Road Show rules v1.1 (quick update)
Michael R. Dunn
==========================================================================
By Michael Dunn <a54...@pic.ucla.edu>
and Scott Moorhouse <moor...@sendit.nodak.edu>
=======================================
Quick Note -- Scott now has access to an LA-5 Road Show, so we'll be doing
version 2.0 of the rules as soon as he completes his research
on the L-5.
Thanx to all the folks who have helped us out with info and
corrections -- we'll incorporate all the changes into v2.0.
Contents
========
<0> Changes from version 1.0
<1> History and Thanks
<2> Overview
<3> Playfield Description
<4> General Rules and Scoring
<5> Blasts
<6> Flying Rocks
<7> The Wheel
<8> Souvenirs
<9> Multiball
<10> City Scenes (Modes)
<11> Super Payday (Wizard Bonus)
<12> The Magic Standup (tm)
<13> Combos
<14> Easter Eggs
<15> Bugs
<16> Miscellaneous Stuff
<17> Strategies
<0> Changes from version 1.0
============================
o Fixed up the really glaring errors - how to light Flying Rocks shots, how
to relight the wheel, and the rules regarding buyins.
<1> History and Thanks
======================
Version 1.0: Our first foray into the depths and intricacies of a Lawlor
pin.
Version 0.5: Larry Hastings's rule sheet based on prototype ROMs, and the
version upon which this sheet is based. Larry also gets credit for much of
the humor in this sheet.
Version 0.2: Larry's initial revision.
Version 0.1: Early overview of the game, by Bowen Kerins.
Thanks go out to:
Larry Hastings funk...@hyperion.com
Bowen Kerins bo...@leland.stanford.edu
Ken Chaney Ken.C...@eng.sun.com
Neil Shatz
Rod Magnuson empow...@apple.com
Dan Farris far...@cig.mot.com
Steve Baumgarten s...@panix.com
Gr*g D*nl*p g...@rci.ripco.com
Steve Bollinger Steve_B...@globalvillag.com
Mark Divitini ma...@quokka.epidem.uwa.edu.au
<2> Overview
============
Red and Ted, the Road Busters, are a couple of fun-loving demolition
experts crossing the country on their bulldozer. They cause immense mayhem and
destruction, but we love 'em anyway. Help them destroy civilization by
accumulating miles to get to cities, by buying souvenirs for big prizes, and by
passing the days of the week. And by giving them occasional iron supplements.
Road Show is a four-ball widebody Williams pinball game with four
flippers, two talking plastic heads (Red and Ted), eighteen modes, stereo DCS
sound, a shaker motor, two ramps, two loops, two plungers, two start buttons
(just kidding), three bumpers, and a kajillion other assorted targets. It
features both kinds of music (country AND western), and in fact has the voice,
music, and likeness of Carlene Carter, a real live female country music star.
Since this is Pat Lawlor's first pin since Twilight Zone (Pat is the
genius who gave us The Addams Family, FunHouse, Whirlwind, Earthshaker, and
Banzai Run) some of us had been quite anxious to see his newest baby. What
would he come up with next?
As it turns out, it's something of a pastiche of his earlier games.
Gamers familiar to pinball will see things in the exact same place as in a
previous Lawlor game. The game strikes one as evolutionary, rather than
revolutionary. Still, Pat Lawlor on even a bad day is better than a drawer
full of anybody else.
This is a wonderful game. The rules are quite solid, if perhaps not
inspired, and the Williams support team did an excellent job with the sounds,
music, and animation.
Williams took this opportunity (the debut of a new Lawlor game) to make a
fundamental change. We suppose it was meant as a spoonful of sugar to help the
medicine go down. Anyway, with Road Show, the end-of-game match is OFF by
default. Some folks claim that it compensates by giving out 7% more Specials,
but that seems specious. It's possible to enable the match, but the thinking
is that most people will leave it off.
Road Show also introduces the 1/2 credit buy-in (nothing special about it,
just a cheap extra ball), and the daily high-score list (which resets every
night at midnight).
<3> Playfield Description
=========================
Starting at the lower-left and going clockwise, here's the layout of Road Show:
Left Inlane: Your standard inlane. It lights Bridge Out on the Right Ramp
Left Outlane: Can be lit for a special.
Rocks Plunger: This plunger is in the same place as the left plunger in
FunHouse and the Rose Plunger in GnR. The ball is fed here when you shoot
the Left Ramp when lit for Flying Rocks. The plunger sends the ball up a
habitrail. If you plunge softly, the ball will come back to rest at the
plunger. See the Flying Rocks section for more info.
Middle Left Flipper: A Thing-sized flipper which sits above and a tad to the
left of the Left Outlane. The setup is similar to the left side of TAF,
although the area is much more cramped and it's easier to drain down the
Outlane. Balls are fed to this flipper from the Left Loop, the Right Ramp
(when diverted), and the bottom exit from the Flying Rocks Plunger. Use
this flipper to hit the various targets of the Blast Zone.
Left Loop: This is a U-turn lane which feeds the Middle Left Flipper. The
entrance is positioned similarly to the Car Crash on DM. There is a rubber
stopper which slows down balls that come through this loop, so the ball
won't go screaming past the Middle Left Flipper. There is a white "Shoot
Here" light that lights when some mode award is available here.
Upper Left Flipper: This is a full-sized flipper that lies along the left side
of the Spinner Lane. Use it to hit the Bulldozer, Red, and the Radio
Targets.
The Magic Standup (tm): This is a backwards-facing standup target that lies
below the tip of the Upper Left Flipper. The best way to hit this target is
not to flip at balls which roll down the Spinner Lane. This standup is
worth going for, as it has mystical powers which result in easy points.
More Later.
Spinner Lane and Bob's Souvenir Bunker: A short lane running past the Upper
Left Flipper and into a sinkhole. Locked balls are held there. Balls
exiting the lock come back down this lane. Amazingly, balls coming into and
out of the lock don't collide. This hole is used for many things, including
collecting extra balls. There are two lights here, LOCK (yellow) and EB
(orange). Above and behind the hole is a yellow globe light which is on
when you can collect a Souvenir here.
Left Ramp: Placed similarly to the Neutral Zone in TNG. It normally feeds the
ball back to the Inside Right Inlane, but the ball can be diverted to the
Left Inlane. This also has a "Shoot Here" light, which lights when a mode
award, Shooter Bypass, or Flying Rocks is available here. Above the ramp is
a Bridge Out sign, with two red LEDs which flash when Bridge Out is
available here.
Bulldozer Blade: A yellow plastic bulldozer blade, which completely blocks off
Ted's head in its normal position. During Multiball, it will rotate up and
expose Ted's mouth. The Bulldozer is used to light locks and raise the
Multiball jackpot. The blade itself doesn't register hits - there are
proximity switches below the board that register bulldozer hits. There is
also a proximity switch behind the blade, which detects when a ball is
caught behind the lowered blade.
Ted: A giant head with moving eyes, eyelids, and mouth. When the Bulldozer is
raised, you can shoot balls into Ted's mouth. Balls that go into his mouth
come out of the Lock. Ted is used to start Multiball and collect jackpots.
Center Loop: This loop starts to the right of the Bulldozer and comes out in
the Bumpers. There is a rollover switch just as the lane turns to the
right, which you must hit to get credit for a shot to this Loop. This shot
has a "Shoot Here" light which lights when a mode award is available here,
and a "Light Bob's" light which indicates you can relight Bob's Souvenir
Bunker here.
Red: Another giant head. Red is placed at a similar angle as Rudy on FunHouse.
Red's mouth is unobstructed, and can easily be hit from the Upper Left
Flipper. Hits to Red are detected with a proximity switch. Red spits out
any balls that find their way into her mouth. Shoot Red for Big Millions
and Multiball jackpots.
Radio Targets: Five total, one orange standup on each side of the lane leading
to Red's mouth, and a bank of three red standups to the left of the Bumpers.
In front of the three-bank is a white "Radio" light, which flashes when the
Radio Targets are lit for something special.
Jet Bumpers: Three of 'em, one white, one red, and one orange, arranged in a
wild new triangular pattern. The Bumpers score points (1M per hit if Jets
at Max is lit), add to the Blast Value, change the current Wheel award, and
increase the frenzy value during the Miami mode.
