Rick and Morty (R&M) Flippers Documentation

FLIPPER CONTROL IN THE CODE:
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The code that controls how the flippers behave is entirely segregated from the rest of the game.  The only thing the game can do is 
tell the flippers when they are 'enabled' and when they are 'disabled', essentally turning the control module on and off.  Nothing
the game logic does affects how the flippers behave.  They only react to the flipper buttons and the End-of-Stroke switches.

WHY HEAT IS AN ISSUE:
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When a solenoid like a flipper coil gets hot, there's a point at which the heat affects the strength of the force that moves the 
flipper plunger - thereby weakening the flipper.  On some games, this isn't necessarily a problem, but on games with steep ramp 
shots that require a strong flip, it can become very apparent to the player that the flipper is losing power as that steep shot
becomes harder (or impossible) to make.

HOW R&M FIRES THE FLIPPERS:
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There is a hardware based rule that fires the flipper coil when the flipper button is pressed.
The settings named "Flipper - (Flipper Positon)" in the "Machine (Coils)" menu control how long the flipper coil is energized for.
The settings are directly how many milliseconds the flipper is energized when you press the button.
The default setting for this is 30ms, you can increase that setting to make the flippers flip at full power for longer; but not 'harder'.

HOW R&M HOLDS THE FILPPERS UP:
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The flippers are held up by a repeating cycle of on/off periods. There are many settings for these timings in the "Machine (Coils)" menu.
Making the "off" part of the cycle longer reduces heat build up, but also reduces the strength of the hold if the "on" cycle stays the same.
Making the "off" part of the cycle shorter increases heat build up, and increases the strength of the hold if the "on" cycle stays the same.
Testing, and discussing the issue with some electrical engineers, also shows that if the "on" time is shorter, heat builds up slower.

The game originally shipped with the hold timings that matched "Total Nuclear Annihilation" (TNA) control, because the prototype had the same 
coils as TNA.  In May of 2020, the prototype changed to the correct production coils and the control was changed to what is now available 
as "ORIGINAL" in the 'hold pattern' options. This pattern uses 1ms on times and short off times. This range was chosen based on testing 
results on the prototype game as it seemed to provide the best strength for holding up the flipper.

After some customer complaints of flippers being knocked down, some testing done at the Spooky factory, and historical data on how older
games held a single wound coil with this sort of patterning, a new "DEFAULT" pattern was chosen that uses 2ms on times, and doubled
"off" times.

When that new DEFAULT was added, end users reported that heat build-up seemed to be much quicker, which weakens the flipper power and
makes the steep left ramp in the game more difficult.  Based on those reports "DEFAULT" was moved to "AGGRESSIVE", and the "DEFAULT"
"off" times were made longer to try to reduce the heat build up.

The chart below specifies all the settings and their timings:
(Note: The DEFAULT and AGGRESSIVE settings go away in the May 2021 release)





Hold Setting Type'ON' TimeLOWMEDIUMHIGHEXTREME




ORIGINAL1ms8ms7ms6ms5ms




DEFAULT2ms26ms24ms22ms




AGGRESSIVE2ms20ms18ms16ms





ORIGNIAL/LOW is the same duty cyle as AGGRESSIVE/MEDIUM - cut in half.
ORIGINAL/MEDIUM is the same duty cycle as AGGRESSIVE/HIGH - cut in half.

After lengthy testing, and input from an electrical engineer, it's been decided to revert to the 'ORIGINAL' hold patterns. It's
the best overall compromise solution for strength and heat.

HOW R&M DETECTS KNOCKDOWNS:
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The 'End of Stroke' switches on the flipper mech are used to detect when the flipper is going down. Ideally, those 
switches should be adjusted to close and open near the end of the flipper travel. When the 'End of Stroke' switch 
opens, if the flipper button is still closed, the game will fire a recovery.

