How NBA Jam Could Make Mortal Kombat Trilogy a Reality

[TerryMasters]

I thought the serial adapter pcb attached to the NANI board was something that connected to the modem, which then communicated with the network computer. I was wrong.

To make a long story short, this JAMMA board is a T-Unit dev kit.

Now before anyone gets too excited, there are three very specific things that need to happen in order for this to be of any good use, meaning it's still a bit of a long shot. First, I need to write some software (or ask someone to write it for me, since I can't code for crap) that can talk to the board - I'd need either a serial PCI adapter or a program created for DOS, as the only comp I have with a serial port on it's a Tandy. Once this is achieved, I'd need a donor retail T-Unit board to determine whether or not the adapter works on regular pcbs (which it should), and once that's accomplished, we have to hope and pray that they used the same adapter across different hardware and that there's a place on the Wolf Unit board to solder it to. That last part might not be entirely necessary provided we can program the game on the older hardware but code it for the newer one.

This, in combination with the UMK3 source code might, and I emphasize the word might, help make Trilogy possible.

Edit- I'll summarize my findings on my website: www.theworldwarrior.com

 

[GoldenOreos]

sick

 

[TerryMasters]

Thats great news.
Do you think it would be more useful if it were emulated?

I'm not sure to be honest. The adapter isn't plugged into a socket, it's soldered straight onto the pcb. If you look at the NBA Jam CPU board schematics (http://www.crazykong.com/manuals/NBAJam.man.pdf) the adapter's soldered to UB17 - a ram location that I don't believe was ever actually used on any released T-Unit games. I'm going to take some pics and report back.

 

[TerryMasters]

2 close up shots of the add-on adapter: http://i52.tinypic.com/kdoplc.jpg http://i53.tinypic.com/29lcyth.jpg

The whole board: http://i52.tinypic.com/29azimh.jpg


There doesn't appear to be anything else out of the ordinary about the T-Unit board itself, which is a good thing if the adapter was the only change to it. As far as my own programming knowledge goes, I've programmed in Basic, Q-Basic, Java (Android), very little C++, and something else which escapes me at the moment but assembly is the one language I've never really tried to understand until now. I've started using some Easy68k samples as a base for testing but the problem for me is trying to learn exactly what it is that actually causes the movs and traps to do what they do, for example:

There's a basic Hello World source code available for Easy68k. When you run the simulator, a little box pops up and says "Hello World!" in System font. But even with the limited programming knowledge I have, something tells me that if I put that code onto a rom and stuck it on a T-Unit board, that it wouldn't work for two reasons: 1.) Because despite the similarities arcade hardware isn't the same architecture as a PC and 2.) because in my mind, there's no graphical data anywhere holding fonts or images for the "text" to pull up - so even if the code was working properly, it wouldn't display anything. Unless... the 68k has libraries built into it for basic use that I'm just not aware of, meaning the T-Unit hardware has it's own fonts built into the chip. Most of the tutorials I've found in my research (even the Assembly for Dummies ones) already expect you to know what the commands are and do, essentially leaving me out in the cold. I understand that mov's are primarily used for taking memory spaces and moving them to other spaces - but why it happens, how it happens, and which locations serve what purpose remain a mystery to me. Plus the fact that Ed mentioned he programmed MK in 34010 assembly makes me think there are specific assembly languages which makes things even more confusing, but my will to make this happen won't allow me to get discouraged. I always wanted to make my own arcade game.

Like I said my knowledge of programming is limited, but I've wanted to learn for a few years now. A while back I was in talks with Raz (CPS2Shock) about coding for the Capcom boards, and he sent me this enormous thousand page-long book on the 68k telling me "if you read this whole thing, you'll know everything". Sure enough I lost it in a hard drive crash a few months later.

But if someone provided me with the tools and resources to do this, and we all worked together on it... then all signs point to "Yes" for Mortal Kombat Trilogy.

 

[BeRB]

I really wanted to punch you in the face till i saw this thread and this one better not be a joke cause i might come rape you and your entire family. Just kidding but seriously i'll sell you to sex slave traders.

 

[TerryMasters]

Just wanted to post a quick update for Smit cause I know he's dying to take a look at the NANI roms - the reason it's taking so long for me to dump it is because I know for a fact that it's not going to be just the program roms, the whole board needs to be dumped and between the contest, coding, work and fixing up my apartment I just haven't had the time to sit down and do it. I should be able to dump it soon, though

 

[Dekabreak]

Is the UMK3 source code available or something?

The only thing I ever done to improve MKT for me was to fix the damn music that was pitched low on the Saturn version, it was a nuisance for me. If an arcade hack of MKT is made, then my life is complete. I wish I knew how to code, I really would be able to help out.