- Mar 17, 2012
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Normally I wait a little bit before posting a strategy thread, but I have a feeling real life is going to be brutal for a few weeks and what little TPA time I have hopefully will be devoted to beta-testing TZ. So don't read further if you want to discover the table for yourself! Qualifications: 260M on my third game, reached Monster Multiball and Spider Mania. This score is with nudging after every eject from the Dagger scoop so as to not collect excessive amounts of Dead Heads and unjustly inflate the score. Yep, we have the MB problem all over again on SS. If you wish to do the same, nudge hard right as the ball hits the Lab bumper and it will usually smack the side of the Crate and fall downwards, as it would on a real table.
General strategy: The multiballs are where it's at, these being Stiff in the Coffin, Terror from the Crate, and Monster Multiball. In addition to scoring well, modes continue into your multiballs (except Monster, obviously). The only incompatible feature is that when you're in Terror for the Crate, you can't make progress toward Stiff in the Coffin, and vice versa.
Before Getting Stiff: First order of business is to loop the right ramp 8 times to light an extra ball beside the Crate. There's really no reason not to do this right away. (There's a second one at 30 Web ramps, but that one is often collected during the course of Stiff in the Coffin, where you're shooting the Web ramp for jackpots a lot.)
Tales of Terror: While the modes are pretty self-explanatory and the table instructions are quite clear, a few pointers on each of the modes.
My Favorite Part of the Movie, or How to Raise Your Stiff-o-Meter: Once you finish the six Tales, enter the Crate to start the Stiff-o-Meter mode. This is a lot like ToM's Grand Finale: The time limit (30 seconds) looks harsh, but the shots you are required to make are easy shots you make a hundred times a game. The trick is to relax (very hard given the increasingly fast-paced music and heart pounding sound effect) and pretend you're just shooting a jackpot in one of the other multiballs. Each successful shot adds 3 seconds to the timer as well, so a full Stiff-o-Meter mode can actually last up to 57 seconds.
You want to hit the Crate first. It's an easier and safer shot (missing a ramp and hitting a Leaper is bad news - you may get control back but you'll waste 5 or 6 seconds doing so), and reduces the number of ramp shots you must make by one. Why? The tenth shot is always the Crate because the game needs to lock a ball while it plays the Frog Frenzy-esque intro to Monster Multiball. (Elvira had the goods first, Stern!) So shooting the Crate first makes shots #1-3-5-7-9-10 Crate shots, and shots #2-4-6-8 ramp shots.
And, in what must be one of the best flashes of insight ever to strike a pinball designer, your progress is saved if you leave Stiff-o-Meter incomplete! So don't despair if you get to Level 8 and then drain, as when you reach Stiff-o-Meter again, you'll start back up with Level 9 flashing! (Even if you don't reach it again, the completed levels of the Stiff-o-Meter are worth 10K each in end-of-ball bonus for the rest of the game.)
Monster Multiball, or OMG, This Scoring Is Orgasmic: All three jackpots lit for 1M each. Go to town and rock her world. Again, once you're down to 2 balls, play the double ramp loop strategy as you would for Stiff in the Coffin. A good Monster Multiball will easily clear 100M.
Other Modes: Scared Stiff has lots of little minor modes, most of which are obtained from spinning the Spider on the backglass:
Spider Mania, or OK, Who Fed the Tarantula Amphetamines Again?: Two things happen. First, the spider goes around the wheel again re-awarding everything, just like Whirlwind's Mega Door Bonus. The crystal balls award Tele-Pathetic Special, the eyes re-light extra ball next to the Crate, all the minor modes start up again, etc. Second, a 4-ball Spider Multiball starts, with the lock, Bony Beast and Crate worth jackpots (500K and 250K). The first 20 seconds are critical, because both 2X Playfield and Boogie Man Boogie are running, so scoring is greatly enhanced during this time. Because the Web ramp is not a jackpot in Spider Multiball, the double ramp loop is unsuitable here, and I prefer to play it as a Terror from the Crate with the left flipper, and take occasional shots to lock or Bony Beast as balls arrive on the right flipper.
