Tron Pinball feedback?

[cadillacman]

They had the TRON theme to work with and that is the pinball game they came up with?
It looks like they went as cheap as possible on design. They just took a basic pinball game and threw in some photos of the movie and sent it out. What a let down... I am a huge tron fan and this Tron Pinball is disappointing.

I can do this too; just buy an old pinball machine and glue on some tron photos. Pfft.

once i had found out how simplistic it was, i was int he same boat. No way id pay $5k for that basic machine..

 

[sosage]

I dunno, Iron Man seems pretty easy, I don't really ever have a bad game on that......Avatar is nowhere near as random and that game is MUCH slower because the activity on the playfield can be controlled.

Totally agree. The trick seems to be to keep the ball out of the in/out lanes as much as possible. That area is bad in general in pinball, but they really designed/tweaked the post placement over there so if you wind up on the outside of the slingshot you'll be lucky NOT to drain. If you can work out bump strategies to help control that situation (without tilting of course), the game becomes much easier. Unfortunately, that's when the game also becomes a little shallow.

Big Buck Hunter surprised me. I don't remember much since I played it at CAX last year, but I remember going in with low expectations and walking away enjoying what I had experienced. Ball times were longer than IM for sure.

 

[Mike Doyle]

I'm okay with *some* of this artwork, just thought this was a bad choice for the backglass:

 

[DreamTR]

I can't stop playing this Tron pinball. Bad idea to get one when we're trying to open a new arcade in a week, LOL

 

[More Cowbell]

I can't stop playing this Tron pinball. Bad idea to get one when we're trying to open a new arcade in a week, LOL

Wait, you're having fun with it? Don't the lack of hand painted images and the uninspired lack of completely reinventing pinball making it an effort to even look at it? I mean, it should have a 3d lcd screen and anti-gravity ramps. There's no way it could be a decent game without these things. That's unpossible.

 

[DreamTR]

Wait, you're having fun with it? Don't the lack of hand painted images and the uninspired lack of completely reinventing pinball making it an effort to even look at it? I mean, it should have a 3d lcd screen and anti-gravity ramps. There's no way it could be a decent game without these things. That's unpossible.

Yeah, something must be wrong with me =)

I think I saw enough crazy from people where I just had to shake my head. It's hard NOT to like this game if you are into pinball and fast paced games....and especially the theme...they did a very nice job with this game

 

[More Cowbell]

Yeah, something must be wrong with me =)

I think I saw enough crazy from people where I just had to shake my head. It's hard NOT to like this game if you are into pinball and fast paced games....and especially the theme...they did a very nice job with this game

Haters gonna hate. I can't wait to get my hands on it to actually play. The theme is perfect, it looks cool as hell (especially the LE), and from the sounds of it and the layout, it plays well. It's a win all the way around.

 

[RedWolfJC]

So it sounds like these won't be showing up by the hundreds at every Superauction and on every craigslist across the country in the next year or so for pennies on the dollar?
Damn it. I was hoping to get one cheap

 

[DreamTR]

I think people are nuts for hating on it. Shrug.

 

[LeeB99]

So, does this mean that you got the LE model in? If so, please tell me your thoughts. Is it MUCH better/different than the regular "pro" model? I have been trying to determine if the extra expense is worth it. It's nearly TWO THOUSAND more dollars!

Lee

 

[DreamTR]

No, we bought the Pro one from Bumpernets for location play, and the LE one we don't have yet for Rob's house, but as soon as it comes in we will talk about it...

 

[sosage]

criticism /= hating

I can't speak for people that just toss out "it sucks" and leaves the conversation.

 

[HFK]

I got to play Tron at a friend's house this past week and I like it, I really like it. The game is just great and the music is awesome, got to have it turned up. It really gets intense during multi-ball and it is a fast game.

I have had the chance to play all the new Stern games the past 2 years and for me it would be between Iron Man and Tron with the win going to Tron. I had so much fun playing it I can't wait for more.

 

[Hyde]

]

AFAIK, it goes like this...

Licensor sends over a style guide. Style guide has colors, images, fonts, etc. that are acceptable for usage. Example layouts, etc. Some are hi-res, some are not. Designer can't deviate too far or at all from the style guide. Designer realizes some images that were supplied will work, and some will not. Designer follows style guide and doesn't get too far from the source material. Designer's hands are to a degree, tied. Designer can try to get outrageous and take chances with the material but more often than not you end up right back at the style guide. THE END.

