Preserving Arcade Core High Scores

[Aspie]

Brilliant. Two of my favourite games Rescue and Scramble.

[zakk4223]

If there's no way to disable high score saving, I'd suggest picking a 'mister standard' nvram index for high score saves. Something like nvram index 99 is always the HS data. That way it's easier to document how to clear/delete saved high scores instead of trying to walk people through digging into individual MRAs and to figure out which nvram entry they need to remove.

[jimmystones]

Hmm.. Clearing high scores to default is a good point. I'm not sure I follow what you mean by a standard index though?

Thinking out loud we could add an OSD option to turn the feature on/off - if turned off then next reload of the core would clear the scores back to default.

[zakk4223]

Reading the code a bit more closely, my assumption the 'nvram' idx was part of the filename is incorrect. So nevermind that.

However, another issue: there's only one possible nvram section per MRA? If the nvram functionality is used for HS saving AND the game also has nvram settings, the core has to blob them all together as one? Which means there's no way to just delete the high score save without also deleting any saved settings you may have for that particular core.

Might it be more future proof to have the ability for multiple nvram save/load slots if the core needs it?

[jimmystones]

I agree it would be more logical to have a separate mechanism for writing the MAME style hiscore extracts separately to nvram (e.g. as 'Spy Hunter.hi') - we dont have that facility available in the main Linux side at the moment though so we are working with what we have

As the hiscore and nvram dumps are separate processes on the fpga we can have different osd settings to control each though which should give just enough flexibility

[XtraSmiley]

Thank you so much for this!

If I could be so bold, any chance Sega's Teddy Boy Blues could make the next batch.... ?

[jimmystones]

As it happens Sega System 1 is next on my list, so you may be in luck!

[zakk4223]

I agree it would be more logical to have a separate mechanism for writing the MAME style hiscore extracts separately to nvram (e.g. as 'Spy Hunter.hi') - we dont have that facility available in the main Linux side at the moment though so we are working with what we have

As the hiscore and nvram dumps are separate processes on the fpga we can have different osd settings to control each though which should give just enough flexibility

Yes, I'm proposing the linux side change before we start getting more systems that have nvram requirements for test menu settings and end up in a situation where someone that wants to mass delete their saved hi scores doesn't also have to mass delete saved nvram settings.

[LamerDeluxe]

Brilliant. Two of my favourite games Rescue and Scramble.

Scramble is also one of my favorites, as it was the first arcade game I ever saw, it made a big impression. And it still plays really well.

Now I'm hoping for support for Midway games (Defender, Stargate, Robotron, Joust).

[wark91]

It is already the case for those games Defender, Stargate, Robotron, Joust. You can save HighScores.

[Aspie]

I used to be able to get massive scores on Scramble but these days I'm lucky if I can get to the end of the level. It doesn't help when on the final stage, the one where you have to guide the ship through the tunnel, my joystick keeps sticking

[LamerDeluxe]

It is already the case for those games Defender, Stargate, Robotron, Joust. You can save HighScores.

Thanks! Good to know, I somehow missed that news.

I used to be able to get massive scores on Scramble but these days I'm lucky if I can get to the end of the level. It doesn't help when on the final stage, the one where you have to guide the ship through the tunnel, my joystick keeps sticking

Haha, now you have a high score to beat as an incentive to improve your skills.

[Aspie]

Well my X Arcade is almost 20 years old. I'm thinking of changing the joysticks to the IL ones.

[Aspie]

Only just noticed Pac- Man and Ms. Pac-Man now save hi scores, brilliant.

[LamerDeluxe]

Well my X Arcade is almost 20 years old. I'm thinking of changing the joysticks to the IL ones.

I've just modded the JLF stick in my HRAP3 with Kowal short throw (engage actually) and stronger 2 lb spring. And changed all its buttons to Sanwa ones. It is a lot better, but still not as good as my old Suzo Arcade sticks, so I'd probably prefer those IL ones as well. And I love the leaf-switch buttons on those as well.

[lamarax]

Well my X Arcade is almost 20 years old. I'm thinking of changing the joysticks to the IL ones.

I've just modded the JLF stick in my HRAP3 with Kowal short throw (engage actually) and stronger 2 lb spring. And changed all its buttons to Sanwa ones. It is a lot better, but still not as good as my old Suzo Arcade sticks, so I'd probably prefer those IL ones as well. And I love the leaf-switch buttons on those as well.

