Robotron patch

[robohobo]

Hi all!

I was plagued by the robotron enforcer corner shot bug.
(Using the blue roms where this bug is supposed to be fixed).
Nonetheless,  when my high scores all reached about 300000
level, robotron started crashing on me daily.

After a bit of googling, I found Sean Riddles patches for Robotron.
-> http://seanriddle.com/willy3.html#soft
They are for the original ROMS images, so I had to modify the
offsets a bit. so that they are suitable for MAME blue roms.
After a week of testing, it seems that the crashes are gone.
I'll include them here in case some has been bitten the same
bug.

The patcher is available at http://seanriddle.com/patcher.c.
You have to figure out how to compile that. Under linux you have to
install gcc and make with the package manager and type 'make'.
I'll include also a patch to remove the maximum of 5 high scores
with the same initials.

; this patchfile patches Robotron blue ROM
; to remove the 5 ENTRIES MAX message
; seems to work for me
; Sean Riddle 9/14/02
;
; Use for mame robotron blue label rom file robotron.sbb
Offset $0847: From $27 To $12
Offset $0848: From $0E To $12
Offset $0857: From $1A To $2F
Offset $0858: From $01 To $FD

------------------------

;this patchfile patches the Blue
;Robotron ROM image to fix the
;'shot-in-the-corner' bug
;use mame file robotron.sb5
Offset $0990: From $0A To $7E
Offset $0991: From $C2 To $4A
Offset $0992: From $0A To $97
Offset $09B7: From $0A To $7E
Offset $09B8: From $C2 To $4A
Offset $09B9: From $0C To $A0
Offset $09E2: From $0A To $7E
Offset $09E3: From $C2 To $4A
Offset $09E4: From $0C To $A9
Offset $0A97: From $FF To $0A
Offset $0A98: From $FF To $C2
Offset $0A99: From $FF To $27
Offset $0A9A: From $FF To $BE
Offset $0A9B: From $FF To $0A
Offset $0A9C: From $FF To $B9
Offset $0A9D: From $FF To $7E
Offset $0A9E: From $FF To $49
Offset $0A9F: From $FF To $94
Offset $0AA0: From $FF To $0A
Offset $0AA1: From $FF To $C2
Offset $0AA2: From $FF To $27
Offset $0AA3: From $FF To $B5
Offset $0AA4: From $FF To $0C
Offset $0AA5: From $FF To $B8
Offset $0AA6: From $FF To $7E
Offset $0AA7: From $FF To $49
Offset $0AA8: From $FF To $BB
Offset $0AA9: From $FF To $0A
Offset $0AAA: From $FF To $C2
Offset $0AAB: From $FF To $27
Offset $0AAC: From $FF To $AC
Offset $0AAD: From $FF To $0C
Offset $0AAE: From $FF To $B8
Offset $0AAF: From $FF To $7E
Offset $0AB0: From $FF To $49
Offset $0AB1: From $FF To $E6
Offset $0AB2: From $FF To $30
Offset $0AB3: From $FF To $35
Offset $0AB4: From $FF To $2F
Offset $0AB5: From $FF To $31
Offset $0AB6: From $FF To $39
Offset $0AB7: From $FF To $38
Offset $0AB8: From $FF To $37
Offset $0AB9: From $FF To $20
Offset $0ABA: From $FF To $43
Offset $0ABB: From $FF To $48
Offset $0ABC: From $FF To $52
Offset $0ABD: From $FF To $2E
Offset $0ABE: From $FF To $47
Offset $0ABF: From $FF To $2E
Offset $0AD7: From $FF To $FD
Offset $0AD8: From $FF To $4C

