From hehman@vnet.net Tue May 20 01:19:29 1997
Not too long ago, in an arcade near you...                           
                           
                           
                           S  P  E  C  I  A  L 
                            
                                 T  H  E 
                             _______  _    _
                             \   |   /_\  |_|
                           ___>  |  /   \ | \_
                                   _    _  ___
                           \    / /_\  |_| \
                            \/\/ /   \ | \__\

                              T R I L O G Y   

                           E  D  I  T  I  O  N

                         Episode 3:  Sega's Turn



This rulesheet is copyrighted, insofar as this is possible given the
material is even more copyrighted.  Feel free to distribute this
rulesheet, with or without modifications, so long as proper credit is
given the authors and contributors.  Permission is required to use
this rulesheet for financial gain.  This is version 1.0.  Send
comments/questions/beer to Chris Hehman, hehman @ vnet.net.

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     Visit the Triangle Pinball League web site,
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Some terms used in this rulesheet:
         VUK:  Vertical Up Kicker
         K:    1,000 points

Enough preamble, on with playfield layout, clockwise from the flippers:

     Flippers:       Standard Sega flippers, with green and red
                     lightsaber stickers (the first prototype's
                     were reportedly gold plated!).

     Slingshots:     The usual.  Hitting a slingshot will move the
                     Light Saber Saver light to the opposite outlane
                     (this is adjustable).  Also, slingshots rotate
                     lit FORCE letters during single ball play.

     Inlanes:        Lights Landspeeder at opposite orbit.

     Outlane:        Light Saber Saver when lit, which activates a
                     virtual kickback.

     Special Lane:   A tiny lane just below the swivelling X-Wing.
                     Normally advances bonus X, is sometimes lit for
                     special.

     X-Wing:         A rotating turret aimed towards 4 drop targets on
                     the opposite end of the playfield.  Can be loaded
                     via the ramp or the Mode Start VUK.

     Light Saber     3 targets on the left side of the game.  Hit any
     Saver Targets:  on the bank 3 times for Light Saber Saver, the
                     virtual kickback.

     Magnet:         A small magnet in the left-side ramp return, which
                     diverts balls into the X-Wing when active.

     Left Orbit:     Collect Landspeeder when lit.

     'F' Target:     One of 5 F-O-R-C-E targets.  Used to light a
                     Hurry-Up or other mode at the Han Hole.

     Ramp:           Shoot to spell FALCON and start Falcon Multiball.
                     Also used to load the X-Wing.

     Cannon Turret:  Cool toy above the ramp with guns that move when
                     the ball touches them.  It also is a diverter which
                     send ramp shots either to a left or right return
                     lane.

     'O' Target:     See 'F' Target.

     Bumpers:        4 pop/jet bumpers with the Imperial Signia on them.

     'R' Target:     See 'F' Target.

     'C' Target:     See 'F' Target.

     Mode Start:     Used to light and start Heroic modes, and also
                     collects Extra Ball.  Can be used to load X-Wing.

     'E' Target:     See 'F' Target.

     Luke Jackpot    A small lane above the drop targets, only useful
     Lane:           during one mode.  A tight shot, it can only be hit
                     directly from the X-Wing.

     Drop targets:   4 targets used to light multiball, and also used to
                     block shots from the X-Wing(!)

     Tie Fighter:    Another cool toy that won't harm anything if it
                     breaks.  It rocks when you hit drop targets, and
                     sometimes when you shoot the ramp.

     Right Orbit:    Remarkably similar in purpose to the Left Orbit.    
 

     Carbonite Han:  Toy #4 with 8 blinking LED's that tell you how
                     many more Han Hole lights you need to Thaw Han.

     Han Hole:       A gigantic hole on the right end of the playfield
                     which starts Hurry-Ups, Probe Multiball, Bounty
                     Hunter, and Thaw Han (trivia question).  Don't be
                     misled by its size, more shots than you might
                     expect will skip over, cup out, or just plain miss,
                     especially with brand new flippers.

     Backglass:      Okay, so it's not part of the playfield, but it
                     bears mentioning.  Operators have a choice of
                     buying a normal (cheaper) backglass, or a cool 3-D
                     version.  In addition to the convex shape 
                     introduced with Space Jam, the 3-D backglass has
                     a nifty effect where an X-Wing fighter appears
                     to come out of the backglass, and the Tie-Fighter
                     appears to shoot when you move your head side to
                     side.  I'm told this is done with a lenticular
                     lens, whatever that is.  It's well worth the cost,
                     for all you collectors/operators out there reading
                     this.
               

