Hidden Features and Easter Eggs

These things are computers. For real. And what computer would be complete without some programmer tossing in easter eggs and hidden features, eh? Well, here's a page with all known hidden features and easter eggs. Enjoy!

- Phoenix LTX Taggers -

Hidden Team 3 Mode

With early code Phoenix LTX taggers (lot numbers TBD), there is a hidden Team 3 option for Team Tag Mode. Carefully place the Power/Mode switch BETWEEN the Team 1 and Team 2 positions. When the position has been found, the Phoenix LTX will declare "Team 3" in the same voice as it does for Teams 1 and 2. Be careful not to move the switch before you pull the trigger to start the countdown. After you have started the countdown, it's ok if the switch moves, since team cannot be changed during a game.

Disable Recoil and Rumble

The Phoenix LTX tests the recoil action when you turn it on to verify that it works. If it detects a jam, it will not use that function during the game. To use this intentionally, simply hold the recoil hammer with your thumb when you turn the unit on. Hold it until it gives up on the recoil, which is usually just a second or two. After that, it will not try to use the recoil motor at all, for recoil or hit vibration, until the tagger is turned off and back on. If you don't like the clacky noise of the recoil, you can use this method to disable it without modifying your tagger. Just remember, you have to hold it when you turn it on. If you forget, just turn it off and back on while holding it.

Join LTTO Hosted Games

Although the Phoenix LTX does not currently have the ability to host scored games like Lazer Tag Team Ops taggers can, they are compatible with LTTO, and can join an LTTO hosted game. Just follow these steps to join an LTTO game.

1. It is very important that the player remembers that during the joining process, he MUST aim the Phoenix LTX directly at the host's dome. This is because the Phoenix LTX does not have the beacon LEDs in the dome like LTTO does, so Player-to-Host communication must come out of the main emitter barrel. After the join is complete, it is no longer necessary to aim at the dome.
2. Also, Phonenix LTX players must join one at a time from any other players, even other Phoenix LTX players. The lack of full communications via the dome also means there is no conflict aversion or resolution in the Phoenix LTX. You can have the LTTO players join first, or wait for the Phoenix LTX players to join first, but make sure no one else is trying to join while a Phoenix LTX player joins.
3. When it is the turn of a Phoenix LTX player to join, have them turn on their tagger and aim at the host's dome.
4. If the game is a teamless game, then the Phoenix LTX will automatically join, and show the Player ID in the Ammo and/or Strength LED bars.
5. If the game is a team game, the player has the option of choosing their team by moving the Power/Mode switch to the chosen team, or leaving the switch on Solo mode for the host to assign the team.
6. WAIT for the Phoenix LTX to stop scanning for a hosted game and declare the chosen team. If in Solo mode, the Phoenix LTX will say "Any Team."
7. After the Phoenix LTX has stopped scanning AND declared a team (this would be the SECOND time it says what team if the player chooses the team using the switch), the player should pull the trigger to initiate the join.
8. Aim MUST be maintained with the host's dome until all communications have ended, including the "Ka-chung" sound on BOTH the host AND the player's taggers.
9. When the player's tagger shows a team and/or player ID on the Strength and/or Ammo LED bars, then the join is complete, and the player can relax and step aside until all other players have joined.
10. Players must still return to the host to receive the countdown signal, so be sure to have the host ensure that all players are present when the countdown begins.
11. At the end of the game, all players should return to the host to debrief.
12. Just as with joining, the Phoenix LTX players MUST aim their taggers at the host's dome for the debriefing to complete.
13. Once all taggers have been debriefed, the scores will be distributed.
14. To see your player rank, pull and HOLD the main trigger. The LEDs shown on the Strenth LED bars indicate 10 or 20 using 1 or 2 lit LEDs. The LEDs shown on the ammo side use a solid LED to represent 2, and a flashing LED to represent 1. For example, if there is one LED on the Strength side, 3 solid LEDs and 1 flashing LED on the Ammo side, the represented rank is 17. If there are two LEDs on the Strength side, one solid LED and one flashing LED on the Ammo side, then the represented rank is 23.
15. To see your Team rank, press and hold the shield trigger. The LEDs shown on the Ammo side represent your team rank, with a flashing LED for rank 1, a solid LED for rank 2, or both a solid and a flashing LED for rank 3.

- Deluxe Taggers -

Homage to the Heroes of Flight 93

In LTAG mode, let the T-Minus countdown run from 9 to 3, then in the final 2 seconds press the 2ndF button 3 times (once for each of the other 3 planes full of people that were hijacked on 9/11). When the timer finishes, instead of seeing "Good Luck", you'll see "Lets Roll" for a moment on the screen.

Zombie Warriors DF2 Clan moniker

An easter-egg for after the Host finishes debriefing and ranking any Zone game, intended for TagFerret's (LTTO design team member) old online squad mates in the Zombie Warriors DF2 clan (~ZW~). On the Host, once it begins displaying the ranks of the individual players, just press 2ndF 5 times very rapidly then press OK.

