Star Wars: Droids

> "Now where are you taking me? This is such a drag."
>
> C-3PO

***Star Wars: Droids*** is a pinball table dedicated to famous droids in the *Star Wars* saga as one of a multitude of *Star Wars* Zen Pinball tables available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*. This table is one of the four tables in the *Heroes Within* pack and is loosely based on C-3PO and R2-D2's time in captivity aboard a Jawa sandcrawler in a brief portion of the film *Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope* and their efforts to escape while encountering other captured droids along the way.

This table's title is not to be confused with the 1985 animated television series of the same title.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table

At the back of the table is a walkway where a figure of the Jawa Chief Nebit will walk along, controlling certain mechanisms on the table. The table's leftmost lane is a long, looping ramp that arcs towards the back table wall, before taking the ball along the right table wall towards a diagonal exit habitrail destined for the left inlane. As this left ramp, representing the astromech droid R1-G4, approaches the back right corner of the table, part of its inner wall will be missing to allow the ball to drop down to a small, raised bumper area, entering it through any of three bumper rollovers. Balls that pass through the bumper area, themed after the mining droid LIN-V8K, drop back onto the main playing surface below. There is also a diverter mechanism that activates on every other shot up this long ramp that will force the ball to drop into LIN-V8K's bumper area.

To the right of this left ramp is another ramp representing the old protocol droid 3B6-RA-7 that similarly arcs towards the back table walls, but drops the ball down the left side of a hairpin turn on the opposite side of the table to roll the ball to a right mini-flipper. There is a small lava trap beneath the entrance of this ramp that can be opened during a particular mission. To the right of 3B6-RA-7's ramp is a ramp that tightly loops right to take the ball to an exit habitrail running along the left table wall towards the left inlane, just like the exit habitrail of R1-G4's ramp on the left side of the table. This ramp represents CZ-1, another humanoid droid, and like 3B6-RA-7's ramp, it has a lava trap.

There is a target bank that spells MISSION to the right of CZ-1's looping ramp. It contains three targets, with each target representing two letters of the word. This target bank can be knocked down to unblock a sinkhole behind it, used to start missions. To the right of this target bank is a crossramp dedicated to 2X-3KPR, a small servant droid purchased by Owen Lars to protect his homestead. It snakes underneath the pathways of the ramps of 3B6-RA-7 and CZ-1, before curving left to an exit habitrail above the entrance of R1-G4's ramp that travels diagonally to the right inlane. However, there is a diverter mechanism that can take the ball to a cylindrical elevator that brings the ball to an ore processor system along the left table wall, activated with enough hits of a target near the entrance of this crossramp.

To the right of this ramp is another lane that takes the ball up a mini-orbit whose entrance is underneath LIN-V8K's raised bumper area. Dedicated to the defective astromech droid R5-D4 that Luke Skywalker attempted to purchase from the Jawas, this mini-orbit drops the ball down the entrance to R1-G4's ramp. To the right of R5-D4's mini-orbit are three lanes: the two ends of a hairpin mini-orbit, whose entrances flank a sinkhole representing R2-D2. The left end of this hairpin mini-loop, which is a crosslane gated by a flag and dedicated to a little EG-6 power droid, is closer towards the back of the table than the right end, which is a lane dedicated to the WED-15 Treadwell multi-arm repair droid. A right mini-flipper lies between EG-6's crosslane and R2-D2's sinkhole.

### The lower half of the table and computer terminal mini-playfield

There is a left mini-flipper midway along the left side of the main play area. It is used to to access EG-6's crosslane, thus causing the entrances of most table lanes on the upper half of the table to become progressively closer to the back of the table from left to right. As stated earlier, there is an ore processing system along the table's left wall. It is a conveyor belt that takes the ball towards the front of the table, leading to a series of platforms that raise and lower that are slanted towards the front of the table that will eventually carry the ball into a molten smelting pit that can be closed to take the ball to a ball locker. The smelting pit door is operated by a varitarget near the left return lanes.

On the other side of the table, there is another target bank that spells the phrase CHARGE MAGNET, comprising of three targets. Each target represents two letters of each of the two words. These targets activate a magnetic crane arm that slides along the right table wall. It can slide towards the back of the table to position its magnet claw directly above R2-D2's sinkhole to capture balls and eventually slide towards the front of the table to drop balls down a special return lane that crosses the usual right return lanes, sending them to the right flipper.