Skill Shot
     Darth Vader scans his head from side to side, and when you press
     the Fire button / both flippers, the escape pod (and your ball)
     is launched.

     The "shot" part was finished by production time, but not the
     "skill" portion.  I half-recall something about gameplay being
     affected in some unannounced way depending on where Darth was
     looking when you plunged, but I don't remember if this was a
     random theory or substantiated fact.

     
Star Wars Multiball

     Let's cut right to the chase; Star Wars Multiball is a major part
     of the game.

     How to Light

         A 4 x 4 matrix of Tie Fighter lights sits beside the 4 drop
     targets.  At the start of the game, a solid row of lights will 
     cycle among the 4 drops.  Hitting the target next to the lit row
     will immediately light multiball, ala Pin/Jack*bot.  If not, you
     have to shoot each target 4 times (16 Tie Fighters) to light
     multiball.  After your first multiball, you always have to do it
     the long way.

         If you have yet to start multiball, Tie Fighters will be
     spotted for you when you drain.  I don't recall if multiball is
     a gimme on Ball 3 even if you didn't work for it, like with many
     Sega games of late.


     How to Start

         Shoot the ramp (or the Mode Start VUK if not lit) to load the
     X-Wing.  At your first multiball, the middle 2 drop targets will be
     down and the outside 2 will be up.  You have to shoot the ball
     through the gap and into the heretofore unmentioned hole under
     the Tie Fighter toy in order to start multiball.  If you miss, you
     have to reload the X-Wing and try again.

        Sometimes it gets confused if you make a partial ramp shot, and
     it thinks that the ball is in the X-Wing when it's not (at least on
     our machine).  Also, our X-Wing malfunctioned briefly during a
     game, an "Operator Alert" message appeared, and the X-Wing was
     considered disabled.  In this situation, ramp shots feed the left
     flipper, and you have to shoot the gap from there (much harder).

     How to Play

        Once multiball (3-ball?) starts, the ramp is lit for Jackpot
     (500K, plus 2K/switch).  After collecting the ramp, the F-O-R-C-E
     targets are flashing.  They are worth the Jackpot value, which
     continues to increase by 2K/switch.  Drops increase jackpot by
     10K each.  Shoot all 5 F-O-R-C-E targets to light Super Jackpot.

        When Super Jackpot is lit, shoot the ramp to load the X-Wing.
     Then shoot the gap like you did to start Multiball.  You have to
     do this with all the other balls bouncing around, ala Terminator 2.
     Collecting Super Jackpot is one of 6 Darth Vader tasks.

        If you fail to shoot at least the Ramp jackpot before draining
     down to 1 ball, the ramp and Mode Start VUK are lit for 15 seconds
     to load the X-Wing for another shot at starting Multiball.  A
     restarted multiball will be 2-ball only.

Heroic Modes

     There are 6 Heroic modes which correspond to 7 major characters:
     Luke, Leia, Han, C3P0/R2D2, Chewie, and Obi Wan.  Collect all 6
     for, um, something related to Extra Ball I'm guessing :)

     Start a mode by shooting the Mode Start hole.  It's lit at the
     start of each ball, and unlights after a mode.  Shoot it to
     relight it, and shoot it again to start another mode.  The next
     mode up is chosen in order, left to right, top to bottom, and
     continues between players and even different games.

     All modes are preemted by Multiball, which you can start in any
     mode.  The mode continues when you're done.  Modes end at the
     end of the ball, when you complete them, or if they time out.
     Modes are worth 100K plus whatever you earn during the mode.
     Completing any Mode is one of 6 Darth Vader tasks.  

     Luke
          Shoot the ramp or Mode Start to load the X-Wing, and then
     shoot the tiny Luke Jackpot Lane above the drop targets to trip
     an Imperial Walker.  You have 20? seconds to make the shot,
     which is worth 500K.  The mode ends on one successful shot.

     Leia
          Shoot the ramp to strangle Jabba.  3 shots are needed to
     finish, which are worth 200K, 300K, and 400K.  The ramp shots can
     be looped, and you have 20? seconds to make them.

     Han
          Hurry-up is lit at the Han Hole to escape from the Space Slug.
     The value starts at 420K, counting down until 100K.  You can't
     reasonably expect to get more than 380K or so.  The mode ends on
     one successful shot, or if it times out (15? seconds or so).

