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"PINBALL WIZARD 1 & 2" (Now with Video!!) (Spotlighted)

Archive: 48 posts

A Big Shout out to Vanemiera who spend time producing this great video... Thanks you rock!

YouTube - Pinball Wizard 2

PINBALL WIZARD:
Straight up pinball table madness with several ways to score big including:
traditional bumpers,
secret areas,
the angelic heart
and even a mystery box (oooooh.....mysterious.....)

PICS:
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2252http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2253
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2254http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2255
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2256http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2257
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=281&pictureid=2258

PINBALL WIZARD2:
The sequal......Well more a variation on the first as I haven't changed the main mechanics behind it a whole lot. The much more colourful wacky younger brother featuring 45% more wackyness....and even a mystery box (oooooh.....mysterious.....)

PICS:

http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=288&pictureid=2308http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=288&pictureid=2309
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=288&pictureid=2311http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=288&pictureid=2312
http://www.lbpcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=288&pictureid=2310

I'm up for doing 5 feedbacks for now but if I get the chance I'll do more.		2009-02-19 09:20:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Wow the art looks great, I'll check it out.2009-02-19 09:52:00

Author:
Snowspot
Posts: 265

hey, just finished playing this(like ten times, until i got the HIGH SCORE!) i love it. i dont have any real negative feedback because this level is just so much fun. Very well polished and it seems to have been thoroughly playtested because i barely noticed any kinks. The 1st circle on the left(out of the five bouncy circle things) doesnt always give you points when you hit it from underneath, although as long as you hit it hard it works. i also noticed the ball getting stuck on some of the circles sometimes(although it gave me a bunch of extra points, so i shouldn't be complaining about this) other than that, this level is amazing! i am usually on lbpforum.net, its a great community that loves to play levels and give feedback if you're the type of creator that is interested in that. we always have competitions going, and like i said, the community is like no other. come check us out and come put this level on our creativity planet and it will get at least a hundred or two more plays!

F4F: The Turtle or The Hare? - xThaVIOLENTonEx
https://lbpcentral.lbp-hub.com/index.php?t=t=8899		2009-02-19 13:39:00

Author:
xThaVIOLENTonEx
Posts: 26

Looks really good. I'll play it in a while and leave some feedback. 2009-02-19 13:59:00

Author:
Killian
Posts: 2575

Thanks looking forward to see what you think.2009-02-19 23:29:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Wow they look awesome!!! nice!2009-02-20 02:29:00

Author:
Madafaku
Posts: 738

Hey Man, i just played both these levels, and well done on them! i love the effect you made with the plasma ball on the first one. it feels very nightclub -ish. i personally like how the first one looks better, but the second one plays better in my opinion. very cool levels you have there, no play problems, and i thought that it was very well done.

I would say add in more background decoration points. i think it would be cool if you had one of those paths the ball follows around the outside. theres so many options you could play with, like a roulette table style point generator, and all sorts of stuff. however, you did such a good job, im excited to see where you go with it.

Thanks for the contribution of another excellent level for LBP!		2009-02-20 08:50:00

Author:
TJapan
Posts: 225

i love the effect you made with the plasma ball on the first one. it feels very nightclub -ish. i personally like how the first one looks better, but the second one plays better in my opinion.

It's funny, my fiancee loves the look of the second a lot more than the first. I suppose it's just a matter of taste. On the plasma ball comment, thanks, that area was looking a little bare and this idea seemed to work out nicely.


theres so many options you could play with, like a roulette table style point generator, and all sorts of stuff. however, you did such a good job, im excited to see where you go with it.

Thanks for the contribution of another excellent level for LBP!

Again, thanks. I love the idea of the roulette table and it may just make it into the next version

If anyone else has ideas on what I could add please let me know as I'm open to all comments.		2009-02-20 12:58:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Wow, these were both some of the best pinball level's that I have played in LBP! I loved the intros, the style, and the bonus screens. I think my personal favorite was the second as well, but I thought the first was very cool looking. The only issue that I encountered was that my ball would occasionally break after a hard hit. I'm assuming that's simply due to the physics in the game though and it never cost me a ball, so it's not that big of a deal.

