View source for High Speed (pinball)

{{Short description|1986 pinball machine}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022|cs1-dates=y}}
{{About|the pinball machine|other uses|High Speed (disambiguation)}}
{{refimprove|date=April 2018}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox Pinball | title = ''High Speed''
|image=HS flyer.jpg|Advertising Flyer
|manufacturer = [[WMS Industries|Williams]]
|Model=541
|system = Williams System 11
|Players = 4
|designer = [[Steven Ritchie|Steve Ritchie]]
|programmer = [[Larry DeMar]]
|artwork = Mark Sprenger, [[Python Anghelo]]
|mechanics =
|music = Bill Parod, [[Steven Ritchie|Steve Ritchie]]
|sound = Bill Parod, [[Eugene Jarvis]]
|release = {{start-date|January 1986}}
|voices=[[Steven Ritchie|Steve Ritchie]], [[Larry DeMar]]
|production = 17,080
}}

'''''High Speed''''' is a [[pinball]] game designed by [[Steven Ritchie|Steve Ritchie]] and released by [[Williams (gaming company)|Williams Electronics]] in 1986. It is based on Ritchie's real-life police chase inside a 1979 [[Porsche 928]].{{refn|{{Cite interview |last=Ritchie |first=Steve |title=IRC Chat with Steve Ritchie |url=http://www.mattwalsh.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/SteveRitchieIRCInterview |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119090606/http://www.mattwalsh.com/twiki/bin/view/Main/SteveRitchieIRCInterview |archive-date=2005-11-19 |url-status=dead |work=Matt Walsh |date=1995-09-13 |author-link=Steven Ritchie |language=en-US}}}} He was finally caught in [[Lodi, California]] on [[Interstate 5 in California|Interstate 5]] and accused of speeding at {{convert|146|mph}}.{{refn|{{Cite web |date=2022-05-03 |title=High Speed |url=http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1176 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220524095114/https://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=1176 |archive-date=2022-05-24 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=Internet Pinball Machine Database |language=en-US}}}}

A sequel was released 1992 called ''[[The Getaway: High Speed II]]''.

== Design ==
The table went through several iterations of design.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Horowitz |first=Ken |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/From_Pinballs_to_Pixels/WIrAEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22high+speed%22+pinball+1986&pg=PT225&printsec=frontcover |title=From pinballs to pixels: an arcade history of Williams-Bally-Midway |date=2023 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |isbn=978-1-4766-4796-8 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina}}</ref>

This is the first Williams table to use an alpha-numeric display.  Python Anghelo designed the backglass so the score display is in the dashboard of the radar unit in the police car.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shalhoub |first=Michael |title=The pinball compendium: 1982 to present |date=2012 |publisher=Schiffer Publishing |isbn=978-0-7643-4107-6 |edition=2nd revised |location=Atglen, Pa |pages=62-63}}</ref> The speed 146mph is used in the backglass artwork.

== Gameplay ==
The main object of the game is to turn the main stoplight (located on the ramp) from green to yellow to red by hitting the nine stoplight targets (three of each color). Shooting the ball up the ramp or into the eject hole (saucer) also spots a stoplight target. Once all nine have been lit, the objective is to shoot the ball up the ramp again, thus "running the red light," and starting the police chase mode.

To escape the police, the player can either shoot the ball up the ramp again (a Getaway) or by lighting all nine stoplight targets again and then shooting the eject hole (an Escape), starting multi-ball. Once multi-ball begins, all targets, spinners, and bumper shots increase the Hideout Jackpot (which carries over from game to game until won, and begins at 250,000 points, growing to a maximum of 2 million points). To win the jackpot, the player must shoot the ramp once again.

Another main feature of the game is the Freeways; one is located in each of the left and right orbits, denoted by spinners (and a third spinner leads to the eject hole).  Shooting either one of the two inlanes or making a loop around one of the orbits lights a Freeway, and the player then has 5 seconds to shoot the lit orbit again, scoring the Freeway value, increasing from 25,000 to 100,000 points, and eventually lighting an extra ball (which can be collected by shooting the eject hole).

Shooting the ball up the ramp also increases the bonus multiplier from 2X up to 5X, any additional shots beyond 5X activate the BONUS HELD.

Once the jackpot has been won, the player can then attempt to light all nine stoplight targets again (as long as multi-ball is still going), and doing so lights a special, which can be collected if the ball drains in the correct outlane.

