Revenge From Mars rulesheet
Last revised 10/11/99. v1.6

Any questions/comments/complaints/hate-mail can be directed to me, Roya Naini, at roya@blarg.net. Obviously this is not complete and is probably going to skip over some details. More information about the game can be found directly at http://www.pinball.wms.com/games/revenge/ and http://www.pinball2000.com. Any additions to this are completely welcome. This rulesheet may be reproduced, but not sold, as long as the credits remain intact.

Credits

Thanks to the following people who helped with this rulesheet: John Zmaczynski (jjz@tezcat.com), Keith Johnson, Greg Dunlap (gdd@tezcat.com), Lee P. (leep@infinet.com), Therese Edwards (tntgame@netwalk.com), Graham West, Brian Lutz (emurumor@rocketmail.com), Josh Sharpe (PinWizJ@aol.com - Attack Mars and some other mode information borrowed from his rulesheet), Amy Ryan (eighmi@access1.net), Matt Magnasco (matt@r44h56.res.gatech.edu), David Gersic (dgersic@niu.edu), Scott Tiesma (tiesma@pclink.com), Svante Ericsson (Svante.Ericsson@sab.siemens.se), Joe Schober (AFLJoeyS@aol.com), Marc Jeray (madmac@babba.advancenet.net), Christopher Heckman (checkman@math.gatech.edu).

Background/Objective

Revenge From Mars is the Pinball 2000 sequel to the popular Attack From Mars pinball machine which came out in late 1995. The goal in Attack From Mars was to defend the Earth from martian invasion and ultimately defeat them to Rule The Universe. Revenge From Mars, as noted by the title, brings these martians back again for another round of fun. The objective here is to Attack Mars once again. Specifically this is achieved by lighting all 9 Saucer lights, completing the Bonus Wave multiballs (Fuel, Saucer and Weapons), and getting Mothership Multiball. Once these have been completed, Attack Mars will light.

Notes

The latest software revision for Revenge From Mars is 1.4 and is referred to whenever possible throughout the rulesheet unless where specifically stated. The default difficulty setting is Medium--there is also Easy and Hard (and Extra Easy and Extra Hard).

Features

Since this is the beginning of the new Pinball 2000 series, there is much in the way of new features for this game. Many of these features will no doubt appear in future Pinball 2000 games, so they will be noted here briefly in relation to the game only. Various other technical aspects involving the design can be obtained from the Pinball 2000 website at http://www.pinball2000.com.

Starting from the outside of the machine:

Auto-plunger

Square button which is pressed to plunge the ball into play. This is also used for Martian Bombs (similar to Attack From Mars) which can be used during Martian Attack mode by hitting the Auto-plunger to kill a martian with 1 bomb. There is no beginning-of-ball ball saver by default, however this can be adjusted.

Action buttons

The regular sized left and right flipper buttons are mounted next to a curved button which circles halfway around them. These buttons will presumably provide more interaction during play for future Pinball 2000 games. For this particular game, they are used to select which mode in the Fuel or Weapons groups you wish to start at the beginning of the game (designated by a small arrow on the video display), and are also used during various other modes (see below). These buttons can also cancel certain displays (e.g. pressing both flipper and action buttons all at once during a playing TV channel during Mars Kneads Women will skip the show and return the ball).

Speakers

These are located just under the "backglass" area of the machine in one long horizontal panel and jut out a bit closer to the player than older machines.

The inside of the machine:

Video display

A video image is projected onto the upper part of the playfield which displays information about the modes, various humorous graphics and other neccessary information for game play. This is the major change that makes Pinball 2000 differ from its past and is a fairly impressive sight to see. The image is "interactive" in that it responds when a target just behind it is hit so that it appears as though you are interacting with the video itself.

Center Target bank

This is a small barrier of targets at the very center of the playfield which is hidden by the video image projected onto them. It is worthwhile to take a look at this when the video is not on to get a feeling for where the ball would be going once this barrier is hit. Shooting the targets on this barrier count as hits towards the running modes and also affect what is shown on the video display.

Capture Lane

This is basically the lock and is located just to the right of the Center Target Bank. Shooting the ball into the Capture lane will either 1. light Capture and feed it to the top left rollover lanes and jet bumpers or 2. award a Capture (lock the ball) and send a ball down the right ramp.

There are 3 Captures and each Capture must first be lit before a ball can be "locked". Upon awarding the 3rd Capture, the regular multiball will start (see Multiballs below).

Left and Right Orbits

These are basically the outer loops on the playfield. Each loop has a red arrow and circle associated with its entrance. When the arrow is lit or flashing, it signals that the shot needs to be hit. When the circle is lit, it means that the shot has already been done, but by shooting it again you can gain missles. This is also true for the left and right ramps as well (see next). Shooting the ball to the left loop will feed it to the Rollover Lane and Jet Bumper area in the upper left corner. Shooting the ball to the right loop will also feed the ball to the top left rollover lanes and jet bumpers.

Ramps

There are two ramps, one on the right and left side, which feed the ball to their respective inlane (similar to Attack From Mars). Again, each ramp has two corresponding red lights associated with--a red arrow and red circle. When the arrow is lit or flashing, it signals that the shot needs to be hit. When the circle is lit, it means that the shot has already been done, but by shooting it again you can gain missles.

Mini ramp

This is located on the center of the playfield just below the Center Target Bank and lays flat until the end of a mode is near. When the mode is about to be completed, this ramp will raise up. Shooting the ball across the ramp will cause it to fly up and land on a mini platform just above the Center Target Bank where it rolls to the left and rests as the video displays the mode completion sequence. Once this is done and a new mode starts, the ball is fed to the left into the a small capture zone (just below the jet bumpers) and subsequently down the left orbit. This mini ramp has a corresponding red light on the playfield which (when lit and the ramp is raised) signals the player to shoot the ball up the ramp.

Jet Bumpers

There are 3 of these in the upper left corner of the playfield, just below the two rollover lanes.

Rollover Lanes

There are two of these in the upper left corner of the playfield that sit above the jet bumpers. Rolling a ball through them will cause their corresponding lights to light up. Hitting a flipper button will cause these lights to switch from one to the other, making it possible to light both and advance the Bonus Multiplier. The ball will always roll down the left orbit after it has passed through the Rollover Lanes and Jet Bumpers.

There are also four of these located at the entrance of both inlanes and both outlanes. These work the same way as the ones from Attack From Mars--the object being to use the flipper buttons to guide the ball down an unlit one to light it and eventually light all four to get Stroke of Luck lit.

Stroke of Luck

This is a scoop located on the upper part of the playfield near the right side. There are three lights below it labelled "Stroke of Luck", "Extra Ball" and "Martian Attack". The awards for shooting the ball into the scoop while one or more of these is lit are as follows:

Extra Ball: extra ball
Martian Attack: begins Martian Attack mode (see Modes)
Stroke of luck: random award (below is a list of possible awards)

500,000 points
1,000,000 points
Light Martian Attack
3 Missles
Martian Bomb
1 Saucer Light
Hypno Multiball
Capture Multiball
Light Extra Ball
Light Capture
Award Capture
+5 Bonus X
Hold Bonus X

Saucer lights

There is a saucer painted on the playfield in the very center which has 9 red lights. These red lights must all be lit up for Attack Mars to light. During play, the lights will blink successively in a pattern for a moment, then flash several times the amount of lights you currently have. There are many ways to get one or more of these lights and they are as follows:

Complete a mode with a Flawless rating (1 saucer light)
Score a Super Jackpot in regular multiball (1 saucer light)
Bonus Wave Multiballs (see table below)
Destroy any 10 and 30 (adjustable by operator) martians in Martian Multiball (2 saucer lights)
Via Stroke of Luck (1 saucer light)


Martian targets

There are a total of 7 martian targets on the playfield. 3 on the left side underneath a rubber green martian (just like Attack From Mars!) and another 3 plus a martian on the right side, as well as 1 to the left of the Center Target Bank.

Hitting all of these martian targets and lighting their respective lights on the playfield will light Martian Attack via the Stroke of Luck scoop.

Skill Shot

There is a 10 second wait for a choice to be made until the game defaults to the group not selected during the last game (i.e. if you don't select manually it will alternate the default group between fuel and weapons). Depending on which sets of modes the player finds easier or worth risking for points, either of these two can work to one's advantage.

Once the ball is launched into play, it ends up in the rollover lanes where the lighted lane is worth 500,000 then an additional 100,000 points for each subsequent skill shot. There is also a Super Skill Shot which is very similar to Attack From Mars (and Medieval Madness) which can be done by holding down the left flipper button while launching the ball into play. This will cause the ball to bypass the rollover lanes completely and circle around the left orbit, coming into contact with the left flipper. From here, a shot to one of the orbits or ramps within 10(?) seconds will award a Super Skill Shot worth a base value of 1,000,000, adding 200,000 each subsequent time. This also spots 3 missles, which makes it more worthwhile to attempt the Super Skill Shot than to take the normal one. Also note that when the Super Skill Shot is attempted, if the ball goes from the Capture Lane into the rollover/jets area, it will still award the regular skill shot if it's still lit.

