Up to and including Update 3 we optimized the game to reach >60 fps in hd / 1920x1080 on mid range graphics cards with the highest possible render quality and fully dynamic lighting, thus the recommended hardware requirements.
In Update 4 we optimized a lot further, targeting a far wider range of GPUs and higher resolutions. The new Render Quality setting offers new high performance graphics feature presets. Changing this setting will take effect the next time you start the game.
Thanks to the Unreal Engine 4's new volumetric light maps even the moving objects keep looking awesome with precomputed lighting. So if you're out for more fps or a higher resolution you should definitely try the new settings!
Render Quality levels
Low (Experimental) is suitable for many integrated GPUs and low end graphics cards, many graphics features are turned off, uses forward rendering and precomputed lighting. This quality level is a work in progress and will change over time.
Medium uses mainly precomputed lighting and is suitable for low range graphics cards and mid range integrated GPUs.
High mixes precomputed with real time lighting, graphics features are optimized for performance.
Epic uses fully dynamic real time lighting for all lights and high end graphics features for the best possible render quality. This matches the only available render quality of Update 3.
On a GTX 970 / i5 2500K / 1920x1080 changing render quality, leaving the other graphics quality settings on epic, using cam 4:
Low ~260 fps (limited by cpu), Medium ~160 fps, High ~115-135 fps, Epic ~ 65-80 fps
And for a quick boost on epic settings we added the option to configure Distance Field AO and Screen Space Reflections separately - disabling these nets around 10-25% more fps in epic render quality.
Cabinet users rejoice: Portrait orientation now supported in "Fullscreen" too!
In addition to the screen mode "Windowed Fullscreen", which has worked in portrait orientation since release, you can now also choose full screen portrait resolutions.
Enabling portrait mode (vertical screen)
Set the display orientation to "Portrait" in the windows display settings: RMB on empty desktop -> Display settings -> Orientation: Portrait
Start the game (optionally: choose a resolution and/or screen mode in Options/Graphics)
Select camera 6 -> Enjoy ːsteamhappyː
Update 4 - The Dead Man's ALIVE! - patch notes
new: The Dead Man's Chest now with it's very own Dead Man!
new: Render Quality setting: you can now select between different graphic feature / performance presets. Changing this setting takes effect the next time you start the game.
new: extra overrides for high end graphics features, so that these can be deactivated or configured without changing the whole quality groups
new: Black Flaggers' White Pearl can now be selected as default ball skin
new: Bloom settings in the lighting options; currently not applied during pause - best set before game start
new: Full Screen mode for portrait display orientation
new: lighting and audio settings can now be reset to default; not all sound volumes are set to 1.0 by default
fixed: ball loosing too much velocity on flipper collision for most cases; more physics fixes and calibrations
fixed: the ball can get stuck if it drops below the crow ramp (the red one, left orbit) right when the ramp is about to be lowered
fixed:
sometimes* the kickback shoots up the cannon ramp again
UI: new skin, new layout, new!
UI: added descriptions for most settings
UI: fixed mouse hover and keyboard / gamepad highlighting
UI: the game version string is now only visible when the menu is open or the game is paused
UI: fixed - selection of the desktop full screen resolution would sometimes not register as change
balancing: the ball saver kickback is now a lot more unpredictable
balancing: updated Dead Man's Chest scores; success now lights a Super Jackpot
balancing: slingshots are less likely to shoot the ball into the exit lanes
balancing: added two small rubber pegs which make the left exit lane quite a bit less "attractive"
fix: ball rolling and impact sound volumes are now properly applied
audio balancing and sound channel fixes - work in progress, more in future updates
new ball drown drain sound to mark the ball lost event
possible fix for the occasional waterhole splash hitch
fixed: force feedback could get stuck
fixed: many small issues that were still present in the preview of update 4
new: frame rate hard cap: 240 fps
many more fixes and even more optimizations
What we're working on right now
VR support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
polishing Black Flaggers' sounds / lightshows / fx / dmds
This massive update will soon be ready for release on the default branch - after a bit more testing.
Performance Update - new Render Quality setting
Up to and including Update 3 we optimized the game to reach >60 fps in hd / 1920x1080 on mid range graphics cards with the highest possible render quality and fully dynamic lighting, thus the recommended hardware requirements.
In Update 4 we optimized a lot further, targeting a far wider range of GPUs and higher resolutions. The new Render Quality setting offers new high performance graphics feature presets. Changing this setting will take effect the next time you start the game.
Thanks to the Unreal Engine 4's new volumetric light maps even the moving objects keep looking awesome with precomputed lighting. So if you're out for more fps or a higher resolution you should definitely try the new settings!
Render Quality levels
Low (Experimental) is suitable for many integrated GPUs and low end graphics cards, many graphics features are turned off, uses forward rendering and precomputed lighting.
Medium uses mainly precomputed lighting and is suitable for low range graphics cards and mid range integrated GPUs.
High mixes precomputed with real time lighting, graphics features are optimized for performance.
Epic uses fully dynamic real time lighting for all lights and high end graphics features for the best possible render quality. This matches the only available render quality of Update 3.
On a GTX 970 / i5 2500K / 1920x1080 changing render quality, leaving the other graphics quality settings on epic, using cam 4:
Low ~260 fps (limited by cpu), Medium ~160 fps, High ~115-135 fps, Epic ~ 65-80 fps
And for a quick boost on epic settings we added the option to configure Distance Field AO and Screen Space Reflections separately - disabling these nets around 10-25% more fps in epic render quality.
Update 4 - The Dead Man's ALIVE! - patch notes
new: The Dead Man's Chest now with it's very own Dead Man!
new: Render Quality setting: you can now select between different graphic feature / performance presets. Changing this setting takes effect the next time you start the game.
new: extra overrides for high end graphics features, so that these can be deactivated or configured without changing the whole quality groups
new: Black Flaggers' White Pearl can now be selected as default ball skin
fixed: ball loosing too much velocity on flipper collision for most cases and more physics fixes and calibrations
fixed: the ball can get stuck if it drops below the crow ramp (the red one, left orbit) right when the ramp is about to be lowered
fixed: kickback now shoots up the cannon ramp again
UI: new skin, new layout, new!
UI: added descriptions and tooltips for many settings
UI: fixed mouse hover and keyboard / gamepad highlighting at the same time. Using keyboard or controller input disables mouse hover events until the mouse is clicked again.
UI: the game version string is now only visible when the menu is open or the game is paused
balancing: the ball saver kickback is now a lot more unpredictable
balancing: updated Dead Man's Chest scores; success now lights a Super Jackpot
audio balancing and sound channel corrections - work in progress
possible fix for the occasional waterhole splash hitch
fixed: force feedback could get stuck
many more fixes and even more optimizations
What we're working on right now
VR support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
polishing Black Flaggers' sounds / lightshows / fx / dmds
balancing / score table updates
The Grand Finale: The Treasure Fleet
Tilt!
local hot seat multiplayer
Stay tuned! Have fun! Flip out!
The Merchant's Booty Update
Ahoy fellow Pinball Lovers!
Thanks for all the great feedback!
The Merchant's Booty Update
Update 3 - The Merchant's Booty Update - 0.9.3.12 notes
new: May the Force be Feedback! Added force feedback to many events.
new: The Merchant (Adventure)
new: The Raiders (lit via collected loot)
new: The Booty Bonanza (lit via collected loot)
new: controller/gamepad button customization
new: Pause Menu|Call Operator: detect stuck balls and bring them back into play. Enhanced ball stuck/stalled detection.
new: high score initials can now be selected using the left/right buttons, too. Entering the last initial switches the selection to [END].
Pirate Battle Multiball now comes with a much shorter intro and new music
balancing: the number of balls in play are now capped if multiple modes are started at the same time
balancing: missions dependent on multiple balls now end when there is only one ball left, on multiball end
fixed: in rare cases the dmd fails to remove graphics/animations
fix: adventure victories are now counted correctly for the game end stats
fix: successful adventures now properly light 1x SuperJackpot
many more fixes and optimizations
What we're working on right now
The Grand Finale: The Treasure Fleet
more characters / sounds / lightshows / fx / dmds for existing missions
balancing / score table updates
lower minimum requirements
VR support
Tilt!
Stay tuned! Have fun! Flip out!
And... Happy Holidays!
The Popup Pirates Update
Ahoy fellow Pinball Lovers!
Thanks for all the great feedback!
