Rockola Demon - What's the Story?

[p1001]

I'm the Chicago guy with a Demon. I've had it about 5 years now and was complete when I bought it. It's a regular CCPU board that has Demon ROMs. Burn some ROMs and you can play Demon. The sound board is unique with it's own Z80 cpu, EPROMs and an AY series sound chip. There also seems to be some hardware to drive LEDs or other score devices. They are not used by Demon but maybe Rockola used the sound board in some other amusement devices or redemption equipment. The sound from this game is awesome.

I think all the Demon's were originally Warp Warp cabs that were converted by the factory. They simply sprayed the cab black, decals and all. See the weird white outline on the cabinet sides? The Warp Warp decal shrunk after being painted black and that's the white cab showing through.

The monitor, chassis, and game boards mount into a rather clever one piece metal frame. The frame can swing down to aid in servicing. The monitor chassis is a regular Cinematronics chassis that literally has the HV section sawed off. There is a unique paralleling of the horizontal output transistors, but otherwise it's regular Cinematronics. Mine has a tendency to blow the X transistors. I need to investigate the circuit a little to see why the current isn't being shared equally. Might have to increase the resistor value. The monitor also has a unique gel.

Game play is very good with slowly increasing intensity. I see a little Rip Off and Armor Attack and maybe a little Major Havoc in there. I feel fortunate to have found this gem. So I guess we know of 3, right?

 

[Phetishboy]

I'm the Chicago guy with a Demon. I've had it about 5 years now and was complete when I bought it. It's a regular CCPU board that has Demon ROMs. Burn some ROMs and you can play Demon. The sound board is unique with it's own Z80 cpu, EPROMs and an AY series sound chip. There also seems to be some hardware to drive LEDs or other score devices. They are not used by Demon but maybe Rockola used the sound board in some other amusement devices or redemption equipment. The sound from this game is awesome.

I think all the Demon's were originally Warp Warp cabs that were converted by the factory. They simply sprayed the cab black, decals and all. See the weird white outline on the cabinet sides? The Warp Warp decal shrunk after being painted black and that's the white cab showing through.

The monitor, chassis, and game boards mount into a rather clever one piece metal frame. The frame can swing down to aid in servicing. The monitor chassis is a regular Cinematronics chassis that literally has the HV section sawed off. There is a unique paralleling of the horizontal output transistors, but otherwise it's regular Cinematronics. Mine has a tendency to blow the X transistors. I need to investigate the circuit a little to see why the current isn't being shared equally. Might have to increase the resistor value. The monitor also has a unique gel.

Game play is very good with slowly increasing intensity. I see a little Rip Off and Armor Attack and maybe a little Major Havoc in there. I feel fortunate to have found this gem. So I guess we know of 3, right?

Thanks Hans, awesome information. I wish I could claim #4.

 

[TheSilby]

I see a little Rip Off and Armor Attack and maybe a little Major Havoc in there.?

Yeah, from the pics that have been posted, I can see the that power supply looks just like the one in my Star Castle and Armor Attack.

 

[z3k3]

I am not very serious about anything, so i don't have a VAPS listing.

I don't have a VAPS listing either. Actually, I know quite a few "old school" collectors with interesting collections not listed on VAPS.


Matt has a killer collection.

 

[PeRFiDiouS]

I don't have a VAPS listing either. Actually, I know quite a few "old school" collectors with interesting collections not listed on VAPS.

And that is by choice in most cases...

 

[gliptitude]

Game play is very good with slowly increasing intensity. I see a little Rip Off and Armor Attack and maybe a little Major Havoc in there. I feel fortunate to have found this gem. So I guess we know of 3, right?

Years ago I included Demon in an intended list of all vector games produced but apparently I didn't take note of its content and only just now noticed it when a Vectrex enthusiast made a screen overlay I didn't recognize, intended for emulating Demon on Vectrex. Then I watched some gameplay videos and it does look intriguing. Some Armor Attack with the barriers and some Rip Off with the collecting, maybe a little Solar Quest and Warrior in there too. .. My first thought when seeing a still image of the game was Berzerk.

I am wondering about the snake tailed figure. First, what an awesome animated vector object! But second I am wondering about these Z shaped projectiles, if maybe they put the victim to sleep or are anything particular and generally what is this character and how does it function in the game?

"Game play is very good". Can you or anyone elaborate?

 

[toledoflyer]

I am wondering about the snake tailed figure. First, what an awesome animated vector object! But second I am wondering about these Z shaped projectiles, if maybe they put the victim to sleep or are anything particular and generally what is this character and how does it function in the game?

"Game play is very good". Can you or anyone elaborate?

That is the "Demon" it appears randomly in the higher levels of the game. It moves very rapidly and erratically making it hard to shoot. Those "projectiles" kill you instantly if they hit you. It's a pretty fun game and the sounds are great. To keep your "laser" charged up you need to collect "fire gems" which if left uncollected for too long become "unstable" and randomly fly around the screen until the explode. If you collect 10 "gems" you will recharge your "panic" bomb which kills all enemies on the screen.

 

[gliptitude]

Cool. Thanks for filling in. I'll have to seek out emulation of it sometime. I'll also add it to lists for Vectrex developers to consider porting.

 

[hisnice]

If you want to play it, all you need to do is buy this FPGA board and drop it in your Asteroids (Deluxe)
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=430077

These guys are also producing a monitor overlay for it but it's not available yet.

I've played Hans's before and I love it! It's a very fun game that levels up nicely, with a clever mix of collecting/shooting/escaping.