"Ride the Hurricane!"
- Announcer
Hurricane is one of three Williams pinball tables released in the fourth 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 the third and final table in Barry Oursler's series of three amusement park-themed pinball machines, which is set in a cheerful amusement park that features a crazy roller coaster dubbed the "Hurricane" and a crazy clown that seeks to impress parkgoers.
Table overview[]
The upper half of the table[]
The right side of the table is the entrance of the table's signature, eponymous ramp, the Hurricane ramp, whose course is a massive loop that rises, goes around the back end of the table and wraps around all the table's other lanes. This ramp is ultimately destined for the left inlane. The table's leftmost lane curves right to feed the ball through two small counter-clockwise rotating Ferris wheels, placed one after the other. This will slowly bring the ball back into the Hurricane's giant ramp.
Besides these Ferris wheels is another lane leading up to a box-shaped ball locker called The Juggler, which has a picture of a juggling clown. The Juggler ejects balls into the bumper area to the right of it, if no locks are lit; and locks balls if they are lit. To the right of this Juggler lane is another ramp representing the Comet roller coaster. On a maximum strength shot, the Comet will feed the ball to the right inlane, encouraging the player to shoot it as many times as possible. If a shot is too weak, the ball will fall down a drop-down exit into the bumper area.
Between the Comet ramp and the Hurricane ramp is a single standup target representing the Dunk the Dummy carnival game. The entrance of the Hurricane ramp has a raised sign with lamps indicating whether the next shot is worth one, two or five million points.
The lower half of the table[]
On the left and right table walls are two target banks, with the left set of drop targets representing the duck shooting carnival game, and the right set of standup targets representing cats. The end of the Hurricane ramp passes above both target banks, going around the bottom end of the table before leading to an exit habitrail starting just above the cats target bank and ending at the left inlane.
In the open space of the bottom half of the table, there are a multitude of lamps: three to indicate the temporary playfield multiplier gained after multiball ends, four to indicate the features that can be collected at the Hurricane ramp, six inserts with the letters of PALACE, five lamps to indicate the current bonus multiplier, and six lamps representing parts of the clown's face. There are two slingshots and two lower flippers. If an extra ball is available to claim, one return lane will be lit, which can be cycled with the flippers.
The plunger[]
The plunger is a straight, rising habitrail that goes straight, before slightly curving left into a drop-off exit merging into the Hurricane ramp. Plunging at maximum strength will send the ball through the Hurricane ramp and feed it to the left inlane, for a chance to perform a Skill Shot by shooting the Hurricane ramp without hitting any other switches. This skill shot is initially worth 500,000 points and the next one will be worth 500,000 points more, up to a maximum of 2 million points. A successful skill shot will also collect a PALACE letter.
Objectives[]
As an early 90s pinball machine, modes aren't the focus of this table - instead, Hurricane relies on several high scoring features, and challenges the player to start them as many times as possible for the highest score possible. These three objectives are Clown Time, Palace Jackpot, and Multiball. The player can progress towards any of these objectives whenever they feel like, and all objectives are discussed in further detail below.
Clown Time[]
Prepare the amusement park for a spectacular clown show by lighting the six clown inserts, then shoot the Hurricane ramp to start the show - or win a lucky Mystery award to start this mode instantly. Each insert corresponds to a certain lane or target that must be shot to light them solidly; the perks described for lighting each insert are described in Perks. These six inserts are:
- Left Eye - Shoot the lit Ferris Wheel lane once to collect the Ferris Wheel Bonus and light the left eye. The lane is lit by default at the start of a session, but must be relit by hitting the duck drop targets on subsequent attempts.
- Right Eye - Shoot the lit Hurricane ramp once to advance towards Hurricane Millions and light the right eye. The lane is lit by default at the start of a session, but must be relit by hitting the cats standup targets on subsequent attempts.
- Left Cheek - Complete the three duck drop targets once to light the left cheek. This will also light the Hurricane ramp for a PALACE letter, light Lock at the Juggler, and light the Ferris Wheel Bonus.
- Right Cheek - Complete the four cats standup targets once to light the right cheek, scoring 100,000 points times the number of times they were completed (up to 1 million). This will also light the Hurricane ramp for a PALACE letter and light it to advance towards Hurricane Millions if it isn't lit, and light Mystery at the Juggler.
- Nose - Dunk the Dummy once by shooting the lit Dummy target in 20 seconds, either by lighting it at the left inlane or by shooting the target itself, to light the clown's nose. This will also advance the bonus multiplier and eventually light an extra ball.
