IGT Hurricane SP chip

[mvco]

Hello,


Have a 3 coin 3 reel Hurricane S-Plus game I just kitted up.  I had heard that Hurricane has a special re-spin feature.  However, no symbols initiate a re-spin, just plays normally like a type 1 game.  I am using SP1271 right now.  the question? Is Hurricane indeeed supposed to have a re-spin feature?  And if so, what SP chip would be used?  Hurricane is not listed on the S-Plus games bible.  Hopefuly someone else has one and can chime in.  Very possible this game does not have the re=spin feature, and I just got some wrong information when I bought this kit.


Thanks in advance  :-)

[RB]

I'm showing it as a type 0 game with no special features. The glass indicates the Hurricane symbol as wild & nothing more.

[rokgpsman]

Is Hurricane a "clone" of another game that is listed in the S+ bible?

[mvco]

Yes indeed, there is no mention of a special feature on the award glass, leading me to think it's just a basic game.  But I have heard two others mention now over the years that it had a special re-spin feature.  I bet it does not, given the award glass with no mention.  But thought I would pop the question just in case.


Thanks guys. 

[Rane420]

For what it's worth, a local Craigslist ad claims the one they have for sale has a respin feature.


https://tucson.craigslist.org/for/6111063870.html

[mvco]

Wow, yet another claim that this game does something special.  It sure does not with a SP1271.  I have to wonder what game type this is, or have multiple people claimed this game has a re-spin when indeed it does not.  Now I am confused!   

[Ken]

It doesn't do anything special. The Hurricane symbol is wild and that's it.

[mvco]

Thanks Ken,  that is what I was thinking.  These people saying it re-spins must have some pretty good drugs, LOL  Frankly, this game is pretty boring.  I will throw my Tidal Wave or Volcano kit in it.  I got that Hurricane kit from Roz a few years ago, and had never bothered to kit it up until now.  I remember she also thought it was a respin game.  Oh well.  Have the SP chips for the type 3 and type 6, so good to go for Volcano and Tidal Wave.


Off topic, hope Roz is well these days, have not seen a post in months.

[rokgpsman]

Thanks Ken,  that is what I was thinking.  These people saying it re-spins must have some pretty good drugs, LOL  Frankly, this game is pretty boring.  I will throw my Tidal Wave or Volcano kit in it.  I got that Hurricane kit from Roz a few years ago, and had never bothered to kit it up until now.  I remember she also thought it was a respin game.  Oh well.  Have the SP chips for the type 3 and type 6, so good to go for Volcano and Tidal Wave.

Off topic, hope Roz is well these days, have not seen a post in months.

The guy selling that Hurricane on craigslist is describing the respin feature pretty clearly, and since Roz also said it has respin, plus the others that you mentioned said so, then is it possible there is a variation of Hurricane that does have the respin feature? I don't know what game chips it takes to give the respin feature but it seems like there's too much talk about it from a wide variety of people for everyone to be wrong. The game isn't listed in the S+ Bible, if it is a clone of another game that would be a start to figure out what's going on. Maybe it is one of those things where you use a different SP chip (that is compatible) than the SP chip the game came with originally and it adds the respin feature.

What is the number on the SS chip?  Thanks!

[erbs]

Mvco, Why not try to contact the guy in Tucson and see if he can give you his chip numbers?


Fixed tiny font issue.  -knagl

[mvco]

Good idea, I will try asking the Ebay seller what SP chip he is using.  I took the machine to our storage unit yesterday, so will have to look there and see what SS chip I have in there.  It came with the kit from Roz. 

[Ken]

Most likely one of these and it still doesn't do anything special. Straight up as it printed on the glass. Hurricane symbol is wild and that's the game best entertainment.

SS 3458   HURRICANE   2C 1L   92.55%
SS 3459   HURRICANE   2C 1L   90.01%
SS 3460   HURRICANE   3C 1L   95.00%
SS 3461   HURRICANE   3C 1L   92.53%
SS 3462   HURRICANE   3C 1L   90.06%
SS 3463   HURRICANE   3C 1L   87.50%
SS 3464   HURRICANE   3C 1L   85.05%

[mvco]

Turns out I have the SS3460, as listed in Kens list above.  Strange how others claim there Hurricane re-spins.  I guess we will never totally figure that out.

[rokgpsman]

Is it possible to put a different SP chip in an S+ and make it a different type number? What determines if one machine is a type 0 and another machine is a type 4 or 6, etc?

[knagl]

Is it possible to put a different SP chip in an S+ and make it a different type number? What determines if one machine is a type 0 and another machine is a type 4 or 6, etc?

