My TPA scores are almost an order of magnitude higher than my real scores. With assisted ramp shots, a lack of "mechanical nature of the game" randomness to deal with, overly consistent kickouts, and perfectly consistent nudging without getting warnings, your scores can be ridiculous.

The ball seems heavier on the digital side. Like the ball rolls down faster then a real one does on the playfield. Just my thoughts

It's good for trying out tables, learning rules, or playing tables that are too rare or expensive to get your hands on. Or for just playing while on the go.

Exactly. Really like TPA but in no way does it compare to the real table/s.

I'm saying the ball drops down fast like it's made out of Lead, this is my opinion of Zed. I'm not sure what software or program your using, since there are so many makers of digital pinball. I still play "Pinball" on Nintendo from my multicade, and sometimes Sonic Spinball on the Sega gen rom

I find it good to sample pins that I have never played. You cannot compare Pinball arcade to the real machines but it does have a useful application for me.

Maybe this is why nobody agrees (lol), but I think the opposite. I find it too light and floaty. It bounces really easily and ramp shots are seldom rollbacks. The feeling of ball weight and inertia seems like such a simple thing, but it must be really difficult to model.

I do enjoy playing it, and its a neat tool for learning rules but when you step up to an actual game you've played on Pinball Arcade the feeling is completely different.

3 hour + games of BSD on youtube should answer your question.

Good for playing on the toilet though, just have to be careful not to throw your pad in when you've finished.

No chance. Since playing Pinball Arcade, I can't get back into Zen or PinballFX, but "realistic" it is not. Game has set rules for everything. Monster Bash VUK kicks the ball to the same spot every single time. Basically all holes kick out to the same spot. With nudging the way it is, you should hardly ever drain.

I can tell you that my best Monster Bash score ever was around 500 million. On PA, I've gotten above 10 billion. Best score I've ever gotten on ToM is around 4 billion. I got around 16 billion on PA. Best FH score I've ever gotten was 61 million. Got something like 500 million on PA.

I think it's a great way to not only try some new tables but learn how to play the tables as well. Granted, their selection is still limited but the Instructions for the various goals/modes are invaluable in my opinion. The game walks you around the table and highlights exactly what is needed to complete each goal/mode. I feel like the game gives me a chance to learn a table, therefore making it that much more enjoyable when I walk up to it on location. I'm all for figuring things out on the fly as well, but my fun factor goes way up if I feel like I actually have a clue as to what I'm supposed to be doing.

It's good for a pinball fix when you are away from the real thing, but no way can it replace the physical machines.

That is one thing I forgot to mention. I'll definitely go to table that I don't have purchased, play the demo just to see the rules. I think PA did a great job explaining rules and goals for all tables.

My real monster bash and afm kicks to the exact same spot on the flipper every time. This is not something that should be randomized and if it is in a real game, it's time to replace the scoop with a new one.

Man, that's what I get for getting all my pinball on route.

I definitely love TPA. It's not as good as the real thing, but I can't fit a machine in my bathroom at toilet height.

Love it on the airplane,otherwise I never play it.

It's horrible and frankly I get sick of hearing about it. It's not pinball. It's not close to pinball. I guess it's good for learning rules on games you don't know, but then it's such a bummer to "play" that I can't believe anybody has the patience to actually see it through as a learning tool.

People I know and trust keep mentioning it and it disgusts me. One guy was bragging about how his girlfriend got 10 billion on AFM or something I was all "no shit, really?" And he says "yeah, on pinball arcade!!!!"

We are no longer friends.

Good, Levi..
download.jpg
Let the hate flow through you

I'm grateful to TPA for getting me back in touch with pinball.

After I left for college in the late 90's, I didn't have anywhere to play and just kind of lost track of pinball. Now, pinball is all but extinct in the wild where I live. It wasn't until I picked up TPA that I got curious about it again.

TPA is cool to have a look at machines I've never seen or played before. That said, it doesn't play like the real thing or even close. But it still beats the hell out of that weird Zen pinball! Hate that game.

I've never got 100,000,000 on Scared Stiff ,on a real machine, but in Pinball Arcade I have.

But Pinball Arcade is great for learning the rules

I as well do much better on The Pinball Arcade (TPA). I find that real machines are much harder and my scores on a real machine don't even come close to my TPA scores. So it is great for learning the rules and being able to simultaneously see whats on the DMD. Agree that it is a good way to check out a machine for buying it - or - just killing time in the airport. But play a bunch of games on TPA and then go play it in real life - you'll soon realize that you have to learn the table all over again. The ball is a lot less predictable as it bounces totally differently on a real table than the simulated one does on TPA.

Coming from a person who has very little access to actual machines (and basically having played not many machines over the past several years), digital pinball is my only source.

All I'm hoping is that my practicing on the computer will pay off at ReplayFX. Looking forward to playing machines I missed out on in the past. Dracula, Road Show, Demolition Man, and Monster Bash, I'm looking at you.

I bought both TPA and PinballFX for my XBone. After about 3 minutes on either game I am ready to put the controller down. Maybe if there was not a delay on the flippers it might be a little better, but I doubt it. I guess it is just not for me. There use to be a game that came with Windows years back that was fun, but beside that I can't stand video pinball in any form. I'd rather play video solitaire or look a boobs on Reddit...or better yet, play a real pinball machine.

