging with them correctly at my level of play. X-men is just so cool though, I keep giving it quarters.

#?Nov 26, 2024 17:54

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#?Nov 27, 2024 15:40

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TengenNewsEditor

Apr 2, 2004

I feel this way about World Cup Soccer but it seems a bit too easy - thanks for the recommendation, going to give NBA Fastbreak a spin next time I'm at the arcade.#?Nov 26, 2024 18:02

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Snacksmaniac

Jan 12, 2008

World Cup is one of the best wpc games because there’s a lot of ways to play it.
You can just shoot goals or you can stack ultras into multiball. Or you can go for cities.
Lots to do at different skill levels.

Fast break linked rules too.

#?Nov 26, 2024 18:14

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Billy Gnosis

May 18, 2006

Now is the time for us to gather together and celebrate those things that we like and think are fun.

The waves of nostalgia I get from hearing the mid 90s players get called out are enough for me to love playing fastbreak when I encounter it#?Nov 26, 2024 19:07

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TengenNewsEditor

Apr 2, 2004

sounds fun, i need to learn the rules. Hopefully the Pinball FX table goes on sale tomorrow.#?Nov 26, 2024 19:18

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barnold

Dec 16, 2011

what do u do when yuo're born to play fps? guess there's nothing left to do but play fps. boom headshot

stacking ultras into multiballs is good on WCS but trying to capitalize on it means taking shots away from scoring goals and making progress towards facing and defeating Germany. i guess the spinner could be worth it if you're bricking a left ramp shot into the orbit maybe but it's ramp->goal->ramp->goal all day once you get to final draw imo. jackpots, victory laps, and goals are worth a lot more than ultra scoring even when you factor in the bonus count. but that's the tournament WE NEED MORE POINTS strategy for WCS and maybe less fun in practice than trying to get through cities and make it to the World Cup Final

in case anybody didn't know, press the "extra ball" button (the one directly under the plunger) to re-light the goal for a jackpot during multiball. can only be used once but it saves a ramp shot!

#?Nov 26, 2024 20:01

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Professor Beetus

Apr 12, 2007

I really wish modern Stern tables were available on pinball FX. I know they did the thing with farsight a few years back with Stern Pinball Arcade but the most recent tables were ghostbusters and star trek and the physics are way behind what pinball FX has now. There are a few tables I'd love to play more but I am not going to choose to drive 45-60 minutes away more than maybe once a month.

I do wonder what the deal is because I would think it would be a natural slam dunk for the people buying tables via pinball FX and would probably make Zen decent money. I wonder if Stern just has no interest or if the licenses are just too expensive for Zen to bother. It sucks especially bad when you can see Zen getting license like star trek (and then making absolute dogshit tables with them like the abomination that is deep space nine). Like instead of 3 lovely legendary Godzilla/Kong tables, I'd pay the same or more to have a digital Godzilla premium/LE to play at home

Professor Beetus fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Nov 26, 2024

#?Nov 26, 2024 21:04

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Bloody Hedgehog

Dec 12, 2003

💥💥🤯💥💥
Gotta nuke something

It's because Stern got cold feet after they put out GB for Pinball Arcade, and the ROM was ripped and used in vpinball recreations. What middling, tacit support they had for digital pinball disappeared at that point, and they don't want any digital recreations of any of their games made in the last 20 years, licensed or not.

So if you do want vpin versions of their tables now, you have to hunt for them since none of the main sites will host them anymore for fear of getting sued out of existence.

#?Nov 26, 2024 21:18

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Clouseau

Aug 3, 2003

My theories appall you, my heresies outrage you, I never answer letters, and you don't like my tie.

I didn't know that part. I just figured the Stern stuff fizzled because at that point FarSight was just not doing good work anymore. Star Trek, AC/DC, Mustang, Ghostbusters are some of their worst recreations imo. The physics are lousy, the sound design is crummy, and it initially came out in that separate game with the garbage UI.

But I can also see Stern deciding that they're not releasing due to vpin stuff as well. I wonder how intensive the SPIKE 2 stuff is to emulate anyway.

#?Nov 26, 2024 22:33

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Bloody Hedgehog

Dec 12, 2003

💥💥🤯💥💥
Gotta nuke something

It's not really intensive. There are vpin recreations of all their modern tables, and they run fine any machine that's halfway decent.

It's just finding copies of them that can be difficult. And I believe newer 64-bit revisions of Visual Pinball/VPinMame are not supporting them partly because of Stern's wishes, and partly because Stern's a 32-bit platform, so you have to use older 32-bit versions of the software. Which is fine, but development for the 32-bit versions will stagnate over time.

#?Nov 26, 2024 22:55

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Professor Beetus

Apr 12, 2007

Man that poo poo sucks all around. I guess I will try and look into vpin a bit but last time I looked into that, all the stuff I could find was grognardy games modder coded stuff and I couldn't really make heads or tails of how it was supposed to work. Maybe it's easier now or maybe I wasn't finding the right resources. I'm glad they're still adding more Williams stuff to Pinball FX because their physics are top notch, but it would be nice to be able to play more modern stuff virtually.

