Project Plug and play update

[NewRisingSun]

Obviously, I kept things left to do for future updates. As for the claim about being "rushed", this sentence:

i thought we all knew this but apparently not

says it all: other people don't live inside your head, so if you don't share your knowledge, don't complain that it is not incorporated.

As for homebrew hacks, the question to eliminate them from the existing corpus is an ongoing project. Some responses to specific points:

not a wise idea to add Battle Station (Cube Tech) which is broken. at least mark it with a (b) or something

No. This is not the only Cube Tech hack that is glitchy, and I am not going to go out of my way to mark them all.

-so nice of you to include a rom of the Intellivision X2 but not extract the new stuff (like Buzz Bombers and Pinball for example). was this update rushed?

All of the new stuff from that PnP is included, except for Buzz Bombers, but including Pinball. I have no idea why you cannot find these extracts. So if anything, your comment is "rushed", and badly so.

-Luck Ball (Inventor, VT03) works now and i'm thankful for that, but what happened to the music? pretty sure it was meant to have different music compared to the original NES Pinball.

The hack does not clear memory properly at start-up, so the music depends on what your emulator is configured to initialize RAM with.

-Combat Cars (Cube Tech) displays an wrong palette. It used to in the old version of the romset and still does on the updated one.

That is an emulation problem, not a ROM set problem; it occurs when playing the game from the full 128 MiB PnP ROMs as well.

-For some reason when you pause in Scramble (Best Long Electron's version) the background flickers?

Cannot reproduce.

The changes regarding Beetle/Juoki/Nanjing Tennis will be made in the next version.

I do accept comments and corrections, but as it should be obvious, don't accuse others of "rushing" things when you yourself are not impeccable.

[blootooth]

Obviously, I kept things left to do for future updates. As for the claim about being "rushed", this sentence:

i thought we all knew this but apparently not

says it all: other people don't live inside your head, so if you don't share your knowledge, don't complain that it is not incorporated.

As for homebrew hacks, the question to eliminate them from the existing corpus is an ongoing project. Some responses to specific points:

not a wise idea to add Battle Station (Cube Tech) which is broken. at least mark it with a (b) or something

No. This is not the only Cube Tech hack that is glitchy, and I am not going to go out of my way to mark them all.

-so nice of you to include a rom of the Intellivision X2 but not extract the new stuff (like Buzz Bombers and Pinball for example). was this update rushed?

All of the new stuff from that PnP is included, except for Buzz Bombers, but including Pinball. I have no idea why you cannot find these extracts. So if anything, your comment is "rushed", and badly so.

-Luck Ball (Inventor, VT03) works now and i'm thankful for that, but what happened to the music? pretty sure it was meant to have different music compared to the original NES Pinball.

The hack does not clear memory properly at start-up, so the music depends on what your emulator is configured to initialize RAM with.

-Combat Cars (Cube Tech) displays an wrong palette. It used to in the old version of the romset and still does on the updated one.

That is an emulation problem, not a ROM set problem; it occurs when playing the game from the full 128 MiB PnP ROMs as well.

-For some reason when you pause in Scramble (Best Long Electron's version) the background flickers?

Cannot reproduce.

The changes regarding Beetle/Juoki/Nanjing Tennis will be made in the next version.

I do accept comments and corrections, but as it should be obvious, don't accuse others of "rushing" things when you yourself are not impeccable.

Thanks for the response, yes i might've rushed the comment while writing it and i apologize. I did not realize that the Unknown Developer's version of Intellivison Pinball (alongside the other few Intellivision X2 games) were actually extracted, i didn't check properly. Still though, Buzz Bombers not being extracted still applies.

I did check the romset a bit more throughly and i found out more things:
-One of the "duplicates" of Aero Gyrodine (the one with a 2023 date) is a homebrew hack.
-The Ogreish Flower rom (that is outside of the Ogreish Flower folder oddly enough) is a glitchy rom (picture attached). Also one of the variants is named "Canyon Bomber", correct me if im wrong but is it meant to have that name?
-World War II (1942) which is known to be a Inventor hack is in the Homebrew folder
-The VT369 version of Fish Quiz used to be glitchy on the old romset and still is on the updated one. would that be emulation issues?

edit: the other stuff i forgot to mention
-Air Launch should probably be in the Cube Tech Hacks folder
-Hangman is in the Card Games section of the Nice Code folder which is a bit odd
-Magic Block (Cube Tech's hack of Hexa) shares the same folder as the other Magic Block which is a different game
-"Flying Bomb" in the Cube Tech hacks folder is once again a homebrew hack. (picture attached for comparison)
-the 2 versions of Craps on the Nice Code Card Games folder share the same name with each other
-the waixing copyrighted version of Archer has the same filename as the Burbles hack
-Coin Tetris has a glitchy hi-score on the title screen (all of the 0s are replaced with a glitchy tile)
-Waixing's version of Dringle has a glitchy title screen (copyright is shown in half)
-Table Soccer (VT03) has some issues: When you win a match the game freezes. other minor issues are just sound related.

