Best settings at home for competitive play

[Jonbazookaboz]

Hi Im just waiting on delivery of my first nib stern pin. What settings do you guys generally use at home so that you feel happy posting highscores? eg tournament/ extra balls/ saves etc?
I like to have a moderately good challenge.

 

[AlanJ]

Whatever you want, it's at home. Only becomes more important if you want to practice to complete in comps, where you will find extras turned off and 3 or 4 balls.

I like to explore the depth of the modern sterns, so 5 balls, plenty of easy extras for me.

 

[Calimori]

No two pins feel the same, so even though I can do well on my home machines, I lose against everyone when I play them in a different environment. Something as simple as the angle of the playfield is enough to mess up a quick reaction shot. Based on this, my advice is to use the home environment to learn the rules to maximise your scoring, know which shots are dangerous and which reward well but above all, to enjoy playing pinball.

 

[Jonbazookaboz]

Whatever you want, it's at home. Only becomes more important if you want to practice to complete in comps, where you will find extras turned off and 3 or 4 balls.

I like to explore the depth of the modern sterns, so 5 balls, plenty of easy extras for me.

Def dont think id do more than three balls. Would like to earn my extras. What would a general arcade have the settings at?

 

[paulg100]

Prefer to leave mine on factory settings, id assume your posting "fair" scores then.

 

[Jonbazookaboz]

Prefer to leave mine on factory settings, id assume your posting "fair" scores then.

I was thinking factory settings would prob be most fair- difficulty wise and pureness

 

[Marvello]

Factory settings, 3 balls. If after a while you feel you aren't getting anywhere start adding an extra ball.

 

[Paul R Owen]

Def dont think id do more than three balls. Would like to earn my extras. What would a general arcade have the settings at?

Then you need to set 4 replay levels. Then set the replay reward to Extra Ball.

 

[VeeMonroe]

I only use 3 balls. We tend to leave the ball saves on factory settings. I don’t give any benefit on replay, but a special that would give a credit, I tend to set to an extra ball (to give an in-game reward).

Some tournaments turn extra balls off. Regular league events tend to leave them on and, for me, they’re part of the strategy.

I don’t add balls if I’m not seeing the game. I just assume I need to learn to suck less From reading other people’s accounts, not using more balls/longer ball saves does increase the lifespan of the game and also means you’ve got a more realistic view of your own abilities (or lack of)

All games play differently and their own quirks, so being good at a game at home doesn’t mean you’re going to be good at that same game in tournament. A good way to practice, I’ve found, is to only play a game once and then, if you have another game, play that. Then, you can’t build up muscle memory and you have to rely on pinball skills - this is a good way to be able to get better scores on a variety of machines.

 

[Wayne J]

As @Calimori said, you get used to your home machines, so much so that when you play the same game in a different environment you have difficulty adjusting.

Ideally rotate your machines regularly to get as much experience on playing different machines and settings. With the current prices, and machines not holding their values as much that isn't always economically viable.
Instead change the angle of your machine, change the flippers settings, tilt settings etc. all of which will help you adapt when you come across different machines in the wild.
Visit any locations with machines on, no matter how poorly maintained they may be!

As for settings for extra balls, replays etc. they won't make much of a difference to your gameplay, but will help you understand rules and strategies of that particular machine. Make them as hard as you can AS LONG AS YOU STILL ENJOY PLAYING them, it should never feel onerous to play your machine.

 

[David_Vi]

You set them however you like, but with regards to replays. For about a year or more I had them set to extra balls and then realised it's a bit silly to be rewarded an extra ball just because you hit a score threshold.

I don't think they were intended to be this way, I like to earn EBs through gameplay objectives so it can be a strategic thing rather than just because I hit a score. All my replays are set to automatic 10% and set to credit, so I get a knocker. It's a good way of seeing your skills develop as the replay score adjusts over time.

 

[VeeMonroe]

Ideally rotate your machines regularly to get as much experience on playing different machines and settings. With the current prices, and machines not holding their values as much that isn't always economically viable.

I’d say that, if you’ve got a big venue (like PBR) nearby, don’t feel obliged to rotate out your machines. Just play on location as much as you can. Personally, I’ve got the machines I like playing regularly at home, and I would stop playing if I had to compulsorily rotate in machines I liked less

Make them as hard as you can AS LONG AS YOU STILL ENJOY PLAYING them, it should never feel onerous to play your machine.

