Williams Pinball Volume 2 is now available!

[McLovin]

PFX3_WMS_vol2_Switch_Main_Image_800x450.jpg

Williams Pinball Volume 2 is now available! Attack from Mars, The Party Zone and Black Rose in Pinball FX3!

PS4 EU
Xbox One
Steam

Also Zen Pinball on Mac.

PS4 US arriving tomorrow, Switch on Dec 18.

See you on the leaderboards!

[pbo]

Perfect work guys, gratz and thanks!

[hitman12]

Excellent work as always.Must admit original tables from Zen don't caught my attencion but recreations are great and practically i don't play anymore in Farsight versions of tables from Williams pack.Can't stand anymore those crappy physics in TPA not saying about the other things.
AFM need some adjustments,ball is draining out too fast.
Thank You guys for giving me foretaste of real pinball machine

[stefb]

Just bought it now and tested …. it's like the previous ones, Simply excellent !

Just a bit dissapointement … i really hope for an option to play 2,3 or 4 players with the same physics as playing solo

[Sgt_Tenor]

Played all of the tables in this pack. Obviously AFM will most people's favorite but I must say, I'm really enjoying Black Rose.

Party Zone - Well I got to say, It's just as meh as it was in TPA. Never got into it. And I don't think I can eagerly await Dr. Dude as I think it would be on the list of tables coming to PBFX3.


Black Rose - I've always enjoyed this table in TPA and was IMO one the better tables in season 2 (or was it 3?) at any rate, the cannon is really neat and shooting that still takes some timing. I'm curious though once players get the timing, might it be too easy to get high scores on this table. This is by far the better version and a bit more difficult than it's TPA counter part IMO.

AFM - I'm glad that shooting the center targets can lead to drains SDTM. It makes the table much more difficult. I found the TPA version much easier than it should have been. Drains haven't bothered me like some. I think It's much faster than TPA counterpart. In fact, I like that it's more challenging. Question though -- are the quick drains in single or classic single/arcade mode?

Toggling the enhanced version is really neat. It's subtle enough where it isn't distracting and I don't think I will play any Williams/bally table released without the enhancement.

I think there are some audio issues in AFM. When I lock a ball where on the lane to the left of the center targets, the sound seems static and then gets back to normal.

Anyway. A good pack and looking forward to more play time as well as any news of Volume 3 coming our way lol.

[hitman12]

So far i'm very dissapointed in AFM,ball is bouncing way too hard from the flippers,it's very unrealistic and ball is draining so fast it kills all fun from playing on this table.in this stage AFM is very frustrating and i have absolutely no fun from gameplay.I played other tables and everything is fine,only AFM seems to have problems with ball draining and need some shots and physics adjustment.I hope Zen will fix this table soon cause its best from this pack and in this state AFM is simply unplayable.I'm no masochist,i don't intend to play a game that gives me absolutely no fun and satisfaction
It's a shame that theoretically best table from volume 2 proved to be biggest dissapointment.

[Cloda]

AFM is fun but brutal and is going to take a lot of hard work from me to get to the wizard mode and the achievement. I find hitting the right ramp and then also shooting at the saucer from the left flipper very risky. You can avoid shooting at the saucer with the left flipper but eventually you'll have to go for the right ramp if you want to get to the wizard mode. The left orbit is also quite tricky for me to hit.

BR I find it much easier to keep the ball alive and the table looks amazing especially with the enhancements on. It doesn't feel like there is too much going on, on the table so I doubt that it will become one of my favourites in the long run.

PZ is in fact not much of a party zone if you get my drift There is really not a lot happening on the table and it quickly start to feel a bit repetitive. It will definitely not be one of my favourites and if I wasn't so OCD about owning all the tables, I probably would not have bought it.

My ranking for the tables released so far from highest to lowest is: MM, GW, AFM, BR, JY, FT, PZ.

[M Code]

Check your email, already advised Version 1.35 download for Mac is defective... No NEW tables shown??

[zaphod77]

AFM is actually quite brutal in real life. Fast and furious, with balls screaming down the outlanes and/or middle

[hitman12]

I understand that table is hard but look how ball bounce from the flipper,it's very unnatural behaviour and ball movement is far too random to master this table.

