ArgOS (New SG GAMES) in a Bally A2 PRO cab....

[FireballJackpot]

Lots of people wondering if you can run the "new" SG games (ArgOS platform) in their Bally A2 cabinet. YES you can!!... Some games anyway....

This is what MY experience is with a PRO 22/22 cabinet, so read with a grain of salt. Many others are running ArgOS and may have done it differently! (I know the WMS Blade cabinets are different, etc).

Here is a quick list of what's involved:

1) You must have matching BIOS for the A2 Engine you're running. You can't run 2.4 BIOS in a 2.1 Engine. Loader drives with "4.0" in their label coding are for Original TwinStar machines that operate with 4.0 engine and hardware.
2) Your Windows and OS versions MUST be for the type of HARDWARE you are running. (2.1, 2.4, 4.0)
3) Your Installer MUST match the BIOS you have installed.
4) You MUST have the correct Jumper Harness installed for the Machine (and some games) you're running. I have had success running some V32 games in my 22/22 - but not ALL V32 will work. (Remember that "grain of salt" thing I mentioned earlier?)
5) 22/22 cab: BOTH monitors must have DP inputs.
6) 22/22 cab: BOTH monitors MUST be the same manufacturer. You can NOT run a Tovis monitor on the bottom and Tatung on the top. (I have no clue why, I just know you get the "Grey Screen Of Death" if they don't match).
7) Your engine MUST have a Bally Flashed BIOS - 4 DP port - video card on it.
8 ) Some games require 16GB of RAM in your Engine.
9) ALL games are DONGLE games.
10) Some games require a CAT5 switch installed if the game requires a network ping.
11) Some games require a "Multilink" Dongle to work.
12) You'll need ORIGINAL, SG or Patriot OEM drives. Non-OEM drives can give you "authentication" errors.

That's the quick list. So can it be done? Yes. Note that a V32 game will NOT "look right" in your 22/22 cabinet, but will still play. See 2nd and 3rd photo (Monopoly and Twin Fire Frenzy).

Which games require what Windows version and what OS, is a different subject area in this topic. I'll let others chime in if they want to share their experience with other members. I can only share what game info I've got to work correctly.

Hopefully this will help people join the "ArgOS Club" and help some dealers out there sell their Argos hardware, thumb drives and games!

PS: I have NO hardware or games for sale. Watch the NLG Classifieds for that kind of stuff!

[coolwavepic]

Thanks for the awesome list! About time someone opens up about this... 

Couple of questions, maybe you know or someone else knows. Since the 22/22 setup can run V32 games can a V32 cab run the 22/22 games like the Alpha 2 Wave does in some casinos?

What is the purpose of the multilink dongle? Is that for progressives or something else? Same for Cat5 switch. Just wondering why thats needed when looking for games..

MPU's - If I wanted to convert my already V32 Alpha 2 - and lets say I wanted a better MPU, does the backplane or cage need to be changed out or will the higher number MPUs kit? Casinos converted a lot of 27/27 (which was once a Alpha 2) into Twinstars so I was wondering how that was done inside.

[rickhunter]

I know the answer to the v22/22 wave question. The wave's monitor has the capability of operating as 2 individual monitors.  If you use both signal cables connected to the wave monitor, it will behave as a pair of monitor stacked on top of each other.  A normal v32 pro monitor cannot do this, so unless you have some sort of special monitor on your V32, the answer is no.

[coolwavepic]

Correct Rick on the Wave monitors. They have inputs on those monitors for the Alpha 2 system. But I was wondering since the Argos system is splitting a Vertical game between 2 monitors, can the opposite happen with a non wave monitor. You know what I mean?

[FireballJackpot]

Thanks for the awesome list! About time someone opens up about this... 

What is the purpose of the multilink dongle? Is that for progressives or something else? Same for Cat5 switch. Just wondering why thats needed when looking for games..

MPU's - If I wanted to convert my already V32 Alpha 2 - and lets say I wanted a better MPU, does the backplane or cage need to be changed out or will the higher number MPUs kit? Casinos converted a lot of 27/27 (which was once a Alpha 2) into Twinstars so I was wondering how that was done inside.

Multilink Blue Dongle sets up (unlocks) an internal progressive controller. Some games require that to be set-up. Similar to what a Green Dongle does for A2 - if you're familiar with that. The Switch provides a "return ping" some games require.

No backplane or cage change out. 2.0, 2.1 and 2.4 Engines all run in the same cage and backplane. You WILL need the correct BIOS that matches your Engine Type though. NOTE: I've never tried a 2.1 BIOS in a 2.0 Engine (the Engine with the audio jacks on the front). Maybe others can chime in to see if they've had success with the "A1 conversion" or "1st Generation" A2 Engine (??)

Casinos just removed the A2 BIOS chip, added the cabinet jumper harness, updated the video card (if needed), added RAM (if needed) and loaded whatever software (and dongles) using the ArgOS Installer Drive.

[idesign]

So has anyone been able to play any Twinstar games on their v32.  There are no v32 Twinstar games but potentially the v32 can play Twinstar Wave XL and J43 games.

Dan is selling a v32 harness so if someone bought one of those it would be great if they shared their experience with it.

[idesign]

So I set my v32 up with jumpers on the backplane to play J43 games.  I was able to install the game but during the boot process it eventually gave a cabinet type error.  Also tried setting it up as a Wave with jumpers but even though it allowed the game to be installed it came up with a too many monitors error even though I only had 1 monitor connected.

Anybody else having issues or success they would like to share?

[coolwavepic]

Just a thought on the Vertical games. I dont have any hardware but since ArgOS seems to be running the vertical games on a 22/22 upright and not sideways (split between two monitors), so just a theory... maybe you have to have a Wave monitor setup to run the two signals, which will appear as one image? Just a thought. Unless there is a way to play those vertical games sideways on a monitor.

[idesign]

OK, well first off from what I found out,  the early Twinstar games were dual platform, meaning dual monitor and single monitor.  So they play perfectly on the 22/22 set up as a 27/27 on the backplane.  However, I have confirmed that the J43 only has a single set of video connections unlike the Wave.  The current Wave you see playing these games is the Wave XL which is a different machine than the older Wave. Not sure about the video connections on that one though. It is odd though that some games play across 2 screens as if it wanted dual inputs.  Notice that these games usually cut off some video and the ideck image is cut off on the right.

[coolwavepic]

Interesting. I am assuming the cut off is happening because it wants a 4k monitor?

[idesign]

I just don't know.  It is interesting that some of the newer single screen games display across the 2 monitors and the topper, not perfectly but good enough to play.  Whereas the older single screen games like Heidi Bier Haus won't play at all.........I get a cabinet not supported error. All using the same OS and Windows software.  Maybe it's just that the newer software is not looking for dual screens so the game displays and plays.  I'm not complaining since there are some pretty cool games that play on the 22/22 that are supposed to play only on the Wave  XL or J43.

[Cora]

Hello, I know this post is old but I had a question about what type of mpu was used or was a part changed, such as the graphics card? I'm trying to update my bally v22 I hope someone can answer me thanks

[idesign]

Hello, I know this post is old but I had a question about what type of mpu was used or was a part changed, such as the graphics card? I'm trying to update my bally v22 I hope someone can answer me thanks

All  you need to know is at the beginning of this topic.

One  thing missing though is the video card, it must be a E8870 flashed for Argos