tron: MAME ROM Information.
History:
Tron (c) 1982 Bally Midway.
Tron is a 1- or 2-player game set inside the 'Tron' computer, and is based on the ground-breaking Disney movie of the same name.
Tron consists of twenty-two stages - or 'phases' - of play. Each phase consists of four separate games called "domains", all of which must be completed before moving on to the next phase. Players can determine the order in which each of the four domains is attempted, but the domain position is random and is only revealed once that domain has been chosen.
The four domains that make up a phase never change throughout the game, although both the difficulty level and number of enemies increases with each subsequent phase. The domains are as follows:
* LIGHT CYCLES : The player controls a Light Cycle that leaves a blue light trail in its wake. The aim is to 'box in' the yellow enemy Light Cycles, making them crash into either a cycle trail (theirs or the player's) or a wall. The player must also avoid any collision with either walls or light trails. The joystick controls the direction of the bike and the trigger controls its speed.
* I/O TOWER : Destroy the Grid Bugs that emerge from the grid surrounding the tower. The bugs will multiply and fill the entire screen if not stopped. Players must attempt to clear a path to - and enter - the I/O Tower before the timer runs out. The stick controls the movement of the player's character and the spinner controls the direction of fire.
* TANK MAZE : Destroy all enemy tanks that are patrolling the maze. The player's tank can fire in all directions and can bounce shots off walls, but can be destroyed by a single shot; while enemy tanks can only fire in the direction of travel but need three shots before they are destroyed. "Recognizer" tanks also feature in later phases; these Do NOT shoot but move quickly and will try to ram the player's tank. The joystick controls the movement of the player's tank and the spinner controls the direction of fire.
* MCP CONE : Destroy the blocks in the descending, rotating coloured column to clear a path and move the character up into the light cone above the blocks. A bonus is awarded if all of the blocks are destroyed. The stick controls the movement of the character and the spinner controls the direction of fire.
Bonus lives are awarded periodically throughout the game as specific point scores are reached. Each enemy and item has an assigned point value (see the "SCORING" section for details).
- TECHNICAL -
[Game No. 628]
[Upright model]
Bally Midway MCR 2 hardware
Main CPU : Z80 (@ 2.496 Mhz)
Sound CPU : Z80 (@ 2 Mhz)
Sound Chips : (2x) AY8910 (@ 2 Mhz)
Players : 2
Control : 8-way 'flight yolk' controller with a trigger, spinner knob
- TRIVIA -
Released in May 1982.
When Bally/Midway signed a deal to create a Tron video game, they were very pressed for time and needed a game quickly. They decided to let all 3 of their design teams (their in-house team, Dave Nutting Associates, and Arcade Engineering) take a crack at a prototype. The Dave Nutting Associates team (led by Dave Armstrong) proposed a 3-D color vector game that was deemed too complex and expensive, thought it was later developed into a prototype called "Earth, Friend, Mission". The internal team eventually won the right to produce the game. The initial design document called for 6 different mini-games :
1) Rings (a light-disk duel between Tron and Sark).
2) Paranoia (in which the player builds a bridge of spiders to reach an island).
3) Tank Pursuit
4) Space Spores
5) I/O Tower (the player tries to reach an energy socket while avoiding electrifying blue warriors)
6) Light Cycles.
Fearing that they would never get the game out in time, the Rings game was made into a separate game and the Paranoia and I/O Tower game was dropped (though the MCP Cone sequence was later added). At one point the film included deadly spores that were included in the game's Grid Bug sequence, but when they were removed from the movie, they had to be removed from the game as well.
To promote the game, Bally/Midway and Alladin's Castle sponsored a seven-week-long tournament at over 400 locations throughout the country, as well as a celebrity tournament.
Most of the levels correspond to a computer language. Of course, some literary license was used for the level names and a couple of them don't really make sense. Anyway, here are the 11 level names and what they are :
ALGOL : Algorithmic Language. Influenced the development of more modern language (along with FORTRAN and LISP). Used for number crunching.
ASSEMBLY : Machine language. Used to write code directly to the computer without having to compile or interpret it.
BASIC : Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. Used primarily for teaching rudimentary programming.
COBOL : Common Business Oriented Language. Used primarily for accounting. Very old language.
FORTRAN : Formula Translator. Used for processing numbers and/or formulas.
JCL : Job Control Language. Used on IBM mainframes to execute specific jobs and scripts on the Job Entry Subsystem.
OS : Precursor language to OS2.
