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gdement

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Posts posted by gdement

  1. Posted

    PS: I have also come to the conclusion that red end labeled Ball Blazers are not that rare.

     

    --Ken

     

    You get about 1 per box and\or 9 per case. So ya your right, it's pretty common.

     

    I'm confused. 1 per box? Wouldn't that be every game then? How many games in a case? I'm curious what the proportions are. :)

  3. Posted · Edited by gdement

    I found a good tidbit on Usenet. Many of the old US Robotics external modems used a 9VAC, 1 amp power supply. I just happened to have one in my computer room, checked it, and indeed, it was 9VAC, 1 amp. I plugged it in, slid in a Kung-Fu cart, and got the classic blinky-blink on the power LED. So I cleaned the unit and the cart. Same thing. Time for more troubleshooting (lockout chip mod?), but hey, at least I found a good power brick.

     

    Thanks again for the help!

     

    Thanks so much for posting that. I'm in a reverse situation. I recently found a network router at a thrift store, which my sister needed. But I had to loan them my NES adapter to run the thing. My USR modem adapter was packed away separately (with the modem), so I didn't see it before when I looked for compatible power cords. Now that problem is solved and I can get my NES cord back.

     

    A while back I checked eBay for NES power adapters, and was surprised how rare they are. Seems everybody just sells generics.

  4. Posted

    Thanks for getting this dumped, Mitch. Good old Atari quality control. Not only is there no sound in the Bobsled, but there's none in the Ski Jump either. Overall a pretty sleepy version. At least I finally understand why so many people liked this game better than me. I think somebody owes us a refund. :)

  5. Posted

     

    I used to have an early Sega-CD, and it died on me twice. The 2nd time it was no longer under warranty so I tossed it. I later read somewhere in these forums about a design flaw that causes them to fail. So it might be an easy fix, but I don't remember what the flaw is. I think it was some passive component that fails, but I can't find it anymore.

    I've seen claims that the drive eject belt tends to snap.

    Dunno if that was what you wanted.

     

    It seems the machine would still turn on in that case. I remember reading a long time ago about something like a diode or cap or whatever, but I haven't been able to find it. Maybe I'm nuts. :)

  7. Posted

    Well, I got a cart today, and it worked fine.

     

    Both power cords work in the Genesis, but nothing but a black screen from the Genesis with no cart.

    :sad:

     

    Too bad, I prefer the retro-patchwork look.

     

    I think I'll keep it anyway. I might be able to get it working eventually. If not, I think the Genesis looks better with the SegaCD unit underneath anyway.

     

    Thanx again,

     

    desiv

     

    I used to have an early Sega-CD, and it died on me twice. The 2nd time it was no longer under warranty so I tossed it. I later read somewhere in these forums about a design flaw that causes them to fail. So it might be an easy fix, but I don't remember what the flaw is. I think it was some passive component that fails, but I can't find it anymore.

  8. Posted · Edited by gdement

    Atari 2600 - my dad bought it, I didn't even understand what it was at first. Probably Pac-Man, because I remember he bought that game separately along with the system, which came with Combat.

     

    Apple IIc - Math educational software. Really. The school had Apple II's running these educational programs on them and that gave me the idea of asking for an Apple.

     

    Atari 7800 - It could run our old games, so hey, it must be a better idea than the NES, right?

     

    NES - Super Mario Bros. I can't even describe how cool I thought this was, and the 7800 didn't have it. Ironically, I never got this game. I got Zelda with the system instead.

     

    Game Boy - Maybe Super Mario Land, don't remember if I saw that game before getting it. Really just got this because it was a programmable game system with the Nintendo brand on it, so I knew it would be a good investment. Never used it much though. It's been sitting idle for years now.

     

    Genesis - I got into arcade games and the NES didn't satisfy me anymore. So I got the Genesis because it was "truly 16-bit" and NEC looked like a loser without a track record. Altered Beast looked more technically impressive than Bonk's Adventure in the store displays.

