VP8 SS Recreation Big Bang Bar (Capcom, 1996) VP8 v1.3 2020-01-28

Playfield Layout:
(Starting at the bottom and working around clockwise...)

Two Flippers - Standard position, standard shape. They are black with green lettering. The left one says BIG - the right one says BANG.
[Note: Third flipper (later) says BAR.]

Two Slingshots - Normal size, shape, and position. Scores 110 per kick.

Ball Lock - Above the left slingshot is the ball return habit trail. At the end of this trail is a metal post which can be raised and lowered. If lowered, the ball falls into the left inlane without triggering the inlane switch. If not, it locks one, two, or three balls. This is used during for the Multi-brawl ball lock.

Left Inlane - Standard. When lit, it executes "Qualify mode" which means that the next ramp shot will actually start a mode. The flippers toggle the "Qualify Mode" light between the left and right inlanes. Scores 100K, plus 5K bonus.

Left Outlane - Standard. Scores 1,750.

Kick Back - At the bottom of the left outlane. Lit by a shot to the Cosmic Darts saucer. Scores 110 and 50,250 bonus when lit.

Left Drop Targets (a.k.a. 4-Bank) - Bank of four drop targets directly above the left slingshot. Hitting all four targets enables the left alien ball lock for "Looped in Space" multiball. These are also used during the "Looped in Space" multiball feature. Scores 15K per target dropped and an additional 50K for completing entire bank.

Neon Green Return Tube - not really part of the playfield, but rather one of the return options for the ramp. This is used during the Tube Dance, and it deposits the ball in the habitrail over the left slingshot. (one of two possible sources for this habitrail).

Left Orbit - Loops around to the bumpers (when no mode is qualified or during Mash A Go-Go mode) or exits the right orbit (during all modes except Mash A Go-Go). This is used during Babescanner, Mash A Go-Go, Chase the Waitress, and Tour the Bar modes. Scores 100K plus 5K bonus.

Spinner - Contained in the Left Orbit loop. Scores 110 per revolution (typically >20K per solid hit).

Green Standups - Three of them. One on each side of the entrance to the ramp and a third actually on the side of the near the entrance to the Upper Orbit. Hitting all three targets lights the Tube Dancer. Front standup scores 10K, side scores 12,750.

Ramp - the only ramp. It is situated just to the right of the left orbit approximately 1/2 of the way up the playfield. There is series of diverters that steer ramp shots to any of five different destinations. If a mode is qualified, this shot starts the mode. If the Tube Lady is dancing, this is the jackpot shot. The ramp also leads to the "Looped in Space" and Multi-brawl locks (if they are lit). If none of the above apply, the ramp shot counts as a trip to the Bathroom. (more info on the ramp later).

Inner Orbit - a small orbit which goes under the ramp and curves back around to the pop bumpers. The placement of this loop is similar to that upper inside loop on Getaway. A solid shot will actually go past the bumpers and hit the Doorman drop target.

Center Drop Targets (a.k.a. 3-Bank) - There are three of them directly up the center of the playfield and to the upper right of the ramp. The primary purpose of these targets is to "Qualify Mode" (so the next ramp shot will actually start the mode). Hitting all three lights the right alien ball lock for "Looped in Space" Multiball. There are standup targets behind these drop targets. Scores 15K for each drop target and and additional 50K for completing the bank. Standup targets beind drop targets score 10K.

Pop-Bumpers - Three of them above the Center Drop Targets. These are used in the Mash A Go-Go mode. Each hit scores 7,500. If no mode is qualified or active, each hit changes the flashing (i.e. next) mode.

Tube Lady - A neon green dancer in a tube. This is a visual toy that actually dances during the Tube Dance feature. Very COOL!!!

B-A-R Lanes - Standard rollover lanes above the pop-bumpers. These are used to advance multiplier and for the standard skill shot. During the skill shot, the flipper buttons steer the flashing (desired) light between the letters. During normal play, the desired shot is any unlit lane. Again, the flippers steer the lights. Unlit lanes score 100K times the current bonus multiplier, and also 10K bonus. Lit lanes score 50K and 2,500 bonus. Lighting all three lanes scores 500K and advances the multiplier up to 5x. After that, completing all three lanes adds 250K bonus.

Doorman drop target (a.k.a. 1-Bank) - a single drop target below the B-A-R lanes and to the right of the bumpers. A solid hit through the Inner Orbit will hit this target. Behind the target is a passage that exits out onto the Right Orbit. It is also possible to hit this target directly from the left flipper, but it's a very hard shot. The 1-Bank is used during the Underground feature, and to collect extra ball when lit. It also starts the Big Bang ultimate challange mode when all other modes and features have been completed.

4-Ball Captive Ball Turnaround (a.k.a. Ray's Ball Busters) - 4 balls held captive in an upside down U lane such that a hit of the captive ball will propel the top most ball into the other lane. It is possible to get all 4 balls on one side. Hitting a ball from the flashing side will add a letter for spelling B-R-A-W-L. Complete B-R-A-W-L to lights the lock for regular "Multi-brawl". Unrelated to spelling B-R-A-W-L, try to hit all the balls to the same side. Scores 0 for hitting to the wrong side, 100K & 2500 bonus for hitting to the correct side, and 5M & 75K bonus for hitting all balles to correct side.

