From keefer@access5.digex.net Thu Jan 08 02:29:28 1998
Keefer's Guide to No Good Gofers
================================
Version 1.0 - 3-Jan-1998
------------------------
This is a rulesheet for the Williams game No Good Gofers. A lot of stuff
therefore is probably copyrighted by Williams. Game design by Pat Lawlor,
software by Louis Koziarz, mechanix by Krutsch, artwork by John Youssi, music
and sounds by Vince Pontarelli, dots by Adam Rhine.
This rulesheet is copyright 1998 by Keith P. Johnson. It may be freely
distributed with or without changes as long as no profit is made. All
acknowledgements must be given to me and anyone listed as having contributed.
I retain any and all rights to this guide.
Comments, corrections, additions, flames, etc. may be sent to:
keefer@access.digex.net
Thanks
------
Some help from:
Louis Koziarz
John Zmaczynski
Playfield
=========
There are many shots labelled "drive", which you need to shoot to advance to
the Putting Green. They are:
Left orbit
Left ramp
Center ramp
Right ramp
Right orbit
Starting with the flippers and going approximately counter-clockwise:
Flippers - 2 fairly normal Williams flippers.
Slingshots - 2 fairly normal slingshots.
Left inlanes - There are 2 of them. The leftmost left inlane lights the
right orbit for the next orbit award and is the return path for the
left and center ramps. I'm not sure what the right left inlane does,
if anything. Either will lower the driving range ramp if lit.
Left outlane - There's a kickback here! First Lawlor game with a kickback
since his first, Banzai Run. Can be lit for extra ball.
Sand Trap kicker - A small saucer above the curve for the left outlane
kickback. You can't really shoot this directly, most of the time
balls will just bounce into it.
Sand Trap standup - Just to the right of the saucer, it's what lights the
Sand Trap kicker.
Jet Bumpers - 3 jet bumpers, not quite in a triangle, more above each other.
Generally, you'll only get action between 2 bumpers at a time. The
bumpers generally increase the Sand Trap value.
Advance Jet Bumpers standup - A little blue standup just to the left of the
left orbit entrance. Each hit advances one Jet Bumper. See the
bumpers section for more details.
Left orbit - Called the Cart Path by the game usually. Usually goes all the
way around the back of the game to the upper right flipper. Weak
shots may fall into the back of the Putting Green.
Left spinner - A fairly standard shiny spinner.
Captive ball - A dummy fixture in front guards a regular pinball with a short
path with a switch in it (like the TOM setup, but a much shorter ball
path). It lies just to the right of the left orbit entrance.
Driving Range ramp - A fairly wide ramp (about 2-3 pinball widths) that is
usually UP. When activated (lowered), you can shoot the ramp to
access targets above the normal ramps.
Skill Shot targets - Just above the playfield from the Driving Range ramp and
just below the entrance to the left ramp.
Left ramp - Very much like TAF's left ramp. Scores Jackpots and pretty much
always lights the left inlane for an immediate Driving Range shot.
You can usually plunge the ball directly up the ramp instead of
aiming for the Skill Shot targets. Feeds to the left left inlane.
Putting Green - A big hole in the back left of the playfield. You can shoot
it from either of the right flippers. Also, there is a hole behind
the putting green so that slow-rolling balls in the orbit can also
score the Putting Green. Balls are usually kicked out into the Jet
Bumpers, but it can also be kicked out high-speed to the right
flipper. Extra ball can be lit here.
Driving Range - This is basically a clear sheet of plastic above the
playfield. It is only accessible via the Driving Range ramp. The
ball can hit the Cart, Hole-In-One, center ramp, or dribble off to
the left into the left orbit or off the bottom of the range back onto
the center of the playfield.
Golf Cart - Just a big plastic golf cart-looking thing with a couple of
stand-up targets on it. You can hit it from either bottom flipper
off the Driving Range ramp.
Center ramp - Pretty much right in the middle of the playfield in the back.
This (and the right ramp) can have 3 states: Down, so you can shoot
the ramp; up, so you can shoot under the ramp; up with a gofer, so
you can smack the gofer. Bud lives under the center ramp. The ramp
itself is generally only makable from the left flipper, but Bud can
be hit from all 3, and under the ramp from the bottom flippers
(sometimes the top flipper with a little help). Feeds to the left
left inlane. If you shoot under the ramp, it goes to the Putting
Green and can be kicked out into the Jet Bumpers or the right
flipper.
