From: kjohnson@csugrad.cs.vt.edu (Keefer)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball
Subject: Keefer's Guide to The Machine Bride of Pinbot
Date: 25 Jan 93 07:58:48 GMT
Organization: Virginia Polytechnic Bureaucracy, USA


               Keefer's Guide to The Machine Bride of Pinbot
               =============================================

This rule compilation is public domain.  This is the third in a series of
pinball machine rules that are compiled based only on much play and maybe
sometimes rumors or posts on rec.games.pinball.  Do with it what you want,
EXCEPT that if you distribute it, even changed in any way, it must continue
to be in the public domain.  At any rate, no one can make a profit from it.

The only other legal mush to say is that The Machine Bride of Pinbot is made
by (and probably copyrighted/trademarked/whatever) by Williams Electronics.

                             Important Things
                             ----------------

This is more or less a glossary of the shots that will be referred to during
the discussion of the game.

Skill shot - There are 5 different lanes the ball can land in.  The way it
             is set up, the ball can get some weird spin on it and go pretty
             randomly into one of the holes.
Jets - The trio of jet bumpers in the upper-right area of the playfield.
Left lane - The furthermost left shot possible, right next to the Shuttle
            Ramp.  It is a precision shot.
Shuttle Ramp - The big ramp on the left leading up to the face and the
               Pinbot mini-playfield.
Left loop - Starts just to the right of the Shuttle Ramp and exits down the
            left lane.
Heartbeat Ramp - The big u-turn ramp right in the middle of the playfield
                 that leads back to the right flipper through a double-
                 passageway controlled by groves in the plastic.
Spinner - Does nothing except score 1000/spin.
Right loop - Starts to the right of the Jets/spinner passageway and exits
             just above the right slingshot and feeds to the LEFT flipper.
Standup (5K) targets - 1 on the left side, above the left slingshot, and 2
                       on the right just under the right loop entrance.
                       Getting all 3 increases bonus multiplier.
Face - The big cube with the flashing lights around it.  You really can't
       miss it!  %)  Since it is a cube (well, rectangular prism anyway),
       there are 4 faces on it.  It can rotate left or right to change.
Pinbot mini-playfield - The platform on the upper-right corner on top of the
                        Jets.  When the ball goes up here, it can either
                        fall into the Jets, feed to the right flipper via
                        the Heartbeat Ramp return lane, or feed to the skill
                        shot via the path opposite of the Heartbeat Ramp.

                                 The Loops
                                 ---------

The loops work like this:  When no value on the loop is lit, you get the
lowest one on there, and it starts flashing.  The flashing score is the LAST
score you got for that loop.  Actually, more specifically, it indicates the
next score you'll get by shooting the loop, which would be the next-highest
non-flashing one.

Once a score is flashing, it'll continue to flash until either you get the
loop again, or it times out.  The amount of time depends on the loop.  If a
value times out, it'll start counting down on the next-lowest value (if
there is one).  If the loop is at its highest value, then if the value times
out, the loop will be back to the bottom again.

Left loop:  Scores 25K, 50K, 100K, 500K + light extra ball.  The shot will
   time out about every 10 seconds, and you can only light the extra ball
   once per ball off of the loop, even if you start again from 0.  There
   doesn't seem to be a limit on how many you can get for the whole game,
   though.
Heartbeat Ramp:  I put it here, because it counts as a loop.  It scores
   100K, 500K, 1M.  It times out between 5-8 seconds.  Usually easily
   backhanded from the right flipper for unlimited millions.
Right loop:  Scores 25K, 50K, 100K, 500K + light jackpot.  Like the extra
   ball, the jackpot can only be lit from the loop once per ball.  If the
   ball goes in far enough through the EXIT of the loop (to hit the
   microswitch at the end), you'll get a free advance bonus multiplier.

Loop combos:  A loop combo is scored by shooting a number of loops in fairly
   quick succession (not more than 3-4 seconds between loops, if that much).
   The combo starts at 4 loops.  Getting 4 loops pretty quickly will cause
   the game to start making lots of banging/explosion-type noises and say
   "4 loop combo - 500,000 points."  After that, the number required for a
   combo goes up by one, and each of them are worth 1M.  No matter how many
   you get, all except the 4-loop combo are worth 1M.  The number of loops
   needed for the next combo is given to you in the Status Report.
10-Loop combo:  Supposedly, if you work your way up to getting a 10-loop
   combo (this means getting the 4, 5, ..., 9-loop ones first!), you score
   the "Backdoor Billion."  I have never done this.  Someone tested the
   Backdoor Billion theory with the glass off by hitting the Heartbeat Ramp
   sensor over and over.  This might not have been the best way to test it,
   but it did in fact give him the Billion after 51 Heartbeat Ramps.
   Getting a 10-loop combo means shooting 49 ramps, so it is still unclear
   to me if it is the 10-loop combo or hitting 51 Heartbeats in a row.
   (Which is a pretty damn hard thing to do.)