Right Ramp: One of Pat Lawlor's trademarks is a shot through bumpers. On Road
Show, this is it. The lane through the bumpers is pretty wide compared to
TZ and TAF. Normally balls are fed to the Inside Right Inlane, but when
diverted they go all the way around the back of the board to the Middle Left
Flipper. Two lights here: Shoot Here, and Million Plus. Above the entrance
is a Bridge Out sign, just like the sign on the Left Ramp.
Plastic Radio: This sits to the right of the Bumpers. It has a yellow globe
light that flashes when the Radio targets are lit for something.
Start City Scene: This is a scoop placed similarly to TZ's Slot Machine, but a
bit closer to the flippers. Balls that fall in the scoop are kicked out of
the scoop, and should go directly at the Right Flipper for an easy drop
catch or bounce pass. This scoop is used in the Butte mode, but there are
no lights to indicate that. There is a yellow globe light above the hole
which flashes when you can start a mode here. (See Bugs)
Blast/Wheel Hole: This is a rather large sinkhole which can be entered from the
left or right side. Balls that drop in here are kicked out of the Start
City Scene scoop. When Start City Scene is lit, you can start a mode by
hitting this hole, too. This hole is used to score Blasts, the Skill Shot,
and in some modes.
Blast Targets: Three yellow standups arranged in an arc, facing down/left.
When an award is lit here, you only need to hit one of the targets to
collect it. There is a big white flasher-light labeled "Collect Blast
Value" that lights for: Blast, Double/Triple Blast, Big Blast, Super Blast,
Mega Blast, Immense Blast, Cataclysmic Blast, Incomprehensibly Large Blast,
You're Not Going To Believe This Blast, and Itty Bitty Teensy Weensy Baby
Blast after a successful Bean Eating Mania. (Okay, okay, those last six
were made up by Larry, and Super Blast is actually collected at the
Blast/Wheel Hole. :)
***NOTE*** Road Show uses the term "Blast Zone" ambiguously. Sometimes it
means "the Blast Targets" and sometimes "the Blast Targets or the
Blast/Wheel hole". The distinction between those two is important, so this
rule sheet will not use the term "Blast Zone," but instead specify which
targets need to be hit.
Skill Shot Lane: This lane runs past the right side of the Blast/Wheel Hole.
Balls can come down this lane from the Bumper area, and the plunger sends
balls up this lane. There is a one-way gate which deflects balls coming
down over to the Right Inlane/Outlane area. When that happens, the Left
Ramp lights for Shooter Bypass.
Plunger: Good ol' reliable manual plunger. Depending on how hard you plunge,
the ball can roll back to the plunger, roll down the Skill Shot Lane, land
in the Blast/Wheel Hole for the Skill Shot, go up to the Bumper area, or hit
the Bulldozer.
Right Inlanes: Another of Lawlor's trademarks is two Inlanes on one side. The
Inside Inlane lights Bridge Out at the Left Ramp, and the Outside Inlane
lights Bob's Bunker. A ball shot to the Left Ramp and not diverted will
return to the Inside Inlane.
Right Outlane: This is a particularly wicked outlane. It can be lit for a
Special.
Slingshots: Two normal triangluar slingshots (but a bit on the small side) in
their usual places.
Lower Flippers: Two full-sized flippers in the normal place.
Standups: Scattered around the board are white, orange, and red standups. They
are used to change the lit mode, and during the Miami and Minneapolis modes.
Playfield lights: Just below the Bulldozer are twelve lights that make up the
Wheel. Below those are five lights that show your current day of the week
(see Multiball). Moving down, there is the US map and the mode lights.
Below the map are the bonus multiplier lights. And finally, between the
flippers, the ever-popular Shoot Again light, which also indicates when the
ball saver is active.
Shaker motor: Somewhere inside the cabinet is the shaker. It's a motor
spinning an off-center weight, which when turned on causes the whole machine
to shake. It's used to punctuate gameplay (especially when you collect
blasts).
<4> General Rules and Scoring
=============================
Ball Saver: The Ball Saver is turned on at the start of each ball, and can save
the ball *one* time during each ball. It also lights at the start of either
multiball mode. If you drain BOTH balls while the ball saver is lit, the
mode will end and you'll get one ball back. Once in a while, you may have a
ball saved for no apparent reason (a feature?).
Skill Shot: Anytime you have a ball at the Plunger (except after two locks
during a West Coast mode), shoot the ball into the Blast/Wheel Hole without
hitting anything else to score the Skill Shot. The award is a free
souvenir, along with 5M the first time, 10M the second, etc., to a max of
25M.
You can also score a Skill Shot anytime the ball rolls up the Skill
Shot lane and lands in the Blast Hole. This usually happens after the ball
is kicked off the left Slingshot.
Shooter Bypass: Any time a ball rolls down the Skill Shot Lane, the Left Ramp
will be lit for Shooter Bypass in addition to anything else already lit
there. The award is 5M the first time, 10M the second, etc., to a max of
25M.
Spinner scoring: When the game is power-cycled, the Spinner value resets. It
begins at only a few hundred points per spin. It gradually increases, to a
few thousand points, then a couple hundred thousand, etc., until it reaches
its max of 1M per spin. Collecting a "Spinner at max" award from the Wheel
immediately sets the Spinner at 1M. Power-cycling is the only thing that
resets the Spinner's value.
Bridge Out (bonus multipliers): Bridge Out can be collected at any time during
the game. Light the Right Ramp by rolling through the Left Inlane, or light
the Left Ramp by rolling through the Inside Right Inlane. Bridge Out
remains lit for a few seconds. Hitting a lit Ramp will activate that Ramp's
diverter. There is no grace period for Bridge Out, although there IS a
grace period for the diverters (meaning that a diverter may activate even
though you are not awarded a Bridge Out). Each Bridge Out advances the
Bonus Multiplier from 1x to 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x. After 6x, the next
shot is "Light EB," which you can collect once per game. After the
multiplier reaches its max, Bridge Out shots award 10M. Advancing the
multiplier also lights the Wheel if it isn't already lit.
Big Millions: Anytime a ball is kicked out of the Lock, Red is lit for Big
Millions for a short time. Hit her mouth to score 5M the first time, 6M the
second time, etc., to a maximum of 25M. The value carries over during the
entire game.
Cheeseburger Bonus: After enough Red hits, you'll be awarded the Cheeseburger
Bonus, worth 20M. Red: "You big Cheeseburger!"
<5> Blasts
==========
There are several ways of collecting a Blast. Each time you collect a
Blast at the Blast Targets, you are awarded the current Blast Value, which
starts at 1M and goes up by some odd amount with each Bumper hit to a max of
10M.
The most common way is to light the Blast Targets by dropping a ball into
the Blast/Wheel Hole or hitting the Magic Standup, then hitting the Blast
Targets. Shooting the Left Loop lights the Blast Targets for a short time.
Hitting them awards 2x the Blast Value. Shooting Bridge Out on the Right Ramp
lights the Blast Targets for a short time, and hitting them awards 3x the Blast
Value.
You can also score a Super Blast by shooting either the Left Loop ("Fire
in the hole!") or Bridge Out on the Right Ramp, and then the Blast/Wheel Hole.
This awards 5M the first time, 10M the second, and 15M afterwards. It also
collects anything else that is lit at the Blast Hole.
If Big Blast is lit, hitting the Blast Targets awards 5x the Blast Value.
Note that you are always awarded one BLAST, regardless of the multiplier
applied to the Blast Value.
Blasts also work as a counter award, like Robots and Hitchhikers in TZ:
Flying Rocks is lit at 3, EB is lit at between 5 and 14 (reflexes), Special is
lit between 17 and 32 (reflexes), Flying Rocks at 40, EB lit at 50, Flying
Rocks again at 60. I'm sure there are more.
<6> Flying Rocks
================
Flying Rocks is akin to the Steps in FunHouse. First light the Left Ramp
by getting a Wheel award or enough Blasts (Flying Rocks can NOT be stacked at
the Ramp). Hitting the Ramp sends the ball down to the left-hand plunger (us
some cleverly-placed diverters). A habitrail leads away from the plunger, and
it has three exits. Each exit has an award:
Bottom hole: Lite 5x Blast. The ball is fed to the Middle Left Flipper for a
one-time shot at the Blast Targets.
Middle hole: Lite Radio Riot. The ball is fed to the Left Inlane. Each hit to
a Radio Target scores 10M for the rest of the ball.
Top hole: Lite EB. The ball is fed to the Inside Right Inlane, which is a
pretty good setup for a shot at the Lock.
