tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33521211580263083842024-03-13T03:02:39.613+01:00The Mac pinball historyVasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-83326647028013415302022-02-08T16:52:00.002+01:002022-02-08T16:52:30.272+01:00New Zen tables<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">As you well know Zen Studios are the last surviving digital pinball editors. Once they disappear there will be no more pinballs on the Mac. Since they have joined the Apple Arcade collection they are producing tables under the Zen Pinball Party moniker. As I explained in a previous post of mine I don't wish to pay for an Apple Arcade subscription just to be able to play the new tables. So I am giving you the information without comments. The three new tables are </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Funko Pinball Party Arena</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL9bCuI-nMGPSgfT2z3oT8UjyRmEwkXs36Z9fjhGodktBtYswE7bt32x0VFYg3fLPsraJLipdn9jfSTvDzP_PgXVnvlLCESjlMFcpUrJhEDLLFy6OX9IP7EdsyICrj9DgRjHgoZDD6G37gr5I-1sklBb8oS5NXGR3VGbGDSZVuphAq-OzstAnMexaq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="858" data-original-width="643" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiL9bCuI-nMGPSgfT2z3oT8UjyRmEwkXs36Z9fjhGodktBtYswE7bt32x0VFYg3fLPsraJLipdn9jfSTvDzP_PgXVnvlLCESjlMFcpUrJhEDLLFy6OX9IP7EdsyICrj9DgRjHgoZDD6G37gr5I-1sklBb8oS5NXGR3VGbGDSZVuphAq-OzstAnMexaq" width="180" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A Peanuts/Snoopy table</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibvGTO9-RYcxOt2fcoH0VrRhQHw5Sq5dVQpiDuAqu8gKB7etFSw5FKkg70yhgCddg0tFVnOVeRuv1XD1tSWrTrn5jRCSPlEx70zA5S2-bq8fDLozI1724yfLy1Gl4xFuCE4J7VSIIvWGTOSELv1coAqmOQQggorwAvXa5rkKRIpT0GJc49Rko-I4X4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEibvGTO9-RYcxOt2fcoH0VrRhQHw5Sq5dVQpiDuAqu8gKB7etFSw5FKkg70yhgCddg0tFVnOVeRuv1XD1tSWrTrn5jRCSPlEx70zA5S2-bq8fDLozI1724yfLy1Gl4xFuCE4J7VSIIvWGTOSELv1coAqmOQQggorwAvXa5rkKRIpT0GJc49Rko-I4X4" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and a graphically superb Garfield table</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9eeT15Gs5zQwJ-KUNF6IEAIkPvZT9hANq69_Ndo0xRvFoWf4Vw9rlmeaZ14anUz7Mi5le19ge7ZbWJ1XjETdUX7mutiskeXgKiib1aVMvLfK0RXbaXMYNBpBhsqDTMog69HWSiZHygq6sGgpXKfi8JlNJtmLW4Khz5Fa6eZOYE7e8q2B1JSxeJfiw" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9eeT15Gs5zQwJ-KUNF6IEAIkPvZT9hANq69_Ndo0xRvFoWf4Vw9rlmeaZ14anUz7Mi5le19ge7ZbWJ1XjETdUX7mutiskeXgKiib1aVMvLfK0RXbaXMYNBpBhsqDTMog69HWSiZHygq6sGgpXKfi8JlNJtmLW4Khz5Fa6eZOYE7e8q2B1JSxeJfiw" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I am a great fan of Garfield and would have liked to lay my hands on this table, but as I said previously I am not going to pay the Apple Arcade tax just for this. Too bad.</span><p></p><div><br /></div>Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-2259682232741478932021-10-09T14:57:00.002+02:002022-02-08T16:52:43.844+01:00 Once more new tables<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I was convinced that 2021 would go by without myself publishing anything in the blog. I have stopped publishing comments on shitty games involving flippers and, as for real pinball games, nothing has been in sight. In fact, the only ones producing new pinball tables are the Zen Studios guys. A year ago they issued three new tables for the Mac. This year they joined the Apple Arcade and are offering a collection of pinballs under the name of Zen Pinball Party. Most of the tables are ones that already exist for the Mac. H</span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">owever there are also four new ones. They are</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Trolls</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8ytavxqo16bbRdk5u3sdEpWO9WB2EfuawAJlEnzF4cHP-hzhw3W68ytBymFHWqP9T34kXPm68fLD5Nu1g3J-8NAnO5IcRej8E9a71dEoY6xhupWB9bgNA5p3fW0AC3wakXAKKl6BDsc/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8ytavxqo16bbRdk5u3sdEpWO9WB2EfuawAJlEnzF4cHP-hzhw3W68ytBymFHWqP9T34kXPm68fLD5Nu1g3J-8NAnO5IcRej8E9a71dEoY6xhupWB9bgNA5p3fW0AC3wakXAKKl6BDsc/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Kung Fu Panda</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNGL1cIlmqFFx-bIO74WOTgcK3j9uF29YOmrpzbCGYPO-c_zooYbRdD410vlA_qlc4qhPI6w07si-XoKkxX9LiT8nnOqBx86UHFqJpZSyX_g3nterhPRIZ2j2Oe9XVSlT7j-Uxp4Q3JE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1536" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXNGL1cIlmqFFx-bIO74WOTgcK3j9uF29YOmrpzbCGYPO-c_zooYbRdD410vlA_qlc4qhPI6w07si-XoKkxX9LiT8nnOqBx86UHFqJpZSyX_g3nterhPRIZ2j2Oe9XVSlT7j-Uxp4Q3JE/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">How to Train Your Dragon</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJp9zmvgG1B7p1jflRpN-WOB_SDkIeVYbvcHQJJRY9Rxmrefn4_y1f18p0yYAD1h6FW_IyB6LuBaUf_mUKbl6usnDTqSCStzrJ9eag-PtQYSbUnVZ__oI-LseyttQVdVq0ARtKMJM1DU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQJp9zmvgG1B7p1jflRpN-WOB_SDkIeVYbvcHQJJRY9Rxmrefn4_y1f18p0yYAD1h6FW_IyB6LuBaUf_mUKbl6usnDTqSCStzrJ9eag-PtQYSbUnVZ__oI-LseyttQVdVq0ARtKMJM1DU/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">and My Little Pony</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyuknGFWxvjQd0len6pNb8jswqvyFRNDOZYaEGDBuhtO0bDWheRSkGX05-zLr6DwA2_4zMmu-oUqZOkMb4rp6VfxBLzltwqQuW034XQicrN2RmR7oJDLfv7Bbz4j2n-PMfWAFWLgctHyM/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyuknGFWxvjQd0len6pNb8jswqvyFRNDOZYaEGDBuhtO0bDWheRSkGX05-zLr6DwA2_4zMmu-oUqZOkMb4rp6VfxBLzltwqQuW034XQicrN2RmR7oJDLfv7Bbz4j2n-PMfWAFWLgctHyM/" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I haven't played the new tables for two reasons. One is that, on the Mac, they require MacOs 11 which I haven't installed (and will not for some time). The second is that Apple Arcade is a subscription service and I don't have any intention to pay a monthly fee to Apple in order to play four pinball tables. So I am just giving you the information that these new tables do exist. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Now wait for next year. </span></p>Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-75965784606585481632020-10-27T18:51:00.006+01:002020-11-26T22:52:54.803+01:00At long last, new tables<p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Again, there has been no post for months. If you wonder about the reason for this you have just to read my January 1st post. Since digital pinball is on life support I am writing only where there is something worth reading. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I was worried a little about the Zen Williams series but it turned out that in the end there were some good news: the 6th instalment of the series is out and this time it was a bunch of three tables. First and foremost is Funhouse</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KDdGvj5cbGy_7g0S9Qgdam9SH8HNobauUF22v_T5LQHqCTmtw3UI2rVtdq4whf0fnEAF-RtY7sPG6DFlVZPRBcTfNFzUgYiE73cT1m13HFtClCom4ZX0x6NMQJyIP4iCjnobChb34NU/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1046" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KDdGvj5cbGy_7g0S9Qgdam9SH8HNobauUF22v_T5LQHqCTmtw3UI2rVtdq4whf0fnEAF-RtY7sPG6DFlVZPRBcTfNFzUgYiE73cT1m13HFtClCom4ZX0x6NMQJyIP4iCjnobChb34NU/" width="262" /></a></span></div><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The readers of the blog are aware of my <a href="https://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-tribute-to-pat-lawlor.html">admiration</a> for the work of Pat Lawlor. And for me Funhouse is one of his best tables, second perhaps only to the Addams Family. The Zen implementation of Funhouse is excellent. There is even a trick allowing you to have a Rudy hit every time you launch the ball (launch with max speed and keep the left flipper raised: the ball is automatically deviated towards Rudy). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The second table is Dr. Dude. I really </span><a href="https://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-new-farsight-tables.html" style="font-family: helvetica;">liked the table</a><span style="font-family: helvetica;"> when it appeared in the Pinball Arcade collection. Unfortunately this time it appeared alongside Funhouse and thus it could not attract my interest as it did in 2013. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMXRim7gaA1Vby6MhzV9h4VgfZkMvlhJqoN1TADdWlzp3vRw8g8Br65jR_W0pVYxhiHOUO44gDyMMf0c-KPHmI7ZwDYoLo76iZ7bjiOU7g6CbcwWBg5isicbbMAkc7xEY-2BFpG5skLM/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1046" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMXRim7gaA1Vby6MhzV9h4VgfZkMvlhJqoN1TADdWlzp3vRw8g8Br65jR_W0pVYxhiHOUO44gDyMMf0c-KPHmI7ZwDYoLo76iZ7bjiOU7g6CbcwWBg5isicbbMAkc7xEY-2BFpG5skLM/" width="262" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Another reason for this is also the fact that the third table, Space Station, is an original, by which I mean that it isn't part of the Pinball Arcade collection. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWllSplzETma7ofA9mR337CC0N5xypAYBArlNkYyPiMKcK2bCcKFgROMD_Ldz5uI1zqw9cSk8MsCOl_W1F2yangT0d845VXi7xFy8V9hVCj7c5RdiX7SvTcmmXwrEbU2nekwkuRDi-S4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="1058" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDWllSplzETma7ofA9mR337CC0N5xypAYBArlNkYyPiMKcK2bCcKFgROMD_Ldz5uI1zqw9cSk8MsCOl_W1F2yangT0d845VXi7xFy8V9hVCj7c5RdiX7SvTcmmXwrEbU2nekwkuRDi-S4/" width="265" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><br /></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I like particularly the spacewalker. He is hit by a meteorite when the ball drains, adding more to the drama of the situation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;">All in all these three Zen tables are beauties. Just have a look at Rudy's head: there is no comparison with the drab FarSight Rudy one. And the ball stays visible at all times. And did I tell you that the price is just a measly 3.50 euros per table? I don't think you'll need more convincing. Grab the tables and start playing.</span></p>Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-2642947881285111162020-07-01T00:08:00.000+02:002020-07-01T00:08:23.951+02:00Crystal Caliburn update<div><font face="helvetica">It has been ages since I have last written an article for the blog. The reason is simple: nothing is happening in the digital pinball world: just some minor updates of pinballs I do not care much about. But no news from Zen Studios, no new tables for the Stern Pinball Arcade of FarSight, no nothing. And I do not think the current pandemic has anything to do with this.</font></div><div><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPFbNNM2wstO2NEc-_gSp4gq63b25w-wXKcr5BMvDx_aZzum4HfSKH6Vrdf2yz3O_naOJjVP8aYSvEa0_Uk-B4wrW8jxcSukFgyzzmMWw34bJpE3cwnFWd07zzT7-LmFV3FvuexrXstU/s371/CCII.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="136" data-original-width="371" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnPFbNNM2wstO2NEc-_gSp4gq63b25w-wXKcr5BMvDx_aZzum4HfSKH6Vrdf2yz3O_naOJjVP8aYSvEa0_Uk-B4wrW8jxcSukFgyzzmMWw34bJpE3cwnFWd07zzT7-LmFV3FvuexrXstU/s320/CCII.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div><font face="helvetica">But then, out of the blue the update notifications on my iPad signalled a new version of Crystal Caliburn. Apparently Fujita-san has not totally abandoned his pinballs. The new version, 1.6, is build with the software development kit of iOS 13. This means that we can be sure that the new version will be working for quite more years in the future. Given the paucity of new pinballs, things like this are precious.</font></div><div><font face="helvetica"><br /></font></div><div><font face="helvetica">I just hope that Fujita-san updates Tristan as well. However I am convinced that any hopes for a new pinball coming from Littlewing are illusory. Developing a new pinball is a huge enterprise and I do not believe that Fujita-san has time for this. Of course, I would be delighted to be proven wrong. </font></div><div><br /></div>Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-72681835472842056342020-01-01T01:05:00.000+01:002020-01-01T18:34:50.513+01:00Zen-WIlliams volume 5 is here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The three-table pack arrived before Christmas but I decided to post my article with the new year hoping to exorcise the bad spirits that are dooming digital pinball. As always the collection of tables is a fine one. First and foremost we have the Tales of the Arabian Nights</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC238YMr09X1dttDR5mvYRIoEyoC6_syuxQOjzpZq_TEo_y3KuVGGrc1DwItjxNac4FU3kRaZ9Gp-fuI5bgIarKO2RoTW43PGfn75Cz6cQ2BiMw3OqtlG_-MeOsMpePf9nB5WkJcKYnC8/s1600/WilliamsPinball_Cirqus_Voltaire_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC238YMr09X1dttDR5mvYRIoEyoC6_syuxQOjzpZq_TEo_y3KuVGGrc1DwItjxNac4FU3kRaZ9Gp-fuI5bgIarKO2RoTW43PGfn75Cz6cQ2BiMw3OqtlG_-MeOsMpePf9nB5WkJcKYnC8/s320/WilliamsPinball_Cirqus_Voltaire_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a fantastic table, which, curiously I had neglected in the FarSight collection. The graphic quality of the table is unique and the Zen-introduced enhancements do add to the interest of the gameplay. If you buy just one table from volume 5, Arabian Nights is the one I recommend.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Those who follow my blog know that I am a great admirer of Pat Lawlor. Unfortunately I am somehow disappointed by the Zen Studios choice to follow their Lawlor table collection which had started so nicely with Safecracker with two of the most difficult Lawlor tables Red & Ted's Road Show and now No Good Gofers </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm857Q9zNeZ0BhpzTJrqChHW7WhAqUSKSczZPKE-CooXck26uvixYu3RfjxOFh0tHJhJCcA4q5DV0D-PgivM2Jr464dqUqhWmM37yiRQnPIM7FwD2TRYJkYNXhD9bZeFJkTpABHfM3vWI/s1600/WilliamsPinball_No_Good_Gofers_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm857Q9zNeZ0BhpzTJrqChHW7WhAqUSKSczZPKE-CooXck26uvixYu3RfjxOFh0tHJhJCcA4q5DV0D-PgivM2Jr464dqUqhWmM37yiRQnPIM7FwD2TRYJkYNXhD9bZeFJkTpABHfM3vWI/s320/WilliamsPinball_No_Good_Gofers_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I find the play difficult (but then, that may be because of my below-par game) and the graphic additions of Zen Studios do not manage to add to the excitement. Personally I do not care much about the challenge presented by a table. I do hope that in the next volume Zen Studios choose one of the less difficult-more enjoyable Lawlor tables. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The third table of the collection is Circus Voltaire. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd4ja6URlcSsWRGN8lOZKdKzgktjDLCqlftVbNyuldk5Ymh2gmq_p-x2M5Gof13jQu0KOFjtjDMSHe7DWrjejF-n2BUtyRxiO5qN-P3HwKrKTPvzjrxaCM0UMF2gVaY4IwA1XB7W6orA/s1600/WilliamsPinball_Cirqus_Voltaire_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="518" data-original-width="920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMd4ja6URlcSsWRGN8lOZKdKzgktjDLCqlftVbNyuldk5Ymh2gmq_p-x2M5Gof13jQu0KOFjtjDMSHe7DWrjejF-n2BUtyRxiO5qN-P3HwKrKTPvzjrxaCM0UMF2gVaY4IwA1XB7W6orA/s320/WilliamsPinball_Cirqus_Voltaire_screenshot_classic_02_logo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is one of the tables where it took me some time before I started appreciating it. One of the reasons is that I find the ringmaster puppet added by Zen downright ugly. So I started playing the classic version before relenting and going back to the "enhanced" one. However, once you are accustomed to it Circus Voltaire is a nice table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Let's pray for Zen Studios to continue their Williams collection in the months to come.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-66163183194279514052019-12-05T17:43:00.000+01:002019-12-05T17:43:29.983+01:00The end of a morose year<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who could imagine that the pinball landscape would become an utter desolation in the space of one year. Of course the writing was on the wall. When Littlewing called it quits 7 years ago it was clear that the days of glory of digital pinball were over. The close-to-zero prices of the AppStore were incompatible with the development of decent pinball tables. So over the years we witnessed the disappearance of all but one of the major players in the digital pinball business.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLS9yC9Q0ZbMLrio9UJUtQUk9BCPwtnK7vtsc9i8ChoLfoXZArAHQiBkv0MeVOkEA9aDARtrdAv0XXzcCPNxlyIAUG3f7IX7P1kEiVxx4-PkfXRxd453Zi5KpVjLEHBb_OH3Ai56vnQ/s1600/gaemarc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="851" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzLS9yC9Q0ZbMLrio9UJUtQUk9BCPwtnK7vtsc9i8ChoLfoXZArAHQiBkv0MeVOkEA9aDARtrdAv0XXzcCPNxlyIAUG3f7IX7P1kEiVxx4-PkfXRxd453Zi5KpVjLEHBb_OH3Ai56vnQ/s320/gaemarc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Gameprom, who gave us such great tables like RedPlanet and Arcade Pinball disappeared last year. Ditto for Ask Homework, aka Magic Pixel, of Zaccaria line fame. The Pro Pinball revival turned out to be a farce (but did leave all of us ProPinball fans with a bad taste in the mouth). FarSight lost their Williams/Bally license and since then they have gone in radio silence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Right now our only hope is the Zen Studio line of Williams/bally pinballs. They are doing an excellent job with this but will they manage to make enough money so as to survive? In any case their attempt to monetise their iOS line with the Williams Pinball application has led to a monster which I prefer to forget. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And just to add to the depression, there are the bad news of Catalina. With the new MacOS the wrappers of ProPinball will stop working. Will somebody provide new and Catalina-compatible ones? I wouldn't hold my breath. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2019 I tried to publish a post per month just to let you know that the blog is alive. I am afraid that this is totally futile. The plan for 2020 will be to publish something whenever Zen Studios present new tables. At least I will write in order to say something positive. </span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-65736761067013819292019-11-01T09:09:00.000+01:002019-11-01T09:09:16.243+01:00Two new pinballs by Zen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBd4vrWdyyd6TAlK4jpv4NQ0q0QyP3VMMPS4it2foWNAKI-4bOLsjNT3giaOClOLYh1vVTBEUA7mFByr9XxPcGuTi-ArJKaoj2k7zXGjVz2Aeep2o4Ha7Dd1wTW6rt8oWkWymFK-TLNU/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBd4vrWdyyd6TAlK4jpv4NQ0q0QyP3VMMPS4it2foWNAKI-4bOLsjNT3giaOClOLYh1vVTBEUA7mFByr9XxPcGuTi-ArJKaoj2k7zXGjVz2Aeep2o4Ha7Dd1wTW6rt8oWkWymFK-TLNU/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This time there were only two new tables instead of the usual pack of three. I don't like the idea that Zen may be slowing down. But then they probably tried to get these two pinballs out before Halloween, so let's not be too pessimistic (yet).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two new tables are monster themed. Monster Bash is a collection of all the famous monsters (Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy etc.) against a backdrop of rock concert. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYl7Yh9I5c1A1ITX9JZ5e2henUlXaB2p-qOyhrziFiABuN_Xs-ukWBqddIwdj1f-YhEZqDpHHJfkE0Kdn3D63jBENWz1YpUKt7lFsZaxgRxpIIx-DA5vYa5lc-lJgOc5j1wFMukVGk38/s1600/monsterbash.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipYl7Yh9I5c1A1ITX9JZ5e2henUlXaB2p-qOyhrziFiABuN_Xs-ukWBqddIwdj1f-YhEZqDpHHJfkE0Kdn3D63jBENWz1YpUKt7lFsZaxgRxpIIx-DA5vYa5lc-lJgOc5j1wFMukVGk38/s320/monsterbash.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a funny table and the various monsters which become activated as the game progresses add a variety to the gameplay.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second table is the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Here the backdrop is a drive-in cinema. While the gameplay is slightly less interesting than the one of the Monsters the graphics are superb.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_CKMOtI2OzDhM1ABZDMH2IMkL0ogRpEg5ukYXaBe47cJqTnjtdDOs4a2xOEniH6bOLjPf1VWX4E_UUfYu-W-eq8nHBYxBcN-7G0CN39KzuS1ggkTShEOijDfPbLbDUgjw9P2Gj3YwyM/s1600/lagoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_CKMOtI2OzDhM1ABZDMH2IMkL0ogRpEg5ukYXaBe47cJqTnjtdDOs4a2xOEniH6bOLjPf1VWX4E_UUfYu-W-eq8nHBYxBcN-7G0CN39KzuS1ggkTShEOijDfPbLbDUgjw9P2Gj3YwyM/s320/lagoon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In this case the Zen animations are absolutely great. One sees the creature swim in the lagoon and it even comes out when a ball drains to inspect the vicinity. Just look at the screenshot below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There has been also a price hike on the tables but given their quality I do not regret at all the 11 euros I had to pay for them.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-48648926685628330072019-10-01T08:04:00.000+02:002019-10-01T08:04:30.137+02:00Epic Quest and a friend's suggestion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKCr7Sk5KTiuXq2MKGDZVBktVT7PvjDxZb9bj3e48UV-o9Z9Zy1POBx42HWRaPKHDYUnFPxVbHrplfxMc5FMLiVIBlgb7EXZcDmRRu63o4WINOYlqrjQw0A8IebCQiFTCcJ98iLcYzZQ/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDKCr7Sk5KTiuXq2MKGDZVBktVT7PvjDxZb9bj3e48UV-o9Z9Zy1POBx42HWRaPKHDYUnFPxVbHrplfxMc5FMLiVIBlgb7EXZcDmRRu63o4WINOYlqrjQw0A8IebCQiFTCcJ98iLcYzZQ/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I had already written about Epic Quest in my <a href="http://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2015/06/zen-pinball-esports-edition.html" target="_blank">post </a>on eSports Zen pinballs. At that time I had discarded the table saying that it was hard to follow the ball. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Suffering from the invisible FarSight balls I was particularly sensitive to tables where the ball visibility was not perfect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But then when I wrote the previous ball on Adventure Pinball (which is a pinball only in name) my friend Marco chimed in and reminded me that he had already pointed out that Epic Quest was worth some attention on my behalf. And thus I decided to give it a second chance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJ1qMCintzSflhFil7tossivpsZeq5MOj-DIdgXEutNHBpqku-52e9RwvSjAI27CdOBPRC8TwyGkRaObTX7Ax-DO7KacynfM4BTJAen0JNBfo8jvyNC8np-csh43o0dTj-OkxN3DgvXI/s1600/epicquest.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJ1qMCintzSflhFil7tossivpsZeq5MOj-DIdgXEutNHBpqku-52e9RwvSjAI27CdOBPRC8TwyGkRaObTX7Ax-DO7KacynfM4BTJAen0JNBfo8jvyNC8np-csh43o0dTj-OkxN3DgvXI/s320/epicquest.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My surprise was that the game did not make it to the Mac version of Zen pinballs collection. This is somewhat intriguing since the other table of the eSports collection, Mars, does indeed appear among the tables one can play on the Mac. At least Epic Quest was available on the iPad and thus I could try it again. Since this time I was motivated I took the time to accustom myself to the highly coloured tabletop and was rewarded with a nice gameplay and the typical Zen table layout which makes the ball difficult to drain. (Unfortunately this is not the case for the Zen-Williams collection where the layout must respect the original pinball's one).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you haven't tried Epic Quest, now is the time to give it a try.</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-24590706869886164582019-09-08T23:03:00.000+02:002019-09-08T23:03:04.347+02:00Is this a pinball?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7T08ZDL_gTsyJoZnJBnR4aivQKkohPLfXhxo9kSpL4Z-STgK3NFEVUSpYHJ2QViK9MC4l5bK5Q55VhZAdJX93wm8Law4mkVme7WaYnQeJSnZMK7sjNoiiAyvwbLhKWmlCTeJt_m98RIo/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7T08ZDL_gTsyJoZnJBnR4aivQKkohPLfXhxo9kSpL4Z-STgK3NFEVUSpYHJ2QViK9MC4l5bK5Q55VhZAdJX93wm8Law4mkVme7WaYnQeJSnZMK7sjNoiiAyvwbLhKWmlCTeJt_m98RIo/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One more of those pinball-based games made its appearance. It is even has pinball in the name (it's called Adventure Pinball) The game is announced as combining pinball, adventure and role playing and comes in old-school graphics and colour:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRUnYCX5FYDEZ1ZsOBd1k8aNvNxdhWHhAQiLntGi-M8i6Kr3ZBTi9x95aj9y-5wxLeKYjugxEkLoUks2c7FJnv_mQlTwNMVpCIXuSgveDPyj-KhxhFrhJjqQLQ-6QS-lAXKlWRG2ZxRQ/s1600/advpin.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNRUnYCX5FYDEZ1ZsOBd1k8aNvNxdhWHhAQiLntGi-M8i6Kr3ZBTi9x95aj9y-5wxLeKYjugxEkLoUks2c7FJnv_mQlTwNMVpCIXuSgveDPyj-KhxhFrhJjqQLQ-6QS-lAXKlWRG2ZxRQ/s320/advpin.png" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I watched the short video of the gameplay and I immediately decided not to spend the 2.29 euros: it is not a pinball. If you are interested in role playing you could perhaps find it appealing but if, like myself, you are a pinball fan, you can simply forget about it.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-19771231791220569262019-08-10T10:49:00.000+02:002019-08-10T10:49:46.727+02:00Comparing Zen and FarSight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The title is somewhat misleading. I am not going to compare neither the two companies nor their whole product lines. I am going to focus on just one table I have been playing for the past week: Attack from Mars.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But first a statement. There is no comparison between the physics of Zen pinballs and that of the FarSight ones. Compared to the former the latter give an impression of clunkiness which, for the table in question is aggravated by the angle of the flippers that makes the control of the ball particularly unnerving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ7SxpjkPbAoVeG3c6RmfiHyEWJMFF2jt6EGJjhnDxmNgJDzjW-9GGocwHhfzo4R414DxPQSad2IGSL25EJiQBj7ITGgCmGlXY28vmFu7KMX6HNj5ZJC_Bz4iC4NawOzg-vB4pyRPXdI/s1600/zenmars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpJ7SxpjkPbAoVeG3c6RmfiHyEWJMFF2jt6EGJjhnDxmNgJDzjW-9GGocwHhfzo4R414DxPQSad2IGSL25EJiQBj7ITGgCmGlXY28vmFu7KMX6HNj5ZJC_Bz4iC4NawOzg-vB4pyRPXdI/s320/zenmars.