MAME dip switch settings that don't change anything

[Derek]

I have noticed that many dip switch settings you can change the # of men to a number above the typical max of 5, yet you still get 5 men. Taito games don't seem to respond to changing any settings of difficulty. Which is the easiest? One or 99? I can't discern any difference. Qix seems no different on difficulty 1 versus 99. It is still too hard. You can select 99 men, you still get a maximum of 5. Stern games sometimes have several options for difficulty. Lost Tomb has an easiest setting in a so called 'easy' rom, and is still impossible to enjoy. You still die almost immediately with the gazillion enemies and their one pixel microscopic firings at you.

 

Some games you can tell the difference between selection of difficulty, but I can't tell any difference with Taito or Stern games.

 

I know jack shit about writing code, but I wonder, could someone who does go into a game rom and change things so that say, Qix slowed down to a speed that you could get beyond three boards, or take out whatever makes your man stop moving when you fire that in my opinion ruins Frenzy, a sequel to Berzerk and the one thing that made Berzerk too hard was carried over into its sequel. Both of those games would be fun if you could move as you fire. The time limit in Frenzy is too small to get anywhere having to stop to fire before the # of enemies is just too ridiculous. Then again, I think most Stern games are too F'ing hard. The one pixel enemy fire being my biggest frustration.

 

Could someone find the line of code that stops your man moving when the fire button is pressed, remove that, and release a version of Berzerk and Frenzy that are fun to play or are roms not changeable in this way?

 

I have tried Lost Tomb and others on the 'infinite lives' setting, and it really makes no difference, there is just too much difficulty involved, no one would ever get good at the game. You just get to die a hundred times instead of your quarter back in the day buying you 90 seconds of frustration.

[Keatah]

Mm.. Unlike VCS roms and other carts, there seems to be little mods and hacks for arcade roms, aside from bootlegs. Why? Dunno..

 

Personally I just don't play games that frustrate me. Not the answer you wanna hear, but it is what it is.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Keatah