SlamIt Pinball: Big Score

Overview

SlamIt Pinball: Big Score by Technetium Games aims to emulate real-life pinball as accurately as possible through the use of high-quality 3D graphics, authentic sounds and a realistic physics engine.

The realistic physics are best showcased when using the "Slam It" control mode which allows players to hit and nudge the pinball table in a very realistic manner.

The basic premise of BigScore is a bank heist. You can play as either the cops (Police Force) or the robbers (Thief Gang).

There are 4 characters to chose from. Playing as certain characters will earn you bonus points during certain gameplay Modes.

Each character also has a unique ability such as that of earning multi-balls or free turns more often.

The "story" unfolds as you complete each mode. Brief cutscenes are displayed on the DMD (Dot-Matrix Display).

There are several camera options in BigScore, including dynamic cameras that move around to focus on the action.

The camera and viewing angle settings can be changed during play.

The SlamIt Pinball series also features a global ranking ladder so you can compare your high score to those of other players online.

Modes

Big Score features 12 gameplay modes that are activated by shooting the ball into the Start Mode hole twice.

The modes are separated into 3 levels. As you completed the modes in one level the next level will be unlocked.

Level 1 modes:

Gear up

- Shoot the ball at the targets that are currently lit up.

Car theft

- Shoot the ball around the combination wheel (u-turn) and then shoot the ball across the bridge (the outer orbit lane).

Get the team

- Shoot the ball around the loops and ramps to get extra team members (balls), then shoot the balls into the bank and underground. The score is multiplied by the number of balls in play (5 ball maximum).

Shooting practice

- Shoot the targets that appear at ramps and loops.

Speed driving

- Drive your car through the city while avoiding incoming cars. This is a video mode played on the DMD.

Level 2 modes:

Inside Job

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Break and Entry

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Find Snitch

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Beat Out Info

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Break Out

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VIP Hijack

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Level 3 mode (Wizard Mode):

BigScore

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Mini-Modes

There are 8 Mini-Modes in Big Score. Mini-Modes are simple tasks that can be activated and completed at any time during normal play.

Most of the Mini-Mode tasks can only be activated one time per ball, but there are a few that can be activated several times per ball.

Certain Mini-Mode tasks can be completed within a time limit to receive bonus points. It is also possible to have up to 4 Mini-Mode tasks in play at one time.

List of mini-modes:

• Bank - Activated by shooting a glowing loop and then a glowing ramp, after which you must get the ball in to the bank.
• Jail - Activated by shooting the ball in to the bank before knocking down all of the B A N K targets. The next time you shoot at the u-turn the ball will be locked in jail. To complete Jail you must get the ball out of jail by hitting it with another ball.
• In-Out - Activated by first getting the ball in the Sneak-In hole and then in the Start Mode hole, this will open the safe. A ramp leading to the safe will appear. Shoot the ball in to the safe to complete In-Out.
• Box (boxing) - Shoot the ball at all of the loop and ramp targets that appear.
• Calls - Calls are activated automatically during play. Calls will ask you to accomplish simple tasks such as hitting a target or passing through a loop or lane.
• Chase - Shoot a glowing loop 3 times in a row to activate Chase. To complete Chase you must then cross over the bridge loop (the outer orbit lane) twice.
• Money - Activated by shooting two glowing ramps. When Money is activated, shooting at the targets and ramps on the right side will earn you bonus points. The multiplier can be increased by shooting the ball up the right ramp.
• Hack-In -

Bonus Items

Multi-Ball

- a 3 ball play where the goal is to score a Jackpot and Super Jackpot. To do this you must hit the safe with an airball over the small ramp.

Two Ball

- a 2 ball play where your goal is to gather jackpots and super jackpots.

BigScore Letters

- Collect letters which lead to a Big Score bonus and a bonus play mode.

Wheel

- Rotate the combination wheel (u-turn) multiple times for a bonus.

Bank awards

- When you insert the ball into the bank you receive random bank awards.

