Transporter, the Rescue
Rules Sheet: Version 1.0 (November 17 1999)
Bally/Midway 1989 System 11B   
 
 
Introduction 
In this sheet, I'll use the abbreviation "K" for a thousand points, and "M" for a million points. When I refer to something in the game that has a specific name, I'll capitalize the name so you know that you can find info about it here (sometimes I forgot). This is version 1.0, so there are some mistakes.  Feel free to add to this sheet if you’d like.  There are a few things I don’t know about this game, one for sure is the Super Bonus scoring, so this is not considered a finished work yet.   If you’d like to contact me about anything I may have left out, please e-mail me.   My e-mail is Dale.Stevens@engineer.com. 
The organization of this rule sheet is similar to many found on the internet.  We’ll take a guided tour of the playfield starting from the bottom left and working our way up the left side to the top then back down on the right side to the bottom.  Then we’ll describe in more detail the text from the short rules on the index card that is displayed on the game.  The exact rules from the index card are included here and are written in bold type.   With newer games the detail needed to understand the complex game rules that are available now that computer chips control the game can’t fit on the small card.  Finally, I’ll discuss techniques and operator settings that can make playing the game more enjoyable. 

General Layout 
Left & Right Out-Lanes: 
Score 20K points or Special When Lit.  Out-Lanes drain the ball, but the left side has a Kickback solenoid that is re-lit by completing the RESCUE drop targets. 

Left & Right In-lane: 
Score 5K, In-Lanes feed the flippers.  They light the Spinner "Double Score" lamp for 5 seconds, and also Increases X-cellerator target score when lit. 

Left & Right Sling Shot: 
Scores 10, Slings ball to the other side of the playfield.  They alternate which side has the lit in-lane X-cellerator Lamp and increase the value of the tens numeral for matching at the end of the game. 

Left & Center Side R-E-S-C-U-E Drop Targets: 
Scores 20K points initially then 30K each.  That is, once a target is hit it scores 20K then drops below the playfield until all three targets from its group are completed, then all three targets are reset, independently from the other group of drop targets, and from then on score 30k each time they are hit.  During this time they are reset individually each time they are hit (got it?).   This allows for heavy duty scoring during multi-ball.   Completing all six RESCUE targets re-lights Left Outlane Kickback and Lights ball lock on U.N. Orion Space Station or scores 50K points, increased by 50K for each additional completion per ball, if ball locking is completed. 

U.N. Orion Space Station Ramp: 
Scores 15K or 40K when lit for ball lock.  Used to lock balls for multi-ball.  Unlocked balls are fed to the lower right flipper.  The Super Bonus is collected by shooting the X-cellerator target when the ball is fed to the lower right flipper, or increase the Super Bonus by successive shots up this ramp….up to 1M. 

X-cellerator target: 
Scores 5K, or 50K-250K when lit. Also used to collect Transporter bonus and Super Bonus Scoring.  How the lights (40k-10k) that point to it on the playfield score is an Enigma. 

Transporter: 
Score 10K.  Sits above U.N. Orion Space Station & X-cellerator target:  Only access is via upper right flipper across bridge.  Each loop made increases Transporter bonus value up to 1 M.  Score is displayed in lights on left side of Backglass.  Score decreases over time if not collected. 
  

Jet Bumpers: 
Scores 1K points.  Flings ball around randomly and should be helped by a little nudged of the cabinet. 

S-O-S In-Lanes: 
Score 20Kpoints.  Completing all three increases Bonus Multiplier or Lights Extra Ball. Center lane is extra ball target. 

Spinner Target and Lane: 
Score is operator adjustable from 1k-5k points.  Has a Double Score lamp lit by the in-lanes. 

U.N. Orion Space Station: 
Used to lock balls for multi-ball.  Feeds either right lower or upper flipper depending on position of the wire gate that is controlled by a small solenoid. 

Transporter Pop Bumper: 
Scores 10K points, feeds flipper to Transporter Bridge. 

Ball Plunger Skill Shot: 
Scores 50K initially, each skill shot increases the value of the next skill shot by 50K. A skill shot is available at the start of each ball and any extra balls, but not after locking a ball.  Shoot the ball with just enough spring tension so that the ball drops into the spinner path rather than going through the top gate and into the S-O-S lanes.  That is, underneath the U.N. Orion spaceship the spinner lane intersects the shooter lane in an opening about 5 inches long, you need to drop the ball into this opening so that the first score is the spinner target.  Patience will allow you to get this shot most every time, because unlike other more difficult skill shots missing it on the short side will give you another chance at it. 