Hole-In-One - The hardest shot in the game (and not surprisingly, probably
the most important). It is on the Driving Range, and basically drops
down between the center and right ramps. There is a little mini-ramp
on top of the driving range that blocks the shot a bit. It is still
possible to shoot a ball onto the driving range and up the mini-ramp,
but a lot of shots are just ricochets off of the Golf Cart.
Right ramp - Right next to the center ramp. Pretty much everything under the
center ramp applies to the right ramp, except that Buzz lives under
the right ramp. It feeds the right inlane. If you shoot under the
ramp, it kicks out to the right orbit for a slow upper-right flipper
feed.
Right orbit - Very similar to the left orbit, but it's on the right, see.
It's "entrance" is quite a bit higher up on playfield (next to the
right ramp).
Right spinner - Another spinner, exactly like the left spinner. Just a bit
up from the orbit entrance.
Upper right flipper - Just a normal flipper, in about the same position as
TAF's. You can shoot the left ramp, Putting Green, and the Gofers
with it.
Plunger lane exit - Just under the upper right flipper. Slow plunger shots
go into the skill shot standups, hard ones go up the left ramp.
Plunger - A combo plunger.
KICK standups - There are 5 standup targets, one for each letter of KICK
which face the upper left of the playfield, and one that faces the
left flipper.
Wheel - Just a bit to the right of the Driving Range ramp, it serves a couple
purposes. First of all, it indicates what you'll get as a reward for
finishing the current hole (pointed to by the yellow arrow at the
bottom of the wheel). Secondly, it has a special "grabby" surface so
it can interfere with the ball path when spinning (much like
Whirlwind's spinners).
Right outlane - Can be lit for special.
Right inlane - Lights the left orbit.
Gameplay
========
Skill Shot
----------
The Skill Shot is available to you at the start of each ball, extra ball, and
after any lock that serves a ball to the plunger. You have a choice: You
can pull the plunger hard, and the ball will go up the left ramp (and collect
anything if it's lit on there) and to the left left inlane for a free Driving
Range shot. Obviously you can potentially get a Hole-In-One. You can also
plunge fairly lightly and aim for the Skill Shot targets. If you hit these,
you get 750K+250K each one (don't know of a limit yet) as well as light the
Putting Green for the current hole (if it isn't already).
There is a 5-second or so ballsaver at the start of each ball.
Cart Paths
----------
Between the flippers are 6 lights, which indicate the next Cart Path award.
Cart Path awards are given when you shoot an orbit after lighting it from the
right inlane (for the left orbit) or the left left inlane (for the right
orbit). The awards are:
Bonus 2x
Increase Cart Path
Bonus 3x
Increase Cart path
Bonus 4x
Bonus 5x + Light extra ball
The flashing award indicates what you'll get next. The awards reset at the
start of every ball. It doesn't look like you get anything extra after you
get 5x + light extra ball. You only get one Cart Path award per inlane
trigger. You can only get the extra ball from Cart Paths once.
Orbits score 50K+50K for each consecutive shot. I believe getting "Increase
Cart Path" bumps up the base value by 50K (i.e. 100K+50K/shot and 150K+50K/
shot). That resets each ball as well.
Each orbit has a big white circle light that flashes when it's lit for the
next Cart Path award or for consecutive loop awards.
Kickback
--------
The default is for the kickback to be lit at the start of the game. You can
light the kickback by completing the KICK lights or by a Wheel Award. You
can even STACK kickbacks! Newer ROMs should tell you in the status report
how many kickbacks you have lit.
The KICK targets are aligned like this:
K\
I /
C /
K /
/
Not at that extreme of an angle, but close. You can't hit the KICK standups
directly from the left flipper, but there is a 5th that faces the flipper you
can hit. To complete KICK, you need to hit each KICK standup twice. The
first hit flashes the letter, the second hit turns it solid. Hitting the
standup that faces the left flipper spots one hit on one target, so if you
have only 1 flashing letter left and the ball on the left flipper, shoot the
spot standup to finish KICK.
The default is to let only 1 kickback be "stacked" on an already-lit
kickback.