Wiliams back in the day was doing some bad ass stuff. It's actually mind blowing to think about. They didn't really follow what today would be considered a style guide. They were creating ORIGINAL art from scratch. Sure they followed some guidelines and had to get approvals. BUT, they were creating this art and paintings from fucking scratch. THAT'S NUTS. HOWEVER, they had to do it that way. They were silk screening everything. That's really sick and amazing compared to all the cookie cutter licensed products on the shelves these days. Stern's pins, right now, are being designed no differently than a box of Dora cookies on a grocery store shelf. The licensor gives them fonts, colors, images, etc. They choose how to arrange it. That's it. They are moving pictures around. Williams was actually creating original art for their pins. From scratch. HOWEVER, Stern has done some pins with original art. Look at The Simpson's Pinball Party. That's all original art created for that pin. That's not clippings from episodes. It's original art that was made specifically for the pin. I think Family Guy is the same. But, Avatar, Tron, etc. IS NOT. They simply used images/photographs they were given from the licensor and arranged it. So, it looks a little uninspired compared to all the other licensed products out there. Stern was probably given the same exact style guide that Spinmaster was given for the Toys. So, the look is consistent, but it also makes the pin seem less exciting/original. If Williams was still making pinballs today it's possible they would be taking the same approach. So, who knows.

Nice, thanks for the response! I definitely understand what you are saying regarding the difficulty in creating 100% original, screenprint-friendly artwork vs. digital composited artwork. There's definitely a lot more creativity and character to the art on those '80s pinball machines than there are on pinball machines today. That's not to say the art today is bad, (as I mentioned before, the artwork on Avatar is actually thought out very well) but perhaps you put it best as "uninspired."

But, it's not really like the folks at Stern had much of a choice. Like you mentioned, they had to follow a specific "style guide," with little to no super original designs. I don't necessarily think that is a bad thing, though - at least in this case with Avatar. If that pinball machine used the same 100% original, screenprinted graphics common with '80s games, I actually think most people would be too confused to play it. Pinball is already way of the mainstream, and most people are pretty reluctant to try it due to the intimidation factor. But since Stern used the widely recognized Avatar theme with widely recognized Avatar artwork, it may make it less imposing to the average casual arcade-goer.

So with Avatar, I think they made the right move. With Tron, however, it seems like they could have done a bit more. I don't really know, though. I'm not a pin guy.

 

[LeeB99]

No, we bought the Pro one from Bumpernets for location play, and the LE one we don't have yet for Rob's house, but as soon as it comes in we will talk about it...

Did you get the last one that they had in stock, or was the other one still there? Homer was quoting $4,495 on them the day of the tournament, so that makes it a LOT easier pill to swallow for a location than the LE. I have also found out why there has been a discrepancy between the pricing on the LE's. As best I can tell, ALL of the serial number 51 through 400 limited editions have been pre-sold. This only leaves some of the 1-50 cabinets left up for grabs, which will all be signed by three people at Stern and will have a numbered plaque. While MOST people who got in on the "pre-order" Limited Editions numbered 51-400 bought them at around $5,500 the low serial number limited editions actually COST the distributors $800 MORE than the "standard" LE's. This is why when you shop around for an LE right now, they seem to "start" at $6,299 and go up from there...

Lee

 

[DreamTR]

Did you get the last one that they had in stock, or was the other one still there? Homer was quoting $4,495 on them the day of the tournament, so that makes it a LOT easier pill to swallow for a location than the LE. I have also found out why there has been a discrepancy between the pricing on the LE's. As best I can tell, ALL of the serial number 51 through 400 limited editions have been pre-sold. This only leaves some of the 1-50 cabinets left up for grabs, which will all be signed by three people at Stern and will have a numbered plaque. While MOST people who got in on the "pre-order" Limited Editions numbered 51-400 bought them at around $5,500 the low serial number limited editions actually COST the distributors $800 MORE than the "standard" LE's. This is why when you shop around for an LE right now, they seem to "start" at $6,299 and go up from there...

Lee

The other Tron was still there when we left. Homer was very happy we bought a machine =) I know we have a numbered one coming...thank goodness that will not be on location, lol