It's a Rules Sheet for Doctor Who!
version 1.O2d - 3/31/93
Something you might want to know first off: Whenever a point value is
used, you may assume it to be multiplied by the "Playfield X" unless it says it
ain't. Otherwise, I'd have to go through every single little thing and say
"This is worth 25OK, but it can be worth up to a million!"... just so you know.
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Playfield Description and Basic Rules (we'll do this from left to right):
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"Hang-On" target - shot at the left side of the game, just past the
upper flipper - awards either the "Hang-On" or "Collision" bonuses, and
depending on circumstances, "H" in "W-H-O" and/or a Sonic Boom. Scoring on
Hang-On and Collision will be explained later.
REPAIR targets - set of six circular targets along the left side of the
main area of the playfield. They can only be shot directly from the right
flipper, and are more likely to be hit on a carom shot from some other flipper.
Scoring on the Repair targets is a bit weird and will be explained later.
Bonus X shot - Just to the left of the Time Expander area, the shot
wraps around the back of the Expander to the Jet Bumpers. A Bonus X is awarded
for shooting the Jet Bumpers and NOT the "Bonus X shot", so this shot doesn't
do anything in particular.
Time Expander - the big thing in the middle. There are three modes for
the Expander:
1st - "Lock Mode" - the Expander has 2 locks, to the left and right of a
circular target. Locking 2 balls leads to...
2nd - "Target Mode" also known as "Pinbot Mode" - there are 5 spherical
targets, and a hit on them is registered by the red lights just below
it. Completing all the lights leads to...
3rd - "Jackpot Mode" - there are 3 small gates with metal posts between them;
each gate has a picture of a Dalek on it. Shooting balls through all 3
gates awards a Jackpot or Super Jackpot, depending on the situation.
"Hole" - (for lack of a better word) nothing big, just a hole between
the Expander and the Transmat target with which you can shoot the Jet Bumpers
with the upper flipper. This will award a Bonus X, so it's equivalent to
shooting the "Bonus X shot".
Transmat target - when lit (by hitting the Jet Bumpers enough times),
it will spot a Doctor and award points (usually somewhere near 1M, 75OK
minimum). If not lit, just awards the points. Either way, it creates rather
annoying flashing lights and sound. May also generate a Cow - more later.
Loop Ramp - aka "Cliffhanger Ramp" - shot by the upper flipper, it
awards a loop (every 1O loops yields a Sonic Boom round), and increases the
Playfield X by one value (from, say, 2X to 2.5X). If the Playfield X is at its
maximum (4X), the Loop Ramp awards 25OK instead (yes, 25OK... times 4 it's a
million). Also completes "W-H-O" when lit, and awards a Sonic Boom (also
ending the Boom Round) if lit for that. At the end of the Loop Ramp is a
diverter which sends the ball either back to the upper flipper or all the way
to the lower left flipper.
Jet Bumpers - each hit increases the Transmat value by 5OK and awards
some hokey and unimportant number of points. The ball can leave the Jet
Bumpers through the "Hole" or it will enter the...
Police Box entryway - if lit (by completing "Escape"), will begin Video
Mode. Also always spots a letter on Escape. Either way, the ball comes out
through the Police Box to the right flipper.
Right Ramp - will award the letter "W" in W-H-O anytime when hit; this
value, as is the value of the "H" and "O" shots (only lit after "W" is shot
first), is the highest flashing value beneath the ramp (up to 3M). Will also
award a Sonic Boom if lit.
ESCAPE targets - completing all six targets lights Video Mode at the
Police Box entryway, and also the value just below the targets (up to 3M, also
awards Special when lit). Escape gets one letter spotted when the entryway is
shot.
Slingshots - yawn... well there are two of them, same as always.
Flippers - three, the normal two plus the upper flipper positioned at
the bottom of the Hang-On target. Generally used to aim the ball, though
beginners may tend to flail randomly...
Outlanes and Center Drain - the Drain is a lot larger than some games,
though the only shots which result in a center drain are shots at the Time
Expander and the REPAIR targets. The outlanes are also cruel - no kickback, no
rubber posts. The inlane/outlane divider is also quite a bit lower (nearly
halfway down the slingshot) than most games, which leads to even more outlane
drains. More bad news: the flippers are high above the drain hole, so Death
Saves are more difficult.