Oh hi What you need to do is throw the JLF to the garbage, and get a real Japanese stick; LS-32, or better, LS-40. You can keep those Kowal acrylic plates(?) only if you're intending to use them with an LS-56. Those mouthbreathers in the FGC have forced those useless Sanwa parts down our throats (now they're hip with Korean stuff), because they're ignorant of the fact that most candy cabs used Seimitsu parts by default (and when they were using Sanwa, it was the JLW, made to imitate HAPP-SUZO-IL parts)

Ah [edit] I forgot about the Viewlix cabs... yeah, those are having JLFs by default, but we're not playing SFIV on LCDs here

[alanswx]

Only just noticed Pac- Man and Ms. Pac-Man now save hi scores, brilliant.

We added hi score save / restore to these pac man games:
Gorkans
Lizard Wizard
Mr. TNT
Ms. Pacman
Pac-Man (Midway)
Pacman Club
Pacman Plus
Ponpoko
Puck Man
Super Glob
Glob
Van Van
Woodpecker
Crush Roller
Dream Shopper
Eggor
Alibaba 40 Thieves

[killersquirel]

I love the high score preserving on the MiSTer. This has been a game changer in my opinion. I did notice that Solar Fox now has a green background with some graphical glitches. Not sure what happened, but I would love for this to be fixed.

[jimmystones]

I love the high score preserving on the MiSTer. This has been a game changer in my opinion. I did notice that Solar Fox now has a green background with some graphical glitches. Not sure what happened, but I would love for this to be fixed.

Hi - would you mind logging an issue on the Github for that core please? Any details about replicating the error and a screenshot or two would be really useful

https://github.com/MiSTer-devel/Arcade- ... Ter/issues

I didn't notice it when I was testing it, but then I'd never played Solar Fox before in my life, so I might have just not realised!

[thorr]

I am very thankful for this effort. I wanted to mention that with Mame, one way of doing this is to leave the machine powered on when exiting. When you return to it, it is exactly where you left it. It could be in mid-game or whatever. This will keep the high scores unless you reset the machine. This might be easier than trying to find the spot where the high score is saved in each core and storing that. (I don't know exactly how it is being done, but I am just speculating). The downside is if you want to restart your game because you die right away, you will lose your high scores if you reset it. I prefer the method where you can reset the game, but keep the high scores anyway.

[alanswx]

I am very thankful for this effort. I wanted to mention that with Mame, one way of doing this is to leave the machine powered on when exiting. When you return to it, it is exactly where you left it. It could be in mid-game or whatever. This will keep the high scores unless you reset the machine. This might be easier than trying to find the spot where the high score is saved in each core and storing that. (I don't know exactly how it is being done, but I am just speculating). The downside is if you want to restart your game because you die right away, you will lose your high scores if you reset it. I prefer the method where you can reset the game, but keep the high scores anyway.

Mame has a file called hiscores.dat that has the information on where things are stored in ram for many many games.

[jimmystones]

Still working on the Sega System 1 titles, but in the meantime have some:
- Zaxxon
- Super Zaxxon
- Future Spy (getting a high score should be a bit easier now the bomb button works!)

[LamerDeluxe]

Well my X Arcade is almost 20 years old. I'm thinking of changing the joysticks to the IL ones.

I've just modded the JLF stick in my HRAP3 with Kowal short throw (engage actually) and stronger 2 lb spring. And changed all its buttons to Sanwa ones. It is a lot better, but still not as good as my old Suzo Arcade sticks, so I'd probably prefer those IL ones as well. And I love the leaf-switch buttons on those as well.

Oh hi What you need to do is throw the JLF to the garbage, and get a real Japanese stick; LS-32, or better, LS-40. You can keep those Kowal acrylic plates(?) only if you're intending to use them with an LS-56. Those mouthbreathers in the FGC have forced those useless Sanwa parts down our throats (now they're hip with Korean stuff), because they're ignorant of the fact that most candy cabs used Seimitsu parts by default (and when they were using Sanwa, it was the JLW, made to imitate HAPP-SUZO-IL parts)

Ah [edit] I forgot about the Viewlix cabs... yeah, those are having JLFs by default, but we're not playing SFIV on LCDs here

Sadly the LS-32 and LS-40 don't fit the HRAP3, I had to cancel an order I did for an LS-40. I'd love to try it.
The LS-56-01 fits, when using a flat mounting plate. I'm waiting for it to get back in stock. I did read about someone preferring the modded JLF for shooters though. It is not an acrylic plate, it is an over sized actuator and it does help a lot, especially in combination with the stronger spring.

