Lack of Coin Insert button makes this difficult to start game on real NES.
Fortunately figured out Game Genie code that gets past this.
XXEAPXSX -> Bypass to credit insert screen
Use select on controller 1 for 1 player, select on controller 2 for two player.
Enjoy
**Anyone know how to change palette easily so game is pleasant to look at?
Mmxguy wrote:
**Anyone know how to change palette easily so game is pleasant to look at?
You could try the patch here:
http://raphnet.net/electronique/nes_vs/nes_vs_en.php?section_id=10
This works great. Here, enjoy an IPS patch which includes your no-coin game genie code and color correction.
http://h1.ripway.com/super-hampster/VS% ... ion%20.ips
This is for if you already have it converted to a .NES ROM
Those who don't know how to turn an VS Unisystem ROM into an NES ROM are on your own.
Thank You Super-Hamster
Patch worked a treat!
Awesome, now if someone can just figure out how to make it possible to pause the game.
you could try the nes version.....
This table indicates that Vs. SMB1 is no different from SMB1 on an 8-level run, but a warpless run features six Lost Levels from SMB2 (J) that weren't seen outside Japan until Super Mario All-Stars.
Except of course for blocks being in completely different places on many levels...
tepples wrote:
This table indicates that Vs. SMB1 is no different from SMB1 on an 8-level run, but a warpless run features six Lost Levels from SMB2 (J) that weren't seen outside Japan until Super Mario All-Stars.
The vine warp zone in VS 4-2 only allows you to warp to world 6, making a VS 8-level run impossible - the shortest VS game is a 16-level run.
I attempted something similar with VS Ice Climber. I did manage to make a Game Genie code that would make the game start as if the dip switches were in free play mode (axppyy). However not only are the colors all wrong but the back ground does not render correctly making it unplayable.
Strangely enough it only works on real hardware. It works by changing the value at $1797 to $20. For some reason emulators keep translating it as address $9797 instead of $1797.
Do you know the NES Memory Map? It's how the NES sees its full 16-bit memory space of 0000-FFFF.
0000-1FFF is 2KB of RAM, 0000-07FF. Everything else up to 1FFF is a mirror of RAM.
So NES address $1797 is a mirror of RAM $0797.
ROM is addresses $8000-$FFFF. So what appears in a file at $1797 is actually present in ROM at address $9787. Don't forget about the iNES header, that throws off address calculations by 16 bytes.
That explains alot lf things I came across while I was hacking the game genie code actually.
I hacked a few more codes for VS Super Mario Bros
ZEAIKA
AEAISA
SEASEE
All 3 must be used together
Walk past most enemies without getting hurt. Does not protect against spinning fireball sticks in castles or hammer brother hammers.also these things will kill you in one hit if you are bit or small.
Another for people to try.. this time for VS Excitebike
XZVAZYSX -> Bypass to Credit Inserted Screen
IPS to fix palette anyone?
I'll have to see. My last one was based on the link Memblers provided. I just did all the Hex editing and turned it, and your game genie code into an easy to apply IPS patch.
Here is a game genie code for VS SMB that adds a life when you die rather than take one away. You basically get a 1up for dying. It's effectively an infinite life code.
VVEOUEVK
MMXguy/Super Hampster, thanks much for your work to make these VS games more usable.
Any chance of a credit screen bypass code for VS Duck Hunt? It'd be nice to shoot the dog on a regular NES deck, like many have dreamed of since childhood.
A palette hack might not be needed, as VS Duck Hunt/Tennis used the same PPU as the Playchoice.
Well I decided to try and do the code myself so I could learn something new, I haven't made a game genie code before today but with some trying in the FCEU emulator I found the memory address to force VS Duck Hunt into freeplay mode; $0664 set to value 01.
It of course doesn't work on the powerpak because of the memory addressing issues mentioned previously, I tried some basic math to account for the ines header but no joy.
If any of the experts here have any suggestions on how to do this properly I'd be grateful.
Game Genie codes are ROM patches. Codes that fix a value in RAM ($0000-$7FFF) are properly called Action Replay codes. Once you have an Action Replay code, you can sometimes make a ROM patch with the same effect by setting read and write breakpoints on that RAM location to see what the program does with it.
