Cirqus Voltaire Pinball – ROM Upgrade Chips

Official Revision History: (Included for reference)
Version 1.4
Date: October 14, 1998

G11: Checksum: 2D14
* THIS SOFTWARE REQUIRES AN 8-MEGABIT (27C080 OR EQUIVALENT) EPROM *
Changes from Version 1.3:

Fixed a bug that could cause the machine to reset after the 200th
Menagerie award.
Updated system to fix a bug that could cause extra balls to
be served if the plunger lane switch is broken.
The Ringmaster award lights would sometimes be left blinking after
playing Ringmaster Battle.

Version 1.3
Date: April 17, 1998

G11: Checksum: DB13

Changes from Version 1.1:

Tilt now ends the side-show.
If the Ringmaster Magnet fails to catch the ball, the short ball-
saver is started as soon as the miss is detected. (Only if the
adjustment is set).
Added adjustment (A.2 33) to lower the scoring during the
Ringmaster Battle mode. Setting the game in Tournament mode causes
reduced scoring as well.
Added adjustment (A.2 34) to set how locked balls are kicked out
after a game.
NEVER – Balls never kick out.
INSTANT – Balls kickout after MATCH. (German/French default)
DELAYED – Balls kickout 1 minute after MATCH. (Default)
Ringmaster Battle now correctly handles tilt.
BOOM marvel is NOT spotted if BOOM is already running.
If Juggler and Neon multiballs start together, the Juggler marvel
is now correctly awarded.
Added Improved ball search and missing ball compensation.

Version 1.1
Date: November 19, 1997

G11: Checksum: 7211

Changes from Version 1.0:

When the game is set for Tournament mode, the same judges will
always be selected.
Lamp effect when Join the Cirqus is ready does not dim the GI as much.
Added a TOTAL screen at the end of Cannon Ball Run.
Cannon Ball Run no longer gives Jackpots from the Cirqus Luck switch
during Tournament mode.
Software for raising the Jet Bumper has been modified to put less
stress on the Solenoid fuse (F103).
Added User Test for the ramp lockup. It is possible to release 1 or
all balls, and watch the switches.
Improved choreography when the Ringmaster Magnet does not catch
the ball.
Fixed a bug where tilting during Side-Show would not kick the ball
out of the popper.
Fixed a bug that could rarely cause players scores in a multiplayer
game to dissapear.

Version 2.0H Release Notes:
This is version 2.0H of Cirqus Voltaire. This Home ROM is NOT an official
Williams release, and as such is not supported by that company.

Version 2.0H of Cirqus Voltaire is an 8 megabit ROM (27C080 or equivalent),
which is free only (will not accept coins). The checksum is: $B120

