Deep cuts of semi-useful pinball knowledge

Only if you cross the checkered flag with those passes

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Deep dive analysis of games is interesting. And improving them is nice too.

Just remember, it may sometimes be the display (or sound) that is incorrect. And not the score tally. It may require a few times around the loop to figure it out. Or best guessing.

Same with the Fish Tales debate recently. For Fish Tales captive ball, even the scores written on the playfield appear ambiguous.

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Iā€™m slightly embarrassed to say that I think I learned something new on my favorite game recently. Was playing an AFM with a friend on location. With any ramp shot I made, I would mash the launch button hoping to hear moos, like I always do. (more on this earlier in the thread) After a game, my friend asks me why Iā€™m mashing the start button. I said it was to get to cow video mode and explained how you do it. He asked if it was worth any points (mashing the button) and I said no, itā€™s more of a show off move.

Next game I hit a ramp again and mash the launch button. I got three or four moos. This time my friend was watching the display. He said each moo scored something like 40M points. Is this right? I donā€™t recall ever getting points for moos. This was an AFM remake, if that makes a difference. Would appreciate confirmation either way. Like Fluffy in BSD, Iā€™ll still do it every time, but it would be a lot better if I was getting a few points.

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Iā€™d be afraid to restart the game doing this either way. Haha.

Unlike GOTGā€™s other modes & multiballs, thereā€™s no grace period for one last shot on Cherry Bomb MBā€¦ getting a ball into Grootā€™s mouth at the end of Cherry Bomb MB will not credit you with a SJP.
He unceremoniously spits the ball back at your dead flippers. :frowning:

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AFM was available on Farsightā€™s Pinball Arcade, you should be able to test it there if you can find someone who owns that table.

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What games have very liberal playfield validation rules when combined with a short plunge? Two I can think of off the top of my head:

Austin Powers - I believe you can do nearly anything so long as you avoid the top rollovers and starting a mode.

Sopranos - Itā€™s very liberal with the switch hit count. You should be able to start Stugots boat multiball before it starts your ball save.

And of course basically any early solid state or EM will allow you endless ball save as long as you donā€™t hit any switches. A good thing to be aware of in tournament play. I was DQā€™ed on Stars once for playing my opponents ball this way. In my defense, the active player lights were out on the back box.

My mistake. You hit the launch button, not the start button. Corrected above.

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You can hit a bunch of switches on Ripleyā€™s without validating the playfield. But because it has no ball saver, youā€™ll want to test exactly what switches you can hit on free play. I believe any switch below the lower scoop wonā€™t validate that playfield, although itā€™s been a while.

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Itā€™s something like that. I remember taking a few tries at the skill shot, which is worth more points than it probably should be, and I hit something that validated the playfield and wasted a ball.

The two standup targets next to the upper scoop (skill shot) will most definitely validate the playfield. The spinner in the upper loop wonā€™t.

Certainly not true in general for EMs. It is important to know what playfield validate and which donā€™t. With Gottlieb, AAB I think generally playfield validate ball one only. Non-AAB donā€™t playfield validate, so you can score a zero.

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Try a soft plunge on Pinball Magic for a 0 point ball. Not sure if itā€™s true on all Capcoms or notā€¦

That is utter crap. How is anyone supposed to be sure they are actually up on the machine?

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There really wasnā€™t a way to tell, but since it was just a weekly tournament we made due until they fixed it.

Also chiming in to disagree. Many EMs have a base bonus value that awards regardless of whether you hit a switch before hitting the trough. Maybe we need @BMU to opine?

It will also get a certain number of slingshots and inlanes, I think itā€™s around 5 or 6 but I also think thereā€™s some variations between machines. I also pretty sure that if you get 1 outlane youā€™re done.

It varies. Some EMs will register a no-switch ball as a zero and count it as a ball played once the ball reaches the trough. Others will allow you unlimited replunges as long as there are no switch hits [I know Iā€™ve done at least 5 before, and itā€™s much harder to do it on an EM than short-plunging on something newer!]. EMs with a non-zero base bonus, however, will score your bonus [1000 typically], then advance to the next ball, if any. Note that there are EMs with bonus but a base bonus of zero, and others with base bonus greater than zero. I think the EMs that still count a zero ball as a played ball tend to be the ones with bonus but where the base is zero. Does anyone know if there are any games where the zero switch replunge is setting-selectable? I never made a list of which games do which; one more thing for my to-do list. Anyone with specific details can send them to me for the next revision. :smiley:

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I have unfortunate lived experience that Solar City is a game where you can walk away with 0 points at the end of ball one. Iā€™d extrapolate that to include Canada Dry, etc. as well.

I recall there being a wrinkle on Jungle Queen where you can drain as Player 1 on Ball 1 with 0 points and get the ball back, but doing so later in the game, the drain will stand.

Not sure if this is true on other Gottliebs of the era or not.