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The Doctors, and more specific rules:
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There are 7 Doctors, as one can plainly see from the backglass... quite
conveniently, they are numbered 1-7. Each Doctor has the effect of changing
the rules of one area of the Playfield, making a list of the rules all the
more annoying and probably confusing.
First some general information about the Doctors... there are many ways
to "spot" doctors throughout the game - one is awarded at the start of any
ball, and can be spotted through the Transmat target or Video Mode. At the
start of a ball (or when a ball has been locked), you get to choose the
"current" doctor - his picture will flash on the backglass. When a doctor-
spotting shot is made, the current doctor will become solidly lit (so his
attributes are carried over for the rest of the game), and the "current" doctor
becomes the previously unlit doctor directly to the left of the previous one.
There are 2 ways to spot all seven doctors - either go through them all
one-by-one, or shoot the Emperor Daleks jackpot. Either way, all of them will
be lit for the rest of the game, and you receive an additional bonus of 2OM, as
well as a small animation, which plays even after a tilt! After all 7 doctors
are spotted, they can be spotted a second (third, etc) time, and running
through all 7 a second time awards another 2OM bonus. Also, each doctor
spotted in the game (this count may be more than 7) is worth a 1M bonus at the
end of the last ball (so don't tilt it!), and this bonus (unlike the regular
bonus) is multiplied by the Playfield X.
It's best to go through all the Doctors one by one and describe what
each does to the game.
-- Doctor #1 --
All Doc 1 does is award an extra letter to "Escape" on the lower
right each time an Escape shot is made, either by shooting the targets directly
or shooting into the Police Box Entryway. When shooting the Entryway, two
Escape letters are spotted instead of just one (specifically the two highest,
but who cares?), and when shooting the targets directly, the lowest letter is
spotted, along with any you happened to get with the shot itself. Each time
"Escape" is completed, it yields the highest flashing award just below the
letters (which usually begins at 1M, some settings 5OOK), and advances the
value to the next level. There probably is a timer, but if there is one, it is
a very slow one. After awarding 3M on "Escape", the Special will be lit on the
targets. Just shoot "Escape" one more time to claim the credit.
More importantly, completing "Escape" lights
VIDEO MODE
at the Police Box entryway. (big letter's cuz it's a big deal)
Video Mode is pretty simple - all you do is control the Doctor as he
jumps over obstacles while running from a Dalek. One flipper for a short jump
(will clear one small obstacle), both for a long jump (clears two small or one
large obstacle). For most waves, you only have one life - if you trip on an
obstacle, you are captured and VM ends (it must then be re-lit by "Escape").
On the first VM wave, however, some settings give you an additional life (you
resume the wave where you stumbled). Completing "Escape" a second time does
not award any additional lives, just points.
Jumping over obstacles awards 5OK per hazard, and after several jumps,
the Doctor escapes to the Police Box (jumping into the Box awards a bonus 1M!),
spotting an additional Doctor and awarding points for surviving (could be 1M?),
avoiding obstacles (additional 1OO-2OOK per obstacle), and not dying (another
1M). The "not dying" bonus is only given if you completed the wave the first
time through, so you never hit an obstacle. The total bonus per wave is
somewhere near 6M (lower wave = lower value); it's a lot of points if you've
got a Playfield X, which you should always get before shooting for Video Mode.
Also, completing a wave (except for the final wave) re-lites Video Mode for the
next wave.
In addition, there is a "Last Wave Bonus" for completing all the waves
in a Video Mode set - there are 4 waves in the first set, 5 in the second, 6 in
the third (7 in the 4th?). The Last Wave Bonus is exactly equivalent to the
sum of the Wave Bonuses received in the previous waves, so it isn't affected by
the Playfield X. The Last Wave Bonus for the first 4 waves (all 4 waves at 4x)
has a maximum of 11OM.
A full Video Mode set, which is lit by a relatively simple shot, can be
worth up to, oh say 3OO million or so, and in addition, you get all those extra
Doctors spotted. Not bad for just jumpin' over stuff.
For those who are clueless, here's the patterns for the first four
waves (and so, the first entire set of waves) of VM (S = short jump, L = long
jump):
Wave 1: S S L L L L
Wave 2: S L L S S S S
Wave 3: S S S L L L S S S
Wave 4: L L S S L S L L L
These patterns are only valid if the machine is on standard settings;
on harder settings, VM waves are random.