     

    N64 - Mario Tennis

     

    PS2 - Final Fantasy 7/8. These were given to me but I couldn't play them at home. Lots of other games available. Doubles as a DVD player (yes that was useful to me). Got stuck in FF7, and FF8 went over my middle-school romance tolerance level. I gave up on them. If not for the above considerations I probably would have bought a Gamecube.

  10. Posted

    Thanks to the list of sounds, I could tell which version I have. I haven't had a reason to boot up Winter Games since the 2600 version is lying around, so I'd forgotten how the sound is on it (my 7800 cart).

     

    I do remember it making a distinct double click sound when I reloaded the rifle.

     

    I wonder, too if it's just the ROM that is different. I'm getting a box from shining slade, and if that's different, then I'll have to track down the correct cart to go with it.

     

    Just to clarify, both versions have the double click when reloading the rifle, as well as the gunshot sound. But only the better version has the swoosh sounds while skiing.

     

    Here's a picture of my cartridge label, though I expect they all look the same. I don't have the box anymore:

    post-5182-1151795469_thumb.jpg

    post-5182-1151795491_thumb.jpg

     

    Here's the telltale indication of a reworked C100339 board. U3 pin 11 was bent up off the PCB and shorted to pin 10. They also apparently cut some traces involving the WE pin on the RAM chip - my multimeter readings didn't match Dan Boris' schematic in that area.

    post-5182-1151795885_thumb.jpg

    It's possible that the versions with bad sound might also be the ones with this reworked PCB, but I see no reason why those factors would have to coincide. The better ROM runs fine in this board.

     

    As noted above, this PCB has date code 4187, and the ROM chip has date code 8737.

  11. Posted

    Maybe - I wonder if they ran off some incorrect ROM images before getting the final version. It seems these sound effects might have been the last thing put in the game before it was called done.

     

    For anybody wondering about the ROM - I don't think I have any way of dumping it. I don't have a proper EPROM burner - I programmed my flash chips using an old motherboard. I'm not sure there's any way of plugging a 28-pin mask ROM into a 32-pin BIOS socket.

  12. Posted

    I've finally confirmed this. There indeed are two different versions of Winter Games. I desoldered the ROM from my Winter Games board (which is apparently a reworked version of the C100339), and converted it into a 128KB flash cart. I have flashed the ROM from this site which has different sounds, and it works fine in the board. Graphics are the same (as far as I've noticed), but the sound is significantly different between the two versions. I played both in the same console.

     

    Agent X indicated above that his sound is the same as mine, so it's unlikely that this is just a chip malfunction.

  13. Posted · Edited by gdement

    I got angry about dying in Shining Darkness on the Genesis, and smacked the cart. The cart popped out and my saves were wiped out. I've still never completed that game, though I did surpass the point where I had to start over.

     

    I've also had some tragic failures to backup my game before formatting a hard drive on the PC. That's happened a few times.

  15. Posted · Edited by gdement

    After looking more at my Winter Games cart, I've realized it differs slightly from the Dan Boris schematic.

     

    U4-pin27 (RAM WE) has no continuity to U3-12 or U5-11 as shown in the schematic. However it does have continuity directly to the edge connector R/W.

     

    In addition, there is some rework at U3 (74LS10 NAND gate). The connection to CLK2 has been severed and pins 10-11 have been shorted, so both are connected to +5V. The date code on this board is 41 87.

     

    post-5182-1151658624_thumb.jpg

     

    Unfortunately, I think the CLK2-Maria issue has undermined my attempt to make a Flash cartridge. Mine works for about 10 minutes at a time, then it has to cool before it works again.

    [edit: It seems to work fine with 70ns flash chips, but slower ones are glitchy.]

     

    FWIW, if anyone wants to add RAM to a C100339, you could just replicate the changes above. I flashed the popular version of Winter Games (with full sound) and it works 100% for me on this board.

