#pinball fx3

[trekwiz]

I guess I should be drunk when I play this more often. I nearly doubled my previous high score!

This is seriously my favorite pinball machine ever.

I was drinking brandy tonight.

[retrogamingloft]

Sorcerer's Lair is a highly popular pinball table featured in Pinball FX3, developed by Zen Studios. Included in the free download of Pinball FX3, it is celebrated for its engaging gameplay, fantasy-themed design, and intricate storyline. The table is set in a spooky, magical environment filled with enchanted forests, eerie mansions, and mystical creatures. Players follow the adventures of a brother and sister, Jake and Emma, who must escape the lair of a malevolent sorcerer named Ordrac. As players navigate the game, they encounter various characters and obstacles that enhance the immersive experience.

The table’s design is intricate, featuring multiple ramps, targets, and special features. Key elements include ramps and orbits for scoring points and progressing through missions, spinners and bumpers that add to the gameplay complexity, pop-up targets that require precision to hit, and a mini-playfield that adds an additional layer of challenge and variety. The table also includes various missions that advance the story, such as rescuing Jake from the attic, escaping the cellar, and battling the sorcerer.

At the beginning of each ball, players have the opportunity to score a skill shot by launching the ball with precise timing. Completing missions is a central part of the gameplay, often involving hitting specific targets or ramps in a particular order. Activating multiball modes can significantly increase scoring opportunities and add excitement to the gameplay. Completing all the missions leads to the Wizard Mode, a high-scoring mode that tests the player's skills and offers significant rewards.

I find this table atmospheric and visually appealing, with vibrant colors and detailed artwork that bring the magical theme to life. The animations and effects are smooth, adding to the immersion. Plus, the audio design complements the visual elements with an atmospheric soundtrack, sound effects, and voice-overs that enhance the storytelling. I also praise it for its engaging and accessible gameplay, making it a favorite among both novice and experienced pinball players. The combination of a compelling storyline, detailed design, and varied gameplay elements contributes to its popularity in the Pinball FX3 community.

Despite all this, I'm sorry to say that I find it… too much. They aimed to create something great, and they succeeded, but with fewer features, it could have been better. I’m not afraid to go against the grain. I believe that a pinball table should have a theme, a storyline, and missions and goals to accomplish, but it should remain a table, not become an interactive adventure. This isn't how I envision pinball. Otherwise, we're talking about a different genre entirely. Balance is crucial. I could have kept playing, but at some point, I naturally gave up. I was tired and, quite frankly, while I appreciated the table's beauty, I was bored. In any case, don't put too much stock in my words. This is just the opinion of an old gamer.

[pirateprincessjess]

Since you play pinball physically, thoughts on those virtual ones, like Pinball FX3 and anything by Zen Studios for their pinball endeavors

I generally love pinball video games! I collect old retro pinball games! As for the modern virtual pinball games Pinball FX and VisualPinballX are by far the best. I tend to prefer PinbllFX just cuz it’s easier to setup. VPX has better physics and is free but it’s a pain in the ass lol

[doom-nerdo-666]

Something i just remembered is the Bethesda Pinball which was either its own app or DLC for Pinball FX3 by Zen Studios.

Doom was featured in it and was mostly 2016 based though the score i think had Doomguy's classic face and Lost Souls (Some other graphics too i think like a certain skull texture).

The name "Bethesda Pinball" does seem off because it makes it sound like they came up with Doom and Fallout.

I guess some people forget Fallout wasn't always Bethesda but most still see Doom and id stuff as its own field.

This is kind of a follow up to what i said about Doom crossovers with Bethesda.

Can't believe i forgot to bring up that time in E3 2019 when some guys claimed credit for the creation of the FPS genre because they owned id.

Unless one brings up some early Bethesda games like those Terminator games but still.

[shogikappa]

My Top 10 digital pinball tables, June 2023

I’ve always been a fan of pinball, but my interest in it had been renewed after playing on the Beatles pinball machine in 2019. After getting tired of getting my ass handed to me by unfair mobile games, it was really refreshing to play games where my loss could only be blamed on my poor play, rather than the designer having calculated it all to make things hard for you so that you have to pay for microtransactions. In any case, I started looking for more pinball games after Flash was no longer supported and Pinball King and Funhouse Pinball (not the Rudy one) became defunct and I need newer pinball games to play. I’ve discovered lots of tables I’ve never played before and here are my top tables.