As for additions that I would like to see, well, I've always loved multi-ball! If you could release another ball by hitting a specific area, that'd be pretty cool. Actually, I guess that may be hard to implement due to the camera. It appeared as it the camera was on the ball, so I guess an additional ball might be hard to keep track of. Hmm, other than that, I like TJapan's idea of roulette style table and the ball paths that take your ball around the side.

Overall, a very enjoyable pinball game. Well done!		2009-02-20 13:27:00

Author:
mrsupercomputer
Posts: 1335

Wow, these were both some of the best pinball level's that I have played in LBP! I loved the intros, the style, and the bonus screens. I think my personal favorite was the second as well, but I thought the first was very cool looking. The only issue that I encountered was that my ball would occasionally break after a hard hit. I'm assuming that's simply due to the physics in the game though and it never cost me a ball, so it's not that big of a deal.

As for additions that I would like to see, well, I've always loved multi-ball! If you could release another ball by hitting a specific area, that'd be pretty cool. Actually, I guess that may be hard to implement due to the camera. It appeared as it the camera was on the ball, so I guess an additional ball might be hard to keep track of. Hmm, other than that, I like TJapan's idea of roulette style table and the ball paths that take your ball around the side.

Overall, a very enjoyable pinball game. Well done!

Your right about the ball breaking theres not much I can do about it. I did set up a switch system that recognises when the ball breaks and it doesn't count it as one of you 3 balls/lives.

Multi ball I think will be a definite addition to the next one and have already sorted out how to do it. If any addition ball released in "multiball" didn't have a camera on it it works fine. sometimes the secondary ball goes out of the screen but that just addds to the craziness of it. Thanks again for your comments.		2009-02-22 20:23:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

I played this a little bit ago and had a blast. I've only played one other pinball level, but is was nowhere near as awesome as this. You made an actual working pinball machine, very awesome.


Pros:

- It's a fully functional pinball machine, what's not to like?

- Great use of lighting and sound.

- I liked how the random box was truly random and the design for it was really cool. But I gotta say, I preferred having that pink guy jumping out than nothing at all.

- The score system worked well.

- There were a few times when my pinball just disappeared and I had to use a new one. When this happened, I thought I'd lose a life, but to my surprise, I didn't. Nice job planning ahead.

- The scoreboard area for the 2nd level was really cool. It looked like a tiny planet.


Cons:

- As mentioned above, the pinball can disappear, but you already have a solution for it.

- In the 2nd level, the random box didn't always give me points.


Overall, I loved it. 5 stars/hearted. If you could try my level that'd be cool		2009-02-22 23:58:00

Author:
RickTheRipper
Posts: 345

In the 2nd level, the random box didn't always give me points.

Overall, I loved it. 5 stars/hearted. If you could try my level that'd be cool

I'll check out that box, I wasn't aware this was happening. And I'll try your level tonight and give feedback for you tomorrow.

Thanks for the feedback.

If anyone else feels like trying this out go for it as I'd love some more feedback. All the comment so far have been really helpful.		2009-02-23 11:59:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

I'll have to check these out later.

My very first level was a pinball level that used the sackboy as the pinball, but there are some issues with LBP physics that allow sackboy to pass though solid objects set as flippers. I never got around to addressing the mechanics, but you might just inspire me to go back to it someday.		2009-02-23 19:07:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Great I'd love to hear what you think and if you have any questions about the setup of it just ask. 2009-02-24 00:12:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Ok, I just got done playing these. All in all I was very impressed! I definately enjoyed the colorful nature of the 2nd game better than the first.

In general, it's kind of hard to find fault because ithey are such simple twitch action type games (not simple to build, obviously), so I'm going to separate into CONS and THOUGHTS (thoughts being just things that occurred to me while playing)

CONS

Not much here. The entire thing acted as expected except that once I lost a ball on Pinball Wizard 2 just by it going across the top to the left. I couldn't see what happened - it happened so quickly - but the ball flew over the upper left corner and next thing I knew I was on the next ball. Can't explain it...

