Han Solo Table Tips needed

[BugsBunny]

Please help I am really struggling with this table. I cannot seem to get any of the 6 goals started. I am unable to hit the shots where the ball gets caught in the saucers (like the hyperdrive malfunction) I seem to be missing the ball all of the time. My highest score for the table is 2 million but mostly I average around 500,000. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Ramikadyc]

Well, it sounds like your issue is more to due with accuracy than anything else. In which case, the only thing you can do is practice on the table. Try switching your views to see which works best for your accuracy; there are many tables where I need to use view 3 (the close one) to consistently hit shots I want (Civil War, Starfighter, etc) and others I need one of the wider non-chase cams. For this table, I use views 4 and 5, as I feel like those give me a more tangible sense of where the ball will go compared to the closer cam.

Learn the table "shortcuts", as I call them—instead of sending the ball from point A directly to point B (i.e. from the flipper to your target), send the ball elsewhere that will then set up your shot. For example, when you need to hit the Probe ramp (the one that leads immediately around the Death Star), fire the ball into the front sinkhole to have the ball drop down in front of the flipper for an easy setup; to easily get the ball to the right flipper without worrying about bounce passing or nudging, either hit the Probe ramp to convey it down the habitrail or land the ball in the rear sinkhole which will then send the ball out the front sinkhole into the left flipper, bouncing over to the right flipper; to hit the spinner on the entrance of the right orbit from the reverse side, you can send the ball up the center instead of the left orbit, as both paths lead to the same place.

There are more, but those are just a handful to illustrate what I mean. One of the more challenging things is finding reliable ways to consistently get the ball into the lower saucers, especially the left one. For the left one, hitting the ball into the lower right saucer sets you up with a flipper shot, so you just need to practice that shot to get it down pat; use the left flipper to hit the ball when it gets down near the very tip of the flipper to send it into the right saucer, but if you hear the sound of a Mynock cry (sounds like a high-pitched bird trill) when you stick it, don't activate that flipper, as the ("faulty") flipper will automatically launch the ball into the left saucer (but only when you hear that sound). You can hit that left saucer from the lower right flipper as well, but it's more challenging.

You said the Hyperdrive Malfunction is giving you grief. Honestly, out of all the saucers, that one is, personally, the easiest one for me to hit, as the bigger challenge is consistently hitting the ramp leading up to it. But when you hit that ramp with a shot of average strength, it almost always lands in the saucer and sets you up with an easy shot. That upper right flipper "feels" weird, though, as you don't want to hit the ball from the lower section of the flipper or else you'll fire a dud that'll just roll back down the right habitrail. Instead, you want to hit the ball somewhere from the upper section of the flipper in order to get the ball across the bridge into the Falcon. For that, you just need to practice the shot to understand it. But to get there, take a close look at the table and make sure you're aiming at the "correct" ramp—and I say "correct" because there's technically only one ramp (the right entrance) and one center orbit (the left entrance). Practice that shot from the left flipper, as it can be the easiest way to get there, and since you're aiming for that right entrance, that upper left flipper won't be in your way.

However, if you find that the upper left flipper is getting in the way of shots from the lower left flipper (pressing the button tends to activate both and stretch the upper flipper across your ball's path), try heading into the operator's menu and setting the upper flipper sensitivity as high as it'll go. If you do this (assuming you play on PS3 or something), you can set your buttons up so that both sets of shoulder buttons activate the flippers, and use the L1/R1 buttons as your normal flipper controls (which activates both upper and lower flippers regardless of sensitivity), while using the L2/R2 buttons for precise shots from the lower flippers, as pressing the L2/R2 buttons halfway will activate the lower flippers but not the upper (due to the sensitivity you changed).

Try reading surf1der's and ShoryukenToTheChin's work-in-progress guide for the Han Solo table for a better understanding of what's expected of you with completing the modes. Let me know if you have any other questions, although I'm better at answering if you have more specific ones. Best of luck to you.

[BugsBunny]

Thanks for the tips I can get the ball into the top saucer ok but the top flipper feels not right to me (all the saucer shots i am having trouble with). I dont play on a ps3 only pc and couldn't find the flipper option you mentioned.

I also want to know how I light that death star target that chute in front of it is stopping me doing it.

Thanks in advance

[Ramikadyc]

Thanks for the tips I can get the ball into the top saucer ok but the top flipper feels not right to me (all the saucer shots i am having trouble with). I dont play on a ps3 only pc and couldn't find the flipper option you mentioned.