Sand Trap
---------
The Sand Trap value starts the game at around 100K. The Jet Bumpers add
around 2.5K/hit to the value (maybe more if they're lit or flashing?), and
the Skill Shot targets can add some too (I think). The Sand Trap starts the
game lit. When the ball goes into the saucer, your Sand Trap value will
start counting down like a hurry-up award. The letters in KICK will start to
light up one-at-a-time, like the T2 skill shot or Judge Dredd Air Raid. Your
goal is to hit the left flipper button so that the ball, when ejected from
the saucer, will shoot across the playfield and hit the lit standup. If you
hit the lit standup, you'll collect the remaining Sand Trap value. I think
the value continues to go up from where you collected it. If you miss, you
don't get the points, but you still continue building in up from the same
point.
If the Sand Trap is unlit, hit the wide yellow standup to the right of the
saucer to light it.
Jet Bumpers
-----------
The Jet Bumpers have 3 states: Off, lit, and flashing. Normally, each ball
starts with the middle bumper lit. The Advance Jets standup increases one
bumper's level. When all 3 bumpers are flashing, you have Super Jets for the
rest of the ball (7.5K/hit I think). Hitting the Advance Jets standup when
Super Jets are lit scores 50K. The Jets also add to the Sand Trap value.
You can get Super Jets as a Wheel Award, too.
Captive Ball
------------
There are 5 lights on the captive ball:
Drive - Spots a drive for the current hole. If Putting Green is already lit,
probably doesn't do much of anything.
Increase Bud Value - Adds 25K to Bud's award (for the rest of the game).
Increase Buzz Value - Adds 25K to Buzz's award (for the rest of the game)
Increase Cart Value - Adds 100K to the Cart's value (for the rest of the
game)
Light Driving Range - Lights the left inlanes for some free shots at the
driving range the first time. The 2nd time it awards Ripoff
Multiball.
There's also "Collect Ripoff" lights on either side of the "Drive" light.
The game starts with Drive flashing, and every hit collects the current award
and lights the next one. The captive ball does NOT reset at the start of
each ball, it is held throughout the game.
Left ramp
---------
Every shot to the left ramp adds 100K to the Hole-In-One value (which starts
the game at 400K I think). Also, the inlane will lower the Driving Range
ramp after each shot to the left ramp.
Driving Range
-------------
The Driving Range value starts at around 50K and is increased by 25K or so
with each center and right ramp shot. If you shoot the Driving Range and
make the center ramp instead of hitting the Cart or Hole-In-One (or missing
entirely), you score the Driving Range value. Often times you'll see an
animation of a squirrel getting hit by or swallowing a golf ball. (Buzz:
"Hey! Don't hit my tree-dwelling cousin!") There's also a car's window that
gets hit (complete with car alarm going off :) ) and probably a couple
others.
Cart
----
The Cart can only be hit from the Driving Range ramp. It starts the game
worth 100K and goes up 100K via the captive ball Increase Cart Value award.
Various numbers of hits will start different modes (see their description
under Wheel Awards).
3 hits - Cart Attack
8 hits - Pop-a-Gofer
13 hits - Speed Golf
If you hit the Cart to start Cart Attack and the ball then ricochets into
Hole-In-One, DOUBLE Cart Attack starts instead (same thing, all values
doubled). Current ROMs don't double anything else.
Hole-In-One
-----------
Any time you make Hole-In-One during normal play, you finish the current hole
with one stroke and collect the Wheel Award. The points you get for a Hole-
In-One start at 400K and go up 100K with each left ramp shot (no known
limit). You also score the Super Jackpot and Special here (when lit).
Gofers
------
Your hosts, Bud and Buzz; they'll come up and taunt you throughout the game.
When they do, feel free to give them a good whack! Each gofer hit scores
100K (increased by captive ball awards). During normal play, you'll also
reduce the current hole's score by 1 stroke (see Wheel Awards for more
details on playing golf).
Bonus
-----
Every hole you complete adds to your bonus based on how many strokes it took
you. Each hole has a par value which you'll usually score, but other things
can add and subtract strokes. Each Gofer hit subtracts one stroke, each
sandtrap and outlane adds one stroke (not sure if a lit kickback adds a
stroke or not). There are Wheel awards that can affect stroke counts as
well. Obviously, if you get a Hole-In-One, you finish in 1 stroke. You can
never finish with fewer than 2 strokes unless you get a Hole-In-One. You can
also never finish with more than 7 strokes.
So, for each hole you finish, you'll get for bonus:
1 stroke - 250,000
2 strokes - 125,000
3 strokes - 100,000
4 strokes - 75,000
5 strokes - 50,000
6 strokes - 25,000
7 strokes - 10,000
If you haven't finished any holes yet ("This must be embarassing for you!"),
you'll get 10,000. Your total is then multiplied by your bonus multiplier,
amazingly enough (see Cart Paths).