If you send the ball past the top exit, it will hit Ted in the head! This
makes Ted very sore and awards 25M. The ball will roll back to the top hole
and exit that way.
Hitting one of the lower three shots when lit unlights it. The 5x Blast
hole is lit for you at the start of the game, and another is lit each time you
get the ball to the Rocks Plunger. Hitting the Center Loop also lights the
next unlit Flying Rocks shot. In any event, the shots are always lit in order
from bottom to top, and you can collect only one EB from the Rocks per game.
Note 1: If a ball goes airborne and lands at the Rocks Plunger, you
will be able to collect the Rocks awards, just as if you had gotten the ball
there legitimately.
Note 2: hitting one of the three lower Rocks shots awards 10M if it
was lit, and 5M if not.
<7> The Wheel
=============
The Wheel is a group of twelve various awards. Light the Wheel by
advancing your bonus multiplier. Collect a Wheel award by shooting the Lock
or the Blast/Wheel Hole. You can collect a Wheel award at any time during the
game. When the Wheel is lit, all twelve lights will flash together, and a tick-
tock sound effect will play.
Each spin of the Spinner and each Bumper hit moves the flashing Wheel
award counterclockwise. Nothing happens when you collect all twelve awards;
the Wheel just quietly resets.
Here are the awards:
-- You're There --
Immediately lights Start City Scene and awards 5M * (number of modes
you've played + 1). If you're currently in a mode, or if Start City Scene is
already lit, Start City Scene will be lit immediately at the end of the current
or next mode respectively. If you collect this award by shooting the
Blast/Wheel Hole, and if there was not a mode running, the next mode will begin
before the ball is kicked back into play. (see Bugs)
-- Flying Rocks --
Lights the Left Ramp for Flying Rocks.
-- Light Big Blast --
Lights the Blast Targets for Big Blast. This does not seem to time out,
but it will turn off if you drain without collecting it.
-- Light Special --
Does just what it says. Red: "Now isn't that special."
-- Million Plus --
Lights the Right Ramp for Million Plus, worth 6M the first time, and 1M
more each successive shot to a max of 12M, for the rest of the ball.
Ted: "Baby, you look like a million plus."
-- Jets at Max --
Each Jet Bumper hit is worth 1M for the rest of the ball. This award also
starts a neat light show in the lights that make up the border on the US map.
-- Bad Weather --
A 25M Hurry-up is lit at the Lock. It times out 5M. Red: "I hate
rain!" Collecting the points gives the quote from Red: "Look, a rainbow!"
-- Spinner at Max --
Sets the Spinner value to 1M per spin.
-- Hold Bonus --
Also holds your multiplier. (see Bugs)
-- Lite EB --
Does just what it says. Red: "Get that extra ball!"
-- Bob's Freebie --
Awards a free Souvenir.
-- Lunch Time --
Shows a pretty hot dog on the DMD and awards 15M. (Mmmm...fifteen million.
Oops, sorry, wrong cartoon character.)
<8> Souvenirs
=============
Souvenirs are neat little toys that you can pick up during the game. You
get one for free every time you collect a Skill Shot or Bob's Freebie Wheel
award. You can also buy souvenirs (using points as your currency) from Bob's
Souvenir Bunker.
Bob's Bunker is lit by rolling through the Center Lane or the Outside
Right Inlane. But in order to get the chance to buy something at Bob's, you
must hit the Lock when nothing else is lit there, and when no mode is running.
When you hit the Skill Shot, you are awarded some random Souvenir.
When you visit Bob's or collect a Bob's Freebie award, you see a cute
picture of the facade of the Bunker, which has a changing sign in the window.
The first time you visit Bob's, you also see the bulldozer pull up to the door
and park (complete with hissing air brakes!).
The sign can be one of the following: "Home of the Bug Rubber Spears"
(this is always the sign on your first visit), "Free Water -- $1 a glass",
"Uranium Ore $3 a Chunk", "Easy Credit -- Let's Talk", "Today's Special:
Explosives", "Try Our Frosty Malts", "Dozer Parts On Sale Today", "Sale On
Jackalopes", "Secret Video Mode: BRRRLLRRL", and "Frenzy? Bwa haa ha ha!".
Then, a souvenir is picked at random, with an animation reminiscent of
CFTBL's Snack Bar. You are then shown the price of the Souvenir. Press the
left flipper to decline it, or the right flipper to buy it. There are also
some joke souvenirs: New Car, Pretty Rocks, Ashtray, Breath Spray, Uranium,
Ammunition, Toothpicks, Lawn Darts, Poker Chips. Papaeweight, Wooden Indian.
What are Souvenirs good for? Well, you can sell them back at Albuquerque
(usually for more than what you paid), and you can get extra points at Fun With
Bonus. If you have a souvenir AND have visited the associated city, you get
10M per souvenir. So, if you have played the Miami mode and have 2 suntan
lotions, you get 20M.
Random quotes for buying a souvenir: Ted: "There goes the paycheck again",
"The biggest bang for your buck, baby!". Red: "Hey, that's neat!", "What a
piece of JUNK", "We came here for THIS?". If you don't buy one, Red may say
"Thank goodness!".
Here are the souvenirs:
Souvenir Cost City
Air Freshener 20M New York
Baggy Shorts 20M Seattle
Baseball Cap 5M Atlanta
Belt Buckle 3M Nashville
Box Kite 8M Kansas City
Bull Whip 7M <none>
Coffee Mug 750K Ohio
Cowboy Hat 6M Dallas
Deck of Cards 10M Las Vegas
Fireworks 9M New Orleans
Fool's Gold 20M Denver (40M in L-3 and earlier ROMs)
Key Chain 5M <none>
Pennant 1M Chicago
Picture Plate 5M <none> (see Easter Eggs)
Root Beer Mug 2M <none>
Rubber Nose 50M <none>
Rubber Spear 3M Minneapolis
Salt Shakers 750K Salt Lake City
Sandals 12M San Francisco
Shot Glass ? <none>
Sunglasses 8M Los Angeles
Suntan Lotion 20M Miami
T-Shirt 4M <none>
Treasure Map 10M Butte
Wax Lips 15M <none>
There are also three special Pinball souvenirs. They cannot be sold back
at Albuquerque, but you get something right away when you buy them.
Lead Pinball 75M lights EB
Zinc Pinball 100M awards an EB
Gold Pinball 250M awards an EB and lights Special
If the sign in the window reads "Uranium Ore $3 a Chunk" quickly hit both
flippers. (Another easter egg related to the number 3.) This starts
Construction Mania, a 20-second mode with all targets worth 3M. If you start
Construction Mania, you will not get a souvenir for that trip to Bob's.
<9> Multiball
=============
First, advance through the days by hitting the Bulldozer blade. Each hit
advances you one day. Red also announces the days as you go, and your progress
is indicated on the playfield lights below the Wheel. When you reach Friday,
Lock is lit at the Bunker, and both characters say something about payday, Ted:
"Where's my paycheck?", Red: "Pipe down!" You cannot advance days or lock
balls while a City Scene mode is in progress.
Locking one ball awards 10K for each mile you've traveled on that ball (if
you have NO miles, you get a consolation prize of 10K), and Ted says "Hey-hey,
payday! Party time! Put on your dancin' shoes baby."
Lock 2 is then immediately lit. Locking ball 2 awards another bonus for
miles, and you hear more chatter:
Red: "Payday!", Ted: "Whoa--I'm all worn out."
Rad: "Party time!", Ted: "*yawn* I'm shuttin' down."
Ted then falls asleep, and (like most sleeping heads on pinball machines) his
mouth hangs open. The Bulldozer blade raises, exposing his mouth. Shoot a
ball in there to start Multiball.
After Ted swallows that ball you just shot in, all three balls are kicked
out of the Lock. That's a bit inconvenient since the first jackpot is at Ted's
mouth. The jackpot starts at 40M and goes up by 5M each time you hit the
Bulldozer Blade, to a max of 75M.
The first jackpot is at Ted's mouth, and the second is at Red's mouth.
The jackpots keep alternating between the two. Whenever Ted is the next
jackpot, the Blade rises and lowers, making it a difficult shot. When Red is
the next jackpot, the Blade stays down. As soon as you collect one jackpot,
the other is lit immediately.
When you score a jackpot, the DMD spells out the word JACKPOT once for
each jackpot you've gotten (to a max of three times). Kinda dull, really.