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I said I have been playing the two versions of the same table and I have the impression that the point system is not the same for the two implementations. How would that be possible? Aren't the two versions supposed to simulate the behaviour of the real table? Still, I am obtaining systematically higher scores on the FarSight table. My personal bests are at around 8 billion for the Zen version and 12 billion for the FarSight one. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_vkLsddUCm0BiYq7YMn79HYRDD0ZUk1y-VvPo5aDnDam8NcpRfkfiNQHj8slsznsQGpSfI-MqH6LG_lYaZ0YacrAGn4d1eqBzX38-8RSknqkV3C-Y_1gZf5zzzcVjiQ1faUrly3pPAA/s1600/farsightmars.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX_vkLsddUCm0BiYq7YMn79HYRDD0ZUk1y-VvPo5aDnDam8NcpRfkfiNQHj8slsznsQGpSfI-MqH6LG_lYaZ0YacrAGn4d1eqBzX38-8RSknqkV3C-Y_1gZf5zzzcVjiQ1faUrly3pPAA/s320/farsightmars.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The FarSight table</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One thing that I do appreciate in the FarSight layout is the possibility to adjust the table view. I like vertical tables (I was a big fan of the LIttleWing tables) and FarSight offers an angle of view which, while not being a view from above, is much better than the Zen fixed, "perspective", view.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Which table do I prefer? I haven't decided yet. For the time being, I am playing both, trying to improve my scores in both simulations. </span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-34656244840676715252019-07-17T11:19:00.000+02:002019-07-17T11:19:56.841+02:00FarSight vs Zen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SlweYCAqKgBbmeXoAzUdW9JrMtEVbohVfN5zatmGzngOvrsrtXu5phyphenhyphen2lObRBNw9qBiF1aLXJhUHPcO1Ot18gEejXmWu_kEOQSjnwe3z67v6CIAlrrs5bA5vCuZFkLKCoOahiQgjsgU/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1SlweYCAqKgBbmeXoAzUdW9JrMtEVbohVfN5zatmGzngOvrsrtXu5phyphenhyphen2lObRBNw9qBiF1aLXJhUHPcO1Ot18gEejXmWu_kEOQSjnwe3z67v6CIAlrrs5bA5vCuZFkLKCoOahiQgjsgU/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would have never believed that I was going to write a post where FarSight would have the upper hand in a comparison to Zen. Well, here it is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some background is necessary though. Three weeks ago I underwent surgery in order to repair a shoulder tendon (the supra</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">spinatus, if you are interested in details). As a consequence my left arm was immobilised, with a very clever belt (it still is and will be for ten more days) and I could not play pinball. I was somewhat frustrated but then I remembered Safe Cracker. In this game you only lose the ball after the area shut-down when you are in sudden death. So I started playing SC with just the right flipper. It's not as funny as when you play with both flippers but it's better than nothing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9lUURYKr7JC0jUnCJLB3FeDLXdhYcb0darmRFuVI4wmWuDnIqEueT7eJEJ6j7utxV73UNKw_M-1cqRPrnQ4ZijoaT4mNuNel4ApyXn7BvVp1qNzueSAVVycikUQORPUai9rgfm-LHhM/s1600/safeczen.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL9lUURYKr7JC0jUnCJLB3FeDLXdhYcb0darmRFuVI4wmWuDnIqEueT7eJEJ6j7utxV73UNKw_M-1cqRPrnQ4ZijoaT4mNuNel4ApyXn7BvVp1qNzueSAVVycikUQORPUai9rgfm-LHhM/s320/safeczen.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now, Safe Cracker exists both in the Pinball Arcade and the Zen Pinball collections. I tried both, with, initially, a preference for Zen. However, as I kept playing I found that the FarSight version had definite advantages, in particular for someone who was losing the ball all too easily. For instance in the Pinball Arcade simulator the launch of the ball is always the same so that it always lights the same lane. One can thus rack up 5 minutes time extensions much more easily. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG168ow-jq41kxTLaZlbmiS7Gx3s-omwd3cUmabkXPp6dRwHVX_S7K7_V9qjHvayXG5uFFG0YkyYltLeIeSCNWt_QvGR026QBqateiv97lE3nYr_Ug3mQUoH1XVm0G2DBk-y7W1ZcoeIQ/s1600/safecfarsight.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG168ow-jq41kxTLaZlbmiS7Gx3s-omwd3cUmabkXPp6dRwHVX_S7K7_V9qjHvayXG5uFFG0YkyYltLeIeSCNWt_QvGR026QBqateiv97lE3nYr_Ug3mQUoH1XVm0G2DBk-y7W1ZcoeIQ/s320/safecfarsight.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also I like the angle of the PA pinball (in position 3). It gives you more of a bird's eye view and less of a perspective one. I prefer it by far. So this time FarSight is one-upping Zen (and, I know, this is totally subjective).</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-67561082886358643132019-06-21T09:35:00.002+02:002019-06-21T09:35:13.111+02:00I wrote to FarSight<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea is not mine. It was in fact a suggestion of my friend Nick. Now that FarSight has lost the Williams/Bally tables they could try to revive the two great digital pinball lines which have disappeared after trying the adventure of the AppStore: Littlewing and ProPinball. So I decided to write to them with the suggestion. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8t6avBpsli3OO-mRV6MaUa11ACAhHTyBGyhY642SrLzBggRcP89FSyMCxyHR574a8xm-KG-NCY-yZtSA9Dh0GZMQrC2bAg2_EjaBr5t4MsYTXH61KdOnMgqclNlZXT6_-Udbvu20OAg/s1600/farsight+hq.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq8t6avBpsli3OO-mRV6MaUa11ACAhHTyBGyhY642SrLzBggRcP89FSyMCxyHR574a8xm-KG-NCY-yZtSA9Dh0GZMQrC2bAg2_EjaBr5t4MsYTXH61KdOnMgqclNlZXT6_-Udbvu20OAg/s320/farsight+hq.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is the moil I sent them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am pinball fan and a Pinball Arcade player. Since the non-renewal of the Williams-Bally contract I understand that times may be difficult for FarSight. However I think that there many occasions out there in particular two excellent collections of digital pinballs the rights of which could probably be purchased. I am thinking about Littlewing and ProPinball. Both have now disappeared but could be revived thanks to your experience and offer a new line of income for your company.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I hope you'like this idea of mine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let's see if they respond.</span></div>
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-30407883464480086662019-05-30T13:53:00.001+02:002019-05-30T13:53:07.575+02:00The 4th batch of Zen-Williams tables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp1RANhxedHHZCuCzZzluWNlFss9XF1GjqyXwEcCD_ns7bQat5gZsfY2T0qroq5r87mSYnm-KHKEpX3jcY1_DZDja06cMF8GbOtzTotp2U3BAwXaMz_f7TdgEcSFKQsbR89Pqed8glpw/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIp1RANhxedHHZCuCzZzluWNlFss9XF1GjqyXwEcCD_ns7bQat5gZsfY2T0qroq5r87mSYnm-KHKEpX3jcY1_DZDja06cMF8GbOtzTotp2U3BAwXaMz_f7TdgEcSFKQsbR89Pqed8glpw/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was convinced that May would go by without a single new entry for the blog. Well, I was wrong. Just before the bell, Zen did produce the fourth batch of Williams-Bally tables. I purchased them immediately and took them for a test drive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red and Ted's Road show </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1B39ZVw9myjpbIv20qrPoszYc65v6HvAdSWLgYDQC4qa7i2vt4f-ppaNS7iw6kvgS16buUXfCe9_QqZx-c61oX3sSxGXzcZ4uJ7IDwVYy3BmBaq1lnsQk0JUCb4CteXdxfB94J4WKtQc/s1600/Zen+roadshow.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1B39ZVw9myjpbIv20qrPoszYc65v6HvAdSWLgYDQC4qa7i2vt4f-ppaNS7iw6kvgS16buUXfCe9_QqZx-c61oX3sSxGXzcZ4uJ7IDwVYy3BmBaq1lnsQk0JUCb4CteXdxfB94J4WKtQc/s320/Zen+roadshow.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is a Pat Lawlor table and, coming after Funhouse, it was inspired from the latter: we have now two talking heads, Ted the bulldozer driver and Red, his female boss. Road Show is a difficult game with a complex set of rules and I feel that I have to spend quite some time on it before mastering all its subtleties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">White Water </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiCy1lI78UxV1ic2OmWb9oxEMkhxBDFTcvNJW7k2J2nAPqIeVqOfiWuGksSTL7Zp3OlPoLfJYG4nRXoXrTRoIZfl_Gu1gCP_e-y6uBcqTKiJqQCryKeQDyBpZ_h1uzwfAuBLQ9TkUdLY/s1600/ZenWhite_Water.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeiCy1lI78UxV1ic2OmWb9oxEMkhxBDFTcvNJW7k2J2nAPqIeVqOfiWuGksSTL7Zp3OlPoLfJYG4nRXoXrTRoIZfl_Gu1gCP_e-y6uBcqTKiJqQCryKeQDyBpZ_h1uzwfAuBLQ9TkUdLY/s320/ZenWhite_Water.