March 2002

31st March - Peace declared. "And about bloody time too", say assembled crowds.

Well here it is folks, another one of my 10000 word essays (and I know you all love them really.....).

Basically, Harvey and I were both on IRC last night, and just as I was thinking to myself "I really should open a private chat window with Harvey and see if we can get this sorted out", Harvey opened a private chat window with me and said "Should we try and sort this out?". My response was something like "Yes, because this fucking sucks" (moderate language as always).

And it does suck - big time, so we had a long, adult chat about it (no really, I can do it when I want to), and whatever our differences (we agreed we weren't going to be best buddies any time soon) we've both got true commitment and dedication to the scene, splitting it into two and setting up rival camps sniping at each other is never going to be the way to go.

Harvey said "sorry" to me for the way he banned me from MPU Forums and told me clearly and frankly that he had got it wrong (and that is pretty much my biggest grievance in all of this), I said "sorry" for my more extreme behaviour on the forums recently (excessive ripe language and a psychotic tendency to argue with anyone and everyone over everything might make sense to me at the time, but it's not everyone's cup of tea), and we worked forward from there to reach a settlement. What heartened me is that when it really came down to it, and when we really started to discuss things properly, it wasn't that difficult.

There are no climb downs here, no one "wins", no one "loses", as things stood everyone lost, the scene lost - there was nothing more than a hollow Pyrrhic victory on offer anyway, it was crazy - me and Harvey locked horns and things got way, way out of hand. We both make no secret of (or apologies for) the fact that we will argue our corner and argue it ferociously, but we both now know that there has to be a point where you step back, take a pause, and ask what the reasons are for your actions, and I think we've both been doing some of the wrong things for wrong reasons recently. It's now quite clear to all how far we're both prepared to go when pushed (all the way, basically) - and it's not a pretty sight, neither of us want to see it repeated. We both now know how bad things can get, we both also know it's up to us to play our parts in not letting it happen again.

The "Catalogue Of Support" at The Hovel MK 2 will disappear shortly (if it hasn't already as you read this (update - this is now archived out and available from the link)), as will my "So what's happening then?" page, and they're not even going to be archived out "for historical purposes", it's not rewriting history, it's simply accepting that this whole scenario was a first class fuck up and it needs to be put right. Harvey's doing his bit to rectify his mistakes, I'm doing the same for mine. I'm also going to go through the posts made to MSN in the last 24 hours and delete the nasty stuff. MSN will go back to fully moderated status again (effectively in stasis and not for general use), and will resume its role as a "dead" on-line archive.

I realise that a number of you have expressed your support for the move to open MSN again, but having two MPU boards effectively competing with each other is a bad idea, plain and simple. We need to find a way to pull together now, not to pull apart. If my U-Turn on MSN annoys some of you (and I am sure it will) I fully understand that, especially following the bold decision that some of you made to nail your colours to the mast on the issue, for that I apologise.

As for what I'm going to do (just for the few of you who are actually interested....). First off, The Hovel will carry on as it has since day one, hosting all files, keeping up to date with releases, write ups, comments, reviews, business as usual. During our chat on IRC Harvey said many things that made sense, and one thing in particular that did ring true was that The Hovel had lost some of its sense of fun as time has gone by. I have been focussing on the negative aspects of certain issues too much, and I'm going to see if I can get back to writing some more machine reviews (which were often good for a laugh), maybe a couple more articles about fruities and emulation in general, inject a bit of humour, just a bit of happiness back into things, too much of what has been said (by many people, not just me) has started to become personal and irrelevant to the scene - I'm going to do my bit to try and change that.

All that said, I'm not being "silenced" - Harvey and I have decided to end this public spat and move forward for our sakes, and for the general health of the scene, but it's not with "conditions". He hasn't said to me "You can come back to the forums but you can't do X, Y or Z", in fact, in all fairness, he has not asked anything of me. If I feel strongly about an issue I will speak up about it, on the forums and/or on this site; but what I won't do is get involved in, or start, any more of these rows that are far more to do with individual squabbles than are they to do with the scene - of course there's some cross over and the two matters aren't ever going to be entirely separate, but it's quite true, recently it's been more about petty arguments and personal gripes than it has about the scene.

On a final note, thank you to all of you who have offered me your support in the last 24 hours, your words have meant a lot to me - it is that support which made me decide that the best thing to do was to put some of my personal grievances and grumbles aside, swallow some of my pride - and talk to Harvey in an adult fashion to get this thing sorted out. And fair's fair, credit is due to Harvey for doing the same thing (although he was talking to me in an adult fashion, not himself, obviously). One thing we did agree on is that the scene has to come first, and that we have both been guilty of losing focus on that priority in recent times.

So there you have it, normal service has been resumed (again), and hopefully this peace will last a little longer than the 45.72 seconds we usually manage. But in all seriousness, perhaps this has been a true watershed, and now we can all get back to concentrating on what matters most. Ummmm, hang on, I can remember, don't tell me, yep, that's it....... fruit machine emulation! I always knew there was a reason why we all ended up in the same place :-)

Feel the power of the club lo-tech! If you're having trouble sleeping, put half an hour in on Club X and you'll be right away with the fairies in no time. What's it all about? Play the lower reel game in typically banal Bar-X fashion, but make sure you're prepared for the adrenaline rush of win gambling and/or playing the super games that can strike at any time! Any normal reel win (£1 for Xs, £5 for bars) can be turbo-gambled on the cash ladder, gamble as high as you dare before collecting, or exchange your win over to the super game, where you play on five winlines at £1 per spin for big cash prizes.

It all sounds quite good (for a lo-tech), but do not be deceived, there's pure evil at work here. You gamble on the cash ladder in a "one up one down" fashion, and you're only allowed to lose a set number of gambles before you have to collect the value you're on or exchange it over to the super games. When the machine gets reasonably happy it will regularly let you gamble up to the £20 mark, hover around there for a while and then force you to choose to collect or exchange. If you collect, you knock the machine back and push the jackpot away, but if you exchange over to the super games they can go on and on and ON and ON.

There is no automatic collect after a certain number of spins on the super games, so if you are forcing for the JP you'll just have to keep playing until you lose all your stake money or get the jackpot, and this can take a l...o...n...g... time. Not just a couple of minutes long time (which would be quite a long time for a single feature on a fruit machine), but more like fifteen or twenty minutes long time. If you need a piss make sure you do it before you start playing the super games, as it'll be a toss up between a burst bladder and losing your stake if things get sticky (which they will if your bladder bursts).

30th March - The MSN Fruit Machine Emulation Community is open again.
UPDATE 31st March - Fully moderated (i.e. closed) again. Apologies for mucking you all about.
SECOND UPDATE 1st May - Open again, permanently.

My account on MPU Forums has been closed by Harvey and my IP address has been banned. Those of you who follow the forums can make your own mind up about the rights and wrongs of this (or choose to be completely indifferent, whatever works for you). I am not reopening MSN out of spite, but since I have now been completely censored and prohibited from expressing my opinions about this scene on MPU Forums and as I enjoy the debate I may as well have somewhere I can have a bit of natter. If you'd like to get back into the MSN swing of things, please feel free to do so, otherwise I'll just chat to myself in there, discussing what sort of wallpaper would look good in the lounge and generally trying to plot the destruction of the scene (I'm ever so good at that, apparently).

MSN was, is, and always shall be a completely uncensored forum where people can express themselves freely, which gives it at least one major advantage over MPU Forums.

For the record, here is Harvey's post to the forums (thanks to another forum member for mailing this to me). Again, those of you who follow the forums can make of this post what you will, but since I can't post to the forums to make my own reply, I'll have to do it here - very brave of Harvey to ban me and then make this post in a forum that can't even be viewed unless you are a member of the forums. (And in an ongoing act of vindictiveness, he is actively banning any other IP addresses that I attempt to connect as a guest to the forums with, in an attempt to prevent me even reading the forums, let alone posting to them).

Bullshit, you've been waiting for an excuse to do this for a long while. You have rattled your sabre and hinted at dire consequences time and time again. Faced with someone who is consistently willing to argue a strong case in a powerful fashion you have finally had to reach for the "censor" button - your arguments exhausted and your rationale defeated.

Alex has been part of the scene from day one, but has also been involved in a hell of a lot of trouble these days.

When I was arguing for the release of dev tools I was "causing trouble", when I pushed for a more open and inclusive designing community I was "causing trouble", yet these things have now happened to the benefit of the whole scene. My recent bugbear has been locked layouts, a topic on which I have expressed my opinions in the usual fashion. It would be nice if you could have met this debate head on, but if banning me makes it easier for you, feel free.

He can personally attack me, which is fine, I can deal with this. But when he attacks other people for their way of thinking which he has today, then enough is enough. I now have seven complaints about his behaviour.

I don't recall attacking anyone for "their way of thinking" - but if you mean that I have debated points of interest with people who hold a different opinion to myself (silly old me using forums for actually debating things.....) then yes, I have.

I have baited him in defence of his attacks and digs at me, but it has to stop, and it is stopping now.

Right.... So you take part in the same behaviour that you have banned me for, and when you've had enough you ban me and carry on as you were, way to go Webmaster!

Alex is now no longer an active member of this community.

Wrong, I am still a very active member of the fruit machine emulation community, I just won't be on MPU Forums anymore.

He has always walked a tightrope of arguing when it suits him and does have many faces for whoever he is dealing with.

Coming from "Moby" (the secret MSN alias used by Harvey for hurling insults at people whom he didn't have the balls to confront head on) that's a bit rich. At least I always said what I said with one face and one name; my own.