An Extra Ball is almost always awarded as you jump over the last
obstacle of Wave 2. However, this is self-adjusting (or operator-settable),
and sometimes appears at the end of Wave 3. Check the Status Report for
details...
Never forget to jump into the Police Box... points is points.
Quotes from Video Mode:
"Whew, that was a close one." -end of Wave 1 if you died once, also
happens every so often.
"I don't mind the brisk pace, but a Dalek or two is an obstacle I can't
face." -end of Wave 3; the wording for this quote is highly suspect.
"WHERE IS THE DOCTOR?" "THE DOCTOR HAS ESCAPED..." zzzt... -as the Last
Wave Bonus is awarded; if you've never seen this, an Emperor Dalek destroys the
Supreme Dalek who let the Doctor get away through the first set of Video Mode
waves. Should you get to the second set (even funnier): "WHERE IS THE DOCTOR?"
zzztt!... the Supreme Dalek destroys the Emperor Dalek in self-defense.
-- Doctor #2 --
At first glance you might think Doctor 2 does absolutely nothing, and
whatever he does it can't be worth that much. Bzzzt! Not true not true... Doc
2 does BOTH of the following (wow, both!):
-gives you extra time to shoot the "Hang-On" score to the left; at the
outset, it takes pretty much an immediate shot to score it. Now you've got
more time, and you might be able to take a second crack at it. Really, though,
there isn't much extra time to shoot it.
-more importantly, Doc 2 doubles the score you do get from Hang-On.
WHAT score? Rarely can we even see the Hang-On getting scored, since
there's some mumbo jumbo animation going on (usually the Air Sneaker flying
around in the middle of W-H-O). Hang-On adds up pretty quickly even though we
can't see it... it begins at 25OK for the first hit, and goes up an additional
25OK each additional hit. While shooting W-H-O numerous times, the Hang-On
gets scored every time, and these points add up... I've seen Hang-On scored (at
a 4X multiplier with Doc 2 lit) for nearly 4O million, not bad for a pretty
simple straight-on shot. On later ROMs (L-1 etc.), the Hang-On has a maximum
value of 2M (4M with the help of Doc 2), ending the possible super-high Hang-On
score. The Hang-On value carries over throughout the game, so you
can just keep racking up the score (until the maximum).
When Hang-On is not lit and you hit the target, you receive a
"Collision" score, exactly equal to one-fifth the Hang-On score. I'm not sure
if Doc 2 has an effect on the Collision score; it probably doesn't, so with Doc
2 lit, the Collision is worth one-tenth the Hang-On score. The Collision score
begins at 2OK, and does not increase the Hang-On score. Since the Hang-On
carries over, so does the Collision.
-- Doctor #3 --
Doctor #3 doesn't do very much... well sort of. Doc 3 gives more time
to shoot each letter in W-H-O, and that's it. For some players this may mean
absolutely nothing; they can shoot the W-H-O flat-out on the go. Sometimes
having more time to shoot W-H-O can actually be annoying, because completing a
W-H-O (by shooting the Loop Ramp) returns the ball to the left flipper and not
the top one.
But in general, having Doc 3 lit is pretty good though not wonderful,
and it's gives you much more time to shoot each letter of W-H-O, nearly 7-1O
seconds per letter. This is especially important during a Sonic Boom round,
since it lasts just as long as the W-H-O timer.
The rules for shooting W-H-O are pretty simple... each letter is worth
the flashing value just below the Right Ramp, usually 2 or 3 million. Once W
is shot on the right ramp, the points are awarded and H is lit at the Hang-On
target. Shooting H scored the points again and lights the O at the Loop Ramp,
and shooting W a second time (on later ROMs) scores the points again and resets
the timer. Once H has been shot, a second shot at H (even though it isn't
flashing) will award the points and reset the timer for the Loop Ramp.
Completing the set of three advances the value of each letter and brings the
ball back to the left flipper (expect for Sonic Boom circumstances, when it
goes to the top flipper) for a shot at another W-H-O. A set number of them
lights extra ball in the inlanes and outlanes... once the extra ball becomes
lit, it can be collected immediately just by hitting the right flipper once
(making the left inlane the lit target). The number of W-H-Os to light the
extra ball is almost always 2, then it depends on settings: I've seen one where
the 2nd EB was at 4 more W-H-Os, then 8 more, then 12, etc., and I've also seen
one where the 2nd EB was at 6 more W-H-Os, then 1O more, then 14... the number
is displayed while W-H-O is being shot.