Another thing that happened (also on Pinball Wizard 2) - twice the ball flew down and actually passed right between the paddle and the wall so that I lost the ball - I wasn't using the flipper at the time. Probably more of a LittleBigPlanet physics thing, though, based on the complex object - OBVIOUSLY there isn't enough room for the ball to do that based on design.


THOUGHTS

I was wondering if you had tried a round piece of glass rather than the golf ball? Seems to me it would be a less complex object and may possibly be less problematic - as well as look better aesthetically in the level. But not a negative - just something I thought would be cool if it worked.

Kickers - there could be a round obstacle that is surrounded by material attached to pistons so that it could "kick" the ball away when hit.

Also, it definately seemed to me there was a very cool element missing that is on most pinball tables - an area where the ball could roll through a curved area rather than straight. In pinball one of the interesting things is watching the ball fly through some curved areas.

Ooooh - and what if when the ball hit a specific area an emitter kicked out a few more balls so you had to suddenly deal with multiple balls on the table!

None of this detracts - but it was just something I thought "hey, as long as he's gone this far it would be cool if....."

And also, if you DID do some of these already and I simply missed it because the ball didn't hit a specific obstacle, then of course ignore the input.

Fantastic games, though! I'm always up for some good twitch-action fun!		2009-02-24 04:14:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Thanks CCubbage, helpful feedback as allways from you.


All in all I was very impressed! I definately enjoyed the colorful nature of the 2nd game better than the first.

Thanks, I like the way this turned out for me.


I was wondering if you had tried a round piece of glass rather than the golf ball? Seems to me it would be a less complex object and may possibly be less problematic - as well as look better aesthetically in the level. But not a negative - just something I thought would be cool if it worked.

When I agree with you that it would probably be less problamatic (although having a tougher material like glass brings up issues of breaking table elements in stead of the ball), I have to disagree on the aesthetics of it. The ball, being a sphere picks up the lighting much better than a cylinder. Also the fact that it is a cylnder kind of detracts from the idea its meant to be a ball. Also you get that "clinking" noise that comes from glass being thrown around.


Kickers - there could be a round obstacle that is surrounded by material attached to pistons so that it could "kick" the ball away when hit.
Agree 100% and I am looking into adding this as we speak.


Ooooh - and what if when the ball hit a specific area an emitter kicked out a few more balls so you had to suddenly deal with multiple balls on the table!

I already have a working version of this on my moon but I'm just ironing out a few kinks before I add it to the online version.


Also, it definately seemed to me there was a very cool element missing that is on most pinball tables - an area where the ball could roll through a curved area rather than straight. In pinball one of the interesting things is watching the ball fly through some curved areas.

This is a really good idea but its proving quite hard to implement. This will take me a little longer to get perfect but I definitely agree that the addition would be worth the effort.


Fantastic games, though! I'm always up for some good twitch-action fun!

Glad I could provide you with a twitch-action fix 		2009-02-24 16:33:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Sounds like you're about 10 steps ahead of me! (and I like the glass clicking sound....)

Great stuff!		2009-02-24 19:41:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Sounds like you're about 10 steps ahead of me! (and I like the glass clicking sound....)

Great stuff!

lol, Added multiball last night and bumpers on the side in Pinball Wizard 2. Also a nice little feature if you hit all the bumpers and light up all the lights you get a nice big reward.		2009-02-25 10:12:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

lol, Added multiball last night and bumpers on the side in Pinball Wizard 2. Also a nice little feature if you hit all the bumpers and light up all the lights you get a nice big reward.
Cool! I'm going back in to play it right now!		2009-02-25 11:36:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

I played the first one about 2 hours ago and I was blown away. Everything worked so perfectly which must have required an insane amount of tweaking and I can't imagine the amount of headaches the creation of this must have caused you lol.

Your use of light is brilliant! I love the LED's on the flippers, the plasma decoration is fantastic, your BONUS areas are great and the color change after each ball is lost was such a wonderful touch.

