Sigma's Guide to Bram Stoker's Dracula
by Kevin Martin
Version of July 13, 1995
_________________________________________________________________
Notes and Disclaimers
This rule compilation and tips sheet is, to the extent possible (in
light of the subject matter being the property of Bally/Williams),
freeware. It can be modified, updated, or revised, provided only that
credit to the original author(s) remains intact. It can be published
or otherwise distributed, provided only that such distribution is
effectively free.
This sheet is written and maintained by Kevin Martin, sigma@mcs.com -
if you have any questions or comments or additions or corrections,
send 'em along to me.
Bram Stoker's Dracula is a trademark of Columbia Pictures Industries,
Inc. The author(s) disclaim all interest in any trademarks or other
intellectual property referenced herein. I do not speak for my
employer, my friends, my relatives, or my cat. In fact, I hardly even
speak for myself.
I use the abbreviations "K" for a thousand points, "M" for a million
points, "B" for a billion points, and "GC" for Grand Champion.
The term "newer ROMs" generally refers to the production ROMs, which
were labelled L-1. The term "older ROMs" generally refers to
pre-production ROMs such as P-0. Because the principal programmer
(Bill Pfutzenreuter) left Williams to join Capcom as production of
Dracula was set to begin, no further revisions were ever released.
This version of the Guide should be considered final.
Object of the Game
Destroy Dracula. Destroy Dracula's Concubines (the Three Sisters).
Destroy Dracula's Werewolves (Children of the Night). Destroy
Dracula's Rats. Scare Dracula's Bats. Wash Dracula's Car.
Important Things
This is a glossary of the shots and features that will be referred to
during the discussion of the game. Some of the shots have names which
are less than obvious; I'll try to provide and use more obvious names
instead.
Plunger
This is an automatic plunger. It is used not only to launch
balls into play, but also to automatically relock balls as the
game sees fit, which it does by lifting the Plunger Lane ramp
and firing balls into the channel beneath.
Right Orbit
This is a half-orbit in the upper right corner of the
playfield. Balls are launched into play along this path. There
are five lights here, each for a letter in V-I-D-E-O.
Drop Target
This is placed at the end of the Right Orbit, in the upper left
corner of the playfield, just past the Rollover Lanes.
Top Sinkhole
This Sinkhole is hidden behind the Drop Target. When Video Mode
is lit, the Drop Target is lowered and the ball can enter the
Sinkhole to start Video Mode. Afterwards, the ball is kicked
out of the Asylum.
Rollover Lanes
These three lanes can have their lights steered by the
flippers, with the object being to light all three lanes. The
right flipper steers right, and the left flipper steers left.
Unlit lanes are flashing at the beginning of each ball, after
shooting the Right Orbit, and a few other times at random, just
to mess with your head.
Jet Bumpers
These are three Jet Bumpers directly beneath the Rollover
Lanes. They are arranged in the usual triangular fashion.
Coffin Ramp
This is a short-entrance ramp between the Jet Bumpers and the
Right Orbit; it returns to the Left Inlane. This Ramp has a
long shallow section before its trigger, but usually, getting
past the entrance and the first turn is sufficient to send the
ball all the way around.
Coffin
When the Coffin Ramp is raised, balls can enter a sinkhole in
the Coffin beneath it. Balls "locked" here are released through
a habitrail onto the playfield right in the middle of the Jet
Bumpers.
Plastic Coffin
This is a molded plastic coffin atop the Coffin Ramp, which
contains what is probably supposed to be Dracula. At least they
didn't put a plastic fish atop the backglass. Note that there
are two lights atop the coffin, indicating how many balls have
been "locked" here.
Altar
This is an eject hole above the Right Inlane, aimed towards the
right flipper. This is also known as the Dungeon or the Rat
Hole.
Tunnel
This is a sinkhole above and to the left of the Jet Bumpers. It
returns the ball to the Left Inlane. There are four lights
here: Mystery Award, Mist Multiball, Extra Ball, and Castle
Jackpot.
Bank Targets
These are two banks of three targets each. The center target is
red, and the others are yellow. One bank is directly below the
Jet Bumpers, facing down and slightly to the right. The other
is at the far left side of the playfield, facing right. There
is a light in front of each target, indicating its status:
flashing for available, lit for spotted, or unlit for
unavailable (only applies to center target, which must be hit
last).
Asylum
This is a small catch lane just above the left set of Bank
Targets. You can't really shoot for it, but there's little
reason to do so.
Castle Ramp
This is also known as the Left Ramp, the Main Ramp, or the
Cemetery Ramp. It's a long ramp which begins in the upper left
corner of the playfield, just above the Asylum, and doesn't
really peak until the back right corner of the machine. It can
lock balls by diverting them into the Castle Lane; otherwise,
it returns balls to the Right Inlane. The light at the entrance
to the Left Ramp indicates that a Castle Lock is available. The
green light on the backplane of the cabinet indicates that the
diverter is active (for a Castle Lock or Bats).
Castle Lane
This is the habitrail running above the playfield from the
center of the Castle Ramp to the Plunger Lane. It usually only
holds one ball, but during Castle Multiball, may hold as many
as three.
