Twilight Zone - strange table

[shorthair]

Well, I was just playing here at home on VP, and I've played before, but it's a kinda hard table just to make out, let alone figure all the shots an all. So tonight I was playing a few games, getting laaame scores and kinda just not into it...but I persevered...and ended up getting 2.5 billion on the first ball. Then I went on to get 'lost in the zone'. Wow, 6 balls comin at ya....in a way, a little easier than three, cos they hit each other more often, keeping others from going out....and got 448 million. Okay. Hard to even tell what the scoring is, it's so hectic. Got lost in the zone, again, but only 350 million. Topped out at 3.4 billion. I don't think I'll come at all close to that soon on the real table, but it was fun.

[ChadTower]

I used to own a TZ... the VP table is nothing like the skill the real table requires.  Not close, not within sight of close, so far from close you may as well be blind.

[More Cowbell]

Wow. That's cool that it's so close. 

[shardian]

Don't know about TZ, but I've played the VP version of Funhouse before and after playing on a home-owned version of a real table, and the vp version plays very realistically.

[ChadTower]

Funhouse does until you start to have to repeatedly hit specific shots... they're way way easier in VP than on a real table.  No physics of worn out spots, mylar bubbles, dimples, an old ball, VP doesn't have spin or anything like that...

In general, VP is much much easier than a real pin.  When you get into very toy heavy pins like TZ it gets even further from reality.

[shardian]

Dr. Who plays the same on VP and real life too IMO...as in crappy.

[ahofle]

Thread hijack:
Does anyone else have a problem with VP and Funhouse (Pacdude version) in that Rudy's eyes and mouth don't match up with the graphics on the table?  They are off a little bit.

[MPTech]

I enjoy the VP tables a great deal as well and TZ is one of my favorites.  I'd love to own the real things, but I don't think my Game Room would accomodate 200+ tables, the VP versions are close enough for now (unless a real one crosses my path!).  btw, some of the FP tables are also pretty cool.

So, I'm jealous, I've gotten a couple pretty hi scores in TZ, but not in that realm.  What's the trick?  I need to do some research to find some strategies to hi-scores. (hint, hint, does anyone know a link or foum I can check out?)  I have a few tables I enjoy playing, but usually just stumble across strategies, while banging away at targets.

Addams Family is also a lot of fun. As well as Elvira.

I know the physics aren't perfect, but they are pretty darn good!  Hey, I remember some of the early Virtual Pinball games and everything looked 2-D and the ball bounced like a robot.

Do you have flippers on the side of your cab? I added a second set of buttons for nudging. Takes some getting used to but sure beats trying to tilt the cab and not accomplishing anything!

[ChadTower]

Yep... I like VP, play it fairly frequently, and enjoy it for what it is... it's not real, so I don't expect it to play as real.  I'm heavily considering a VP bartop in the coming months if I can discover a way to rotate the image for a widescreen monitor (I haven't looked into it yet, maybe it's already possible).

[MPTech]

I've read in the VP forums that several guys have installed Flat-Panels and rotated the widescreen for portrait mode.  Sounds like a good solution and I've considered it myself, for my cab.

[slycrel]

I own a TZ and I'd say that while you can get a general feel for the game via VP you don't get quite the same feel of the game.  I've noticed this some with other games but TZ does seem to be more pronounced.

[shardian]

I've played some twilight zone on VP, but there is just too much stuff on that game for VP to be fun. You can't hardly tell what is going on.

[shardian]

As to improved physics, it would be neat if there was a factor to input for table roughness to simuate wear and tear, and also the ability to simulate a worn out flipper coil...wait WTF am I thinking? I play VP that way I don't have to deal with those issues.

[ChadTower]

Eh, those issues are what make one table different than another of the same title.  You're always playing a "new" game.

[DarkBubble]

There's just so much to do in TZ that I'm almost afraid to see what the VP version is like.  They managed to get the Fight the Power part down for the most part?  And what about the Power Ball?  Did they actually get its properties attached to a ball?  *sigh*  I love pinball.

[shorthair]

DB: yes, to both of those.

In general, I prefer VP cos of it's ideality. Worn components just pisses me off - for any kind of machine.

Shardian: it's a cluttered table, with a high learning curve. Of course, as with many of the tables, it's difficult to get the length of the playfield right, given that most people are using 4:3 displays. Definitely a rotated widescreen would be killer, and is a well-discussed concept at VP forums.

MPTech: strategy? Maybe that I don't like chess will give you a clue. I just try to keep the ball from going down the centre. Oh, and I cheat: I put walls up to close out the outlanes. HAHAHAH. You know those were just limitations designed in to help ensure they'd make money. Then again, since the bumping is limited, I think it can be justified, here.

[KenToad]

The major difference I've noticed between playing VP tables and their real-life counterparts is the tilt sensitivity.  You can probably adjust it, but it seems like the tilt on real machines varies a lot from one machine to another, even for the same game.  Finding out the limits of the tilt sensor is one of the many delights of playing on a handmade, unique table, as opposed to a well-made simulation.

FWIW, I love Attack from Mars on VP and I think it plays very similar to a real table that's not too beat up, specifically one that has been circulating a few of the pinball spots around town the last few years. 

I had the guy who has the top three scores over to try it out on my bartop and he agreed that it was amazingly similar, which was nice to hear, considering the experience he has with that game.  Also, he clued me in on a few tips for playing and showed me on the VP version. 

[shorthair]

I can understand it, but I don't identify with it. I disable (set to 0) the tilt sensitivity on VP tables. The only reason all my tables aren't that way is cos it ain't easy, or isn't possible in some cases, to find it in the script. However, on TZ, I hadn't even looked so it was a factor in play.

[CheffoJeffo]

Yep... I like VP, play it fairly frequently, and enjoy it for what it is... it's not real, so I don't expect it to play as real.  I'm heavily considering a VP bartop in the coming months if I can discover a way to rotate the image for a widescreen monitor (I haven't looked into it yet, maybe it's already possible).

http://www.vpforums.com/forum/showthread.php?s=ec0b224ede1e1ad3b81e552621de9df4&threadid=36732