Arcade Protos

my lord.. got the cab today. it's a cranky, rikety thing. its cool though but I don't know how to sort out the monitor on some of the games etc.
anyway - Battle Bird - the bastard thing won't fit into the damn cabinet!! it's juest too large and I can't hook the jamma up to it well enough. out of sheer frustration though, I done a dodgy connection just to check it out and it worked. so too did the sound. though I couldn't seem to get to actually play it as I couldn't get any credits for some reason. in any case it was hooked up for no more than 2 minutes as it was too precarious a connection.
so bollocks. I don't know. I either get a supergun (crazy idea now I have a cab), or I trade it for a similarly rare pcb. I'll be doing that.
pisses me off as I wanted to give this game a proper test run.
btw. I don't know anything about arcades so if someone could give me some pointers as to how to calibrate the monitor etc - I would be very greatfull.

 

If you are still curious about the EPROMs, let me know what the numbers are on the chips. It's hard to see from the pictures, but I think I see 27C128? Something like, the 27 indicates that it's a normal EPROM (that would be erasable by UV light, and in general, that's why the stickers are covering the little windows). 28 would be EEPROMs which are erased electronically... Either way, the flash from a camera won't hurt them, especially with the sticker on them. It usually takes 10-20 minutes of constant exposure to a strong UV source to erase them...

Nice find though, feel free to add me to the list of potential buyers.

 

A nice find.

The game was released in limited quantity, I believe. Those are EPROMs by the way.

If you still need help identifying boards, give me a shout.

If you ever want to sell the board, let me know. I'd be interested.

Incidentally, is your cabinet JAMMA wired? Is the board JAMMA for sure? Does it have a loom? I wouldn't recommend plugging it in without knowing for sure... you could easily damage it. The fact that you aren't getting credits up could be indication that it isn't standard wiring... or that you have iffy connections, or duff switches.

 

Oops, that was me posting as Gavindo... I'm at his house!

 

how do I price this for the western market? there's nothing to go on.


was wondering how I'd go about offering it up to potential japanese buyers, anyone know? probably very difficult unless I send it over there in the first place and have it sold domestically. right?

 

Your board is a very RARE board indeed. We (the Dumping project) would like to see it archived for the future. We can arrange to pay you shipping (both ways) to Australia where the Guru can properly document and archive this board. He's the best at what he does and can be trusted.


Selling it to a Japanese collector means it (a rom dump) will never see the light of day and this game will be enjoyed by a single person until it dies.

Please contact me at dumpingproject [at symbol] charter.net to discuss this in further detail if you would be so kind. We can also offer PCBs in trade from the boards we have and that have been archived.

Thanks,

BrianT

 

Wow, a novelty. When I offered my Surf Planet board to the Guru for dumping way back when he insisted I pay postage both ways

Stone

 

My local arcade once had a sit-down cabinet running Fighting Bujutsu, back in early '97 when it was still in the later stages of development under its original working title of Fighting Wu-Shu (AKA Konami Polygon Fighter #573). That was such a big deal, as this game was hyped quite a lot as being the only real contender to Virtua Fighter 3. Sadly, I'm unable to recall every last detail, but there was definitely a revision number on the title screen and the commands for each character lacked the artwork of the later complete version. However, back then I didn't know I was playing a prototype so it wasn't until more recently that I started kicking myself - especially since the final machine is supposedly so rare and I could have got that system after they'd used it through a friend who worked there!

 

Yeah, Guru's web page makes it quite clear that if you send a board you are responsible for shipping both ways and you'll get it back "when the job is done." He even makes vauge threats that if anyone pisses him off he'll just stop the dumping work and not bother returning anything...not someone I'd want to trust anything to really.

-hl718

 

yeah saw that very same game and cab in central london years back. also kicked myself later on.

 

For such a rare board, I think I can do the postage both ways, but the owner hasn't said anything either way.


Also, if the owner perfers, we could make a cash offer for the board or do a trade for some of the boards we have already archived. We have some really rare stuff worth big bucks.... I believe "Indian Battle" was about a grand h:

I've made the first step, it's up to the owner if he desires to follow up :icon_bigg

BrianT

 

Devilredeemed,

Please consider BrianT's offer. If you sell the game to a Japanese collector, the game will dissapear forever.

 

Devilredeemed you lucky bastard! I got 5 arcade centers in my town, all of them from the 70s and 80s and the fuckers are still up and running!

I'm been flying above them for the last 10 years waiting to one of 'em to fall and catch some boards.

Anyways, good luck with the sale.

 

BrianT,

I hope you'll understand where I'm coming from with this.

You've come onto a forum, not introduced yourself, and your first post is asking someone to lend your friend a prototype, you acting as unofficial proxy for said person. You offer no references or credentials, even location. You have just signed up with a bare minimum of information required.

It would be nice if you could tell us something about yourself, and offer some credentials for Devilredeemed's peace of mind. Who are you? What communities are you a member of? What trustworthy people will vouch for you?

On another point, welcome! I hope that you will decide to stay and contribute to the community, rather than just trying to obtain something from our members. Contributing with a little info about yourself is the first step

Devilredeemed, I'm sure you'll know the best thing to do, but whatever you decide, I'd act with caution. I've spoken to you before about this board, I know, and personally I just want the board to be safe, which it is. As I said, I believe it DID have a limited release. The arcade community ISN'T going nuts over the discovery of this. Yeah its cool, but prototypes, rare as they are, aren't always worth huge amounts. I would be suspicious of someone offering you a hugely valuable board in exchange.

 

I am the same BrianT on the MAME, MAMEworld & ZiNc message boards, the same "Brian Troha" that submits changes/fixes/updates to MAME (see the various whatsnew text for my name) and the same "Brian Troha" as listed on the Guru's page (http://www.mameworld.net/gurudumps/) under "The Dumping Project" Or on ebay purchasing boards to be dumped under "briantroha"

Credentials: I don't really have any, except that I've been adding to MAME since 1998. Being a MAMEdev or part of the Dumping Project is a hobby not a status

I was alerted to the sighting of the Battle Bird PCB by a MAME follower and was asked if I could try and aquire the board or rom dump for emulation purposes. So yes. I did sign up on this forum for that purpose.

I live in the Wisconsin (USA) and have daily contact with the mambers of both the MAME project and the Dumping Project.

Like I've said, I made the offer and asked the owner to contact me. The owner clearly stated he wanted to sell or trade the board. I haven't tried to contact him in any other form as not wanting to bother him.

We (the Dumping Project) work with or have contacted dozens of serious collectors, some want help some don't. It's not up to me.

Brian Troha

 

So you don't consider those credentials, then?

Sure it may be a hobby, but then so is it for all of us. ASSEMbler doesn't collect consoles for a living, but we all resepct him for his knowledge and collection. Anyone here would be happy to vouch for him, and many of us have bought and traded with him.

I think the credentials you gave are perfectly acceptable

I'm sure we all hope you'll stick around! You may well find other unreleased arcade boards turn up with members (I know I've been offered several over the years, usually amounting to nothing though). And I'm sure some members would find a chat with you interesting - try finding the topic on arcade development and contributing, if you can

Incidentally, don't be surprised if you find a mixed reception on emulation and ROMs!

 

ugh, I just spent an hour searching for this thread only to find that BrainT already found it.

 

Well, it might be too little too late, but if it helps any, I purchased a board (Zero Point) from Brian a while back and didn't have any problems. I can also confirm his extensive involvement with MAME.