I love playfield multipliers

[cooldan]

I love playfield multipliers, ever since the first one i encountered which was the 5x playfield on Whitewater - i remember thinking how wicked it was that the goal was to get that 5X just before nailing the jackpot. i rarely managed it, but on those few occasions that i did, it felt just as good as getting a new high score or even reaching a wizard mode.

Since then i've encountered a few playfield multipliers (not shot multipliers, but everything multiplied for a certain period of time) - on ACDC, on BTDK (Batman Dark Knight), and - recently re-remembered and prompting this thread idea - on Stern's POTC (Pirates of the Caribbean).



On POTC there is a feature where 2 balls in the lock at the start of Tortuga multiball means everything doubled; 3 in there means everything tripled; all 4 in there and the entire playfield scoring is quadrupled - every few points for hitting a slingshot, every jackpot and even superjackpot is quadrupled. I have a theory, yet to test it out with glass off but plan to try this weekend, that theoretically there could be a 160M shot available: get 'max jackpot value' (South award), get 4x playfield as above before starting Tortuga MB, start Heart MB (have it ready to go), score 5 jackpot shots at 2M (4x, so 8M) each, making Superjackpot worth 5x8=40M, quadrupled to 160M. Maybe my maths is out, or i'm imagining it. Or maybe since i'd have Tortuga and Heart MBs stacked (also Kraken MB on top? why not?) on top of that 160M i'd also score some points for that shot to the chest from the other MBs as well. Multiplied, of course.

EDIT: i did my multiplied playfield test but could not replicate my theory. There was just not enough time, as scores multiplied only while balls *in* the spinning disc, so quintupled literally impossible (despite the DMD announcing exactly that, "scores quintupled") as there is no fifth ball to actually score with. Having established that quadruple is the maximum achievable, again this was only for a few brief seconds, as the ones in the disc get realeased really soon, and as they do, DMD shows 'tripled' then 'doubled' then '1X scoring'. With glass off, i got the Max Jackpot light, then started Heart multiball and threw three up into the disc to get the 4X, and used the 4th ball to quickly claim a Jackpot - was the 2M Jackpot quadrupled? Yes, 8M! I even managed to have it give me 10M once, so somehow that quintupler came into effect (??). Then i did it again and again, but when i got around to the Super Jackpot, i found that it maxed out at 20M, it did not add up the Jackpot scores from the Jackpots scored to date, as i had been hoping. Shame.

Anyone else got thoughts on playfield multipliers?

 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

A bonus ladder on the playfield is what i miss about pinball. Actually seeing the bonus as you built it up, seeing the 2x, 3x, light up as you achieve them. Seeing them flicker down without sound when you tilt

 

[Taxiturn]

Love playfield multipliers, really amps up that “boom or bust” feeling.

I enjoy the version you see on a lot of classics with multiballs where you get playfield X for the number of balls in play, Black Knight etc. Gives you an incentive to try to trap up and play in control.

More modern implementations include Game of Thrones with the battering ram, Ghostbusters up to 6x playfield, and the mother of all multiplier games Batman 66 which has both playfield (up to 3x), mode and shot multipliers which can be stacked and get the score into the trillions.

The downside of playfield multipliers is that they can mean a game boils down to “do this one stack or else” - it can lock out people who don’t know the rules well, especially if the multipliers aren’t intuitive. I don’t think this is a positive thing for any machine.

 

[mufcmufc]

Love playfield multipliers, really amps up that “boom or bust” feeling.

I enjoy the version you see on a lot of classics with multiballs where you get playfield X for the number of balls in play, Black Knight etc. Gives you an incentive to try to trap up and play in control.

More modern implementations include Game of Thrones with the battering ram, Ghostbusters up to 6x playfield, and the mother of all multiplier games Batman 66 which has both playfield (up to 3x), mode and shot multipliers which can be stacked and get the score into the trillions.

The downside of playfield multipliers is that they can mean a game boils down to “do this one stack or else” - it can lock out people who don’t know the rules well, especially if the multipliers aren’t intuitive. I don’t think this is a positive thing for any machine.

