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Extremely rough input delay comparison on my set-up between Pinball FX's Fish Tales on PS4, then Steam / PC, taken with 60 fps cell-phone footage. Input via a DualShock 4. To get the amount of delay, I play the video back frame-by-frame at 60 fps and count the frames between full button press and flipper response.
(To get to the controls that let you play this sub-60-second video frame-by-frame with the "." key on your keyboard and at 60 fps on YouTube, you may need to edit the URL from "/shorts/" to "/video/." Or maybe this link to it as a regular video, not a Short, will work: https://youtu.be/DgIfvGMmM_o )
This comparison is NOT scientific or conclusive and probably won't reflect whatever you get on your own set-up!
My PC is a mid-range gaming laptop from 2020; its CPU is well above the game's minimum spec but slightly BELOW the recommended spec, which is why I had bought the game on PS4 in the first place.
It was mostly to help me decide if I wanted to shell out all the $$$ to re-buy the tables to play them on my PC.
I counted a delay of ~ 4 frames on PS4 and ~ 6 to 7 frames on the PC.
In the PC / Steam version, I had Vsync off in the game's settings, started at otherwise medium detail, then tried low, then low with FPS set to "Unlimited," which is the version you see here--they all responded in about 6 to 7 frames.
I was surprised the response was better on PS4! Maybe the DS4 is cheating for Sony, I dunno. Or I just did something wrong on PC. OR the PC just isn't good enough. The DS4 was plugged in in both cases, and I had not set up bluetooth input for it on the Windows 11 laptop.
Sound was on on the PS4 version too, but routing to headphones, so it was inaudible.
Anyway, as far as I can tell, with this PC I have, I'm better off playing the PS4 version. |
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| | | Well, except that I can turn off AA in this version so the graphics aren't blurry, and I can use whatever controller I want, and remap the buttons properly. So yeah anyway I'm switching to PC.
I was playing back and forth between the two and after turning everything down on the PC and AA off, it did feel I *thought* even more responsive than the PS4 version; I haven't re-tested so that could just be wishful thinking. ^)^ Anyway it doesn't matter, I can't seem to use the DS4 without annoying my banged up old shoulder, and can't remap the buttons on my arcade stick in PS4 Pinball FX, so it's the Steam version for me now! Where I'll either use the keyboard with hands in the default typing position (like F is left flipper and J is right flipper), or arcade stick with flippers on the upper outer buttons, nudges inside and below them. |
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| | | Arcade stick would be remapped via Joy2Key; "Controller" input settings in PBFX PC are still pretty whack.
Using keyboard may reclaim a tiny bit of input delay over the stick, I suppose. Will come down to what's most comfortable; had tried the default Shift flippers but I seem to turn my wrists outward for that and it was getting painful, and anyway the nudges on Alts from there are kinda hard to use. |
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| | | Download added: 00_defish_ctrls.jpg (47504 bytes)
"All but ball launch (usually Enter) are back to default, how'd that happen drat."
The arcade stick control via Joy2Key is fun, but has the problem of leaving my hands planted unmoving on the base of the stick, which leads to me leaning on them, eventually causing my shoulders to tighten up and become strained. Layout went:
LF NL NR RF
BL NF NF BL
LF = left flipper
NL = nudge to the left
NR = nudge to the right
RF = right flipper
BL = ball launch
NF = nudge forward
I got confused later, thinking "nudge to the left/right" meant nudging the ball TOWARD the direction mentioned; but the direction mentioned actually corresponds to which side of a real table you'd be hitting to account for the resulting simulated ball movement, ie "Nudge to the Left" simulates a blow to the left side of a table, pushing the ball to the RIGHT. : P
Anyway due to me leaning on the static arcade button layout, I'm gonna try sticking with keyboard, which seems a bit less straining; or if it does strain something, it's more the wrists. : PP As mentioned, the default setup with flippers on Shifts and side nudges on Alts was killing my wrists, and I wasn't getting to the nudges effectively--maybe doesn't help they're at different distances due to right shift/alt being spaced further apart on my MS Sculpt keyboard; but neither side Alt feels comfortable to stretch to from Shift, and neither does Space.