10. El Dorado (Zen Pinball) - Pinball FX3

Not to be confused with the more well-known pinball table of the same name by Gottlieb. Admittedly, El Dorado is kind of an acquired taste. It didn’t look very fun at first, but after playing it for a bit, I found it pretty fun, and I only really fell in love with it after immersing myself in the role of an Indiana Jones-style archaeologist, and you’re pretty much playing as one digging up treasures, deciphering ancient glyphs, avoiding traps, and collecting idols and poison remedies. As part of Zen’s older original tables, El Dorado is relatively easy in that it’s very easy to keep the ball in play for a long period of time, and the ball saver could be activated easily in the mobile version and on Pinball FX2, so I will say this table isn’t one that offers the most excitement when it comes to the thrill of risking losing your ball all the time as with many of the other tables here. The treasure-hunting theme and the minigames and toys however quite sold me, and the gameplay is fun too, but you might wanna give this game more goes and throw yourself into the role for better enjoyment.

9. Pin-bot

I first discovered Pin-bot via the NES adaptation of the game, but I was always frustrated that it added animated enemies that gobbled up your ball (making you lose it) and other enemies outright destroying your flipper. They probably thought that adding enemies not present on physical tables could spice up the experience, but it just makes me wish I was playing on the real machine instead. With pinball you already have very limited control - 2 flippers. With one or both of your flippers taken away by enemies or additional enemies that eat your ball, that’s a massive handicap and only serves to make me want to play the real table instead. The Moon cheese ball though is a nice touch.

Pin-bot has been recreated for Visual Pinball and is on PSP as part of the Williams Collection. There was also an OK port of it for the Pinball Arcade on mobiles. The game is pretty straight-forward: You want to give Pinbot eyes and score jackpot, and try to reach the Sun as you move around the Solar System. The game is relatively simple to learn and is quite fun for what it is, although it does lack some of the features and presentations present in the more exciting pinball tables from the 90s.

8. Who Dunnit

Who Dunnit has been ported to Visual Pinball, and used to be available on the Pinball Arcade for mobile. Here you play as a noir detective trying to gather clues and interrogating suspects to solve murders. This table incorporates a roulette portion, a slot machine, and essentially a sort of deduction minigame. I personally find it to be great fun. Solving murders would culminate to a climatic roof chase mode where you have to shoot a changing target within a relatively short time limit. It doesn’t have a whole lot of modes, but it packs a lot into a relatively simple-looking table.

7. Pinball Noir - Pinball FX

Another noir detective-themed table, this is a newer Zen original table and these are not plagued by the problem of being too easy to keep the ball in play that you could play for long periods easily without losing a ball that was common in Zen originals in El Dorado’s time. It seems that it’s going for a more modern full-colour display style too since it doesn’t seem to be basing the score display on DMDs. This monochrome-ish table’s got a lot of style, although it seems to me that where you’re supposed to shoot at any given time isn’t so obvious, as everything will just be lit. The voice acting is also a little poor, with the lead actor sounding way too try-hard to sound like a noir detective in a way that doesn’t sound natural. Nonetheless, this is a table I find myself coming back to again and again. It’s fun to shoot the mobsters and score jackpots after they’re down.

6. Curse of the Mummy - Pinball FX

Now this table doesn’t look like much at first, but there’s a lot going on here. I believe you play as archaeologists raiding the mummy’s tomb, although that doesn’t seem very explicit. There are lots of objectives to do here which physically change the layout a little, like building a bridge that connects the two upper playfields, and lighting torches in a maze which turns the centre waterfall into a passageway. Also helping the game is its Egyptian-sounding soundtrack, which seems to be something that’s missing from other Egypt-related games, surprisingly. Just to reiterate, don’t be deceived by the simple-looking layout. There’s a lot to do here.

5. Nautilus Remake - Zaccaria Pinball

I find this to be an outlier in Zaccaria Pinball, in a good way. Now most of the Remake and Deluxe tables in Zaccaria tend to be pretty easy. This table, although the same applies, has really good presentation. An update inspired by their 70s pinball table, this modernized take introduces multiball, ramps, modes, and a wizard mode into the mix while adding a nice soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re diving in the deep sea. I really love this table, although I wish it would ramp up the difficult to match those of the 90s Williams tables and make it so that it’s easier to drain the ball. As with other Zaccaria tables though, there’s no graze period. If you get down to 1 ball, multiball mode immediately ends and you won’t get a few seconds to score a jackpot like Williams tables tend to give you.

