CV ROM Update Project - Commercial Releases - v2.1 (Updated 13-Oct-2021)

[Kamshaft]

Thanks for doing the updates, I've updated the ROMs on my site! You rock!

[DaViD_Boulet]

My Phoenix Collectorvision is on order (due to arrive any week now) and I just want to express my gratitude for all your hard work and care to preserve the legacy of these games making it possible for folks like me to experience them all over again. Can't wait for my Phoenix to arrive!!

[Ikrananka]

21 hours ago, DaViD_Boulet said:

My Phoenix Collectorvision is on order (due to arrive any week now) and I just want to express my gratitude for all your hard work and care to preserve the legacy of these games making it possible for folks like me to experience them all over again. Can't wait for my Phoenix to arrive!!

Thank you ??

[Pitou]

Hello @Ikrananka,

 

I was looking at your "Wanted List" and I think I can contribute for Dr. Seuss. I own an original version distributed in Canada.

 

Attached are pictures along with a dump of my cart. However, the rom is identical to the version in your archive. So I guess it's the same as the US version.

 

If you need anything else, let me know.

 

Thanks.

 

Pitou!

 

PS: I also have a lot of other carts and can try to dump them. However, I'm not sure about the origin.

Seuss.zip

[Pitou]

Hi,

 

Here is another batch.

 

All of them are the same, except for Frogger. I'm not seeing any information in the PDF. It seems that this one has 16k of data.

 

I did dump it twice to make sure.

 

Thanks.

 

Pitou!

 

Roms.zip

[Ikrananka]

Thanks Pitou.  I'll have a look through the roms next week.  I did take a look at your Frogger dump and found that the last 4K is the same as the 4K prior to that.  I redumped my carts and found the same.  So, the game rom I have published for this project is correct at only 12K.  However, you've highlighted that I failed to add Frogger to my list of roms that duplicate the last 4K so I'll do that and upload the updated document.

 

One thing I did find is that after just now dumping all four of my Frogger carts I found that one of them has a single byte different to the others.  I've checked and it's not a difference in the graphics data so it must be a code or other data difference.  So, I'm looking for help from a programmer to help figure out what this difference is.

 

 

[Ikrananka]

On 6/26/2021 at 1:11 PM, Pitou said:

I was looking at your "Wanted List" and I think I can contribute for Dr. Seuss. I own an original version distributed in Canada.

 

Attached are pictures along with a dump of my cart. However, the rom is identical to the version in your archive. So I guess it's the same as the US version.

 

PS: I also have a lot of other carts and can try to dump them. However, I'm not sure about the origin.

Thank you.  Yes, the Dr. Seuss rom is the same as I dumped so I can update my lists accordingly.  Very much appreciated.

[Ikrananka]

On 6/26/2021 at 3:50 PM, Pitou said:

Hi,

 

Here is another batch.

 

All of them are the same, except for Frogger. I'm not seeing any information in the PDF. It seems that this one has 16k of data.

 

I did dump it twice to make sure.

 

Thanks.

 

Pitou!

Are these dumps all from Canadian releases?

[Pitou]

Yes, these carts were bought in Canada for sure. However I don't have the original boxes to confirm.

 

Pitou!

[mumbai]

On 6/27/2021 at 6:35 PM, Ikrananka said:

I did take a look at your Frogger dump and found that the last 4K is the same as the 4K prior to that.  I redumped my carts and found the same.  So, the game rom I have published for this project is correct at only 12K.  However, you've highlighted that I failed to add Frogger to my list of roms that duplicate the last 4K so I'll do that and upload the updated document.

Idle question: is there a known reason, technical or otherwise, to mirror chunks of ROM data like this, rather than merely fill unused portions with dummy values?

[mumbai]

20 hours ago, mumbai said:

Idle question: is there a known reason, technical or otherwise, to mirror chunks of ROM data like this, rather than merely fill unused portions with dummy values?

I guess this might be a reason, if so:

 

[Ikrananka]

First post updated to clarify requirements for the Needs List.

[Ikrananka]

Thanks to the help of AA member Pitou, I have update the project to v2.01 (see first post).

 

Pitou provided me with a large batch of cart dumps from Canadian cart releases as well as a few French SECAM releases.  These have been through a detailed verification and comparison against those already part of the rom update project and also against the wanted list.  My findings are below which in most cases indicates that the rom is the "same" as that already in the rom update project.  Four of the dumps allowed me to remove those releases from the wanted list.  Also the Canadian Miner 2049er dump allowed me to confirm that both versions of that game were not only released in the US but also in Canada.