I tried one with hands on default typing keys ASDF JKL:, but that still felt turned-outward a bit somehow on the Sculpt; moving one key more central felt better: SDFG HJKL. So:
Left Flipper: F
Right Flipper: J
Ball Launch: N
Use Power: Q
Nudge to the Left: G
Nudge to the Right: H
Nudge Forward: Space Bar
Change Camera: C
Toggle Visual Mode: T
Backglass View: Y
Jeepers the game seems to forget either my Ball Launch key, or all the other keys, between sessions; now that I've gone through this and opening/closing the program twice, hopefully it'll stick. (Happened again but NOW it's staying? Fingers crossed.)
And there's a problem where once all my keys HAVE stuck through multiple restarts, with Ball Launch assigned to something other than Enter, that reassigned key (N, also had U earlier) would progress the two "Play [Enter]" prompts between games, but not the "Play Again [Enter]" prompt on the Congratulations score screen in between (too many darn prompt to start a new game!).
This UI is so janky man.
The game has horrible input delay with its default setting Vsync = On. Turning Vsync off makes the controls way more responsive, but at the default Framerate Limit = 60 setting, the ball becomes horribly jerky to watch in motion on my 60 Hz monitor. Setting THAT to 120 smooths the ball motion out, but does cause my laptop to run pretty hot; I'd even had it on "Unlimited" framerate and did my usual supposedly delay-helping modifications of setting "Ultra" low-latency mode and Maximum performance in the Nvidia control panel, and "Disable fullscreen optimizations" on the .exe Compatibility properties (all of these have to be set on steamapps/common/Pinball FX/PinballFX/Binaries/Win64/PinballFX-Win64-Shipping.exe, which is the one Steam actually runs, NOT steamapps/common/Pinball FX/PinballFX.exe : PP), but that was of course cooking the laptop as well. And I don't feel a delay difference between those two (120 fps no exe tweaks / Unlimited fps + exe tweaks). Also captured 60 fps video had slight ball jerks now and then on Unlimited; hopefully that'll be better on 120; I could limit the fps to 60 using RivaTuner Statistics Server (see entry 1630) instead, and that did smooth the captured video, but did make the game feel slightly less responsive--and didn't stop it from running hot (I think because the game is still trying to cook out those extra frames, it's just they're being discarded or whatever by RivaTuner).
So it's quite playable but runs hot and will probably end up taking years off my laptop's life. : P
Probably IS slightly less responsive than the PS4 version even w/o controller lag (when using keyboard I mean). I don't have a controller I can use on the PS4 without my silly ergonomic problems though so whatever. The sharper textures and no ball trails with AA off is a big plus (they must be implementing both their FX and Temporal AA poorly, they shouldn't be blurring textures sheesh). |
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| | | | FXAA even on High still blurs the textures a lot; Temporal AA on high leaves them fairly readable--but less so than with AA off--and leaves ball trails, and probably impacts performance a little bit. So I'm still running with AA off. |
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| | | | Default gamma setting (2.2) here looks nice; on PS4 it was far too dark and I had to crank it up to 2.7, resulting in a readable but rather blank look without much shadow contrast. |
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| | | Limiting max FPS in Nvidia control panel did reduce how hot it was running, but incurred input lag almost as bad as the game's Vsync setting. Limiting max background FPS via Nvidia didn't seem to do anything, even after switching the game from Windowed Borderless to Fullscreen.
Nvidia setting changes require restarting the game.
Couldn't seem to get RTSS to limit the FPS without those other anti-input-lag tweaks (Compatibilities and Nvidia).