This game is the first to use "automatic replay percentaging", a system where the score for a free credit or extra ball is adjusted for the skill of the players who have recently played it.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.ipdb.org/files/1176/Williams_1986_High_Speed_Instruction_Manual.pdf |title=High Speed instruction manual |date=February 24, 1986 |publisher=Williams Electronic Games}}</ref>

==Production==
During its design, ''High Speed'' was jokingly called "High Cost" by some rival Williams designers due to its then-high production cost.{{refn|name="GH"|{{Cite web |title=High Speed [Model 541] |url=https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=high-speed-model-541&page=detail&id=5300 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220524095745/https://www.arcade-history.com/?n=high-speed-model-541&page=detail&id=5300 |archive-date=2022-05-24 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=Gaming History |language=en-US}}}}  The advances in the mechanical design that went into ''High Speed'', coupled with the machine's popularity, led to many machines being kept in service much longer than was previously the norm.  The play surfaces of the machine were not initially given as much attention, leading to many High Speed machines seeing service to this day in extremely worn condition.  Williams rapidly addressed this issue by making [[mylar]] playfield covers available and later adding hard clear paint coats to their playfields. Canadian specialist Classic Playfield Reproductions produced an officially licensed High Speed 13-color Reproduction Playfield, which shipped as limited edition in 2014.

{{gallery
|Image:Worn High Speed Pinball.jpg
 |An extremely worn machine currently (2008) still in service.
|Image:High Speed Full Machine.jpg
 |High Speed pinball machine full view
|Image:Highspeedstartlamp.gif
 |Direction when starting. Patrol lamp glows.
}}

==Reception==
Before release, ''High Speed'' was "immensely successful at test locations".<ref name=":0" />  ''High Speed'' was one of the games (along with 1986's ''[[Pin*Bot]]'' and 1984's ''[[Space Shuttle (pinball)|Space Shuttle]]'') that helped revitalize the pinball industry,<ref name=":0" /> which had become stagnant due in part to the [[video game crash of 1983]]. ''High Speed'' sold 17,080 units.{{r|GH}}  It was so popular that it convinced [[Disneyland]]'s arcade to add pinball, a first in the park's entire history.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=March 1986 |title=Grapevine: High Speed at C. A.; RePlay Players' Choice |url= |access-date= |magazine=RePlay |publisher= |location= |page= |pages=90, 4}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

Pinball designer [[Pat Lawlor]]{{refn|{{Cite interview |last=Lawlor |first=Pat |title=Lawlor Talks |url=http://www.pinballnews.com/news/lawlor3.html |access-date=2022-05-24 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906090116/http://www.pinballnews.com/news/lawlor3.html |archive-date=2012-09-06 |url-status=live |work=Pinball News |date=2002-09-18 |quote=My favourite machine besides my games is ''High Speed'' by the great Steve Ritchie. |interviewer-last=Jansen |author-link=Pat Lawlor |interviewer-first=Jim |language=en-GB}}}} and pinball programmer Dwight Sullivan{{refn|{{Cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Dwight |title=T2, Getaway, and Star Trek: TNG |url=http://mypinballblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/t2-getaway-and-star-trek-tng.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120701014033/http://mypinballblog.blogspot.de/2008/01/t2-getaway-and-star-trek-tng.html |archive-date=2012-07-01 |access-date=2022-05-24 |website=My Pinball Blog |date=January 10, 2008 |language=en-US}}}} stated that ''High Speed'' is one of their favorite games.

==Game quotes==
* "Okay buddy, Pull over!"<ref>{{Cite news |date=July 24, 1986 |title=Pinball offers 'High Speed' chases |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uIzAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22High+Speed%22+pinball+1986&pg=PA6&article_id=5034,2816756 |work=Lodi News-Sentinel |pages=6}}</ref>
* "Dispatch, this is 504. We're in pursuit, over."
* "Roger 504. Apprehend them."
* "Dispatch this is 504. Suspect ran a red light. Over."
* "Dispatch, this is 504. He got away, over."

'''Upon starting multiball, the game pauses and plays the following conversation:'''
* "Dispatch, this is 504. Suspect got away, over."
* "504, this is dispatch. He what?"
* "He got away."

===Machine messages===
* "Light is red."
* "Run red light."
* "You got away."
* "You escaped."
* "You win jackpot."

== Digital versions ==
A licensed version of this table was released on ''[[The Pinball Arcade]]'' for multiple platforms. Its successor ''The Getaway: High Speed II'' was also released as an additional table for this collection. Both tables were delisted on {{date2|June|30, |2018}} due to the loss of the Williams license.

[[Rare (company)|Rare]] adapted ''[[High Speed (video game)|High Speed]]'' into a [[video game]] of the same name for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]]. It was published by [[Tradewest]] in 1991.

==See also==
*''[[Checkpoint (pinball)|Checkpoint]]'', another pinball machine with racing theme

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IPDB|1176}}

{{Steve Ritchie}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1986 pinball machines]]
[[Category:Williams pinball machines]]