- IRT-2x (Drone) Taggers -

Worlds of Wonder (WoW) Compatibility Mode

The original Worlds of Wonder Lazer Tag gear has a loyal following, running through original WoW gear and into Electronic Survivor Shot gear, which used the same IR protocols. There are also some home-brew and professional systems that use a compatible signal. Well, the designers of LTTO knew full well about this following, and strived to include WoW compatibility in some LTTO gear. Fortunately, though it was a bit of a battle with the Powers That Be, it was accomplished. The IRT-2x (Drone) model LTTO gear has a WoW compatibility mode. To get to it, and to know what all the modes are, see here:

Access: Scroll to QUIT in the main menu and press the 2ndF button five times, then press the OK button.
Scroll to desired model as follows:
SLYT -- Starlyte pistol (no sensor)
SPRO -- Starlyte Pro rifle (no sensor)
SLSN -- Starlyte pistol with integral StarSensor
SPSN -- Starlyte Pro rifle with integral StarSensor
SLSB -- Starlyte pistol with StarSensor, Bright-light mode*
SPSB -- Starlyte Pro rifle with StarSensor, Bright-light mode*

Press OK to start the game (6 hits on sensor if selected), or Press 2ndF+OK to enter the set-hits menu, select 1-99 hits, and then press OK to start the game with the selected number of hits. Note: * Bright-light mode makes the receiver more demanding, so "sun hits" won't affect it as much. Also note that WoW mode has a habit of taking self-hits. This can be alleviated with a mod.

- Tag Master Blaster Taggers -

Worlds of Wonder (WoW) Compatibility Mode

Same as in IRT-2X. See above for instructions. Note that the self-hits issue in the IRT-2X has been resolved in the Tag Master Blaster.

Hidden Games

The Tag Master Blaster has four hidden games that can be hosted by it. These games are hidden because while there was enough room on the chip to include them, they haven't been fully tested. They only use code that other games use, so there shouldn't be any bugs, but since it hasn't been tested fully, it can't be guaranteed to be bug-free. To tell the TMB to list these new games along with the others, simply switch to HOST mode, then press the 2ndF button 3 times before pressing the OK button. No special noises will be made, but when done correctly, all 14 games in the TMB will be available. This needs to be done for each hosting session, and does not need to be done unless wishing to play one of the hidden games. Also, if a hidden game is customized at all, the settings for it will be stored in the LAST game section for immediate rematching, without the need to enter the code to unlock the hidden games. Note that in the TMB, only games that have been changed from default settings are saved in the LAST game selection. If you play a game without changing any settings, it will not overwrite the current game stored in LAST. Descriptions of the hidden games can be seen on the LTTO Games page and by clicking these links: 2SRV/3SRV, TMHS, TMHP

Hidden Score Readout

The TMB has access to the actual scores of teams and players after debriefing. The data is in a special format that might take some time to understand without reference. Here's a summary of how to get the data, and what it means. NOTE: If you proceed to viewing actual RANKS before viewing the score data, then the score data will be corrupted and cannot be retrieved, so if you want to view score data, do it immediately after debriefing is complete, as follows:

When the Host TMB has finished debriefing the players and is displaying TRNK or PRNK, scroll to the "VS:" option, press "2ndF" four times, THEN press "OK".

First you will see "T1 P" -- press OK to see Team 1's Primary score, or press CANCEL to move on (you can also use INC or DEC to select a different team). Team ranks are based on these numbers.

Next you will see "T1 S" -- press OK to see Team 1's Secondary score, or press CANCEL to move on (you can also use INC or DEC to select a different team). Team rank ties in the Primary score are broken using these scores.

The third screen will show "TR: xyz" where "x" is Team 1's Team Rank, "y" is Team 2's Team Rank, and "z" is Team 3's Team Rank. Teams that did not exist in the game are ranked 0. Press CANCEL to move on.

The fourth screen shows "TM1: xx" where "xx" is just flags for which players were asigned to which "team" -- this screen is just a diagnostic and can be skipped by pressing CANCEL.

The final screen is individual player scores, and starts out with "PLYR00", which is the first player in the game (the Host). INC and DEC change the Player number to be displayed, and OK flashes that player's score on the screen. How the PLYR number translates to the specific players in the game depends on whether it was an individual-players game or a teams game:
> > PLYR00 = Player 1 or Team 1 Player 1
> > PLYR07 = Player 8 or Team 1 Player 8
> > PLYR08 = Player 9 or Team 2 Player 1
> > PLYR15 = Player 16 or Team 2 Player 8
> > PLYR16 = Player 17 or Team 3 Player 1
> > PLYR23 = Player 24 or Team 3 Player 8

The "score" for each player consists of a 2-digit survival code ("80:" if the player was still standing at the end of the game, "00:" if they had been tagged-out or were not in the game), followed by their numeric score. The base score for players is 2000, so "80:2043" means this player was still standing at the end of the game and had a net score of +43 points, while "00:1956" means they had been tagged-out and had a net score of -44 points. "00:2000" usually means there was no such player in the game.