HOW R&M RECOVERS FROM KNOCKDOWNS:
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The original control to recover a knockdown would use a more aggressive pattern for a brief period to try to bring the 
flipper back up.  Some end users were having an issue where this would not be enough power and the flipper would end up 
knocked down. Once the flipper is down (after a recovery attempt fails), only releasing the flipper button and flipping again 
will make it go back up.

Most modern games use a full power 'flip' to recover if the flipper is pushed down.  R&M was changed to this behavior.  

FLIPPER RETURN SPRINGS:
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The default springs in R&M are larger than typical flipper return springs.  The decision to use the larger springs was
made due to past spring breakage issues on Total Nuclear Annihilation.  They were also used on Alice Cooper's Nightmare
Castle.

Larger springs mean there's more force pulling back on the flipper.  The flippers return to the home position more 
quickly, but more force is needed to hold them up against that pulling force - which can lead to more heat. The 
actual 'flip' power may also be slightly reduced because of the change in resistance.

You can change out your flipper return springs for other sizes, like those found in other modern games that use
single wound coils if you wish, but this is not a requirement.

THE HISTORY OF THE FLIPPER CONTROL CHANGES:
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Build: 2020.02.17
 - Game is released.
 - Hold behavior is based on TNA - patterns are 2/14, 2/12 (default), 2/11
 - Recovery from knockdowns is a "fast" on/off pattern for a short period.
 - Recovery action is controlled in game software logic.

Build 2020.06.04:
 - The prototype got the proper coils to match production, testing was done, and hold behavior was changed.
 - Hold patterns were: 1/8, 1/7 (default), and 1/6

Build 2021.03.02:
 - Flipper hold timings were adjusted to the new DEFAULT, doubling the ORIGINAL patterns, based on testing at Spooky due to user complaints. (This was a mistake)
 - The patterns were 2/16, 2/14 (default), and 2/12
 - A software controlled secondary 'flipper off' when the button is released was added to address race conditions that could leave a flipper 'held' up.

Build 2021.03.11:
 - The "ORIGINAL" hold pattern is re-added as an option in the settings due to user complaints.
 - Recovery was changed from a fast pattern to a solid full 'recovery flip'. (This is the actual fix that was needed - the hold changes were a fiasco)
 - Recovery control was moved to hardware rules that are enabled when flipper button is pressed, and removed when the button is released, so they can react faster.
 - A setting was added to allow for adjustment of how long the 'recovery flip' is fired.

Build 2021.04.05:
 - Due to user complaints of excessive heat buildup, the DEFAULT timings were changed.
 - The new patterns were 2/26, 2/24 (default), and 2/22
 - AGGRESSIVE as added for those that would still want the 'stronger' hold despite heat issues.
 - The AGGRESSIVE patterns were 2/20, 2/18 and 2/16
 - Due to an error, the game must be re-started to properly update flipper hold adjustments.

Build 2021.05.18:
 - Options for what hold pattern to use have been removed.  After much testing and discussions with an electrical engineer friend, the ORIGINAL pattern is now the only.
 - An "EXTREME" option added for even stronger hold at the expense of more heat.
 - Recovery rules were moved back to the software side (instead of hardware rules) to reduce complexity and simplify race condition with rapid flipping.
 - All flipper settings are properly re-read after adjusting in the service menu.

CURRENT RECOMMENDED FLIPPER CONFIGURATION:
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Just the programmers opinion, but:
 - Smaller springs (https://www.pinballlife.com/segastern-flipper-extension-spring.html)
 - Default settings on the flippers to start, adjust as necessary with testing.
 - If you're going to run it for long hours, just invest in the pin-monk flipper fans.

On the physical side of things:
 - Make sure there's not a bunch of 'veritcal' movement in the flipper bat (or binding), adjust with a proper flipper height gap tool if needed.
 - Gap the EOS switches so they close near the end, and the pieces are close-ish together when "open", don't let the first part push back like a spring.
 - Make sure the coil sleeve is in good shape and the flipper moves freely/easily.