4. Whirlwind

Previously available on The Pinball Arcade, and also on the Williams Collection for PSP and on Visual Pinball, and recently made available for Pinball FX, I accidentally discovered this machine after confusing its name for the predecessor table of Hurricane (it turns out to be Cyclone, not Whirlwind). As part of the “natural disaster series” along with Earthshaker and later inspiring features found in the famous pinball table the Addams Family and the Twilight Zone, Hurricane has a very thematic use of its iconic spinners called “Whirlwind spinners” on Wikipedia (though the article strangely does not mention the Whirlwind table), which will cause the ball to be thrown off its trajectory. The physical table also has a fan mounted on top of the backglass which blows wind towards the player’s face when the storm is here (the spinners are spinning). The goofy “storm blaster” and wind from the backglass are also nice treats, and you could hear the wind telling you to “Feel the power of the wind”, a line which would be referenced again in the Addams Family and the Twilight Zone. Overall a very fun table with a very thematic use of spinners.

3. Cirqus Voltaire

At first I didn’t like the theme. Some kind of evil cirqus controlled by a green-faced ringmaster? It seems evil circuses are kind of an overdone trope. Now I will still say that the theme isn’t an especially appealing one, but it really makes up for it in gameplay. You’re trying to perform various acts in hopes of joining the circus, and over the course of the game, you’ll perform the various available acts. My favourite is the juggler, who actually juggles the balls around the juggler ball locks.

But the star of this table is really its wizard mode - what happens after you successfully finish all the marvels. Without wanting to spoil the ending, this is something you should definitely give a try. This table has one of the most climatic endings I’ve seen in a pinball game.

2. Twilight Zone

Available on Visual Pinball and recently for Pinball FX (there was also a super easy adaptation on the Pinball Arcade), Twilight Zone is one of the most well-known pinball tables and its prices are very high if you’re looking to get a machine. If you’re one of my friends, you probably already know I’m a big fan of the TV show, but this table boasts one of the most complex rulesets I had come across in a pinball game.

With a few features taken from the Addams Family and Whirlwind, the goal is to “unlock the door with the key of imagination”. Now I was thoroughly disappointed that on the physical table, the door doesn’t actually open. Pinball FX’s recreation rectifies this by opening the door every time a door panel is awarded. This table is also filled with unconventional features like a gumball machine that dispenses a lighter and faster ball sometimes, and “invisible” magnet flippers called magnaflips.

The Twilight Zone is usually very punishing for its residents... But sometimes, perhaps, just before you score the jackpot, the game will give you opportunities for easier shots... which in itself makes for something quite unexpected and fitting for its theme... of the Twilight Zone.

1. The Getaway: High Speed II

Released for Pinball FX/FX3 and also available on some other platforms (mobile, Visual Pinball, formerly the Pinball Arcade), The Getaway is the sequel table to High Speed. Now I was pretty happy with HS, but after playing the Getaway, it pretty much completely replaces the original HS.

You play as the owner of a sports car trying to pick up a beautiful hitchhiker and running the red light while outrunning a cop in pursuit. The most eye-catching feature is the metal ramp equipped with electromagnets that speed up the ball above the playfield, called the Supercharger (which is apparently something you put on cars to make them go fast). This table also boasts fast-paced gameplay with a matching fast-paced soundtrack (as opposed to HS) as your ball would need to be fast in order to make the necessary shots. This table is also probably the fastest-to-wizard mode table I’ve ever played, with me reaching wizard mode in under 3 minutes regularly. Loop shots are fun as you try to keep looping the ball around the orbits, gaining increasing points for each successive loop. A little gimmick this table has its that in order to move to the next mode, you need to press the launch button, meaning you pretty much have to take your hand away from a flipper button, although it’s considerably easier to do on digital recreations when all you have to do is to press Enter when your flipper key is the right shift.

Overall a very exciting table just due to the fast action it delivers, making it my favourite table, along with Twilight Zone.

Conclusion

These are my personal top pinball tables. I do realize tables like the Addams Family and Medieval Madness are among the most popular tables, but they just don’t resonate with me as well as these ones here, and I wanted to include games other than ones found in Pinball FX’s Williams tables and Zaccaria Pinball here as well for some diversity, hence Pin-bot making it into the top 10s.

[smlpodcast]

The SML Podcast - Episode 980: Cat Quest!

Download Episode 980 --

It's time to talk Cats and Quests as Desmond Wong of The Gentlebros joins this episode of SML!

The show kicks off with Bri Galgano, Jacob Garner, and Aki all on hand to welcome Desmond Wong of The Gentlebros to the show to chat all about their latest game Cat Quest III! We chat about the history of the series, new features for the game, future update plans for the game, and tons more! Plus find out what Desmond is playing and looking forward to and maybe even hear about some hidden secrets of the game!