Extra Ball/Replay & Warnings

Another major difference between Revenge From Mars and previous non-Pinball 2000 games, is the way extra balls and replays are handled. It is possible to rack up a great many extra balls and keep your game going for a long, long time. The game defaults to giving out an extra ball at a certain score level rather than a replay. The default scores are at 50M and 200M, and this, as well as the replay, can be adjusted. You can also get extra balls by doing other things, such as completing Hypno Multiball, obtaining a certain amount of missles, collecting a certain amount of Bonus Wave items, etc. When an extra ball is given, the machine will sound its virtual knocker (similar to a regular replay sound) and flash a rather dull but distracting animation across the display. Match credits are also available at the end of the game. The game also defaults to 1 tilt warning, but again this can be adjusted by the operator.

Modes

There are 9 different main modes which can each be completed to obtain a Saucer light. These 9 modes are divided into 3 different groups and are listed below. The initial mode begins upon its selection at the start of the game (either manually with the action buttons or automatically after the choice times out). The modes move from left to right in sequence automatically after the previous mode has been completed (i.e. there is no "start mode" shot), with the exception of the middle group (Saucer) which begins after the other two mode groups have been completed. Each individual mode continues until it has been completed, even between balls. When a mode has been completed, the video will display a report. If the mode is completed properly according to the directions on the video display, the player will receive a "Flawless" rating. This rating must be achieved in order to obtain one Saucer light. Thus completing all of these modes with a Flawless rating will complete the Saucer lights requirement neccessary. This, along with the other 2 requirements (stated in the Background/Objective), will light Attack Mars. Remember that Saucer lights can also be obtained in other ways, so getting Flawless on all (or even any) of these modes is not a requirement.

Fuel

Alien Abduction

The scene is in front of the White House. A large saucer is hovering overhead, with smaller saucers appearing to the sides. Various objects (sportscars, cows, etc) appear at the sides as well, and the smaller UFOs attempt to use their tractor beams to steal these objects (these objects can be cycled through by using the Action buttons). The scoring is based on saving the item being beamed up and goes up to 3 million. Regardless of where an item's value starts, it counts down fairly rapidly (i.e. a hurry-up) once the martians start abducting it. Shooting the martian to save the item immediately awards the current item's value, and adds the item value to the mode "jackpot" (which starts at 1M). Once all items have been rescued and the center ramp lights, the mode jackpot will start counting down as a hurry-up until you shoot the ramp to collect. Hitting the center targets, ramps and loops will destroy the smaller UFOs, as will the missiles. After seven of the smaller saucers are destroyed, one final hit up the middle Mini ramp will destroy the large saucer, ending the mode. Destroying all seven saucers will award a Flawless rating and a Saucer light.

Five martians walk into a bar... Oh, never mind. In this well-done mode, there are five martians sitting at the bar in various states of inebriation, cracking bad human jokes, consuming various flammable substances and engaging in dangerous pasttimes. Overhead are suspended three "kegs" of kerosene, gasoline and propane, which can be set off by the Missiles with devestating effects. The martians on each of the ramps can be destroyed by one hit apiece, the ones on the Capture Lane and martian target (left of the Center Target bank) take two hits apiece, and the one in the middle takes three hits (these hit numbers can be adjusted by the difficulty setting). Each martian destroyed awards 1.5M points. Each orbit will set off one of the kegs on the sides for 4M apiece. To destroy the center keg, one must shoot the right ramp (after taking care of the martian that's blocking the way) and the center ramp will briefly pop up. If you successfully make this shot, it is worth 6M points. (Note: destroying all three kegs will immediately blow up the bar, ending the mode and possibly denying you of a Flawless rating unless you've already killed all the martians). When the three center martians are destroyed, the center ramp will pop up to end the mode, awarding 2M for any remaining kegs at the top of the screen. Destroying all five martians will award a Flawless rating and Saucer Light.

Having gotten a clue finally, the Martians turn the Big-O-Beam on themselves, creating a giant Martian. In response, Mankind has the ABE (Advanced Battle Emancipator) to fight back with. This mode is depicted as hand-to-hand combat between the ABE and one of the Big-O-Martians. a "life bar" is shown at the top for the martian, and various shots will cut down this life bar (Didn't they already try this one in Champion Pub?). Finally, when the life bar is down all the way, in a callback to the Mortal Kombat games, "Finish him!" appears on the screen, and one last shot will send the martian flying upwards and hitting the saucer, causing it to explode dramatically. This is one of the easier modes to get a Flawless rating in.

The leaning tower of pisa is being used for a game of Tug-of-War by four martians. Shoot the left and right ramps to destroy the saucers with one hit apiece, and the two martians that are located on the lock shot and the top martian light. As in several other modes, there is a "life bar" which is decreased by shooting the tower (Center Target Bank), and enough hits will eventually raise the ramp to end the mode. Destroying the two martians and saucers will immediately raise the center Mini ramp to end the mode with one more shot. All four must be destroyed for a Flawless rating.

This mode will randomly select from several different things listed below (note: these are all great modes that should probably be seen first rather than reading it here--so skip this part unless you want the spoiler).

