Pinball newbie, here!

[Kitten]

Hey, everybody!

When the Paranormal table was free a little while ago, I picked it up, not even expecting to play it - I'm a bit of a packrat for deals and often pick things up on the cheap/free and then don't even touch them. After getting sufficiently bored a few days later, I decided to fire it up and play it for a few minutes (after all, it had a few achievements to get), and ended up playing it for several hours, instead. I had a lot of fun with it! I even got my father to try the game out, who ended up glued to it for nearly an hour, himself (he used to play a lot of pinball back in college). Given his entire lack of enthusiasm for video games, an hour was a really long time for him to actually get sucked into one.

I kind of shrugged it off, for the moment, as a little temporary infatuation and thought I'd probably never buy any tables. The sale hits this week, though, and I end up trying the marvel pack on demo and buy it as soon as it prompts me to. Then, I buy the Captain America table, because, man, these tables are pretty cool. Soon after, I've got the Core pack and the Ms. Splosion Man table, too, and I'm thinking about picking up another points card to grab the classic pack (which I'm aware isn't nearly as good as most others) and a few more tables.

I've gotten pretty darn hooked! Most of my pinball exposure was hours and hours of Revenge of the Gator (mostly) and Pokemon Pinball (less so) when I was younger; they were both games I would get really hooked on during camping trips, especially. I've played a few real tables, but I have this bizarre intimidation when playing games in a real arcade setting because I'm afraid of my quarters going to waste, so I've mostly just watched others play.

This is my first "real" pinball exposure in years, and I'm surprised I had never really gotten into it sooner. It seems like a really genuine art form to craft a great table, and there's a really unique skillset that goes into playing pinball that is tough as nails to master. Although I'm extremely proficient at shmups and run 'n guns and action platformers - video game genres requiring relatively high skill intensity - I'm definitely a near infant when it comes to pinball (the same can be said for most "ball bouncing" types of games, including Arkanoid/Breakout and those types. I'm not sure I've got the reflexes for this stuff).

I'm having a lot of trouble getting the hang of it, and seem to barely be improving at all. I'm pretty good at not flailing wildly when in a bad situation or nervously activating both flippers when I don't know what to do, but I'm bad at timing shots right and can be really impatient. Whenever I am patient, it doesn't always pay off, so I often end up forgetting about it entirely and messing myself up. I'm still trying to get passing between flippers down, too.

The achievements for the game are almost downright sadistic to someone as green as I am, and losing my 3rd ball on a table before even doing anything remotely significant is admittedly a little bit ego-shattering. My perseverance to improve myself made me skilled at a lot of other games and genres (I've been no. 1 overall on very difficult games' leaderboards before, like Super Meat Boy, Mega Man 9 and Gradius Rebirth, among others), but being at the bottom again in the pinball domain is just crushing.

I've definitely gained an admiration for pinball as an art form, though, and am really glad to see that something with such a niche skillset has both dedicated fans and a place on the market, today. These tables all have a lot of genuine difficulty and complexity to them, and my appreciation for them and the hobby has definitely swelled. It's amazing how each table has its own rules and has such exuberant personality to it - I admire greatly how much the Marvel tables pay homage to their characters, and are so lovingly "in character". That said, I still need improve massively before I can even call myself decent at any of them.

My highest score so far is about 79m on the Spider-Man table (literally about half of my overall score over the 11 tables I own), which I got only ever beating the Green Goblin in terms of table events, and only once (some of these rules are still a bit hard to get down, to repeat myself, I'm really impressed with their complexity, and the complexity of most pinball tables, in general). I have a few friends with much higher scores than myself across each table, and I really want to beat them in at least ONE table... It would do wonders for my husk of an ego when it comes to this game. I'd also like to get the achievements for more tables, but I suppose that will come along with developing my skill, in general.

