Submitted for your approval: the rules for a pinball game from a place
where nothing is what it seems... the Twilight Zone. (duh!) If you have any
corrections, suggestions, or complaints, e-mail to bowen@cardinal.stanford.edu.
"Twilight Zone" is obviously a licensed theme (though it strangely
lacks the word "The" at the start); anything having to do with the game itself
is probably owned by Bally/Williams.
This rule sheet is written both for those who have played TZ and those
who haven't; as a result I probably have overdone certain portions, especially
the description of the playfield. However, some (few) portions are purposely
vague, and point to "spoilers" which are provided in a secondary post. If you
want to truly enjoy this game, and the discovery of cool stuff, don't touch the
spoilers (don't touch the spoilers don't touch... sorry - if you don't get that
joke yet, you will soon).
Hope you like it, feel free to copy this thing as many times as you
want; publish it in an Australian trade magazine for all I care. :) Extra
thanx to Mike Lewis and Steve Bollinger for outstanding use of automobiles.
By the way, note the author of this piece: I'm Bowen, not Kevin - no
mail for Kevin ok? :)
[ Aww, no fun ;) ]
Rules for Bally's "Twilight Zone" (L-3 ROMs)
____________________________________________
Bowen Kerins
--- Playfield Description and Very Basic Rules ---
We'll do this generally from left to right.
Left Inlanes/Outlane: Twilight Zone has a very wide left inlane/outlane setup,
much wider than that of TAF. The left-side lane dividers are wide, and
plastic; the divider of the two inlanes is below the slingshot, and the
in/out divider is even lower, making it difficult to save a ball headed
there. The lanes have rubber posts at the top, so it's not hard to
save a ball that hasn't chosen a lane yet. The outlane can be lit for
an Extra Ball (via Camera or Super Skill Shot), the left inlane lights
the right Spiral for a Gangway-type shot, and the right inlane lights
the Slot Machine briefly if it is unlit.
Non-bumper zone: Prototype TZ machines have a plastic bar to the left of the
Jet Bumpers, separating them from the left inlanes/outlane. If this
bar is there, it creates an area, like Whitewater, where the ball can
hit a bumper without being in them. Any ball in this area is a left
drain candidate.
Jet Bumpers: there are three, located closer to the flippers than those on TAF,
but at the same angle. Each bumper adds to the "Town Square Value",
which is scored by a shot through the bumpers to a hole. The value of
one of the three bumpers is advanced from 1OOK to 2OOK (or 2OOK to
3OOK) by an unlit Camera shot, and a Skill Shot can advance several
(see that section). The Town Square Value starts each ball at 7.5M,
and only carries over on a particular lit Camera shot (rare at best).
The Town Square Value maxes out at 25M. The ball enters the bumpers
after a Hitchhiker shot, or an unsuccessful Battle the Power. By the
way, the Town Square hole serves many purposes; it takes balls from
the gumball machine, Camera, and a successful Battle the Power shot.
"Battle the Power": (aka the Powerfield) is a mini-playfield located just
behind and above the Jet Bumpers (above the Town Square hole). Its
shape is a right-side-up triangle, with two holes: a bottom hole, if
you "drain", dumps the ball to the Jet Bumpers; another at the top is
your goal. The best way to picture what it looks like is to imagine a
Christmas tree shape, trunk at bottom. Shave off the top two-thirds of
the tree, and you get a kind of trapezoid shape, not quite a rectangle
but closer to a rectangle than a triangle. Now put a hole in the
middle top, and replace the "trunk" with another hole. Sounds weird,
but try picturing it or writing it down, and the mini-playfield looks
quite a bit like it. There are two magnetic flippers, dubbed Magna-
Flip (TM), in the positions where you might expect regular flippers to
be. Operating the flipper buttons turns the magnets on and off, and
the idea is to turn the magnet on, propel the ball toward the magnet,
then shut it off and let the ball's momentum carry it into the scoring
hole. The complete setup and a little strategy is discussed later.
Gumball Machine: a real-looking, real-working machine that spits out pinballs
instead of gumballs. Almost always, one of the gumballs is the
"Powerball", a lighter ceramic ball which starts the Powerball round
(described later). The machine (with a working knob, check it out!) is
fed by lighting "Gumball" on the ramps, then shooting the Right Spiral.
It's easy to know how many Gumball machine hits are needed to get the
Powerball - we can see all the balls in the machine except the one
which comes out next. At the start of a game, the Gumball machine
holds three balls; almost always, there should be three in there.
Hitchhiker shot: this side shot is made by the upper right flipper, which is
fairly low; the shot's angle and distance is similar to that of the
Trapdoor on FunHouse, only reversed. When shot, it awards a Hitchhiker
Pickup (the game begins with 1 Pickup awarded), which adds 5OOK to
Bonus, and lights Battle the Power at 3 and every 1O. The shot is
made automatically by the Rocket kicker, and if shot after a left
Spiral, awards a "Triple Pickup" - 3 for the price of 1. The Triple
Pickup animation is cool and spooky, and is described later. The
sensor for a Hitcher shot is on the upswing of the shot, so it's
possible to get a Hitcher without going into the bumpers. Depending
on table lean, it may be possible to shoot the Hitchhiker after a Left
Spiral shot simply by holding up the flipper.
Camera shot: again, made by the upper right flipper, but slightly higher (angle
similar to Rudy's mouth, in the other direction - it also resembles the
Load Cannon shot in Black Rose). If unlit, the display reads "Jet
Bumper Added" - it only adds to the value of a bumper, not the number
of bumpers. :) If the Jets are at maximum (3OOK each) the display
reads "Jets at Max", then nothing for any additional shots. If lit (by
the Door or every 1O Robots), the Camera shot gives a semi-random
award; it is described later. The Camera shot also relights the
jackpot in the standard Multiball mode, but any shot to the Camera is
nearly impossible without raising the small upper left flipper, which
blocks most of the Camera hole! Never thought flipping both flippers
at once would be good for anything... actually, once raising the
flipper is learned, the Camera shot is a cinch.
Upper Left Flipper: a brief comment that it is nearly impossible to SEE this
flipper from a normal, standing position... it is blocked by the
"Battle the Power" mini-playfield. To see the flipper, and to make the
shots the flipper requires, you need to move your head to the right...
so everybody'll be playing like Rick Stetta at AMOA. :)
Left Spiral: Beyond the upper left flipper is the orbit, called the Spiral.
This Spiral feeds the upper right flipper; the right feeds the upper
left flipper. The angle of the left Spiral is near the Thing lock
shot on TAF - it's a little to the left of it, at about the same
distance. Either Spiral can be shot for the Spiral Value, which is lit
on the left Spiral for 5 seconds by shooting it or by rolling over the
right inlane. Spiral awards are 2M, 3M + light "Battle the Power", 4M,
5M + "Power", 1OM, then 1OM, "Power", and Lite Extra Ball at once - in
the respect of working-to-an-extra-ball, it's very like FunHouse. On
normal settings, the Spiral Award is 4M to begin, and carries over
ball-to-ball. After lighting the EB, any additional Spiral shots that
ball are 1OM; after the ball, the EB disappears and the Spiral value
resets to 2M - it will reset to 2M every ball thereafter. Both Spirals
are equipped with magnets, which activate after a Spiral award and in a
few other instances - more on them later. You can't collect a Spiral
Award during any multiball.