The game type is (was) determined by IGT, and has to do with any special features (nudging, respin, etc.) that the game kit offered.

See this chart: http://www.newlifegames.net/spset/gametypes.htm

You cannot simply change the SP chip to one that supports a different game type to magically introduce special features into a game that wasn't designed to have any.

In rare cases there are some kits that have similar symbol layouts and paytables that will allow you to use the "wrong" SS chip in the game and can add features of a different game type to a Type 0 game and still get correct payouts (off the top of my head, I think it's been documented somewhere on the site that it's possible to install a Double Diamond Deluxe SS chip in a game with standard Double Diamond graphics and you'll get correct payouts with "mystery" nudging since the reel strips don't have the graphics showing the nudging feature), but that's not terribly common.

If someone found an S+ game that offers respins and has the same symbol layout and pay amounts as Hurricane, it may be possible to use those chips with the Hurricane kit to get additional features.

[sixcardmark]

Double diamond and double diamond deluxe use different strip layouts.

[rokgpsman]

The game type is (was) determined by IGT, and has to do with any special features (nudging, respin, etc.) that the game kit offered.
See this chart: http://www.newlifegames.net/spset/gametypes.htm

You cannot simply change the SP chip to one that supports a different game type to magically introduce special features into a game that wasn't designed to have any.

In rare cases there are some kits that have similar symbol layouts and paytables that will allow you to use the "wrong" SS chip in the game and can add features of a different game type to a Type 0 game and still get correct payouts (off the top of my head, I think it's been documented somewhere on the site that it's possible to install a Double Diamond Deluxe SS chip in a game with standard Double Diamond graphics and you'll get correct payouts with "mystery" nudging since the reel strips don't have the graphics showing the nudging feature), but that's not terribly common.

If someone found an S+ game that offers respins and has the same symbol layout and pay amounts as Hurricane, it may be possible to use those chips with the Hurricane kit to get additional features.

Thanks Kevin for that info. I had looked at the Game Type chart several times in the past to see the differences but didn't know what specifically made a machine a Type 0 or some other Type. Since you can convert an S+ from one game to another, using the same mpu and all the other hardware in the machine, just need to change the reel strips and socketed software chips (plus the glass for appearance reasons) that makes me think the definition of what game type a particular machine is was only due to what's contained in the software, not hardware.  Is that right? What's the reason behind IGT defining game types, why is it necessary to keep track of those game type categories? I've not heard of Bally or other mfrs doing the same thing. Can't you change any S+ game from one game theme to a different one if you simply replace the SS and SP socketed chips and not be concerned about what game type it is? As you can see, I'm confused about this.

Another question, I didn't see the Hurricane game listed in the S+ Bible, was it unique for some reason, or maybe it came along after the S+ Bible was created? How do so many people believe that Hurricane has a respin feature? Seems odd so many would be mistaken about it. That guy selling his Hurricane on craigslist would surely have played it and gotten familiar with the game, especially a feature so prominent like respin.

[knagl]

(off the top of my head, I think it's been documented somewhere on the site that it's possible to install a Double Diamond Deluxe SS chip in a game with standard Double Diamond graphics and you'll get correct payouts with "mystery" nudging since the reel strips don't have the graphics showing the nudging feature)

Double diamond and double diamond deluxe use different strip layouts.

Okay, thanks for that.  I was posting from my phone and as I said, it was based on a fuzzy memory.  Here's the "Fun things you can do with an S+ machine", formerly from Rick's FAQs, which addresses stuff like this:


Neat things you can do with S(+) games.

Q: What can I do to "spice" up my S+ game theme?

A: There are a couple of tricks that can be done to some of the popular game titles.  These are two that are very popular.

If you have a double diamond, you can give it Haywire action by using the reel prom from a double jackpot haywire theme.  This will make some pays "Haywire" and duplicate the pays.  In the S2000 platform this game is called Double Diamond Haywire.

If you have a Triple Diamond theme, you can add mystery nudge action to it by using a Triple Dollars w/Mystery reel action reel chip.  This game will nudge certain symbols up or down at random.

I should note that this trick works with any of the mentioned games' clones.

Double diamond clones include purple passion and gold mountain.

Triple Diamond clones include triple dollars, triple sapphires, triple jackpot (the one with yellow 3x symbol).

Certain themes also have a Tournament version.  This is where you start with a certain number of credits and play the game for a timed session or until your credits run out.  The
guy with the most winning credits at the end wins.  This requires a special set of Tournament eproms.  For games that support tournament play, check the game bible for tournament games list.