So, anybody got any tips to share with me? Maybe an easier table to practice on, or at least recommendations on the best tables? I have a PS3, too, and I've heard good things about the Tesla and NGII tables. My dad has played the game some more and loved it, and I'm trying to get my mom to try it a bit, too, as she claims she used to be a "wizard" in college, herself. I'm really damn impressed with what Zen has done, here, how are their 3DS tables? And are others worth getting? I've heard good things about the Williams Hall of Fame collection. I'm a bit worried my interest in the hobby may be short-lived, as I'm eventually beaten down by the anxiety of under-performing (I'm a tad perfectionist), but I'd love to get more into it, and even if I end up losing interest, I think my eyes have been open to a lifelong sense of respect for the hobby.

I know I've written a lot here, but I know many of you are really enthusiastic about pinball, so I didn't hold back trying to keep things to myself. I hope you guys appreciate me spilling my guts, and don't pick fun at me for being so bad, too much! Cheers.

[Babbylonian]

First of all, welcome!

I'm having a lot of trouble getting the hang of it, and seem to barely be improving at all.

The first thing you need to know is that you'll need patience to improve, and even after many hours of play your skills will probably still largely be table dependent. I'm pretty decent on most tables but there are still some that I have trouble with (Blade and Rome; the former because I really need to read a guide to improve my scoring and the latter because I find its ramps brutal!). The best advice that I think anyone can give is to pick one table at a time and work it hard.

The achievements for the game are almost downright sadistic to someone as green as I am, and losing my 3rd ball on a table before even doing anything remotely significant is admittedly a little bit ego-shattering.

Don't sweat the achievements until you've really gotten a handle on the mechanics and the scoring of each table. But, if you really want to feel the achievement rush, focus in on Ms. 'Splosion Man.

My highest score so far is about 79m on the Spider-Man table (literally about half of my overall score over the 11 tables I own)

I think that's a good sign, especially since you have Ms. 'Splosion Man, which is an easier table to score on. With Spider-Man, the main thing you need to do is learn how to activate each mission. I think Doctor Octopus is the easiest to abuse once you get past the way he can obscure a lot of table area - he activates by hitting the top hole right under him twice.

So, anybody got any tips to share with me? Maybe an easier table to practice on, or at least recommendations on the best tables?

If you want to experience accomplishment and improve your ramp skills, Ms. 'Splosion Man is the place to go. With a little practice, it'll become your highest scoring table just by hitting the ramps over and over.

I have a PS3, too, and I've heard good things about the Tesla and NGII tables.

I love Tesla but, to be honest, it's the only table I could recommend Zen Pinball for. It would probably be a mistake to get Zen Pinball at this stage just because the physics are so different. I'd recommend holding off until they release Zen Pinball 2 which should at least match up with the Pinball FX2 mechanics, if not better them.

I'm really damn impressed with what Zen has done, here, how are their 3DS tables?

I haven't played Zen's 3DS game but I did play a pinball game I really enjoyed on the DSi - it's been a long time and I don't remember the name (something Ancients), but it's a Greek mythology table and it's a lot of fun.

I've heard good things about the Williams Hall of Fame collection.

The thing about the PHOF games is that you should be able to find them very cheap - $15-20 for all those tables is a really good deal. I prefer FX2 overall but there's a lot of fun to be had with Williams PHOF.

I'm a bit worried my interest in the hobby may be short-lived, as I'm eventually beaten down by the anxiety of under-performing (I'm a tad perfectionist), but I'd love to get more into it, and even if I end up losing interest, I think my eyes have been open to a lifelong sense of respect for the hobby.

If you've enjoyed pinball enough to get 11 tables, I don't think there's much risk of giving up on it. You've apparently got the persistence necessary to excel and, based on this one post, I suspect you'll at least come back to it weekly, if not get obsessed with improving your scores and spend way too much time pinballing.

Good luck and, again, welcome!

(and Happy Thanksgiving!)

[X DrLobo]

Welcome to the forum !

I can't really give you tips about pinball since i'm far from a wizard myself but i still can advise you to get your hands on sorcerer's lair wich is a great table too.