[blootooth]

i forgot to attach the picture, this is the ogreish flower rom thats glitchy.

[NewRisingSun]

-and the rest of the feedback would just be "certain game is not on this set" so im not gonna bother

Please bother to enumerate all games that you have not yet mentioned that should be included, or removed, so the next version can represent the "current state of knowledge". Thank you.

Edit:

-The Ogreish Flower rom (that is outside of the Ogreish Flower folder oddly enough) is a glitchy rom (picture attached).

I have already uploaded a new version of the archive shortly after the announcement that incorporated this ROM as a replacement for the existing title-screen-less version and initialized the memory locations that led to the glitchy display when the emulator is set to initialize RAM to FF.

Also one of the variants is named "Canyon Bomber", correct me if im wrong but is it meant to have that name?

Canyon Raider, not Canyon Bomber. Still a stupid name, but that is what it's called on the "Lexibook Retro TV Game Console - 300 Games", see picture.

-The VT369 version of Fish Quiz used to be glitchy on the old romset and still is on the updated one. would that be emulation issues?

Uninitialized memory issue. In NintendulatorNRS, set CPU->RAM Initialization to "Fill with 00" or "Fill with Custom Data", or use a modified ROM that I am going to add.

The corrections so far:

Code: [Select]

Moves:
"!Other\Hacks\Diamond.7z": Moved "Dungeon Escape.nes" to "Nice Code Software\Diamond.7z".
"!Other\Hacks\Dig Dug.7z": Moved "Down Deep.nes" to "Inventor\Hacks\Dig Dug.7z".
"Homebrew\Hacks\1942.7z": Moved "World War II.nes" to "Inventor\Hacks\1942.7z".
"Waixing\Hacks\Battle City.7z": Moved "Beetle.nes" to "Nice Code Software\Hacks\Battle City.7z".

Renamings:
"Inventor\Kage.7z": Renamed to "Inventor\Final Mission.7z".
"Jungletac\Ogreish Flower.7z": Renamed "Canyon Bomber.nes" to "Canyon Raider.nes".

Additions:
"Inventor\Hacks\Pinball.7z": Added "Bounce Ball [memory initialization].nes".
"Inventor\Hacks\Pinball.7z": Added "Luck Ball [memory initialization].nes".
"Inventor\Hacks\Pinball.7z": Added "Lucky Ball [memory initialization].nes".
"Jungletac\Fish Quiz.7z": Added "Fish Quiz (VT369) [memory initialization].nes".
"Nanjing\Tennis.7z": Added "Tennis.nes".
"Unknown Developer\Intellivision\Buzz Bombers.7z": Added "Buzz Bombers.nes".

Removals:
"Cube Tech\Hacks\Gyrodine.7z": Removed "Aero Gyrodine.nes".
"Cube Tech\Hacks\Soccer.7z": Removed "Soccer Cup Final (FC).nes".
"Inventor\Hacks\Donkey Kong.7z": Removed "Lyko 1.nes".
"Inventor\Hacks\Devil World.7z": Removed "Lyko 2.nes".
"Inventor\Hacks\Juoki.7z": Removed "Super Man.nes".
"Mars Production\Pokemon 4-in-1.7z": Removed "Maze Ball.nes".
"Nice Code Software\Mowing.7z": Removed "Perch.nes".

Replacements:
"Inventor\Tennis Ball.7z": Replaced "Tennis Ball.nes" with copyright-having "Inventor\Pingpong Qiu.7z\Tennis Ball.7z".


[blootooth]

-and the rest of the feedback would just be "certain game is not on this set" so im not gonna bother

Please bother to enumerate all games that you have not yet mentioned that should be included, or removed, so the next version can represent the "current state of knowledge". Thank you.

i wrote this txt file of stuff that wasnt included in the update, its not super complete but it will do.

also i'm very glad to see the corrections being applied, gonna edit the last post to put a few more things i forgot to mention which should be the last for now but thank you

[NewRisingSun]

I might ask you for leads on where to get some of these.

