Do you play any other Pinball Games besides ZEN PINBALL(2)? :o or will ya???

[am1001]

Visual pinball on the pc!

No love for Visual pinball? I think its good and so many tables.

http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?act=idx

and someone is even working on a stereoscopic version of visual pinball - almost ready for release!

http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=6278&st=60

[LumaFan")]

No love for Visual pinball? I think its good and so many tables.

http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?act=idx

and someone is even working on a stereoscopic version of visual pinball - almost ready for release!

http://www.vpforums.org/index.php?showtopic=6278&st=60

LOL, Wow thanks!!!!! Never heard of VP till now!!!!!! Lookin in to it now!

[beastiole]

No love for Visual pinball? I think its good and so many tables.

I was fond of Visual pinball 5 years ago, but since a year, I really prefer Future pinball.

Table (re)creators have made so much progress ...

[tenorhero]

Yeah great job to those that did the work to recreate these but the scrolling is annoying as heck. Hard to get used to. It's fun and all. I'll have to look into family Guy, Iron Man and Batman those are fun tables in real life.

[Rockgamer]

I'm always up for trying out new pinball games, but they have to be really good to keep me playing them constantly. Zen Pinball has definitely managed to do that more than any other pinball game. I like Nintendo's pinball games (Kirby, Mario, Metroid), but since they're structured more like actual video games there's not much to do once you beat them. I tried the Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection, and while the tables were alright I didn't really like the format of the game (the whole arcade setup, having to get credits and everything). The only other game I played almost as much as ZP is Pinball Heroes on PSP. They had some really good tables that were a lot of fun to play, so I hope they bring that series back one day.

I haven't really played much real pinball, but I'd be willing to if it was easier to find. I played a real pinball machine at a bowling alley well over ten years ago (so unfortunately I don't remember what it was, especially since I wasn't really into pinball back then), but I don't think I've even seen one since then.

[caper_26]

are the other pinball games besides zen studios, available for PS3?? Are they glitch free?? I find it annoying on how many glitches there are on ZP. I don't play a lot of games for ps3, but have had many other platforms in the past and have yet to see even 1 glitch on a game that I have played let alone the (hundreds?) of glitches on all the ZS based tables.

[caper_26]

for gaming mostly on the weekends , too tired after work to start a pinball game it demands too much concentration.

Thats what multiplayer on the PSN is for! Just join in, and have a bunch of quick games, where, if you lose your ball, you don't turn into the Hulk because you just wasted 4 hours of playing, only to come up short on your all time high score I usually only play online, but since ZP2 came out, I put up a bunch of high scores just to get the 'pro-score' into the top 10. I will be going to back to mostly online shortly, and had a few games last night. the only problem is that when newbies are at the table, I either get booted or everyone leaves.

[Freelance]

are the other pinball games besides zen studios, available for PS3?? Are they glitch free?? I find it annoying on how many glitches there are on ZP. I don't play a lot of games for ps3, but have had many other platforms in the past and have yet to see even 1 glitch on a game that I have played let alone the (hundreds?) of glitches on all the ZS based tables.

Only Pro Pinball in that list isn't on the PS3. The PS3 version of TPA supposedly has bugs but I never seem to encounter any. Are you really getting lots of Zen Pinball glitches? I never seem to see any either so I dunno.

BTW TC, your thread is specifically asking if we play any other games besides Zen Pinball(2) so is there any reason why you put down ZP(2) in the poll? Putting ZP2 in the poll will just skew the results since it is the official ZP forum and therefore everyone's favourite pinball game by default (except for me). It's like going to a 3DS forum and asking people there if they like the 3DS or the Vita more. The majority of people will say the 3DS.

[FourWinds]

I like The Pinball Arcade (even though I'm in England, and so on revision 1.not good).

The 'floaty physics' feel to me quite good; I do think it's looks a bit naff however when the ball is moving slowly, and it's clear that it's not rolling. I think that a pin'ball' needs to roll, or at least look like it might be.

Currently I prefer Zen, but if TPA (FarSight) got it's act together: fixed the bugs, stopped the ball flying through flippers, gave the EU some patches (and some F'ing DLC), made the ball roll; well...I might change my mind if that was all to happen. I don't think it will though; I think FarSight are trying to release tables, and patch too quickly without good enough QA. Either way I'm going to be buying all the tables from both Zen and FS: it's just too good of a gaming deal to miss (I get more fun from a £3 table than a £45 full modern game). Also, like I saw in some other post: if pin heads buy (and therefore support) all they can, it's only going to be good for all of us in the long run.

In answer to the original post: I play mostly at night. I also have an unfortunate habit of wanting to play when I've been drinking; this means I suck, and get angry all the time I loose a ball. The truth is that I'm pretty not good at pinball, but I like it a lot.

[gorcorps]

I play both Zen Pinball 2 and Pinball Arcade on the Vita, and both have their merits. Pinball Arcade came first and because I was itching for some pinball I got it immediately and bought some tables. I never really noticed the "floaty" physics people complain about, but going back to it after Zen Pinball it does feel slower. Almost like the table isn't at the right angle but it's not really a game breaker. The biggest deal for me with TPA is the features they've promised by haven't delivered because they're too busy pumping out more DLC. Also, you can't demo tables on the Vita even though on other devices you can.

