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Medieval Madness |
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(v.1.0 ROM) author: Bowen Kerins last update: January 29, 1997 "Medieval Madness", "Williams", and lots of other things are probably trademarks and copyrights of WMS Industries. Sorry. Also, please feel free to distribute this rulesheet in any form, just don't charge for it. New Since Last Time
Overview Medieval Madness is the long-awaited game from the Williams design team which created the hit "Attack From Mars". In many ways (especially in playfield layout), Medieval Madness is similar to Attack From Mars (AFM), but it should not be classified as simply "AFM on steroids". In fact, Medieval Madness is, for the most part, a slower-paced game than AFM. It also tends to be a "friendlier" game, with few shots which are drain risks. Medieval Madness also features the same sense of humor which made AFM that much more popular. From the flying saucer on the backglass to the cursing mobster whose castle you seek to destroy, Madness is loaded with one- liners. It's equally amazing how long some of the sound bites are. Catch Sir Psycho's maniacal laughter if you get the chance. Fix Yer Trolls (for Sample games only) An important note for those who are playing "sample" versions of Medieval Madness: there is a problem with the flaps for the Trolls. They tend not to remain level with the playfield, as many have noticed. A fix for this problem is in place for the production version, and an update for the flaps is being shipped to distributors of sample games. If you have this problem with your local Medieval Madness, get the operator to contact the local Wms distributor. Credits: 7.
and a cast of hundreds -- Got credits? Mail me. Playfield and Backglass Art Both the playfield and glass are well done, in my opinion. The backglass has an imposing king, holding up a sword... and surrounded by total chaos! Many jokes here and there on the backglass, including a sign which reads "You must be at least this tall to enter a siege", invaders being doused with Dragonade, a sneaker-wearing troll, and an unusual flying carpet. The playfield art is a little more subdued (as it should be), but watch for some unusual crowns, and a cannonball with a note on it. Also check out the plastic above the catapult, and the jousters in the orbits. Goal Defeat the "King of Payne" and All the King's Men in a Battle for the Kingdom. Save damsels in distress, help the revolting peasants, launch farm animals at castles, win jousting contests, kill wisecracking trolls. In order to reach "Battle for the Kingdom" you must complete six tasks, marked with blue lights on the playfield near the castle. These six tasks are, from top to bottom:
Each is described in a separate section below. Playfield and Basic Rules If you have Web access, you may want to direct your browser to the Wms web site at http://www.pinball.wms.com/games/medieval -- the site has a superb "Explore the Playfield" feature, allowing you to see the MM playfield and the function of all major shots. Here, the playfield is described in full textual glory.
Ball Saver There is a brief (~5 sec.) ball saver (after the ball has exited the bumpers) at the start of each ball. A ball saver is also in place at the start of any multiball, at the start of Royal Madness (which is not a multiball), and if you should complete Trolls! during Multiball Madness. Skill Shot The normal Skill Shot is the same as it was on AFM: one rollover is flashing, roll over it. 50K + 10K each successive Skill Shot is yours, as is +5 Bonus X. Miss, and you receive nothing but humble pie. Or: you may go for the Super Skill Shot. Hold in the left flipper to enable the Super Skill Shot. As in AFM, the ball will plunge around the orbit to the left flipper, and all shots will light (orbits, ramps, Catapult). Collect a shot to score 100K and start a Castle Hurry-Up (see "Castle Hurry-Up" section). Collecting the Super Skill Shot does NOT credit you with finishing a set of shots (as it did on AFM); you only get credit for the one shot toward any requirement. I usually take the Super Skill Shot for the quick points, but the regular Skill Shot is far safer, and may actually be worth more on a good ball. Game start quotes:
Merlin's Magic Merlin's Magic is lit to start the game, and collected at Merlin's Saucer. It is relit by completing the 3-bank of standup targets on the right side. Awards include:
I believe this to be the complete list.