-Waixing's version of Dringle has a glitchy title screen (copyright is shown in half)

Ah, that's a nice bug. The game uses sprites to display the copyright number, and real NES consoles as well as accurate emulators only display eight sprites per scanline. In NintendulatorNRS, select PPU->More than 8 Sprites per Scanline to see the full copyright number.

[NewRisingSun]

Attached is the current changelog. Anything else?

the version of Space Shuttle Exploration on the MyArcade 220-in-1 seems to have some minor differences to it as well.

Yes, lack of two-player mode. Not included.

Coin Tetris has a glitchy hi-score on the title screen (all of the 0s are replaced with a glitchy tile)

Memory initialization issue. Do not set initial memory to all FFs in your emulator. Not going to change this, because initial memory is also used as a random number seed.
Table Soccer's freeze is either an original game bug or an emulation problem, not a ROM set issue.

[blootooth]

Attached is the current changelog. Anything else?

theres a few that i added to my personal copy of the .txt file, i didnt bother to edit the message and put the updated one on there so im gonna put these here:
Nice Code:
-Space Shuttle (variation of Aether Cruiser. sourced from DreamGear Fan's extracts.)
-Hot Racing (variation of Metro Mania. original version with cars, the one on the project PNP set is the motorcycle version. sourced from DreamGear Fan's extracts.)
-Jump-Jump (version without music. found on the MyArcade 220-in-1)
-Dringle (version with alternate music from the Hengsheng 36-in-1 black pad)
-Dice Legend (version with music from the Hengsheng 36-in-1 black pad)

i would mention Defend Homestead but that is on a GBA multicart and i'm not sure if there has ever been a extract of that game alone.

Dragon:
-Little Black Mask (original version that starts on level 1, found in the Lexibook Power Cyber Arcade JL3000)

Cube Tech:
-Winter Cup (hack of Ice Hockey. the version on the Joystick88 is 2 player while the project pnp extract is 1 player)

the version of Space Shuttle Exploration on the MyArcade 220-in-1 seems to have some minor differences to it as well.

Yes, lack of two-player mode. Not included.

the only thing i've noticed in that Space Shuttle Exploration variant aside from the removal of 2 player mode was the plane sprites. i initially had my doubts that it was gonna be added to the set anyway so i dont mind.

Table Soccer's freeze is either an original game bug or an emulation problem, not a ROM set issue.

emulation problem seems right. i doubt that its an bug with the game since theres a playthrough of it online.

only 2 other things i've noticed:
-Night Stalker (Unknown Developer's version) does not read inputs
-Body Slam! Super Pro Wrestling (Nice Code) seems to run a bit glitchy

and just a question. what is ChantiCleers from the Inventor Hacks folder and what is its origin? that game isn't mentioned on Inventor's page in BGW

i also wanna question the homebrew "Flying Bomb" being moved to the Homebrew folder. when i said homebrew, i meant that its another kelvin donna hack passing off as a real existing bootleg hack. pretty sure the kelvin donna version of Flying Bomber wasn't included on a plug n play.

thats pretty much it. got nothing else to point out

[NewRisingSun]

Next round. I will not be releasing until New Year's Eve, so take your time coming up with even more ideas.

i would mention Defend Homestead but that is on a GBA multicart and i'm not sure if there has ever been a extract of that game alone.

I have made one.

-Night Stalker (Unknown Developer's version) does not read inputs

Believe it or not, another emulation problem, affecting all known emulators. I have added a patched ROM.

-Body Slam! Super Pro Wrestling (Nice Code) seems to run a bit glitchy

More so than on real hardware?

what is ChantiCleers from the Inventor Hacks folder and what is its origin? that game isn't mentioned on Inventor's page in BGW

It was in the archive when I got it. Seems homebrew, so out with it.

