What should I do next?

[PacDude]

I could use a good playfield for Sharkey's Shootout, BTW. I always liked that pin....

 

[PacDude]

Oddly enough, I do seem to have the needed material for Bad Cats.... Too bad it bored me to death at the Allentown show. I couldn't lose a ball on it and finally just quit out of sheer boredom. It was so darn easy plus it's only a one ball game.

Hmmm, now that I'm home, it seems I also have material for Funhouse, Champion Pub (finally got to play the real thing when I was in Phoenix, AZ too), Junkyard (well I have a playfield and a decent cross-shot), Truckstop (kind of boring, though, IMO), Capcom's Kingpin and almost everything I need to make a new Stargate (a blank playfield would be nice; I have tons of cross-shots and closeups).

As I search through my stash.....

Hmmm, seems I also have the material needed to make Simpsons Pinball Party....

Here's a really nice NOS Safecracker playfield photo as well....

There's a Party Animal playfield also....

But nevermind all that! I'm making Struggle Buggies!

 

[cghent]

I too voted WW, though I think JP would be a nice follow up. We're all looking for an update to MM, but I think coming so soon on the heels of the on PK is bringing out it might be a waste of effort at the moment (down the road though? Sure..).

WW is too well-loved of a pin to have such a lackluster VP table for so long. The only good thing I see about this is that maybe it'll help keep the prices of the real thing low enough for me to afford one.

 

[tiltjlp]

Oddly enough, I do seem to have the needed material for Bad Cats.... Too bad it bored me to death at the Allentown show. I couldn't lose a ball on it and finally just quit out of sheer boredom. It was so darn easy plus it's only a one ball game.

Hmmm, now that I'm home, it seems I also have material for Funhouse, Champion Pub (finally got to play the real thing when I was in Phoenix, AZ too), Junkyard (well I have a playfield and a decent cross-shot), Truckstop (kind of boring, though, IMO), Capcom's Kingpin and almost everything I need to make a new Stargate (a blank playfield would be nice; I have tons of cross-shots and closeups).

As I search through my stash.....

Hmmm, seems I also have the material needed to make Simpsons Pinball Party....

Here's a really nice NOS Safecracker playfield photo as well....

There's a Party Animal playfield also....

But nevermind all that! I'm making Struggle Buggies!

Don't play with my emotions . . . there can never be enough Struggle Buggies in the VP/FP world. Sure wish I could get SS to display for me.

 

[PacDude]

People seem to be basing their choices on the current state of a table in VP and picking the one they think sucks the most currently. To me, a better question is which table is the best in the real world. Whitewater is OK and it's a good home machine because it's hard as hell unless your aim is really on the spot (it and CFTBL are similar in that regard, IMO), but that alone doesn't make it a great game. I'm leaning towards STTNG or Jurassic Park (both of those are excellent pinball games, much better than Whitewater, IMO). MM never really caught my fancy, but then it's been hard to hear the dialogue, etc. in most locations I've played it so that may have had something to do with it. Plus it reminds me too much of a copy/clone of AFM.

 

[StevOz]

Here ya go....

 

[davidsss]

Do you think the flippers on Struggle Buggies are far enough apart? Shouldn't they be off the table?

But seriously, I'd love to see how you would go with an EM. Unlike most of the later machines you get the opportunity to recreate a table which has never been done rather than just improve on an old version.

DS

 

[PacDude]

That's odd, I thought I was the first to make Big Bang Bar and Cactus Jack (well the first publicly released versions anyway).

Anyway, I've been toying around with VP and it seems there's a way to fool VP into making sharper presentations of lesser quality images (e.g. here's Bad Cats):

 

[StevOz]

Ah that ol' trick used it myself on The Gyruss flyer, just over sharpen the original image then import it.

 

[PacDude]

Actually, that alone didn't help all that much, but if you double the width first (even without the resolution being there) and then sharpen the image and the edges, it renders much nicer.

 

[StevOz]

Eh, I knew it, you're a sly one PD, anyhows doubt I'd be able to use it, no PS filters here, though yeah nice impovements.

Now that was sly, I'm sure you just edited your above post PD.

Thanks for the tip, double width, then sharpen, heck even I can do that. :)

 

[cghent]

Well not to state the horrible obvious, but why even bother with putting choices on a poll that you don't want to make? Obviously you're going to do a better job on a table if you have a bit of passion for it, so don't bother with the ones you don't.

That said, JP would be a fantastic choice if WW isn't your cup of tea.

People seem to be basing their choices on the current state of a table in VP and picking the one they think sucks the most currently. To me, a better question is which table is the best in the real world. Whitewater is OK and it's a good home machine because it's hard as hell unless your aim is really on the spot (it and CFTBL are similar in that regard, IMO), but that alone doesn't make it a great game. I'm leaning towards STTNG or Jurassic Park (both of those are excellent pinball games, much better than Whitewater, IMO). MM never really caught my fancy, but then it's been hard to hear the dialogue, etc. in most locations I've played it so that may have had something to do with it. Plus it reminds me too much of a copy/clone of AFM.

 

[Joe]

White Water

 

[wtiger]

Actually, that alone didn't help all that much, but if you double the width first (even without the resolution being there) and then sharpen the image and the edges, it renders much nicer.

That's a cool trick. Thank you for sharing it with us.

I tried it on the MM playfield I sent you to see how much of a difference it makes. Quite a bit!

See attached picture. Top is sharpened, bottom is original.

wtiger

 

[Rook]

Since you've been doing an awesome job on the early 80s Bally/Williams tables, how about Xenon?
I like the lighting effects and high table detail of Scapino's, but really dislike the custom windows that overhang the playfield. Plus, I'm not a big fan of using additional buttons for ball launching (other than the enter button).

Chose "MM" as that was the only choice that really appealed out of the available ones. :)

Russ

 

[Paratech]

People seem to be basing their choices on the current state of a table in VP and picking the one they think sucks the most currently. To me, a better question is which table is the best in the real world. Whitewater is OK and it's a good home machine because it's hard as hell unless your aim is really on the spot (it and CFTBL are similar in that regard, IMO), but that alone doesn't make it a great game. I'm leaning towards STTNG or Jurassic Park (both of those are excellent pinball games, much better than Whitewater, IMO). MM never really caught my fancy, but then it's been hard to hear the dialogue, etc. in most locations I've played it so that may have had something to do with it. Plus it reminds me too much of a copy/clone of AFM.

Well as you're the pinball dev, it is up to you what to work on, but a lot of people like WhiteWater and think it's a fun and unique table. I really got hooked on it in college and would love to see it updated. At this point, there are few authors who are designing tables, and it's hard to guess if anyone else will take on Whiter Water, but it's your time and your choice...


Poor Whitewater! :evil:

 

[Liteuser.]

A high quality version of Jurassic Park would be cool.

 

[mystereo]

Yeah, Photoshop can do wonders in helping improve image quality. That sharper Bad Cats shot does look a heck of a lot better. That program saved my backside a few times when I was doing graphic work.

Actually, that alone didn't help all that much, but if you double the width first (even without the resolution being there) and then sharpen the image and the edges, it renders much nicer.

 

[Rook]

PD: If you really want to do WW I may have access to one at work and could possibly get some photos if you don't have enough.

Let me know if you want/need some.

Russ

 

[yogiholzer]

I tried it on the MM playfield ...

... in Attack From Mars cabinet! Bally backbox and AFM backdrop. Will become Mars Madness!!!

 

[cghent]

Pac:


Plz do this table next:

http://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=aaron+spelling&searchtype=quick


Then maybe JP I suppose.

 

[PacDude]

You're kidding, right? They had that Allentown last year. I didn't even bother playing it. Aaron Spelling.... now maybe if it was Tori Spelling pinball....

 

[cghent]

I just don't think ASP (as those in the know call it) gets nearly the respect it deserves. Time, I feel, will show this machine to be the classic it truly is. I really believe you could do it justice.



As for JP, sitting through the TRex animation on the current one makes me impatient.

 

[yogiholzer]

Aaron Spelling? Who is that? Before anyone decides to make that table, isn't it time to build a yogiholzer whining and complaining tribute original table.

 

[tiltjlp]

Aaron Spelling? Who is that? Before anyone decides to make that table, isn't it time to build a yogiholzer whining and complaining tribute original table.

If you really want one, I'll make a Yogi Tribute table, but it might be a bit nicer than you would expect, or maybe want. You'll need to send me an image of your avatar buddy.