Attack from Mars

"This is an emergency broadcast: the Earth is being invaded by flying saucers from Mars!"

- Announcer

Attack From Mars
Date available	December 4, 2018
Category	The Williams collection
Based on	1950s science-fiction movies
Designed by	Brian Eddy; recreation by Thomas Crofts
Plunger mechanism	Launch button, straight into orbit
Skill shot type	Flipper timing (regular), flipper assisted (super)
Number of return lanes	4
Number of flippers	2
Outlane protection	None
Number of main missions	11 (including all saucer modes) (6 objectives required to reach the wizard mode)
Wizard mode type	Final multiball mission & victory laps
Number of side modes	3
Number of multiball modes	4 (1 mandatory, 2 semi-mandatory, 1 optional)

Attack from Mars is one of the three Williams pinball tables released in the second wave of Zen Studios' Williams pinball collection, available in Pinball FX 3, the macOS version of Zen Pinball 2 and the Williams Pinball mobile app. It is an alien invasion-themed table in which the player aids citizens of the United States and Europe in thwarting an alien invasion from the planet Mars.

Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to help the United States and Europe fend off an impending alien invasion by defeating all six Attack Waves and proceeding to complete five other objectives to reach the wizard mode, for a chance to Rule the Universe. Martian Attack is the only objective that can be failed, and progress for single-ball objectives will carry over between balls. Most objectives require a particular activation procedure to start, while some of them can be worked on at any time.

Following the first activation of Rule the Universe, the attack waves will no longer be required to reach subsequent activations of the wizard mode; the objective's insert will be solidly lit for the rest of the current session to indicate this.

Objectives

The following 6 unique objectives must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

• Super Jackpot: This objective is collected by starting Multiball by locking 3 balls, and collecting the super jackpot during it. The Multiball section describes how to obtain the super jackpot.
• Super Jets: This objective requires the bumpers to be hit a total of 100 times to activate Super Jets. Once activated, this objective's insert will solidly light, and bumper hits will be worth 3 million points for the rest of the current ball. Super Jets will deactivate when the current ball drains, but the objective insert will remain lit regardless. Activating Super Jets will also qualify the video mode as the next Stroke of Luck award.
• Martian Attack: The Martians constantly assault civilians, and they must be defeated at all costs. Spelling MARTIAN by hitting the two side target banks and the twin targets flanking the central target bank will light the Stroke of Luck sinkhole to start this mode. Further completions of MARTIAN while the mode is lit to start will score a Martian Bomb that can spot shots during the mode. (The player can also drop the ball into the sinkhole via bumpers to start this mode if they haven't played it yet.) All 7 MARTIAN targets will start flashing as the four Martian toys above them start shaking and moving around; to defeat each Martian, a single shot to their corresponding target must be hit, or a Martian Bomb must be used to eliminate them all within 30 seconds. A successful completion of this objective by defeating all four Martians starts a 2-ball Martian Multiball mode (described in the Multiball section below).
• Total Annihilation: The humans take revenge on the Martians with their immense, varied weaponry. At any time during single-ball play or during Martian Multiball, the player can progress towards this objective by completing all three inserts in front of the ramps and orbits with 3 shots each. Each shot corresponds to different ways the Martians attack the humans: capturing hostages (left orbit), the Big-O-Beam (left ramp), tractor beams (right ramp), and atomic blasters (right orbit). The required three shots score 20 million points for the first shot, 25 million points for the second shot and 30 million points for the third. Completing a lane will start the Hurry-Up side mode (see Side Modes below), and shooting an already completed lane will score a Fleeing Bonus worth 10 million points and send the ball across the orbit if one was completed. Completing another lane while that side mode is active will reset and increase its starting score reward. If the player finishes the objective while Annihilation Hurry-Up is active, the hurry-up will be completed successfully as well. Completion of this objective will solidly light its insert, and start the 4-ball Total Annihilation multiball mode (described in the Multiball section below). Following the end of the Multiball, the three inserts in front of each shot will reset.
• Attack Mars: Humanity fights back against the Martians, defeating their flying saucers in the United States and Europe, before stealing them to conquer Mars in retaliation. This comprises six separate Attack Wave missions that are identical in structure, the first five taking place in one of five countries and the sixth being the Attack Mars mode; all six missions must be completed to solidly light the objective insert.
  • To start each attack wave, the player must complete the central target bank to defeat the Martians' force field; they can also begin by making a super skill shot to the center target bank or as a Stroke of Luck award. To defeat the flying saucer, the player must hit the exposed three rear targets underneath the table's main flying saucer to damage it, reducing its health bar on the scoring display. Once it empties completely, the player must finish off the saucer by shooting a sinkhole that opens up behind the rear drop target. The hits required to defeat each saucer start at 3, and the hits required for further saucers increase by that number, with the fifth saucer requiring 15 hits to defeat. Damage to saucers during attack waves scores 50 million points per hit plus 10 million points times the ordinal number of the current attack wave, and each victory over a saucer grants 200 million points plus 100 million points times the ordinal number. It is not possible to lose attack waves, as progress towards finishing them carries over between balls.
  • Attack Mars is available to start once the prior five attack waves are completed, and depicts the destruction of the Martian mothership. 10 shots to the rear sinkhole, which will always remain exposed during this attack wave, are required to defeat the mothership - scoring 100 million points a shot. The final destruction of the mothership scores 2,500,000,000 points, completes the objective, and lights the Attack Mars insert permanently for the rest of the session. The central target bank will also remain lowered for the rest of the session, and any hits to the flying saucer targets will score 100 million points a hit until the end of the session.
• 5-Way Combo: To start a combo, the player can shoot any of the three ramps or an orbit that has had all three of its inserts completed. Each ramp or open orbit shot marked with a flashing red arrow advances the combo sequence. Scoring a 5-way combo by making 5 combo shots in a row will solidly light this objective. The scoring for combos depends on their length - the combo value begins at 25 million points for a 2-way combo, increasing by 5 million for further shots in the combo sequence.