----------------


;this patchfile patches the Blue
;Robotron ROM image to fix the
;'shot-in-the-corner' bug
; use for mame file robotron.sbb
Offset $0398: From $FF To $A6
Offset $03B0: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B1: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B2: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B3: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B4: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B5: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B6: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B7: From $FF To $26
Offset $03B8: From $FF To $26
Offset $07B4: From $71 To $77
Offset $08C3: From $71 To $77
Offset $0955: From $C6 To $E6
Offset $0956: From $04 To $A4
Offset $0957: From $BD To $C4
Offset $0958: From $D0 To $0F
Offset $0959: From $A2 To $E7
Offset $095A: From $C1 To $A4
Offset $095B: From $04 To $C6
Offset $095C: From $26 To $04
Offset $095D: From $02 To $BD
Offset $095E: From $84 To $D0
Offset $095F: From $0F To $A2
Offset $0960: From $A1 To $C1
Offset $0961: From $A0 To $04
Offset $0962: From $22 To $26
Offset $0963: From $05 To $02
Offset $0964: From $25 To $84
Offset $0965: From $07 To $0F
Offset $0966: From $5A To $A1
Offset $0967: From $26 To $A0
Offset $0968: From $EE To $22
Offset $0969: From $1C To $05
Offset $096A: From $FE To $25
Offset $096B: From $35 To $07
Offset $096C: From $B6 To $5A
Offset $096D: From $1A To $26
Offset $096E: From $01 To $EE
Offset $096F: From $35 To $1C
Offset $0970: From $B6 To $FE
Offset $0971: From $0F To $35
Offset $0972: From $56 To $B6
Offset $0973: From $7E To $1A
Offset $0974: From $D0 To $01
Offset $0975: From $4B To $35
Offset $0976: From $FF To $B6
Offset $0977: From $FF To $0F
Offset $0978: From $FF To $56
Offset $0979: From $FF To $7E
Offset $097A: From $FF To $D0
Offset $097B: From $FF To $4B

[Gray_Area]

If it isn't working in the proper set, perhaps you could submit this to MAMEDev.

[Thenasty]

that would be considered a HACK.

MAME emulates the way the original  runs. If its got BUG, MAME emulates it too, not fix it.

[Xiaou2]

But, its not a Hack.

 Its a Patch fix.

 Like for example, if your 57 Chevy had a known defective leak, a person would always be able to repair it.

 A new classification SHOULD exist for fixing/patching the game bugs out.
It could be similar to the .Diff  in Hard drive images, in its own folder... and imported
when a user selects a new menu option of "Patch", or uses an option in the cheat menu labeled
Patch.

 
 I have to say, that something like this should be encouraged and added to preservation efforts.
Im sure its hard enough today to try to figure out how to fix these things in a real rom using.  Probably surprising that anyone can do it, let alone remember how to do it.   In another 60yrs, will anyone remember?  By then it may be too late, and a classic that could have been patched to work as it was intended to work... will remain busted forever.

 Remember, this isnt some gameplay hack or graphical change.  Its the intended way the games were supposed to work... but sadly, the programmers goofed up a bitm probably due to lack of sleep and seriously long hours of coding.

[bkenobi]

If you start fixing bugs, then things like the kill screen and the DK bonus points/level bug go away.  Does removing something that's an important part of the game experience improve things?  I don't know the answer since I'm not good enough in any of those games to get to the final screen.

OTOH, I agree that hacks could be included in the main code with a system like Xiaou2 suggests.  The problem is that it's outside the scope of the main project and it would probably have to be written/submitted/supported by someone outside the main project.

[secret80sman]

Isn't this one of the reasons why we have clones of the original games? This one could be called Robotron (corner shot fix edition). This way the original remains, well...original, screw ups and all and then users can opt to use the hacked/fixed clone (whatever you wanna call it) as they wish.

[Malenko]

meh, I dont see why MAME cant support both. By MAMEs classification it is a hack; so just call it Robotron Blue Label(patch/hack) or something like that.  I think its great to keep everything authentic, butif it can fix something thats broke , then why not? Not like its a crappy game like 720 =P

[bkenobi]

But MAME doesn't include hacked versions unless they appeared in at least one arcade, right?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Has there ever been discussion about moving the mame definitions for games outside of the executable? I know it will generate XML files with what it supports, and that's what things like ClrMamePro end up using.. but why not have it external to begin with? Then people who want to tinker with non-official roms like this wouldn't have to compile in custom versions of mame to support them.

[Malenko]

But MAME doesn't include hacked versions unless they appeared in at least one arcade, right?