Damn, I Hate Commercials: Scared Stiff's Dagger Throw (a.k.a. the skill shot) is quite point-rich relative to the rest of the table compared to most skill shots, scoring 250K+250K with no discernible limit (I've had a 2M one.) The skill shot markers are yellow in the middle, then orange further down, and then red. Pull to between the lower orange marker and the red one below it. Should hit the scoop about 75% of the time.
How 'bout Another Ball?: Scared Stiff is full of extra ball goodness. There's one at 8 and 30 Web ramp shots, one at the replay score (6M...yes, really...it's only 6M), a repeatable one at 8X Bonus (although that's a lot of Dead Heads to collect on one ball if you're not exploiting the Dagger scoop), one from the 3 eyes on the spider wheel, one from starting Monster Multiball, and two for starting Spider Mania (one from the 3 eyes again, one from the Tele-Pathetic Special). The limit is 4 extra balls at any one time though, so keep track of 'em so you don't waste one.
Fun with bonus: Bonus is kind of all-or-nothing. The multiplier only applies to switch bonus, all the other contributions are unfortunately 1X. However, long multiballs at a high bonus X can easily push past 7M or 8M in switch bonus alone. If you do this on the first ball, and have hold bonus from looping the Web ramp (only 3 shots are needed), you can drag a huge bon...us into the second ball. Dead Heads sometimes scores well in the last balls of a long game. Stiff-o-Meter also is held, and will go past Level 10 if you reach wizard mode multiple times (my Stiff-o-Meter goes to 23!).
And that is how you get Scared Stiff. Unpleasant dreams!
P.S. For those who encounter a real Scared Stiff: Be warned that while all TPA tables are easier than their real-life counterparts, this one is especially so. On the real SS, Leaper hits are often insta-drains, failed ramp shots are center drains, and too much time in the slings means a trip to the outlanes. You'll need to do a lot of nudging, and don't be surprised if reaching an eight-digit score is a real challenge. Thirty million on the real table is quite respectable.
General strategy: The multiballs are where it's at, these being Stiff in the Coffin, Terror from the Crate, and Monster Multiball. In addition to scoring well, modes continue into your multiballs (except Monster, obviously). The only incompatible feature is that when you're in Terror for the Crate, you can't make progress toward Stiff in the Coffin, and vice versa.
Before Getting Stiff: First order of business is to loop the right ramp 8 times to light an extra ball beside the Crate. There's really no reason not to do this right away. (There's a second one at 30 Web ramps, but that one is often collected during the course of Stiff in the Coffin, where you're shooting the Web ramp for jackpots a lot.)
Tales of Terror: While the modes are pretty self-explanatory and the table instructions are quite clear, a few pointers on each of the modes.
- Return of the Dead Heads: If you let the Dagger scoop do its bugged thing, all you have to do is change lanes and this tale is trivial. Otherwise, just keep throwing the ball up the left loop and it'll eventually finish on its own. Do this 21 more times (!) in the same ball (!!) for a repeatable-once-each-ball (!!!) light extra ball. Dead Head values are 25K+25K, limit 2.475M, held throughout the game, so eventually they get to be the most valuable shot on the table.
- Terror from the Crate: This is one of the easiest modes to start the first time around...and it becomes the most difficult later on. The first time it only takes 5 shots to start TFTC (including the final shot to actually put the ball in the crate and start the mode), the second time ups it to 9, and so on. The fifth TFTC takes 21 shots, which I believe is the limit. Unlike AFM and MM, you can't get these hits in during a multiball, either. Thankfully, the Crate is usually quite friendly. During Terror from the Crate itself, just repeatedly slam your balls into the crate. The piddly 10K boost to the jackpot from the ramps is not worth it. It is not unheard of to collect 30 or 40 jackpots from the Crate. Too bad they're only 250K. This is a 2-ball multiball, so if you lose control of a ball, concentrate on regaining control even at the expense of passing up a jackpot shot or two.
- The Monster's Lab: On my local SS, the bumpers are very lazy, making this mode unusually difficult to finish. Thankfully TPA has no such issue. Again, just keep throwing the ball up the left loop and this will eventually take care of itself.
