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pinsim-digest        Tuesday, November 17 1998        Volume 01 : Number 003




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Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 15:11:48 PST
From: "Thomas Lindsey" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Re: Microsoft Pinball Arcade

How about Microsoft Arcade running under Win95? Anyone know about the
performance?

______________________________________________________
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 11:46:16 +0100 (MET)
From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: BRUSA (was RE: [PS] Pinball & Network)

On Tue, 10 Nov 1998, Gregory A. Swarthout wrote:

> > How many different modes do you have in the game?
>
> There are 16 cities, each of which has it's own mode, though some of these
> are simple quickshots.
But they are assigned randomly. At least it seems to me like that.
Most often I get "Mall Mayhem" first.
"Speed Hump Hilarity" is second most in my case.

- -Carsten



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Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 18:47:50 -0700
From: "Gregory A. Swarthout" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] [Fwd: PIN #06]

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Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:53:46 +0100
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- -----------------------------------------------------------------
PIN #06
1998, November
Sam Gabrielsson
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Table of Contents

01. Editorial
02. Interview with Bill Budge
03. Pro Pinball - Big Race U.S.A (BRUSA)
04. Microsoft Pinball Arcade
05. Simulations of real pinballs
06. 3D Ultra Pinball 4: NASCAR Pinball
07. Full Tilt! Cheat
08. Phaedrus's Rules of Pinball
09. Upcoming & Released

- -----------------------------------------------------------------
1.     Editorial
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, the sex issue is here... err the sixth issue that is so don't get any
funny ideas! Anyway it is here, so simply read and enjoy a moment of...
pinball!

The main attraction of this mail is an interview with noone else than, Bill
Budge! Creator of Raster Blaster and Pinball Construction Kit, that is the
first pinball simulation and the first pinball editor!

There is ofcourse also some comments on this years main attraction, Pro
Pinball - Big Race U.S.A. Believe me this is something you really should
get hold off, specifically for the head-to-head implementation, just sooo
fun! :)

Microsoft is also releasing their MS Pinball Arcade this fall, it will
maybe not be quite in the same league as the pro pinball series (on concern
of realism) but it features 7 tables, all simulations of real pinballs!

Sierra is also coming out with their fourth pinball, this time a car themed
one approved by Nascar.

There is also some other pinballs on the way, but they are further away and
I have no idea whetever or whenever they will be release, so that is
another issue.

I didn't write so many small articles this time, just concentrated on the
big releases. Who knows, maybe I'll do things differently next time. If
there is any people who would like me to send out these clubmails more
often then feel free to send me articles, tips on articles, etc... I wont
mind.

Before I finish off this letter editorial I just wanted to point out that
there is now a Pinball Simulation Mailing List (maintained by Gregory A.
Swarthout). Join the list by filling out the form on the club page:
http://www.pcpinball.com/club/psmlist.html

Oh, by the way, wish me a happy birthday (on 11/11)! :)


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
2.     Interview with Bill Budge
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Bill Budge! The creator of both Raster Blaster and Pinball Construction
Kit, the first pinball simulation and the first pinball editor (you will
have to take my word for it that they are the first)! Here follows an
interview with him, hope you like it! The interview asks questions about
how the pinballs he developed came to be and also investigates the history
of computers a little...

The Interview...

[Sam Gabrielsson]: Godday Mr. Budge. A simple question, who are you? (if it
is not to personal, how old are you? :)

[Bill Budge]: I'm a guy who likes to build things. I discovered computer
programming as a teenager in the late 60's. While in the PhD program at UC
Berkeley, I got an Apple II and began writing video games for fun. I liked
it so much I stopped being a student and became a game programmer. I'm 44,
married to a beautiful woman from Chile, and have two little kids, aged 3
and 5.

[SG]: What are you doing today? Still programming all you can, or have you
taken the step up (down?) to be the organizer of lots of other programmers
or are you just relaxing with a lot of money at some calm Hawaii hotel...
or what do you do? :)

[BB]: I'm still programming. I love to build things, and software is the
ultimate construction toy. I do work with other programmers though.

[SG]: By memory, how many titles (games, programs, whatever) have you
created? Might be quite a lot, feel free to mention just the titles of the
ones you are most happy with or maybe the ones that were most successful.
Just curious on what you have created!

