Hit the front and side rainbow targets to open Pinbot's visor. then lock two balls there to start multiball. During multiball, lock a ball to light the ramp for solar value, which is this game's jackpot. When not in multiball, the ramp awards bonus multiplier and advances the solar value.
A red spiral structure that the ball gets shot into. There are 3 holes on the 3 levels: the lower scores 5,000, the middle 100,000, and the top 20,000. The skill shot value is equal to the hole the ball goes in, times the skill shot multiplier- which increases by 1 for each time a new plunge occurs to a maximum of 10, and is reset when the ball drains.
Three of them, on the right side of the playfield, under a pegboard-looking surface to be explained later. Pop bumpers always score 1,000 points and increase the Energy Value by 2,000 points. The energy value starts at 50,000, maxes out at 500,000, and is collected by hitting the flashing left drop target to raise the ramp and then hitting the standup target under said ramp.
A very long blue ramp winds all the way around the back of the game and onto the pegboard-style playfield that sits above the pop bumpers. In single ball play, shooting the ramp advances the bonus multiplier and adds 50,000 points to the solar value jackpot. In multiball, lock a ball at the visor to light the ramp, then shoot the ramp to collect the solar value jackpot.
The ball must go all the way up the ramp, hitting a switch at the very end and landing in the upper playfield to count.
The upper playfield is a bagatelle-style surface filled with posts that the ball falls down. It can end up in one of four places:
The solar value jackpot starts at 100,000, maxes out at 5,000,000, and carries between balls and between games until it is collected, at which point it resets to 100,000.
Has a saucer at the end which kicks the ball back out. Scores 10,000 points if no award is flashing. Going through the right in lane causes the next award to start flashing, in the order 25,000 - 50,000 - 75,000 - Lite Extra Ball. By default, an award will stay flashing until collected and remain available from ball to ball, but settings exist to make this a timed award or have either a flashing award or all progress reset between balls.
When one target is hit, the others will reset if the bank is not competed within about 15 seconds. Completing the bank scores 25,000 points and lights the next planet, starting with Pluto and progressing towards the Sun. Each collected planet adds 20,000 to the bonus (not affected by the multiplier) and is the only part of the bonus carried from ball to ball. Reaching Jupiter instantly scores a special. Reaching the Sun scores 200,000 points and lights a special on the right standup target, but also unlights all the other planets, which removes quite a lot of bonus, so don't go for the Sun right away unless it's the last ball of the game or you're confident you can build the planets back up again.
Scores 5,000 points when not lit. When it is lit, it scores no points, but spots the next planet. This target is lit for a limited time by going through the left in lane. If the planets are advanced all the way to the Sun, this target is lit for a special.
Completing the rainbow matrix opens Pinbot's visor, where balls can be locked for multiball. When rows and columns of lights are flashing, before any of these targets have been hit, the visor can be opened immediately by hitting the front or side target that connects with the lit line/column. If this instant-open is failed, the visor needs to be opened the long way. For the long way, each target lights 2 spaces in the matrix corresponding to the row or column the target is facing, and the entire matrix must be lit to open the visor.
Once the visor is open, shoot the saucers (roughly in line with the blue and green columns) to lock balls. When both balls are locked, they will both be spit out for multiball.
In a multiplayer game, everyone starts off making their own progress on the rainbow grid, but as soon as one ball is locked, anyone can start multiball with it.
When the visor is open and locks are available, the side targets can be hit to light the grid again, using the same rules as before. Completing the rainbow grid a second time before starting multiball lights an extra ball.
During multiball, everything in the game is still in play, with all scores doubled. There is only one new additional objective: score the solar value jackpot by relocking one of the balls, then shooting the ramp with the other within about 15 seconds. If the ramp shot is not completed, the relocked ball will kick out and multiball continues. Multiple jackpots can be scored in a single multiball, but after the first one they'll just be worth 100,000 points each.
This is a two ball multiball game, no way to add a third ball. There is no multiball restart or ball save, so if one of the balls is kicked out straight into the drain- which is frustratingly common- you're out of luck.
Hitting the flashing drop target raises the left ramp for about 15 seconds. Hitting the target under the ramp during this time scores the energy value, a mini-jackpot that starts at 50,000, increases by 2,000 per bumper hit, and maxes at 500,000. Energy value is carried from ball to ball, but each player has their own and it is not built up between games.
Bonus is calculated as (base bonus X bonus multiplier) + 20,000 per planet.
Whenever base bonus increases, the new value will show up on the display; it starts at 1,000; it increases by 1,000 for every ramp shot, drop target, shot to the upper left lane, light rainbow grid panel, and in lane; and increases by 3,000 from an out lane. Max base bonus is 99,000.
Bonus multiplier is advanced by any ramp shot (including a ramp shot that collects the solar value jackpot in multiball, I believe). Max multiplier is 5X.
Planets are scored by completing the left drop targets, or by comboing the left in lane to the right standup target. Max planet bonus is 180,000 from the nine planets; collecting The Sun erases all the other planets from the end of ball bonus.
Max bonus is (5x 99,000) + 180,000 = 675,000 points, but given the time and shots it would take to build it up that far, it would be just a drop in the bucket. Base bonus and multipliers do not carry over from ball to ball, but planets do.
PinBot has a conventional in/out lane and flipper setup. Out lanes add 3,000 to the base bonus. The left in lane adds 1,000 bonus and briefly lights the right standup target for spot planet. The right in lane also adds 1,000 bonus, and lights the upper left lane for the next value in sequence.
When an extra ball is lit, it can appear on any in or out lane, and lane change DOES move its position. More than one in/out lane can be lit of multiple extra balls are lit at once.
There is a center post between the flippers. Know it is there and use it wisely. Kickouts from the upper left lane saucer especially tend to be aimed right at the center post, and multiball kickouts sometimes do as well.
In competition play, specials score 100,000 points. There is no setting allowing extra balls to be worth points.
Despite looking like it could (and sometimes feeling like it really should), PinBot has no ball save, whether at the beginning of the ball or at the start of multiball. House balls do happen. To avoid this as best as possible, especially early in a ball, ignore the vortex entirely and plunge as short as possible to get the ball in play without hitting a pop bumper.
The amount by which the solar value is increased with a left ramp shot can be set to any multiple of 1,000 from 25,000 to 99,000. It always starts at 100,000 and maxes at 5,000,000, however.
Bonus multiplier, progress on the upper left lane's awards, planets, lit extra balls, and lights on the rainbow grid can all individually be set to carry over between balls or not. By default, everything except bonus multiplier is carried forward.
The drop targets, energy value, solar value jackpot, and upper left lane awards all have their own timer settings for how long they are lit before turning off/resetting. The timers can be disabled outright or set to any value between 1 and 99 seconds. By default, the drop targets and energy value have 15 second timers, the solar value is 20 seconds, and the upper left lane is untimed.
The goal planet, which awards a special if reached, is set to Jupiter by default, but can be set to be any of the 9 planets or disabled outright.
A consolation extra ball may be lit on a player's last ball if they have not lit any extra balls to that point in the game and their average ball time is less than 35 seconds.
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