Pinball!

Gettin' there.

Quote from: Candlelight on December 16, 2009, 00:12:23

I actually was aiming for a high score when I got the 55..

Wait, what? Seriously? You get 290 points by doing absolutely nothing!

Well, I'm more or less as skilled at pinball as an epileptic monkey.
Anyway, I think I've managed to claim a record:

*spin in circles* woah! *faint*

Wait, what? Seriously? You get 290 points by doing absolutely nothing!

i got like over 700!

then you didn't do nothing

then you didn't do nothing

The ball starts with different angles and speeds every time, so the way it falls if you do nothing isn't always the same. I've gotten up to 960 points for doing nothing at all.

Are you sure? It's always the same for me. Bleh.

I think the ball have two possible starting positions, one that makes it fall to the left first, and the other making it fall right. I programmed it this way so it wouldn't start out identical, yet the ball would always land on either the left or right flipper.

If you don't touch any buttons, the left path should give you 290 points while the right path should give you 960.

You sure? I remember seeing it fall to the right and getting 290.

I tried it tree times, and I got 240, 940, and 960. I just assumed that the starting position was random, since I got different results every time.

I'm pretty sure I only set up two possible starting positions, but perhaps if floating points are approximated with different accuracy on different systems (sounds far-fetched though, I haven't heard that should happen) perhaps the outcome can then be different than the ones I get?

If a flipper is as much as used, even before the ball touches it in the first place, the flipper will have a slightly different angle and the ball will take a completely different path. As long as I never touch left and right arrow, on the particular system I'm testing on I can only get 290 or 960 points, nothing else. 290 and 960 are also the most common numbers that appears in this topic, but I am a bit confused about the other ones I can't reproduce.

C'mon, you knew it had to happen sooner or later -- a thread dedicated to your high scores from the brilliant Saira in-game pinball machine.  Mine is 155310.  I play this pinball game nearly every day, and have spent more time on it than the actual Saira game.  It's better than other virtual pinball games for five main reasons:


1. You have only one ball.  Playing for the high score is like riding a giant wave, dude -- any minute you could wipe out and it'd all be over.  This makes for a more fluid experience, heightens the tension, and eliminates that icky feeling of pinballer's remorse: "If only I hadn't flinched on ball 2!"  Instead of multiple balls...

2.  Fate or fortune turns with the table.  The background color changes from one screen to the next like a bipolar person wearing a mood ring.  Clearly a lot of thought was put into the layout, the midway point being a giant player-operated rotator stick which will send your ball to either a safe cozy place or a treacherous pit that's hard to climb out from.  The last screen is the most twitchy and nerve-wracking.

3.  Unlike this sentence, it's original.  The paddles are suspended in midair, and you can roll the ball off them left or right.  Also, the game cannot be replicated on a real physical pinball machine, as the ball drops from the bottom of one screen to appear in place at the top of the next.  There's no gimmicky TILT button.  Also, you're in space, can listen listen to virtual radio stations, blah blah blah.

4.  It takes a lifetime to master but two minutes to learn.  There isn't an array of flashing lights and complex missions like Space Cadet Pinball.  Here is a nice pinball game that won't scare your friends off.  All you need to know is that you build your score up by racking up multipliers and then tackling the bumpers and spinners.

5.  My friend called me one night to say:

Paul: Hey Jamal, you know that mini-game within Saira?
Me:  Yeah Paul, the pinball game, what about it...
Paul: Well, you know those little spinning things.. the things that spin and give you points when you hit them..
Me: The spinners, yeah...
Paul:  Yeah.
Me: ....
Paul: ....
Me: ....
Paul: ....
Me: Yeah Paul, what about them?
Paul: That's very satisfying.


So what are you all's top scores?  And what do you love or hate about Saira pinball?

I suppose it would be a good idea to add a screenshot of your score to prove you actually managed that score.

That can be easily faked, so it's not actual proof. I think we can all take each other's word for it. No one's getting anything for cheating... xP

EDIT: Since this was brought up again, I guessed I'd post a highscore I had achieved in the meantime. It's on the first post.

My best is 26685 (16x multiplier).

Here's a challenge for you all: Get the ball into the last column, and then get it all the way back into the first one. I haven't managed this, but I got close: I started from the 2nd to last column and got back!