Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within

[Cloda]

Nah... I'm all for realistic slingshots. That has always been one of the things I like about pinball and that is that sometimes you have to really work hard at figuring out how to best play a table by e.g. learning to avoid certain shots. Good old Ironman, is a perfect example with you having to be very careful about shooting the lock hole target. With all this said, I must admit that I haven't yet had a chance to play any of the new tables so I might feel a bit different about it once I have done so. But in principle I do like the idea of having some really tough and frustrating tables also in the mix.

[OriginalEther]

Count me as someone who doesn't like the high-strung slingshots at all.
Ultimately, I find that they increase difficulty more by being annoying, rather than being challenging.

As for the question in regards to being able to adjust them on a table and the leaderboards, perhaps a score multiplier can be included, to reward those who do select the more difficult setting?

[tenorhero]

Nah... I'm all for realistic slingshots. That has always been one of the things I like about pinball and that is that sometimes you have to really work hard at figuring out how to best play a table by e.g. learning to avoid certain shots. Good old Ironman, is a perfect example with you having to be very careful about shooting the lock hole target. With all this said, I must admit that I haven't yet had a chance to play any of the new tables so I might feel a bit different about it once I have done so. But in principle I do like the idea of having some really tough and frustrating tables also in the mix.

You'll be happy with what this pack entails.

Masters - love the table and it's by far my favorite of the the SW Tables. It is Tough and challenging but at some point it's more frustratingly ridiculous on how accurate you have to be to shoot that left Orbit. Especially on the Dark side fight mission #1. You have to hit that orbit to make the ball spin on the pyramid. Eventually you have to hit the yoda target to get to the next stage. Love that you need to be accuarte but don't make it nearly impossible.

Similarly, the jedi Holocron cube you have to hit the center circle to get anything to trigger/register. Not impossible just need to be accurate which is cool

This table and Han Solo really requires accurate shots to get scores on those table.

Han solo is fun- The only challenging aspect I see for many is that there are tons of modes that you have to complete to light the corresponding mode. I don't think there are mission per say it's just that you have to light up that list to get to the Wizard and it's a looooong list.

Droids Not difficult. It's one of those Marathon tables IMO which I dislike. (Darth Vader-esque but way better)

Episode IV some of the mission timers are pretty tight but not impossible. The only concern I have is to exploit the Yavin MB. Just open up those right/left ramp diverters by hitting the speeder or the target above the right sling shot. to get into the bumpers and hit the bumpers 50 times. Start a 4 ball multiball and Jackpots ramp up. I'm not sure what the MAX is but the super is 5m.

Just to add for STTC for his guides. EPisode IV

The escape the Sandcrawler Mode with the mini table (Table under the playfield) is pretty cool. I'm not sure how it starts I think you shoot that center target (Very similar to the Cathedral entrance in infinity Gauntlet) several times. One in, Shoot the right and left sides to free R3 and 3PO and you get 2 balls. Hit the targets and left/right orbits for 1m+ points before timer is out.

Play and survive the Tusken Minigame, survive the full mode gives you 5m finish bonus and light Extra ball.

Similar to that the Cantina Mini-game. you shoot at greedo in the windows and doors by moving you blaster with the left/right flippers as he pops up randomly. hit enough in a row and there is a target for extra ball. Hit that and it lights extra ball.

I think also when you do the Alliance mode when you find the X-wing it also light Extra ball. I'm thinking training mode does something similar.


Just to add again. I'm for more realistic sling shots. Not ridiculous but it really makes the game much more exciting.

[shogun00]

I don't have an issue with the high powered sling shots. My problem is that the ball feels like rubber on this table. Every time it hits one of the divider posts between the in and out lanes. The ball becomes very unpredictable and for some reason it's more difficult to preform a Bang Back on this table.

[snakeman07]

I don't have an issue with the high powered sling shots. My problem is that the ball feels like rubber on this table. Everytime hits one of the divider posts between the in and out lanes. The ball becomes very unpredictable and for some reason it's more difficult to preform a Bang Back on this table.

Exactly this! Those divider posts are crazy, and maybe that's more in line with my gripe, rather than the supped up slingshots. I think if the posts were more normal, then maybe I'd like it more. I need to play more, though.

I don't prefer the high powered slingshots, but it's okay to have them on a few tables to mix things up. I certainly wouldn't prefer them to be on any of the other tables, either, that's for sure, though it would be interesting to test out. It would be cool to give us an option to use them for those that want it, but then that's a whole debate of getting high scores without using them, yada yada yada, it would create a mess.

