Williams Pinball Volume 2 is now available!

[skyway73]

Enjoying the new pack, very challenging which I love.

I find the sound effects a bit too loud when the Martians attack, that rattling sound.

The lighting is great including Strobe MB. Would still love any improvements you guys can come up with, I want to be dazzled like in real life!

Am I imagining ball bounces in AFM? It feels like it happens which would be great but I'm sure you would have mentioned it.

[Croftanator]

Hey, I was the main designer on the AfM table, and for the people who have played the real table, I'm actually glad they found it to be just as brutal and unforgiving as our digitial version (If anything, I think the single drop target below the saucer can be even faster still and more punishing on the real table!)

It certainly is a fast table if you don't manage to get control of the ball, and going directly for the saucer target shots can be suicide! For the later saucers in particular, starting the saucer attacks just a before a multiball is pretty much essential. If I have to go for them in single ball without ball save, I find hitting the MAR or AN target banks and getting a ricochet sometimes the least risky option. The Dirty Pool award is very handy too if you can pick that up! If you get the ball to the bumpers as well, it mainly comes out from the Stroke of Luck sinkhole, which is usually easy enough to gain control of the ball after the kickout.

If you've not already seen it, this video has also great tips for the table's strategy in general:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xri-ffVoPqo

I think it's an awesome and very rewarding table, and hopefully all these tips can help you master the difficulty!

And yes, the balls do indeed bounce up from the posts It was something I saw happening all the time on the real table, even with quite slow moving balls, and was absolutely a feature I wanted to add in here.

[Cloda]

Hey, I was the main designer on the AfM table, and for the people who have played the real table, I'm actually glad they found it to be just as brutal and unforgiving as our digitial version (If anything, I think the single drop target below the saucer can be even faster still and more punishing on the real table!)

It certainly is a fast table if you don't manage to get control of the ball, and going directly for the saucer target shots can be suicide! For the later saucers in particular, starting the saucer attacks just a before a multiball is pretty much essential. If I have to go for them in single ball without ball save, I find hitting the MAR or AN target banks and getting a ricochet sometimes the least risky option. The Dirty Pool award is very handy too if you can pick that up! If you get the ball to the bumpers as well, it mainly comes out from the Stroke of Luck sinkhole, which is usually easy enough to gain control of the ball after the kickout.

If you've not already seen it, this video has also great tips for the table's strategy in general:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xri-ffVoPqo

I think it's an awesome and very rewarding table, and hopefully all these tips can help you master the difficulty!

And yes, the balls do indeed bounce up from the posts It was something I saw happening all the time on the real table, even with quite slow moving balls, and was absolutely a feature I wanted to add in here.

Thanks for the insight and tips. I'm still really struggling to get proper control of the ball as I think I should be able but think it has more to do with the sensitivity of my controller. I'm busy making my own DIY pinball controller and hope that will solve this for me.

I'm really looking forward to getting better with this table and I can see it will become one of my favourites.

[cantankerous--]

Absolutely loving Attack From Mars. Much faster and more realistic than the previous incarnation on that other ap. Havnt started bug testing yet, but so far everything looks great.

[Ben Logan]

Super job with Volume 2, Zen.

I like that the tables are difficult. We have five real pinball machines in the garage. I play in tournaments at our local barcade monthly. The Zen tables are realistically challenging. That's a pleasant surprise!

I totally respect users reporting that the Zen offerings are too difficult. But, quick drains are common to real pinball. How else can an operator possibly hope to recoup costs on a $6000 machine while splitting the coin-intake with the venue owner? Perhaps you guys are accustomed to TPA, which was unrealistically easy (?) I mean no offense in saying so. Hope I'm not coming across as a jerk! Just hoping to keep the Zen tables difficult. Maybe try the Zen legacy physics setting for a more chill experience (?)

That said, I do feel the slope in Arcade mode is a bit too steep. I'm not the first to suggest it: The Arcade slope should be the new Tournament slope. I'd like to see the Arcade slope lowered just a bit. Not too much though, or we'll lose the "wild" element.

Party Zone (while not my favorite real table) represents your best visual work, along with Fish Tales. The ramps on Party Zone have a nice texture. Also, Party Zone has some great ambient lighting. The fireworks display in "enhanced" mode is super cool, as is the rotating spotlight.