Jets:  These do not count as loops, but the Jets bonus is displayed in much
   the same way as a loop score.  Hitting the Jets a certain number of times
   (I have no clue as to the exact number; I estimate 50) advances you a 
   Jets level, which goes from 25K, 50K, 100K, and 500K.  Nothing special
   other than these bonus points, though.  Not even the value of the Jets
   goes up.  (It's always 10K/hit if you want to know.)

At the end of a ball, the number of loops you got that ball is multiplied by
   10K and added to your total bonus, which can then be multiplied.

                                 Left Lane
                                 ---------

The left lane serves 3 purposes:  Spin the small wheel, collect jackpot, and
"power charge" during multiball.

Small Wheel:  Shooting the ball up the left lane ANYtime except during
   multiball and when the jackpot is lit spins the small wheel.  Your awards
   are:
      1 - Light Jackpot
      2 - 250K
      3 - Extra Ball
      4 - LIGHT Extra Ball
      5 - 50K
      6 - 100K
   This is hardly a random feature.  It will give you whatever it damn well
   pleases (i.e. 90% 2, 5, or 6).
Collect Jackpot - The jackpot ranges from 1M - 8M and is increased by
   normal play (usually hitting Jets).  You can light the jackpot by either
   getting it from the small wheel or by shooting the right loop 4 times.
   You get 20 seconds to try to shoot it back up the left lane.
Power Charge - This is a score you get for getting it up the left lane
   during multiball.  It starts at 100K and goes up 100K with each shot up
   to 1M.  These points are NOT doubled during multiball.

                               Shuttle Ramp
                               ------------

The reason the Shuttle Ramp is called the Shuttle Ramp is because of the big
picture of a space shuttle in front of it.  When lit, a solid shot up the
ramp will send the ball into the Pinbot area.  Otherwise, the ball will go
into the Face.

Here is the normal sequence of events for shooting the ball up the ramp:
   Pinbot area
   Face - activate voice; 250K; Face changes to #2.
   Pinbot area
   Face - partial obstacle link (1st eye); 250K; launch another ball.
   Pinbot area (maybe)
   Face - 2nd eye; activates optics; 1M (500K x 2); starts multiball; Face
          changes to #3.

In multiball, all scoring is doubled (except for Big Wheel awards, the
jackpot, and Power Charges).  Also, the main goal is to get the balls back
up the ramp.  Here's what happens as you do:
   1st ball on Face #3 - Human Influx; 500K (250K x 2); ball is locked.
   2nd ball on Face #3 - Metamorphosis; 1.5M (750K x 2); changes to Face #4;
                         balls released again.
   1st ball on Face #4 - Increased Pulse; 500K (250K x 2); ball is locked.
   2nd ball on Face #4 - Spins the Big Wheel; 2M (1M x 2); releases both
                         balls to try to spin the Big Wheel again.

Big Wheel awards:
   1 - 10 Million
   2 - 50 Million
   3 - Special
   4 - 5 Million
   5 - 1 Million (what a ripoff!!)
   6 - Lights 1 Billion (collected by shooting Heartbeat Ramp in 12 seconds)

When multiball ends, what happens next depends on how far you got.  If you
DIDN'T get a metamorphosis, then your next left lane or Face shot will turn
the face back to #2 (the eyes).  (You're much better off trying to turn it
back via the left lane since you'll get points that way.  You don't get
squat if you shoot the ramp.)

If you DID get metamorphosis, then at the end of multiball the next Face/
left lane shot will turn her back to Face #1!  Even if you didn't get a
single Big Wheel spin.  Also, as noted above, getting metamorphosis causes
the Shuttle to light in between eye shots on Face #2.

Pinbot values:
   100K - 200K - 300K - 100K - 200K - 300K - 600K + light extra ball
The Pinbot values are scored every time the ball enters the area.  It resets
after awarding the extra ball.  So every 7 Pinbot shots lights the extra
ball.  Also note that after getting 1 Metamorphosis, you need to get a
Shuttle shot (Pinbot area) before EACH eye, not just the first one.