Scoring your first jackpot also starts some real country music going; Carlene
sings about some hopelessly codependant relationship ("I oughta keep you locked
up at home.")
If you drain two balls without getting a jackpot, multiball restart is lit
at the Lock for 12 seconds (see Bugs). Shooting the Lock restarts Multiball
with two balls.
At the end of Multiball, you may hear Ted say, "Oh, my achin' head!" or "I
feel like I've been rode hard and put away wet." If you get no jackpots,
restart, and still get no jackpots, Red will console you by saying "You missed
EVERYTHING!"
Between locks 1 and 2, you might hear
Ted: "We're eatin' high off the hog tonight!"
Ted: "I'm on easy street, baby!"
Red: "What a GUY!"
After you light lock 1, but before you lock the first ball, hitting the
Bulldozer awards Overtime, which is worth 1.1M the first time, 1.2M the second,
and so on to a max of 3M (and plays a neat "whoosh" sound effect).
On the second multiball, you need to advance through the days again after
locking the first ball, and the max value of the jackpot is 100M. On the third
multiball you need 2 bulldozer hits to advance a day, and the max jackpot is
125M. Later multiballs need one more bulldozer hit to advance a day, and the
max jackpot goes up by 25M for each multiball. The highest we've seen is 4
hits to advance a day!
<10> City Scenes (modes)
========================
Each of the cities on the US map corresponds to a mode. That's right,
eighteen of 'em! The cities are roughly in a grid, 6 columns by 3 rows. The
top row of lights is white, the middle row is yellow, and the bottom row is
orange. It's not a perfect grid, though; in fact, from going from right to
left, the colors always rotate in the same order: white, orange, yellow.
To begin a mode, shoot either the Start City Scene scoop or the Blast Hole
when the Start City Scene globe light is flashing. You cannot start modes
during multiball, or when you have locked two balls and Ted is asleep. You
also cannot have more than one mode running at a time (but see bugs).
The currently flashing mode is always one of the next two cities on the
map (going from right to left), so your first mode is either New York (white)
or Miami (orange) -- the rightmost 2 cities on the map. This means that you
can never play two modes of the same color in a row. The exception to this
rule is the three West Coast cities - you can reach any of the three cities on
the coast.
The currently flashing mode changes when you hit a bumper or standup of
the same color as a city that you can reach at that time. So for example, at
the beginning of the game, New York is the flashing mode, but hitting an orange
bumper or standup changes the mode to Miami; and hitting a while bumper or
standup changes it back to New York.
The order of the cities from east to west is:
New York
Miami
Atlanta
Ohio (This is in fact a *state*, not a city. hmmm)
New Orleans (or, as Red calls it, Nawlins)
Nashville
Chicago
Dallas
Kansas City
Minnesota (This is another state - but elsewhere this mode is called
"Minneapolis")
Albuquerque
Denver
Butte
Las Vegas
Salt Lake City
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
After completing a mode, you need to travel 400 miles to re-light the
Start City Scene scoop. Hitting a Ramp awards 100 miles; the Left Loop awards
150 miles; the Center Loop, Blast Hole, and unlit Start City Scene scoop
award 75 miles; the Lock awards 50 miles; the Inlanes award 25 miles; the
standups and slingshots award a few miles each; and the Spinner awards a few
miles per spin.
Once you complete a West Coast mode, you start over at New York.
The cities you've visited remain lit (so you can still collect bonuses from
souvenirs) but you can re-play modes on your way back to the West Coast.
A note about the Right Ramp: If both the Right Ramp and the Left Loop are
lit at the same time, hitting the Ramp while Bridge Out is lit there will
collect BOTH the Ramp and the Loop awards (since the ball gets diverted to the
Loop).
-- New York City (Smash a Cab) --
This is a timed mode (20 seconds?). The bulldozer is stuck in a traffic
jam behind a bunch of taxi cabs. Hit the bulldozer to mercilessly crush a cab.
The first hit is worth 3M, the 2nd is worth 4M, etc. You also get 5M for
starting the mode. There is no grace period after the timer runs out.
Hitting the Magic Standup awards one taxi crush award (once only).
Starting quotes:
Red: "Look Ted, taxi cabs!"
Taxi Driver: <Indian accent> "You will rrrremove that bulldozer frrrrom the
street!"
Ted: "Is he botherin' you, darlin'?"
Red: "Go get him, Ted."
Smashing a cab gives you one of the quotes from the cabbie:
"I am not afrrrraid of you!"
"You have destroyed my taxicab."
"You have not heard the last of me!"
At the end of the mode, the cabbie says
"You have not heard the last of me!"
-- Miami (Spring Break) --
This is a 20-second timed mode. All targets are worth 1M. Hitting any
bumper or standup adds 100K to the target value, to a max of 3M. Obviously,
the Spinner or the Bumpers are the best places to shoot. Each time you
increase the target value, the DMD shows a neat close-up picture of a guy
banging on the screen, or a girl blowing you a kiss. :* Very reminiscent of
TZ's Town Square Madness displays.
Hitting the Magic Standup raises the target value by 200K (each hit).
Starting quotes:
Ted: "Hey, it's a beach party! <whistle>"
Red: "Jerk alert"
Ted: "Awww, Red..."
-- Atlanta (Worker Trapped) --
This is a 35M hurry-up mode. Hit the Blast Targets or the Blast/Wheel
Hole to collect the points. If you shoot Left Loop -> Blast Targets/Hole, the
hurry-up award is doubled. And if you shoot Right Ramp Bridge Out -> Blast
Targets/Hole, it's tripled. (see Bugs)
The Magic Standup may do different things. Mike has seen it reset the
hurry-up to 35M, but Scott has seen it raise the value to 50M!
Start quotes:
Voice on the radio: "We interrupt this broadcast. Construction accident. Man
trapped in a Port-a-potty."
Ted: "Prepare for blasting."
After collecting the points:
BOOM! ... Ted: "See, that didn't hurt a bit."
And on the screen, one char-broiled worker.
-- Ohio (Trapped in Ohio) --
Our heros are being pursued by the cops! Shoot either ramp to ditch one
police car (worth 10M), and then hit the other ramp to get away from the other
cop (25M). You also get 5M for starting the mode. Hitting a ramp shows a
police car smacking head-on into a truck!
Hitting the Magic Standup spots one of the Ramps (once only).
Starting quotes:
Policeman: "OK buddy, pull over!" (taken from High Speed)
Ted: "Officer Steve Speed."
After hitting the first ramp:
Ted: "He's like a mosquito on a mack truck!"
And after hitting the other ramp:
Red: "Hey, we got away!"
-- New Orleans (Mardi Gras) --
Ted and Red have 20 seconds to clear as many people from the street as
they can. Hit any Ramp or Loop to knock a person out of the way. The
party-goers on the screen are the frozen people from Minneapolis, babes in
bikinis from Miami, the Indian from Albuquerque, and the aliens from Seattle.
You get 5M for starting the mode, and shots are worth 5M, then 8M, then 12M,
and 20M afterwards.
Start quotes:
Red: "Look Ted, Mardi Gras!"
Ted: "I knew I shoulda brought more than one T-shirt."
During the mode:
Red: "Hey, watch where you're going."
Ted: "Watch out, coming through!"
-- Nashville (Change the Station) --
This is a two-ball multiball. A second ball is served to the plunger
(since there is always at least one ball in the trough), and the mode lasts
until you drain one ball.
Red and Ted scream in agony as the radio blabs on. 5M starting bonus, and
hitting any target in the 3-bank of Radio targets awards 10M the first time,
11M the second, etc., to a max of 15M. The station keeps changing, but talk
radio always winds up coming back on.
Hitting the Magic Standup awards a radio hit (once only).
Starting quotes:
Ted: "It's ... TALK RADIO!"
Red: "Change the station!"
During the mode, you can hear air checks from various radio stations:
"Turn your radio to BOB, BOB 100 FM."
"103.5 - WYNY"
-- Chicago (Evil Toll Roads) --
You have 15 seconds to blow up four toll booths. Each Loop and Ramp
corresponds to a booth. The first one is worth 7M, the next 10M, the third
15M, and the fourth 20M.
Hitting the Magic Standup blows up one of the booths (once only).
Starting quotes:
Red: "Look, Ted, Chicago."
Ted: "I hate toll roads."
Red: "We'll fix that!"
