Re: Credit-maker?

I would be interested in getting one of these for my Ms Pac Man so I can
have "free play" (start button automatically adds credits, then starts
game) without disabling the attract screen. Another cool feature would
be some magic button input combination that toggles the "freeze" mode
dipswitch so I can pause the game when the phone rings. If you can
combine all that with the secret reset/multigame menu option, I would
buy two of them (one for Ms Pac and one for Tempest (Tempest doesn't
need the credit-on-start option because free play doesn't override the
attract screen, but a pause feature would be really nice)).

Clay Cowgill wrote:
>
> > Why not have only two inputs and 3 outputs? Two inputs for the start
> > buttons, one output for the coin switch, one output each for the start
> > button circuits.
> >
> > Pressing the 1 Player start button first closes the coin switch and
> > then
> > (250 ms later) closes the start circuit. The 2 player start button
> > closes
> > the coin switch twice and then the start circuit.
> >
> That would work. I was thinking of having it "secret" (like push left
> on joystick and press P2 start for a credit), but I like your idea
> rather a lot-- only "gotcha" is that the start button would have to be
> in series with the credit-maker because you need to apply the start
> button *after* the credits. I'd probably make the cycle more like 750ms
> or so in case some games disable reading other inputs while a coin drop
> is being "debounced".
>
> If you intercept the "start" button you could also do something like a
> "press and hold" equals a coin drop (could have it auto-repeat like a
> keyboard too for multiple credits) and a "short press" sends the start
> signal (start).
>
> > (Uh oh.... could this be a new project?)
> >
> If people think it's useful. I'd guestimate I could make and sell a
> "magic combination" credit-maker for about $8 with a relay output
> (basically the same as the reset adapter). The "push start for
> credit/game" credit-maker would probably be about $9-9.50. (figuring
> just adding a little 8-pin PIC with internal oscillator for about $1.25)
>
> Certainly do-able if people want it.
>
> -Clay
Received on Wed Jun 2 19:28:04 1999