2969 replies to this topic

[slam23]

Thanks DedRok, I was really excited about it. I think I'll try AFM next, maybe I get lucky on that one too!
Slam23

[ta2686]

After a few dozen more games on it, I bettered my high score.....

Theatre of Magic
JPSalas
VP9.12
Version 2.1.1
1,594,983,920
TOM



Still did not reach Grand Finale, but I'm still trying.

[TheMcD]

You are always using the skill shot to get a free Illusion and the Trap Door to maybe get lucky and get Midnight Madness off the bat, right? I made it to the Grand Finale like that before. I did get lucky with my Extra Balls, though.

The McD

[ta2686]

You are always using the skill shot to get a free Illusion and the Trap Door to maybe get lucky and get Midnight Madness off the bat, right? I made it to the Grand Finale like that before. I did get lucky with my Extra Balls, though.

The McD

Usually the only thing I get when I hit the Trap Door is getting the Extra Ball lane lit. I only got Midnight Madness through the Trap Door once. The other time I got it I hit the captive ball after locking balls to advance the clock.

I can't hit the trunk consistantly on the skill shot, so more often than not I have to get the illusions through the normal means (hitting the trunk 3 times then sending the ball into the trunk). Even then I have trouble hitting the trunk. I actually have more trouble hitting that trunk then sending the ball up the staircases to enable the lock. Must be my bad vision affecting where I think the ball is on the flipper when trying to hit the trunk.

[RipleYYY]

great scott !!! i brought back the lead

BTTF
VP9 last version
38.516.100
MIC



PS : did you get that EXTRA BALL bug too ? (well, if ITS a bug) : sometimes, when shooting the skyway until the EB, it didnt light the saucer as it should be... !?

[ANDROID]

WOWWW!!! Some great scores Slam,Tom on TOM, Thats like the 3 of the best 5 rated games out there MM, AFM, TOM, LOTR. I wonder if the 4:3 versions will produce some good scores on LOTR? I think I will try those four tables again. Its been a LONG time since my 131billion on AFM, though I think 1 billion on MM would be cake and ice cream all at once!! I haven't played TOM since my 3.7billion on vp8 version. In my mind the MM, AFM, TOM, LOTR, CV, TZ, and TAF are the TROPHY HIGH SCORES!!

RipleYYY: Yeah, for some reason after so many extra ball runs it stops lighting, that should limit the high score eventually. I hate the right outlane after a missed highway shot, though some quick nudging helps. Not sure why that bug occurs, but it doesn't seem to occur in the first few extra balls, so maybe there is a limit on extra balls?
I hate when you hit 7 hiways to get the million countdown and then miss it right away, ouch!

I have to be honest here. I think they are reachable for those that are good at nudging, and of course with good flipper skills and knowledge of the game, especially at author/default settings. I am not saying it would be easy to do, or that those aren't tremendous scores, but I think that ball times are a lot longer. What do you guys think about the ball movement in VP9 in relation to VP8? for both 4:3 and FS users? I am curious as I only can play 4:3 for now, but it seems easier to me, at least!! Since most everyone here are really good/great players looking for HIGH SCOREs, I am REALLY interested in some feedback from you guys, versus just a general question on the board that all player abilities would answer.

Keep up the great play/work?

Edited by ANDROID, 27 April 2011 - 01:22 PM.

[RipleYYY]

only playing with VP9 in 4/3 than... will tell you when my cab is ready to use
ok about BTTF

ps : my JP's BLACK KNIGHT score dissapeared from latest pdf, here's it is :

BK
VP9 JP version 2.1
9.750.440
MIC
still available here : http://www.vpforums....mp;#entry105023

[slam23]