"Loopy Martians" - Sitting at the bar above the playfield in the upper right. They act as ball locks for the Looped In Space mode. There names are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

Right Orbit - Standard. During all modes except Mash A Go-Go, the ball travels all the way around and exits the left orbit. Otherwise, the gates are down and the ball will go through the B-A-R lanes to the bumpers.

Upper Right Flipper - located at the entrance to the right orbit. It is black with green lettering which says BAR.

Darts Saucer - just behind the upper right flipper is located a saucer to hold the ball. The ball may enter this saucer from one of two directions - straight in or off the back side of the upper right flipper. This is primarily used during Cosmic Dartz mode. At other times, it lights the left kickback and scores 500K & 20K bonus.

Plunger Lane - plunges the ball into the right orbit and ends up above the B-A-R lanes for the standard skill shot.

Right Outlane - Standard. Awards Special when lit by repeated Bathroom trips. Scores 1750.

Right Inlane - Standard. Can be lit to qualify modes, just like the Left Inlane. Scores 100K plus 2,500 bonus.

Here are further details about the ramp shot and it's associated consequences. Shots up the ramp have five different potential destinations depending on the circumstances:

1. If the Tube Lady is dancing, the ball turns left at the top of the ramp and rolls down through the Neon Green Tube to the habitrail over the left slingshot.

2. Else if the left "Looped in Space" alien lock is lit (by hitting all four targets in the left drop target bank), the ball travels over to the upstairs bar. Two aliens sit at the bar and the ball gets locked in the left alien's mouth. The upstairs bar is at the back, right corner of the game up by the glass.

3. Else if the right "Looped in Space" alien lock is lit (by hitting all three targets in the center drop target bank), the ball goes to the bar and gets locked in the right alien's mouth.

4. Else if the Multi-brawl locks are lit, the ball goes around past the bar, down the right side of the playfield (about 1/2 way) then crosses over to the habitrail over the left slingshot. Sometimes the ball takes this route even when Multi-brawl lock is not lit. In this case, the ball drops into the left inlane

5. Else, the ramp shot counts as a trip to the Bathroom and the ball travels to a habitrail over the right slingshot and drops into the right inlane.

A couple more notes about this complex ball diverting scheme: At the start of "Looped in Space" multi-ball, the aliens at the bar turn around and spit the balls onto this same habitrail setup. The two balls roll down to the last diverter where one heads for the left slingshot habitrail and the other heads for the right slingshot habitrail. This last diverter is actually just a coil that can give the ball a magnetic pull as it goes by. The first two diverters are metal arms, and the diverter that selects between the two alien mouths is a retracting post like the one behind the trunk on ToM. The ramp is long and steep, but the powerful flippers have no problem making the shot. You can even backhand the shot from the left flipper. Occasionally, a ball that doesn't make it up the ramp may drain SDTM. There is a ball saver that detects this and returns the ball, but the default setting for this adjustment disables this ball saver. The ramp shot itself has no inherent score, but all of the various feature functions have their own scoring as described later.

Rules:
There are 9 Modes and 5 mode-less Features. Modes must be qualified and attempted. The modes desired shots do not need to be made for the mode to count as "finished". The mode-less Features are available any time and the objectives must actually be completed for the Feature to be counted as "finished". Features can be completed multiple times, if desired, while Modes can only be played once. The object of the game is to finish all Modes and Features. This will light the 1-Bank for to start the ultimate challange: Big Bang. The star bumpers rotate the current flashing (i.e. next) mode when no mode is qualified or active.

The flashing Mode is qualified by the 3-Bank and the standups behind it. Mode is temporarily qualified by a lit inlane. Only one inlane is lit. The flippers change which lane is lit. This allows the player to change decide whether to qualify a mode or not. There are two reasons not to qualify a mode. First, qualifying the mode locks in the flashing mode as the next mode to be played. If you want to play a different mode, return to the bumpers to make a different flashing mode. Since bumber hits rotate the flashing mode lights, it is a semi-random selection process. The second reason not to qualify a mode, is to earn Bathroom awards. When no mode is active or qualified, the ramp shot counts as a trip to the Bathroom and then returns the ball to the right inlane for another ramp shot. Bathroom awards are worth collecting.

Once a mode is qualified, it is started by a ramp shot. All modes, except Get Lucky, are timed and require additional shots to complete. The default mode time is 30 seconds. Get Lucky instantly gives you a random award.

Skill Shot:
The object is to plunge the ball through the lit B-A-R lane. The first successfull skill shot scores 2M. An additional 1M is scored by hitting the flashing lane without using the flipper buttons to rotate the flashing lane. The score value goes up by 1M for every successful skill shot. Missing the skill shot scores 100K.

A soft plunge will not make it all the way up to the B-A-R lanes and will roll down to the upper right flipper. At this point, a shot through the Inner Orbit to the 1-bank counts as a Secret Skill Shot for 6M.

