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| Game Description |
Aleck Bordon Adventure 4th Story: Tower & Shaft is an action platformer game for the Arcade.
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| Translation Description |
Tower & Shaft English Localization
This series of patches localizes the Aleck64 title "Tower & Shaft" to North American English and optionally modifies it to run on Nintendo 64 hardware.
A revised cartridge conversion method is used, consistent with later conversion releases. This should act as a replacement for the original N64 conversion release.
The game's an arcade license of the Mac titles NS-Tower and NS-Shaft, originally written by Akihiko Kusanagi of Nagi-P Software and distro'd through NIFTY-Serve.
Gameplay couldn't be simpler.
In Tower, you hold and release button 1 to jump as Aleck paces left and right automatically.
In Shaft, move left and right to fall on the platforms. Don't fall off the screen or get squished by the spikes above.
Endless mode is endless. Yes, it stops counting floors at 999 but will continue until you die. High scores are only kept for endless.
DIP switches don't dictate settings. The Test button accesses options such as coin settings, ADS counters, test modes, etc. All settings are saved to eeprom.
The arcade version uses JAMMA controls, not the N64-style controller setup. Only button 1 and the start button are used.
N64 version controls:
+pad movement
A button 1
start start button
L test button
R service button
c-up coin slot 2
c-down coin slot 1
Patching
Use xdelta to apply the xdelta patch to the original arcade ROM. It's MAME name corresponds to its label: ua3012--all02.u3
Note that this file is and should be little-endian! Unlike typical maskroms these are effectively flashcarts, so the data is big-endian but storage and access expects little.
Attempting to use any other file or byteswapped data will result in a "invalid checksum" error.
* All patches should be applied to ua3012--all02.u3 and no other file *
* Do NOT attempt to patch the previous N64 conversion of the title *
ua3112--all02.u3.xdelta
English Aleck64 ROM file, usable in MAME or replacing the U3 chip on an Aleck cart. Little-endian.
Tower&Shaft (USA).n64.xdelta
English N64 ROM file, using a modified 5101 cic to limit piracy. Big-endian.
Tower&Shaft (Japan) (Rev A).n64.xdelta
Japanese N64 ROM file, using a modified 5101 cic to limit piracy. Big-endian.
Playing
Aleck version:
Yes, the translation works on Aleck64 hardware. The easiest method is to program the game onto a Fujitsu MSP55LV128 and place it in the U3 slot on an appropriate board, such as the ALK-ROM01. These boards already are socketed making replacement incredibly easy, and don't have size limitations like the SLOSSEUM boards.
Actual data size is 0x437340, so a single 8MB chip is perfectly adequate. The U4 slot does not need to be filled, or for that matter does not need to be unfilled.
If you're using MAME, run the Aleck64 version. The consolification method shouldn't work under N64 emulation. Registry will eventually make it to public distribution, but until then you should be able to load it directly via command line options.
N64 version:
Newer generation flash carts support Aleck64 conversions, such as the 64drive. Console is the recommended method. Note though that there is no "safe zone" so video stretches to the very edge of the screen, which may cut off a bit of the window on a typical CRT screen. Colors may appear differently than an arcade unit due to hardware differences.
Most emulators do not support Aleck64 conversions. Cen64 does, and it's possible to coerce those with debuggers to as well. Refer to your emulator's documentation or support. |
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