Mist Lane
This is the path that a ball takes at the beginning of Mist
Multiball. It runs from a gate at the lower left side of the
playfield, above the Left Slingshot, across the playfield and
upwards to a gate just above the Altar. There is a motorized
magnet beneath the playfield to carry the ball along this path,
and small lights to illuminate its travel. A modulated 40Khz
infrared beam is transmitted along this path, in order to
determine if the ball is still on the magnet. The ball may
travel in either direction, depending on where it happens to be
when the mode starts. It will be at the right end of the Lane
unless the last attempt at Mist Multiball failed.
Outlanes
The Right Outlane has an orange light for Special, and the Left
Outlane a red light for Extra Ball. The colors are contrary to
tradition, which demands that Specials be red and Extra Balls
orange.
Inlanes
The Right Inlane temporarily lights the Tunnel for Mystery
Award, and the Left Inlane lights the Coffin or Coffin Ramp for
2X. The posts dividing the Inlanes and Outlanes have rubber.
Slingshots
These are the usual.
Flippers
These are two Fliptronic II (ie, Williams-style Solid State)
flippers in the usual locations. These are typically the new
lightning bolt shorter flippers in production machines.
D-R-A-C-U-L-A
These seven yellow lights are lightning bolts in the middle of
the playfield. They represent progress towards Coffin Jackpots.
Multiball Lights
These three lights (typically purple) indicate which Multiball
modes are active: Coffin, Castle, and Mist.
2X and 3X Lights
These lights (typically green) indicate the current Jackpot
multiplier, which is determined by how many Multiball modes are
running.
Shoot Again
This orange light indicates that you have an Extra Ball.
Love Never Dies
This yellow light represents the "ball saver" feature. While it
is lit (or during the grace period), a side or center drain
will relaunch the ball into play with no penalty. It is
normally lit for a short while at the beginning of each ball.
It is also active for a while at the beginning of each
Multiball mode, and for the Left Outlane briefly after an Altar
kickout (although the light will not come on).
Playfield
Hardcoat. Develops a nice divot where the ball lands after
being fired from the autoplunger.
Balls
Four steel balls should be installed in Dracula.
Skill Shot
The Skill Shot is purely a matter of timing. The display will show a
three-faced gargoyle, with each face flashing in turn. When the ball
hits the Drop Target after being launched, the Skill Shot award
depends on the face which is lit. The left face awards 100K, and the
right face awards 500K. The center face awards 1M the first time,
increasing by 1M each subsequent time to a maximum of 5M. The center
face also spots a V-I-D-E-O letter (see Video Mode) and advances the
Coffin Ramp if the Coffin is not already open. After a successful
Skill Shot, subsequent Skill Shots are slightly faster. The game
favours the center face slightly, awarding it if the face has just
changed to 100K or was just about to change from 500K.
If the ball misses the Drop Target, the faces continue flashing, and
the first sensor hit will award the lit face. Unfortunately, this is
little more than blind luck.
If you press the autoplunger button while a ball is not in the lane
(the game is still trying to kick it out), the game may then launch
the ball as soon as it does get the ball into the lane, effectively
ruining your Skill Shot. It may also decide that it wants to lock a
ball, and you have no way of knowing this until you wait to make sure
it doesn't raise the Plunger Ramp.
If you start a game and there are somehow no balls in the trough, none
will be supplied to the plunger lane, only one ball search will be
performed, and nothing except power cycling the machine (and thereby
losing your credit) will get the balls in the correct locations. Check
the trough before starting a game!
Due to the way the ball goes up the lane and jumps onto the playfield,
the timing of the Skill Shot may be inconsistent.
Rollover Lanes
The lights on these lanes are steered in both directions by the
flippers. Exactly how the machine behaves when you light all three
lanes depends on the ROM revision. Newer ROMs advance the Bonus
Multiplier by one factor each time you complete the lanes, to a
maximum of 10X, and the Bonus Multiplier is automatically held from
ball to ball. On older ROMs, the Bonus Multiplier proceeds 2X, 4X, 6X,
8X, and 10X, and it is not held over to subsequent balls. Completing
the lanes after reaching 10X always awards 5M, although it looks like
6M because of the blood-dripping font (this may have been different on
early ROMs).
Mystery Award
On Extra Easy settings, the Tunnel is lit for a Mystery Award at the
beginning of each ball. On Extra Hard settings, the Tunnel is only lit
by rolling through the Right Inlane. Otherwise, the Tunnel is lit once
at the beginning of the game. The Tunnel can be lit for a Mystery
Award by rolling through the Right Inlane (almost any time); however,
it will time out (8-10 seconds on Easy and Extra Easy, 5 seconds
otherwise).
Mystery Awards are:
* Light Castle Lock
* Light Coffin Lock
* Light Video Mode (completes V-I-D-E-O)
* Advance Bonus X
* Extra Ball
* Mystery Score (100K to 5M or 20M)
The first four awards are based on operator-adjustable percentages,
and the Extra Ball award is used as part of the Extra Ball percentage
reflexing. No other awards are possible.
The Castle Lock that is lit by the Mystery Award does not time out,
unlike regular Castle Locks. Light Coffin Lock will not be awarded if
the Coffin is already open, but Light Castle Lock may be awarded if a
Castle Lock is already lit. This can actually be helpful.