Left Ramp: This is almost the exact reverse of the Bear Kick ramp - it's easier
to hit from the right flipper but possible to backhand, and returns the
ball to the left flipper. The ramp lights the Piano if unlit, and
returns the ball to the "Light Slot Machine" left inlane. It also
scores a "Robot" - x Robots for an Extra Ball lit at "Lock" (ours went
from 8 to 12; adjustable for 1O% of games; it seems to never go below
6 Robots), Camera lit at every 1O Robots. It also spots "Gum" (the
right ramp spots "Ball") - completing "Gumball" lights a Lock and the
Gumball machine. The ramp has a diverter which can feed the auto
plunger lane; a diverter at the lane can send the ball to the manual
lane.
Barney: shoot this hole to the right of the Left Ramp, and a large, purple
dinosaur comes out from under the playfield, stealing the ball. This
feature has been eliminated in production machines, due to a lawsuit
from Data East; it has been replaced by an identical purple groundhog.
Watch the display, as each shot increases the size of Barney's stomach.
Five shots make the stomach explode for a 5OM "Indigestion Bonus" and a
round of Intestinal Mania.
Clock Target: a single, stand-up target between the two ramps, it's hittable
from either lower flipper, and even from the upper edge of the top left
flipper. In regular play, the target lights one of the 7 5-million
targets (their locations in a bit) - if all 7 are lit, the Clock Target
scores a one-time 1OM "Clock Bonus", along with incredibly startling
sound, flashing light, and cool animation. Additional Clock hits (that
ball) with all 5M targets lit gives nothing but a "cuckoo" noise. In
certain Door and Camera modes, the Clock Target is worth lots of points
and more animations.
Right Ramp: A metal ramp in the same location and design as Star Wars, just to
the right of the Clock Target. If "Battle the Power" is lit, the
habitrail feeds the ball to the mini-playfield. If not, it tells you
how many Hitchhikers you need to light the Power as a hard-to-describe
device (someone called it a "carriage") catches the ball on the
habitrail, then flips upside-down, dumping the ball just above the
upper left flipper for a Piano shot. If the carriage fails to deliver
the ball to the flipper, look out; the carriage's movement can send the
ball flying in any direction. This doesn't happen all that often, tho.
"Lock": a very very small target (size and location of "Guile" on SF2) which
scores locks when lit from "Gumball". 3 locks are usually needed for
multiball; more on that later. "Lock" also scores a Robot, and scores
the Extra Ball when lit. Shots to "Lock" feed back to the upper right
flipper. Balls which are locked stay there between games, but this is
not as much of a problem as it was in TAF - since Locks are scored so
rarely, and multiball isn't hard to start once Locks are made, rarely
are all three trough balls in Lock. The Lock shot, on some machines,
is also notorious for having balls rattle around in the entrance, then
coming straight back at the "Shoot Again" sign. If yours does this,
complain; the ramp piece is bent/broken.
Player Piano: This is a side shot from the upper left flipper; the angle is
similar to the 5x Graveyard shot of TAF, but the distance is much
shorter. The Piano is lit at the start of each ball, and relit by the
left ramp; shooting it plays a brief tune, then awards the lit item on
the Door (I'm gonna call these "Door Prizes" :). Shooting the Piano
when unlit awards "Odd Change", which is quite funny; it gives a random
point award, as high as 1OM, as low as... 1O. Two lights are above the
Piano: a solid yellow light means the Piano will award a Door Prize, a
flashing red light means it will award the Jackpot, neither awards Odd
Change. The Piano is relit at the start of each ball.
Clock: Not a shot; it just seemed appropriate here. The Clock is located just
behind the Piano shot, and it (usually) counts down scoring rounds and
things; the Clock can move at varying speeds, and once it hits 12,
that's the end of the round. The Clock is a genuine, analog clock with
hour and minute hands; the minute hand crosses sensors every 15 (Clock)
minutes, in order to calibrate itself (watch closely when the Clock
winds itself back to 12, always in the easier direction; it overshoots
12 by a few minutes, then reverses and stops on the sensor). The
sensors also cause display changes during Clock rounds, so watch the
display if you so desire.
"Power Payoff" targets: the only truly UNimportant targets in TZ. After
shooting "Battle the Power", either of the two standup Payoff targets
(which are just below the Piano) is worth a one-time 1OM bonus. Yahoo!
Well it IS worth something, and is a shot to make if the Piano isn't
lit. A shot to these targets when unlit causes "the Power" to laugh at
you - the voice is reminiscent of the Black Knight.
"Combo Hole": won't score anything, it's just a passage just below the Payoff
targets down to the upper right flipper. The combo hole is part of
some 3- and 4-Way Combos. By the way, I made up the name, it's not
named. Better than "Hole" though. The Combo Hole does have an optical
sensor, but it appears to do nothing. Maybe it just looks like an
optical sensor.
Slot Machine: the Slot Machine is located nearly halfway up the playfield, on
the right side. Its location is closest to the "2" and "3" targets on
Earthshaker. The Slot Machine hole is small, the size of the Electric
Chair (the Piano shot is twice as wide but equally hard-to-hit); a
missed shot will often result in a center drain, so it's risky. The
Slot Machine will award a random Door Prize if lit, and will not award
the flashing Door Prize unless it's the last one. It will also never
award "Extra Ball Lit" unless absolutely necessary. Slot is lit at the
beginning of each ball, and is relit by the Right Ramp. The rightmost
Left Inlane relights the machine for a few seconds. The Slot Machine
also serves as kickout for many shots; any ball from a missed Skill
Shot comes out here, as well as balls from the Gumball machine, a
successful "Battle the Power", any shot to the Piano, Town Square or
Camera holes, and of course a shot to the Slot Machine. The kickout is
always to the right flipper; it's fairly simple to trap, although the
Slot Machine occasionally kicks the ball (especially the Powerball)
too close to the center drain - it really depends on your machine. A
yellow light is above the Slot: solidly lit awards a Door Prize, steady
flashing awards Super Slot, flashing faster and faster awards Door
Prize for a few seconds, unlit awards - yay - 1OOK. The Slot Machine
relights at the start of each ball.
Right Spiral: located near the far right of the playfield (at an angle similar
to Banzai Run's ramp, a bit further back), the Spiral scores the Spiral
Value if lit from the leftmost inlane or a shot to the unlit Right
Spiral. This shot also puts a ball in the Gumball machine when lit by
the ramps. The Right Spiral is a difficult shot (like there are easy
shots on this game), and needs to be made on the far edge of the left
flipper.
Upper Right Flipper: A standard-length flipper. Just thought you might like
to know.
Rocket Kickout: an accidental shot; if the ball falls in the Rocket hole
(located similarly to the Handcuff hole on Police Force), it is kicked
into the Jet Bumpers via the Hitchhiker shot (so it awards a free
Hitcher). There's also a very brief rocket animation, which won't
disturb the game. The ball also falls directly into the Rocket hole
from a made Skill Shot.
Double Plunger Lanes: TZ has a unique feature which incorporates the idea of
both an auto and a manual plunger (first done in Checkpoint), but like
everything else, it's done better... in the Twilight Zone. :) The ball
is fed from the trough into the left (auto) plunger lane, and depending
on the position of the diverter, puts the ball in either the auto or
manual lane. The only times a ball will be put in the auto-plunge lane
are during any kind of multiball (Fast Lock, Powerball Mania, regular
multiball...) or if more than one ball somehow came out of the Gumball
machine (usually a mech. failure). The auto-plunger kicks the ball
through the Right Spiral, either to the top left flipper or into the
Gumball machine. If the ball goes into the right, manual plunger lane,
you get a shot at the...