[BB]: About a dozen - let's see... First was inspired by Pong, called Penny
Arcade and traded to Apple Computer for a printer. Then some more Apple II
games. I did a 3-d vector graphics game construction set, then Raster
Blaster, the first personal computer pinball simulation. (Someone did a
really nice arcade sim before me) I extended RB to get Pinball Construction
Set, which is probably my major claim to fame. More recently, I completed a
version of PCS for the Sega Genesis, called Virtual Pinball, published by
Electronic Arts. At 3DO, I did a 3DO Multiplayer game called Blade Force,
and worked on an Olympic Decathlon game. Since then, I've been doing
engines and tools for PC games.

[SG]: Where did you grow up and where do you by the way live today? Did/do
you like the places?

[BB]: My family moved around a lot; I've lived in Raleigh, NC, Buffalo NY,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Wichita KA and finally, the San Francisco - Bay Area.
I love it here.

[SG]: Let me jump directly to a quick pinball question, did you play any
pinballs as young? If so, any special ones you remember? If you had no
contact with pinballs at all as young, when did you come in contact with
one the first time?

[BB]: Never. Only when I was an engineer at Apple Computer in the early
80's. Woz and a lot of the other engineers became obsessed with pinball,
and I picked it up from them.

[SG]: Today, do you play lots of lots of pinball all the day in the arcade
or on the computer? :)

[BB]: Neither. With work and kids, I don't have time for much else.

[SG]: Do you remember which your first contact with computers was, which
the first computer you owned was (I suppose there might be a big time gap
between those two occasions and then again maybe not, I don't know)?

[BB]: First computer programmed - An IBM 1401, a real antique. First
computer owned - an Apple II, serial number about 10,000.

[SG]: As might not be a surprising question in an interview with a
programmer, when did you start programming and well... on what, why and
what (interpret that in some way you think is correct)?

[BB]: A math teacher in my high school, Harriet Hungate, started a computer
programming class. I took it out of curiosity and after a week of total
confusion realized what I wanted to do as a career. A local business loaned
us some time on an IBM 1401. We wrote programs in assembler on coding
sheets, they got punched into decks of cards, and we got printer output. I
wrote multiply subroutines at first, obsessed with improving them. Then
more math stuff, like division, factorials and square roots. This was a
very primitive computer. Later someone gave us time on a machine that had a
FORTRAN compiler. Finally, we got a terminal which could link up to a
minicomputer with BASIC, and I wrote tic-tac-toe, checkers and GO games. My
unfinished project was a Geometry Theorem Prover.

[SG]: What was the situation like when you started programming, even if
your aim wasn't to get work as a programmer, would it have been hard?

[BB]: It didn't occur to me that I could make money at programming then.
Probably not if I'd been more of a hustler.

[SG]: So, what was your first finished v.1.0 of a game or program? You
still got it lying around somewhere or has it been lost somewhere unknown?

[BB]: Probably Tic-tac-toe. I think I have the source listing stored away.
I definitely have some of my first programs saved.

[SG]: Would you like to tell us a little more about your early days as an
more or less experienced programmer? I mean more like, what did you do to
work your way up to wherever you have ended up, or are you maybe still
aiming for something! Maybe you could start with your time at Electronic
Arts, that was the first company you worked for, right? What did you do?

[BB]: The learning process never ends. I've improved my skills
significantly this year, and I'm 44! I was always a good programmer, almost
from the start, but I had a lot to learn. It's a common fantasy, when
you're starting, to believe you're the best programmer in the world,
because other programmers' work isn't that visible. I've come a long long
way since then, but in some sense, I still have about the same intelligence
and creativity.

[SG]: When did you write Pinball Construction Kit and why, what is the
background for the game? For which platform did you originally write the
pinball (I think it has been ported to quite a lot of systems?).

[BB]: I wrote it in 1982. It's descended from Raster Blaster, which I wrote
in 1981. I rewrote the pinball simulation to make it more robust, and added
the GUI editor. It was originally written for the Apple II, but I ported it
to Atari 800 and Macintosh, and EA hired programmers to port it to IBM PC
and Commodore 64. I totally rewrote the whole thing in 1993 for Sega
Genesis Virtual Pinball. It's the same idea, with a better simulation,
better graphics and sound, and a simpler interface.

[SG]: Were you happy with PCK? I have read that the wysiwig interface
featured in the pinball was pretty unique when it came out, sort of the
first game to feature a graphical level editor?