On newer ROMs, the Mystery Score can be 10M, 15M, or 20M, but
otherwise, the awards are in the 100K to 5M range, including such
options as 750K, 1M, 4M, etc. The Mystery Score can not be disabled,
even in Tournament Mode.
Castle Ramp
This is a rather difficult ramp. The number of times you hit it over
the course of your game is counted, and certain awards occur at
certain intervals. The game also tracks this value for Loop Champion,
much like Dr. Who. In fact, shots on this Ramp are called Loops.
Unlike Dr. Who, however, the machine does not become confused at 100
Loops. It will properly recognize and remember Loop counts and
Champions in excess of 100 Loops. In fact, it will properly handle
Loop counts in excess of 255!
Loops are worth 1M, but consecutive Loops are worth 5M. Whoopee.
The typical sequence of awards from the Castle Ramp is:
* Bats at 3
* Mist Multiball Lit at 5
* Bonus at 6
* Extra Ball Lit at reflexed intervals
These awards are repeated at certain operator-settable intervals, and
those intervals are usually an additional 10 for each award. Detailed
information on how many Castle Ramp shots are required for each of the
next awards is available in the Status Report (catch the ball and
wait), and the next award is indicated when you shoot the Castle Ramp,
unless that shot awards something, in which case that is displayed
instead. The Bonus award comes more frequently, usually at multiples
of 6 Loops.
The Extra Ball is lit at various intervals, which are adjusted
according to the desired and actual Extra Ball percentages. These
adjustments are not always by small amounts.
The Bonus alternates between lighting the Castle Lock (subject to the
usual time-out) and advancing the Coffin Ramp by one step. The first
Bonus is to light the Castle Lock. If the Coffin is already open or
Coffin Multiball is running when the Bonus would advance the Coffin, a
Castle Lock will be lit instead. If a Castle Lock is already lit when
the Bonus would light a Castle Lock, the Coffin will be advanced
instead. If neither is possible when you reach the Bonus, nothing is
awarded. Regardless of whether or not the Coffin is open, if the next
Loop would award a Bonus of Light Castle Lock and you have a Castle
Lock already lit when you shoot that Loop, the game will not light
another Castle Lock for you, even though the shot you made used up the
currently lit Castle Lock.
When an Extra Ball is lit, shoot the Tunnel to collect it. Extra Balls
can be stacked on the Tunnel with no apparent limit. Factory settings
probably limit you to actually having 4 Extra Balls at any one time,
however. Since it's very difficult to get more than six or seven Extra
Balls on Dracula, this doesn't really matter.
A weak shot up the Castle Ramp which falls into the Castle Lane even
though the Castle Lock is not lit will trigger an animation and award
an additional 5M for the Secret Passage. This also counts as a Loop.
The ball will then be fed to the Plunger Lane and autolaunched.
See also Mist Multiball and Castle Multiball.
Bats
The Bats sequence is triggered by the appropriate number of Castle
Ramp shots. When started, the ball will be diverted to the Castle
Lane, then fed to the Plunger Lane and autolaunched back into play. In
Bats mode, you have a certain amount of time (typically 15 seconds) to
scare away a certain number of bats (typically 15 of them). The faster
you do this, the higher your awarded Bats Bonus will be. The Bonus
begins at 50M and counts down towards 2M, which is the minimum
possible award if you do in fact complete the sequence. Every switch
you trip scares away one bat. The value stays at 50M for a while
before counting down. The value does not appear to count down at an
even rate. It counts down faster and faster as time progresses, which
is a bit unreasonable. On the bright side, hitting the Drop Target
after the plunger launch scares away a bat, but does not start the
timer.
Shooting the Right Orbit during Bats will suspend the countdown until
the ball hits another target, except the Drop Target, which will scare
away a bat but not restart the countdown.
The Bats Bonus is subject to the Multi-Multiball Jackpot Multiplier
that is in effect when the Bats mode begins. A single Bats Bonus can
therefore be as high as 150M.
If you do not manage to scare away all of the bats, you get no Bats
Bonus.
If you scare away all the bats almost immediately - for example, if
you start Castle Multiball by hitting the Castle Ramp with Bats lit -
you will sometimes receive a Bats Bonus of slightly more than the
initial 50M countdown. And I do mean slightly. Values I have seen are
50,000,240 and 50,007,140.
The outlane switches scare away three bats at once. This is one of the
few times Dracula is kind to you.
If you make a Death Save or Bang Back, the timer will be suspended
until the ball trips a switch.
The Bats Bonus is carried over between balls, and awarded at the end
of every ball. This can add up quite nicely if you get Bats during
Multiball on your first ball. Otherwise, the minimum 2M is a joke.
Altar
The number of times you shoot this kickout hole over the course of
your game is counted, and certain awards occur at certain intervals.
There are only two such awards:
* Rats
* Outlanes Lit
The Rats sequence typically starts at the 3rd Altar, and each 5th
Altar thereafter (these values are operator adjustable). Outlanes are
usually lit at 15 Altars (10 on Extra Easy, 20-25 on Hard and Extra
Hard), and never again thereafter.
