9/28/2001
Updated to JPG and ShinyBall Image, complements to PacDude for the shinyball image ;)

3/25/2001
Alien Invasion Pinball
By Brian Smith

Both the Alien Invasion pinball table and this text file are best viewed at 1024x768 in 16bit color or greater.
The text formatting may be off in this file if viewed in programs other than notepad and/or at a different resolution.

Disclaimer -- All work here is my own except for the following:
   Background music:  Electronic Arts Need For Speed 3 "Warped" copyright 1998
   Bottom-Left graphic was taken from Origin's Wing Commander: Privateer
   Bottom-Right graphic was taken from Flash Fire Designs - www.flashfire.com copyright 1999
   "I'm attacking the darkness" sample was taken from "Dungeons & Dragons" by the Dead Alewives copyright 1989

All other sound samples were taken from various sources, but have been extremely modified so as to have no semblance to the original, thereby becoming an independent work.  And no I didn't use the default samples from Randy Davis either. ;)  I do give Randy Davis a lot of credit for creating the editor.

Preface
     This is my first table I've created with Visual Pinball, releasing it to the public today.  It has been very heavily playtested and refined over the last 4 days.  Yes this took me 4 days to create, but that is over 60 man-hours of development -- I've gotten about four hours of sleep each night and I do have a full-time job.  I did work on it for two of my days off and the other two days I had to work. :(  Randy's Visual Pinball program is so addictive I couldn't take a break until this table was 'done'.  We all know that a table is never really finished -- but I wanted to release it as close to finished as possible, and I might make some minor changes graphics-wise, and add a coinslot and animated backplane.  I was going to make up a pixel backplane font, and I got the program to do it, but alas,...maybe in the future or the next table.  Anyway, enjoy this table.


Rules -
Scoring will be at the bottom.  The default table was too small for my taste, so I present you with a 2000x3000x1000 playfield.  The three bonus multiplier lanes are in the middle.  You start the game with 3 balls, and during the game you will have a chance to get ONE free ball and ONE free ball only per game by getting the bonus multiplier to 20X.  The game is meant to be fun, not to last forever, and too many free balls would make the game less challenging than it already is.
     Nobody likes losing balls too soon, so I have tried to make the table as friendly as possible without making it too easy.  Let me know what you think. :)

SKILL SHOT - If you pull the plunger back just far enough and release, the ball will go up the ramp and fly out to hit a floating drop target.  You can hit this drop target once per ball.

Spoiler -- skip this if you don't want to know about the built-in surprises.
****************************************************************************
                                                  The bottom right drain-lane (at the bottom right-corner of the playfield)
                                                  has a one-way gate.  so If you are losing your ball and momentum is high
                                                  enough, a few nudges may just push it through and back to the plunger to
                                                  shoot again.

                                                  The middle left and right holes (near the flippers) are armed with
                                                  slingshots -- you don't get points for hitting them, but they will help
                                                  save your ball.  They don't guarantee a ball save, but they do help.
*****************************************************************************

SCORING

Large Slingshots (near flippers) = 10 points!
Spinners                         = 25 points/revolution! (they are very well-oiled but sound like they could use more...heh)
Inlanes/Outlanes                 = 100 points!
Drop Targets 3-set/5-set         = 100 points!
Drop Target 3-Bank Completion    = 5000 points + 1000 bonus!
Drop Target 5-Bank Completion    = 10000 points + 2000 bonus!
Multiplier Lanes                 = 500 bonus!
Small Pop Bumpers                = 100 points!
Large Pop Bumpers (two on right) = 500 points!
Large Pop Bumper (on the left)   = 1000 points!
Right Kicker                     = 50000 points!
Skill Shot                       = 100000 points!

Beware, the table does have built-in tilt detection.  You have been warned. I do think it is rather lenient though.

Enjoy this table, I need to get some sleep, but please give me feedback.  If you have any questions/concerns/ideas, drop me a line at Destruk@hotmail.com

If you use any part of my script, I don't care.  I'm not asking for credit or money or anything.  The Visual Pinball program is free (today 3/25/2001 anyway hehe), and I'm releasing this table to everybody.  Use the script if you want to learn more about creating your tables -- that's what it's there for.  And use any ideas from this table layout to make yours better.

Brian Smith