[BB] Yes, I was very satisfied. I was inspired by the Xerox Parc work on
GUI's. I had to solve a lot of problems to build all of that on an Apple II.

[SG]: Tell me about Raster Blaster!!! When did it come out, for what
computer, why did you make it, give us the full story! :)

[BB]: Raster Blaster was also an Apple II game. I did it in my spare time
while working as a graphics engineer at Apple Computer. I had seen an
arcade pinball, and had learned enough about hi-resolution graphics to
realize that a very nice simulation could be done on the Apple. For the
first couple of weeks, I built the basic simulation and built a board
database by hand. Nobody quite understood what I was doing. Then one night
I got the ball bouncing around on the board and it became apparent how cool
it would look (by 1981 standards at least) I got the rest going pretty
quickly. I made myself some bitmap editing tools (which were included in
PCS) and made it look pretty. Flippers took a while to implement. They're
definitely the most complicated thing for me. I also had some trouble with
collision detection, with balls getting stuck to walls, or slipping
through. Eventually I got it pretty solid. I had my own company to market
the game and we sold quite a few without much effort.

[SG]: What other pinballs have you written?

[BB]: That's it!

[SG]: What do you think of the pinball simulations and the pinball editors
released today (not sure if you have tried any?)?

[BB]: I haven't played too much; the ones I've seen look very good, and I'm
sure the latest ones are great. Much better than my early stuff, which
wasn't very realistic.

[SG]: I read some notice that EA in it's early days packed their games like
lp records and send people like you out on... "autograph signing tours"?
You got to tell me something more about this, sounds like a kind of unusual
idea! Did it work out well like a promoting thing? (could you email me your
autograph? :)

[BB]: Yeah, they sent me out on a kind of celebrity rock star tour. But it
became obvious pretty quickly that programmers aren't quite rock stars. But
it was a fun experience. I don't have a scanned autograph yet!

[SG]: What did you do after EA? I know a pinball by the name "Virtual
Pinball" for Sega Genesis was released by BudeCo Inc. in 1993, is that some
company of your own? Is it still in business?

[BB]: That's an EA game too.

[SG]: So, when did you start working at Studio 3DO? What do you do there?
(I'm pretty sure that you are working at 3DO today, if you don't, how come
you have this email? :)

[BB]: I started in 1993. My official title is "Distinguished Engineer",
which is kind of like a fellow. So I get to work on cool new stuff, like
game engines.

[SG]: Anything really special you remember from your computer programming
life so far that you would like to share with us? Any important step in
your career I haven't asked about?

[BB]: My programming teacher in high school was great. She let us discover
things by ourselves. So I actually discovered the "loop" by myself. That
was a transcendent moment for me. Getting my first pong ball bouncing
around on the screen, that was another one.

[SG]: If you today look back on the two occasions when you had your first
contact with a computer and when you got your first computer, how have
computers developed in your eyes until today? (maybe not only in terms of
speed and hardware, but in usability, affect on people etc.)

[BB]: Computers were big expensive machines that you never touched. You
didn't really interact with them. Some, like university minis had graphics
and cool peripherals, but I couldn't get my hands on. It was great to have
my own Apple II with graphics and sound. Even though it wasn't that
powerful, you got the whole machine. Now, with the Internet, and the kind
of hardware and tools that are available, the promise of computing is being
realized, so I would say that the impact of the computer has increased
dramatically.

[SG]: Most interesting of all, do you find the way things have evolved
good, fascinating or bad (and why in any case)? Is anything (concerning the
computer world then) today like you expected it to be when you began your
career?

[BB]: Good. So many things are better because of computers, from cars to
toys. I never thought the average person would ever be buying software!

[SG]: Let's say I think it would be cool if computers evolved so that one
on the computer could simulate a real pinball so that it looks as well as
feels as a real pinball (maybe a vr or holographic pinball), do you think
that will ever be possible? I imagine you as the one and only person who
can answer this question correctly! What is your view on the future of
computers?

[BB]: Some areas of technology like computing cost and speed are advancing
rapidly. But other technologies, like true 3D displays and tactile feedback
are in their infancies and may face insurmountable obstacles. For example,
feedback to simulate a solid object requires force powerful enough to rip
your arm off. I could be wrong, but I think computer pinball should strive
to exploit its special advantages, rather than just be a copy of real
pinball machines.

[SG]: My last pinball question to you, are you planning on in some way in
the future being active in the release of another pinball?