The Popup Pirates Update
Update 2 - Popup Pirates - 0.9.2.11 notes
new: Pure Mode: Don't like characters pounding your steel balls? You can now select Popup Pirates instead of Playfield Mutineers in the operator menu
new: Local Highscores - using classic player initials
balancing: some missions now block each other, e.g. no pirate battle during adventures. Some are still meant to be playable at once/combined, e.g. Buccaneer Blast.
new: The Pirate Hunter
new: The Treasure Map
new: The Hidden Cove
new: The Buccaneer Frenzy comes together with new voices for Buccaneer Blast
fixed: ball could get stuck in the wave ramp tunnel below the chest, trying to get out of the water endlessly
fix: the spinner now counts - always!
many fixes and optimizations
What we're working on right now
The Grande Finale: The Treasure Fleet
The Raiders (Pirate Frenzy, awarded via collected loot)
The Booty Bonanza (awarded via collected loot)
The Merchant (Adventure)
more sounds / lightshows / fx / dmds for existing missions
new: The Mutiny - The Mutineers arr comin' to get'ya!
new: Adventure: The Storm
new: DMD customization options (Operator Menu) - Love Grassy Green or Electric Pink in the bottom left corner? We got you covered.
new: preliminary instruction card / help text
fix: increased volumes for many impact sounds
fixed some flipper<->ball collision oddities and increased the hold power a bit
fix: Restart Game now works during bonus dmd display too
fixed: ball lost / ball end bonus lightshow doesn't play
fixed regression: Chest fail was counted as success
fixed: some dmd transitions could cause momentary lag under certain circumstances
fixed: ball could get stuck on the crow ramp (left) while the ramp moves
Buccaneer Blast now uses the green buccaneer lights instead of the white marker arrows. Active high value targets blink faster.
small fixes
What? Characters on my playfield? Pure Mode coming up next: Keeping it real!
While we really love it, we also love a purer pinball experience, so you'll be happy to know that we're already working on a "Pure Mode" which keeps it real: with this setting no characters are interacting with the balls or jump on the playfield. This is scheduled for the next update.
Currently we're working under the following paradigm: if it's not purely cosmetic (like particle fx) and if it is on the playfield / ball interacting and couldn't be done on a real table it should be optional.
We'd very much like to hear your thoughts!
What we're working on right now
Pure Mode: Don't like characters pounding the beloved steel balls? Activate pure mode to have the classic pinball experience -> no ball interacting characters on your playfield!
Local Highscores
The Treasure Map
The Pirate Hunter
The Hidden Cove
The Buccaneer Frenzy
more sounds / lightshows / fx for existing missions
balancing: some missions will block each other, e.g. no pirate battle during adventures. Some are still meant to be playable at the very same time, e.g. Buccaneer missions.
Stay tuned! Have fun! Flip out!
Preview: The Stormy Mutineers Update
Ahoy fellow Pinball Lovers!
Thanks for all the great feedback!
You can now preview our first Black Flaggers content update on the experimental branch.
We're still testing for bugs and adding more lighting, sounds and a few other tidbits.
This update should be ready for the default branch next week.
The Stormy Mutineers Update
Experimental Branch: EA Update 1 - 0.9.1.17.10 notes (Build 2253127)
new: The Mutiny - The Mutineers arr comin' to get'ya!
new: Adventure: The Storm
new: DMD customization options (Operator Menu) - Love Grassy Green or Electric Pink in the bottom left corner? We got you covered.
fix: increased volumes for many impact sounds
small fixes
We're also working on the local highscores, which will hopefully make the cut for this update too.
Stay tuned! Have fun! Flip out!
Patch 0.9.0.17.9 notes
Ahoy fellow Pinball Lovers!
Thanks for all the great feedback and bug reports!
Patch 0.9.0.17.9 notes (Build 2232624)
new: Custom keyboard mappings
new: Auto Detect for graphics settings
new: low framerate warning message
new: "Fire in the hole" - ball launch with a selection of voice overs
fix: loot and treasure are now displayed and counted correctly as bonus
fix: the loot coins are now lit
fixed: dmd render issues
balancing: less loot for the ocean orbit & more score table tweaks
extra ball stack (4) and per game limit (12) are now enforced
Ball Saver starts with first plunger release instead of ball begin
fixed: rare chance to freeze when idle
some small fixes
What we're working on right now (expected for next week's patch)
More Adventures
The Mutiny
DMD customization options
Local Highscores
Stay tuned! Have fun! Flip out!
Hotfix 0.9.0.17.8 Build 2216057
Ahoy fellow Pinball Lovers!
Hotfix 0.9.0.17.8 Build 2216057
fixed: there's a chance for the game to freeze when idle / no action