But in general, the rules Doc 3 changes are very simple and easy to
understand.
-- Doctor #4 --
On the other hand...
Doctor #4 affects the "Repair" targets, which is most certainly the
most confusing part of the game. What we DO know is that Doc 4 spots an extra
target on "Repair"... what the targets actually score, especially when they're
all complete, is a problem. I think I finally figured it out:
-whether Doc 4 is lit or not, the first five targets lit on "Repair"
are worth 1OOK, 25OK, 5OOK, 75OK, and 1M. If Doc 4 is lit, you'll get credit
for at one hit per shot to "Repair", usually two. Once any Repair target is
shot, it becomes solid, and all others will begin flashing. If you don't hit
another after a few seconds, they flash faster then reset (like Stretch the
Truth on Fish Tales).
-when "Repair" is complete (all six targets hit), each additional hit
on "Repair" is worth 1M, with 5OK being added to this value at each hit - in
other words, the second hit is 1,O5O,OOO, then 1,1OO,OOO, etc. Doc 4 has a
different influence here: it doubles the score for each target, so they're 2M
plus 1OOK/hit. With 4X, hitting one target is worth up to 8 million. Again,
there's a limited time before the targets reset themselves.
Once "Repair" is completed, you'll see two numbers on the animation:
below the word, you'll see what the next target hit will be worth. Above it,
you'll see a second, larger number above the word "Repair" - this is the total
number of points you've racked up by shooting Repair targets. It's especially
nice to have Repair completed with Doc 4 lit during a multiball... with all the
ball-bouncing going on, it's easy to hit the Repair targets for up to 8M (with
Playfield X) apiece, and I've gotten the total Repair score at least all the
way to 11O million. Really, then, even though Doc 4 looks like he doesn't do
anything, he can be worth a lot.
However, you need to hit all six Repair targets before anything
happens. This is extremely difficult without Doc 4's help, so it's usually
not worth trying for until Doc 4 is lit.
That's about it... one more thing: my friend Steve would like to point
out at this time that Doctor #4 has a pretty cool hat.
-- Doctor #5 --
Doc 5 is probably the least important of the seven; all it does (at
least, all I can see that it does) is double how much each jet bumper is worth
when the bumpers are hit. Originally, the Jet Bumpers each add 5OK to the
value of the Transmat target, and Transmat is lit when the value reaches 75OK.
While bumpers are being hit, a circle is filled in, pie-chart style, on the
backglass... when Transmat is lit, this circle flashes instead.
With Doc 5 lit, each Jet Bumper is worth 1OOK for the Transmat; so you
only need 8 hits to get the Transmat lit for another doctor.
Unlike previous reporting, Doc 5 doesn't affect the end-of-ball bonus,
although any shot to the Jet Bumpers awards an additional bonus multiplier.
The multiplier carries over ball-to-ball and can go quite high (almost 4Ox).
I've seen the bonus as high as 6M, so with the multiplier that's quite a bit.
Giving a tilt warning when the bonus animation is supposed to be displayed
aborts the animation; I'm pretty sure it doesn't abort the bonus.
And that's all... the only other good thing about Doc 5 is that in
Video Mode, his tie flaps while he runs...
-- Doctor #6 --
Probably the most important of all the Doctors, and his importance
really depends on your individual playing ability. All Doc 6 does is spot an
additional Playfield X for each time the Loop Ramp is shot, and also lengthen
the amount of time that this multiplier stays lit. With Doc 6 lit, it takes
only 3 shots to get the Playfield X at maximum (4X)... compare that to six
shots under normal circumstances.
The Playfield X is crucial to producing high scores - for example, the
highest-scoring shot in Who is the Triple Davros jackpot, worth 3OO million.
With a 4X multiplier, it's 1.2 billion; just having the multiplier lit is worth
9OO million points! It takes a lot less work to get a replay if you can keep
the Playfield X up high.
The behavior of the Loop Ramp diverter is a bit confusing at times -
sometimes the ball is fed back to the upper flipper, and sometimes it goes all
the way to the lower left flipper. Here are the rules for that:
-If the last loop made lights a Sonic Boom Round (i.e., 9, 19, etc.),
then the ball is fed back to the upper flipper, regardless of whether the loop
completed a W-H-O or not.