I think Stern Kiss is the mother of all with a potential 40x playfield if set up correctly

 

[Taxiturn]

I think Stern Kiss is the mother of all with a potential 40x playfield if set up correctly

Just looked up the rule sheet - you can get 13x playfield (10x from song completion plus 3x from locking 2 balls back in the demon in Demon MB), but then you also have a potential 2x shot multiplier and a further 2x for hitting the shot as a combo. If you can stack that all up, it’ll give you 52x on a specific shot.

BM66 you can get 3x playfield, up to 6x shot multiplier, up to 3x villain multiball multiplier, up to 5x main channel multiplier, and then I think you can get the main mode multiplier to 6x if you keep declining the super jackpot (+1x each time). I *think* these are all multiplicative rather than additive so if that’s right and the stars aligned I think you could get as much as 1,620x on a single shot. I might have even missed some multipliers from the list.

Which would go some way to explaining how Eric Stone managed to score 13 trillion in one game!

 

[mufcmufc]

Just looked up the rule sheet - you can get 13x playfield (10x from song completion plus 3x from locking 2 balls back in the demon in Demon MB), but then you also have a potential 2x shot multiplier and a further 2x for hitting the shot as a combo. If you can stack that all up, it’ll give you 52x on a specific shot.

BM66 you can get 3x playfield, up to 6x shot multiplier, up to 3x villain multiball multiplier, up to 5x main channel multiplier, and then I think you can get the main mode multiplier to 6x if you keep declining the super jackpot (+1x each time). I *think* these are all multiplicative rather than additive so if that’s right and the stars aligned I think you could get as much as 1,620x on a single shot. I might have even missed some multipliers from the list.

Which would go some way to explaining how Eric Stone managed to score 13 trillion in one game!

The Demon multiball multiplier is not where it’s at. Getting 40x in Kiss Army is where all the fun is, I think I only had 20x when I scored 5b for one shot

Fair enough if BM66 can do that, for some reason I don’t enjoy the game so I’ve never bothered too much with learning the intricacies of the rules. Best thing I’ve done on it is getting the 6x playfield on Joker whilst collecting a 500m phone hurry up for 3b

 

[Taxiturn]

Kiss and BM66 are two machines I haven’t had much time on at all, haven’t ever had a good game on Kiss and only had just over a billion on BM (which was helped with some of the above multipliers - though clearly not enough of them).

BM66 is one I’d love to have at home at some point so I could really get my head around it and have the chance to put up some silly scores

 

[AlanJ]

Pulp fiction : up to 6x playfield multiplier. Stays on for the current ball.
Also has visible end of ball bonus clocking up with its own multiplier. You can collect it mid ball too.

 

[Marvello]

Multipliers are pretty integral to the gameplay on Stern Star Wars if you want high scores. Build them up and keep them running by hitting the 3 bank else they time out, and move the multiplier shots around the play field.

Great risk Vs reward as keeping them running can lead to an insta-drain off the 3-bank targets.

 

[Replay]

Led Zeppelin.

I think the multiplier is unlimited.

Biggest I have had is around 34x and it's a heart pounding moment when you try to line it up with a SJ!

 

[SteadyP]

Anyone got a good strategy for SM on which shot to make your multiplier after completing a mode?

 

[Taxiturn]

Anyone got a good strategy for SM on which shot to make your multiplier after completing a mode?

My notes say left orbit, side ramp or Doc Ock are good choices in normal play as that’s where most of your action will be. If you’re close to Battle Royale then you can put one on the right ramp so you can get double super jackpots in that mode.