After the ball is kicked out of the Altar, Love Never Dies is active
only for the Left Outlane, briefly. Unfortunately, a bad bounce can
still cause a center drain. The ball should move past the right
Slingshot without being hit by it, to land safely on the right
flipper.
Rats
The Rats sequence is started by the appropriate number of Altar shots.
In this sequence, you have a certain amount of time (typically 15
seconds) to destroy a certain number of rats (typically 15 of them).
Every switch tripped destroys one rat. The value of each rat is
something like 500K, plus 50K for each subsequent Rat. Unfortunately,
this formula gives a total that is 500K short of the usual 13,250,000.
The only explanation I can come up with is that there may be a 500K
bonus for completing Rats.
What happens when you have destroyed all rats depends on your current
mode and your ROM revision. On prototype ROMs, you can (as best I
could figure) always continue to destroy Rats for more points (a
reasonably valuable frenzy mode). On newer ROMs (L-1), this does not
happen. However, if you are in Multi-Multiball, the Rats are worth
considerably more, because the value of each rat is subject to the
current Multi-Multiball Jackpot Multiplier, and the value of the next
rat is increased by some other factor than 50K. I have had a 100M Rats
Bonus on P-11 ROMs, without Multiball. If you do not have this
additional frenzy, 15 rats are always worth exactly 13,250,000 in Rats
Bonus. Rats Bonuses during Multiball on newer ROMs are usually at
least 100M.
If you do not manage to destroy all of the rats, you get no Rats
Bonus.
The outlane switches destroy three rats at once. This is one of the
few times Dracula is kind to you.
If you make a Death Save or Bang Back, the timer will be suspended
until the ball trips a switch.
The Rats Bonus is carried over between balls, and awarded at the end
of every ball. This can add up nicely if you get Rats during a
Multi-Multiball on your first ball.
Castle Multiball
Castle Locks are lit by the appropriate number of Castle Ramp shots,
by completing one of the sets of Bank Targets, or by a random award
from the Mystery Tunnel. A set of Bank Targets is completed by hitting
the two outer targets (in any order) and then hitting the center
target. The Castle Lock is on the Castle Ramp, and it times out (in 13
seconds on normal settings, 20 on Extra Easy, 10 on Extra Hard).
You must lock three balls in order to start Castle Multiball. When you
do so, three balls are launched into play. If you already have other
Multiball modes running, all four balls should be launched into play.
During Castle Multiball, relocking one ball on the Castle Ramp will
light the Castle Jackpot on the Tunnel. The Castle Jackpot value
starts at 20M, and is increased by 100K for each Jet Bumper hit for a
while after completing the Rollover Lanes in normal play, or by
slightly more for each Jet Bumper hit while the Castle Jackpot itself
is lit during Castle Multiball. On prototype machines, the Castle
Jackpot values are fixed at 20M, 40M, etc, and I am not sure how the
value is changed. When the Castle Jackpot is lit, shoot the Tunnel to
collect it. The Castle Jackpot times out after 20 seconds.
If there are three or more balls in play, you can relock a second ball
on the Castle Ramp to light the Double Castle Jackpot, although the
Castle Lock light may not be lit to indicate this. Relocking the
second ball effectively doubles the Castle Jackpot value, keeps two
balls safely out of play, and restarts the Castle Jackpot timer at 20
seconds.
The timer on the Jackpot or Double Jackpot does not start until a
target is hit. This is important when there is a ball stuck somewhere.
The Ball Searches will begin even before the timer starts to count
down.
When you collect a Castle Jackpot, its base value resets to the next
higher multiple of 20M, to a maximum of 80M (although the manual says
it can reach 100M, it does not do so on L-1 ROMs and newer). This
allows for a maximum Castle Jackpot of 480M plus change (3X
Multi-Multiball, Double Jackpot).
When the Castle Jackpot times out or you collect it, the locked
ball(s) are released by autolaunching from the plunger lane. Note that
you cannot lock a second ball for the Double Jackpot if there are only
two balls in play.
During Castle Multiball, completing the Bank Targets again will award
some sort of Carriage Bonus (with its own animation and cool sound),
which is usually in the 1-5M range, by multiples of 500K. I do not
know what advances this, and I don't recommend shooting for it anyhow.
The Carriage Bonus is subject to the Multi-Multiball Jackpot
Multiplier, for a maximum value of 15M.
During Castle Multiball, the Castle Jackpot light on the Tunnel will
flicker faintly all the time, even when the Castle Jackpot is not lit.
It should actually strobe brightly when the Castle Jackpot is lit.
Castle Multiball should be a three-ball multiball, although the
machine will sometimes only deliver two balls, or will sometimes
deliver three and end Multiball when any one ball drains.
When Castle Multiball begins, Love Never Dies is active briefly.
Mist Multiball
"Here's a killer feature!" - promotional flyer
Mist Multiball is lit by the appropriate number of Castle Ramp shots.
Trigger Mist Multiball by shooting the Tunnel when it is lit. A ball
will slowly cross the playfield along the Mist Lane. Another ball will
be fed to the Left Inlane. To actually start Mist Multiball, use this
ball to knock the other ball free of the magnet's control (be careful
not to just swap your ball for the Mist Lane ball). Normally, the ball
will start at the right end of the Mist Lane and proceed to the left.
