Hi, I'm your new Community Manager!

[Jeno]

Hi Zenners!

My name is Jeno and I’ll be joining Zen Studios as the new Community Manager.

My path led here through many and many achievements, as this December I’ll be playing games for 20 years now. Started from racing with radio control cars in Re-volt to crawling through the dungeons of Operencia, I’ve experienced just too many things to even summarize.

So speaking about Pinball, my favourite table is Metallica. Combining some of the greatest songs from one of the most iconic bands in history, with an amazing set of visuals and objectives on the table, it was really just the perfect piece for the love at first sight.

Feel free to ask me anything related to Pinball, storming castles or crawling through the depths and heights of Operencia.

Anyway, I’m infinitely grateful to be part of the community, and really hope we’ll have a great time together here!

[McLovin]

My dude Jeno will be joining the Zen team!

I'm staying with the company just in a new role, but I'm still here and leaving you in the very capable hands of our new duo - Jeno and Ray.

[Cloda]

Welcome Jeno! I loved Re-volt back in the day!

So that you don't have to trawl through all the posts , here are my main requests for Pinball FX3 that you can please pass on to the developers -

- Tournament play, if set up as a standard game, should count towards Achievements and leaderboards: I love playing in tournaments, and many of the tables I only play if they come up in a tournament. To my dismay I found out that even if the tournament is set up as a standard game, your scores disappear as soon as the tournament is over and no achievements are awarded. I don't have the time to play a table in tournament for a massive score and then again at another time in single player mode just so that I can post a big score.
- Practice mode for the Williams tables should give the option to practice with Classic arcade or tournament physics
- Add the option in practice to place the ball so that e.g. drop catches can be practiced.
- Backwards implement the Williams Volume 4 classic arcade physics firstly to the rest of the Williams packs and then eventually to Zen originals.
- Implement the Williams classic arcade physics for all new releases.
- The option to manually adjust the view - angle, height, amount of scrolling etc.

[Jeno]

Welcome Jeno! I loved Re-volt back in the day!

So that you don't have to trawl through all the posts , here are my main requests for Pinball FX3 that you can please pass on to the developers -

- Tournament play, if set up as a standard game, should count towards Achievements and leaderboards: I love playing in tournaments, and many of the tables I only play if they come up in a tournament. To my dismay I found out that even if the tournament is set up as a standard game, your scores disappear as soon as the tournament is over and no achievements are awarded. I don't have the time to play a table in tournament for a massive score and then again at another time in single player mode just so that I can post a big score.
- Practice mode for the Williams tables should give the option to practice with Classic arcade or tournament physics
- Add the option in practice to place the ball so that e.g. drop catches can be practiced.
- Backwards implement the Williams Volume 4 classic arcade physics firstly to the rest of the Williams packs and then eventually to Zen originals.
- Implement the Williams classic arcade physics for all new releases.
- The option to manually adjust the view - angle, height, amount of scrolling etc.

Thanks for the input Cloda!

I'm really happy to see your activity on the forums (I saw your post on Steam as well!) and we always appreciate good feedback on the games. These suggestions are great, and here's a list of our take on them:

-Regarding the tournament/single player suggestion, we'll forward it to the design team, as this is a totally justified request. At launch, the tournament mode was made for the competition, and as you said, taken separately so the various game modes and settings won't mess with the single player leaderboards. Besides that, there are several tables (eg: Epic Quest, Skyrim, Spider-Man) in which the two game modes differ, for example, your single player Skyrim character doesn’t come over to tournament play.
-Tourament/Arcade physics practice mode for Williams will be written up as a suggestion, thanks for the input there!
-Ball placement is an interesting idea, we're not sure when or how would we implement it into the game, but it might be worth considering.
-Backward implementation of the new physics is certainly in our sights, especially for the Williams tables, the Zen tables might be more tricky, as the new physics could mess with the already existing table setup, etc.
-Good news, the Williams Vol. 4 Physics will be implemented in every upcoming Williams pack!
-The topic of manual camera settings is a tough one, but it's a good thing to have some talks about it. So if you were given the chance, which two views you'd breed together to come up with the perfect camera setting?

[Cloda]

Thanks for the input Cloda!