- Eyes of the Bony Beast: Shoot the Bony Beast ramp three times. You have to do this anyway to light locks for Stiff in the Coffin. Sometimes I wonder if this mode was meant to be "shoot Bony Beast three times consecutively", which would have at least presented a slight challenge.
- Stiff in the Coffin: Light locks by shooting the Bony Beast ramp. This takes as many ramps as the number of the SITC you're starting, so the first one only needs 1 ramp to light a lock, the third SITC needs 3 ramps for each lock, etc. Limit is 5. Once a lock is lit, throw the ball up the left loop (a very important shot to master in this game) to lock. Stiff in the Coffin itself wants you to hit a 500K jackpot on either ramp, then alternate them. The unlit ramp adds 10K to the jackpot value, which again is not worth going for, but sometimes you need to dispose of a ball up the unlit ramp to free up your flippers for an incoming jackpot attempt. Play the 3-ball section however you like, but once you're down to 2 balls, get one on each flipper, shoot the jackpot, wait until the ball is halfway around, shoot the other jackpot with the other ball, wait until that ball is halfway around by which time the first ball is returning to your flipper, and repeat until you botch it. SS's ramps are very very loopable. If done right, this will lead to a million plus change every few seconds. Try to beat my double 15-way combo (as in 30 jacks in a row!) sometime!
- Night of the Leapers: Hit the three Leaper standups each one time. This is somewhat dangerous to shoot for directly - although nowhere near as dangerous as the real table - and often a marginal ramp shot will hit the nearby Leaper target, so you don't really need to risk direct shots.
My Favorite Part of the Movie, or How to Raise Your Stiff-o-Meter: Once you finish the six Tales, enter the Crate to start the Stiff-o-Meter mode. This is a lot like ToM's Grand Finale: The time limit (30 seconds) looks harsh, but the shots you are required to make are easy shots you make a hundred times a game. The trick is to relax (very hard given the increasingly fast-paced music and heart pounding sound effect) and pretend you're just shooting a jackpot in one of the other multiballs. Each successful shot adds 3 seconds to the timer as well, so a full Stiff-o-Meter mode can actually last up to 57 seconds.
You want to hit the Crate first. It's an easier and safer shot (missing a ramp and hitting a Leaper is bad news - you may get control back but you'll waste 5 or 6 seconds doing so), and reduces the number of ramp shots you must make by one. Why? The tenth shot is always the Crate because the game needs to lock a ball while it plays the Frog Frenzy-esque intro to Monster Multiball. (Elvira had the goods first, Stern!) So shooting the Crate first makes shots #1-3-5-7-9-10 Crate shots, and shots #2-4-6-8 ramp shots.
And, in what must be one of the best flashes of insight ever to strike a pinball designer, your progress is saved if you leave Stiff-o-Meter incomplete! So don't despair if you get to Level 8 and then drain, as when you reach Stiff-o-Meter again, you'll start back up with Level 9 flashing! (Even if you don't reach it again, the completed levels of the Stiff-o-Meter are worth 10K each in end-of-ball bonus for the rest of the game.)
Monster Multiball, or OMG, This Scoring Is Orgasmic: All three jackpots lit for 1M each. Go to town and rock her world. Again, once you're down to 2 balls, play the double ramp loop strategy as you would for Stiff in the Coffin. A good Monster Multiball will easily clear 100M.
Other Modes: Scared Stiff has lots of little minor modes, most of which are obtained from spinning the Spider on the backglass:
- Leaper Mania: Hit 10 leapers to start the mode the first time, 15 leapers the second time, etc. Once Leaper Mania begins ("Squash those leapers!"), carefully shoot 5 leapers in 20 seconds for light extra ball the first time, or a disgustingly low 250K subsequent times. I only play this once, it's just not worth it after the EB.
- Boogie Man Boogie: A frenzy round, all switches score 10K for 20 seconds, increased by 5K each time the ball falls into any hole (the Dagger scoop, the Spin Spider hole, and the lock all qualify). This is an excellent time to go for Monster's Lab and bumper hits. Note that if you do not nudge to avoid the Dagger kickout exploit, the Boogie Man value will rise to 60K or 70K per switch pretty quickly. Also note that the Boogie Man total is part of your bonus, so don't tilt!