Thanks Android, it's nice to get compliments from a fellow HS hunter! I'm currently looking to bust my chops on something else than LOTR and your list has some tantalizing pins to play! I think AFM will be hard to beat on 4:3 at 185B, but FS score of 97B could be in reach. 514M on MM (FS) is also very high, so I would love to see your 1B (I think you can do it!).
I think you pose a great question when discussing the difference between VP8 and VP9 and 4:3 vs. FS. VP8-VP9 is a difficult comparison, in part because of the additional changes to gameplay that are often made when authors update tables for VP9 (but I'm not complaining!). Despite scoring big on VP9 LOTR I still would say that VP9 is harder than VP8. More realistic physics (which adds to difficulty I think) with greater randomness, greater ball speed (how it feels to me) and less extreme nudging possible (which does differ from table to table) play an important part. It could also have been an adjustment period for me personally but I have been thoroughly frustrated at times with VP9 tables that I played reasonably well under VP8. Nudging is an integral part of gameplay for me, I don't know how good I am at it in comparison to other players but I use it a lot and it has saved my @ss repeatedly....
I recently changed my setup to play FS tables and the main reason was actually to get to see more of the artwork and maybe profit from a better view at parts of the playfield that would have been otherwise obscured in 4:3 (like a lot of upper playfield bumper and rollover areas). I did get those things but the thing I wasn't prepared for was that overseeing the whole playfield in FS took a lot more information processing and more extensive visual scanning. In 4:3 you see the whole playfield and DMD at one glance, in FS (depending on the setup and viewing distance from the monitor) you actually have to move eyes and head to go from lower playfield to upper and DMD. Even with one ball in play I had to get used to that, let alone in multiball situations. But I guess I have adapted to that. I must say that playing FS feels even more like pinball than 4:3 although I also have heard people say they can't get the 3D feeling from the flatness of FS tables. I mostly play JP's FS tables and I don't find them flat. Even with adapting I would think that FS is actually harder because I still feel that I lose oversight more easily, i.e. get distracted by busy parts of the playfield and lose balls faster because of that. IMHO this outweighs the fact that you can see more of the playfield and therefore can follow balls better (or get distracted!) or score better because you can aim more precisely for things. Aside from aforementioned things I think the same version FS and 4:3 tables actually don't differ that much at all. I would recommend going FS though, just to appreciate the beauty of high-res tables!
Slam23

[RipleYYY]

here's a 3rd place score i forget to post...

CENTAUR
VP9 last version
3.234.820
MIC

[RipleYYY]

CHANCE
VP9
639.800
MIC

[RipleYYY]

CUE BALL WIZARD
VP9 JP
1.172.984.080
MIC

[RipleYYY]

and still no score on that one !!!???
ok, here's a quick one... hard table btw to score with

EVEL KNIEVEL
VP9 1.0.3
141.470
MIC

[billyrjse]

Thanks Android, it's nice to get compliments from a fellow HS hunter! I'm currently looking to bust my chops on something else than LOTR and your list has some tantalizing pins to play! I think AFM will be hard to beat on 4:3 at 185B, but FS score of 97B could be in reach. 514M on MM (FS) is also very high, so I would love to see your 1B (I think you can do it!).
I think you pose a great question when discussing the difference between VP8 and VP9 and 4:3 vs. FS. VP8-VP9 is a difficult comparison, in part because of the additional changes to gameplay that are often made when authors update tables for VP9 (but I'm not complaining!). Despite scoring big on VP9 LOTR I still would say that VP9 is harder than VP8. More realistic physics (which adds to difficulty I think) with greater randomness, greater ball speed (how it feels to me) and less extreme nudging possible (which does differ from table to table) play an important part. It could also have been an adjustment period for me personally but I have been thoroughly frustrated at times with VP9 tables that I played reasonably well under VP8. Nudging is an integral part of gameplay for me, I don't know how good I am at it in comparison to other players but I use it a lot and it has saved my @ss repeatedly....
I recently changed my setup to play FS tables and the main reason was actually to get to see more of the artwork and maybe profit from a better view at parts of the playfield that would have been otherwise obscured in 4:3 (like a lot of upper playfield bumper and rollover areas). I did get those things but the thing I wasn't prepared for was that overseeing the whole playfield in FS took a lot more information processing and more extensive visual scanning. In 4:3 you see the whole playfield and DMD at one glance, in FS (depending on the setup and viewing distance from the monitor) you actually have to move eyes and head to go from lower playfield to upper and DMD. Even with one ball in play I had to get used to that, let alone in multiball situations. But I guess I have adapted to that. I must say that playing FS feels even more like pinball than 4:3 although I also have heard people say they can't get the 3D feeling from the flatness of FS tables. I mostly play JP's FS tables and I don't find them flat. Even with adapting I would think that FS is actually harder because I still feel that I lose oversight more easily, i.e. get distracted by busy parts of the playfield and lose balls faster because of that. IMHO this outweighs the fact that you can see more of the playfield and therefore can follow balls better (or get distracted!) or score better because you can aim more precisely for things. Aside from aforementioned things I think the same version FS and 4:3 tables actually don't differ that much at all. I would recommend going FS though, just to appreciate the beauty of high-res tables!
Slam23