[lamarax]

Sadly the LS-32 and LS-40 don't fit the HRAP3, I had to cancel an order I did for an LS-40. I'd love to try it.
The LS-56-01 fits, when using a flat mounting plate. I'm waiting for it to get back in stock. I did read about someone preferring the modded JLF for shooters though. It is not an acrylic plate, it is an over sized actuator and it does help a lot, especially in combination with the stronger spring.

Yeah sorry, I thought you meant the 'short throw' mod which consists of one or two acrylic spacers sandwiched inside the body of the stick. If the LS-56 will fit though, I'd suggest you go with that stock, instead of a 'franken-JLF'. Is the HRAP3 compatible with SS P-40 mounting plates? If so, there's also the LS-62 to consider, which is something of an amalgamation of all the previous Seimitsu models.

P.S. No, I'm not a Seimitsu shill
P.P.S. Ah, I missed the part about the flat mounting plate. Then again, they recently came up with 2 'Viewlix compatible' plates for both large and compact bodied sticks. They don't seem to sell them separately yet. Anyway this eliminates the LS-62 I suggested above, as it will be sitting too low with a flat plate due to its short shaft.

[thorr]

This is quickly becoming a favorite joystick thread, but personally I love the groovygamegear Dominux 8 leaf switch grommet joystick (I have two). It is terrible for fighting games, but for everything else it is just about perfect in my opinion. I have a quality clicky fight stick if I want to play those games. I use my MiSTer for classic gaming and the Dominux 8 has that classic feel. I used to obsessively worry about 4-way and 8-way games/joysticks and I tried a lot of 4-way options. When it came down to it, my Dominux 8 in 8-way mode works just fine 99.9% of the time and is better feeling in 4-way games than all of the 4-way joysticks I tried. It doesn't have that diamond shape throw, but I don't play that way anyway. If I move up, I move up. I don't drag along the edge to get there, I just go. The Dominux 8 has a 4-way restrictor option but I don't want to waste space on my control panel with an extra joystick when the 8-way works just fine. I use my 8-ways with the short throw circular restrictor option.

With all that being said, it is tempting to get an Ultimarc 360 joystick that can be customized to 4-way, diagonal 4-way, 8-way and analog. I can play Qbert and Congo Bongo with that, and Star Wars.

Back to the topic at hand, I am looking forward to Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pacman, Galaga and Frogger high score saving.

[alanswx]

I think Frogger and Ms. Pacman have high score saving..

[LamerDeluxe]

Sadly the LS-32 and LS-40 don't fit the HRAP3, I had to cancel an order I did for an LS-40. I'd love to try it.
The LS-56-01 fits, when using a flat mounting plate. I'm waiting for it to get back in stock. I did read about someone preferring the modded JLF for shooters though. It is not an acrylic plate, it is an over sized actuator and it does help a lot, especially in combination with the stronger spring.

Yeah sorry, I thought you meant the 'short throw' mod which consists of one or two acrylic spacers sandwiched inside the body of the stick. If the LS-56 will fit though, I'd suggest you go with that stock, instead of a 'franken-JLF'. Is the HRAP3 compatible with SS P-40 mounting plates? If so, there's also the LS-62 to consider, which is something of an amalgamation of all the previous Seimitsu models.

P.S. No, I'm not a Seimitsu shill
P.P.S. Ah, I missed the part about the flat mounting plate. Then again, they recently came up with 2 'Viewlix compatible' plates for both large and compact bodied sticks. They don't seem to sell them separately yet. Anyway this eliminates the LS-62 I suggested above, as it will be sitting too low with a flat plate due to its short shaft.

I was already interested in Seimitsu, because the engage and throw of the JLF were way too large and the spring too weak. Sadly the HRAP 3 has an s-plate welded onto its top plate. It is also a hassle to open, so no quick changing of the restrictor plate between modes.

Maybe we need an arcade stick topic, haha.

Great to see so many arcade cores getting high score support, it makes them so much more fun and true to the originals.

[lamarax]

I think Frogger and Ms. Pacman have high score saving..

lol yeah, sorry for derailing the thread We *should* have a dedicated arcade stick thread in the inputs subforum.

I promise I'll start it off with a long treatise when time permits

[Aspie]

Donkey Kong being the classic arcade game should have hi score enabled. I look forward to it

[alanswx]

I added it to irem 62. Can someone test it? I can’t get a high score.