-- Dallas (Monster Cab) --
The cabbie is back with a big-toothed monster-truck cab. Shoot a Ramp or
Loop to lob a stick of dynamite at the cab. (You can hit a shot more than
once.) It takes four shots to destroy the cab. The shots score 13M, 16M, 19M,
and 22M.
Starting quotes:
Red: "Oh no, he's back."
Cabbie: "You will pay for yourrrr insolence!"
Red: "Let's get out of here!"
Ending quote:
Red: "Ooooh, Ted."
-- Kansas City (Tornado) --
This is another two-ball multiball mode.
Starting quote:
"The storm is coming ... return to your homes." (taken from Whirlwind)
A 25M hurry-up begins. Shoot the Lock to take shelter and collect the
hurry-up value (see Bugs), and reset it to 25M. Any balls shot into the lock
are kicked out after the award animation finishes.
Hitting any of the Radio targets in the 3-bank resets the hurry-up to 25M.
Hitting the Magic Standup awards 25M (once only).
-- Minneapolis (Frozen People) --
Our heroes have a sudden benevolent streak, and they decide to thaw a few
frozen people. There are six frozen people - hit any standup EXCEPT a Blast
Target to unfreeze a person and collect 10M. You also get 10M for starting the
mode. Unfreezing all 6 people awards a 25M bonus.
Hitting any Blast Target ends the mode and fries the remaining people.
Hitting the Magic Standup the first time thaws two people. On later hits
it behaves like a regular standup.
Starting quote:
Red: "Look Ted - frozen people."
Blowing them up gives:
Ted: "Oops."
-- Albuquerque (Trading Post) --
Starting quotes:
Red: "Hey, it's a trading post."
Native American: "How ... much?"
This city isn't a mode - it's a trading post where you can sell back all
the souvenirs you have at the time (except Pinballs). The Indian will buy them
from you at anywhere from 1x to 7x the value of the souvenirs. The multiplier
applied to the souvenir costs is the same as your current bonus multiplier -
with 7x being used if you have lit EB from multipliers on the current ball.
If you start this mode by hitting the Start City Scene scoop, you are
awarded 75 miles towards the next city before the ball is kicked back into
play.
-- Denver (Gold Rush) --
This mode is kinda dull. Just keep shooting the Left Ramp. The Ramp
scores 5M the first time, 10M the second, etc. The ball is _always_ fed to the
Inside Right Inlane, so if you hit a few shots in a row you'll boost your bonus
multiplier as well as collect the mode points.
Start quote:
Red: "Look Ted, GOLD!"
-- Butte (Tunnel Hunt) --
Shoot the underground shots (Lock, Start City Scene scoop, Blast Hole).
The first one is worth 10M, the next 12M, and the last 20M. You can get only
one award from each shot.
This mode is easy if you can catch balls coming out of the Start City
Scene scoop. Catch the ball at the start of the mode and shoot it back into
the Scoop. Then catch again and shoot the Lock. Then let the ball hit the
Magic Standup to collect the third award.
The Magic Standup spots one of the Underground shots (if you haven't hit
the Blast Hole yet, that shot is always spotted first).
None of the shots has a light to indicate whether it's been hit; you have
to check the DMD. There are three mounds of dirt. The left mound corresponds
to the Lock, the center mound to the Start City Scene scoop, and the right
mound to the Blast Hole. When you shoot one of the shots, the bulldozer
carries off the corresponding mound of dirt.
Starting quotes:
Red: "What are they digging for?"
Ted: "Let's dig in, darlin'!"
Hitting one of the tunnels gives:
Red: "Ya got one! Nice shot."
Red: "Ya got one! Way to go."
-- Las Vegas (Slot Machine) --
This is a 15 second mode. Every shot to the Lock awards a random Wheel
award. You can receive _any_ award, even ones that you're already collected on
the current Wheel during normal play. If you get an award that you have _not_
collected yet, that award will be lit solidly on the Wheel once the mode ends.
Starting quotes:
Red: "Look Ted, slot machines"
Ted: "There goes Friday's paycheck."
During the mode, you may hear:
Red: "Hey, that works."
Ted: "The biggest bang for your buck, baby."
-- Salt Lake City (Old West) --
The taxi cab is back again! The cabbie and the bulldozer are in a
showdown. Hit the Bulldozer Blade and the bulldozer will crush the cab when
they meet, and you'll get 60M. If you don't hit the Blade within about 5
seconds, you'll lose the showdown and get only 25M.
Hitting the Magic Standup awards 60M.
Start quotes:
<western music>
Cabbie: "I have returned for you, mister bulldozer man!"
If you win:
Cabbie (in his crushed cab): "Oh, I hate when this happens!"
-- Seattle (Alien Invasion) --
This is the first of the West Coast modes. The aliens from TZ have
landed! Repel the aliens by hitting the Ramps.
The mode lasts 20 seconds. Each target is worth 1.5M(!). Hitting a Ramp
awards 14M and raises the target value by 500K to a max of 5M.
Starting quotes:
Red: "Look Ted, aliens!"
Ted: "I think they like ya, Red."
Red: "Oh, Ted..."
-- San Francisco (Monster Attack) --
Godzilla is attacking the city in this mode. Hit him with the bulldozer
by hitting the Bulldozer Blade. All targets start at 1.5M. The Blade awards
10M and increases the target value by 500K to a max of 5M.
Start quote:
Red: "Look Ted, monsters!"
-- Los Angeles (Earthshaker) --
The shaker motor really gets a workout in this mode. Ted and Red have
stumbled upon some new roads. Smash the road by hitting the Blast Targets,
All targets start at 1.5M, and go up by 500K for each Blast Target you hit,
to a max of 5M.
Starting quotes:
Red: "Look Ted, new road."
Ted: "We'll fix that!"
<11> Super Payday (Wizard Bonus)
================================
During any West Coast city scene, you can start Super Payday. During the
mode, lock one ball in Bob's Bunker, and then lock another ball in either the
Bunker or the Blast/Wheel Hole (this includes hitting the Skill Shot after
locking ball 1). In addition to a great animation of the Earth blowing up,
look at all the valuable prizes you get for doing this:
Special is lit: lights the outlane Specials;
Jets at max: The Bumpers score 1M each;
All targets score;
3x Blast lit: All Blasts you collect score 3x the blast value;
Shoot the Wheel: Each shot to the Lock or Blast Hole gives a Wheel award;
Ramps score Payday Bonus.
The Payday Bonus is an enigmatic thing. You can collect it from
the Loops, as well as the Ramps. When you collect a Payday Bonus, Red
announces one of the cities (in order from east to west) that you visited on
the way to the West Coast. The city name is also displayed in the DMD. Then,
some amount of points is displayed (that's the bonus).
The Payday Bonus might be related to the amount of points that you
collected in the announced city. Sometimes, the DMD displays "0,000,000" -
this might be a bug.
Hitting the Magic Standup during Super Payday makes strange things happen.
It awards your next Payday Bonus, but instead of displaying the next city
name, the DMD says "Houlton." Red still _says_ the correct name, though.
"Houlton" is often displayed the next few times as well.
Houlton may also be the first city displayed. When this happens, Houlton
often appears a few more times, and red says "New York City" each time.
When you collect a Payday Bonus, both characters scream. The Blade
constantly rises and lowers throughout the mode, although hitting Ted or
getting a ball into his mouth doesn't do anything.
Now, if you've been reading carefully, you know that there are four balls
in Road Show. You're at the start of Super Payday. You have two balls locked,
and one at the plunger. Why is the fourth ball going to waste? Well, in fact
it doesn't - it just takes a bit of effort to get it into play. Here's what
you have to do:
1. Have _no_ balls in the Lock when you begin the West Coast mode.
2. During the mode, lock _both_ balls in the Lock.
3. When the third ball is served to the plunger, make the Skill Shot.
or...
1. Have one ball in the Lock when you start the West Coast mode
2. Lock one ball in the Lock and one in the Blast Hole during the mode.
3. You'll get the 4th ball at the plunger.
or...
1. Have one ball in the Lock when you start the West Coast mode.
2. Lock both balls in the Lock during the mode.
3. Once ball will be kicked out of the lock, and you'll be playing with just
that ball for a few seconds. Get the ball into the Blast Hole before the
other balls are kicked out, and the 4th ball will be served to the plunger.
Remember, you must use this extra ball only for good, and never for evil.
If you lock one ball during the West Coast mode, but the timer runs out
before you lock the other ball, the first ball is kicked out, and the West
Coast mode continues until you drain one ball.