The special areas you put in really keeps things fresh and will have players coming back again and again to improve their score. I was surprised when I found the "sweet spot" in the heart which gave me a ton of points before dislodging my ball, incredible stuff man!

This is BY FAR the best mini-game I have played in LBP. Unfortunately the servers went down when I was playing so my score failed to upload and I could not try part 2 I don't really have any suggestion other then to add even more special effects if your thermo allows. Needless to say, 5 stars and heart! I look forward to #2 whenever the servers allow (they still seem to be down).

*EDIT*

Woo-hoo! Played the 2nd one and made it into the top 10! I like that you changed things up a bit here, especially with the multi-ball, pure genious. The visuals are very different but I have to point out that your background is composed of at least 10 different stickers which you have combined meticulously to create a nice backdrop, impressive. I thought having different point bonuses on the ? area was cool, sound effects were great. 5 stars and a heart for this one too. I hope you will be making more, your options for different themes are endless 		2009-02-25 11:41:00

Author:
OCK
Posts: 1536

Man two words, wow and how? I was amazed when the camera followed the ball, maybe that is more simple than I think but I had no idea you could do that and it works so great. I was really pleasantly surprised with both of these I never imagined the player being totally hidden, it was like a totally different game. I think they both look pretty great but I do believe the second one plays better. It seemed like the ball fell faster in the second one which I think is better. The game is really addicting and everything works really great. 5 stars and hearted.

I have a few suggestions but the level is great as is. The ball was really plain looking, OCK had a really awesome glowing orb in his level 218 and I think something like that would be awesome in the first one and maybe sticker the ball in the second one to be more colorful like the rest of the level. I also noticed things get a little repetitive, I pretty quickly memorized where to hit the ball to get it to land in the point areas and so I would just kick the ball in there over and over. The points slowed down and so then I just played like normal again. I think more moving factors would eliminate this problem. Obstacles for the ball I guess, even a piston with a block attached going back and forth would make it more difficult to get a click going and avoid making it boring. Anyway thats about it, lots of fun. Seemed a little easy to me but that is preference so I dont even suggest changing it. Again, 5 stars and hearted on both of them!

Oh yeah, on the second one when the multi balls came out the camera wouldnt follow any of the others and my first ball was delayed on a block and so I couldnt see them at all. And like OCK said I hope you make more, they are way cool, I would appreciate a really difficult one at some point. Just throwing that there 		2009-02-26 01:43:00

Author:
Hexagohn
Posts: 335

I already left you comments on what I think about these, and I just played the multi-ball with the LED bumpers on the side.

I would like to first say that this level is pure genius, it's amazing. I don't know how you got the camera to follow the ball, whatever it is, good job.

I also love that pink dude that pops up, and by the way. Is x20 the highest?

I got all the LED lights lit up, it takes a long time, I could never get the bottom left one, but once I did, I felt satisfied. Lots of points which is good.

The MULTI-Balls section is great, I disagree that the camera should follow them all, because it's good how it is, why? Well, mainly because it's then based on timing and skill on getting your flipper to hit the ball. If the camera was to follow every ball, it would be a bit too easy to rack up points, the way you have it now is fine in my opinion.

So yeah, everything is amazing. Especially the fact that you are able to have it so the game recognizes when you break your ball, very well done. I do agree that the ball should be stickered as well or something, and if it's possible, you should have the music change every once in a while, song gets a bit too repetetive when your playing it as long as me, I got to 3rd place by the way. 80,000 is way too high, I don't know how that guy did it. But anyways...

5 Stars and Hearted, and if there was an option to give it another heart for the update, I would do it in a flash.		2009-02-26 02:01:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino
Posts: 5250

I got to 3rd place by the way. 80,000 is way too high, I don't know how that guy did it. But anyways...

5 Stars and Hearted, and if there was an option to give it another heart for the update, I would do it in a flash.

80,000? Was I playing the right version? The high score was like 2500 on the one I played.		2009-02-26 02:39:00

Author:
Hexagohn
Posts: 335

Pinball Wizard 2? Are we talking about that one? I'm in 3rd place, with 38000, 2nd has 40,000, and 1st place has 80,000.