RTSS limiting it to 60 fps DOES keep it from running hot (I was wrong about that earlier) but does make the flippers markedly less lively--not quite as bad as Nvidia, but definitely makes them less fun. So yeah we're just gonna be fryin' eggs and pinballs. = ooo |
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| | | | Heck I'll just leave the low latency tweaks on, why go halfsies when it's already hot. |
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| | | | I'm gonna have to go with Temporal AA on High--it's less blurry than on the PS4, doesn't really seem to impact performance on my machine, and tables with lots of stuff on them were just too distractingly pixelated without anti-aliasing. |
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| | | Hm I was getting some shoulder annoyance so maybe I'd better relax the hand positions a bit and move them back to default typing positions--more of a balance between shoulder and wrist strain, perhaps. ; ) So that would be
Left Flipper: D
Right Flipper: K
Ball Launch: M
Use Power: Q
Nudge to the Left: F
Nudge to the Right: J
Nudge Forward: Space Bar
Change Camera: C
Toggle Visual Mode: T
Backglass View: U
For arcade stick, it occurred to me that with fighting games I intentionally set the buttons up to make my right hand jump around when using them, so I couldn't start resting my weight on the palm; so maybe I could try a one-handed button scheme for PBFX, like uh
NL LF NR RF
BL NF NF NF
although I dunno, seems like it could be tricky. = o And I'd probably just end up leaning on my idle left arm anyway! Hm. |
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| | | Ah, could put the nudges on the lever. ; ) That SOUNDED ingenious but my brain can't seem to wrap itself around it AT ALL, didn't end up managing even to twitch my hand on the lever when needing any nudges. : P The old
LF NL NR RF
BL NF NF BL
SHOULD work, if only I lean on both arms equally ]_]...which still sounds bad. Oh and combine BL and NF with Enter as well to cover that annoying "Play Again" bug that doesn't read the BL key.
Probably still better off on keyboard though. |
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| | | M wasn't comfy and the N key on the Sculpt is much bigger anyway so it's
Left Flipper: D
Right Flipper: K
Ball Launch: N
Use Power: Q
Nudge to the Left: F
Nudge to the Right: J
Nudge Forward: Space Bar
Change Camera: C
Toggle Visual Mode: T
Backglass View: U |
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| | | Another perk of playing on PC is that I can have Windows' "Night Light" reducing the contrast of the flashing lights; it even kinda makes it possible for me to stand the bright flashers, like on Addams Family--but I'm still avoiding those tables for now 'cause it's still a bit flashy and sorta irritating.
Anyway I find I still don't like AF's layout all that much, still feels like a less friendly version of TW. |
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| | | The 20 tables I have favorited (makes it easy to have them come right up on the My Tables tab, which conveniently can both save that search between sessions, and fix exactly 20 table thumbnails without scrolling) are
Attack from Mars
Black Rose
The Champion Pub
Cirqus Voltaire
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Dr. Dude and His Excellent Ray
Fish Tales
FunHouse
Hurricane
The Machine: Bride of Pinbot
Medieval Madness
Monster Bash
No Good Gofers!
The Party Zone
Space Station
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Theatre of Magic
Twilight Zone
White Water
World Cup Soccer
The non-favorited Williams tables are
The Addams Family
The Getaway: High Speed II
Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure
Junk Yard
Red and Ted's Road Show
Safe Cracker
Swords of Fury
Whirlwind |
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| | | Gradually widening my hand position back out as I realize part of what was causing my shoulders to go so tense using a DS4 is how you're holding it so centrally in front of you. Moved one more key position wider on the keyboard, so the keys are now
Left Flipper: S
Right Flipper: L
Ball Launch: M
Use Power: W
Nudge to the Left: D
Nudge to the Right: K
Nudge Forward: Space Bar
Change Camera: C
Toggle Visual Mode: T
Backglass View: I |
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| | | | Ah, if I only set 7 keys, they save okay. : P All I really need to set are LF, RF, BL, NL, NR, and BV, so I can get by with that. |
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"Twilight Zone: Vs The Power"
(Note: since recording I found some improvements/workarounds for a few of the issues I was whinging on about. ; ] See below! : )
At the time of recording this video, I thought I basically had to run the game at 120+ fps in order not to have either insane input delay or super-janky ball movement/tearing, and even then that it still had a few frames more input lag than the PS4 version, at least on my set-up.