[LeanderL]

The slingshots of Return are powerful but the ones of A New Hope are insane. Gotta be the less controllable Pinball FX2 table.
Nothing more to add...I just wanted to get my #200th post.

[ALH2012]

I definitely dig the slingshot action on A New Hope(don't need it implemented on every table, it is nice to have some variety and independence between tables).I dig all of the SW tables but on the whole i like the Original Trilogy tables the best.They are very well designed and extremely playable.Just a very nice flow on those tables in particular.Great job deep!And great job Zen for the SW series!What's next?

[skyway73]

I think they are underjuiced on the other tables However I can adjust it a bit for the next time we release an update. Maybe a voting should decide, because there are many players who like these real life pinball slingshots.

I agree that the slingshots are too weak in other tables but I would not like to see them adjusted now, that would just open a can of worms regarding the leaderboards not to mention trophies/achievments. The Return of the Jedi slingshots seem perfect to me, they create excitement/panic but can mostly be avoided given enough practice. I don't mind if not all tables have them this powerful though as it's fine to have some variety. But if it had to be one or the other I would definitely vote for the more powerful ones.

I know it's not meant to be a pinball simulation but we have it easy with the Zen tables really, easy to enable kickbacks, easily acheivable extra balls, the ability to catch the ball on the flippers without any chance of it rolling off, a forgiving nudge mechanic etc... It's nice to have a challenge, too many video games hold your hand nowadays. I'll stop now before I start to list the brutally tough games I used to play when I was younger

I'll post back my thoughts on the new tables when I've spent more time with them, there are definitely more good things to say than bad though, Zen really are getting better and better and I'm loving it!

[LeanderL]

The concept of having different slingshots is fresh. It would be boring if the physics on all tables were the same.

[Roddy100]

The slingshots of Return are powerful but the ones of A New Hope are insane. Gotta be the less controllable Pinball FX2 table.
Nothing more to add...I just wanted to get my #200th post.

Exactly this! A New Hope's slingshots are crazy powerful! I wouldn't mind them being toned down a little but I would definitely NOT want to see the slingshots on any previous tables adjusted.

I do like some tables having slightly more powerful slingshots just for a bit of variety, and I can accept that as part of a table's challenge.

The Empire Strikes Back Table remains my favourite of the Episode tables and that is because it provides a good challenge but still feels fair. (The others are still awesome though and I appreciate Deep's fantastic work).

[Cloda]

You'll be happy with what this pack entails.

Episode IV some of the mission timers are pretty tight but not impossible. The only concern I have is to exploit the Yavin MB. Just open up those right/left ramp diverters by hitting the speeder or the target above the right sling shot. to get into the bumpers and hit the bumpers 50 times. Start a 4 ball multiball and Jackpots ramp up. I'm not sure what the MAX is but the super is 5m.

Just to add for STTC for his guides. EPisode IV

The escape the Sandcrawler Mode with the mini table (Table under the playfield) is pretty cool. I'm not sure how it starts I think you shoot that center target (Very similar to the Cathedral entrance in infinity Gauntlet) several times. One in, Shoot the right and left sides to free R3 and 3PO and you get 2 balls. Hit the targets and left/right orbits for 1m+ points before timer is out.

Play and survive the Tusken Minigame, survive the full mode gives you 5m finish bonus and light Extra ball.

Similar to that the Cantina Mini-game. you shoot at greedo in the windows and doors by moving you blaster with the left/right flippers as he pops up randomly. hit enough in a row and there is a target for extra ball. Hit that and it lights extra ball.

I think also when you do the Alliance mode when you find the X-wing it also light Extra ball. I'm thinking training mode does something similar.


Just to add again. I'm for more realistic sling shots. Not ridiculous but it really makes the game much more exciting.

Episode IV is good fun - the slingshots are something else and initially I felt like there is no way that you can protect that right out lane. I soon though started focussing on the FORCE targets and once you start aiming for them, they are actually not that difficult. Once you have the kick-backs activated, you can then proceed with the missions etc. As soon as a kick-back is used, just focus on the FORCE targets again to reactivate. Watch out for the left orbit shot because if you try to catch the ball coming around, it often bounces towards the right out lane, you also can't let the ball just bounce as it sometimes go straight down the middle... I suggest shooting it directly, aiming for one of the left orbits or lanes. The kick-backs stay lit if you lose a ball, but they get used up with the multi-balls when a one of the balls activate it. For now, I am bringing the multi-balls down to two balls so that I can control it better and protect the kick-backs. Also, I suggest you start the game focussing on starting the Cantina mini-game as that is an easy extra ball. I'm still learning the table so my strategy will definitely evolve as I go along.