                               Misc. Scoring
                               -------------

The bonus and bonus multiplier seem to have no limit.  I've gotten over 1.4M
base bonus before (excluding loops), and a multiplier of 6x.  I've heard of
someone getting at least 9x bonus.  The best way to rack up bonus is to
shoot the Jets.  If you get all of the Jets awards in one ball, your bonus
will be well over 1M before loops.  The highest total bonus I've gotten is
like 11.9M with multipliers.

Another potentially big source of points is the skill shot.  The skill shot
multiplier will start at 1x for the beginning of each ball.  This is ONLY
regulation balls in play.  EVERY time the ball goes back to the plunger, be
it from the Pinbot area, shooting another ball after locking one in the eye,
or starting an extra ball for that ball, the multiplier will increase by 1.
I've gotten it up to around 17x, and I've heard of it being as high as 23x.
That could potentially be a whopping 4.6M for the skill shot!

Since none of these seem to have limits, they can really help out your score
in the long run.  You'll never score a billion by just going for these
scores, but they can help your standing in the high scores or Billionaire's
Club.

WIMP extra ball:  Lit when the game feels terribly sorry for you.  If you've
had a really bad game (no Shuttle Ramp shots, few (if any) loops, and a low
score) then the extra ball will be lit for you.  There's no warning, it just
is.  There are lots of games that do this; BoP is by no means unique in this
regard.  (What are some others?  T2, HS2, Diner, Dr. Dude, Police Force,
etc.)

Also on the third ball, if you haven't hit the Shuttle Ramp yet, it'll spot
you the Pinbot area (well, you won't get points for it) so you can shoot
directly for Activate Voice.

                               "High" Scores
                               -------------

Since BoP is a special case, some explanation is needed for the way it
handles high scores.

Williams knew it would be unfair to put billion-point scores in the regular
high score chart (since it can only hold 5), so they came up with the
"Billionaire's Club."  This separate high score chart keeps track of the top
19-20 scores for anyone who's made the billion shot.

I say 19-20 top scores, because any time you make the billion shot, you are
GUARANTEED to get onto the Billionaire's Club.  If your final score is lower
than the lowest total in the Club, then you'll still get to put your
initials in, get your 2 credits (if that's what your machine is set for),
and get 20th spot in the Club.

Then there's the standard high-score table.  This has Grand Champion and the
other more recent top 4 scores just like any modern Williams pin.  Now,
though it's good that they split them up, this brings in the 50 million Big
Wheel award.  It's not really a problem if you get the billion too, but if
you just get the 50M, that'll throw off your score more than anything else
in the game.  Surprisingly enough, the 50M is a bigger score-unbalancer than
the billion shot!  They really should have come up with something else, but
what can you do?

                                Strategies
                                ----------

Shoot the Shuttle Ramp.

Seriously, though, that really is the point of the game, is mastering the
Shuttle Ramp.  It's too bad, but if no one at your machine can make the
billion, than maybe some of these suggestions will help.  Even though it is
obviously a one-shot game, I still really enjoy playing it because it's a
good challenge and provides excellent practice in handling multiball.

Well, first I'll start with multiball.  If you want to go for the billion,
then you have to get the balls back up the ramp.  There are a few ways to do
this:

   1.  Hold up the left flipper as the balls come down, and give the game a
       little upward nudge to get the ball to the right.  Shoot the first
       one back immediately, since you don't have a terribly long time until
       the other ball gets down there too.  If your game isn't maintained
       very well (like ours), then it'll eventually get to slow to be able
       to do this.
   2.  Shoot both balls up the Heartbeat Ramp to pass them to the right
       flipper.  Risky, since all but 1 BoP I've played has the Heartbeat
       Ramp center drain you on a weak shot up the Ramp.  You can usually
       nudge the ball back to safety, but still...
   3.  Shoot the first ball through the right loop, then backhand it up the
       Shuttle Ramp.  This actually works on our machine most of the time.
       This shot is also probably going to take a little practice.  Also, on
       our machine, the backhand shot is usually the same time the second
       ball gets to the left flipper, so it doubles as being able to quasi-
       live-trap the second ball so you can take your time getting it back
       up the ramp.
   4.  Since I can't pass balls via method 1, the way I do it all the time
       now (unless I want a challenge) is to shoot both balls up into the
       Jets!  Usually the first one will stay up there long enough to get
       the second one up there, too.  They'll both thrash for awhile (and at
       20K per bumper hit, that's not bad), and usually feed out at a pretty
       decent interval.  When the first ball comes down, I dead-trap it, and
       then it's in perfect position to shoot it up the Shuttle Ramp.  Do
       the same thing with the other ball (dead-trap it).