I dunno, did they ever add support for the Zeus hack of UMK3? I know its been in at least 1 arcade cause I let the batting cages borrow my roms on their UMK3 board for a couple weeks lol Speaking of that, apparently theres a new hack for UMK3 I need to get hobbyroms to burn me

[(+_+)]

I remember reading somewhere that one of the versions is not supposed to have this "shot in the corner" bug. Is this fact or fiction.

Robotron (Solid Blue label)
Robotron (Yellow/Orange label)

[jipp]

I remember reading somewhere that one of the versions is not supposed to have this "shot in the corner" bug. Is this fact or fiction.

Robotron (Solid Blue label)
Robotron (Yellow/Orange label)

taco bell called they need your avatar back, they are 10% to short to call there beef beef..  poor taco bell..  i knew that puppy was gonna get munched before paris hilton could abuse it!

chris.

[(+_+)]

Come on. Get serious here. We're talking about Robotron here, not Parcheesi. 

[Xiaou2]

But MAME doesn't include hacked versions unless they appeared in at least one arcade, right?

 This again isnt a hack.  Its a fix.   Sort of like  MrDo roms that is labeled 'bugfix'.  The difference is that the fix isnt from the official company.   The typos/errors corrected by an outsider.  (or the actual creator/programmer in an anonymous form? )

 A hack is a change in gameplay mechanics or graphics... such as altering the company / gamename, making the main character into a Taco (made with only 33% beef)    , or making Chun Li shoot jalapenos out of her butt.

 And as said, the patch could probably exist as a "diff", much like the hard drive images.  Or a cheat, which reloads the critical rom data changes.

 

But MAME doesn't include hacked versions unless they appeared in at least one arcade, right?

 This is a rule mostly based on not wanting to support peoples 2000 new hacks of various games.  Its not an accurate rule either... as how do you verify if it was in an arcade.  For all you know, it was in one place for 1 week... and only 1 person remembers... or one person barely remembers the possibility of seeing something like it.  What if 3 people lie and say they saw it?   And then as stated... if you put a game on-location, and prove it was there... is it then accepted?  That would only encourage bad behavior.

 Interestingly enough, its possible that the original game designers/programmers continue to modify & hack their own games.  They probably wouldnt officially publicize that it was them, fearing some sort of legal ramifications.
 

 Imop, there are only a handful of hacks that are worth firing up... 
but Im glad they made it in.

[RayB]

Semantics.

Do the fix. Release it with a unique rom name. MisFitMAME will support it.

[(+_+)]

I'm kind of on the fence about this. I'm all for preserving the games as accurately as possible, but holy excrement does it burn my rear end when it snow screens on me. The bug seems to be strategic too, flaking out only when your having a great game.

[bkenobi]

Oh yeah, MisFitMAME.  That's exactly where this should go until there is a "patch" capability (like the "cheat" option I would guess).

[TOK]

 This again isnt a hack.  Its a fix.   Sort of like  MrDo roms that is labeled 'bugfix'.  The difference is that the fix isnt from the official company.   The typos/errors corrected by an outsider.  (or the actual creator/programmer in an anonymous form? )

 A hack is a change in gameplay mechanics or graphics... such as altering the company / gamename, making the main character into a Taco (made with only 33% beef)    , or making Chun Li shoot jalapenos out of her butt.

This is a gray area for me, but I'm leaning toward the people who just call it a hack. A good Robotron player knows to avoid the cornershots to prevent the game from crashing. Is it still a fix since its altering a strategy?

There is another well known bug in Robotron that causes the Spereoids to gravitate toward the corners and get stuck. Exploiting this behavior has also become fundamental to gameplay.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen an arcade game that fits your definition of a hack except Donkey Kong 2.
I have seen a few NES game hacks, all based on Super Mario Brothers.

[Xiaou2]

avoid the cornershots to prevent the game from crashing. Is it still a fix since its altering a strategy?

 Keeping a game from crashing isnt a strategy or part of the Intended designed gameplay.  Its a bug/typo... just like the level crash on Donkey Kong.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen an arcade game that fits your definition of a hack except Donkey Kong 2.

 Heh, your kidding right?

