                            Twilight Zone VPM Menu Options (Script and In-Game menu)
                            ========================================================

Note: This document is divided into two sections.  The first section is for game options that are inside the TZ script.  The second section documents the in-game pop-up menu options that can be activated by pressing F6 during the game (and by default, it will come up every time you start the table; uncheck the appropriate option to make it only come up when F6 is pressed during the game).  This document is in regards to TZ starting with version 6.5.  Older versions of TZ VPM only had script options (which are documented in the script itself).


==================
In Script Options
==================

Note: These are explnations for the options found inside the Twilight Zone script itself.  To change these, select the script from the VP editor and follow the instructions indicated.  Note that you must select recompile from the VPM script menu before these changes will take effect.  You must resave the table if you want them to survive to the next time you load the table (unlike the in-game menu options below).  These options are not available in the in-game menu due to the way that VP currently functions.  Note also that these script options may cease to function with VP7 when it becomes available.


Choose Clock Face:
==================

Change the value for Clock Face from 1-3:

	1 = White Clock Face (early Production) (default)
	2 = Color Clock Face (late Production) 
	3 = Prototype Clock Face (with Proto Red Circuit Board instead of production green circuit board)


Use Transparent Pop Bumpers?:
=============================

Change the value of TransparentPopBumpers to:

	True = Uses Transparent Pop Bumper Image mapping
	False = Uses plain opaque Pop Bumpers


Debug Mode
==========
If Turned on Debug Kickers will enable temporarily from the "E" key.
Takes balls from inlane and fires them up and to the right from the BugOut Kicker.
This makes it easy to hit the lock shot to test it and can be moved for other testing.
Similarly, the BugOut2 kickers will fire into the slot machine for testing from the inlane kickers.

Note: Also available is a backdrop debug position display.  To enable this, click on the enable box for the timer found on the backdrop menu of the VP editor.  Turn it off by disabling it again.  It displays ball totals in various areas and lists the balls by their tracking number and lists them in the order they're stacked.


Bypass In-Game Menu System
==========================
This option is for anyone running Windows NT or XP that does not have permission
to modify the registry which is needed to save the menu options (you'll know it if it gives you
a "permission denied" error when you click on OK for the default startup menu.

Set Bypass Menu to True to Bypass the in-game menu saves
Set Bypass menu to False to enable in-game menu saves to the registry (default)

Note that you *will* still be able to use the menu options (F6 for menu normally) during the game
that do not require a restart.  These will not be saved for the next session, however and will
instead go back to the default option settings, which you can change in the next option below directly.

Default Options
===============
These are the default setting used when the table is run on a machine for the first time.
You can change these settings here if you want them to default to something else.  You might need
to do this if you don't have registry permission on your Windows NT/XP machine (after selecting the
Bypass Menu option above).  The various option variables are listed in the script and they match up with
the menu options described in this file below.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
... Below are script changes you can make but are not found in the user options section of the script ...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Powerfield Magnet Strength
==========================

If you do a script search for "Initialize Mini Playfield magnets" or something similar, you'll come to the script lines that set the Powerfield Magnasave Magnetic flipper strength (the code is commented).  It's set to 61 as default.  You can lower or raise it to your liking if you wish (the size setting there will change the internal computation size of the magnet which can change how strong it is near the edges).  You can fiddle with these settings if you want.

Plunger Sound
=============
There is a plunger "ball rolling" sound in the table, but I left the code that activates it commented out in the script as I didn't think it made much sense to have a ball rolling sound there, but nowhere else in the table.  If you want to use it, just do a search in the script for "plunger" and you'll come to it (it's in the keyboard handling sub "TZ_Keyup").  Simply uncomment it (remove the " ' " charcter) and resave.


                                                * * *

============
In-Game Menu
============

Notes: These are explanations for the various checkboxes on the Twilight Zone in-game menu.  This menu should come up the first time the table is run (before the table actually starts).  It can be set to come up every time the table starts with the appropriate check-box clicked.  The menu can be brought up any time during the game by pressing the F6 key.  Default settings are noted.  These settings are stored in the Visual Pinball registry entry and settings that are changed will be saved there automatically.  If you wish to erase the registry settings for some reason, you can either use the VP Registry edit tool.  If you don't have that, you can uncomment the first line of code in the TZ_Init sub.  This will erase the registry settings on the next run (the error it gives is normal).  You'll have to comment it again afterwards with a " ' " mark as before to get it to play right again.  There normally shouldn't be any need to erase the settings unless you're playing with the code or something.

Any option marked with an asterix "*" denotes that the emulator must be reset (you must exit and restart) if you're already running the game.  You should not have to do anything special if you make the change in the menu before the game starts. 

