Tempest Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 If the game is halfway worth playing, I'm sure there will be a cart release from AtariAge (and a ROM release as well). Well I don't want to get ahead of myself since we're not even sure if the game works yet, but if everything goes well I'd like to sell a cart version of it and have simultaneous rom release. Tempest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 Care to share some snap-shots? When the next phase of coding is done, it will be ready for a demo release. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted August 18, 2004 Share Posted August 18, 2004 For instance... I used to collect comic books, and even though I understood the value of Action #1, it was beyond my abilities to ever afford one. The difference in this case is if nobody had a copy of Action #1, not even a photocopy. So nobody actually knew what was in it, other than what could be guessed from #2. Or even more like if DC or Marvel had been rumored to have started work on a new superhero series, but then the comic book industry suddenly crashed and nobody was sure if they had even finished the first issue of the new series. Right now it's like having a bad photocopy, and only every other letter of the dialog is readable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRedEye Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 For instance... I used to collect comic books, and even though I understood the value of Action #1, it was beyond my abilities to ever afford one. The difference in this case is if nobody had a copy of Action #1, not even a photocopy. So nobody actually knew what was in it, other than what could be guessed from #2. Or even more like if DC or Marvel had been rumored to have started work on a new superhero series, but then the comic book industry suddenly crashed and nobody was sure if they had even finished the first issue of the new series. Right now it's like having a bad photocopy, and only every other letter of the dialog is readable. That's not a very good analogy. I'd say that rather than a bad photocopy, the artwork was put through a shredder, so all that exists is a garbage bag full of shredded artwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 That's not a very good analogy. I'd say that rather than a bad photocopy, the artwork was put through a shredder, so all that exists is a garbage bag full of shredded artwork. Well, at least the garbage is good enough to verify that the game is most likely (99.9%) Meltdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariLeaf Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 There is a bug, but it has been identified 100%. Now someone is working on fixing it (might require some extra time). It's not sure, that the bug was caused by the shop owner. To elaborate on this, it's not a software bug, but a hardware bug. We think one of the lines (the addressing line) in the eprom is broken which causes it not to work right (it can only read half the code). This explains why the prototype would not work when plugged in, and why the eprom cannot be dumped properly. The line can be fixed, but is microscopic and requires alot of skill. The prototype is now on its way to a professional who can fix it. I will let everyone know how things are going as soon as I hear something. Don't expect to hear anything for at least a few days as the prototype is in transit, and it will take a bit to fix (you don't want to rush into a repair job like this). Tempest Wow! Its great to hear that there are so many skilled and professional people in our hobby. It give me hope that this proto can indeed be saved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRedEye Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 That's not a very good analogy. I'd say that rather than a bad photocopy, the artwork was put through a shredder, so all that exists is a garbage bag full of shredded artwork. Well, at least the garbage is good enough to verify that the game is most likely (99.9%) Meltdown. Right. See, we've verified the contents of the bag. There's a label that says "Stan Lee Presents Super Vagina Force - Original Artwork" on the bag itself, and through investigating the shreds, we have indeed indicated that the contents inside are shredded pieces of original artwork. Not to mention the old advertisement from Spider-Man that verifies it was at least planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Right. See, we've verified the contents of the bag. There's a label that says "Stan Lee Presents Super Vagina Force - Original Artwork" on the bag itself, and through investigating the shreds, we have indeed indicated that the contents inside are shredded pieces of original artwork. Not to mention the old advertisement from Spider-Man that verifies it was at least planned. But unlike in your analogy, we have a very good chance to restore the original content 100%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRedEye Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Right. See, we've verified the contents of the bag. There's a label that says "Stan Lee Presents Super Vagina Force - Original Artwork" on the bag itself, and through investigating the shreds, we have indeed indicated that the contents inside are shredded pieces of original artwork. Not to mention the old advertisement from Spider-Man that verifies it was at least planned. But unlike in your analogy, we have a very good chance to restore the original content 100%. Do you remember the television series they made out of The Flash? There was one episode where a bunch of INCRIMINATING SECRET DOCUMENTS were shredded and thrown into blue garbage bags. Using his speed power, The Flash was able to reconstruct the doments in MERE SECONDS and bust the criminal! See, in my hypothetical world, The Flash also exists, so there is an expert who is able to reconstruct Super Vagina Force for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Do you remember the television series they made out of The Flash? Nope, I am from Germany, you know? See, in my hypothetical world, The Flash also exists, so there is an expert who is able to reconstruct Super Vagina Force for us. And in my hypothetical world, the Meltdown prototype will suddenly be fixing itself alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MegaManFan Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Since I've been at an uber-l33t (hee) convention all weekend hearing techno-speak everywhere I go, I'm feeling even more nerdy/curious than usual. So I have two questions: 1. How would you go about determining the addressing line was the problem? 2. What on earth would you do to "fix it" if we're talking about something microscopic in the chip internally? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 1. How would you go about determining the addressing line was the problem? That's obvious from the way the dump looks like. Every 2nd 32 bytes block is repeated twice (the first block is always missing). If you have another explanation Tempest would like to know it for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 So that should mean A5 (pin 3) is floating high. Which means it came disconnected somewhere between the chip and the edge connector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 So that should mean A5 (pin 3) is floating high. Which means it came disconnected somewhere between the chip and the edge connector. Exactly. Now we have to find out how to fix the disconnection. Doesn't sound impossible to someone like me (who almost knows nothing about hardware details). What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joesmooth Posted August 23, 2004 Author Share Posted August 23, 2004 Some open-heart surgery (microprobing) to fix the wirebonds from the pin to the silicon die would work just fine, if that's where the problem is. Would require some slightly specialized equipment, though available at many universities and lucky friend's houses. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Tomlin Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 That's assuming it isn't a problem outside the chip. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a loose connection or bad solder joint (or bent pin if it uses a socket). The first thing to try is to check for continuity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joesmooth Posted August 24, 2004 Author Share Posted August 24, 2004 Absolutely. I just assumed that Matt had already checked the obvious connection problems - I'm also an engineer, so I tend to over-analyze things Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Anyone see this...Got a 2600 Meltdown prototype for you? Is the same prototype Matt bought for $1000? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpress Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Hey guys and gals, I can save you a little time if you're having trouble with that EPROM. We bumped into the designers of the game at CGE who after some discussion gave us the rights to Meltdown and a SECOND Videa prototype for the Atari 2600 that we've never even heard of. That one's still a surprise but you can grab the Meltdown ROM here: http://www.digitpress.com/archives/cc_meltdown.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEBRO Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 I guess the above post answers my question. Joe and I must have been posting at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Jentzsch Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Hi there! http://www.digitpress.com/archives/cc_meltdown.htm Wow, that sure looks like a weird game! BTW: Before I forget, didn't you say something about another CBS prototype to be shown at CGE besides Wings? what happened to this? Greetings, Manuel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalpress Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 BTW: Before I forget, didn't you say something about another CBS prototype to be shown at CGE besides Wings? what happened to this? That was TARG for the Atari 2600, which was also completed but never released by CBS! I'm working on getting that ROM out to you as well, just need to clear it with my partners. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cybergoth Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Hi there! That was TARG for the Atari 2600, which was also completed but never released by CBS! I'm working on getting that ROM out to you as well, just need to clear it with my partners. Uihja! How close it it to Universal Chaos? Greetings, Manuel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saikyo Posted August 24, 2004 Share Posted August 24, 2004 Yeah! So it turns out to be not one of a kind after all. Unless it turns out that there are subtle differences between ROMS? Either way I would try to save the other one as well, JUST IN CASE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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