xabin Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 We've got a cartridge of Super Demon Attack, but it's not working, even with our "new" TI. I'm thinking it's dirty, but I dunno how to clean it, or what to clean on it. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+adamantyr Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 In a pitch, you can use windex and a q-tip to clean the contacts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+OLD CS1 Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 Many different ways. My favorites are isopropyl alcohol, 90%+, and Q-Tips, and I am quite taken with my ultrasonic cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xabin Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 Hmm, that didn't work. And we dunno how to open up the cartridge itself to clean the circuitry inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+adamantyr Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 The cartridge came "tested"? I recall Super Demon Attack had a lot of issues on mine, I had to remove and replug it several times to get it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 The only part of the cartridge that needs to be cleaned is the card edge fingers which mate with the edge connector in the cartridge slot. I usually use cotton swabs soaked with either isopropyl alcohol or DeoxIT (sometimes both, depending on how dirty the cartridge is), followed by a second pass with a dry swab to clean up any residue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 If you clean the contacts and the cartridge still doesn't work, it is probably a bad cartridge. There are NO user-serviceable parts inside the rest of the cartridge case--and messing with them will only ensure that any remaining function they did have will be gone (and cleaning in there won't do anything useful unless insects or an animal moved in and left their nesting materials all over the place--rare, but it does happen). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrhodes Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 (edited) May not hurt to double check that the "cleaning pad" is actually not present in the cartridge port. I know you said it is a new system, but this can be a step that is overlooked by some people doing refurb jobs on TI's. Here are links to how to open the TI up enough to remove the pad: http://mainbyte.com/ti99/console/console_dis.html http://www.mainbyte.com/ti99/minimem/cart_fix.html Edited May 18, 2019 by jrhodes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 There is actually one sure-fire way to determine if the felt is still in there (and I didn't think to look/remove it before I sent the system to you): insert a cartridge and pull it back out. If it has what looks like an oily coating on the contacts (and around them), then the felt is still present. If it is dry, there probably isn't a felt in there. One note though: if only one cartridge is giving issues, it probably isn't the felt, as problems there usually shot up in the form of random cartridge glitches that affect most of the cartridges you try, not just one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xabin Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 Yeah, other cartridges work just fine, from what we can test; it's just Super Demon Attack that refuses to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xabin Posted May 18, 2019 Author Share Posted May 18, 2019 Ah, there we go; just needed a deeper cleaning than I thought. Thanks for you guys' help! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airshack Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Unfortunately, once you get it working you will soon discover super Demon Attack isn’t super at all. In fact, it’s a rushed to market incomplete game which is impossible to play beyond the second boss level. Someone decided to produce those cartridges before the game was finished. One of the worst TI cartridges IMHO which is a shame because it has beautiful graphics. https://youtu.be/XsMazOJZSwA Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+adamantyr Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Unfortunately, once you get it working you will soon discover super Demon Attack isn’t super at all. In fact, it’s a rushed to market incomplete game which is impossible to play beyond the second boss level. Someone decided to produce those cartridges before the game was finished. One of the worst TI cartridges IMHO which is a shame because it has beautiful graphics. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Really? I never got far in the 2nd phase simply because the aliens moved too fast, but I felt like it was pretty awesome and I got my money's worth out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+arcadeshopper Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 Really? I never got far in the 2nd phase simply because the aliens moved too fast, but I felt like it was pretty awesome and I got my money's worth out of it. the aliens move too fast then line up and you die.. until you are out of lives.. everybody dies.. nobody wins made for a very short high score contest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+adamantyr Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 the aliens move too fast then line up and you die.. until you are out of lives.. everybody dies.. nobody wins made for a very short high score contest I never noticed the score, honestly. The fact it has no variation and no difference is definitely an issue. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airshack Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 (edited) the aliens move too fast then line up and you die.. until you are out of lives.. everybody dies.. nobody wins made for a very short high score contest ...everybody dies! Ha! True. It looks like the artwork was finished but the gameplay was maybe 50% complete. I’d like to know the back-story on this one. Notice how even the name of the game is screwed up. Label says Super Demon Attack yet it’s just Demon Attack when you plug it in — title screen? Definitely not a finished game. How on earth did this one make it to market? As if someone sent TI old incomplete code or they decided to ship a beta version during the panic of 1983? Fun Fact: Imagic’s Atari 2600 Demon Attack won the 1983 Arcade Award for "Best Videogame of the Year", with the judges commenting that the game had "turned out to be yardstick against which gamers measured the quality of each new cartridge during 1982". The TI “Super” version was programmed by Bill Mann with credits to TI, not iMagic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Edited May 20, 2019 by Airshack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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