New Pinball Arcade from makers of Williams Collection

[boog]

PA season 4 was cross-buy between PS3/Vita & PS4 for me also, and I have the tables installed on all three platforms. As long as all of the S4 table packs are in your PSN download list for each platform I don't think there's any issue on the PSN ownership side.

 

I've never tried the demo version of PA but I suspect that's the issue. You probably can't use DLC unless you own the base game. I'd delete everything, then purchase/install/update the base game, then download the S4 tables.

[Atariboy]

Thanks so much for answering another Pinball Arcade question for me.

[boog]

No problem. One other caveat is that the PS3 download list will show each of the S4 tables twice... separate PS3 and Vita versions. The filenames are usually identical, but downloading the Vita versions onto the PS3 will just make an install icon for transfer to a Vita. The PS3 versions are usually the larger file size.

 

Another note for anyone who's planning to purchase the post-season 7 Stern tables on PS4. Stern Pinball Arcade table packs 1 & 2 are cross-buy and will give you the PA versions as well. The individual tables for SPA are not cross-buy. The PA versions are not cross-buy. SPA has slightly better lighting and physics, but having the tables in PA puts all the Farsight tables in one game. Better to buy the packs in SPA and get access in both games.

 

Even though I already had SPA on disc, I recently re-purchased the two packs for SPA digitally to have access to every table in both games. With no news from Farsight about the future of TPA/SPA I'm a little worried that their Stern license could expire and we may not get the same advance warning they gave about the WMS delisting...

[digdugnate]

necrobump!  

 

i downloaded Pinball FX3 and snagged the Williams Universal Monsters Pack.    I have FX2 (I think it is) and a ton of tables on Steam so it's neat to be able to play it on the Switch.

 

The Williams tables so far are really cool!

[TwinChargers]

Anybody still playing this?  I started up on the PS3 again.  I own all that it had to offer for that platform (seasons 1-6).  Still a mighty good time.  Wondering if its worth downloading the Pinball FX on the PS3 and trying out those games?

[Tanooki]

My understanding of the PFX3 versions are that they're inferior.  The physics aren't as nice, and to get a more cuddly kid friendly rating most of the tables have been censored as well.  Between the two while I've had them on steam watch, even the 50% off they often hit on the first couple bundles still hasn't wow'd me to care.  The old PBA is dramatically superior which is just sick how licenses go.  I'd love to add more, since I have more on some formats than others, and now I can not nor can I shuffle as there's no cross ownership/play.  The only route now is theft, APKs on android and side loading.

[Austin]

Pinball FX3 physics are just different (even the "arcade" physics meant to be used with the Williams recreations). Neither engine (Zen or FarSight's) is a great replication of real-world physics. I personally prefer FarSight's engine as it's easier to control the ball and thus the flow of the games, but it's still unrealistically floaty.

 

I find Zen's engine works better for their original tables, less so for their real-world recreations. It's definitely worth checking out some of their stuff though. I still love going back to Mars in particular. Just be prepared to grind out for a long time on each table--their rule sets are unnecessarily padded out. "Shoot this shot ten times to start a mode! Then only have 20 seconds to actually play out the mode! Fail at the mode, then make another ten shots to restart it!" - Things like that.

Edited December 9, 2019 by Austin

[+FujiSkunk]

I've been putting in a ton of Addams Family on my phone lately.  I'm glad I got all the Williams tables when I did.  The first time I tried PFX3, I wasn't impressed, and I haven't gone back since.

[digdugnate]

reading through this thread- i should give Pinball Arcade a shot on my Switch, looks like.

[Asaki]

Wow, Zen has finally given us a reason to care about their Williams license: https://mailchi.mp/58fc872db62f/nintendo-summer-chill-sale-11245858?e=9ff8edce7b

 

[Tanooki]

Holy shit...that gave me a reason to give 2 flips about Zen and Williams again.  I got so over this whole smash n grab tear down of TPA and the move to Zen I just outright quit bothering to even acknowledge or use TPA anymore, and Zen I never bought the tables as I saw mixed reviews and complaints about censorship.  But for that, I'd tolerate it, happily tolerate it.

[+jgkspsx]

9 hours ago, Tanooki said:

I got so over this whole smash n grab tear down of TPA and the move to Zen I just outright quit bothering to even acknowledge or use TPA anymore, and Zen I never bought the tables as I saw mixed reviews and complaints about censorship.  But for that, I'd tolerate it, happily tolerate it.

Me too. I was really bummed out and basically stopped playing both.

[+wongojack]

I still play them (TPA and FX) both occasionally, but the shine certainly came off when that split happened.

 

I also recently discovered Malzbie's Pinball Collection.  It is kind of a graphical step back from the other Pinball collections "out there," but the gameplay is really solid and the individual tables are very inexpensive.  Malzbie's Pinball Collection on Steam (steampowered.com)

[Tanooki]

I added the old Tristan pinball and the Caliburn one they did too on my phone sometime after that fall out, also the clone of old windows 9x Space Pinball.  I also have the iOS conversions of pinball dreams and pinball fantasies.  Zaccaria pinball was great, but they let it rot so long it won't but barely work, barely as it's crash happy.  I've mailed them, they missed 2 deadlines of when they claimed they'd have it updated and put back up to par, so I don't think they much care.

[+jgkspsx]

I soured on Zen after the 3DS Star Wars Pinball had atrocious physics.

[HammR25]

Zen has Indiana Jones at $15 by itself. I can see why Farsight never bothered.

 

Also if you buy it for Pinball FX 3 your license won't transfer over to the new version called Pinball FX.

[Tanooki]

$15 is the only reason I don't have it no matter how much I do more than any other table.  They crossed the line trying to sponge people that hard for a solitary release.  It may take 6-12mo but I'll wait for an appropriate sale price as that's just wrong.  Also what you said there too got me curious...new version of Pinball FX and no carry over?!  That's despicable.  If you buy a table license they should honor it through the upgrade.

[+FujiSkunk]

Several Pinball Arcade tables might have been in the $15 range had they not gone the crowd-funding route to secure licenses ahead of time.  Terminator 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Addams Family and Dr. Who were all Kickstarter'ed.  I want to say I heard rumblings they were trying to put together a Kickstarter for Indiana Jones, but wanted all the paperwork for licensing in place ahead of time and Harrison Ford was ghosting them.  That's half-remembered conversation of what may have been speculation in the first place, so take it with a fair amount of salt.  I guess Zen either finally knew what connections to make through Ford's people, or finally wrote enough zeros on the check.

 

I still can't be bothered, frankly.  I might have been interested in a Kickstarter like Farsight's where they often dangled treats like free season downloads, but just $15 for a single table on a platform I'm not impressed by and that apparently will be obsoleted by the company in the near future anyway... meh.

[Tanooki]

That doesn't sound like Ford, but who knows... it's still a bit too much.

 

I'm conflicted even with my original comment.  One on side of things at $10 I'd stomach it, but even then with it NOT compatible with the newly to come version of their entire package and having to re-purchase it they can rightly piss off.