[BB]: Probably not, but you never know. There are interesting problems to
solve.

[SG]: A last question, when EA published their first games they produced an
ad that said: "Software artists? It is a name these people are
uncomfortable with. 'I'm not so sure there are any software artists yet',
says BB. 'Maybe we've got to earn that title.'" Well, have you? (don't be
modest!)

[BB]: I think I was talking about game design. There is art in just about
anything, but I'm strictly an engineer at this point in my career, so I'd
have to say "No". But I'd like to design a game again some day.

[SG]: Anything else you want to say...?

[BB] No, but thanks for the questions. Please forward any club newsletters,
I'd be interested.

Thanks for Answering!


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
3.     Pro Pinball - Big Race U.S.A (BRUSA)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

       "your powers are weak old taxi"
                      - the police car (brusa)

This is the third title in the pro pinball series and it is just as great
as the previous ones. BRUSA is a little more on the humorous side than the
previous titles in the series. It also differs from the previous titles by
not featuring a sci-fi themed table, instead it is cars that are the stars
and theme of the table. Mean cars, sweet cars, funny cars...

The main theme of the pinball is to travel across USA to San Francisco and
well there win the big race (hence, Big Race U.S.A). Sound simple? Well
there is a lot more to it, and who knows, maybe something really really big
is out there? You must accomplish a lot of modes, duel other cars, pick up
passengers in your taxi and so on.

It is all very neat and fun. Depending on what kind of pinball player you
are you might find BRUSA a bit easier to get into than timeshock! maybe
was. There is still lots to do and you do have to learn the tables secrets
and work the theme out for yourself like in all other pinballs, but isn't
that the fun part?

And the best of all, there is a head-to-head feature available. You connect
to the internet (you can play over ipx etc too), load up the brusa table
and from a menu enter a chat lobby. Here you can meet other players and
challenge them in ladder and friendly matches of pinball! You both play
simultaneously against each other in specially formed matches. The matches
are made up of three rounds, you and your opponent compete to win each
round, and in the third round you play the big race - lock balls to
overtake your opponent and get first to the finishing line! It is fun!

[BRUSA REVIEW] http://www.pcpinball.com/reviews/english/sims/ppbrusa.html


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
4.     Microsoft Pinball Arcade
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

This pinball features 7 tables which are all simulations of real tables
(created by Gottlieb). The tables are: Baffle Ball (1932, first pinball
prototype I believe), Humpty Dumpty (1947), Knock Out (1950), Slick Chick
(1963), Spirit of '76 (1976), Haunted House (1982), Cue Ball Wizard (1993).
So if you are a fan of any of those tables you are probably looking forward
to the release of this pinball which should happen sometime during November
this year.

Are the tables in MPA authentic and perfect simulations of the real tables,
you might wonder? Well, not perfect anyhow... How are they compared to
other attempts of simulating real existing pinball tables, in my opinion a
lot better! I feel that anyone a fan of the real tables will probably like
this package, anyone looking for just a realistic pinball simulation will
probably be a little disappointed (the ball/flipper physics just aren't
like you want them to be, though still acceptable they are not exactly in
the leauge of the realistic pinball simulations like the pro pinballs).
Graphically the tables look nice. As for the SFX it is also very nice and
consists of samples recorded from the real tables.
Anyway, when playing you can have a little fun and just getting to try out
these old tables on your computer is kind a fun even though you probably
wont spend any hours in front of it (with the exception of Baffle Ball
then, which I kind a like nomatter what)!
I haven't yet played the final version and can only base my judgement on
the beta version.

MPA is scheduled for a release in US during week 45 and for a Europe
release during week 46. Should be out by now then!

Read the preview I wrote of this pinball for a well motivated judgement
(duh) on the non-finished version of the pinball which was released by ms
for reviewing purpose.

[MPA HOMEPAGE] http://www.microsoft.com/games/pinball/default.htm
    [MPA DEMO] http://www.pcpinball.com/files/demos/pc/mpad.html
 [MPA PREVIEW] http://www.pcpinball.com/news/previews/p0007.html


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
5.     Simulations of real pinballs
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

List of simulations of real pinballs.

Eight Ball Deluxe and Royal Flush from Amtex (pc/mac)
Elvira and Police Force together under the name Pinball Jam (Atari Lynx)
Pinbot and High Speed (8-bit nintendo)
High Speed II: The Getaway (gameboy)
Baffle Ball/Humpty Dumpty/Knock Out/Slick Chick/Spirit of '76/Haunted
House/Cue Ball Wizard together under the name Microsoft Pinball Arcade (pc)

A small sidenote: A very common problem (I've been told a couple of times)
when a developer gets the idea to produce a simulation of a real pinball
table is the license. Convincing a company to sell the license of their
pinball to the developer for the sole purpose of creating a simulation
isn't easy. Money might be one problem though the biggest problem most
certainly is that companies tend to sometimes think, "why should we, we can
do it ourselves sometime if we see a reason for it"... I don't mean to
judge, maybe they can too. If you wonder why only Gottlieb tables are
included in MPA I believe I might just have given you the answer.


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
6.     3D Ultra Pinball 4: NASCAR Pinball
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Around November 14th we should expect this pinball to be released. Pay a
visit to the nascarpinball.com pages for lots of screenshots and
information about the pinball.

Three tables are featured: The Garage, Each race starts in the garage where
you tune up your car for the race. There you will see your car and 8
targets representing parts you can adjust to improve your car's
performance. The Speedway, This is where the races will be held and where
you'll be scoring the points to win them. The Pitstop, The pitstop table is
where you go to rejuvenate your car after all the wear and tear of the
Speedway. Your car is losing efficiency with every lap and accident.
Finally: If you win enough races, you'll get a chance at the championship
in a special Winner's Circle event. You win races by scoring as many points
as possible.

[NASCAR PINBALL HOMEPAGE] http://www.nascarpinball.com/
[NASCAR PINBALL DEMO] http://www.pcpinball.com/files/demos/pc/3dup4d.html

- -----------------------------------------------------------------
7.     Full Tilt! Cheat
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Hopefully this will end the neverending "is there a cheat for space cadet"
(one of three tables featured in Full Tilt!), end the neverending, isn't
that a contradiction of some kind? No, there is no cheat (if you can probe
me wrong, do so, I doubt you can), there is a trainer though. Download it
from:
http://perl.gamespot.com/perl/download?/puzzle/fulltilt/ftpbedit.zip
I haven't actually tried it, but I've been told it works.

Please realise that pinballs are not made for you to cheat with! :)


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
8.     Phaedrus's Rules of Pinball
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

Isaac Asimov worked out how the large masses of humanity could be
controlled, why shouldn't someone work out the laws of pinball? These are
the laws for real pinballs though they highly apply for simulations as well
(just imagine it beeing the big red on/off button on your computer beeing
pressed in law #6 for example).

Original by Mark Phaedrus
Modified and added to by Dave Hollinsworth
(published without eithers permission)

Rule #1: Terrible breaks and stupid mistakes go up exponentially with your
proximity to the high score.
Corollary #1: If you do spectacularly well on ball 1 (more than your
average total score), balls 2 and 3 will inevitably score a total of the
skill shot plus one pop bumper (and an outlane, if you're REALLY lucky....)

Rule #2: Your chances of making a shot are inversely proportional to how
important that shot is.
Corollary #1: You will make without any effort any shot, no matter how
difficult or complex, when all awards for that shot are unlit.

Rule #3: The number of onlookers is directly proportional to your desire
to be left alone.
Corollary #1: You will draw a large audience right before you are about
to screw up. You will have no audience when you make the pinball do the
physically impossible.

Rule #4: Credits awarded are inversely proportional to your time and
willingness to play them.
Corollary #1: It is impossible to lose whenever you should be attending
a final exam.

Rule #5: Given two highly valuable shots separated by a post, the ball
will invariably hit the post.

Rule #6: Right before you've earned a replay, or just before the end of
a great game that will get you on the high score list, a small child will
come up to your game and press the brightly flashing start button. Or, the
ball will get irretrievably wedged somewhere.

Rule #7: The Law of Conservation of Drains: If the number of balls
draining out one place is abruptly reduced, the number of drains out
the other two must rise to compensate.

Rule #8: When the outlanes are lit for Special, every ball will drain
out the center, no matter how long you play or how many multiballs you start.

Rule #9: The match percentage increases in direct proportion to how much
you are waiting for the current player to leave.

Rule #10: You will only get a match credit after a game which gives you
a replay credit, a Special credit, and 2 Grand Champion credits.

Rule #11: Any shot that changes the lit mode will cycle through all of them
and wind up on the same one it started out on.