Here's my breakdown of the two:

The Pinball Arcade
Pros
+Very good recreations of favorite tables
+Easier to stomach 5.99 2-packs vs. 9.99 4-packs if you're focused on certain tables
+Decent selection of newer and classic tables
+More goals & trophys to shoot for per table (5 standard then 5 wizard goals)

Cons
-Slower "floaty" game
-Has had the challenge and tournament options there since the beginning, but still say "this mode will be active when more tables are released". Several DLC packs later it's still a broken promise.
-The older tables generally have terrible sound effects (as was the case during the time period) and aren't very fun (opinion). So I'm usually spending 5.99 for a 2-pack when I never touch the 2nd table after the first playthrough.
-No demos on the Vita version DLC (but I could get some demos via the Android version?)
-Pretty awful interface


Zen Pinball 2
Pros
+Original tables that take advantage of being video based and not a real table
+Closer to "realistic" ball physics
+Licensed tables make the missions seem more entertaining
+Despite having to buy 4-packs in some cases, none of the tables have been bad. I'll play all of them again even if there's some I like less than others.
+Good voice acting and sound effects makes original tables fun to play AND hear
+Very polished interface in comparison.
+Demos for everything give a decent sense of if I'll like it or not. (Though I wish the score limits were a tad higher. On some I reach the limit before being able to start a mission and really get a feel for a table.)

Cons
-Sometimes hard to stomach a 4-pack of tables when I only want 1 or 2.
-Only 2 goals per table limits replayability other than simple high score seeking
-Despite all the awesome stuff built into the tables, sticking with a monochromatic dot matrix score display seems like a HUGE missed opportunity. Yes it makes it seem more like a real pinball machine, but I like all the stuff that you can do simply because it ISN'T a real pinball machine.

Overall ZP2 is pretty much superior in all aspects. TPA is still worth having for the few tables you might really enjoy. For me, having Monster Bash on my Vita is absolutely worth the money.

[devilmosh]

I enjoy bouncing between Zen 2 and Pinball Arcade for the variations, but I definitely prefer the feel of Zen. As for others I enjoy on the PS3, I like Pinballistik though they seem to have dropped it after three tables, and PAIN has a fun pinball mode with a few tables.

[chiralfox]

I voted for Pinball Arcade, because I prefer the design of real pinball machines over the Zen designs. That said, they're both excellent games. Zen is more stable and has fewer bugs. The new physics are nice. But the gameplay isn't anywhere nearly as exhilarating as a real pin. Part of what makes real pin designs so exciting is the level of risk and reward in each shot, at least in the more well-balanced games.

In my opinion then, Pinball Arcade has better pins to play, but it also has its share of problems. There are bugs, some merely silly or annoying, some game-breaking (had Ripley unable to locate the ball 80 million and 5 super jackpots in), and some that seem ridiculous but are actually part of the original ROM (Cirqus Voltaire, I'm looking at you).

I think the physics in each respective game fits the playstyle. Zen feels comfortable and is relatively easy to control. Pinball Arcade can be a little more unpredictable at times, and has the physics tuned to punish bad shots a fair amount of the time. Still not as a fast as a real machine, but it can still be enough to make recovery difficult. I enjoy the nuances of both (I have almost all of the tables for both games), but would love to see more accurate flipper physics. Can't have everything though.

However, real pins trump video pinball. And truth be told, when out playing live, I find myself enjoying EMs immensely over SS games as of late. Some people might find them boring, but the challenge of a single ball and no ramps or toys is actually very compelling.

[ER777]

I play both Zen's games and the FarSight's games (including PHoF) on the PS3. Right now I prefer Zen 2 over The Pinball Arcade but if TPA gets its gameplay issues worked out it could take over the lead for me. Its never going to be a choice of one or the other for me, I'm always going to play both as long as the devs continue to support them. If Creat supported Pinballistik I would give that a shot too, but it seems they've abandoned it. Based on the comments in this thread I might need to try a couple of these PC titles too, although I really prefer console gaming.

Its been a long time since I played a lot of physical pinball, just because tables (especially ones in good shape) are hard to find these days in my area. I used to play a decent amount back in the 90's when I worked in an Arcade for a while (back when Arcades still actually had pinball machines in them).

[blacpain]

cool tip

I was fond of Visual pinball 5 years ago, but since a year, I really prefer Future pinball.

Table (re)creators have made so much progress ...

oh my gosh - terminator pinball !!! i used to play this and others classics in the days in the arcades. thats why i sneaked on Pinball Williams Collection, too (oh i see im the only one in here till yet).

[clydebink]

I play Zen and Pinball Arcade most of the time. Every once in a while I'll search the iphone app store for pinball games. Most of them are really bad, but they often have interesting concepts. There's one where you defend the drain from zombies. One has a obese boss that walks around the playfield (doesn't work well). Hyper Pinball was horrible beyond belief, the flippers are tethered together.
Sometimes I get lucky: all of the Nena Innovation tables are worth playing. They understand some design principles and follow through well. I'm interested in playing the Da Vinci themed table by the developer that did War Pinball, but I haven't enjoyed any of that developer's previous tables. Blows my mind that there isn't an Angry Birds table.
Looking at failed attempts to innovate on pinball makes me appreciate Zen's ability to do it well.