Decker

Thank you. It's idiotic, but re-downloading the demo fixed everything with the game and it works now.

I might have been Scrooge-like with their Kickstarter plan, but I'm happy to buy their actual tables. Got all the DLC and I like those new tables very much. I never knew anything about Bride of Pin-bot, but it's actually a cool and different table. I'd forgotten how cool Medieval Madness was. It's pretty similar to the Excalibur table on Zen, but that's hardly their fault.

pinata242

Well, Zen does get inspiration from real world tables they don't have licenses for, so that's not unexpected.

Decker

That's fine. It's not a direct rip-off, just pretty similar. I guess my point was that I almost didn't buy the Medieval Madness/ Bride of Pin-bot package since I already had Excalibur on the PS3 (and will soon have it for the Vita as well, when ZP2 finally comes out), but the demo for "Bride" was cool enough and unique enough to get me to spend an extra $5 on the package.

That Circus Voltaire is a really cool table -- different and fun. It's really small and hard to see on the Vita, but on the HDTV that low-level dot-matrix display they have on that table really makes for more comfortable and easy viewing of your missions and such. I imagine in an arcade, having it so low is probably undesirable, but for the home video pinball game, it works surprisingly well.

Even though it takes forever to read through, I like the way Pinball Arcade instructs you on the table goals and missions. By focusing on each ramp you need, they make it really clear what you need to do for every table. If you take the time, it makes the mysteries of each table much clearer.

Man, how I'd love to someday get that Billion-point shot in Bride of Pin-bot!

neilo13

Acutually, the dot matrix display on Cirqus Voltaire is projected onto the back of the playfield via mirror, it's a really cool effect in person, but is actually harder to read, depending on the environment lighting, than the virtual table.

Kedrix

So, hopefully a few more of you got the Avengers pack for Pinball FX..(since if you get it this month as part of Xbox Live Rewards, you get 200 points back, yes its now confirmed). I've played the Avengers and World War Hulk tables and while I do like both...is it just me or are the out lanes (what I call the lanes that automatically give you a ball out and not allow you to use your flippers) ridiculous in Avengers? It seems like the slightest incorrect movement, bam! I love the choice of balls, my favorite seems to be Iron Man or Hulk...but geez.

It's not great in WW Hulk either, but at least it is liveable (the only thing that gets me in that one is that the phrases are way too few but on the upside, it makes me want to watch/read Planet Hulk again, they really need to do a animated movie sequel to Planet Hulk). I know I need to play the other two tables, but usually I'll try to play a couple of them to death at a time before I move on.

chuckd21

I wouldn't hold out much hope for future Pinball Arcade support for Xbox. The update was rejected again by Microsoft.

flashburn

What the fuck, Farsight is just full of fail.

xmiyux

Good thing they are going to save the world of pinball by recreating and preserving real world tables...

/sarcasm

pinata242

They totally fucked up their engine, at least with regard to XBLA. You can't be pushing CONTENT through title updates, that's what DLC is for. K.I.S.S.

I'm really glad I backed my Kickstarter pledge back from my crazy-ass $100 to just $25 before the end. Even that was too much. I should have known better.

Still. Once a table is defined, in theory they (or anyone) should be able to change the physics engine that employs those digital assets without having to redo everything. It's still a good thing, but they just need to give that stuff to Zen to implement.

Decker

I sort of disagree. I have all the DLC on PSN and it's pretty great actually. Those four tables are better than the four the game launched with. I won't pretend to understand the Microsoft certification process, but I can assure you that Farsight did a fine job with their DLC on the PS3 and the Vita. I think whatever the issues are, they may be the fault of Microsoft; clearly they aren't being too helpful with the folks who made Fez either.

chuckd21

This latest rejection was something along the lines of "If a player removes their memory card during gameplay, the game becomes unresponsive." So yeah, clearly something Farsight should have addressed...

flashburn

Yeah, you are right, every other company takes 20 tries and 5 months to get an update pushed through Microsoft certification too.

pinata242

I think FarSight didn't take the XBLA process into account when developing their DLC/Update strategy. I don't know how anyone, in 2012, can say that Microsoft is reasonable with all their rules. 2gb update limit made Bioware affect their Mass Effect 3 ending for all platforms.

XBLA is the lowest common denominator here. FarSight didn't do the math right because of that. They're both at fault.

pinata242

I mean, shit, if MS's certification process was truly worth the money, why would developers have to have patches to fix bugs AND be expected to pay again?

flashburn

Wait, so you think a > 2GB limit on title updates (or no limit) is the correct answer? This is a (aging) console, not a PC. The correct answer would of been for Bioware to actually put the ending on the disc, instead of trying to include it after the fact.

I don't know all of the intricacies with the title update certification's a company needs to go to, and I shouldn't have to. All I know is many other companies are doing just fine releasing patches, so not to blame Farsight at least partially is pretty ridiculous. Especially after they have tried and failed several times.

pinata242

I sure did say they're both to blame, but you read everything I wrote before you responded, right?

FarSight did not take all considerations into account.

Whether or not the original ME3 ending wasn't satisfactory (it was) isn't the point of debate here. The point is that when they decided they needed to do something to shut all the babies out there up, they had to hit all platforms. They had an arbitrary restriction on one of those platforms, so they all had the restriction. I'm not saying 3gb or 4gb or 5.39gb or unlimited is any better. I'm saying that there's a restriction out there that you have to take into account when you walk up to the whiteboard to design an infrastructure. Clearly, and I'll say it again, FarSight failed at this and continues to.

Microsoft is failing everyone by sticking by all these rules. But, hey, at least they allow patches so they've got one up on the Wii in that regard. They just found a way to monetize it for themselves. When the ONE GUY that made Fez says that he's losing money by being on the XBLA platform, does that not raise a red flag? And this is a year or two after those Super Meat Boy guys abandoned ship under similar circumstances.

"Microsoft doesn't care about indie devs." - Kanye

pinata242

Also, you do understand the difference between a "title update/patch" to a "DLC package", right?

flashburn

You were the one who said "update". I was only going by what you said. If you actually meant DLC, well, that's another story, and I'd agree a 2GB limit on DLC is stupid. I haven't even played Mass Effect 3 yet, so I can only go by the bits I've read in news articles regarding the ending.

flashburn

I wasn't saying you didn't blame them both. That was more towards the other person who did.

Did someone piss in your cheerios this morning or something?

pinata242

My entire point is that FarSight has been trying to fit "DLC" into an "update". That's their problem when approaching XBLA as if it were more open like everything else. Their infrastructure is all wrong.

pinata242

No, I'm just counting hours until BATMAN! And this is the only entertaining thing I have right now.

UncleGramps

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Decker

Infinity Gauntlet tournament starts tomorrow.

Kedrix

I tried that table a day or two ago. Yeah, I'm not getting any prize. It is certainly an odd table, I'm not sure if I like it yet.

flashburn

Creature From The Black Lagoon and Black Knight are the July tables for Pinball Arcade... in case that wasn't already mentioned.