Skillshots

- A skillshot is achieved by causing the ball to hit a specific target before hitting anything else after launch. This requires expert control when launching the ball.

Combos

- Hitting special targets several times in a row earns extra bonus points.

Features

Physics Engine

SlamIt Pinball: Big Score uses a proprietary physics engine designed to accurately emulate the physics of a real pinball table.

The physics engine handles the interaction of the ball with the environment as well as the "Slam It" feedback.

When the game is in "Slam It" control mode it is possible to do tricks such as bounce passes, juggles and slap saves.

The slope of the table can be modified in the options which affects the speed at which the ball travels.

A steeper slope causes the ball to travel faster increasing the challenge of the game.

"Slam It" control mode:

One of the key selling points of the SlamIt Pinball brand is the way in which bumping and nudging the table is handled.

When a ball is in play, hitting any key or cluster of keys on your keyboard will bump the pinball table.

The direction of the bump is calculated from the location and the number of keyboard keys that were hit.

The more keyboard keys you hit, the harder you will hit the pinball machine.

"Slam It" mode can also be used when using a gamepad controller. In this case, the nudging is controlled with the analog sticks.

Tilt:

Bumping the table should be done with caution. If the pinball table is shaken too much it will activate the tilt mechanism.

The tilt mechanism is a feature brought over from real-life pinball tables which discourages players from becoming overly-violent with the machine.

When the table "tilts" you lose a turn. Particularly aggressive bumping can cause a game over, regardless of how many credits you have left.

Tilt sensitivity can be modified in the options. It can also be completely deactivated allowing you to slam the machine as much as you like.

Airball:

An airball is what happens when the ball becomes airborne. This happens during normal play and can be caused intentionally.

To score a Jackpot or Super Jackpot it is necessary to shoot the ball up a ramp and airball it into the bank vault (safe).

Graphics

The SlamIt Pinball engine uses many modern graphics technologies to render a very realistic looking pinball table.

This includes global illumination with HDR (High Dynamic Range) lighting, ambient occlusion and soft shadows.

Real-time global illumination:

In short: Global illumination simulates all direct and indirect lighting.

The calculation of indirect lighting allows surfaces to reflect the colors of adjacent surfaces.

(i.e., light reflecting off a blue surface will cast a diffused blue tint on nearby surfaces.)

Reflections are accurately calculated allowing surfaces to realistically reflect the items around them.

This includes the reflection of the backbox and DMD on the glass top of the pinball table.

The reflections on the steel ball and of the steel ball itself are also accurate.

Adjustable ambiance:

The lights in the virtual room and in the pinball table itself may be modified to change the overall atmosphere of the game.

Portrait mode:

This rotates the orientation of the graphics 90 degrees. You will need to physically rotate your display to compensate for this.

As real-life pinball tables are taller than they are wide, this is the ideal way to display the virtual pinball table.

Controls

SlamIt Pinball: Big Score can be played with either a keyboard or a gamepad controller.

Keyboard controls:

Launch Ball:

Down Arrow (the longer the down arrow is held, the further back the plunger is extended.)

Left Flipper:

SHIFT, CTRL and ALT on the left side of the keyboard.

Right Flipper:

SHIFT, CTRL and ALT on the right side of the keyboard.

Nudge Left:

Left Arrow

Nudge Right:

Right Arrow

Insert Coin:

1

Start Button:

S

Select Button:

Enter

Menu:

Esc

Camera Mode:

Insert / Delete

Camera Position:

Home / End

User Camera Slots:

Page Up / Page Down

Gamepad controls:

Left Flipper:

Left Shoulder

Right Flipper:

Right Shoulder

Launch Ball:

D-Pad Down

Nudge Left:

D-Pad Left

Nudge Right:

D-Pad Right

Start Button:

Start

Select Button:

A

Menu:

Back

Camera Mode:

A / B

Camera Position:

X / Y

Availability

SlamIt Pinball: BigScore is available for Windows through the Steam digital distribution service:

SlamIt Pinball: Big Score on Steam

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