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Fire that Cannon!
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The
electrifying performances of the circus' of old were very different than
today. It has evolved from the early Roman acts of bravery and challenge.
The Romans themselves were the greatest audiences holding daily performances
in the Arena, which hosted juggling, tightrope walking and fire eating as
well as gladiators and chariot races. The word "circus" literally means
"ring", and was established to set a boundary for the animals to work
within.
After the fall of Rome in 476
A.D., the performers disbanded and scattered throughout the known World for
other places to practice their arts.
"M. Voltaire" ~ (Francois Marie
Arouet) [1694-1778]
Born in Paris, Voltaire was the
most influential writer and philosopher of the French Enlightenment. A man
of noble background, he was inclined to aristocracy. He adopted the name
Voltaire after his imprisonment in the Bastille (1717-1718) for writing
satiric verse. Jailed again briefly in the Bastille in 1726, he was exiled
to England for three years, then lived in France and Germany, and returned
to Paris in 1772.
Best known for his classical
tragedies, he was also a poet and a correspondent of tremendous value.
Voltaire was also known as a fighter for social reform. As a leader of the
philosophies, he tried to reform the hierarchical French Ancient Regime, and
the system of criminal justice and taxation. Voltaire opposed persecution
and rejected materialism in favor of determinism. He pioneered modern
historiography with his valuable historical works, such as History of
Charles XII, Age of Louis XIV, and Essay on Manners. The
frivolity of the Cirqus has always appealed to his manner, and took on the
task of forming his own.
In the most rebellious time
during 1771, one of the authors of the new time was indeed Voltaire, a
scholarly rascal with a vivid tongue and sharp quill. Along with other men
of valor, began a movement of "Enlightenment" based in the scientific
revolution of Galileo and Newton from the previous century. They felt the
universe was infinite and that the spirit of man should be free to wander as
well.
Voltaire himself then brought
together a group of the most talented street performers and philosophers of
modern day France and founded the "Troupe des Voltaire" or Voltaire's Group
in 1772. The men would speak from inside the masterful "ring" and voice
their idea to France and the World through the audience.
This new name, "Cirqus Voltaire"
was adopted and first spoken by Voltaire himself during a tense game of "(
Hole" Bagatelle at the Cafe Procope in Paris. Along with their romantic
works of the pen, the Cirqus talent included jugglers, tiger tamers, hire
wire fellows, an old lady, and of course the lightning-ball walkers and
throwers. The "Group des Voltaire" had the most marvelous acts, those of
electricity, fire and passion, the same that willed France toward revolution
in 1979. |
The
mesmerizing cirqus performances of today have evolved from the early Romans
and their acts of bravery and challenge.
The arena held the greatest daily
performances as gladiators riding chariots could be seen alongside jugglers,
tightrope walkers and fire eating cows.
The word "Cirqus" literally means
"Ring", and traditional rings were established as boundaries for horses to
gallop within.
All cirqus performers disbanded
and scattered after the fall of Rome in 476 A.D.
1771 was a rebellious time for
the famous M. Voltaire, an enlightened philosopher and general scholarly
rascal.
He was famous for his writings
and his spirit for living.
His passion grasped the arts and
the cirqus, and in 1772 founded a show in Paris with the "Father of the
Cirqus", Phillip Astley. Voltaire then brought together a group of the most
talented street performers and poets of modern day France, and founded the
"Troupe le
Voltaire" or "Voltaire's Group".
The name, "Cirqus Voltaire" was
first spoken by Voltaire himself, during a tense game of bagatelle at the
Cafe Procope.
Along with their works of the
pen, the cirqus talent included tiger tamers, high wire fellows, the
lightning-ball jugglers, and powerful cow throwers.
The Cirqus Voltaire had the most
marvelous acts of bravery and passion, the same that willed France toward
revolution in 1789.
The rest of the story and passion
is... ... well ... To be played by you!