I've since re-tested the input delay--see next video!--and found it actually improved significantly under this version 1.07, in which they focused on optimizing the PC version. Maybe I was suffering flashbacks to my pre-1.07 test when I first re-installed : P; anyway, what I actually counted for input delay now, in PC version 1.07, is
Vsync ON, 60 fps: 3-4 frames
Vsync ON, Unlimited fps: 5-6 frames
Vsync OFF, Unlimited fps: 2 frames
Compare w/ 6-7 frames delay in the pre-1.07 test (vs 4 for the then-PS4-version).
So I could run the game at 60 fps and it'd be fine. ... But I guess I'll keep cooking at Unlimited fps because man, 2 frame delay is sweeeeet.
The UI in the PS4 version is janky, but the increased input and video options on PC open many more avenues for unchecked bugs on the PC version. : P The one that's really chafing my buttercups currently is that if I remap the keyboard controls, in the next session they'll all be reset to default, except for the Ball Launch key (which still only accepts the default Enter key value to pass one of the THREE game over screens); if you then set your keys back to what you wanted, in the NEXT session, the Ball Launch key will be reset to default. If you set Ball Launch back to the key you wanted, in the NEXT session, all the other keys will be reset to default...
UPDATE: Found a workaround! Can seem to set up to 7 keys without trouble; trouble starts when setting 8 or more. I only REALLY need to set 6 keys, so I guess I'll get by with that for now. ; )
(And I found that the dev-created BUG REPORT MEGATHREAD for the Steam version is https://steamcommunity.com/app/2328760/discussions/0/6169410450142518097/ .)
Buuuut my dumb old beat-up shoulder can't seem to use a standard pad controller for anything except Wolfenstein 3D without giving itself cramps, so keyboard on PC seems to be my best less-continuing-nerve-pinching option. ^ _^ And it loads way faster from my laptop's SSD than on the PS4. And the Temporal AA is way sharper, so I can actually read the point values and funny stuff printed on the Williams tables playfields. : ) And at high framerates, the ghost ball artifacts aren't really visible. And the gamma isn't messed up like on the PS4 version. : P And I can have Windows' Night Light on to reduce the eyeball strain of table light flashing FX.
So yeah I've now bought my tables from Zen for the third time. Very few people seem to have re-bought theirs--which was required, with NO discount for prior ownership, going from PBFX3 to (new) PBFX, so now I can place real high on the leaderboards. : P Party while Zen burns!
I was thinking maybe contractual language with Williams was preventing them from altering default dip settings so they had to do these silly (and often buggy) workarounds like to skip game-over match sequences instead of just turning them off with a dip setting, but they do seem to be doing other stuff that would normally take dip access, like switching off EBs in Pro Mode, so I dunno.
Ran into three what seem like table-specific bugs on Twilight Zone:
- Ball falls back into the launch lane ~80% of the time after hitting the Red Award skill shot, instead of going through the diverter
- Can't skip the game over match sequence, even with the "Williams Pinball Attract Mode" setting set to ON, which is supposed to allow skipping match sequences
- @ 46:05, after draining the ball, after an earlier multi-ball, the game didn't seem to realize I had no more balls in play; after a pause it dumped locked balls down the playfield for me to keep playing! Got rank 34 on the leaderboard thanks to that glitch : P |
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When I tested Pinball FX on PC / Steam pre-version-1.07, I counted very roughly 6-7 frames of input delay / input lag with Vsync off and Framerate Limit on Unlimited (with Vsync on, the delay was basically unplayable). In that test I also tested the PS4 version on the same 60 Hz 1080p Asus 5ms (I think I said "1ms" in the video, oops!) monitor and DS4 controller, and counted 4 frames of delay there.
Things seem to have improved quite a bit for the PC / Steam PBFX with version 1.07!
