Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset Version 1.02 By Adam Trionfo There are always some good discussions going on at the Astrocade Discussion Group. I've (Adam) taken these postings (437, 445, 446, 448, and 452) and created this compilation-article. What are all of the Arcade games that make use of the Astrocade chipset? The information I find while searching for this answer usually says, "... Space Zap, Gorf, Robby Roto (and others)." Nowhere can I find "others" listed. I looked through the arcade rom and information repository at http://www.mame.dk/ and I came up with this list of six games: Seawolf II - 1978 Extra Bases - 1980 Space Zap - 1980 Wizard of Wor - 1980 Gorf - 1981 Robby Roto - 1981 On March 21, 2006, Frank Palazzolo gave me games to add to the list: Demons and Dragons - 1982 - (unreleased prototype - emulated without sound) Professor Pacman -1983 - (Video quiz game - emulated) 10 Pin Deluxe - 1984 - (Electro-mechanical bowling game - not emulated) 10 Pin Champ / Strikes and Spares - 1985 Games that I had presumed used the Astrocade chipset (Dogpatch, Gunfight and 280 ZZZap!) are based around the 8080. Is this list of six arcade games all of the games based around the Astrocade chipset? There is an EXCELLENT web page that shows all of these games: http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=595&page=1#1031 This can't be all of them... ----------------------------------------------------------- RE: Arcade Games Based Around Astrocade Chipset Adam Trionfo I've done more detailed investigation into the Arcade games, and Tornado Baseball doesn't use the Astrocade chipset. Here's further details. I've compiled a list of arcade games released by Midway (information from http://www.mame.dk/) from 1975-1981. I've marked with an '*' the Astrocade chipset games (there are six). Note: Some of these games are well-known Midway licenses (Space Invaders, Galaxian, Pac-Man, others). If it was released by Midway, then it is listed here. This was not an exhaustive research project, so do not consider this list all inclusive. Title Year Chipset Information ---------------- ---- ------------------- Gunfight 1975 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Amazing Maze 1976 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Datsun 280 ZZZap 1976 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Sea wolf 1976 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Tornado Baseball 1976 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Boot Hill 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Checkmate 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Desert Gun 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Dogpatch 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Double Play 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Guided Missile 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Laguna Racer 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) M-4 1977 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) 4 Player Bowling Alley 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Blue Shark 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Clowns 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Extra Inning 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Sea Wolf II 1978 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Shuffleboard 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Space Invaders 1978 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Phantom II 1979 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Galaxian 1979 Z80: 3.07 MHz (cpu) Extra Bases 1980 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Space Encounters 1980 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Space Invaders Deluxe 1980 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Space Invaders II(CTail) 1980 8080: 2.00 MHz (cpu) Space Zap 1980 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Wizard of Wor 1980 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Pac-Man 1980 Z80: 3.07 MHz (cpu) Rally X 1980 Z80: 3.07 MHz (cpu) Bobby Roto 1981 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Satan's Hollow 1981 Z80: 2 processors Solar Fox 1981 Z80: 2 processors Gorf 1981 Z80: 1.79 MHz (cpu) - Astrocade Kick 1981 Z80: 2 processors Ms. Pac-Man 1981 Z80: 3.07 MHz (cpu) Omega Race 1981 Z80: 2 processors Bosconian 1981 Z80: 3 processors Galaga 1981 Z80: 3 processors ----------------------------------------------------------- RE: Arcade Games based around Astrocade chipset Tony Miller A good portion of these (most if not all of the 8080-based B/W games) were done by Nutting. These include: Gunfight, Seawolf, Datsun 280ZZAP, Checkmate, etc. The hardware for these was also done by Nutting. A close inspection of the schematics will reveal discrete versions of the flopper, shifter, etc., used in the data chip. Space Invaders was a Japanese license, as was Bosconian, Galaga, etc. Another reason for the paucity of BPA-based games was the popularity of Pacman, et al, during this same period. --------------------------------------------- Re: Arcade Games based around Astrocade chipset Glenn Saunders >> Games that I had presumed used the Astrocade chipset (Dogpatch, Gunfight and 280 ZZZap!) are based around the 8080. Is this list of six arcade games all of the games based around the Astrocade chipset? This can't be all of them... >> That's it, I think. You'd think they would have used it more between 1977 and 1980. What I see is that all the arcade hardware is based on a similar architecture all the way back to Gunfight and it just gets refined over the years, even into the era of games like Spy Hunter and Rampage. They went from the 8080 to the Z80, added more RAM, added color, faster clock speeds, etc... but it's all based on the "MASS RAM" concept (i.e. bitmap with bit manipulation functions in hardware). The funny thing about Spy Hunter is that the sound board has a way more powerful CPU (68000) than the main system CPU (Z80). [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------- Re: Arcade Games based around Astrocade chipset Glenn Saunders >> Space Invaders was a Japanese license >> During my interview of him, Dave Nutting said, if I recall correctly, that the Japanese had ripped off the 8080 board and when Bally/Midway found out about it, as part of some arbitration they came up with a licensing deal to bring over the games they had designed (like Space Invaders). ------------------------------------------------------------------- Appendix - Changes/Updates Version 1.02 January 21, 2016) - Fixed a few typos. Version 1.01 (March 21, 2006) - Updated game list with three names given by Frank Palazzolo. Version 1.0 (November 24, 2001) - Compiled postings and created this version. END OF ARTICLE