Rules to Bally's "Attack From Mars"
By Brian Dominy
Last Modified May 30, 1998
Introduction
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This is yet another rules sheet for Attack from Mars, a Bally/Williams
pinball machine released in late winter 1996. I originally wrote it
for my own use, but decided that maybe others would be interested in
it as well. Your comments and suggestions for improvements are most
certainly welcome.
Attack From Mars was released immediately after Whodunnit, and early
versions of the software support the novice mode feature. This has
since been removed. AFM continues to support player-enabled tournament
mode. Hold down a flipper for several seconds, wait for the message
about tournament mode, and then start the game to enable tournament
mode settings. The software supports the Extra Ball buy-in, even
though the Buy-in button has been removed. (If you find a machine with
an Extra Ball buy-in button, it is one of the early prototypes!)
Credits
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Design: Brian Eddy, who formerly created The Shadow, has most recently
given us Medieval Madness, and worked with Mark Ritchie before his
departure on Indiana Jones.
Software: Lyman Sheats, former world champion and former Sega
employee.
Sound: Dan Forden
Playfield Layout
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Click here for a large picture of the playfield. (Courtesy of the
Williams pinball homepage)
* Left Outlane: Standard. This and the other inlanes/outlane each
has a yellow lamp with no text; completing all four lights Stroke
of Luck.
* Left Inlane: Standard. Balls can roll up the inlane beyond the
switch and find the outlane.
* Left Slingshot: Standard. Scores a whopping 3,570 points.
* M-A-R Targets: A three-bank of standups with those fat green
plastic covers, located along the lower left side of the
playfield. A martian figure stands above this and every other
martian target bank; during Martian Attack, these martians bounce
like the "Boogie Men" from Elvira.
* Left Loop: Also called the Capture Loop. This is a TA shot, and
has three yellow lamps to indicate your progress towards
completing it. It is also a jackpot/Super jackpot shot, and a
Combo shot. It is a double rollover switch. The ball leads over
the Bonus X lanes, where it may be stopped or it may continue on
out the right loop if the right gate is open.
* Left Ramp: Also called the Big-O-Beam ramp. Has lamps for the same
features as the left loop, except the lamps are orange instead of
yellow. It has an entry gate at the bottom, and a made switch at
the top. It returns the ball to the left flipper. This is the
easier ramp of the two.
* Lock Ramp/Hole: Normally this is a ramp shot which feeds the right
habitrail and returns the ball to the right flipper. When Lock is
lit, a diverter opens and catches shots, sending them into the
Lock hole. The Lock hole is just a popper that kicks balls out
onto the left ramp habitrail, returning the ball to the left
flipper. This shot can be lit for lock 1, lock 2, lock 3, Light
Lock, a Combo, or a Jackpot/Super Jackpot. The ramp entrance is
narrow and steep, and requires a solid shot to make it all the
way. The ramp has a gate, and shares its made switch with the
right ramp.
* T Target: Like the other martian standups, this one is between the
lock ramp and the saucer. A martian figure stands above it.
* Forcefield/Saucer: There is a motorized 3-bank of standups, like
in "Whodunnit", that can raise and lower. When lowered, it reveals
behind it a drop target in front of a hole, and two standups on
either side of it. The saucer targets are used during Attack
Waves. The Forcefield targets are also used during Strobe
Multiball.
* I Target: On the right side of the forcefield, just to the left of
the Stroke of Luck scoop, with another martian figure above it.
* Stroke of Luck Scoop: A narrow scoop, at an angle similar to that
of Final Draw in World Cup Soccer, but much farther back. It can
be shot from the front directly, or balls may fall in here from
the back when exiting the jet bumpers. The game sometimes
discriminates between front and back shots; it is a back shot if a
jet bumper or bonus X lane was last touched, and a front shot
otherwise. (This can be fooled by airborne balls.) The shot can be
lit for a pseudorandom Stroke of Luck award (yellow light), an
Extra Ball (orange light), Martian Attack (white light), and Rule
the Universe (blue light).
* Jet Bumpers: The usual three in formation similar to those on
World Cup Soccer, lit by GI and not controlled lamps. These are
used during the Super Jets feature. Balls can exit below into the
Stroke of Luck scoop, or between the two rightmost bumpers into
the right loop. Also, balls very likely will enter back into the
Bonus X Lanes a few times while balls are a-popping.
* Bonus X Lanes: Two rollovers directly above the jets, that can be
fed by either loop. These advance the bonus multiplier, advance
the scoring of the jet bumpers, and award the regular Skill Shot.
* Right Ramp: Also called the Tractor Beam. Has lamps for the same
features as the left ramp. It dumps the ball onto the right
habitrail and sends the ball back to the right flipper. This is
the smallest ramp, and reminds me of the right ramp from Johnny
Mnemonic. It has a gate switch, and shares its made switch with
the lock ramp.