The 3rd magnet option is marked with "**".  This means you'll have to not only reset, but you'll have to make sure that Vpinmame (F1 during game for menu) is set to NOT skip the startup test.  Otherwise, the emulation part will not recognize the change!  (the magnet would be disabled, but the game would try to use it and thus do odd things with the Home roms when it tries to hold 3 balls on only 2 working magnets).


========================================
Menu Options Starting from the Left Side
========================================


Country:
========
These are dipswitch selections for various country options.  I'm not aware of what the differences are for each country. USA is the default.

Options:
========

Shallow Flippers - When checked, this will use alternate flipper settings that tend to aim a little more accurately, but have shallower starting angles than you would see on the real machine. 

Real Magnets - When checked, this will use real simulated magnets on the power playfield (default).  Otherwise, it will use invisible flippers, which are normally only desirable if you don't have enough CPU power to make the real magnets work properly.

PowerBall (*) - When checked, the game will use the powerball as it normally should (default).  If left unchecked, it will remove the powerball from the game and substitute a regular ball instead (all powerball rules will never occur).

GumBall Mode - When checked, the game will override the regular ball images and instead use balls that look like gumballs, each a different color.  The powerball is the white gumball.  This option represents an attempt to realize Pat Lawlor's original idea that a pinball game featuring a gumball machine should dispense different color balls.  This wasn't possible to implement on the real TZ and so they instead ended up with a white ceramic powerball.  In simulation, however, it is possible to use not only multicolored balls, but balls that resemble gumballs.  When unchecked, the game will use normal steel and cermaic image balls (default).

Random Balls (*) - When checked, the game will randomly place the balls in the trough and gumball machine.  When unchecked, the game will restore the positions the balls were in when the game was last run (default).  Basically, this means if it's checked, it would be like coming to a real TZ machine in an arcade or somewhere and you don't neccessarily know where the powerball is located since you just got there.  In Gumball Mode, this will noticeably randomize all color balls.  If the option is disabled, it would be more like having a TZ machine at home.  Even if you leave it for the night, when you come back, the balls will still be in the same place you left them last.


Prototype Game:
===============

3rd Magnet (**) - When checked, this will enable the prototype 3rd magnet which is situated above the right spiral magnet on the right orbit.  With the arcade romset (tz_92), this only has an effect with the spiral door mode.  With the home romset (tz_94h), this magnet is also used during multiball start once the game determines the location of the powerball AND that it's in the gumball machine (as if it were a real pinball machine).  Once this occurs, the game will send the steel balls during multiball start to each of the 3 spiral magnets (assuming at least one is fired from the auto-plunger) and hold them there until all of them are in place.  It will then release them all at once.  This is opposed to the normal behavior of just firing off any auto-plunger balls first and then releasing any in the locks (with no magnet holds at all).  When unchecked (default), the game will not recognize/use this 3rd magnet, which was never installed on any real TZ machines.  Prototype machines have some of the hardware in place and the magnet is easily added.  Production machines are difficult to retrofit. 

**NOTE**: Due to the way Vpinmame operates, you'll have to have Vpinmame (for whichever Twilight Zone rom set you're using at the time) to NOT skip the initial startup test (press F1 normally to get the Vpinmame menu during the game) before it'll recognize the change.  Namely, when Vpinmame shortcuts around the startup test, it skips the auto-magnet detection part of the TZ rom code.  This option is enabled by default ONLY because all previous TZ versions had it enabled period (no way to disable).  Thus, the game will act weird unless you already have it set to NOT skip the startup tests (which is not a Vpinmame default setting and thus most will not have it set that way).  Once you have Vpinmame set to not skip the startup test, a simple reset (usually the F3 key) is all that's needed for the change to take effect once you change the setting.


Clock Passage - This is trigger 86 that sits between the piano and the slot machine where the ball can pass through to the right flipper on something like a missed piano shot or the like.  If enabled in the game menu, it will award 2570 points per hit in the home roms (tz_94h) only.  It has no effect with the arcade roms (tz_92).  It appeared in early prototype machines only.  If unchecked (default), it will do nothing.

Green Lock - If checked, the game will use a green light for the lock light above the piano area.  Prototype machines used a green light (which is the traditional lock light color).  However, there were complaints that due to the distance from the player, the green lock light was not always easy to see (probably in brighter lighting conditions) and so it was later switched to a brighter orange light.  If unchecked (default), the game will use the orange lock light.


DIP:
====
These are two dip settings specified in the operator manual for TZ.  I don't currently know what effect they have.  They are normally disabled.


Roms (*):
=========

9.2 - This is the arcade romset found in normal Twilight Zone machines (default).