If you lock one ball, then drain the other ball, the first ball is kicked
out and the mode ends.
Once, Mike locked one ball, drained the other, and the _ball_ ended! But
he hasn't been able to reproduce this.
<12> The Magic Standup (tm)
===========================
The Magic Standup is the backwards-facing target below the tip of the
Upper Left Flipper. The easiest way to hit it is not to flip at balls coming
out of the Lock. The ball should roll right into the target. In fact, in
order to benefit from the powers of the Magic Standup, that's exactly how you
have to hit it.
This standup does lots of good things:
o Hitting the target at any time lights the Blast Targets if they're not
already lit. (In this case, you do not need to hit the standup with a
ball coming out of the Lock.)
o In New York, it awards one hit on the Bulldozer.
o In Miami, it raises the target value by 300K.
o In Atlanta, it adds 16M to the hurry-up value.
o In Ohio, it spots one of the Ramps.
o In New Orleans, it counts as one Ramp/Loop shot.
o In Nashville, it awards a Radio Targets shot.
o In Chicago, it blows up a toll booth.
o In Dallas, it counts as a Ramp/Loop shot.
o In Kansas City, it awards 25M.
o In Minneapolis, it unfreezes 2 people.
o In Denver, it counts as a Left Ramp hit.
o In Butte, it spots one of the underground shots.
o In Las Vegas, it awards a Wheel award.
o In Salt Lake City, it awards 60M.
o During Super Payday, it brings up the "Houlton" bug.
Note that, with the exception of Miami, the Magic Standup only gives its
special award once. After that, it behaves like the other standups.
<13> Combos
===========
Combos are unfortunately few in number.
Banking a ball off the three-bank of Radio Targets and into the Blade
scores 5M.
Shooting Left Loop -> Blast Targets awards 2x the Blast Value.
Shooting Right Ramp (with Bridge Out lit) -> Blast Targets awards 3x the
Blast Value.
During the Atlanta mode, shooting Left Loop -> Blast Targets awards 2x
the hurry up value (see bugs).
During Atlanta, shooting Right Ramp (with Bridge Out lit) -> Blast Targets
awards 3x the hurry up value.
One sequence that is particularly valuable is Left Ramp -> Left Ramp
(Bridge Out) -> Right Ramp (Bridge Out) -> Blast Hole. This awards: two bonus
multipliers, a Super Blast, a Wheel award, and starts the next mode. Not to
mention that it feels great and impresses any onlookers.
<14> Easter Eggs
================
There are two DOHOs. One is in the backglass artwork (look at the barbed
wire on the far right side of the picture). The other is in the background of
the New York mode display. One of the buildings has the letters in its
windows, like this:
D O
H O
There are also two cows. The Picture Plate souvenir has a picture of a
cow on it. The other is on the backglass, just above the barbed wire fence.
In the tradition of Pat Lawlor pinballs, someone is drawn on the backglass
holding a red thumb-trigger button in their left hand. This time, it's Pat
himself, sitting in a Corvette (with the license plate GAME BIZ) on the Road
behind the bulldozer. He honestly looks happy at all the mayhem surrounding
him.
Construction Mania - see the Souvenirs section.
The "Secret video mode" display sometimes seen in the window of Bob's
shop. It's probably just a joke, but ya never know.
During the attract mode, sometimes the high scores will all have the
initials "RED".
<15> Bugs
=========
In Atlanta, if you collect a doubled hurry-up award, the light in front of
the Blast Targets will continue to flash until you collect another blast or the
ball ends. (This was present in LA-3 as well.)
Sometimes during New Orleans, after a ball is saved or an extra ball
award, the "next shot =" display will say "52M". This is just a display bug.
The whole "Houlton" deal. This was present in the prototype ROMs, it
didn't seem to be in LA-3, but in LA-4 it's BACK!
If you light Bridge Out on either Ramp, then hit the Ramp right after
Bridge Out times out, the ball will still be diverted.
If you hit collect a Bridge Out when your multiplier is at max, Red will
sometimes say "Spin the Wheel!" and the DMD will say "Wheel is lit."
Sometimes after collecting a Wheel award, the Wheel lights will not be
updated, so the award you just collected will remain flashing. The Wheel IS
updated internally, but this bug can be annoying. This bug is in LA-4, but was
not in LA-3.
[This is Mike's bug] Once, I got into a situation where Start City Scene
was lit, then I shot a particular target, and Start City Scene became UNLIT. I
could not relight it at all. It only became lit again at the start of the next
ball. At the time that this happened, I knew the cause of this bug, but I seem
to have forgotten it now. :(
If you collect Hold Bonus on a ball during which you also light EB from
the multipliers, on the next ball your multiplier will be displayed as "XX".
This would be a clever way to show a 10x multiplier, but that isn't the case -
it's still just 6x. (This is present in both LA-3 and LA-4.)
[This is Scott's bug] If you collect a You're There award during a West
Coast mode _between locks_, and then start Super Payday, the New York mode will
run simultaneously with Super Payday. Also, when you collect a Payday Bonus,
the announced city will always be New York.
In Kansas City, when you collect a hurry-up award, you cannot collect
another until the animation for the award finishes.
[This is Mike's bug] If you have both EB and Restart Multiball lit at the
Lock, the restart timer continues to run during the EB animation. If the timer
runs out during the animation, another ball will be served to the plunger, but
Multiball will NOT restart.
[This is Mike's bug] If you collect 2 Bob's Freebie awards at the same
time (or about the same time), the second souvenir-selection animation will
override the first, but only the _first_ souvenir will be displayed. (This is
just a display bug as far as I can tell.)
[This is Scott's bug] If you start Construction Mania during a mode which
ends after you hit certain shots (such as Ohio), Construction Mania will end
when the mode ends, regardless of the time left on the Construction Mania
timer.
[This is Scott's bug] Starting Construction Mania or Bad Weather during a
mode which is a hit-all-you-can mode (like New York or New Orleans) will freeze
the mode timer until Construction Mania or Bad Weather ends.
[This _might_ be a bug...] When you hit a Skill Shot, the ball saver
timer continues to run. This means that if you start a mode, the ball saver
will most likely run out while the opening animation is running. The same
might happen if you miss the Skill Shot and quickly hit the Start City Scene
scoop.
<16> Miscellaneous Stuff
========================
Extra balls and Specials remain lit across balls until they are collected.
Extra balls may be stacked, but Specials cannot. If a Special is already lit,
and you collect another Light Special award, the second award is lost. One
Special is lit at a time, and it alternates Outlanes with each Slingshot hit.
The three flippers on the left side are independently controllable to some
extent. Pushing the left flipper button partway in activates the Lower Left
Flipper, and pushing it in fully activates the other two flippers at the same
time.
Getting a ball into Red's mouth awards 20M, and a quote:
"Bleah! How can you eat those things?" or
"That tasted terrible!"
You can buy-in as often as you like, for 1/2 credit each time, until
you begin a West Coast mode.
There are two high score lists. One is the all-time high scores, which
includes the Grand Champion and the #1 through #4 scores. There is also a
daily high score board, which holds the four highest scores of the day. This
list resets every day at midnight. No credits are awarded for making the daily
high score board.
The match sequence is pretty dull. It's similar to TNG's, except without
the starfield and cool Trek music.
Miscellaneous quotes:
Red says "Big points" or "Nice shot!" if you hit a Shooter Bypass or have over
100M at Fun With Bonus.
Tilt quotes: Red: "Oh no..." Ted: "Now THAT'S pinball."
If you buy in: Ted: "There goes Friday's paycheck."
In LA-4, Red sometimes says "Now that works" at random times during modes.
<17> Strategies
===============
-- How to save a ball trapped under the Middle Left Flipper --
No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it's going to happen eventually.
A ball is going to get stuck under that tiny flipper. So, now you're in a
predicament.
You have two choices. If your machine's tilt is lenient, raise the
flipper and give the machine a nudge forward (a little stronger than your
normal up-push). The ball will roll up and be in range of the flipper. Bat
it away and continue playing.
The other method is a bit more tricky. Again, raise the flipper. Just as
the ball turns right and heads for the Outlane, slap the right side of the
cabinet. If you do it right, the ball will hit the top of the Inlane/Outlane
divider, bounce off the movable post to the left of the Outlane, and bounce
back to the Inlane.