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is a table I did not manage to play at all in the FarSight version. It was just impossible to find a "visible" ball. Here there is not visibility problem but after a few games I concluded that I was not particularly attracted to it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The third tale is Hurricane</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKyPp6LEi7Rb2ZfYt2U5Tm0tpSMk1QwAZ-jiersE-tYHcXzJmXi0jmtYaecrJg8pL6RQctjbbWt4UBU-Bk64akSAHji8GWvBLvpP0fI-G1JzOLXZuzm8y3YOdGN6cBNeY_1oNMpj7ClY/s1600/ZenHurricane.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKyPp6LEi7Rb2ZfYt2U5Tm0tpSMk1QwAZ-jiersE-tYHcXzJmXi0jmtYaecrJg8pL6RQctjbbWt4UBU-Bk64akSAHji8GWvBLvpP0fI-G1JzOLXZuzm8y3YOdGN6cBNeY_1oNMpj7ClY/s320/ZenHurricane.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One would not have guessed, just by the title, that the game is an amusement park themed one, with Roller coasters, Ferris wheels, shooting galleries and so on. Unfortunately the Zen version does not include the revolving, back-glass, wheel, which I liked so much in the FarSight version. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyltPKlBYczKOclWb5CKYDbmFAFdJmfKauopnIx1BYtsD5_olmN4mTbjoBpj-sSWrVmvf2RnXF82PC8TDS-w4rz7JPoekbaEwL9t15Y9oBqq1z5jxii2kCurWZ9bXfXU50zkGoPYf9fc/s1600/HurricanePie.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfyltPKlBYczKOclWb5CKYDbmFAFdJmfKauopnIx1BYtsD5_olmN4mTbjoBpj-sSWrVmvf2RnXF82PC8TDS-w4rz7JPoekbaEwL9t15Y9oBqq1z5jxii2kCurWZ9bXfXU50zkGoPYf9fc/s320/HurricanePie.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However another surprise was in store. When you loose a ball the clown is throwing a pie at you. It's one of those Zen animations I am grumbling about but in this case, since it comes at a moment when one is not playing, it is a welcome one, adding a touch of humour to the game.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-67582389514947952492019-04-01T00:06:00.000+02:002019-04-01T00:06:19.945+02:00Here comes the third batch of Zen-Williams tables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8p3S80PmEc_Vm3VQav5wL_H9ZBU4U9yS8S48xCPsKz2H4NK0yoYG_yYz0irkKDxLkiSi57lm7fgAGvLiAauLLuumjYTWqPyaaWnU0D4_YYRFASQ2q29JM7bdF46eZHopYwsDgkH7w0Z4/s1600/idevices2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8p3S80PmEc_Vm3VQav5wL_H9ZBU4U9yS8S48xCPsKz2H4NK0yoYG_yYz0irkKDxLkiSi57lm7fgAGvLiAauLLuumjYTWqPyaaWnU0D4_YYRFASQ2q29JM7bdF46eZHopYwsDgkH7w0Z4/s400/idevices2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am not keeping a precise track but I have the impression that Zen is releasing one batch of three Williams-Bally tables every two-three months. This amounts to one new table per month which is not that bad. As long as this goes on we should not complain. Right now with most pinball developers having gone out of business and FarSight moribund (perhaps I am a tad too pessimistic there) having Zen resuscitating the old classics is a real consolation. Of course those are tables that already existed in the Pinball Arcade collection (and which we had paid for) but, who cares, they are there and hopefully will not disappear like the ones from FarSight. Three new table were offered this time:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Theatre of Magic,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfBHrSaxptejp1p_8L2Z2myvnPaHLh64cIwJVvxrDei82j-P__6FyIzGbEurFd89TUmOjFFHSx1BsIk16qR7sGXIhlvx7aAzIrGZQFCE44A5efIUYaUJtBlMB3QMfDmj9q_2_uPVIsw8/s1600/theaterZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQfBHrSaxptejp1p_8L2Z2myvnPaHLh64cIwJVvxrDei82j-P__6FyIzGbEurFd89TUmOjFFHSx1BsIk16qR7sGXIhlvx7aAzIrGZQFCE44A5efIUYaUJtBlMB3QMfDmj9q_2_uPVIsw8/s320/theaterZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Champion Pub,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQ6HRIdSUMkHL_YVVgvlKZCP-FnZe1GYJy2REpcn7LwBgssV7Z40EXbGHy2DCBc1Flq3CYnMFYDkDAGzOXlVxnB-7Umygg4PoUZJO6EKC1RST0Madxu6zHfe_m1hyphenhyphenuZoHUn5unAOldy4/s1600/BarZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqQ6HRIdSUMkHL_YVVgvlKZCP-FnZe1GYJy2REpcn7LwBgssV7Z40EXbGHy2DCBc1Flq3CYnMFYDkDAGzOXlVxnB-7Umygg4PoUZJO6EKC1RST0Madxu6zHfe_m1hyphenhyphenuZoHUn5unAOldy4/s320/BarZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and Safe Cracker</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyZE3ZPgloFfmnVRoyIzoBUW8KwPUvX4ufnVSPFoEJuvXI22cuaX8FtnYWfI6e1Zh0aRLrrZR2cH0gTG7ZTlPCjfjCKYrJB0lfp7cynbZRpHARRAYY6RUMgrSUvD4ZVCM7QCih7cJiIc/s1600/SafeZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQyZE3ZPgloFfmnVRoyIzoBUW8KwPUvX4ufnVSPFoEJuvXI22cuaX8FtnYWfI6e1Zh0aRLrrZR2cH0gTG7ZTlPCjfjCKYrJB0lfp7cynbZRpHARRAYY6RUMgrSUvD4ZVCM7QCih7cJiIc/s320/SafeZ.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I played all three in the Zen-enhanced version. Purists can opt for the classic one, which is devoid of any Zen-specific animations. But in the case of Zen-Williams pinballs the animations are unobtrusive and do not spoil the gameplay. One can even argue that they add a "je ne sais quoi" to it. Anyhow the three tables are excellent and definitely worth the 10 or so euros one must pay in order to acquire them. </span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-38297080539580729642019-03-01T07:52:00.000+01:002019-03-01T07:52:36.993+01:00They lost their mind<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OQejmd3bazDWtGFWqKNistm0JOWshjtZhTob-_8l1o7XaxiunCO9VQyxZrYCcbsgmAFkLxfePBSa7thu_xL5Ssn9kdV9UxnF3C4v_XbQCXUrEmYnMJNqmxTcL0onN1HoeIgHiQNfx3c/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7OQejmd3bazDWtGFWqKNistm0JOWshjtZhTob-_8l1o7XaxiunCO9VQyxZrYCcbsgmAFkLxfePBSa7thu_xL5Ssn9kdV9UxnF3C4v_XbQCXUrEmYnMJNqmxTcL0onN1HoeIgHiQNfx3c/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am talking about FarSight. I have been complaining about the ball which manages due to the reflections they have added to it to make it almost invisible thanks to a chameleon effect. I was hoping that one daythey were going to fix this. Well, I was deluding myself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The recent update of the iOS Pinball Arcade made things even worse. You can judge for yourself. Here is the ball I selected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7Ew_cxGI_ujidzPss-EADtkvlhWwez5Ag51CREusB2MxGtGepNEsTcskzZtx4_Nm7OphUt-a-noeyR76X5GK65Kk6NDV_L__ESI_ZN3xxAD30hVivW-tJM4gVy57Z8LBc7mPap0zewA/s1600/BallSelection.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS7Ew_cxGI_ujidzPss-EADtkvlhWwez5Ag51CREusB2MxGtGepNEsTcskzZtx4_Nm7OphUt-a-noeyR76X5GK65Kk6NDV_L__ESI_ZN3xxAD30hVivW-tJM4gVy57Z8LBc7mPap0zewA/s320/BallSelection.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I chose one that was very dark, perhaps not one with the ideal contrast with the table (I usually play with a blue one in this table) but one that suffices in order to illustrate my point. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7xCCThGwsLnYh2-XQBLkEph8NFv-WOGYKu6yWV3455SLIZdTUuH9jms8UOTP-QmjITN5HqLCyICyWXbqOB4QQutRJtGjv9ifh0otpTcv4CYzLqytuK3jL9BLXSS1e4n5DyDISX3tk7c/s1600/balltrans.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP7xCCThGwsLnYh2-XQBLkEph8NFv-WOGYKu6yWV3455SLIZdTUuH9jms8UOTP-QmjITN5HqLCyICyWXbqOB4QQutRJtGjv9ifh0otpTcv4CYzLqytuK3jL9BLXSS1e4n5DyDISX3tk7c/s400/balltrans.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And here is what you get. Where did the deep red colour go? It just disappeared from the mirror-like surface. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Previously (and I am talking about the times before the Williams divorce) there was a solid black ball without reflections. It was ideal when the table was a light-coloured one. It just disappeared together with the special Wiliams-inspired balls. Why? Does a solid black ball fall under the Williams copyright?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wonder if the people who are programming in FarSight ever play pinball themselves.</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-74274401205076390152019-02-01T16:53:00.000+01:002019-02-01T16:53:44.209+01:00Zen-Williams pinballs for iOS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4UpjiNpJ2hHZKRleOA8OZ2uK75nA5HeQ1qCYY01F50ZXdzsquDU5gG2nqr6exri7EnWLYxI_axsy20xYlZaGcbS8n571cKC8nYS3dUhdD2PviClCpMsvTjylNRJJct6q8PcEY_0hQiU/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4UpjiNpJ2hHZKRleOA8OZ2uK75nA5HeQ1qCYY01F50ZXdzsquDU5gG2nqr6exri7EnWLYxI_axsy20xYlZaGcbS8n571cKC8nYS3dUhdD2PviClCpMsvTjylNRJJct6q8PcEY_0hQiU/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When Zen Studios released the first batch of their Williams-Bally pinball tables the bad news was that there was no iOS version. In fact my friend Nick was pessimistic even concerning their <a href="http://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2018/09/and-now-for-some-really-good-news.html#comment-form" target="_blank">release on the Mac s</a>ince the tables were supposed to be FX3 (which does not run on the Mac) only. Well, the tables did get released for the Mac and I could play them and <a href="http://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2019/01/zen-pinball-second-williams-batch.html" target="_blank">comment</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fortunately the iOS-version absence was only temporary. A few days ago my friend Marco let me know that the Williams pinballs were available through a separate application named, quite predictably, Williams Pinball.