I do have one critique: The Zen Williams tables don't "blow up" the way a real pinball machine does in terms of lighting. Very underwhelming. When flashers fire on AFM, for example, that lighting should be transmitted to the cabinet walls, playfield and 3D objects. It's like darkness prevails on Zen tables. The light kinda "goes nowhere" beyond the confines of the insert bulb, flasher dome, etc. Let's see that lighting blow these tables up! Williams programmers really knew how to reward the player with a visually stimulating light show.

Thanks for the fun, guys! Keep up the excellent work. Ten bucks well spent!

[steven120566]

Picked the pack up this morning. These tables are very well done and a blast to play.

[Ben Logan]

Someone told me that two screen cab support is already available for Zen Williams tables if you request a code of some sort. Is this true?

[pbo]

That said, I do feel the slope in Arcade mode is a bit too steep. I'm not the first to suggest it: The Arcade slope should be the new Tournament slope. I'd like to see the Arcade slope lowered just a bit. Not too much though, or we'll lose the "wild" element.

NO.F*.WAY. man, keep these thoughts for yourself and if you can't handle Arcade there is that other mode too. It's perfect the way it is. The best experience is with the Tournament setup -which is close to real pinballs- and in tables where the ball drains more easily like in Junkyard or Party Zone, Arcade is there to make things easier while keeping the physics realistic, so there is absolutely no reason to touch them. There's already a game with floaty physics, no need to destroy the gem Zen has created.

[Ben Logan]

I’m with you regarding TPA physics. Did you read my whole post? You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, most of which I share

[steven120566]

I totally respect users reporting that the Zen offerings are too difficult. But, quick drains are common to real pinball. How else can an operator possibly hope to recoup costs on a $6000 machine while splitting the coin-intake with the venue owner? Perhaps you guys are accustomed to TPA, which was unrealistically easy (?) I mean no offense in saying so. Hope I'm not coming across as a jerk! Just hoping to keep the Zen tables difficult. Maybe try the Zen legacy physics setting for a more chill experience (?)

That said, I do feel the slope in Arcade mode is a bit too steep. I'm not the first to suggest it: The Arcade slope should be the new Tournament slope. I'd like to see the Arcade slope lowered just a bit. Not too much though, or we'll lose the "wild" element.


Thanks for the fun, guys! Keep up the excellent work. Ten bucks well spent!

I take absolutely no offense Ben. The beauty of it is my friend leaderboards consist of awesome players AND players like myself. Always gives me something to shoot for

I have been playing Zen and TPA so long on consoles that I think I may have been misunderstood. As far as the way Zen has done these real tables, with essentially three levels of play on each, is actually awesome. And while i do find them extremely challenging, I have no issues with the difficulty, and am quite impressed with the three play modes on each, each with its own leaderboard. I guess after these two Williams/Bally packs, while I am digging playing them, sometimes I like to play some good 'ol Zen style fantasy pinball too. I hear they have some original Zen digitals coming out soon. As far as I am concerned, whether I prefer fast physics or old style Zen, real recreations of digital from scratch, basically everything Zen has done since the launch of FX3 has been absolutely excellent, and I would not request them change it.

[Ben Logan]

Well said, Steve.

Regarding arcade and tournament slope: I always adjust my real Williams machines’ pinball legs settings to maximum steepness — and they just don’t feel as fast as tournament mode in Zen, or even arcade mode for that matter. It’s possible that digital flipper latency is clouding my perception a bit (making Zen Williams feel faster than they really are).

I can totally live with arcade and tournament settings as they are though. I’d way rather Zen err on the side of brutality!

[StickyBuns]

When is the table data going to be available on PS4? I've purchased the option to play this vol. 2, but there's no ability to download the actual tables.

[bluejaywpg]

It would've been nice to know that you have to download the volume 2 demo AS WELL, along with volume 2 itself.

[Cornholio]

It would've been nice to know that you have to download the volume 2 demo AS WELL, along with volume 2 itself.

The downloads of both game and demo were automatic for me on PS4 when I chose the game in the shop. I didn't have to manually choose both.

[Ben Logan]

I’m liking this pack more and more with each session. Great job with Volume 2, Zen.