* Right Loop: Also called the Atomic Blaster loop. Has lamps for the
same features as the left loop. It sends the ball over the Bonus X
lanes, and if the left gate is open, the ball should whiz out the
other side; otherwise, the ball will land in the lanes/jet
bumpers. It is also a two-switch loop.
* A-N Targets: Two more standups along the lower right side of the
playfield, with a martian figure above them.
* Right Slingshot: Standard.
* Right Inlane: Standard.
* Right Outlane: Standard.
* Plunger Lane: Autoplunger only. Sends balls into the top of the
right loop, towards the bonus X lanes. Plunged balls do not touch
both of the right loop switches, so it is still possible to score
right loops even when balls are being autolaunched.
* Launch Button: Obviously, it launches the ball, but it can also be
lit for a Martian Bomb, and will flash when it is available. It is
also used during the Video Mode, but does not flash then.
Objectives
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The main objective of AFM is to Rule the Universe. In order to begin
this feature, you must complete 6 objectives: (1) Collect at least one
Super Jackpot. (2) Start Total Annihilation at least once. (3) Start
Martian Attack Multiball at least once. (4) Conquer Mars by completing
all 6 Attack Waves. (5) Start Super Jets, by completing a certain
number of jet bumpers. (6) Complete at least one 5-Way Combo.
Your progress towards completion of these six features is denoted by
six blue lights just above the flippers. When the sixth feature is
completed, Rule the Universe is lit at the Stroke of Luck hole. If any
multiball is in progress, Rule the Universe will not be lit until
multiball finishes. Shoot the SoL hole to start. See the section on
Rule the Universe for details on that feature.
Skill Shots
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There are two skill shots available at the start of each ball, and
immediately after Ruling the Universe. Pressing the launch button
without pressing the left flipper button will launch the ball into the
Bonus X Lanes, and one of the two lanes will be flashing. Use the
flippers to switch the flashing lane. Passing the ball through the
flashing lane scores a normal Skill Shot, worth 10M points and +5X to
your bonus multiplier. Each successive Skill Shot is worth 10M more
points than the previous.
Holding the left flipper button down while pressing the launch button
qualifies you for a Super Skill Shot. The left loop gate will raise
and allow the ball to whiz pass the Bonus X lanes and exit down the
left loop. Shooting any ramp or loop will award 50M points and spot
all 3 Total Annihilation lamps for that shot. Shooting any Forcefield
target will score 50M and lower the Forcefield. Shooting the saucer
hole, the Stroke of Luck hole, or the lock ramp/hole awards nothing
for the skill shot. The value of the Super Skill Shot is fixed and
does not increase. It can be scored on a shot even if all 3 TA shots
have already been completed. The Hurry-Up associated with completing
the third TA shot is not awarded when it is completed by the Super
Skill Shot.
There is a brief ball saver available at the beginning of each ball.
Scoring a Super Skill Shot, or making a shot which does not award
Super Skill Shot, turns off the ball saver immediately. When going for
the normal Skill Shot, the ball saver remains active as long as the
ball is in the jets/bonus X lanes and remains on a little longer after
the SoL kickout. The display will read "Ball Saved / Return To Battle"
and the quote "Return to battle, soldier" will signify that a ball is
being returned into play.
A jet lane will be flashing even if Super Skill Shot is selected. If
Super Skill Shot is selected but the ball does not make it all the way
around and lands in that flashing jet lane, a normal Skill Shot will
be awarded. If the autoplunger is really weak and the ball doesn't
even make it over the bumper area at all, then the Skill Shot will
remain lit for about 5 seconds and you can collect it during that time
by shooting either of the loops to get to the lit lane.
When any Skill Shot is awarded by traversing the flashing lane, that
lane is also lit towards advancement of the Bonus X on the same shot.
Total Annihilation
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Four shots, the two ramps and the two loops, each have 3 lights in
front of them. The left loop shots are labelled "Capture". The left
ramp shots are labelled "Big-O-Beam". The right ramp shots are
labelled "Tractor Beam". The right loop shots are labelled "Atomic
Blaster".
At the beginning of the game and immediately after Total Annihilation,
all 12 of these lamps will be turned off, and the next lamp to be
awarded will flash. Making a shot lights the flashing lamp and flashes
the next lamp in sequence. The first shot is worth 20M; the second is
worth 25M; and the third is worth 30M. These awards are available
during regular, non-multiball play, and they are also available during
Martian Multiball.
Cow Video Mode can be started by watching the animations on the
Big-O-Beam and Tractor Beam; see "Cows" for more details.
Making the third lamp on any given shot starts a Hurry-Up sequence.
The saucer/forcefield is lit for 100M for a brief time, and then
rapidly starts to count down, to a minimum of 25M. Shoot the saucer or
forcefield (depending on whether or not the forcefield is up or down)
to collect the Hurry-Up value.