9.4h - This is the home romset with special rules suited more towards use in the home.  For example, you can pause the game after you catch the ball on the flipper by pressing the extra ball buy-in button ("2" in VPM) while holding it down.  To unpause, press 2 again.  Another unique feature is the "Lost In The Zone Training Mode" that is enabled by holding down the extra ball buy-in button ("2" key) until you hear the Twilight Zone jingle play.  The next door mode enabled will be Lost In The Zone (6-ball wizard mode).  However, it's a training mode only.  The score is reset afterwar the mode completes.

Note: If you don't have one of the rom sets and it's selected, it should automatically select the other one when the table is run.

# of Balls (*):
===============

This menu section presents a list from 1 to 7.  This represents the number of balls you wish to use in the game.  The default is 6, which is the normal number of balls present in a real TZ machine.  A TZ machine can actually use up to 7 and can get by with less than 6 as well.  If you use less than 6 balls, the machine might respond with a "ball search" when you try to start the game.  It will take about 3 tries before the game will finally release a ball from the gumball machine to send to the trough (or will start right away if all 3 are in the trough; random ball mode always puts the balls in the trough first).  It may take much longer to get it play with less than 3 balls (or it may not play at all ; so far I've seen only endless ball searches).  I reccomend you use at least 3 balls.  With 7 balls, 4 sit in the gumball machine and 3 in the trough (with GumBall mode on, there are up to 7 unique gumball colors in the game).

Note that when you change the number of balls in the menu setting, it will call the random balls routine the next time you restart the table (or when you start it if you change it before the game loads).  This ensures that any balls added to or subtracted to the game will be placed properly (with 3 in the trough each time and the rest in the gumball machine).  Otherwise, you could end up in a situation where the game gets stuck in an endless ball search (when balls are removed from the game).  The randomballs option setting will not change in the menu.  Normal ball operation (regular or random depending on whether Random is enabled or not) will resume on the next game as long as the # of balls setting is not changed again.


Ball Images:
============

Note: These are image selections for the balls in a regular game (steel and ceramic).  Only one ball is ceramic (the "Powerball").  All the rest are steel.  If you have "Gumball Mode" selected as an option, all balls will be replaced with a different color gumball (one color for each ball) and thus that mode will override these selections as long as the Gumball Mode is selected.


Steel - These selections represent 8 possible images to select from to use as the normal "steel" balls in the game.  These can be previewed in the image editor or you can actually change the ball on the fly in the game (they will change inside the trough and gumball machine, but if a ball is in play, it won't change until it enters a kicker of some kind like the slot machine or the trough).  You can only use one of these at a time for all steel balls.  Selection 1 is default.  A quick description of each image are as follows:

---------------------
Shiny Steel Ball
Shiny Steel Ball with simulated playfield refelection on bottom (semi-transparent on bottom)
Alternate Shiny Steel Ball
Gold toned ball
Gold toned ball with a shinier surface
Blue Steel ball 
Red Steel ball
Grey/Chrome steel ball
----------------------


Ceramic (PB) - These selections represent 8 possible images to select from to use as the "Powerball" (PB) in the game.  The selection operates  the same as the steel balls.  Selection 1 is default.  A quick description of the balls are as follows:

-------------------------
Glossy white Powerball
Flat white Powerball
Pearl colored Powerball
Blue Powerball (prototype color that's hard to see against the playfield)
Blue Powerball (extra shiny and easier to see)
Red Powerball (alternate color that's harder to see against the playfield like the blue one).  
Red Powerball (extra shiny and easier to see)
Black Powerball (so blue was too easy to see was it? ;)
-------------------------

Note: The red powerball was rumored to exist, but it's doubtful given that an article I read says only blue and white colors were available from those that make the cermaic balls.  The blue powerball was rejected because of its poor visibility against the playfield.  It was never actually found in any shipped machines.  Supposedly, there are manufacturers that now also make variations on the white ball (including pearl colored).

The darker powerball options also serve another purpose in making the game harder to play with the powerball since currently VP does not have any way to make the powerball behave differently physically from a regular steel ball.  Since the real powerball is ceramic, it's lighter than a steel ball and moves a lot faster (and is therefore harder to handle).  Since VP currently doesn't allow that behavior, the darker colors make it harder to see when it's moving fast and therefore harder to handle in a way.


Open This Dialog At Start:
==========================
When checked, the menu system will come up every time you start the table from the VP editor.  If unchecked, it will only come up when you press F6 during the game.  By default, it is turned on when you first run TZ.  Remember, options that require a "reset" (exit and restart table) do not need one if the option is changed before the table is started.