Hi Slam23!
I agree with you about being better view of the table in FS to appreciate the artwork. But this is not the correct view. 4:3 let you see the perspective of the player in front of the table (that's right) and if something is hidden on the background of the table is because this is the right view like you see in front of a real pin. FS let you see the table from above (That's wrong). Nobody plays pinball above the table . I played the JP versions of LOTR and MM, for me it's flat, I can't distinguish the lower or higher levels. But this is not happens only in JP tables... I think all the FS tables that have levels as ramps and 3D objects are flattened.
I know I can't compare (in totality) a real pin machine with VP, but I see billionaires highscores here... something surreal. The impression I got about some highscores/tables that you don't lose a game by the challenge of the table, but because at some point of the game you are already tired of playing for over an hour or more...
Billy.

Edited by billyrjse, 27 April 2011 - 04:16 PM.

[RipleYYY]

last for the afternoon, im getting a headache...

RIVERBOAT GAMBLER
VP9 JP
46.507.470
MIC

as i dont know all the rules, what the "CASINO" full spell letter give ? big points ???
the more i got is all but missing the "I" (for skillshot, only get 1 time for all my games on it)

[ta2686]

last for the afternoon, im getting a headache...

RIVERBOAT GAMBLER
VP9 JP
46.507.470
MIC

as i dont know all the rules, what the "CASINO" full spell letter give ? big points ???
the more i got is all but missing the "I" (for skillshot, only get 1 time for all my games on it)

From the rule sheet for Riverboat Gambler:

Complete various tasks to spell CASINO for 2 Million points

JP has included the rule sheet in the table info section.

[ta2686]

I had better scores on the real table, but then on the real table I played I had a bad kicker solenoid and if you flipped the flippers while the ball was in the kicker, the ball would not kick out and fall back into the kicker to make each of the letters for SUPER (3000 points per letter on the table I played) several times over.

Evel Knievel
Destruk/Noah Fentz
VP9.12
Version 1.0.3
209,470
TOM

[RipleYYY]

cool (almost you got some free game as it)

and OK about "CASINO", 2M is nothing really BIG in fact...

[ta2686]

WOWWW!!! Some great scores Slam,Tom on TOM, Thats like the 3 of the best 5 rated games out there MM, AFM, TOM, LOTR. I wonder if the 4:3 versions will produce some good scores on LOTR? I think I will try those four tables again. Its been a LONG time since my 131billion on AFM, though I think 1 billion on MM would be cake and ice cream all at once!! I haven't played TOM since my 3.7billion on vp8 version. In my mind the MM, AFM, TOM, LOTR, CV, TZ, and TAF are the TROPHY HIGH SCORES!!

RipleYYY: Yeah, for some reason after so many extra ball runs it stops lighting, that should limit the high score eventually. I hate the right outlane after a missed highway shot, though some quick nudging helps. Not sure why that bug occurs, but it doesn't seem to occur in the first few extra balls, so maybe there is a limit on extra balls?
I hate when you hit 7 hiways to get the million countdown and then miss it right away, ouch!

