Mars

> "Captain. Space fighter has reached its destination. Awaiting orders."
>
> -Space station computer

***Mars*** is one of the early *Zen Pinball* original tables, first released in *Zen Pinball* for the PlayStation 3, and is also part of the 3-table Sci-Fi pack. It is inspired by future visions of human expeditions to and exploration of the planet Mars, and involves completing missions to navigate its rough terrain and unveiling its mysteries with advanced technology and vehicles in the year 2100.

Even though *Mars* and *Earth Defense* involve interaction with aliens, the events of *Mars* do not precede that of *Earth Defense* because the events of the latter's plotline predate that of *Mars*. Thus, *Earth Defense* is not a sequel to *Mars*.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table

The back wall of the table features a scale model of a futuristic, elongated, tubular space station orbiting the atmosphere of Mars. It also contains a one-way, sloped tube passageway for the ball to travel through that takes the ball from the back left corner of the table all the way to the opposite corner, dropping the ball into the right large orbit. The passageway is accessed when a diverter gate in a large left ramp that's right next to the left large orbit opens up a straight pathway to the entrance of the space station. Otherwise, this ramp takes the ball to the leftmost inlane.

Flags gate the entrance to the two large orbits as they wrap around the table's major lanes. At the apex of the left orbit, there is a dropdown to the bumper area. Balls that drop into this area must pass through any of 3 return lanes. The three bumpers are marked with serial codes PX2-001, PX2-002 and PX2-003, in reference to the table's prominent appearance in *Pinball FX 2*. Balls that pass through the bumper area eventually exit to the right through a gap between the frontmost and rightmost bumpers (bumpers PX2-001 and PX2-003). A crossramp dedicated to the fictional appearance of pyramids on Mars lies between the large left ramp (called the shuttle ramp) and the bumper area. It may either go to a pyramid toy at the left apron, or the inner left inlane, depending on the current mode.

In front of the frontmost bumper and beside the entrance of the pyramid crossramp is a sinkhole that also functions as an elevator that raises the ball to an intersection between two dueling ramps, the abovementioned left shuttle ramp and another, smaller right ramp described later on. This elevator can divert the ball to either of the two ramp's exit habitrails.

To the right of the rightmost bumper is a miniloop that connects to the right orbit representing malfunctions that can occur during the mission. It wraps around a sinkhole that also functions as a VUK that brings the ball down a habitrail that eventually merges with the exit habitrail of the right ramp, as well as the right ramp itself, dedicated to the spider robot probe used by the Mars exploration team. This ramp eventually takes the ball to the rightmost inlane.

Throughout the table, there are five target posts marked with the exploration team's symbol, with two targets each at the corners of the ramp entrances, plus one middle target at the right corner of the left end of the malfunction miniloop. There is one magnetic spot that can hold the ball in place so that a model of the exploration team's space shuttle *Phoenix* can use its robot arm to collect the ball and drop it to the elevator at the central sinkhole.

### The lower half of the table

On the left side of the table, there is a target bank spelling the name of the planet Mars. On the opposite side, there is a right mini-flipper used to make cross-shots into the pyramid crosssramp. Between the two are four more magnetic spots that hold the ball in place to be captured by the *Phoenix* robot arm. There are also a pair of side-facing targets in front of the mini-flipper's tip.

Much of the bottom of the table is depicted to reflect the red surface of Mars, with four lamps each representing a word that summarizes each of the four missions placed just above the surface, as well as five alien symbols and two mysterious portals right below on the planet's surface.

There are 6 return lanes, two rebounds and two flippers. The score multiplier ramps are shown directly behind the flippers. Each outlane contains a kickback that captures the ball and diverts it to a platform on the right apron, after a figure of the abovementioned spider robot probe patrolling the aprons presses either of two switches, one placed on the apron, to do so.

On the left apron is a toy replica of a mysterious alien pyramid that is part of this particular table's plot, a pyramid that is believed to be a sign that intelligent alien life exists on the planet, but cannot be confirmed without further investigation. The exit habitrail of the abovementioned pyramid crossramp passes through this pyramid, hence its name. On the opposite apron lies the abovementioned platform where kickbacks divert the ball to.