Video Mode Video Mode is lit by (default) 8 completions of FIRE (on the inlanes and outlanes), and started in Merlin's Saucer. Note: Video Mode is only available in the release ROM (v1.0), not in the sample games' ROM (v0.5). The video mode is called "Save the Children", and you must save 3 children from being captured by a large flock of buzzards (or some other evil bird). Kill 30, and you win. If one child is taken, you lose. The mode plays a lot like Defender, with the buzzards trying to carry the babies off the top of the dot display. You receive 100K for each buzzard killed, and a 1M bonus for completion. There is a secret weapon available in the Video Mode. Additionally, it is possible to alter the Video Mode slightly, although difficult. See below if you're interested.
Super Jets The game begins with a countdown: 50 jets for 1 million. When 50 jets are hit, 1M is awarded, and Super Jets begins. In Super Jets, the next 40 hits are worth a higher value (25K the first time). Super Jets ends with the ball in play, or when the 40 hits are complete. Completing 40 hits awards the same value that was given before Super Jets began. The next Super Jets requires 25 more hits than the last, awards raise by 1 million, and Super Jets raise by 25K (effectively 1M over the 40 jets). So the second Super Jets takes 75 hits to reach, 2M bonus to start, 50K per jet, 2M completion bonus. Et cetera. When Super Jets is active, balls along the Joust loops will always feed the bumpers. This is especially useful during Royal Madness, when ball control is a must. Castle Multiball Castle Multiball is started with shots to the Lock in the Castle. For the first multiball, 3 shots are required; for successive multiballs, 6 shots are required. Locks are virtual, like AFM; no balls are held by the machine. There are 3 stages to multiball:
Complete all the Super Jackpots in the third stage, and you return to the first stage, with the Jackpot increased permanently by 250K (so Super Jackpots increase by 500K). Needless to say, Castle Multiball is very valuable: going through all 3 stages at the base value is worth a total of 14,250,000. On default settings, completing the second stage (the first Super Jackpot) for the first time in a game lights an Extra Ball at Merlin's Saucer. Harder settings require completion of all three stages to light the EB, easier settings require the completion of only the first stage. Master of Trolls / Trolls! To get the "Master of Trolls" light you need to destroy a default of 10 Trolls. Trolls may be destroyed in the Trolls! round, Troll Madness, Royal Madness, or Smack-A-Troll. Since you need to complete Trolls! to light Troll Madness, let's talk about Trolls! first. To light Trolls! you must hit the Troll Standups (to either side of the Main Entrance) the required number of times (factory default 8). Then, Trolls! is lit at Merlin's Saucer. Hitting these standups an additional (default) 8 times, either before or during Trolls!, will award 1 Troll Bomb. You can also light Trolls!, start Trolls!, or receive 3 Troll Bombs from a "Merlin's Magic" award (see section) During Trolls!, both Trolls pop up from under the playfield, and you must hit each (default) 3 times in 30 seconds. (Settings vary from 2 to 4.) You may also use Troll Bombs by hitting the launch button; they count as a single hit on the Troll closest to death. During Trolls! you may earn additional Troll Bombs by hitting the standups, or by banking a shot off a Troll and into either the Lock or Merlin's Saucer. A shot off one Troll into the Lock or Merlin's Saucer gives 1 Troll Bomb. It is possible to cheat and earn Troll Bombs during Multiball by hitting the left Troll with a ball while a second ball lands in Merlin's Saucer from behind. Note that although you tend to receive Troll Bombs during Trolls!, you can use them anytime Trolls are active (Multiball Madness, Royal Madness, Battle for the Kingdom). Often they may prove useful in these other rounds, so you may want to hold on to your Bombs. Note that you need 3 shots to record 1 Troll Destroyed toward the requirement. You do not receive a Troll for each shot during Trolls! Successfully completing Trolls! awards 1M and lights Troll Madness at Merlin's Saucer, UNLESS...
If Troll Madness is active during Multiball Madness, one of the two trolls will pop up. Hitting the Troll scores a Troll Super Jackpot worth half the Super Jackpot (for the curious, this is 125K + 75K * # of active Madnesses) and the other pops up. Each Troll killed here counts toward the requirement. You can use Troll Bombs during Multiball Madness, and may want to if you are close to the requirement. Quotes:
Defender of Damsels To get the "Defender of Damsels" light you need to save (default) 3 damsels. To save a damsel, shoot the right ramp 4 times. The first three shots will return to the right inlane, and score 25K (Dragon Breath), 50K (Dragon Snack), and 75K (Dragon Death). The fourth shot feeds to the window in the back right of the cabinet. This shot scores 100K, gives 1 Damsel Save, and lights the Damsel Madness light if not already lit. Sometimes scoring a Damsel Save will also start or extend a Castle Hurry-Up (see section). There are 5 damsels to save, each with her own set of (mostly) funny quotes. You may also earn 1 Damsel Save during Royal Madness (see section).