Multiball
=========
Multiball is a high-scoring affair in NGG (well, it can be anyway). To start
multiball:
1. Shoot the center ramp to raise Bud.
2. Hit Bud. If you take too long, you must shoot the center ramp again.
3. Lock the ball under the center ramp.
4. Shoot the center ramp to raise Buzz.
5. Hit Buzz. You'll have to raise him again if you take too long.
6. Lock the ball under the right ramp.
7. Shoot the Putting Green or Hole-In-One to start Multiball.
Once Multiball starts (both: "Attaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!"), balls will be kicked
out of the Putting Green, the bumpers, and the right orbit (if balls are
actually locked in the last 2 spots, otherwise they're auto-plunged).
The left ramp scores the Jackpot, which is worth 3.5M+1M (held for the whole
game). If you make it, then Hole-In-One lights for the Super Jackpot (and
quite a fanfare) which is worth double the last-collected Jackpot.
After collecting the Jackpot, any left inlane will lower the Driving Range
ramp for a shot at the Hole-In-One (Bud: "This is my favorite part!").
Making the Super Jackpot relights the Jackpot. You can also relight the
Jackpot at any time by shooting the right ramp (so both the Jackpot and Super
Jackpot can be lit at the same time). If the Jackpot is lit, the right ramp
will be raised (though Buzz will block it every so often to harrass you) for
an easier shot to the left ramp.
The third Super Jackpot you make (in the game, not just one multiball) will
not earn a double jackpot, but rather the Jackpot value again and an extra
ball!
After each Multiball, 2 additional ramp shots are required to raise a Gofer
(the "Get TNT" light on the center ramp will be lit). If a Gofer raised to
light a lock times out, you only need to make one shot to re-raise him, not
all shots.
Playing Golf and The Wheel
==========================
The main object of the game is to complete golf holes. To do so, you must
shoot drives until the Putting Green is lit. Shooting the Putting Green
completes the hole and scores the current Wheel award.
Each hole has a pre-determined par value. I'm fairly sure that this value
minus 1 corresponds to the number of drives that you need to make before
putting out. If you don't do anything special, making all drives and then
shooting the Putting Green will finish the hole with the par value. Any
Gofer hit during normal play subtracts one stroke from par. Any outlane or
the Sand Trap will add one stroke. See the Bonus section for details on how
this affects your bonus score.
The Putting Green, when unlit, scores a Water Hazard (but this doesn't affect
your golf score). The Water Hazard is worth from 10-99,990 (it probably
works like TZ's Odd Change, i.e. random number of digits, then randomize each
digit except the ones).
Making Hole-In-One any time during normal play finishes the current hole with
one stroke. On normal settings, completing the 4th hole will give you both
the Wheel Award and light the extra ball.
The currently-selected Wheel award can be changed by the Jet Bumpers, the
spinners (both incrementally), and the captive ball (spins and stops
randomly).
Here is a list of Wheel Awards starting with Hole-In-One and going clockwise
around the Wheel:
Hole In One
-----------
Finishes the current hole as a Hole-In-One (including the points) instead of
how many strokes it would've been.
Bad Shot
--------
If you get this "award" from as a result of shooting the Putting Green, then
you finish the hole with 1 more stroke than you had. If you get it as a
result of getting a Hole-In-One or picking it from Player's Choice, then it
doesn't affect the current hole, but rather starts the next hole already at 7
strokes.
Ripoff
------
The ball is kicked out to the right flipper from the Putting Green. You have
20 seconds or so to hit the captive ball to start Ripoff Multiball. Ripoff
Multiball starts off as a 2-ball multiball. Complete the captive ball lights
(5 hits) to add another ball into play (up to 5). There is a ballsaver at
the start of multiball and briefly after completing the captive ball.
During Ripoff, each ramp scores 100K+25K/captive ball hit. If you make all 3
ramps, then the ripoff value is doubled.
Speed Golf
----------
This is a 3-ball multiball, with a brief ballsaver at the beginning. Every
inlane triggers the Driving Range ramp for a shot at the Driving Range. Its
value starts at 250K or so and every switch adds about 1K to the value. The
value doesn't go down when collected, just keeps getting bigger.
Free Lock
---------
Spots one lock towards the next multiball.
