M72 Dragon Breed - certain samples are not playing out

[waiwainl]

Recently I purchased a M72 Dragon Breed. The board is looks clean and the game plays as I would expect.

Except I noticed that certain samples are not played out:

• When inserting a coin, you should hear the dragon 'roar', but it sounds like a coughing old cat who is dying
• When the character dies, you should hear kind of a scream, but it sounds very dull/soft
• When you kill the bigger flying monsters, right in the beginning, you should hear them "explode", but I hear nothing

Background audio tune seems normal, other regular audio samples - compared to youtube plays - also seem fine. But unsure what I might be missing.

The voltage is 4.94 - I set it to 5.00 and the existing faults appear to be slightly worse.

Any suggestions as to where to start looking? Ideas?

 

[XtraSmiley]

No idea, but I’ll look mine over when I get home.

 

[Darksoft]

When inserting a coin, you should hear the dragon 'roar', but it sounds like a coughing old cat who is dying

Maybe you have the mild violence version

Now seriously, that looks like a problem with the audio. @Mitsurugi-w is doing some audio probes that will help you understanding if the error is in the digital or analog parts. Easier thing you can start with is check the caps and see if you see any of them bulky.
Pinging @caius who is an expert on this. Certainly a pic or two of the audio section could shed some light.

 

[PascalP]

• When inserting a coin, you should hear the dragon 'roar', but it sounds like a coughing old cat who is dying

hahaha, this had me

But seriously, don't these Irem board have those dirty leaking caps, or is that only with M92?

 

[waiwainl]

Shot some pictures. I am unsure where exactly the sound area is on this board, so if I got the wrong area, please direct me
You can find more & hiress photos here: https://imgur.com/a/YvashDB

I noticed around the green caps (on the top board) some smutch (if you zoom in enough) - would that be leakage or just dirt?

 

[caius]

Voice samples are stored in the rom labeled 'DB-CV-0-' on top board
Try to dump the devices although I think it's good and problem is elsewhere.I don't know which are your troubleshooting skills/equipment so I can only recommend you to send the board for repair.

 

[XtraSmiley]

Brah, your board looks nicer than mine! I checked mine out and the sounds don't sound like roars either, just weak ass bitch cries. It might be the game, but grab the manual and flip the test switches on to run a RAM/ROM/SOUND test on your board, report back.

http://www.gamesdatabase.org/Media/SYSTEM/Arcade/Manual/formated/Dragon_Breed_-_1989_-_Irem.pdf

In the mean time I'll look for a youtube video to see if mine sounds like the youtube one.

hmm, after having watched two videos, mine sounds like them, however a little weaker. Maybe it's the caps on mine too? I mean they work, I have the sounds, but they are softer than the background music and other sounds.

 

[djsheep]

Hey @waiwainl - The sounds on my Dragon Breed board sound are more or less exactly the same as MAME.

Could the problem perhaps lie within the range your speakers are? I know if I use the crappy speakers built into the PVM, certain sounds in certain games aren't as punchy or accurate as when I am using a powered speaker? Also make sure your Supergun/Cab is setup correctly for Stereo/Mono as this could also pose problems.

Could you provide the versions of the three boards in your stack? I know that @rtw was doing some more extensive testing in that regard with some interesting results.

 

[waiwainl]

Thanks - Let me checkout the MAME version. Previously I checked the YouTube movies, perhaps that gives the wrong impression.
I tried it also on a supergun this weekend, same situation.

hmm, after having watched two videos, mine sounds like them, however a little weaker. Maybe it's the caps on mine too? I mean they work, I have the sounds, but they are softer than the background music and other sounds.

Yes, feels similar. Also when the character dies, hardly a scream, but very dull scream.

But especially these guys (appear within 15 seconds of the game), I don't hear any sounds when they get killed. Do you hear that too?

 

[djsheep]

But especially these guys (appear within 15 seconds of the game), I don't hear any sounds when they get killed. Do you hear that too?

Not all enemies make noises when they get killed in the game, also I believe if you're on a killing spree, sometimes samples don't trigger off in the game. This happens on my original boards and on the multi too.

The enemy you posted of a picture of just makes a subtle swooshing sound when it's shot. Can hardly hear it.

 

[rtw]

One simple thing you can do is to isolate the issue, just disconnect the wire from the M72-C board which goes to the volume knob.

Which sounds are you missing ?

 

[waiwainl]

Thanks @rtw - I disconnected the wire and exactly those vague sounds were not outputted at all.
On top of that, I thought the knob was for Voltage somehow. Didn't realize this was for Volume.

So I turned up the volume and voila - M72 Dragon Breed is playing fully with all audio in tact.
@djsheep this might also do the trick for you.

Thank you all

 

[rtw]

IREM made an analogue mixer with the extra soldered wires

Glad all is working now!

 

[djsheep]

So I turned up the volume and voila - M72 Dragon Breed is playing fully with all audio in tact.@djsheep this might also do the trick for you.

Thank you all

Nice! Glad you got it sorted with a simple fix.

And amazing, I just turned up the volume and I got sounds I didn't have before.

Also, one thing I've noticed, it seems as if the samples in my games are monophonic (one sample playing at once). For example, if my player dies while another sound sample is playing, it skips it. Same with inserting credits, it only restarts when the full sample is played out... Is this the same with your board?

 

[waiwainl]

For example, if my player dies while another sound sample is playing, it skips it. Same with inserting credits, it only restarts when the full sample is played out... Is this the same with your board?

Played it extensively today, but can't say I noticed this in particular. Though, didn't pay attention at the insert credit.

 

[djsheep]

For example, if my player dies while another sound sample is playing, it skips it. Same with inserting credits, it only restarts when the full sample is played out... Is this the same with your board?

Played it extensively today, but can't say I noticed this in particular. Though, didn't pay attention at the insert credit.

Could be an issue with the multi from the sound of things. Doesn't do it in MAME either.

 

[XtraSmiley]

I unplugged my wire, still hear background music, killed the other stuff. With the volume knob I get all sounds louder. Is the a way to just turn up sound effects without background?

 

[waiwainl]

For example, if my player dies while another sound sample is playing, it skips it. Same with inserting credits, it only restarts when the full sample is played out... Is this the same with your board?

Played it extensively today, but can't say I noticed this in particular. Though, didn't pay attention at the insert credit.

Could be an issue with the multi from the sound of things. Doesn't do it in MAME either.

Could you make a recording of this and youtube it? I can double check if it happens with me as well. Can we exclude the multi vs. actual.

 

[rtw]

@waiwainl Since you own a legit Dragon Breed it would be good if you could be the reference

So please turn the volume up and record the following:

From the start screen, hit coin 20 times to see how the samples behave.

We are missing a lot of protection dumps from the M72 system, I am hoping that as people get their multis they would be willing to donate their protection devices so they may be decapped. After decapping is done the resultant image can easily be burned back into a new device and everyone is happy.

IIRC on Dragon Breed the 8751 controls some of the sample logic.

 

[waiwainl]

I inserted many coins right after each other and the sound sample restarts every time a new coin is inserted. Only when you do nothing, the coin-sample is played out completely. Will post a recording later.