- Mouth - Quickly shoot the Comet ramp three times to score the 300,000 point value and light the clown's mouth. The value briefly flashes if it can still be collected, and collecting the 300,000 point value will also start Comet Millions.
If the player lit all the clown inserts, they must then start Clown Time with a single shot up the Hurricane ramp; if they started it as a Mystery award, it will begin instantly. This is a timed frenzy mode, which gives the player 25 seconds to score as many points as possible by shooting either the Ferris Wheel, the Comet ramp, or the Hurricane ramp. The first time any of these lanes are hit, 500,000 points are awarded to the Clown Time total; 750,000 is added to the total for the second shot, and every subsequent shot adds 1 million points (the bumpers also add 100,000 points per hit to the total). If the player is able to start Clown Time multiple times on the same ball, the Clown Time total will include the total from previous attempts at the mode, and the value of the lit lanes will carry over between attempts. Once this mode ends after 25 seconds or the ball is lost, the clown inserts will reset and all six must be relit to start Clown Time again. The points from Clown Time are awarded in end-of-ball bonus, and aren't multiplied by the playfield multipliers granted by exiting Multiball play.
Palace Jackpot[]
The amusement park's signature "palace" can be seen from anywhere in the park. At the top of the palace above the flippers are six inserts, each corresponding to a letter in the word PALACE. These inserts can be lit by completing a Skill Shot, scoring Hurricane Millions, as a Mystery award (though this will never complete PALACE for you), or by shooting either bank of targets and then shooting the Hurricane ramp. Once all six inserts are lit, the Juggler will light to score the Palace Jackpot for 30 seconds, which starts at 5 million at the beginning of a game and increases by 130,000 when any ramp shot is made, maxing out at 15,960,000 points before rolling over to 15 million again. If the player fails to collect the Palace Jackpot, only three more PALACE letters will be required to light it again and the value will carry over; if the player collects it, all PALACE letters will reset and the value will reset back to 5 million points. The Palace Jackpot isn't affected by playfield multipliers. (On the real table, PALACE letters would carry over between games; this behavior is disabled in the recreation to make it appropriate for tournament and challenge use.)
Multiball & Playfield Multiplier[]
The Juggler amazes and amuses the crowd with his skills. Once all three duck drop targets have been hit, the locks will light at the Juggler shot; both will be lit the first time the player completes the targets, but only one will light on subsequent completions of the targets. The player can also earn a lock instantly by scoring the Instant Lock Mystery award. Locking a ball will send a new ball to the plunger for a chance at a Skill Shot. Once the player locks 2 balls this way, plunging the third ball will instantly begin multiball, where the following bonuses are enabled;
- Shots to the Hurricane score 1 million, then 2 million, and finally 5 million points. This cycle repeats after all three awards are collected, and lasts the entirety of multiball play.
- The Ferris Wheel lane is lit to score 750,000 points. Shooting two balls into the Ferris Wheel scores 1 million, while shooting all three balls into the Ferris Wheel scores 2 million.
- If this is the third multiball in a game, special will light at the Hurricane ramp.
After the player exits multiball play, all scoring (with the exception of Clown Time scoring & the Palace Jackpot) will be temporarily multiplied by a random playfield multiplier for 20 seconds. This multiplier is randomly selected between 2x, 3x, and 5x scoring; one can also be earned off of the Mystery award.
Perks[]
The following perks can be activated during play:
- Hurricane Millions: At the start of a game, the Hurricane ramp will be lit to score a bonus of 200,000 points increasing by 25,000 per shot. Once two shots are made to the Hurricane, the ramp will light for 10 seconds to score 1 million points; this timer resets once a ramp shot is made, making it possible to shoot for the Hurricane ramp and score quite a few millions. Once the first 1 million point shot is made, all subsequent shots until Hurricane Millions times out will score a PALACE letter. Hurricane Millions must be relit once it times out by completing the cats standup targets, and each time Hurricane Millions is started, one additional shot to the Hurricane than before will be required to qualify the millions.
- Comet Millions: Collecting the 300,000 point shot at the Comet ramp (and lighting the clown's mouth) will light the ramp to score 1 million points, until the player hits a switch that isn't connected to the Comet ramp. The player has unlimited opportunities to collect the 1 million point shot until they mess up, and unlike Hurricane Millions, Comet Millions isn't timed.
- Ferris Wheel Bonus: Bumper hits increase the value of the Ferris Wheel Bonus that starts at 250,000 points by 10,000 points per hit, maxing out at 1 million points. The Ferris Wheel bonus is collected by shooting the lit Ferris Wheel, resets to 250,000 once collected, and can be relit by completing the duck drop targets.
