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Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
#369776 - 09/19/17 01:57 AM
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I've got a Leader Board Golf set (which I finally got working) that I'd like to be able to convert to other games made for this board set, which is the Arcadia Super Select System that uses an Amiga 500 as its main PCB.
Does anyone know how to get around the protection scheme used by it? I know at least in the case of LBG it has two PAL chips and two EPROMs with a suspicious "SCPA" written on them. In particular I'd love to be able to convert it to Aaargh, which I know uses the same style EPROM card as LBG, and if they can be made with work with that card also Delta Command, Sidewinder, and Xenon.
It seems to me I've heard someone at MAME refer to the protection scheme as "pathetic", so I'm hoping it might be something even a noob like me can hack at will if someone points me in the right direction.
Also if anyone has the system (particularly the multi-game supporting version) or game boards they'd like to sell I might be interested.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Tornadoboy]
#369779 - 09/19/17 03:26 AM
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I'm just educated-guessing but if the Aaargh pals aren't dumped then you'll need hacked roms from a dev with a strong understanding of the system and the willingness to do you a huge favor, or maybe faked pals or both. You might find pals from http://www.jammarcade.net/pal-dumps/ that aren't in mame. The first thing I would do is swap the pals and roms with a game that has its pals dumped and see if it runs.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Smitdogg]
#369780 - 09/19/17 03:34 AM
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I think I've heard is what it does is juggle around the EPROM address lines. I was hoping that perhaps I can dump the PAL8L14ACNS (the PAL16 has been dumped) using Charles Mcdonald's socket adapter (if that'll work) then maybe modifying that programming for each game, if there's a way to look at each game and determine how it's scrambled for each.
But I'm FAR from knowing what I'm doing in such matters so if it's not a simple hack I might be over my head, and no I'm not expecting someone else to do it for me, but I figured there's no harm in picking brains. 
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Tornadoboy]
#369781 - 09/19/17 03:47 AM
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If PAL8L14ACNS is a 24 pin devise then it won't fit unless there's a new version of the dumper tool. The one I have is just for some 20 pin devices. On the site I linked to you could see if there are any full pal sets dumped for any game on that hardware and then ask them how they dumped them if so. Someone there might be willing to hack you up some chips for a fee. They have a deep understanding of pals. I've gotten custom hacked chips from some of them before, pals and roms.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Smitdogg]
#369782 - 09/19/17 04:06 AM
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I just search the PAL archive and didn't find anything about dumping PAL8L14ACNS, and I went through the MAME Arcadia bios and game ROMs without finding any examples of that PAL. I did find a reference to someone dumping it from Magic Johnson's Fast Break, so at least I know it's possible:
http://www.mameworld.info/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Number=357928
I don't see anything in the MAME set that jumps out at me as being that dump, so I might try to email him or see if the dump is around somewhere.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Tornadoboy]
#369783 - 09/19/17 04:21 AM
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Smitdogg]
#369784 - 09/19/17 04:28 AM
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I saw them, although neither is a PAL8L14 but I saved them both as they may be useful. I've never heard of that game and it doesn't appear to be in MAME, unless it's UN Defense Earth Joker though that's not Arcadia or a Super Select System game.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Tornadoboy]
#369785 - 09/19/17 04:32 AM
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There's 2 games mentioned in the post, the other was "First is from an Arcadia ROM board for Air Hockey" so then you'd search for Air Hockey and there's a GAL16V8. I'm not familiar with the hardware but sometimes some pals are reused across games so the one gal could be all that is needed for a conversion.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Smitdogg]
#369789 - 09/19/17 03:02 PM
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I'm at work right now, but when I get home I'm going to spend an hour or so practicing some serious Google-fu which is what I should have done before posting this thread, I'll let you know what I come up with.
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Tornadoboy]
#369815 - 09/20/17 05:52 PM
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According to the MAME driver (arsystems.cpp), the encryption is merely a data line scramble of one of the ROMs (U16 for Aaargh, U15 for Leader Board). You could try unscrambling the Aaargh ROM and then rescrambling it to work with the Leader Board ROM board and decryption PAL. Give me a shout if you need help 
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Re: Hacking the Arcadia Super Select System protection
[Re: Phil Bennett]
#369835 - 09/22/17 03:04 PM
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I had to replace the sockets on the Piggyback board anyway so I figured I might as well strip it entirely (I LOVE my Hakko 808!) and scan the foil pattern for people's future use, eventually I'll do the same for the interconnect board and sound amplifier too so if anyone is desperate enough for the system they can make their own with an Amiga PCB. Here's the KLOV thread I posted them in:
https://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=412496
>Give me a shout if you need help
Thanks Phil, I might take you up on that!
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