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5W8VQtIU3afsGPcxncl5_v5LRjwr9vSUoMKcJQSJ9SvwY8sMN8xzSYkTGUYgNunRLLsps7qwCZjX0fUv8lhsN5sUhSOHqQVk8nnCD7WBCiYOAuk56YHh0a6tD2f-8teoBWFVjGqnh708/s1600/roseios.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5W8VQtIU3afsGPcxncl5_v5LRjwr9vSUoMKcJQSJ9SvwY8sMN8xzSYkTGUYgNunRLLsps7qwCZjX0fUv8lhsN5sUhSOHqQVk8nnCD7WBCiYOAuk56YHh0a6tD2f-8teoBWFVjGqnh708/s320/roseios.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I downloaded the app and installed it on my iPad. Unfortunately it's a bummer. I am not talking about physics or graphics. Those are excellent as is always the case for Zen pinballs. The problem in the case of the Williams app is that it came overburdened with all kind of customisation stuff, which are in fact a not-so-subtle way to push in-app purchases. I would have preferred, and by far, a situation identical to the one on the Mac: you buy each table and that's it. I would even have been read to purchase the same tables a second time. As things stand now, I seriously doubt I'm going to do this. </span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-58702790764930247312019-01-01T09:09:00.000+01:002019-01-01T09:26:34.470+01:00Zen Pinball: the second Williams batch<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5eXwiihCPqMA_6R4DPmL01eKg0MfexJV08zwk7EW8Q7S4d_BKgEp9DT6WAYV1IGN-F41Wkj7gIKtG2rpjboqWApWdSWNbbx6EnRVt6g3ZZG_lOiApke5-sGdDVulGqp0wh4OZNeeik4/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5eXwiihCPqMA_6R4DPmL01eKg0MfexJV08zwk7EW8Q7S4d_BKgEp9DT6WAYV1IGN-F41Wkj7gIKtG2rpjboqWApWdSWNbbx6EnRVt6g3ZZG_lOiApke5-sGdDVulGqp0wh4OZNeeik4/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some two months after the first batch of four (well, one free and three paying) tables from the Williams colllection newly licenced to Zen Studios, the second batch is here. The three tables are:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black Rose,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq6GyTkDRrpVgT5Pt8UGvf3wQ-6ozVm54rvpYcVN03cA9uNOvSdjntMB0tZ0qhFoKjyA36UZ6hv0Scpmtf0x2Jj0RHS8lxL_OjLIJ-x1dEwMS-KXrV5wRxXB6lGITHVXjrggf0Bmtxf4/s1600/BlackRoseZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHq6GyTkDRrpVgT5Pt8UGvf3wQ-6ozVm54rvpYcVN03cA9uNOvSdjntMB0tZ0qhFoKjyA36UZ6hv0Scpmtf0x2Jj0RHS8lxL_OjLIJ-x1dEwMS-KXrV5wRxXB6lGITHVXjrggf0Bmtxf4/s320/BlackRoseZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Attack from Mars,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKa2Jl-Lb-w6mzcSID8k20p4wx2097xkY7ddgQ8lLCAysn5GRQQtlIMz3w8B1fe6r89Kqm6wt3W1s6tgo9PzylInGvCroyrz_-hefcDUEZ4ArX49krlghVit6AlaySbfXd-rG0WTPjA0/s1600/AttckFromMarsZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnKa2Jl-Lb-w6mzcSID8k20p4wx2097xkY7ddgQ8lLCAysn5GRQQtlIMz3w8B1fe6r89Kqm6wt3W1s6tgo9PzylInGvCroyrz_-hefcDUEZ4ArX49krlghVit6AlaySbfXd-rG0WTPjA0/s320/AttckFromMarsZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and Party Zone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qSyuRPiMLA3FmPtrn-uhjnLXTs4zBMeZzFJ1R0eBS0_RKXuXIMD05rrlnMSAfLHsNKE-nM7t2no8BKHPQlBfkTSqfIC58k8uWv71fvPMFBLaoASVMUYlf9cJwuCAcSDQOnIttP37R-E/s1600/PartyZoneZ.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8qSyuRPiMLA3FmPtrn-uhjnLXTs4zBMeZzFJ1R0eBS0_RKXuXIMD05rrlnMSAfLHsNKE-nM7t2no8BKHPQlBfkTSqfIC58k8uWv71fvPMFBLaoASVMUYlf9cJwuCAcSDQOnIttP37R-E/s320/PartyZoneZ.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I tested them both in the classic and the new, "enhanced", version. As in the case of the first batch, the remastered version is (slightly) better. Again, Zen has applied self-restrain and did not overburden the tables with unnecessary animations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black Rose is the table I preferred among the three, Party Zzone being the one I will not be playing much. Given the quite reasonable price of the tables you can purchase all three and decide after you have tried them out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My one regret is that the tables are Mac-only and I do not know if there is some plan to port them to iOS devices in a near future. But then, we would, most probably, have to buy them again, so ...</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-49124351141553545222018-12-10T19:58:00.003+01:002018-12-10T19:58:47.485+01:00FarSight tables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a <a href="http://macpinballhistory.blogspot.com/2018/10/farsights-new-tables.html" target="_blank">previous post</a> I was wondering why the FarSight site did not include the Stern tables </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">among those available. My guess is that that was due to the fact that the Stern pinball arcade existed independently from the rest. Now that the whole FarSight collection is present in Pinball Arcade the artificial separation between Stern and non-Stern tables has disappeared and one can find the complete list of tables on the same page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnppttIt9IYYxIT-vchEaOsooe6HaHZGzAuknZNCsERVxsDtploIBjnIBuW0AAFJSAuLmXogB4uxoFetu5wJeHwne4dmpGVG1eS7Qt9dRrm-AUXCqhtLhacX7Wr2ImqtgUhEeFujCkCs/s1600/farsighttables.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnnppttIt9IYYxIT-vchEaOsooe6HaHZGzAuknZNCsERVxsDtploIBjnIBuW0AAFJSAuLmXogB4uxoFetu5wJeHwne4dmpGVG1eS7Qt9dRrm-AUXCqhtLhacX7Wr2ImqtgUhEeFujCkCs/s320/farsighttables.jpg" width="223" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the offer is not comparable to one before the loss of the Williams-Bally licence it is still a quite decent one, with 39 tables. Will this offer suffice in order to save the bacon of FarSight? Time will tell.</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-63215616204853159972018-12-01T14:23:00.000+01:002018-12-01T14:23:02.137+01:00Stern Starship Troopers pinball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8RHNzBdNt6YAGxvwo9-DUXByGR3FRkm43A_6T-GFA6r_vs31KqghHwgivdjjXykpYn-OKvAMgBqsSlGv-zYQ_mQxqb-ycen1UljkMWrzF7pO78o_Q657-N2Wbb4jpnBAsJ17et3ZuL0/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY8RHNzBdNt6YAGxvwo9-DUXByGR3FRkm43A_6T-GFA6r_vs31KqghHwgivdjjXykpYn-OKvAMgBqsSlGv-zYQ_mQxqb-ycen1UljkMWrzF7pO78o_Q657-N2Wbb4jpnBAsJ17et3ZuL0/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Full disclosure: I am a Heinlein fan. R. Heinlein was a hard traditionalist and his, Hugo winning, novel reflects his ideas, but I do love military science fiction and I adored Starship Troopers. So, I was naturally attracted to the eponymous pinball table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiE9RrURBOtNE_ksV32cVdzlQHBFU0T8QzVArPfLUXo5WKGq4yJ-Bfm7DZB0Y9KBUjqs7aU9lGlc27oErFiDpD0gguaarJaQjK4bu209xAKCGpFhXYEOHxHHthHoz25ZmQe6LpLiESOMY/s1600/starstroop.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiE9RrURBOtNE_ksV32cVdzlQHBFU0T8QzVArPfLUXo5WKGq4yJ-Bfm7DZB0Y9KBUjqs7aU9lGlc27oErFiDpD0gguaarJaQjK4bu209xAKCGpFhXYEOHxHHthHoz25ZmQe6LpLiESOMY/s320/starstroop.png" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, the table can only vaguely reflect by the novel and since it lacks moving graphical elements (Zen, I am looking at you) one has to content oneself with just a few dispersed 2D and 3D Arachnids (the alien race that the troopers are battling).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's not a very sophisticated table and I did enjoy playing it. The extra right flipper must be activated by a special button which is not comfortable at all, but when one masters it (I don't) this can add to the players efficiency. As always the FarSight ball is next to invisible and since in the standalone Stern collection one cannot customise it the gameplay suffers. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyhow, the Stern pinballs have now been incorporated into the main FarSight line but I will continue commenting on the ones that were initially present in the, now defunct, Stern Pinball app.