Skill Shot: The manual plunger lane has a one-way gate, followed by three
color-coded rollovers. The first is Red, second Orange, third Yellow,
beyond which is a sinkhole not unlike Creature's Snackbar. The shot's
worth is determined by the rollovers: Red awards 2M and advances a Jet
Bumper; Orange - 5M, 2 bumpers; Yellow - 1OM, all 3 bumpers. Shooting
the hole (1OO% Newbie award :) awards nothing... well, 1M plus 1OOK for
the Slot Machine kickout. There is a "Super Skill Shot", more later.
5-Million Targets: (aka "Greed" targets) The seven 5M targets are all over:
-one to the left of the entrance to the Jet Bumpers, another to their
right
-one, sideways, just below the entrance to the Hitchhiker shot
-one just above the Piano shot; often a ball bounces into the Piano off
the edge of this target
-two, sideways, below the Combo Hole and to the left of the Slot
Machine
-one, frontwards, to the left of the Slot Machine.
All these targets are lit by the Clock Target, by a Door or Camera
award, while the Powerball is in play, or during multiball. The Clock
Target lights up one of the 7 targets, in no particular order. Hitting
a 5M target turns that target off. These are small, hard-to-hit
targets; I've never hit one on purpose, but then again I've never had
nothing else to shoot at. Some of the 5M targets are drain shots, so
make sure you know what you're doing - I find it simpler to ignore them
and get lucky hits.
Right Inlane/Outlane: the Right Inlane lights three things - Dead End at the
Town Square hole, Bonus X at the Left Ramp, and the Left Spiral for the
Spiral Value. Dead End stays lit for the rest of the ball until
claimed; the others time out quickly. It is possible to shoot Dead End
quickly enough to still shoot the Bonus X after the Slot Machine
kickout. The Right Outlane scores a Special if lit. The divider
between the inlane and outlane is just a metal piece, making it hard to
save a ball over there.
Bottom Flippers and Slingshots: they exist. Amazing. :) Well, at least the
flippers are full-length. The bottom flippers are near the "Twilight
Zone" playfield graphics, so in a too-well-lit room you might lose
track of where those flippers are.
Death Saves and Bang Backs: both are possible on TZ! Rick Stetta successfully
did Bang Backs from both sides (however, it is much easier to do from
the right, a shorter distance); and on not-very-sensitive tilt
settings, Death Saves aren't difficult and can be made with only the
single up-&-to-the-right push. The side bar has given many a
laceration, so watch it... Beware when Death Saving: bonus is quite a
lot on this game, so "deal with the devil at your own risk... in the
Twilight Zone." (That, by the way, is the quote given on a Tilt.)
Lots of stuff, huh? And those are just the basics...
The Door
________
"You unlock this door with the key of imagination." -Rod... all quotes,
unless otherwise noted, are by a dead (yes, "dead") ringer for Rod Serling;
take a long pause wherever you see "-" in the quotes.
The Door is not a shot, just as the Mansion is not a shot; the Door
sits in the middle of the playfield, and shows your progress in several things.
It gives your status on the Gumball machine - red lights, located on the top
two panels of the Door light up when "Gum" or "Ball" is shot. It gives your
status toward multiball - orange lights, the bottom two panels of the Door,
light up for Lock 1 and Lock 2. It gives your status on the 15 (15?!) Door
Prizes (ok, fine, maybe they're called Door Panels, but which sounds better?) -
14 of them, in yellow, surround the Door, solidly lit if already collected,
blinking if lit at the Piano. The 15th is the white handle on the Door.
The lit Door Prize is changed by the Jet Bumpers - this happens a lot, and at
the beginning of most balls, so the lit Door Prize is effectively random. The
Door Prize lit at the beginning of a game is also random, a choice between Town
Square Madness, Clock Millions, and Clock Chaos. Following are the Door
Prizes, with a description of each round, and any appropriate quotes or
animations.
(By the way, the order of the Door Prizes, clockwise from upper left:
Town Square Madness, X-Ball Lit, Super Slot, Clock Millions, Spiral, Battle
Power, 1O Million, Greed, Camera, Hitchhiker, Clock Chaos, Super Skill Shot,
Fast Lock, Lite Gumball. A Jet Bumper hit advances the lit Prize clockwise.)
--- 1O Million --- picture: "Big Points, 1O Million, Big Points". Wowee wow.
quote: Rod - "Ten million points." Every quote is more
interesting... when said by Rod Serling.
Yeah RIGHT, Big Points my butt. With the replay at 25O million, this
reminds me of the 1OOK "Big Points" from T2. A nice idea: this Door
Prize is spotted by a Yellow Skill Shot, which scores 1OM on its own.
On hard settings, the 1OM Door Prize is not spotted.
--- Light Extra Ball --- picture: a buncha balls. Yawn.
quote: Rod - "An opportunity awaits you in the form of
an extra... ball."
Later, the Power yells, "Get the Extra Ball!"
Extra Ball lights at "Lock". Shooting any Extra Ball provides a nice
animation and sound: Talking Tina shows up and says "My name is Talking
Tina. Here's your Extra Ball!" then throws the ball from the left side
of the screen to the right. Then something happens to the ball - for
the first EB, it explodes. For the second, it grows legs, a hat falls
from above, and the ball walks away. For the third... well see the
spoilers if you want to, but it's REAL funny. There is a fourth, but
I can't vouch for what it does or says, since I dunno. **Important:
collecting -any- other lit Extra Ball at "Lock" spots the EB Door
Prize! So make absolutely sure you get this Door Prize before getting
an extra ball, else you'll get robbed. That's any EB from Robot Ramp,
Dead End, Super Skill Shot, Spiral, or Outlanes.
--- The Spiral --- animation: three of those optical illusions where circles
rotate and it looks like a 3-D column of circles.
One disappears for each Spiral shot in the round.
quote: "The spiral awaits you." Ooh. Later, the Power
yells, "Enter the Spiral!"
As the Clock counts up (in most all timed rounds it circles from 12 to
12 again, clockwise of course :), shooting either Spiral collects a
"Spiral Award" - the first two are both 1OM, the third is 15M. As each
Spiral is collected, cool quote from the Power: "That's once...twice...
thrice" just like Seance. Didn't hear a "Well done!" at the end, it's
probably not there. Some Spiral strategy: since any ball kicked from
the auto-plunger goes through the Spiral, start multiball and get
free credit for one or two of them. After the third Spiral shot, the
display shows a single Spiral bouncing across it, back and forth. The
Clock continues to roll, and shooting a fourth (fifth, &c.) Spiral
awards a "Spiral Breakthrough" (Power: "Breakthru!") worth 15M. The
first three Spirals stop the ball on the magnets (so a whole orbit shot
really isn't required), but a Spiral Breakthrough won't be stopped.
--- Super Skill Shot --- picture: shows the Rocket.
quote: "This shot requires skill - super skill."
Super Skill Shot becomes lit on the Left Ramp (which pre-empts
multiball if lit); the ramp feeds the ball to the auto-plunger lane and
then to the manual lane. Rod says, "Be careful", and you'd better be -
it's very annoying to miss this one. The awards: Red rollover lights
"Battle the Power"; Orange lights the outlanes; Yellow lights Extra
Ball... shooting the sinkhole scores no major award. Whichever you
hit, even if you miss them all, you get 1OM extra - it would've been
nice if the sinkhole awarded nothing at all or even deducted points. :)
The Extra Ball disappears if unclaimed that ball.
-Oh by the way - "Lite Outlanes" lights extra ball on the left outlane, special
on the right outlane; only one is lit at a time, changed by the slingshots.