Regarding 3ds the game isn't out yet but should be very soon ... next week supposedly on the nintendo Eshop

As for the williams collection title, you'll find people who like , other who dislike but regardless of your tastes the game lacks the quality of zen 's productions, IMO it's still 'enjoyable' and is a budget title so ....

[Verjigorm]

Hi and welcome to the forums!

I know exactly how you feel, cause I started out with the same idea. I just wanted to try out FX2 and was sure that my attention span wouldn't last for more than a few days.
That was back in March. I'm still around and play the game on and off. So it has definately the potential to keep its players.

The only really good advice I can give you, is to just keep playing and concentrate on practicing difficult shots. Then you will experience something amazing, cause at some point shots you'd never thought would be possible just happen to be possible all of a sudden.

And you keep growing. Sometimes, when I didn't play a table for a couple of weeks, but played others, I instantly increase my highscore in the first 1-3 games on the table, cause my "general pinball skill" just went up.
Finding out how missions work, experiencing them and succeding in the end is a very rewarding process, if you stick to it.

Another plus side is the amazing community. Everybody is very helpful, there are a lot of great guides here and the discussions are mostly productive and lack the annoying flame/troll tendancies of other game forums.

I hope you and your family enjoy the ride. It's highly entertaining and addictive.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

Practice = Success

Welcome to the forums m8, well I would say to continue practicing trust me it will soon become Muscle Memory and I would suggest playing one Table first to get the hang of everything.

Ms. Splosion Man & Sorcerers Laor are both very good starting Tables for casuals so I would say go for them. I have a Guide available for Splosion Man which should help ya, just click the link in my sig. I will have one out for Sorcerers Lair soon also.

In terms of achievements yep some of them are real hard but don't worry about that yet, just try to improve your handling of the Ball etc then you can set yourself mini-goals etc. I used to be awful at Pinball but ive managed to get decent scores up, all achievements in PFX1 and at the moment have all achievements in PFX2. I just practiced like mad, I remember playing PFX1 and my friends sending me messages saying why aint you playing Halo 3 etc.

Also check out the Strategy Threads on the forums from members such as Cloda, it explains how to amass the most points on a given Table.

Hope this helps. M8 remember also this community is very helpful someone will always be willing to help you out.

[shogun00]

Welcome to the forums Kitten.

When the Paranormal table was free a little while ago, I picked it up, not even expecting to play it - I'm a bit of a packrat for deals and often pick things up on the cheap/free and then don't even touch them. After getting sufficiently bored a few days later, I decided to fire it up and play it for a few minutes (after all, it had a few achievements to get), and ended up playing it for several hours, instead. I had a lot of fun with it! I even got my father to try the game out, who ended up glued to it for nearly an hour, himself (he used to play a lot of pinball back in college). Given his entire lack of enthusiasm for video games, an hour was a really long time for him to actually get sucked into one.

I can't stop laughing at this part. I got the same reaction with five of my friends, when they bought Marvel Pinball for the PS3.

So, anybody got any tips to share with me?

Try learning the basic flipper and nudging techniques. There are a ton of videos on YouTube from the pros showing you the ropes and how to complete the missions on each table.

I'll give you the three basic techniques, that are the most important to me.

1.) Learn to use one flipper at a time. In a real machine, using both flippers at the same time reduces the power output on the flippers. This is also true on Zen's tables.

2.) Learn how to capture the ball with the flipper. This should help improve precision in your shots.

3.) Learn the basic techniques in nudging, especially the nudge pass (press up on the analog stick). Keep in mind, that you get two tilt warnings before the actual tilt. The tilt warnings will rest after 15 seconds, so you can nudge quite often.

Maybe an easier table to practice on, or at least recommendations on the best tables?

Buy the Sorcerer's Lair table. That table is super easy IMO and great for beginners.

I have a PS3, too, and I've heard good things about the Tesla and NGII tables.