Others: 
Backglass shows current Transporter and Jackpot values.  Music and Sounds are used to signal things that are happening during the game.  Pay attention to these sometimes subtle game cues; such as, Main theme, High Score Theme. 

Rules 
S-O-S Lanes: 
Lighting the top S-O-S lanes increase the Bonus Multiplier to 2X up to 5X, then lights Extra Ball.   Multiplying the Bonus value can really pay off if you’ve just had a good ball so go for these S-O-S lights.  What is the bonus you ask?  It simply rewards good ball play.  Each time a significant shot is made such as drop targets & X-cellerator target (there is no need to describe each and every shot that increases the bonus it was hard enough getting the score for each target), the bonus score adds up by 1k points (maybe more sometimes?).  The bonus score is awarded at the end of each ball and the bonus multiplier multiplies its value.  The bonus score is reset to zero for the next ball.  The bonus multiplier value is indicated by lights located along the bottom of the playfield.  Remember, you’re also going for the extra ball here.  The extra ball light is just below the center in-lane (letter O).   There are many ways to shoot the S-O-S lanes.  A shot from the right flipper straight up the center in-lane; i.e. the extra-ball shot, is awesome! Follow the monster’s tentacle.  Even if you miss this shot you’ll feed the jet bumpers, which are located in a “classic” position right below the in-lanes.  It’s fun to bump the machine to keep the jet bumpers active thereby increasing the odds that a jet bumper will shoot the ball up an in-lane.  In addition there is the spinner lane, which you should go for when the “Double Score” lamp is lit. 

X-cellerator Target: 
Return lanes increase X-cellerator target value from 50k up to 250k (as indicated on playfield).  The X-cellerator target has triple duty, because it is also the target you shoot to collect the Transporter and Super bonuses.  It’s a hard target to see being located underneath the transporter ramp.  There is a sign on the ramp with an arrow that points down to the X-cellerator target, just so you know that its there.  Also, the playfield has three green arrow lamps and a red arrow lamp that indicate when the Super Bonus is lit.   These lights point to the X-cellerator target and the line that they make help to line up the X-cellerator shot from the right flipper.  You’ll be shooting from the right flipper a lot to collect the Super Bonus, while the Transporter Bonus is collected from a left flipper shot, simply because of the way these two bonuses are turned on.   OK, so when you’re not collecting these bonuses, the X-cellerator is worth 5K unless you increase its value by entering the lit return lane.  Only one return lane is lit at a time, and hitting either slingshot will alternate which return lane is lit.  The X-cellerator score is increased in increments of 50k up to 250k, but once the X-cellerator is hit its value goes back to 5k and you start over.  There are 5 lamps in the center of the playfield that indicate the value of the excellerator target.  When the target is only worth 5K the lamps flash in sequence. 

Transporter Shot: 
The number of spins in the Transporter increases X-cellerator target value from 10K up to 1 Million (as indicated in Backglass).   Shoot the Transporter ball popper to feed ball to the upper flipper for a shot across the bridge and into the Transporter ring. The transporter bonus is a possible 1M points!  The transporter value is shown on the left-hand side of the backglass in a transporter machine that looks like an inverted V.  Its difficult to get the value up to a million with one shot, so shoot for the transporter bunker again as soon as the ball drops down the ramp toward the left flipper.  Multiple shots in succession will run the Transporter value up to 1M (listen for the male voice to say “Beam me up Bally!”).  It is worth 1M for a limited time (10-15 seconds via operator adj. # 37), then drops back down to 500k, and continues to drop in value over time. 

R-E-S-C-U-E Drop Targets: 
Completing the R-E-S-C-U-E drop targets lights the lock in the U.N. Orion Spaceship.  Making R-E-S-C-U-E thereafter increases the value of each RESCUE completion by 50K.   The rescue drop targets can play a predominant role in this game.  Completing them all lights the ball lock in the UN Orion Station, re-lights the left outlane kickback, are a source of potentially high scoring because each completion increases its scoring value by 50K, and completing them in sequence awards the Jackpot during multi-ball.   Since making R-E-S-C-U-E- in order during multiball is required to collect the Jackpot, getting good at shooting these targets can pay off 

Multi-Ball Play: 
During Multi-ball: 
 Complete R-E-S-C-U-E in sequence to collect Jackpot (this sounds like a tough task!) 
 Shoot balls into Spaceship to light Outlanes for Special. 
After locking two balls in the U.N. Orion space ship, start Multi-Ball play by shooting the Transporter. 
During multi-ball the playfield values are tripled or doubled as indicated by the playfield lights just above the flippers.  Unfortunately these don’t stay lit according to how many balls are in play and the bonuses are not multiplied at all.   Multi-ball starts with the ball popper ejecting the first ball to the transporter flipper allowing a chance to increase the X-cellerator target value.  Next the two balls in U.N. Orion space station are ejected one at a time giving you two more chances to run the X-cellerator value up to a Million.  Be careful as focusing on the Transporter is a good way to drain. The operator can set the value of the Special to award points or an extra ball, as the special is lit by going through the space station during multi-ball. 

X-cellerator/U.N. Orion  Super Bonus: 
Entering the U.N. Orion space station lights the three green arrows and a red arrow tip that point to the X-cellerator target.  The lamp table in the instruction manual calls these the Super Bonus lamps, so that’s what I call it.  They strobe at about once per second giving the impression that shooting the X-cellerator at the proper moment will award from 10K to 40k in additional points; however, I’ve never seen points added to the score in this manner.  In general the Super Bonus scoring is an enigma.  It can reach 1M by multiple successive shots up the ramp, or sit around at 20K.  The Super Bonus scoring is altered when the X-cellerator score in lit by the in-lane. 
  

Techniques 
The designers added the middle bumper post between the flippers to enable shots from either side of the playfield.  When the ball has enough speed in the in-lane just let it roll down the flipper, hit the center post, and then bounce up to the other flipper.  Care must be used to avoid draining as its not always a sure thing.  This is especially obvious since the right in-lane also lights the Spinner "Double Score" lamp for only 5 seconds.   To score you must change flipper sides.   Note, the flippers are properly adjusted by inserting a toothpick into the hole on the playfield located behind the tip of the flipper.  Hold the toothpick between the rubber ring and flipper. This technique holds the flipper position when tightening the bolt from underneath the playfield. 
  

The Transporter and Super Bonus should be run up to 1M by successive shots.  For the Transporter, 
one must learn to catch the ball with the left flipper to set up multiple shots to the transporter.  This is done by timing your shot just right, so that the ball and flipper are moving together and no bounce occurs.  Either release or engage (your preference) the flipper just as the ball arrives.   The Super Bonus just requires you to flip away.  The left U.N. Orion ramp (with no ball lock) feeds the ball back to the lower right flipper for multiple shots up the ramp, or try to collect what you've earned at any time with an X-cellerator shot. 

There are a many ways to shoot for the S-O-S lanes and perhaps having the lane change feature enabled makes obtaining and Extra Ball too easy.  Note that the operator can disable the lane change feature (adj. # 41) which make the S-O-S lanes more challenging.  I believe this feature is there for good reason.   In my mind doing so allows a return to the “golden days” of pinball where players skillfully nudged the machine in order to make the “needed” in-lanes.  However, the in-lane targets do not have a lot of bounce like the older designs.  No problem, another approach is to get the jet bumpers involved.  The jet bumpers are located in a “classic” position right below the in-lanes.  It’s fun to bump the machine to keep the jet bumpers active thereby increasing the odds that a bumper shot up an in-lane will occur.  In addition there are THREE other ways to make the in-lane targets: 1. The spinner lane, 2.  A right flipper shot up the center in-lane (the extra-ball shot), 3. A ball plunger shot after a locked ball.   Other operator controlled features involving the in-lanes: Top Lane Memory is adj. #37, leave it on if you disable the lane change feature.   The S-O-S completion for Extra Ball is adj. #4, and Tilt warnings adj. #10. 
  

Settings
The operator can control the following game features.  Memory indicates that the value is carried over from ball to ball. 
#31 Spinner On Value  3-5 K 
#32 Left Kickback enabled at beginning of each ball 
#33 Transporter Bonus Values Memory 
#34 Special Memory 
#35 RESCUE Memory 
#36 Transporter countdown time 10 or 15 seconds 
#37 SOS lane Memory 
#38 Extra Ball Memory 
#39 Jackpot advance 1-9K 
#40 Easy Lock, Return lanes advance ball lock RESCUE 
#41 SOS Lane Change, Flipper activates rotation of lights 
#42 Consolidation Extra Ball 
#43 Extra Ball percentage 
#44 Extra Ball On, 4X, 5X etc SOS lanes 
#45 X-cellerator Memory