So yeah, I don't know what you're playing, I'm 100% sure that's what it was though.		2009-02-26 02:49:00

Author:
Whalio Cappuccino
Posts: 5250

First of.... WOW! thanks for all the great feedback guys.


I played the first one about 2 hours ago and I was blown away. Everything worked so perfectly which must have required an insane amount of tweaking and I can't imagine the amount of headaches the creation of this must have caused you lol.
Thanks, I playtested the level after I added every element to ensure it worked properly before moving on to something else.

The special areas you put in really keeps things fresh and will have players coming back again and again to improve their score. I was surprised when I found the "sweet spot" in the heart which gave me a ton of points before dislodging my ball, incredible stuff man!
Yeah, I think with a pinball game it's important to have this so the gameplay doesn't get stale too quickly

This is BY FAR the best mini-game I have played in LBP.
I just wanted to quote this as its such a nice statement!

I don't really have any suggestion other then to add even more special effects if your thermo allows.
The great news is that there is plenty of space left to add more elements so yes I fully intend on beefing these levels up a bit.

I like that you changed things up a bit here, especially with the multi-ball, pure genious. I hope you will be making more, your options for different themes are endless
Thanks I like the multi ball element. there are a few little bugs that come with it but I'm sure I'll iron them out at some stage.

Man two words, wow and how?
Two words, Thanks and bloodsweatandtears. ok not quite two words. There are well over a hundred of switches and emitters involved in making this possible but nothing really that complex. I have regulars MM switches, permanant, timed, inverted and one custom built 8-way "and". Oh I did use a great randomiser switch for the ? box to emit diffent prizes each time. It just took a bit of thought to figure out the logistics of it.

I also noticed things get a little repetitive, I pretty quickly memorized where to hit the ball to get it to land in the point areas and so I would just kick the ball in there over and over.
Yeah I can agree with you on this. I'll look into what I can do to mix things up a bit. Thanks for the suggestion.


when the multi balls came out the camera wouldnt follow any of the others and my first ball was delayed on a block
This is the main issue I have with the multiball. Your first ball has to be held in place while "multiball" is happening because obviously the camera can't cover the whole table. If it wasn't the camera would follow only one ball and that might not be your "real" ball that is counted as a life. (The bonus balls are not counted as one of your 3 balls.) This is why 3 balls are released that have switches on them to score point but don't register if the fall down through the flippers.

I got all the LED lights lit up, it takes a long time, I could never get the bottom left one, but once I did, I felt satisfied. Lots of points which is good.
Thanks, that is the one thing that gives out the most points so its designed not to be easy.


you should have the music change every once in a while, song gets a bit too repetetive when your playing it as long as me
Thats a great idea. I honestly didn't think about it. I will definitely look into it.

Oh and as for the different high scores It may be because I published it a second time last night as new as I was testing what was going on with the cool pages.		2009-02-26 10:24:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

I don't really have any critisism - just wanted to say I played the updated Pinball Wizard 2.

I really like it originally, but I think those few changes (the wall "kickers" and the multi-ball area) just kicked this thing into the stratosphere. I played it for about an hour last night. It was mesmerising. All the things that were happening, the depth of play, the colors, the visuals - man this is a great game!		2009-02-26 13:59:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

I played PW2 yesterday. Awesome! Wow! I played a lot of pinballs in lbp, but this is the best of all. It really feels like a real pinball versus the others I played where luck seems to be the only skill required. I will play this again, and again.

- With the multi-ball, I can't see where the other balls are going because the camera is stuck on the one in the center. Not sure if you can find a solution to this...

- Twice, the explosion blew me away after the 3 balls, but I respawn at the beginning, and can't go nowhere. I see 3 balls dropping on the table every 15 seconds, my score goes up, but I can't finish the level...snif.