This

I prefer harder pins anyway, but there’s likely nothing more dispiriting than having some piece of total p**h like Cactus Canyon at home and then being slaughtered the first time you run into an Iron Man. We’ve currently got the opposite experience. Some of the nastiest pins in history at home. Go to PBR where we get slaughtered in competition by some of the best players in the UK. Then, as soon as we go on location, we just blast through the replays and feel like pinball wizards

 

[Pick Holder]

I am a rubbish player.

So I install the easy ruleset in the settings.
5 balls.
Special award - point
Replay award - extra ball.

Friends of mine say I have it set for 'extra balls when I fart'.

It is your machine - set it to how you want in the menus.

Look at the spirit level. Set it correctly. They are designed to be at that degree pitch. Other players jack up the back legs. I remember hearing after BK3000 came out, Steve the designer said you must have it set at the correct pitch.

Also set the game level using a spirit level on the front and back of the playfield. Phone apps are not as good as a bubble I have found.

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

It is your pin, set it on the second easiest setting, learn how to play the game
Then in a few months, increase the difficulty

As ^^^^ says, make sure your game is set up level
I know with our Godzilla, a degree off makes the difference between fun and garbage

 

[AlanJ]

My std is 5 balls per game, 4 easy replay extra balls, easiest of settings so can get all the feature extra balls. Still cant get anywhere on most of my games. - Im ****e

 

[VeeMonroe]

I am a rubbish player.

So I install the easy ruleset in the settings.

I’m a rubbish player. I don’t want to remain a rubbish player. So, I currently own a Fish Tales on which there were scores from good players in a recent league tournament in the 3 million range I also own a TNA. I previously owned a Flash Gordon.

It is your pin, set it on the second easiest setting, learn how to play the game
Then in a few months, increase the difficulty

It depends on what you want to achieve. Do you want to post high scores on here? Or do you want to play well in tournaments?

If you want to see as much of your new Stern as possible while posting high scores, set it to really easy settings. In fact, you can set it to 10 balls, lots of extra balls and uber-long ball saves - if that’s what you want and how you want your machine set up. It’s your machine. It’s very obvious from the high scores being posted on here (compared to my experience playing in tournament and at Pinfest) that there’s a lot of this going on - because I can’t hope to get remotely close to some of the high scores posted on here, but there‘s a only a limited number of players in the UK who play significantly better than us, and I know many of them, so… erm… something’s definitely not lining up there.

If you actually want to play competitively, you want the machine to help you get a realistic view of your own abilities and help you learn pinball. Tournament play is completely different from home play. You not only need to play a huge range of machines from different eras (most of which you don’t own at home), but you also need to turn in a really good first game. It is actually dead easy, if you play a game for an hour and know the rules, to start generating high scores - you dial in the shots and get muscle memory. It’s much harder to turn in a good score on a walk-up, because you don’t know where the shots are. So, if you’re a rubbish player, like me, you spend most of the first ball fighting to keep the ball in play while you work out how to hit something. Thus, you need wide outlanes, three balls only, and proper levelling. Extra balls only when you’ve achieved something in game, as @David_Vi says. You don’t need to put the pin on an easy mode while you learn the rules because, in tournament, you will be playing weird classics (or EMs) where you’ve no idea about the rules beyond what’s on the card and you STILL have to try to work out how to turn in a high score. So, get accustomed to that early - nudging and unlikely ball saves are key. Likewise, learning how to get the ball in a cradle as it ricochets all over the place because, if you are a rubbish player, it WILL ricochet all over the place on an unfamiliar machine.

 

[windoesnot]

Don't forget the position of the tilt bob make a massive difference too

 

[David_Vi]

I dunno @VeeMonroe , has your tournament play improved with all these hard games?

I think it's a lot easier to learn ball control when a game isn't overly punishing. You have to give yourself a chance to improve.

You need to play in proper comps not just league/best game ones aren't the best way of improving play or having fun

 

[VeeMonroe]

I dunno @VeeMonroe , has your tournament play improved with all these hard games?

I think it's a lot easier to learn ball control when a game isn't overly punishing. You have to give yourself a chance to improve.

My scores on Genesis/Black Hole held in Pinfest Classics AFAIK and I can now get replays 50% of the time on a walk-up single game in most locations that see a lot of casual play (e.g. bars)

You need to play in proper comps not just league/best game ones aren't the best way of improving play or having fun

When you see the Pinfest spreadsheet, I think I beat you on several games in classics (I didn’t have time to enter the main tournament as I was doing a lot of meeting people/selling stuff) - or, at least, I was when I stopped entering cards I’m not *that* bad when I’m not in pain/running fevers/bleeding out, which is now down to ~30% of the month. I’m just not very good (yet) compared to the average person regularly in the tournament scene - never mind people like @Jackpot, @Matt Vince, Stan or @roadshow16 - and I can completely bomb tournaments if I’m feverish/bleeding/can’t stand without pain.

