Internet Pinball Machine Database: Williams 'High Speed'

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High Speed

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High Speed / IPD No. 1176 / January, 1986 / 4 Players

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Average Fun Rating:

8.0/10 (153 ratings/119 comments) [ Add Your Rating! ]

Manufacturer:

Williams Electronics Games, Incorporated, a subsidiary of WMS Ind.,
Incorporated (1985-1999) [Trade Name: Williams]

Date Of Manufacture:

January, 1986

Model Number:

541

Common Abbreviations:

MPU:

Williams System 11

Type:

Solid State Electronic (SS)

Production:

17,080 units (confirmed)

Serial Number Database:

View at The Internet Pinball Serial Number Database (IPSND.net) (External site)

Theme:

Cops - Driving - Police - Speeding

Notable Features:

Flippers (3), Pop bumpers (3), Slingshots (2), Ramp (1), Kick-out hole (1), 3-bank standup targets (5), Spinning targets (3), Left outlane kickback, Multiball.

First pinball to play a complete song.
First Williams pin game to use alpha-numeric displays.
First use of Auto Percentaging in a solid-state game (for replay scores).
First Jackpot available only during multiball.
First use of broken switch compensation programming.
First SS game with operator report.

Actual measured weight: 256 lbs (includes legs).

Toys:

Traffic light on the ramp. Rotating police beacon light on top of the backbox.

Concept by:

Steve Ritchie

Design by:

Steve Ritchie

Art by:

Mark Sprenger, Python Anghelo

Music by:

Steve Ritchie, Bill Parod

Sound by:

Larry DeMar, Eugene Jarvis, Bill Parod

Software by:

Larry DeMar

Notes:

"High Speed" was the first solid-state pin game to use automatic replay percentaging. An earlier electro-mechanical pin game with this feature was Williams' 1949 'St. Louis'.

This game was the first to have a multiball jackpot that would carry-over from game to game.

Williams' 1981 'Hyperball' used alpha-numeric displays before High Speed but is a flipperless arcade game, not a pin game.

Regarding the theme of this game, Steve Ritchie has said: "It was based on a true story. I was actually chased by the cops at 146 mph in my 1979 Porsche 928."

Ritchie credits Larry DeMar with parts of the design, but DeMar isn't credited for design on the playfield, just software.

Python Anghelo did the backglass art and Mark Sprenger did all other art.

The artwork near the upper right flipper shows insignia on the roofs of the squad cars as A8, W11, and S81. Mark Sprenger told us that this represented the initials and birthdate of his son, as a little gift to him. He also told us that the designer did not want the color green used anywhere on the playfield, calling it bad luck. Mark used green anyway and included for good luck a small four-leaf clover near the top traffic light. With the success of this game, he believes the clover was responsible for "finally breaking the dreaded green curse."

Artist Tim Elliott told us that he is the voice of Dispatch (for example, "Roger, 504. Apprehend him!")

'High Speed' is the first of three Williams games that went into production using System 11. All three games have incorrect schematics showing the same error by depicting placement of the flipper end-of-stroke switch on the wrong side of the coil. As far as we know, all games left the factory correctly wired for EOS. Only the schematics were incorrect. No Manual Amendments or Service Bulletins have been found that acknowledge or correct this error. For a correct drawing of EOSS placement, consult the schematic for Williams' 1986 'PIN�BOT' or subsequent Williams games.

Marketing Slogans:

"Everything else is left behind!"
"Hot Action Pinball!"
"Run the light--and get away-at High Speed."

Photos in:

Arcade Treasures External Link

, page 124
Pinball Machines (Eiden-Lukas) External Link

, page 131
The Pinball Compendium 1982 to Present External Link

, page 63
The Complete Pinball Book External Link

, pages 144-145
Mike Pacak's Pinball Flyer Reference Book G-R

Rule Sheets:

High Speed Rulesheet Version 1.10, by Bill Ung

ROMs:

151 KB

ZIP

Game ROM L-4

[Williams Electronic Games]

Documentation:

159 KB

PDF

Amendments and Additions to the Instruction Manual (probable date Apr 2, 1986)

[Williams Electronic Games, Inc.]

16 MB

PDF

English Manual

[Williams Electronic Games, Inc.]

601 KB

PDF

German Instruction Manual

[Nova Apparate GMBH & Co.]

Images:
(click to zoom)

Backglass 581x478 [John Graves]	Flyer, Front 879x1141	Flyer, Page 2 879x1141	Flyer, Page 3 879x1141	Flyer, Back 879x1141
Promo plastic 403x413 [Mark Gibson]	Topper 1000x866 [Mark Gibson]	Backbox Left 358x571 [Aaron Van Patten]	Backbox Right 259x637 [Aaron Van Patten]	Cabinet Front 277x480 [Aaron Van Patten]
Cabinet Left 575x480 [Aaron Van Patten]	Cabinet Right 640x480 [Aaron Van Patten]	Front View 170x454 [Aaron Van Patten]	Coin Door 640x480 [Aaron Van Patten]	Backbox 958x1019 [Aaron Van Patten]
Inside Backbox 640x480 [Aaron Van Patten]	Back of Light Board 640x480 [Aaron Van Patten]	Ball View 1024x768 [Aaron Van Patten]	Under Playfield 943x1265 [Aaron Van Patten]	Upper Playfield 960x1280 [Aaron Van Patten]
Under Playfield 476x479 [Aaron Van Patten]	Press Release 618x787	Backglass 400x400 [Bruno Durand]	Upper Playfield 896x600 [Michael Sciulli]	Middle Playfield 896x600 [Michael Sciulli]
Lower Playfield 896x600 [Michael Sciulli]	Backglass - Detail 400x300 [Bruno Durand]	Playfield 480x640 [Stan Miczek]	Playfield 640x480 [Stan Miczek]	Prototype Playfield 1024x1510 [Steve Ritchie]
Prototype Upper Playfield 1024x677 [Steve Ritchie]	Prototype Illuminated Lower Playfield 1024x688 [Steve Ritchie]	Playfield* 1200x1600 [R. Hunter Gough]	Illuminated Playfield 619x825 [Brad Berryman]	Behind Backglass 900x675 [Brad Berryman]
Artist Signature on Backglass 1200x845 [Marco Rossignoli]	Cabinet - Front View 763x1600 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Illuminated Front View 739x1600 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Cabinet - Front 1200x840 [Jean-Pierre Renault]	Stripped Playfield 942x1600
Stripped Upper Playfield 1200x900	Stripped Middle Playfield 1200x900	Stripped Lower Playfield 1200x900	Stripped Lower Playfield 1200x900	Stripped Playfield - Upper Reverse 1200x897
Stripped Playfield - Middle Reverse 1200x943	Stripped Playfield - Lower Reverse 1200x1006

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