Wait until early next year when Zen releases Zen Pinball 2, which will upgrade the physics on all of the tables to Pinball FX 2 standards. Zen Pinball is really outdated at the moment (compared to Marvel Pinball for PS3) and it suffers from a nasty ball accelerating (ball spin) glitch, that can make the game down right frustrating at times.

how are [the] 3DS tables?

No comment! The game isn't out yet for the 3DS.

I've heard good things about the Williams Hall of Fame collection.

I would avoid getting the collection, since FarSight is making a new game called "Arcade Pinball". It should be out sometime early next year for all major platforms (XBLA, PSN, iOS, etc...). This game will contain most of the tables in PBHoF along with a much better physics engine.

[Cloda]

Welcome Kitten to the forum... so much have been said on these forums before (including the good advice above) that I became lazy (smart ) and now refer to previous posts rather than write it out again. Here goes:

- Blue's FAQ (including the Internet Pinball Database Skill Section link)

- A very nice video on basic techniques by fireball

- Nekro Neko's video thread

- Worthwhile thread on preferred views

- My new player tips 1

- My new player tips 2

- My new player tips 3

For my strategy guides and videos for some of the tables and overhead images follow the links in my signature.

I would also suggest that you start with Sorcerer's Lair and Ms. Splosion Man.

Remember the search function because most table specific questions have been asked before and answered. As you can see the members on this forum is very willing to help so please ask as many questions as you want. I'm also quite a perfectionist so I am constantly striving to get better at this awesome game and to encourage Zen Studios to keep improving the various aspects of the game even though it is already on quite a high standard.

Good luck and enjoy

[Bababooeyville]

Bro, my suggestion is to try and calm Down, it sounds like you are putting so much pressure on yourself.
One of the key attributes of being a good pinball player is patience, something that I am really starting to learn. Start with one table and stick with it until you master that #$%&. Trap the ball and take a good shot whenever possible. Youlll Learn what is a risky shot and when to take them(after activating ball kicks and savers) you can't get greedy And take unnecessary risk, all this comes down to is experience, after playing awhile, it should start to just fall into place, almost magic like. No joke, muscle memory is a powerful thing. What seems hard right now will pbe a joke to you. You'll wonder how the hell you ever thought it was hard. As Spiderman is my favorite table and you've seem to have some success at it already. I recommend just playing that table right now until you really feel comfortable with it and can make any shot when you need too.

That's all I got bro,let me just say this. You are in the right place. If it wasn't for people like cloda,shoryukentothoechin,and Many others. I wouldn't be half the player I am(and I still have a long way to go, but seeing progress every time I play, Keeps me plugging away). Read the guides, they WILL help you much.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

That's all I got bro,let me just say this. You are in the right place. If it wasn't for people like cloda,shoryukentothoechin,and Many others. I wouldn't be half the player I am(and I still have a long way to go, but seeing progress every time I play, Keeps me plugging away). Read the guides, they WILL help you much.

Thanks for the shout out m8, its always nice to know you have helped someone out.

Its true near all the advice given is on point, Im sure if he follows this he will become a better player. I do agree the major no no of Pinball is don't play when you are not calm, nothing well go right for you.. people need to think of Pinball as a game of Poker, you need to put your Poker Face on so to speak.

[Kitten]

Wow, thanks everybody for the welcomes! I could tell this forum was definitely supportive before posting (which is what gave me the notion to), but I wasn't expecting this warm a reception, still.

The first thing you need to know is that you'll need patience to improve, and even after many hours of play your skills will probably still largely be table dependent.

Patience is definitely not my strong suit. A lot of people think I'm really patient with games, but I think it's more that I am very, very persistent and stubborn rather than anything else. As for skills being table dependent - I actually hadn't really considered this very much, though it seems a bit obvious now that it's pointed out. Everyone seems to be saying to focus on easier tables for a while, that's probably what I should do.