I also want to know how I light that death star target that chute in front of it is stopping me doing it.

Thanks in advance

Yeah, that odd feeling of the top flipper is the weirdness I was talking about, but it's mostly due to its size and position relative to what its single purpose is. You'd expect to use the lower part of the flipper for a stronger hit, but doing that causes you to miss the bridge to Falcon, so you gotta flip it uncommonly early to make the shot. Just gotta practice it.

The Death Star lock won't be available until you light S-T-A-R target bank, which is what's blocking your shot. You gotta use that center flipper to bank the ball into each letter target in order to light them all and lower the shield. And that flipper, like the upper right flipper previously discussed, takes a lot of patience to effectively utilize for both the Probe ramp around the Death Star (which requires you to flip early-but-not-too-early like the Falcon bridge) and the Death Star targets themselves. Once you've lit all the letters, the shield lowers and you can use that same flipper to lock the ball in the bowl to start the Free the Princess/Battle of Yavin modes. That chute you mentioned is, I think, the upper sinkhole, which drops the ball down onto the left flipper after you land it in there. Just catch the ball with the left flipper (works every time) and practice sending it back into the lower sinkhole (i.e. the same hole from which it was shot to your flipper), which will then drop the ball from the Falcon's hatch right in front of the same center flipper for you to try again.

[BugsBunny]

Would it be an idea to upload a video of me playing to youtube and link it here so you can see what I am doing wrong. Only trouble is I use fraps for recording and the file size ends up huge. If you think this is a good idea let me know and if you know a suggestion on how to reduce file size.

Thanks

[Ramikadyc]

I don't think you need to go through all the trouble of recording and uploading a video, but I'd certainly check it out if you were to do so. I haven't used Fraps in years, but I think it records video at the same resolution (or half, depending on the two options I recall) as the game being run, so you could try temporarily lowering your resolution to lower the size. I wouldn't suggest decreasing the framerate capture, as a smoother lower-res video is much more pleasant to look at than a choppy high-res.

You're not wasting any of my time, so whether you choose to record a video or type up more questions, it's all good to me.

[BugsBunny]

All I can reckon is my table must be bugged I have played over 30 games now and not one of the feature modes have started for me yet. I am on the verge of giving up playing this.

[Ramikadyc]

You mean none of the main mission modes listed down the middle of the table? Many of them take quite some time to start, even when focusing on them. But the He Certainly Has Courage mode tends to start after a while, as all it entails is basically hitting the ball up the right ramp 24 times. The Kessel Run is similarly easy to at least notice it's working and progressing, as you shoot the left ramp 7+1 times to start the crane mode (by +1, I mean that last shot requires hitting the saucer at the top of the ramp that opens). Also, the TIE Fighter Attack mode is pretty quick to start as well when you aim for it; try shooting a skill shot so that the ball that locks is in the space slug's jaws (which you can see at the far right side of the table), then use the left flipper during gameplay to shoot it out. You might try starting one of those modes just to check if you're concerned that your game is bugged.

Other than those modes, the other modes that can at least noticeably be seen progressing to their start during natural gameplay (by that, I mean these are modes that, compared to others, tend to progress even if you simply fire all of your shots wildly) is the Free the Princess (i.e. Death Star) and Fastest Hunk of Junk, and those are the two modes you've been specifically having issues with.

Han Shot First and Asteroid Field are both multi-tiered and sorta complex to start (without luck or intending to do so), while Probe Hurry-Up and Escape from Jabba require specific shots.

Basically, what I'm saying is that, generally, starting and completing the modes on this table takes quite a lot of time to do compared to many other tables. Test one of the easier modes just to make sure it's working first, then spend more time with it; it's taken me quite a while to feel comfortable with this table.

[BugsBunny]

Looks like my table is bugged as none of the main mission modes will trigger this would explain the reason mine and my mates scores arent fairly equal as they rae on the other tables.

Any suggestions on what to do to get the bugs fixed>

[surf1der]

Looks like my table is bugged as none of the main mission modes will trigger this would explain the reason mine and my mates scores arent fairly equal as they rae on the other tables.

Any suggestions on what to do to get the bugs fixed>

If your high score is 2 million I doubt you have made enough shots to start any mode. I would focus on learning how to collect and use magna saves so you can keep the ball in play longer. And look on youtube for general FX2 pinball skill/techniques.