Saving High Scores?
Saving High Scores?
Has anyone figured out how to modify our boards to save high scores yet? I know MAME has that highscore.dat file that works for virtually every game. Is there anyway to reflash our eproms with a similar file and/or solder in an extra battery? I sure hate how all my boards save soft dip setting but don't save high scores.
Hail Atlantis!
Well its possible, I think its been done to certain classic games.
I think it would depend on how or where the high scores are stored, if there is common memory for the whole game, or a certain chip just for the scores etc..
then probably would involve finding the schematic with the voltage it uses, and supplying that voltage with a battery.. but who knows, maybe certain games wipe the memory when they are turned on etc.
Could be worth a try on a couple of the broken boards I have.
I think it would depend on how or where the high scores are stored, if there is common memory for the whole game, or a certain chip just for the scores etc..
then probably would involve finding the schematic with the voltage it uses, and supplying that voltage with a battery.. but who knows, maybe certain games wipe the memory when they are turned on etc.
Could be worth a try on a couple of the broken boards I have.
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PC Engine Fan X!
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The Atari Games' Off the Wall+Klax PCBs save high scores...
Both my Atari Games produced Klax and Off The Wall Jamma PCBs save high scores without the need for a battery. How is this possible? Well, on the Klax PCB itself, there is a huge capacitor -- could be how the PCB saves the high scores or by using "flash memory" method.
Anyways, just an interesting point in bringing up that some of the Atari Games Jamma PCBs produced in the early 1990's (such as Klax and Off The Wall) save high scores without the need for a backup battery.
Even though the original Klax Jamma PCB has an 1989 copyright date, it wasn't released until February 1990...April 1990 was the month I first saw a dedicated Klax arcade upright (although one could buy a Klax arcade upright in two different sizes: full-sized upright and mini cabaret styled cabinet with smaller RGB monitor). There's a picture of the two different sized Klax arcade games in an old issue of Video Games and Computer Entertainment that came out in the early 1990's. I did get the chance to play the rare mini cabaret Klax machine at Aladdin's arcade in Sacramento, CA of May 1991. The highest scores on that particular mini cabaret Klax upright were easily over 13,000,000+ for all top ten rankings at that time period (May of 1991) on just one credit of course (these weren't my high scores). It took me about two to two & a half hours to score 6,000,000+ on the arcade game of Klax in May of 1994...using the original arcade Klax controls which consists of a true "4-way joystick scheme" and a single drop button as the preffered method of playing Klax the arcade purists way.
I used to think that the Klax Jamma PCB had a built-in option to turn "off" the drop meter...but that was only for the Tengen NES version of Klax on the first wave only.
It's possible to score over 2,580,000+ or even 3,000,000+ on just the 1st Wave of Tengen NES Klax...you just have to set off a Klax configuration using 20 or 21 tiles all the "same" color to score that high...pulling off a "21" tiled Klax requires perfect timing & precision (since the tile paddle can only hold 5 tiles at any given time -- I've only managed to pull it off only once on the Tengen NES version of Klax.
It's interesting to note that the original Klax Jamma PCB...you couldn't score a single million (even if you wanted to) on the first wave because the highest score theoretically is a mere paltry 720,000+ points maximum and the restriction of only three tile drops allowed. (Now if the Klax Jamma PCB did indeed have a "turn off" drop meter on the 1st Wave, then higher possible scores of the Tengen NES version of Klax would be possible on the original arcade version of Klax.)
Like I've said before, it is possible to score 2,000,000+ by Wave 7 or 8 on the arcade PCB version of Klax...you'd have to had developed a set pattern for scoring high on each Wave leading into Wave 7 or Wave 8 to reach that lofty goal though. (Experience has taught me that each game of Klax is never the same twice due to the CPU throwing odd colored tiles at you and "ramping up" the difficulty factor (by adding more tiles on the conveyor belt), your "perfect" gaming session of Klax can quickly go down the drain if you take too long on any particular Wave (unless "ramping" difficulty is turned off on the Klax PCB itself which really doesn't make a Klax gaming session any easier).
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~
Anyways, just an interesting point in bringing up that some of the Atari Games Jamma PCBs produced in the early 1990's (such as Klax and Off The Wall) save high scores without the need for a backup battery.
Even though the original Klax Jamma PCB has an 1989 copyright date, it wasn't released until February 1990...April 1990 was the month I first saw a dedicated Klax arcade upright (although one could buy a Klax arcade upright in two different sizes: full-sized upright and mini cabaret styled cabinet with smaller RGB monitor). There's a picture of the two different sized Klax arcade games in an old issue of Video Games and Computer Entertainment that came out in the early 1990's. I did get the chance to play the rare mini cabaret Klax machine at Aladdin's arcade in Sacramento, CA of May 1991. The highest scores on that particular mini cabaret Klax upright were easily over 13,000,000+ for all top ten rankings at that time period (May of 1991) on just one credit of course (these weren't my high scores). It took me about two to two & a half hours to score 6,000,000+ on the arcade game of Klax in May of 1994...using the original arcade Klax controls which consists of a true "4-way joystick scheme" and a single drop button as the preffered method of playing Klax the arcade purists way.
I used to think that the Klax Jamma PCB had a built-in option to turn "off" the drop meter...but that was only for the Tengen NES version of Klax on the first wave only.
It's possible to score over 2,580,000+ or even 3,000,000+ on just the 1st Wave of Tengen NES Klax...you just have to set off a Klax configuration using 20 or 21 tiles all the "same" color to score that high...pulling off a "21" tiled Klax requires perfect timing & precision (since the tile paddle can only hold 5 tiles at any given time -- I've only managed to pull it off only once on the Tengen NES version of Klax.
It's interesting to note that the original Klax Jamma PCB...you couldn't score a single million (even if you wanted to) on the first wave because the highest score theoretically is a mere paltry 720,000+ points maximum and the restriction of only three tile drops allowed. (Now if the Klax Jamma PCB did indeed have a "turn off" drop meter on the 1st Wave, then higher possible scores of the Tengen NES version of Klax would be possible on the original arcade version of Klax.)
Like I've said before, it is possible to score 2,000,000+ by Wave 7 or 8 on the arcade PCB version of Klax...you'd have to had developed a set pattern for scoring high on each Wave leading into Wave 7 or Wave 8 to reach that lofty goal though. (Experience has taught me that each game of Klax is never the same twice due to the CPU throwing odd colored tiles at you and "ramping up" the difficulty factor (by adding more tiles on the conveyor belt), your "perfect" gaming session of Klax can quickly go down the drain if you take too long on any particular Wave (unless "ramping" difficulty is turned off on the Klax PCB itself which really doesn't make a Klax gaming session any easier).
PC Engine Fan X! ^_~