Other FAQs

Q: Can you play S2000 themes on an S+?

A: Yes, some titles share the same paytable.  Though you might have to do some reel offset for the symbols to line up right. 

Here's a known list:

12x Pay (2 coin game only) = Dozens of Diamonds (reel offset)
Chainsaws and Toasters = Wild 5x pay (no reel offset) <==added 7/19/06 credit to Ohio Gaming
Double Diamond Haywire (2 or 3 coin game) = Double Jackpot Haywire (reel offset) <== credit to the Cap'n
Four Times Diamond (2 or 3 coin game) = Double Double Diamond (no reel offset)
I Dream of Jeannie (2 or 3 coin game) = Double Diamond (no reel offset)
Jeckyll & Hide (2 or 3 coin game) = Cats & Dogs (reel offset)
Richard Petty Driving Experience (2 or 3 coin Game) = Double Spin 5x pay (reel offset)
Tabasco (2 or 3 coin game) = Double Lucky Sevens (no reel offset)
The Munsters (2 or 3 coin game) = Wild Five Times Pay (reel offset)
Triple Double Dollars (2 or 3 coin gam) = Triple Double (no reel offset)
Wild Thing II (2 or 3 coin game) =  Haywire (reel offset)
Wild Thing III (2 or 3 coin game) =   Double Jackpot Haywire (reel offset)
Double Dollars RWB - Double RWB w/offset <==Added 02/13/07 Thanks  Brianzz
Cigar - Double Five Times Pay no offset <==Added 02/13/07 Thanks  Brianzz
Monty Python - Five Times Pay no offset <==Added 02/13/07 Thanks  Brianzz


Q: What is this about a "reel offset"

A: Some of the S2000 reel strips will match S+ reel proms if you move them a symbol or two from where they land on an S2000.
[Editor's note: this FAQ pointed to a thread that no longer exists that demonstrated how to cut new notches in the reel strip to create the offset.]

[knagl]

I had looked at the Game Type chart several times in the past to see the differences but didn't know what specifically made a machine a Type 0 or some other Type. Since you can convert an S+ from one game to another, using the same mpu and all the other hardware in the machine, just need to change the reel strips and socketed software chips (plus the glass for appearance reasons) that makes me think the definition of what game type a particular machine is was only due to what's contained in the software, not hardware.  Is that right?

Correct.

What's the reason behind IGT defining game types, why is it necessary to keep track of those game type categories? I've not heard of Bally or other mfrs doing the same thing. Can't you change any S+ game from one game theme to a different one if you simply replace the SS and SP socketed chips and not be concerned about what game type it is? As you can see, I'm confused about this.

I can't speak as to why they did things the way they did, but I would suspect that originally their reel games were all the standard Type 0 games, with no special features -- just spin the three reels, stop them one at a time, then evaluate the payout.  I would further suspect that as they developed games and wanted to introduce special features (nudging, respins, etc.) they had to modify the software to support such features, which wouldn't have been supported by the SP chips for Type 0 games.  Also, since space is limited on those EPROMs, they likely could only support so many game types on a single chip -- that's why there isn't a universal SP chip that can just support every game type.

Yes, you can change any game from one type to another by simply changing the SS and SP chips.  SS chips were made to go with certain themes/paytables/special features, and the SP chip (essentially the operating system of the slot) has to support the SS chip.

The reason for the FAQ post of SP chip lists is so you can see what SP chips exist to support a game kit of a certain game type.  If you want to run a Haywire or Haywire Deluxe style game (Type 2 or 21), you can't use an SP1271, for example, since that SP chip can't handle Type 2 (or 21) games.

Another question, I didn't see the Hurricane game listed in the S+ Bible, was it unique for some reason, or maybe it came along after the S+ Bible was created?

Probably a custom design created after the data for our S+ bible was created.  Possibly a clone of another kit, or possibly a later S+ title that didn't get documented well anywhere.

How do so many people believe that Hurricane has a respin feature? Seems odd so many would be mistaken about it. That guy selling his Hurricane on craigslist would surely have played it and gotten familiar with the game, especially a feature so prominent like respin.

It probably started with one person screwing up the description, and everyone else just copying their text.  The text of that Craigslist ad is nearly identical to a former eBay ad for a S+ Hurricane title, right down to, "the reels will let loose and start re-spinning giving you even more chance to win!" (Craigslist post | Old eBay ad).

[rokgpsman]

Thanks so much for your well-thought out reply, I now have a much better understanding about all of this and I think other readers may have gained something from it also.