For example, I might want to make one-hit-death ROM patches for all six of the Mega Man games to hold people over until bunnyboy decides to start selling NES games on GBA carts so that people with a GBA SP or a DS Lite can buy and play them. First I'd isolate the variable that holds health; then I'd set a breakpoint to find where it's read or written and then screw with the comparisons.
Aha, well that would explain my lack of success freezing values related to free play or coin credits.
I'm probably going about this the wrong way, judging by the working codes on the first page.
Arasoi, all you need to do is find where $0664 is initialized and change the value it is initialized to. This may be possible with a Game Genie code.
edit:
ok this does it:
PAPEPA
only there's a really bad side effect. it makes a horrible noise all through the game.
If you're really interested in VS games, here is a document about it.
http://nesdev.icequake.net/vsdoc.txt
Not sure on its accuracy.
Super-Hampster wrote:
edit:
ok this does it:
PAPEPA
only there's a really bad side effect. it makes a horrible noise all through the game.
NYAANU
PETEEZ
AETEOZ
use these three together and you start with 2 credits. You get your 2 credits after the title theme plays through. You also don't lose credits when you miss 3 ducks. You actually gain more. So this effectively does what you'd like.
Thank you for your help, this moves things along a lot further.
The codes together work well in an emulator, but the noise persists when using them on the powerpak. Is this due to a memory addressing issue?
The zapper also doesnt seem to work via either controller port, could the game be expecting input from somewhere else?
This is more complicated than I thought it might be.
I just noticed that. I posted the codes before I tested them on the Powerpak. I also don't have a zapper to test with. oops
I've tried several codes, but whatever I try works great in an emulator, but screeches like dying cat on real hardware. I don't know man. I understand how game genie codes work, but I'm by far not a great programmer. I wish maybe we could use Action Replay codes, or enter RAM cheats in directly to the powerpak. Changing game code one byte at a time with each game genie code is not the most efficient way to make a cheat code.
Thanks for your efforts, I appreciate it.
I found a rom hacker to write some ASM hacks into the game, but they didnt work either. He said because its an arcade rom it has a CRC check and the changes fall flat, and that he couldnt find the CRC check in the rom to disable it.
You could find the CRC check routine by simply putting a breakpoint on a read for pretty much anywhere (that wouldn't be read normally). Say the first CPU instruction of the game (which you would only have to skip past once).
tepples wrote:
This table indicates that Vs. SMB1 is no different from SMB1 on an 8-level run, but a warpless run features six Lost Levels from SMB2 (J) that weren't seen outside Japan until Super Mario All-Stars.
Wow, I can't believe I've never heard this before. Crazy! 24 years since I first played Vs SMB (and my first ever time seeing any form of SMB) and I've never known this. Thanks!
-Rob
Vs. DH may be expecting the data lines from the light gun to be routed to a different address. I think the NES uses $4017 for the gun, but the Vs. System may use $4016 or another data line entirely. I don't recall if DH on the NES uses $4016 or $4017, to be honest, but the Vs. Unisystem release may be the opposite.
I know that the FC uses $4017... $4017.3 or .4 I think... but it may be different on the Vs release which may use $4016 and $4017 to support two guns, with $4016 as P1 Gun.
EDIT: Have you tried using the light gun in both the P2 and the P1 controller ports? I see that the NES supports two guns, so you may need to try both ports, and you may also need to connect two guns for the Vs. DH ROM to properly initialize.
I know that the Gun Kit was an optional add-on for any Vs. machine, but I don't own one myself to test. I may have a Gun Kit manual somewhere, but I doubt it... You may need to compare the disassebled code to check at what address range the game is reading the targeting data...
This may end up on my to-do list in the future, but I have way too much on my plate at present to attempt solving it now.
I will see if I can find anything floating around on the 'net.
-Xious
I have tried using the light gun in both ports, yes. Sadly I don't own 2 zappers so can't try the trick of having 2 plugged in (I can see about borrowing another one)
The current problem is that the game glitches/freezes/makes a loud noise when used in a regular NES console. This is apparently due to a CRC check present in most arcade roms.
Unfortunately I havent had much luck disabling said check. it is a bit beyond my skill level at this point.