- Bony Beast Hurry-Up: A 200K hurry-up at the bony beast, with your ball conveniently fed to the right flipper. If you don't score near max value on this, you aren't really trying.
- Instant Jackpot: A 250K jackpot on the Web ramp. Not worth making a special effort for, just shoot the right ramp the next time you have reason/opportunity to do so.
- Double Trouble: 2X Playfield for 20 seconds. Unlike RBION, there is not a Continent Super Jackpot or other obvious shot to stack this with. Probably the best use of this is right before Stiff in the Coffin, then deliberately let the third ball go and try to get into the double ramp loop as quickly as possible. This is pretty tough to set up, though, and is not going to ruin your chance at a high score if you don't make the stack.
- Beat the Crate:The Stiff-o-Meter strobes up and down for 20 seconds, Crate shots are worth 25K times the highest level lit on the Stiff-o-Meter at time of impact. Obviously you aim as the count is ascending but not yet at the top, shooting at level 7 seems to be the best bet for consisting hitting the Crate for full value. There is a slight risk of SDTM drains, so focus on shooting safely rather than maximizing Crate value. Beat the Crate is counted as end-of-ball bonus.
Spider Mania, or OK, Who Fed the Tarantula Amphetamines Again?: Two things happen. First, the spider goes around the wheel again re-awarding everything, just like Whirlwind's Mega Door Bonus. The crystal balls award Tele-Pathetic Special, the eyes re-light extra ball next to the Crate, all the minor modes start up again, etc. Second, a 4-ball Spider Multiball starts, with the lock, Bony Beast and Crate worth jackpots (500K and 250K). The first 20 seconds are critical, because both 2X Playfield and Boogie Man Boogie are running, so scoring is greatly enhanced during this time. Because the Web ramp is not a jackpot in Spider Multiball, the double ramp loop is unsuitable here, and I prefer to play it as a Terror from the Crate with the left flipper, and take occasional shots to lock or Bony Beast as balls arrive on the right flipper.
Damn, I Hate Commercials: Scared Stiff's Dagger Throw (a.k.a. the skill shot) is quite point-rich relative to the rest of the table compared to most skill shots, scoring 250K+250K with no discernible limit (I've had a 2M one.) The skill shot markers are yellow in the middle, then orange further down, and then red. Pull to between the lower orange marker and the red one below it. Should hit the scoop about 75% of the time.
How 'bout Another Ball?: Scared Stiff is full of extra ball goodness. There's one at 8 and 30 Web ramp shots, one at the replay score (6M...yes, really...it's only 6M), a repeatable one at 8X Bonus (although that's a lot of Dead Heads to collect on one ball if you're not exploiting the Dagger scoop), one from the 3 eyes on the spider wheel, one from starting Monster Multiball, and two for starting Spider Mania (one from the 3 eyes again, one from the Tele-Pathetic Special). The limit is 4 extra balls at any one time though, so keep track of 'em so you don't waste one.
Fun with bonus: Bonus is kind of all-or-nothing. The multiplier only applies to switch bonus, all the other contributions are unfortunately 1X. However, long multiballs at a high bonus X can easily push past 7M or 8M in switch bonus alone. If you do this on the first ball, and have hold bonus from looping the Web ramp (only 3 shots are needed), you can drag a huge bon...us into the second ball. Dead Heads sometimes scores well in the last balls of a long game. Stiff-o-Meter also is held, and will go past Level 10 if you reach wizard mode multiple times (my Stiff-o-Meter goes to 23!).
And that is how you get Scared Stiff. Unpleasant dreams!
P.S. For those who encounter a real Scared Stiff: Be warned that while all TPA tables are easier than their real-life counterparts, this one is especially so. On the real SS, Leaper hits are often insta-drains, failed ramp shots are center drains, and too much time in the slings means a trip to the outlanes. You'll need to do a lot of nudging, and don't be surprised if reaching an eight-digit score is a real challenge. Thirty million on the real table is quite respectable.
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