Nice work!
5 stars, hearthed.		2009-02-26 15:48:00

Author:
JackBurton25
Posts: 116

ill definitly play these levels, i wanted to make a pinball machine a while back, but i kinda gave up on it.

Im not concerned about any feedback because i might not get time to make a good feedback response, ill just play em for the fun of it.		2009-02-26 23:21:00

Author:
King_Tubb
Posts: 435

Hey I went back and played them both for awhile, I was trying to set a decent score on the popular versions. Anyway on the 2nd one when the ball launched about 25% of the time it would drop through the center in a way that was nearly impossible to stop it. It got really frustrating because the ball would break and I would have to cross my fingers and hope it didnt drop straight down the center again. This might not be such a big deal if the ball didn't break on me so often. After that happened twice after two long plays I gave up and went back to the first one. After like 30 minutes of playing I hit R1 while the ball was on the flipper and the ball went straight through the flipper or something and I knocked it straight down and died. Anyway giving up for now and I hope you can sort these out. Was lots of fun BTW except for those problems.2009-02-26 23:22:00

Author:
Hexagohn
Posts: 335

Thanks for all the feeback guys. I'll check out the issues you mention and see what I can do.2009-02-27 10:48:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Hey, I was just playing pinball wizard 2 and had an interesting thing happen. I hit the ball really hard with the paddle, and the ball completely broke the half moon that emits the group of balls (it completely disappeared). I don't know if you meant for this to happen (and in fact, the game became REALLY fun after that) but I think the switch that made the group of balls emit ended up displacing somewhere else, because every once in a while all the other balls would suddenly emit for no appearent reason and I had the 3 emitted balls PLUS the normal one flying around the table at the same time.

If you want to fix this issue, I would just turn that half moon thing into something stronger - however, at the same time... it was pretty cool.		2009-02-27 21:18:00

Author:
CCubbage
Posts: 4430

Okay i played these levels and heres what i thought:

Pros:

-Awesome pinball machines. It has a lot of variation and was a lot of fun.

- Great detail, everything was neat and shiny =P

Cons:

-Still some bugs: (unless these arent bugs im not sure...they looked like bugs)
- On number one, the golf ball randomly broke and disappeared. It happened in the same spot every time, just a little to the right of the right flipper. It usually occured after the pinball hit the ceiling. I guess its just moving too fast when its coming down.

- On number two. The moon shaped bumper got destroyed. Although i think that was suppose to happen =P
- On number two. When i got i had extra pinballs on the field. My number of pinballs i had left diminished. I got one "multi-ball" mode, if you will, and when i lost them, i was down to 0 on my spare pinballs, or atleast thats what the machine said.
- On number two. I died mid game? I had a multiball mode going (my second time playing this level), i lost one and had two still in play. Then i just blew up and appeared at the score board.		2009-02-28 16:35:00

Author:
King_Tubb
Posts: 435

Hey, I found where's the bug that prevented me from finishing the level twice. Just press R1 a couple of times when the level just starts, and you can't finish it.2009-02-28 16:52:00

Author:
JackBurton25
Posts: 116

Played both of these and they're both great. Even my missus loved them and these where a couple of the few levels that has got her hooked on lbp (as she always moaned about me playing before, but now she likes it too. Just I have to share now lol)
Well done on them mate 		2009-02-28 17:26:00

Author:
dorien
Posts: 2767

Just wanted to say that I tried these again and love the changes you've made! The multi ball is a great addition and I'm glad you were able to implement it!2009-02-28 22:27:00

Author:
mrsupercomputer
Posts: 1335

Hi guys thanks for all the geat responses.

JackBurton25 - Thanks for pointing this out. I had it set up that the door would be crushed when you got to a safe distance but the switch was on the disolve your on that keeps you in place for the title untill you press R1 and what was happening was if you pressed it quickly it would disolve the switch before crushing the entrance. Anyway long story short I have fixed it now so thanks for the tip.