Patron of the Peasants To get the "Patron of the Peasants" light you need to score (default) 3 Peasant Revolts. To score a Peasant Revolt, shoot the left ramp 4 times. All shots return to the left inlane, and score 25K (Rabble Rouser), 50K (Angry Mob), 75K (Ugly Riot), and 100K (Peasant Revolt). The fourth shot also gives 1 Peasant Revolt, and lights Peasant Madness if not already lit. Sometimes scoring a Peasant Revolt will also start or extend a Castle Hurry-Up (see section). You may also earn 1 Peasant Revolt during Royal Madness (see section). Most of the quotes here involve peasants complaining about what's been taken from them.
Catapult Ace To get the "Catapult Ace" light you need to score (default) 3 Catapult Slams. To score a Catapult Slam, shoot the Catapult (or the Catapult Standup) 3 times. The first two shots score 50K (Catapult Wham) and 75K (Catapult Bam). The third shot allows you to play the brief "The Catapult" game, where you can choose which of 5 items to throw at the castle -- a duck, a cat, a cow, a bowling ball, and a skull head (not that Skull head, sorry, but sounds like it). Before making your selection, you will be told the values of each item (10K, 25K, 100K, 250K, 500K, seemingly random). Flip both flippers to choose -- it helps to remember the sequence of the items, or at least which item comes before the one you want. You only have about 5 seconds to choose, so be quick. Successive tries tell you which items you have already fired, challenging you to fire all 5 items. If you manage to do this, enjoy! Moo. There is also a special bonus for continually hurling cows. The third shot scores 100K (additional to the launching bonus), gives 1 Catapult Slam, and lights Catapult Madness if not already lit. Sometimes scoring a Catapult Slam will also start or extend a Castle Hurry-Up (see section). Keep in mind that the Catapult Standup can make your life easier, reducing 3 shots to 2. The Catapult Standup won't count for the third shot, since you'll fall into the Catapult immediately anyway. You may also earn 1 Catapult Slam during Royal Madness (see section). Not many quotes here...
Joust Champion To get the "Joust Champion" light you need to score (default) 3 Joust Victories. To score a Joust Victory, shoot the orbits 3 times (either orbit counts; the lights on each orbit show the same progress). The first shot scores 50K (Joust Charge), and the second 75K (Joust Clash). Both these shots will go all the way around the orbit, unless Super Jets is active. The third shot awards 100K and feeds the bumpers. It also gives 1 Joust Victory, and lights Joust Madness if not already lit. Sometimes scoring a Joust Victory will also start or extend a Castle Hurry-Up (see section). You may also earn 1 Joust Victory during Royal Madness (see section).
Castle Hurry-Up The rule about Castle Hurry-Ups is somewhat confusing. If you've just completed Damsel Save, Catapult Slam, Peasant Revolt, Joust Victory, or Trolls! (in single-ball play), and this completion lights the corresponding Madness for Multiball Madness (i.e., sets the light to flashing), then this completion will NOT light or extend a Castle Hurry-Up. Otherwise, it will. In other words:
You may also start Castle Hurry-Up via a Super Skill Shot or Merlin's Magic award. The Castle Hurry-Up value starts at 1M and decreases rather quickly, to a minimum of 250K. Collect the Hurry-Up at the Main Entrance, regardless of the state of the current Castle. If you complete another row of lights which would normally start a Castle Hurry-Up while one is running, the Hurry-Up resets to a higher value. The second completion adds 2M to the Hurry-Up value, then each successive completion adds 500K more than the last. So the Hurry-Up is worth 3M with two, 5.5M with 3, 8.5M with 4, 12M with 5, et cetera. If there is a limit, it is at least 25 million. The Hurry-Up counts down at the same speed, so there is no need to worry about it timing out if you have at least a double going. Each Hurry-Up collected is counted (so a 3M Hurry-Up counts as two), and (default) 10 Hurry-Ups lights Extra Ball at Merlin's Saucer. A second EB is available at (yeesh) 40 Hurry-Ups. Merlin congratulates you on completing a Hurry-Up.