This comparison is NOT scientific or conclusive and probably won't reflect whatever you get on your own set-up.
My 3-4 year old mid-range gaming laptop: i7-10750H, 16 GB RAM, GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
Delay counts for PBFX version 1.07:
Vsync ON, 60 fps: 3-4 frames
Vsync ON, Unlimited fps: 5-6 frames
Vsync OFF, Unlimited fps: 2 frames
So even with Vsync on, the PC version is now slightly more responsive than the PS4 version was*; with Vsync OFF, it's a screamer!
(* PS4 as of version 1.06 or whatever; haven't retested the PS4 version in 1.07, but the notes didn't list any PS4 performance optimizations and anyway I can't use a PS4 controller for ergonomic reasons so I've already uninstalled PBFX from my PS4 : P)
What's puzzling to me is that when I first installed this version of PBFX I was still feeling horrific delay with Vsync on. Maybe some other setting somewhere fixed that up? Hm well let's face it, it's most likely that I was just suffering flashbacks to the pre-1.07 version! I also made a few tweaks elsewhere: in the Nvidia Control Panel, I set C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Pinball FX\PinballFX\Binaries\Win64\PinballFX-Win64-Shipping.exe set to "Low Latency Mode" = "Ultra" and "Power management mode" = "Prefer maximum performance," and in its Windows file Properties, I checked-marked "Disable fullscreen optimizations" under the "Compatibility" tab.
Note to self: don't seem to have to reprocess my cell phone videos to get YT to show them at 1080p anymore : ] |
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I think this is where I made myself not want to play Fish Tales for a while. = o
Spent several hours thinking I needed to go for the ball lock on the right side, to get multiball. Couldn't hit the lock shot or even the big lanes right up the middle of the table!
I'd moved myself closer to my desk table than I usually sit so I wouldn't be reaching forward to my keyboard too much while playing; that seemed to help avoid straining my silly old beat up right shoulder. : P But maybe I was then sitting too close to the screen; anyway, once I pushed the screen back a little, I started to make at least some shots.
It was still pretty bad but somehow I once hit the lock six times in one ball so got two multiballs, and after that I realized I'm terrible at the multiball on this table, because I'm super weirdly bad at hitting the lock, and in multiball you gotta do that to get the jackpot which is pretty much the only thing worthwhile in the mode, only it's way harder now because your other balls keep getting in the way!
So after that I mostly just went for hitting the looping lane in the middle enough times in a row-ish (finally figured out near the end that the number of times you have to hit them is shown by the little fish lights on the playfield in front of them : P) to activate the Monster Fish award or whatever, then hit the left lane spinner to cash it in.
Wasn't so hot at hitting that either but finally managed to beat score I'd got while just messing around testing, only took me three hours. ;_;
Shooting the center loop over and over is a bit dull, though. Missing is frequent death; so are most misses here; like, I think they let Pro Mode keep the ball saver on this table, unlike a lot of them, because even the ball launch (and the lock shot!) is super-dangerous if it comes down the right side, where it may just skip off the wall and go straight down the middle. You can nudge to bounce it off harder to miss the center, but then it's into the slings and they like to be mean, too. If you do make it down from launch though, you can go for the captive ball shot right in the middle--it's way too dangerous for me to shoot at, otherwise! = oo
And all this stuff except the lock shot I guess is timed. Stressful, man! ; ) So yeah I think I'll stick to other tables for a while. = o
Tried to find another table to replace it in my Favorites to get to the perfect 20 that fit on the thumbnail chooser screen but still can't get myself to like Indy, Junk Yard, The Getaway, Swords of Fury, (& Road Show) or the flashing lights in Add Fam (& Safe Cracker).
And yep according to ipdb Indy is the table with two six-ball multiball modes. |
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| | | Still getting key mappings resetting, even when mapping fewer keys.
