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For starters, not all copies of KOV SH and KOV2 are compatible with the roms (which are readily available in mame). I have seen both games come on different pcbs and only one type is compatible with the roms available at this time.
Rather than quoting game titles, are there board identifiers that people can better refer to?
Similar to the PROG & CHA boards used in the Neo Geo...
 
These are My Knights of Valour 2 and my Knights of Valour Super Heroes PCBs... Are these viable for the conversion?

kov2.jpg

^that little sub PCB just plugs into the EPROM socket and adapts to a SMD ROM on the under-side.
kov_sh.jpg
 
I'd have to check my carts (and have no way of dumping them) but he might be looking at KoV 2: Nine Dragons, which is actually different than KoV 2. Because IGS made a Neo Geo competitor that had Capcom's approach to iterative sequels, oh my god.
 
he might be looking at KoV 2: Nine Dragons
Nope, the game title screen comes up as plain old KOV2
kov2_screen.jpg



Could you dump those eproms?? Just to b100% sure. For KOV2 I noticed mame only shows one Eprom.
Here's a better picture of the ROM labels:
kov2_chips.jpg



I noticed that the adapter board has an extra row of pins:
kov2_sub_1.jpg


Here is the other side of the sub board:
kov2_sub_2.jpg


I set it up in my programmer as a M27C322 since that's what the silkscreen under the socket stated. I've dumped this (V102 U19) along with the other socketed EPROM (V104 U18) here: http://web-nine.com/files/kov2_ts.zip
 
I've dumped a few pgm chips on adapters but not that one. The extra row makes me think it might actually be being used as a 27c800.

The last game I looked at it was 27c160

I'd try dumping as those 2 chip types too if you're not positive. If the silk is 27c322 you're probably fine, but worth mentioning in general.
 
From pictures I can't see if there is another MX29F1610 on the piggyback board but if there is only one then you have to dump the adapter as 27C160 since this flash ROM is a 16Mbit device like the EPROM.Obviously, If there are two of them you have to dump it as 27C322 so 32Mbit in total.
 
The extra row makes me think it might actually be being used as a 27c800.

The last game I looked at it was 27c160
From pictures I can't see if there is another MX29F1610 on the piggyback board but if there is only one then you have to dump the adapter as 27C160 since this flash ROM is a 16Mbit device like the EPROM.Obviously, If there are two of them you have to dump it as 27C322 so 32Mbit in total.
There is only the one MX29F1610

I've dumped it as a M27C160 and as a M27C800 and updated the file link in my previous post with all versions of the dump.
 
It seems you have the V104 revision of this game which is undumped, MAME has the ones from V101 to V107 excluding the V104.I tried to load your dumps in MAME but it doesn't boot into game.Can you confirm that you can see V104 just before the title screen?Thanks.
 
OK, thanks.Can you try to redump the two EPROMs @U18 (27C322) and U19 (27C160) just to be sure the dumps are valid?Thanks.
 
Can you try to redump the two EPROMs @U18 (27C322) and U19 (27C160) just to be sure the dumps are valid?Thanks.
I've dumped them again, and HxD says the files are a match.
If you want to compare yourself I've created a separate file with the new dumps here: http://web-nine.com/files/kov2104.zip'

I've also named the files in this zip using a similar convention to the other versions in MAME. :)
 
OK, thanks.I will forward dumps to MAME Dumping Union List (which I'm part of) if your don't mind.Obvioulsy credits will go to you if added.Thanks again.
 
Thanks! I'm always happy to help with dumps where I can. I think this will be my 3rd contribution (the first two were early revs of Typing of the Dead and Virtual On OT)

Is there a command to easily check a dump against MAME source? I feel like RTW mentioned it to me once before but I couldn't find it.
 