The third shot to either loop will open the controlled gate to allow
shots to that loop to exit out the other gate. This starts as soon as
the third shot is made, and remains in effect until Total Annihilation
is started or Super Jets is started.
After a shot has been completed three times, until Total Annihilation
begins, shooting that shot again scores a "Fleeing Bonus" of 10M.
Fleeing Bonus is only awarded on a loop shot if the ball completely
exits the opposite side of the loop; i.e. it must touch at least three
of the four loop switches. The first three shots to a loop can be
scored just by touching two of the four switches.
Starting another Hurry-Up while Hurry-Up is already in progress
increases the value of the Hurry-Up to 300M; starting a third
increases it to 500M; and starting all four simultaneously awards 1B
immediately and also starts Total Annihilation. In general, when the
last of the four TA shots is completed, the Hurry-Up is automatically
awarded without having to shoot the saucer or forcefield, and Total
Annihilation Multiball begins. (The exception is that Hurry-Up is
never awarded because of a Super Skill Shot.) The Hurry-Up does not
count down any faster if more than one is lit, so when two or three
are running concurrently, you have plenty of time to collect it. Once
started, the Hurry-Up continues to run until it is collected, even
during any multiballs. The minimum value of the Hurry-Up is 25M; it
will remain there for just a few seconds before the award times out
completely.
During Total Annihilation, the four shots are all lit for jackpots
throughout the round. The jackpot value begins at 50M and increases by
5M each time a jackpot is collected. In addition, an Annihilation
Jackpot is lit at the lock ramp whose value increases each time a
jackpot is collected. After collected, the Annihilation Jackpot
returns to its base value plus 10M. If no jackpots have been added
into the Annihilation Jackpot, then shooting the lock ramp awards a
regular Jackpot like the other four shots.
Each successive start of Total Annihilation starts with a base value
of 25M more than before. For example, the second Total Annihilation
starts at 75M per shot. The value still increases by only 5M per shot
made.
Total Annihilation is a four-ball multiball. Play continues until down
to one ball. The forcefield cannot be lowered during TA to start
Attack Waves. Regular multiball cannot be started during TA. Combos
cannot be scored either. Also, the controlled gates remain closed so
that all loop shots are kept in the bumper area during Total
Annihilation. The maximum Annihilation Award is 200M.
When TA ends, the 12 TA lamps all reset, and you can begin progress
towards another Total Annihilation.
Saucer Attack Waves
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There are five countries under attack: the U.S., Italy, Germany,
France, and England. You must first defend these five countries
against the Martians; then in the final attack wave, you Conquer Mars
yourself. When an Attack Wave is not in progress, pressing either
flipper button will change the next country to be saved, which will be
flashing.
The artifacts under attack are:
* U.S.: Statue of Liberty ("We gotta save the Statue of Liberty.")
* Germany: Brandenburg Gate ("The Brandenburg Tour is in danger.")
* England: London Bridge ("Blymie, London Bridge is falling down,
isn't it?")
* Italy: Tower of Pisa ("Mama Mia, the Martians are straightening
the Tower of Pisa.")
* France: Eiffel Tower
At the beginning of the game, or immediately after an Attack Wave is
completed, the Forcefield will be raised. Shoot the three Forcefield
targets to lower it and reveal the Saucer behind it. The Forcefield
can also be lowered by a Super Skill Shot or a Stroke of Luck award.
On normal difficulty settings, shooting the center Forcefield target
when it is already lit will spot one of the other two targets.
When the saucer is revealed, shooting the drop target or the two side
standup targets scores hits on the flying saucer. (If the drop target
is broken, shooting the hole behind the target will score hits
instead.) After a certain number of hits, the drop target will remain
down, and you can shoot the hole to destroy the saucer. Destroying the
saucer saves the country and light that country's lamp permanently.
You can score multiple hits on a single shot; the display will show
the number of hits and the total number of damage points scored.
For the first Attack Wave, it takes 4 hits at 50M each to open the
saucer, and destroying the saucer scores 200M. On each successive
Attack Wave, the number of hits goes up by 4, the value of each hit
goes up by 10M, and the bonus for destroying the saucer goes up by
100M. For the fifth Attack Wave, that means 90M per hit, and 20 hits
to destroy the saucer for 600M.
An Extra Ball is lit when the second Saucer is defeated. Shoot the
Stroke of Luck hole to collect.
Shooting either of the two standups when the saucer is open scores 5M.
If you are in a multi-player game, and you had the saucer hole
revealed on your last ball, and on the next ball, the player before
you drains with the drop target up, it will remain up for you as well.
Hitting it will score 5M like the side targets and reveal the hole
(again).
After completing the first five Attack Waves, Conquer Mars is next.