I could be wrong about this, this is just what I have been told by the ASM/ROM hacker trying to help me out.
Arasoi wrote:
I have tried using the light gun in both ports, yes. Sadly I don't own 2 zappers so can't try the trick of having 2 plugged in (I can see about borrowing another one)
The current problem is that the game glitches/freezes/makes a loud noise when used in a regular NES console. This is apparently due to a CRC check present in most arcade roms.
Unfortunately I havent had much luck disabling said check. it is a bit beyond my skill level at this point.
I could be wrong about this, this is just what I have been told by the ASM/ROM hacker trying to help me out.
It may be possible that the game expects both guns and is failing a system check routine because they are not both present, or is lacking some important piece of hardware that it expects from the Vs logic design or the Gun Kit.
I think that the Vs arcade will generate an error and refuse to load if both guns are not present upon booting.
If you can check with both guns plugged-in, see if it still freezes. I'd be curious to know the result.
-Xious
Xious wrote:
It may be possible that the game expects both guns and is failing a system check routine because they are not both present, or is lacking some important piece of hardware that it expects from the Vs logic design or the Gun Kit.
I think that the Vs arcade will generate an error and refuse to load if both guns are not present upon booting.
If you can check with both guns plugged-in, see if it still freezes. I'd be curious to know the result.
-Xious
The gun games do have an alarm, but it is not a check for multiple guns. From the schematics, I believe it checks to see if Player1 Up is enabled all the time. You could try keeping Up held down to see if that fixes the Alarm sound. You would want to do this as soon as you can. Then modify the game for that check.
The graphic glitches could be because you don't have the mapper hooked up correctly. Most Vs. games use one of the output pins of the 2A03 to switch the CHR banks. Also, there is no CRC check on Duck Hunt.
2600 wrote:
The gun games do have an alarm, but it is not a check for multiple guns. From the schematics, I believe it checks to see if Player1 Up is enabled all the time. You could try keeping Up held down to see if that fixes the Alarm sound. You would want to do this as soon as you can. Then modify the game for that check.
Bingo, holding up fixes the alarm sound. Now its just a matter of finding and disabling that check.
Arasoi wrote:
2600 wrote:
The gun games do have an alarm, but it is not a check for multiple guns. From the schematics, I believe it checks to see if Player1 Up is enabled all the time. You could try keeping Up held down to see if that fixes the Alarm sound. You would want to do this as soon as you can. Then modify the game for that check.
Bingo, holding up fixes the alarm sound. Now its just a matter of finding and disabling that check.
If you do that, a simpler way to do the free play would be to do something similar. Duck Hunt checks the dip switches to see if they are enabled for Free Play. Just make the game code returns that they are.
I checked the game with two zappers, neither work. The only response I can get from the game is when I mess around with the buttons/directional pad.
Am I the only one who feels left out?
How do you convert unisystem -> NES?
You hack the games until they work.
Are they polling the dip switches? Make them read back a hardcoded immediate value instead.
Are they checking for the coin slot? Make them check for a button instead.
Are they using scrambled colors? Hack them back to normal.
Are they using the system-built-in CHR switch feature? Use a mapper instead.
And so on...
I'm talking about the files themselves.
I have a bunch of 1A, 1B, 1C, etc. files.
I've only ever seen them in NES format. Are those MAME files?
Look at them in a tile viewer to see what's CHR and what's PRG, then glue the files together in a hex editor, and slap on an iNES header. Don't forget to set the VS bit in the header, and possibly set it as Mapper 99.
Jedi QuestMaster wrote:
Cool. All is well.
here is a header for mapper 99 as well as the color correcting ips patch
http://www.mediafire.com/file/jnj2dy3kt ... ection.zip
The .1x files are prg rom and the .2x files are chr rom files.
they have to be merged. If you run windows use the command prompt and do the following (assuming the file names are mds-sm4.*):
Code:
copy /b mds-sm4.1d+mds-sm4.1c+mds-sm4.1b+mds-sm4.1a mds-sm4.prg
THen, do the same for the chr
Code:
copy /b mds-sm4.2b+mds-sm4.2a mds-sm4.chr
make sure you do them in that order, notice the file extensions go in reverse alphabetical order.
