Pinball

[kbmonkey]

Here is a pinball game in development.



CONTROLS

Left + Right shift keys - flippers
Space - Launch ball / Nudge table

Download the latest release on GitHub

[Jasoco]

This is really cool actually. Keep working on it. I've pondered making my own pinball game many times but there's so much physics involved.

One gripe though is that the flippers don't flip up and down fast enough. They should be almost instant up and slightly slower down.

[kbmonkey]

Thanks for the feedback Jasoco, I appreciate it. You are right about the flippers, I will work on that. This is just a prototype, but I have a few ideas rolling around in my head that I can add to this.

[ivan]

Not a bad start. I would stop the camera moving until you have the physics looking correctly.
Note that with Box2D, the "simulation" would never be 100% accurate so it's more about making it look and feel right. For example, Box2D doesn't simulate rolling resistance so a ball (without damping) can go on forever on a flat surface (friction would just make it spin). It's not bad though keep it up.

[kbmonkey]

Thanks for the feedback ivan. I agree that simulating a ball on a sloped surface using a gravity based mechanism is smoke and mirrors, but an accurate looking one at that. Box2D is great. Coincidentally I removed the camera-following and simply scaled the drawing so the entire table is in view.

I will attempt to implement working table components (bumpers, kickers, ramps, spinners, etc) before getting into the visual side of things.

[qubodup]

Fun but really needs sounds.

[Jasoco]

Also the gap between the two paddles when completely horizontal should be wide enough for the ball to fall through. And their up position needs to be higher.

[kbmonkey]

Thanks all for the feedback! I definitely plan on some audio and a proper table layout, focussing on the engine is my goal at the moment.

I have been chipping away at this idea, and I have the beginning stages of a table editor. I am still adding the various components you can place onto the table, before I can use it to construct a better layout to play with. I will post some files later when it is in a more playable state

[kbmonkey]

One month later I give you version 0.1 of Nova Pinball!

* Greatly improved table
* Immersive full-screen mode
* Missions
* LED panel that displays goal hints and encouraging words
* Flashing lights
* Sounds
* High scores



Download version 0.1 here: https://github.com/wesleywerner/nova-pi ... l-v01.love

[Jasoco]

Looking good so far. But still, the flippers are too close together. There needs to be a gap big enough for the ball even when both are up. It's basically a guideline for proper pinball design.

Also, it's very easy to just get "stuck" at the top with the ball constantly bouncing on the bumpers below the NOVA and it sometimes takes minutes before it finally sneaks down to the bottom so you can actually hit it before it gets stuck up there again.

Maybe just space things out a bit. Widen some gaps. Study some other pinball game designs.

My favorite pinball game will always be Video Pinball on the Atari 2600. It's so simple but I loved it.