Some of you may think that I am being harsh on Alex. Well he brought this on himself.

No Harvey, you banned me, I didn't ban me. You chose to take this action, and I for one do not believe it has anything to do with "protecting" the rest of the community from me, and that it has everything to do with the fact that you simply couldn't tolerate someone who was prepared to speak up and argue his corner in a lucid and principled fashion.

If the community spilts because of this, then so be it. This community was setup to help move the emulator forward. It will do this without Alex.

I hope it will, and I have no doubt it will. Whatever my arguments with yourself, my only wish has only ever been, and remains to this day, to see this scene become the biggest and best that it can be.

People like Road Hogg Mad have been banned for far less.

I am not doing the usual Tomb Stone when people are banned, this is far more serious behaviour that he is banned for.

So let's just clarify that, I used public forums as a place for debate and discussion and I am now banned? I have received no warnings, no indications that this was imminent, and have seen behaviour exhibited by other forum members at least as "serious" as my own. The truth of the matter is Harvey that you have wanted me banned for a long time, and as you are judge, jury and executioner it was only a matter of time before it happened. This is quite simply an all too typical case of an arrogant Webmaster's tendency towards control freakery boiling over and manifesting itself as censorship.

He may have been a "Forum Supporter" but it does not give him the right to continually swear like he does and be the abusive and argumentive person he has turned into. This is a public forum targeted at a young and an old audience.

Do I get any of my £100 back then? And as for "continually swearing", quite apart from the fact that we had a public vote when the forums were established and the membership as a whole decided on a policy of no censorship with regard to expletives, I don't really see your point. Although if someone can be banned from MPU Forums for being "argumentative" you'd really have to ask what their justification for existing actually is. And please don't start on the "young audience" line, otherwise known as "Won't someone please think of the children!!", unless you really are saying that banning me will help protect young children from coming into contact with corrosive and destructive influences on the internet.

Harvey

Rogue was responsible for the splendid pseudo-DX Pot Black layout that was released a few weeks ago. Grasping the pseudo-nettle with both hands and immediately getting the hang of what pseudos should be all about (recreating the original machine as accurately as possible when a "true" DX is not possible) it was a fine release, marred only by lamp slow down problems (which were an issue with V6.5 of MPU3/4, not the layout itself).

Clearly being something of a Pot Black super freak, Rogue has now gone on to produce an equally splendid Pot Black DX layout - and it's proper nice. (Sorry, been getting all Mancunian recently). The image source is a flyer, but Rogue's somehow given it that "real machine" feel that is usually associated with DX layouts based on photos, in particular, the way the lamps "glow" is very accomplished.

The skinned buttons look great, the lamps are near perfect, and the backlit reels work well, especially as the "dead" areas of the layout are relatively dark, so the overall effect is eerily like playing a proper machine in a gloomy pub. Underpinning all of this is the clarity, definition and depth of colour one would expect from a flyer based layout. Also, thanks to the funky new speed optimisations present in V8.75 of MPU3/4 the lamp slowdown has been all but eradicated.

Get going then, as this is one of the best DXs we've seen for a while, and hopefully we'll be seeing a lot more of Rogue's work in the weeks and months to come.

THIS
LAYOUT
IS
ASOA
VERIFIED.

VERIFICATION
WAS
DEPENDENT
UPON
MINOR
CHANGES
BEING
MADE TO
THE
DESIGNER'S
ORIGINAL
UNLOCKED
RELEASE.

CABBAGE
POWER!

29th March - ** NEW LAYOUT ** - "ACTION CLUB" SP CLASSIC - DAT. ASOA VERIFIED.

What's "ASOA"? It's the "Alex Seal Of Approval", a much coveted endorsement that only the finest layouts will receive. It's not my idea, it's Harvey's, as you can see by taking a look at this thread on MPU Forums (he even took the time out of his busy control-freak schedule to design the lovely graphic for me). However, my criteria for conferring the ASOA Award upon lucky layout designers will be different from those which Harvey envisaged when he first conceived of the idea.

ASOA layouts will be clear and functional. All keyboard shortcuts will be present and immediately apparent (and/or indicated in a readme file). The layout will contain all information required by and relevant to a superior playing experience (a win values panel for example). They will not contain any obvious errors. ASOA layouts will not necessarily be particularly fancy, cosmetic appearance is not nearly so important as clarity and usability. Locked layouts can be given an ASOA Award, but they will have to be close to perfect as any fixes to locked layouts can only be made with a re-release from the original layout designer.

Being a congenital imbecile does not automatically preclude someone from receiving an ASOA Award, so Harvey will be able to earn himself one if he can get the hang of making the reels on his layouts easily visible to the naked eye and using the "mask off images" command within MPU3/4 before releasing yet another (three) bloated, knackered, locked 3mb wastes of bytes and bandwidth.

With this framework established, I am pleased to be able to award Steve Phipps' Action Club layout an ASOA Award. Using the same 800x600 resolution as Munsta's initial release he has nonetheless managed to include a full win values panel, which is very useful for this machine as some of the wins (the note climb for example) are not obvious to the player. The overall tone of the layout is a little more subdued and ordered, no non-standard fonts have been used, and as a whole it works better for me than Munsta's layout.

I fully expect the establishment of the ASOA Award to usher in an unprecedented period of progress and growth within the MPU3/4 emulation scene, it's just the kind of kick start it's needed for too long!

THIS
LAYOUT
IS
ASOA
VERIFIED.

INSIST
ON THE
BEST;

ONLY THE
ALEX
SEAL OF
APPROVAL
GUARANTEES
QUALITY!

CABBAGE
POWER!

29th March
** NEW RELEASE ** - "CLUB PONTOON" - ROM & DAT.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "SMASH AND GRAB" PSEUDO-DX - DAT.
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "ROCKET MONEY" - DAT.
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL" - DAT.

Smash And Grab is a superb pseudo-DX by MFB, (based on a photo of the original machine).

Rocket Money has been updated to fix an error with a cash value on the feature trail.

It's no great secret that I'm not the world's biggest fan of these, shall we say, "individual" DX layouts. If you can't do a proper DX, then make your pseudo at least look like a proper DX, otherwise it's just not emulation really, is it?

That said, Russ is definitely possessed of a hearty dollop of genuine artistic flair, and it's hard not to like his pseudo Double 9s layout at least a bit. He seems to have some sort of electricity theme going on with the graphics, and a gothic type of affair as far as the fonts are concerned. It's kind of like a Frankenstein themed pseudo, I suppose. Maybe you could scream "It's alive!" when you get a jackpot to try and get into the spirit of things.

File size is just a little over 1mb, and in the best Master Pirie tradition the layout is unlocked, so you can have a tinker about and find out what makes these layout thingamajigs tick. Or of course, you can be really evil and hack it to pieces, release it as a porno rip off and BRING DOWN THE SCENE!! Protect yourself! Protect your layouts! The end is nigh!!!

29th March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL" - ROM & DAT available now.

Fruit machines scare me sometimes. The last time I played LTGTR in a pub with my wife (then girlfriend) present must be about six years ago, and there was one particular occasion back then when it gave me a right royal kicking, in a pub here on the Isle Of Man in the town of Douglas. It took a brutal £60, before finally offering up a jackpot on three holds and holding it once, so I clawed back £20, (funny how you clearly remember something as apparently trivial as an encounter with a fruit machine that occurred years ago).

Having seen the LTGTR release thread on MPU Forums I excitedly downloaded the layout and the ROMs, and got them up and running in MPU3/4 with a suitably high volume level. Vicki (nearest and dearest) popped her head round the door to just let me know that she was going to bed, but raised a quizzical ear at the sound of the main (rather funky) feature tune, a slight pause, then, "I remember that, isn't that the horrible machine they had in Sam Web's years ago?" (Sam Web's being a pub in Douglas). And there was me thinking (or rather, hoping) that fruit machines only left their scars on the people directly involved with them. Such naivety.....

Still, without going too far down that road, sufficed to say that this is a release I have been looking forward to since day one of the fruity emulation scene. Apart from the obvious reason that LTGTR used to dish out regular twattings to me, and I'm keen on taking the opportunity to dissect it at my leisure (rather like a laboratory rat that has grown infinitely powerful and intelligent, and begins to perform sadistic experiments on the cruel humans who once so tortured and oppressed it), there's also the fact that it's a thoroughly enjoyable machine to play in and of itself; great sounds and music (always one of Barcrest's strong points), the cool roulette wheel, lots of different features, the "double chance" idea (your first win from the feature achieved by any means can be gambled to try and get back into the feature at a higher level), a reasonable amount of skill involved in getting to the feature and making the most of it once you're there, one way or another it's all entertaining stuff.

The layout is by Mr Phipps, and it's very good without being astounding (Steve's layouts are normally as close to perfect as you can get). He's done his usual impeccable job of fitting everything into an 800x600 frame in a charmingly neat and tidy fashion, but a few details could have done with a bit of brushing up. For example, he's got the different colours for trail entry marked correctly on the trails themselves, but the overlaid numbers on the reels don't reflect this (as they did on the original machine). When on the feature it would help if the lamps could still be identified in their "off" state, as when you get the Take Ride or particularly the Skill Stop bonus you can only tell which lamp adds to which trail when it's lit (which is too briefly during a skill stop), a "dull colour" for unlit and "bright colour" for lit would be preferable (as has been done for the roulette ball itself in fact). And maybe it's just me, but some of the keyboard shortcuts are either missing or not immediately apparent (I can't find one for any of the "collect trail" buttons).