However, if Mist Multiball has been recently attempted and missed, the
ball will still be sitting in the left gate, and will proceed in
reverse (note that this is much easier to hit, in my opinion).
During Mist Multiball, all significant shots in the game are worth a
Mist Jackpot of 10M, and the game tries to call out all of your
awards, although it sometimes lags behind. These awards are subject to
the Multi-Multiball Jackpot Multiplier, so that you can actually be
receiving 20M or 30M for every significant shot in the game.
The Mist Jackpot shots are: Castle Ramp, Coffin Ramp, Coffin, Tunnel,
Right Orbit, Asylum, Top Sinkhole (if the Drop Target is
malfunctioning, autolaunched balls will land here and be credited as a
Right Orbit shot), and the Altar. Completing the Rollover Lanes or a
set of Bank Targets does not count as a Mist Jackpot.
On normal settings, if you have not lit Mist Multiball by the
beginning of your third ball (not counting Extra Balls), it will be
lit for you automatically (except on Hard settings).
Lighting Mist Multiball twice does not stack it at the Tunnel. Mist
Multiball can be lit while Mist Multiball is running, although it will
not actually be awarded if Mist Multiball is currently running
(thankfully). This may vary according to machine and ROM revision, of
course.
Mist Multiball is a two-ball multiball. If the motorized magnet has
been disabled on your machine, hitting Mist Multiball will immediately
start it, without carrying a ball across the Mist Lane. Also, if you
have two balls in play because of a Ball Search, Mist Multiball will
start immediately, and draining one of those balls will end it, as if
you had started it normally.
When Mist Multiball begins, Love Never Dies is active briefly.
Coffin Ramp
The initial value of the Coffin Ramp is 500K (except on Extra Easy
settings, in which case two values are spotted for free). Hitting the
Coffin Ramp increases this value (500K, 1M, 1.5M, 2M, 2.5M) and
returns the ball to the Left Inlane, which lights the Coffin Ramp 2X.
Hitting the Coffin Ramp with 2X lit awards twice the Coffin Ramp
value, but does not change the number of ramp hits needed (this may
have been different on prototype rules).
When the 2.5M or 5M value is collected, the Coffin Ramp is raised and
you can "lock" balls in the Coffin underneath (it does not appear that
these locks are worth 2.5M or 5M, but if you somehow manage to trigger
the Coffin Ramp sensor while the Coffin is open, you are given these
points, along with credit for locking the ball in the Coffin). Balls
are not actually kept in the coffin; they are dropped amongst the Jet
Bumpers, but you are given credit for the successful locks (watch the
two lights on the top of the Coffin).
When you lock the third ball, Coffin Multiball begins. Be sure to
check out the morphing animation for the third lock. Also watch for
"DO HO" written on a brick to the left of the Coffin in the
animations.
On normal settings, the Coffin Ramp is advanced one stage for a
successful Skill Shot, regardless of how many times you have started
Coffin Multiball already. This will go as far as opening the Coffin,
but will not give you credit for locking balls unless you actually hit
the Coffin.
If the Coffin Ramp gets stuck in the raised position, the game
compensates by advancing the Coffin Ramp for an open Coffin shot, but
does not attempt to re-lower the ramp when this happens. Similarly, if
the Ramp is stuck in the lowered position, the Ramp sensor behaves as
the Lock sensor should.
Coffin Multiball
"Players will be 'coffin up' quarters to lock three balls for
Coffin Multiball!" - promotional flyer
During Coffin Multiball, the Coffin remains open. Coffin Jackpots are
collected by spelling D-R-A-C-U-L-A, and every ball shot into the
Coffin spots a letter in D-R-A-C-U-L-A. If 2X is lit, every ball spots
two D-R-A-C-U-L-A letters. When Coffin Multiball starts, 2X is lit,
and it is lit for a while after every successful Coffin shot on which
2X was not lit or after every pass through the Left Inlane. Every
letter represents a stake in Dracula's heart, and completing the
sequence destroys Dracula. The animations and sound effects for
attacking and destroying Dracula are not to be missed, unless your
machine is in Family Mode, in which case you are denied their gruesome
beauty.
The Coffin Jackpot value is 20M, 30M, 40M, maximum 50M. If three or
more balls are still in play when the Jackpot is collected, its value
is doubled. The Coffin Jackpot appears to start at 40M on some
machines. The game manual implies that the Coffin Jackpot value may be
increased by Jet Bumper hits, but it appears that it is merely
increased to the next base value when it is collected.
When you collect a Coffin Jackpot, you immediately begin work on
spelling D-R-A-C-U-L-A again, for the next higher Jackpot value.
D-R-A-C-U-L-A letters are carried over between Coffin Multiballs. When
the game begins, no D-R-A-C-U-L-A letters are spotted. Therefore, the
first Coffin Jackpot will require a minimum of four Coffin shots,
although every second one may require only three.
Coffin Multiball should be a three-ball multiball, although the
machine will sometimes only deliver two balls, or will sometimes
deliver three and end Multiball when any one ball drains.
When Coffin Multiball begins, Love Never Dies is active briefly.
(Note that in the movie, the scenes corresponding to Coffin Multiball
did not involve Dracula; rather, they were attempts to kill Lucy.)