[Trueno07]

Really enjoying the tables but compared the attack on Mars table I played at my local arcade (it may be some kind of remake?? it has a full color DMD and censored art???) the game feels brutally fast. Like, almost as if the simulation itself is running 1.25 speed.

The physics feel ok to me its just its all so fast. I feel like I wish I could tilt the table back to slow It down a bit. Full disclosure: I'm not good at pinball, but The party zone is almost unplayable for me, It kicks out so fast I usually don't get but a half hit on the ball, no time to even get control.

Whats odd is that the first Williams tables feel spot on vs the real Gone Fishin and Medevial madness I've played (again that MM was some kind of replica or rebuild with a color DMD and it was probably in too good of condition to be original??)

[Cornholio]

The only thing I can nitpick is why oh why do you have the soldier shoot the saucer with a pistol when the saucer is destroyed, when you have missiles ready to his right???? I know the missiles are used during multiball but why can't he, as a joke, run over, grab one and throw it at the saucer instead of shooting a little pistol?

Yes I'm nitpicking but it looks lamo as it currently is!

The rest is awesome though!!!

PS now bring it to VR!!!

[steven120566]

@Trueno07, there is a recreated, newly designed MM from Chiago Gaming, that's the one you played.

[steven120566]

Really enjoying the tables but compared the attack on Mars table I played at my local arcade (it may be some kind of remake?? it has a full color DMD and censored art???) the game feels brutally fast. Like, almost as if the simulation itself is running 1.25 speed.

The physics feel ok to me its just its all so fast. I feel like I wish I could tilt the table back to slow It down a bit. Full disclosure: I'm not good at pinball, but The party zone is almost unplayable for me, It kicks out so fast I usually don't get but a half hit on the ball, no time to even get control.

Whats odd is that the first Williams tables feel spot on vs the real Gone Fishin and Medevial madness I've played (again that MM was some kind of replica or rebuild with a color DMD and it was probably in too good of condition to be original??)

I know I am in the vast minority, but I also think the new physics seem to fast. I know they are probably more realistic, sure. And, I rank about the same in number on the recreations as I do on most of the original Zen designed non originals. So my skill is consistent. Low, but consistent. I just think the way the tables play is better with the Zen designs than the Zen recreations. I know, me bad....But regardless, I enjoy playing these recreations alot too.

[teamski]

Spending some hours on the tables and I really love them! I had a slow frame rate issue with the tables but I dumped the shadow detail level to low and without noticing a difference graphically, the frame rate is perfect. I have no complaints about the tables. It is weird now to get ball spin and it really adds another element to the game play.

ZEN, you guys are awesome! The tables are beautiful and fun as hell!!! Please keep them coming. Now to get back to AFM.......

-Ski

[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.

[hitman12]

I think these recreations are made for f...ng pinball robocops.I know AFM very well,i've scored on this table easily over 40-50 billion on TPA and here on FX3 i play from the start of pack 2 and i can't get past 3-4 billions because i have absolutely no control on the ball.Read diiscusion thread on Steam and most of the people who played on real machines says gameplay and physics is very diffrerent than in real flippers,ball is too fast,too bouncy and ball movement is too random.Slowly i have enough of this recreations,i'm not interested in game where everything plays randomly and ball is moving where it likes.

[cantankerous--]

I think these recreations are made for f...ng pinball robocops.I know AFM very well,i've scored on this table easily over 40-50 billion on TPA and here on FX3 i play from the start of pack 2 and i can't get past 3-4 billions because i have absolutely no control on the ball.Read diiscusion thread on Steam and most of the people who played on real machines says gameplay and physics is very diffrerent than in real flippers,ball is too fast,too bouncy and ball movement is too random.Slowly i have enough of this recreations,i'm not interested in game where everything plays randomly and ball is moving where it likes.

I'm not actually seeing the random ball movement that you speak of. I'm certainly not a robot and don't even claim to be good at the table seeing how I have friends who have doubled and tripled my best score of 51 billion without aid of powerups. If you play the Zen version long enough you will eventually figure out the shots not to take and which ones are safer and how to anticipate the rebound on missed shots. It's unfortunate that you are not having fun with the table. I find it very challenging and a refreshing change from some of the easier, slower tables and winning Ruler of the Universe a real reward I found myself cheering to.