### The plunger

The plunger is a straight shaft that launches the ball into the right orbit. A spring-loaded launch mechanism provides the force to launch the ball, and there are 10 available power settings for it, indicated by a yellow, segmented power meter that rises and falls as the plunger is pulled and relaxed. To execute a skill shot, the player must guess the correct amount of power that will launch the ball such that it goes up the right orbit and drops into a red, flashing bumper rollover.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to assist a futuristic space exploration team in fully exploring Mars, unveiling its secrets and even ascertaining the presence of intelligent life on the planet through four missions that utilize the crew's advanced vehicles and technology that are possible in the 22nd century. Each of the four missions has a series of preparatory missions that precede it and must be completed before the actual mission can begin, meaning that there are a total of actually 13 missions to complete if the preparation missions for each mission counts as missions in of themselves. The preparatory pre-missions for each mission, as well as the missions themselves, must each be completed successfully without losing the ball, in order to unlock the wizard mode.

The pre-missions for each mission can be started up by shooting a particular lane twice. If the player completed all of the pre-missions for a particular mission, the actual mission will be ready to begin by shooting the central sinkhole elevator. If the player completed all the pre-missions for multiple missions, the player has 20 seconds to choose which of the missions available to start, by shooting the large orbits to cycle between available missions and shooting the central sinkhole elevator again or allowing the time limit to expire to confirm the choice.

The following four missions, as well as their precedent pre-missions must be completed successfully to unlock the wizard mode:

* **The Sunstorm**: Mars is known for its hostile sunstorms, and the crew aboard the team's space shuttle, the *Phoenix*, must carefully maneuver across en route to returning back to the space station after gathering samples and preparing for a return. Once the *Phoenix* is ready to return to the space station after two pre-missions are completed and the mission hole is hit, the player must guide the *Phoenix* to safety through ten waves of sunstorms and each wave must be dodged by shooting a particular lit lane on one side of the table within ten seconds. Running out of time on any wave would result in mission failure. The two pre-missions that must be completed to prepare the *Phoenix* for this mission are:
	+ **Sample**: The *Phoenix* flies low on the surface of Mars to obtain samples and must obtain a sufficient quantity of them before docking back at the space station above the planet's atmosphere. After the shuttle ramp is shot twice while it is functioning normally, this pre-mission will begin where the *Phoenix* flies over to the table and begins extending its robot arm to one of five magnetic spots, flashing red. The player must guide the ball to the flashing magnetic target within a short amount of time to help the *Phoenix* capture the sample, and must repeat this five times to get enough samples. If time runs out or the ball is drained, this pre-mission will fail, although progress for this mission will be saved and magnet targets are randomized on each attempt.
	+ **Ignition**: After gathering enough samples, the *Phoenix* must charge up its engines to blast off back to the space station. The shuttle engines can be primed for fast flight once the player shoots the shuttle ramp, the spider ramp and lastly the mini-loop, all in that order.
* **The Pyramid**: The exploration team has discovered a mysterious pyramid on the surface of Mars and must seek to explore it in hopes of finding any certain evidence of sentient life on the planet, but it is guarded by a mysterious defense system that must be disabled. Once all 3 levels of the pyramid are activated via the completion of 3 pre-missions and the central elevator sinkhole is hit, a 3-ball multiball mission will begin in which the player must hit all 6 side targets (the MARS target bank on the left wall and the galaxy target pair on the right side) and shoot a sequence of 6 lit lanes, all without losing 2 of the 3 balls in play. Once that is done, the player must lock at least the last ball into the central elevator sinkhole to finish the mission successfully. The 3 pre-missions that must be completed to unlock this mission are all identical in structure, which is described below:
	+ **Pyramid Level**: The exploration team must scout and activate all 3 levels of the pyramid in 3 pre-missions, one for each level. Each pre-mission begins with 2 consecutive shots up the pyramid crossramp, in which the player must hit the bumpers 10 times to fully scan and activate each level. Multiple levels can be reactivated as long as the ball is not drained.
* **Satellite Multiball**: The exploration crew plans to dispatch several smaller satellites to cover and scan the larger surface of Mars itself. After 3 pre-missions are completed to prepare the satellites and the central elevator sinkhole is hit, a 4-ball multiball will begin where the player must shoot all 6 lit jackpot lanes once to help the satellites finish their coverage of Mars - and once all are collected, the mission is successful but the multiball will continue with all jackpots relit for bonus points. The 3 pre-missions that must be completed to prepare the satellites are as follows:
	+ **Scan**: The satellites' scanning systems are tested in this pre-mission. After hitting the satellite VUK sinkhole between the malfunction miniloop and the spider ramp twice, the player must test the scanning system by shooting the shuttle ramp, the spider-ramp and the mini-loop, before finally hitting both orbits once to complete the test.
	+ **Recharge**: The satellites' batteries must be recharged so that they have sufficient energy to complete their mission. After hitting the satellite VUK sinkhole between the malfunction miniloop and the spider ramp twice, the player must shoot all 3 ramps and the satellite VUK in a certain order to complete the recharge sequence.
	+ **Dock**: With the satellites recharged and ready for use, they must then be docked at the space station. After hitting the satellite VUK sinkhole between the malfunction miniloop and the spider ramp twice, the player has 20 seconds to lock each of 3 balls into the satellite VUK sinkhole, and can lock multiple balls in one attempt as long as time does not expire or the ball is not drained.
* **Refuel**: The exploration team needs fuel to operate their vehicles, and efforts must be made to replenish them. After a pre-mission involving the spider probe robot is completed and the central elevator sinkhole is hit, the player must shoot a lit lane to collect fuel, then load the fuel by shooting the central elevator sinkhole. There is no time limit for this mission, the mission completes successfully once 3 tanks are refueled and the target lane changes every 8 seconds. The pre-mission that must be completed to access this mission is described below:
	+ **Spider Probe**: The exploration crew has a robot spider probe at its disposal to explore the surface of Mars if planetary conditions prove too hostile for humans to survive. If the player shoots the spider ramp twice, a pre-mission will begin where the player must hit each of the five alien symbols at the center of the table that the spider probe droid is scanning, with 15 seconds allotted per symbol. The mission is completed once all 5 symbols are hit, and the progress of the pre-mission is saved after each symbol is hit.

