are Williams tables just bad?

[moOx]

I decided to make this post after reading Countcthulhu's post about Williams tables, stating according to him, the younger or newer gen of pinball players don't care about Williams tables .

I'm 38, but I consider myself more of a casual pinball player, I love pinball, but there are just so many other genres of games out there that I only find myself every now and then playing pinball maybe 2-4 weeks a year were I rly put in hours in pinball, some years went by without playing pinball at all if u believe it.

anyways about Williams tables.. I'm sure some would say I haven't giving those tables a fair chance so far, I only played the fish table thats free for everyone and only tried a few others via trial mode, so I may haven't even played those tables for an hour in total.
I have no idea what tables I played as a kid in arcades during vacation on the beach, or the pinball games on ps1/ps2, all I know is the pinball fx originals are the tables that rly got me good for the first time, even if many of them aren't perfect either, but super league or ms.splosion are prolly my favorites if I had to name them, there are other good ones but thats besides the point.

the problem or dislike I had with every Williams table so far, is what it feels like the weight of the ball for the most part, visually some look cool and interesting, but I could never get over how the ball just drops like a magnet almost to the bottom.

so if u are a Williams table main, I ask you to name me your favorite 3 Williams tables available in any of the fx games so I may can change my mind.

thanks for reading and your suggestions :)

[FoxyLoxy]

For casual players, I'd recommend trying Attack from Mars (or Medieval Madness), Theatre of Magic, and Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Each has a bash toy (a saucer, a magic box and a genie, respectively), they have fairly straight-forward rules, and reward the player's efforts.

[monochameleon]

Williams tables aren't bad, but they're built differently from Zen originals because they are made for physical play rather than these digital versions. Some also benefit from subtle nudging and slapping that doesn't really translate to digital as well.

Definitely go with Foxy's recommendations, I would also suggest Star Trek TNG for learning flow shooting, it helped me as a beginner. Basically, the more you play them, the better feel you will get and the more you'll enjoy them. Twilight Zone and White Water are nightmarish for beginners but as you come to understand what they're asking of you, they become incredibly fun.

[Knowsome]

Originally posted by FoxyLoxy:

For casual players, I'd recommend trying Attack from Mars (or Medieval Madness), Theatre of Magic, and Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Each has a bash toy (a saucer, a magic box and a genie, respectively), they have fairly straight-forward rules, and reward the player's efforts.

like @foxyloxy said, start with medieval madness or theatre of magic, theatre of magic is the most beginner friendly williams table of em all.

i started with medieval madness, its not too hard and not too easy, its just right.

avoid black rose, and road show as your first tables as in my opinion these are the most difficult william tables available.

[moOx]

thanks guys, I'll note these tables and pick em up on the next sale. :)

[CountCthulhu]

I second the others recommendations, and would also suggest Monster Bash. It's a fun table, both to play and look at and listen to. And, it might have Katey Segal doing the voice of The Bride. If it's not her, she has a voice double that sounds exactly like her out there somewhere.

[Yakass]

Real pinball machines are designed differently to Zens originals. Not just because its real vs video game, but also because real pinball designers absolutely had to make their tables challenging while trying to make them fun. But there is a relatively stiff learning curve to them all and there had to be, because real pinballs are supposed to be coin gobblers. No one ever seems to stop to think about that around here, but the truth is the design goals of real machines vs the likes of Zen originals is very different. Couple that with physics that barely resemble pinball and you get a completely different experience.

[MikeFulton]

Originally posted by moOx:

I decided to make this post after reading Countcthulhu's post about Williams tables, stating according to him, the younger or newer gen of pinball players don't care about Williams tables .