@Croftanator.........You did good man. Love it.

[Ben Logan]

“The ball is wild” is a compliment in pinball

[hitman12]

Ball movement should be wild but predictable in this recreations i don't feel any control of the ball.Played for few days but for now i give up on this game,Zen originals don't interest me and this recreations need serious rework on ball physics and shots precision.TPA is ugly and has crappy physics but gives fun from gameplay and this is most important in videogame.Here i get no satisfaction,only dissapointment and frustration.

[Vincent]

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.

Good point. Maybe when 4K/HDR becomes available we can have reality-like lighting effects...

[fR33Styler]

Pretty cool!!!!!!

Now as the next upcomming:
- Indiana Jones
- Jurassic Park
- Terminator2
- Top Gun
- Addams Family
- GTA (Rockstargames)
- Twin Peaks
- The X-Files
- Systemshock (Game)
- Austin Powers

And the world would be a dream

Has anyone already Wheel Images for PinballX and this 3 great Tables?

[hitman12]

I don't understand why most of original tables are very easy and recreations are set on ultra hard mode,especially AFM
If new Williams tables are going to be the same then definitely no buy for me.
Make this tables playable for average people not pinball wizards or cyborgs!

[cantankerous--]

I don't understand why most of original tables are very easy and recreations are set on ultra hard mode,especially AFM
If new Williams tables are going to be the same then definitely no buy for me.
Make this tables playable for average people not pinball wizards or cyborgs!

You pretty much answered your question. The Williams tables are recreations and as such are intended to be as faithful to the originals as possible.

[hitman12]

Read comments on AFM steam discussion thread and You will read comments from people who played on real machine how faithful these recreations are.If You played on real machine with all options set to super hard difficulty then maybe gameplay is similiar but some people play games to be relaxed and have fun not to get angry and frustrated.One simple solution is to make adjustable difficulty settings for each table or option to enable operator's menu.
If You own pinball machine You have possibility to adjust difficulty in operator's menu and set everything Your way.If this are faithful recreations then each table should have option to enable and edit OP menu.
TPA has this option so i see no reason FX 3 shoudn't have this.

[Ben Logan]

Another way to adjust difficulty on a real machine (we own five) is to raise or lower the back legs to adjust steepness of slope. We set all our games at home to maximum steepness. Our Space Station is even jacked up a bit with wooden wedges. Still, Zen Arcade and Tourney modes feel faster. The physics are great overall. The slope is just a bit unrealistic (but I admit fun for experieced players).

[TuttiDeLeon]

Read comments on AFM steam discussion thread and You will read comments from people who played on real machine how faithful these recreations are.If You played on real machine with all options set to super hard difficulty then maybe gameplay is similiar but some people play games to be relaxed and have fun not to get angry and frustrated.One simple solution is to make adjustable difficulty settings for each table or option to enable operator's menu.
If You own pinball machine You have possibility to adjust difficulty in operator's menu and set everything Your way.If this are faithful recreations then each table should have option to enable and edit OP menu.
TPA has this option so i see no reason FX 3 shoudn't have this.

"Normal mode" is pretty easy. Just take a shot on the fly on most Williams tables & it magically finds a ramp or lane.

[hitman12]

The most awesome part of AFM is that even average skilled player can score big scores on this table.thanks Zen for ruin this with Your "realism".

[cantankerous--]

The most awesome part of AFM is that even average skilled player can score big scores on this table.thanks Zen for ruin this with Your "realism".

How are the scores not realistic? The table in real life is one of the first, if not the very first that calculates (even though the display does not allow it) scores counting each roll over into the trillions. Now, granted with the powerups that aspect alters the overall score dramatically, but as a host you are free to choose classic mode or just opt out of powerups entirely, but based on your previous posts I feel you are still upset by your feeling the presentation, speed and physics are unrealistic based on your experience with pinball arcade where the physics and ball speed were far easier, but certainly not realistic comparatively speaking.