     C3P0/R2D2
          Our heros are being crushed in the garbage compactor.  Shoot
     the mode start hole for 50K, 150K, and 250K to end the mode.

     Chewie
          C3P0 is in pieces, and you have to make 4 shots to gather up
     the parts (ala Graveyard from Frankenstein).  Shoot the left orbit,
     ramp, mode start, and right orbit in any order.  The first shot is
     100K, then 200K, 300K, and 400K.  These correspond to an arm, left
     leg, right leg, and then the head.  Also, I don't think there's an
     animation showing the mode total when you're done, unlike the other
     5 Heroic modes.

     Obi Wan
          Use the force to get past weak-minded Stormtroopers.  Shoot
     the right orbit for 250K, the left orbit for 300K, and then the
     ramp for 350K to finish the mode.  Move along, move along.

Falcon Multiball

     Loop the ramp to spell FALCON and start Falcon Multiball.  This
     doesn't work during modes.  After your first Falcon Multiball the
     letters start to time out if you don't get another quickly.  The
     pace speeds up the more often you get Falcon Multiball.  There's
     a cool display effect of a banking Millenium Falcom when
     collecting a letter.

     Falcon Multiball starts with 4 balls, and 40 switches needed to
     light the ramp for Falcon Jackpot (ala Twister's Chase Multiball).
     Collecting the first Falcon Jackpot adds a ball (unless you haven't
     drained one).  You need 60 switches to light the next jackpot, then
     80, etc.  The first jackpot is 200K plus 2K/switch after lighting
     it, then 600K plus 2K/switch.  The third is reportedly worth 800K.
     Collecting a Falcon Jackpot is one of 6 Darth Vader tasks.

Hurry-Ups     

     Shoot the 5 F-O-R-C-E targets in any order to light a Hurry-Up
     at the Han Hole.  Shoot the Han Hole to start it.  You can't do
     either during a mode.  They aren't all Hurry-Ups, per se.

     Check the Instant Info (or shoot a FORCE target) to see which
     hurry-up you're trying to light.  I haven't seen a pattern as to
     which one is up next; it might depend on which target you hit
     first, or the "skill" shot, or randomness.

     Extra-Ball Hurry-Up
         The Mode Start hole is lit for 15 seconds, or else you'll be
     blown up by a thermal detonator.  Ouch.

     Special Hurry-Up
         Shoot the very difficult Special Lane just under the X-Wing.
     You have 15 seconds to shoot Greedo and win a free game (operator
     adjustable to award EB or points).

     Cantina Hurry-Ups
         Shoot the ramp for hurry-up values, counting down from ?K to
     100K.  You can loop the ramp for multiple awards.

     Bounty Hunter
         Boba Fett points to a seemingly random award, which I've never
     seen be anything but Video Mode.  There are rumors of a hidden mode
     possible here.

         Video Mode

         Run over Stormtrooper with your Landspeeder, and avoid
         everything else.  The perspective is similar to Guns'N'Roses'
         video mode, and the pattern is completely identical!
         Reportedly, you can get an Extra Ball with a perfect score;
         you must not only survive, but also run over all the men.

     Probe Droid Multiball

         A 2-ball multiball, where one drop target is up.  Shoot it for
     200K, and another will appear.  The value goes up by 50K each time.

     Completing a Hurry-Up is a Darth Vader task.  In Cantina, you need
     to make at least one shot.  In Probe Droid Multiball, you need to
     make at least one drop target.  I'm not sure if you need a perfect
     score in Bounty Hunter, or merely to survive completely through it.

Landspeeder

     Shoot orbits when lit for 50K, with a 300K award on your fourth
     shot.  On your fifth shot after that, you collect extra ball.  On
     you sixth shot after _that_, you get another 300K bonus.

     Orbits are lit by the inlanes, or by making an orbit.  They may
     be other ways too.  Getting the first 300K bonus is a Darth Vader
     task.

Thaw Han Solo

     You need 3 Han Hole shots (not during a Heroic mode) to Thaw Han
     the first time.  You need 1 additional shot to get your next Thaw
     each time you do it.  Shots which don't Thaw Solo are worth 50K,
     and those that do are worth 300K.

     When you Thaw Solo, you are asked a trivia question about Star
     Wars.  See Appendix A for a list of questions, and the Spoilers for
     answers.

     Thawing Han Solo is a Darth Vader task.