Oh and turning the moon innto something stronger is a great idea and I'll try get it done tonight.		2009-03-02 11:40:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Just played these for about an hour... they're so awesome, wex. I wouldda played 'em alot longer, but forced myself to move on to the next thing lol

I think I like 2 the best, as there was so much more color and interaction... and I don't know if it's my screen size or because I don't have a widescreen TV, but the multiplier and bonus screens on part 1 would only partially display on my screen. The best touch was how you got it to differentiate between a broken ball and a lost ball... I take it you've got a mag key on the balls that are detcted when passing through the gate as an alternative trigger to a mag key on the balls that "disappear" from range when broken. Pretty inventive, whatever the mechanics are.

Amazing levels, and I can see myself playing them regularly as long as they're around.		2009-03-04 02:46:00

Author:
Unknown User

Just played these for about an hour... they're so awesome, wex. I wouldda played 'em alot longer, but forced myself to move on to the next thing lol

Wow, thanks for giving it so much attention, glad you liked it!


I don't know if it's my screen size or because I don't have a widescreen TV, but the multiplier and bonus screens on part 1 would only partially display on my screen.

Yeah, I have a widescreen and hadn't really taken the 4:3 aspect ratio into account when designing it. I will for future levels though thanks.


The best touch was how you got it to differentiate between a broken ball and a lost ball... I take it you've got a mag key on the balls that are detcted when passing through the gate as an alternative trigger to a mag key on the balls that "disappear" from range when broken. Pretty inventive, whatever the mechanics are.

Your right on the money, I had to slightly rework it to add multiball so the "extra" balls give out points but are not recognised by the other sensors. Also you need multiple setups to ensure it knows what ball your on (first/last).

Thanks for the reply and Im planning on leaving feedback on the Contra series but I havn't finished playing all 7 stages yet. By the way, so far from what I have played they are incredible!		2009-03-05 10:01:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Sounds like you've made some promising developments there, Wex. When I first played your tables, I was impressed, but thought some classic pinball elements could still be incorporated, such as rebounders. But, sounds like you've got these on the go now. I'll have to send you a key for my table... it's almost to beta.

Having worked on this myself, certainly there's one thing to really be appreciated by your levels, and that's the robustness that you've built into them.

To all you other guys, you really have no idea how difficult this is to build. These materials are incredibly prone to breakage. The table elements have to outclass the mass of the ball several times over so as not to break themselves, but then it's incredibly easy to break the ball. Even so, its very difficult to playtest for every possible trajectory & velocity, and things are bound to break regardless.

I still have not figured out how to implement the broken ball sensor with my own design, but I assure you that Wex's input will undoubtedly be involved in my own pinball release!

The scoring elements are surprisingly easy to integrate, but balancing the physics is a whole other element. Because pinball tables are typically horizontal with a slight grade, it's easy to shoot a pinball at any target. Because LBP requires you to build a vertical table, you are limited in your aim. By this I mean that it's difficult to shoot the pinball straight up. You can increase the strength of the flippers to do so, but now you've added more potential velocity to your ball and it's going to break more often. A fine fine balance is required to pull this off well.		2009-03-05 18:10:00

Author:
Thegide
Posts: 1465

Wow, thanks for giving it so much attention, glad you liked it!

Yeah, I have a widescreen and hadn't really taken the 4:3 aspect ratio into account when designing it. I will for future levels though thanks.

I hadn't even thought about those problems yet. I wonder what my levels look like in 4:3 aspect ratio. I was kinda hoping you would get black bars on the top and bottom when playing LBP on a 4:3 tv.

Btw, I just played both levels and they both rock.
It's not a very large pinball machine perhaps but wat you achieved in these levels is awesome! Fully functioning and very polished.
I've seen other pinball levels where your sackboy represents the ball so by just changing that you top all the other levels.

I'm hoping you'll make a third one cause I'm dying to see how you improve further with each version. Hearted both of them.		2009-03-05 19:20:00

Author:
Zwollie
Posts: 2173

Looks very nice. I would check this out if my ps3 had a connection :/

Bonus points for the title of the level. 		2009-03-05 21:19:00

Author:
midnight_heist
Posts: 2513

Hey Wex,

Um, both levels are just awesome - and really capture the playability of the real thing. I can say for certain that they're the best pinball games I've played, but since they're the only ones I've played it's a qualified compliment, lol. I can also say, however, that they're definitely two of the most fun levels I've ever played in LBP - addictive as hell.