There are four return lanes, with the two left return lanes spelling R2-D2 and the two right return lanes spelling C-3PO, two famous astromech droids who served the Galactic Republic and the Rebel Alliance. Each return lane represents half of each droid's name. There are two rebounds, two main flippers and two spring-loaded kickbacks that guard each outlane. Lamps for score multipliers line the rear edges of the table aprons, where figures of the said droids usually stand.

At the front end of the left table wall is a small astromech computer terminal that R2-D2 can access to hack into the sandcrawler's computer systems. If certain conditions are fulfilled, this terminal can function as a mini-playfield in which the flipper buttons rotate any of three concentric rings with metallic portions, with the launch button cycling between which ring to rotate. The metal parts of the rings can push the ball up the empty spaces within the rings, while gravity can drop the ball through the empty spaces in the terminal. As the ball travels across the terminal, it can pass through many switches, with five of them being green and three of them being red, chosen at random.

### The plunger

The plunger is a spring-loaded mechanism that launches the ball up a straight ramp whose end merges as a dropdown into part of R1-G4's large, looping ramp, particularly where it is parallel to the right table wall. The goal of the skill shot is to guess the correct amount of plunger strength that will be sufficient to launch the ball out of the plunger ramp and backwards through the R1-G4 ramp, but not too strong such that it will drop the ball into a lit bumper rollover that is determined at random. The skill shot reward increases once all 3 bumper rollovers, whose positions cycle with flipper operation, are lit during play.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help R2-D2 and C-3PO escape a sandcrawler after being captured by Jawas so that they can deliver a message from Princess Leia to Obi-Wan Kenobi on the planet Tatooine through five missions. Each mission must be completed successfully to progress to the wizard mode, although mission progress will be saved across balls. To start a mission, the player must spell MISSION on the left target bank to open a sinkhole that must be shot. If the player was not in the middle of a mission, the player can choose which mission to start. Once a mission is completed successfully, it cannot be repeated until the wizard mode begins. The following missions must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

* **Fix C-3PO**: C-3PO may be designed to be durable with the help of his maker, Anakin Skywalker, but some unfortunate mishaps can tear this protocol droid apart. At the start of this mission, C-3PO will be smashed apart into his constituent body parts and the player must retrieve each one by shooting a lit lane, then shooting R2-D2's sinkhole to bring the part to R2-D2. Only one part can be collected at a time, and there are six body parts of C-3PO to be retrieved. (*The ball will turn gold when a body part is collected.*)
* **Navigation Disruption**: In a bid to find their freedom, C-3PO and R2-D2 attempt to disrupt the sandcrawler's navigation systems by tricking the Jawas into shooting them. This is a 2-ball multiball mission where the player must charge the balls with LIN-V8K bumper hits. The bumpers will not be able to do this initially unless the player shoots R1-G4's ramp once, which will always take the ball to LIN-V8K's bumpers during this mission. Then, subsequent shots up that same ramp will charge any ball that touches the bumpers while they are charged. The player must shoot four lanes twice each with a charged ball, with the second shot of one lane being need to be made within 30 seconds after the first. The four lanes to shoot to disrupt the navigation system are 1) 3B6-RA-7's ramp, 2) CZ-1's ramp, 3) 2X-3KPR's crossramp and 4) R5-D4's mini-orbit. (*The lava traps will be opened in the left two target lanes, requiring the player to make strong shots up them lest the ball falls into the traps, loses its charge and respawns at the plunger to be shot back into play*)
* **Evade Nebit**: Chief Nebit, the head honcho of the sandcrawler R2-D2 and C-3PO are trapped in, attacks the droids with his ion blaster to keep them quiet. To successfully evade him, the player must complete six sets of three lane shots and must complete each one within a time limit that resets in between sets. The first and fourth sets involve shooting R5-D4's mini-orbit, EG-6's crosslane and 3B6-RA-7's ramp. The second and fifth sets involve shooting WED-15's hairpin lane, 2X-3KPR's crossramp and CZ-1's ramp. The third and sixth sets involve shooting R1-G4's ramp, WED-15's hairpin lane and 2X-3KPR's crossramp. (*Lava traps will be active on 3B6-RA-7 and CZ-1's ramps and failing to make strong shots up these ramps will cause the ball to fall into the traps and respawn at the plunger to be shot back into play.*)
* **Escape Routes**: The captured droids aboard the sandcrawler may know of good escape routes, so R2-D2 and C-3PO must ask around and download data from them. The player has 30 seconds to find each of four droids that will provide part of the information needed for an escape. The correct lane to shoot is determined at random and must be reached with trial and error.
* **Immobilize the Sandcrawler**: R2-D2 and C-3PO deduce that it is not safe to escape the sandcrawler unless its movement systems are disabled, which could be accomplished with some explosives conveniently found aboard. To obtain a bomb ball, the player must shoot R1-G4's ramp, which always leads to LIN-V8K's bumper area for this mission, and score 5 bumper hits to turn it into a bomb ball. Once that happens, the mission target bank will drop down automatically and the player has a limited time to shoot the mission sinkhole to use the bomb before it explodes. The player must repeat this procedure 3 times to clear this mission. (*Lava traps will be active on 3B6-RA-7 and CZ-1's ramps and failing to make strong shots up these ramps will cause the bomb ball to fall into the traps and prematurely explode, resulting in the ball respawning at the plunger to be shot back into play.*)