- -----------------------------------------------------------------
9.     Upcoming & Released (since the last club mail)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------

[http://www.pcpinball.com/news/oracle/]

3D Ultra Pinball 4: Nascar Pinball (Sierra) (PC/MAC)
www.nascarpinball.com
Sierras next in line racing game, for any fan of the 3dup series it seems
to not be a disappointment. Scheduled for a release November 1998 (this
month!). Visit the nascarpinball domain for lots of pictures and
information about the pinball, there is also a demo available for download!

Addams Family Pinball | (Digital Eclipse) (PC/N68/PSX)
www.digitaleclipse.com
Christmas 98 was a release date I heard of a couple of months ago, though I
have no idea whetever this release date is accurate or not. Recently the
short notice about this product that used to be featured on DE's homepage
dissapeared... So it is very little I know about this product.

Angel Egg (LittleWing) (PC/MAC)
www.littlewing.co.jp
LittleWings fifth pinball I think, not yet released in english but should
soon be. Word has it holds up to the expectations, so fans of the
littlewing pinball series have something to look forward too!

"Boomerang" (21st Century Ltd.) (PC)
www.21stcent.com
Not really a pinball, more of an breakout style game I think. It should
have been released second quarter this year if one is to believe the
publishers, though I don't know of it having been released.

David Macaulay Pinball Science (Dorling Kindersley?) (PC)
www.dk.com
A kind of childs educational title for pinball released sometime in
august-october this year. The basic idea is that children get a grasp of
the physics of pinball as they build their own tables. There is three
different pinball worlds to explore, within each of these worlds there are
300 different questions to answer - and of course, plenty of arcade style
pinball action to be had too. As you advance and learn more about pinball
the more things will be available for you to build your own table.

Golden Logres (LittleWing) (PC/MAC)
www.littlewing.co.jp
A internet version is available of it (you download a tryout demo version
from their page, having downloaded it you pay a registration fee to LW and
they will email you a serial code).

Last Gladiator V.9.7 (KaZe) (PC)
www.kaze.net
Nothing new, last word about this pc conversion of the popular saturn
pinball was that it would be released at the end of this year. It is likely
that will happen, though I haven't been able to get any confirmation on it.

Microsoft Pinball Arcade (Microsoft) (PC, what did you think)
www.microsoft.com/pinball
Look at the heading a bit further up in the letter for more information.
US/Europe release for weeks 45/46 (so it is likely it is available where
you live now)!

Pro Pinball - Big Race USA (Cunning Developments) (PC/MAC/PSX)
www.propinball.com
Look at the heading a bit further up in the letter for more information. It
will be released for both mac and pc. No, there was no simultaneous
release... The pc version of brusa should be hitting the streets of europe
in november. The mac version should also get out during november but more
likely at the end of the month. As for the us version, it is slightly
delayed apparently, though that is all I know.

SlamTilt 3D The Resurrection (21st Century Ltd.) (PC)
www.21stcent.com
A 3D version of the good old scroller SlamTilt. Have no clue of know when
it will be released.


(end of file)
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The Tower of Pin: http://www.pcpinball.com/
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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 98 08:54 GMT0
From: [e-mail] (Adrian Barritt)
Subject: Re: BRUSA (was RE: [PS] Pinball & Network)

In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>
Carsten wrote:

> But they are assigned randomly. At least it seems to me like that.
> Most often I get "Mall Mayhem" first.
> "Speed Hump Hilarity" is second most in my case.

As it happens, by default, the modes are assigned semi-randomly. All the
modes are split into two groups, with one group being assigned to the West
and the other the East.

Which means if you travel far enough West you might get to see some modes
that you haven't before.

Ade - Cunning Developments.


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 10:42:24 GMT
From: Champie <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: BRUSA (was RE: [PS] Pinball & Network)

Have a look in the operators menu, there's adjustments that give you
some control over how the modes are allocated.

Champie - Pro Pinball Programmer



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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 04:49:06 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: BRUSA (was RE: [PS] Pinball & Network)

At 10:42 AM 11/12/98 GMT, you wrote:
>Have a look in the operators menu, there's adjustments that give you
>some control over how the modes are allocated.
>
>Champie - Pro Pinball Programmer

Is there a option in BRUSA to adjust the gamma this time ?
Ive noticed that the first 2 in the series have been pretty dark
using some of the higher resolutions.
Before someone asks...
No I dont like to adjust my monitor just to play a game.

