Vs Super Mario Bros high score save and freeplay attract

mattosborn

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Vs Super Mario Bros high score save and freeplay attract

OK Nintendo lovers, I think you're going to like this one.
Ever wonder why your Vs Super Mario Bros doesn't save the high scores? I mean, the board has batteries on it... what the hell are they good for anyway? Well, there's really no good reason why it shouldn't save the scores. A few code tweaks is all it takes.
And what's the deal with the lame freeplay mode that just sits there on the "Push Start" screen? That just had to be fixed. That turned out to be a bit more challenging than I expected, but it was important to me (I run all my games on freeplay), so I got 'er gone! Now you can enjoy full attract mode when the game is set on freeplay (coinage settings are unmodified, and operate the same as they always have).

The best news is that it doesn't require any soldering or additional hardware. All you need to do is swap one EPROM (position 6D or 1D, depending on which side of the Vs board you have SMB installed in). I use the existing battery-backed CMOS on the board to save the high scores. So make sure your battery holder is clean and pop a fresh pair of AA cells in there. I suggest Energizer Ultimate Lithium Batteries. They'll last a very long time, and you don't have to worry about them oozing something toxic onto your PCB like an alkaline cell would.

If you want to reset the high score table, all you have to do is pull out a battery for a moment. The next time it boots up all the scores will be set to zero. Freeplay mode is enabled by turning the first three DIP switches ON.

As with all the high score saves I've done for myself (yes, I own SMB, which I got for my son), I will make this available for download. For those of you who don't own or have access to an EPROM burner, I will gladly burn one for you. I have a good stash of NOS Intel 2764A EPROMs, so you'll get a clean quality chip. Price will be $21, shipped anywhere in the US and Canada. PayPal to [email protected]. "Gift" payments are always appreciated, but please remember to include your mailing address in the comments section if you choose that method.

So the download link is provided below, but before you jump down to that, let's talk about donations. I used to have PayPal "Donate" links on all my high score save pages. I eventually just removed them all, because in over 10 years of them being up, I received exactly ONE donation. Yes, you read that correctly... no joke. Literally thousands of downloads and just one donation. And why is that? Anonymity, and apparently no clear incentive. And perhaps the misconception that I actually make a bunch of money doing this. This is not a business folks... any money I've ever made goes right back into my arcade.
So let's try a little experiment here. I'm putting a Donate link below. If I get enough money to buy another Vs kit (I'm thinking Dr. Mario will be next) then I'll write another score save for it. No donations = no more score saves. Very simple.

Donate link below:

:mario: DONATE :luigi: <--- this is a donate link, click to donate to the Vs score save cause

Donate link above---^ do it for the kids!


SMB high-score/freeplay ROM image download.

Enjoy! :mariosmile2:
 
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I don't own a VS. machine....but damn, Matt.....good job. You just made a lot of people very happy. I hope people do the right thing and flip you a few $$$.

Edward
 
This makes my day! I'm sending $15/gift for a programmed eprom.
thank you!! Exciting!
 
Nice job Matt... I hope the donations come in, it would suck if you stopped making these.
Now I need to get off my ass and finish Balloon Fight :)
 
thanks for dooing this

thanks as well sent for a chip and a little extra.
and excitebike please. the two button screen is really annoying.

Peace
Buffett
 
Great job Matty!

Would this work on the mirror rom set like Ice Climbers?

Thanks Brian.
Each Vs game works differently and needs to be figured out separately. Souza has been working on Balloon Fight, which is another Dualsystem game like Ice Climber. Dualsystem games may be a bit more challenging (the hardware is not properly emulated in MAME, so debugging issues can be difficult).
 
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Just threw a couple bucks your way. This is awesome- I don't have SMB anymore but I plan to pick one up and when I do, I need what you got! Thanks again Matt! :cool:
 
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