[OriginalEther]

Are the kickbacks [in Episode IV] reasonable to obtain?

Part of my issue with the slingshots on Jedi wasn't just their strength, but how the kickbacks were also unreliable. And then to boot, since it was a multiball table, the multiball modes would inevitably eat up whatever kickbacks you had.

[ALH2012]

Are the kickbacks [in Episode IV] reasonable to obtain?

Yeah definitely.And if still lit after ball loss they stay active with the next ball.A New Hope is a great table imo.

[tenorhero]

Han SOLO. This has become my favorite table of the pack. Masters still awesome but wow. The amount of stuff to do on this table. Multi-balls galore. Some fairly challenging but not impossible.

Really Hats off to Zoltan on this. I think there 6-7 mulitball modes on this table. Maybe more

I won't get into too much of all the multiballs but yeah completing all these modes are quite challenging and unique.

Here's a few to note

Kessel Run - Shoot the smuggle ramp and light the letters to Spell Smuggle. Shoot the left ramp to go try and lock the ball. When you look at the display there it shows you where to place the cargo (your ball). The controls are weird. It's hard to explain but pressing certain flippers make the crane move right and one makes it move forward. You can't go left or up. It's timed so you have to act fast as you can miss the holes entirely. If you don't lock the ball, he will quote 'Laugh it up fusball!' If you successfully lock the ball into the correct hole the jackpots raise up. I only managed to do 1 in the right spot so my Jackpots were 2m. depending on where the lit lanes and sinkholes are aim for them and jackpots will multiply by 2 the shoot the right hole on the top by the flipper and get it back to the compartments. It's a really cool concept IMO. Sometimes it's just best to lock them but getting the cargo (ball) into the right compartment really raises your scores if you play the MB very well. I'm not sure what the max is.


Starting Death Star - Free the princess and Attack on Yavin is pretty tough. You have to time that center flipper just right hit Star and light the lock. For Free the Princess, basically get all the balls into the sinkhole where the extra ball would be. After freeing the princess Attack on Yavin begins. You have to light STAR again hit the Death start to complete the mission and that's timed. Really tough when you have 2 or more balls in play.

Same for the Escape from Jabba MB. Hitting that target above the left Slingshot is really tough. Timing is crucial you hit that target at it spells Frozen (No singing Let it Go) then you shoot the left lane to lock the ball. You guessed it you have to lock 3 balls to start the MB. I actually don't want to spoil this for you. This mode is really cool in what you have to do finish the mode.

I was one mode short getting to General SOLO. The last one was What a Hunk of Junk. Start by getting the ball up to that upper flipper, Get it back to the Millennium Flacon 3 times to play the little mini table. Hit all 4 targets for a 10M completion bonus and lock the ball through the left ramp. Do this 2 more times to start the mode. shoot the Jackpot lanes and get to light speed. Almost there but not quite.


Some of the other modes are pretty cool too. So much variety it amazes me how he designed this table.

Again this pack is awesome. Zen's designers really out did themselves on this pack. Can't wait to see what you guys/gals have in store for us in the next couple of months.

[Cloda]

I started with Episode IV so will probably only get to the other tables later in the week/month. I must say, I really love this table. At first you feel that it is so straight forward, but the difficulty of the table makes it a tough challenge with aspects such as the severe slingshots, speedy orbits with an inconsistent trajectory and the force field in the middle that release the ball at random angles. The ball also often bounce with inconsistent trajectory and at various speeds from the play field objects making me lose balls at the moments that feel completely against the run of play. At the moment, I tend to play well for a bit, but as soon as my concentration starts waning, the balls just disappear and the game is over before you know it. What it comes down to, is that this is a table that you have to play systematically and with a lot of care if you want to get anywhere... I love it! So my strategy for now starts with as I said in my previous post (keep those kickbacks activated!). Another suggestion for a safer approach to starting the game is to play mission 6 (2-ball multi-ball) for your first mission if you have not quite managed to activate your kickbacks at that stage.

I have managed to complete all the missions now at least once, but not yet all 6 in one game. Extra ball gets lit after you complete three missions and as far as I can tell the amount of points you get for completing a mission depends on how many you have already completed. I have scored 5, 10, 15 and 20 million for completing missions but don't know if that was all on one ball, or just me completing 4 missions in one game. In another game I also seem to recall that I got 10 million for completing a mission for the first time so I'll have to play some more to see what the case is. Well, that unfortunately has to wait till tonight because now I first have to work.

Well done Zen, I haven't enjoyed a table so much in quite a long time and from all the other comments it seems that the other tables in this pack are also winners.