Multi-Multiball
"This will really slay the pinball pro!" - promotional flyer
Multiball modes are non-exclusive in Dracula. This means that you can
light Locks and start other Multiballs while one or two Multiballs are
already in progress. If two Multiballs are in progress, all Jackpots
are doubled. If all three Multiballs are in progress, all Jackpots are
tripled. This Multiplier also applies to Bats mode, Rats mode, and the
Carriage Bonus. This allows for maximum Coffin Jackpots of 300M,
Castle Jackpots of 480M, and makes all shots worth an additional 30M
(because of Mist Multiball).
If two or three Multiballs are in progress, four balls should be put
into play. At a minimum, starting another Multiball will place at
least one more ball into play, unless you already have all four. You
only need to keep two balls in play in order to maintain all of your
current Multiball modes. The machine usually keeps excellent track of
the number of balls in play, although it may occasionally become
confused when all three Multiball modes are running ("confused" means
it ends Multiball when two balls are left, and ends your entire ball
when one of those drains, or that it ends both Multi- Multiball and
your entire ball when one of the last two balls drains).
Note that once you have started all three Multiball modes
simultaneously and Love Never Dies has expired, there is no longer any
way to put additional balls into play.
The lamps just above the flippers indicate which Multiball modes are
in progress, and what the current Jackpot multiplier is.
Video Mode
Shooting the Right Orbit or making a successful Skill Shot spots a
letter in V-I-D-E-O. Spotted in reverse order, the letters award 100K,
500K, 1M, 3M, and 5M, with the last letter (V) awarding Video Mode.
Video Mode can also be lit by a Mystery Award from the Tunnel. Start
Video Mode by shooting the Right Orbit; the ball should pass the
lowered Drop Target and enter the Sinkhole (if the ball fails to enter
the Sinkhole, you are merely awarded 5M, and V-I-D-E-O remains fully
lit). On some machines and ROM revisions, it doesn't matter if the V
letter is spotted or not; Video Mode will start when the V is flashing
or already lit. On others, 5M is awarded for lighting Video Mode, but
the Drop Target does not lower until the next Right Orbit shot. Or the
behavior may be unpredictable.
If Video Mode is lit when a ball is launched into play and no
Multiball modes are active, sometimes the Drop Target will be lowered
and Video Mode will begin, sometimes not.
During Video Mode, use the flipper buttons to fire your handgun left
and right at incoming werewolves (Children of the Night). You have
five more bullets than there are werewolves. Merely completing Video
Mode is worth a base value of 5M, and you are awarded 10M, 5M, 1M,
500K, 100K, or nothing additional, depending on how many bullets you
have remaining. Shooting werewolves that are very close to you can be
worth up to 1.5M, whereas shooting distant werewolves is worth as
little as a measly 50 points.
If you are too slow to shoot a werewolf (this is unavoidable if you
have run out of bullets), it will eat you, ending Video Mode for no
additional bonus. The next Video Mode you begin will be the same as
the one you failed to complete.
Typically, an Extra Ball is awarded for successfully completing the
second wave of Video Mode. Otherwise, it is not especially point-rich.
Get more points out of it by shooting werewolves late, or have more
fun by shooting them early (quick draw).
On Extra Easy settings, three letters in V-I-D-E-O are lit at the
beginning of the game, and completing the Video Mode leaves the next
Video Mode lit! You are also given twenty bullets to shoot ten
werewolves in the first wave.
At the end of Video Mode (successful or not), the ball is kicked out
of the Asylum, and V-I-D-E-O is unlit.
Note that you can Tilt during Video Mode.
Asylum
This catch area is almost completely worthless. Renfield is kept in
the Asylum, and dropping a ball in here (which is always by accident;
it is not actually shootable from either flipper as far as I can tell)
shows a brief animation and awards 5M. You can get a different ending
to the animation by flipping, for which you are awarded an additional
5M.
If a ball wanders into the Asylum during any Multiball mode, you will
see a brief animation of a hand grabbing or chasing some sort of
scorpion or other nasty little creature (a reference to Renfield),
which awards 1M the first time, 2M the second, and so on. There are
also quotes for this. During Mist Multiball, this does not (or should
not) count as a Mist Jackpot, I believe.
End-Of-Ball Bonus
I'm not sure how the End-Of-Ball Bonus is computed, but the graphics
for it are beautifully gross. Most likely, targets such as Jet Bumpers
and Slingshots contribute to the End-Of-Ball Bonus. The main part of
the Bonus is not held over, but all other parts (Rats, Bats, and Bonus
Multiplier) are. The game next shows the Rats and Bats bonuses, which
are not subject to the Bonus Multiplier, thank goodness. The graphics
for the Bonus have been changed slightly between prototype and L-1
releases.
Note that in newer ROMs, there is a bug concerning the End-Of-Ball
Bonus. If you get a Tilt warning just as the ball crosses the Outlane
sensor or lands in the trough (I'm not sure exactly which, possibly
both), the game will pause and then proceed to the next ball without
awarding ANY of your Bonus! The game is not Tilting, but simply
cheating you. This is verified as a bug, not intentional behavior. (I
have seen the same behavior, albeit very rarely, from Dr. Who.)