PASCAL : Teaching language for compiled languages. Not very powerful.
PL1 : A play on the actual language called PLI. Language used for solving mathematical problems.
RPG : Report Program Generator. Use for generating reports. Usually used with COBOL.
SNOBOL : Used for character string manipulation.
Walt Disney Productions sued Williams Electronics for copyright and patent infringement over Williams' use of the name 'tron' in their arcade legend, "Robotron - 2084". Common sense prevailed, however, and Williams won the suit.
The game's sequel, "Discs of Tron" was originally intended to be a part of the original game but tight time constraints meant that the mini-game was not completed in time.
A Tron unit appears in the 1983 movie, 'War Games', in the 1986 movie 'The Color of Money' and in the 1987 movie, 'Death Wish 4 - The Crackdown'.
- UPDATES -
OLDER VERSION (clone 6/15 in Mame) :
* Level 1 (RPG) gives you 1000 on the timer instead of 500 in the I/O Tower game, making it easier to get the 1000 point bonus for killing all grid bugs in Level 1.
* The series of sounds that play when blocks are destroyed in the MCP Cone game are higher in pitch than in the other versions of Tron.
* Each phase features different pattern schemes from the other versions - Play Level 2 (COBOL) in the other version, and then play Level 2 in the (6/15) version, keeping the Game Difficulty setting at the default (5) each time, and you'll see what we mean.
- SCORING -
Scoring in this game is relatively easy since there aren't a lot of enemies to keep track of.
Grid Bugs : 50 points
Bit : 5000 points
Blocks : 25 points
Light Cycles : 500 points
Tanks...
1st Hit : 100 points
2nd Hit : 300 points
3rd Hit : 500 points
You get a 1000 point bonus for destroying all the Grid Bugs.
You get the remaining time added to your score when you enter the I/O Tower.
NOTE : On Level 1 (RPG), you only get 500 on the timer. On all other levels, you get 1000 on the timer. EXCEPTION : As stated in the "Updates" section above, if you're playing the (6/15) version, you always get 1000 on the timer, even on Level 1.
You get a 1000 point bonus for destroying all the Blocks.
- TIPS AND TRICKS -
When you start the game, you will have a cursor in the middle of a computer-looking grid. You have 8 seconds to go one of 4 directions on that grid. If you don't, you will be randomly sent in a direction. Once you have completed an area, you can no longer go to that area until you get to the next level. The areas are randomized on this computer grid so you won't know what you will get next. Below are the four areas and strategies to get through them.
* I/O TOWER : This is one of the easier areas to get through. It just involves a lot of shooting.
- Quickly establish where the Grid Bugs are. That way you can quickly aim to clear out a path if necessary.
- The game simulation sailor comes out at random times and drops the Bit off. Do everything you can to get to it for a free 5,000 points.
- Work your way to one of the exits and 'camp out'. Just use the spinner to aim high and low to take care of the Grid Bugs. Once the timer hits 100, go ahead and exit the screen.
- It is possible to get over 10,000 points in this area alone (5,000 for the Bit and over 5,000 for Grid Bugs killed).
- On the earlier levels, try to take out all of the Grid Bugs for the 1,000 point bonus.
* LIGHT CYCLES : This is one of the harder areas until you learn the patterns. Then it will become a breeze.
- The arena for this game is a 9 x 9 grid. Use the grid lines to gauge distances and to also know where the turns are.
- Hitting the wall, your light trail, or an enemy light trail will end your cycling career very quickly.
- Depending on the machine set up, you will need to identify different patterns and make the appropriate adjustments to your strategy. Make sure you are staying at full speed until the enemy light cycles are trapped.
- Usually you can adjust when you see enemy cycles coming after you. A lot of times they will follow another cycle into the wall or a light trail. The enemy cycles become much quicker after level 10.
- If the three light cycles are coming straight down, go right and up around them. Then do a rectangle pattern leaving an opening to the right side to allow the enemy cycles to crash against the wall.
- Use the above pattern if the middle or right cycles go straight (the other ones will veer around before they head down).
- For any other occasion, it's best to go left and make a box that way. Again, the enemy cycles will destroy themselves before you get into trouble.
* MCP CONE : Another easier area. Even if you mess up a little, you can still recover from your mistake.
- First, determine the cone's speed and direction of travel. You can accomplish the second thing by shooting at it to determine which way the hole travels.
- Next, determine your speed. This will determine how much time you have to blow through the cone to get to the exit.