then use a utility like TNINES to merge the chr, prg and hdr file I gave you into an .nes file
Super-Hampster wrote:
then use a utility like TNINES to merge the chr, prg and hdr file I gave you into an .nes file
Why use a tool if you were already using
copy /b just fine before? Does TNINES do anything more than join the files?
tokumaru wrote:
Super-Hampster wrote:
then use a utility like TNINES to merge the chr, prg and hdr file I gave you into an .nes file
Why use a tool if you were already using
copy /b just fine before? Does TNINES do anything more than join the files?
that I don't know. it might check the rom size against the reported size in the header and tell you if there is an error but I'm not sure. As far as I'm concerned I just use it to make sure they're merged correctly.
Jedi QuestMaster wrote:
Cool. All is well.
Would you repost the ips patch for Vs. Super mario bros to fix the pallette and coin input. The links don't work anymore. I'm a little late to the game on these downloads.. sorry I just bought the powerpak. nice setup they got there.
Thanks
http://db.tt/4yUZAjNJ
here it is
includes hdr file to make .nes rom from vs rom
Arasoi wrote:
MMXguy/Super Hampster, thanks much for your work to make these VS games more usable.
Any chance of a credit screen bypass code for VS Duck Hunt? It'd be nice to shoot the dog on a regular NES deck, like many have dreamed of since childhood.
A palette hack might not be needed, as VS Duck Hunt/Tennis used the same PPU as the Playchoice.
Ya I'd love to get a shot at the dog as it's been a VERY long time since I've played the arcade to do so and I doubt I'll ever see a machine to play it again. An NES IPS would be aces.
Sorry to bump. I'm unable to get either the VS SMB no-coin GG code, nor the combined no-coin and palette IPS, to work. My end goal is to make it work on the PS2 port of FCEU (which I'll be referring to within this post as merely "FCEU"), however I'm also testing in Nestopia without luck. The unmodified VS SMB ROM that I have works fine on FCEU, but obviously I can't insert a coin. I can deal with the colors being wrong, although I'd prefer they be correct. When I apply the IPS linked in this thread, it breaks the ROM - I see bridge tiles on the far left of the screen (seems like the same vertical position as the on-screen "start" button after inserting a coin in the unhacked game), and I hear a constantly repeating coin sound until I press Select, then the coin sound "burps", the standard "WORLD 1-1" screen appears, then when the screen goes black the game goes silent and nothing else happens (this on both FCEU and Nestopia). The unpatched ROM works fine in Nestopia with proper colors as expected. FCEU has no UI for Game Genie Codes, and when I try to apply XXEAPXSX with a small tool that I found, it reports that the compare value doesn't match and the code is rejected.
I even tried removing the iNES header before patching the ROM, then adding the header found inside the ZIP file linked here - results were even worse, FCEU just gave me a white screen with no sound or anything.
Something tells me I'm just doing something wrong, but I can't pin it down.
Bump since my post isn't that old. I'm sure someone here who knows the NES better than I can guide me in the right direction.
Alternately, a PM containing a link to a dump of Retrozone's repro, or a known working ROM based on the patch in this thread would suffice. If that's verboten to publically ask, then please edit this post and remove these last two sentences.
Try mine.You shouldn't need to insert coins with it, but for all I know you'll have all the same other problems.
Edit: I guess I should mention I used
this gent's palette hack, but I hacked the coin stuff myself. (It may still be identical to others you tried, though. Just because I did it myself doesn't mean the bytes changed are different)
Thanks, I'll try it. The MD5 of my source ROM is b4e90b95a3e18f2bd79bbecf5009a28b and as I said, it otherwise works perfectly in FCEU PS2, and in Nestopia it works perfectly as a VS ROM.
Edit: Same problem. Obviously, the problem must be the source ROM I'm using. It's tough to find iNES ROMs of VS SMB out there, as most of my searching has resulted in MAME ROMsets. Perhaps I should try converting one of those to iNES first.