I'm really happy to see your activity on the forums (I saw your post on Steam as well!) and we always appreciate good feedback on the games. These suggestions are great, and here's a list of our take on them:

-Regarding the tournament/single player suggestion, we'll forward it to the design team, as this is a totally justified request. At launch, the tournament mode was made for the competition, and as you said, taken separately so the various game modes and settings won't mess with the single player leaderboards. Besides that, there are several tables (eg: Epic Quest, Skyrim, Spider-Man) in which the two game modes differ, for example, your single player Skyrim character doesn’t come over to tournament play.
-Tourament/Arcade physics practice mode for Williams will be written up as a suggestion, thanks for the input there!
-Ball placement is an interesting idea, we're not sure when or how would we implement it into the game, but it might be worth considering.
-Backward implementation of the new physics is certainly in our sights, especially for the Williams tables, the Zen tables might be more tricky, as the new physics could mess with the already existing table setup, etc.
-Good news, the Williams Vol. 4 Physics will be implemented in every upcoming Williams pack!
-The topic of manual camera settings is a tough one, but it's a good thing to have some talks about it. So if you were given the chance, which two views you'd breed together to come up with the perfect camera setting?

Thanks Jeno for the thorough reply! I love this game to bits and have been playing Pinball FX (1,2 and now 3) for more than 10 years already and am enjoying it more than ever now with the Williams tables and classic arcade physics.

In response to your replies some further thoughts / clarification -

- I believe as long as it is stated that a score will not count towards the single player leaderboards if a tournament is set up with custom rules i.e. 5 balls, everything will be clear enough and the player can decide if it is worth his while to join the tournament or not. This is similar to Pinball FX2 where you could make changes in the operators menu and where if you changed the number of balls i.e. to a max of 10 or change the slope of the playfield, then the game would notify you that the score will not count towards the leaderboards.
- I meant ball placement specifically in practice mode. Alternatively, Zen can develop a skills tutorial where they show how to do something i.e. post pass, and then the player can try and replicate it. I'm sure lots of players will benefit from learning how to do things properly. I recently played Trails Fusion and they have really cool tutorial levels before they introduce new features / skills required in the game so that you can first practice how to do it before attempting it on a stage.
- Great news on the physics being implemented in older Williams and (potentially) Zen originals as well as new tables. I'm holding back for now from playing Williams Volumes 1-3 until the new flipper physics is implemented
- I constantly change camera views when I play a new table to get a view that works best and have been doing so since I started playing Pinball FX2 back in the day. I usually end up with a compromised view. I switch between views 1,1w, 2, 4 and 5 with 1w being my most used view with the faster Williams tables and 4 being the view I prefer for the older tables. Depending on upper playfield features and the location of the features i.e. top flippers, I often need to see if I can find a view that works better. With White Water I play with view 1, as 1w doesn't give a good enough view of the top flipper - it is a compromise, especially on the view angle from the main flippers, and I would love to be able to tinker with the view until it is right for that specific table. I also specifically remember when Ms. Splosion Man came out, there was a new view (now view 5) and the subtle tilt worked just brilliantly with that table.

Thanks again for the feedback and that you are considering the suggestions made on the forum.

[GruffMckenzie]

Personally I would love sets of quests (in game achievements).

[Cloda]

Personally I would love sets of quests (in game achievements).

Good point... that is something that I forgot about. In Pinball Fx2 (Xbox 360), getting all the achievements were a serious challenge. Tables such as Blade, Ironman (defeating Ultimo!), Thor (defeating Loki!) and Mars made you work really hard to get their achievements and it was only a few select players that managed to get the most difficult ones and to get them all. Most tables also had an achievement for beating the wizard mode (which was usually the most difficult one to get). Eventually the game ran out of achievements that it could award (100 max) and then the new tables only had one achievement (rather than three) and later nothing. In Pinball FX3, achievements feel like an afterthought and most of the time they pop up without me even knowing what I did to achieve it. I would love for the achievements to be a real challenge again where you have to really struggle and work hard at to get the most difficult ones. It was a real badge of honour to get certain achievements in Pinball FX2 (Xbox 360) and now it doesn't have the same value any more.

Edit: Here, for example, are the achievements that were required for Mars. Only the first achievement; collect five samples with the shuttle, was easy. The other two; for deactivating the pyramid defence system (which is a frustrating and difficult multi-ball), and completing the final mission on Mars (very tough, especially as you first have to get past the previous multi-ball).

[jonesjb]

Pinball golf

I'd love to see some pinball golf challenges of sorts, this would really enhance the replayability.

[cantankerous--]

The question as to why, if the tournament rules, ie amount of balls is the same as non tournament leaderboard rules why those scores are not added to existing leaderboards has been asked and a change requested since day 1 to no avail.

