From: sigma@degas.ipl.rpi.edu (Kevin Martin)
Subject: Re: Winter Break post: the game-playing tips list
Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1992 19:30:40 GMT

lfs@mitre.org (Lyman F. Sheats Jr.) writes:
>If the ball is moving slowly down the outlane, I'll try for the bang back.
>With the right flipper raised, as soon as the ball is below the flipper,
>about 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches to the left of the pivot point, I'll strike the
>lockdown bar hard with the palm of my right hand (my left hand is crossed
>over the machine holding the right flipper button.  The force of the blow
>is directly behind the ball.  I also try to hit the lockdown bar on a slight
>angle upward, probably ranging from 1 to 10 degrees above the horizontal to
>get the ball moving forward.  A downward blow is less effective.  And if the
>ball is moving too quickly, the momentum of the ball travelling down at an
>angle usually exceeds any momentum you can possibly impart on the ball by
>striking the lockdown bar.

OK, so you're knocking the ball off of the wood/metal at the bottom of the
game, NOT the small metal plate that feeds the ball to the outhole.  Sounds
tricky, I'll experiment.  I have managed what you describe to get the ball
to come all the way back up the left lane on a TAF, but it basically
involved picking the machine up (and setting it down very carefully, to
avoid Slam Tilt or damage), and was hardly a fair technique.

>If your game doesn't have a tilt, by all means just hit the machine forward.
>It's the most effective.  The down part just keeps your pendulum from getting
>out of line and tilting your bonus out.

If you're close to the wall, are starting to feel pain from pushing the
machine forward, and have a lot of freedom of movement side to side (and
little or no Tilt), pulling the machine to the left before you strike it
forward and to the right is sometimes easier (and puts more speed on the
ball, so if you make it between the flippers, you'll have plenty of time to
get to it).

>The grave digger almost ALWAYS works on Data East games (most notably Star
>Trek, Hook, Lethal Weapon 3, and Star Wars).  Heck, on these games, you can
>almost breathe on the machine when the ball hits this piece of metal (or is
>it plastic) and the ball is 3/4 of the way back up the playfield and onto
>your flipper.

Unfortunately, the DE games I've played do two things when you breathe on
them: 1) bounce the ball back as you describe, 2) tilt quickly.  The only
DE game I've ever been able to use significant body english on was
Checkpoint (ho hum).  The problem was that nudging it side to side caused
the outhole sensor to register as though the bal had drained, even though
you still had it in play.  This would eventually mean your game was over
even though you had never drained.

>My experience with bang backs and grave diggers has led me to believe that
>both work VERY well on DEP Games, both work MODERATELY well on BLY/WMS games,
>and both almost NEVER work on GTB games.  Your mileage may vary.  I'm not a
>very strong person.

We had the grave digger/death save working pretty well on a Surf 'n' Safari
with three Tilt Warnings.  You just have to push quite a bit harder than on
most machines.  I also managed a save off of the post as I described for
Pinbot, on a Class of 1812.

>At the request of a couple of people, I started working on a book on how
>to play pinball some time ago.  I'll be finishing up with final exams this
>week, and I may actually have a chance to work on the thing for more than
>a couple of hours a week.

I find this idea captivating.  Plenty of books have been published
describing techniques for the latest wave of video games or Nintendo/Sega
or whatever.  A book for pinball would have the advantage of offering
plenty of information which would carry over from game to game.  And what
would surely entice the public into purchasing such a book, if published,
would be a brief chapter on a few dozen popular and modern games, with a
playfield picture, designer info, release date, major features, best
scoring strategies, and any special tips for that table.

Of course, it's an enormous amount of work, and would probably have to
involve sweet-talking the three major companies.  If I knew of any way I
could help, I'd certainly offer my assistance.

-- 
Kevin Martin
sigma@ipl.rpi.edu
"I told you I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me! WHY didn't you BELIEVE me?!"
Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball