Updated the Lock 'n' Load £15 classic to fix Disco button and wrong lights in middle. £25 unchipped version available here too.

[avengah]

I can't post this in the releases section so it's here. For future reference, Red Gaming disco buttons seem to use settings 64, 16, 8 and start at position 9.

Lock 'n' Load updated.zip

The same problems are with the DX so I might fix that in due course. Basically, the middle lights are 180 degrees wrong and I don't think the disco button was implemented.

[vectra666]

This was probably released before disco buttons were implemented within mfme and classic layouts rarely use em 

[dad]

38 minutes ago, avengah said:

I can't post this in the releases section so it's here. For future reference, Red Gaming disco buttons seem to use settings 64, 16, 8 and start at position 9.

Lock 'n' Load updated.zip 8.04 MB · 1 download

The same problems are with the DX so I might fix that in due course. Basically, the middle lights are 180 degrees wrong and I don't think the disco button was implemented.

Maybe you’re unaware but it’s customary to seek permission whenever possible from the original creator before uploading changes/amendments etc…

Even if your intentions are good it can sometimes cause problems. Please bear that in mind.

Thanks

[avengah]

OK, sorry I didn't know. That's all I've changed, anyway.

[Geddy]

9 hours ago, avengah said:

OK, sorry I didn't know. That's all I've changed, anyway.

.......and your more known FME identity is?  Most newbies can hardly open MFME without issues but there you are providing updates and rare recourses (thanks) after a small number of posts and about a month here 

[avengah]

Matt Davis from Buxton.

Actually, Red Gaming disco buttons might start at position 8. I'm not sure without looking at a real machine. Position 8 is 12:00, position 9 is 1:00. Either one is close enough for now.

Edited February 12, 2023 by avengah

[Geddy]

2 hours ago, avengah said:

Matt Davis from Buxton.

Hi, nice part of the world.  I meant another forum nickname.  Just seems a fair few newcomers to these shores recently who seem to have their fingers more on the pluse for the normal FME noob.  Not saying it's a bad thing of course.. just odd.  Enjoy your stay.  

[avengah]

On 12/02/2023 at 19:17, Geddy said:

Hi, nice part of the world.  I meant another forum nickname.  Just seems a fair few newcomers to these shores recently who seem to have their fingers more on the pluse for the normal FME noob.  Not saying it's a bad thing of course.. just odd.  Enjoy your stay.  

OK. I was a player but had quit during the £70 era. As a result I had not been keeping up to date with the emulation side of things.

Last time I was around, I used JPeMu to practise Shoot 'Em Up for an unchipped 20p / £15 Arcadia at a fair (damn carnies plugged Kinky Bab just as I potted it...) I was already quite good but needed that little bit more practice, especially for the fast reel.

As far as layouts go, my contributions were Jackpot Justice, G.I. Dough and possibly Red Hot Chilli Steppa (can't remember if I did that one). As regards GID, the reel is a horizontal band with three visible positions, and the reel has SPIN icons above the middle number in some cases. I mention this because the current layout did it as a vertical dual-number reel like Spin On It. Funnily enough, it works both ways!

For example, with this layout they forgot the SPIN icons above the numbers:

Here is an example of doing it inaccurately but it still working:

Here is the actual reel. I don't know if the Spin icon is correct, but it is definitely in the right place. I did have the actual machine at one time, so I reckon it was at least close. The archive I found my old layouts in has multiple versions of each. Some are different sizes and others are just improvements to the layouts. This was done on an old Desktop PC with a higher resolution. Unfortunately JPeMu doesn't support scroll bars or resizing. To be honest this layout was abysmal. Part of me just wanted to do it because it was a rare machine, so I wanted to do it for posterity. This as well as RHCS may have failed test; hence their rarity.

And it is Start Position 9, I think.

I have a couple more fixes for layouts. I hereby ask general permission to upload them. Any objections, please let me know. And as a courtesy I'll try to locate and ask the original creators. In some cases my fix is rough, but it is better than no fix (e.g. I fixed a non-working exchange light on Nitro DX, and since the actual bulb graphics were absent I copied a nearby bulb that matches almost perfectly. But a close gander reveals the ruse.

With Maverick's new cards, they might be too wide for the box. I would have preferred to use simpler cards like the layout used (but using the correct suits). My final touch-up is not done yet but, since the cards on the reels are so tiny and impossible to make out, I thought about replacing them with these - while maybe less accurate to the real game, it's a decent compromise between accuracy and visibility / ease of use / helpfulness. There absolutely are times where knowing a card's suit is beneficial, such as when using a No Lose and trying to fill the matrix. Sometimes it can be better to use No Loses and/or Change Cards differently if trying for the matrix. So I intend to change the feature cards on the reels to these:

As I said, these cards are not perfect and they don't completely fit.

 

[nails]

hi, what does unchipped do the others didnt ?

[logopolis]

1 hour ago, nails said:

hi, what does unchipped do the others didnt ?