Rule the Universe

Once all six objectives have been completed and their inserts are solidly lit, Rule the Universe will be qualified at the Stroke of Luck sinkhole and will start with a single shot from the lower flippers. This wizard mode is a final 5-ball multiball mission depicting the humans finally defeating the Martians, ending with the player being crowned new ruler of the universe for their efforts if they complete it. The goal of this wizard mode is to score 5 billion points with a 30-second long ball saver before draining back down to single-ball play. There are four ways to score points during this final multiball:

• Total Annihilation: The rules of the Total Annihilation Multiball are in effect for the entirety of the wizard mode, and the jackpot values of the multiball will be increased as part of this activation.
• Super Jackpot: The Super Jackpot that was collected in Multiball will constantly be lit, behaving the same way it did before and being worth the most recently collected Super Jackpot value. Repeatedly collecting the Super Jackpot during this mode won't increase its value like it does during Multiball.
• Martian Multiball: Hitting any MARTIAN standup target will score the current Martian Multiball jackpot value.
• Attack Mars: As in single-ball play, hits to the any of the flying saucer targets will score 100 million points.

If Rule the Universe is finished by scoring 5 billion points, all remaining balls will be drained, and the player will be awarded an additional 5 billion points, for a total of 10 billion points from completing the mission; otherwise, they will anticlimactically return to single-ball play. Following the victory animation, a new ball will be sent to the plunger and progress towards starting the wizard mode (except for Attack Mars, which remains lit) will be reset.

Victory Laps

After having beaten the wizard mode, Victory Laps will activate for the rest of the ball, lighting all five major lanes for rewards that start at 100 million points and light all five major lanes as combo shots to score the value again and increase it by 10 million points per shot. Each lane will initially only have one Victory Laps sequence to start, but the shots can be relit and their value raised by 10 million points every time any of the flying saucer targets are hit. Victory Laps ends once the ball drains, and the value of each shot during Victory Laps will carry over if the player starts the wizard mode twice on the same ball.

Side modes

There are three total side modes, one of which cannot be activated directly.

