sdh@rabbit.UUCP (S. Hawley) (01/18/84)
I've had the oppportunity to read the entire set of manuals provided with William's Electronics' Stargate game. In Stargate, on gets into the setup mode by opening the door and pushing one button inside. The rest is all controlled from the stick and buttons. The game monitors time played, coins dropped per slot, credits given, bonuses awarded, number of times the warp has been used, and it also posts average time per game so it can be changed to improve income. Also provided is a message that can be posted during the demo mode as advertising. For the curious, I looked over the schematics, and Stargate works like this: Processor: unknown. Williams custom. (this deters piracy) Ram: 64K screen memory, 64K game memory Screem layout:There are only 8 basic colors (the rest come from mixing). Lt green, green, Dk green, Lt red, red, Dk red, blue, Dk blue. From this, one can assume that Stargate is an 8 bit machine, with graphics formatted in the following manner: Each byte represents 2 pixels. In each nybble one bit determines on/off, the other 3 determine color (remeber 2^3=8) One pixel alone is its determined color. Two pixels side by side are White. Off pixels are black. I have long since forgotten all the other neat details like sound ROM usage, the type of RGB monitor etc. "Life.. don't talk to me about life" -Marvin Steve Hawley <allegra,alice>!rabbit!sdh