I have to be honest here. I think they are reachable for those that are good at nudging, and of course with good flipper skills and knowledge of the game, especially at author/default settings. I am not saying it would be easy to do, or that those aren't tremendous scores, but I think that ball times are a lot longer. What do you guys think about the ball movement in VP9 in relation to VP8? for both 4:3 and FS users? I am curious as I only can play 4:3 for now, but it seems easier to me, at least!! Since most everyone here are really good/great players looking for HIGH SCOREs, I am REALLY interested in some feedback from you guys, versus just a general question on the board that all player abilities would answer.

Keep up the great play/work?

Thanks Andy! I play 4:3 tables, and ONLY 4:3 tables.

First reason: I don't have the space needed to have a FS setup, and I am not selling my real pinball machine to make room for a virtual pinball setup. I always preferred the real tables over the virtual ones to begin with.

Second reason: I agree with the opinion set forth by others that the FS tables look flat to me. From what pictures posted by others of their cabs in use I find there is a lack of depth of all objects on the table. This could be due to the way the pictures were taken, so I may be deceived by looking at them.

Third reason (and most important): Due to my lack of vision, I have trouble seeing things in a wide perspective. I need to have everything in a more compact view so I could see it clearly. I have trouble viewing anything on a wide screen monitor, so I still use a regular CRT whenever I am working on the computer doing my job, or playing pinball or doing anything else on the computer.

As far as the physics are concerned, again I can only answer as a 4:3 user. The VP9 physics are definitely an improvement over VP8, although there are times I think the ball movement could still be tweaked as I have made shots that I know I should never make on a real table. One such shot is on TOM....I should not be able to make the right ramp from the right flipper after the ball is held on the flipper, but I do. This could also be an issue with flipper placement. The ball also seems to be as bouncy as it is in VP8 to me.

I don't know if this answers your questions, but these are my opinions.

[slam23]

Hi Slam23!
I agree with you about being better view of the table in FS to appreciate the artwork. But this is not the correct view. 4:3 let you see the perspective of the player in front of the table (that's right) and if something is hidden on the background of the table is because this is the right view like you see in front of a real pin. FS let you see the table from above (That's wrong). Nobody plays pinball above the table . I played the JP versions of LOTR and MM, for me it's flat, I can't distinguish the lower or higher levels. But this is not happens only in JP tables... I think all the FS tables that have levels as ramps and 3D objects are flattened.
I know I can't compare (in totality) a real pin machine with VP, but I see billionaires highscores here... something surreal. The impression I got about some highscores/tables that you don't lose a game by the challenge of the table, but because at some point of the game you are already tired of playing for over an hour or more...
Billy.

I know what you mean by FS not being the natural view which offcourse is from above. I would have to see how that would work in a pincab when the monitor is lying flat. I can remember though that I would stretch upwards and towards the back of a real pinball cabinet when I wanted to look at for example the bumper area of a pin. That position was a bit too awkward to hold for a long time though....
I must say that I have no trouble seeing depth in most of the tables that I play in FS, my brain probably translates the familiar layout of a table back to a 4:3 perspective in which I played for a long time. I've seen some posts that have compared FS view in VP with photo's of real PF's and those looked quite similar in a lot of instances (kudos to the authors of the VP tables btw). Maybe I have faulty wiring in the depth perception areas in my brain, I would not count that possibility out....I am also quite colourblind
About scoring: I think this differs from table to table. I have seen people rolling over EM's multiple times which I would doubt would happen with the real life machines. I've been lucky enough to play a lot of the tables that are my VP favorites also in real life and I can honestly say that some VP versions play harder (SW for example, that pin I owned when I was a student), some are a lot easier (Scared Stiff, VP8 Indy redux) and some are spot on (LOTR). I know I haven't quit a table on which I was scoring big, but I always had a longer attention span and a bit of an autistic streak when it came to playing games of any kind. To compare: pinball highscores (real pins) You can see that my current score would rank 6th, and my previous high of 830M would rank 14th. I have played a lot of LOTR hours, would I stand a chance against the top pin players on the real machine? Most definitely not, but I would maybe kick some of their behinds when challenged to a VP game...
Slam23