Castle Crusher To get the "Castle Crusher" light, you must destroy the 6 Castles of the King of Payne and All The King's Men: Sir Howard Hurtz (a mobster), Francois de Grimm (a Frenchman), the Earl of Ego (a narcissist), the Duke of Bourbon (a drunk), and Sir Psycho (a... uh, psycho). The order in which you go after the King's Men in random, but the King of Payne is always last (similar to the cities in AFM). To destroy the Nth Castle, you will need to do the following:
As noted above, there isn't anything special about the King of Payne's Castle except that it is more difficult than the others, and his taunts are a little more direct... Destroying all 6 Castles is worth at least 71 million (21 million in Gate hits and 50 million in bonuses for destroying Castles), so it's a decent way to get a replay or high score if you work at it above all else. Multiballs can help, and remember that the Main Entrance is a much safer shot than AFM's saucer. If you complete Castle Crusher before the other 5 lights, the Drawbridge will remain open but the Gate will come back down. Each Gate hit scores 750K; after quite a few (7?), the Gate opens for a shot at the "Castle Bonus" of 7.5M. The animation shows a Castle being destroyed, but this doesn't make any progress toward reaching the King a second time. (Does it count toward the number of Castles destroyed?) Battle for the Kingdom will only light during single-ball play, so if you destroy the King's Castle during a multiball, you'll have to wait a bit. Oh, poor you. Destroying a certain number of Castles (default is 2) lights an Extra Ball at Merlin's Saucer.
Multiball Madness Multiball Madness is a 2- to 4-ball multiball round, where every major shot (orbits, ramps, Catapult, Lock, and possibly the Trolls) is worth either a Jackpot, a Super Jackpot, or a Double Super Jackpot! How about that! To start Multiball Madness, shoot Merlin's Saucer when at least one of the five Madness lights is flashing. How to get each light:
Madnesses may also be awarded by Merlin's Magic. It seems to only offer this to you when Multiball Madness is about to begin, which is probably for the better. It is therefore easy to light Multiball Madness. However, the more Madness lights you have flashing going into the round, the better. Why?
Scoring in Multiball Madness is as follows:
The Catapult Standup awards the associated Catapult award; so, in effect, there is more than one way to score a Double Super Jackpot. Important note: if Trolls! begins at the start of Multiball Madness (and it often will), completing Trolls! will instantly add Troll Madness to the ongoing multiball, and act as if it had just started (you'll hear the game introduce Troll Madness). All lost balls are returned (and, depending, you may get more balls), the ball saver comes back on, and the Super Jackpot value increases. Like AFM's Total Annihilation, watch the display at the end of Multiball Madness to find out how you did. There is a Master of Madness award for the highest-scoring Multiball Madness round. If the display reads "Multiball Madness Champion" instead of "Multiball Madness Total", well, congratulations. Once you have played Multiball Madness, you may not play it again until after you have played Royal Madness (see below) by lighting all 5 Madness lights. Since you can only play Multiball Madness once, it makes sense to wait until you have as many Madness lights flashing as possible, and to limit the amount of time during which only one Madness light is flashing. Plan your shots accordingly! (100,000 is a jackpot now? Man.) Royal Madness Royal Madness is lit at Merlin's Saucer when you have lit all 5 of the Madness lights, and have already played Multiball Madness. Royal Madness is a single-ball round where the goal is to make 10 shots (2 to each ramp, 2 to the orbits, 2 to the Catapult, and 1 to each Troll) before a 20-second timer runs out. If you manage to make all 10 shots, you are immediately rewarded with an Extra Ball (or 15 million, depending on settings). For some reason, Royal Madness gives the player a brief ball saver, even though only one ball is in play. Go figure. Take advantage by aiming for the most difficult shot right away, the Catapult. The timer is set to 20 seconds; making any shot resets the timer (and you'll hear a warning at 10 seconds, and a countdown from 5 seconds left). During Royal Madness, the Lock shot remains lit; it will award one shot of the 10, starting with the Catapult. The Catapult Standup also counts as a shot to the Catapult, so it is possible to finish the difficult Catapult requirement with one solid shot. The first shot of the 2 required (or the first