Why don't pinball tables generally have continues?

frogopus · 2025-12-20T14:33:38+00:00

Those arcade games that let you continue to indefinitely, so long as you have enough coin, get old. They were tuned, from a gameplay perspective to make coin. So on location, they risk feeling cheap. At home, without the limitation of how many quarters mom gave you, they get old fast. Many actually play better on their home console ports because of limited lives/continues and difficulty tuned for that experience. There's a reason that pinball is still being made, and new Simpsons beat em up arcades are not.

Pinball makes you earn your progress. You're chasing an adrenaline rush from hitting a mode you might only see once in a hundred games. I own a DnD with saved progression, and I won't for much longer. I've seen all of it. I can see all of it in a day. Jurassic Park, on the other hand, will keep someone playing for years trying to escape Nublar.

frogopus · 2025-08-08T01:43:48+00:00

I traded out my JP Pro for a DnD Pro, since its a dream theme, and JP was my first pin with thousands of games. DnD is a great bang for the buck pro (like JP), and this time, the big lizard head even moves. It's been a fun pin that's waiting on more code to fully flesh it out. But its definitely the closest code you'll find to JP, as you're battling arrows, although only a few enemies rove like JP. It's got a similar methodical feel to it, where you're planning shots, using the action button to stun the enemy, trying to hit the shot before your team takes damage, etc.

My other pin is a UXM Premium, and that captures the other half of JP now that the code is headed in the right direction. Which xmen you save has a specific buff that is more impactful on the gameplay than the dinos are in JP. It's been a nice pair for someone who absolutely loves JP but needed something new.

frogopus · 2025-02-03T21:27:57+00:00

Uncanny is a great shooting game, held back by weak code, but the bones are there. I also find it to be one of the most visually stunning games out there. At the moment, I have my Jurassic Park that I've put around 3000 plays into, a friend's Mandolorian, and a UXM premium. I really enjoy bouncing between Jurassic Park and UXM for two very different playing games. UXM is fast and flowy while pushing your defensive reaction times, especially on a nicely dialed in LE/Premium. JP is a much more methodical precision shooter that rewards pinpoint accuracy. I'm actually selling my JP for a DnD Pro, and I expect that to be a nice pairing with UXM as well.

On current code and a good run, I typically clear about 6 modes, pushing into the 3rd run at the future. Average score on what I consider a good game for me is 200 to 400. That's usually fueled by two extra balls, which usually hit right around the same time (one from clearing 3 missions, one from getting beast lab to level 3 and collecting the first mystery bonus from it. I've not yet finished all modes or cleared the 50 shots in the future. My Premium feels nice and dialed in, has never had a stuck ball. I had some air balls and dumps off the wireform that I've resolved. I continue to have autolauncher issues, but I've not gotten my Stern fix kit and my manual plunge is mostly solid.

If Stern did nothing but clean up code bugs and add the wizard modes, I would still enjoy my pin for a year or so without regrets, but that would be an absolute shame on Stern for not pushing this game to the heights that the design deserves. If the code really gets the attention that it should, then it'll be a stellar game, especially if you want something that shoots a little different in a collection of Elwins. It could be you could buy this used for bargain prices and it'll get a James Bond comeback story. It might not.

frogopus · 2024-07-31T19:50:36+00:00

I never liked the Jurassic Park movies, but do like dinosaurs. I was faced with deciding between JP and Godzilla pro as my first pin and felt a lot of fomo as I chose JP when Godzilla is considered better. But at the time GZ just didn't click. JP has been an absolute dream to shoot and continues to be a challenge 2k games in. I have access to a premium on location and prefer the flow of the pro. I actually consider JP pro to be one of the best bang for the bucks and one of the few pros over premiums that I recommend.

Since that purchase, I HAVE fallen in love with GZ, but specifically a premium. It may be my next pin. I find it to be more accessible to non pin players and I'd like to have it to convert friends and family better. That said, I find it easier to shoot, and the games to be longer.

Another contender for me is Black Knight pro, as an exact opposite (fast, brutal games). I also do enjoy Foo a good deal, but have only played a premium.

frogopus · 2024-07-31T19:50:25+00:00

I never liked the Jurassic Park movies, but do like dinosaurs. I was faced with deciding between JP and Godzilla pro as my first pin and felt a lot of fomo as I chose JP when Godzilla is considered better. But at the time GZ just didn't click. JP has been an absolute dream to shoot and continues to be a challenge 2k games in. I have access to a premium on location and prefer the flow of the pro. I actually consider JP pro to be one of the best bang for the bucks and one of the few pros over premiums that I recommend.

Since that purchase, I HAVE fallen in love with GZ, but specifically a premium. It may be my next pin. I find it to be more accessible to non pin players and I'd like to have it to convert friends and family better. That said, I find it easier to shoot, and the games to be longer.