Once all 4 missions (as well as their required pre-missions) are completed successfully, the wizard mode, **Lost Civilization**, will begin immediately, which is a final multiball mission where the exploration team combs for the lost civilization of Mars. To accomplish this mission, the player must collect 6 artifacts of this lost civilization, and each artifact must be captured by hitting a green, glowing artifact placed on the table and then shooting the central elevator sinkhole to secure the artifact and collect points from a dwindling score pool on the scoring display, starting from 10 million, before it reaches 0. If the player drains all but one ball, or allows the score pool that appears after an artifact is collected to reach 0 before the central elevator sinkhole is hit, the wizard mode will end in failure; collecting and securing all 6 artifacts will complete the mission successfully, with an extra ball being shot into play once half of the artifacts are secured. (*If the wizard mode ends with multiple balls still in play, either in success or failure, the flippers will be disabled to allow all balls to drain and a new ball will be shot into play.*)

## Side modes

The following side modes can be activated during play:

* **Malfunction**: Technology is crucial in accomplishing the mission of exploring Mars, but it is not flawless and can be prone to fail either by losing power or due to technical problems. Every fourth shot up the malfunction miniloop will start either of 2 malfunction side modes in which mission-essential systems malfunction and must be repaired. The table will alternate between the following two side modes, starting with Power Failure the first time a malfunction side mode activates during a session:
	+ **Power Failure**: Technology requires an energy source and if electrical systems that link the source to its devices are disrupted in some way, they will cease to function. The player must recharge the batteries by shooting the orbits and spinning their flags enough times within 30 seconds. The orbits will also force the ball to the bumper area during this side mode.
	+ **System Failure**: The space station's systems can also entirely malfunction due to bugs or technical problems. While the station is crippled by such trouble, the player must shoot all 3 ramps and the malfunction miniloop, all in a certain order, then restart the systems once again by shooting the central elevator sinkhole. There is no time limit for this mission.
* **Space Station**: The space station needs to be upgraded at times to best accomplish the mission. If the 2 targets at the corners of the shuttle ramp entrance are hit, a diverter gate in that ramp will shift to cut off its exit habitrail for just the next shot and send the ball to the space station at the back of the table. Then, the player has 20 seconds to install four components to the space station by shooting the correct lanes, with every correct shot adding back some time. The order of lanes that must be shot are the left orbit, the right orbit, the malfunction miniloop and the spider ramp.
* **Portals of Light**: The surface of Mars also has mysterious portals of light that may hold the power of teleportation. If the player spells MARS on the left target bank, portals will appear on the table and the player must hit 10 of them to investigate the portals and return safely before running out of time.

