31 October, 2012

More on Pro Pinball

Silverball Studios are not throwing the towel despite the Kickstarter setback. In a recent interview at RedBull, Adrian Baritt explained that the team will pursue their work on reviving Pro Pinball. A new Kickstarter campaign may be launched and the objectives will be somewhat less grandiose. In particular the platforms to be supported initially will be just iOS, PC and Mac. If the second Kickstarter does not work, the team 




intends to finish the game in their spare time. Once the first table is finished there will be hopefully sufficient income for the development of the remaining tables and, why not, a new one.

So Pro Pinball is coming back.

30 October, 2012

Best digital pinballs


Following a tweet of the ProPinball team I ended up at g4tv.com where they were presenting their list of top 5 "virtual pinball tables". The results were not a big surprise. Here's the list

1. Theater of magic (Pinball Arcade)
2. Fantastic journey (Pro Pinball)
3. Funhouse (Pinball Arcade)
4. Marvel pack of pinball fx2 (Zen Studios)
5. Timeshock (Pro Pinball)

That got me thinking. What would be my top 10 list? So, here it is

1. BigRace USA (Pro Pinball)
2. Funhouse (Pinball Arcade)
3. Monster Fair (Littlewing)
4. The Web (Pro Pinball)
5. Crystal Caliburn II (Littlewing)
6. Timeshock (Pro Pinball)
7. Believe it or not (Pinball Arcade)
8. Fantastic Journey (Pro Pinball)
9. Fairy Tower (Littlewing)
10. Mad Daedalus (Littlewing)

with a special mention for Tristan  (Littlewing). All four Pro Pinballs are there but you may remark that my favourite ones are not the ones most people prefer. Littlewing has also four pinballs in the top 10 (to say nothing of the special mention one). The two Pinball Arcade tables are the ones by Pat Lawlor. I also like a lot the third one in this collection (No good goffers) but I find it somewhat hard to play: there are moments when it is almost impossible to follow the ball. Why on earth people do not follow the example of Littlewing's iOS ball? It is so shiny that you can never miss it.

P.S. While compiling the top 10 list I realised that the blog entry for Monster Fair and Fairy Tower was never published. It only existed in limbo as a draft. This is now remedied,  (with my apologies to Littlewing, my favourite digital pinball designers). 

02 October, 2012

The dream will come true

While it seems that we are not going to get a new Pat Lawlor table, one thing is 100 % sure upon reading the recent mail from Silverball Studios: ProPinball is coming back.



It may take more time than what was initially planned, there may be "a few less bells and whistles" but the important thing is that ProPinball, the four tables we adore, the ones we have spent whole hours on, is coming back. Not only on the Mac but on the iPad as well. A few months back that was just a wild dream.

I am burning with impatience but one must know how to wait. In the meantime there will be regular updates here, as soon as Silverball releases them.

It's a pity we will not have a new Pat Lawlor table. Let us hope at least that Farsight Studios, the makers of Pinball Arcade, who have already published "Ripley's Believe it or Not", "Funhouse" and "No good gofers", are going to publish the remaining Lawlor classics.