-If the Sonic Boom Round is shot -immediately- after it is lit (the
shot for 1O, 2O loops etc. is made right after the previous loop shot), then
the ball is fed to the lower flipper to shoot W-H-O for Sonic Booms (each worth
1OM). If the shot is not made immediately (i.e., you miss then shoot it later)
then it follows the normal rules.
-When the Loop Ramp is shot during the Sonic Boom Round, it awards a
Boom, immediately ends the Boom Round, and returns the ball to the upper
flipper.
(note: this means that it's best to avoid shooting the Loop Ramp during
a Boom Round until the W and H shots have been scored... so if the ball is sent
to the upper flipper, it's a good idea to just let it fall.)
-Besides that, the Loop Ramp returns the ball to the bottom when it
completes a W-H-O, and otherwise to the upper flipper for another ramp.
Pretty psychotic behavior, but oh well. When shooting the Loop Ramp,
it might seem like you're getting a lot of points - that guy's always yelling
"Million" at you once the Playfield X is at 4X. But one million on a game is
pretty paltry when the replay's at 3OO million or more... so the point is to
get the Sonic Booms. The series of shots (W-H-O, that is) is definitely worth
mastering - in a Boom Round, they're usually worth a total of 12O million, and
they also contribute to getting Extra Balls.
-- Doctor #7 --
Like it says when he gets selected, Doc 7 helps with multiball (or
Multiball or Multi-Ball or Multi-ball or whatever). Actually that's not quite
right, Doc 7 helps to get TO multiball. Here's how to get to Multiball:
-Start in Lock Mode. For the first multiball, the locks begin lit;
for subsequent multiballs, you need to hit the target between the locks. If a
ball is already in a lock (shot in by another player), the target also gives
you credit for that lock. If another player's ball is in one lock, and you
shoot the other, you get credit for your lock and the other player's ball is
shot back out. If Doc 7 is lit, hitting the target also awards a Time Factor
for Target Mode (more on that later).
Something to point out here is that any time a ball is shot out of a
lock (or, with some ROMs, the lock target is shot), the Second Chance (ball
save) is available for 2-3 seconds, even though it isn't flashing (it flashes
at the start of a ball for 5-1O secs). The locks tend to kick balls right down
the center drain, and it's a good idea to just let them go rather than flailing
at them. Second Chance is also awarded the few times a successful ramp shot
returns the ball to the outlane, a nice feature to avoid angry tilts.
Any lock you make is held over to the next ball, even if another player
emptied the locks through multiball - in that case, there would only be one
ball in the locks when the Expander raises to Target Mode (see below).
When a lock is registered, the backglas animation shows Doc 7 and his
female partner Ace at two consoles (Ace at left). An appropriate sound effect
plays depending on which of the two locks was made first.
Another note about Lock Mode: in a multi-player game, it can be very
difficult to score locks if another player has put balls in them to start.
The target between the locks is small, and hitting a ball into a hole where a
ball is already locked has a good shot at a center drain with no Second Chance.
So try to go first. :)
-Once two locks have been made (the backglass will show 2 "consoles"),
the Time Expander raises to Target Mode, which looks remarkably like Pinbot.
To finish Target Mode and start Multiball, each of the five circular targets
must be hit 3 times - each hit brings down the "Time Expansion Factor" (which
is announced each time it changes), and a flashing light below the target
becomes solid. In the first multiball, hitting between two targets can
register up to three hits, two for the target hit most solidly and one for the
neighboring target. In subsequent multiballs, only one hit can be made on a
target each time the Expander is hit.
Doc 7 has great importance here - anytime the set of targets is hit,
Doc 7 spots an additional target, specifically the one that still needs the
most hits. This makes Target Mode much easier... for example, without Doc 7,
you'd have to hit one specific target once you get to Factor 1. But with Doc 7
lit, you can hit any target and spot the final unlit one.
Since Doc 7 has such an advantage in Target Mode, you should make sure
he is lit when you get to this point. You can change the current Doctor when
a ball is put in play - if Doc 7 is unlit before the start of Target Mode, make
him the current doctor.
Should you happen to drain during Target Mode, the targets you hit are
held over to the next ball. If another player gets multiball while you are in
Target Mode, you remain there - when you begin multiball yourself, the other
balls will come from the auto-plunger.
