Warlords hacks, interested in some input

[Cassidy Nolen]

Hi all,

 

Found a very clean Warlords upright for my collection. It is a favorite on the 2600 and love the fact they are so similar. Some facts you may not know...

 

Uprights have a 22 inch black and white monitor, cocktails have a small color monitor

PCB is the SAME for both, there is a switch setting that makes the board either cocktail mode or upright

Cocktail has 4 player option, upright advances the clock down over the 3/4 player inputs (there aren't any on the upright)

The upright has a blacklight and mirror similar to Asteroids Deluxe and reflects the monitor onto the glass to give a 3D look over the fortresses

(upright image is backwards on the screen, cocktail is forwards)

 

So here is where I am headed:

I'm planning on replacing the 22 inch black and white with a 25 inch color monitor.

Put the game into cocktail mode to display a color image and 4 player option

Reverse the yoke on the horizontal output of the color monitor so it is a reflection

Install a set of joystick input ports in the coin return openings

3D print a set of custom Warlords paddles, complete with Atari Volcano dome start/fireball hold buttons and wire in the additional potentiameters so 4 players can play

 

 

Sounds good, excited about this hack. Now for my input/advice needed:

The castle artwork ('darth vader' heads) at the 'top' of the image will be upside down because they are expecting a player on the other side of the monitor. I would like to get into the code and remove the line that inverts the graphics. Not familiar enough with this software to know where to start but it appears to use very, and I mean VERY similar hardware to the 2600 (6502 and a Pokey). Would I be barking up the wrong tree to look at a disassembly of a 2600 game to find the invert line/register for those graphics?

 

The attract mode has the message splashed both right side up and upsdie down in the cocktail mode. Again, a simple register clear I am sure, but not sure where to start with this. I am including a screen shot of Castle Crisis as well to show what the B&W original looks like, hence what I am going for.

 

Hardware swap, easy. Burning a ROM with the new programmed data, easy. Getting the code changes? Sooooo far over my head....

 

Advice is greatly appreciated. I think it would be awesome to have 4 players on the best combination of the game. Cocktail is great fun but the monitor is too small. Upright is great looking but black and white with an overlay and only 2 player. Super Secret Squirrel version, best of both worlds....

 

 

CN

 

 

 

 

 

[racerx]

Ack! Please, please, PLEASE don't hack up and part out a clean Warlords. A four player upright is a perfect MAME project.

 

Beyond my personal horror, I think the color monitor would look strange over the blacklight-lit colored castles. The gels the upright uses are color matched to them, more or less.

[Cassidy Nolen]

Thank you for your opinion.

 

Moderator, please remove this entire post. I will seek assistance elsewhere. I did not intend to be judged on my intent but I suppose my ESB kit in SW makes that a hack too.

Why bolting in a color monitor constitutes a hack is beyond me but to each his own.

 

Please remove my topic starter. Thank you,

 

CN