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hardware [2016/05/30 13:36] ex_writer |
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| ====== Hardware ====== | ====== Hardware ====== | ||
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| - | {{bally_ad.png}} | ||
| The Bally Professional Arcade is a full-color videogame system based on the mass-RAM-buffer technique. A mass-RAM-buffer system is one in which one or more bits of RAM are used to define the color and intensity of a pixel on the screen. The picture on the screen is defined by the contents of RAM and can easily be changed by modifying RAM. | The Bally Professional Arcade is a full-color videogame system based on the mass-RAM-buffer technique. A mass-RAM-buffer system is one in which one or more bits of RAM are used to define the color and intensity of a pixel on the screen. The picture on the screen is defined by the contents of RAM and can easily be changed by modifying RAM. | ||
| - | The system uses a Z80 microprocessor as its main control unit. The [[system ROM]] has software for four games: Gunfight, Checkmate, Scribbling, and Calculator. Additional ROM can be accessed through the cartridge connector. Three [[custom chips]] control the video interface, special video processing functions, keyboard and control handle interface, and audio generation. | + | The system uses a Z80 microprocessor as its main control unit. The [[software:system ROM]] has software for four games: Gunfight, Checkmate, Scribbling, and Calculator. Additional ROM can be accessed through the cartridge connector. Three [[hardware:custom chips]] control the video interface, special video processing functions, keyboard and control handle interface, and audio generation. |
| - | The system exists in both high-resolution and low-resolution models. The three [[custom chips]] can operate in either mode. The mode of operation is determined by bit 0 of [[output port]] 8H. It must be set to 0 for low-resolution and 1 for high-resolution. This bit is not set to 0 at power up and must be set by software before any RAM operations can be performed. | + | The system exists in both high-resolution and low-resolution models. The three custom chips can operate in either mode. The mode of operation is determined by bit 0 of [[hardware:i o ports|output port]] 8H. It must be set to 0 for low-resolution and 1 for high-resolution. This bit is not set to 0 at power up and must be set by software before any RAM operations can be performed. |
| **NOTE:** The Bally Arcade only has access to low-resolution output. High-resolution output was available in certain Bally arcade titles. Further references to the high-resolution mode are omitted throughout the Better Bally Book. For further information about this mode, please consult the original Nutting Manual. | **NOTE:** The Bally Arcade only has access to low-resolution output. High-resolution output was available in certain Bally arcade titles. Further references to the high-resolution mode are omitted throughout the Better Bally Book. For further information about this mode, please consult the original Nutting Manual. | ||
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| Hardware is divided into the following subsections: | Hardware is divided into the following subsections: | ||
| - | * [[Memory Map]] | + | * [[hardware:Memory Map]] |
| - | * [[Screen Map]] | + | * [[hardware:Screen Map]] |
| - | * [[Color Mapping]] | + | * [[hardware:Color]] |
| - | * [[Interrupts]] | + | * [[hardware:Interrupts]] |
| - | * [[Magic Register|Magic System]] | + | * [[hardware:Magic System]] |
| - | * [[Player Input]] | + | * [[hardware:Player Input]] |
| - | * [[Music Processor]] | + | * [[hardware:Music Processor]] |
| * [[hardware:i o ports|Input/Output Ports]] | * [[hardware:i o ports|Input/Output Ports]] | ||
| * [[hardware:custom chips|Custom Chips]] | * [[hardware:custom chips|Custom Chips]] | ||
| + | * [[hardware:expansion|Expansion]] | ||
| ---- | ---- | ||