Open the Forcefield as before. This time, the drop target will remain
down, and you must shoot the hole 10 times to Conquer Mars. Each shot
is worth 100M (consistent with the scoring as before), and the final
shot conquers Mars and scores 2.5B.
You can only Conquer Mars once per game. For the rest of the game, the
drop target will remain up, and hits on the drop target (and not the
side standups) will score 100M. The Forcefield will remain down for
the rest of the game unless Strobe Multiball is started. The blue
Conquer Mars lamp remains lit after Rule the Universe is finished, so
you only need to collect the other five awards to start Rule the
Universe a second time.
Multiball
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To start regular multiball, you must lock three balls at the lock
hole. Depending on the difficulty level of the machine, it will take a
certain number of lock ramp shots to open the lock hole. These rules
will describe default settings first.
For the first multiball, shoot the lock ramp once to light locks one,
two, and three at the hole; the next three shots will go to the hole,
with the third starting multiball. After multiball #1, you must shoot
the lock ramp once per lock. The Stroke of Luck award "Light Lock"
will do whatever would have happened if you had actually shot the lock
ramp.
Balls aren't actually locked; the same ball is immediately returned to
the player and merely a count is made of the number of locks. It isn't
possible to steal or lose locked balls.
When ball three is locked, multiball begins. The ball is popped from
the lock hole and two more balls are launched into play automatically.
Five shots, the four TA shots and the lock ramp, are all lit for
jackpots, and each can be collected only once. The first jackpot is
worth 60M; the value increases by 10M per jackpot.
As balls are autolaunched, some legitimate shots to the right loop may
not score jackpots.
When all five shots have been made, a Super Jackpot is lit at the left
loop. Shooting the Super Jackpot scores 250M points and relights all
five jackpots again. However, the Super Jackpot moves about every 5
seconds, sweeping across the five shots from left to right, then right
to left, etc. Every time it moves you will hear a distinctive "blip"
sound. Once collected, the five Jackpots relight, and it all starts
over again. The jackpot value continues to increase by 10M per shot
(so after the first Super Jackpot, it is worth 110M) until it maxes at
200M. Play continues in this fashion until down to one ball. The
second Super Jackpot per game scores 500M; the third is worth 750M;
and then it maxes out at 1B. On some versions of the software, it
maxes at 750M and then returns to 250M for the next Super Jackpot.
Once a Super Jackpot is scored, the current jackpot value is held over
to the next multiball. Thus, if you only score 1 super jackpot, then
at the start of the next multiball, the jackpot will be worth 110M.
If Super Jackpot is lit when multiball ends, it will continue to be
lit as a "Last Chance" for another 10 seconds and continue to move as
well. There is a short grace period at the end of the 10 seconds
during which the Super Jackpot can still be collected.
Also, there is a very brief period before and after the Super moves
that either of the two shots will score the Super Jackpot. In other
words, if you shoot the next shot just before it moves, or you shoot
the previous shot just after it moves, you will still get the Super
Jackpot.
Even more, there is a short grace period at the end of multiball in
which you can still collect one, or even two regular jackpots. If you
manage to collect your fifth jackpot this way, you still get the "Last
Chance" 10 seconds for a chance at the Super Jackpot.
On default 5-ball play, you must shoot the Lock Ramp to light each
Lock separately for each Lock, like the second multiball on 3-ball
settings.
You can continue to collect damage points on the Saucer during this
and all other multiballs, except Strobe Multiball. After destroying
the saucer, however, the Forcefield will raise, and you cannot begin
the next Attack Wave until the multiball ends. On newer software
revisions, there is a trick to be tried here: it is possible for a
second ball to get stuck behind the Forcefield as it is raising. You
can attempt this to park a ball out of the way during the multiball.
When all other balls drain, a ball search will occur in about fifteen
seconds and lower the Forcefield, returning the ball into play. Be
careful, though, as it has a tendency to go straight down the middle.
Even better, while the ball is trapped behind the Forcefield, the
Saucer drop target remains down (it is reset only when the next Attack
Wave is started). If you manage to newton the ball into the saucer
hole, by hitting the Forcefield with a second ball, the game will
automatically spot the next Attack Wave. This trick only works on
newer ROMs, and works during any multiball (although setting it up for
Strobe Multiball might be difficult). It is also awarded only once per
game per player, spots the Country, and awards the 200M-600M points as
usual. Reportedly, this trick can also be used to spot Conquer Mars
and earn 2.5B.
Jet Bumpers
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At the beginning of each ball, jet bumpers score 1M each. Each time
the bonus multiplier is increased, the jet value increases by 50K for
the duration of the ball. +5X bonus increases the value by 250K. I am
not sure if the jet value is held between balls when the bonus
multiplier is held.