But my usual minor grumbles aside, this is a seriously classy MPU3/4 release, and it's what emulation is all about, individual people finding individual aspects of a scene which have a particular resonance for a personal reason. And even if LTGTR is "just another release" for you, it's still one of the better games currently implemented in MPU3/4, so is well worth it just on that score. On a final note, if you're feeling bold, whenever you get a win simply hold down the start button and hope that it does the old "turbo gamble to JP", it's nice when that happens.......

28th March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "SUPER SPOOF" - ROM & DAT available now.
<< FIRST PCP MACHINE IMPLEMENTED IN MPU3/4 >>

Call me old fashioned but I always thought of PCP as "Angel Dust", or phencyclidine as the medical community would have it. Who knows, maybe the people at PCP Games had an unhealthy PCP habit and tripped themselves off into an alternate dimension, thereby seriously restricting their ability to release fruit machines, (but dramatically increasing their ability to be utterly fascinated by, for example, a small pouffe). It would certainly explain why they're nowhere to be found in this day and age.

Super Spoof hails back to 1986, price per play is a mere two pence, and the jackpot is two olde English pounds. It's an MPU3 machine so it's got that fantastic gritty MPU3 sound (I think MPU3 machines sound much better than the pre-sample MPU4 machines) and the solid, unfussy gameplay that the MPU3 generation did so proficiently. There's a surprising amount to do as well, the main "spoof" feature starts a curious little game with the hands, where the idea seems to be to get the same number of coins in two palms, which then gives you the chance to grab the cash clutched by one or both of the sweaty mitts. There's a regular "step 'n hold" chance (super hold to you and me), a double stake cash gamble, skill stops on the trail, a nudge feature, win streaks and so on. It's really quite good.

As for who we have to thank for this release, the layout and ROMs were mailed to me by an enigmatic character calling himself "Jack The Ripper", no message, no other details, it's all a bit spooky. But whoever Jack is, his layout's a good one; clean, compact, and I particularly like the buttons. Download, play, and feel the power of sinister mystery.....

Problem. "Mask off images" not performed. Fix. 2.9mb to you mate. Nice one chief. Sound as fuck you are.

Rocket Money was mentioned on the MSN Board many months ago, always happy to offer up an opinion (you may have noticed), this is what I had to say about it.....

It gave me a few poundings until I learned not to touch it with somebody else's shit-encrusted bargepole.

The entry trail was nearly 50 spaces, I think the idea was that getting to the feature would be a sort of feature in itself (there were several bonus and nudge spaces on the way), but the way that it constantly jipped you off with the numbers (if you held the right amount on 2 reels it would spin extra ones in on the 3rd, not give holds, give the wrong amounts etc) and gave crappy bonuses and pointless nudges 90% of the time (so you couldn't nudge the right numbers in) made it absolutely awful to play.

Then was it was ready to pay it would do something daft like give 1 nudge for blue sevens with a 12 to gamble on for JP and then hold it. No skill involved whatsoever.

The feature board was wanky too, you'd expect something marvellous after all the effort it took to get there but not a bit of it. Rubbish features, that Jumping Jack thing that kept bouncing you all over the place, the five streaks that would give £30 on the bottom one if ready and £6 on the third if not (I never saw the fourth or fifth), and a thoroughly nasty mystery.

Whoever wrote the code for this should be made to parachute into Kabul armed only with a can of beer and then sing the "I'm a happy decadent American infidel and I am here to have a fight with the Taleban" song.

On the plus side, the sound and music were both really good.

I'd LOVE to see this emulated and implemented in MPU3/4, I want to find out if it's actually possible to get the fifth streak.

And what do you know? Here we are a few short months later and Rocket Money is now emulated and implemented in MPU3/4. However, the passage of time has been kind to it, or I misremembered just how nasty it was, or I always used to play it right after somebody else had hammered it, because it really isn't that bad. True, getting to the feature can be something of a trial, but it isn't that bad when it comes to ripping you off with the numbers. True, the streaks are hard to come by, but having played it extensively in MPU3/4 I now find that it has an unofficial invincible mode that lands on every streak square, making the top green streak easy to get (it went for £32 for me). And the thing with the feature is that it offers relatively large amounts relatively early on, making for a demise that often feels untimely, but isn't really.

Then again, the feature does come up far too rarely, the jumping jacks can get extremely irritating, reel wins are rare, it doesn't let you use the numbers on the feature entry trail half as skilfully as you'd like, and just having a basic jackpot at the end of the trail is boring, it should give a random streak or something. It also tends to do little more than save for big payouts, so when it takes it really takes, and it will let itself get over percentage, so it has to go on a mental mugging spree to get back to level pegging. Got to love the sound and music though, the way the jackpot tune kicks in after a hard-fought force is inspirational, as far as fruit machines and inspiration goes that is......

Steve's layout is a real goody, everything neatly placed in a cosy 800x600 frame, considered and appropriate use of colour, a close approximation of the layout of the original machine, it's a Phippy through and through. A little more colour on the feature trail would have been nice though, especially for the jumping jacks, these were colour coded on the original machine (red would go to red, blue to blue and so on), and having this reflected in the layout would give it a slightly more genuine feel.

Grab V5.01 of this file to fix a problem with the lamps on the V5.00 DAT update (same issue as Road Hog DX).

Monsieur Le Munsta and the march of the unknown fonts continues. I don't know which fonts he's used for some of the text in this layout, but I ain't got 'em on my system (hence the rather ugly text in the middle of the screenshot below). Might be a nice idea to bundle obscure fonts as part of the layout zip file, or at least leave the layout unlocked so that people can change things to suit their setup?

That aside, this is a curious and vaguely enjoyable club machine, it's clearly closely related to Action Pack and Action Bank in more than just name, sharing many sound effects, concepts and features with its little brothers. The features don't seem to offer much in the way of big wins, although without a win panel it's hard to get much of an idea as to what the big wins actually are, (the jackpot is £150 though).

Niggles aside, the layout is all we've come to expect from Munsta, clear, well thought out, functional and eerily similar in overall feel and appearance to a Steve Phipps classic, which is high praise indeed.

Seems Harvey got a bit carried away during his updating frenzy and an error slipped through the net on the Road Hog DX layout, which leads to rather strange behaviour with the lamps. (It's all to do with him not having masked off transparent lamp images or something, which is exactly what I was going to suggest before somebody else got there first). Anyway, download the fixed version, end your lamp laments, and move onward to a higher plain of spiritual awareness.

** DIGITAL FRUIT LAYOUTS UPDATED **
"OVER THE MOON" - CLASSIC
"OVER THE MOON" - DX
"LINE UP" - Game Room DX
"MAD HOUSE" - DX

This lot should be just about the last of the DF DAT updates, which is good news for strung out washed up modems all over the world - and I for one am delighted to have yet another version of Line Up to play, because I was just thinking to myself before, "You know, drinking a lovely cool beer whilst playing the mighty Grand Theft Auto 3 is really shit, what I'd much rather be doing is pissing away my life playing yet another fucking Line Up layout, yippee I can hardly wait", and so on and so forth. Mad House is good though, and I quite like Over The Moon too for some obscure reason that I can't fully understand or articulate.

** NEW RELEASE ** - "DUTY FREE" CLASSIC - ROM & DAT.
** DIGITAL FRUIT LAYOUTS UPDATED **
"FRIGHT NIGHT" 800X600 CLASSIC
"FRIGHT NIGHT" 1024X768 CLASSIC
"CASH STRIKE" CLASSIC
"CLUB SAFARI" CLASSIC
"CRAZY CAPERS" CLASSIC
"FINAL FRONTIER" 30p£15 CLASSIC
"GHOST TRAIN" CLASSIC
"HIGH SPIRITS" CLASSIC
"CLUB BLACKJACK" 1024X768 DX
"CROWN JEWELS MK2" DX
"HI JINX" VIRTUAL-DX
"JACKPOT GEMS" DX

Duty Free is a machine I've secretly been looking forward to for a while, it's very much the same sort of thing as Viva Espana, albeit with a few subtle changes (a proper "mystery" square, the duty free isn't auto-collected, that sort of thing). I always preferred Duty Free in the "real world" over Viva Espana, and I prefer it in MPU3/4 too. The main reason for this (rather pathetically I know) is the lovely little "collect" jingle that plays when you have no credits left and the machine is waiting for you to collect the bank. I think this is because when I used to lose bucket loads of cash on it back in 1994 I at least had the comfort of listening to the tune for a while before collecting my final £1.60 and losing that too. (See also; the nudge tune on Maygay's original East Enders machine).

Fishsta's layout is functional without being flashy. I think it would have benefit considerably from having been blessed with a 1024x768 resolution rather than the 800x600 that has been used, as this results in a rather cramped look and, most irritatingly of all, small reels which make for uncomfortable viewing in five reel view (the overlaid numbers in particular falling foul of this). The suitability of the bright orange background is clearly a question of taste, and as the layout is locked, if you don't like it you'll have to lump it.

These quibbles aside, the layout is 100% accurate and totally functional, which is, ultimately, perhaps the best measure of a classic's worthiness.

As for everything else, these are all DF updates of previously released RES layouts in the new DAT format. The usual changes have been made (backlit reels and coloured buttons), and in the case of the classics, the file size has also shrunk somewhat, those DXes will still make your modem's bollocks sore though.....

23rd March - A bad day for 56k modems......

