Universal Zen Pinball - by Zen Studios

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by Sun Vulcan, Nov 30, 2011.

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Which of the first three tables do you prefer? (only vote if you've played all three)

  1. Sorcerer's Lair

    48.0%
  2. Wolverine

    23.0%
  3. Captain America

    16.4%
  4. Don't like any of them

    12.5%
  1. Habakuk

    Habakuk Well-Known Member

    Yes. The display is important. There are hints on how to play the mini games and much more. But it's hard to read because the text will vanish soon, the matrix isn't very clear and there is always the danger that the balls comes back without notice.

    My advice: Play hotseat mode with a buddy, let him play and do nothing but watching the display. Or shoot a video of the panel. :)
     
  2. GordLacey

    GordLacey Well-Known Member

    Nov 18, 2009
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    If you have "Arcade Effects" on (the default), you'll see a trail behind the ball, but also the various points you get for whatever action appear on the table as you get them. Turn them off and it's just a silver ball bouncing around; no trail, and no points appearing.

    On the PS3 I'll turn the arcade effects on for a new table because it's easier to see when you get big points for something (wow, 10 million for that?! Okay, make note of it), but then I turn it off so I can enjoy the table more.
     
  3. LordGek

    LordGek Well-Known Member
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Feb 19, 2009
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    Software QA Engineer
    Saratoga, CA, USA
    Oh, duh, thanks. :rolleyes:
     
  4. jeffy777

    jeffy777 Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2010
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    Yup, but with it on the Captain America table is not smooth at all on my iPad 1, so it's worth it for me to turn it off. Sorcerer's Lair isn't as bad though.

    Once you get to know the tables, you don't rely on the DMD screen as much, although I'd love to be able to have it on all the time (please give us an optimization update, Zen).
     
  5. soldat7

    soldat7 Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2011
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    Disappointing compared to Pinball HD. Let's hope for an updated engine and at least some better camera work.
     
  6. jeffy777

    jeffy777 Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2010
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    #106 jeffy777, Dec 2, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2011
    Zen's tables and physics are way better than Pinball HD, IMO, and there are tons of camera options for both landscape and portrait. I just wish it ran as smooth as Pinball HD on iPad 1 in terms of framerate.
     
  7. soldat7

    soldat7 Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2011
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    Tables? Debatable. Physics? Sure. But the camera is just bad (all of them) compared to Pinball HD and the aliasing is terrible. The assets are also low res and the framerate is garbage.

    They can fix these things, though. Hopefully.
     
  8. jeffy777

    jeffy777 Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2010
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    #108 jeffy777, Dec 2, 2011
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2011
    Yeah, the tables are debatable, but I think the majority disagree with you based on the comments and reviews so far. I like the camera angles too, but that's personal preference as well. I do agree that they definitely need to optimize the performance (for now, turning off he DMD makes a big difference as a workaround, though it's not ideal).
     
  9. Misguided

    Misguided Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    no, but the whole thing seems less snappy since I upgraded, so it may not be the app. Regardless, turning off arcade effects I'd help.
     
  10. gunxsword

    gunxsword Well-Known Member

    Dec 24, 2010
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    I feel the pinball is a bit too light and bouncy, esp on the flippers.
     
  11. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    No such thing as aliasing when you're rockin' a retina display :)

    As I said before, the frame rate on Sorcerer's Lair is brilliant for me, but I haven't yet plucked up the courage to try another table. What orientation/view are people playing with anyway? I'm torn between portrait with view 6 and landscape with view 5.
     
  12. Tesep

    Tesep Member

    Nov 11, 2011
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    I play in landscape with view 5 which is the best view for me.

    Framerate is a smooth 60fps on my 4S but I do get the occasional stutter here and there on all 3 tables, but I still think its the best pinball game on appstore.

    There is one problem that I am having and that is tilting the device when I play in landscape. When I try to tilt, it usually will tilt but also flip the screen upside down which is really annoying on most of the missions, I basically have to play the game without using tilt :(

    I think the screen should not automatically flip, it should be locked and just have something in options menu to flip the screen whichever way you want.
     
  13. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    Can someone tell me how to play a certain mission? It all happened so fast I just failed instantly with no clue what I was supposed to be doing. All I noticed was the screen looked nothing like a pinball table and I was supposed to be rotating something?
     
  14. soldat7

    soldat7 Well-Known Member

    Jul 12, 2011
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    I'll fire it up on my iPod 4G, but it's no looker on the iPad 2.
     
  15. Tesep

    Tesep Member

    Nov 11, 2011
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    In the pause menu, there is a an explanation on how the table works but this video should explain it better :)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KPQ0Ef_ef0&feature=related

    This video taught me how to do the super skill shot
     
  16. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    Admittedly, some of the textures could be better, such as the bookshelf at the back, but I still think the game as a whole is quite good looking.

    Awesome, thanks :)
     
  17. your personal robot

    your personal robot Well-Known Member

    Nov 11, 2008
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    Berlin
    My favorite setting: Landscape in camera mode 3, fix but you have a 3D feeling and you get to see the whole table. My fixed fav now.
     
  18. jeffy777

    jeffy777 Well-Known Member

    Oct 31, 2010
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    That is a very good one. I like Camera 1 in landscape too.
     
  19. Misguided

    Misguided Well-Known Member

    Jan 27, 2009
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    Habakuk, have you played any really long balls on the Sorcerer's Lair table? I had a really long ball (20+ minutes?) several different multiball periods. During two periods of 3-way multi (one was midnight), the game slowed to a crawl.
     
  20. gunxsword

    gunxsword Well-Known Member

    Dec 24, 2010
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    Hey wait you can nudge the ball back from the outlane!? Is that possible on the other tables besides Sorcerer's Lair?
     

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