• Bump 'n' Jump (Coleco Canada) => same
• Destructor (Coleco Canada) => same (removed from wanted list)
• Dr. Seuss Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler (Coleco Canada) => same (removed from wanted list)
• Evolution (Coleco Canada) => same
• Frogger => same (rom project pdf updated to reflect that last 4K of the dump is a repeat of the prior 4K)
• Gorf (CBS French SECAM) => same
• Ken Uston BlackJack/Poker (Coleco Canada) => same
• Looping (Coleco Canada) => same
• Miner 2049er (Canadian) = same as later non-alternate version (rom project pdf updated)
• Schtroumpfs (Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle) (CBS French SECAM) => same 
• Space Fury (Coleco Canada) = same
• Tarzan (Coleco Canada) = same
• Turbo (Coleco Canada) = same for both carts dumped (removed from wanted list)
• Venture (Coleco Canada) = same (removed from wanted list)

Thanks again to Pitou for these dumps which were very much appreciated.

[Carlos Baldo]

Ikrananka, will brazilian Colecovision ROMs be added to your collection?

[Ikrananka]

4 hours ago, Carlos Baldo said:

Ikrananka, will brazilian Colecovision ROMs be added to your collection?

Good question and one I'll need to think about.  At the very least though the same QA dumping process would need to be followed, i.e. three dumps of each cart that are then compared and verified.

[Pixelboy]

On 7/6/2021 at 4:14 PM, Ikrananka said:

• Bump 'n' Jump (Coleco Canada) => same
• Destructor (Coleco Canada) => same (removed from wanted list)
• Dr. Seuss Fix-Up the Mix-Up Puzzler (Coleco Canada) => same (removed from wanted list)
• Evolution (Coleco Canada) => same
• Frogger => same (rom project pdf updated to reflect that last 4K of the dump is a repeat of the prior 4K)
• Gorf (CBS French SECAM) => same
• Ken Uston BlackJack/Poker (Coleco Canada) => same
• Looping (Coleco Canada) => same
• Miner 2049er (Canadian) = same as later non-alternate version (rom project pdf updated)
• Schtroumpfs (Smurf Rescue in Gargamel's Castle) (CBS French SECAM) => same 
• Space Fury (Coleco Canada) = same
• Tarzan (Coleco Canada) = same
• Turbo (Coleco Canada) = same for both carts dumped (removed from wanted list)
• Venture (Coleco Canada) = same (removed from wanted list)

Looking at the list above, some questions are popping up in my head:

 

1) Frogger is actually an 8K game instead of 12K? If so, I better update my trading card template!

 

2) After some investigation, I located some pictures that confirm that the Canadian version of the Expansion Module #2 and the Roller Controller actually exist, which I was not aware of until now. I even tracked down a picture of the Canadian version of the ColecoVision console box. Guess I'll have to make trading cards for all of those. However, I've never seen a Canadian version of the box for the Super Action Controllers. Did that even exist BITD?

3) There's a Canadian version of Tarzan? With bilingual texts on the front? I've never seen that myself.

4) All I've ever seen is the Canadian version of Evolution, which led me to believe that the game was a Canadian-only release by Coleco Canada. But your list seems to indicate that there's a (non-bilingual) USA version?

5) Is there any visible difference on the front of the box of the Canadian version of Miner 2049er, compared to the USA version?

 

Thanks. 

 

Edited August 9, 2021 by Pixelboy

[mumbai]

41 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

3) There's a Canadian version of Tarzan? With bilingual texts on the front? I've never seen that myself.

Yes, there exists distinct Canadian packaging of Tarzan.

 

41 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

4) All I've ever seen is the Canadian version of Evolution, which led me to believe that the game was a Canadian-only release by Coleco Canada. But your list seems to indicate that there's a (non-bilingual) USA version?

Is there, apart from the TeleGames version? I've never seen other than the black-box bilingual release, which may or may not be plastered with an external label for Sydney Games.

 

41 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

5) Is there any visible difference on the front of the box of the Canadian version of Miner 2049er, compared to the USA version?

I can't check my own a/t/m, but I believe the differences are largely confined to the reverse of the box, though I have a sneaking suspicion that the platform banner on the face of the box differs slightly, as well. At least one Canadian 2049er was floating around eBay the past month or so, and it's likely NIAD's filestore contains an image set for its exterior packaging.