- Once you have determined the above, go over to the side that the cone is entering from. For example, if the cone is moving from left to right, the go over to the left side and start shooting.
- The 4 block cones are pretty easy. Just rapidly blast a path and go up.
- The 6 block cones are a little trickier. You will need to open up the bottom part of the cone. Enter this new opening and start to chew at the top. You will end up having blocks rotate below you as you head up. Be careful and watch around you since you will end up surrounded by blocks before you enter the exit.
- The hardest cone to get through is when Tron is travelling fast and the cone is moving slow. You have to quickly blast a path any way you can or you will collide with the cone.
- For extra points, you can position yourself half-way out of the exit and blast at the top blocks. On the earlier levels, try to get the 1,000 point bonus.
* TANKS : Probably the hardest area of the game. You have to learn how to move and shoot (in different directions) at the same time.
- It takes 3 hits to destroy an enemy tank. You have the advantage, though, by being able to use rapid fire and bouncing your shots off the walls. Enemy tanks can only have one shot out a time.
- This rebounding of shots can be a very effective offensive measure. You may be able to hit tanks from afar or hit them around corners just by rebounding your shots just right. Prevent them from getting close.
- The pink teleporter area is the key to surviving many of the tank patterns. Just don't go too far in or you may end up teleporting to a hostile environment very quickly.
- If you stay off the tank trails, enemy tanks will not fire on you. They can, however, ram your tank (this is especially true if you are hanging out in the teleportation area).
- Like other parts of Tron, there are patterns you can use on the specific tank patterns to ensure your survival.
* This is an interesting bug. On the MCP Cone levels, if you go all the way to the right or the left and keep moving, you can move the whole playfield to the side. This doesn't seem to have any other affect.
* Here's an odd Tron bug : On the Recognizer Tank levels, make your way to one of the little alcoves in either the top right, or bottom left corners. The tanks cannot shoot, and will not go down an alcove, so therefore cannot kill you. Then, wait approximately 9 to 10 minutes without moving your tank. You can fire, but do not kill all the recognizers. After the time (9-10 mins), the sound system will go berzerk, starting with a very high pitch tone, which falls to a low tone that vibrates the cabinet. The sound also goes berzerk if you enter the tower at 0099 units on the bug screen.
- SERIES -
1. Tron (1982)
2. Discs of Tron [Upright model] (1983)
2. Discs of Tron [Environmental model] (1983)
- STAFF -
VP Engineering : John Pasierb (JP)
Software : Bill Adams (BA)
Hardware : Atish Ghosh (AG)
Art / Cabinet designer : George Gomez (CG)
With support from : Tom Leon (TL)
- PORTS -
* Consoles :
DynaVision [BR] (198?, Tron)
Nintendo Game Boy Advance (2004, "Tron 2.0 - Killer App")
Microsoft XBOX 360 (2008, Xbox Live Arcade)
* Computers :
Tandy Color Computer (1983, "Kron")
Oric I (1984, "Light Cycle")
Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1984, "Light Cycle")
* Others :
LCD handheld game (1982) released by Tomy : cool game, the entire case is made of a smoked clear plastic so you can see the inside of the game (and it has some large, simulated circuitry in the back, to make it look even cooler...)
- SOURCES -
Game's rom.
Machine's picture.
All In color For a Quarter - Keith Smith.
F.A.Q. by Kevin Butler AKA War Doc.
MAME Info:
0.128u4 [Nicola Salmoria]
0.28 [Christopher Kirmse, Aaron Giles, Nicola Salmoria, Brad Oliver]
Artwork available
Bugs:
- [possible] In MCP cone stage, text layer appears behind Tron sprite. Luigi30 (ID 03377)
WIP:
- 0.145u7: Moved Sound Board prom 9860-07axn-axhd.d12 to midssio device set.
- 0.136: The clones Tron (6/17) and Tron (6/15) don't appear to have a valid working cocktail mode video or controls (upright player2 works fine). Flagged as GAME_NO_COCKTAIL [Tafoid].
- 0.135u3: Tafoid hooked up cocktail (P2) fire button in Tron so that it can be used in-game and in test mode.
- 0.133u1: Kevin Eshbach updated all of the TRON sets with location of the roms and the board they belong to.
- 0.128u4: Tim Lindquist added dates to Tron revisions. Swapped tron/tron2 now that we know tron2 is the later version. Changed description of 'Tron (set 2)' to 'Tron (8/9)', of 'Tron (set 1)' to 'Tron (6/25)', of 'Tron (set 3)' to 'Tron (6/17)' and of 'Tron (set 4)' to 'Tron (6/15)'. Renamed (tron) to (tron2) and (tron2) to (tron).