Light Saber Saver
     Shoot the Light Saber Saver bank a number of times to light an
     outlane for the Light Saber Saver virtual kickback.  Only one
     outlane can be lit at a time.  The lit outlane can be changed by
     the slingshots; the opposite outlane from the slingshot hit will
     become lit.  The number of hits required to light the Saver goes
     up the more times you get it, and is percentaged.  You typically
     need about 3 hits the first time.

Extra Balls
     9 lit orbits, 6X bonus, and/or complete all 6 Heroic Modes.  You
     may only need to start the 6th mode; I've heard conflicting
     stories on this.  Bozo ball lit on Ball 3 of less than exemplary
     performances.

So what are all these Darth Vader tasks good for?
     Check Spoilers if you're insufficiently patient to do it on your
     own.

Bonus
     Bonus is multiplied by the Special Lane, at any point in the game.
     Getting bonus X up to 6X is worth an Extra Ball.  Not that this is
     easy.

     Still working on how bonus works (composed of Ramps, Loops, Puzzle,
     and Heroic components), but a good multiplied bonus can be worth
     several million, which is quite a lot of points.  Replay on our
     machine is about 10M, and goes up 3M each time.

Wizard/Tournament Mode
     Wizard mode stops spotting of Tie Fighters upon draining before
     your first multiball.  One or both of these likely disables Bozo
     ball.  You start the game in one of these modes by holding a
     flipper button while pressing Start.

More Work Needed
     This is still a work in progress.  If you know more about
     something I'm missing, or wrong about, please contact me at 
     hehman @ vnet.net and get your name in the Credits list.  I'm
     likely to see followups in rec.games.pinball, but not always 
     guaranteed due to flaky access.

Credits
     Chris Hehman, hehman @ vnet.net, primary author
     Lea Ann Armentrout, leaann @ vnet.net, secondary author
     Orin Day (thanks again!)
     Andy and Cindy Mercier
     Brian MacLean (TaZBoy)
     Michael J. Lewis
     And other r.g.p'ers for their helpful comments.
     If I missed your name, please let me know!

Brags
     Not much to brag about yet, but I got 24.5M on my first game ever.
     Local high scores in the 30's-40's; surely someone out there has
     heard of a better score?

Appendix A: Trivia Questions
     32 questions, in a repeating cycle, answers taken from a kind of
     encyclopedia about the Star Wars universe.  There are two choices
     for each question, left flipper vs. right flipper.  Choose wisely.

     I haven't mustered the patience to catalogue the questions and
     answers yet, nor am I likely to.  Someone else can if they wish,
     but be sure to keep the answers in a Spoiler form if you post them
     to r.g.p.

Spoilers:
     Contains information about the Redemption of Darth Vader wizard
     mode, and general strategy hints.  Proceed at your own risk.






















[insert Yoda quote about not having any patience here]

The Redemption of Darth Vader
(courtesy Michael J. Lewis):
   It's lit at the Heroic VUK after you get the last award.  It's a
   two-ball multiball, 50 seconds long, ball-saver on the whole time.
   Load the cannon, shoot into the Tie Fighter.  When the cannon is
   loaded, though, no drop targets go down automatically.  You have to
   knock down some of the drop targets with the other ball just before
   the cannon starts rotating and fire through the hole you make (so
   it's not really possible to sight the shot by putting your head
   over the gun).  Shots are worth between 3M and 4M; I don't know if
   the mode ends if you make enough of them, but (a) I assume that it
   does end eventually because the intro seems to imply it, and (b)
   it takes more than four successful shots to score it.

Strategy
   Getting Super Jackpot is by far the most difficult task needed to
   start the lucrative Darth Vader mode, and it's not too shabby for
   point value on its own.

   As you will soon/have already discovered, the 'C' and 'E' force
   targets are the biggest obstacles to getting SJ, notably the 'C'
   target.  Both are all the way in the back of the game near the VUK,
   and the 'C' target is angled pecularly and partially blocked by a
   piece of rubber or something.  Direct shots are hard but not
   impossible; aim a bit to the left to avoid the rubber.  You
   sometimes get a free hit from the bumpers, if you can manage to
   keep a ball there.

   Once you've lit SJ, catch a ball on the left flipper and shoot the
   ramp with the other ball (you're probably down to 2 by this point).
   When the target drops, there's nothing that says that you have to
   use the ball in the X-Wing to shoot the gap; you could decide to
   shoot it with the caught ball if you want.

   More strategy to come later I hope.

Trivia Question Answers
   None yet.  Answers to the 32 2-choice questions may at some point
   be presented as an 8 digit hex string for spoiler purposes :)