 Back in the day, an Arcade I went to had an illegal Street Fighter II bootleg.  I believe it was the "Rainbow Edition" found in mame.

 The hacks are changed program code and sometimes graphics as well.  In Rainbow edition, you can do things like throw fireball in mid air, or dragon punch across the entire screen.  It was well before the new versions of Streetfighter that allowed some of these things to be done officially.

 Most hacks were illegal bootlegs, where the most common thing to do was to alter the original game Logo's..  so instead of saying  Sega 1981,  It might say Mega 1981.  Sometimes even altering the graphics such as making Pacman into a Fish... and severely altering the maze shapes.

[TOK]

Of course I've seen those. I didn't think thats what you were referring to because they are referred to as bootlegs by nearly everyone in the hobby. Bootlegs are reverse engineered, commercially released rip offs of mainstream games: Monkey Kong, Congorilla, Donkey King.

Using your Pac Man example:
Piranha is a bootleg (I think that was the game you referred to).
The speed up mod for PacMan is a hack.

I never heard of an official category for "fix" applying to old games. I'm not saying your definitions are technically incorrect, they're just not the common vocabulary you're implying.

[nitz]

I dunno, did they ever add support for the Zeus hack of UMK3? I know its been in at least 1 arcade cause I let the batting cages borrow my roms on their UMK3 board for a couple weeks lol Speaking of that, apparently theres a new hack for UMK3 I need to get hobbyroms to burn me

What is this new hack of UMK3 you speak of? The only ones I know of are the Zeus hack in MisfitMame and the Ultimate Mortal Komat Trilogy hack of the Genesis version (which are all I can find with a quick google search).

[SavannahLion]

Bootleg can involve hacks. One doesn't necessarily mean it's the other.

Trying to define exactly what a hack is is like trying to get congress to legally define what an assault rifle is. Essentially, a bunch of ---uvulas--- who think they know tell those who do know.

[Xiaou2]

Of course I've seen those. I didn't think thats what you were referring to because they are referred to as bootlegs by nearly everyone in the hobby. Bootlegs are reverse engineered, commercially released rip offs of mainstream games: Monkey Kong, Congorilla, Donkey King.

Using your Pac Man example:
Piranha is a bootleg (I think that was the game you referred to).
The speed up mod for PacMan is a hack.

I never heard of an official category for "fix" applying to old games. I'm not saying your definitions are technically incorrect, they're just not the common vocabulary you're implying.

 Ok, I got ya.

  But technically speaking, a bootleg is a Hack.  Once they change any part of the original game, it becomes a hack.   If it was merely stolen, unchanged, and sold.. it wouldnt be a bootleg.. it would just be a stolen game.  Bootlegs usually changed at minimal, the Company name...  but often went extreme and changed much more. 

 Sometimes the PCBs were Hacked to get them to run, bypassing security / encryption.

 Now, what if the Original creator made his own changes to his own design years later?  Would you call that release a hack? Certainly not a bootleg?  A new game?    And then if its not a change to the game.. but merely fixing his buggy code/typo...  is it then a Hack?  A bootleg?  or a FIX?

 A bootleg usually refers to an Illegally sold PCB/Game.  In this case its not. 

 Its also not a hack like the speedup in MsPacman... because the gameplay has not been altered.   

 Its again, merely a fix to the original code.  In the programming world, they might call it a "Patch".  Such as a Security Patch.  But, its certainly not a hack, nor a bootleg.

[CheffoJeffo]

Does this issue affect dedicated machines with the Blue ROM set ? (I don't have one) The jrok SYSFPGA board contains the Blue ROMs and I haven't been able to experience the corner shot bug.

[robohobo]

Does this issue affect dedicated machines with the Blue ROM set ? (I don't have one) The jrok SYSFPGA board contains the Blue ROMs and I haven't been able to experience the corner shot bug.

I can only assume that it does, since the creator of the fix has a dedicated
Robotron, and that after the fix, he has seen no crashes in two years.
I personally do not have a clue about 6809 assembly, so I don't even
know what the fix does.

