Francisco created a fairly accurate reproduction of Bally's 1986 classic table "Strange Science". I didn't actually like this table the first time I played it because of the quirky nature of the table. After I played it a few times, I grew to like it a lot. What other pinball table allows you to perform a brain transplant! Historically, this is one of Bally's last tables before they were bought out by Williams. You should play it long enough at least to start multiball that has some amusing sounds that it produces.

The purpose of this revision is to not only update the physics but also to correct several problems I found. The table was released with Day and Night versions of the table. Oddly, the day version of the table as posted on pinsimdb has a script error that prevented the table from being played but was easily corrected. It also had several other problems that I fixed. Francisco had placed an invisible plate slightly higher than the diameter of a ball above the table. The intention of it is to keep the ball from flying off the table. Unfortunately, the entire playfield was not covered and the ball would sometimes jump up on top of the plate and either drop back down onto the playfield in front of the drain or the ball launch. I thought about deleting the plate but instead extended the area covered by the plate. The table has a wire ramp that goes across it. I found that the ball would sometimes jump off the ramp and land on the plate I discussed previously. I also found six different places where the ball would get stuck. A nudge would allow the game to continue on three of the locations although the ball would get stuck in three other locations that required the game to be restarted. Even though Francisco left behind these problems, he should be commended for creating this table because I would never be able to create it from scratch. You may still occasionally get a stuck ball even on my rev but a nudge should free it.

The original Bally table had a promotional comic book flyer that I happened to find. I thought I would simply include a copy of it in the download although Miownkhan said he could add it to the table. He cleverly added it to the back board. It may be displayed by pressing the "C" key after you start playing the table. The flipper keys change the pages and the display can be turned off by pressing the "C" key again.

I didn't alter the strength settings of any of the objects on Francisco's original table so you can play this table with Future Pinball's original physics which is also known as Physics 1.0. This download has *.xml files associated with it that contain the data needed for custom physics. Miownkhan created an *.xml file that he used on another table and found it works on a number of other tables. I started with his file and changed the ball characteristics to work on this table.

Miownkhan also set up the table so that the "Toggle HUD" key (usually the ` key located above the tab key) will turn the HUD on and off which might be useful to those that have pinball cabinets.

This download contains Day and Night versions of the table. The only difference between the two versions are the use of lighter and darker versions of the playfield and plastics. Francisco did not make a Night version of the translite so I created one for this version.

It was difficult to find Bally's rule sheet for the original Strange Science pinball table. I found the operating manual but it did not have the rule sheet even though it includes a section titled "Feature Operation and Scoring" in the table of contents:

http://arcarc.xmission.com/Pinball/PDF% ... Manual.pdf

I did finally find the "Feature Operation and Scoring" section or otherwise known as the rule sheet here:

http://mirror2.ipdb.org/files/2396/features.pdf

The download includes a *.pdf file that is an edited version of Bally's rule sheet. It has an annotated screen shot of the objects on the table and also cut outs of the table inserted into different sections of the text to help identify the area of the table being discussed.

The table has been released on pinsimdb. It is available here:

http://www.pinsimdb.org/pinball/table-2 ... om_physics

George

bravo GG.

Oh my the sounds this makes

Great work on a table I have never seen before. Some of flow and rule set didn't hit me as intuitive and I need to sit down and actually read through the excellent pdf you have put together.

Have you thought about creating similar documentation for existing tables you did not work on?

Thank you for an excellent release, and once again I am thankful for the many contributors here that allow me to experience pins I would have no real world chance to play, or otherwise known existed.

The sounds are truly most unusual, especially when multiball starts.



Thank you. I didn't even consider working on this table until Miownkhan suggested it. As I said in the first posting, I really didn't like it much at first but it grows on you. The stuck balls and other problems made the table less enjoyable than it is now. I didn't read Bally's rule sheet until I played the table many times. The one thing that caught me by surprise is the ball saver in the left outlane. I didn't notice it until I read the rules.



I spent so much time fixing the problems on this table that I became an expert on it, so editing Bally's rule sheet was pretty straightforward. I did not verify the point value of the scores in the rule sheet is actually what the table awards. I suspect Francisco got it right though.

Writing is one of my strengths. I wrote the installation guides for FP and BAM that are posted on this forum. I'll have to think about creating documentation like the PDF for tables I didn't work on. It would probably require more effort. I'm not sure where I would post them if I did. I created a similar rule sheet for Gladiators that I posted on pinsimdb a few weeks ago. You might want to check it out if you haven't already. I completely tuned the whole table on Gladiators. I didn't feel like I needed to tune "Strange Science" because it seemed to work pretty well with Miownkhan's edited XML file. His XML actually seems to work pretty well as a "generic XML file" though the ball characteristics always need to be tweaked.



You're welcome! I'm retired and this makes an interesting past time. I could use someone that knows how to edit script. Luckily on this table, the script didn't need to be changed much. I only had to make some minor changes. If you (or anyone else) know how to script, I could use you.

I am working on "Swords of Fury" right now. I'll have to see about releasing it. It looks like it will need a full tune job and I've fixed some stuck ball problems. Miownkhan's XML file won't work on it. I'll have to see about creating a HUD since it doesn't have one. You are welcome to help if you wish.

George

Hello George

TT11 says on PinSim DB : Nice update, but the ball 1 constantly stays around for about 4 balls even after you have lost it.... Sure that this needs investigating

I have the same problem
Can you help me

Have a good day

Bil

Edit: I found, 5000 and not 60000 for the ballsaver

Oooh can't wait to download!

Wow a blast from the past.

Learning all the cool bam stuff is indeed a weird science

I agree. I spend a lot of time just figuring out the new stuff and the new table updates take longer..

Great update of one of my favorites tables. Many thanks