• Video Mode: Once the player has activated Super Jets, the next Stroke of Luck award will start a video mode where the player fires at approaching flying saucers. An auto-firing turret is seen at the bottom of the scoring display, which can fire either to the left or right of the display by holding either flipper button. The saucers approach from the top of the display, and must be destroyed by firing at them; each saucer goes down in one hit and earns 3 million points. Destroying 30 saucers will qualify the next saucer that approaches to collect an extra ball, and destroying 50 saucers total will allow the player to challenge the mothership, which requires 80 hits to destroy. The video mode ends if one of the saucers makes it to the ground, or when the mothership is defeated.
• Sneak Attack: If the player earns the Sneak Attack reward from Stroke of Luck, a side mode will begin where one of the four MARTIAN targets banks will be lit for a limited time for a hurry-up value starting at 150,000,000 and decreasing to 20,000,000. The value can be claimed by hitting the target, and completing the side mode will also award two Martian Bombs and instantly light Martian Attack at the Stroke of Luck sinkhole.
• Hurry-Up: Once the 3 corresponding inserts are completed at any of the major lanes, a 100,000,000 hurry-up that decreases to 25,000,000 will light at the center target bank. The value can be reset to 300,000,000 points if another lane is completed during the hurry-up, then to 500,000,000 for a third lane completion, up to an instant 1,000,000,000 points for completing all four shots during the hurry-up timer. If the last required major lane to start Total Annihilation is completed while the hurry-up timer is active, the maximum value for the current hurry-up will be scored.

Multiball

There are four total Multiball modes - one mandatory, three optional:

• Multiball: The defenders of Earth have an arsenal of missile launchers to counter the alien invaders. The player can start a 3-ball multiball by locking 3 balls, by shooting the lock lane once, then shooting the lock lane again to virtually lock 3 balls. At the start of multiball, all five major lanes will be lit to score jackpots starting at 60 million and increasing by 10 million per shot to a maximum of 200 million. Once all five jackpot lanes are shot, a strobing super jackpot will light starting at the left orbit and slowly moving from the left to right side of the playfield and back; this super jackpot is worth 250 million points + 250 million for each super jackpot collected during the current session to a maximum of 1 billion, and will light the Super Jackpot objective if it wasn't already lit, then relight the jackpot lanes for another attempt at the super jackpot. If the player fails to collect a super jackpot while one is lit, 10 seconds will be available following the end of multiball to collect it. Multiball ends once the player drains down to one ball. For subsequent Multiball activations, the lock lane must be shot once to light each lock.
• Martian Multiball: Defeating all four Martians during Martian Attack and completing the objective will start a 2-ball multiball mode that lights all four Martian targets constantly for a base value of 20 million points each (which increases by 10 million points each time Martian Attack is lit during the session), with each shot also adding points to end-of-ball bonus. Progress can be made towards completing the 3 corresponding inserts in front of the ramps and orbits during this multiball, which can't be done during other multiball modes. This multiball continues until either ball is lost.
• Total Annihilation: Completing the 3 inserts in front of all four ramps and orbits, thus completing the Total Annihilation objective, will start a lucrative 4-ball multiball mode. Annihilation Awards can be earned by shooting any of the four major lanes, worth at least 50 million points (plus 25 million points times the number of times the multiball was previously activated) and the next reward will be worth 5 million more, to a maximum of 250 million points. The lock ramp will constantly be lit to score the Annihilation Jackpot, the sum total of all Annihilation Awards that were collected before the Annihilation Jackpot was collected; collecting the Annihilation Jackpot will reset its value. This multiball continues until the player drains down to a single ball.
• Strobe Multiball: Once per game, following the end of one of the above three Multiball modes, Strobe Multiball will be awarded as the next Stroke of Luck award. This 3-ball multiball constantly flashes strobe lights in various corners of the playfield, but the player should focus on the center target bank, where the player can earn 50 million points per hit and even light an extra ball by hitting the center target bank 10 times. Every further 10 completions will score an additional 250 million points. This multiball will continue until the player returns to single-ball play; a brief, 5-second ball saver will activate following the end of Strobe Multiball.