Edit 2: Yep, that was the issue. I converted a MAME set to separate PRG and CHR, combined them together with the header provided earlier in this thread, tested that ROM to make sure it worked as a VS ROM, then I applied your patch. It works fine in Nestopia (although it still brings up a DIP switch dialog), and I'm assuming it should work fine on FCEU (which I'm about to test). The only thing I notice is that the red color in Mario's sprite is more purple, which I do remember reading about somewhere last time I tackled this. Still, I'm very happy to finally get this to work
Slight bump to say that I've fixed the palette, thanks to the old loopy tables from
this post. Now, all I need to figure out is how to change the default DIP settings - the timer runs fast and I'd prefer it run normal speed. Everything else seems to be perfect as far as I'm concerned. If anyone wants the accurate palette, just take those hex values listed for Mario in that post and plop them into place in the patched ROM at $15E0. The only "wrong" color I've noticed so far is that the 2nd player start button is now purple instead of green. That's a small price to pay for an otherwise accurate SMB palette.
Any news of an IPS to make the VS. Duck Hunt be playable on real NES hardware?
I see retrozone has one with dip switches and all that jazz but I don't really care to
be able to have all the settings. I just want to be able to have it run in free play
and enjoy the bonus round of shooting the dog (right in the Fen head!
).
nintendo2600 wrote:
Any news of an IPS to make the VS. Duck Hunt be playable on real NES hardware?
I see retrozone has one with dip switches and all that jazz but I don't really care to
be able to have all the settings. I just want to be able to have it run in free play
and enjoy the bonus round of shooting the dog (right in the Fen head!
).
Using one of these carts I suppose one could ghetto-fab a cheap Vs. Duck Hunt cabinet if they can't source a proper board; the downside is the composite video but the upside is cheaper maintenance.
So I've spent the better part of the night working on this.
I get insanely nostalgic for old arcade games, and Vs. The Goonies was one of my favorites. I've done what I can to palette-hack it to run on a PowerPak/Real PPU. But I've reached the end of my personal capability here. Things that still need to be done: Copyright screen has red text, which needs to become white. And the controllers need to be mapped. Ideally I want it to be P1 coin is P1 Select, P2 coin is P2 Select. After that, Start is start and so on. I've put together a Vs. The Goonies patch in IPS to reflect the work I've completed so far. You need to apply it to "Goonies, The (VS) [b1].nes"
If anyone can help, you'd be a personal hero!
I may do some other Vs. Palette Hacks in the future. This is kinda fun.
I've worked on a few VS-titles, here's the URL again if anyone has missed it..
http://www.goondocks.se/nespatches/(Sorry for bad HTML, but I'm not a webdesigner
)
I've run into a problem with a few VS ROMs because they have no proper match in the original NES palette for a few of the colours.
Patching the palette is pretty easy (assuming there's a few spare bytes in the ROM), all of the VS ROMs I've checked use almost the same PPU copy-routine and it
can be patched to use the original NES palette.
wow all these cool patches. Great work to everyone responsible!
Keep em comming
BMF just created one that has a title menu that changes dipswitch values.
oRBIT2002 wrote:
I've worked on a few VS-titles, here's the URL again if anyone has missed it..
http://www.goondocks.se/nespatches/(Sorry for bad HTML, but I'm not a webdesigner
)
I've run into a problem with a few VS ROMs because they have no proper match in the original NES palette for a few of the colours.
Patching the palette is pretty easy (assuming there's a few spare bytes in the ROM), all of the VS ROMs I've checked use almost the same PPU copy-routine and it
can be patched to use the original NES palette.
I see that you are a fellow Goonies fan... Perhaps you can help me? i'm terribly nostalgic for Vs. The Goonies. (Yes, I know. there is 0 gameplay difference from that one to the NTSC-J...)
I've done pallette hacks to it, to the best of my ability, but I can't play it on my PowerPak yet, because I have yet to figure out how to map the control inputs. I want to make P1 Select into coin 1 and P2 Select into coin 2 and P1 Start into Start and P2 Start into Start. And there's still one background pallette value I have yet to find and change properly (On the Copyright screen)
My IPS patch is in my previous post. Please help me, fellow Goonie!
"The Goonies" is one of my favourite movies ever.
I'll do some checking and see what I can come up with..
oRBIT2002 wrote:
"The Goonies" is one of my favourite movies ever.
I'll do some checking and see what I can come up with..
Ohhh... Getting this playable on my PowerPak would be magnificent! ^_^
I know the mapper is a variant of VRC1.
