27 April 2010, 00:29 | #1 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Streets
Age: 39
Posts: 2,731
|
Since when was Pinball Dreams insanely difficult?
I've been playing it a lot on my iPod Touch lately (and flirted with the GP32 version also) and have discovered how almost impossible it is to go above 2 million in a single game full stop.
It certainly doesn't help that there is no way to entitle yourself to five balls instead of three - something that the GP32 version provides as an option. When I asked Cowboy Rodeo about this, they said implementing an 5-ball option would screw up the existing highscore records or something along those lines. I call bullshit really, since from multitudes of playing I've learnt that having two extra balls really doesn't increase your chances of scoring big all that much. It certainly isn't anything resembling a cheat at all. Heck, I always played 5-ball games on the GP32 and I still kept getting thrashed much of the time, particularly as that version expects you to break 5 million at the least before you can enter your initials on any table (iPhone expects a minimum of half-a-million in comparison). I've also learnt that - unlike virtually every other Pinball game I've ever played - Dreams/Fantasies doesn't have a means of blocking up the side holes through switches on the table. I'm sick to death of seeing my ball go down one of the sides - totally beyond my control and all hopes of saving it - just seconds after I launch the ball in some games. It's these and a lot of other cheap mechanics that make me want to quit and start over again immediately instead of wasting my time trying to play through my current game when I'm losing balls this fast. When I look at the highscore tables on Cowboy Rodeo's website it just fricking depresses me wondering how everyone else can rule so hard on it when the physics are completely against you all the time. And I used to think this game was the dog's bollocks all these years - in a way I still do, but my happiness is unignorably tarnished by the ridiculous and unfair difficulty in 90% of games I play on it. |
27 April 2010, 01:00 | #2 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oooh what a feeling yeaaah dancing on the ceiling
Posts: 314
|
Have you ever used a real pinball table?
|
27 April 2010, 01:08 | #3 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Streets
Age: 39
Posts: 2,731
|
A few times in the past, but I certainly never remember being made to feel angry by one - I guess that's "being a kid" for you!
I disapprove of any game that pisses me off more than entertains me - and I'm sure the likes of Konami, Capcom et al are the kings of that trope. |
27 April 2010, 02:44 | #4 |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ?
Posts: 19,645
|
Marz, me ole muck, you are just crap at it Or just became old and lost your mad youngin' skills!
When I entered this thread, I didn't expect to find someone scoring less points than me in Pinball Dreams! Haha. Let's also have in mind this possibility: The iPhone version is not 100% equal to the Amiga one. I played the PSP version and it has many differences, specially in ball dynamics. Some shit just doesn't quite work with it like it did in the Amiga version. Also, the side lanes... You can get out of those situations at times using the tilting. |
27 April 2010, 03:25 | #5 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Streets
Age: 39
Posts: 2,731
|
Ah yes, the tilting - I was wondering if I was supposed to do that more often.
Only problem is that the iPhone version expects you to physically shake the device to tilt. So in other words..... take your focus off the ball for a second while you shake the damn thing and just hope you didn't fudge it up because you couldn't see what you were doing. Considering I'm spending all of my time trying and praying not to lose another fucking ball, I think it's safe to say I can't even think about tilting. I'm willing to bet the PSP version (which I haven't played) makes it so much simpler with a tilt button. |
27 April 2010, 03:32 | #6 |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ?
Posts: 19,645
|
Yeah, in other words, mate, this version is utter shit!
I also bet there are inconsistencies in the scoring and physics system like the PSP version has compared to the Amiga one. To prove this I will have a go at the original Amiga version now. Will be back tomorrow |
27 April 2010, 07:40 | #7 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oooh what a feeling yeaaah dancing on the ceiling
Posts: 314
|
|
27 April 2010, 08:28 | #8 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,525
|
Amiga scene thread about a iPod Touch version... god I miss the days when Akira was a GM
Anyway, the Amiga version isn't that hard and if they f*cked the physics up on the iPod Touch they get a Nelson Ha-Ha from me |
27 April 2010, 12:37 | #9 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Streets
Age: 39
Posts: 2,731
|
|
27 April 2010, 12:39 | #10 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,525
|
Always thought that was what 'Retrogaming General Discussion' is all about We'll see where this thread is tomorrow