Changes since 1.4:
– The ramp lockup test was NOT clearing the switch status flags when
it started up, this has been fixed.
– If the ramp magnet switch could not start the multiball start LAMP
effect, but the display effect was running, it would re-run the
display effect once the ball reached the lockup. This has been
fixed.
– Starting final mode now cancels the multiple jackpot.
– Shots are ignored just after starting a new final mode phase.
– Shots are ignored just after adding a ball in phase 3 of Join.
– Added additional tilt check in ramp lockup code.
– Added adjustment to install manual eddy boards.
– Ringmaster is no longer down during sideshow, but IS down during
video modes.
– Added adjustment to allow all abort-friendly display effects to be
aborted right from the start of the game.
– Possible to abort most display effects.
– Added adjustment to make Acrobats only spot from made switch on
the ramp (instead of enter).
– Added adjustment to enable the ‘old’ skill shot. Simple skill shot
runs in tournament mode.
– Added adjustment to enable timed Ringmaster mode.
– Added adjustment to skip first Ringmaster defeat.
– Added adjustment to stop Ringmaster magnet catching the ball after WOW.
– Added Copy-Cat video mode.
– Side-Show lamp effect now masks inlane lamps.
– Neon multiball has a significantly reduced chance of running until
one of the regular multiballs has been played.
– Side show will try not to give out two video type modes in a row.
– Added juggler sneaky lock on left loop.
– Boom Balloon will attempt to lower itself if it registers hits while it
should be down, and the ball is hitting other jets.
– All multiballs can be restarted when quickly starting another
multiball. (On an adjustment which defaults OFF).
– Updated Cirqus Member time-stamp to reference from 2001, and system
clock starts at 2002.
– Created some presets for new adjustments.
– Added ‘Early’ to game over kickout adjustment – It kicks during
match/hstd processing.
– Added adjustments to stop physical HighWire and Juggler locks.
– New juggler lock and start lamp effects.
– Diverter will switch position when balls in play decreases to 1 to
free jams. (Adjustment sets frequency, or disables)
– Added quick jackpot, lit from side-show.
– Removed pinball hotline and web/email info from attract mode. 🙁
– Tweaked the speech for skill shot, Ringmaster and Hat-Trick.
– Hat-Trick and Ringmaster modes now work correctly together.
– Test Report messages regarding disabled hardware will only show
up in Test mode .. Stopping DOT on home games.
– BackBox Luck switch will not be marked bad if the backbox is disabled.
(However it will still show up in the test report if it is bad.)
– ‘Load Cannon’ award on the outlanes has been modified to give
lower points.
– Game restart is now correctly handled during Side Show.
– Added delay to Boom Balloon timer so background display effect
shows starting time.
– Added feature adjustment to disable timed spot-marvel (off the
inlane).
– Added ‘Clear Hardware Errors’ utility.
– Spot Marvel disabled while no marvels can be spotted.
– Timed spot marvels (off the inlane) are not lit at all if no
remaining marvels can be spotted.
– Added music and speech when Join The Cirqus is ready.
– Added new Join The Cirqus phase ‘Acrobats Spin’: Player must score
100 spins to win. Target spins set by new Feature Adjustment.
– Added second Join The Cirqus phase: Player must score 3 million
points (from roving hurry-ups) to win. Final score set by new Feature
Adjustments.
– New Cirqus phases played second time player reaches Join. Added new
adjustment to set this.
– Add ball/score to background display effect of phase 2 of Join
The Cirqus.
– Join The Cirqus intro display effects can be aborted at ball-start
and the second (or more) time through.
– Skill Shot lit at ball start, during Join The Cirqus to advance the
mode. Ball is held during intro effects (which can be aborted).
– Timer adjustments for Kangaroo Video mode and Cannon Fire Mode
can be set to ‘OFF’ to disable these modes.
– If all marvels except the Acrobats Marvel have been awarded, but
the Acrobats mode is active, then that marvel will be spotted.
– Added pause feature to the coin-door. Opening the door disables
the flippers, stops mode timers, and starts a ball saver (2 seconds
for each ball in play). Balls are re-launched once the door is closed.
– Fixed some small glitches in the ball lock and multiball start
lamp effects.
– Removed ‘Player One’ speech during single player games. Ball serve
speech only plays 5 times.
– Modified Backbox disabled adjustment so that the time between kicks
can also be set. Changed adjustment text to “BBOX. KICK DELAY”.
– Added more compensation logic to Highwire ramp: lock (or multiball)
will be awarded if no scoring occurs 5 seconds after the ramp magnet
releases the ball. This is so the player receives the correct lock/
multiball sequence even if a lockup switch is failing.
– Improved Ringmaster Battle logic.
– Diverter remains unenergized for several seconds after the wire-ramp
enter switch.
– Added feature adjustment ‘QUICK ARC MBALL.’. When set YES, the ball
will NOT be stopped on the ramp magnet when Strike An Arc Multiball
is started along with a Highwire Multiball lock (or start).

Description of Feature Adjustments.

Since there are several new adjustments (and slight re-ordering of some of
the existing ones), they will all be explained below.

BALL SAVES

This sets the number of times the ball will be saved.

TIMED PLUNGER

This can set a delay before the game will automatically plunge the ball
into play.

BALL SAVE TIME

This sets the time (in seconds) for the ball save timer. This time is only
used to save the number of balls set in the ‘BALL SAVES’ adjustment.

MBALL. BALL SAVER

This sets the time (in seconds) that the ball saver runs at the start of
Highwire Multiball.

R.MSTR. BALL SAVE

This sets the time (in seconds) that the ball saver runs at the start of
the Ringmaster multiballs (Frenzy, Razz and Special).

ARC MBALL. SAVE

This sets the time (in seconds) that the ball saver runs at the start of
Strike An Arc multiball.

JUGLE. MBALL. SAVE

This sets the time (in seconds) that the ball saver runs at the start of
Juggler multiball.

NEON M.B SAVER

This sets the time (in seconds) that the ball saver runs at the start of
Neon multiball.

RMASTER. EX.BALL

This sets the number of Ringmasters which must be defeated to light Extra
Ball.

“BOOM” FOR E.B

This sets the number of Boom Balloon hits to light Extra Ball.

COPY CAT E/B

This sets the number of correct sequences needed in the Copy Cat video mode
to light Extra Ball.

ALL M/B RESTART

This will allow any multiball to restart if another multiball is started
shortly after the first one ends. (Presently this only works when starting
a Ringmaster multiball …). Setting this to YES can allow all multiballs
to run at the same time.

RAMP DIFFICULTY

This sets the number of ramp shots needed to start Strike An Arc multiball
at the start of the game.

“RING MEMORY”

This allows the RING number to be carried from ball to ball.

SIDE SHOW LIT

This sets whether or not the Side Show is lit at the start of the game.

SUPER JETS TIME

This sets the time (in seconds) for which super jets (Boom Balloon) runs.

POPCORN TIME

This sets the time (in seconds) for which Popcorn Mania runs.

ROONIE TIMER

This sets the time (in seconds) for which the Amazing Roonie video mode runs.
Set this to ‘off’ to disable the mode.

CANNON MODE TIME

This sets the time (in seconds) for which the Cannon Fire video mode runs. Set
this to ‘off’ to disable the mode.

HAT-TRICK TIMER

This sets the time (in seconds) for which the Ringmaster Hat Trick mode runs.