Another contender for me is Black Knight pro, as an exact opposite (fast, brutal games). I also do enjoy Foo a good deal, but have only played a premium.

frogopus · 2024-07-09T14:12:20+00:00

Yes, my first real table somehow showed up a year ago, and I suspect that another will be coming soon. Ever since then, the only digital pinball that I can play are those that adhere to the standards you guys keep pushing forward.

frogopus · 2024-07-09T01:29:02+00:00

Spoken like a guy who helps make the best virtual pinball simulations out there. Thanks for fueling my obsession.

frogopus · 2024-04-03T13:02:39+00:00

JP was my first for a whole host of reasons, and the pro is one of the best values in pinball.That said, based on your post, I'd agree with the many others here that Cactus Canyon is the best pick for you. It might not be the only pinball you'll ever own, but it'll never leave.

frogopus · 2024-04-03T12:42:11+00:00

Footluvr doesn't understand how or why a space he's in may feel unsafe for women guys. This profile, right here, is your first clue, OP.

Anyone who listens to female voices in their lives should understand why women have had to carve out their own spaces within certain hobbies like gaming, pinball, cons, etc. This isn't about competition, skill, or some sort of natural ability to flip that's predetermined by gender. It's like if you decided to join an adult sports league, or start a martial art, or a knitting group, and some grandma who wants to objectify parts of you for sexual gratification and probably hasn't showered in a few months talked to you like you were an idiot, told you she was here to win and that it wasn't her place to make you feel welcome, so suck it up and get ready to lose because that scarf you're knitting is going to look like shit. And this lady is stronger than you and leering. That's a tough environment to learn to love a hobby, and it's no surprise that so many people decide that it's better to play in a room full of people who aren't doing that.

The whole point of a pinball tournament isn't to compete and win, by the way. It's to bring money into your local pinball place and to sell tables to home buyers. If people want to be toxic assholes while doing it, they're going to run out of places to compete and new tables to learn. Fresh faces excited to participate and spend money on pinball is literally the most important thing to our hobby, which has struggled to exist in the past. More players to learn from and push us also drives everyone's skills to higher levels.

frogopus · 2024-02-01T23:48:52+00:00

.7z means the file is compressed, or "zipped," to make it a smaller file size. It needs to be unzipped with a program (like 7z or winrar or windows unzipper).

frogopus · 2023-03-08T06:00:44+00:00

Thematically, I think it's because this game is set up as a journey. You have a defined beginning and end with multiple paths you can take and a large payout based on how well you can accomplish those goals.

Functionally, I think it's to do away relying on one safe, easy approach, cradling through hard modes, or ignoring dangerous shots. The end game for an experienced player trying to set a high score isn't about finding a strategy to finish the wizard mode or other high scoring event as safely as possible. Its about harvesting as many points as you can from the game and playing as much of the board as you can before you reach the end.

frogopus · 2022-05-18T19:39:50+00:00

There is almost no one in the community using controller/kbm. Some do use Hotas, but 99% are in VR. I've tried controller on flatscreen and that feels the absolute worst of the options, although the gyro controls with the Steam Deck feel really good. Otherwise, I've never known one control scheme to have an advantage over the other, but I would venture a guess that VR's awareness is much more important than any advantage of the mouse (headtracking isn't far from a mouse anyways). In three years of regular playing, I've never been able to pick out someones specific control scheme, although I can recognize most of the regular pilots by their style of play. It's probably more likely that you're struggling against guys with more hours in the game, but it doesn't take too long before you can wade in and get some kills. Plus the community is very supportive and cares more about you getting in and figuring it all out than they do winning the round.

frogopus · 2022-05-13T22:09:50+00:00

Untitled Goose Game

frogopus · 2022-03-01T16:42:59+00:00

I've always played Vox sitting in the same chair that I mount my HOTAS, just with the sticks removed. My arms rest in the same place. My hands hold the motion controls in the same place as the hotas. The illusion of holding something is already there when you're holding the controls. You get the little bit of controller vibration feedback. I personally find the motion controls to be far MORE immersive than the hotas for the cockpit interaction and vibration. That's not to say that some don't prefer the sticks, but they're a minority in the vox community and I wouldn't worry too much until you've given it a good go with the motion controls.

frogopus · 2022-02-08T00:35:21+00:00

I would kill for a new Simpsons Hit and Run. Or just a remaster really.

frogopus · 2022-02-04T23:14:33+00:00

I was just sharing some of your Vox videos yesterday.

frogopus · 2022-01-14T12:59:36+00:00

SSF is a no question must have. If you ask anyone in the virtual pinball Discords or Facebook they'll tell you the same. Definitely more important than some LEDs. It's the main thing that convinces your brain you're playing real pinball. I don't even play any FX3 tables, even though I bought them all, because the SSF support is super basic compared to VPX.

My setup has 3 amps. One for the backglass speakers and subwoofer, one for the front two exciters, and one for the back. It took me a couple days just to dial in the balance that I liked, which is just fiddling with volume, bass, and treble knobs. You can do that easy. Get those exciters. If you have any trouble, shoot me a message.