Miscellaneous Scoring
Jet Bumpers are 10,010 points. Slingshots are 10. Yes, that's right,
10.
Easter Eggs
During the game, a close-up of Dracula's eyes appears on the display
at random intervals. When his eyes are crossed (typically during idle
periods early in a game), press the Start button for a picture of
Fluffy the Vampire (he looks suspiciously like one of the Doctors from
Dr. Who!) and 20 points. This may or may not work if you have credits
in the machine (the Start button may start another game instead).
You can also consider the Asylum behavior described previously as an
Easter Egg. Flipping during the Renfield animation awards an
additional 5M.
Cows: As far as I am aware, there are none. Please tell me if you know
otherwise. I'd like to see a Cow in Video Mode somewhere. :-)
Tips, Tricks, Strategies
Multi-Multiball is the real key to super-high scores on Dracula.
Starting more than one Multiball mode gives you nice things to shoot
for from both flippers, and provides some insurance against quick
drains. I tend to avoid starting any Multiball until I am very close
to starting at least two of them. This means not shooting the Tunnel
for Mist Multiball until there is only one Coffin Lock left, or
starting Castle Multiball while the others are lit. Multi-Multiball
also multiplies your Jackpots. If one of your running Multiballs is
Mist, everything will be worth at least 20M. If you are really good at
looping a ramp, catch the balls on one flipper and loop that ramp with
one ball on the other. Note that the game will not call out the Mist
values awarded while you are looping, or it may make the loop sound
twice, then call out the value twice, on alternate loops.
Mist Multiball is easier if the ball starts at the left end of the
Mist Lane, but this will only be true immediately after triggering
Mist Multiball but not knocking the ball free. If you are not already
in a Multiball mode and you miss the travelling ball, it's quite
difficult to get a clean second shot at it, if any. You may want to
hold up the left flipper and try to bump the ball over for an easier
shot at it from the right flipper.
Bats mode is usually nothing but frustration. Both Bats and Rats are
best when run during a Multiball mode; this can build both bonuses
into the hundreds of millions! I think that having the Bats and Rats
bonuses carry over between balls is a terrible idea which places far
too much value on getting good Bats and Rats bonuses in early balls.
Always keep track of which Multiball will be advanced by the next
Bonus from Loops, and of how many Loops you have and what is awarded
when. Be careful not to waste Bonus awards which light Castle Locks,
or to light Mist Multiball when it is already lit. It's better to
start the current Mist Multiball and use it up, if you're about to
light another anyhow, as you can safely light a second Mist Multiball
during that Mist Multiball.
You can shoot the open Coffin from a ball trapped on the right
flipper. Release and flip as soon as the ball will clear the
slingshot, and the ball should go up, hit the inside left side of the
Coffin, and land in the sinkhole. Of course, this may be somewhat
machine dependent.
You can shoot the Tunnel from a ball trapped on the left flipper.
Release and flip as soon as the ball will clear the slingshot, and the
ball should go straight up, just missing the post at the right edge of
the Castle Ramp, and straight into the Tunnel. If you miss, it will
rattle around and may get knocked in by the Jet Bumpers. This is
actually (in my opinion) an easier and safer shot than from the right
flipper.
To pass the ball from the left flipper to right, shoot the Coffin Ramp
if it is lowered, then hold the left flipper up and bump the ball
over. To pass from the right to left, shoot the Tunnel. Normal flipper
passes are a bit trickier than usual because of the short flippers.
Find out if you can catch balls ejected from the Altar on your
machine. This can be very useful. The ejected balls should come past
the right slingshot and neatly to the right flipper, if the kickout is
properly adjusted.
Death Saves don't seem especially difficult on this machine, even with
a sensitive Tilt. In general, Dracula is very good about keeping track
of the number of balls in play. If you manage to shake a ball loose
from a lock (the lower left end of the Mist Lane is a very good
example), it will promptly put a ball in the Plunger Lane, raise the
lane ramp, and relock a ball to make up for it. It can get confused
with all three Multiballs running at once, though. ("Confused" is bad,
remember?)
Bang Backs can also be achieved from either side, although the right
side is of course somewhat prone to a Slam Tilt.
If there is a ball sitting behind the gate at the left end of the Mist
Lane, you can easily shake it free at any time (the gate is not held
down by anything but gravity), and the machine will understand what
has happened. This can be a free Extra Ball if you're quick enough.
If the Tilt is especially liberal on your machine, you can get Mist
Multiball by simply shaking the machine front to back to get the
travelling ball to fall from the Mist Lane.
The center set of Bank Targets are extremely dangerous to shoot for;
they tend to direct the ball towards the center drain. Unfortunately,
the left set is very difficult to hit at all. This, combined with the
fact that Castle Locks time out, makes starting Castle Multiball a bit
more difficult and unpredictable than it should be.
The diverter on the Castle Ramp is only active when the game sees a
ball go up that ramp. It may come down too slowly on some machines,
which will tend to knock the ball into the return lane of the Coffin
Ramp. The worst possibility is that the ball will completely miss the
scoring sensors for both ramps, awarding you nothing. Otherwise, you
will get credit for hitting the Coffin Ramp or the Coffin itself, if
it is open. This makes it possible to get quite a few Coffin shots
from the Castle Ramp by making a fast shot when the diverter is
active, and then holding the left flipper up and repeating the process
until the diverter functions properly. If you manage to start Coffin
Multiball and/or score Coffin Jackpots this way, shame on you.
