Playing many games of Space Cadet Pinball, I notice that the ball seems to have two speeds: one is slower and the other is faster. What I am wondering about is how the game decides to switch from one speed to the other. There are no indicators on the game board as to speed that I can see, nor is it mentioned in the Help file.
When I first open up the game after booting up, it always starts on the slow speed. After playing a game or two, it suddenly kicks into high speed. You cannot vary the strength of the flipper action. It remains constant. However, the response of the ball to the flippers is to bounce off them with higher “energy”. Or not. You can vary the strength of the initial launch, to score a “skill shot.” At high speed, the ball rises higher given the same level of launch.
Sometimes it looks like the high energy state is triggered by scoring. Once you’ve hit a high enough score, the ball kicks into high gear. On subsequent games, the game starts with the high speed. Sometimes it drops back into low speed for no discernable reason.
It’s much harder to hit certain targets on low speed. The ball just doesn’t move with enough oomph to reach where you’re aiming. The high speed makes these targets much more reachable. It can be harder, however, to control the ball at high speed.
But what really throws off your control is the unpredictability of the speed. When trying for a skill shot, not knowing whether the ball will be high or low speed makes it hard to place it precisely. You develop one flipper style that works better at low speed, and another that is adapted to high speed. When the speed suddenly changes, it throws you off. Is that part of the game design, to make it more challenging? Is there any reason that triggers a speed change, or is it totally randomized?
Has anyone else noticed this, or does my computer have a bug?
I think it’s based on where on the flipper the ball is launched from. If it’s launched from the tip, it has much more energy than if it’s launched from the base.
I’ve noticed that hitting a gravity well can cause the physics to get a little funny, even after the ball reaches the center to end the most obvious effects. This may affect subsequent games as well.
It isn’t a question of the point on the flipper where it contacts the ball. I find a difference in energy even when hitting the ball at exactly the same point on the flipper.
Let me explain: To qualify for a “mission,” you have to send the ball through the Launch Ramp on the left. The left flipper can put the ball right through the launch ramp when it’s in its high-energy state. The ball bounces off the flipper at a tight enough angle that it goes straight up. But when the ball is in the low-energy state (and it’s obvious when it is), the left flipper can never get it to the Launch Ramp. It always goes at a wider angle no matter how you hit it.
The Gravity Well is WEIRD!!! It makes the ball veer in curves unpredictably until it finally gets sucked into the well, and when it pops out the gravity is “normalized.” That isn’t what I’m talking about in the OP. The ball has two energy states, and there’s no apparent rhyme or reason as to when and why it suddenly switches energy states. This morning I found the game in a high energy state almost as soon as I started the first ball. It spends most of the time in the high energy state, but sometimes it drops down and later goes back up, inexplicably.
My friend’s computer runs the game in a “dead” response and speed mode. Mine always runs in the “fast table” mode.
I am totally hooked on this game and will start an IMHO thread about it right now. I have all sorts of hard-won tricks and tips to share, if others will too.
I have the same bug. Plus, in that state, a “jump shot” (in pool terms) or “tunneling shot” occurs when you flip with the ball near the heel of the left flipper; the ball winds up on the other side if the rail! Others with this bug have found that running other programs in the background fixes this problem.