Intellivision ROM Patches

Here is a patch for The Jetsons' Ways With Words.  This one is not a cheat, but suppresses the check for the ECS keyboard so it will work on the app jzintv4droid.  If you play without enabling ECS, it will just crash.

To use the emulated ECS keyboard in jzintv4droid, long-press your device's Back button and then select "Show Keyboard."  Press the Back button again to hide the keyboard when you're ready to play.  You should have the ecs.bin file in addition to the exec.bin and grom.bin files.

If your ROM is in .rom format, run rom2bin to create a copy of the ROM in .bin+.cfg format.

Just add the following lines at the end of the .cfg file:

[macro]
p 57d3 34
p 57d4 34

Another ROM hack that isn't really a cheat.  This one is for Sub Hunt.  It bypasses the check at the title screen and simply gives you an Easter Egg animation, shaking the screen until all the characters fall off.  There seems to be no way to break out of it, so you'll want to make a copy of your ROM before patching it.

Add these lines to the end of the .cfg file:

[macro]
p 5030 34
p 5031 34

Another one that deserves mention is my old nemesis, Vectron.  I've got a few things to share with this one.

First, disable all the Nasties.  A side effect of this cheat is that 2-player mode is also disabled.

Code:

[macro]
p 55ed 2b8 ; Disable all Nasties!
p 55ee 4 ; |
p 55ef 240 ; |
p 55f0 104 ; |

Next, let's start with lots of points.  Press Enter at the "number of players" prompt for 28 million.

Code:

p 55ec 164 ; Lots of points at start

How about skipping all the way to the last stage after Level 1?  (The base shape will still be for Level 2).

Code:

p 664d 2b9 ; After Level 1 ...
p 664e 62 ; go straight to "Level 99"

Finally, see the Easter Egg message after each level, save for the last.

Code:

p 6808 ff ; Easter egg doesn't care ...
p 6809 204 ; what level we just completed
p 680c 204 ; Easter egg doesn't care what key you press to start next level
p 6811 204 ; Easter egg doesn't care about the last position of the Energy Block
p 6817 204 ; Easter egg doesn't care what happened on previous levels
p 681d 20e ; Easter egg doesn't care how many players you entered at start

Is there a ready made Rom for download?

Only in my Portable Development Environment, at least right now. I could make the .cfg file available if you want to replace your existing one, since it's just text without the binary.

I responded to a request for Burgertime, so here is a patch for infinite lives and peppers.  Both players are affected in 2-player mode.

Code:

[macro]
p 51f9 34 ; Infinite lives (both players)
p 633a 34 ; Infinite peppers (both players)

Next, here are my hacks for Scooby Doo's Maze Chase.  I'll start with a couple of simple ones here: infinite bones and infinite lives.

Code:

[macro]
p 5807 34 ; Infinite bones
p 5bca 34 ; Infinite lives

Then I discovered that you can earn an extra life at 25,000 points, but getting to 25,000 without ever losing a life is about as easy as getting to Level 16 in Vectron.  So I added this to earn an extra life at 50 points instead, so you can hear the fanfare and see a third reserve life on the screen.

Code:

p 595e 5 ; Extra
p 595f 0 ; life
p 5964 5 ; at 50
p 5965 0 ; points

Another one, this time for Tron Deadly Discs.  This was in response to a request to correct the colors so Tron once again is the one fighting for the users.

Code:

[macro]
p 50f9 55 ; Tron is now light blue
p 5109 81 ; Your disc is now blue
p 5c2a 54 ; Warriors are now pink, Leaders are black, Bulldogs are yellow-green, and Guards are cyan
p 5db4 80 ; Enemy discs are now black, Double-Damage Discs are orange, and Homing Discs are yellow

Now for an actual cheat: a graphics hack to make the Recognizer easy to hit (scroll down within the Code window to see all the lines).

Code:

p 531d 0 ; Recognizer eye has no shield
p 531e 0 ; |
p 531f 0 ; |
p 5320 0 ; |
p 5321 0 ; |
p 5322 0 ; |
p 5323 0 ; |
p 5324 0 ; |
p 5325 0 ; |
p 5326 0 ; |
p 5327 0 ; |
p 5328 0 ; |
p 5329 0 ; |
p 532a 0 ; |
p 532b 0 ; |
p 532c 0 ; |
p 532d 7e ; Recognizer eye is easier to hit
p 532e ff ; |
p 5330 ff ; |
p 5331 ff ; |
p 5332 ff ; |
p 5335 7e ; |
p 5336 ff ; |
p 5338 ff ; |
p 5339 ff ; |
p 533a ff ; |
p 533d 7e ; |
p 533e ff ; |
p 5340 ff ; |
p 5341 ff ; |
p 5342 ff ; |
p 5345 7e ; |
p 5346 ff ; |
p 5348 ff ; |
p 5349 ff ; |
p 534a ff ; |


And now for a little fun with Space Armada.  First, we'll enable one of the Easter Eggs, since it also enables a skip ahead to a higher starting level.

Code:

[macro]
p 5044 ff ; Enable easter eggs if no controls are depressed on left controller at startup
;p 504a ff ; Easter egg 1 - "SPAZ ARMADA" (if no controls depressed on right controller)
p 504e ff ; Easter egg 2 - "SPACE BEASTIES" (if no controls depressed on right controller)

Notice that I have the middle line commented out by prefacing it with a semicolon.  You obviously can only choose one of the Easter Eggs.  If you want the other one, then move the semicolon from the beginning of that line to the beginning of the one below it.  If neither line is commented out, you'll get the first one by default.

