noob question - Plants vs Zombies, general strategy etc?

[haha_dead]

Hey all,

New to Zen, love it. Video pinball's come a long way since I checked it out last. I always liked arcade pinball but never invested the time to get really good at it. At this point I'm learning about the basic mechanics (shooting orbits, advancing progressions, multis, learning how the scoring works on each table) and it's really got its hooks in me - I want to learn it and get good at it (whether these skills will transfer to a real table, I don't know..lol)

Noob question for some of the experts and the guys on the leaderboard - do you have links to vids of you putting up big scores? I'd like to see how good players approach play.

Also, is there a guide for advanced techniques, or methodology for getting the most out of practice?

What view mode do you play in?

I'm playing Plants Vs. Zombies - best I've done is 49 Mil. I can't hit the flower pot or the right orbit with any consistency, After a bunch of hours of practice I'm getting better at putting the ball where I want it, still not very consistent, though.

Input appreciated and nice to meet you! (first post)

[Peridot Weapon]

I can't offer any real skill advice, since my highest score is only hovering around the 200 million mark - but in terms of sheer "math," your objective should be to upgrade your scoring potential through Crazy Dave's Twiddlydinkies as quickly as possible.

At the very beginning, you start with 5,000 Coins. That's enough to buy the option to double your coin gains for the rest of the game (typically my first purchase unless I already have 10,000 Coins when I reach him).

The most important purchase is the 10,000 Coins "double score" option - this lasts for the rest of the game (not just the current ball) and doubles pretty much everything. Next objective should either be the 5,000 "double sun" bonus (if you're any good at hitting the shot needed to USE sun - I'm sure not) or the 8,000 "+1,000 Points for all targets" bonus.

The trick with getting to Crazy Dave is remembering what shots disable and reset his car. Multiball, the Sun Frenzy, the Zombie Challenges and any special modes will make the car go away, which can be annoying when you've hit both lights and just need to lock the ball in the trunk!


Other than that, the game has Extra Ball potential all over the place. I'm not even sure what triggers most of them and I'll often get three in a game. (I know one is from the Jack-in-the-Box, not sure of the others). I'm sure other players can offer more advanced strategies in how to keep the Ball Save active, if there's any rhyme or reason to the bonus you get from the Jack-in-the-Box (don't think so), etc. So far I've just been concentrating on Twiddlydinkies, repeatedly resetting You've Got Mail Multiball, and staying alive for as long as possible.

[haha_dead]

Thanks! Good points about upgrading score potential. I just need a ton of practice, I think.... guys in this forum have been playing zen for years and I started, well, yesterday.

Extra balls - hitting the outside orbits a few times advances a light on the upper middle box (forget what it's called, but it's used to start challenges). kickback, save ball, and extra ball.

I'm not sure how to advance jackpot amounts... but i've read comments that suggest hitting jackpot over and over on multiball reaps better scores than trying to play through all of the missions(?)

I do feel like it's a good noob game, though - you can play for a long time and get lots of second chances (with kickbacks and ball saves).

[shogun00]

Welcome to the forums!

Check out this video. Learning the basic ball control techniques really goes a long way.

Note: The video is from the Xbox 360 version. A couple of the tables shown in the video are not available in Zen Pinball 2.

[surf1der]

Videos- Do a youtube search for hypno74. He has some great videos.
Player skills- http://ipdb.org/playing/skills.html. Describes some techniques not covered in the video shogun provided like hold pass, slap save, bang back, inlane friction, etc. Some of these are more advanced techniques but worthwhile to know.
Basic PvZ guide- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...KS0/edit?pli=1

[acerry]

Posting just to track this topic, as the advice is surely useful. Even though I've been playing pinball (real and virtual) all my life, I never tried to do anything more than keep the ball in play. But now, with it on my Vita and more accessible, I'd like to start learning actual... playing information.

Thanks to all posters past and future.

[haha_dead]

Videos- Do a youtube search for hypno74. He has some great videos.
Player skills- http://ipdb.org/playing/skills.html. Describes some techniques not covered in the video shogun provided like hold pass, slap save, bang back, inlane friction, etc. Some of these are more advanced techniques but worthwhile to know.
Basic PvZ guide- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...KS0/edit?pli=1

Awesome resources, thanks guys. The PvZ guide is awesome - I had no idea how to deliberately increase the jackpot amount...

EDIT: That video was eye-opening.. the dead flipper pass and bumper pass make so much sense but it never dawned on me. I had the sense that great pinball players are controlling the ball and placing their shots most of the time...

Now to practice practice practice (I have the game for PS3 and Vita and think I've found my new addiction...)

C

[haha_dead]

Just doubled my high score! Adding the dead flipper pass to my arsenal makes a massive difference. Especially since PvZ has safe orbits on both sides.

I'm trying not to abuse the nudge pass too badly, because have to figure it'll be way harder and less reliable on a real pinball machine and I'd like to try to transfer these skills eventually. What do you guys think is the best bread and butter way to slow or control a fast-moving ball coming down the in-lane?

[surf1der]

What do you guys think is the best bread and butter way to slow or control a fast-moving ball coming down the in-lane?

A hold pass and nudge pass will pass the ball to the other flipper. Inlane friction will keep the ball on the same flipper. A nudge pass is probably the safest of the three. However, sometimes it is just best to attempt a shot that your are good at from that flipper.

[shogun00]

I'm trying not to abuse the nudge pass too badly, because have to figure it'll be way harder and less reliable on a real pinball machine and I'd like to try to transfer these skills eventually.

Just an FYI, the Nudge Pass is a Zen technique. It doesn't exist in real pinball. If you were able to perform a hard nudge like that, you would damage the machine.

What do you guys think is the best bread and butter way to slow or control a fast-moving ball coming down the in-lane?

On a Zen table, the nudge pass.

On a real machine, just lift the flipper up (hold pass). If the ball is coming in fast, then it will jump the flipper and land on the other one. If it's crawling up the flipper, then just do a side nudge.

[caper_26]

tips & definitions

I put this together a while ago: http://zenpinball.forumotion.net/

It has some basic definitions, and a few vids. Go to the "General Pinball Info" area.

[haha_dead]

Just an FYI, the Nudge Pass is a Zen technique. It doesn't exist in real pinball. If you were able to perform a hard nudge like that, you would damage the machine.

Thx... I shouldn't be surprised I couldn't remember ever seeing anyone do it in real life... I've only seen nudges to tip a ball headed directly down the middle of the drain.

The hold trap doesn't work well in PvZ, I don't think.... it generally bounces off the heel of the flipper and drops in the drain. But I figured out a slingshot pass can work (though sometimes the ball freaks out and squirts out too fast - not sure it's worth the risk)

[surf1der]

The hold pass works better on real pins because the flipper doesn't raise as much as zen flippers so it loses less momentum but you still run the risk of hitting the slingshot instead of the flipper if the ball travels too fast. For zen, some tables are better than others for performing the hold pass. It only works on zen tables if the ball is screaming down the inlane. If it travels too slowly, it will trickle off the tip of flipper and you have to do a slap save or else it will drain. I think excalibur is a good example of a table in which you can perform hold passes consistently. At least on my iPad.

[shogun00]

I think Excalibur is a good example of a table in which you can perform hold passes consistently.

Fear Itself is another good one.