I preferred the second to the first - for several reasons. Firstly the graphics are better, not just different. The stickers have been employed perfectly to create a really fun, anarchic and brightly coloured experience, without seeming at all cluttered or messy. Also the way the bonus signs pop out of the sides is fantastic! And the signs are really well designed too - they really 'pop'. I actually laughed when I first saw them.The multi-balls bonus works really well too.

The first one does look great, but it's an easier look to accomplish, the second was skillfully designed.

On the first one I got stuck on one of the three circles, and had I been less honest than I am I might have just let it sit there for an hour and kept collecting bubbles, lol. There are also a few switches that are visible.

On the second I played it about thirty times with no troubles whatsoever. Fantastic.		2009-03-07 15:39:00

Author:
Boogaloo
Posts: 254

Thanks everyone for all the great replies

And I'm delighted to make the spotlighted list so thanks for all the suggestions that made this a better level to play.		2009-03-09 10:26:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

Congrats on being spotlighted! 2009-03-09 13:39:00

Author:
Snowspot
Posts: 265

Thanks Snowspot and I'm going to try and check your level out tonight.

I just want a big shout out to Vanemiera for spending time on producing this great video..... (Stuck it in the OP as well just to be sure)

YouTube - Pinball Wizard 2		2009-03-09 14:37:00

Author:
wexfordian
Posts: 1904

That is a cool vid.

Well done on the spotlight!		2009-03-09 18:21:00

Author:
Boogaloo
Posts: 254

Hey Wexfordian, i tried your Pinball Wizard 1 level and was really really impressed by the mechanisms.
It is the first Pinball level i play on LBP and really loved it.
Your start title screen is awesome (green, but i loved so much the typo you used here), and the pinball is simple but fully playable, fun and i don't bothered one second with the three balls you allowed me to play.
Overall, a very good level, 5 stars and a big Heart.
I can't play the part II for now, but be sure i will as soon as possible.

You know how i loved your Wizard of Odd level and, now, i am dreaming about a "Wizard of Odd Pinball" level 		2009-03-10 09:20:00

Author:
Takelow
Posts: 1355

I cannot believe I didn't play this earlier...

Right, first off - Pinball Wizard One...

I absolutely love the level, the futuristic style that you've implemented into this level goes very nicely with the whole concept of pinball with fantastic lights (green and metallic colours go very well) and excellent mechanisms that really make the level feel like an actual pinball game. The bonus areas are well made, I like how the [?] bonus area randomises the amount of bubbles you gain and thus how large your score multiplier is. Minor things that may need adjusting...

- The lights that turn on every time you have a go (after losing the ball down the slot) add a nice effect, but by the time you have zero lives left, the game really lags because of all the lights, which also makes the pinball looks like a flaming comet. This is both good and bad since it adds great effect, but at the same time it makes the ball incredibly bright, which may be off-putting at times. So my only suggestion is instead of using so many lights, maybe a global lighting switch instead?

I gave this one five stars and a "Funky" tag.

Now onto Pinball Wizard Two...

Even better. I find it surprising that you can take the same layout from the previous level and still find ways of making it even better. The heart shape is way, waaaaaay easier to access, and so is the [?] bonus area. The design is unique, more like a home-made machine made from spare pieces of wood from a pool-table, which gives it a more natural look and is a lot easier on the eyes in terms of colour. The pink creatures that pop up are amusing, and I like the sound effect when you gain a X20 bubble score. AAAAAAH!!!!

No suggestions for this one, it's pretty much spot-on. Again, 5 stars, tagged "Ingenious" :hero::hero:

Do you do F4F? If so (and if you have time), I would like feedback on my newest level, link in my signature below! Take this request any time you like, there's no rush, that is, if you take them 		2009-06-19 21:01:00

Author:
KoRnDawwg
Posts: 1424


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