### Automatic "Danger" side modes

The following two side modes can activate automatically after a certain amount of time passes, indicated by a "special event" countdown on the scoring display. These "danger" side modes are based on potentially dangerous situations that can happen to anyone aboard the space station, and the table will alternate between these two side modes, starting with Frozen Ship as the first automatic "danger" mode once the special event countdown ends for the first time in a session.

* **Frozen Ship**: Mars is known for its cold temperature, which can affect the space station. In this side mode, the player must assist in restoring the space station's malfunctioning temperature control system by shooting the shuttle or spider ramp, then spinning the flags in the orbits, which will force the ball to the bumper area for hits that must be made to finally restart the temperature control system. The ball will turn blue when this mode is in play.
* **Oxygen**: The lack of oxygen in space would prove dangerous to humans exploring Mars, and efforts must be made to keep its levels stable. In this side mode, the player must race against time to stabilize oxygen levels with a 45-second time limit by shooting the orbits and spinning their flags, while scoring enough bumper hits as the orbits force the ball to the bumper area.

### Multiball

This table has one optional, quick 2-ball multiball called the **Zero Gravity Multiball**, based on how gravity on Earth is virtually minimal or absent beyond it. It begins once the rebounds are hit a total of 20 times. Lit jackpot lanes can be shot to earn points, although on occasion, gravity will unexpectedly and temporarily disappear, causing the balls to float around the table. This mode will continue until either ball is lost while gravity is present.

## Perks

The following perks can be activated during play:

* **Are We Alone? Ball Saver**: At the start of each ball and multiball, a 30-second balls aver will be granted. Once it expires, it can be reactivated every time the 5 target posts are hit.
* **Spider Robot Kickbacks**: Lighting the 3 symbols on the left return lanes will activate the left kickback, while lighting the 3 symbols on the right return lanes will activate the right kickback. The positions of the lit symbols will cycle every time the flippers are operated. Kickbacks will persist across balls, and once a kickback is used, it will divert the ball to a platform on the right apron once the spider probe robot presses a switch near the kickback that captured the ball, where the robot will then kick the ball itself back into play.
* **Score Multiplier**: Lighting all 3 red bumper rollovers will advance the score multiplier, and the positions of the lit rollovers will cycle every time the flippers are operated. The score multiplier is only good for the current ball. Maxing out the score multipliers at 10x will grant an extra ball.
* **Extra Ball**: The only way to earn an extra ball is to max out the score multiplier past 10x. After that, the player must claim the extra ball by shooting the malfunction miniloop.

## Tips

* Increase ball survivability by leveraging how it is possible to reactivate the ball saver with target post hits and easily activate kickbacks that persist between balls. You can eventually earn a session-extending extra ball, once per ball, by maxing out the score multiplier, which involves lighting bumper rollovers, a task that is not easy and calls for mastering incomplete bumper shots, or starting up side modes that divert the orbits to the bumper area.
* Be prepared to be adept at maintaining multiballs, as the Satellite and Pyramid missions, as well as the Lost Civilization wizard mode require you to not only keep a multiball alive, but also complete a series of tasks while doing so. Also, take note that after collecting an artifact in the wizard mode, you must hurry to hit the central elevator sinkhole before time runs out, causing the final mission to fail instantly.
* There are some tricky shots that you will need to master on your way to progressing through the missions and beating the wizard mode - namely a cross-shot through the pyramid crossramp, as well as non-lane targets that are out in the open (such as the scannable alien symbols and the magnetic crane spots). It is imperative to figure out and master the flipper timing for making the shots that can hit such targets.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp