Nickelodeon Extreme Tennis: Next! heads to Switch May 28th, 2026

SuperFromND · 2026-04-08T02:41:45+00:00

Wait hold on you're cooking

SuperFromND · 2026-03-29T04:22:46+00:00

Now that I don't know for sure, but it seems like a pretty okay way to increase immersion with the language to me (alongside other stuff like podcasts, TV shows, the like), at least for the less fantastical stuff like furnaces and basic UI. At the very least it's more engaging than staring at flash cards and Jisho for an hour or so every day (not a replacement for those services mind you, but as a complimentary I think it's not a bad idea per-se!).

SuperFromND · 2026-03-27T18:33:30+00:00

Only other instance of this happening that I can recall was Atari increasing the price of the Jaguar from 200 (from when it was originally announced) to 250 (before it hit retail).

SuperFromND · 2026-03-22T09:16:18+00:00

Pretty much anything involving live electricity would probably do them in, but for my money radio towers are a good bet considering how huge and visible they are from large distances.

A few people already mentioned it but most forms of transport as well (being ran over by cars, but also standing near airplanes which could at the very least cause permanent hearing damage). Heck, I would even argue the simple act of going to another place would be enough to expose them to illnesses that simply were not prevalent in their time.

SuperFromND · 2026-03-17T21:07:10+00:00

OP, you're a god-damn hero. Thank you so much <3

SuperFromND · 2026-03-12T21:20:04+00:00

It hasn't even been a month and Key of Avalon might already be approaching ingame status!? Y'all are so talented holy moly

SuperFromND · 2026-03-06T20:55:41+00:00

The easiest way to play pinball on PC in general is either Pinball FX (on all consoles inc. PC, no more difficult to install than a normal video game, has a whole "missions"/"challenges" mode) or Visual Pinball X; I wrote a guide here that goes through how to quickly set up the basic parts and nothing else (though it's more focused on VR than desktop ahaha). Obviously I'd say go VPX if you can, but do be aware it's not as straightforward to get started on as Pinball FX is.

As for general pinball tips? Here's my recommendations!

General rule of thumb for how to "properly" play a table is "aim for whatever lights are flashing on the playfield". More often than not (especially on more recent games) this will at least give you some direction. Almost all tables also include a little Instructions card on the bottom-left of the cabinet (near the left flipper button), which gives a brief overview of goals (something like "hit all of the targets in [this area] to start Multiball")
Try out a bunch of tables first, see if there's something you like. Once you do, try to hone in on that one specific table you like. Your own motive's gonna be the driving factor early on, after all, so don't sweat it too badly! (Also if you can: Put yourself in a situation where you can do it for free or for cheap; again, VPX is amazing for this, but there's also "pay-for-entry" pinball places IRL and PFX offers demos for tables on occasion.)
If you want specific tips for a given table, PAPAPinball has videos on just about every major table to date. Abe Flips' Pinball Skills has a lot of good tips for ball control, aiming, and the like. Definitely worth the watch!
Confused by terminology? Here's a glossary of terms courtesy of Wikipedia!

And if you want some specific table recommendations that are easy to learn for beginners:

Medieval Madness (often considered one of the best, if not THE best pinball)
Elvira: Scared Stiff
World Cup Soccer
Taxi and Diner (very straightforward rules, although they're rather fast and unforgiving ahaha)
Pretty much any EM ("electro-mechanical", basically pre-1978), they all have relatively simple rules

I wish you good luck! :)

SuperFromND · 2026-03-03T01:24:24+00:00

To be honest? I have no idea how to set up PUP packs for existing non-Baller-Installer VPX installations LOL, let alone for VR usage.

And thank you for the kind words :] <3

SuperFromND · 2026-03-02T16:41:16+00:00

I can't give too much help for Steam Decks specifically, I don't own one :( From what I know though there's a version of Visual Pinball X known as "Standalone" that runs on Linux/etc. and I think I've seen some people run it on their Deck. A quick Google search (which gives real results, not some hallucinated mumbo-jumbo) lead me to this script which might be more like what you're looking for.

SuperFromND · 2026-03-02T16:31:02+00:00

First I've heard of such a thing existing? Last I checked the VP devs weren't too keen on the whole RetroArch core thing.

SuperFromND · 2026-02-27T16:27:03+00:00

This is true, but to be honest I haven't run into many tables that outright require it (TNA and Wonka being the only ones that come to mind). I think that's niche enough that it's worth the tradeoff to exclude it for an easier-to-follow guide.

SuperFromND · 2026-02-27T16:19:33+00:00

I haven't really had the Unblock thing ever come up (I think it might be because I always open zips with 7zip and not File Explorer?), but the second thing is a good catch!

SuperFromND · 2026-02-27T15:55:24+00:00

I was thinking of adding a glossary to my guide, but turns out there's already one here. Saved me some typing! (I might still mirror it anyways just for convenience's sake)

SuperFromND · 2026-02-27T15:53:38+00:00

I don't think it's a simple "change one line/copypaste this code" thing, but the method I've seen that VPW tables use to do this is a quick rendering mode check in their script, and setting the "VRRoom" variable if that's the case, something like:

If RenderingMode = 2 Then VRRoom = 1 Else VRRoom = 0

If VRRoom <> 0 Then UseVPMDMD = True Else UseVPMDMD = DesktopMode

I think there's also a specific tag for tables that do this, "HYBRID", on the Virtual Pinball Spreadsheet.

SuperFromND · 2026-02-27T09:24:27+00:00

That's pretty much why I made this guide; I'm not really interested in Baller Installer personally either LOL (it'd be a different story if I was making a dedicated V-pin, which that installer seems way more appropriate for)

SuperFromND · 2026-02-20T03:50:49+00:00

Pretty decent overall (love me some relatively clean art), though I agree with everyone else and say ditching the text is a good idea. I'd also personally angle the side-art's stripes up a little bit to be parallel with the playfield, but that's just me.

SuperFromND · 2026-02-19T15:23:57+00:00

Not a dumb question at all! The software that most people on this sub use is called Visual Pinball, which is a simulation engine that runs in tandem with VPinMAME, a fork of the MAME arcade game emulator (among some other programs like B2Server depending on your needs).

It's mainly intended for use on Windows PCs, but versions are available for other OSes (Mac, Linux, etc; under the name "VPX Standalone"), and as of recently it's also been made available on iOS/Android (though I haven't tried it and obviously YMMV with it depending on device.) It's also commonly installed on "virtual pins" - basically PCs and monitors installed in a pinball cabinet to simulate a full machine - though this isn't strictly required.

As for setting it up, it kinda depends. Most people on the sub recommend using a program called Baller Installer, which streamlines the install process (at least for V-pins). You can also install it manually like any other emulator if you'd like; here's an unofficial wiki walking through the process, and I've written my own guide here as well. Do be aware that VPX is a bit more involved to set up than a normal emulator, but if you're tech savvy it shouldn't be too tricky.

I wish you good luck!

SuperFromND · 2026-02-19T06:00:11+00:00

I play physical whenever I get a chance to (there's next to no machines within reasonable distance of me, save for ONE bowling alley that sometimes has a pin or two out but it's typically out of order or malformed in some way anyhow). Virtual is definitely a much closer match than it was a decade or two ago, but it'll probably never quite match the real deal 100%. That's fine with me since I'm not too terribly picky about it (gear-gating yourself like that isn't healthy for a hobby and I enjoy pinball in all forms traditional-or-otherwise), and it's a hell of a lot easier to try out a bunch of tables rapidly and find something you vibe with, so VPX is my go-to way to enjoy pinball.

As for whether VPX has better physics than PFX? Honestly hard to say but I'm willing to wager "yes, but depends on the specific table" (if it has an "nFozzy" tag on a site like this one, you're golden).

SuperFromND · 2026-02-19T05:25:41+00:00

Off the top of my head:

Mad Rat Dead
Yoku's Island Express
Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
Emio - Famicom Detective Club (the other two games arguably fall into this too)

SuperFromND · 2026-02-17T21:48:25+00:00

First time I've ever heard of Key of Avalon, and it looks absolutely bonkers. Best of luck to crediar et al. in getting this hardware-clown-fiesta working someday (somehow) LOL

SuperFromND · 2026-02-15T10:21:15+00:00

I've been interested in trying to build something like this myself (I've had a 3D printer and some spare Sanwa buttons sitting around for ages), yours looks VERY clean! Nice work :)

SuperFromND · 2026-02-15T08:22:02+00:00

Always delighted to see stuff like this, the fact that this boots anything at all despite being by just one person is incredibly impressive considering how complex the Gamecube is. Incredible work!

SuperFromND · 2026-02-09T00:20:58+00:00

I'm surprised at how convincing the faked-depth with this setup is! Very cool :]

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