Star Trek: The Next Generation
About This Machine
Star Trek: The Next Generation, released by Williams Electronics Games in November 1993, is a landmark widebody pinball machine built around a specially patented below-the-playfield ball delivery system. Conceived by Steve Ritchie and designed with Dwight Sullivan and Greg Freres (who also provided the art), the system keeps replacement balls staged beneath the playfield in three VUKs, so that when a ball drops into one of the three cellar holes, its corresponding VUK immediately kicks a new ball into play — keeping gameplay continuous without the delay of routing a ball all the way underneath and back up.
The game's features are equally ambitious: three flippers, three pop bumpers, three ramps, two 3-bank standup targets, a spinning target, and a left outlane kickback, alongside a catapult-powered autoplunger that launches the ball through a spiral habitrail. It supports 2-, 3-, 4-, or 6-ball multiball, with unlimited buy-in balls available as an operator option. Two ball-firing cannons mounted atop the slingshot bumpers add a signature toy, with the Borg ship firing the locked ball toward the flippers at the start of multiball.
Part of Williams/Midway's 'SuperPin' widebody line, Star Trek: The Next Generation sold 11,728 confirmed units, making it one of the more commercially successful and mechanically ambitious widebody titles of its era.
Images (76)
Technical Details
- Theme:
- Licensed Theme - Outer Space
- Model Number:
- 50023
- MPU:
- Williams WPC (DCS)
- Toys:
- Two ball-firing cannons are on top of the slingshot bumpers. The Borg ship fires the locked ball at the flippers at the start of multiball.
- Notable Features:
- Flippers (3), Pop bumpers (3), Ramps (3), 3-bank standup targets (2), Spinning target (1), Cellar holes (4, with one blocked by a drop target), Left outlane kickback. Catapult used for autoplunger (ball is launched through a spiral habitrail). 2-, 3-, 4-, or 6-ball multiball. Unlimited buy-in balls per player (operator option). There are three cellar holes in the upper half of the playfield. They lead to three VUKs below the playfield that will kick the ball up to the left habitrail or to either of the two cannons on top of the slingshots. To reduce the time it would take for a ball to fall into a cellar hole, roll down under the playfield to a VUK, and resurface back into play, a patented below-the-playfield multiple ball delivery system was developed. In this system, other balls are already positioned below the playfield, one in each of the three VUKs. As soon as the playfield ball falls into a cellar hole, the corresponding VUK kicks its ball into play. The playfield ball then rolls down to remain in the newly-vacated VUK. Game play is continuous, and time has been saved. Patent #5,350,174 [BELOW THE PLAY FIELD BALL DELIVERY SYSTEM FOR A PINBALL GAME] filed October 28, 1993. Granted September 27, 1994 to Ritchie et al. Assignee is Williams Electronic Games, Inc.
Credits
- Designer:
- Steve Ritchie, Dwight Sullivan, Greg Freres
- Artist:
- Greg Freres
- Software:
- Dwight Sullivan, Matt Coriale
- Music:
- Dan Forden
- Sound:
- Dan Forden
- Mechanics:
- Carl Biagi
- Dots/Animation:
- Scott Slomiany, Eugene Geer