R/M HIT MODE TMR

This sets the time (in seconds) for which Ringmaster mode runs, or ‘OFF’ to
disable the timer. When timed, the player only has a number of seconds to
defeat the Ringmaster; or shooting ‘SPIN’ increases the time. The mode ends
when the time expires, and the player must spell WOW again to restart the
mode. This timer is paused during any multiball.

M/B STACK LOCKS

This adjustment sets the number of multiballs for which locks can be stacked.
Stacking locks means that ‘lock 2’ can be lit before ball one is locked.

FIRST R/M DEFEAT

This adjustment disables the first Ringmaster defeat (meaning that Frenzie
will be awarded the first time the Ringmaster is defeated).

MAGNET BALL SAVE

This adjustment causes a short ball saver to become active when the
Ringmaster magnet plays with the ball.

MAGNET CATCH WOW

Set this adjustment to ‘NO’ to stop the Ringmaster magnet from catching the
ball once WOW is spelled.

AC’BATS RAMP

When set to ‘HARD’, the player will need to shoot the ball all the way up
the Acrobats ramp to be awarded the shot. When set to ‘NORMAL’, the shot is
awarded by the enter switch.

SIMPLE SKL. SHOT

Set this adjustment to ‘NO’ to activate the complex skill shot. When
activated, the player can choose one award out of five to collect if the
skill shot is made.

LOW RM. BATLE. SCR.

This adjustment lowers the scoring during the Ringmaster Battle mode. (Low
scoring is active during tournament mode.)

INLANE SPT. MRVL.

Set this adjustment to ‘NO’ to stop Spot Marvel from being lit by the right
inlane.

QUICK ARC MBALL.

Set to ‘YES’, the ramp magnet will no longer grab the ball if lock is lit
(or Highwire Multiball is starting) at the same time as Strike An Arc
multiball starts.

FINAL MODE STEPS

This adjustment controls the additional Join The Cirqus modes:
– Normal: New modes are played the second time the player spells CIRQUS.
– Reversed: The new modes are played the first time the player spells
CIRQUS.
– Random: There is a 50% chance that the new modes will be played the first
time the player spells CIRQUS.

FNL. STEP 5 SPINS

This adjustment sets the number of spins needed to complete phase 5 of
Join The Cirqus.

FNL. STEP 6 GOAL

This adjustment sets the number of points the player needs to score in order
to complete phase 6 of Join The Cirqus.

FLPRS. ABORT ANIM.

This adjustment sets how the flippers abort long animations.

ABORT ALL ANIM.

Set this adjustment to ‘YES’ to allow all animations to be aborted, even
the first time they are seen. NOTE: New players are significantly more
likely to be confused when playing the game, if all the animations are
skipped!

PLYR TOURNAMENT

This allows players to play the game in tournament mode by holding both
flippers in attract mode.

A.MODE MUSIC

This adjustment sets the delay (in minutes) between music, in attract mode.

A.MODE SOUNDS

This adjustment sets the delay (in minutes) between sounds/speech, in
attract mode.

A.MODE FLPR. SNDS.

This adjustment causes the flipper buttons to make sounds when pressed in
attract mode.

NEON OFF TIME

This adjustment sets the ‘off time’ (or ‘run time’) for the neon tube in
attract mode.

NEON ON TIME

This adjustment sets the ‘on time’ for the neon tube in attract mode. The
tube will be turned on during attract mode so that it can better maintain a
rich colour.

PHYS. H/W LOCKS
PHYS. JUG. LOCKS

These adjustments can stop the physical locks from holding balls during a
game. These do NOT disable the devices! The ball will still be diverted
into the device, but it will not be held.

GAMEOVER KICKOUT

This adjustment controls how locked balls are kicked out at the end of
a game:
– Delay: After 1 minute.
– Never: Balls are not kicked out.
– Instant: Balls are kicked at the start of attract mode.
– Early: Balls are kicked after the final bonus count.

AUTO EDDY BOARDS

Manual eddy sensor driver boards can be used installed if this adjustment is
set to ‘NO’.

DIVRTR. M/B CHECK

This controls how the diverter tries to free stuck balls.
– Never: Diverter never tries to free stuck balls.
– Normal: Diverter tires to free stuck balls when the ball count decreases
to one ball in play.
– Paranoid: Diverter tries to free stuck balls whenever the ball count
decreases.

BBOX. KICK DELAY

This sets the delay for the back-box kicker. Set to ‘OFF’ to disable the
backbox.

RINGMASTER

This can disable the Ringmaster device.

DIVERTER

This can disable the diverter device.

“KNOCKER” VOLUME

This sets the volume of the ‘knocker’ sound effect.

The following are additional pre-sets.

SPEEDY PLAY
FLPRS. ABORT ANIM.: Instant
ABORT ALL ANIM.: Yes
MAGNET CATCH WOW: No
QUICK ARC MBALL.: Yes
GAMEOVER KICKOUT: Early

“OLD” RULES
R/M HIT MODE TMR: 20
MAGNET CATCH WOW: No
SIMPLE SKL. SHOT: No