21 February, 2017

FarSight will always be FarSight (bis)

I know. I have already used this title back in July when commenting about a bug in Pinball Arcade scoring. This time I was playing on my iMac 5K and on the second screen I noticed another instance of jumbled graphics.



I also know that the Mac is not a priority for FarSight and that more serious issues do exist, like he infamous slow-down, which really spoils gameplay. But stil, when you come across situations like this one you can wonder whether there is anyone supervising the Mac-developer's work. (I am using the singular here because I am convinced that at no time are there more than one persons taking care of the Mac port of Pinball Arcade).

Update. I checked the second screen on other, non-5K, iMacs. The graphics are OK there, which means that FarSight is not testing on 5K iMacs.

16 February, 2017

Star Wars Rogue One, Zen pinball

I have stated it clearly in the past: I do not like the Star Wars pinballs of Zen Studios. They have excessive animations with plenty of moving things that disrupt the gameplay. So I was surprised when I tried Rogue One. 



The animations are kept at a minimum and one can concentrate on the gameplay. The graphics are as always of high quality. I am not a fan of Star Wars, so I cannot relate to the characters on the lower half of the table. The physics is the standard Zen pinballs one, i.e. more than adequate, and the ball is not trying to drain out on you. 

Did I enjoy the game? Well, yes and no. It is definitely the one Star Wars table that I prefer. On the other hand I did not find the gameplay particularly exciting. So, if you are a Star Wars fan go ahead and give it a try. If not, well, wait for the next, non-Star Wars Zen pinball.

02 February, 2017

Al's Garage Band goes on a World Tour

I know, it's a mouthful. But one does not get to choose. That's the name of the latest FarSight pinball table. Just in case people were wondering (I did) whether FarSight would abandon Pinball Arcade and concentrate on the Stern thing we are now reassured. The regular Pinball Arcade releases do go on. So, this month's table is the Al's ... World Tour (no way I am going to write the whole title again).



It's a nice table and there are certainly plenty of interesting things to do, but I couldn't figure out exactly how to get to them. So, I just kept playing carefully, trying to get to multiball and build up the score. The game is fast and sometimes tricky, when you see the ball at the very last moment. The rather gaudy colours make the choice of the ball delicate. In the end I opted for a white ball. There is also a video mode: if somebody knows how to play it, please, do not hesitate to leave a comment.

I did like the game but I think that an update is necessary. In fact, the ball can get stuck at the spinning wheel but also at the upper multiball trap. Anyhow, these things do not happen all the time and so you can enjoy the game without worry.