-Once Target Mode is completed, the Expander raises again to reveal
three gates, each with a picture of a Dalek on it. The backglass shows which
Dalek level multiball will start at for each gate shot - for the first
multiball (with local settings - your mileage may vary), these gates are
Supreme/Emperor/Supreme. In general, the middle gate is one level higher than
the outer gates.
Multiball is worth a LOT of points, and it's very important to get a
good Playfield X before starting multiball - after all, what good is a 45M
jackpot when it could have been 18OM? So shoot for the Loop Ramp before
shooting for the gates.
-Once a gate is shot, the Expander lowers to kick out any locked balls,
then raises back to the Dalek gates - finally, multiball! The goal of
multiball is to shoot a ball through each of the three gates, and accomplishing
this awards a Jackpot. After scoring a Jackpot (until the Davros round), the
Expander briefly lowers to Target Mode as the gates are reset, then raises
again to set up the Daleks for the next Jackpot. There are several levels of
Daleks... these are all I know, there are probably others at lower point
values.
(??) Bronze Daleks = 3OM
Silver Daleks = 35M
Gold Daleks = 4OM
Supreme Daleks = 45M
Emperor Daleks = 5OM
Some Jackpots will prompt the best quote in the game: "Dalek in the
corner pocket."
Each level of Daleks will remain lit as long as a gate is shot within
a time limit (about 1O-15 secs); it doesn't count if you shoot a gate that has
already been hit. If no gate is shot (or if you drain from 3-ball to 2-ball
multiball), the Dalek level will drop by one - Supreme Daleks will become Gold
Daleks, for example. This is also true for Davros, and it's very annoying to
have Davros change into a plain old Emperor Dalek.
On newer ROMs, the Status Report tells you how many Jackpots you need
to reach the Davros round - you'll see "3-ball Daleks at xxM - x more for
Davros" and the same for 2-ball Daleks. It always takes one more 2-ball
Jackpot than 3-ball. Initially, it takes 2 Jackpots with 3-ball multiball, and
3 Jackpots with 2 balls. Shooting the center gate at the start of multiball
reduces these numbers by one automatically. (Confusing?) Just remember that
2-ball multiball is one level lower than 3-ball, and the levels get higher as
you score Jackpots.
Scoring a Jackpot on Emperor Daleks lights all 7 doctors and sets up
the Davros Super Jackpot - this means it takes one fewer Jackpot to get to
Davros if you shoot the center gate at the beginning. After the Emperor Daleks
are finished, the Expander lowers back to Target Mode, as Davros announces
"Let's see if you can break my personal force field, Doctor"... as before, each
target must be hit, but this time only one hit is required. Also, Doc 7 will
NOT help - you need to hit each target in earnest. Once all 5 targets are hit,
the gates come up again, and shooting all three within the time scores 1OOM!
If you can do this, it's a big feat...
After collecting Davros, the "Double Davros" round begins; it's exactly
similar to the original Davros round, only TWO hits are required on the
Expander targets to bring up the gates. Double Davros Jackpot is 2OOM! And
Triple Davros, where 3 hits are required on the targets, is worth (good guess)
3OO million, not bad. Not bad at all. There is no "Quadruple Davros" - the
Triple Davros repeats itself. In all 3 Davros rounds, taking too much time to
shoot the gates, or having a third ball drain results in Davros changing into
Emperor Daleks.
So the Jackpots sure can add up - going from Supreme Daleks to just
single Davros is worth 195M, almost 8OO million with the Playfield X. In
addition, the next multiball (unless you scored a Davros) will pick up where
you left off - if you ended the first multiball with Davros lit, the next one
begins with Davros lit at all three gates! Tough to miss that shot...
Something else to point out - if you are unable to score any Jackpot
during the multiball, you have the possibility of re-locking the balls to
restart multiball. If no Jackpot is scored, the Expander goes back to Lock
Mode, and Re-Lock is lit for 15 secs (2O if Doc 7 is lit). In addition, an
extra 1O secs is given for shooting the target between the locks, or for
locking the first ball. If no ball is locked within the time, then the game
continues in single-ball play. If only one ball is locked, a second ball is
auto-plunged immediately. If this drains, the other ball kicks out for single-
ball play again. If you can't lock the ball in time (and there's plenty of
time), the other ball is kicked out for a 2-ball multiball, and the Dalek level
picks up where you left off at the end of the original multiball. If both are
locked, 3-ball multiball restarts. In either case, multiball restarts
immediately; no targets or gates to shoot. Of course, remember to jack up the
Playfield X before starting multiball.
