Quoted from pavel_one:I have a working Cosmic Wars. It came with an additional logic board an additional sound board. The logic board has some minor differences, so I think that it may be a prototype.
The MPU is a TMS1100, which uses a masked ROM. I don't have the tech to dump the ROM, but Sean R. does, so I sent the TMS1100 to him for extraction.
Stupid me, in a stupid rush, trusted the USPS to not screw up, which of course they did.... losing this precious MPU in the process.
I have one MPU left from the working board. There is no plug-and-plug substitute available for this chip that I know of.
Do I send this chip to Sean R., using UPS or FedEX of course, to have him extract the ROM info? If the ROM is not readable, the PLA may or may not be able to be decoded, and the only way to get all the data from the chip is to decapp it, which destroys the chip in the process.
For the sake of those with non-working boards, do I get the data at all costs, knowing that I can make the logic board useless until a substitute can be created? I don't have the knowledge to create a substitute.
The coding for the game is quite sparse, and a conversion to an OpenPinball Pi would not be very difficult. Would the game then lose any perceived value?
Would the PinMame team (is there an active one?) consider this as a emulation module?
I just don't know. I wish Vid were here.
I see you’re new here, but even then I’m astounded you would send a knowingly excessively rare board out in the regular ol hum-drum postal service.
I would get on the phone and start tearing their head off. Sometimes it’s surprising how fast they find stuff when you help them grasp the true depth of their failure.
USPS has treated me right. UPS has lost so many packages it’s sad. FedEx hasn’t lost any but seem to regularly use them as an bumpers in a demolition derpy.
Anyway. No. The fact you are even considering shipping out the other one sounds like you don’t really appreciate what a rare opportunity the game represents and you haven’t learned how be a proper steward of it.
I would suggest selling it to someone with far more experience who can do what needs to be done.
I owned a Last Lap recently, a rather rare Solid State game by Playmatic with very little data and an unusual setup. I tried my best to get it working but upon realizing that I was in over my head I sold it to my friend who informed me that if the MPU was ruined then the game was totally lost.
If you care about the history of these rare pieces, I think you should find someone who can do what needs to be done and who is passionate about building replacement boards.
And of course GET ON USPS ASS. HAVE THEM HUNT THE BOARD DOWN.
Find out what the last facility it was in was and rip them apart till they find it.
If you make enough waves they will find it.
