Old dog, new (pinball) tricks


Wow, you can teach an old dog new tricks! No, not me. My ST:TNG pinball game. After over a decade of owning and playing ST:TNG I recently learned how to make ST:TNG play Breakout on the dot-matrix display! Cool!

I thought I knew everything there was to know about my Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) pinball game. I purchased ST:TNG new in 1994 and have played a lot of games in the decade since. I know how to get to every multiball mode (Cardassian 2-ball, Borg 3-ball, Ferengi 2-4 balls, Final Frontier 6-ball) and the definition of a good game these days includes achieving each multiball mode at least once. I know where all the extra balls are (Holodeck EB, 15 shuttle ramps, 10x multiplier, warp factor 8, skill shot, launch probe, battle simulation level 6, 50 shuttle ramps is a Special). I even spent a weekend mapping all 1024 paths through the Shuttle Simulation to confirm that LLRRLLRLLL is the path with the highest score.

I know about the easter eggs, by reading the owners manual, or by reading the web. (Riker's poker, Holodeck 3 ready, Steve Ritchie's birthday RRLRBRBLLLLLLLLRLLLLLRLLLLLRLLLLLLRR displays Ritchie game logos.) But there was a mysterious reference to Secret Video Mode in the owners manual. The default setting is "on" but no one knew what it was or how to activate it.

My pinball supplier Rick Munson is kind enough to loan me a pinball game or two from his inventory every year around the time of our annual holiday party. This supplements my own pinball and video game collection and provides a little variety for me and the kids who come each year. This year Rick brought over Space Station, a modest game with a deliberate pace. I played it some while it was here, but not a ton. Space Station was a nice game to have around for a change of pace, but not a game I need to own myself. Anyway, Rick arranges to pick up the loaned game at some point after the holidays have passed, and when the weather cooperates so he can use his open-bed El Camino to transport it. This year, due to my travels, the weather, and Rick's busy schedule it was well into April before Rick had a chance to pick up his Space Station. After we removed the legs, folded down the head, and loaded the Space Station into the El Camino, Rick mentioned that Alan, our mutual pinball repair guru, had gotten all excited recently after finding out about a new video mode in ST:TNG. Thanks for the tip! I immediately jumped on the Mac and googled for any ST:TNG video modes, and found this on the Internet Pinball Database. Secret Video Mode revealed by Dwight Sullivan, the game's lead programmer. BRLLRLLLLRLLLLLLLLRR is the magic code, then light the holodeck, then trigger and right flipper starts Breakout on the dot-matrix display, with 5 lives. I'm not very good at it yet, I guess I'll have to practice some more.

Posted: Mon - May 31, 2004 at 11:10 AM        

©