I've tried it only once (one full round), and I always had a feeling, that the ropes were stopping/slowing down the front pins (directly hit), so they hit less

I've tried it only once (one full round), and I always had a feeling, that the ropes were stopping/slowing down the front pins (directly hit), so they hit less of the pins behind them (the ones not hit by the ball directly). With a classic machine and the largest ball, slightly off center, but straight, the ball would take out one half, and the front pin or two would take down the other half of the pins... but not with the ropes attached. Maybe it was subjective, or just a different alley, but it felt worse for me.