- 0.120u4: Vas Crabb added DIP locations for Midway Tron. Added 5x 'Unused' dipswitch.
- 25th February 2007: Mr. Do - A few months ago, Rohan lent me a Tron bezel shroud. Now that I have a decent enough camera that can take pictures in RAW format, this has been added, along with the backdrop piece courtesy of the BYOAC purchase.
- 0.98u1: Changed Z80 CPU1 clock speed to 2496000 Hz. Removed 3rd coin slot.
- 0.87u3: MASH added clones Tron (set 3) and (set 4).
- 26th January 2003: Stephane Humbert added a few different versions of Tron to the MCR-2 driver.
- 0.34: Juergen Buchmueller fixed bug in the Z80 emulator which caused crashes in Tapper and Tron.
- 0.34b4: Nicola Salmoria added clone Tron (set 2). Changed parent description to 'Tron (set 1)'.
- 16th June 1998: Dick Millikan dumped Tron (8/9).
- 0.31: Bugfix: "Dial Joy Inc" can now be properly set (e.g. Tron) [Brad Oliver].
- 0.28: Added Tron (Bally Midway 1982). Press F2 before initial screen to configure. Christopher Kirmse, Aaron Giles and Brad Oliver provided a MCR I/II/III driver, supporting: Kick, Solar Fox, Tron, Two Tigers, Domino Man, Satan's Hollow, Wacko, Kozmik Kroozr, Journey, Tapper, Discs of Tron, Demolition Derby, Timber, Spy Hunter and Rampage. Control: Press F2 before initial screen to configure. Arrows = Move around, CTRL = Fire, Track = Aim and X/Z = Aim.
- 31st March 1995: Al McCormick dumped Tron (6/25).
LEVELS: 4 (endless)
PLAY INSTRUCTIONS:
- Map of game grid: Tron consists of 4 games. Each colored area represents a game. Select an area by moving to the outside edge of the circle before the timer inside the center of the circle expires. Upon successful completion of a game in an area the area can not be reentered until all areas have been conquered.
- Tank game: Destroy all enemy tanks. Each enemy must be hit 3 times to be destroyed.
- Cycle game: Touching a wall or light trace destroys a cylce. Make light paths which force the yellow cylcle into the walls and light traces. Use trigger for speed control.
- IO tower game: Enter the IO tower before the timer expires. Touching a grid bug results in tron derez. The timer value is awarded as a bonus when the player enters the tower.
- MCP games: Enter the Master Control Program cone without touching a block. Remove blocks by striking with the disk.
Other Emulators:
* Retrocade
* Sparcade
Movie: Tron
Genre: Computer Hi-Tek
Year: USA 1982
Director: Steven Lisberger
Studio: Walt Disney
Cast: Jeff Bridges, David Warner, Bruce Boxleitner, Barnard Hughes, Cindy Morgan, Peter Jurasik
Recommended Games:
Discs of Tron
Recommended Games (Tron):
Barricade
Bigfoot Bonkers
Blockade
Comotion
Checkmate
Dominos
Embargo
Hustle
Minesweeper
Tron
Toggle
Wit's
Recommended Games (Cyber Tank):
Tron (Tank stage)
Senjyo
Mega Zone
Regulus
Crater Raider
Grobda
Heavy Metal
Assault
Vindicators
Vindicators Part II
Aurail
Battle of the Solar System
Cyber Sled
Cyber Commando
T-MEK
Guardian Force
Romset: 108 kb / 15 files / 46.0 zip
MAME XML Output:
| | <game name="tron" sourcefile="mcr.c"> |
| | | <description>Tron (8/9)</description> |
| | | <manufacturer>Bally Midway</manufacturer> |
| | | <rom name="pro0.d2" size="8192" crc="0de0471a" sha1="378847604a6a9c079d887348010ab9539d5f6195" region="maincpu" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_pgb.d3" size="8192" crc="8ddf8717" sha1="e0c294afa8ba0b0ba89e3e0fb3ff6d8fc4398e32" region="maincpu" offset="2000"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_pgc.d4" size="8192" crc="4241e3a0" sha1="24c1bd2f31e194542571c391c5dccf21354115c2" region="maincpu" offset="4000"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_pgd.d5" size="8192" crc="035d2fe7" sha1="1b827ca30a439d2f4cc94fcc0e90ee0cf87e018c" region="maincpu" offset="6000"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_pge.d6" size="8192" crc="24c185d8" sha1="45ac7c53f6f4eba5c7bf3fc6559cddd3821eddad" region="maincpu" offset="8000"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_pgf.d7" size="8192" crc="38c4bbaf" sha1="a7cd496ce75199b8279ea963520cf70d5f562bb2" region="maincpu" offset="a000"/> |
| | | <rom name="ssi_0a.a7" size="4096" crc="765e6eba" sha1="42efeefc8571dfc237c0be3368248f1e56add92e" region="ssio:cpu" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="ssi_0b.a8" size="4096" crc="1b90ccdd" sha1="0876e5eeaa63bb8cc97f3634a6ddd8a29a9b012f" region="ssio:cpu" offset="1000"/> |