Once all missions are completed successfully, the wizard mode, **Escape the Sandcrawler**, will be ready to start the same way missions are started. This is a timed victory multiball in which R2-D2 and C-3PO finally leave the sandcrawler. The player must score as many jackpots and super jackpots as possible within a time limit that can be partially replenished by spelling MISSION and locking the ball into the mission sinkhole. The ball saver will always be on for the duration of this wizard mode, which will continue until time runs out. Once this occurs, the flippers will be disabled to allow all balls to drain and the table will reset.

## Side modes

The following side modes can be activated and will grant perks if completed successfully:

* **R2-D2 Hacking Mini-game**: R2-D2 is a skilled slicer that can hack into computer terminals with a special arm attachment. If the player hits LIN-V8K's bumpers 40 times and shoots R2-D2's sinkhole when no multiball modes are running, the ball will be diverted to a computer terminal on the left table wall for a mini-game. The player must use the flippers to rotate one of three rings in the terminal, such that the motion of its metallic parts pushes the ball through the empty space and hits five green lamps, while avoiding three red ones. If the player can hit all 5 green targets before all 3 red targets are hit, this minigame will be completed successfully and a special reward will be granted.
* **Droid Hurry-Up**: If the player shoots a particular lane enough times to spell the name of its representative droid, a hurry-up will begin where the player must race against time to shoot that lane one more time to upgrade a perk associated with that representative droid.

### Multiball

The following multiball modes are available:

* **Ore Processor Multiball**: The sandcrawler has an ore processor that the Jawas use to obtain money. If the player hits the target at the entrance of 2X-3KPR's crossramp four times, the next shot up that crossramp will divert the ball to the ore processor system along the left side of the table. The player must then race against time to close the smelter door with as much as two strong varitarget hits so that the ball does not fall into the smelting pit. If the ball is successfully saved from the smelting pit, a quick 2-ball multiball mode will begin and the lava traps in the two ramps beside R1-G4's ramp will open. The player can score jackpots by executing strong shots up those two ramps such that the ball does not fall into the lava pits. The value of the jackpot increases every time the varitarget is hit, with the amount it increases by depending on how hard it was hit. This mode continues until either ball is lost.
* **Magnet Crane Multiball**: The sandcrawler also is equipped with a magnetic crane to capture droids that the Jawas want to sell (or fence). If the player spells CHARGE MAGNET by hitting the right target bank enough times such that the entire phrase is spelled out (with the positions of lit targets cycling with rebound hits), the magnet crane along the right table wall will activate and move towards R2-D2's sinkhole, which the player can shoot to lock one ball. Then, a quick 2-ball multiball will begin when the player shoots another ball into play and the crane drops the ball into the special right return lanes that crosses the other standard right return lanes over to the right flipper. Until either ball is lost, the player can spin the flag in EG-6's crosslane for more score rewards than usual in other modes.
* **A Droid In Need Is A Droid Indeed Multiball**: Droids can always be helpful to other helpful droids. After the player clears a mission successfully, the player has about 10 seconds to lock a ball into the mission sinkhole (while the mission target bank is automatically lowered). After 3 balls are locked, a 3-ball multiball will start. There are no jackpots to score in this multiball mode, which is designed to help the player work on upgrading droid perks (listed in the Perks section below), via the same normal procedure. This mode will continue until all but one ball is lost.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