I also think there’s a *lot* of bulls**t in this hobby about how good people are, because I shared a bunch of two-player games in the main hall at Pinfest this year, and about 30% of the time, I wiped the floor with the other player (which is really embarrassing and awkward. You offer someone a chance to share a game with you because you’re both queuing, and then they drain in 10 seconds and spend the rest of the time standing about like a lemon watching you play ). I level pegged about 20% of the time, and I was less good than 50% of the people I played with. That suggests, compared to the average Pinfest attendee, I’m now about average - which definitely wasn’t the case last year.

Sorry for the off-topic @Jonbazookaboz. It’s a personal preference thing, but I definitely think easy setups can give you a false sense of security if you’re going to play on location

 

[David_Vi]

I can now get replays 50% of the time on a walk-up single game in most locations that see a lot of casual play (e.g. bars)

That's because you have experience of pinball machines, so know the basics whereas a lot of people in a bar playing aren't regular players, drunk, having a laugh with friends. So the replay goes down automatically.

When you see the Pinfest spreadsheet, I think I beat you on several games in classics

What does this have to do with what I said? I said playing in proper comps will improve your playing is more fun. It's my opinion but playing head to head or in groups is much better than a league format, you get to meet new people, learn the rules of games and learn how to play better from others.

Everyone has bad games.
Even so I don't think your statement is true unless you're only going by the start of the day.

Can I use my bad back and sciatica as an excuse too? I forgot to mention it.

 

[VeeMonroe]

What does this have to do with what I said? I said playing in proper comps will improve your playing is more fun. It's my opinion but playing head to head or in groups is much better than a league format, you get to meet new people, learn the rules of games and learn how to play better from others.

Tone on the internet is hard, but it sounded like you'd turned up to personally comment on my play. I responded defensively (as people do)

Everyone agrees matchplay is a great way to learn and meet new people, and I'd recommend it heartily to @Jonbazookaboz rather than him getting too worried about whether he has a perfect home setup That said, I think it would come as a big surprise playing on location if I focused on learning the quirks of specific home machines, and didn't have machines set up factory at home. You don't need to be Keith Elwin to realise that

Everyone has bad games.
Even so I don't think your statement is true unless you're only going by the start of the day.

3pm? I was about 9th/15th on Genesis/Black Hole and, as I'm not Keith Elwin, was pretty pleased with that.

Can I use my bad back and sciatica as an excuse too? I forgot to mention it.

I'm guessing you haven't spent four years off work due to ill health, recently had £20k of risky private surgery (that most NHS hospitals won't do) to separate your internal organs, and are now saving up for a hysterectomy? Didn't think so (but, if you have, I'm happy to apologise ). Please don't start internet-judging people's health without knowing too much about them. There are people posting on here who are living with cancer (so, in a incomparably more difficult/scary situation than I am) and I wouldn't start implying how they could personally improve their tournament play either because (in the nicest possible way) it's clumsy and ill judged

 

[Jib]

A few thoughts reading this thread.

First and most importantly, set up your machine however you have most fun. It’s stupid to set up your own machine in a way you think is right based on someone else’s opinion, especially given the cost and space requirements of these things. Fun for some people will be getting frustrated, for others that’s not fun.

My machines are on 3 balls now but still set up easy, that’s not stopped me from improving and having fun. They use to be set up even easier when I first started, 5 balls was my standard and yep I even played some 10 ball games! Because it was fun for me, when I got to a wizard mode I’d -1 ball.

Do I still post my high scores occasionally even though my tilt is loose, my outlane posts are on the bottom, extra balls are on and ball saves on wizard modes are increased? (if I get there I want to enjoy the mode) Yeah, because it’s my high score, I’ve beaten my best and I’m happy about it, it’s not to compare to other people and say I’m better than them.

I’d be surprised if the majority of people on here don’t have some kind of health issue or injury.

Anyone can beat anyone in a one off.

Plenty of good players don’t compete.

 

[David_Vi]

I'm guessing you haven't spent four years off work due to ill health, recently had £20k of risky private surgery (that most NHS hospitals won't do) to separate your internal organs, and are now saving up for a hysterectomy? Didn't think so (but, if you have, I'm happy to apologise ). Please don't start internet-judging people's health without knowing too much about them.

