Players must re-buy it to play it in Pinball FX on PC. Back to the Future was one of three tables in Pinball FX3’s Universal Pictures Classics pack, which launched in 2017. ( Pinball FX on PC is, for at least a year, an Epic Games Store exclusive, too.) Kirk also pointedly mentioned that Zen Studios told its community about the platform change - and what it would mean as far as rebuying tables - one year ago. This is also attributable to developing Pinball FX in Unreal 4. So, Kirk knew that point Zen Studios would have to rip the band-aid off at some point, and make a change that meant re-buying old tables on a new platform, something no one would like. Still, “We’ve been working with the same model since 2010,” Kirk said, and the nature of a live service game 12 years later makes that unsustainable - mostly because of the opportunity (and expectation) of cross-platform purchases and progression now supported in games as disparate as Fortnite, MLB The Show 22, or Knockout City. The ones that didn’t were usually licensed tables whose contract terms had expired. The difference is, in those games, most of the tables players had bought did migrate to the new game (if it was on the same hardware family). “We’re getting some heat right now,” he said, but “the same thing happened in 2010, the same thing happened in 2017,” when Zen launched Pinball FX2 and Pinball FX3. Image: Zen StudiosĪs for re-buying the tables, Kirk understands why that prospect is upsetting to some players. The Mandalorian is a table built in Unreal Engine 4, and it will make its PC debut with the rebooted PInball FX. “I know it doesn’t make a lot of sense, why, to have extra tickets, but this tool is coming,” Kirk said. Still, “ideally your balance could be zeroed out. Kirk acknowledged that having extra, unused virtual currency is “not optimal,” but “we have a way to address that.” In Pinball FX’s early access period, Zen will ultimately implement “dynamic bundling, which will allow you to use smaller amounts of tickets to pick up an extra table.” Kirk said this particular feature hasn’t been implemented yet because, as it’s a data optimization solution, there isn’t yet enough data to build a dynamic bundling formula. Other players bemoaned the fact the smallest ticket bundle is 100 tickets, which effectively forces players to pay for two tables even if they only want to buy one. One player calculated that acquiring all the tables would cost $149.99, as they’d need a $100 pack of 1,200 tickets plus a $49.99 pack of 575, which would leave them with 90 unused tickets, technically worth about $10. The response within the Pinball FX3 subreddit and in the comments under the new pricing’s announcement video was swift and almost universally negative. And, depending on whether tables are old, new, licensed, or Zen originals, they’ll cost 40, 45, 55, or 60 tickets. Tickets are sold in bundles ranging from 100 for $9.99 to 1,200 for $100. And to do that, they need to buy “Tickets,” the game’s new currency. To do that, players have to either buy the table (or sign up for the $14.99 “Pinball Pass”). The free tables don’t have all game modes available, however, and they don’t allow players to unlock all of the in-game collectibles that are offered. Pinball FX is a free download, like the series’ earlier incarnations, that offers access to two free tables, which change daily. Absent other platforms - and Zen Studios has not officially declared where the new Pinball FX will launch, other than the Epic Games Store - Kirk understands that looks like a tough sell. Getting there, though, has rankled many fans who saw the news on Wednesday that Pinball FX would switch to an in-game currency model, and also offer an all-you-can-eat subscription to all of its tables for $14.99 per month. “That’s always been a goal for us, we haven’t been able to, but we see in the future that we can do that.” on Epic Games Store, they also have Pinball FX on Xbox Series X, we can allow them to have ,’” Kirk said. “So, us now removing entitlements from the store, and having them in Zen’s camp, where they have a player identification, we can say ‘Hey, Player X bought E.T. Pinball FX launched in early access on the Epic Games Store the same day. “We’re hoping that the lines are broken down between first parties, and we can do cross-buy, cross-platform,” Mel Kirk, Zen Studios’ chief operating officer, told Polygon on Thursday. But longtime players will have to re-buy tables in the rebooted Pinball FX that they may have owned and played for years in other versions. The maker of the long-running Pinball FX series of virtual pinball tables says a switch to a controversial new means of selling live content will help it accommodate cross-platform buys later.
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