Troll) scores 200K and awards 1 of whatever award is given for completing that shot in regular play (1 Catapult Slam, etc.). The second shot awards a Jackpot worth 1.5M + 250K for each additional Royal Madness (second time around is 1.75M, etc.). Sample games base this Jackpot on your performance during Multiball Madness, approximately one-tenth of your total in the round. The second Troll counts toward your total of Trolls destroyed. Orbit shots will careen back around if Super Jets isn't running, so watch out! Note that you can use Troll Bombs during Royal Madness. Although it is relatively easy to hit the Trolls anyway, you may want to keep this in mind if you have 2 seconds left on the clock and need a shot, or the Troll is the final shot of Royal Madness (which happens on occasion). Royal Madness ends when you finish the 10 shots and collect the Extra Ball, when you drain the ball, or when time runs out (there is a brief grace period, as always). Whatever happens, the process of setting up Multiball Madness begins anew. Battle for the Kingdom (potential spoiler)
If all 6 blue lights (Master of Trolls, Defender of Damsels, Patron of the Peasants, Catapult Ace, Joust Champion, and Castle Crusher) have been lit, Battle for the Kingdom is lit at the Main Entrance. You can only start BfK in single-ball play. BfK is a 4-ball multiball with about a 15 second ball saver to start. You must hit each of the following shots (all are lit to start): Catapult, both ramps, both orbits (separately), Lock. Each of these shots awards a 2.5M Battle Jackpot. If all shots are completed, the lowest blue light will flash; this is your cue to start pounding away at the Castle (the Gate will be down). Each shot to the Gate awards a 5M Battle Jackpot and advances the blue lights. Also at this time, the Trolls pop up, limiting your angle on the Gate. The only way they'll go down is with a Troll Bomb, so hopefully you saved two. If not, remind yourself that the Trolls save more drains than they cause. After 6 shots, the white Battle for the Kingdom light will flash. Hit the Gate once more for another 5M. The gate will raise, and the red arrow toward the Main Entrance will flash. I wonder what you're supposed to do next. Do it, and you will have won the Battle for the Kingdom and a 50 million bonus! And pat yourself on the back, because it's quite hard, much harder than Rule the Universe! Enjoy the celebration. You also may want to enjoy the Victory Laps, which light on all major shots. Each Victory Lap scores a base of 500K, and flashes all major shots for an Ultra Combo. The Ultra Combo scores double the Victory Lap value, and adds 20K to it. So the shots go 500K, 1M, 1.04M, 1.08M, etc. When the Ultra Combos time out, you just have to get another Victory Lap. I think it is possible to play out all Victory Laps, but I have not yet played enough to know. The Victory Lap / Ultra Combo value continues to increase throughout the ball, to no known maximum. When BfK ends, everything resets. In order to make it to BfK a second time, you will need an additional 10 Trolls, an additional 3 each of Damsel Save, Peasant Revolt, Catapult Slam, and Joust Victory, and all 6 Castles a second time. Note for sample games: you only need a total of 20 Trolls and 6 of each requirement (besides the Castles) to light BfK a second time, which can be easier. Additionally, the Trolls are part of the first stage of BfK, so 8 shots are required before the Castle becomes the target. Further completions of BfK are worth 50M more than the last, a very hefty sum on this game. The Victory Lap value resets after the ball. End-of-ball Bonus The only bonus is a switch bonus, which is added to throughout the ball. A lengthy ball can advance this bonus to over 1M; with a high bonus multiplier, the total bonus can be over 50-60 million. I do not know the maximum bonus multiplier, but it is likely the same as AFM's (250x). I have heard of players clearing 100x. Extra Balls Extra Balls can be lit by:
Lit Extra Balls are collected at Merlin's Saucer, and remain lit between balls. Completing Royal Madness will immediately award an Extra Ball. Default behavior is to allow 4 extra balls per ball in play, but this can be changed. MM allows a limit on the number of extra balls that a player may receive on any "ball" (in other words, only 1 EB allowed on Ball 1, one on Ball 2, and one on Ball 3). Cows and Other Easter Eggs Cows abound. A cow on the backglass. Hurl a cow at the Castle in the Catapult Video Mode. The peasants complain that the King has "taken our cows!" The default Grand Champion (and Multiball Madness Champ) initials are MOO! Look for Barnyard Madness. Think of something difficult that the game is challenging you to do... complete it and you will have access to Barnyard Madness. Chickens! Horses! Pigs! Oh my! Additionally, it is possible to change the critters being saved in Video Mode. Throw cows! Lots of cows! Entering Initials Besides the regular high score board (2 credits for Grand Champion, 1 credit for High Scores 1-4), Medieval Madness allows you to enter your initials for:
