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Cirqus Voltaire (Bally 1997)

VPW Lite build that established the standard 12-point physics review checklist, 23 VP unit flipper trigger margin, and metal wall hit threshold of 2. Notable for Ringmaster bash toy TargetBouncer tuning, modulated solenoid flasher fading, and VPX 10.8 frame pacing fix. Led by apophis79 and hayjay with contributions from sixtoe, rothbauerw, and nestorgian.

Build Story

Development ran from March through September 2023 as a Lite update (nFozzy physics, Fleep sounds, bug fixes applied to an existing community table). Started as sixtoe's VR version with Roth physics, then hayjay added nFozzy/Fleep and led it through VPW review. The table produced the formalized 12-point physics review checklist that became the VPW standard. Released after a week-long RC period -- "there's always something" found in extra testing time.

Table-Specific Details

Mechanisms & Hardware

  • ROM version selection: cv_14 (latest production), cv_20h (home ROM, removes coin features), cv_20hc (recommended -- home ROM WITH coin support retained). The _hc variant restores coin door switch functionality that _h removes.
  • Ringmaster bash toy: TargetBouncer applied for realistic ball ricochet rather than dead stop. Values need per-target tuning -- center playfield bash toy needs different values than side rail standup targets. Global TargetBouncer 0.7 with posts at 1.
  • Modulated solenoid flashers: The modulated solenoid value (0-255 from ROM) maps to VPX opacity (0-100). Maximum in-game value may be lower than 255. Technique: debug.print values during gameplay to find real maximum, normalize to that value.
  • Flupper dome replacement: Swapping domes creates a chain reaction -- new domes require adjusting plastics positioning, depth bias, and lighting levels.
  • VPX 10.8 opacity bug: .opacity property only works at runtime if material opacity is set to less than 1.0 in editor. Set to 0.999 as workaround.

Art & Visuals

  • Playfield dimension verification: Export VPX table, import into Blender to read dimensions. CV was 964 VP units wide (20.5") instead of correct 952 (20.25") -- 5mm error from original build. Team decided difference was not worth fixing.
  • Ball-ball collision sounds filtered by ball ID with 50-100ms reset timer to prevent rapid-fire static during multiball.

Physics & Gameplay

  • 12-point physics review checklist standardized here: flipper triggers (23 VP units), start/end angles, era-appropriate strength, metal wall threshold=2, rubber dampeners, sling responsiveness, drop target detection, ball-ball collision, drain behavior, plunger strength, ramp physics, bumper kick.
  • Flipper trigger margin: 23 VP units from flippers in all directions. Must be less than 25 VP units (ball radius). Incorrect trigger sizing is the most common physics review finding.
  • Metal wall hit threshold: Set to 2 to prevent metal sounds from firing on every gentle ball contact along guide rails.

Known Issues

  • DOF public config database can become corrupted when users overwrite shared entries. Back up before updating.
  • VPX 10.8 frame pacing issue: set "Maximum Pre-Rendered Frames" to 0 in video settings.
  • B2S calls must be wrapped in If B2SOn Then or they throw errors for non-B2S users.

Techniques Developed Here

See Also