I've found that with controllers and keyboards, it takes too long to completely press down the button and make contact in order to trigger the flippers, making it seem like there is a delay.

Touchscreens are much more reactive. Additionally, there are some add-ons and enclosures that add flipper buttons for tablets.

This is spot on.
I've logged a few hundred hours on TPA (Steam w/Xbox 360 controller) because
1) I don't have means for the real thing yet
2) It's a very fun substitute.

At Pintastic I was able to play some of the real tables for the first time (SS , AFM , CFTBL).
I was quite surprised to find a fair amount of skills and shot knowledge translated nicely.
Knowing the rules so well definitely helped.

It's never going to replace the real thing but for people like me, who don't have a machine yet and can't get out to play more than a few times a year, it's awesome.
As a side note, I can also thank TPA for helping me get the Mrs. interested in pinball. Which in turn helps me get out to play the real thing more.

If anyone wants to add me I also go by Quint on The Pinball Arcade and Quint2525 on Steam.

Pinball Arcade is great to try out if you are about to buy a machine to see basically how it plays. If you want to play a machine that most people can't afford it's great. If you want to play a machine that you may only see at a show it's great. My scores on it are much higher than in real life because the physics are such that you can predict the way the ball reacts to playfield obstacles. For example Bride of Pinbot when you put the ball in the pop bumper area it feeds the ball to the right flipper the same exact way every time. On a real machine there are so many factors that aren't taken into account like the ball spinning. I really like it because I probably wont be able to buy games like Bride of Pinbot or Scared Stiff MM, TOTAN etc. I bought my first machine (Genie) because I first played it on Pinball Arcade and that this was a fun enough game to start with.

Same here. Once in a while, I would find a pin on route but it would be beat and poorly maintained. Without knowing rules, parts that don't work, and my poor skills, it would seem like a waste of money. I tried pinball emulators on the pc but it was almost impossible to get working. Pinball Arcade was great in that in ran on my ipad and worked flawlessly. I discovered a whole bunch of pins I never knew existed and got me excited about pinball. It plays nothing like the real thing but still fun in it's own way. I wish they could improve the graphics a bit with dynamic lighting. One of my favorite things about pinball is the light show.

You mean I can't send in photos of my high scores to get a bye into later rounds of the PAPA World Championships?!

Pinball Arcade is like virtual sex! Nuff said!

The Pinball Arcade sucks and real pinball doesn't.

I've put many hours and dollars into The Pinball Arcade, and I'm consistently disappointed by it. It's a glitchy mess that just doesn't play like real pinball. The only reason I keep giving it chances is because it's my only opportunity to conveniently play most pinball machines.

Physics collision bugs, alphanumeric display bugs (one line shows, but the second one doesn't), two balls overlapping each other in the same saucer when in multiball, the camera locking onto the shooter lane in multiball which disables the right flipper, the ball passing through the back side of the mothership drop target in AFM, unexpected ball physics changes when accidentally switching apps...there's all sorts of bugs. But, overall, I've been happy with it as a digital equivalent to a real table.

I take it you've never played The Pinball Arcade by Farsight Studios.

But seriously, almost every table has a repeatable problem. Frequently balls passing straight through targets or ramps, balls getting stuck within one another (Black Knight's lock shot is a big one for this), even basic things like high score entry not working (I think POTO has this issue right now?). I stopped playing Challenges altogether because the app occasionally crashes when I submit a score. I accept it for what it is at this point. I buy every table and just stopped expecting a polished product for the $5 a month I pay.

As mentioned in DefaultGen's post, balls flying off the table, balls getting stuck in infinite loops, etc.

Here's one of my personal favorites. Also this isn't some crazy freak occurrence, I've had it happen multiple times.

EDIT: I'm referring to the crazy audio glitch that happens towards the end of the video. The thing with having to "Call Attendent" is a common and less exciting glitch

I guess I've been lucky.
On Steam, within the last year or so (roughly 200 hours) I've encountered maybe, maybe a dozen or so glitches during play and one crash. At least half of those times were the BK multi-ball thingy.

The DX11 upgrade was long overdue but it's out now and added some nice features. Hopefully the new flipper physics introduced with Xenon eventually find their way back to older tables but I'm not holding my breath.
Overall though I have plenty enough fun with it to keep me satisfied inbetween encounters with the real thing.

I'm fairly easy to please and usually play after a few beers. So YMMV.

What I hate about virtual pinball is that it introduced the use of the word "table" to refer to machines.

I know the UK people tended to call them "tables" but that was isolated to that island, like calling a trunk a "boot". But now it's spread to the colonies.

Not sure why that name bothers me so much, but it really does. It's not a table. You don't put drinks on it.

I love it, haters be damned.

How do I get this? I played Gottlieb's Pinball classics on PSP and loved it. How do I get this game? is it coming out on playststation 4?

It's available on all mobile devices, PC, PS3 and 4, Xbox 360 and One. Go to the app stores on each peripheral and you should find it. All the pins are in app purchases.

I really enjoy PinFX 2 and some of the TPA stuff but nothing compares to the real thing and the physics in TPA aren't as polished as PinFX for me.

Lol. Machine, table, game. Pedantic FTW.

Don't know why people get tied up in minutiae when you're talking about a sweet deck.