Perks

• Ball Saver: At the start of each ball and multiball, a short ball saver lasting 10 seconds will be activated (5 seconds if the player aims for a super skill shot off the plunge). Once it expires, it cannot be reactivated, though a brief 5-second ball saver will be active following the end of Strobe Multiball.
• Bonus Multiplier: Lighting both of the top rollover lanes (which cycle with flipper presses) will advance the bonus multiplier by +1x, while making a skill shot will increase it by +5x. The bonus multiplier can also be advanced by +5x as a Stroke of Luck award, which can also hold the bonus multiplier for the next ball. The bonus multiplier maxes out at 250x.
• Martian Bombs: Players can earn a Martian Bomb by completing MARTIAN again while Martian Attack is already lit or from the Stroke of Luck award, and can earn two Martian Bombs from a successful completion of the Sneak Attack side mode. Martian Bombs are used to instantly defeat Martians in the Martian Attack mission or can collect jackpots during Martian Multiball, and are activated by tapping the launch button. Owning and using four Martian Bombs in one Martian Attack mission will complete it successfully.
• Stroke of Luck: If the player lights all four return lane rollovers, whose lit positions cycle with flipper operation, the player can shoot the Stroke of Luck sinkhole for a random award. (The first award will be automatically lit at the start of a game.) Video Mode and Strobe Multiball might be seen on the display when an award is collected, but won't be started unless you qualified them earlier. These rewards are:
  • Points (25 million or 50 million)
  • Starting an attack wave
  • Lighting / awarding locks towards Multiball, or instantly starting it
  • Lighting Martian Attack
  • 1 Martian Bomb
  • Sneak Attack
  • Advancing the bonus multiplier by +5x
  • Holding the bonus multiplier to the next ball
  • Lighting or awarding an extra ball
• Extra Ball: Extra balls can be collected by reaching the replay score of 4 billion points. They can otherwise be lit at the Stroke of Luck sinkhole by completing the second attack wave, defeating 30 saucers during video mode, completing the four return lane lights a total of 10 times, or by making 10 hits to the center target bank during Strobe Multiball. An extra ball can also be lit or awarded from Stroke of Luck based on percentaging and the length of the current game. Extra balls can only be collected once per method.
• End-of-ball bonus: Bonus is switch-based and starts at 5 million points, with switches adding points to bonus and each defeated Martian adding 2,500,000 points to bonus, all multiplied by the bonus multiplier.

Tips

• It is very easy to drain the ball straight down the middle if you hit the center target bank or battle the flying saucer at the center of the table. Either carefully watch the ball and be ready to make corrective nudges to avoid the loss of a ball, or start one of the three Multiball modes to make defeating the saucer a lot easier. The short ball save granted after Strobe Multiball can also help in hitting the center target bank without risk.
• Multiball modes can be stacked in this game, so take advantage of them. In particular, bringing Martian Attack into the normal Multiball can help revive the multiball if you drain out of it early, and stacking Martian Multiball & Total Annihilation is one of the highest scoring features in the game - a go-to strategy if you can't reliably get to Rule the Universe.
• Two easter eggs listed in the section below can help make video mode a lot easier to finish, guaranteeing a decent amount of points and an extra ball from activating the mode. The dirty pool easter egg can also be very helpful, especially for the later saucers.

References & Easter Eggs

• If the left or right ramp scoring display animations display a cow, the launch button can repeatedly be pressed to trigger a "moo" sound for each press. If the player does this for both ramps, the next time video mode is started, the saucers will be replaced with cows that descend slower than the saucers and "moo" each time one is defeated.
• During video mode, the launch button acts as a single-use "smart bomb" that instantly defeats all the saucers on the display. Be sure to use this if a saucer is rapidly approaching the bottom of the display and you can't reach it in time.
• During any multiball mode with an attack wave active, if you send a ball into the saucer area immediately after one is defeated, the ball will remain trapped behind the center target bank. Knocking the ball into the rear sinkhole by hitting the target bank with another ball will score a "dirty pool", which instantly defeats and scores the corresponding points for the next undefeated saucer.
• Try messing around with the Martians during Martian Attack by shooting the Stroke of Luck sinkhole or shots close to any of the Martians to get some amusing callouts.
• If you hit the same Martian during Martian Multiball four times in a row, a skull head yelling "again!" will appear on the scoring display. This skull head is from Williams' No Fear: Dangerous Sports pinball machine, which released the same year as this machine.

External links

• Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)