It's a weird game, in that it's a cross-over between pong and breakout, in that the field is full of 48 squares which are wiped out as the ball passes through them. Clearly the memory array at the lower right corresponds to storing that state. I'm guessing the ROM array the top right is the character font definition (7 columns, seven segments).
There is also a proper one and two player breakout mode, but reusing that RAM array (same number of tiles).
This was actually part of GI's GIMINI game console concept, where each cartridge actually had the game logic, and the console itself was the AY-3-8615 color processor (page 8-54), power supply and modulator. The AY-3-8606-1 was the 525 line version, while the AY-3-8606 was the 625 line variant. I suspect these were produced by third parties, and the GIMINI name was never intended to be consumer-visible.
Other members of this series are:
AY-3-8500 - Ball and Paddle (I'm pretty sure the AY-3-8600 was a variant of this) (*) AY-3-8603 - Road race AY-3-8605 - Warfare (like "Air Sea Battle") AY-3-8607 - Shooting Gallery AY-3-8610 - Super Sports AY-3-8765 - Motor Cycle (Note below)
Note: the AY-3-8765 is almost certainly a microprocessor-driven game, unlike the rest. The complexity of the graphics are much too high for a fixed function implementation.
Thanks very much for the additional die shots. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw, not one, but three GI-game chip die shots posted. I find this particular series quite fascinating, so much so that I built a digital simulation of the AY-3-8500 from the die shots you published last year. So far I've managed to generate the game field. I'm keeping a little record of progress here (https://nerdstuffbycole.blogspot.com/) in case you're interested in in-depth reverse engineering.
These chips are pretty obscure, but I found a lot of information about them on David Winter's site (http://www.pong-story.com/gi.htm) in case you want to know more.
Also, thank you Ian, for your information. I have never seen that particular General Instruments catalog before. Information about this era of GI is hard to find as they split in the '90s
That's a lot of work you've done on AY-3-8500 in a short time! I'm excited, because that's exactly why I post all these pics.
I have nostalgia for the AY-3-8500; the one I took pics of came out of my own Hanimex 777 that I got for Christmas in '77 or '78. The case and PCB are long gone, but for some reason I saved the chip and the potentiometers from the paddles!
The proper name of this device is "Wipeout".
ReplyDeleteDatasheet here (at bitsavers):
http://www.bitsavers.org/components/gi/_dataBooks/1980_GI_Microelectronics_Data_Catalog.pdf
(Page 8-27 which is PDF page 460.)
It's a weird game, in that it's a cross-over between pong and breakout, in that the field is full of 48 squares which are wiped out as the ball passes through them. Clearly the memory array at the lower right corresponds to storing that state. I'm guessing the ROM array the top right is the character font definition (7 columns, seven segments).
There is also a proper one and two player breakout mode, but reusing that RAM array (same number of tiles).
This was actually part of GI's GIMINI game console concept, where each cartridge actually had the game logic, and the console itself was the AY-3-8615 color processor (page 8-54), power supply and modulator. The AY-3-8606-1 was the 525 line version, while the AY-3-8606 was the 625 line variant. I suspect these were produced by third parties, and the GIMINI name was never intended to be consumer-visible.
Other members of this series are:
AY-3-8500 - Ball and Paddle (I'm pretty sure the AY-3-8600 was a variant of this) (*)
AY-3-8603 - Road race
AY-3-8605 - Warfare (like "Air Sea Battle")
AY-3-8607 - Shooting Gallery
AY-3-8610 - Super Sports
AY-3-8765 - Motor Cycle (Note below)
Note: the AY-3-8765 is almost certainly a microprocessor-driven game, unlike the rest. The complexity of the graphics are much too high for a fixed function implementation.
Thanks! I should be adding links to datasheets for each die shot.
ReplyDeleteThere are many blocks that are similar between this one and 8600. I'll try to get more chips for comparison purposes.
I found the bitmap font for AY-3-8800-1, but haven't figured out this one yet. http://www.seanriddle.com/ay-3-8800-1.html
There's also a pic of the AY-3-8500 here: http://seanriddledecap.blogspot.com/2017/02/blog-post.html
Thanks very much for the additional die shots. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw, not one, but three GI-game chip die shots posted. I find this particular series quite fascinating, so much so that I built a digital simulation of the AY-3-8500 from the die shots you published last year. So far I've managed to generate the game field. I'm keeping a little record of progress here (https://nerdstuffbycole.blogspot.com/) in case you're interested in in-depth reverse engineering.
ReplyDeleteThese chips are pretty obscure, but I found a lot of information about them on David Winter's site (http://www.pong-story.com/gi.htm) in case you want to know more.
Also, thank you Ian, for your information. I have never seen that particular General Instruments catalog before. Information about this era of GI is hard to find as they split in the '90s
That's a lot of work you've done on AY-3-8500 in a short time! I'm excited, because that's exactly why I post all these pics.
ReplyDeleteI have nostalgia for the AY-3-8500; the one I took pics of came out of my own Hanimex 777 that I got for Christmas in '77 or '78. The case and PCB are long gone, but for some reason I saved the chip and the potentiometers from the paddles!