 

[steve brum]

Bonus countdowns are awesome

F14 one of the best

Pinbot was the first 80s game to take the bonus inserts off the playfield. Boo

 

[cooldan]

A bonus ladder on the playfield is what i miss about pinball. Actually seeing the bonus as you built it up, seeing the 2x, 3x, light up as you achieve them. Seeing them flicker down without sound when you tilt

in days gone by, the big scores were heavily dependent on the bonus multuplier. sadly i far too frequently get Tilts even on my home machines where the tilt bob is barely clinging on and i have it set to two or more tilt warnings. my games' feet are on sliders on a wooden floor, so i frequently move the game across the room a bit as i play - it's part of the fun for me. At other folks' houses, or on games set up for comps (booo!) i tend to tilt at least one ball every game, so my bonuses frequently get lost. Luckily for me, the bonus is seldom such a massive percentage of the total score as it used to be - though there are plenty of exceptions. When i was playing Pirates last night, my *bonus multiplier* was up somewhere crazy high, so after a good ball i got around 20M in bonus. it'd be good if the playfield multiplier also applied to the bonus too

Can someone remind me how the multiplier works on BTDK?

 

[Asiapinball]

Many were watching today at Northern League meet when @PUP nailed a huge score on whitewater with help from the 5x playfield multiplier. He scored a 24m jackpot within a second of the 5x multiplier ending which added 120m to his score in one shot. Incredible to see.

 

[Wayne J]

The problem with Kiss, is that if you miss that 1 shot in Kiss army with all of your multipliers lit you are F@*ked. There is absolutely no way you are making that score any other way. Although it is great when you do make it.

BM66 sounds like great fun and so deep - until you actually get it in a home environment. Then it basically boils down to 1 strategy. Mr Freeze, Bookworm, Tut. After that it's just a grind, and a boring one at that. Unless you start making your own games and strategies up, like increasing the hurry up as high as you can.

Even though it's only a shot multiplier (or 3 shots actually), rather than playfield multiplier, Star Wars is ruined by it. Getting over 1 billion for a video mode, shouldn't be allowed. Again it makes it the only viable strategy.

That's the problem with massive multipliers, in single ball play, it usually dictates the strategy - and often means other parts of the game are completely ignored.

Raptor MB in JP2, where scores are multiplied by the number of balls in play is great, as it means you don't get the boring strategy of - trap one ball, play with just one ball, let all the others drain.

 

[Tucks]

with one exception......Star Wars.

 

[Marvello]

The problem with Kiss, is that if you miss that 1 shot in Kiss army with all of your multipliers lit you are F@*ked. There is absolutely no way you are making that score any other way. Although it is great when you do make it.

BM66 sounds like great fun and so deep - until you actually get it in a home environment. Then it basically boils down to 1 strategy. Mr Freeze, Bookworm, Tut. After that it's just a grind, and a boring one at that. Unless you start making your own games and strategies up, like increasing the hurry up as high as you can.

Even though it's only a shot multiplier (or 3 shots actually), rather than playfield multiplier, Star Wars is ruined by it. Getting over 1 billion for a video mode, shouldn't be allowed. Again it makes it the only viable strategy.

That's the problem with massive multipliers, in single ball play, it usually dictates the strategy - and often means other parts of the game are completely ignored.

Raptor MB in JP2, where scores are multiplied by the number of balls in play is great, as it means you don't get the boring strategy of - trap one ball, play with just one ball, let all the others drain.

What I'm getting from this is that having a deep understanding and knowing the intricacies of the rules can be to the detriment of enjoying playing.

I'm blissfully unaware of high scoring strategies and I think that makes me enjoy it more than competition players who are only about the score.

 

[mark9]

Can someone remind me how the multiplier works on BTDK?

I remember occasionally getting huge joker multiball super jackpots, but it was essential to collect the joker super skill shot to triple joker shots for the current ball. Then light the mine insert in front of joker target to double again. Get all mines lit for a roving 3x multiplier I think?

Or just read your old rule sheet attached here

 

[mark9]

Multipliers are pretty integral to the gameplay on Stern Star Wars if you want high scores. Build them up and keep them running by hitting the 3 bank else they time out, and move the multiplier shots around the play field.

Great risk Vs reward as keeping them running can lead to an insta-drain off the 3-bank targets.

Nailing that 40x shot is highly satisfying but very difficult.
You don’t get much time to cradle the ball, then action button so you can move the lit multiplier lane with the flipper buttons (only one lit lane left when you get to 40x) then action button again and finally make the shot, all the while the increasing speed of the damn bleeping noise informing you time is running out adding to the pressure!