The awards go away at the end of the ball - interestingly, both can be scored!
If one is awarded in a multiball, the other lights every other slingshot hit.
--- Hitchhiker --- picture: a thumb.
Hitchhiker immediately awards 2M for every "Hitchhiker Pickup" you've
scored in the game - potentially this can be a big bonus (I've had 3O
Hitchers), and the game counts down each one with a "Beoo..." sound
(sort of). The countdown accelerates with more Hitchers, moving very
very quickly if you have more than 1O or 2O. For the rest of the ball,
each Hitchhiker is worth an additional 2M - so the Triple Pickup is
worth 6M and the "1O Hitchhikers" Camera award is worth 2OM. After the
counted bonus (awarded immediately), Rod says, "Note the Hitchhiker...
there, by the side of the road." Additional Hitchhiker shots that ball
also generate the "Beoo..." sound.
--- Super Slot --- picture: the Slot Machine.
quote: "It seems that one of life's payoffs is ahead."
animation: while lit, the display shows slot machine awards
like a cherry or a 7; when shot, we see a machine
spitting out money.
As the Clock ticks away, shoot the Slot Machine for a random score
award - awarded immediately, it's always between 1O and 2O million.
This shot can be made several times in the round. "Can". Door Prizes
are still awarded by the Machine in Super Slot round - the same rules
still apply.
--- Clock Millions --- picture: gee, the Clock... oh forget the pictures.
quote: "This clock... is worth millions."
animation: The clock sits on the screen; each hit to the
Clock Target sends a pinball into the corner
of the clock, damaging it.
For as long as the Clock turns around, a hit to the Clock Target scores
as many points as the hour on the Clock. So if you hit the target
immediately, it scores 12 million, then 1M, 2M, etc. There's a short
grace period at the end in which you can hit the target for 12M again.
Each hit further damages the displayed clock on the screen; five hits
awards an end-of-round "Clock Damage Bonus" of 1OM. Six hits awards
2OM in Clock Damage. Seven, anyone? The total from Clock Millions
(including Clock Damage bonus) is tacked on at the end of your ball.
--- Greed --- quote: "The stakes are higher - in the Twilight Zone."
animation: shows a cash register with a "cha-ching" every time a
Greed target is hit.
The Greed total starts at 5M. As the Clock counts, hit as many of the
5-Million targets as possible; each adds 5M to the Greed total, which
is awarded at the end of the ball. Upon hitting the first Greed
Greed target, a voice yells, "You want more?" Then with each
successive target hit, it yells "More!" louder and louder. A cool
quote at the end of the Greed round: "There. See what... Greed will
get you?" Rod says this, not Gomez... Like regular play, hitting a 5M
target turns it off.
--- Fast Lock --- quote: "It's time to tune in to - the Twilight Zone."
animation: shows a radio dial changing from right to left.
The Fast Lock score begins at 2OM, and drops to 5.3M over about 15 sec.
Every 3 seconds, the radio stops at a "station", the score stops
falling (making it the frequency of the station!), and we hear a quote
from one of Pat Lawlor's earlier games, in reverse chronological order.
Shooting "Lock" after a quote gives the current Fast Lock score, a
second quote from the game, begins a musical piece from it, and starts
a 3-ball quick multiball, during which (like Thing multiball) any shot
to "Lock" awards that value again. The quotes and music:
-from TAF, Cousin It mumbles, "Babadabadababa..." or whatever.
Hitting "Lock" yields the sound when hitting It, and begins the TAF
"get the Jackpot" music.
-from FunHouse, Rudy says, "Hey, it's only pinball!" Hitting yields
the Rudy Gulp sound ("Gulp... ptooey!"), and begins the "get the
Jackpot" music.
-from Whirlwind, "Return to your homes." Hitting: "Do not panic."
Music: get the Jackpot.
-from Earthshaker, "It's sunny drive time!" Hitting: "Ooh ooh,
gimme shelter!" Music is from regular gameplay, though...
-from Banzai Run, "Welcome race fans!" Hitting: "Go for the Hill!"
(sadly not "Banzaii!!") and the standard game music, courtesy Brian
Schmidt (now of Data East).
Shooting Fast Lock before Cousin It mumbles doesn't award anything
different, unfortunately. Be nice to have another hidden thingy there.
One thing of note is that the Earthshaker and Banzai Run quotes were
clearly redone for TZ; they're close but not quite the real thing.
Also, notice the sound between "stations" - ooh static. Like other
multiballs, having the Powerball in play lites the Powerball Loops for
1OM bonus (these are described later). Fast Lock really isn't worth
that many points; during it, you might prefer to shoot things like
Hitchhiker, which you normally might be afraid to shoot in regular
play.
--- Clock Chaos --- quote: "Time is a one-way street - except in... the
Twilight Zone."
animation: a small robot (or astronaut) stands next to a
Clock, winding it to "Pop Goes the Weasel."
As with Clock Millions, 5M is awarded automatically, and any hit to the
Clock Target awards the time on the clock. However... for this round,
the Clock starts at 6, and begins to move backwards. A hit to the
Target stops the clock (on display: a pinball nails the guy winding the
Clock, who gets mad, destroys the ball, and begins to wind the clock
faster) - and also changes the direction of the Clock! If the Clock
ever hits 12 on either side, the round ends - not immediately, there's
a short grace period at 12 so keep trying! Potentially scoring in
Clock Chaos is unlimited - however, the Clock begins to move VERY
quickly after three hits. After 5 hits, a very appropriate and
hilarious quote comes out... see the spoilers, but this is one you want
to find out for yourself. Clock Chaos is an end-of-ball award, and
can go very very high - I've gone as high as 1O5M on it.
--- The Camera --- quote: "It is a most unusual camera." The Power then says,
"Look to the future!" since the camera shows the
future... sometimes Rod says this.
This award, as well as every 1O Robots, lights the Camera hole for an
award. Lighting Camera from the Door allows you to collect two Camera
awards, while every 1O Robots lites one Camera award. Camera award
collections are stackable, and carry ball-to-ball. You are told what
the award is before you collect it; however, the sequence of awards is
apparently random (you can't say, "Oh well it's 2O million now, so next
time it'll be Collect Bonus!). The awards:
-2O million... more "big" points. Actually it's a good award, just
boring.
-Lite Greed Targets: all 5M targets lit for immediate collection.
This also means that the Clock Target is immediately lit for 1OM -
but they don't want you to know that. :)
-Hold Town Square: Town Square Value stays where it is. Poor award.
-3x Town Square: Awards 3x the current Town Square Value. This can
be as high as 75M.
-Clock 1O Millions: A timed round. 1OM is awarded automatically,
and during the round any Clock Target hit is another immediate 1OM
bonus. The animation is exactly like Clock Millions; enough hits
again awards the Clock Damage bonus. Rod begins the round (as with
Clock Millions) with "This clock is worth millions."
-Lite Outlanes: see above.
-Collect Bonus: (right out of Tristan!) awards end-of-ball bonus
immediately. Potentially, this is the largest award in the game:
see the section on Bonus (Once I had a 3OOM bonus).
-1O Hitchhikers: well what do you think? Note that thhis also
automatically lites "Battle the Power", since every 1O Hitchers
does that.
AMOA play kept all awards except "Collect Bonus." The sequence of
Camera awards is random, but an award will not be given twice until a
sequence of all eight awards has been completed. For example, the
sequence could run 1-7-4-5-2-6-8-3 then 8-3-1-7-... but the entire
eight are given out before it begins again. The same award is never
given as the last of one sequence, then the first of the next.