Thanx

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 13:20:00 GMT
From: Champie <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: BRUSA (was RE: [PS] Pinball & Network)

Currently no, as the GFX are all stored as 24-bit, it would involve
processing them at load time.  Gamma adjustment is on our wishlist, and
may well appear in a patch if we get time to look into it.

Champie - Pro Pinball Programmer

> Is there a option in BRUSA to adjust the gamma this time ?
> Ive noticed that the first 2 in the series have been pretty dark
> using some of the higher resolutions.
> Before someone asks...
> No I dont like to adjust my monitor just to play a game.



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------------------------------

Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 02:24:46 -0700
From: Martin Mathis <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] 21st Century

Hi,

does anyone know if 21st Century has gone out of business? I've been unable
to reach their Web site for weeks and tonight it even said the domain name
doesn't exist. I'd like to know so I can keep the links I have on my
pinball page current (i.e. get rid of dead ones etc.).

Best,

- -Martin

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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 20:34:33 -0700
From: "Gregory A. Swarthout" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [PS] 21st Century

From: "Terry S" <[e-mail]>

I'm pretty sure they have

Terry

- -----Original Message-----
From: [e-mail]
[mailto:[e-mail]]On Behalf Of Martin Mathis
Sent: 15 November 1998 09:25
To: [e-mail]
Subject: [PS] 21st Century


Hi,

does anyone know if 21st Century has gone out of business? I've been unable
to reach their Web site for weeks and tonight it even said the domain name
doesn't exist. I'd like to know so I can keep the links I have on my
pinball page current (i.e. get rid of dead ones etc.).

Best,

- -Martin

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------------------------------

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1998 23:26:31 -0700
From: Martin Mathis <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [PS] 21st Century

At 08:34 PM 11/16/98 -0700, the hands of Gregory A. Swarthout typed:
>From: "Terry S" <[e-mail]>
>
>I'm pretty sure they have

Thanks, Terry. My e-mail to the domain admin (info InterNIC) also bounced.
That would mean that the upcoming games mentioned in recent post titled
"[Fwd: PIN #06]" are not going to see the light of day? Or is that the
European branch and only 21st Century USA has folded?

Best,
- -Martin

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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:02:31 +0100
From: Marek Wylon <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [PS] 21st Century

Hello,

According to information I possess 21st Century still exists and =
operates. But they have "small" problems with Internet provider. If you =
want to confirm this information contact with Peter Mason =
([e-mail]) the owner of  21st Century. Good luck.

Regards,

Wojciech Wylon
Programmer

Gaymede Technologies
http://ganymede.com.pl




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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 07:28:33 -0600 (CST)
From: Bryan Fitzhugh <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] Timeshock! compatibility

Hey all,

    I have the win95 version of timeshock! and was wondering if
there's some compatibility issues when running this on winNT.  It loads up
and plays fine, but the screen is very dark and can't be fixed by
increasing monitor settings or timeshock! settings as far as I can tell.
Anyone know what's up?

- -Bryan Fitzhugh
- [e-mail]


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------------------------------

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 08:50:32 -0600
From: "Dan Arkkelin" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Timeshock! compatibility

good question--i've been wondering the same thing about windows98, which i
have.  i had a hard time getting it installed (had problems with *both* the
windows and DOS installation).  i downloaded and installed both 1.07
patches--didn't help with the DOS version, it now runs inconsistently in
windows (i.e., the computer slows down in midgame and "hangs" completely
sometimes).  anyone else have these problems and solved them?
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daniel Arkkelin, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Tel: 219.464.544 / Fax:  [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]
- ----- Original Message -----
From: Bryan Fitzhugh <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 1998 7:28 AM
Subject: [PS] Timeshock! compatibility


>Hey all,
>
> I have the win95 version of timeshock! and was wondering if
>there's some compatibility issues when running this on winNT.  It loads up
>and plays fine, but the screen is very dark and can't be fixed by
>increasing monitor settings or timeshock! settings as far as I can tell.
>Anyone know what's up?
>
>-Bryan Fitzhugh
>[e-mail]
>
>
>[ To quit the Pinball Simulation mailing list, send the message       ]
>[ "unsubscribe pinsim" (without the quotes) to [e-mail] ]
>


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------------------------------

End of pinsim-digest V1 #3
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