-- Extra balls --
EBs are not that hard to come by. If you're close to getting an EB from
Blasts, keep shooting Left Loop -> Blast Hole or Targets to rack up Blasts. If
Lite EB is the flashing Wheel award, go for Right Ramp (Bridge Out) -> Blast
Hole.
-- Big points --
The Ramps are the best place to shoot. By themselves, they don't award
much, but they light many other shots which DO give good awards. On their own,
the Ramps score miles which lead to modes, and collect awards in some modes.
Collecting the Bridge Out awards increases your Bonus Multiplier towards
an extra ball, and lights the Wheel (usually) which leads to more awards. And
if you don't have a Bridge Out lit, just shoot a Ramp to light one!
Bonus multipliers become even more important near the end of a big game.
You'll have lots of cities, lots of miles, and lots of Blasts. Building up
your multiplier each ball should be a high priority. Mike once collected a
597M Fun With Bonus with a 6x multiplier!
David Graham Arnold
>or Miami (orange) -- the rightmost 2 cities on the map. This means that you
>can never play two modes of the same color in a row. The exception to this
>rule is the three West Coast cities - you can reach any of the three cities on
>the coast.
On our LA-3 machine, I've collected cities with the same colour more than
3 times in a row, ie., New York, Ohio, Chicago, Minneaplois. Is this what
you mean by 'two cities in a row'?
--
David * s93...@yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au * http://yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au/~s933410/
-- Ist now working!! -- ^^
"Beasts of England, [fighting in] Ireland, come spread your joyful tidings"
Felix Lee
I think the T-shirt goes with Albuquerque.
Miami, is shooting the spinner really worth it? I remember it only
registers as one hit no matter how many spins, but this might have
been from when the spinner here was broken.
mmm. the description for the magic standup is inconsistent; the
description in the "city modes" section doesn't always match the
description in the "magic standup" section.
Atlanta, I think the magic standup adds somewhere around 25M-30M to
the countdown value.
Minneapolis, do the radio targets count as standups? can't remember.
Super Payday, does shooting Ted's mouth give you a wheel award? it's
really hard to pay attention during Super Payday..
I thought that XX bonus was 7x?
the rulesheet doesn't make it clear that the 10M bonus per
souvenir/city is before the multiplier. does anyone know the exact
formula for bonus?
--
Felix Lee
> Atlanta, I think the magic standup adds somewhere around 25M-30M to
> the countdown value.
it looks like it's 16M. checked it on the way home. couldn't check
any of the other stuff; I was missing pretty badly. (well, I was
actually missing pretty normally, but that doesn't sound as good :)
--
Mark Phaedrus
David Graham Arnold <s93...@yallara.cs.rmit.EDU.AU> wrote:
>a54...@pic.ucla.edu (Michael R. Dunn) writes:
>>or Miami (orange) -- the rightmost 2 cities on the map. This means that you
>>can never play two modes of the same color in a row. The exception to this
>>rule is the three West Coast cities - you can reach any of the three cities on
>>the coast.
>On our LA-3 machine, I've collected cities with the same colour more than
>3 times in a row, ie., New York, Ohio, Chicago, Minneaplois. Is this what
>you mean by 'two cities in a row'?
I believe this is what is controlled by the "Longer Path" difficulty
adjustment. When Longer Path is NO, you can go from one city to another of the
same color, so you can theoretically get across the country in as few as six
cities. When Longer Path is YES, you are required to change colors every time
you advance a city (the next city of the same color simply won't light), which
makes the shortest possible path about nine cities long.
Like most difficulty settings, there's no way of telling what Longer Path
is set on without playing or watching someone play; but it's pretty obvious
once you do start playing.
--
\o\ If you're interested in books/stories with transformation themes,\o\
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Scott R Tiesma
about the longer vs. shorter path (actually, isn't straight vs. zigzag?)
anyway, I would think in the longer path you can't move west unless
you are repeating a color (or have completed all 3 colors in that zone)
hence the zig zag.
For example if you get NY(white) and then get a orange you'll then
be in Miami, not a city to the west that is orange...etc...
More precisely then if you have a white city lit in one zone
and then have another color lit you stay in the zone whereas if
the same color is lit as a city already collected then you move
west. (PS. Zone = range of 3 cities...ya know).
That of course was for the Zig-Zag (longer) path.
Whereas for the shorter path, no matter what the color, you move west
once a city is collected.
I can't guarantee this is correct but that is how it seems on the
machines I play... (I've gotten NY and Miami many times in a row
as well as Butte, Salt Lake, and Las Vegas in a row).
(Did I just see a cow?) "Not an ordinary game, nor an ordinary player."
o ___
(__) o /__/| Some of my favorite things: God, my fiancee,
(oo) | || Pinball, Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Tori Amos, NIN,
/\/) | || Sarah Mclachlan, ============================
/ X\ ____| || Star Trek, = Scott R. Tiesma ==========
Q / / \\ ___~~~____|_|| Dean R. Koontz, = ties...@student.msu.edu =
\/ / ~---~~~~ || Stephen King, etc = ties...@egr.msu.edu =====
\|/ |____________|| ================================================
|| || || Anxiously Awaiting THEATRE OF MAGIC ============
^^ ^^ SRT'95 ^^ =======================================d=o=h-o==
Mark Phaedrus
> Ball Saver: The Ball Saver is turned on at the start of each ball, and
can save
> the ball *one* time during each ball. It also lights at the start of
either
> multiball mode. If you drain BOTH balls while the ball saver is lit, the
> mode will end and you'll get one ball back. Once in a while, you may
have a
> ball saved for no apparent reason (a feature?).
The one time I've seen the mysterious Phantom Ball Saver kick in was
when a ball went from the Lock straight down the middle (missing
everything along the way, including the Magic Standup). It could be a
coincidence.
> Skill Shot: Anytime you have a ball at the Plunger (except after two locks
> during a West Coast mode), shoot the ball into the Blast/Wheel Hole without
> hitting anything else to score the Skill Shot. The award is a free
> souvenir, along with 5M the first time, 10M the second, etc., to a max of
> 25M.
Note that the operator can change the freebie award; changing it to
Start City seems to be popular with operators who want to annoy players
(since Start City is usually lit at the start of the ball, and collected
at the same place anyway), and Light Flying Rocks is also available.
> Each Bridge Out advances the
> Bonus Multiplier from 1x to 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x. After 6x, the next
> shot is "Light EB," which you can collect once per game. After the
> multiplier reaches its max, Bridge Out shots award 10M. Advancing the
> multiplier also lights the Wheel if it isn't already lit.
Unless you collect Bridge Max, in which case it turns the Wheel off...
> Hitting one of the lower three shots when lit unlights it. The 5x Blast
> hole is lit for you at the start of the game, and another is lit each time you
> get the ball to the Rocks Plunger. Hitting the Center Loop also lights the
> next unlit Flying Rocks shot. In any event, the shots are always lit in order
> from bottom to top, and you can collect only one EB from the Rocks per game.
I believe you only get the freebie Rocks award the _first_ time you
get the ball to the Rocks plunger; otherwise it would be impossible to
shoot for the Rocks with nothing lit, a feat I've achieved several times.
:-)
> -- Bad Weather --
> A 25M Hurry-up is lit at the Lock. It times out 5M. Red: "I hate
> rain!" Collecting the points gives the quote from Red: "Look, a rainbow!"
Probably the most annoying mode; since you can't start a city mode
while a mode is already running, getting this from the Wheel when you
shoot the Blast Hole means that you won't start a city mode, even if Start
City was lit.
> The sign can be one of the following: "Home of the Bug Rubber Spears"
^^^
There's a bug in the rules sheet! :-) (It's "Big", I think.)
> The currently flashing mode is always one of the next two cities on the
> map (going from right to left), so your first mode is either New York (white)
> or Miami (orange) -- the rightmost 2 cities on the map. This means that you
> can never play two modes of the same color in a row. The exception to this
> rule is the three West Coast cities - you can reach any of the three cities on
> the coast.
The other exception is when the "Longer Path" difficulty adjustment
is turned off, in which case you can reach the next city of the same
color. (You can see why this makes the path shorter; as you say, the
colors always rotate in the same order, so the map is basically a line of
18 cities, where you advance 1 or 2 cities along the line with each mode.
Turning "Longer Path" off lets you advance 3 cities at a time.)
> After completing a mode, you need to travel 400 miles to re-light the
> Start City Scene scoop.