** NEW RELEASE ** - "CHASE THE ACE (CARDS)" DX
** NEW RELEASE ** - "RED HOT ROLL CLUB" CLASSIC
** NEW LAYOUT - "LUCKY LAS VEGAS" DX
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "ANDY'S BIG TIME" CLASSIC 800x600
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "ROAD HOG" DX
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "TEN OUT OF TEN" CLASSIC
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "WINNER TAKES ALL" DX
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "WINNER TAKES ALL" CLASSIC

Lots going on today, but due to my sore head and general frailty, (self-inflicted, so no sympathy deserved), not much happening on the write up front I'm afraid.

Chase The Ace is Russ' latest release and it's a fine DX. Despite having played the game quite extensively I still haven't quite worked out how the reel wins work (thanks to its bizarre card system), but as you are always told what wins are available this isn't a great problem. The overall quality of the DX is high, although some of the bulbs are a little messy and more contrast between on and off states would help on some of them. That aside, Russ has really come up with the goods here, skinned buttons, backlit reels, altogether a well realised little Pirie layout.

Red Hot Roll Club is from Steve Phipps, it was originally supplied on the legendary MPU3/4 CD that was sold for all of about 15 minutes before Barcrest went apeshit and threatened to nuke the world if Chris did not desist from his nefarious activities forthwith. Steve has updated the original layout with backlit reels and jiggled things about a bit, all told it's a typically classy Phippsy layout. A note about the game itself, it's a lo-tech club machine and is one nasty little motherfucker. I gave it a fair amount of play a few months ago and was horrified to discover just how long (and how much) it could take to force a JP. And as for the cashpots, £3000 in and still nowhere near full.... Truly horrific.

Andy's Big Time 800x600 is Steve's re-jigging of the original 1024x768 layout. So it's basically the same thing, but squashed a bit. Full marks on getting everything into the smaller size though.

Digital Fruit a.k.a. Harvey has had one of his funny turns and gone on a releasing frenzy. We have the "real" Lucky Las Vegas DX to start with, this is one of the more appealing lo-techs (which is sort of like saying herpes is one of the more appealing venereal diseases but anyway....), and the proper DX treatment helps it along tremendously. One thing that has occurred to me many times in the past but particularly so with this release is that it would nice if the non-essential bulbs were implemented in the layouts. Case in point here is the bulbs that overlay the casino games area, as they were caught as part of the photograph they are just "there", it would be ever so exciting if they flashed and stuff (well, if they just flashed would be OK, I don't suppose we can reasonably expect bulbs to do much more than that). That isn't a grumble though, just a hopeful suggestion for future layouts, in the meantime this DX is every bit as good as the DF layouts we've come to know and love (or "like very much indeed", if you're not the emotionally extrovert type). Particular credit is due for the work on the fiddly little lamps used for the casino games, where admirable clarity and contrast has been achieved.

As for the other DF releases, these are all DAT updates of previously released layouts; backlit reels, coloured buttons and a couple of other minor changes have been made, however, they're essentially the same but a bit funkier.

20th March - ** LAYOUTS UPDATED **
"NIFTY FIFTY" DAT and "TOP GEAR" DAT - Official Phippo releases.

Steve continues his unholy march towards absolute control of the world with official updates to another two of his layouts. They're both a couple of playable old MPU4 machines, and both are perfectly presentable. You wouldn't feel embarrassed about the prospect of introducing them to your mother if you'd struck up a romantic liaison with them, for example.

And if I may digress a little, what's going on with The Dandy Warhols' music turning up on loads of adverts and being used as background tracks for all sorts of TV programmes? It kind of destroys that lovely cliquey feel you have about a band if you "liked them before they were famous", only to have them not only become inordinately popular but also then get prostituted out to help promote anything from mobile phone networks to dull family saloons, or even worse, horror of horrors, enter the mainstream and turn up as a backing track for a BBC news report. Maybe the Dandies need the cash for drugs? After all, it is said that when they landed their first record contract they didn't go off to buy better instruments, they went and found a better dealer. Priorities you see, got to get them right. I like Zia, she's the one who seems to do nothing much more demanding than shake a tambourine in a rather disinterested fashion in the videos and look cute.

I am rather short of material on Nifty Fifty and Top Gear. Can you tell?
C'mon Steve, give us something new, there's a good chap.

18th March - ** LAYOUTS UPDATED **
"TWIN TIMER" DX Mod and "JOLLY GEMS" DAT (official Steve Phipps release).

A couple of updates for you this evening (or whenever you happen to be casting your eyes over these words). First up is Patrick, and he's fixed a few minor issues with his Twin Timer release; all keyboard shortcuts are now present, jackpot symbols have been added to the top play area and game manager support has been implemented. He's also unlocked the layout so you can have a mess about with some Dutch internals should it take your fancy, which is always pleasant if you can't make the journey to Amsterdam to do it properly.

Jolly Gems is Steve's official release of the original classic that was made available as part of the batch of layouts that helped kicked the scene off all those months ago (about eight at the last count). Steve's added backlit reels, a new hi/lo reel, new reel symbol graphics and, most shockingly of all considering his puritanical classic layout credentials, a graphic Mr. Barcrest lamp. Is Steve being lured to the dark side? A sinister place where graphics tarts lurk, tempting passing designers with their naked gaudy pixels. "Go on, just one graphic lamp, what can it hurt?......".

18th March - ** NEW LAYOUT ** - "ROCKY HORROR SHOW" DX - DX Mod available now.

Tsk. How's a man to spend 24 hours a day playing GTA3 when these pesky designers keep on releasing layouts? "This had better be good", I grumbled to myself as I started to download the (rather chunky) 2.8mb file and reluctantly put my dual shock to one side. Having already seen the release screenshot on MPU Forums I was getting myself ready for a good whinge (not that I'm ordinarily inclined to do that sort of thing you understand). "Silly 'real cabinet' effect still in place", I noted grimly. "Reels will probably be too small as well", I muttered. "DXed from a photo, probably going to be lacking clarity then too".... (Honestly, my sunny disposition and boundlessly optimistic outlook on life knows no bounds).

But what do you know? Not a bit of it! Harvey's played a blinder with this one and no mistake. He is still using the "real cabinet" effect, but has altered the perspective slightly, which gives a markedly larger playing area. This has a positive knock on effect for the reels, which are still a little on the small side, but not to the point where it has any sort of detrimental effect on the gameplay (they're perfectly legible in 5 reel view, which is the main test I use). DXing from a photo does have its advantages too, as the lamps look more realistic ("warmer", somehow) than they do when created from a flyer based layout. Moreover, the slight fuzziness inherent in the photo-based DX format acts as a natural anti-aliasing agent, eradicating those jagged edges and harsh colour banding that can sometimes be observed in their flyer based cousins.

Of course, the fact that Rocky Horror Show is a mighty enjoyable game helps too. There is something of a novelty factor involved, (mainly the great samples), which starts to wear thin after a prolonged period of play, and the underlying mechanics are typically frustrating BWB. But with such a mighty DX and an agreeable theme in place, you can easily forgive it these transgressions. (Or should that be sweet transvestites from transsexual Transylvania?.....).

17th March - ** NEW LAYOUTS **
"LINE UP" DX Mod and "SUPER LINE UP" DX Mod available now.

Possibly the final releases from Fruitworkz, as it seems that Pandy has decided to take a break from the scene, (those of you who follow events over at MPU Forums will know that he's been finding certain aspects of the scene difficult for a while). However, these layouts make a great swansong, and are arguably the best that Pandy's produced. The only difference between the two is that Super Line Up has a £3 jackpot as opposed to Line Up's £2. Do be aware that they both use the £2 ROMs though, as the £3 ROMs are not yet available - which means that three bars are still only worth £2 on the Super Line Up layout.

Nothing missing from these two, all keyboard shortcuts are present and correct, the meters are working and original reel bands are used. Overall image quality is good and they're both solid enough releases - well, about as solid as Line Up can get anyway, although even I can find time for these old MPU3ers now we have sound and DXs for them.

16th March - OLD TIMERS REJOICE!
** NEW RELEASE ** - "SUPA SLOT" - ROM & DAT available now.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "SMASH AND GRAB " (Barcrest) - DAT available now.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "EXCHANGES UNLIMITED" - DAT available now.

Three venerable oldies for you this evening - all complaining about the price of a cup of tea and all looking at that whole new internet thing with a suspicious eye, "But it's all just naked pictures, isn't it?".

First up is Supa Slot, a new release from Steve Phipps. I've never seen or played this machine for real, which always makes feeling any sort of affinity with an MPU3/4 release difficult - but Supa Slot is such a likeable little number it's impossible not to feel a bit of a soft spot for it almost immediately.

As you put money in the cash and nudge pots are slowly filled, when they're full, the reserve cash and nudge pots are then added to, when they're all full, a nice win isn't too far away. To get your grubby mitts on the pots you have to fill one of three trails using overlaid numbers on the reels (of three different colours). Green is the crap one, it's called "Slot Luck", which means random, and as we all know, random is fruit machine speak for a pile of arse. Yellow is better, and it gives you the ability to pick one of the four "slots" (the cash and nudge pots are each subdivided into two "slots" of different sizes). Red is the best of the bunch, and allows you to choose from the full cash pot or nudge pot. You can also gamble the green and yellow trails when full to try and reach the red trail, should you lose the gamble the slots will be held over until next time.