After Desmond heads out, it's news of the week with the latest additions and departures for Xbox Game Pass, an official delay for Avowed, Pinball FX3 losing their Balls of Glory, Star Wars Jedi Survivor going last gen, and more! We also talk about the sad ending for Game Informer after 33 years. GameStop did them dirty for sure. Plus reviews!

0:00 - Intro/Cat Quest Interview 50:11 - News 1:14:19 - Star Wars: Bounty Hunter - Aspyr (Jacob) 1:21:15 - Cat Quest III - The Gentlebros, Kepler Interactive (Bri/Aki/Jacob) 1:32:12 - Aero the Acro-Bat - Shinyuden, SUNSOFT, Ratalaika Games (Jacob) 1:38:45 - Creatures of Ava - Inverge Studios, Chibig Studio, 11 bit studios (Aki) 1:46:42 - Honeyland - Caio Flavio, Afil Games (Jacob/Bri) 1:50:42 - I Want to Go to Mars - Bin Chicken Studios, Sometimes You (Jacob/Bri)

The show ends with a banger from Cat Quest III by composer zminusone!

2:00:14 - zminusone - Meowtallika (Cat Quest III)

https://www.thegentlebros.com/ https://www.kepler-interactive.com/ https://www.aspyr.com/ https://www.shinyuden.com/ https://www.ratalaikagames.com/ https://invergestudios.com/ https://linktr.ee/chibig https://11bitstudios.com/ https://www.caioflavio.com/ https://afilgames.com/ https://www.binchicken.info/ https://www.sometimesyou.com/ https://zminusone.bandcamp.com/ https://www.keymailer.co/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-sml-podcast/id826998112 https://open.spotify.com/show/6KQpzHeLsoyVy6Ln2ebNwK https://twitter.com/theSMLpodcast/ https://www.facebook.com/theSMLpodcast/ https://store.streamelements.com/thesmlpodcast ALL REVIEWED GAMES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED FOR FREE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANY COVERAGE ON THE SHOW

[fubenalvo87]

Pinball FX3

[gameforestdach]

Pinball FX, entwickelt von Zen Studios, erweitert seine Sammlung um drei neue Tische, die von beliebten NBCUniversal TV-Shows inspiriert sind. Damit wird eine Prise Nostalgie und aufregendes Gameplay für Fans und Spieler gleichermaßen geboten. Mit der Aufnahme von Knight Rider, Xena: Warrior Princess und Battlestar Galactica erweitert die digitale Flipperplattform ihre umfangreiche Bibliothek und bietet ein immersives Flippererlebnis, das klassische Unterhaltung mit moderner Spielttechnologie verbrückt. Einführung von drei neuen Tischen, basierend auf klassischen NBCUniversal TV-Shows. Kostenloser Download von Pinball FX auf verschiedenen Plattformen mit der Option, neue Tische zu erwerben. Eine detaillierte Erkundung der kommenden Tische und der innovativen Funktionen von Pinball FX. Erweiterung des Universums mit klassischen TV-Show-Tischen Pinball FX, bekannt für seine detailreichen und optisch ansprechenden digitalen Flipper-Tische, bietet seinen Spielern mit der Einführung von Tischen, die von klassischen NBCUniversal TV-Shows inspiriert sind, weiteren Inhalt. Jeder Tisch ist darauf ausgelegt, das Wesen und die Aufregung der jeweiligen Show einzufangen und bietet Fans eine einzigartige Möglichkeit, sich mit ihren Lieblingsserien zu beschäftigen. https://youtu.be/RWNiLU59cL4 Unter den erwarteten Veröffentlichungen können Spieler sich darauf freuen, mit dem Knight Rider-Tisch die Abenteuer von Michael Knight zu navigieren, den Kriegergeist mit Xena: Warrior Princess zu umarmen und das Weltall in Battlestar Galactica zu erkunden. Diese Zusätze sind ein Beleg für das Engagement von Zen Studios, ikonische Momente aus der Unterhaltungsgeschichte in die Welt des Flipperspiels zu bringen. Pinball FX: Ein Hub für Flipper-Enthusiasten Pinball FX sticht nicht nur durch seine vielfältigen Tischthemen hervor, sondern auch durch seine Zugänglichkeit und Tiefe. Die Plattform ist kostenlos auf mehreren Geräten verfügbar, einschließlich Steam, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch und dem Epic Games Store. Neue Spieler werden mit einem kostenlosen 1-Tages-Pinball-Pass begrüßt, der Zugang zu einer breiten Auswahl an Tischen gewährt. Die Bibliothek des Spiels umfasst über 40 einzigartige und visuell verbesserte Tische, mit Kollaborationen mit großen Franchises wie Indiana Jones, Star Wars und Universal Studios. Zen Studios erweitert seine Sammlung kontinuierlich, sodass immer etwas Neues für die Spieler zu entdecken gibt. Der Pinball-Pass: Unbegrenzter Zugang zum digitalen Flipper Der Pinball-Pass ist ein Abonnement-Service, angeboten von Pinball FX, der darauf ausgelegt ist, Spielern einfachen Zugang zur umfangreichen Bibliothek des Spiels zu bieten. VerfügbaPinball-Münzen ein, eine neue Spielwährung, die die Art und Weise, wie Inhalte zugegriffen und genossen werden, verbessert. Trotz der Entwicklung von Pinball FX3 zu Pinball FX versichern die Zen Studios den Spielern, dass die Legacy-Tische mit Hilfe der Unreal Engine akribisch neu gemastert wurden, und versprechen ein unvergleichliches Flippererlebnis mit Pro-Physik und hochwertigen Visuals an jedem Tisch. Ausblick Mit dem kontinuierlichen Wachstum seiner Tischbibliothek und der Einführung von Funktionen wie dem Pinball-Pass und Pro-Physik, behauptet sich Pinball FX als führende digitale Flipperplattform. Die bevorstehenden NBCUniversal TV-Show-Tische werden von Fans heiß erwartet und versprechen, nostalgische Inhalte mit modernem Gameplay zu verbinden. Für diejenigen, die tiefer in die Gaming-Welt eintauchen möchten, verpasst nicht unsere Erkundung von Season 3 bei Modern Warfare III und Warzone, die Einblicke in die neuesten Updates und Funktionen bietet, die weiterhin die Landschaft der Online-Multiplayer-Spiele formen. Klassiker in die digitale Flipper-Arena bringen Während Pinball FX sich darauf vorbereitet, die Tische von Knight Rider, Xena: Warrior Princess und Battlestar Galactica willkommen zu heißen, sind Spieler eingeladen, diese klassischen Serien in einem ganz neuen Licht zu erleben.