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Thanks! I'm always happy to help with dumps where I can. I think this will be my 3rd contribution (the first two were early revs of Typing of the Dead and Virtual On OT)

Is there a command to easily check a dump against MAME source? I feel like RTW mentioned it to me once before but I couldn't find it.
yeah you can pass the 'romident' switch to mame and feed it a dump to see if it's recognized.

to anyone that is attempting these conversions, please be sure to dump your original EPROMs and check them against MAME!
 
Can you try to redump the two EPROMs @U18 (27C322) and U19 (27C160) just to be sure the dumps are valid?Thanks.
I've dumped them again, and HxD says the files are a match.If you want to compare yourself I've created a separate file with the new dumps here: http://web-nine.com/files/kov2104.zip'

I've also named the files in this zip using a similar convention to the other versions in MAME. :)
Guys, you realize that the dumps need to be decrypted right? I'm not sure if they have the same keys that the other versions v101 and v107 have.
The best way to do that is by loading mame with the -debug option and see if the code looks unencrypted if that's the case then probably the behaviour of the ARM maybe different in this version and needs to be supported. I wouldn't be suprised.....
 
OK I did some tests in MAME. The game runs perfect, just replacing the 104 file ONLY. I used the 107 version of the kov2 romset and let it run.

I didnt use the 102 file because a quick look at it revealed that it's been read wrong and the content makes no sense. Looks like every 0x2000 bytes are filled with 0xFF which means IMHO an address pin making bad contact. I think that the problem is that this adapter where the MX29F1610 sits, may not convert into 27c160 but rather be still a MX29F1610, so my advice would be to read it as a MX29F1610. If that doesnt work, try cleaning the pins of the eprom adapter as it may also be a contact problem althoug I dounbt it.

If you check the content of the dump at offet 0x2000,you'll see that it reads 89 26 96 99 D6 4A 10 52 46 B0 76 which are the same values that you have at offset 0 in the proper dump of mame called u19.102.

Let me know how it goes that redump. Also I noticed that both files you posted have the same u104 file. Knights of Valour Super Heroes ?

Last but not least in MAME it shows for me as region being HONGKONG :)
 
this adapter where the MX29F1610 sits, may not convert into 27c160 but rather be still a MX29F1610, so my advice would be to read it as a MX29F1610
My little GQ-4x programmer doesn't natively support the MX29F1610 chip type.
 
K I did some tests in MAME. The game runs perfect, just replacing the 104 file ONLY. I used the 107 version of the kov2 romset and let it run.

I didnt use the 102 file because a quick look at it revealed that it's been read wrong and the content makes no sense. Looks like every 0x2000 bytes are filled with 0xFF which means IMHO an address pin making bad contact. I think that the problem is that this adapter where the MX29F1610 sits, may not convert into 27c160 but rather be still a MX29F1610, so my advice would be to read it as a MX29F1610. If that doesnt work, try cleaning the pins of the eprom adapter as it may also be a contact problem althoug I dounbt it.

If you check the content of the dump at offet 0x2000,you'll see that it reads 89 26 96 99 D6 4A 10 52 46 B0 76 which are the same values that you have at offset 0 in the proper dump of mame called u19.102.

Let me know how it goes that redump. Also I noticed that both files you posted have the same u104 file. Knights of Valour Super Heroes ?

Last but not least in MAME it shows for me as region being HONGKONG
Yes, it's what Haze from MAME told me:

Haze said:
t's very obviously a bad dump

every 0x2000 blocks in the ARM rom (u102) is blank and missing the real data. (so 0x0000-0x1fff is missing, 0x4000-0x5fff is missing etc.)

whatever technique he used to dump it isn't correct.
Anyway, as Darksoft says, try to dump the adapter as MX29F1610 or OKI MSM27C1602CZ (but if it sits into the socket where a 27C322 has to be then the adapter should convert it to a 27C160) if you programmer support these devices.Clean also the pins of the adapters before read it,
 
I was wrong about the silkscreen. the M27C322 silkscreen is for U18 not U19..

U19 is labeled as "MX23C3210-DIP"
 
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