Someone has these cart images ?

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:16 am

Hi, i'm searching these cart images, someone may give me informations/link or has the original cartridge to dump ?

Mobile Attack [MSD]
Blackjack [OEM]
Frogman [OEM]
Tac-Scan [SEGA]
Key Quest [TYMAC]

any other rare cart image ?

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 12:37 pm

Mobile Attack has been dumped, of sorts, I have a merged 16k PRG file for it but no separate bank dumps (2 x 8k presumably). I own Mobile Attack, Frogman and Key Quest, they are all on the hit list to be dumped whenever I can get everything I need to do it in the same place and all unpacked and connected together!

Tac-Scan exists only with the author Joe Sengir, he contacted Ward years ago to say he had it but I don't believe he ever made the cart available to dump otherwise Ward would have done it and made it available.

I believe Albert (of AtariAge) owns the only known Blackjack and he's not interested (sadly) in dumping any of the OEM Vic20 carts he has. I say "believe" because he's never replied to any of the inquiries I've made about them.

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:54 am

Thanks for all your info, i don't know what are you waiting for dumping Mobile Attack, Frogman and Key Quest but you need only a Vic-20, the cart and a datassette or a disk drive to store data. With a switchable cart port expander it's a little bit sure but you can do the work without it too, if you want i may send you info on how to dump it.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 5:32 am

Got the hardware and software and instructions (I think I copied what I was sent somewhere)... but they are all in different locations to each other at the mo!

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:15 am

I believe I have mobile attack from the old dumps of the (1981-1983) Sorel Vic-20 club.

I will check on this later tonight.

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 3:15 am

Do you have a real rom dump or the version present in zimmer ?

The zimmer version is for 8k expanded vic, it's a hacked conversion or a real file version ?

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 7:26 am

nbla000 wrote:Do you have a real rom dump or the version present in zimmer ?

The zimmer version is for 8k expanded vic, it's a hacked conversion or a real file version ?

The version I have is a real dump made in the early 80s.

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 8:08 am

Then I'd be interested in it too

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:26 am

Emails sent...

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 1:40 pm

Thank's email received, but the file length is 8193 bytes, normally cart image are 8194 bytes length and in the first two bytes there are the load address in your cart image there is 00 40 which means address $4000 /BLK2 but i think the game it's for /BLK5 maybe i need to use an HEX editor to fix it ? in any case one byte (the last one) is missing, i hope it's not important, i must check, thanks for the file.

6502dude · Post by **6502dude** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 2:38 pm

nbla000 wrote:Thank's email received, but the file length is 8193 bytes, normally cart image are 8194 bytes length and in the first two bytes there are the load address in your cart image there is 00 40 which means address $4000 /BLK2 but i think the game it's for /BLK5 maybe i need to use an HEX editor to fix it ? in any case one byte (the last one) is missing, i hope it's not important, i must check, thanks for the file.

I have seen some images which were not filled out to entire 8194 bytes.

This is no big deal if the image is padded out to 8192 bytes.

If someone wants to send it to me, I'll play with it.

MacbthPSW · Post by **MacbthPSW** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 5:01 pm

I googled around a bit and wasn't able to find any game descriptions or screenshots of "Mobile Attack".

Can anyone let me know a bit more about this game? The title sounds intriguing...

Edit: well, duh, there was a link to the game right here in this thread. I tried it out, and it appears to be a clone of "Spectar". Pretty neat!

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 6:10 pm

Looking the modified version present in zimmer for the 8K vics (MacbthPSW you may take a look, it's the same) seems that the last byte it's AA not notable, the first two bytes must be 00 A0 as i thought so you may proper load the image into /BLK5, in any case the game has a copy protection and you cannot play it as is in ram.
I've removed the copy protection and now the game is playable in RAM too.
There is a strange problem (RAM and original ROM version) the first time you start the game during the demo screen the game freeze, after a second reset all it's ok.
Mayhem, does the original cart does the same, may be a bad dump ?

eslapion · Post by **eslapion** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 7:57 pm

nbla000 wrote:Thank's email received, but the file length is 8193 bytes, normally cart image are 8194 bytes length and in the first two bytes there are the load address in your cart image there is 00 40 which means address $4000 /BLK2 but i think the game it's for /BLK5 maybe i need to use an HEX editor to fix it ? in any case one byte (the last one) is missing, i hope it's not important, i must check, thanks for the file.

Back in the Sorel VIC-20 Club days, nobody in the club knew what to do to save beyond the limit imposed by VICMON of $7FFF.

To dump cartridges, their BLK5 component would be made visible to the VIC in the BLK2 area. This prevented the cartridge from autostarting and made the data available in an area where VICMON could save it.

It so happens that no game cartridges, autostarting or not, use both BLK1 and 3 or BLK2 and 5 at the same time

The trick to get cart images up and running was to put a switch with a dual purpose on 16k RAM cartridges. The switch would toggle the second expansion block between BLK2 and BLK5 and set the cart to read only when going to BLK5.

Another switch would be installed to toggle the first expansion block between BLK1 and 3.

In other words, all cart images would be loaded in BLK2 then flip the switch then press reset and there you have your game.

Also, since VICMON requires you to add one byte to the last byte address you want to save, people would often forget about it and the very last byte would get chopped off.

With VICMON, for example, if you want to save $2000 to $3FFF, you have to type S"FILENAME",08,2000,4000

Anyways, I checked Mobile Attack here after Mayhem reported it didn't run fine in VICE. I confirm to you that this image works fine on my real VIC but not at all in VICE... no idea why.

nbla000 · Post by **nbla000** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 3:41 am

eslapion wrote:Anyways, I checked Mobile Attack here after Mayhem reported it didn't run fine in VICE. I confirm to you that this image works fine on my real VIC but not at all in VICE... no idea why.

Yes, i've tested my RAM fixed version for $a000 without any tips on real hardware and it works great, i've reburned the rom and using the 6502 Hacked cart it works too.
It's a vice problem, you don't get the problem in vice if you set the vic with ram in /BLK1 too, i don't know why but without RAM in /BLK1 you get the problem.

Since i've fixed it to work in RAM and fixed the start address and length of the ROM version too, may i post these files in some place for all denial guys?

Mayhem, do you think to start your dump of Frogman and Key Quest carts too ?