GameMachineJames wrote:
oRBIT2002 wrote:
"The Goonies" is one of my favourite movies ever.
I'll do some checking and see what I can come up with..
Ohhh... Getting this playable on my PowerPak would be magnificent! ^_^
I know the mapper is a variant of VRC1.
Hey, check your messages, I've sent you a pm!
Just saw that you released the VS Goonies patch, you're on fire these days
Too bad I can't play it on my Everdrive N8 since mapper 151 is not yet supported. I tought mapper 151 was supposed to be pretty much the same as mapper 75 so I tried to see if it would run as VRC1 but no dice, the gfx get messed up and unaligned... That's curious, aren't they supposed to be the same ASIC?
SkinnyV wrote:
Just saw that you released the VS Goonies patch, you're on fire these days
Too bad I can't play it on my Everdrive N8 since mapper 151 is not yet supported. I tought mapper 151 was supposed to be pretty much the same as mapper 75 so I tried to see if it would run as VRC1 but no dice, the gfx get messed up and unaligned... That's curious, aren't they supposed to be the same ASIC?
Hehehe this is my first-ever released hack of anything. "You're on fire these days" tickles me. Also yeah. I was of the impression that VRC1 and Mapper 151 were identical as well. If I had to venture a guess I'd say that the Mapper-switching you're attempting is causing some chr addresses to show incorrectly.
Try it on a PowerPak, it might work better. I simply can't stand Krikzz hardware because he phones it in.
I was under the impression that oRBIT2002 was responsible for hacking the control routine... As for playing it on Powerpak, I can't as I do not own one anymore.
Mapper 151 is very simple, odd that it's not implemented on the Everdrive.
It is not implemented yet, that's why I tried to run it as mapper 75 which is supported. But the same issue appear when playing it as mapper 75 on nestopia so I guess I'll have to wait for Krikzz to add mapper 151.
I suspect that the problems are because Nestopia isn't allowing a mapper 75 game with 4-screen mirroring.
FCEUX (other than the palette being wrong) seems to work when I add a NES2.0 header: 4e 45 53 1a 04 08 b9 49 00 00 00 00 00 04 00 00
The same thing happens when trying to run it on a PowerPak as Mapper 75. Once we somehow get this working on Mapper 75, I reckon it'll be a lot easier on some people.
Ok, I think this is actually fixable with a ROM hack instead of fixing the m75 definition to support 4 screen:
Change the byte at 0xF037 from 01 to 00. This changes
LDA #1 / STA $9000 to
LDA #0 &c. For some reason the game explicitly writes the wrong value to the mirroring control register on a machine where I think that isn't used for anything? (
http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VRC1 ... .249FFF.29 )
Someone with the actual hardware would need to see whether the Vs. System Goonies module actually connects pin 17 to anything (
http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VRC1_pinout ), or if this is just an anti-piracy measure.
I'm terrible at this game, and haven't beaten the first level, so someone else will need to make sure this is all that's necessary to fix things.
Nice digging around lidnariq, it now seem to work perfectly on my Everdrive N8. Thanks. I'll make a patch for the user of the Everdrive N8 forum letting them know it is because of your research.
lidnariq wrote:
Ok, I think this is actually fixable with a ROM hack instead of fixing the m75 definition to support 4 screen:
Change the byte at 0xF037 from 01 to 00. This changes
LDA #1 / STA $9000 to
LDA #0 &c. For some reason the game explicitly writes the wrong value to the mirroring control register on a machine where I think that isn't used for anything? (
http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VRC1 ... .249FFF.29 )
Someone with the actual hardware would need to see whether the Vs. System Goonies module actually connects pin 17 to anything (
http://wiki.nesdev.com/w/index.php/VRC1_pinout ), or if this is just an anti-piracy measure.
I'm terrible at this game, and haven't beaten the first level, so someone else will need to make sure this is all that's necessary to fix things.
I can't speak as to Everdrive N8 and have not yet built myself a VRC1 test board... But it runs beautifully as Mapper 75 with this fx on a PowerPak, and in Nintendulator!
Thanks everyone. You've made my dream of a home-playable copy of Vs. The Goonies on real hardware a reality!
Goonies never say die!