[blootooth]

-Body Slam! Super Pro Wrestling (Nice Code) seems to run a bit glitchy

More so than on real hardware?

i've seen a vid of the real thing in action and im pretty sure this is not meant to happen

btw, the patched Night Stalker rom was placed on the Nice Code folder

[forgotusername]

I didn't take issue with the update for the record (and I appreciate the credit on the LIBG entry), though if I may add a few things:

*There is a distinct set of five games that is split between the Nice Code and !Other directories: this is comprised of Eeeck A Mouse, Echo Chamber, Fruit Pig, Trounce, and the "!Other" folder's Sudoku. These should probably be moved in one directory or the other.
*The Waixing game "Crazy Racing" should be categorized as a hack of Astro Fang - Super Machine. "Whirlwind Pikachu" in the !Other folder should be moved to the Funtime folder.
*"Reversi (Candy)" is a variant of RB Chess (AKA Apple Chess - not the same as the Subor version), which used to be in ProjectPNP, but at some point was removed. I believe RB/Apple Chess should probably be added back, particularly if the "candy" variant is present.
*A few Nice Code games have earlier revisions that use PRG for graphics instead of a separate CHR chip; should these be added as ROM variants?
*The Waixing versions of Apple Chess present in ProjectPNP have Mario removed from the game over screen; I recently compiled versions adding Mario back, which should probably supersede the older ones.
*The "Solitaire (unknown)" ROM in ProjectPNP uses three-card draw; there is an alternate version which uses one-card draw.
*Not sure if it really matters, but Plants vs. Zombies and Plumber are large overdumps; both games are intended to be 48k in size.

I have attached some assorted ROMs below (including the three last-mentioned bullet points); I have sorted by ProjectPNP folder structure but not renamed them. I can provide further details on any if needed. For ones that are most likely to need explanation:

*The added Hot Racing, Snowracing, and Gallop are games from the Racing Challenge 8-in-1; the former two have their original title screens restored (i.e. pre-Racing Challenge "replacement" title), but Gallop does not.
*The added Nice Code Sudoku is an attempt at making a single-game ROM retaining the title screen, by cutting down the 6-in-1 menu the game is attached to (+ making the menu instantly launch into Sudoku). The game uses two separate ROMs for the title screen and game itself, resulting in most multicarts skipping the title sequence.

[forgotusername]

-Body Slam! Super Pro Wrestling (Nice Code) seems to run a bit glitchy

The current ProjectP&P copy appears to be missing half of the game's CHR data, I re-ripped it below.

[NewRisingSun]

*A few Nice Code games have earlier revisions that use PRG for graphics instead of a separate CHR chip; should these be added as ROM variants?

I am not familiar with them, so I cannot say without having seen them.

I can provide further details on any if needed. For ones that are most likely to need explanation:

Mostly on where they come from; I have never seen that version of I.Q. Champion, for example.

In the meantime, here's the latest changelog.

[forgotusername]

Mostly on where they come from; I have never seen that version of I.Q. Champion, for example.

To the best of my memory, they were from the following MAME ROMs:
*pocket brick = "Virtual Football (with 3 bonus games)" [vfootbal]
*cute kids, iq champion, submarine bomb = "unknown VT02 based 25-in-1 handheld" [vt25in1]
*cookies labyrinth, golder = "Cyber Arcade Pocket (JL1895)" [lxcap]
*twin cards = "5 Bonus Games" [5bonus]
*apple chess vt03 = "Zudu-go / 2udu-go" [zudugo]
*solitaire (one-card draw) = "My Arcade Plug And Play 220 Game Retro Controller (DGUN-2959)" [dgun2959]

"Brave Boy" came from an otherwise-generic multicart released on LIBG, I don't recall the name of it.

I am not familiar with them, so I cannot say without having seen them.

I have five of them on hand. Antiquarium, Move Box, and Plane are just the current ProjectPNP copies with their CHR banks removed, as the code is additionally read off of the PRG; the common copies of Mine and Goblet Tower are fully converted to solely read off of CHR. Note that Goblet Tower is/was a VT01 copy that I altered to use its "normal" colors.

My theory is that the earliest Nice Code games used this CHR-less coding, as multiple additional titles seem to have zeroed-out graphics data within their PRG (Music Moment, Balloon Shoot, Toy Bricks, etc). AFAIK the general VT02/03 architecture isn't compatible with files like this (though UM6578 is), which presumably led to the games being converted to use CHR later on.

[NewRisingSun]

Thank you for the sourcing. As for the CHR-RAM stuff, I think this is evidence for my theory that these originated on some educational computer cartridge, which almost exclusively use CHR RAM.

My dream is not directly to get every version of every game dumped, but to learn for each and every game the context for which it was originally made. We have got that with the Intellivision and Atari ports, but there is still other stuff left to place.