Was also still getting shoulder annoyance, gonna try going as wide as I can on my keyboard, so flippers on Caps Lock and PgUp, with nudged just inside them on A and Insert (MS Sculpt keyboard : P). And then I can leave that troublesome Ball Launch key on Enter, since that's next to Insert anyway. Oh and Backglass View's default Up is just below Insert. ^ _^
If that still doesn't make me stop tensing the shoulder, might take another stab with the arcade stick: nudges on stick, left side of button layout left flipper, right side buttons right flipper, Ball Launch on Start, and eh ESC on Touchpad or something. |
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Black Rose features one of the lamest implementations of a pirate theme I think I've seen.
And it does pinball stuff badly, too. It does a bad job of telling you where to shoot or what shots do, aside from the main, annoyingly tricky straight-up-the-middle shot, which is made harder by two ball return wires covering its entire length; as far as I could tell, lots of shots just do pretty much nothing. It doesn't tell you when you can shoot the left lane to light lock. It doesn't tell you when the ball saver is active. (Could some of these be lights the emulation is missing?)
The skill shot is so dangerous that even Pro Mode still gives you a ball saver; and it's so poorly shot out that the best way to hit the under-ramp shot it opens up is to LET THE BALL DRAIN for the Ball Saver to reload, because then a full-strength plunge fires the ball straight into the revealed lock. ; P
I ended up getting my best scores when I ignored what it was trying to tell me to do (shoot the dangerous straight-up-the-middle shot, mostly) and just shot the Whirlpool ramp over and over, which isn't all that dangerous and is at least worth definite points.
The side flipper is way overemphasized. Side flippers are not that cool.
The table flashes all the lights at the top of the table in your face when you shoot your ball up there, so for instance when it's returning for a shot on the side flipper, it's traveling down right over multiple flashing lights and you're firing kinda blinded. ; P
Ipdb.org https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=313 mentions that "Bally had considered using black pinballs, but had to abandon the idea." Man that would'a been the capper.
The video modes are super lame.
The two-ball multiball is somehow even less fun than the regular 1-ball play.
Trudeau also did The Machine: Bride of Pinbot (1991; BR is 1992) and it's incredible how much more fun it is (ah artist Python Anghelo is credited as Bride co-designer, so maybe that's part of it; then again Brian Eddy of Medieval Madness and Attack from Mars is co-credited on Rose, so how does THAT make any sense? while I was playing BR I kept thinking oh man imagine what the team that did MM and AfM would have done with a pirate theme and well I guess this was it?? how). This paid DLC version has some bugs, unfortunately; I hit these just in this short play:
- Optical link ball lock didn't advance after second eye filled, got out of sequence, balls started stacking up, teleporting, etc (probably related to lots of the other Bride transformation sequence issues already reported). Possibly triggered after losing ball following partial optical link (one eye filled) 1:58:05; the following second eye shot 1:58:40 after ball loss repeated "partial optical link" and left both eyes filled; next shot 2:00:14 left a third ball stuck on one of the balls already in an eye--and ejected the ball in the other eye, repeating again "partial optical link"; then 2:00:29 the stuck ball teleported down to the launch lane; the next shot 2:00:57 advanced correctly ("Optics activated"), but I'm not sure later multiballs behaved correctly
- Have to enter local high score initials even with the "Enter Initials" option turned off
- Initials entry says Enter is confirm, but it's actually whatever Ball Launch is set to; Ball Launch defaults to Enter but can be changed by the user--I'd changed mine to M
Hm I don't think I ever noticed that the playfield is Bride's body--her head is slightly offset to the left so maybe that's why I didn't spot that; but yeah those u-turn ramps are around her breasts. : P And I forgot how blow-up-doll creepy those mouth ball locks are. : PP |
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| | | | Ooh yeah the wider hand spacing helped a lot. I'm gonna try something even more right-favoring, going funky Q/W on the left ahd PgDn/Up on the right. ; D |
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World Cup Soccer
As always, as I learned the table's rules I started trying to force shots instead of playing in the flow, and started doing worse. ; ) Could barely get even half my early score! D-arr.