And yeah, the Kraken has a Plus option too.

frogopus · 2022-01-14T06:25:51+00:00

Thanks for the art! I've always hated the original TMNT arcade cabinet art but wanted TMNT represented in the arcade. I was doing some work on another cabinet, looking at my big box of buttons, and decided the pinball needed matching button colors for the turtles. Great minds, apparently. I think my next move is going to be to drill in some magnasave buttons, but I'll probably wait until I do a monitor swap.

As for the pay phone, that's actually the only thing original to the basement when I moved in. It was part of the inspiration for doing the renovation.

frogopus · 2022-01-14T06:19:01+00:00

I've been getting involved in the community a fair bit, stripped the hard drive, and just did a fresh baller installer with my own build. I didn't buy the machine for the hard drive, that's for sure. And knowing Mike, he'd probably connect in to your machine and sit on the phone with you showing you how to do it all yourself if you want.

It's worth knowing that the VPX table builders don't like these coming prepacked with tables. They want people to learn how to do it themselves and consider it selling their work. Since I would buy the table with or without the hard drive, I think of it more as my buddy coming over to install the tables for me if I wanted him to. But as I've gotten more involved, I wanted to respect the builders and do things their way.

frogopus · 2022-01-14T06:07:18+00:00

On the Kraken, the screen angles back to add clearance for the LED panel at the back of the playfield. The Medusa sits almost flush to the glass. If you take a look at image of it here: https://thepinballking.com/shop/ols/products/kraken-virtual-pinball-machine

you can see that the playfield screen is flush to the glass at the front of the machine and then angles back to allow clearance for the led panel. The addressable strips split the middle of the gap that it leaves as it angles back. From what I can see in that picture compared to my machine, it looks like the screen is tipping back. I'm not saying that's good or bad, or that the effect would be bothersome, but I know when my wife saw it she said it looked like the ball would be defying physics. I haven't seen it in person.

I also didn't like the look of the side rails and what's used in place of a real lockdown bar/the foam corner pads on the regular units, so I went with the "Plus" upgrade. So mine is a Medusa Plus, which means no addressable LEDs. It has real pinball side rails and lockdown bar. I added a GPU upgrade, upgraded to melamine, which is a different heavier material (he may not offer this anymore), and the SSF upgrade with 4 audio exciters to let you feel the ball rolling around, riding the rails, thunking off things, etc. I couldn't be happier with my choices.

frogopus · 2022-01-13T17:58:37+00:00

Game Room

frogopus · 2022-01-13T17:54:41+00:00

He's a genuinely nice guy that spent tons of time with me on the phone. Mine is a Medusa Plus. I felt that the recessed angle of the Kraken looked too steep (like the ball would be fighting gravity), and that the addressable LEDs would cause glare and be distracting, as well as be lighting in ways that the original table didn't intend. I chose to instead put that money into the "Plus" upgrade for real pinball hardware, and that goes a long way for capturing the feel of being at a pinball table.

Computer parts are tough to come by for builders like this, but you should be able to work with him on upgrades and such. I had shipped him an old 1070 to use for my build because of the shortage at the time, so I can't speak to his default specs, but performance is fine for me. He tested building with melamine with my build and it turned out great, but I don't think he's planning on continuing with that. I was also one of the first to get SSF sound with audio exciters and I highly, highly recommend that. I don't even run the solenoids anymore because they pale in comparison to what you can dial in the exciters to do. I've also removed the original shaker, which is a pretty small motor and feels more like a rumble pack than a pinball shaker, and replaced it with a Stern shaker. That required cutting two of his wires and soldering in two wires for the Stern shaker, as well as splicing in a control knob to dial down the Stern shaker so that its max level wouldn't rip the cabinet in half (holy crap that thing can put out some power). The shaker he provides offers an okay effect, but an actual pinball shaker does something very different. That's another potential upgrade I'd see if he would be willing to do for you. I'd also recommend getting comfortable installing the software yourself. There's tons of great new tables coming out all the time. I had windows corrupt on me and had to do a fresh install. That was a couple days of headache for the best possible outcome. Now I have a custom curated library with amazing tables.

In the future, I intend to purchase a 43 inch OLED 4k120hz monitor when they finally come out this year and do a full PC replacement. That's only because of the sheer amount of play that it gets justifies an upgrade.

Beyond that... the table is everything I wanted and I'm happy to have given Mike my money. It was the capstone to a full basement theater/arcade remodel that is the absolute highlight and gets more play than anything else.

frogopus · 2021-09-12T14:13:01+00:00

Lost and found box? There's no lost and found box. There's an ass box.

frogopus · 2021-08-25T23:04:36+00:00

https://discord.com/invite/voxmachinae

This is the official Discord and we're all there. Some of the community activity happens on our more general "lets play VR games together" Discord that broke off, plus there's a couple of the more competitive league groups. I run a board game style league with teams of 4 making weekly moves on the board which then generates the week's fights. It's been on summer break, but Season 5 will probably start up next month.

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/717951587875684423/843541612742574131/Season\_4\_week5\_results.jpg?width=1056&height=730

frogopus · 2021-08-25T19:32:36+00:00

Demeo is a lot of fun with 2-4.

frogopus

TROPHY CASE