I experienced the bug usually in a hectic situation, spraying furiously towards
an enforcer in the upper left corner. Also, just before the crash would happen,
the sound was a bit wierd. Higher pitched than normal, I think. Also, it never
happened before my high scores got a little better. Maybe the bug in blue
rom is quite specific, and some playing styles might not trigger it. But for me,
it was a major PITA.

As for mame hack discussion, I would vote for the fix to be included in some
rom version. (I contacted mamedev, but so far no answer).

[Malenko]

What is this new hack of UMK3 you speak of? The only ones I know of are the Zeus hack in MisfitMame and the Ultimate Mortal Komat Trilogy hack of the Genesis version (which are all I can find with a quick google search).

Juggernaut hack. Makes human smoke and noob selectable , unlocks the 3 hidden characters, and doesnt disable shang tsung or stryker. Also fixes the Bios and Endings of all characters including human smoke and noob

[nitz]

Cool, thanks!

[wongojack]

I compiled the patcher on Win7 in VS 2008 and successfully patched my robotron rom.  If this is something you aren't comfortable with, I will share my patcher files with you.  However, I could only run the exe on the machine where I compiled it (even though I created a 'release' version).  I guess different versoins of Windows .Net or something made it so I couldn't run it in XP.

After you create/get the patcher you just run it from a command line.  Usage is:
RobotronPatch.exe <file> <patch_file>

If it works, it gives you a message that it was successful.

Check my account profile . . .

EDIT:  The patcher worked on another machine with Win7.  I think the problem was that my arcade machine is just barebones XP.  Probably need .Net

[Gray_Area]

I was under the impression that the current Blue rom set was behaving improperly, and someone fixed it themselves, versus waithing for MAMEDev to fix it.

[wongojack]

I got a question about this, so I thought this might be helpful.  Again check my profile for info about these files.

I got it to work by putting the following files in the same directory lets say its c:\robotron
1) RobotronPatch.exe 
2) robotron.sbb and robotron.sb5 <- from yer rom image
3) The two text files that I copied directly from robohobo's original post and just saved in notepad with different names
Mame5EntriesRobo
MameShotCornerRobo

In windows 7, I opened a command prompt as administrator.  Right click on cmd and choose 'Run as Administrator.'  If you don't see Run as Administrator then hold down SHIFT and right click Command Prompt or cmd in the start menu.  You can also right click cmd.exe inside the windows\system32 directory.

Once you get an administrator command prompt, you will know it because it tells you in the title bar. Then type cd \ to take you to the root of c:  Now type cd robotron and you should get to a prompt in this example it happens to be c:\robotron>

Now that we are in the dir with all our files, you can type RobotronPatch.exe then ENTER and the patcher prompts you to supply <file> <patch file>.  So we know from robohobo's research that we want to patch robotron.sbb and robotron.sb5.  Type RobotronPatch.exe robotron.sbb Mame5EntriesRobo.txt (spaces separating the exe and both file names)

This will modify robotron.sbb so if you want to save your current rom then do this on a copy.  Next run the patcher against robotron.sb5 with the other text file.  It will report success when finished.  The patcher handles some errors so you may get an error message and I can try to help you with that if you PM me.

When you are done, zip up all the robotron files into robotron.zip and point MAME at it.  You'll know it at least partially worked if you can enter more than 5 high scores with the same initials.

I renamed the original rom and created another folder only with this patched rom in it then added the path as a second roms path for my MAME UI.  In my UI (Mame Classic 097+) Robotron shows as not working, but when you launch it it works.  The audit also reports a bad checksum on one of the files.

[jasonbar]

Howdy-

Thanks for doing all this work, but I couldn't quite get it figured out...

I got my 2 text files as copied & pasted from the top post.  I got the .exe file.

I ran the patcher once each w/ the 2 ROM files & the patcher said that it went OK.

I then replaced teh files in the robotron.zip file & ran Robotron.

I played a quickie game & got a high score & saved initials that were the same as 5 existing initials in the high score table.  Robotron told me that there couldn't be more than 5 high scores with the same initials.

Do I have to wipe the high score table or other MAME settings?  Are you sure that the 5-initials copy limit is also part of this patch?

