2600 Rom Comparisions and Dumps

[Rom Hunter]

Fixed.

 

[Moshly64]

Hi, Atari Freaks, this is my first post here, I’ve lurked here for a while but up until now have not had anything worthwhile to contribute.

 

Back in 1991, I went in 3rds in an Atari 2600 JR 128in1 with some drinking buddies, after a few years I lost contact with them and the Atari ;-(

 

A few years ago, I started to play around with some emulators and wondered if I could find a dump of the 128in1 ROMs.

 

After downloading the 128in1 ROMs, I found that something was wrong with those images. Firstly, the file size was wrong, 4k x 128 = 512k / 4(ROM chips) = 128K per chip, but the files are 64k ???

Then I heard that one of the ROM’s was the one used in the 32in1 cartridge (2K games), so maybe one of the files should be 64k, but I don’t remember those games being sequential in one bank. And the other 3 ROM’s at least should be 128K.

 

I split the 128in1 images from the net and found that the one ROM is 32 x 2K but the others are only 16 x 4K, Therefore I believe that the first ROM image is maybe from the 32in1 and the other 3 are fake or incorrectly read on an EPROM programmer using 27C512 pin out, thus – only half the size.

 

Question: Is the 32in1 PROM 64K (27C512 pin out) or 128K with A16 on pin 22 ?

 

Recently I acquired a JR 128in1 so I could solve this fake ROM issue.

 

After tracing out the PROM pin out and making an adaptor for my EPROM programmer, I finally have the correct dumps

 

Using Stella 3.3 with the latest snapshots file, I found that most of the images are recognised with a snapshot picture and a description. However, most say (“game” Unknown PAL). All of the 2K games are doubled up to 4K however they are mixed throughout the 4 ROM’s

 

So it looks like someone has dumped most of the ROMs before, but distributed them - split up.

 

I think the naming of the files in Stella should say something like ->

 

32in1 PAL 4K -> 128in1 PAL 4K <- If the 32in1 cart is a 64K PROM (2K games)

Unknown PAL -> 128in1 PAL

Old 64K files -> 128in1 PAL fake

 

Anyway, ill leave that up to all the hard core Atari Freaks to work out, Have Fun !!!

 

PS: Have a look at the names on the game card !

Atari128in1.zip

[Omegamatrix]

Most of these "unknown" hacks are found on single carts or multi-cart consoles. The problem is most of the time they are just hacks with the logo erased, etc... making them difficult to assign to a particular pirate company.

 

 

There are many multi-game consoles out there. I don't know how many are 128 games in 1 off hand, but I think there's quite a few??

[+Propane13]

What's left in the "to do" list for this thread?

Sometimes it really picks up steam, and sometimes it lulls a bit.

 

Any not-so-rare-ish things that need finding?

Or, any rom comparisons still open?

 

Just trying to get a feel for where things are at.

 

-John

[Omegamatrix]

There are lots of loose ends... I'm just been to busy to do much with this thread. Maybe today I'll look at the Miner 2049er alternate rom, and maybe the Mr. Do's Castle rom.

 

Off the top of my head, I've always been curious if there are more HES alternates out there. Specifically for Robot Tank and Space Shuttle, as they both have FE bankswitching. I'm also curious if the Atari NTSC version of BMX Master matches the TNT one.

 

 

There are also a lot of roms left to dump. The one I would love to see most? Challenge (Funvision V-case PAL), and Challenge (Funvision Halley's Comet NTSC). I once made a prediction that the PAL Challenge would match the MD5 number 5652621b2eb07bf5165a985f2a2f4bdc. I would love to see if this is true or not.

[Omegamatrix]

This is a Miner 2049er alternate that AJ and I both uncovered in the Harmony Rom Dumper thread.

 

Miner 2049er a (restart with 3 lives fix).zip

 

 

In short the original rom has a serious bug. You start the game with 3 lives, and should of course restart the game 3 lives again. However that only happens in the orignal rom once you are completely dead.

