(Topic ID: 216399)

Pinball Arcade announces it won't carry Bally/Williams Tables

By uncivil_engineer

5 years ago


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#244 5 years ago

Although I've definitely been curious about it, my exposure to any virtual pinball has so far been quite limited. It seems like every time I went to PHOF, their 1 (or was it 2 ?) virtual tables were not turned on, or were not working. The last time I was at Banning, they did have around 4 of the same virtual tables there for a demo. This was in that narrow, sometimes-a-bar-area room where I think there were also a couple bowling games ? I don't know or recall offhand whose virtual tables those were. (Possibly from VP-Cabs ? I did happen to see their recent segment on "Shark Tank.") I also don't know if those were supposed to represent the current state of the art -- probably a considerable argument available here on that score ! -- but I did play a few games on them. My reaction was: this is interesting, and may have some potential, but as a veteran player of real, physical pinball, I am not yet really convinced. If I had a collection of around 25 games to work with (** and had enough room for them -- very important **), I might even consider getting one of these. But, short of that, it probably would not be a contender.

In addition to this, in the vendor area at some previous Banning show, I did have an extended conversation with a guy from Farsight / TPA.

I do happen to have an IPAD, but I'm thinking the pinball "experience" on that would be woeful, compared to anything like that full-sized table. One would need some extra hardware for that too, no ? An opportunity to explore rulesets on a bunch of games, without having actual and convenient access to them, could be a different story however.

This thread has mentioned various alternative virtual engines or platforms, which the posters have stated are much superior to TPA.

Here is the crux of what I would like to know, preferably before that looming TPA deadline. ANY virtual pinball game software is worthless to me, unless it could somehow be transferred to something like a VP-Cabs table -- without significant compromise. And what I would tell VP-Cabs (or any competitor of theirs) is that I happen to be **primarily interested** in those 61 (?) B/W games that are being deleted due to those rights issues -- or other notable games of that era that are generally comparable to them. So, even if we were talking about a custom order of your top-of-the-line model, with all desirable options, if I could not obtain those games for it, my answer would definitely be "Forget It, Not Interested !"

I also have no interest in building my own table and populating it. In light of what I said above, does this impending TPA deadline have any relevance for me ? Are / Will other good options for the "classic" B/W games be available, directly applicable to whatever full-size cab offers the best tech and pinball attributes ? If the answer is 'None', or 'Not for the foreseeable future', I'm O.K. with that.

#259 5 years ago
Quoted from jimjim66:

Here are the options-
1. You can buy the season for windows by June 30th. You can do this through Steam. The Pro options gives you the settings/menus of a regular pinball machine. The regular option just gives you the straight game. It gives you their view which is not 100% a cabinet view, but is vertical.
2. The Arcooda update for 150 bucks give you a better cabinet view, but it is only on sale to June 30th. This is for people that already own the seasons.
3. The Arcooda pack gives you the pro seasons + their $150 update. You have 2 options on this. 1. Get one for your own personal cabinet, or purchased commercial cab (VP Cab, Virtual Cab) etc.... it is not optimized for those. Example Bumper and plunger support may or may not work. You basically just get the better view. I've included a video showing the differences between the views.

4. Buy the 500 Arcooda pack that is optimized for their own commercial cab. The 500 bucks is subtracted from the cost of their machine + you get the Timeshock game and shipping to the US.
5. Lastly, there are VPX games that you can download on the internet. Good News - They are good and free. Bad News - Free means that they are illegal. They also take tweaking to get to work right, but they look nice and have the newest tables.
Farsight's software is the only legal software to play the old Bally/Williams games. I also recommend Zen Pinball games, they are really fun.
I actually put a deposit down on the arcooda pack/pinball cabinet. I would have waited, but the June 30th expiration moved up my plans.
Video Pinball is not real pinball, but it is still fun.

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Why would you want a vertical view ? That sounds like the up-to-down display you see on flat panel monitors, above the machines at some tournaments. And that winds up looking more like Pachinko to me.

Re #5, any hints on where these are to be found ? (The legal / illegal distinction does not trouble me much. I'm accustomed to hunting down rare films, those withheld due to murky rights issues, or ones that could not secure a domestic distribution deal. Foreign film distribution in this country basically croaked around 20-some years ago. So, a lot of that stuff never gets here at all. If Netflix or Amazon don't pick it up, you are pretty much forced to resort to "other methods.")
Are the older B/W games fairly well represented there, or just those of the last 20 years, primarily Stern ? That bank transfer thing mentioned above is a non-starter for me also, so I think Arcooda will be out. And that payment method is required for any / all of the Arcooda options you mentioned ? If VP-Cabs or competitors cannot themselves offer those B/W games (after 6/30/18), then it looks like I'm rather unlikely to become a customer of theirs.

Regarding those 61 to-be-deleted titles, my impression is that they are not gathered together, but spread out over several packs. Just for consideration, exactly WHAT would you order, to obtain these games for Option #1, or for the IPAD, and what would that cost ?

#269 5 years ago

Still looking for reply to the latter part of my post #259 . . . .

#289 5 years ago

Well, I guess I passed on this, for the most part. Before the deadline, I had a free TPA download (of exactly what I'm not sure . . . ) to my Amazon Fire TV. Then I discovered that you need a $50. Amazon Fire Game Controller to actually make use of it. Those seem to have a lot of disappointing reviews, mentioning things like a lag time on the response, which sounds like it would be too annoying to bother with. So, any future exposure with this for me may come down to VPX, if there is a platform for it that I would find suitable.

#296 5 years ago

Will the now-vanished TPA titles be turning up on eBay (like various other software, much of it non-current), if so perhaps at inflated asking prices ? Or is there some sort of registration mechanism involved which would render that useless now ? There were repeated references in this thread to titles that were bought, but apparently not owned for good, because they later "went away."

2 months later
#316 5 years ago
Quoted from Bendit:

ah!!!!!
https://thisweekinpinball.com/williams-bally-pinball-license-acquired-by-zen-studios-exclusive-interview-first-tables-available-now/
I am so glad I did not pay to complete my collection with TPA. Instead, I'll support Zen for their superior engine.
This is great.

That's very interesting.

fwiw, I stumbled across this the other day

ebay.com link: 49 Virtual Pinball Machine w 1 086 games Marvel DC Comics Disney Games

but know zilch about the potential merits (or demerits) of it, or anything about the seller. When I first saw the listing, I could have sworn the price was more like 4.7K, rather than what is showing now. The Arcooda (?) option received some dubious reactions -- in part regarding their payment procedure.

Will this Zen announcement pull the rug out from under the appeal of anything else along these lines ?

#324 5 years ago
Quoted from Paul_from_Gilroy:

Latest announcement regarding Zen's version of Williams tables. Looking great in my opinion...

Likely an ignorant question, but can these be installed to virtual cabinets ?

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