After 100 jet hits, Super Jets is awarded. The jets will score 3M each
for the rest of the ball. At the beginning of the next ball, Super
Jets will go unlit, and it take 125 hits to get Super Jets again. The
third time will take 150, etc.
Super Jets tends to happen naturally over the course of a good game,
especially when there are lots of multiballs.
Once Super Jets is active, left and right loops are always held in the
Bonus X lanes, and never loop all the way around. This makes it harder
to collect Combos, but it does allow you to score lots of points off
the jets.
After finishing Rule the Universe, the blue Super Jets lamp will
remain lit (on latest ROM levels) if Super Jets is still active, to
allow you to start Rule the Universe again on the same ball. In that
case, at the end of the ball in which Rule the Universe was started,
the Super Jets lamp will be turned off. If Super Jets was started on a
different ball, then the lamp is turned off as soon as Rule the
Universe ends, and you can start Super Jets again on that same ball.
Combos
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Consecutive ramp/loop shots during single-ball play are counted as
Combos. Combos can be scored on any of the ramps, loops, or the lock
hole. A 2-Way combo scores 25M, a 3-Way scores 30M, and so on. There
is no known maximum. Continuous shots to the same loop are especially
satisfying.
If a loop shot stops in the Bonus X lanes, the Combo sequence is
stopped. The Combo sequence continues on loop shots only when all 3 TA
lamps are complete (the third shot counts, too) and the controlled
gate is open to allow the ball to exit the other side of the loop, and
when Super Jets is not running.
The combo shots remain lit for a fixed time interval regardless of any
other shots made in the interim.
Combos are not available during any multiball unless Martian Multiball
is the only multiball running.
Stroke of Luck
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The scoop is lit to award "Stroke of Luck" at the beginning of the
game, and remains lit across balls. Stroke of Luck can be relit by
completing the four rollover lights in the inlanes and outlanes. Use
the flipper buttons to move the lights left and right (each button
moves the lights in a different direction), so that balls will roll in
an unlit lane, which will then light up. When all four are lit, they
all go unlit and Stroke of Luck becomes lit. If Stroke of Luck is
already lit, nothing happens; the award is not stackable.
The number of times the rollovers are completed is counted across the
game (regardless of how many times you actually collect the Stroke of
Luck at the scoop). At 10, an Extra Ball is lit at the scoop. The
animation and sound effect for this are easy to miss.
On 5-ball games, the Stroke of Luck EB is lit at 14 instead of 10.
The Stroke of Luck is a pseudo-random award. Possibilities are:
* 25,000,000 points. Awarded immediately.
* 50,000,000 points. Ditto.
* Light Extra Ball. Shoot Stroke of Luck again to collect.
* Light Lock. For the first multiball, this will light all three
locks. After that, it will light one additional lock, regardless
if lock is already lit or not.
* Award Lock. If Lock is already lit, then that lock is awarded and
no lock will be lit. Otherwise the next unlit lock is awarded.
* Multiball. Forget the locks, just start multiball.
* Lite Martian Attack. Shoot Stroke of Luck again to collect.
* +5 Bonus X. Same award as regular skill shot.
* Hold Bonus X. Bonus X will not reset to 1X at the end of this
ball.
* Strobe Multiball. Starts immediately. See below for more details.
* Video Mode. Starts immediately. See below for more details.
* Sneak Attack. One of the four martians will begin jumping. Shoot
immediately to score 150M; the value counts down quickly. Hitting
the martian also awards 2 additional Martian Bombs and lights
Martian Attack if it isn't already lit.
* 1 Martian Bomb. Added to any you already have.
The award is pseudorandom, because sometimes it can be predicted. The
third Stroke of Luck award will normally be Strobe Multiball. Stroke
of Luck will award Video Mode the first time it is hit after Super
Jets has been completed, even if it is the third time. Strobe
Multiball will then be the next Stroke of Luck award given.
Stroke of Luck will normally award (regular) Multiball on the last
ball of the game if multiball has not yet been started.
Stroke of Luck will normally award 1 Martian Bomb if it is collected
during Martian Attack, before Martian Multiball.
Stroke of Luck is not available during any multiball. The award can
only be collected from the front entrance to the scoop.
If tournament mode is enabled, then Stroke of Luck always awards 50M
and nothing else, in order to de-randomize the games.
Martian Attack
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At the beginning of the game, the seven M-A-R-T-I-A-N targets are all
flashing. Completing all seven targets lights the SoL scoop for
Martian Attack. The award can be collected from the front or back of
the scoop the first time, but then must be collected from the front
every other time.
During Martian Attack, all four martians begin jumping up and down,
and you must shoot each of the four martians to start Martian
Multiball. You can shoot any of the M-A-R targets to kill the lower
left martian, and likewise either of the A-N targets to kill the lower
right one. You have 30 seconds to kill all four.