 

 

By pressing reset in the middle of the game:

3 lives remaining >> re-start with 3 lives (here the bug has no affect because the number of lives is unchanged)

2 lives remaining >> re-start with 2 lives instead of 3!!

1 lives remaining >> re-start with 1 lives instead of 3!!

0 lives remaining >> re-start with 3 lives (like it should)

 

I didn't test what happens if you get more than 3 lives.

 

L3628:
   lda    SWCHB
   and    #$01    ; is the reset switch pressed?
   bne    L3646   ; - no, branch
   lda    #$80    ; - yes
   sta    $F2
   sta    $F3
   lda    #0
   sta    AUDV0 | $40   ; kill audio
   sta    AUDV1 | $40
   sta    $A0           ; clear these registers
   sta    $A1
   sta    $A2
   sta    $A3
   jmp    L37F9         ; jmp L3F64  in original!

L3646:
   lda    TIMINT
   bpl    L3628
   jmp    L3008


;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; new code in alternate
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

L37F9:
   lda    #$03     ; reset the lives counter back to 3 lives
   sta    $CF
   jmp    L3F64    ; and join back to original code



L3F64:
   lda    #$00
   sta    $D5
   lda    #$08
   sta    $F5
   lda    #$02
   sta    $3F      ; bankswitch

 

 

Obviously the bug fixed code is a newer rom, coming possibly after the game got released. The prototype for Miner 2049er in Rom Hunters collection also has this bug. The PAL version of Miner 2049er does too which leads me to believe there is a bug-fixed PAL rom of Miner 2049er out there waiting to be dumped.

 

Miner 2049er Vol II shares much of the same code as Miner 2049er (Vol I). Both the PAL and NTSC versions of Vol II in Rom Hunters set don't have this bug. The is presumably because the Vol II games were released some time after the Vol I games. How long after I don't know. Incidentally the "number of lives" register in the Vol II games is at $9F.

[+Mitch]

I see you have the original version of Bridge on the list, however, in Romhunter's latest ROM set there are two copies of Bridge one of which is marked fixed. I'm assuming the other one is the original bugged one though I have not tested it.

 

Mitch

[Nukey Shay]

http://www.digitpress.com/eastereggs/26bridge.htm

[Rom Hunter]

This is a Miner 2049er alternate that AJ and I both uncovered in the Harmony Rom Dumper thread.

 

Miner 2049er a (restart with 3 lives fix).zip

 

 

In short the original rom has a serious bug. You start the game with 3 lives, and should of course restart the game 3 lives again. However that only happens in the orignal rom once you are completely dead.

 

 

By pressing reset in the middle of the game:

3 lives remaining >> re-start with 3 lives (here the bug has no affect because the number of lives is unchanged)

2 lives remaining >> re-start with 2 lives instead of 3!!

1 lives remaining >> re-start with 1 lives instead of 3!!

0 lives remaining >> re-start with 3 lives (like it should)

 

I didn't test what happens if you get more than 3 lives.

 

L3628:
   lda    SWCHB
   and    #$01    ; is the reset switch pressed?
   bne    L3646   ; - no, branch
   lda    #$80    ; - yes
   sta    $F2
   sta    $F3
   lda    #0
   sta    AUDV0 | $40   ; kill audio
   sta    AUDV1 | $40
   sta    $A0           ; clear these registers
   sta    $A1
   sta    $A2
   sta    $A3
   jmp    L37F9         ; jmp L3F64  in original!