The mechanized goalie may be one of my favorite gimmicks in pinball--can't think of one I like better, at the moment. So satisfying to score on, even from a cheap place kick. ; D
The rather unfriendly ramps may be what keeps this from being an all-timer in my books: the right ramp is pretty far to the side, and the left one is narrow, with potentially deadly post button rebounds and a VERY deadly rollback that tends to rocket straight down the middle. |
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More WC Soccer. Didn't quite beat my 1.1b high score but at least got close again, finally. Figured out just gotta not shoot for the left ramp--shoot for the right ramp instead, since it does all the same stuff and isn't nearly as dangerous! ^_ ^ |
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"Ball stuck on Rudy's lower lip. : P (Can center-nudge it out.)"
FunHouse
Jeepers I can't get that left flipper timing down, some kind of space warp around that thing. ; D
Lovely lighting in this one though, I wish they all looked this defined! |
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"I just want Jean Luc whispering "Good luck!" to me ^ _^"
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Man the sounds in this one really are good. Seems to play really well, too. Super deadly on the outlines--ball just loves to trickle out over the top of the slings. Lots of SDTMs too--have got one right out of the middle of the rollovers/pops a few times. BROO--ULL. ; D
I just want Picard whispering "Good luck!" to me always.
Maybe Warp Factor 4 is the way to go on launch? Not sure really, but maybe. Like the light blue or whatever DMD color option for this table (those are under Gameplay or something in Settings, for some reason : PP).
It does the thing where the local high score entry comes up even with the option turned off in Settings. : P Noticed you can skip out of it with ESC, at least.
Testing out a new key layout after recording, I got a higher score: 616,367,170 (rank 11). Basically I haven't got anywhere, but it's brand new so not too many people have got their scores in yet. ^ _^
Stunk it up in the Ferengi multiball every time. ; D
(Tried yet another new layout after that--basically I was finding a wider posture was avoiding some shoulder annoyance, then I was wishing I had an actual split-separate keyboard, then I remembered my MS Sculpt keyboard has a separate numpad that I hadn't been using--so with that I can have as wide a posture as I want, like as wide as when you've got your hands on the flipper buttons on a widebody cab. ^ _^ So we'll see how that goes. Also I realized I'd forgotten to move my monitor back a bit--in the past that's helped my aim, so I should remember to do that. :P)
The added Graphics were looking good for a while until the Asteroid Threat mission where a big asteroid drifted in over the table. ; PPP Oh well just hadda turn them back off.
They added menu FX and Music volume sliders to the game settings in this version. |
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Medieval Madness
Good layout, great voices, darn those trolls though. : p
Reading FAQs, you do have to complete Trolls to get through the whole quest, and on the real table, at least, they are known as dangerous shots you probably don't want to aim for directly--but you can overlap them with multiball, which would give you insurance. |
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Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure
Weird how Williams managed to make what feels here like such an uninspired Indy table. The voice clips from multiple movies don't really land and are oddly almost entirely bereft of samples from the main man himself. Didn't get anywhere close to the main 6-ball multiball gimmick here; got it the one time I played the table in RL and just felt relief I'd seen it and could now go play some table I might actually like.
At one point early on, tilt stopped working until I quit and restarted the table. 'p'
I did have more fun playing Monster Bash at the end--even though I was doing horribly at it. ^ _^--but that was relative to Indy; wasn't particularly feeling even MB at that point. :-P Holding flipper triggers may be aggravating my hopefully ergonomically recuperating shoulders, and maybe I just have other games on the brain right now or something. Probably gonna give PBFX a rest for a bit. |
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| | | | For the Indy video modes, the game was zooming in on the DMD so you played them enlarged--didn't remember it doing that on other tables before. The bar one with the first-person pistol shots was a bit flashy that way. 8o Just guessed and got lucky (1/5) on the cup-swapping "Choose Wisely" video mode--oh my gosh that one is so uninspired, let's just do the cup swap they do on the bigotron at the baseball stadium. : PP |
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