Time for a long post! I just got through writing up a rule sheet for the game as it stands now. If you plan on attending, feel free to study this ahead of time so you can kick butt on this machine.

Yesterday I pulled out the cable I use for updating the software, in the hopes that it won't need anything more for a while. So far I've logged a couple dozen games since the last critical bug fix. Not a single crash or freeze. Testing will continue through this week, but I am confident this game is ready for action at MGC 2019.

And I am freaking DONE with this software! I might come back to it later on (since a few features aren't implemented yet), but I am very glad to have it at a playable and relatively polished state that I don't have to think about. This basically marks two years of development, since I came up with the idea at MGC 2017.

And now without further ado... THE RULES OF UNDERPIN.

*** PLAYFIELD LAYOUT ***

Starting from lower left and going clockwise, as usual.

Lower flippers and slingshots:

The usual, in the usual places.

Left Inlane/Outlane:

Standard return lane configuration. Spells the first two letters in SOUL. Lanes can be changed with the flippers. Spelling SOUL advances bonus multiplier and lights the left ramp to collect an ITEM. Inlane is fed by the Waterfall Ramp.

Upper Left Flipper:

The third of four standard 3" flippers. May get in the way when trying to backhand the left ramp, but it can still be done.

Waterfall Scoop:

An eject hole along the left wall. Feeds the upper left flipper. This scoop can be lit for a random Tem Shop award.

Monster M:

The first of seven red standups. Completing all seven targets lights the Grillby scoop for a boss fight. Until all eight modes have been beaten, all major playfield shots will spot the next unhit Monster target. This is very useful as aiming for the actual targets can be dangerous.

Waterfall Ramp:

The left ramp. Curves sharply back to feed the lower left flipper. The ramp is also fed by the CORE eject VUK. When lit, this ramp collects an ITEM. Collecting items boosts the bonuses awarded during boss battles. This ramp builds towards lighting extra balls (one at 20 ramps, and one at 50).

Monster O:

The second red standup.

HOI:

A bank of three blue standup targets. Each one plays a note of the very strange Temmie Village song. Completing all three targets lights Tem Shop at the Waterfall scoop. It is possible to hit the Grillby scoop with a bank shot off these targets from the lower right flipper, or the Librarby scoop with a bank shot from the upper right flipper. The H-O-I targets were originally intended to be drop targets. However, the playfield hole was cut too small, causing them to bind.

Hotland Passage:

A lane leading to a hole that eventually comes out the Waterfall scoop. This lane is lit for FIGHT in the two endgame boss battles. There is also a light that says SAVE, but its purpose has not yet been decided.

Mettaton:

A single black standup. Doesn't do much. This may be subject to change later.

CORE:

A VUK in the top corner. Due to a design issue, it is extremely hard to hit, so it's not a required shot for anything. Located inside MTT Resort.

Lab Saucer:

Alphys's science lab of eldritch horrors (and anime catgirls). Although very difficult, this saucer can be hit from the shooter lane. This scores a skill shot, which ranges from 20,000 to 50,000. This saucer can be difficult to hit from the lower flippers, as it has no proper back stop and can easily brick.

Monster N:

The third red standup. Easy to hit from the upper right flipper.

Center Ramp:

Makes an elevator noise and feeds the lower right flipper. It is possible to make repeated center ramp shots, but due to past experiences with repetetive ramps, this does not qualify as a combo shot. Like the left ramp, this one builds towards lighting extra balls. During boss fight with Flowey, there is a timed shot here (ACT) to call the six souls. The switch for this ramp is not particularly well placed, and a slow-moving ball can get stuck on it.

Monster S:

The fourth red standup.

Grillby's:

When flashing, begins a battle with the selected boss. Feeds the Waterfall scoop via subway.

Jet Bumper:

Just one, above the Grillby scoop, but can be energetic if the ball ends up hitting it at just the right angle. Builds the payoff bonus at the library, along with the switches behind all the rubber rings in this area.

Skeleton House:

A saucer in the top right corner, that feeds the jet bumper area. Can be somewhat challenging to hit without bricking due to lack of a proper back stop. This saucer can be lit for MERCY on some modes, which adds 5 seconds to the mode timer.

Snowdin Gate:

One-way gate (debatable as it does bounce up easily) that generally keeps a Snowdin-bound ball on a path down to the upper right flipper.

Monster T:

The fifth red standup.

Librarby:

"Yes, we know the sign is misspelled." A scoop above the upper right flipper. Rather difficult to hit, although it's quite exposed to the upper left flipper. Can sometimes be hit from a bank shot off the upper side of the HOI targets. When the payoff bonus has been built to at least 20,000, this scoop is lit to collect it. Feeds the Ruins scoop via subway.

Monster E:

The sixth red standup.

Snowdin Passage:

A lane leading from Snowdin to the rest of the playfield. There was originally going to be a rollover switch here, but ran out of data pins on the original playfield electronics.

Upper Right Flipper:

Another standard 3". Can hit the HOI targets, the Hotland passage, MTT, CORE, N, center ramp, S, can bank shot Librarby, and can even backhand E and Grillby.

Monster R:

The last red standup.

Ruins Scoop:

Feeds the lower right flipper. Can be lit for extra balls.

