Sometimes ago on "The Shadow Club" thread I explained and discussed the way I modified the standard software adjustments on TS. Some TS owners (special thanks to Blitzburgh99!) appreciated my input, and I have been asked to write this rules set in a specific thread for easier reference.
Here we go:
After owning TS for long time, I found out that changing some important settings in the adjustments menu enhances a lot the gameplay and also makes it more balanced. The idea is to have rules as fair as possible, harder in some cases and "easier" elsewhere. In this way the player has the chance to explore all the game features instead of avoiding certain elements and strategies in the first place, because extreme standard time restrictions imply to take too many risks.
After playing extensively and deeply studying all the rules, I realized that standard settings really, in most machines, were programmed to... herm... make money, and different settings would have fit much better for home play. But as you see in certain areas (video mode for example but not only) I chose harder settings, so it depends. What is really amazing is the very wide spectrum of software settings available, that opens up many possibilities really. I believe that in the old days operators did not spend much time trying to understand all those subtleties. Maybe they were selecting the generic easy/medium/hard settings in the Utilities menu, but didnt go in depth, for a balanced weight among all the rules. Actually I suspect also not many players understood all this depth when machines were basically played only on location. But all this depth has always been available, since the beginning. So it looks like the producers and designers felt that at some point somebody, at home, decades later, would have explored very deeply all those small nuances...! 
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Many of my settings are not actually easier, they are just different. First of all some has harder values, so they are... just harder. But also think about this: longer times for the modes helps a bit with finishing the mode itself, but on the other hand force you to keep the ball in play for longer, before you can start a new mode. So it may be harder to reach the Final Battle. In any case, TS really needs rules adjustment to be fully appreciated, no doubt.
Regarding the modes: they have to be finished within a certain time limit: the default timings are quite short, so if you want to attempt completing these modes you have to shoot very fast at certain ramps or loops. This is often risky, so it is often safe to avoid trying to finish each mode, and just keep the ball in play. But I found a a solution: I increased the values of each mode timing by quite a lot (45 to 60 seconds, depending on how many shot the mode requires). In this way in order to achieve high scores I have to go for every single game features, and this makes the machine incredibly good. Basically, having quite some time for each mode, you can try finishing them, without having to shoot like crazy and hoping to be lucky, but you have to do the exact opposite: trying to slow down a bit the ball speed (if you manage!) in order to play those shots in a more safe way (especially the left ramp). Doing so, it is still hard to finish each mode. My percentages are around 7/8% on each mode, so it's a big satisfaction when I manage to finish them. With the added feeling that you finished them just with your skills and not with the help of a big dose of luck.
Another important rule: the amount of time a ball stays temporarily locked during multiballs. It's another thing that makes things more exciting and "skilled" during multiballs. You have to go for the temporary locks (if you manage!) in order to reduce the number of balls in play, and then go for the jackpots. If the temporary lock time is too short (as by default), the multiball rely more on randomness. But in this way you really are controlling several balls at a time, while possibly scoring big. You can even try intentionally to go for the 3X jackpots, while with default settings you basically can't even think about it, if it happens is only by luck. Especially in Shadow Multiball it's amazing when the Sanctum is open and you have to shoot there first, in order to get the ball released and then try to go for an inner loop shot (jackpot), while another ball(s) is locked in the hole(s) for around 20 secs. And if you get the Jackpot the locked ball(s) is released and you want to lock it again.. Multiball becomes a whole new game with a competely new flow and dynamics, and not just super fast semi-random shooting hoping for balls getting the jackpots semi-randomly, while at best trying to trap the ball with the flippers.
). Generally there is always room for improvement, but you are not always allowed to change too many things and in the way you would like. You have to try getting the best out of the existing adjustments menus.
Denver, CO