I'm not judging I just don't think it's relevant because everyone has their own issues, hence I didn't add anything about my back issues, mental health etc.
I think you'll find most pinball people have a variety of health ailments, you just don't hear about them because most people play pinball to escape and have fun. Pinball is the only thing I can do that distracts my crazy brain for a few minutes at a time.

 

[VeeMonroe]

A few thoughts reading this thread.

First and most importantly, set up your machine however you have most fun. It’s stupid to set up your own machine in a way you think is right based on someone else’s opinion, especially given the cost and space requirements of these things. Fun for some people will be getting frustrated, for others that’s not fun.

I think that's the most important thing. I would be bored rigid if I owned Cactus Canyon and Elvira, set up with 10 balls. I'd just walk off mid-game. When we owned LoTR, I actually got frustrated playing games where I was neither achieving anything nor draining, and drained the ball on purpose. Other people love the longer more relaxed games, and that's great too. The best way to improve is to play regularly and, if you're not having fun, you're not going to do that

Do I still post my high scores occasionally even though my tilt is loose, my outlane posts are on the bottom, extra balls are on and ball saves on wizard modes are increased? (if I get there I want to enjoy the mode) Yeah, because it’s my high score, I’ve beaten my best and I’m happy about it, it’s not to compare to other people and say I’m better than them.

I think that's fair. I always make it clear that I'm posting high scores in a specific context The OP was asking about competitive play, and that could mean posting high scores (which is having fun with your machine) or it could mean tournament play - which is a bit different (and there are multiple people who can give much better advice than me because they're actually good - I'm just passing on advice I've received ). The OP also seemed worried about which game settings it was okay to post a high score with, and the answer is 'whenever you feel like it' and 'whichever settings you feel like'.

Anyone can beat anyone in a one off.

I've put in a huge effort into improving, so it would be nice if @David_Vi's response wasn't he must have been playing s**t in Classics (or, at least, that's what it sounded like - tone is hard on the internet)

I'm not judging I just don't think it's relevant because everyone has their own issues, hence I didn't add anything about my back issues, mental health etc.
I think you'll find most pinball people have a variety of health ailments, you just don't hear about them because most people play pinball to escape and have fun. Pinball is the only thing I can do that distracts my crazy brain for a few minutes at a time.

I have a specific issue where I'm recurrently so ill that I can walk up to a row of pins and literally drain in seconds on every one. It must do a number on my reaction times, or something. I personally find it frustrating and distressing, because I'm a naturally intense competitive person, and it wrecks my enjoyment. I've had evenings/games where I've felt I was wasting my time at PBR because literally no game was happening on anything. I had a period of going home in those situations and leaving @MadMonzer at PBR, and we discussed whether I should give up competitive play entirely because I can fluctuate 100+ points week-to-week in Best Game between the times when I'm sick and not, and it means I'm not competitive in a league format.

We've been talking a lot about how to fix that issue, so I've been systematically practicing doing walk-up single games on my own machines day-in-day-out, whether I'm sick or not, and I've just gone the first month where I've played every day - regardless of how ill I am (although my average scores halve). Hopefully, over time, I can work out how to get into a situation where my scores can hold up reasonably throughout the month. It's not that I expect to be the best player ever (this isn't reasonable), but it would be nice if I couldn't literally write on a calendar when my scores are likely to halve, and I'd like to see some improvement over time.

 

[David_Vi]

To me it sounds like you care too much about competitive pinball. You should be going because the people and events are fantastic.

I'd be bored of pinball if every event was a best game format where I can go around with my other half, or a friend and play my games then leave. They have a place but the best events are where stories are created, where you've played different people and had a laugh doing so.
I primarily run and attend events because it's fun! I sometimes get down when I'm playing bad but I wouldn't stop playing entirely.

Pinball is about the excitement, at our Pinhaus events everyone's having a great time, even those at the bottom of the table are enjoying the socialising and often stay behind to play or chat more.

I've put in a huge effort into improving, so it would be nice if @David_Vi's response wasn't he must have been playing s**t in Classics (or, at least, that's what it sounded like - tone is hard on the internet

I'm pretty sure I beat you, but we might never know...
I still think it's irrelevant because everyone has bad games especially in a best game/ticket format and I didn't ever imply this was about being a better player than you or a competition. I was just saying the types of event is important.

At PBR you're regularly in the bottom third, because you get one chance and you're playing against everyone else at once, If you play a head to head or group Matchplay comp you'll have more fun and finish higher because anything can happen, that's my opinion. There's so many players who are really consistent but struggle head to head because of nerves.

