3-D Ultra Pinball
Encyclopedia
3-D Ultra Pinball is a series of pinball
computer games developed by Sierra Entertainment
's Dynamix
.
The games try to escape from the traditional, arcade
pinball and feature animation, more than one table at once,
and "temporary targets"(such as spaceships, goblins and dinosaurs appearing throughout the table).
game, Outpost. There are three tables named Colony, Command Post, and Mine. Each table holds a set of five challenges. Smaller "mini-tables" are featured with their own set of flippers. The goal is to build and launch a Starship
completing the game's entire course.
After finishing all the 3 tables, you go to a changed Castle table, with 5 new challenges.
This was also released with several demos of other software titles also by Sierra Online.
-like set. It followed a storyline, in which a plane falls on an island where an evil genius
, Heckla, creates dinosaur
s of other animals. After a plane crash, a scientist, his daughter
and the adventurer Rex try to escape the place and stop Hekla.
It has no challenges, but features 16 tables, divided in 3 "sectors": Jungle, Temple and Lab.
-themed pinball. Released in 1998.
The game only has 3 fields: garage, track and pitstop.
It features several famous NASCAR drivers like Dale Earnhart and Bobby Labonte
as playable characters, but the choice affect only audio commentaries and field decorations.
version. It is set in Hershey Park
with rides and theme park elements as puzzles and table features.
Thrill Ride has one primary table, which doubles as a region for Fun Zone puzzles, and a secondary Thrill Zone table to one side. There are two multiball ramps, one a roller coaster (the Wildcat) and one a water ride (the Coal Cracker). Two of the Fun Zone puzzles send you to secondary tables, a River Rafting table and a Lightning Racer Virtual Coaster.
General play proceeds as you complete the six trials—completing 5 Fun Zone puzzles, completing 5 Thrill Zone puzzles, getting Thrill points (the letters spelling THRILLRIDE) in order to activate and complete the Nighttime Fantasy puzzle. Going on all the rides (activating all 10 zone puzzles), activating both multiballs, and frequently visiting the Snack Bar sinker are also needed to complete General play. Completing all six trials activates a "Lights Out" puzzle, breaking light bulbs with the ball; when this is done the table goes into Nighttime Fantasy Multiball mode before resetting the table (play continues, and multiple Lights Out are possible).
In addition, there are a number of other minor tasks and rewards (hitting markers to activate the Fun Zone sinker, etc.) and a Hershey's Hide and Seek for hitting the Snack Bar 50 times, in which a number of animated treats hide around the primary table and must be caught with the ball.
Pinball
Pinball is a type of arcade game, usually coin-operated, where a player attempts to score points by manipulating one or more metal balls on a playfield inside a glass-covered case called a pinball machine. The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible...
computer games developed by Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
's Dynamix
Dynamix
Dynamix, Inc. was an American developer of computer games from 1984 to 2001, best known for their flight simulator, Red Baron, the Front Page Sports series, Betrayal at Krondor, and their online multiplayer game, Tribes.-History:...
.
The games try to escape from the traditional, arcade
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
pinball and feature animation, more than one table at once,
and "temporary targets"(such as spaceships, goblins and dinosaurs appearing throughout the table).
3-D Ultra Pinball
The original 3-D Ultra Pinball game was released in 1995. This game is based on the space simulationSpace simulation
A space simulator is a system that tries to replicate or simulate outer space and/or the experience of space flight in a spacecraft as closely and realistically as possible...
game, Outpost. There are three tables named Colony, Command Post, and Mine. Each table holds a set of five challenges. Smaller "mini-tables" are featured with their own set of flippers. The goal is to build and launch a Starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
completing the game's entire course.
3-D Ultra Pinball: Creep Night
The second game, Creep Night(1996) had a horror film set, and 3 different tables(and after finishing all challenges in a table, you could travel to the other ones):- CastleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
, fragmented in town, castle area and graveyard. Its challenges are ZombieZombieZombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
s, GoblinGoblinA goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
s, Runaway (a goblin riding an ATVAll-terrain vehicleAn all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
runs through the table), VortexVortexA vortex is a spinning, often turbulent,flow of fluid. Any spiral motion with closed streamlines is vortex flow. The motion of the fluid swirling rapidly around a center is called a vortex...
(multi-ball, in which you must shoot in the vortex) and WraithWraithWraith is a Scottish dialectical word for "ghost, spirit", see Ghosts in European culture.Wraith or The Wraith may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Wraith: The Oblivion, a role-playing game*The Wraith, a 1986 movie starring Charlie Sheen...