BTW, this is a great way of finding out what difficulty setting the
operator has the game set to, unless the operator has taken the unheard-of
initiative of setting individual difficulty options. (It's sort of like
looking at the starting value of the clock in Funhouse, but not quite so
obvious). Extra Easy is 200 miles, Easy is 300, Medium is 400, Hard is
500, and *xtr* H*rd is 600.
>-- Atlanta (Worker Trapped) --
> This is a 35M hurry-up mode. Hit the Blast Targets or the Blast/Wheel
>Hole to collect the points. If you shoot Left Loop -> Blast Targets/Hole, the
>hurry-up award is doubled. And if you shoot Right Ramp Bridge Out -> Blast
>Targets/Hole, it's tripled. (see Bugs)
Doubling and tripling are for wimps; get to the Flying Rocks plunger,
shoot Light Big Blast, and hit it for 5x. I've seen awards as high as
221M...
> [Change the Station]
> During the mode, you can hear air checks from various radio stations:
> "Turn your radio to BOB, BOB 100 FM."
> "103.5 - WYNY"
Are you sure you didn't have Radio Riot running as well? (These are
the quotes that get played when you hit the Radio with Riot lit; I've
never heard them from the Nashville mode alone.)
> -- Denver (Gold Rush) --
> This mode is kinda dull. Just keep shooting the Left Ramp. The Ramp
> scores 5M the first time, 10M the second, etc.
I think this maxes out at 20M.
>-- Las Vegas (Slot Machine) --
> This is a 15 second mode. Every shot to the Lock awards a random Wheel
>award. You can receive _any_ award, even ones that you're already collected on
>the current Wheel during normal play.
Has anyone ever gotten Bad Weather from this? I'm starting to think
that this might be ruled out; I don't think I've ever gotten it. (I can
see why it would be excluded, since it would be annoying as heck if it
came up; maybe I've just been lucky. :-) )
> You can buy-in as often as you like, for 1/2 credit each time, until
>you begin a West Coast mode.
On most machines, there is a maximum of five buyins; the operator can
set this to anywhere from 1 to 6, or to Unlimited. (So Theater of Magic
is not the first machine with unlimited buyin; it may be the first machine
to default to it, but that's it.)
Felix Lee
> The one time I've seen the mysterious Phantom Ball Saver kick in was
>when a ball went from the Lock straight down the middle (missing
>everything along the way, including the Magic Standup).
that happened to me once too. it's the only time I've understood the
Phantom Ball Saver.
other weirdness: one time I shot a ball into the bunker when lock
wasn't lit, and it fed a ball to the plunger instead of kicking it out
from the bunker?
> Doubling and tripling are for wimps; get to the Flying Rocks plunger,
>shoot Light Big Blast, and hit it for 5x. I've seen awards as high as
>221M...
the Flying Rocks thing is apparently completely different from Big
Blast. a couple days ago, I collected Big Blast from the wheel then
collected Atlanta. it gave me 5x the Blast Value and then 1x Atlanta
value.
--
Paul MATHISON - Matho
> The match sequence is pretty dull. It's similar to TNG's, except without
>the starfield and cool Trek music.
There _IS_ a match sequence? There ain't on ours at uni. Pls explain.
Michael R. Dunn
Scott and I had lots of changes that we didn't put into v1.1 because
we intended for 1.1 to be a quick-and-dirty update that removed the more
glaring goofs ;)
We intend to get v2.0 done by the 7th (that's when Scott's vacation
starts).
--Mike--
a54...@pic.ucla.edu (preferred) md...@symantec.com
^^^^
Men's Division I Basketball national champs!! =>
Quality Assurance Engineer - Symantec/Peter Norton Group.
Road Show Taxi Driver: "You will rrrremove that bulldozer frrrrom the street!"
Soundwave [ASTEK]
: > The match sequence is pretty dull. It's similar to TNG's, except without
: >the starfield and cool Trek music.
Match is not turned on in Roadshow pins by default.
--
Chad Gould aka Soundwave(not Gamera) |--Running under OS/2 Warp!!!--|
internet: cgo...@gate.net (not Prodigy) |--Keeper of the Movie Guides--|
member ASTEK/Comp Music! "Ye-haw! Multiball!" tHe MaStEr DoEs NoT aPpRoVe.
Opinions expressed drowned out by 42 NASCAR engines roaring by.
Quotation you thought you'd never see on TV: "Ed Wood wins two Oscars..."
Joshua Michael Lehan
phae...@halcyon.com (Mark Phaedrus) wrote:
>> Each Bridge Out advances the
>> Bonus Multiplier from 1x to 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, and 6x. After 6x, the next
>> shot is "Light EB," which you can collect once per game. After the
>> multiplier reaches its max, Bridge Out shots award 10M. Advancing the
The multiplier can also go to 7X (shown at Fun With Bonus as "XX"), if you
got Bonus Held off the Wheel during your previous ball. You might also have
needed to light the extra ball during that previous ball, also...
Road Show's Bonus X is very liberal compared to other Lawlor games! TZ's
Bonus X was a fluke from the right inlane (which is fed by *nothing*), and
TAF's Bonus X is a very difficult shot. (Who wouldn't instead shoot for the
Chair?)
Even Earthshaker's Bonus X was not this generous. Now, if Road Show had the
"6X Light Special" past the "6X Light Extra Ball"...
"I could be sitting here all -day-!" :-)
I love Road Show. After ST:TNG, WCS, and DM, it's a welcome relief to have
an easier game.
> Unless you collect Bridge Max, in which case it turns the Wheel off...
That's a real bummer, and really disrupts the flow of the game for me. I
consider this a bug in the software, considering Red still says "Spin the
Wheel!". I wish they would fix this, and perhaps add a wizard bonus for
"touring the Wheel"?
>> -- Bad Weather --
> Probably the most annoying mode; since you can't start a city mode
>while a mode is already running, getting this from the Wheel when you
>shoot the Blast Hole means that you won't start a city mode, even if Start
>City was lit.
Bad Weather is kind of a half-"mode": you can still get Ru^H^HTed hits on
the bulldozer, and get other stuff as well that's turned off during modes.
Cities are definetly turned off, but any City mode you had running at the
time will continue. Does the Lock still light after reaching Friday during
Bad Weather?
It's odd that this "mode" would be placed in the Wheel. Kick the award up
to around 50M or so, and place it as a city on the Map. There's got to be
cities in the U.S. that are known for their bad weather... with so many
"Shoot Ramps/Loops" kind of modes, Bad Weather would been GREAT to have as a
city.
I LOVE how the "light stuff" awards are seperate from the "start modes"
awards on Road Show! The Map and the Wheel fit together perfectly... TAF,
TZ, and other games combined their lighting-things awards with their modes,
it's great to see them split up (twice as much to do, player gets to choose
what to go for, etc.)!
All that's missing is a Super Payday-kinda thing for completing the Wheel.
Hey, I thought of something that fits: do the maxi-mega-Multiball wizard
bonus mode thingy for getting to the West Coast on the Map, and do the
light-everything wizard bonus for completing the Wheel (as in WW, BK2K
Ransom, etc.)
Do a ULTRA-MEGA-ARCH-WIZARD bonus for hitting every single city on the Map
(wow!)!
>> After completing a mode, you need to travel 400 miles to re-light the
>> Start City Scene scoop.
>obvious). Extra Easy is 200 miles, Easy is 300, Medium is 400, Hard is
>500, and *xtr* H*rd is 600.
The distance becomes greater and greater as the player advances modes. The
first distance traveled (usually New York to Atlanta) is around 300 miles,
just around the corner. During my best game ever, when I hit TWO West Coast
cities (to the tune of 8B), I remember seeing distances of over 2,000 miles
from city to city!
I think RS is a great game, it has great "flow" and a sense of humor.
There's also "lots more to do", although the table tends to dry up at 6X
(the Wheel is disabled). I keep thinking of things to add, though... I
wish Pat and Co. had more time to really max out the personality of Red and
Ted the way that was done for Rudy in FunHouse (FunHouse? Nyah, ha ha ha
ha!)
my 50c...
Josh
--
______ jle...@galaxy.csc.calpoly.edu http://phoenix.csc.calpoly.edu/~jlehan/
\Josh/ "More... a bit... more, | Imagine a world in which the admins of all
\ / just a bit... whoa... | computer systems were chosen via popular
\/ whoaWHOOOAA***BOOOOM***!!"| vote by the users of those systems?