* **Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second ball saver will activate. Once it expires, it can be reactivated as a random prize from winning the R2-D2 hacking minigame.
* **Kickbacks**: There are two spring-loaded kickbacks that guard the outlanes; the left one can be activated by spelling R2-D2 and the right one can be activated by spelling C-3PO. The lit positions of each droid's name will cycle with flipper operation. Once activated, kickbacks will stay on until they are used or the game is over.
* **Score Multiplier**: The score multiplier can only be advanced as a random award from R2-D2, up to a maximum of 10x. It is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is also earned from R2-D2's random awards.
* **Skill Shot Reward**: The skill shot reward will increase every time the three bumper rollovers are lit, with the positions of lit rollovers cycling with flipper operation.
* **R2-D2's Random Awards**: R2-D2 has proven to be a reliable and resourceful droid to various *Star Wars* heroes. Every time R2-D2's sinkhole is hit when it is not active, a random award will be dispensed. Possible prizes include score rewards, an automatic droid perk upgrade, advancement or holding of score multipliers or even an extra ball.
* **R2-D2's Random Hacking Awards**: R2-D2 can work great wonders with his hacking skills. Each time the player successfully completes one instance of his hacking minigame, a random award will be dispensed, which may be an extra ball, reactivation of the ball saver or a mission-specific perk if the minigame was beaten during a mission.
* **Droid Perks**: As R2-D2 and C-3PO assists captured droids aboard the sandcrawler, they may be more willing to return the favor. Each of the major table lanes is associated with a particular droid and a wizard mode perk that can provide greater opportunities for more lucrative scores once the wizard mode begins. Perk upgrade levels will persist until the final ball is depleted. The perks available to upgrade are as follows:
	+ **R1-G4**: An astromech droid that can increase the number of balls available to play in the wizard mode when its droid hurry-up is completed successfully at its ramp, or its upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
	+ **3B6-RA-7**: A former Imperial droid that can increase the number of super jackpot lanes available to shoot in the wizard mode when its droid hurry-up is completed successfully at its ramp, or its upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
	+ **CZ-1**: A communications droid that can increase the number of jackpot lanes available to shoot in the wizard mode when his droid hurry-up is completed successfully at his looping ramp, or his upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
	+ **2X-3KPR**: A small security servant droid that can increase the amount of points earned per second of play in the wizard mode when its droid hurry-up is completed successfully at its crossramp, or its upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
	+ **EG-6**: A power droid that can increase a special score multiplier value for the wizard mode when its droid hurry-up is completed successfully at its crosslane, or its upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
	+ **WED-15**: A repair droid that can increase the amount of time available to play in the wizard mode when its droid hurry-up is completed successfully at its crosslane, or its upgrade is earned from R2-D2's random awards.
* **Extra Ball**: Extra balls can be earned as random awards from R2-D2's general or minigame random awards, with the odds of winning one depending on the current score and ball. All extra balls are claimed at R2-D2's sinkhole.

## Tips

* To succeed in most missions, you must master the ability to quickly shoot the right lane before time runs out. Make sure you know how to master cross-shots, because you will need to pull them off to clear certain missions. To shoot 2X-3KPR's crossramp, use WED-15's hairpin lane to get the ball to the right mini-flipper. To shoot EG-6's crosslane, shoot R5-D4's mini-orbit to get the ball to the left mini-flipper.
* While you do not have to beat missions without losing the ball, you should still try to avoid losing the ball by getting the kickbacks turned on (leveraging their persistence across balls) and beating R2-D2's hacking minigame for a chance to reactivate the ball saver. Also, watch out for potential straight-down-the-middle drains when aiming for the mission target bank! If the ball is about to drain down the right outlane and you don't have its kickback turned on, you can still save the ball with a nudge that can force the ball through a gate between the right return lanes that a locked ball for Crane Multiball passes through to start such a mode, if you have excellent reflexes.
* Capitalize on R2-D2's two reward systems and play his hacking minigame often to earn extra balls, a ball saver or perks that can make missions easier (such as increased time limits) or the wizard mode more lucrative (such as instant droid perk upgrades). Try to beat the hacking minigame while a difficult mission is in progress to gain an advantage!

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Offical table soundtrack on Bandcamp (tracks 1 - 5 of *Star Wars Pinball: Heroes Within Soundtrack*)