I think that's a good sign, especially since you have Ms. 'Splosion Man, which is an easier table to score on. With Spider-Man, the main thing you need to do is learn how to activate each mission. I think Doctor Octopus is the easiest to abuse once you get past the way he can obscure a lot of table area - he activates by hitting the top hole right under him twice.

I'm gonna check out a guide for Spider-Man before I play it next - I can activate each of the fights, but I don't know how to beat any of them and seem to always beat Goblin, but I never know what I do to get that to work (mostly because it's taking all of my focus to just make sure I don't drain my ball or the pumpkin bombs).

If you've enjoyed pinball enough to get 11 tables, I don't think there's much risk of giving up on it. You've apparently got the persistence necessary to excel and, based on this one post, I suspect you'll at least come back to it weekly, if not get obsessed with improving your scores and spend way too much time pinballing.

I've actually already played so much I'm probably going to -physically- need to take a little break for a couple days. A tendon on my wrist/forearm hurts whenever I do a trigger squeeze right now, and I'm darn near 100% certain it's from how excited I get when slamming the triggers down (at least, with my right hand). I always feel I need to push the trigger a little harder than I actually need to, and it seems that's having its revenge on me. I smooshed my thumb a bunch when I was obsessed with Super Meat Boy, too, because I'd always really press in the jump button when "in the zone."

Good luck and, again, welcome!

(and Happy Thanksgiving!)

Heheh, thanks! I got stuffffffffed for Thanksgiving.

I can't really give you tips about pinball since i'm far from a wizard myself but i still can advise you to get your hands on sorcerer's lair wich is a great table too.

Yeah, the recommendations are definitely in favor of me getting Sorcerer's Lair, it'll certainly be my next table. I gotta pick up some MS Points to get Beyond Good & Evil for only 240 points when it's on sale for Monday, so I'll probably be spending the entire rest of the card on FX2 tables.

The only really good advice I can give you, is to just keep playing and concentrate on practicing difficult shots. Then you will experience something amazing, cause at some point shots you'd never thought would be possible just happen to be possible all of a sudden.

I've gotten close to feeling a couple of "zen" moments, but I definitely know the feeling you're talking about. Shmups/space shooters are often looked to as one of the most genuinely challenging forms of video gaming, and trying to master some of them definitely led to awesome feelings of accomplishment.

Welcome to the forums m8, well I would say to continue practicing trust me it will soon become Muscle Memory and I would suggest playing one Table first to get the hang of everything.

One table definitely seems to be the way to go - I'm really looking forward to trying out Sorcerer's Lair. I tried Ms. Splosion Man again yesterday for just a short time, too, and managed to hit around 80mil without even trying very hard. Not impressive to anyone here, I'm sure, but that was a big leap in increasing score, for me.

Ms. Splosion Man & Sorcerers Laor are both very good starting Tables for casuals so I would say go for them. I have a Guide available for Splosion Man which should help ya, just click the link in my sig. I will have one out for Sorcerers Lair soon also.

I'm definitely sure I'll be using your guides when trying to improve - I took a quick look at the Spider-Man one, holding the controller backward when Mysterio's effect is up is a really clever move.

I'll give you the three basic techniques, that are the most important to me.

1.) Learn to use one flipper at a time. In a real machine, using both flippers at the same time reduces the power output on the flippers. This is also true on Zen's tables.

2.) Learn how to capture the ball with the flipper. This should help improve precision in your shots.

3.) Learn the basic techniques in nudging, especially the nudge pass (press up on the analog stick). Keep in mind, that you get two tilt warnings before the actual tilt. The tilt warnings will rest after 15 seconds, so you can nudge quite often.

I've been doing the first one without even knowing that - I never thought about it, but I always got that "feeling" that when I flipped both, it would be weaker. I'm surprised to have caught onto it without even giving it any real, conscious thought. I used to flip both a lot when playing pinball games when I was younger, and always remembered it getting me a drained ball.

As for capturing the ball - I always feel like it's kinda "cheap" when I do that, and it also gets me really impatient. I just kinda feel like I'm cheating the game. I've seen a lot of guides suggest I do it to help improve myself, though, so I guess I better get on it, right?