Each killed martian is worth 20M, and killing all four starts Martian
Multiball. Another ball is launched into play, and the four shots
remain lit throughout the multiball for 20M each.
The number of martians killed is counted throughout game. The martians
killed during the Attack phase count as well. The game displays the
name of the person who has killed the most martians in attract mode.
Everytime the seven targets are completed during regular play, the
value of each Martian increases, to 30M, 40M, and finally a max of 50M
per Martian. If the targets are completed while Martian Attack is
already lit (but not started), then a Martian Bomb is also awarded.
Martian Bombs can also be awarded via Stroke of Luck and Sneak Attack.
These are used during the Attack phase only (i.e. not during martian
multiball, and they are NOT used during Video Mode either). The launch
button will flash when you have at least one martian bomb. Pressing
the launch button will then kill one of the remaining flashing
martians for you, to help you to complete all four of them. You can do
this safely after the ball has gone down an outlane, but not after the
ball has landed in the trough. If your fourth martian is killed this
way, then Martian Multiball is still started, and two balls are
launched back into play.
Martian Bombs are stackable and carry across Martian Attacks. Save
bombs that you don't need or that won't help you complete all four for
the next Attack. There is no known maximum to the number of Martian
Bombs you can collect. The number of total Bombs is displayed each
time Martian Bombs are awarded, and it is also available in the Status
Report. Unless used, Martian Bombs saved are not worth anything.
If one of the Martian targets is known to be bad, the game will spot
that target for you automatically in all circumstances. The "T" and
"I" targets are likely to go bad at some point, since they take quite
a beating.
Total Annihilation shots can be made both during Martian Attack and
during Martian Multiball itself. If all 12 TA shots are completed
while Martian Multiball is running, Total Annihilation begins
immediately, two more balls are launched into play (for a total of
four), the usual ball saver for Total Annihilation is started, and
both multiballs run concurrently.
Strobe Multiball
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Strobe Multiball is only available as an award from the Stroke of
Luck, and can only be played once per game per player. The Forcefield
will first raise if it is lowered, all playfield lamps will be turned
off, the strobe lamp will begin to flash along with the three
Forcefield targets, and two more balls are sent into play. The
objective is to hit the Forcefield as many times as possible, until
back to one ball.
Each shot scores 50M. On the 10th hit, an Extra Ball is lit.
Collecting the Extra Ball will temporarily illuminate the playfield
for the Extra Ball lamp effect. On the 20th hit, a 250M bonus is
awarded, but without any fanfare or additional lighting. Bonus is also
awarded at 30. The display will always tell you the number of total
hits, and the next award to be given.
If Martian Attack or Martian Multiball is running during Strobe
Multiball, then the Martian targets will be flashing. If a Hurry-Up is
active at the start of Strobe Multiball, then the Hurry-Up arrow will
flash. If the roaming Super Jackpot is lit, then it will continue to
be lit and move until collected or time runs out. These are the only
other situations in which other playfield lights can be flashing.
The inlane/outlane rollovers and Bonus X lanes remain active during
the round, even though you can't see which ones are lit. You will be
able to tell briefly which ones are lit when the playfield is lit for
the Extra Ball animation.
There is a lengthy ball saver at the beginning of Strobe Multiball,
and a brief ball saver after it ends. If no balls are in play when the
game recognizes the end of Strobe Multiball, another ball is launched
into play. Basically, your ball cannot end because of Strobe
Multiball.
Video Mode
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Video Mode is only available as an award from the Stroke of Luck, and
it is only given out once per game, per player. The objective is to
shoot as many saucers as possible. Your shooter is positioned in the
center and fires automatically. Use the left and right buttons to
control the direction of the shots. Each saucer hit is worth 3M.
Once, and only once, you may press the launch button to fire a "Smart
Bomb", which will destroy all the saucers on the screen. This has
absolutely nothing to do with Martian bombs. Unlike with Martian
Bombs, the launch button does not flash to let you know you have a
Smart Bomb.
At 30 saucers, a percentaged Extra Ball will descend; shoot it to
collect an Extra Ball immediately. If the game has been awarding too
many extra balls recently, then it may not appear at all.
At 50 saucers (I think), the Mothership will approach. The regular
saucers stop landing (any ones that are still descending get zapped as
if you have shot them), and the big Mothership starts descending. You
must shoot the Mothership before it lands. It is a rather large ship,
which zigs and zags quickly to make it more difficult to hit. It takes
80 hits to destroy it; the lower right corner of the display will tell
you how many remaining hits are needed. Completing video mode in its
entirety is worth a total of 635M points, and displays the message
"You Have Won; The World Is Safe".
You can use the Smart Bomb to kill the Mothership as well.
This same video mode is available in the game "Junkyard", including
the Smart Bomb and Mothership features.