Now for the fun part, start at level 252 if one of the Easter Eggs is enabled and you select Practice Mode.  That way you'll earn a lot of points early on.

Code:

p 50ae fd ; Start at level 252 in Practice Mode with easter egg enabled

You'll definitely want to slow down the enemies as well, unless you want to find out just how fast they can swoop down on the higher levels!

Code:

p 5218 2b8 ; Enemies move very slow when level starts
p 5219 2 ; |
p 574e 34 ; Enemies do not speed up throughout the level
p 574f 34 ; |

You'll also probably want either 2 more lives at start or infinite lives, because you'll get hit a lot on these higher levels.  I commented out the latter by default so there's still an actual challenge.

Code:

p 517c 6 ; Start with 2 additional lives
p 517f 11 ; |
;p 5649 34 ; Never lose lives

Here are a couple of silly ones I found along the way, which I have commented out by default.

Code:

;p 512a 6 ; Slow speed (pressing "3" at title screen) if Game Mode is selected
;p 597f 34 ; Ground turns to ice

Another response to an old request.  This was for Astrosmash, initially to keep the sky black.

Code:

[macro]
p 5a9f 2b8 ; Sky is always ...
p 5aa0 0 ; black

You can play around with that last line by changing "0" to any other hexadecimal character, but I don't recommend it because you likely won't be able to see all the rocks at some point.  Change it to 7 for White if you're really feeling masochistic (you won't see anything but the rocks)!

Another thing you probably want is the Game Selection menu enabled, so you can choose to play Meteor.  When you press '1' or '2' to select your game (1 = Astrosmash, 2 = Meteor), it echoes your selection "Game #" in black-on-black, so there are a few modifications to the code.  I could not keep the number, so I went with a solid square in one of two colors: blue or green.

Code:

p 5069 34 ; Enable Game Selection menu
p 506a 34 ; |
p 50aa 2 ; Echo red text
p 50b6 280 ; Blue block for Astrosmash, Green block for Meteor
p 50b7 15d ; |
p 50b8 4c ; |
p 50b9 2f8 ; |
p 50ba 2f8 ; |
p 50bb 8 ; |

One last thing you might find interesting is the programmer's name appended to the game title.  There is no code to enable it through an Easter Egg controller combo.  The only way to see it is through a ROM patch:

Code:

p 5028 20 ; Expanded title screen text
p 503c 0 ; |

One more for today: Lock & Chase.  There are different codes for the two different released versions.

I created two patches: one to become invincible, and one for infinite lives.  Both players are affected, but since Player 2 doesn't get a chance to play until Player 1 loses a life, it doesn't matter.

For the 8K version (with the proper copyright symbol):

Code:

[macro]
p 5bf9 34 ; Invincible!
p 5bfa 34 ; |
p 5c26 34 ; Infinite lives

For the 6K version (with the original copyright screen):

Code:

[macro]
p 59a4 34 ; Invincible!
p 59a5 34 ; |
p 59cb 34 ; Infinite lives

A little change to Astrosmash.  I was able to get the actual number to display, so I'm swapping out the six lines of "blue/green block" with this:

Code:

p 50b6 280 ; Display selection number in some color other than black
p 50b7 15d ; |
p 50b8 4c ; |
p 50b9 48 ; |
p 50ba 2f8 ; |
p 50bb 8a ; | (red)

And how about a little graphics hack for triple fire:

Code:

p 5ba0 db ; Graphics hack (triple fire)
p 5ba1 db ; |
p 5ba2 db ; |
p 5ba3 db ; |

Heck, let's increase the length of the shots too:

Code:

p 5ba4 db ; Graphics hack (extended length)
p 5ba5 db ; |
p 5ba6 db ; |
p 5ba7 db ; |

One more for Sub Hunt, this time to immediately win the game.  I created this patch because I liked the "Ride of the Valkyries" victory fanfare so much, I wanted to be able to listen to it anytime.  In addition, if you press 5 on the title screen for the highest difficulty level, there's an expanded endgame message.

Code:

p 6215 20c ; Win immediately!

Having trouble with Stampede?  Maybe infinite lives would help.

Code:

[macro]
p 5bf3 2b9 ; Infinite lives
p 5bf4 ce ; |

Rev wrote:Is there a ready made Rom for download?  

I created a page on my website with a list of all the ROM hacks I've created so far.  There are a few in there I haven't posted here yet.  The links are just downloads for substitute .cfg files.

Midnight Blue International - Intellivision ROM Hacks

I created another ROM hack today. This time it's for Buzz Bombers. You can see all the intermissions after the first four stages (before it was stages 5, 10, 20, and 30). You now have infinite lives, and best of all, the bees do not pollinate flowers anymore! Click the link above to access all the hacks I've done so far.

I'm having some fun hacking Pinball right now.  So far, I made it so you can start on the blue level and stay there (the level just resets when the ball falls to the bottom, instead of dropping you back to the red table).  That also means you never lose a ball.

Also, I found credits buried in the ROM that I think are inaccessible.  I decided to plaster the "number of players" screen with those credits.

Right now, I'm planning to upload the hack to my website on Tuesday.  If somebody wants to see it sooner, just let me know.

As an update, I reverse-engineered the music data in Melody Blaster and posted a replacement .cfg file to change all the tunes.  That took some doing!

Today, I went with Masters of the Universe and provided infinite lives, and infinite fuel and time.  It's all posted on my website.