|
27 April 2010, 17:21 | #11 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ?
Posts: 19,645
|
Quote:
Anyway, I played Dreams for a while yesterday night, as I said. It's SO DIFFERENT to the PSP version. They totally RUINED the physics! I can only assume the iPhone version is no different, and the addition of having to actually BUMP the screen to tilt is retarded. These changes alone can add to the difficulty a lot. I find myself clocking the loops etc. a lot easier on the Amiga version, but not because the game is easier, it's because the physics MAKE SENSE. The way the ball falls and also how it flies off the flippers makes sense in the Amiga, it is like if this was a tilted table surface and not like if balls were FALLING down which is what this new version feels like. |
|
27 April 2010, 19:57 | #12 |
Remember: Shoot or die!
|
In good versions of pinball dreams, you can lift up the one flipper on the side, the ball is going down, and tilt it back into the play field!
|
27 April 2010, 20:36 | #13 |
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Oooh what a feeling yeaaah dancing on the ceiling
Posts: 314
|
Sssshhhhhh!!!!
|
27 April 2010, 21:00 | #14 |
Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Eksjö / Sweden
Posts: 5,602
|
In answer to the question in topic - since you grew old?
Unless you're 16 and have the reflexes of a cobra and the perserverance of Chuck Norris. Have you played the same P.D. table 20 times in one night yet? Then you are not like a 16yo. That's what I'm saying. I'm not. And that's why I don't get 100+million in score on Stones'n'Bones anymore That said, P.D. is known for requiring input with zero delay, and therefore you should play it on a real Amiga, nothing else will do. It's particular. |
28 April 2010, 08:06 | #15 |
HOL/FTP busy bee
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Germany
Age: 46
Posts: 31,525
|
You can easily get back into Pinball Dreams (or Fantasies, Illusions, Slam Tilt...) if you give it some time (on the Amiga or WinUAE at least). If you haven't played it for some years you can't expect that you'll score as much as you did when you played it on a daily basis. Just don't expect it to happen after half an hour
|
28 April 2010, 12:53 | #16 |
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Germany
Posts: 3,303
|
Has someone played in highres flicker on a big screen (LCD-TV, Beamer, ...)? I think with a good screen you have some advantages then.
|
28 April 2010, 14:33 | #17 | |
cheeky scoundrel
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Spijkenisse/Netherlands
Age: 42
Posts: 6,908
|
Quote:
Ah the skill it takes to see your ball go down the side lane and then nudging it back into play... the golden oldie "Star Wars" table is my favorite in that respect, it had perfect balance in my honest opinion. |
|
28 April 2010, 16:51 | #18 | |
Registered User
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ?
Posts: 19,645
|
Quote:
I can play a ball for several minutes but without scoring much! Since the physics are fucked, the side lane "bring it back up" trick usually doesn't work. |
|
28 April 2010, 17:40 | #19 |
Zone Friend
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Warsaw/Poland
Age: 45
Posts: 2,427
|
@MethodGit
For me it sounds that iPhone version of PD is completely screwed up. It does not matter that core is Amiga based. It still could have been modifyied. |
02 May 2010, 14:00 | #20 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: The Streets
Age: 39
Posts: 2,731
|
For fuck's sake, just tried playing the iPhone version of Pinball Fantasies a bit more..... so now you expect me to break 10 fucking million minimum before I can enter my initials?
What the fuck are Cowboy Rodeo playing at? Why have they totally fucked up not just the physics, but the highscores as well? |
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
Thread Tools | |
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Pinball Dreams & Pinball Fantasies - Special Edition (OCS/ECS) | teh | HOL contributions | 3 | 23 March 2012 14:39 |
Pinball Dreaming: Pinball Dreams for the iPhone | mfletcher | Retrogaming General Discussion | 35 | 12 June 2010 22:44 |
Ultimate Pinball (Pinball Dreams clone for MS-DOS) | s2325 | Retrogaming General Discussion | 7 | 16 October 2009 23:26 |
Pinball Dreams, Pinball Dreams II, WHDLoadable | Hideki | request.Old Rare Games | 12 | 10 January 2007 02:18 |
Pinball Dreams | spannernick | support.Games | 2 | 03 October 2004 22:41 |
|
|