Bonus
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At the end of the ball, bonus is awarded. Your bonus consists of some
random point value based on how many shots you hit during play, with a
base value of 5M, plus 250K for each Martian you've destroyed. This is
all then multiplied by your bonus multiplier. It is possible to have
very big bonuses, in the billions. The bonus multiplier maxes out at
250X; at that level, each Martian you hit is worth 62.5M.
Rule the Universe
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After completing all 6 major objectives, shoot the SoL scoop to start
Rule the Universe. When Rule the Universe becomes lit, Martian Attack
and Stroke of Luck become unlit if they were previously lit. Rule the
Universe is a 4-ball multiball with about a 30 second ball saver in
which nearly all playfield features are lit. Total Annihilation runs,
with the base value of each jackpot worth 100M. The saucer drop target
scores 100M. The roaming Super Jackpot is lit and scores the same as
it does during regular multiball, for an unlimited number of times.
Martian Multiball is active, scoring at least 50M per martian. The
Annihilation Jackpot is lit at the lock ramp. Super Jets is also
active.
If you score 5 billion points, the playfield will go dark, the
flippers will be disabled, and the round will end. You just ruled the
universe! An extra 5 billion points is awarded, and your initials and
the time of election will be displayed in attract mode later on. After
a brief animation, a ball will be returned to the plunger lane and you
can continue play. You can also go for one of the Skill Shots at this
point, too. (The regular ballsaver is also active.)
Plus, for the rest of the ball after Ruling the Universe, you can
collect Victory Laps by shooting any of the five combo shots. The
Combo arrows will be solidly lit. Shooting any arrow unlights that
arrow and awards a Victory Lap (complete with whooshing sound effect),
initially worth 100M. Shooting the saucer drop target relights all
five Victory Lap shots (if any are unlit) and increases the value of
the shots by 10M each. The saucer target itself scores 100M per hit
for the rest of the game. This is an excellent time to start a
multiball, especially Total Annihilation.
The Victory Lap value can increase up to 500M. Maximizing Laps is the
key to getting a really high score.
If you lose all balls before scoring 5 billion, then nothing else
really happens and normal play resumes. This is very depressing.
After RTU multiball, the Conquer Mars lamp remains lit. The Super Jets
lamp remains lit for the remainder of the current ball if Super Jets
is still active. This allows you to Rule the Universe again on the
same ball. With early ROMs, the Super Jets lamp was cleared after RTU
which made this impossible, since Super Jets continued to be active on
that ball, and couldn't be restarted until the next ball.
If a player rules the universe when he/she is already ruler, then the
display will show "Re-Election #1", and so on until someone else rules
the universe, during Attract Mode. (It can't know this until the end
of a game, when you enter your initials, unless you happen to RTU
twice in the same game, in which case it will display "Re-Election".
If multiple players Rule the Universe in the same game, then only the
last player to Rule will get to enter initials. In no way does any
scoring affect whether or not you become the new Ruler.
Concurrent Multiballs
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Attack From Mars supports concurrent multiballs to some extent. This
is a feature I can't recall any other game having ever since, dare I
say it, Dr*c*l*. There are four different multiballs in this game:
regular multiball, Martian Multiball, Total Annihilation, and Strobe
Multiball (plus Rule the Universe, but that's a totally different
beast). Here's how it all fits together:
Regular multiball, Total Annihilation, and Strobe Multiball are all
mutually exclusive; only one of these can run at a time. Martian
Multiball can run concurrently with any one of them, as long as the
two are started in the right order.
In the case of regular multiball or Strobe Multiball, you must start
Martian Attack first, and then start the OTHER multiball. (Once the
other multiball is started, you cannot start Martian Attack.) Martian
Attack continues to run with the same timer, and completing the
martians will add Martian Multiball to your current multiball. That
means a ball saver will be active for a while. No additional balls are
added into play; you must have two for Martian MB, but if you have
fewer than two, then you wouldn't be playing another multiball, would
you? If your other multiball ends, and you didn't start Martian
Multiball, Martian Attack will continue to run as it did before
multiball.
In the case of Total Annihilation, you can either start TA first like
in the above case, or you can start Martian Multiball first and then
start TA, as Total Annihilation shots are awarded during Martian
Multiball. In that case, two more balls are added into play to make it
a 4-ball multiball, along the normal TA ballsaver.
Concurrent multiballs are lucrative, because with 3 or 4 balls in
play, you are likely to hit a lot of the Martian targets without
really trying. You will always get more points, though, by
concentrating on the major multiball instead. (Unless you have a high
bonus multiplier, since each martian is worth something in bonus.)
Extra Balls
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There are five ways to get an Extra Ball in AFM:
1. Complete the second Attack Wave. On five-ball games, this defaults
to the third Attack Wave instead.
2. Complete the inlane/outlane lamps 10 times. For 5-ball, it takes
14 completions of the rollovers.