[billyrjse]

Hi Slam23!
I agree with you about being better view of the table in FS to appreciate the artwork. But this is not the correct view. 4:3 let you see the perspective of the player in front of the table (that's right) and if something is hidden on the background of the table is because this is the right view like you see in front of a real pin. FS let you see the table from above (That's wrong). Nobody plays pinball above the table . I played the JP versions of LOTR and MM, for me it's flat, I can't distinguish the lower or higher levels. But this is not happens only in JP tables... I think all the FS tables that have levels as ramps and 3D objects are flattened.
I know I can't compare (in totality) a real pin machine with VP, but I see billionaires highscores here... something surreal. The impression I got about some highscores/tables that you don't lose a game by the challenge of the table, but because at some point of the game you are already tired of playing for over an hour or more...
Billy.

I know what you mean by FS not being the natural view which offcourse is from above. I would have to see how that would work in a pincab when the monitor is lying flat. I can remember though that I would stretch upwards and towards the back of a real pinball cabinet when I wanted to look at for example the bumper area of a pin. That position was a bit too awkward to hold for a long time though....
I must say that I have no trouble seeing depth in most of the tables that I play in FS, my brain probably translates the familiar layout of a table back to a 4:3 perspective in which I played for a long time. I've seen some posts that have compared FS view in VP with photo's of real PF's and those looked quite similar in a lot of instances (kudos to the authors of the VP tables btw). Maybe I have faulty wiring in the depth perception areas in my brain, I would not count that possibility out....I am also quite colourblind
About scoring: I think this differs from table to table. I have seen people rolling over EM's multiple times which I would doubt would happen with the real life machines. I've been lucky enough to play a lot of the tables that are my VP favorites also in real life and I can honestly say that some VP versions play harder (SW for example, that pin I owned when I was a student), some are a lot easier (Scared Stiff, VP8 Indy redux) and some are spot on (LOTR). I know I haven't quit a table on which I was scoring big, but I always had a longer attention span and a bit of an autistic streak when it came to playing games of any kind. To compare: pinball highscores (real pins) You can see that my current score would rank 6th, and my previous high of 830M would rank 14th. I have played a lot of LOTR hours, would I stand a chance against the top pin players on the real machine? Most definitely not, but I would maybe kick some of their behinds when challenged to a VP game...
Slam23

Slam23,
With respect to such VP tables high highscores tables I'm sure this is caused by bad physics adjustments in some tables (I know what tables are, but I will not name them and also not name the authors to avoid controversy).
There's no table with perfect physics. But there are tables very close to the real physics and real difficulties. It may seem an exaggeration and know it is... but sometimes I feel the same emotion as playing a real pin when playing a table with great physics adjustment.
Ahhh... about that your link above "piball highscores (real pins)"... I don't know if I can trust in that. You commented about Scared Stiff... well, checking the SS real pin highscore I see first place: ZAC - 986,621,170 - scored in 20 June 2003 and posted in 20 Jun 2005. But in Guinness book 2006 Scared Stiff highscore appears: 69,895,370 Craig Sengstock (SS highscore).
Anyway Scared Stiff, one of my favorites and I play it in real life, is a good example for VP physics... JP's VP8 version is still better than VP9 version in physics, much more realistic despite VP9 physics improvements.
Sorry my terrible english
Regards,
Billy

EDITED:
Interesting I found in that site... Real pins? Are you sure? Look the picture about this Medieval madness score: 645.390.660 - KER ............ LINKs: page
picture

Edited by billyrjse, 27 April 2011 - 11:50 PM.