(a female magnetic ghost tries to capture the ball). - TowerTowerA tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
, a mad scientist lab. The challenges are: Rat, Energy Gate (similar to Vortex, but "single-balled"), Beast, Goblin, and DynamoElectrical generatorIn electricity generation, an electric generator is a device that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy. A generator forces electric charge to flow through an external electrical circuit. It is analogous to a water pump, which causes water to flow...
. After finishing all 5 challenges, you revive a "Frankenstein monsterFrankenstein's monsterFrankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
" and need to hit him 5 times. - DungeonDungeonA dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
. The Challenges are: Gobbler (a ghost chases the ball to eat it), Spiders, Dimension Door (if hit, activates a "SimonSimon (game)Simon is an electronic game of memory skill invented by Ralph H. Baer and Howard J. Morrison, with the software programming being done by Lenny Cope and manufactured and distributed by Milton Bradley. Simon was launched in 1978 at Studio 54 in New York City and became an immediate success. It...
"-like game), Trapdoor (similar to "Vortex") and SkeletonSkeletonThe skeleton is the body part that forms the supporting structure of an organism. There are two different skeletal types: the exoskeleton, which is the stable outer shell of an organism, and the endoskeleton, which forms the support structure inside the body.In a figurative sense, skeleton can...
Escape (six skeletons come out of the cells for you to hit). Like in Tower, after beating them a CatapultCatapultA catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
appears, and you have to hit it some times.
After finishing all the 3 tables, you go to a changed Castle table, with 5 new challenges.
This was also released with several demos of other software titles also by Sierra Online.
3-D Ultra Pinball: The Lost Continent
Lost Continent(1997) had a Jurassic ParkJurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
-like set. It followed a storyline, in which a plane falls on an island where an evil genius
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
, Heckla, creates dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s of other animals. After a plane crash, a scientist, his daughter
and the adventurer Rex try to escape the place and stop Hekla.
It has no challenges, but features 16 tables, divided in 3 "sectors": Jungle, Temple and Lab.
3-D Ultra NASCAR Pinball
As the title reads, it is a NASCARNASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
-themed pinball. Released in 1998.
The game only has 3 fields: garage, track and pitstop.
It features several famous NASCAR drivers like Dale Earnhart and Bobby Labonte
Bobby Labonte
Robert Alan "Bobby" Labonte is an American race car driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the #47 Kroger/Clorox/Kimberly-Clark/Kingsford/Reese Towpower Hitches Toyota Camry for JTG Daugherty Racing. He currently resides in Trinity, North Carolina. He is married to his wife...
as playable characters, but the choice affect only audio commentaries and field decorations.
3-D Ultra Pinball Power
Power(1999) was a compilation released in 1999, featuring the first game, Creep Night and Lost Continent, and as a bonus, The Incredible Machine and a demo of 3-D Ultra Golf.3-D Ultra Pinball: Thrill Ride
The last released, Thrill Ride (1999) also received a Game Boy ColorGame Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
version. It is set in Hershey Park
Hersheypark
Hersheypark is an amusement park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, near the Hershey Chocolate Factory.Hersheypark was opened on April 24, 1907 as a leisure park for the employees of the Hershey Chocolate Company, an American confectionery company. Later, the company decided to open the park to the...
with rides and theme park elements as puzzles and table features.
Thrill Ride has one primary table, which doubles as a region for Fun Zone puzzles, and a secondary Thrill Zone table to one side. There are two multiball ramps, one a roller coaster (the Wildcat) and one a water ride (the Coal Cracker). Two of the Fun Zone puzzles send you to secondary tables, a River Rafting table and a Lightning Racer Virtual Coaster.
General play proceeds as you complete the six trials—completing 5 Fun Zone puzzles, completing 5 Thrill Zone puzzles, getting Thrill points (the letters spelling THRILLRIDE) in order to activate and complete the Nighttime Fantasy puzzle. Going on all the rides (activating all 10 zone puzzles), activating both multiballs, and frequently visiting the Snack Bar sinker are also needed to complete General play. Completing all six trials activates a "Lights Out" puzzle, breaking light bulbs with the ball; when this is done the table goes into Nighttime Fantasy Multiball mode before resetting the table (play continues, and multiple Lights Out are possible).
In addition, there are a number of other minor tasks and rewards (hitting markers to activate the Fun Zone sinker, etc.) and a Hershey's Hide and Seek for hitting the Snack Bar 50 times, in which a number of animated treats hide around the primary table and must be caught with the ball.
External links
- 3-D Ultra Pinball, Creep Night, Lost Continent, NASCAR Pinball, Pinball Power, Thrill Ride (PC) and Thrill Ride (GBC) at AllgameAllgameAllgame is a commercial database of information about arcade games, video games and console manufacturers.Allgame is owned by All Media Guide, along with Allmusic and Allmovie....
- Creep Night, Lost Continent, NASCAR and Thrillride at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...