A final word about multiball - the Davros Jackpot is VERY difficult to
score (since the Expander targets are good drain shots), and actually, the
normal Dalek Jackpots aren't all that hard to get. So unless you think you can
get more than one Davros, it may be better NOT to shoot for the center gate at
first, and to get as many Dalek Jackpots as possible... that's what I've had
the most success doing, and my best game (2.4B) had no Davros Jackpot.
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Questions and Answers and other Stuff that isn't all that important...
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Q: Why are there 7 Doctors? Why not 12 or 5 or something?
A: Each of the 7 Doctors, whose pictures are displayed on the
backglass, the playfield, and the dot display, represent a portrait of all
seven actors who have portrayed Doctor Who in its 26-year run on the BBC from
1963 to 1989. There can be more than one Doctor Who because he is a Time Lord,
and has the power to regenerate into a new body (also a great way to resolve
contract disputes at the network!). The 7 portraits are in chronological
order, and the men who portrayed Doctor Who are:
Doc 1: William Hartnell (oops, not Richard)
Doc 2: Patrick Troughton (a fine-looking gentleman indeed :)
Doc 3: Jon Pertwee
Doc 4: Tom Baker
Doc 5: Pater Davison
Doc 6: Colin Baker
Doc 7: Sylvester McCoy
Also, if you look closely at the area each Doctor occupies on the
playfield, there may be one (or several) other figures: they all played major
parts in the show as well.
Q. What's that thing that goes inside a Dalek (seen on the loop ramp
Million as well as the Last Wave of Video Mode)?
A. It's a mutated humanoid, yup! They're called "Kaleds", and a
nuclear war on their planet mutated them. Davros offered to help the dying
Kaleds, building a "life support system" for them (the Dalek shell). But...
Davros genetically fixed the Kaleds to have his ego and no conscience, oh well.
By the way "Dalek" is an anagram of "Kaled"...
Q. What's that airplane/hovercraft/spacecraft/sneaker that flies all
over the place during W-H-O???
A. Yay, we figured this one out!! It's the "Who Mobile", which was
driven/piloted by Doc 3 in the series, sometime during the early 197Os. Yes, a
low-budget sci-fi show like Dr. Who had enough money for this sort of special
effect - actually, the Who Mobile looks a LOT better in the game than on the TV
show.
Q. What should I do to get lots of points on this game?
A. Hmmm... tough call, since even though the scoring on Dr. Who is
imbalanced, it's imbalanced in many ways, so there are many shots which will
give you too many points.
It's important to learn to shoot all three of W-H-O in rapid
succession (without missing, that is), since 2 W-H-Os is worth an Extra Ball,
and your Sonic Boom score depends almost solely on shooting these shots. The
Sonic Boom is worth a lot, and if you can pull it off perfectly, the ball is
returned for Loop Shots - 1O in a row for another Sonic Boom. Repeat and win
big time.
The best starting strategy is to go with Doc 1, and begin pounding away
at the Escape targets. Since you'll probably get 2 per shot at it, only a few
shots lights Video Mode, which can get you upwards of 2OOM. Never shoot Video
Mode without a good Playfield X, though - actually, never shoot anything good
without a Playfield X.
After Doc 1, it's useful to prioritize the Doctors according to what
they do... after Video Mode is lit, Doc 1 is nearly useless, and since the
Doctor can be changed after a lock, change it if VM is lit. Doc 6 is the most
important otherwise, since the Playfield X is so important to score. After
that, Doc 3 is effective for score and extra balls, then Doc 2 for score on
Hang-On, then 4, then 5 (nearly useless). Doc 7 is the exception: he's totally
useless unless you have Target Mode, then he's essential. So the order is:
1, 6, 3, 2, 4, 5 with 7 abstaining.
Jackpots, though they give wonderful sound effects and big points at
once, are largely overrated. Sure, sure, 2OO million for one shot, but setting
that one shot up takes a LONG time. It's worth going for, but usually it's
better to let the locks go, getting them on accident, then selecting Doc 7 to
go for the multiball.
And that's about it - don't forget the big points from Hang-On and the
Repair targets, but Video Mode, Multiball, and the Playfield X are the ways to
go.
