I was reminded just now about the plunger skill shot on M & M Pac-Man, which I found unsuitably difficult in comparison with the game itself and the intended 'crossover' player appeal.
Do people tend to prefer 'weight' skill shots, 'timing' ones, or combined ones?
Some examples:
Then some games have an unintended skill shot. Stern 'Seawitch' has a short lane low on the right, leading below an upper flipper and back into the (short) shooter lane, though a perfectly clean shot can fly right through the entry gate and directly back into play. A 'star' rollover button in the lane awards a Special when lit. Occasionally a ball creeps through the lane without registering. If the Special's lit, it might be worth sending the ball just far enough to clear the 'groove' in the wood, then nudging the m/c sideways in an attempt to have it fall to the left and come back down the lane, collecting the Special from the star r/o button. I don't think the designer had this in mind.
* Edit - Medusa does also have a weight element to the sk. shot.
Do people tend to prefer 'weight' skill shots, 'timing' ones, or combined ones?
Some examples:
- Weight - simply the power used to dispatch the ball, such as Williams Fire!, Cyclone, Pin-Bot, Bride of Pin-Bot, Arabian Nights, Addams Famla', and most games with a set of top rollover lanes but lacking Lane Change, even if only for the skill shot, e.g. Jokerz!
- Timing - the crucial factor is timing the release of the ball, for instance Medusa* (which even says "Time your shot, light Gorgons" - I initially heard that as 'like the Gods'), Truck Stop, Taxi, Diner. Almost by default, many games with electric launch have a timing-based skill shot, if they have one at all, e.g. Judge Dredd (Air Raid), Terminator 2, DE Star Wars
- Combined - Both elements are important, sometimes equally so, sometimes not. A good example of this is the Bally 2-player e/m 'Time Zone' (and its 4-player version). Each ball served out has the motorised 'Time Tunnel' feature running; a switch in the shooter lane stops it, giving the timing factor. The weight consideration comes from being able to collect the lit tunnel value from a single central rollover lane at the top of the playfield, in open space. So gauging the weight to use is primary, then matching that weight to stopping the tunnel at a high value. Another, less complex combination shot is the 'Door Prize' on Party Animal; the ball only has one pathway, but the weight is still in play if it's rebounding above the entry rollover lane while the different values advance automatically
Then some games have an unintended skill shot. Stern 'Seawitch' has a short lane low on the right, leading below an upper flipper and back into the (short) shooter lane, though a perfectly clean shot can fly right through the entry gate and directly back into play. A 'star' rollover button in the lane awards a Special when lit. Occasionally a ball creeps through the lane without registering. If the Special's lit, it might be worth sending the ball just far enough to clear the 'groove' in the wood, then nudging the m/c sideways in an attempt to have it fall to the left and come back down the lane, collecting the Special from the star r/o button. I don't think the designer had this in mind.
* Edit - Medusa does also have a weight element to the sk. shot.
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