Modes (Bar Room Brawl):
Completing all modes lights Bar Room Brawl as having been completed. This is one of the steps in progressing towards the wizard mode.

Mash A Go-Go. Get the ball into the bumpers using any of the orbit shots. It is also possible to hit the ball directly into the bumber area with a left-flipper shot between the 3-Bank and the captive balls. This is a hard shot, though, so it's better just to shoot for an orbit. Each bumper hit scores a value. The value starts at 100K and increases by 100K on every 3rd hit (up to a max of 800K per hit). This works out to almost 40M for 50 hits.

Cosmic Dartz (sic). Shoot the saucer by the upper right flipper. Scores 1.5M & 500K bonus, 500K each additional hit. Note, the eject sends the ball back to the left flipper for another shot at the saucer.

Babescanner. Shoot left or right outer orbits. The shot is registered at the spinner in the left orbit. Scores 1M & 250K bonus for each loop.

Lunapalooza. Shoot right orbit. Scores 2M & 250K bonus.

Tour the Bar. The following five shots are lit: right orbit, left orbit, eject saucer, inner orbit, and ramp. Shots do not have to be completed in order. Scores 1.5M & 100K bonus.

Happy Hour. The following targets/switches are lit: 3-Bank, 4-Bank, 1-Bank, bumpers, eject hole, green standups, and the standups behind the 3-Bank drop targets. Each target is worth 500K & 5K bonus.

Chase the Waitress. Five shots must be made in order. Only one is lit at a time. The shots are: eject saucer, right orbit, inner orbit, ramp, left orbit. Score starts at 20M & 50K bonus and decreases as time runs down. Chase the Waitress will end when all the shots are made even if the timer has not run out.

Extra Ball. This Mode lights extra ball at the 1-Bank. While the intended shot is the inner orbit, this is not required. The target can be hit as the ball is bouncing around in the bumpers. The mode ends when the timer runs out or when the extra ball is collected.

Get Lucky. This Mode is not timed. It simply gives you an instantaneous random award. The possible awards are: 8M, collect bonus, hold bonus, bonus x at 10x, bumpers 5x for rest of ball, spinner 5x for rest of ball, kickback lit for rest of ball, restart ball saver for its normal time.

Features:
Looped in Space. Knock down entire 4-bank to light left alien lock. Knock down entire 3-bank to light right alien lock. Knocking down the banks of drop targets repeatedly increases the Looped in Space jackpot value. When alien locks are lit, shoot the ramp to lock balls. When both balls are locked, Looped in Space 2-ball multi-ball starts. Knock down both the 4-bank and the 3-bank targets to collect the jackbot.

Multi-brawl. Hit captive balls to spell B-R-A-W-L. This will light the brawl lock. Shoot ramp to lock balls. When three balls are locked, 3-ball multi-brawl starts. Shoot the ramp to collect jackpots. Double and triple jackpots can be collected by shooting balls up the ramp in rapid succession. The inner orbit scores double jackpot.

Ray's Ball Busters. Hit all captive balls to the proper side (as indicated by flashing lights) to collect instant "drink" awards.

Tube Dancer. Hit all three green standups near the ramp entrance to light the ramp shot for the Tube Dance. Ramp shots collect jackpot for a limited time. Scores 10M. Extra ball (at the 1-Bank) can also be lit for a limited time.

Underground. Hit the 1-Bank multiple times to start Underground for 10 seconds. Shoot the inner orbit. Timer is reset to 10 seconds every time an inner orbit is made. Scoring starts at 1M & 10K bonus per orbit and increases by 1M & 250K bonus for each inner orbit made.

Wizard Award:
The Big Bang. Finish all modes and features to light Big Bang at 1-Bank. Hit 1-Bank to start. A timed 4-ball multi-ball is started. Drained balls are returned to the plunger lane. Note, you must manually plunge the balls back into play. This is important because scoring is a function of the number of balls in play. All targets are worth 543,210 times the number of balls in play. Jackpots can be earned three ways: ramp shot, completing either bank of drop targets, or shooting the inner orbit. Jackpots are worth 5M times the number of balls in play.

Bonus:
The bonus multiplier is increased by completing the B-A-R lanes. It increases to 2x, then ???. The current bonus multiplier is displayed on the playfield directly above the flippers (if I recall correctly).

The bonus is calculated from the following equation:
???

Extra Balls:
Extra balls can be obtained by:

* Advancing the bonus to ??? times
* The Lite Extra Ball mode
* During The Big Bang (everything is lit relights Lite Extra Ball mode)
* ???

Quotes:
I've heard there is an adult mode and a family mode for this game. Furthermore, if I've heard correctly, the following quotes are from the adult mode. If not, they are in the regular mode (b/c I definitely heard them). Note: All are stated with a very sexy female voice and some really cool background music.

"A little more to the left."
"A little more to the right."
"Harder." [upon hitting the ball such that it goes 1/2 way up the ramp and comes back down"
"Other quotes also exist... in general they tend to be comical or sexy or both."

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