May I ask a photo of a TZ with cut out for stars? It's the first time I ever read about these, and I cannot find on google or ipdb.

Thank you

Thanks for the photo of the cutout of the stars! Really nice indeed!!!

Just dreamin'... A new mode, a "final battle" versus the Power.
One ball in play. GI of the powerfield off. Every standup target and hole qualify a quarter of hour on the clock. Starting Midnight, a shot advance the clock a quarter of hour.

When the ball is shooted in the right ramp, the ball goes to the powerfield: then the clock start running towards midnight again, clockwise, GI of the clock and powerfield ON, everything off. You have to keep the ball in the powerfield as long as the clock is running. No drain, no going to the top hole. Just shooting without going down or up. When the clock hits midnight again, you have to shot the top to win!

The idea is to wander as you want in the main playfield to reduce the time in the powerfield to stay before you can shoot the top to win.

I don't remember if willigly keeping the ball in the powerfield is an easy task or not. What do you think about it?

Maybe it is software related: did you try to remove the batteries to do a Factory Reset?

(P.s. Lancette: Italiano come me? )

Oh my, probably that lamp has been burned for ages in my TZ, I don't remember that zone being lit! Need to check next week!

The nose of my bubble is in the first line after the thick one, going from bottom to top. So, is my game faster or slower than what intended by factory? Cannot check as I'm not near my game, but just asking

Gum-Ball does two things: lights the Gumball machine and the lock above the piano. Locking a ball turns off the gum and ball lights. re lit them to enable the lock again, the lock the ball, turn off the gumball lights, lights gum and ball and go for multiball. This is the complete sequence, but TZ in default shortens keeping lock enabled or activating multiball with just one ball locked.

Another thing: panel can be lit (and you need ONLY the orange panels to LITZ, no red panels are needed) by Piano, Slot, winning against the power and, operator dependend:

Getting any feature extra ball on game -> Light extra ball on foor (not operator selectable)
Lighting both Gum and ball ->Light Gumball
Getting the yellow skill shot -> 10 Millions
Light the Power -> Battle the Power

You cannot lite a door panel by the camera

Hi guys. I saw the PAPA finals of yesterday, and noticed that powerball is not greatly equalized.

In the heyday of Williams, programmers made special ROMs for tourney. I was thinking: why there wasn't a "virtual gumball machine" system:

Keep only the powerball in the gumball, and no other balls.

When gumball is lit, and you need 2 or 1 shot to get the powerball, the right magnet catches the ball, animation and all, and release it. When it's time for the powerball, it can be released via a normal gumball cycle.

With powerball in play:

1)Gumball machine is hit: normal play

2)Powerball is locked

At the drain of the ball, lock area is emptied with flippers off to get the powerball in trough. Earned locks are still lit

3)Powerball is trough, about to be served

Powerball is sent to the gumball machine via autolauncher, the steel ball is dispensed via gumball machine, drained, and new steel ball is served in the launcher.

4)Multiball start when powerball is in trough
During the "don't touch the door" animation", balls from trough are cycled (steel balls sent to the autolauncher, shooted and waiting for drain. Powerball: in the gumball machine, steel one from it and the multiball as normal)

I think this would be optimal solution. I know it's too late for ROM changes, but was my idea too far off? Thank you

Alby

Wow. That counter is just 3 bit long (0-7), plus some space for the code to add, remove balls and an "if statement" on the jackpot routine. But the 9.4H adds many features that eat memory (light shows, hickhiker lightshow, litz cheat and pause).

The real solution would be to add an opto on the top chute, once they decided to not use the clock passage opto. But I understand that after a cost cutting phase, you can't have a cost adding phase again

The good thing about DCS TZ soundtrack is that is different from production... And is still Chris Granner quality! But TZ Yamaha is so full of effects, sound tricks and samples (thanks of a lot bigger ROMs chips) that's a pity remove it completely

Hi guys! Yesterday, playing with my TZ, I just placed a compass over the glass for the pleasure to try it. It was fun see the compass spinning everytime the spirals or the powerfield magnet were fired. I just can't believe no one created a compass mod for this pinball... it is also thematically good, as mysterious spinning compass are a weird/horror trope!

Congrats! If I remember correctly, my TZ was built the same date of yours... so cheers! Just out of curiosity, your "shoot gumball" sign is screened or is a sticker? Mine is screened, but I'm pretty sure it was changed over the life of my pinball machine, so maybe your may help me to know if I'm right or wrong
And your original rom revision was L-5?

Piece of advice: I really like the stock aspect of the pinball. The only cosmetic mod I did to mine was the gumballs inside the gumball machine, then it's prisitine factory

If you're interested, mine does the first sound you remember (with the "sparkling" sound), and I cannot remember if visual pinball did it. Mine has game rom L-5 and sound ROMs P-3. I think that also the game rom can influence the sound, as I think the jackpot sound is made by different sound board calls. If memory serves me right, I had some problem with the flat between CPU and sound board, and I heard totally random the first part of the jackpot sequence (not the part after the explosion). I will investigate with pinmame

I will check later, this really intrigued me. Yesterday I just couldn't do it after work, I'll do today

I've made some interesting progress.

So, as you may have guessed, there are two sounds layered to make the Jackpot sound. Those are in two codes.

7a 0d (7a is a bank switch command)
and
f8

now, in my video you can see the difference between just the first sound called and the other with both sound called in togheter. My guess is that some audio cards misses the second sound, and the right (as the request by the CPU on the bus) sound is the one with the crashes. I've tested all ROM from P-4 to 9.4H, and all call this sequence. I've tested also with the Powerball, and I'm noticing that my real pinball when I get the jackpot with the powerball yells "Powerball" and then "Jackpot!". I've discovered that if you have the L-4 or the L-5, then you have this feature I think is neat Is in the code that transit in the bus between CPU and sound board. This is somewhat missing in 9.2 and 9.4H

Jackpot sound difference

L4 Powerball Jackpot Sound

You hear a third because some sound are called via 2 byte and some with 4 byte. The ones called via 4 byte are in the "second bank", and need to be prefixed by 7a. For example, 7a 0d should give the first layer of jackpot sound. See my post for more info

Here are the Wav file. Please keep in mind that Pinmame emulation don't recond the cleanest of the files

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=20693145007693380307

games?Happens to mine too. I usually flip the yellow level to normal after I remove the bar, so I don't forgot to not close the coin door.

Coming soon, the dump of the L-5

IMG-20191019-WA0001 (resized).jpeg

That's something I'm asking to myself since I got my tz. Finally found someone with a rom programmer to dump it. Then with a disassembler I'll try to understand the differences.

This is not a rebranded 9.2 or 9.4H, because it doesn't have the "last ball free ride" setting... Free ride only works on ball 1. It does have the "Powerball Jackpot" audio call like L-4 unlike 9.2 or 9.4H. coin operations was perfect.

Powerball have to cycled (out of gumball, then inside again) since last reset/power on/menu exit, and you have to have the factory setting for multiball. Third magnet works when you have one ball locked and you start multiball via ramp

Thank you for the info! Always had the curiosity of the jump between L-4 and 9.2, now it's more clear

Is the outhole kicker working 100% of the times?

No way! I always thought it was Town Square Big Points!!

Hi Zoners.

You have probably know that PPS has started making official code updates of SYS11 and WPC pinballs. May I ask the state of TZ code? The last official coin release was 9.2, then Ested made that home use only version (9.4H), in prelude of 9.4 and 9.5.

I'm asking to you: PPS has the right to use what code as a base? 9.2 or 9.4H? If so, what kind of improvements/fixes would you like? In the past, I was always promoting small rules change, but the idea of these code release are in a small grade of terms.

So, what kind of update do you think TZ needs starting from 9.4H or 9.2? (I remember there was an Hitchhiker panel lightshow counting bug somewhere, but I installed 9.2 on mine, really don't want to lose the coin functionality).

For the 9.4H... I always dreamed to own an arcade machine with all functionalities. And not being able to start the game with zero credits it's part of the game. Mind you I don"t have the third magnet, so this another feature of 9.4H I (personally) don't care. I miss the light shows (high score and hitchhiker), that's very true

The slot double fires if skill shot is made but not rocket switch is hit. If you skill and the ball goes in the playfield without being rocket-launched, the software fears that the ball went to the slot machine via skill scoop, then positioned not to hit the slot switch. In case, slot fires to clean the scoop. No need soren to fix anything

To be correct, also official 9.2 has ball saves beyond the first!

Shouldn't the Fliptronics board automatically switch from power to hold after some seconds? It's not ideal, but still a failsafe measure.

Warning: L5 is not the latest. I had it for years in my TZ (I'm the one who dumped it). 9.2 is the arcade latest, 9.4H is the home latest (many feature but coin play enforcement is disabled). I'm running 9.2 right now and it's perfect.

Not true: in L5 you could only have ball saving on first ball. Tried to have the saver for ball 2 and other balls, but I couldn't set the option, and I had a pinmame ROM running on my PC to check the options, definitely missing that option.

Never understood the story behind this L5, no changelog, no knowing it existed before gathering my TZ in 2003...

Wow, there is the clock lane opto, or at least the holes in the rail. And for a rare a game, one in nice condition too!

Loving the Gumball sticker: it is so low res!

Maybe it was "updated" by Williams at some point? I have one of the first production run, but I have proof the game was "reworked" by Bally Wulf, and changed the Gumball sticker to plastic and updated the ROM with L-5 (it was with an official looking sticker, but still different from the sound Roms, still on P-3)

Perfectly normal. Happens on mine too, I can play only twice a year (on holidays), and everytime I find the clock perfect and the date stopped on the month I last played. I think there is a routine that must go once a month to let the game update the month at the end of it. I still, every time, adjust the date (my ocd... )

I have that sticker too, with a even smaller number, like 351 or so. I don't remember the number with precision and can't check until months, but I'm sure that I have the same sticker too