| | | <rom name="ssi_0c.a9" size="4096" crc="3a4bc629" sha1="ce8452a99a313ae7429de471bbea39de08c9fd4b" region="ssio:cpu" offset="2000"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_bgg.g3" size="8192" crc="1a9ed2f5" sha1="b0d85b47873ac8ad475da18b9540d37232cb2b7c" region="gfx1" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="scpu_bgh.g4" size="8192" crc="3220f974" sha1="a38ea5f1db27f05d9689db838ce7a8de98f34837" region="gfx1" offset="2000"/> |
| | | <rom name="vga.e1" size="8192" crc="bc036d1d" sha1="c5d54d0b80ac768ccf6fdd32cad1ef6359fa324c" region="gfx2" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="vgb.dc1" size="8192" crc="58ee14d3" sha1="5fb4268c9c73bdfc3b1e866618979aea3f219bbc" region="gfx2" offset="2000"/> |
| | | <rom name="vgc.cb1" size="8192" crc="3329f9d4" sha1="11f4d744374e475d2c5b195a9f70888414529dd3" region="gfx2" offset="4000"/> |
| | | <rom name="vga.a1" size="8192" crc="9743f873" sha1="71ed80ecd8caaf9fce1d7010f95c4678c9bd7102" region="gfx2" offset="6000"/> |
| | | <rom name="0066-313bx-xxqx.a12.bin" size="1" status="nodump" region="scpu_pals" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="0066-315bx-xxqx.b12.bin" size="1" status="nodump" region="scpu_pals" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="0066-322bx-xx0x.e3.bin" size="1" status="nodump" region="scpu_pals" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="0066-316bx-xxqx.g11.bin" size="1" status="nodump" region="scpu_pals" offset="0"/> |
| | | <rom name="0066-314bx-xxqx.g12.bin" size="1" status="nodump" region="scpu_pals" offset="0"/> |
| | | <device_ref name="midssio"/> |
| | | <chip type="cpu" tag="maincpu" name="Z80" clock="2496000"/> |
| | | <chip type="cpu" tag="ssio:cpu" name="Z80" clock="2000000"/> |
| | | <chip type="audio" tag="lspeaker" name="Speaker"/> |
| | | <chip type="audio" tag="rspeaker" name="Speaker"/> |
| | | <chip type="audio" tag="ssio" name="Midway SSIO Sound Board"/> |
| | | <chip type="audio" tag="ssio:ay0" name="AY-3-8910A" clock="2000000"/> |
| | | <chip type="audio" tag="ssio:ay1" name="AY-3-8910A" clock="2000000"/> |
| | | <display tag="screen" type="raster" rotate="90" width="512" height="480" refresh="30.000000" /> |
| | | <input players="2" buttons="1" coins="2" tilt="yes"> |
| | | | <control type="joy" ways="8"/> |
| | | | <control type="dial" minimum="0" maximum="255" sensitivity="50" keydelta="10" reverse="yes"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Service Mode" tag="ssio:IP0" mask="128"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Off" value="128" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="On" value="0"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Coin Meters" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="1"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="1" value="1"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="2" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Cabinet" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="2"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Upright" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Cocktail" value="2"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Allow Continue" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="4"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="No" value="4"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Yes" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Unused" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="8"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Off" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="On" value="8"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Unused" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="16"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Off" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="On" value="16"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Unused" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="32"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Off" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="On" value="32"/> |
| | | <dipswitch name="Unused" tag="ssio:IP3" mask="64"> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="Off" value="0" default="yes"/> |
| | | | <dipvalue name="On" value="64"/> |
| | | <driver status="good" emulation="good" color="good" sound="good" graphic="good" savestate="supported" palettesize="64"/> |
|
|