    • Like 1

  16. Posted

    doesnt the game come with a map?

     

    i got mine at funcoland and it had the map

     

    i remember my buddy had this game and the map but i dont think i ever asked him where he got it or where it came from, his had writting and synbols all over it, his own personal cheat sheet :)

     

    The original manual has a tutorial to Level-1, and a small map that's enough to lead you to level-2. It didn't come with a full map.

  17. Posted

     

    lol I've had the game since 1988 but never played. LOL I JUST TOOK IT OUT OF IT"S BOX A DAY AGO!

     

    That game was practically a religious experience for me in 1988. To think that you had it and didn't open it... you're gonna make me cry.

     

    After getting the game, I made the mistake of bringing it to a friend's birthday party. The crowd of his friends pretty quickly revealed most of the secrets in the game. This game is a lot of fun when you're still exploring the unknown, don't deprive yourself of that. :)

  19. Posted · Edited by gdement

    2600: Adventure

    7800: Joust probably... nothing on this system got me that excited.

    NES: Zelda

    Genesis: Thunder Force III - best scrolling shooter implementation ever

    SMS Adapter: Phantasy Star

    Sega CD: Final Fight - games like this are what I was hoping for when I bought the thing.

    N64: Paper Mario

     

    Apple II: Wings of Fury

    386: Star Control II

    486: NASCAR Racing (Papyrus)

    586/6x86: I can't think of any great games I had that needed this system.

    P2/P3: Age of Kings

  20. Posted

    have you tried it on real hardware? I have and it works fine. :ponder:

     

    (Use a 565 board with jumpers 1,2,4,5,6 ON and 3 OFF with a 32k EPROM with no RAM and your set)

     

    Ask gambler172, he has one on cart also.

     

    It may run but my understanding is that it doesn't render as intended. The graphics chip doesn't have enough clock cycles to render everything that was shown in the emulator.

    Only true if you underclock your MARIA ;)

    Hi

    Yes,Shawn made it and it works.

    greetings Walter :)

     

    OK, then I stand corrected. I remember when this got posted on the 7800dev mailing list (or was it here?) and at the time it was discussed as not rendering properly on real hardware. Am I confusing it with something else, or did this get revised sometime later? Glad to hear it works, the parallax effect is pretty cool.

  21. Posted

    have you tried it on real hardware? I have and it works fine. :ponder:

     

    (Use a 565 board with jumpers 1,2,4,5,6 ON and 3 OFF with a 32k EPROM with no RAM and your set)

     

    Ask gambler172, he has one on cart also.

     

    It may run but my understanding is that it doesn't render as intended. The graphics chip doesn't have enough clock cycles to render everything that was shown in the emulator.

  22. Posted

    If we ever find the Ikari Warriors warp code, I can die happy. :)

     

    -John

     

    It's in an old issue of Nintendo Power. I still have those things, but I have no idea what issue it's in. I just remember it's ridiculously long, but it did work when I tried it a long time ago.

     

    I just realized you were obviously talking about the Atari version. I'm a little dense sometimes.

  23. Posted

    If we ever find the Ikari Warriors warp code, I can die happy. :)

     

    -John

     

    It's in an old issue of Nintendo Power. I still have those things, but I have no idea what issue it's in. I just remember it's ridiculously long, but it did work when I tried it a long time ago.

  25. Posted

    I'd like to propose another button scheme. This one is oriented towards 2600 players, but it's still functional on the 7800.

     

    Outer buttons = Left, Right

    Left inner = Button 1

    Right inner = Button 2

    5th button at top left = Button 2

     

    This setup would be ambidextrous on a 2600 while also having the L/R buttons available.

     

    On a 7800, the buttons would be a little awkward. A player who uses the joystick with their right hand could have both buttons on the left side, by wiring the small 5th button as button 2. But that small button isn't convenient to reach.

     

    As an alternative, one of the action buttons could be reassigned as Up for use in Asteroids.

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