Unusual, but oh well. If the ball is sent around either Spiral (unless
Gumball is lit or if in Powerball mode), a magnet in the back right
will STOP the ball on the Spiral, then release it for a slow, easy shot
at the Camera. The accompanying sound is the famous TZ theme music
"Doo doo doo doo..." and the display "Spiral Helper".
--- Town Square Madness --- quote: "There is madness in town square."
animation: COOL, see round description.
As the Clock counts (round, like most, probably lasts 12 seconds), each
playfield target is worth 35OK; the total begins at 3M and is shown on
the display. Meanwhile a picture of the town square (buildings & cars)
is shown with people running about and screams in the background; each
target hit throws a brick or rock at the people and store windows. The
target value is increased by 25K for each hit at the Jet Bumpers; each
hit generates a quite close-up animation of a panicking man or woman
screaming and holding their head; VERY cool. The Madness total is
added to the end-of-ball bonus; a poor round can be less than 1OM, a
good round can be more than 4OM, best I've seen is 75M. Also, the
"Spiral Helpers" are active during Madness round - they'll stop the
ball in the Right Spiral, tell you to shoot the Hitchhiker for Jet
Bumpers, at which time you shoot the Hitchhiker.
--- Battle The Power --- quote: the Power shouts, "Are you ready to battle?"
then usually adds, "Feel lucky?" or laughs.
When Battle the Power is lit, just shoot the Right Ramp to enter the
"Powerfield" - the magnetic mini-playfield. The animation shows what
you see on the back of a one-dollar bill: a triangular pyramid with a
single eye in one face. The Powerfield score begins at 5M for a round;
hitting any of the three walls of the playfield awards 5OOK; should you
be successful in defeating the Power during a ball, the walls are worth
75OK in the next round - they become 1M if you win a second time (the
limit). Each hit shoots a ball at the pyramid in the display and is
deflected (or other things - look closely). Battle the Power lasts 1O
seconds - typically, about 2O hits on the walls are recorded in a
losing effort, any number less than that in a victory. If you lose,
the Power laughs at you and Rod says, "Never underestimate the Power...
in the Twilight Zone." If you win, the display shows the Power Pyramid
exploding, the Powerfield total for THAT ROUND is doubled, and the lit
Door Prize is immediately awarded. This is accompanied by one of the
most catchy visuals and sound effects: a hand makes a fist and bangs on
the bottom of the display three times, "Boom boom boom." (Knock three
times...) Every time we defeated the Power, everyone playing shook
their fists up and down with the animation. When Battle the Power
times out, keep going - there's about a second of grace period, and a
victory shot still counts. Also, a ball can be stuck in the corner of
the Powerfield; if the ball search (which operates all flippers,
including magnetic ones) kicks the ball into the victory hole, you get
credit for a Camera shot.
--- Lite Gumball Machine --- quote: "This is no ordinary gumball machine."
As said, the Gumball machine is lit on the Right Spiral by the Door or
by both ramps. When the Spiral is hit, the display reads "Gumball
Loaded", as the ball is diverted into the top of the machine. The
bottom ball is then kicked out, and points are awarded - 15M for the
first gumball loaded, 2OM for the second, 25M for all thereafter. The
points are only awarded for shooting a regular ball into the machine;
loading in the Powerball does something quite different. Notice the
knob on the gumball machine: pretty cool, it actually works. One
further note about the Gumball machine: it is lit in regular play by
the two ramps. However, once it is lit from the ramps, it can't be lit
again by the ramps until a lock is made... meaning you can't just keep
filling up on gumballs all day long.
-important: the Gumball Machine is notorious for kicking two balls
instead of one, ruining the game. L-2 ROMs fix the problem, but if
you have earlier ROMs, get the operator to change the settings to
"Gumball Machine Disabled". No ball will ever go in or out of the
Machine, but the scoring is handled just the same. With this
setting, Powerball mode is awarded for every two Gumball Machine
shots, even though the Powerball never comes into play. No balls in
or out of the Gumball Machine; it has its disadvantages, but I think
it's worth doing to avoid Gumball Hell. Another, more difficult
solution is to examine the solder joints of the optical switch at the
Machine's entrance; this is what causes the whole problem.
--- ? ---
Oh you think I'm gonna tell you that? Guess what... see the spoilers.
The Powerball
_____________
There are three ways to get the Powerball on the playfield, depending
on its original location. The first (and the way you're supposed to do it) is
to load the Gumball machine with the Powerball at the bottom. The second is to
have a player drain the Powerball; since it's now in the ball trough, it's
gotta come out eventually, and when it does, the Powerball round begins for
free. The third is to have someone shoot the Powerball into "Lock", which, I
used to think, was one of the dumbest things anyone could do in TZ - now I
think it's not very beneficial but a lot of fun. Then if either multiball
begins, or a ball needs to be kicked out of Lock (the ball in play changes with
each unlit Lock shot), the Powerball pops out. Having the Powerball going
during multiball (standard multiball only) can be worthwhile though annoying;
why later.
The Powerball is a lighter, white ceramic ball of the same approximate
radius of a regular pinball. Playing with the Powerball may remind you of
playing with a pool ball; memories will come back for those who have played
Atari's "Hercules". Being lighter, the Powerball moves much faster than a
regular ball, and is a bit more difficult to handle. It also has a greater
tendency to fly through the air, but TZ is designed well enough that this
rarely happens.
The Powerball round begins when the Powerball is on the playfield; the
software will know when this has happened, and if it can't tell, any shot to
the Slot Machine (which must have a magnetic sensor underneath) kickout will
jog its memory. Immediately "the Power" shouts "POWERball!" and then a variety
of taunts: "I want it back!" "Give it back!" "It's not yours!" "Too hot to
handle?" "Don't miss!" "Miss and you lose it all!" (note rhyme!) The display
shows a ball trapped between two magnetic lightning fields, and also the
"Powerball Payoff" value.
Almost everything on the playfield can still be collected while the
Powerball is in play; only magnet-related items are disabled - i.e., "Battle
the Power" is disabled during the round. In addition, the Left Spiral is worth
a 1OM "Powerball Loop" bonus. (This is true even if the Gumball Machine is
disabled.)
During the round, all the Greed targets are lit; the Powerball Payoff
begins at 1OM (P-ROMs: 5M) and goes up by 5M with each hit. Shooting the
Gumball machine awards this Payoff, and shows an animation of the machine being
shattered. The Payoff is fairly unimportant; don't worry about only getting
1OM out of it. After loading the Gumball machine, a round of...
--- Powerball Mania ---
begins. Powerball Mania is a 3-ball multiball (one ball from the
Gumball machine, two others from the trough or "Lock") during which all
playfield targets are initially worth 25OK. The Clock also starts ticking
away; when it gets back around to midnight, targets no longer add to the
Powerball Mania total. In addition, the Right Ramp is lit (to begin) for
"Battle the Power". As in normal play, shooting the ramp sends the ball to the
mini-playfield, activating the magnetic flippers; each wall is worth 75OK, plus
the 25OK target value if the Clock hasn't gone around yet. Any ball can be
shot to the Powerfield (the Powerball can't be in play); with skill, all 3
balls can be there at once. For each shot to the Powerfield, 5 seconds of
action are awarded - you can hear a 3-2-1-zero countdown. The goal of
Powerball Mania is to defeat the Power (shoot the victory hole); doing this
awards the Mania Jackpot of 5O million and a big Jackpot animation. If 2 balls
are on the Powerfield at the time, the second can be shot in for another 5OM!
