Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds

Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds
Date available	March 2022 (early access); February 2023
Category	Zen Originals
Based on	Steampunk & piracy
Designed by	Peter "Pewet" Kovacs
Achievement	"Can't touch my ship!": Complete Air Battle without taking any damage.
Plunger mechanism	Straight into reverse scoop
Skill shot type	Plunger strength; flipper-assisted (super)
Number of return lanes	5
Number of flippers	4
Outlane protection	2 kickbacks
Number of main missions	5
Wizard mode type	Final mission
Number of side modes	2
Number of multiball modes	2 (1 mandatory)

Sky Pirates: Treasures of the Clouds is one of the three Zen Originals that released with the launch of the Pinball FX reboot in March 2022. This steampunk-inspired table puts the player in command of the Manragoth, a ship operated by Captain Ronnie and his drone assistant Monkey, as they search for treasure.

Missions

Five missions, listed above the lower flippers, must be completed to find the Hidden Treasure Island. The first of the five missions is a 3-ball multiball, while the remaining four are single-ball missions that have to be properly completed. Once a mission is activated, progress towards all other missions is disabled until it ends. Winning 3 missions during a game lights an extra ball.

• Cannonball Multiball: During normal play, the lock can be lit at the left ramp by shooting the upper loop twice. Lock 3 balls in the cannon to start Cannonball Multiball. After collecting 5 jackpots (worth 500k each), lock a ball at the left ramp to send a ball to the cannon, and press the launch button at the right time to shoot the center ramp for a super jackpot worth a set 5M that also relights the normal jackpots for +100k to the value. The first super jackpot collected during a game lights an extra ball. This objective is completed if the player successfully loads the cannon during the multiball - they don't have to score the super jackpot.
• Treasure Map: Make 8 left orbit shots, spelling TREASURE in the process, to start this mission. Ronnie's drone has torn up the treasure map, so piece it back together by shooting the lit orbit shots around the playfield. Each shot scores 500k and increments the hurry-up value, seen on the display and starting at 2M, by that value. Once the map has been pieced together, the hurry-up value will be scored, the mission will be completed, and the center ramp will raise to reveal the treasure chest target. Shoot this target within 10 seconds to score 2x the value and light an extra ball.
• Onslaught: Shoot the left ramp 9 times to spell ONSLAUGHT, then shoot it once more to start this mission. Within 30 seconds, make combo shots by shooting either outer orbit or ramp, followed by one of the two upper flipper shots that lights up, to navigate towards the merchant ship - 1 more second of time can be added with every spinner spin. The mission is considered successful if the player reaches the merchant ship; afterwards, for 20 seconds, they can collect all the gold that continuously spawns around the playfield.
• Air Battle: Shots to the center orbit from either direction add letters to the name of the sky pirates' ship, the MANRAGOTH. Complete the word with 9 shots, then shoot the center hole to begin a fight against another ship. Use the flippers to steer the Manragoth, and press the launch button to fire cannonballs. 4 ships must be defeated for 500k each, with a 1M bonus for the final ship (which takes three hits instead of one), to win the mission. If the Manragoth is fired upon, 10% of ship integrity will be removed; getting fired upon three times ends the mission prematurely in failure.
• Ambushed: 8 shots to the right ramp spell AMBUSHED, and the 9th shot will start this mission. Shoot the five drop target enemies in front of the outer orbits and ramps for 500k each, then shoot the sinkhole under the center ramp to begin a video mode where you have to defeat 8 enemies in 30 seconds - with each successful hit adding time. Use the flipper buttons to change which slot the cannon is aiming at, and use the launch button to fire. Defeating 30 drop target enemies across multiple attempts at this mission and Shootout lights an extra ball.

Hidden Treasure Island

Once all five missions have been won, the next shot to the sinkhole under the center ramp will start the Hidden Treasure Island wizard mode. All other game features will be suspended once the wizard mode lights.

In this 2-ball multiball, Ronnie has to navigate a fierce storm to find the hidden island. The camera view shifts automatically to view 1, and the player must alternate shots between the left and right sides of the playfield to guide the Manragoth through the storm, each shot scoring 500k and tilting the game towards either the left or right side as Ronnie steers the ship. There is a short ball save following each time the ship tilts.