- Quick Score: Rolling over the right return lane will briefly light the Ferris Wheel lane to score the Quick Score value. Quick Score starts at 250,000 points and maxes out at 750,000, increasing by 100,000 points each time it has been collected.
- Mystery Award: At the start of a game, and whenever the cats standup targets are completed, the Juggler will light to score a mystery award that spins the wheel on the backglass and selects one award from a list of several pseudo-random awards (PALACE Letter won't be given out if only one hasn't been collected, and awards that contradict the player's current gameplay status also won't be awarded). These awards are:
- Points (Either 1, 2, 3, or 5 million. These can be multiplied by the playfield multiplier.)
- PALACE Letter
- Clown Time (Starts the mode for completing the clown inserts instantly.)
- Instant Lock (Scores a lock for Multiball instantly.)
- Playfield Multiplier (Same as the one given for exiting out of Multiball play, randomly chosen from 2x, 3x, or 5x.)
- Bonus Multiplier (+1x)
- Light Extra Ball (at the left return lane) / Extra Ball (awarded instantly)
- Light Special (at the Hurricane ramp) / Special (awarded instantly)
- Absolutely Nothing (0 points, better luck next time.)
- Bonus Multiplier: Dunking the Dummy by hitting the Dummy target when flashing, or scoring a random Mystery award, will advance the bonus multiplier by +1x. Once a flashing bonus multiplier insert is solidly lit, an extra ball will light.
- Special: Specials can be lit at the Hurricane ramp by playing Multiball three times in a single game or by scoring a random Mystery award, which can also instantly collect a special. On the real table, specials awarded a free game; this reward is an extra ball in Zen's recreation.
- Extra Ball: Extra balls can be lit at the left return lane, which cycles with the flippers, by reaching a certain bonus multiplier (3x for the first extra ball, 6x for the second) or by earning "Light Extra Ball" from the Mystery award. They can also be instantly collected by collecting a Special, reaching the replay score of 20 million points, or as another random Mystery award.
- End of Ball Bonus: Every switch the ball hits during play will raise the end-of-ball bonus by a few thousand points, to a maximum of 500,000 points; the maximum bonus is 3 million points, for 500,000 points at 6x. The total points scored during Clown Time are also scored following the bonus countdown.
Tips[]
- The highest scoring feature in the entire game is multiball, and at the start of a game, a minimum of three shots are required to start it (all three duck drop targets, then the two locks). If you can reliably hit the Hurricane ramp during multiball, you can rack up some seriously high points. It might also be a good idea to shoot for the cats standup targets during multiball to qualify the mystery award, which can have some very useful multiplied points awards if you shoot it directly after exiting multiball.
- As a table made before ball savers were normalized, you should go for extra balls whenever you can by advancing the bonus multiplier. This is less risky to do during multiball; find an angle that you're comfortable shooting the Dummy target from first, though.
- The Comet ramp can lead to some unpredictable drains if you fail to shoot it with enough strength, especially if you shoot it using the left flipper instead of the intended right flipper. Remember that you can nudge the table left or right to lower the chance of these drains from occurring.
References & Easter Eggs[]
- Shooting the unlit Ferris Wheel will occasionally activate a unique animation - either four ducks moving across the display (indicating that you need to shoot the ducks to light it), or an inchworm slowly moving across the display (because the Ferris Wheel takes so long to return balls).
- Shooting the Hurricane ramp will occasionally activate a unique animation to throw off your ramp-shooting rhythm - either a cow that moos, or a giant eye that stares at the player. The announcer also has a tendency to yell stuff like "corn dog!" or "cotton candy!" if you're shooting a bunch of ramps in a row.
- Very rarely when shooting for the Mystery award, the voice heard at the start of the roulette animation will instead be a distorted voice that says "Bubble, Bubble, Toil & Trouble".
- Collecting the 5 million Mystery award when 5x playfield scoring is active will give a unique animation for the massive 25 million points awarded.
FX3 Censorship[]
Zen made the following minor art changes to Hurricane in Pinball FX3 to maintain an E10+ rating, which will be reversed in the upcoming Pinball FX reboot:
- One of the passengers riding the Hurricane roller coaster on the backglass is a praying nun, who was originally designed with a short black shirt that exposed her knees; the skirt had to be extended to hide her legs.
- Several instances of cleavage are either covered up or edited.
- Four men and a Native American chief are seen smoking tobacco in a top down view of the park; the tobacco was edited out.