Star Wars Episode 1 is a relatively new pinball machine based on the Williams Pinball 2000 platform, which is an incredibly neat combination of modern videogame technology and the classic mechanics of pinball.

Standard Pinball Rulesheet Disclaimer-like Crap: Williams, Pinball 2000, and lots of other things in this document are probably trademarks of Williams Electronic Games, INC. I will not be responsible for any damages to the fabric of space-time caused by inaccuracy or omissions in this document, unless you have mailed me an antigravity cow. The asterisks in this document are flags to stuff I have to verify/correct/add... any contributions are welcome.

Warning!

This machine carries a warning label that states it should not be played by persons with epilepsy or who are otherwise sensitive to flashing lights, etc. (Attack From Mars carried a similar warning, due to the strobe light beneath the flying saucer.) If you feel dizziness or anything else particularly wierd while playing this or any other game, STOP IMMEDIATELY.
This machine is very heavy. Don't try a Slap Save (bumping the machine sideways to force the flipper to meet the ball) unless you know just how much force this will require! Bang Backs and Death Saves will probably be next to impossible - rest assured the outlanes will try to swallow very few balls.

Overview

The playfield of Star Wars Episode 1 is amazingly retro. Anyone who's played an electromechanical or early solid-state game will probably recognize a lot of the features as being on that favorite machine they always played back when they had to stand on a couple phone books to see over the glass...

Externally, Star Wars Episode 1 looks a lot like any other pinball machine, with a few exceptions. First, the usual flipper buttons each have a large semicircular 'Action Button' behind them. Second, the backglass is a very odd affair, extending out and overhanging part of the playfield. There is a VGA (SVGA??) CRT monitor in the large overhanging backbox. The image from this CRT is visible as a reflection on the glass. The full-color graphics and videos on this machine are incredible...

Playfield

Clockwise from left flipper: Slingshot, inlane, outlane, three(?) standup targets ("The Force"), left orbit (Build C3PO; feeds the Jets from above), left sinkhole (*???'s Junk Shop), left ramp, left-center standup target, center target/Vertical Up Kicker (VUK), right-center standup target, right ramp, right sinkhole (*something-or-other Market), right orbit and Jets, Extra Ball/Skill Shot lane, Sith Probe (magnet), three more standup targets, right outlane, inlane, slingshot, flipper. Whew.
Lock balls in both the sinkholes for multiball. The left-hand one is easier to settle a ball in than the right one, thanks to a handy energy-absorbing captive ball. The right-hand one is harder to get a ball to settle in, due to the rather odd metal piece behind. A shot that bounces out of here, though, will probably land in the otherwise difficult Extra Ball lane, so if you're ever really stumped as to how to get the ball down there, give the right sinkhole a nice hard line-drive from the left flipper. These sinkholes both eject the ball towards the flipper on their side. I have found an unconfirmed mention in a preliminary rulesheet on pinball.org that a ball locked in one of these may remain between games, making it necessary to lock only one for multiball. Each time you put a ball in one, you get a random award.
The ramps and everything in between are software-defined as to what they do. Unlike most machines, which usually have arrow-shaped lights indicating what each feature will do, Star Wars Ep. 1 uses the lower 1/4 of the CRT to project 'targets' over these objects. Shooting the center feeds a vertical kicker which drops the ball on either side of the ramp (I don't know if there's any logic to WHICH side). The ramps are a mirror image of one another, and drop the ball on the inlane on their respective sides, right on top of the rollover switch. Note that when a video mode has the ramps lit for something, say, a jackpot, the ball does not have to travel all the way up the ramp to collect it! Is this a bug, or a feature?

... to be finished soon.