Martian Aerobics:
This is a tribute to Space Invaders. By shooting any shot, you will shoot some missiles at the 24 moving martians on the screen. Since they are moving, you have to shoot missles that will have a chance of hitting them. Sometimes while playing this mode, a huge saucer floats down into the middle of the image. You can shoot it, but it is unclear yet whether or not you can destroy it without completing the mode the usual way. Destroy all 24 before they get to the bottom of the screen to finish the mode and receive your saucer light.

Martian Bowling:
The name pretty much sums it up (it's better to see this than describe it). Use the Action buttons to make your aim.

Martian Autopsy:
As the title suggests, you are placed in the middle of a martian autopsy taking place. At the start of the mode, a hurry-up runs on the center shot, starting at 3M. Whatever value you collect is locked in as the value for each object during the rest of the mode. Your job is to collect 10 objects for a Flawless rating (and Saucer Light). Just try not to be grossed out too much.

Martian Tank:
This mode is pretty tough to complete. Basically there is a moving tank target with two martians sitting aboard on both sides. The object is to destroy both martians. Doing this will get you a Flawless rating. Good luck.

This mode pays homage to "Move Your Car" from Creature From The Black Lagoon, but this time, it's the martians blocking the screen. Fortunately, you just happen to drive some pretty heavy weaponry here, and have plenty of opportunity to kick some martian butt. As with Secret Weapon, all shots will inflict damage (there is a power bar that tells you how much damage you still have left to do). In order to get your saucer light you must complete the meter all the way down. Beyond that, I'll avoid ruining this one--see it for yourself.

This mode begins with a flying saucer located over the Eiffel Tower. There is a catapult in the center which is used to fire various objects (Watermelons, spiked balls, cows, ?) at the saucer. Hitting the center targets will fire the catapult, with each hit doing 13% damage (this is operator adjustable and can be up to 25% or 4 hits to destroy). The missile lanes on the outside will do 25% damage to the saucer. After the saucer is hit once, 4 martians will parachute in (some may not be initially visible as they float off of the screen) on the left and right ramps, the Capture lane and the martian target to the left of the Center Target Bank. Each martian can be destroyed by one hit from the ball, and are worth 1M, 1.5M, 2M, and 5M. All 4 must be destroyed for a Flawless rating. You can complete this mode with or without destroying the martians by hitting the middle X times (the side shots do 2x the middle damage). After 8 hits of damage (again, operator adjustable), the center Mini Ramp will pop up, and one more shot will destroy the saucer (with a rather nice explosion effect), ending the mode and awarding some points (as yet undetermined). Unfortunately, the new and improved technology doesn't seem to do much to help the insults in this mode.

This mode is set on a farm, where the livestock seem to have taken on rather large proportions. There is a saucer hovering over the barn, and large barnyard animals to the side. Hitting the center targets will cause the barn to leap up and damage the saucer (makes a lot of sense, huh?) for 2M points per hit. The ramps and orbits will, in addition to awarding missiles, shrink the currently enlarged animals for 4M apiece. There are 4 animals (a cow, a duck, a pig and a chicken) which need to be "saved" for a Flawless rating. There is "Life bar" above the saucer that shows how much damage is left--once this is depleted the center mini ramp will raise and light. Shrinking all 4 animals will also cause the center ramp to raise and light to finish the mode, so you don't have to deplete the life bar. Overall, this mode is a good one to start out the game on, as this one is a higher-point mode than several others.

There are six television screens you can tune in on. You can change the currently playing show on these by using the Action Buttons. The object here is to tune into a screen and watch the show (some nice-looking cartoon animation was done for this mode, and some of the quotes are quite funny as well). You can always cancel a show by pressing all 4 buttons while it is playing (now why would you want to do that?!). The left TV screens can be viewed by either hitting the loop or the left ramp/middle ramp combo. Same goes for the right side. If you shoot either the left or right ramp, the center ramp will pop up for a shot to watch a show. Shooting the orbits is a better way to go, as this will start the show immediately and save you a shot (the rollover lanes will register here, but the jets are disabled, and the ball isn't returned to play until the show is over or cancelled). The center targets will light the 2 center TV screens (which, again, can be watched via the center ramp shot). Finally, after the two center TV screens have been watched, one more center ramp shot will destroy the console for a point value between 2-5M based on how many TVs were watched during the mode. Note, the screen will say "Destroy the Console" to let you know that the ramp shot will end the mode, so if you are not finished viewing all of the screens, shoot the remaining shot(s), watch the shows, then destroy the console to get Flawless. You must view all six TV stations to obtain a Flawless rating.

           Revision 1.4:
# Items      
   5          JP
  10          JP
  15          SL
  20          JP
  25          JP
  30          EB
  35          JP
  40   Mothership Multiball
JP=Jackpot
SL=Saucer light
EB=Extra Ball

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