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-29362331518203356352018-11-04T17:32:00.001+01:002018-11-04T17:32:53.937+01:00FarSight Stern Star Trek pinball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzu3q8ISgbUMo7v7jzwrQpSv2Xk_jeoflG42V3t09cxyMzN7cQ2eEj39x7ESmUJGwp8iFV6lxRGqu_J-FjddLTb-3PP0b91uIU0xvGpOklwCtBCUWzMeXFhdaqsZhyvP5TPPnRyST_X0/s1600/ipad%252BphoneM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzu3q8ISgbUMo7v7jzwrQpSv2Xk_jeoflG42V3t09cxyMzN7cQ2eEj39x7ESmUJGwp8iFV6lxRGqu_J-FjddLTb-3PP0b91uIU0xvGpOklwCtBCUWzMeXFhdaqsZhyvP5TPPnRyST_X0/s400/ipad%252BphoneM.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By now all the Stern tables have been incorporated into the Pinball Arcade but since I have never reported on them, for good measure, I am going back and playing them. And while I am at this, I am playing the same tables on the Pinball Arcade just to see if there are differences. In fact, FarSight has always had different teams working on the various platforms, which explains the differences between the MacOS and iOS versions of the same table. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today I am writing about the Stern Star Trek table. The full title is Star Trek: Vengeance Premium, so as to avoid any confusion with the Williams Star Trek: The Next Generation one. Here is the Stern Arcade screenshot</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDvpE9jBdP5UkSIyUTtu6MOW6zwxRqRu3LTNkitxbQSeRoTvZSlSZQM6SWCERqopjqztltvDkKL3ThIux2-Ax5JT5034xCzCvcOfd7JVpjcvCWh48oVeWbjLXILVabYs-mhqtXroHGGo/s1600/startrekstern.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDvpE9jBdP5UkSIyUTtu6MOW6zwxRqRu3LTNkitxbQSeRoTvZSlSZQM6SWCERqopjqztltvDkKL3ThIux2-Ax5JT5034xCzCvcOfd7JVpjcvCWh48oVeWbjLXILVabYs-mhqtXroHGGo/s320/startrekstern.png" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and here is the Pinball Arcade one </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZGr42CtmRXdWBjHLh-ClKjJF-mghcwNSsYN2x4Dv-MrjKOXmfE4_0ayIjoxieCKirnYldwmOtanbGOk7id7m7YKe4q9guhOf1NJ14GrhY4jfOyXwSrsxbPf-aLAyEuwQ5estK5RIHXs/s1600/startreksternPA.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZGr42CtmRXdWBjHLh-ClKjJF-mghcwNSsYN2x4Dv-MrjKOXmfE4_0ayIjoxieCKirnYldwmOtanbGOk7id7m7YKe4q9guhOf1NJ14GrhY4jfOyXwSrsxbPf-aLAyEuwQ5estK5RIHXs/s320/startreksternPA.png" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">No big differences but the more sober Pinball Arcade background makes for better visibility. And, what is more, Pinball Arcade offers a choice of balls, something absent from the Stern Arcade. However, to be fair, given the table graphics, even the usually invisible standard ball manages to stay visible on this table.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did like the game: it is rather unsophisticated, but since the ball does not drain too easily one can really enjoy playing it. It's one of the few games remaining in the Pinball Arcade collection and if you haven't acquired it before the debacle you could give it a try.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-51787418602237252972018-10-20T17:43:00.003+02:002018-10-20T17:43:54.035+02:00Zen Pinball: the first Williams batch is here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSa06nu2Prj0oVMQQnmsiU4j1tbvkSbMzH5dTcUXFan_iMM-3U95g7XfPLR-HN8_6qYXIP8romJ8ii9O7XRiDUK-RanJvC1GK4GQgWo3nN9_MqSROeKA2I7owIE0TmLD6-0IYFLburCk/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPSa06nu2Prj0oVMQQnmsiU4j1tbvkSbMzH5dTcUXFan_iMM-3U95g7XfPLR-HN8_6qYXIP8romJ8ii9O7XRiDUK-RanJvC1GK4GQgWo3nN9_MqSROeKA2I7owIE0TmLD6-0IYFLburCk/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since last month, we have been waiting for the arrival of the Williams collection to Zen. Well, they are here. It took me some time to sit down to write my report but, you can believe me when I say that I got them the very first day they became available. Mind you, there is no iOS version of these tables: you have to play them on the Mac (which is not a bad choice, in particular when, like myself, you have a big screen). The four tables are </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fish Tales (a free table)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXNjHU_TEknxiFDlZ7SuTAJovQuBPFedeWhsJtd11G2mxW-pa_Neuiz23b0GQ_JUBgaCMFLYop3dh7Hn1y7Nf1nbbMShjKUtldvAPLRRS6GvxPjlIEoHF_EUCz7wUKTMXYFtDI8vco9c/s1600/fisht.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXNjHU_TEknxiFDlZ7SuTAJovQuBPFedeWhsJtd11G2mxW-pa_Neuiz23b0GQ_JUBgaCMFLYop3dh7Hn1y7Nf1nbbMShjKUtldvAPLRRS6GvxPjlIEoHF_EUCz7wUKTMXYFtDI8vco9c/s320/fisht.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Medieval Madness</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdo3UCpuQIsjUqD3LrOLTRkkro0jfFSN1mg8116nnYFOYP2ONcaderhxpUn8GMwHh12h66NYBDXZvSk6AppI0IyA-EJn1FrYAJUQIsU-s0MQ_oOpCBl77fn0h5vISXR6QHfRADLiiVvg/s1600/medmad.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTdo3UCpuQIsjUqD3LrOLTRkkro0jfFSN1mg8116nnYFOYP2ONcaderhxpUn8GMwHh12h66NYBDXZvSk6AppI0IyA-EJn1FrYAJUQIsU-s0MQ_oOpCBl77fn0h5vISXR6QHfRADLiiVvg/s320/medmad.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Getaway</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_K85dhbOKtIYjL1l-ABXtx9CqKXgXf0xZo0O0Y3Um0pxH52FWk5TCLzzmrgCj8xYBXDBR0fl5NxmAuVoVcpSx6VmOzSeDRuv8vpqfphpPRNmcXn9H6zdaQdtuSOrv6RdRd57dh3abF-g/s1600/geta.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_K85dhbOKtIYjL1l-ABXtx9CqKXgXf0xZo0O0Y3Um0pxH52FWk5TCLzzmrgCj8xYBXDBR0fl5NxmAuVoVcpSx6VmOzSeDRuv8vpqfphpPRNmcXn9H6zdaQdtuSOrv6RdRd57dh3abF-g/s320/geta.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Junk yard</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMauygKQaeyoG2lfPrLa8QL6ZBUAjpigWqXe9gVhs2A-0llU8jY3ZPURhY7Zq1aL6W1A9ygwVbEVrlyVx4oxhoIJYRJiO0FVvujSaIlmCcbYhUMGF0FIo8_tAYO2w13NF5_gjbCml7Io/s1600/junk.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxMauygKQaeyoG2lfPrLa8QL6ZBUAjpigWqXe9gVhs2A-0llU8jY3ZPURhY7Zq1aL6W1A9ygwVbEVrlyVx4oxhoIJYRJiO0FVvujSaIlmCcbYhUMGF0FIo8_tAYO2w13NF5_gjbCml7Io/s320/junk.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They exist in two versions, a classic one and "remastered" which includes the usual Zen effects: 3D interactive characters, ball trailer effects, particle effects etc. I played both and I must admit that this time Zen got it right. The remastered version is more fun than the classical one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The price of the non-free tables is also very light: just 3.5 euros. This means that there is no extra charge for the Williams license (but then I suppose that Zen had to pay a license for all the previous, movie-themed, tables and they were offered at the same price as well).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just for curiosity, I compared the FarSight JunkYard table to that of Zen. Here is the screenshot of the Pinball Arcade table. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMAvqyGmlM6R5GCd5Ww5s5kkbILuDgSCOQqbwbdymKggpDF8TJR178NrFMvI7OLKBf8W0ywomQt_q9TEmGFoEOdFA_H_x9fAUsJMBjyt-3cRPnJA646GHmQG4BybPxiweBNYgc-No7oQ/s1600/FS-junk.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMAvqyGmlM6R5GCd5Ww5s5kkbILuDgSCOQqbwbdymKggpDF8TJR178NrFMvI7OLKBf8W0ywomQt_q9TEmGFoEOdFA_H_x9fAUsJMBjyt-3cRPnJA646GHmQG4BybPxiweBNYgc-No7oQ/s320/FS-junk.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is no big difference graphically but then there is the ball thing. Frankly when I first looked at the FarSight version I thought that I had missed the ball in my screenshot. Even if that were the only reason, I would still favour the Zen version over that of FarSight. </span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-37303145009062430362018-10-07T18:48:00.000+02:002018-10-08T23:22:31.404+02:00Farsight's new tables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pinball Arcade is alive and well. After having lost the major part of their table library they continue producing new tables based on Stern and Gottlieb pinballs. Of course the "season" structure is now irretrievably lost and a visit to the Pinball Aracde table page reveals the follwoing:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6uGgHLUM60voQnAob3vFQY2qMnVg1yidkc5NAX8KOmxyWEKVVUOuJz3oa2fgrBBUW3yt1T-v0-D6ytUfM0DFJtEGK29idf_8jFyIIiBISEJb3Y8M1G8I3MzaUjLBn4bwJxKLNV-eXtY/s1600/farsighttables.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf6uGgHLUM60voQnAob3vFQY2qMnVg1yidkc5NAX8KOmxyWEKVVUOuJz3oa2fgrBBUW3yt1T-v0-D6ytUfM0DFJtEGK29idf_8jFyIIiBISEJb3Y8M1G8I3MzaUjLBn4bwJxKLNV-eXtY/s320/farsighttables.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(One wonders where are the Stern tables). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyhow, version 8.0 of PA is here and it's a bad surprise, since it does require iOS 10. I cannot fathom why the FarSight programmers are doing this (ny guess: pure laziness). For myself this means that I can run the new version only on my most recent iPad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now to the new tables. The first one is Big Buck Hunter</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifGG1cT3BQzRDfVbVJFTSQlBwif-cnNZbjramzabkSTrOE8KhnR-bblPykLxv3AjIW-RdAWn5d8Z9RNI4reoZazSOtP2CN6lx_4OAT0OtnSfv1InJhrnq9IwFZ_kFU49pPxG_XfurMSQ/s1600/buck.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifGG1cT3BQzRDfVbVJFTSQlBwif-cnNZbjramzabkSTrOE8KhnR-bblPykLxv3AjIW-RdAWn5d8Z9RNI4reoZazSOtP2CN6lx_4OAT0OtnSfv1InJhrnq9IwFZ_kFU49pPxG_XfurMSQ/s320/buck.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The graphics are good and the ball is visible at all times (provide one chooses the appropriate colour) but I find the gameplay uninteresting. On the other hand, the second table Whoa Nellie </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqImaSeV0zOam9qGUJtbxQcttohLyhkIT57evidRRk3izt0PHyc0J5TMN4zEiHS2mbIB04JS72wmPgohVtTbwq6RGrg2kLouGXRxHCQFnU4wK1M-PdeyUEpyTDvgPNBDUXzqV7B84KCw/s1600/nellie.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggqImaSeV0zOam9qGUJtbxQcttohLyhkIT57evidRRk3izt0PHyc0J5TMN4zEiHS2mbIB04JS72wmPgohVtTbwq6RGrg2kLouGXRxHCQFnU4wK1M-PdeyUEpyTDvgPNBDUXzqV7B84KCw/s320/nellie.png" width="240" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">is a beauty. As you have by now noticed, I am a fan of oldies and Whoa Nellie, although a 2015 creation, is an oldie-looking pinball. It's a watermelon themed table with great graphics. I would have preferred a whole-black ball instead of the 8-ball one but you cannot have everything. In any case I greatly enjoyed playing it (with only one regret: you do not get a bonus at the end of each ball; once a ball drains that's it).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So, while we wait for the Zen release it is not a bad idea to give a try to the new FarSight pinballs.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-11313980128793380792018-10-01T09:02:00.000+02:002018-10-01T09:02:43.116+02:00Williams pinballs are coming to Zen<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3dIDwGdNWXDDr763ZyvY2_cogTpksmK3jPxVvCh9EtwR4IgQqAoQb1neMTszCP8CuG5s2IWD56kLJOJHVA1g5tmIIfiprMEf3Jbb1zkejvIocssFIytUoivMy48efK8a7quLhhx0qrE/s1600/imac2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3dIDwGdNWXDDr763ZyvY2_cogTpksmK3jPxVvCh9EtwR4IgQqAoQb1neMTszCP8CuG5s2IWD56kLJOJHVA1g5tmIIfiprMEf3Jbb1zkejvIocssFIytUoivMy48efK8a7quLhhx0qrE/s400/imac2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's a fact: Williams pinballs are coming to the Mac, remastered by Zen Studios. A first pack will be available on October 9th. For the time being no iOS version is announced so we'll have to content ourselves with the Mac version. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmKBwAKxT5Vw0QfR0L6FEXwUdSUqlYjz5tPBqd7ehqvk8cVyPFZW4ksM1EYVAuM3SL4zFvkKO4scuw9QlYmNQXftBwnG-tUz9NSZi7b2P_cwDnYTyHqvCM74OFw_5m3Ekd14yNYw9jd8/s1600/williams-zen.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdmKBwAKxT5Vw0QfR0L6FEXwUdSUqlYjz5tPBqd7ehqvk8cVyPFZW4ksM1EYVAuM3SL4zFvkKO4scuw9QlYmNQXftBwnG-tUz9NSZi7b2P_cwDnYTyHqvCM74OFw_5m3Ekd14yNYw9jd8/s320/williams-zen.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first pack will include Medieval Madness, Junk Yard, The Getaway and Fish Tales (the last being a free table). The price is a quite reasonable 10 €, so there is no reason to hold back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">According to the initial Zen announcement there will be two versions of the tables. A classic one and one with the geegaws of Zen: interactive characters, side wall art, ball trailer effects, particle effects etc. I'll certainly give the latter a try but I will, most probably, focus on the classic versions. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It goes without saying that I will report on these tables as soon as I get my hands on them.</span><br />
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-32093453069768468672018-09-23T09:23:00.001+02:002018-09-23T09:23:35.590+02:00While we wait for Williams/Bally pinballs<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCbCdev8u5Wl8jKRjkns9x2DRWsB1MXz6iM3jc1owuMRF6OB5UGSEVXkjEnWpecS4dQkzINUT4KYmXL1UyDJeil_crvqIBc5AnfZLIev06x7Xo40O3lnUPfZLfLecGZ4j-7p4Jj0VtRo/s1600/idevices2M.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjCbCdev8u5Wl8jKRjkns9x2DRWsB1MXz6iM3jc1owuMRF6OB5UGSEVXkjEnWpecS4dQkzINUT4KYmXL1UyDJeil_crvqIBc5AnfZLIev06x7Xo40O3lnUPfZLfLecGZ4j-7p4Jj0VtRo/s400/idevices2M.png" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Zen Studios released one more Star Wars themed table collection. Is this infatuation with Star Wars real? Am I missing something?. Anyhow three new Zen pinball tables are here and as always they look great. They are Solo</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8IQiuHmn7qqT6oqm-9pbVn8uyySKP5m_P6ugZUcMG5dcgsmaRgwclsGUrA7ao5kpdUnzqUdmbROtIh3HsqZnNcqiwQCO5HCWNGjecufzVCOsdTPZehWpM0kp3MrLY9S9IZ6LNnt6ayk/s1600/solo.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8IQiuHmn7qqT6oqm-9pbVn8uyySKP5m_P6ugZUcMG5dcgsmaRgwclsGUrA7ao5kpdUnzqUdmbROtIh3HsqZnNcqiwQCO5HCWNGjecufzVCOsdTPZehWpM0kp3MrLY9S9IZ6LNnt6ayk/s320/solo.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carlissian Chronicles</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxbwoxXmTm67D0YwWpmSAGqecHwCHYTR-qFA8ACCKlUxvZUa3SOcsGOdMlDWFO8t6sfIGEfACPeFCvt-Rzsi9xsJ-3H-aqObxxx11rWdtBPmeSLYozXmDq2sYSlTfIFqytxKw5t8JPk8/s1600/carlissian.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxbwoxXmTm67D0YwWpmSAGqecHwCHYTR-qFA8ACCKlUxvZUa3SOcsGOdMlDWFO8t6sfIGEfACPeFCvt-Rzsi9xsJ-3H-aqObxxx11rWdtBPmeSLYozXmDq2sYSlTfIFqytxKw5t8JPk8/s320/carlissian.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and Battle of Mimban</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwlH7vbyzZtYSfBISZOOfZ36E6T4HwyLpD5VHkBMyXZ3x2zgqLuBpeIf6ipAWF54mOFSo7caieOlQ7a2OmFsMQBpwjiWayHnRnLRJgtMuqVD5V-8tDfsHaxszkm_P7oXS6uAc5uVT8M4/s1600/mimban.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwlH7vbyzZtYSfBISZOOfZ36E6T4HwyLpD5VHkBMyXZ3x2zgqLuBpeIf6ipAWF54mOFSo7caieOlQ7a2OmFsMQBpwjiWayHnRnLRJgtMuqVD5V-8tDfsHaxszkm_P7oXS6uAc5uVT8M4/s320/mimban.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have tried all three tables and, as always, I do appreciate the Zen pinballs' physics. The ball does not drain too easily and moreover, although silver coloured, it remains visible at all times. Fortunately there are no excessive animations disrupting the game. Did I like the three tables? Well not really. Solo is not bad but all in all the gameplay is not exciting. I did not like Carlissian at all. On second thought if I had to choose one table that would be Mimban: I did like the graphics of a devastated battlefield. It's the game I did spent the most time on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As always, if you are a Star Wars fan, go for them. If you aren't, just wait for the first Williams batch by Zen.</span></div>
Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352121158026308384.post-20851496652980869022018-09-05T22:45:00.001+02:002018-09-05T22:45:57.684+02:00And now for some really good news<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I heard about this from my friend Marco. He is one of the faithful followrs of my blog and he chimed in with the good news. The Williams-Bally collection is coming to Zen Pinball. In fact, there is an announcement on the Zen Studios page.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8Dx99wKS2vYXsHqSIJVP11XZbA5G_RPt4-wZsBS5lAnXZkvqKHccQM2K_TyfP6j3HuYaqSu6OIUBeIhdnZLvLDp_nU1LHgYvI4nn4q28JI2VAMg02SRM1gOGAW9DtW_nRCNHRKlinxw/s1600/williamsZen.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8Dx99wKS2vYXsHqSIJVP11XZbA5G_RPt4-wZsBS5lAnXZkvqKHccQM2K_TyfP6j3HuYaqSu6OIUBeIhdnZLvLDp_nU1LHgYvI4nn4q28JI2VAMg02SRM1gOGAW9DtW_nRCNHRKlinxw/s320/williamsZen.jpeg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, now we know why FarSight lost the contract with Williams-Bally. A collaboration of the latter with Zen Studios was in the works.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have, for years, been criticizing FarSight, essentially on points which had more to do with presentation and esthetics. But these are the points where Zen Studios excel. So we can expect tables of very high quality based on the classics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the other hand this change means that we'll have to buy the tables once more. But, hey, when one loves pinball this is but a small sacrifice.</span></div>
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Vasilis Grammaticoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06942584702198342388noreply@blogger.com4