You also get to enter your initials for completing Battle for the Kingdom (like AFM's Ruler of the Universe). The game keeps track of how many times you've become King, and when it happened. The last four crowned Kings are displayed, numbered according to how many times BfK has been completed on the machine. None of these awards an additional credit, but well worth shooting for. On sample games, initials are only entered for high score, Master of Madness, and Master of Trolls (renamed Troll Avenger). Notes on Strategy Try to get as many of the Madnesses lit for Multiball Madness before starting it. If you are stuck with a lousy Multiball Madness, you may want to shoot for the Castle instead. Those Gate hits are worth a lot! In fact, the average value of a shot to the Castle is worth more than the average value of a shot during almost all Multiball Madnesses. On the King's Castle, the 14 shots award a total of 27 million points, much better than taking the 1M Super Jackpots. If Multiball Madness becomes lit, be sure to avoid Merlin's Saucer until you have enough Madnesses lit that it becomes worthwhile. The ramps are the easiest to complete, although the orbit is also fairly easy. If you've got an Extra Ball lit at Merlin's Saucer and a lousy Multiball Madness lit there as well, you've got a tough decision to make. Don't forget that you can still get VERY good points out of Multiball Madness by concentrating instead on the Castle. To get the EB, you might also try feeding the bumpers via the orbits or the Damsel ramp. Starting Trolls! along with Multiball Madness is one of the best things you can do. It is much easier to finish Trolls! with 2 or 3 balls than with 1, and the benefits for finishing Trolls! during the multiball outweigh the benefit of starting the multiball with Troll Madness. You also don't have to worry about losing the ball while playing Trolls!. Be sure to get as many of the bonuses out of Royal Madness as you can, since this makes getting to BfK that much easier. Don't forget about the Castles! Since you're much less likely to complete or advance toward a Castle by luck or balls bouncing around during a multiball, you really have to concentrate on Castles often if you want to get through them all (especially the later Castles which require lots of hits). As on AFM, a good tactic is to start multiball (Castle Multiball is much easier to start) and bang at the Castle all the way through. Since you can move right along after destroying a Castle, a good multiball can net you 2 or even 3 Castles. I would recommend only playing out Castle Multiball if you're looking for an extra ball. During Multiball Madness, both orbits feed the bumpers, as will the right ramp if lit for Super Jackpot. This is an excellent way of "parking" one or more balls so you can get a clean shot at a Double Super Jackpot. Note that if Troll Madness is running, the Left Troll blocks this shot! Get rid of the Troll right away when this happens (you may even want to use a Troll Bomb if you're desperate). My personal best is 1.11 billion, on a game with unlimited extra balls. On a game with limited extra balls (maximum 1 per ball, 3 for the game) my best is 350 million. I would expect 200 million to be a very good competition score. Help! I would like to get the complete list of the game's quotes. If you know a quote which you think belongs here, email me. Also email with comments and corrections; although I have fixed a few things here, I'm sure there are many more wonderful pieces of misinformation. Special Thanks Thanks to Jef Lepine and Henry Rieke for providing the means by which I get the chance to play Medieval Madness. Thanks also to Jim Hicks and Dave Edson, each of whose Medieval Madness web sites helped me to jog my memory about a few of the more obscure playfield rules and names. Visit them for Madness pictures and more information.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/7856/madness.html (Jim Hicks') Thanks for comments and corrections:
Thanks for reading all the way through (Again!). Enjoy the game! See you at PAPA 6 :)
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Bowen Kerins Editor's Notes
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