 

 

41 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

 

 

[Pixelboy]

Thanks for your input, mumbai. 

 

[Ikrananka]

8 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

1) Frogger is actually an 8K game instead of 12K? If so, I better update my trading card template!

No.  The dump I was referring to was a 16K dump provided by Pitou, so the actual game rom is 12K with the last 4K of Pitou's dump being the same as the 4K prior to that.

 

8 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

2) After some investigation, I located some pictures that confirm that the Canadian version of the Expansion Module #2 and the Roller Controller actually exist, which I was not aware of until now. I even tracked down a picture of the Canadian version of the ColecoVision console box. Guess I'll have to make trading cards for all of those. However, I've never seen a Canadian version of the box for the Super Action Controllers. Did that even exist BITD?

This is more a question for NIAD.  But looking at the CV Collectors List I see that the Canadian version of the Roller Controller is there, but there isn't a listing for a Canadian Exp. Mod. #2 or Super Action Controllers.  Could you share the picture(s) of the Canadian Exp. Mod. #2 and I'll add it to the collectors list.

 

8 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

3) There's a Canadian version of Tarzan? With bilingual texts on the front? I've never seen that myself.

Attached is a photo Pitou sent to me.

 

8 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

4) All I've ever seen is the Canadian version of Evolution, which led me to believe that the game was a Canadian-only release by Coleco Canada. But your list seems to indicate that there's a (non-bilingual) USA version?

Nope - wasn't trying to infer that.  As well as the Coleco Canada release there was also a Telegames re-release.  So I was identifying that the dump was from the Coleco Canada release.  The Telegames re-release is actually different as they deleted the designer names from the title screen.

 

8 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

5) Is there any visible difference on the front of the box of the Canadian version of Miner 2049er, compared to the USA version?

Other than the cart I have never personally seen the Canadian version so can't answer this.  

[Pixelboy]

37 minutes ago, Ikrananka said:

No.  The dump I was referring to was a 16K dump provided by Pitou, so the actual game rom is 12K with the last 4K of Pitou's dump being the same as the 4K prior to that.

Ah, okay. I thought 8K was a little tight for a game like Frogger. 

 

38 minutes ago, Ikrananka said:

This is more a question for NIAD.  But looking at the CV Collectors List I see that the Canadian version of the Roller Controller is there, but there isn't a listing for a Canadian Exp. Mod. #2 or Super Action Controllers.  Could you share the picture(s) of the Canadian Exp. Mod. #2 and I'll add it to the collectors list.

There's one on eBay right now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224448480317

 

41 minutes ago, Ikrananka said:

Attached is a photo Pitou sent to me.

Nice, but I can't consider this as proof. I can imagine Coleco using an English-only box of Tarzan (to cut costs, especially in 1984) and including an alternate French label in that box for copies sold in Canada. I need to see the actual box of Tarzan with actual bilingual texts on it to truly believe it exists. Well, actually, in this case I'm going to assume it exists and I'm going to add it to my "lookin-for" list, but with a sub-note that the existence of the Canadian box hasn't been explicitly proven yet.

 

Thanks. 

 

[mumbai]

5 minutes ago, Pixelboy said:

I need to see the actual box of Tarzan with actual bilingual texts on it to truly believe it exists. Well, actually, in this case I'm going to assume it exists and I'm going to add it to my "lookin-for" list, but with a sub-note that the existence of the Canadian box hasn't been explicitly proven yet.

The bilingual packaging exists, but if that is what's required (which I understand), ping me a month from now for pictures of this particular box ... though I'd expect someone else should step forward before then, as it's not *that* obscure.

[Pixelboy]

5 minutes ago, mumbai said:

The bilingual packaging exists, but if that is what's required (which I understand), ping me a month from now for pictures of this particular box ... though I'd expect someone else should step forward before then, as it's not *that* obscure.

That would be nice. At one point I'm going to post a full list of all the boxes I'm still looking for, with some pictures I found on the net (mainly from colecovisionzone.com) that demonstrate that these boxes exist and what they look like. I'd rather not post this list in this thread because it would be off-topic.

 

[Ikrananka]

Attached are pictures of the Coleco Canada Tarzan boxed release from NIADs archive.

[Pixelboy]

Excellent! Thank you! 

 

[Ikrananka]

3 hours ago, Pixelboy said:

There's one on eBay right now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/224448480317

Thanks.  I've downloaded the photos and updated the collectors list accordingly.