Right Inlane/Outlane:

Last two letters of SOUL. Inlane in fed by the center ramp. Like the left inlane, sometimes the ball will overshoot the switch coming off the ramp, although not as often on this side.

*** TEM SHOP AWARDS ***

- Spider Donut. Spots the Muffet insert. This is as far as it goes, because the three miniboss inserts (Napstablook, Mad Dummy, and Muffet) have otherwise not been implemented into the rules yet. If it has not already been collected, this award will be the next one you get after beating the Alphys and MTT modes. The award will be given only once.

- Bisicle. Activates the ball saver for 30 seconds.

- Crab Apple. Spots all Monster targets, lighting Grillby scoop.

- Tem Flakes (three varieties). Awards points - 10,000, 25,000, or 50,000.

- Dog Residue. Empties the entire ball trough onto the playfield. Tem Shop and Grillby cannot be collected while more than one ball is up, but most other shots are still accessible. This award will be given only once.

- Butterscotch Pie. Lights the Ruins scoop for an extra ball. This award will be given only once.

- Cinnamon Bunny. Lights all general award arrows for about 15 seconds. Shooting any lit shot awards 25,000.

- Snowman Piece. Maxes out the payoff value at the library to 100,000.

- Free Item.

- Bonus Multiplier.

*** ITEMS AND SOUL AWARDS ***

Completing the lower lanes (usually with help from flipper lane change) advances bonus multiplier up to a max of 10. It also lights the Waterfall ramp to collect an ITEM, timing out after about 15 seconds. Collecting ITEMs increases the value of boss battle awards. The amount varies depending on the mode, but it's always worth more after an item grinding spree. Each "item" level corresponds with the next higher defense/attack item in the actual Undertale, and this level is also counted in your end-of-ball bonus.

*** MONSTERS ***

In the center of the playfield is the classic Undertale heart, with eight lights with character names. Each of them has a minigame - think TAF mansion rooms or TZ door panels - and completing all of them gives you a rather epic wizard mode.

Below is a description of each boss, and some strategies!

Toriel: Target bash fest. All shots and targets score 10K per shot (plus 500/item). A good bounce (typically off the HOI targets) can net 3-4 hits in one shot.

Sans: Hurry-up to the Grillby scoop. Minimum score (last moment shot) is 20K, maximum is 50K plus 5K/item. This can be worth over 100K late in the game. It is possible, although difficult, to hit the scoop before the first second has passed on the timer.

Papyrus: All switches in Snowdin (upper right playfield region) score 10K plus 500/item. The jet bumper is excluded, as a lucky bounce could get very exploitable. Valid switches are center ramp, Monster S, Grillby, rubber ring switches, Skeleton House, Monster T, and Librarby.

Undyne: Two-ball multiball in which spears are hurled your way at random. After the second ball is released, 1-3 shots are lit at random for 20K+500/item. Make the shot to cash in the points and dodge a spear. Random combinations of shots will continue lighting (and timing out) so this can be worth a lot of points if you can keep control of both balls. Losing one (after the ball saver expires) ends the round.

Alphys: All switches in the Hotland area score 20K+500/item - except Lab, which scores double, and treats you to the sound of Alphys attempting a cell phone mod. Valid switches are Hotland passage, Mettaton star target, CORE, Lab, and Monster N.

Mettaton: Prove how fabulous you are by making combo shots, for 20K+500/item. A combo is any shot that is directly fed by the previous shot. The easiest combo is arguably the ramps (left-center-left-center...) but most anything will work if you can aim well enough. If the mode timer is under 5 seconds remaining, the next combo adds another 5 seconds. Thus, the mode will continue forever until that critical moment when you mess a shot up.

Once you have completed the first six boss monsters, Asgore is next. This is a three-ball multiball in which the goal is to shoot the Hotland passage (lit for FIGHT). Each shot is a flat 25K. The mode continues until two of the three balls are lost. After the mode completes, you don't need to spell MONSTER - Grillby will already be lit for the final boss fight.

The final boss is Flowey, as most Undertale fans would probably expect. He taunts you with random phrases (mostly referencing other pinball games) until his mode starts, and he begins things off by calling you an idiot, then emptying the six-ball trough on you.

*** BOSS FIGHT ***

There are two stages to the Flowey battle. In the first stage, you simply deal with the mass pandemonium (or try to hit Hotland to slowly chip away at his health meter) until SOUL ## WARNING flashes on the screen, after which you collect the six human souls with repeated ramp shots. The ramp is open for a limited time, but will always keep re-opening until all souls are collected.

In the second stage of the boss fight, the souls are on your side, and the FIGHT passage does a lot more damage. The playfield re-fills with six balls again at the start of this stage, and if any are lost, a new one is kicked up every 30 seconds. When Flowey's health drops to 0 (after a maximum of 4 Hotland shots), you have won... for now. All balls are released, flippers are disabled, and Flowey laments his defeat on the screen with appropriately intense sound effects.

After Flowey, the monster lights are reset and the game continues from the beginning, releasing any balls still on the playfield. If more than one is still in play (such as if you managed to hit a subway shot just as you got the last hit on Flowey), the music switches to Dogsong and you have a random useless multiball.