I guess we'll find out at Medway!

 

[Jay Walker]

You offer someone a chance to share a game with you because you’re both queuing,

I didn't have much choice in an arcade on one occasion; I was playing a Firepower, and a lad walked up and actually pushed a 10 pence into it (that det**l shows how long ago it was) rather than placing a coin on the glass. I didn't see much option other than to suggest a two-player game, even though the ball locks can be awkward on FP in multi-player. On that game I set a new highest score, having achieved multi-ball twice; I offered another game, from the replays I'd won, but he wandered off..

The thing there was I knew FP, and that particular example, very well. I'd say it was set to regular 3-ball play; the arcade wasn't particularly keen on adjusting settings.

How well? My opponent might have wondered why I held my left hand blocking the start button for so long at the end of the game; FP makes a drawn-out sound effect (which was barely audible in that arcade) before getting around to awarding the 3 replays for a new Highest Score.

 

[Colywobbles]

Every pin that enters Coly Central has factory reset and 3 balls for a number of reasons but mainly to give anyone playing my pins the chance to make the high score table.
However this does generally mean everyone visiting gets on there and both @Sutol and @Garry Sp8 are testament to tat a few times over

 

[cmrl9]

I was thinking factory settings would prob be most fair- difficulty wise and pureness

Depends on the machine, factory settings for some machines suck the joy out of playing it to the point it's rubbish, don't forget factory= more money, there designed to take £1 coins and the quicker the games over the more money it can take. Ghostbusters is a good example increase various setting ball save etc and it becomes a really fun game, keep it factory it's not due to the habit of it launching a ball from shooter straight down the drain

 

[VeeMonroe]

@Jonbazookaboz I'm so sorry your thread is being derailed. Hopefully you'll realise there are a variety of perspectives and it's all okay

To me it sounds like you care too much about competitive pinball.

We had this conversation when Neil was still on here, I remember. He very kindly stuck up for me because, although he's a much better player than I (by some distance), he totally gets where I was coming from. Some people just get satisfaction from improving their game and competitive play

I'd be bored of pinball if every event was a best game format where I can go around with my other half, or a friend and play my games then leave. They have a place but the best events are where stories are created, where you've played different people and had a laugh doing so. I primarily run and attend events because it's fun! I sometimes get down when I'm playing bad but I wouldn't stop playing entirely.

Pinball is about the excitement, at our Pinhaus events everyone's having a great time, even those at the bottom of the table are enjoying the socialising and often stay behind to play or chat more.

You have a different neurodivergence than I (probably) have I (naturally) have a blank facial expression, don't naturally maintain eye contact and have rote-learned small talk. Trying to look 'normal' at social events is exhausting - rather like having to pretend to be Hamlet every time you walk into a pub, but being unable to tell anyone about it I find goal-orientated activities a lot less stressful, where social contact can be optional and I only have to twist my face about frantically and remember to maintain eye contact for short periods while still having the opportunity - of course - to meet different friendly people and share a hobby with them!

Internet forums are great - I just use emojis for the facial expressions I lack!

I'm pretty sure I beat you, but we might never know...

I guess we'll find out at Medway!

Ack, going to depend on whether I'm 'flaring' (hopefully not ).

I still think it's irrelevant because everyone has bad games especially in a best game/ticket format and I didn't ever imply this was about being a better player than you or a competition. I was just saying the types of event is important.

I think it is, but for the benefit of @Jonbazookaboz, the take-home message really is that anything goes in terms of posting high scores And, if you want to play in competition, regardless of format, it's different from home play

At PBR you're regularly in the bottom third, because you get one chance and you're playing against everyone else at once, If you play a head to head or group Matchplay comp you'll have more fun and finish higher because anything can happen, that's my opinion. There's so many players who are really consistent but struggle head to head because of nerves.

Well, the general idea is that I try to improve until I'm in the middle of the pack I'm not expecting more than that because I am in my forties and my reflexes suck

 

[VeeMonroe]

Depends on the machine, factory settings for some machines suck the joy out of playing it to the point it's rubbish, don't forget factory= more money, there designed to take £1 coins and the quicker the games over the more money it can take. Ghostbusters is a good example increase various setting ball save etc and it becomes a really fun game, keep it factory it's not due to the habit of it launching a ball from shooter straight down the drain

I've been SO lucky with on-location Ghostbusters. I've played about three different ones now, all which played fine, to the point where I kept wondering where the problem was with them. I guess people must have reconfigured them quite a bit from factory, even on location.