[hitman12]

I played only in classic arcade mode. If the ball on a real pinball behaved in this way, most players would quickly discourage the game and such pinball would stop earning money. After a few days I practically stopped playing in AFM because no matter how i hit the ball it almost every time drop into a central hole or it goes off sideways and it really ceases to be fun. if further recreations will be done in this way, i will stop buying future dlc's - there are many other alternatives except TPA, for example Visual Pinball or Future Pinball.

[snoopy]

I played only in classic arcade mode. If the ball on a real pinball behaved in this way, most players would quickly discourage the game and such pinball would stop earning money. After a few days I practically stopped playing in AFM because no matter how i hit the ball it almost every time drop into a central hole or it goes off sideways and it really ceases to be fun. if further recreations will be done in this way, i will stop buying future dlc's - there are many other alternatives except TPA, for example Visual Pinball or Future Pinball.

i agree with hitman12 ,probably Zen should look for different Beta Testers other than the self styled Einstein of Pinball Mr Friebus aka shutyerwhatever .How about having a Pro from Papa or Ifpa take a look at things instead of the already mentioned Guy and a youtube Dude who owns a few Pinball Machines.

[Ben Logan]

Respectfully: Have you players who think arcade mode (I only think it’s a little too steep) is way too hard and/or wild tried the regular standard Zen physics on the Williams tables? They’re very pleasant, but still challenging and fun

[Trueno07]

Respectfully: Have you players who think arcade mode (I only think it’s a little too steep) is way too hard and/or wild tried the regular standard Zen physics on the Williams tables? They’re very pleasant, but still challenging and fun

Yea, I noticed this made party zone playable and it helped a ton but i've really gotten used to AFM and Black Rose in Arcade mode

[steven120566]

Respectfully: Have you players who think arcade mode (I only think it’s a little too steep) is way too hard and/or wild tried the regular standard Zen physics on the Williams tables? They’re very pleasant, but still challenging and fun

As much as I like authenticity, I really enjoy these modes. I go to the zen modes more often than the others.

With the three play modes, could these tables BE more appealing to a wide range of players er NO? LOL

[Boulderdash]

Come on tuesday dec 18. Get your bum over here!

[cantankerous--]

Come on tuesday dec 18. Get your bum over here!

What's happening on that date?

[Boulderdash]

What's happening on that date?

That would be the day Nintendo Switch users can purchase Williams Pack 2.

[cantankerous--]

Oh ya............forgot. On handheld the speed has to be murder

[setgang6]

Can we get a fix for the bug currently affecting the friends filter leaderboards on PS4? Is Zen aware & working on a fix yet? It’s been months now & no word

[Boulderdash]

Thank you zen team for providing a great Williams vol 2 Nintendo Switch release. It seems that I can't go to work tomorrow due to a heavy cough

[Tetsuo]

Williams Pinball Volume 3 available ? When ?

[dcsnunes]

Is the stroke of luck with some soft of malfunctioning? I only get the 50ish reward.

[zaphod77]

no, they've got tournament mode on and not using the latest ROMs.

they are probably using 1.13 instead of 1.13b

https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=3781

note that 1.13b is a merged rom, so it only contains the roms that are different form the parent. so the proper way to use this is to repalce the matchign files in 1.13 with 1.13b roms. This will fix the issue.

[McLovin]

Can we get a fix for the bug currently affecting the friends filter leaderboards on PS4? Is Zen aware & working on a fix yet? It’s been months now & no word

I know you've probably explained this a few times, but after much digging I wasn't able to find the particular issue. I was able to find one where the player was seeing mystery friends out of the blue, and one where there was an error message.

I recall this being about not showing everyone on your friends list maybe?

[cantankerous--]

I know you've probably explained this a few times, but after much digging I wasn't able to find the particular issue. I was able to find one where the player was seeing mystery friends out of the blue, and one where there was an error message.

I recall this being about not showing everyone on your friends list maybe?

Not sure if it's pinball fx3 or related to Sony, but it's related to when your friends are not currently online they will not show up while viewing the leaderboards.

[VirtuaDream]

Wow I can post now!
I registered 2 months ago all I wanted to say is thank you for the hard work.
Ive been playing Zen Pinball Tables on ps3 a long time ago and this Williams tables have been a light on my life.