TZ Tactics and Strategies

[Sean DonCarlos]

Just to clarify though - isn't it that if you get any other extra ball first, the 'light extra ball' door panel is lit, and only that extra ball can no longer be had? Other extra balls are available upto 4 max. If starting a new door panel, with 4 extra balls, the 'light extra ball' panel is automatically lit also.

Correct. You will only be prevented from collecting the extra ball that the door panel would have given you. Other extra balls are still available, unless you already have 4 stored.

What I meant (and maybe I should go back and make this more clear) is that merely lighting some other extra ball will not by itself disable the extra ball from the door panel, but collecting that other extra ball will.

 

[Nik Barbour]

Correct. You will only be prevented from collecting the extra ball that the door panel would have given you. Other extra balls are still available, unless you already have 4 stored.

What I meant (and maybe I should go back and make this more clear) is that merely lighting some other extra ball will not by itself disable the extra ball from the door panel, but collecting that other extra ball will.

Thanks for the tips again - I was just a bit unsure on this.

 

[iguanarama]

Hi,

I just wanted to add in some tips from my iPod touch playing. I got to 10.3B recently, upon which I then drained the last few balls to end the game because (sad gulp) I got bored, and I'd been playing 1 hr 20 mins on one game! (Also my wife was… er… 'ready for me to stop playing'.)

Anyway, I hope these points help other people. They're specific to TPA TZ, as there are great strat guides for real TZ already online.


1) Real TZ table strategy involves multi ball. However, huge scores on TPA's TZ are possible just by repeatedly getting LITZ. On my highest game I'd got LITZ four times already, and the bonuses you get are huge:

a) Your end of ball bonus starts at, say, 50M because of so many doors etc, and that is subject to multipliers, so you can easily get several hundred million bonus on *each* ball, not just on a good ball;

b) You are picking up 200M for 100 hitchhikers with the hitchhiker door after, say, three to four cycles (you build hitchhikers at around 20-30 hitchhikers per LITZ cycle);

c) You are getting an extra 5M for your dozens of left ramps (after you max out your robots at 99). I even contemplated doing a game of just left ramps for a high score, as they're so, so easy to hit. (I'd go insane with boredom, but hey.)

So I ignore multi ball unless I get it going for extra balls.


2) Repeat after me: left ramp, right ramp, piano (for the 10M combo and the door). Just repeat this time, after time, after time, after time, after time. It should enter your DNA. If you are hitting the piano reliably (the ramps are easy), you will score big. If you're not, you won't.

When the ball pops out of the slot machine from the piano, let it dead pass to the left flipper, and start again with the left ramp. (The predictability of this dead pass out of the slot machine is by far the biggest reason TZ on TPA is easier than the real thing.) You can hit LITZ within 5-10 mins easily if you have this nailed. For the piano shot, when the ball is dropped off the right ramp's rail, pick a spot on the table where your flip will reliably go into the piano. (On my landscape iPod touch, on camera 1 position, that spot is just below the triangular light.)


3) Optimise your extra ball strategy:

- Learn to avoid collecting an extra ball until you've activated the 'extra ball' door, simply by not going for the extra ball shots. The only exception to this is if you get the extra ball lit from the super skill shot, which disappears if you drain so you go for it if you've lit it. And as was mentioned before, don't get more than 4 extra balls in one ball. Check how many you have by trapping the ball in your left/right flipper for a few seconds to get the status report. (Use the other flipper to move through the report.)

- You can get the super skill shot extra ball every time by pulling back the flipper and picking a spot on the background that the handle of the flipper must reach. On my iPod touch it's about 1mm after the light grey carpet.


4) Know which doors to ignore, and which to go for.

I ignore:

- Town square madness (obviously too dangerous);
- Clock millions and clock chaos (not enough points for the risk on the rebound, unless the doors are stacked with each other);
- Greed (hit them by chance only if you miss the piano and are trying to recover);
- Fast lock (not worth enough, but if you chance get it, just build your town square and dead ends);
- Super slot (unless I'm missing my piano shots and the slot machine shot also opens a door).

I play the spiral only in combo with gum ball machine loading; I save all my gum ball machine loads for when I do the spiral.


5) Because there's so much to be made in any LITZ and just by getting good at LR-RR-Piano, you can (sadly) ignore some of the strat for the real table:

- In LITZ, just keep the balls alive by keeping them busy in loops / left bumpers, as draining is the number one way to lose points.

