SimonH Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 Hi all, I have been happily playing Homer's Meltdown for the past few days and I am having a blast! I have been thinking whilst playing, that it runs in the exact same way that the original did. Even down to the initialisation startup etc. Are these fruits copied from the EPROM Chips etc? Am I playing an emulated machine that is created from all the info contained within the EPROMS on a real machine or just a version that someone has made to such a high standard that it functions and plays in exactly the same way? Both options are amazing feats and I'm in awe of the work that has gone into them, especially with the recreated glass designs and graphics etc. Sorry for the amateur question, just looking to settle my itchy brain haha! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altharic Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 They are the actual roms from the machine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevedude2 Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 Yes, they are actual game program ROMs taken from a machine and extracted (dumped) to file. MFME emulates the technology that the games run on (Barcrest MPU4, Bell Fruit Scorpion 2 and so on - or in your case Maygay EPOCH) and allows people to load the game program file into it and run it. So they're not simulations or anything like that - it's real game code running through the emulator as it would do on a physical machine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondplayer Posted April 6 Report Share Posted April 6 The creator has to produce the graphics whether DX (how the machine has to look) or classic (layout the same but not graphically the same) but the code running is the actual ROMs. A word on the sounds - obviously the sound of coins going in or paying out is produced by MFME but the gameplay sounds are from the ROMs. 1 Your box will be CASHPOT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonH Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Thanks for the responses, that certainly does answer that! It is incredible though! I will keep an eye out for ROMs etc, when I'm lurking around eBay! I remember wanting to copy the EPOCH's from one of my Homers Meltdowns and went as far as getting a reader (which I don't think was the correct one) but got really put off with the whole business of using light to flash them? I may be completely off, I am only recalling what I think put me off from years ago! Never took it any further Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mort Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 (edited) 58 minutes ago, SimonH said: Thanks for the responses, that certainly does answer that! It is incredible though! I will keep an eye out for ROMs etc, when I'm lurking around eBay! I remember wanting to copy the EPOCH's from one of my Homers Meltdowns and went as far as getting a reader (which I don't think was the correct one) but got really put off with the whole business of using light to flash them? I may be completely off, I am only recalling what I think put me off from years ago! Never took it any further Enjoy FME - I'd love to experience those first moments again when you are amazed by being able to play the games on your PC and lose no cash in the process! We take it for granted now of course, but back in the day it was simply mind-blowing. Hope you stick around and enjoy all the hard-work put in over the years, there are some amazing DX and classic layouts out there. Edited April 7 by Mort 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slotsmagic Posted April 7 Report Share Posted April 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, SimonH said: Thanks for the responses, that certainly does answer that! It is incredible though! I will keep an eye out for ROMs etc, when I'm lurking around eBay! I remember wanting to copy the EPOCH's from one of my Homers Meltdowns and went as far as getting a reader (which I don't think was the correct one) but got really put off with the whole business of using light to flash them? I may be completely off, I am only recalling what I think put me off from years ago! Never took it any further You don't need a light to dump a ROM, but you need a strong UV light (normally a dedicated UV eraser) to erase an EPROM and allow it to be accurately written over. Not an problem if you buy pre-erased, or brand new chips, but then erasers aren't that dear either Edited April 7 by slotsmagic 1 Happy non-gambler since 1st January 2025! (if anyone else needs or wants to quit, I recommend Allen Carr's 'Easyway to Stop Gambling'. Still happy to dump ROMs for people and that sort of stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonH Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 On 07/04/2025 at 19:59, Mort said: Enjoy FME - I'd love to experience those first moments again when you are amazed by being able to play the games on your PC and lose no cash in the process! We take it for granted now of course, but back in the day it was simply mind-blowing. Hope you stick around and enjoy all the hard-work put in over the years, there are some amazing DX and classic layouts out there. Thanks Mort! Haha, I'm just at the beginning! It's just bliss being able to mess around with the machines without taking up any space! I've all introduced my GF to Homer's Meltdown and she's seen the kid in me come out whilst those nostalgic sounds play in the background! Another huge perk to the emulators and not having to put any cash in is that I can test each and every reward offered and go through what ones do what etc! Planning on sticking around for the foreseeable. Sadly I don't get much downtime for hobbies so take every chance I get to sit down and spend an hour or so a week messing around ha! I hate using the keyboard to play though, so I'm planning on getting some old buttons on eBay and making a macro keyboard with an Arduino Nano and using them to play instead! In fact, writing this now reminds me that I need to buy some! I've downloaded Only Fools and The Italian Job to play next! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonH Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 On 07/04/2025 at 20:17, slotsmagic said: You don't need a light to dump a ROM, but you need a strong UV light (normally a dedicated UV eraser) to erase an EPROM and allow it to be accurately written over. Not an problem if you buy pre-erased, or brand new chips, but then erasers aren't that dear either Ah interesting stuff! I have plenty of access to UV equipment of various wave lengths and powers so I could probably reuse some of the things I have built already or create something a bit more suitable. Thanks for the guidance on that! So essentially I just need to buy an EPROM writer? Any recommendations for me to take a look at? Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boulderdash Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 On 07/04/2025 at 19:02, SimonH said: Thanks for the responses, that certainly does answer that! It is incredible though! I will keep an eye out for ROMs etc, when I'm lurking around eBay! I remember wanting to copy the EPOCH's from one of my Homers Meltdowns and went as far as getting a reader (which I don't think was the correct one) but got really put off with the whole business of using light to flash them? I may be completely off, I am only recalling what I think put me off from years ago! Never took it any further It certainly is incredible, and we must always thank the astonishing work of Wizard (Chris) who built the emulator. He sadly departed this mortal coil a couple of years ago. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony92 Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 After reading this thread I've got to add I also feel so content to be able to play these wonderful releases without the risk of empty pockets ( and bank accounts! ) and be able to risk those gambles that in the wild would have you fuming with yourself at some of the outcomes, happy days indeed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyMonster Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 1 hour ago, Tony92 said: After reading this thread I've got to add I also feel so content to be able to play these wonderful releases without the risk of empty pockets ( and bank accounts! ) and be able to risk those gambles that in the wild would have you fuming with yourself at some of the outcomes, happy days indeed. One of the BEST parts of emulation. Lets takes this for a blast, lets not collect anything for £100 on a £10 machine, lets gamble the wrong way. Lots and lots of fun trying to make low features pay silly amounts... or JP's that never repeated in the wild - repeat. Some of the challenges you can set your self are immense - and completely impractical if playing with real cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony92 Posted June 9 Report Share Posted June 9 I 100% agree, and the sheer fun of forcing over £100 into a machine and taking nothing it offers, actually to be able to see the code get more and more desperate to tempt you with anthing it can, to see the invisible IM's when winning the higher than 11 and lower than 2, you finally see that the machine is a scripted program and nothing more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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