So come join the "Cirqus
Voltaire"! |
Some of the differences between the playfields on Sample games and Production
Games:
- Light inserts:
- "Jugglers" and "Acrobats" inserts changed
from Yellow to White
- Mylar Stickers, Covering/Updating artwork:
- Center Marvel covering 'Visit Ring 3'
- Three RM heads between the three RM Multiball lights
- On the playfield RM flasher, in the RM loop. (Covering ..?)
- Artwork differences:
- Bottom marvel changed from 'Crank' to 'Spin'
- Four blue lights under spinner added letters 'S' 'P' 'I'
'N'
- Word 'Multiball' added under each RM Multiball light
- Added the word 'Ready' under the 'Jugglers' and
'Acrobats' lights
- 'Bally Hoo' added under the two Yellow Stand-ups next to
the RM
- "Tickle The" under the Ringmaster changed to "Defeat
The"
- Hardware Differences:
- Ringmaster Head fattened to prevent balls
getting caught and pulled into cabinet ("Cabinet Bonus").
- Post added behind left Bally-Hoo target to prevent ball
from getting stuck on fatter RM head. (avail in update kit)
- Spacer added under lock-up ramp to 'assist balls'
exiting ramp. (avail in update kit)
- Several metal plates added around the playfield: By
right ramp switch, in front of display. (avail in update kit)
- Light Insert over the 'Menagerie' artwork, under the
Bear Flasher for another Eddy Sensor.
- Metal Rail guide on right outlane moved down 1/2 inch,
artwork not updated with new holes/masks.
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This is a known list of 'cows' that appear in the game. If you know of one not
listed, tell me!
- Attract Mode ('History...'; see above)
- Attract Mode ('Mooo..'; sound)
- Judge (Heffer)
- Item to Jump Over in Amazing Roonie
- Rimgmaster Hit
- Flipper Code.
- 'Ones' digit score. Occasionally the '0' will flip,
showing different images. A cow is one of those images.
- Match Animation (Cow may fly at the clown with 'Mooo..' sound.) New
in 2.0H.
- Special treat for entering initials in of "MOO". New in 2.0H.
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Some special artwork on the playfield.. See if you can find where they are:
- 'Joos TNT'
- 'Redhawke Grille'
- 'Thanks for Cleaning Under the Plastic'
- 'DUKE'
- 'Hanley Co.' and 'Hanley Cable Co.'
- 'RRR'
- 'POP'
- 'Wreckable Free Zone'
- 'Bally Pinball King'
- First Names of Production Team. (Last names are under
flippers..)
- Misprint on certain Instruction Card
- "JACKPOT" Decal
- The only anthropomorphic, plantigrade, high-heel-wearing character in
the artwork. :)
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...Full credits for the game, as reported by the game in Attract Mode:
- Concept/Design: John Popadiuk Jr.
- Software/Design: Cameron 'Dawn' Silver
- Mechanical Engineer: Jack Skalon
- Mechanical Designer: Louis Toy
- Artwork: Linda Deal
- Music and Design: Rob Berry, Dave Zabriskie
- Display Animators: Adam Rhine, Brian Morris
- Dot Concept: Dr. Flash
- B/W Neon: Jim Meehan
- Effects: Buzz Neon
- Voices: Cathy Schenkelberg, Mark Maclean
- Voices: Rob Berry, Jon Hey, Cameron 'Dawn' Silver
- Special Thanks: Terry Pratchett, Mark Weyna, Mike Patla
- P.C.B Design: Butch Ortega
- Publications: Karen Trybula, Nina Clemente, Norma Rodriguez
- Regulatory: Herb Foss
- WMS Service: Tom Cahill, Jim Kline, Greg McKay
- Model Shop: Al Cardinas, Mark Johnson, Ted Chmiola
- Model Shop: Mike Laporte, Larry Peters, Dwen Larcen
- Model Shop: Dennis Saunders, One Arm Joe
- Manufacturing: Jerry Bartol, Laura Polonco
- Manufacturing: Bob Rapata, Dave Ryon, Emmanuel Kurian
- Sculptures: John Balogh
- Electrical Wizards: Chuck Bleich, Brian Magruder
- Prototype Lab: Jim Shird, Jose Delgado
- Cables: Bill Thompson
- C.N.C Models: Wally Roeder
- Software Support: Larry DeMar, Ted Estes, Bill Grupp
- Software Support: Lyman Sheats, Dwight Sullivan
- Software Support: Louis Koziarz, Tom Uban, Matt Coriale
- Sound Support: Andy Eloff
- Engineering Support: John McCaffer, Elaine Johnson
- Purchasing Support: Ron Summers, Dale Prasse
- Purchasing Support: Thomas Murphy, Randy Melind
- Prototype Testing: Mike Mendes, Cameron 'Dawn' Silver
- Cirqus Kings: Ken Fedesna, Neil Nicastro, Larry DeMar
- Cirqus Kings: Jim Patala, Joe Dillon, Rachel Davies
- Testing Support: Darren Walker
- Cirqus Legends: Joe Joos Jr., John Popadiuk Sr., Jerry Pinsler
- Translations: Global Languages and Cultures, Inc.