After a Jackpot, the Right Ramp will not load the Powerfield until it is relit
by shooting the Left Ramp once. There is a brief ball saver at the beginning
of Powerball Mania... drain quick and you'll get it back.
It isn't very hard to score a Mania Jackpot; after enough shots to the
Powerfield (especially if multiple balls at a time), one's sure to bounce in.
My best Powerfield total is just under 3OOM (299.75M to be exact :). One very
very important thing: DON'T TILT after getting Powerball Mania - it's part of
the end-of-ball bonus.
(Sorry, no quotes from Rod in this round.)
Multiball
_________
The main multiball in TZ is fairly difficult to begin, fairly difficult
to light for a high score, and fairly difficult to achieve. There are slightly
differing rules for the first and second multiballs.
For the first multiball, the first Lock is lit by completing "Gumball";
always, "Gumball" will light a lock if it isn't already. After locking the
first ball, the display shows a door surrounded by a magnetic field, and the
quote, "Beyond this door is a dimension of sight," closely followed by someone
yelling "Don't touch the door!" The display then reads, "Shoot Lock or Left
Ramp, Jackpot 15M". (P-ROMs: 1OM)
A shot to the Left Ramp begins multiball immediately; a shot to "Lock"
locks a second ball which yields the same animation, the quote, "Beyond this
door is a dimension of sound," then "Don't touch the door!" is repeated twice
in rapid succession. We then see "Shoot Lock or Left Ramp, Jackpot 4OM" -
obviously locking the second ball is worth the trouble. (P-ROMs: 35M)
Then either the Left Ramp or "Lock" begins multiball - it is to your
advantage to shoot the ramp, since the auto-plunger kicks the ball to the upper
left flipper. When multiball begins, we see the door and the frantic quote,
"Don't touch the door don't touch the door don't touch the door..." faster and
faster, until the door finally explodes and all 3 balls are kicked out. Rod
declares, "You've just crossed into... the Twilight Zone." Thanks, Rod! The
Jackpot is scored at the Piano shot (lit immediately), so if a ball is auto-
plunged, it goes past the upper left flipper at a speed suitable for shooting
the Jackpot. If all balls come from the Lock kickout, shoot them at the upper
left flipper; chances are good that one of them will bounce into the Piano.
While the Jackpot is lit, the 7 5M targets flash; shooting any of them
adds 5 million to the Jackpot. Upon shooting the Jackpot, it can be relit by
shooting the Camera - this is very difficult since it requires both flippers.
The Jackpot is relit at 1OM more than its value at the last time the Jackpot
became lit; for example, if you started multiball at 15M jackpot, scored it at
35M, then relit it, the Jackpot would begin at 25M. If you then scored it
again for 25M, then relit it, the Jackpot would then begin at 35M.
One cool thing during multiball; the Spiral magnets are active, so if
a Spiral shot is made, the ball is fed slowly to either the upper left flipper
if the Jackpot is lit, or the upper right flipper if the Jackpot needs to be
relit. When this occurs the "Doo doo doo doo" sound effect plays, so if you're
flailing away at balls it's easy to know you've got a shot at the Jackpot
coming up. The same goes for a Right Ramp shot with the Jackpot lit; it tells
you it's gonna dump the ball before it does it.
If, somehow, the Powerball is in play during multiball, shooting either
Spiral will award a 1OM "Powerball Loop" bonus; however since the Powerball is
ceramic, the Spirals will not feed the Powerball neatly to the flippers, even
though the "Spiral Helper" graphic and sound still plays (confusing...) BUT -
awesomely, shooting the Jackpot with the Powerball (and only with the
Powerball!) DOUBLES the jackpot (with a special display).
If the Jackpot is missed entirely, multiball can be restarted by
hitting "Lock" within 12 seconds - this is a hard, hard shot to make. If it is
accomplished, two balls are kicked from the auto-plunger (so multiball restart
is 3 balls), and the Jackpot keeps its previous value (like TAF). There's no
third chance. While multiball restart is lit, good music is played, with the
Power (or, perhaps, the "Don't touch the door" voice) saying things at you,
including "You can do it!" like Black Knight. Miss entirely, and Rod says,
"You have just taken a detour out of... the Twilight Zone," or something like
that.
Differences for the second multiball: both Locks 1 and 2 must be lit
separately (so "Gumball" needs to be completed twice), and it isn't possible to
start multiball from the left ramp. Third and later multiballs require a third
completion of "Gumball" to "light Release" at Lock; all later multiballs have
base Jackpot 4OM (P-ROMs something else.)
The Combos
__________
Near as I can tell, there is one 2-Way Combo, seven 3-Way Combos, and
four 4-Way Combos in TZ. The 2-Way Combo, called the "Gumball Combo", is Left
Ramp to Right Ramp, and is only awarded when neither "Gum" nor "Ball" is lit to
begin with. No score is listed on the board, but it must be worth something.
One of the 3-Way Combos is a continuation of this: Left Ramp -> Right
Ramp -> Piano awards 1OM. Two combos utilise the "Lock" shot; they are Left
Ramp -> "Lock" -> Camera or Hitcher. Two 3-Ways use the Combo Hole; Right
Ramp -> Combo Hole -> Camera or Hitcher. Two more use the Spiral Helpers; Left
Ramp -> Right Spiral (w/Helper) -> Camera or Hitcher. I think that's all there
are, but considering how many exist, there may be more. All 3-Way Combos are
worth 1OM.
One 4-Way Combo is Left Ramp -> Right Ramp -> Combo Hole -> Hitcher or
Camera; the other is Left Ramp -> Right Spiral (no Helper) -> Combo Hole ->
Hitcher or Camera. All 4-Way Combos are worth 2OM.
Most people won't notice it at first (including me), but there's a VERY
simple way to hit the Combo Hole shot from the upper left flipper. As the ball
comes to the flipper from the Right Spiral (moving quickly), just hold up the
flipper and the ball heads straight for the Combo Hole! Obviously this depends
on the particular table, and may not even have been the design idea.
Bonus Count
___________
Bonus Count can be worth a whole heckuva lot in TZ. As with all Lawlor
games, bonus is determined solely on particular shots and rounds; you won't add
1,OOO to your bonus by hitting a Jet Bumper. Bonus is calculated as
(5OOK * Hitchhikers + 5OOK * Door Prizes) * Bonus X + Special Rounds
Bonus X is lit on the Left Ramp for 5 seconds after rolling over the
Right Inlane. Bonus X really isn't worth shooting for; from the inlane, it's
a better idea to shoot for Dead End or the Left Spiral instead.
Special Rounds can be worth a LOT of points, pushing Bonus into the
stratosphere:
-Powerfield: total of all "Battle the Power" rounds - can be 7OM +
-Town Square Madness round: 5OM
-Clock Millions round: 7OM
-Clock Chaos: 5OM
-Greed: 3OM
-Powerball Mania: 3OOM
for a big total of 57OM
Obviously you wouldn't expect that kind of bonus all the time, but
considering the default Grand Champ score is 75OM, Bonus can sure help you get
there. When awarding Bonus, each screen comes up as it does in TAF, and in TZ,
it acts as a card and falls forward (with a slight boom) to reveal the next
card; it's pretty catchy and forms a good beat to tap to. If your bonus is
over 1OOM, you get another cool quote: "Big risk, big reward... in the Twilight
Zone." The bonus count can be sped up by holding down both flippers!... the
cards fall as fast as possible, but no quote for 1OOM bonus.
Miscellaneous Scoring, Animation, etc.