There's quite a bit of strategy involved too, sometimes avoiding filling the trails is the best thing to do until the reel setup makes a decent nudge win a possibility (because once you take a slot from any trail the whole lot is lost and the reserves come into play). Wins can sometimes be exchanged for nudges, and there's a curious "roll over" thing which occasionally crops up, this allows you to nudge one of the reels up or down in normal play for a hold opportunity and oohhh, lots of other things as well. It's all good stuff - and I had to drag myself away from it to do this write up. On a wider note, after having had a rare night out at the pub yesterday and watching various evil modern fruit machines (Barcrests included) skinning numerous unfortunate punters for ten pounds and more at a time just to get a shot on the feature which was over in three moves or a couple of gambles, one can't but help think that Barcrest could learn a lot about making fruities *fun* again by taking a leaf out of their own history book.....

Anyway, sermon over, and let's move on to Smash And Grab. We've already got a classic layout for this by Pandy, but Steve's produced his own, imbued it with his unmistakeable sense of order and managed to produce a much tidier layout in a smaller overall size (in both pixel by pixel and file size terms) than we've seen previously. The game's another classic Barcrest MPU4, and harks back to the days when the players' knowledge and skills were actually able to make a serious difference to the overall chances of winning - do you remember those times?

Last but absolutely not least is MDS' second release in the "MPU3 Graveyard" series, MDS (real name Michael) has produced another distinctive and accomplished classic layout. Indeed, whilst playing Michael's Exchanges Unlimited layout it occurred to me that all too often the problem with MPU3/4 layouts (particularly some DX Mods) is that you're playing against the emulation as much as you're truly playing the game. Fuzzy graphics, obscure or missing keyboard shortcuts, meters that don't work, missing lamps and so on and so forth - there's often a simple and fundamental lack of functionality which vastly reduces ones ability to actually enjoy (or not) the machine being emulated.

No such worries here, and with just two releases Michael has managed, in my humble (but loudly proclaimed) opinion, to explicitly define what an MPU3/4 layout (of any description) should be all about. A high-contrast, aesthetically pleasing overall style, crystal clear reel bands, sensible and appropriate lamp colour choices, every keyboard shortcut immediately obvious, everything working 100% as it should on a purely functional level, but still a good number of imaginative touches and artistic flourishes to enhance the playing experience (the rows of exchange lamps on this layout, for example).

As someone who's slowly being converted to the appeal of MPU3 machines, it was only when I'd been playing Exchanges Unlimited for a few minutes that I realised I was particularly enjoying it because the layout was entirely unobtrusive, acting as a perfect conduit for the gaming experience. Let's use MAME for an analogy, such an accomplished piece of software that as far as the player is concerned, he actually is playing the real thing, it doesn't just feel like it. An emulator's task is to create an illusion of reality, an MPU3/4 layout's task is to help with that process, and Michael's Exchanges Unlimited layout does exactly that.

With Steve kicking out his established classic layouts at a tremendous rate of knots (and Steve's long appreciated the value of a simple, functional, entirely correct layout), and new faces on the block such as Michael entering the fray at the very top of the game, things are looking delightfully rosy in the MPU3/4 garden. And if that isn't a torturously extended metaphor, I really don't know what is. Goodnight.

16th March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "TWIN TIMER" - ROM & DX Mod available now.
(The first foreign machine (this one's Dutch) implemented in MPU3/4).

Since I'm always so quick off the mark to rip into others when they're being patently stupid, it's only fair that I should launch an equally scathing attack upon myself where necessary.

This is a new MPU3/4 release and it's of the Dutch machine "Twin Timer", by a (presumably) Dutch chap called Patzik Kerkhof. Pat was kind enough to mail me the layout and ROMs last night so that I could get them up on this site ASAP. I excitedly fired up MPU3/4 (V8.74), and was bemused to be met with a Windows blue screen as the machine went through its self test. I tried V8.73 and was met with the same error. I rebooted my machine and tried both again, still no joy, blue screen of death. Mumbling to myself about dodgy releases I mailed Pat asking him if he had any ideas what the problem might be and went off to bed in a huff.

I awoke bright and early this morning and found a Twin Timer new release thread on MPU Forums, where people were merrily chattering about how interesting the machine was, I posted details of my plight and awaited the responses - and it was then that it occurred to me; there is now of course a V8.75 of MPU3/4, which added 7 reel support, which is obviously a necessity for Twin Timer (take a look at the screenshot). It turned out I hadn't even unzipped V8.75 into my MPU3/4 folder and had been trying, with great determination but equal futility, to get a 7 reel game to load into a version of MPU3/4 that did not support this function.

So there you have it, I have been a stupid cretin, and this is a very fine layout, not only as a first release from a new designer but also in its own right as an accomplished, technically sound DX Mod, and it's fascinating to see what sort of fruit machines can be found in other European countries, especially if, like me, you've never actually been to any of them. Some details of how the game works can be found in the new release thread, but the basic idea is that one plays the lower reel game until a win is achieved, this can then be collected or staked on the serious money game on the top reels, where more of the original win can be staked to bring more winlines (up to a total of ten) into play.

There do seem to be a few subtleties to be discovered beyond this with all manner of win to bank to play transfers possible along with other curious eccentricities. Patzik is hoping to put together a players' guide in the near future, but with a bit of determination you should be able to work most of it out for yourself. If you're wondering what sort of win and price of play values we're talking about here, the Dutch currency (pre-Euro) was guilders, one guilder gives four plays, and the jackpot is two hundred guilders. One pound = approx 3.5 guilders. This gives a jackpot of around £57, and the price of play is approximately 8 pence. (Although without knowing when Twin Timer was released it's hard to put that properly into perspective).

The only downer with the whole thing is that a Dutch legal requirement is for the spin of the reels to last a L...O...N...G time (a fact which came from Patzik himself), which makes the pace of play rather slow. But of course, you can alleviate this somewhat by reducing the delay to suit your tastes. Although to be honest, I think the whole long spin thing's got more to do with the Dutch love of cannabis than it has with legal requirements. You can just imagine them all, happily stoned out of their faces, hypnotised by the reels. The longer the spin lasts, the longer they are able to give a proper pothead commentary..... "Cool man, just look at like, the colours, and the lights, I think like, it's really trying to say something to us about the world and what it means to be a tree......".

16th March - ** NEW LAYOUT ** - "OOH AHH DRACULA" DX - DX Mod available now.

"Barcrestchamp" (real name Ryan Palmer, his website's here), completed this layout a couple of weeks ago, but after having finished it off and getting himself all geed up for a release it emerged that the graphics had been lifted (without Ryan's knowledge) from MFB's WIP posting of his OAD DX layout to MPU Forums. Out of respect to MFB, Ryan held back on his release, but as MFB and Harvey's own release (MFB doing the artwork, Harvey doing the MPU3/4 implementation) slipped and slipped, MFB graciously suggested that Ryan should release his version after all.

What this all boils down to is that you can now download Ryan's OAD DX, which is based upon MFB's initial stages of graphics retouching to the original image. MFB's release will still happen in the near future, and you can expect more image cleaning and sharpening to have happened by this point. In the meantime, Ryan's release is perfectly acceptable, the graphics are somewhat fuzzy, and some of the lamps are too bright and washed out in their "on" state, but the overall feeling is still that of a good, playable DX.

The game is a clone of Boulder Dash, which was never Barcrest's finest hour, although the ROMs used here are from BWB's MPU4 rebuild (Barcrest's OAD was MPU5). The game is fairly simple and entertaining enough for a while, but there's not really a great deal to it, truth be told.

One final note, at the request of MFB the layout has been released unlocked. This appears to be MFB's approach to all his releases, and he has asked that Ryan extend that policy to this release as it based on his work. A laudable decision, and one for which due credit must be given to someone who is fast emerging as one of the more selfless figures on the scene.

15th March - ** NEW LAYOUT ** - "SNAPPY VIPER" DX - DX Mod available now.
(Download link will redirect you to Fruitworkz's site).

The layout so good we can't host it! Yep, you're going to have to get yourself on over to Fruitworkz if you want this layout, apparently they need the hits or something. (No really, it says so in this thread over at MPU Forums).

Snappy Viper is basically a straight clone of Hyper Viper, the only difference being a £3 jackpot (as opposed to £2) and a different top glass to reflect this higher award. This adds an extra dimension to the game as you'll have to get the jackpot through nudges, you can't win it by getting to the end of the trail. These old MPU3 games are finding more and more favour with me, emulation of MPU3 sound hardware being the main reason, but the DX Mods we are now seeing also add a great deal to the playing experience. If you've generally stayed clear of the MPU3 games implemented in MPU3/4 on the grounds that they're a bit old and crumbly, now would be a very good time to give them a second chance.

Full credit must go to Pandy for sourcing the images, he pestered just about every fruit machine operator in the UK until he finally managed to get hold of a couple of CDs full of images and ROMs from one of them, (Red Rose Leisure, they deserve the plug), and this release is one that he has been looking forward to making for quite some time. A missing keyboard shortcut (for the first hold/nudge button) and a couple of buttons missing their lamps (nudge up and cancel) don't detract from the high overall enjoyment factor (measured at a resounding twelve on the snapometer scale) offered by this release.

14th March -
** NEW RELEASE ** - "NICKELODEON" - ROM & DAT available now.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "LINE UP" - DAT available now. (Features original reel bands).

Nickelodeon is, as you can easily discern for yourselves from the screenshot below, a fully paid-up and infinitely deadly member of the EVIL LO-TECHS OF DOOM clan. Therefore it's always going to have a bit of an uphill battle as far as me and my write up is concerned. However, it does deserve a special mention as it represents a technical leap forward for the emulator, it requires lots and lots of LED displays to run properly (twelve clusters in total), which are all present and correct, something made possible by the ongoing improvements being made to MPU3/4 by Chris Wren.

