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Pro Monaco GP (Sega 1980) - Confused by the Bezel [SOLVED]

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geecab:
Excellent, thanks, its really clear from the back of the bezel where those extra '1's come from! I feel a bit of an idiot actually, I'd seen the same ebay post as you, but I didn't think to check out the back bezel picture!!

The "Number of Car Successively Overtaken" is still a bit of a mystery. I like the idea that it might show a row of car outlines. Maybe the top row would show the best you've currently done  (most you've overtaken successively) during your game, and the bottom row shows how well you are currently doing sort of thing.  I think I will indeed contact that davesgameroom chap and kindly ask him to check this post out.

Cheers for helping BadMouth :)

Dr. Morbis:

--- Quote from: geecab on November 23, 2013, 06:06:42 am ---
The "Number of Car Successively Overtaken" is still a bit of a mystery. I like the idea that it might show a row of car outlines. Maybe the top row would show the best you've currently done  (most you've overtaken successively) during your game, and the bottom row shows how well you are currently doing sort of thing.  I think I will indeed contact that davesgameroom chap and kindly ask him to check this post out.

Cheers for helping BadMouth :)

--- End quote ---

I own a Pro Monaco GP.  The way the bonus points work is that it counts up consecutive cars passed until you hit 16 - that's the top row: it lights up one light for every car passed, resetting, obviously, if you crash.  The lights are green and rectangular, not round like in your simulator, and the last four are red (it actually gives you an audio beep for each car passed for the last four as a sort of warning that you're getting close to earning the bonus).  Upon passing the 16th consecutive car, you get a different beep and a "+200" shows up in red in the middle of the screen and one rectangle lights up on the bottom row and the top row is reset.  That is to say, each lit rectangle on the bottom row represents one successful sequence of passing 16 cars and getting the bonus.  If you crash at any time, the top row representing cars passed is reset, but your bonuses earned on the bottom row are banked till the end of the game.  (also, passing cars while on the shoulder does not count, it has to be a clean pass while fully on the road).

At the end of the game, before your score is ranked, the bonus lights on the bottom row go dark from right to left and with each light turning off, 200 points is added to your score and a "+200" flashes in red in the center of the screen.  This all happens rapidly, such that if you end the game with three bonus lights lit up in the bottom row, 600 points will quickly count up on your score and the "+200" will flash on screen three times in succession with three quick beeps.  After the bonus is added, your score is ranked as normal and thrown in the top 5 if applicable.

One more note about bonuses: there is some false information on the net that says that if you pass a car on the bridge you are awarded 200 points immediately.  This is untrue; what happens is, every time you pass a car on the bridge, the "+200" flashes in red on the screen and a light on the bottom row lights up.  In other words, passing one car on the bridge is the exact equivalent of passing 16 cars on a normal road, meaning bonuses can add up really quickly if you're any good at all at the game ;)

One final note, the bonuses cap out at 15 (times 200 = a max bonus of 3000 points at game's end).  After you've earned 15 bonuses, every time you pass a car, the top row still lights up from left to right, and the audio beeps for the 12th through 15th successive car passed still happen, but passing the 16th car does not yield a visual or audio cue of any kind and does not give any bonus, it just resets the top row of lights and starts over again, rendering that part of the bezel moot for the rest of the game.

Another major difference with Pro Monaco, is that it still has only four digits for score, unlike your simulator.  True, you can score over 9999 points, but the way the game handles it is by lighting up a light under the bezel that lights up a dummy '1' digit to the left of your score.  It also lights up the trophy and wreath beside your score at this time and, at game's end, places your score in the "Highest Score above 10,000" spot at the top of the bezel, skipping the 1-5 rankings all together.  The trophy and wreath to the left of this score also light up at this time.

Any other questions, feel free to ask...

geecab:
Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to post! This is excellent stuff  :)

I think I've got a good understanding of how everything works now based on what you've written (thanks for being so descriptive)! Just a few things spring to mind straight after reading, would be really great if you wouldn't mind clarifying (Sorry if these look a bit daunting to answer, hopefully though they are just a few yes and no answers), here we go...

1. Does the 16th led on the top row ever light up (Maybe for a short period just before you are awarded the bonus perhaps)?
2. Does the 16th led on the second row ever light up (I'm guess not as you state you can only achieve a maximum of 15 bonuses)?
3. On the second row, are the last 4 leds also colored red?
4. Does the "+200" flash at the same rate as the "Extended Play" message and is it also accompanied by the same beep perhaps??

All fascinating stuff! I am very envious of you for owning the best arcade game of all time in such a rare form! Once again, can't thank you enough for posting  :)

Dr. Morbis:

--- Quote from: geecab on July 31, 2014, 04:01:01 pm ---Wow! Thank you so much for taking the time to post! This is excellent stuff  :)

1. Does the 16th led on the top row ever light up (Maybe for a short period just before you are awarded the bonus perhaps)?
2. Does the 16th led on the second row ever light up (I'm guess not as you state you can only achieve a maximum of 15 bonuses)?
3. On the second row, are the last 4 leds also colored red?
4. Does the "+200" flash at the same rate as the "Extended Play" message and is it also accompanied by the same beep perhaps??


--- End quote ---

1.  There is no 16th led; there are 15 leds per row, hence why the bonuses cap out at 15.  On the top row, passing 15 cars lights up the 15 lights, and passing the 16th car gives you the bonus while resetting the 15 lights (making them all go dark).
2. Only 15 lights per row - see above.
3. Yes.
4. No. The beeps for the cars leading up to the 16th car are the same beep as the extended beep, but just one beep instead of several, and the final beep for passing the 16th car and earning the bonus is just one short beep in a lower tone.  The "+200" only flashes once very briefly for the same length of time as one flash of the "Extended Play" message.

As for Pro Monaco GP being so rare, I think that's because it wasn't released here.  Mine says "Made in Japan" on the back, and it may just be that it's a Jap only or Jap/Euro release and a couple were imported here via private hands over the years... (and by "Here" I mean North America)

Xiaou2:
Very cool.  You are very fortunate to have such a rare and cool game.

 Do you have a smartphone that you could upload a video to youtube for us to see in action?   Im sure someone local
could film it, if you do not have the means.

 I think its something important, to get things like this captured well on video... to keep these things alive in history.
Not just the gameplay, but also to show inside a game, the controllers and how they look/work. 

 All the details and aspects, are often very difficult to find all on one place..  if at all.   And with next generation processing...
it would probably lead to being able to change 2d footage into stereo.. with fairly accurate measurements, being able to be
discerned.  .. possibly parts extracted digitally from that... and able to be reconstructed via some 3d printer or something.


 But at very least, is a great way to share the Love.

 Thanks for helping with the Info,
 Steve
 :)


(rant /on

 Heck, one thing that really kills me... is how people replace actual screenshots of arcade CRTs with Mame's (and other emulators too) raw snapshots.

 The look is Completely different, as mame raw image is not at all accurate to what the game is supposed to look like.
CRTs often even have colorspace output ramps that no emulator even considers (when displaying to a pc monitor with
custom effects)   Many of them also vary in dot pitch... especially the older games.  The larger the pixel triad,  the more
different the color on the other end.  Usually brighter due to larger area of phosphor excitement...  , with a lot more
color leaking - which made for a more shaded/blended look.

 Also, the larger pitch also means that the lines of the shadowmask were thicker... and thus they created a more textural
look,  even more ability for color bleeding over the lines,  and due to the amount of black in the picture now more visible...
changed the colors even more.

rant /off)

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