Unchipped was the earlier program where it was possible to manipulate the machine in a way for that player to always make a profit. In some cases there was a way to completely empty the machine.

There are a couple of machines mentioned here that were unchipped. On Arcadia it was the Shoot Em up feature, where it was possible to get Jackpot from a low down feature with practice. Eventually the machine could be emptied as it could allow this feature even when there was no value left in it. For Lock N Load it was another empty where the machine didn't always block gambles from winning, especially on large nudge wins on the board.

[avengah]

5 hours ago, logopolis said:

Unchipped was the earlier program where it was possible to manipulate the machine in a way for that player to always make a profit. In some cases there was a way to completely empty the machine.

There are a couple of machines mentioned here that were unchipped. On Arcadia it was the Shoot Em up feature, where it was possible to get Jackpot from a low down feature with practice. Eventually the machine could be emptied as it could allow this feature even when there was no value left in it. For Lock N Load it was another empty where the machine didn't always block gambles from winning, especially on large nudge wins on the board.

I loved Lock 'n' Load! The story of how I worked it out is like this: I'd played it loads, even as a £15 machine but it only really got a full release at £25. I heard there was something on it but at the time all we had were rumours. There were times I played happy ones and got a double jackpot, where the second jackpot was off a dodgy gamble on the nudge corner. Anyway, one appeared in a bookies close to home, and I destroyed it one day, so went in the next day expecting it to be stone dead and just to try and scab a couple of wins (High Rise £10 etc.) I collect a few wins and I'm up on it at this point by maybe £10, then what does it do? A nudge setup which I go for, fully expecting it to lose... "Get up!"

So I ring my mate and say I think I can empty this, he says don't be daft, you got lucky, I said no I'm serious and I'm going to try, and the rest is history! Unfortunately without a car it was impossible to make the most of it, and I got lazy. When I was addicted I loved playing them, but as a player it became a chore...

At some point I'll do my own video of my method, which is slightly better than the basic method some had. Basically the nudge corner was only one way out of 6ish to pot it when dead... Blasts, steps, Gold Run, Key + Bonus (can win hilo then use bonus) and red board (red bonus is invincible as long as you don't use it). Can do a red board if you get good Trail Runs even when dead. Super Fast Cash + bonus, true skill so occasionally can pot this way too if you hit £10 with a bonus, or £5+ with two. Finally, get a feel for when you're going to die and collect things, especially High Rise, steps £10 is often given naturally with good numbers above, etc.

Once I knew what I was doing, I soon learnt setups to go for. On Reds, you can hold a pair on a hold after nudges and it still comes in (like some JPMs and BWBs etc.) - this can help with setups. But the machine is programmed to avoid certain setups (a particular one I remember was holding two GMs on 1 and 2, it would sometimes pause and do a longer spin to put reel 3 in a different position).

Usually it wasn't worth going for multiple dodgy gambles as it liked rolling 1 or 9 for Cornered. But occasionally if 2 away from JP, a gamble would win to a 3 or 10 and it just gave in, classing it as a winning number and not needing the second gamble. This was rare though.

The rechip did slower Let 'em Spins and paid out faster. It blocked hilo gambles for wins above £10 when dead.

Edited February 15, 2023 by avengah

[avengah]

I forgot to mention: Hold Cancel on Super Fast Cash. It helps, a bit. A sign of life is if it naturally holds for a 4-bonus via 2 on line + hold, or even 2+1 on line and hold 1 and nothing - but very occasionally this lets you get a bonus when it's dead; you'll see a slight pause before the spin. So when it's dead, most boards will come from nudging in the 4-bonus or let 'em spins (and the odd nudge win). As it never gets any worse once it reaches a certain point of deadness, you should steadily suck it dry if you play it well.

Unlike most JPMs of the £15 skill era, these Reds can let 'em spin and 3-hold when dead. A deliberate choice to ensure muppets feel like they're getting a game even on a dead bandit, but a choice that left it vulnerable. Apparently the unblocked JP gamble was a result of the same deliberate strategy to give muppets an occasional jackpot chance. They just never realised it could be abused. (I knew a guy who worked at Red. He came to visit me when I won a prize on their website. He wasn't a coder so couldn't tell me much about the rechip other than not to bother; at the time I'd seen only one with the slow let 'em spins and asked him about it.)

Edited February 15, 2023 by avengah

[logopolis]

With the Fast Cash, I used to just hit it straight away. Often it went up quite high first time.

[avengah]

As promised, the DX update. Not perfect. A rush job. But the lights in the middle are the right way round and the disco button works. (It does start from position 8, I checked.) I just tried emptying the £25 version and it played quite badly, but I still managed to take over £200 out for £100ish in. I haven't included the RAM files because what's the point? And the decals are still for £15, so on the £25 version the blue bars and up are £7, £10, £15, £25.

I've also included the classic layouts I touched up last time, as I fixed a couple more things, including getting the disco button right and making it clearer against the background.

 

Lock 'n' Load DX & Classic updated.zip