On a positive note I may be going to the Next Level Pinball Museum in Oregon on Friday which would be incredible. 650+ machines, I am already looking to see what they have so I can have a priority list lol

#?Nov 26, 2024 23:33

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Sunk Dunk

Apr 14, 2021

There's a fastbreak for sale by me for 4k. I like the game, but I don't think it'd be amazing in a 1 pin lineup. I gotta find something I like for around that price. If anyone in the PNW area is selling anything cool, lemme know#?Nov 26, 2024 23:34

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djfooboo

Oct 16, 2004

I’ve had my longest ball ever of Fastbreak. I had to have gone 20+ minutes on one ball. I eventually just let it sink because I was bored.#?Nov 27, 2024 08:40

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roffels

Jul 27, 2004

Yo Taxi!

It's good to have a game you love, but I've never regretted getting a game I got bored of - learn the game, master it, move it along. Allows you to experience variety. I get more frustrated when I love a game and don't want to let it go, since that means I won't be able to get another!#?Nov 27, 2024 12:38

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#?Nov 27, 2024 15:40

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Damn Dirty Ape

Jan 23, 2015

I love you Dr. Zaius

So a quick trip report from a bad pinball player.

This weekend I visited Jackpot Pinball Arcade in Purcelville, VA.. I went with my 7 year old son and we each got a day pass for $15 a piece (it's $10 for an hour). It was clean, in a nice location, and the teenager working there was nice and attentive (there was a stuck ball in Maverick and he fixed it immediately when I brought it to his attention). There were somewhere around 40 different pinball machines from all eras along with a large assortment of modern Stern machines (mostly pros). I live in a pinball desert so I was able to play most of these for the first time. My only slight disappointment is it didn't have any of the holy trinity of 90s pinball classics (Medieval Madness, Attack from Mars, or Monster Bash). I also didn't get to play their 'Aliens' because it was down for repairs.

John Wick (pro) - I only put a few games on this one. To be honest, my first game was terrible and left a pretty bad impression. I did come back to it though and had some fun. I don't know why, but it gave me a 90s Sega vibe. This was probably my least favorite of the newer machines.

Star Wars (premium) - This was very hard but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and the 'hyperloop' toy is pretty great. Not a big fan of the 'tap the button to kill the tie fighters' mini game or the asteroid field one, but then again I can't really think of any 'mini game' that I don't immediately want to skip from any game. Actually I just thought of one, I don't mind the blackjack minigame on Maverick because it is short, thematic, and simple.

James Bond (pro) - Only got one play in and it seemed 'ok'. I could have gone back to it but I didn't so I guess that says enough about its first impression.

Jaws (pro) - I really liked this one. Hitting that chum bucket and having the playfield fill up with blood is cool effect that is very thematic. It also seemed to have a more 'direct' progression/story which I appreciated. The shots were fun and the game seemed 'well balanced' in that it didn't seem overly hard or easy. This was another game that reminded me a bit of some of my favorite 90s pins like Attack from Mars. I definitely want to play this one some more.

Foo Fighters (pro) - Really liked this one. Seemed easy at first but that was probably just a mirage since I came back down to earth after my first game. I really appreciate how different Jack Danger's layouts are which is kind of evident by FF and the next item probably being my most played. This was another favorite, but something tells me 'Jaws' may have more staying power.

Uncanny Xmen (premium) - I really liked this game. The sentinel head bash toy is fun. I'm not so sure about the 'danger room' mini playfield on the side though because despite playing quite a few times it never really clicked with me. I loved the bizarre layout. The first time playing it was a real WTF moment because I went in blind having never even watched a preview video and those ramps and wireforms just go every which way (even though I'm not sure if I like the danger room yet I liked the wireform entry going below the flippers, that is cool). This machine was turned up loud enough for me to actually hear it pretty clearly and I liked what I heard from the callouts. Animations seemed fine too but then again I'm usually focused enough on the playfield to miss a lot of them. My son and I both actually fell into the trap of watching one of the 'mission' animations and losing a ball because it ejected basically as the animation was finishing. I also love the theme, the goals, and the adventure that the machine takes you on (but I'm generally a sucker for the 'complete the team or band' type of goals anyway). I would have to play this game a long time to get used to the center post.

Random other thoughts:

Played Maverick for the first time and it was a really engaging table. Definitely one I would consider picking up used if I had the time and money. Tried a couple games on Twister but wasn't really feeling it.

One of the highlights was just starting a random game of Apollo 13. I wasn't really paying a lot of attention and was kind of 'in the zone' of hitting a ramp over and over and had completed the 'BLASTOFF' without realizing it so I accidentally started the 13 ball multiball. Well when it started ejecting all of those balls I couldn't stop laughing and my son is still talking about it today days later. It's totally a pointless gimmick because there is nothing you can feasible do with any kind of skill with that many balls out on the table at once, but it sure was an experience.

#?Nov 27, 2024 13:48

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