The main menu opens after you start Ultra Pinball. You also return to the main menu when you exit other areas of the game.
Play Pinball: To start a game, click on Play Pinball. This will take you to New Game Options (see below), where you can select to play all tables or a single table, and select the number of players from 1 to 4. (All tables, 1-player is the default).
High Scores: Click on High Scores to see the current high scores list.
Preferences: Click on Preferences to adjust game play references such as number of balls, expert help, graphic detail, and sound. (To change preferences during a game, select Preferences from the Game Pull-Down Menu).
How to Play: Click on How to Play to open the online manual (which basically contains the same info as in this game play section)
Exit: Click on Exit to leave Ultra Pinball.
?: Click on the question mark button anywhere in the game to open the online manual.
New Game Options
This panel appears when you select Play Pinball from the Main Menu or select Start New Game from the Game Pull-Down Menu. It lets you select the type of game to play and the number of players. When the settings are correct, click OK to proceed to the game.
Play All: Selec this option to warp between tables, build a colony and work toward launching a starship. Play All is the default setting.
Play Colony Table, Play Mine Table, Play Command Post Table: Select one of these options to play a specific table. You won't be able to warp to another table during the game, but most of the other features on the table will be active.
Players: Select the number of players for this game, from 1 to 4. 1 is the default setting. See more on Multiplayer games below.
Multiplayer Games
You can play multiplayer Ultra Pinball with two, three or four players. Just select the number of players in the New Game Options Screen when starting the game.
Each player, from #1 to #4, plays in turn. The game ends when the last player loses his or her last ball. Extra balls are played in the turn they are earned.
To see everyone's score, select Scoreboard from the Windows Pull-Down menu. During a game, the ball on the scoreboard indicates the current player.
Note: there are no Continues in multiplayer games.
High Scores
To open the High Scores screen, click on the High Scores button on the Main Menu, or select High Scores from the Game Pull-Down Menu.
Grand Champion, High Scores: This screen lists the top player scores. The Grand Champion display shows the top players for ALL Tables play. To see top scores for one-table play, click the appropriate button on the bottom.
Number of Balls, Launches: High Scores also shows the number of balls each player started with, and how many times he or she launched a starship.
OK: To return to the previous screen, click OK.
Reset: To reset the current High Scores list and start over, click Reset.
?: Click on the question mark button anywhere in the game to open the online manual.
Preferences
To open the Preferences screen from the Main Menu, click the Preferences button. To change preferences during a game, select Preferences from the Game Pull-Down Menu. Click OK when you're done selecting your options, or Cancel to leave with no changes.
Number of Balls: You can start the game with 3 balls or 5 balls. Once these balls are lost to the drain, the current game ends. (Any extra balls you earn will be in addition to these). Default setting is 5. Note: Number of Balls can't be changed during a game.
Sound Effects: Click the first button to turn the game sound effects on or off. To turn the sound effects volume up or down, click the right or left arrow button.
Music: Click the first button to turn the music on or off. To turn the music volume up or down, click the right or left arrow button.
Expert help On/Off: When on, Expert Help displays a bullseye target marker over a new or high-payoff target. This draws your attention to the most important targets when there's a lot going on.
Ambient Animations On/Off: Pinball's hi-res graphics may put a burden on slower computers (well, not any more these days). If the graphics seem choppy, try turning ambient animations off to lighten the load on your processor. Ambient animations are the spinning, blinking eye-candy doodads on each table that don't really have anything to do with game play. Turning them off just denies you some harmless visual stimuli.
Control Keys: These settings allow you to select or change your game controlm keys. The current settings are shown. To change a control, first click on the Change Keys button. In the dialogue box that opens, select the key that you want to use for that control, and then click OK. The Left and Right flipper are on top, and the ball Shooter and your Nudge control are below. On the PC, you can also use the left and right mouse buttons to control the flippers. Activating the left and right flippers also shifts the rollover light to the left and right and consequently score premium points more easily.
?: Click on the question mark button anywhere in the game to open the online manual.
How to Play, On-Line Manual
Click on How to Play in the Main Menu or on the question mark button anywhere in the game to open the on-line manual. This manual is also displayed in these gameplay pages.
