Star Tech Journal

10
STAR*TECH JOURNAL/JULY 1982
A Regular Monthly Feature Technically Outlining a Newly Released Game
GOTTLIEB'S "CAVEMAN"
By Joe Connor, Active Amusement Co., Philadelphia, PA
"Caveman" is a totally new concept incor-
porating Gottlieb' s current pinball system with
a new video system to create the.first pin/video
game. The interaction between alternating
pinball and video play is what makes this game
completely unique and offers such a great
challenge from either a player' s or technician's
viewpoint. Certain new engineering and soft-
ware features have been added to aid in
maintenance and troubleshooting. Isolating the
problem to either the pinball or video system is
the most efficient method of troubleshooting
"Caveman". An understanding of each
individual system (pinball and video), and
most importantly, how these two systems
communicate with each other is essential.
Game Play
At first glance, "Caveman" may appear to be
two separate games which just alternate when
the ball is trapped in the left or right ball
shooter. Overall game play and scoring, how-
ever, is intertwined between both the pinball
and video sections. Many "shots" on the
pinball playfield affect the video game features.
The vari targets change the "Bonus Dinosaur
Timer" and completion of the C-A-V-E targets
enters an extra ball object onto the video
screen, to name just two. While some shots on
the pinball affect the video game, the inverse is
also true. The extra ball is awarded by capturing
the extra ball object on the video screen. Also,
bonus can be added and the bonus multiplier
can be advanced by successfully crushing the
objects on the video screen. As can be seen
while only one part of"Caveman" is played at
any given time, successful strategy and scoring
is dependent upon both the pinball and video
sections. An understanding of game play and
scoring can help generate player interest and
can also be helpful in isolating a failure. ( Gottlieb released " How to Play
'Caveman" ' instruction sheets through its distributors, and also included
it in the game package.) For a detailed description of game play and
scoring, see the " Caveman" Game Manual, pages 6 and 7.
Pinball
Game Prom - P810
Sound Proms - P810-Sl, P810-S2
System BOA
The pinball system used in "Caveman" is System BOA. This is
Gottlieb's latest pinball system and will permanently replace System 80
in future games. This new system varies only slightly from the original,
first seen in "Spiderman" . These additions/ changes include:
1. New U2 and U3 ROMs in control board
U3
System
U2
R3272-12
80
R3273-12
X0327
80A
X0326
2. 7-digit displays replace 6-digit displays.
3. CR2, CR3, and CR4 diodes are replaced by jumper wires on driver
board.
4. Improved bookkeeping and self test capabilities.
5. A reset board has been added and attached to control board.
The reprogrammed RO Ms in the control board are necessary to control
the extra display digit. These ROMs also contain changes to improve
self test and increase the number of coin/ credit
combinations. The diodes were removed from
the driver board to negate possibility of a leaky
diode turning on an MPS-U45 driver transistor.
The reset board can be mounted in any System
80 game and has been available for some time.
"Devils Dare" was the first game to come
already equipped with it. The absence of the
IRQ signal and/or a display digit strobe will
cause this board to generate a reset pulse to the
6502 microprocessor, resetting the game to the
game over mode. This is intended to keep the
MPU from locking up and possibly turning on a
single bright digit, thus burning out the display
tube. Normal operation will occur with this
board connected or disconnected. Its purpose
is strictly as an MPU watchdog.
With the introduction of 7-digit displays,
Gottlieb hopes to make millions.
Options/ Adjustments
In addition to the standard array of options
available in "Caveman", there are extra coin/
credit combinations for greater flexibility. As
always, option switches are located on both the
control and sound boards. Take note that a
liberal/ conservative setting is available and
that dip switches 6, 7, and 8 (referred to as
spares in option listing in game manual) must
be off for proper game operation. These
switches are only used during video self test.
The only playfield adjustments are the
posts located above the left and right outlane
lamps.
Board Set
The only new boards in "Caveman" are the 7-
digit displays. Slight modifications have been
performed to the control and driver boards ( see
System 80A). All other boards are identical
and interchangeable with previous System 80 games.
Relays
Three relays are present in " Caveman". These include the Q (game
over), the T(tilt), and theA (lamp) relays. The Q and Toperate the same
as on previous System 80 games with one exception. In addition to
pulling in during a game tilt, the T relay will energize whenever the ball is
trapped in the left or right ball shooters. This effectively disables the
pinball playfield when the video game starts. This relay will stay
energized or deenergized, dependent upon success in video game play.
The A relay is unique to " Caveman". It energizes when the ball is
trapped in the left or right ball shooters. When this occurs, the normally
closed contact supplying 24VDC to the lightbox illumination lamps
opens, turning these lamps off. The make/break contacts toggle, turning
the ball in play lamp off and the time lamp on. The action between these
lamps is momentary and is accompanied by the bonus time flashing in
the Ball-in-Play display window.
"A RELAY"
+ 24VDC------~
1--------.Lightbox Illumination
rL
______ " Ball-in-Play Lamp
A3J2
Pin
10 ... - - - q t - - - - - - 1 ,---
) Time Lamp