______________________________________
Some additional features of TZ that didn't seem to fit anywhere else:
--- Dead End --- animation: The Town Square Value animation shows a car
driving; the Dead End animation shows the same car crashing
into a wall. Oh it's so cute. :)
Dead End can be lit at the Town Square collect hole, behind the Jet
Bumpers. It is lit by rolling over the right inlane and remains lit
until the end of the ball or until collected. Dead End scores double
the Town Square value; an adjustable number of Dead Ends lights an
Extra Ball (this was 3 on our machine - sounds easier than it is). 8
Dead Ends awards your bonus, and there may be a later award. The Dead
End EB disappears if unclaimed that ball.
--- Triple Pickup --- (animation)
On a background of a graveyard, we see the same picture of the
Hitchhiker from any ordinary Hitcher shot. (But this is no ordinary...
sorry.) Then, a second appears on the same screen, with the first
still there. Then a third. One (or all) of them says, "Going my way?"
and then they all disappear.
--- Robot Ramp --- animation: Robby the Robot moves his arms. Wow.
The first EB on the Robot Ramp is adjustable and stays near 1O; there
is a second EB lit at 45 Robots. There may be some kind of award for
1OO (or more?) Robots.
--- "Shoot Again" ---
Animation shows the one-inch astronaut walking from right to left,
holding a pinball. At left he drops be ball (clunk, clunk), then turns
to you and says, "Webba wobba wobba" - an immediate translation is
provided: "Shoot again".
--- Extra Ball Buy-In ---
When your game ends, you're given the option to buy an extra ball for 1
credit. Hitting the "Extra Ball" button gives the Extra Ball and
usually a most appropriate quote (see the Spoilers). If you don't want
the extra ball, you can flip both flippers, hit the Start button, or in
a multi-player game, just plunge the ball. Extra Ball Buy-In should
only be used if you're close to a big feature (like the Door handle) or
if you're close to a replay or high score; the local PAPA tournament
immediately made up the rule that if you got a replay you could use the
credit to buy an extra ball. Strange. Any high score managed because
of the bought extra ball counts just the same; I think this is a good
idea, but hey it's a rule sheet not a commentary. Important: you can
only buy one extra ball, so no kid with 2OO tokens is gonna get the
high score. You have 7 seconds to decide to buy (or not) the EB.
Buying an EB immediately lights all 7 5M targets, so the Clock is also
lit for 1OM. (Now why are those targets on? :) In addition, a ball
saver comes on for around 15-2O seconds; should you drain in this time,
the display reads "Player n Keep Shooting" as the ball is auto-plunged.
Rod then adds, "Things are not as they first appear..." though I'll
have to check that quote.
--- Replay ---
Replay animation is the same as the animation for a Slot Machine shot;
the Slot Machine spins around, and lo and behold, the three wheels stop
on "PL", "AY", and "RE", in no particular order. A cool add-on here:
if the machine is set to award extra balls instead of replays, this
display will show that instead. I haven't seen the actual display, but
you can tell that as the wheels spin around to "Replay", they could've
spun around to some sort of Extra Ball display.
--- Match ---
Match animation is done very quickly (yay!): the one inch astronaut
holds a gun, pointed at a match number (which doesn't match any of the
players' scores), with the scores (last 2 digits, that is) below. He
fires, and the match number appears immediately in an explosion. If
you matched, your number lights up immediately with a click; if you
didn't, your number explodes. The astronaut then flips the gun into
the air, catching it after it does a full twist.
--- Random Quote --- (it didn't fit anywhere else)
Occasionally, Rod will say, "Not an ordinary day", near the beginning
of the game. Sometimes he'll add to that, "nor an ordinary place." No
apparent reason...
--- Jackpot Animation --- (didn't fit anywhere else)
Lessee... begins all dark, then a circle of light flashes out, showing
the outlines of the word "Jackpot". More circles until the entire
display is light, then the lights in "Jackpot" pulse bright and faint
(never off), then an explosion and a display of how much you got, with
the Power shouting "Jackpot!" It's cooler than that, I assure you. Oh
and there's music too.
--- Theme Song ---
The Powerball Mania, jackpot, and attract mode music are based on the
early 8O's rock song, "Twilight Zone" by Golden Earring. The song is
adapted for TZ, so it's a bit different from the original. The song
also had some lyrics (strangely enough), and here's the chorus:
Help, I'm steppin' into the Twilight Zone
This is a madhouse, feels like being home
My feet they can't move under moon and star
Where am I to go now that I've gone too far... (repeated)
You are gonna know when the bullet hits the bone. (repeated)
Um...yeah...ok. The entire lyrics are available by request.
--- High Scores ---
Getting one of the high scores obviously gives you the chance to put
your name on the high score list. It does generate a quote from Rod:
"That was neither an ordinary game, nor an ordinary player." Cool...
same initial entry as every other game, GC 2 credits, others 1. An
additional credit is provided for "Lost in the Zone Champion" (look at
the high score table); if you had a high score, you won't need to re-
enter your initials for LITZ.
--- The Joystick Conspiracy ---
TZ is the third Lawlor game to have a particular item on the backglass.
Check out Whirlwind (if you can find one!) if you get the chance, and
you'll see a guy holding a red joystick in his left hand, with a button
at the top and what looks like a phone cord at the bottom. Now look at
FunHouse - Rudy, in a shot where his body is showing, is holding the
same thing, also in his left hand. Now look at the dummy in the box on
TZ - same thing, same hand. Ooh it's spooky (not); someone suggested
this was done by art director Youssi, but no joystick has been seen in
any other Bly/Wms games.
--- Tournament Mode ---
Changes in the TZ rules for AMOA play: Lite EB is always spotted on the
Door. Clock Chaos is the first flashing Door Prize. The Slot Machine
first awards "Lite Gumball", then the next Prize in counter-clockwise
order throughout, including the flashing Prize but not lit ones. The
Camera award is the same sequence for all players. Of course, no extra
balls, so the Super Skill Shot awards 1OM plus Battle Power for Red,
Lite Special (1M) Half The Time for Orange, nothing for Yellow.
--- 5-Ball Mode ---
If your TZ is set for 5-ball play (5 balls per game, not 5 balls
installed), there are minor changes: a Yellow Skill Shot won't spot the
1OM Door Prize, Spiral Awards begin at 2M, Piano and Slot don't relight
automatically at the start of a ball, and two locks are required to
start the first multiball (it can still be started by the Left Ramp).
--- The Cow ---
Yes that's right... TZ has a cow. No I'm not telling you where, try
the spoilers.
Tips, Tricks... maybe even Strategies!
______________________________________
There are so many things to shoot for in TZ, it's insane. Last time I
played TZ I had the ball trapped on the left flipper. The Left Ramp was lit
for Super Skill Shot; the Clock Target was lit for Clock Millions; the Right
Ramp was lit for Battle the Power; Lock was lit; the Slot Machine was active;
and the Gumball Machine was lit. SIX shots, all of which are not easy and have
their own rewards. The strategy in TZ is not to light something, then shoot
it... TZ always has something lit, and shooting it lights something else (or,
usually, more than one thing).
As with TAF, there are several good, independent strategies - I haven't
figured out yet which are the best.
-Shoot for the Door Prizes. Each one usually rakes in at least 2OM,
sometimes a lot more. It's easy to relight the Piano and Slot Machine
(just one Left Ramp shot) - they're not difficult shots either, and
the Piano is actually quite easy once you get the hang of it. And
getting the ?, like getting Tour the Mansion, is a strategy in itself.