I'm definitely getting better at passing - I just need to get a sense for when the tilt alarm resets so I don't end up accidentally losing a ball when trying to do it too often.

Wait until early next year when Zen releases Zen Pinball 2, which will upgrade the physics on all of the tables to Pinball FX 2 standards. Zen Pinball is really outdated at the moment (compared to Marvel Pinball for PS3) and it suffers from a nasty ball accelerating (ball spin) glitch, that can make the game down right frustrating at times.

Alright, I'll try to keep my eye out for when it's updated.

No comment! The game isn't out yet for the 3DS.

Heheh, whoops. At this rate, I think I'm going to get it no matter what just to support the studio.

I would avoid getting the collection, since FarSight is making a new game called "Arcade Pinball". It should be out sometime early next year for all major platforms (XBLA, PSN, iOS, etc...). This game will contain most of the tables in PBHoF along with a much better physics engine.

Ah, wow! Gotcha, then. I'll definitely keep my eyes open. If I find it cheap, I might still get it, anyway, though.

Welcome Kitten to the forum... so much have been said on these forums before (including the good advice above) that I became lazy (smart ) and now refer to previous posts rather than write it out again.

Thanks! I'll check these out.

Remember the search function because most table specific questions have been asked before and answered. As you can see the members on this forum is very willing to help so please ask as many questions as you want. I'm also quite a perfectionist so I am constantly striving to get better at this awesome game and to encourage Zen Studios to keep improving the various aspects of the game even though it is already on quite a high standard.

Good luck and enjoy

The general consensus seems to be that FX2 is the best pinball game out right now, from what I gather (although it seems more like a platform for excellent tables than a single "game"). What do you guys think?

Bro, my suggestion is to try and calm Down, it sounds like you are putting so much pressure on yourself.

*Sis, actually. Not bro.

But yeah, that's a problem I have when it comes to more than just games, and I'm definitely trying to work on it.

[Bababooeyville]

I should have known by your name, I guess I'm guilty of making the assumption you were a guy, since most people here are dudes. My bad.
You sure like to talk like a woman

I'm just kidding

[shogun00]

As for capturing the ball - I always feel like it's kinda "cheap" when I do that, and it also gets me really impatient. I just kinda feel like I'm cheating the game. I've seen a lot of guides suggest I do it to help improve myself, though, so I guess I better get on it, right?

You're not cheating and it's one of the first techniques that was created by the pinball wizards.

All the pros use that technique. In fact, once I learned that technique myself several years ago. My scores improved drastically in my games in general (real machines and emulations).

[Babbylonian]

I've actually already played so much I'm probably going to -physically- need to take a little break for a couple days. A tendon on my wrist/forearm hurts whenever I do a trigger squeeze right now, and I'm darn near 100% certain it's from how excited I get when slamming the triggers down (at least, with my right hand). I always feel I need to push the trigger a little harder than I actually need to, and it seems that's having its revenge on me. I smooshed my thumb a bunch when I was obsessed with Super Meat Boy, too, because I'd always really press in the jump button when "in the zone."

Now that you mention it, another thing that might help your play is switching the flipper buttons to the RB/LB buttons instead of RT/LT. I did it because they have more of a "clicky" feel that I like and they can be tapped faster. It should at least relieve some of your finger stress since even when you hit the buttons hard, at least they don't travel too far.

[Nekro Neko]

I know it may leave you feeling deflated due to some of our scores being astronomically high, but I'm sure you can feel free to add some of us to your FL if you like to talk about techniques and tips.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

Its all in the wrists lol

I'm definitely sure I'll be using your guides when trying to improve - I took a quick look at the Spider-Man one, holding the controller backward when Mysterio's effect is up is a really clever move.

Yeh its one of the things that I did str8 away without even thinking.

This Thread is also very awesome - It contains loads of videos and what not

http://forum.zenstudios.com/showthread.php?t=3222