L3646:
   lda    TIMINT
   bpl    L3628
   jmp    L3008


;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; new code in alternate
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

L37F9:
   lda    #$03     ; reset the lives counter back to 3 lives
   sta    $CF
   jmp    L3F64    ; and join back to original code



L3F64:
   lda    #$00
   sta    $D5
   lda    #$08
   sta    $F5
   lda    #$02
   sta    $3F      ; bankswitch

 

 

Obviously the bug fixed code is a newer rom, coming possibly after the game got released. The prototype for Miner 2049er in Rom Hunters collection also has this bug. The PAL version of Miner 2049er does too which leads me to believe there is a bug-fixed PAL rom of Miner 2049er out there waiting to be dumped.

 

Miner 2049er Vol II shares much of the same code as Miner 2049er (Vol I). Both the PAL and NTSC versions of Vol II in Rom Hunters set don't have this bug. The is presumably because the Vol II games were released some time after the Vol I games. How long after I don't know. Incidentally the "number of lives" register in the Vol II games is at $9F.

Thanks for the ROM, Omega.

 

I'll add it to V7.

 

[+Mitch]

Compumate NTSC ROM.

 

And thanks to Eckhard for help in dumping it.

 

Mitch

CompuMate NTSC.zip

[Omegamatrix]

Great Mitch! It's hard to believe this one has gone so long without being dumped. From what I recall it was hard for Eckhard to dump the PAL one due to cables, etc... so thanks for the effort (both of you).

 

 

Does Stella emulate the CompuMate roms though?

[+stephena]

Great Mitch! It's hard to believe this one has gone so long without being dumped. From what I recall it was hard for Eckhard to dump the PAL one due to cables, etc... so thanks for the effort (both of you).

 

 

Does Stella emulate the CompuMate roms though?

Not yet. Maybe for the 3.5 release (3.4 will be released in a few weeks, which includes some nice controller improvements wrt paddles and the mouse).

[+Mitch]

It works in the latest version of Z26 through the command line. There is a bug in the GUI that prevents the CompuMate emulation to work correctly though it.

 

Mitch

[Torr]

I gotta get my crazy SwordQuest: EarthWorld cart sent in to be dumped so we can see whats up with that... I refuse to believe that somehow I ended up with a cart that the only one of it's kind... like I said before if some people out there just checked their SQ:EW carts I'm sure mine's not the only one... just nobody actually tries playing the darn game to notice that they too have an NTSC version of SQ:EW with the PAL solution.

[Omegamatrix]

I'm curious to see what they changed in this rom, and why the PAL rom was different as well. You're right, there is probably a lot more of these but no one bothers with this game very much. I think Schizophretard said he had both versions too.

[Torr]

I've read that they dumbed down the solutions for the PAL release, which makes sense.

I assume the contest was open to US residents only, so they made the game easier to complete and replaced the 'clues' that would point to a comic book they never got with "level numbers". So I believe it's possible here in Canada they released the game with the PAL solution because like Europe, we would have been excluded from the contest. And Canadian retailers quite often buy their stock from all over the world (you could find European and US Sega Master System titles side by side in some stores back in the day), so it would make sense we have both "US" and "Canadian" versions of the game floating around. (Does anyone know if any games, besides pirates were specifically printed/distributed in Canada?). Or maybe if they reprinted the game after the contest was over (and most likely a very limited print run) they decided to print it with the PAL solution, because again, there was no contest they were trying to weed contestants out of, so they might as well make it a little easier...

Only this explanation would require a completely revised manual as well that doesn't explain "clues pointing to the comic" but would POSSIBLY explain the advancing levels style of play.

 

I've been able to reach Level 4 on it now, and it IS definitely easier than the standard version. The first 2 clues/levels were easy, same as before just walk to a room, and then put one particular item in one particular room. After that though, unlike the standard version I only needed to put one other item item in one room to advance to the 3rd clue/level, and then 2 other items in one room to get the 4th clue/level. whereas in the original it seemed the next clue would always include MORE items in MORE rooms... this one seems a lot more limited in how many Items/Rooms you have to coordinate and doesn't seem to have that 'snowball' effect.