The switch star wars pinball is being released shortly for a decent price, but I am reluctant to get it since it will be an entirely new community and one can only assume it will have online tournaments that will be separate from pinball fx3's community with the one saving grace being that it will be separate from the steam community and therefore not be subject to the ridiculous, clearly cheat scores that appear on the other platforms that Zen has refused to remove. My questions. Why was the decision to separate the star wars pinball from the current leaderboards and tournaments, in fact, why was it not simply incorporated into the current fx3 that is now on switch?

There used to be from time to time a Zen tournament that would appear and if you played it you were awarded a custom badge or background image to display when online or show up in leaderboards to distinguish you from the others. Zen has apparently done away with this as I have not seen a similar tournament since spider-man of last year. I would ask that you not only have more frequent tournaments with such swag as mentioned, but create special banners or badges and award them specifically to the winners of tournaments. I have only won 3 in my many years playing, but I am proud of myself for doing so and would like something to show for it, and seriously, how hard would it be to implement? While on the subject of tournaments. Lots, of tables are regularly featured in Zen tournaments and some have never been featured even once. Is the tournament selection based on sales?

Welcome to the group Jeno.

[Tech101]

The question as to why, if the tournament rules, ie amount of balls is the same as non tournament leaderboard rules why those scores are not added to existing leaderboards has been asked and a change requested since day 1 to no avail.

The switch star wars pinball is being released shortly for a decent price, but I am reluctant to get it since it will be an entirely new community and one can only assume it will have online tournaments that will be separate from pinball fx3's community with the one saving grace being that it will be separate from the steam community and therefore not be subject to the ridiculous, clearly cheat scores that appear on the other platforms that Zen has refused to remove. My questions. Why was the decision to separate the star wars pinball from the current leaderboards and tournaments, in fact, why was it not simply incorporated into the current fx3 that is now on switch?

There used to be from time to time a Zen tournament that would appear and if you played it you were awarded a custom badge or background image to display when online or show up in leaderboards to distinguish you from the others. Zen has apparently done away with this as I have not seen a similar tournament since spider-man of last year. I would ask that you not only have more frequent tournaments with such swag as mentioned, but create special banners or badges and award them specifically to the winners of tournaments. I have only won 3 in my many years playing, but I am proud of myself for doing so and would like something to show for it, and seriously, how hard would it be to implement? While on the subject of tournaments. Lots, of tables are regularly featured in Zen tournaments and some have never been featured even once. Is the tournament selection based on sales?

Welcome to the group Jeno.

I'm going to guess it has something to do with licensing issues. I bet they had to get a new deal and it was made apart from the current FX3 so this is what the Switch gets. I'm glad we are getting the tables no matter how it happens but I do wish it had cross platform leader boards.

[GruffMckenzie]

Good point... that is something that I forgot about. In Pinball Fx2 (Xbox 360), getting all the achievements were a serious challenge. Tables such as Blade, Ironman (defeating Ultimo!), Thor (defeating Loki!) and Mars made you work really hard to get their achievements and it was only a few select players that managed to get the most difficult ones and to get them all. Most tables also had an achievement for beating the wizard mode (which was usually the most difficult one to get). Eventually the game ran out of achievements that it could award (100 max) and then the new tables only had one achievement (rather than three) and later nothing. In Pinball FX3, achievements feel like an afterthought and most of the time they pop up without me even knowing what I did to achieve it. I would love for the achievements to be a real challenge again where you have to really struggle and work hard at to get the most difficult ones. It was a real badge of honour to get certain achievements in Pinball FX2 (Xbox 360) and now it doesn't have the same value any more.

Agreed.

I'd also love to see more game modes like a target mode that asks you to make specific shots to progress

[cantankerous--]

I'm going to guess it has something to do with licensing issues. I bet they had to get a new deal and it was made apart from the current FX3 so this is what the Switch gets. I'm glad we are getting the tables no matter how it happens but I do wish it had cross platform leader boards.

Cross platform seems to only meen the addition of steam in most cases. I mean on playstation we only get to play with computer users and on switch similar and I assume the same with xbox, though I do not own that system and frankly if the only way to not have to compete against the few who modify their files on computer to post outrageous scores to the apparent blind eye of Zen means not having cross platform I suppose its better than nothing.

[Tech101]

Cross platform seems to only meen the addition of steam in most cases. I mean on playstation we only get to play with computer users and on switch similar and I assume the same with xbox, though I do not own that system and frankly if the only way to not have to compete against the few who modify their files on computer to post outrageous scores to the apparent blind eye of Zen means not having cross platform I suppose its better than nothing.

Switch sees everything but PS4.

[cantankerous--]

Switch sees everything but PS4.

Oh, okay. Thanks Sir.

[ShoryukenToTheChin]

Snip

Welcome Jeno,

I am sure you will fit right in with the community.