Player's Choice
---------------
The Wheel starts spinning (way too fast for you to stop it where you want),
and you push both flippers to stop it and get your reward. Yes, it's
possible to get Player's Choice again. :)
Outlanes
--------
The outlanes are lit (Buzz: "You drain, you gain."), the left for extra
ball, the right for special. Only one is lit at a time, alternated by the
slingshots. Since you have a kickback now, it's possible to get the extra
ball and not lose your current ball in play.
Pop-a-Gofer
-----------
A 20-second timed mode. Each Gofer hit is worth 1M. Bud and Buzz will
usually alternate being up, taunting you the entire time of course.
Warp
----
Advance a random number (1-3) of holes, but not past hole 9. You CAN warp to
hole 9, though, and immediately get Hole-In-One Challenge. Passing 4 will
light the extra ball still, and passing 7 will still play Short Circuit.
Q Jackpot
---------
The left ramp is lit for a jackpot until you collect it or the ball ends.
It's worth 1M/hole completed. An easy way to collect it is to lock a ball
then plunge the new ball up the ramp.
Gofer Attack
------------
The captive ball is lit for a hurry-up. It starts at 1M and counts down (not
sure how far). Hit the captive ball to collect the points. The ball is
kicked out from the Putting Green to the right flipper.
Cart Attack
-----------
Each drive scores 250K+100K (that's all 5 drive arrow shots and the Driving
Range center ramp shot). You get a great animation of a Gofer being chased
by a MX Missile. (If you look at the Cart plastic, you'll see some missile
launching equipment on it.) If you hit the Cart (Buzz: "You hit your own
cart!" then either "Do it again!" or "You're dumber than Bud!"), you'll
collect the total of all shots you've made since the start of Cart Attack or
the last Cart Jackpot.
Light Extra
-----------
Ball, that is. This MUST be collected before you drain (on default
settings).
Gofer's Choice
--------------
A Gofer (Bud most of the time I think) will pick an award for you, out of:
Super Jets
Big Points (1M)
Dance Party
Some others...
Dance Party is simply a frenzy. Don't remember the scoring exactly at the
moment...
Big Spinners
------------
Both spinners are lit for 7,500/spin for the rest of the ball.
Kickback
--------
Adds one kickback light.
Short Circuit (non-Wheel)
-------------------------
After the 7th hole, instead of a normal Wheel award, you get Short Circuit.
A value starts at 2M and starts counting up (presumably the award is
disqualified at some point, but I haven't let it go yet). First you hit a
KICK target (any of the 5) to stop the value, then hit Buzz to collect it.
Hole-In-One Challenge (Wizard Award)
------------------------------------
After the 9th hole, you start the Hole-In-One Challenge. You get:
1. Instantly awarded 1M/Hole-In-One you've made to this point
2. Super Jets
3. Big Spinners
4. Ripoff Multiball
5. Million Plus (1M+1M) on the left ramp (don't know of a limit)
6. Hole-In-One lit for Special
Hole-In-One Challenge starts out as a 4-ball multiball (and a brief
ballsaver). Since Ripoff is running, it is possible to extend Hole-In-One
Challenge by completing the captive ball repeatedly (same 5-ball limit as
Ripoff itself). The left inlanes will lower the Driving Range ramp until you
make a Hole-In-One. After that, I presume only the left ramp will lower the
Driving Range ramp.
Strategies
==========
I won't give you too much yet, since I'm still learning the game myself.
Getting Multiball at least once or twice is important, because it can be
worth so much. It will be difficult getting it much more than that because
of all the center ramps you'll need to hit.
Play the modes. Some modes (like Cart Attack) hold their value throughout
the game, and can be worth major points later on. Don't forget about
shooting for the Cart Paths for bonus multipliers later in the game since
your bonus will just keep getting bigger and bigger. Definitely try to get
the extra ball from the Cart Paths as well.
During Ripoff Multiball and Hole-In-One Challenge, definitely wail on the
captive ball. 5 hits may seem like a lot, but it's pretty easy to do. I
typically like to ensure I always have 3 balls on the playfield. One thing
to do is when you have 3 balls, hit the captive ball 4 times, waiting until
you drain one before finishing it. This will actually give you 2 balls
because of the ballsaver.
--
Keith P. Johnson, keeper of rec.games.pinball DynaFAQ
Play pinball - it's better on your eyes than video games. :)
"Beware what you wish for when you choose immortality... For it is a decision
that you will have to live with for a long time." - from The Outer Limits