Q. What's that "moo"?
A. It's not exactly certain how you get the Cow to show up. What does
happen is that the Transmat target must be shot with not enough bumper hits to
Transmat a Doctor. Instead of seeing a Doctor on the backglass, there's a
portrait of a cow (supposedly wearing a hat, I've never seen it). Most of the
time when it happens, it's either during a Sonic Boom round or when the round
is lit, but at least once, it's happened just randomly. Go figure.
Q. What does the Dr. Who manual have to say about all this?
A. Well here's the "Game Story" which serves to explain where all these
Doctors are and what they're doing:
------ (begin unnecessary story)
Time is running out, literally...
The Master is back and this time he will not fail! He has recruted Davros
and what is left of his desperate Daleks. Since being beaten by the
Movellans, this group of Daleks have nothing to lose. And both have
one enemy in common...the Doctor.
The Master has found an ancient Gallifrey Laboratory equipped with an
everlasting self-regenerating "Time Expander". This "Time Expander" can
take any part of time and space, stretch it, then allow all other space
and time events to interact with this new time stream. This machine
requires two operators to work together (changing time and space is
serious business). Of course, this has never stopped the Master, or
even Davros.
The problem of finding all seven Doctors and expanding their time
streams is easily solved in one word-- Earth! This is the Doctors
favorite planet. All of his regenerations, past, present, and even
future, have or will, arrive upon Earth. All that has to be done is
to expand Earth's time and push all the Doctors into the final nova
of the Earth's Sun. At game start, you can experience the time
expansion of Earth by observing the continental drift back to the
past (over 300 million years ago!).
But everything has not gone as planned. All of the Doctors, aware of
time being expanded, have escaped. However, not everone is safe. The
first Doctor has escaped to a planet and is being bombarded by the
Master's "borrowed and enhanced" Roni spheres. The second Doctor is
lost in a land mine of black holes in space and is trying to dodge
destruction (the black holes are rumored to power the Time
Expander). The third Doctor is trapped in the Whomobile. The
fourth Doctor is stranded somewhere to repair his TARDIS from old
unreliable force field projectors. The fifth Doctor, transmatted
away from Earth is, unfortunately, held prisoner in a never ending
transmat web. The sixth Doctor was jettisoned to a mountainous
Dalek planet, where the time expanded rebirth of the Dalek race is
about to begin. Last, but not least, the seventh Doctor is much
more fortunate. He escaped unharmed and has found the Time
Expander. Now the challenge is to restore Earth's Time to normal,
confront the Master and his traps, the Daleks, and of course Davros
(the creator of the Daleks).
When it is time for the ultimate battle with Davros, all the
Doctors will be re-united, combining their unique knowledge and
experience to defeat Davros and his Daleks.
------ (end unneccary story - if this needs a copyright, Bally wrote it.)
Q. Who do you have to thank for this?
A. In the order that I received your comments:
First, Curtis Frye (cfrye@ciis.mitre.org), who suggested I "run with"
the idea of making the sheet.
Second, and foremost, Brian Millham (bdm@bighorn.dr.att.com) helped a
lot with the Doctor Who history (including the stuff about the Air Sneaker),
and he was such an avid fan of the show that he bought his own game! He also
provided the "Game Story".
Nathan Miller (millernr@cda.mrs.umn.edu) sent me mail.
Kevin Martin (sigma@rahul.net preferred) gave a lot of help, including
an explanation of the second and third set of Video Mode waves, and also gave
some info from Lyman Sheats's article on Who in Flipside magazine, then cleared
up a whole buncha other stuff.
Mark Phaedrus (phaedrus@halcyon.halcyon.com) sent a very helpful
listing about multiball, the Hang-On target, and much more.
Adrian Donati (A_DONATI@fennel.wt.uwa.edu.au) pointed out that the
Bonus X carries over ball-to-ball, among other things, including a strategy for
selecting Doctors.
Steve Bollinger (buzz@apple.com) gave the info on the Last Wave Bonus,
and also the stuff about multi-player games.
Steven Manfred (steven.k.manfred@uwrf.edu) gave some more background on
each of the 7 Doctors... very good, though a little more appropriate for
rec.arts.dr-who.
Tim Dierks (absurd@apple.com), for being a good driver.
Have fun shooting Daleks...
Bowen Kerins
bowen@cardinal.stanford.edu