3. Shoot the EB in Video Mode.
4. Hit the Forcefield 10 times in Strobe Multiball.
5. Via a Stroke of Luck, literally. The randomly lit Extra Ball is
usually only lit after a bad first ball, but I have seen it
awarded after collecting three Extra Balls and Ruling the
Universe.
Extra balls are all lit at the Stroke of Luck hole, except for the
Video Mode EB which is awarded immediately. Each of these can only be
collected once per game.
Extra balls are the only awards that can be collected at the scoop
even during any multiball. Normally only front shots to the scoop will
award the EB, but during multiball, you can collect it from the front
or back, since the game can't always tell which direction you shot it
from with absolute certainty. So it just gives it to you either way.
This works with any legitimate multiball but not when you have two
balls in normal play because of a missing pinball suddenly appearing
on the playfield. In that case, you may get cheated out of an extra
ball shot from the front legitimately.
The game seems to detect back shots into Stroke of Luck based on jet
bumper hits and rollovers. All other shots are considered front shots.
Thus, it is possible for a ball to "air" over the hole, not touch a
jet bumper, fall into the back of the hole, and award a front Stroke
of Luck shot.
Attack from Mars also supports the Buy-In feature at the end of the
game. Unlike many previous games, there is no separate Buy-In button;
the Start button will buy an extra ball for 1 credit. So don't press
Start to abort the 7 sec. buy-in countdown -- use the flippers or
launch button (or off switch) instead. Depending on the settings of
your machine, buy-in may be disabled completely, or there may be a
fixed or unlimited number of times you can buy-in. Buy-in can also be
enabled for 1/2 credit. There is an extra long ballsaver at the
beginning of every ball bought-in, but once used, it is gone. There is
nothing else special about the buy-in ball.
Replays and High Scores
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The replay value will fluctuate widely among different machines, but
it is most definitely going to be in the several billion range, at
least. After collecting a replay, the replay value will grow by 50% of
its original, base value, until more coins are inserted (not counting
buy-ins).
There are two high score lists, one for no buyins and one for buyins.
The Grand Champion is also maintained, which is the highest score
attained regardless of buyins. The game also keeps track of the person
who destroyed the most martians, and the last person to Rule the
Universe. For the Ruler, it displays the date and time of the ruling,
and the re-election count for that player, in addition to his/her
initials.
I've heard that the software will support scores up to 1 trillion, but
I have NO way of knowing whether or not this is true.
Software Compensation
_________________________________________________________________
There is no compensation for a broken loop or ramp switch. This is
most frustrating, as you won't be able to start Total Annihilation,
collect a Super Jackpot, and of course, Rule the Universe.
If you try for a Super Skill Shot but the ball falls into the lit
Bonus X lane, you will be awarded the Super Skill Shot of 50M and the
Saucer will open, as if you had hit the Forcefield.
If the drop target becomes stuck down, you will not be able to score
Saucer hits for a while. (You can still score hits from the two side
standups.) After so many shots to the saucer hole, the game will flag
the drop target as bad, and the hole will spot 1 drop target hit. Once
the drop target switch becomes active again, though, the compensation
is turned off, so an intermittent target is worse than a totally hosed
target.
A bad Stroke of Luck kicker is bad news. If only the SoL switch is
stuck open or closed (but not intermittent), then there is some
compensation for balls that fall in from the back. If a ball trips one
of the Bonus X lanes, and no jet bumpers or the right loop switch
isn't triggered in about 3 seconds, the game assumes the ball fell
into the SoL hole, and since there is no way to detect front shots, it
awards a front SoL shot, then kicks out the ball.
If the Forcefield 3-bank won't go down, hitting any of the three
targets will spot hits to the saucer drop target/hole.
If the right ramp entrance gate switch and the lock ramp gate switch
are bad, then shooting the Lock ramp will count as both a Lock ramp
and a right ramp shot. (The game cannot tell the difference between
the two, so it awards both.) There is probably a software bug here,
though: sometimes in this state, Lock will be lit but the divertor
will not open, so that you cannot collect the lock until the next
ball, when everything is reset.
Cows
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Occasionally after shooting the Big-O-Beam or Tractor Beam, you will
see and/or hear a reference to a cow. When this happens, hit the
launch button repeatedly to hear lots of mooing sounds. If you do this
for both of the ramps, you are qualified to play Cow Video Mode. You
must still start Video Mode in the regular way, by completing Super
Jets and then shooting Stroke of Luck. But instead of saucers landing,
it will be big mooing cows! There are no special points for playing
with cows instead of saucers, but because they are larger than the
saucers, the cows are much easier to hit.
Really High Scores
_________________________________________________________________
Scores rollover at 100B; that score is then displayed as
00,000,000,000. The game remembers that you surpassed 100B, though,
and will put the score in the right place in the high score list
(assuming 100B is enough for a high score!)
The End