Dracula very much feels like a Bally game, specifically Dr. Who. It
has DotMation and the same Status Report. The Castle Ramp instantly
reminded me of the Cliffhanger ramp on Dr. Who. The yellow flippers
with black rubber are just like Dr. Who. Having Jackpot values be
somewhat dependent on the number of balls in play is also reminiscent
of Dr. Who. Since Barry Oursler is the principal designer here as well
as on Dr. Who, this isn't much of a surprise.
In layout, however, Dracula strongly resembles Bad Cats, of all
things. Since Barry Oursler is the principal designer here as well as
on Bad Cats, this isn't much of a surprise.
Note: flipping will abort almost any animation which is delaying
gameplay while the ball is being held somewhere. Unfortunately, this
means you may not see what your Mystery Award was. This feature is
best for skipping the rather lengthy but repetitive Replay animation
(nice music and graphics, though).
In general, Dracula is a much simpler (but not necessarily easier)
game than many other recent releases. It has great graphics and
sound...
Quotes
I believe that this quotes listing is quite accurate and almost
complete, except for the mumbling of the Sisters when Castle Locks are
made.
* "Welcome to my home." (start game)
* "Welcome to the Carpathians." (start game)
* "Do you believe in destiny?" (start game)
* "Everlasting love." (Love Never Dies)
* "Our love is stronger than death." (Love Never Dies)
* "You are safe with me." (Love Never Dies)
* "I give you life eternal." (Love Never Dies)
* "I am Dracula." (random)
* "I never drink... wine." (random)
* "I hear you are a man of good... taste." (random)
* "There is no life in this body." (random)
* "I am the monster that breathing men would kill." (random)
* "I am the last of my kind." (random)
* "Do not fear me." (random)
* "See me now." (random)
* "There are no limits to science." (random)
* "How few days go by to make up a century." (random)
* "Get the Extra Ball." (Extra Ball lit by Loops)
* "Extra Ball!"
* "Winds, Winds, Winds!" (beginning of Mist Multiball)
* "Ten Million" (Mist Multiball)
* "Twennnty Million" (Double Mist Multiball)
* "Thirrrrrrrrrrrty Million" (Triple Mist Multiball)
* "Vampires do exist." (Coffin Ramp 500K)
* "It is a beast, a monster!" (Coffin Ramp 1M)
* "Dracula fears us." (Coffin Ramp 1.5M)
* "A moment's courage, and it is done!" (Coffin Ramp 2M)
* "It is here that we must find him and destroy him utterly!"
(opening Coffin)
* "Do not fail here tonight!" (starting Coffin Multiball)
* "I've seen many strange things already!" (light Castle Lock)
* "I know now that I am a prisoner." (light Castle Lock)
* "I just want to cut off her head and take out her heart." (light
Castle Jackpot)
* "We may yet save her precious soul!" (light Double Castle Jackpot)
* "She is the Devil's Concubine!" (Castle Jackpot)
* "I cast you out, Prince of Darkness, into Hell!" (Double Castle
Jackpot)
* "Lives, I need lives for the Master!" (Asylum in Multiball)
* "Would you care for an hors d'oeuvres, Dr. Seward?" (Asylum in
Multiball)
* "Ha ha ha!" (end of Multiball)
* "You think you can destroy me with your idols?" (start Rats)
* "Your puny efforts amuse me." (fail Rats)
* "My revenge has just begun." (start Bats)
* "Your struggles are futile." (fail Bats)
* "Listen to them, the Children of the Night." (starting Video Mode)
* "You are the love of my life, alive again." (Replay)
* "I have crossed oceans of time to be with you." (Special)
* "Oh, this is too easy..." (quick side drain)
* "You are but mortal, after all." (side drain)
* "I feel like a blundering novice!" (end of extremely poor game)
* "Blood is too precious a thing in these times." (end of game)
* "We shall do battle once more." (Match)
* "I condemn you to living death." (Match)
* "You are a worthy opponent." (high score)
* "Behave yourself." (Tilt, only on newer ROMs)
* "Aren't you forgetting something?" (press Start, no Credits)
The Movie
I've seen it, liked it quite a bit. I verified most of the quotes
listed herein by listening closely to the movie.
Bragging
My Loop Champion is 118. My high score is 10,481,970,380; I simply
quit playing when I had turned the machine over. With a very sensitive
Tilt, my Loop Champion is 91 and high score 9864M, but I purposely
Tilted three balls in order to avoid turning the machine over again
(score would have automatically been around 11B due to Bats and Rats
bonuses). I have had games with 34 Altars, 750M+ End-of-Ball Bonus,
and as many as six Extra Balls.
Thanks to everyone who has sent notes and information which has
contributed to this Guide.
And don't forget to visit the Pinball Archive:
* By FTP: ftp://pinball.cc.cmu.edu/pinball/
* On the Web: http://pinball.cc.cmu.edu/
_________________________________________________________________
Kevin Martin - sigma@mcs.com