Now some other scoring strategies since we've discussed the most important
ones (to get the billion!).

Since scoring is doubled during multiball, one good idea is to hold 1 ball
in the left flipper or lock it in the Face and shoot the Heartbeat Ramp.
This will give you unlimited 2-millions.

Avoid the Power Charge shot; it really isn't worth the trouble it is to hit
it.  Especially if you consider that a miss will often hit the left rubber
on the Shuttle Ramp and go down the left outlane.

Always shoot the Jets when you can.  The amount of bonus you can get from
them is just enormous after awhile.  And usually you'll get a safe return to
the right flipper.  There are those times, however...

If you're getting bored with the billion, or you're really good at loops,
try to shoot the left loop (extra ball) at the start of each ball.  This can
make your games last a long time.  Don't forget about the standard lane-
change feature!  Except that in this game, the left flipper moves the extra
ball light to the left, and the right flipper moves it to the right.  This
is instead of the normal "any-hit-moves-the-target-to-the-left" routine.  If
you shoot the Shuttle Ramp and your ball will come back, there's no reason
not to get the extra ball.  Note that the Heartbeat Ramp feeds the ball
BELOW the return lane sensor, so you can't collect the extra ball from the
Heartbeat Ramp.  Tricky, huh?

I nifty shot I've developed on our machine is to get in a right loop-left
loop groove.  You can start by shooting the right loop, then just at the
right moment, backhand the ball (still with the left flipper) up the right
loop.  The ball should come back in just the right spot to return it to the
right loop, etc.  You can get fairly high-numbered combos doing this.  (I've
only gotten up to a 6-loop combo, BTW.)

Don't forget that the loop combos are ANY loops.  Hitting the Heartbeat Ramp
4 times in a row counts as a 4-loop combo.

If you have a high bonus (you can check with status report), then consider
actually shooting for the standup targets.  They are not really dangerous
and can be worth a long in the long run.  Usually they'll often just hit
themselves, so it's not a big deal.  Just keeping the ball alive can net you
some high multipliers, whether you mean to or not.  Don't aim for the bottom
of the right loop, though; that's usually a sure drain, and the ball will go
up there by itself off of a slingshot or something.

There's a bug in the game (unless it falls into the "it's-not-a-bug-it's-a-
feature" dept.) where you shoot your 2nd ball into the Power Charge at the
end of multiball.  If you get credit for the Power Charge while the other
ball is being registered at the bottom of the drain where it kicks it back
to the reserve, DOUBLE SCORING WILL STAY ACTIVE!  Really!  I had noticed
this before, but only recently realized the circumstances at which it
happened.  Right after I realized it, I shot for it after the end of my next
multiball, and it worked.  So if you have a drain, shoot for the Power
Charge as soon as you can.  If you get it at the right time, you're golden.
However, it WILL end if you shoot the ball back up the Heartbeat Ramp.  It
might also end if you shoot the Power Charge again, but I'm not sure about
that.

Every time you get a chance, either slam tilt or power-cycle the game (when
the guys are looking of course).  It seems that the designers have put a lot
(if not most) of their birthdays into the machines.  After said slam tilt or
power-cycle, if it's a birthday, you'll see Happy Birthday xxx and hear a
couple of bars of Happy Birthday in that unusual and distinctive Bride of
Pinbot style.  Sounds neat!  I've seen 3 so far.

============================================================================

I hope this guide (third so far in a series) had been helpful to you.  Be
sure to post/email any comments/suggestion/corrections to my address:
                      - kjohnson@csugrad.cs.vt.edu -
Thanks a lot for the response to the previous guides.  Have fun and enjoy!
 - Keith Johnson ("Keefer"), VA Tech, Blacksburg, VA
-- 
|kjohnson@csugrad.cs.vt.edu|  Do your  |"'Relax,' said the nightman,          |
|.....Keith P. Johnson.....|  eyes  a  | 'We are programmed to receive.       |
|.1711 Whipple Dr. Apt. 11.|favor- PLAY| You can check out any time you like, |
|...Blacksburg, VA 24060...| PINBALL!! | But you can never leave.'"  - Eagles |