- You don't need to save your cameras for any particular reason, as even the 'collect bonus' award on a good 100M bonus+ is insignificant compared to consistently high bonuses and hitchhiker awards after a few LITZ cycles. I just treat the cameras as up to 8 shots away from my 10 hitchhikers: each 10 hitchhikers is worth 100M+ across the whole game.


6) Use the nudge sparingly and for specific reasons. I use only one nudge direction (left to right), and only for the following two situations:

a) I miss the left ramp shot, and the ball only goes half way up and is now heading down the middle;
b) The ball is just about to fire out of the rocket launcher: a well timed nudge will make it not go up the left tunnel and into the bumpers from hell. (It will, however, hit the greed target below the tunnel and come down to your flippers fast, so watch out.)

That's it. If my LR-RR-piano combo is tuned in, I don't need the nudge for anything else.


I can't think of anything else now, but I'll post more as it comes to mind.

 

[fenderbendr]

Thanks for the LR-RR-Piano tip. It helped me reach LITZ twice and my high score went from 1.4 billion to 3.2 billion.

 

[Carl Spiby]

If your bonus is enough to push you over 250M, flip both flippers after the first reel of the slot machine stops for a 5M Flipper Bonus. Points is points.

At what point is this? When the game is still going or when the bonus is counted?

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

At what point is this? When the game is still going or when the bonus is counted?

After the bonus is counted, while the slot machine reels for "REPLAY" (or "EXTRA BALL" in TPA's case) are spinning.

 

[Carl Spiby]

So just once per game.

 

[David Smith]

So just once per game.

And only if it's the end-of-ball bonus that pushes you over the replay threshold. Doesn't work if you score a replay mid-ball, including via the Camera 'Collect Bonus' award.

 

[Jutter]

The PAPA tutorial in 2 parts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDyPfUZx7c4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AS4qBRiMwXI

 

[Bonzo]

http://pinball.org/videos/tutorials/twilight-zone/

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

I've updated the original guide to include recommended changes in strategy if your Twilight Zone no longer has the barrier in the bumpers.

 

[Mark Miwurdz]

Only skimmed the topic, but what kind of scores has the TC (or players using his guide) have gotten?

Because...

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

Only skimmed the topic, but what kind of scores has the TC (or players using his guide) have gotten?

Because...

If you're referring to me, 13.2 billion, but it was on the PC build (the early beta build, not the one being prepared now for kickstarter backers) so it doesn't appear on a leaderboard anywhere. Also 902 million on the physical and very evil Twilight Zone at CP Pinball.

I know Advalle has reached 16 billion using a slightly different strategy that focuses more on LITZ to the near-exclusion of everything else.

 

[Mark Miwurdz]

If you were paying attention, you'd see I have hit 15 billion within 48 hours of PS3 release. So many things I could add to your strategy.

 

[Bonzo]

Don't brag, tell us! ;P

 

[Mark Miwurdz]

Not a chance. Guys will work their strategies out over the coming days. My PS3 score will be beaten. Some will take it further and beat the game to death and post even better scores. I will have moved on. Here's a clue. If I could avoid that magnetic flipper bull**** on the left, I could post monster scores. Was the same 20 years ago.

 

[Sean DonCarlos]

My apologies that I did not pay sufficient attention to your recent accomplishment. Congratulations. In way of partial defense, allow me to point out that I've worked 55 hours so far this week, that I play in a pinball league on Wednesday nights, and that I don't own a PS3 and so can't reasonably be expected to pay attention to its leaderboards. So you'll certainly forgive me the fact that my concerns were directed elsewhere.

As far as adding to my strategy, go ahead and add away. Last I checked the thread was unlocked. And it says in the very first paragraph that the strategy presented is not meant to be the One True Way to play. In fact someone else recently updated/corrected my FunHouse strategy guide, and I'm quite happy they did.

 

[Mark Miwurdz]

Given up on Funhouse. Without the game ending glitch...

http://digitalpinballfans.com/showt...play-or-by-plunger-Call-attendant-not-working

I could possibly play it indefinitely. If they fix it, I'll post a monster score.

 

[SKILL_SHOT]

Beat you mark!

 

[Mark Miwurdz]

Beat you mark!

Grrr. I'll be back.