How to swap a game on a Bally Alpha

[cobra617]

Hi all,
I have a Bally Alpha (Lucky Luigi's Pizzeria), that is getting a little long in the tooth. I've seen Alpha kits on sale on eBay from time to time.
My question is: what do I need to verify before I buy a kit? My Alpha is a single LCD screen with a 512 CPU.


I'd like my kids to be more involved and they absolutely do not like Luigi. I recently bought a Super Jackpot Party (WMS) and they love that game. They really like the bonus features on Super Jackpot Party. On Luigi, the bonus game is very infrequent whereas on Super Jackpot the bonus game comes around very frequently.
Also, are there any suggestions for Alpha games I should consider?

Thanks.

[rickhunter]

There is a game called Pop it for the Alpha 1 video that is pretty cool for kids, the bonus involves popping groups of baloons and you try to clear the whole screen, but you must have at least 2 baloons of the same color together to pop them.  It is kind of a skill based bonus round.


Ms. Clara T and Hatch the Cash are about the only other engaging type of games that are not just free spins like most of these games are nowadays.  Bally video was not all that in my opinion, until alpha 2 came around.  There are really only a handfull of alpha 1 titles that would captivate a millennial.


For the WMS platform there are a lot of the older games that have that pick 'em bonus rounds, some of them are very engaging.  Here are a few off the top of my head.


Pick your Fortune
Rich Little Piggies
Winning Bid Classic
Fairy's Fortune
Money to Burn
Jackpot Party Classic
Lucky Lemmings
Ring Quest
Reel 'em in Classic


There are a couple of others I am sure to be forgetting, but those listed should be fun for younger kids.

[cobra617]

There is a game called Pop it for the Alpha 1 video that is pretty cool for kids, the bonus involves popping groups of baloons and you try to clear the whole screen, but you must have at least 2 baloons of the same color together to pop them.  It is kind of a skill based bonus round.


Ms. Clara T and Hatch the Cash are about the only other engaging type of games that are not just free spins like most of these games are nowadays.  Bally video was not all that in my opinion, until alpha 2 came around.  There are really only a handfull of alpha 1 titles that would captivate a millennial.


For the WMS platform there are a lot of the older games that have that pick 'em bonus rounds, some of them are very engaging.  Here are a few off the top of my head.


Pick your Fortune
Rich Little Piggies
Winning Bid Classic
Fairy's Fortune
Money to Burn
Jackpot Party Classic
Lucky Lemmings
Ring Quest
Reel 'em in Classic


There are a couple of others I am sure to be forgetting, but those listed should be fun for younger kids.

Thanks again Rick. Do I need to do anything special to swap a game (other than clear and setup)? Meaning, if I find a kit, is the assumption that it will work?

[rickhunter]

If you are running Lucky Luigi's, then Pop it will work.  Other than a clear and setup, there's nothing else to do.

[cobra617]

If you are running Lucky Luigi's, then Pop it will work.  Other than a clear and setup, there's nothing else to do.

Thanks again Rick. I just want to verify. I found a Poppit sw. But the game card shows S9Poppit. It seems to denote that this is for an S9000. My cabinet is an Alpha Elite (touchscreen only with a 19" Monitor). I checked out a few videos on Youtube and I've seen that there are some versions of this game that are for the S9000 Reels. (I see Reels and then the bonus being played on the top monitor).
Is the software the same? Meaning it will know which version to display (the Reel version or the display only)


UPDATE: Actually, the seller just responded. If it starts with AS it is for Reels. AV is for Video. And just my luck, this one starts with AS. Oh well.



Thanks.

[cobra617]

I was thinking about this and thought to ask...


Is the game completely contained on the computer board?


What I mean is, what if I don't feel like doing a clear to swap a game each time? Can I buy another computer and have 1 computer as 1 game and 1 as the other? I am thinking that I can swap a computer (power, sound, video and serial cables) a LOT faster than a clear and setup. I thought that I saw Alpha computers pop up here and there for a reasonable amount [/size](512.....1Ghz are pricey) If so, do you know if Bally makes a generic top glass? I've seen a generic WMS and wonder if Bally had the same thing.
[/size]
[/size]Thanks.

[rickhunter]

No, when you first setup a game, the mpu and backplane are linked together with information.  If you replace the mpu with another one and do not clear, it will tilt out at boot.  All gaming machines are done this way to avoid some nefarious guy coming in with an mpu full of credits and trying to cash out.  The only way to do what you ask for is to have a set of backplane and MPU and change them out at the same time.  At that point, it is just easier to clear and setup a new game.  In Gameking cabinets, it is easier to do.  You only need to buy the eeprom ic where the information is stored on the backplane and swap mpu and eeprom.  There's a hack for the 3902 platform where you mod the mpu to trick the machine into writing the eeprom information into an eeprom ic you solder into the mpu board, but I don't believe this works with the 044 platform.  In the gameking software, it is well worth doing the swap as some gameking configurations can get quite involved if you want to enable every single game in the board.

[rickhunter]

UPDATE: Actually, the seller just responded. If it starts with AS it is for Reels. AV is for Video. And just my luck, this one starts with AS. Oh well.



Thanks.

Here is a poppit video version:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bally-Alpha-AVGPOPT01000-00-Poppit-with-OS-/181920652156?

[cobra617]

UPDATE: Actually, the seller just responded. If it starts with AS it is for Reels. AV is for Video. And just my luck, this one starts with AS. Oh well.



Thanks.

Here is a poppit video version:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bally-Alpha-AVGPOPT01000-00-Poppit-with-OS-/181920652156?

Yup, I snagged that one (actually an earlier one from that seller, he reposted another one). Now I will see if I get annoyed enough playing Poppit with a Lucky Luigis Top and Belly glass to go searching for new glass.

Thanks again for all of your help Rick.

[cobra617]

Here is a poppit video version:


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bally-Alpha-AVGPOPT01000-00-Poppit-with-OS-/181920652156?

Thanks Rick. I just installed Poppit (bought the one off of eBay). It is much more fun than Lucky Luigi's. Now to find the glass.