Thanks,
-Jason

[wongojack]

If you patched robotron.sbb with the Mame5EntriesRobo.txt file AND if you have that file in your rom .zip it should fix the 5 entries issue.  I changed nothing in MAME or my UI, I simply gave it a new rom and the next high score I got was able to 'violate' the 5 entries limit.

The second text file is what is needed to fix the shot in corner bug and you have to patch robotron.sb5 to fix that.

You don't have to do both. these are totally seperate operations on 2 different files.  If you only patch robotron.sbb with the text from Mame5EntriesRobo.txt you will fix the 5 entries issue.  If you only patch robotron.sb5 with MameShotCornerRobo.txt you will fix the shot corner issue.  If you patch both and zip them back up then you've got both patched files as part of your Robotron rom.

Be sure that your old unpatched robotron rom is no longer in a valid rom path for MAME.

[robohobo]

A link to a discussion of the bug and the bugfix (for posterity)

http://forums.twingalaxies.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=24713&p=162060

CheffoJeffo:
SYSFPGA board is patched, according to jrok.

[Haze]

bugs are just part of arcade games much as they are anything else.

Current aftermarket fixes for those bugs don't really go in MAME, but could be coded as a cheat or added to something like misfit.  Exceptions would be made if for example such a fixed version ended up being used on mass produced bootlegs, but I can't see anybody mass producing robotron bootlegs for arcade use at the moment ;-)

if you started trying to fix every original bug in every game in MAME (even the ones which an obvious 'solution') then you'd probably have 10x the sets currently in there.  Then you've got other things which are design flaws, some may consider them bugs, others may consider them essential to playing the game.  There are cases which the designer of the game may have never anticipated happening too, I believe 'Beezer' is a classic example of where the original manufacturer managed to fix one bug, but actually broke the game even further in the process because the actual game design is somewhat flawed when considering the hardware.  A lot of video bugs which occur in games happen because the capability of the original hardware was exceeded, again not really just something you can 'fix' anyway.

in the case of robotron the bug is mostly avoidable, and good players will avoid it, other games have more serious issues where the CPU AI can trigger fatal bugs, those are more of an issue, but it's still not really the role of the emulator coders to start fixing the bugs which were in the original games ;-)

it's cool that people are documenting these bugs, and impressive that these games only contain a handful of major flaws, under the same level of frame exact pixel exact scrutiny most modern games would fall apart completely.

[robohobo]

Well,

if you started trying to fix every original bug in every game in MAME (even the ones which an obvious 'solution') then you'd probably have 10x the sets currently in there.  Then you've got other things which are design flaws, some may consider them bugs, others may consider them essential to playing the game.  There are cases which the designer of the game may have never anticipated happening too, I believe 'Beezer' is a classic example of where the original manufacturer managed to fix one bug, but actually broke the game even further in the process because the actual game design is somewhat flawed when considering the hardware.  A lot of video bugs which occur in games happen because the capability of the original hardware was exceeded, again not really just something you can 'fix' anyway.

IMHO, we are not talking about a random game, but ROBOTRON. Which, except for this glitch, is basically perfect. I don't see why accepting this patch would necessarily open the floodgates for patches of random games.

Also, I'll quote from the twin galaxies discussion:

------ quote ----
Sean Riddle wrote:
...I did a little googling, and it looks like people think the blue ROMs fix the shot-in-the-corner bug, but that's not true. The patch came later- the text in the patch actually reads "1987 CHR.G". I think I originally got the patch from the Digital Eclipse Williams Arcade Classics for Windows 95 CD.
------ \quote ----

Which seems to indicate that an "official" patch was issued in 1987.

[Gray_Area]

There is another well known bug in Robotron that causes the Spereoids to gravitate toward the corners and get stuck. Exploiting this behavior has also become fundamental to gameplay.

Really? I didn't know about this.


I forgot about PhantomDJ in this manner of things. Over at MAMEWorld, he posted some things about this, including a compile fix and a cheat fix (like he did for DK).

MAME thread


http://forums.twingalaxies.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=24713&sid=c19293181798df0d99f0665d2a0ffb95&start=20

Attached is the original Sean Riddle file. I won't bother compiling, but I haven't tried the cheat entry, either.