The Pinball Arcade: new tables and teething pains

[mmcirvin]

I'm still enjoying The Pinball Arcade, but I've switched to getting the Android version and playing that most of the time, mostly because the downloadable content for XBox 360 has been so horribly delayed: they're now saying the first three DLC packs, each containing one new table and one rerun from Pinball Hall of Fame, are going to come out "by

Comments

[cdk]

How do the physics compare between the platforms? I've only played the Android version, and it feels like the flippers do some crazy things. Just wondering if that's a processing power limitation, or if it's just screwy all around.

[mmcirvin]

There seems to be a consensus (acknowledged by some people at Farsight) that the flippers are the weakest point in their physics model. I've heard that it's hard or impossible to use certain kinds of advanced flipper techniques like drop catches and post passes, in part because the flipper will give a tremendous kick to the ball even from the briefest flick on the button. These are, however, things I'm no good at anyway.

I do think the physics is more realistic on the XBox than on Android, probably just because they're throwing more cycles at it. On my phone, the frame rate can get choppy when complicated things are happening, which makes it harder to play. I can get much higher scores on the console in Theater of Magic, Arabian Nights and Black Hole (I didn't bother buying Ripley's on Android because I don't like it). But that may just be because the control scheme is more comfortable.

[ikkyu2]

Bride of Pinbot! You hang out all the best places, man.

[mmcirvin]

On Android, it's one of the most fun of the DLC tables to play, though it's still as pervy as ever and has incredibly unbalanced scoring due to the existence of the billion shot.

[mmcirvin]

...Come to think of it, I believe Bride of Pinbot is the only one of these that I've spent any time trying to play in real life. I think Lanes and Games in Cambridge used to have one. But I don't recall doing very well, though it seems to actually be much easier than the first Pin*Bot.

...Well, OK, I have attempted Funhouse as well. That one used to be everywhere.