I'm 38, but I consider myself more of a casual pinball player, I love pinball, but there are just so many other genres of games out there that I only find myself every now and then playing pinball maybe 2-4 weeks a year were I rly put in hours in pinball, some years went by without playing pinball at all if u believe it.

anyways about Williams tables.. I'm sure some would say I haven't giving those tables a fair chance so far, I only played the fish table thats free for everyone and only tried a few others via trial mode, so I may haven't even played those tables for an hour in total.
I have no idea what tables I played as a kid in arcades during vacation on the beach, or the pinball games on ps1/ps2, all I know is the pinball fx originals are the tables that rly got me good for the first time, even if many of them aren't perfect either, but super league or ms.splosion are prolly my favorites if I had to name them, there are other good ones but thats besides the point.

the problem or dislike I had with every Williams table so far, is what it feels like the weight of the ball for the most part, visually some look cool and interesting, but I could never get over how the ball just drops like a magnet almost to the bottom.

so if u are a Williams table main, I ask you to name me your favorite 3 Williams tables available in any of the fx games so I may can change my mind.

thanks for reading and your suggestions :)

It's okay if you prefer the Zen designs over the Williams tables. Different strokes and all that. If I had to pick 3 tables (that are available in FX)...

* Medieval Madness
* Tales of Arabian Knights
* Fun House

One of the things I like about the Williams tables is that for me, the goals seem more clearly defined than with the Zen designs. Figuring out how to advance the bonus multiplier, or get an extra ball, or maybe starting multi-ball isn't usually hard to do. Figuring it out, that is. Actually doing it might be more difficult, but that's okay.

In comparison, I've been playing Zen's EMPIRE STRIKES BACK table almost every day for several weeks and a huge amount of what's happening still seems totally random to me. Every few games, I hit something that gives a big score, but it only happens randomly. When I try to replicate the event, nothing happens.

Multi-ball? Extra ball? Advancing the bonus multiplier? I have no idea how any of those things happen or if they even can happen. I look at the table guides, of course, but they don't really help.. The text is tiny and they try to cram too much detail into each "page"

Sorry, I know that isn't really the response you were looking for. Try the 3 tables I suggested.

[Mr wyrmwood]

Yeah, I felt exactly the same about Williams tables although this was back on FX3. Tried Fish Tales and found my games were extremely short compared with the FX stuff, tried the trials and often drained all 3 balls before the timer even expired. They remained the only tables I did not purchase.

Think it was a free event on FX that opened my eye's. Played Medieval Madness and absolutely loved it. Initially I planned on only buying new tables on FX but ended up buying all the Williams stuff and really love those tables. There's not really any bad ones although some of the earliest tables are pretty hard with no ball saver. They are different to Zens tables though and I still have shorter games in general but seem to achieve more and often have more fun in that time.

I'd highly recommend Pack 1 for Medieval Madness, if Zen had made this the free table instead of Fish Tales they would of got my custom a lot sooner (although I like Fish Tales now).

Don't forget Events mode as better way to try out tables before buying than playing trials. A free Grand Tournament event gives three free full plays every day for a week. 21 credits total, even if your not that great that's still probably at least an hour of game play.

[DitzyRobert]

I really like Monster Bash, Dr. Dude, and Swords of Fury.

[⎛⎝⎛-||-⎞ ⎠⎞]

Skill issue.

[monochameleon]

Originally posted by ⎛⎝⎛-||-⎞ ⎠⎞:

Skill issue.

Well, we all started that way.

[QLIQ]

I wish they would offer the most used community mods as an extra leaderboard, similar to how you can choose physics on Zen tables.

From what I gather it is fairly common to make these tables less out-lane heavy when they are used without the intention of making money.

But I generally agree, many Williams tables are just so much easier to read and have less stupid mini games like the poop on exploding kittens which ruin the flow.

But yes e.g. Startrek is ridiculous and I would love a modded version to get more enjoyment out of it.

[dave950lam]

The Williams are the best part of FX.

[monochameleon]

Originally posted by dave950lam:

The Williams are the best part of FX.

For some people. I love them but I could understand people finding the Zen tables more interesting in the way they take advantage of digital only opportunities.

[wilbers]

Originally posted by QLIQ:

I wish they would offer the most used community mods as an extra leaderboard, similar to how you can choose physics on Zen tables.

From what I gather it is fairly common to make these tables less out-lane heavy when they are used without the intention of making money.

But I generally agree, many Williams tables are just so much easier to read and have less stupid mini games like the poop on exploding kittens which ruin the flow.

But yes e.g. Startrek is ridiculous and I would love a modded version to get more enjoyment out of it.

There is always practice mode.