After making six shots, without draining the two balls, Ronnie will find the hidden island and gold will spawn at all major shots; three major shots will also be lit for 500k jackpots. Each piece of gold can only be collected one time each - they do not respawn. The wizard mode ends when the player returns to single ball play.

Side modes

• Duel Minigame: Shoot the right orbit eight times to begin a DMD video mode. During the video mode, having the flippers lowered blocks attacks from your opponent, and pressing them causes you to attack. 2.5M is scored for a victory in this video mode.
• Shootout: 7 shots (+2 every time this side mode is played) to either entrance of the upper mini-loop will start Shootout. This plays exactly the same as the video mode during the Ambushed mission - use the flipper buttons to change which slot the cannon is aiming at, and use the launch button to fire for 800k per target hit.
• Mutiny: If the player currently has a large amount of gold (at least 30), and a mode is not currently active, a mutiny might occur. The player must shoot the five drop targets within 20 seconds to stave off the mutiny - each drop target adds 5 seconds of time. 10% of ship integrity is removed if the player fails the side mode.

Treasure Island Multiball

Shoot the island target five times to lower it and light the lock behind it. Lock 3 balls this way to start Treasure Island Multiball. During multiball, gold will spawn, each coin scoring a jackpot starting at 500k that can be increased by 10k for each spinner and bumper hit. After collecting all the gold, shoot the island lock to score a super jackpot worth 4x the jackpot value - more gold can be spawned by shooting the treasure chest target.

Perks

• Ship Upgrades: All scoring in the game is dependent on the current integrity of the ship, which starts at 100% and can be increased by 50% (+0.5x to scoring) by buying upgrades at the shop with gold. The ship integrity decreases if missions aren't completed successfully or the Manragoth takes a hit during Air Battle - it can be restored by making a 2-way combo, then shooting the center ramp to score +1% of integrity per bumper.
• Skill Shot: At the start of each ball, plunge the ball into the indicated hole for a 1M skill shot. Then, shoot either the upper loop or upper mini-loop within 5 seconds for a super skill shot, worth 2.5M.
• Ball Save: Ball save is activated for 15 seconds at the start of each ball and can be reactivated from the loot award. The ball save loot award lasts for 30 seconds and only expires once the timer runs out.
• Kickbacks: Spell ARR at the upper drop target bank, then shoot the ball into the sinkhole behind them to light the right kickback, then the left kickback.
• Bonus Multiplier: Complete MATEY at the return lanes, which cycle with the flippers, to increase the bonus multiplier by +2x, to a max of 10x. The bonus multiplier can be held from a loot award.
• Gold: Approximately every 30 seconds, the Monkey drone will drop a random piece of gold somewhere on the playfield which can be collected by rolling over it with the ball. Gold can be collected in much larger quantities during the Onslaught mission, Hidden Treasure Island, Treasure Island Multiball, or from a loot award. Once 10 pieces of gold have been collected, shop will be lit at the right eject.
• Shop: Light the shop by collecting 10 pieces of gold. At the shop, you can exchange 10 pieces of gold for 2 million + 1 million points per collection, or collect the next ship upgrade for 30 pieces of gold.
• Loot Award: Collecting 40 spinner hits scores a random award that changes with each spinner hit. The random awards are:
  • 3M
  • Purse of Gold (20 or 30 pieces)
  • Ball Save (for 30 seconds)
  • Hold bonus multiplier
  • Kickback (whichever one hasn't been lit)
  • Ship Repair (only if damage has been taken, restored to full integrity)
  • Light extra ball
• Extra Balls: Extra ball lights at the right eject after winning 3 missions during a game, scoring a super jackpot during Cannonball Multiball, making the final shot during the Treasure Map mission, defeating 30 drop target enemies across multiple attempts at the Ambushed mission and Shootout side mode, or from a loot award. On default settings, extra balls are limited to two per game.

Easter Eggs

• The name of the table - as well as the sky pirates' ship, the Manragoth - was determined via a contest held during The Pinball Show.