Nickelodeon's big hook for the player is that the values of the wins (with the exception of the jackpot 7s) are variable. Each win starts from a base value, and with every spin of the reels these values increase, until all the wins can theoretically be worth £4.80 (although they are usually reset to their base values well before rising that high). It's a reasonably novel twist, and helps to breathe a bit (not much mind, just a bit) of life into an otherwise coma-inducing experience.

Moving on to the boundlessly entertaining MPU3 magnificence that is Line Up, (sorry, we have to), and it's a rather belated mention for this release (it's been out for a couple of days but I've been too busy playing GTA3 and smoking crack to get it done before now). There are currently two layouts in existence for Line Up, a bewilderingly garish puke-orange affair, and a DX by Pandy. On top of that, there's the futuristic Line Up 2020 Mod, which boldly takes MPU3 forward to the space age, where it's doubtless very welcome alongside the Millennium Falcon, replicants, and the long-overdue release of Duke Nukem Forever.

Against this backdrop, another Line Up layout would appear to be pointlessly entering an already crowded market, but what this layout has to offer that the current crop doesn't is genuine reel bands (donated by Michael Lynch and cleaned up by Gary), and a "proper", ordered appearance. Between them, these elements really do manage to bring this old machine to life. Moreover, it's by a new face on the designers' bench, MDS, and he's managed to produce a quality classic at the first outing, whilst carving out a niche for a distinctive style of his own at the same time. If you like Line Up (and apparently, some of you do), then this must be your layout of choice. And even if you don't like Line Up, it's less than 200k, and it's the best of the bunch, so get it anyway. Dammit.

Another update to MPU3/4, with a few minor changes having been made (it says here). MPU3 RAM has been fixed (whatever that means, I suppose you'd need to know what was wrong with it in the first place), seven reel support has been added, which will be a boon for those who want seven reels, and the F9 error has been corrected, answers on a postcard please as to what the F9 error was, and what's different about it now that it's been fixed.

In other news, a deadly cabbage has become becalmed in the branches of a nearby fir free, whilst lazy sherry bottles saunter casually down the pink pavement, watching sterile clams attaching themselves to golf tees.

12th March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "MEGA BUCKS" - Lo-tech shithole ROM & DAT fuckery available now.

I bought a Playstation 2 today. I ignored the hype surrounding the fancy launch all those months ago and avoided repeating the supreme displays of idiocy shown by those who grabbed the first PS2s in the UK with both hands and gratefully handed over their £299, only to find that there wasn't a single fucking game worth playing on the thing.

No, I snapped up supremely magnificent Dreamcast games for peanuts, (after having managed to find the ever shrinking Dreamcast "display" in the shop - which by the end of its benighted life was nothing more than a single dusty shelf below the "edutainment" software), and revelled in the wanton delights of two player games of Confidential Mission and Virtua Tennis 2, happy in the knowledge that, in time, the PS2 would be given a big fat price cut, and games that actually made it worth owning in the first place would be released.

For me, that time came today. Armed with a bruised (but ever willing and self-sacrificing) credit card I treated myself to a PS2 and what must be, by any sane measure, one of the finest games ever created, Grand Theft Auto 3. (I also bought Gran Turismo 3 since it's going for £20 as part of the platinum range, but GTA3 is so damn good the GT3 CD might not even be in its case for all I know).

So then, against the backdrop of fresh console delirium, a new MPU3/4 release to download, upload, and do a write-up for was never going to be a thrilling proposition. But why oh why oh why oh why OH WHY did it have to be ANOTHER wretchedly FRIGHTFUL lo-tech? If Steve Phipps' release for this evening would have been (just plucking an example from mid-air), Barcrest's excellent "Let The Good Times Roll", (which he may just have sat ready and waiting for release on his hard drive.....), then I would probably have been able to work myself up into a reasonable state of enthusiasm.

But really, Megabucks, I mean, just look at it. Go on, it's not pleasant, but if you're going to play it, it has to be done. I could be clubbing short-skirted whores to death with a baseball bat before stealing a bus and going on a killing rampage through a large American city, but instead I'm playing Megabucks and wondering. Why? How? When? Was there really a time when people voluntarily gave up their money to play this sort of machine? (And there was, because I vaguely remember seeing the real Megabucks beast in some arcades back in the early 90s).

It's fucking awful, and that's all there is to it. It's also pre-samples, so you can forget about any decent sound or music for starters. Beyond that, the basic idea of trying to elude the terrible restrictions imposed by the lo-tech chains of insipid banality by using numbers on the reels to create twenty different wins is interesting, but ultimately doomed to failure. Because it's a lo-tech. The "mystery" win would be a fascinating addition to the mix but for the fact it never seems to be any more than £2.40, and could never be more than £4.80 anyway. And as for the cashpot, ooohhh, when full to the brim it could be worth as much as £2.40... WOW! Whoever said that suicide was the cowards' way out had obviously never played Megabucks. By all means call a man a worthless poltroon should he put a gun to his head before going over the top of the trenches in World War I, but call him a damned sensible chap should he do it before an enforced Megabucks session.

A minor update to the already superb pseudo-DX from MFB - and if you're keen to get your hands dirty with the design side of MPU3/4 you can have a try at applying the changes yourself by downloading this file and following the instructions in this thread. (But make a backup of the layout file before you start twiddling with things).

If you don't fancy taking that on - just download the layout again. The choice is yours.

Following hot on the heels of Steve's classic release comes this DX by Fruitworkz. This was something of a team effort, and it's heartening to see such co-operation going into these releases.

If, like me, you've never even seen many of these old MPU3 machines, the DX layouts for them will be a great help with getting a proper "feel" for the game. This particular DX is missing a few keyboard shortcuts (although you can add these in yourself), and Fruitworkz have been unable to get the meters working properly. You may want to use the DX to acclimatise yourself with the look and feel the game, and then use the more functional classic for further play.

That said, Pandy has made the commendable decision to leave the layout unlocked, so if you're feeling bold you can use MPU3/4's dev tools (built into V8.73 and V8.74) to add in the shortcuts, and experiment with the meter settings (possibly try copying the meter settings from the classic layout?) to get it fully working. And remember, there's always MPU Forums to turn to should you get stuck.

** NEW RELEASE ** - "GOLD MINE" CLASSIC
** NEW RELEASE ** - "CLOUD 999" CLASSIC
** NEW LAYOUT - "CASH STRIKE" DX
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "LUCKY STRIKE" CLASSIC
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "LUCKY LAS VEGAS" PSEUDO-DX
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "CASH ATTACK" PSEUDO-DX
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "LUCKY STRIKE" DX

Quite a bit going on today, far more than one would usually consider civilised for a Sunday evening, when lying on the couch occasionally farting is about the extent of physical exertion that one would expect to be obliged to undertake. Still, not to worry, let's take them all in order, shall we? (And not that sitting on my arse in front of a PC is particularly a great strain either, of course).

Gold Mine is some hateful old MPU3 thing, I put £25 through it and was not offered a win larger than £1, I got £1.60 back from my £25 investment, which for an old 10p play £4 jackpot machine is rather brutal. Then again, it is a BWB, and their modern machines are just as capable of stringing a hapless player along for ever and a day without offering more than a slap around the face with the rotting carcass of a diseased dingo. Doubtless the oldies amongst you will find much here to get excited about, but I thought it was just plain nasty (although there are a few novel ideas in there, the "find the miner" feature in particular seemed quite intriguing, so I will be returning to it later, I'm annoyed with it at the moment, that's all). The layout's by Steve Phipps, who seems to be back in the thick of the action with a vengeance, and it's every bit as good as we've come to expect from him. When it comes to clear, functional, game-led layouts Steve truly is the master - so having him releasing officially is a great boost for the scene.

Cloud 999 has got me all confused, because the Cloud 999 I remember is a dire lo-tech from the early 90s very much in the 777 Heaven vein. But maybe that was called Cloud 9s? Whatever, this Cloud 999 is a clone of Ready Steady Go (which has been available for a long time), and playing it is a perfectly tolerable way to spend ten minutes every now and then. It's another release by Steve, who seems to have gone straight from not releasing anything at all for months to trying to take over the world with an army of malevolent classics. Be afraid, be very afraid. (He's even included two versions of the layout in one tiny zip file, a £10 JP and a £15 JP version, sinister shenanigans if ever I saw them).

Cash Strike DX is one of Kev's, and a layout that I wasn't initially going to host. The problems are not with Kev's layout (which is superb), but it seems that MPU3/4 itself has difficulties with some of the lamps on the feature board, which makes it impossible to tell what you're being offered in the top three zones. The classic layout also suffers from this problem in V8.73 and V8.74, but still runs fine using V6.5. So do be aware that there are known problems with Cash Strike DX, but it's such a good game and such a good layout that it seemed a shame not to host it. It is a little bit cluttered, and in an ideal world the text and feature board would have been a bit bigger and clearer, but the real machine is extremely "busy", and having taken a look at the original flyer, which even at a resolution of 1259x1733 wasn't exactly crystal clear, it's fair to say that Kev's done a great job of condensing it to MPU3/4 layout size whilst retaining the clarity that he has.