Durch innovatives Gameplay und immersive Tischdesigns schlägt Zen Studios eine Brücke zwischen klassischem Fernsehen und digitalem Gaming und bietet ein fesselndes Erlebnis für Fans, alt und neu. Video Games Chronicle Zen Studios Ltd. Pinball FX FAQ – Zen Studios

[smbhax]

Trying the rebooted Pinball FX on PS4--starting with a comparison with Pinball FX3 on PS4, the previous PFX version, then trying my fave table Monster Bash and stinking at it even worse than usual for a long time--although this was now on the new Pro mode! And also checking out most of the other Williams tables even though my free first 24 hours "Pinball Pass" expired after a bit so I could only play them for 2 minutes at a time.

[trekwiz]

This was my favorite pinball machine as a kid. (Followed closely by Star Wars Episode 1--tripping Jar Jar was always fun.) Playing with a controller on Pinball FX3 isn't quite the same, but I'm glad I can play it again at all.

The actual pinball machine costs around $14,000, which is pretty much impossible for me to ever own. So this will do.

[chrisbakerpr]

I arranged for -- and wrote -- this Xbox Wire blog entry for the release of Jurassic World Pinball. 

[fridaypacific]

Weekly Wrap Up

Tabletop & video-games:

Peggle 2 for PS4 / Pinball FX3 for PS4

Manga, manhwa, graphic novels, comic-strips, fic & books:

Linha do Trem @ linhadotrem no Twitter

Podcasts, playlists, JAMS, EPs & albuns:

Pico dos Marins: O Caso do Escoteiro Marco Aurélio 7. O barco da vida

TVshows, TVseries & movies:

Better Call Saul / The Bear/ Samurai Jack

BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (2022) / The Martha Mitchell Effect (2022) / You people (2022) / The Third man (1949) / Macbeth (1948)

[pirateprincessjess]

Had to come here immediately cause I was playing Fallout Shelter, one of the rooms you can add to the vault is a game room, and it has a "pipball" machine, and I thought "you know who would have a laugh with this? Jess"

Hah! I really like That! Fallout pinna would rule tbh! I adore the fallout themed pinball game in pin fx3

[webshootersandwingdings]

X-Men Pinball

[elgaberino-mcoc]

Series: Characters Not Yet on the Wishlist Nor in a Tournament

Hannibal King

- Midnight Sons, Nightstalkers, Defenders - Blade movies (Ryan Reyolds played him) - Private eye, vampire, vampire hunter - Guns, regen, vampire powers - Signature is willpower, restraint - Video games: Pinball FX3 Marvel Original Pack

Bio: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Hannibal_King_(Disambiguation)