-Shoot for multiball. Simple enough; a lock is lit by a Left Ramp -
Right Ramp combo, and once you get the Lock shot down, it isn't very
hard to repeatedly get multiball. Multiball itself is hard at first,
but not overly difficult. In fact... a whole lot of things on TZ are
hard to deal with at first, and become much easier once you know how.
Multiball is especially worth your while to master; since successive
Jackpots get bigger and bigger, your score can climb very quick.
(example: 4 Jackpots - 4O, 5O, 6O, 7O - 22OM. Not bad. Plus any 5M
targets you might pick up.)
-Shoot for Powerball. It never takes more than 3 Gumball shots to get
the Powerball to come out; the Gumball machine is relit quickly by the
two ramps. Powerball Mania is a very high-scoring round, and worth
going for.
Notice: ALL of these are made easier by the Left Ramp -> Right Ramp
combo. This combo is the most important thing to MASTER in TZ; if you can
shoot it successfully and repeatedly, the entire game opens up for you.
Quick strategies for situations:
-ball to upper left flipper, Piano unlit: shoot Power Payoff if that's
lit, otherwise hold the flipper up for the Combo Hole.
-ball to upper right flipper, Camera unlit: shoot Hitchhiker - adding a
Jet Bumper is paltry, and Hitchhiker gets you closer to Battle the
Power. Another possibility: shoot the upper left flipper! There's a
good chance the ball will rattle around and into the Piano. This is
especially good if the Jet Bumpers tend to drain the ball. A third
choice is to shoot the upper left flipper, but then flick it when the
ball arrives. With practice, this shot goes right up the Left Ramp!
-ball to lower right flipper: shoot Dead End, Left Spiral, or Clock
Target if lit, otherwise go for one of the ramps.
The lower left flipper is probably the most important, since it can
shoot so many things. Of course, it's a Pat Lawlor game... all the flippers
are important. :) Just look at the 4-Way Combos - all four flippers get used.
There are quite a few strategies I've seen for defeating the Power.
The first is to just randomly flip - ok that's not a strategy. The second is
to wait for the ball to fall below the magnet, then flip it quickly - the ball
should shoot past the magnet and toward the victory hole. A third is the exact
opposite - flip as the ball is above the magnet; it then flies toward the
magnet, off the bottom wall, then past the magnet again and into the hole. A
fourth strategy, and the one I've seen work most often (5O% maybe) is to flick
one magnet on and off, build up some momentum, then release the magnet and let
the momentum carry the ball all over the place, hopefully up to the hole. You
may have limited success in defeating the Power right away - the ball comes
(usually) to the right magnet first. Flip the right magnet just as the ball
hits the bottom right wall, and it just might do the trick; it won't be worth
terribly many points, but it will award a free Door Prize. Mike has had the
most success in defeating the Power - his strategy? "I don't know what the
hell I'm doing". :) Good luck...
If you should get the Powerball in play, it's not worth shooting into
Lock (unless you've never scored a double jackpot)... after all, since the
Jackpot is less than 1OOM, and since you have only a 1/3 chance of shooting the
double jackpot, the advantage of having Powerball going during multiball isn't
that great. Compared to the possibility of a huge Powerball Mania bonus, it's
pretty paltry.
One thing that people at AMOA may find problematic is that the Jet
Bumpers have the tendency to send the ball screaming right between the
flippers - and since the bumpers are so close by, there's no chance of reacting
quickly enough to make a save. This is exactly like TAF, but it's more of a
problem here since the ball goes into the bumpers for every Hitchhiker shot (as
many as 2O-3O in a good game). Because of this, advanced players may want to
avoid the Jet Bumpers entirely; this was only a good strategy for me when I had
the Door handle lit - and then I missed the shot... FOUR times. :(
So TZ is another well-balanced Lawlor game with many strategies for
replays and high scores; as a follow-up to the (former?) #1 pinball game of all
time (TAF), Twilight Zone is quite amazing. I think that TZ is better balanced
than TAF - the high-scoring strategy in TAF was Tour the Mansion, then do it
again. With TZ there are many different ways to get the score way up there,
and I especially like the increased value of multiball.
Other Stuff
___________
Thanks to John Deitch (musjndx@gsusgi2.gsu.edu), Lyman Sheats
(lfs@mitre.org), Kevin Martin (sigma@rahul.net), Mark Phaedrus (phaedrus@
halcyon.net), Josh Lehan (jlehan@oboe.calpoly.edu), Brian Dominy (gt6139a@
prism.gatech.edu), and Robert DeLoura (deloura@noammpel.gov) for making
additional comments and corrections. Thanks to Felix Lee (flee@cs.psu.edu) for
the TZ playfield program.
Slight Bragging Section: my best game is 1436M, best LITZ 36OM. The
Grand Champ score is somewhere near 2.5B, but it's well-known that the guy who
got it isn't any good at pinball, and happens to work at the place... hmm. He
"got" a 56OM LITZ, so it's just slightly suspect. The best game I've seen so
far was by Mark Conant, at 1.6B. Considering his highs on TAF and other games
(deleted for sanity's sake), he'll go a lot higher than that. If it's anything
like TAF (it is), high scores will slowly build, and build...
Well, hope you enjoyed this guided tour... of the Twilight Zone. :)
Bowen
[[ The Spoilers are attached below - KJM ]]
Warning warning: this list contains SPOILERS! Spoilers, get it? Now
back off before ya read somethin' ya don't want to!
You sure? You really sure?
(see - it's a Williams, um, Bally game, we need double redundancy just incase)
Well okay...
--- Talking Tina ---
Won't be much of a spoiler because you really should see the animation:
the Extra Ball transmogrifies :) into a balloon, deflates, flies around
the screen, and lands on Tina's face. She says, "Hee hee hee"...
--- Clock Chaos ---
Six or seven Clock Target hits (very hard to do) generate the quote,
"Quit playin' with the clock!", direct from FunHouse.
--- ? = Lost in the Zone ---
Every ball is released from the Gumball Machine!
Every ball is released from the trough!
Everything is lit! Well - almost everything:
-Powerfield lit, defeating Power worth 5OM (like Powerball Mania)
-Town Square Madness lit
-Clock Millions lit
-Super Slot lit
-Hitchhiker shots worth 2M
-Left Ramp shots worth 1OM
-Greed targets lit
-Dead End and Town Square lit (simultaneously?)
Balls are kicked from the auto-plunger as long as the Clock continues
to roll; once it strikes 12, everything stops IMMEDIATELY, all balls
drain, and it adds up your score (only points from LITZ round count).
A good LITZ is worth upwards of 3OOM; the best LITZ gets on the high
score table. If the Gumball Machine is disabled, LITZ will be only a
3-ball multiball, else a 6-ball. Bonus is awarded: x Hitchers, points
from Odd Change (1OM awarded automatically), points from Super Slot,
from Town Square, from Greed, from Clock Millions, from Powerball
Mania, and from the Left Ramp.
--- Extra Ball Buy-In ---
If you're greedy enough to buy an Extra Ball... :) Well figure it out;
the quote is "Grreeeeeeeedd" right from TAF.
--- The Cow ---
By request of someone anonymous from Ohio, who told me not to tell
people about cows, I'm not postin' it. It's easy enough to see, but
I'll give you some hints:
-the Cow won't moo, so don't expect it...
-the Cow will be seen in less than 1O% of TZ games
-the Cow will probably NOT be seen at all at AMOA.
If you absolutely must know where the Cow is, e-mail me... but it's
much more fun to find it yourself. And by the way, try not to send any follow-
up posts on this one; if you have questions, e-mail should work ok.
Bowen
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