Lucky Strike Classic is another by Steve "on a bad-ass roll motherfucker someone try and stop me if they dare" Phipps, and for my money it beats the DX layout. The DX is undoubtedly very technically and artistically accomplished, but it suffers from quite a bit of a lamp slow down, too much for my taste, and this is much reduced in this crisp, clear, classic layout. It makes actually playing the game considerably more enjoyable and swifter to boot, so whilst it may not have the aesthetics, it's got it where it counts, the gameplay.

Lucky Las Vegas is a frankly stunning pseudo-DX by MFB and Digital Fruit. I'm not the world's biggest fan of pseudo-DXs that are an individual interpretation of the original machine rather than an attempt to recreate it - but this one really is something special. MFB's clearly a bit of a wiz with the art packages, and it shows. DF have a "true" DX of Lucky Las Vegas in the pipeline, but this pseudo is so damn good, you might just want to stick with it. (If Barcrest stuck it in one of the old BWB video-fruity cabinets they could probably do pretty good business with it.....).

Cash Attack pseudo-DX is an update by Rogue to his V1.00 release of the layout. He's sobered everything down a little, the feature board in particular is now much easier on the eye, and the overall appearance of the layout is much better, and closer to that of the original machine.

Lucky Strike DX is an update by DF to the previous release, it fixes the "win lamp cheat" so everything's as it should be now (i.e. you are shown what win's available from super nudges, and the win value/cash ladder trails work independently of each other as they should). The rest of the layout is unchanged, which is just as well as it was rather special first time around, but those lamp slow downs might prove a bit too annoying unless you're packing a monster PC.

A swift update to MPU3/4 following on from the release of V8.73 a couple of weeks ago. A good number of minor tweaks, changes and improvements have been made, and these are listed below (although this isn't an exhaustive list). Perhaps the major change is that the sound handling routines have been changed back to those used in V6.5. V8.73 used a new system of pre-caching and made more of an effort to sync visuals to sound, this worked very well for most but caused no end of problems for a few people - these problems should be eliminated in V8.74.

Many thanks to Chris Wren for bringing out this new release so soon after the last. He's been following the talk on MPU Forums carefully, and this beta addresses many of the issues raised there by followers of the scene.

New 5th reel setting / Fixed global led display / Background colour fix / Dip switch fix / Sound back to that of 6.5 / IO monitor fixed / Game manager fixed / Extra meter / Payout sense / LVD fix / Mask off images crash fix / Copy text/font etc from graphic lamp / MPU3 sound fixes

This one has actually been doing the rounds for a couple of weeks, but it suffered from an "LVD ALARM" error whenever you tried to collect any banked money, which made it annoyingly unplayable, and for this reason I did not host it on this site. However, the LVD problem has now been addressed in V8.74 of MPU3/4, (so make sure you use V8.74 to play this), and the error no longer occurs as long as the correct setting is used in the configuration menu.

I have amended the LVD setting in the configuration menu, performed a factory reset and removed all text from the buttons to get around the new "see through text" problem that V8.74 has with DX layouts (if a button is skinned, any basic text on the button will show through) - so this is well worth getting even if you've previously downloaded the original DX release that some sites have been hosting (although there's nothing stopping you doing the LVD and button text fixes yourselves).

The layout itself is one of Russ', and it's not bad at all. The source image he had to work from wasn't fantastic, but he's done a sterling job of tidying and sharpening it up, and the end result is a worthwhile addition to anyone's DX Mod collection. Russ has added a few of his own touches to the layout, with Pirie-style skinned buttons and typical Pirie-text. Boulder Dash as a game is OK, in a decidedly average sort of way, you can read this review if you really want to.

8th March - ** ALTERNATIVE LAYOUT ** - "THE MOB"
Steve Phipps style DAT in the house giving it large to the sounds of the wickedness. Bo selecta.

A rather perplexing release this one, as we already have perfectly good layouts for The Mob by Kev, in both 5p £5 and 30p £15 flavours. Despite that, "Slugger" Steve Phipps has taken on the "New Pretender" Kev and entered the fray with his take on the £15 layout. What does this version has to offer that Kev's don't? Ummm, not much as far as I can tell. The file size is near enough the same (200 hundred and odd k), the overall idea is the same (a clear, functional classic layout), and the basic structure of the layout is also the same (an attempt to represent the original machine with some degree of accuracy).

Steve's adaptation has lost the redundant "awards below £1" cluster of lamps that were only relevant to the 5p £5 version, but were still present on Kev's £15 layout, and he's also imbued it with his unmistakeable sense of regimented order, (if Steve's layouts were from Star Wars, they'd be those huge groups of orderly storm troopers that escort Darth Vader from an Imperial shuttle before some lanky kid with crap hair and nothing more than a lightsaber takes the whole lot of them out as they all valiantly manage to miss him with every single shot from their deadly photon blasters), but really, it's the same thing.

I dunno, maybe I'm missing something here, maybe there's a whole Jedi rectification of a disorder in the distribution of the force thing going on and this layout is absolutely essential to the survival of mankind and the cohesion of the fabric of the universe itself. Maybe if this layout weren't available for download we'd all disappear arse first into a black hole a few hours from now and life as we know it would cease to exist. I'm not entirely convinced that's the case, but I can't afford to take that sort of a chance, so grab this layout while you can, your future might just depend upon it.

8th March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "CLUB CELEBRATION" - ROM & DAT available now.

Munsta's layouts remind me of my first car, a 1988 Vauxhall Cavalier which I bought for £50 when its owner had decided to send it to the scrap yard. It gave me 11000 miles of wonderfully hassle-free motoring over a period of twelve months, despite the body being rusted right through in places and it pissing out two litres of cheap oil per week, (it was also tax, insurance and licence free motoring but we'll not worry about that for now).

For you see, Munsta's layouts can be absolutely relied upon, there's nothing overtly flashy about them, but they always work with perfect efficiency, and you know you'll never find a single damn thing wrong with them. Play tested to the zillionth degree, every keyboard shortcut added by Munsta and intuitively found by the player, every lamp exactly as it should be. They're a textbook example of how to go about things in the right way. The layout aside, Club Celebration itself seems to be a forerunner of Super Blackjack, the game structure is pretty much identical, and many of the features are the same. There's plenty of entertainment to be had, Super Blackjack is one of the more playable club machines implemented in MPU3/4, and Club Celebration is more of the same in that respect.

This is a fine example of how to do a quality classic, although I think I must be missing one of the fonts Munsta used as his release screenshot on MPU Forums shows much nicer text in the feature ladder, and whilst you can't see it properly in this screenshot, the graduated colour effect used for the feature ladder is excellent. Backlit reels are present and correct, and everything has been accommodated nicely in the 800x600 layout size, (although 1024x768 and a win value panel might have been a worthwhile addition?).

8th March - ** ROMS & LAYOUTS UPDATED ** - "THE MOB" - You cunts.
Game ROM (rude version), 5p£5 DAT and 30p£15 DAT available now.

Is it acceptable for a fruit machine's sound ROMs to contain the sample "You cunts"? (Borrowed, if memory serves, from Monty Python). Apparently so, and then apparently not, for that is the phrase that The Mob's sound ROMs once contained, until they were removed as part of a politically correct rechip. You've got to admire MDM's honesty though, how many of us, on seeing a jackpot opportunity disappear, have thought those hate-filled words, "you cunt"? It's not nice, but it's true.

Well now you can play a fruit machine that feels your pain, and cheerfully curses along with you (for these sound ROMs are the pre-rechip versions). The Mob's layouts have been out for a while, but without sound ROMs they have amounted to little more than dreary The Great Escape rip offs. Kev's made alterations to both the £5 and £15 layouts, eliminating the reel stepping issues and adding in a couple of final graphical touches, but the main change is, of course, those sound ROMs. The initial amusement factor of a swearing fruit machine aside, the usual selection of bouncy MDM tunes and humorous samples elevate a thoroughly average game to the ranks of an agreeably enjoyable game.

Incidentally, if you want to skip playing the game and get straight down to the profanity (which is perfectly understandable), load the game into V8.73 of MPU3/4, go to the sample player, head for sample number 48, press play and repeat as necessary.

8th March - Cracked eggs dead birds, scream as they fight for life.

** NEW RELEASE ** - "HYPER VIPER" DX - ROM & DX Mod
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** (AGAIN) - "HI JINX" - DAT
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "READY STEADY GO" - DAT

Here's a tasty release for all you doddery old MPU3 fans out there (and I shouldn't mock, because I'm one of them now). Bones getting brittle? Brain processes becoming confused and muddled? Slippers and dressing gowns starting to look like seriously realistic fashion choices? Modern music far too loud and you can't make out what the words are anyway? Then you want MPU3, you do.

I never really appreciated the appeal of MPU3 machines myself, as they were a bit before my fruity playing time. But now that we have MPU3 sound implemented in MPU3/4, (which makes a huge difference); and now that we also have DX Mods which are able to better convey the real "feel" of these old machines (I mean, a £2 jackpot, can you imagine?....), the magic of emulation and the unique appeal of these ancient games starts to become clear.

Chris Wren (MPU3/4's author) is a big MPU3 fan, and he's supplied the ROMs and artwork for this one, Pandy of Fruitworkz has done the necessary fancy stuff with them to bring the DX to life, and Gary's kindly offered up his Snappy Viper reel bands to help the project along.

The end result is a piece of fruit machine history captured in a moment of emulation enchantment. As someone who's recently been dabbling in the design side of MPU3/4, (and, God help me, CHR file creation), the massive amount of effort and determination that goes into bringing these old machines to life is finally, somewhat belatedly, starting to become clear. I can scarcely begin to imagine the work it has taken on Chris' part to give a voice to the MPU3 generation of machines but I, along with many others, am very glad that he has gone that extra mile to implement MPU3 sound, because the truth of the matter is that if he didn't, quite possibly no one else in the world would.