- Translators: Karin Bauchrowitz, Maryl Eubanks, Alan Murillo
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All the judges in the game that you may get..
- Judy
- Tommy: He's blind, deaf and dumb.. Not quite sure what the
image is, tho.
- Tommy: The one that can see, hear, and speak..
- Adam
- Jo: Looks like the lady from Theater of Magic..
- Damien
- Paul
- Kim
- Abby
- Keith: One of the members of a gang that hangs around the
production line facility..
- Heffer: Uh, Moo?
- Nick: Cock-a-doodle-doo?
- Roast: Nice, real nice. A good dish, too.
- Marvin: The OTHER Martian that starred in a recent game...
- Doho: Ha! '?'
- Rob
- John: Hey, he looks familiar..
- Cameron: ...so does this guy.. Maybe they had something to
do with the design? Nahh..
- Linda: The way she's portrayed on screen, you'd never
guess she did the artwork...
- Arthur: Someone's pet cat.
- Ron: Drink Bud Ice, but... Beware the Penguin. "Doo be doo
be.."
- 0110011: Danger Will Robinson, Danger!
- Tara
- Eleni
- Rincewind: Merlin's twin brother.
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Like a handful of other games that were made in the
90's, Cirqus Voltaire has a handful of Flipper Codes. To enter these
codes, always start by hitting both flipper buttons at the same time.
This will reset the screen to show the last game's scores. Then,
starting with the left, hit is the number of times, then alternate with
the right. When finished, hit the opposite button from the last one you
entered in. For example: MOO - {13,15,15}: You'd start with Both, then
Left 13 times, Right 15 times, Left 15 times, then Right 1 time. Got it?
Good. These codes work in attract mode only. Here you go, have
fun:
- MOO - {13, 15, 15}: "Moo"s at you, and during the first
Ringmaster Mode, every time you hit him cows will fly out, and he'll
moo.
- CJS - {3, 10, 19}: Displays "Hello Cameron, I've Been Expecting
You"
- GGC - {7, 7, 3}: Enters a light and music show and displays the
"Troupe Le Voltaire"
- RCS - {18, 3, 19}: Quick little light show, and displays "Hi
Robert!"
- CSS - {3, 19, 19}: Quick little light show, and displays "Hi
Corey!"
- MAB - {13, 1, 2}: Quick little light show, and displays "Hi
Michael!"
- PAB - {16, 1, 2}: Quick little light show, and displays "Hi
Parker!"
- FRN - {6, 18, 14}: Software-resets the game. (Warm Reboot, in
other words.)
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There is one more
flipper code that I know of that is not included on the list. I
actually found it out by accident, and was asked not to reveal
it. So I won't. Haha. However, there's nothing stopping you from
figuring it out on your own!
The original design of the game was to have the player
go through the rings of the cirqus, with ring 3 being the most
difficult. This is why, on sample games, the center marvel has a
decal over it - under the decal the lamp still has "Visit Ring
3" on it. There are quotes still in the sound ROMS that refer to
visiting Ring 3 as well, and getting all of the marvels awarded.
(See my Unheard Voices page!) |
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