[+stephena]

I gotta get my crazy SwordQuest: EarthWorld cart sent in to be dumped so we can see whats up with that... I refuse to believe that somehow I ended up with a cart that the only one of it's kind... like I said before if some people out there just checked their SQ:EW carts I'm sure mine's not the only one... just nobody actually tries playing the darn game to notice that they too have an NTSC version of SQ:EW with the PAL solution.

Not related to the topic at all, but, hey, someone else from Newfoundland in these forums And interested in the Atari 2600 !!

[Rom Hunter]

Compumate NTSC ROM.

 

And thanks to Eckhard for help in dumping it.

 

Mitch

Thanks, Mitch!

 

Added to V7.0 and Atarimania.

 

[Rom Hunter]

I've read that they dumbed down the solutions for the PAL release, which makes sense.

I assume the contest was open to US residents only, so they made the game easier to complete and replaced the 'clues' that would point to a comic book they never got with "level numbers". So I believe it's possible here in Canada they released the game with the PAL solution because like Europe, we would have been excluded from the contest. And Canadian retailers quite often buy their stock from all over the world (you could find European and US Sega Master System titles side by side in some stores back in the day), so it would make sense we have both "US" and "Canadian" versions of the game floating around. (Does anyone know if any games, besides pirates were specifically printed/distributed in Canada?). Or maybe if they reprinted the game after the contest was over (and most likely a very limited print run) they decided to print it with the PAL solution, because again, there was no contest they were trying to weed contestants out of, so they might as well make it a little easier...

Only this explanation would require a completely revised manual as well that doesn't explain "clues pointing to the comic" but would POSSIBLY explain the advancing levels style of play.

 

I've been able to reach Level 4 on it now, and it IS definitely easier than the standard version. The first 2 clues/levels were easy, same as before just walk to a room, and then put one particular item in one particular room. After that though, unlike the standard version I only needed to put one other item item in one room to advance to the 3rd clue/level, and then 2 other items in one room to get the 4th clue/level. whereas in the original it seemed the next clue would always include MORE items in MORE rooms... this one seems a lot more limited in how many Items/Rooms you have to coordinate and doesn't seem to have that 'snowball' effect.

Interesting theory, Torr.

 

Could very well be the case.

 

Let's dump these asap.

 

[Tempest]

Interesting theory, Torr.

I don't think it's a theory, I believe this is a well known fact.

 

Tempest

[kheffington]

I have the Taiwan Cooper version of River Raid. I don't see that in the roms. I don't have anyway of dumping it but as I don't really plan on keeping it; I would be happy to mail it to someone if they want to dump the rom. It is NTSC and playing it I don't really see anything different from the Activision version other than the missing ACTIVISION on the start screen.

 

 

[Torr]

Interesting theory, Torr.

I don't think it's a theory, I believe this is a well known fact.

 

Tempest

 

 

Where's the evidence proving it "fact"? I can find no info on this alternate SQ game anywhere...

[+Mitch]

I have the Taiwan Cooper version of River Raid. I don't see that in the roms. I don't have anyway of dumping it but as I don't really plan on keeping it; I would be happy to mail it to someone if they want to dump the rom. It is NTSC and playing it I don't really see anything different from the Activision version other than the missing ACTIVISION on the start screen.

 

If you don't mind mailing out the cart I can dump it and mail it back within a few days.

 

Mitch

[Omegamatrix]

I would like to know if there are any alternate manuals describing what to do with the new clues?

[kheffington]

I have the Taiwan Cooper version of River Raid. I don't see that in the roms. I don't have anyway of dumping it but as I don't really plan on keeping it; I would be happy to mail it to someone if they want to dump the rom. It is NTSC and playing it I don't really see anything different from the Activision version other than the missing ACTIVISION on the start screen.

 

If you don't mind mailing out the cart I can dump it and mail it back within a few days.

 

Mitch

 

Just PM me an address to mail it to. No need to return it as I am not really interested in collecting Cooper carts.