As for the updates, Hi Jinx classic gets another twiddle around the bits (which is always pleasant), a few missing lamps have been added (fixing the previously mentioned and infinitely dull "win lamp value cheat"), and the backlit reel templates have been altered to give improved clarity. Ready Steady Go has been given the standard DAT treatment, nothing overly exciting about it, but then again, there'd be nothing overly exciting about Ready Steady Go even if it were to ride into town on a wild horse straddled by a naked crack-addled Britney Spears singing a medley of Metallica tunes.

6th March - Updated layouts from La Fruite Digitalé.

"CLUB VEGAS" DX - DX Mod
"CRYSTAL MAZE" DX - DX Mod
"CASH LINES" DX - DX Mod
"ANDY CAPP" (800x600) - DAT
"CLUB ADDERS AND LADDERS" - DAT

Nothing too earth shattering about this lot, but it's always nice to have new things to download, isn't it? Layout file format has been changed from RES to locked DAT and backlit reels have been added, no skinned buttons though, which is rather distressing. Still well worth getting just on the strength of the added speed that V8.73 has to offer (Club Vegas in particular does well out of that one), and the fact that the original RES file based DX Mods don't work properly in V8.73 without a bit of jiggery pokery anyway.

5th March - Belated update, apologies for the delay.....

** NEW LAYOUT ** - "FRIGHT NIGHT" DX - DX Mod available now.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "ROCKY HORROR" PSEUDO-DX - DAT available now.
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "HI JINX" DX - Unofficial DX Mod available now.
** NEW LAYOUT ** - "CLUE TAKE YOUR PICK" PSEUDO-DX - DAT available now.
** LAYOUT UPDATED ** - "CLUB TAKE YOUR PICK" - DAT available now.

FRIGHT NIGHT DX - Comrade Kevski's latest DX is of the rather mediocre Empire machine Fright Night, it's a kind of dumbed down Boulder Dash (if you can possibly conceive of such a thing) but with even more annoying sound and music. However, this fantastic DX (Kev's DXs are now as good as any out there) gives it a whole new lease of life, and manages to make the whole thing rather entertaining. Special mention must go to Gary for providing Kev with edited flyer graphics which helped Kev along the way. If you don't already have the ROMs for Fright Night, you'll need to grab them from Empire's site.

ROCKY HORROR SHOW PSEUDO-DX - Is the word "pseudo" an insult to the hours of work that go into these DXs? Some think so, some don't, others just can't believe that people will actually argue about this kind of trivial shite. Feel the fun with this thread over at MPU Forums. As for the layout, it's by a new face on the scene (and the body attached to the face, obv.), "Barcrest Champ", and it's jolly good. As far as pseudo-DXs go this is one of my favourites (I'm not generally a big fan of them), mainly because it takes a good stab at being a proper Rocky Horror DX, except in the style of a pseudo-DX. Do you see?

HI JINX DX - Feel the controversy! One of the scene's very few unofficial mods (something that's caused no end of fun in the world of Visual Pinball), Barcrest Champ took MFB and Harvey's original Hi Jinx DX, spruced up the graphics a bit, added reel lamps, updated it to full 8.73 compatibility and released it. Fair play to Harvey for not feeling the need to get too hot under the collar about it, although he has made it clear that he would prefer people not to make unofficial modifications of his work. One thing I've noticed about Hi-Jinx DX that never occurred to me before is that it uses the same "lamp cheat" as Lucky Strike DX, in that lamps from the cash ladder are used for the win values, so that when you collect certain features the win value is not shown. To some, this wouldn't matter at all, but to me, having been personally accused of being "anal" more times than the rest of the population of the world combined, it matters a bit.

CLUB TAKE YOUR PICK CLASSIC and PSEUDO-DX - Everyone likes Fishsta, and his site is rather nice too, if somewhat painful for those of us visiting with 56k modems. If Fishsta were a fruit machine, he'd be JPM's Indiana Jones on a 110% payout with the good old £6 jackpot. As well as being delightfully genial, (note, not genital), Fishsta can also conjure up a fine layout. He's updated the original CTYP classic to the funky new DAT format and shrunk the file size in the process, and he's also released a CTYP pseudo-DX. Gary has been an enabling factor here by giving Fishsta full permission to use artwork from his original TYP DX, Fishsta's then bolted everything together and added in his own new artwork where necessary. The end result is an excellent pseudo-DX that's arguably closer to a true DX than it is to a pseudo-DX, perhaps it's a pseudo-pseudo-DX then? Or is that doubly offensive?.....

2nd March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "DENNIS THE MENACE" DX - ROM & DX Mod available now.

I'd like to tell you a little story, it begins a few weeks ago when someone kindly sent me the Dennis The Menace ROMs. Bellman and I, having successfully collaborated on Cash Machine were keen to start work on another layout, however, we needed a CHR file for the DTM ROMs....

1) Send DTM ROMs to Fruitworkz and ask for a CHR file (required to get the ROMs running correctly in MPU3/4).
2) Receive CHR file back from Fruitworkz, offer thanks for this and say you'll be releasing the layout as soon as it's ready.
3) Begin slow but steady work on a DTM DX Mod and classic layout (posting WIP shots to MPU Forums along the way).
4) After spending many hours creating your DTM layouts, be somewhat surprised when Fruitworkz release their own DTM DX Mod, having given you absolutely no indication whatsoever that when you originally sent the ROMs to them for the CHR file they had taken it upon themselves to use the ROMs to begin work on a layout of their own.
5) Chuck your own work on DTM layouts (many hours worth) in the bin.

That aside, personal grievances are no reason not to promote what is, it must be said, an extremely good release. The original image that was used as a basis for the DX wasn't too hot, and Fruitworkz have done an impressive job of tidying and sharpening it up, the feature board and trail in particular are very accomplished. DTM itself is a reasonably entertaining game, although it loses out in the enjoyment stakes to other machines of this era by not having a "top feature", just a dull non-repeating jackpot at the end of the trail. Still some good fun to be had though, and the feature games are a varied and pleasantly diverting bunch.

2nd March - ** NEW RELEASE ** - "LUCKY STRIKE" DX - ROM & DX Mod available now.

The new releases keep on coming, and this time it's Digital Fruit who's come up with the goods. Lucky Strike is one of the last MPU4 machines that Barcrest built, so it's about as recent a machine by them as we're going to see implemented in MPU3/4. It's pretty much a clone of Jolly Gems, which was pretty much a clone of Jewel In The Crown, although Lucky Strike is probably the best of the three.

Judging by the quality of the artwork on this DF release, a flyer was used as source material for the DX, which gives superb detail, colour depth and clarity. The lamps are fantastic and the skinned buttons are a wonderful addition, it really is as good a DX as we've seen.

However, spoiling it all a bit is the increasingly common criticism of DF releases in that the reels and reel symbols are simply too small. On my 17 inch monitor the five reel view isn't a viable option for normal play, not only is it hard on the eyes, it's also practically impossible to make out what the overlaid numbers on the reels are. Extra room was available for the layout itself, the entirely superfluous metal effect surround could have been lost, allowing the play area to be made larger in all directions; and whilst leaving room at the bottom of the layout for the Windows taskbar was a thoughtful touch, I'd rather have seen those valuable extra pixels used for the layout itself. The move to the flat screen style by DF is certainly a welcome development, but unless it's just my failing eyesight, those reels still need to be bigger.

One error I have noticed is with the reel win value lamps, these seem to be linked to the same lamps on the cash ladder (possibly using the same lamp number?). This isn't really noticeable in normal play, although it does look rather strange when you get a skillstop bonus and the win value lamps rise and fall with the cash ladder lamps (the original machine did not do this). However, it has a more serious impact when you collect super nudges from the feature; because the available win was only indicated using the win value lamps on the real machine (not the cash ladder lamps), you can't see what's being offered on the emulated layout because the win value lamps are effectively the same lamps as those on the cash ladder. The practical upshot of this is that when you collect super nudges you won't be shown what win is available, so unless you know the reels, you're going to have to take a guess as to whether or not you should collect or respin.... Hopefully an update will be forthcoming from DF in due course.

That aside, Lucky Strike is a great game and a great DX; the Wild West theme works well, and the music and sound effects are of the top-tapping hillbilly variety one might properly expect. The feature is horribly nasty sometimes (a problem I remember with the original machine, so much so that simply gambling out the jackpot repeater on the cash ladder or trying to bring it in from the reels was the easiest way to play), but the wonder of emulation means that you can suffer the indignities it will inflict upon you without feeling the need to get your revenge on it by pouring your pint down the front of the cabinet. Anyway, that'd be a bit stupid now since it'd just be your own monitor you were taking it out on.....

Here's a minor update to one of the original Steve Phipps layouts, the important aspect of this one is that the update is by Steve himself and it's an official release. Alterations made are the addition of backlit reels (makes a big difference in itself), a few tidying-up changes and a smaller file size (it's just a teeny 233k now). Although in all honesty there wasn't much that needed changing, as it was a damn fine layout to start with.

Thanks to Steve for this update, it's great to see him finally making official releases as the scene hasn't been all it could be since day one due to not having his input, but this has obviously changed now. Expect to see more re-releases and new releases from Steve as the weeks go by, his classic layouts are what helped kicked this scene off last August, without them it's unlikely we'd be where we are today, and for my money they're still amongst the best classics out there.