MAMEWorld Forums - MAMEUI & IV/Play - Re: Problem with 720 Degrees

> Hello all,
>
> First time poster. I've been playing with MAME off and on for something like 15 years
> now. I am grateful for its existence. Despite my age of 42 years, I'd still be an
> arcade rat today if there were still arcades in my town (sadly, there is not). So, to
> all the guys and gals who make MAME a reality, you will always have my gratitude.
>
> I've had problems here and there with MAME in the past, but googling and a little
> trial/error has usually got me where I needed to go. But, I now have a problem with
> one of my all-time favorite games that I just can't figure out. If this is the wrong
> place to post this question, please give me the appropriate scolding and tell me
> where I should be posting this. Thanks.
>
> 720 Degrees. In the "area" (you know, where you do tricks trying to get a park ticket
> and buy equipment until bees come after you), everything works great. In the Slalom
> park everything works great. But, when I enter the Jump park, the Ramp park, or the
> Downhill park, the character flickers, the game slows to the point where it is
> unplayable, it seems to confuse the kick button for the jump button, and I think
> collision detection is off because the kid goes through the ramp and the fence
> surrounding it that's supposed to keep you in.
>
> I'll give you a random list of things that I've tried so far...
>
> -I confirmed the problem exists in MAMEUI64 0.176
> -I confirmed the problem exists in MAMEUIFX 0.175 (my front end of choice, but the
> guy making is has quit and he even locked up his forums. I get the first thing, but
> not the second. I'm getting off topic now)
> -I confirmed the problem exists in both the 64-bit version and the 32-bit version
> -I have tried experimenting turning off and on enforce aspect ratio, throttle, sync
> to monitor refresh, refresh speed, wait for vertical sync, I even changed the sound
> type. Nothing. Though, I'm willing to consider I have not tried the correct
> combination of settings
> -I even upgraded my video card. No, not to troubleshoot this problem. But, over the
> weekend I went from a nVidia card to an AMD card, and the switch in cards and
> corresponding drivers had no effect on this problem one way or the other.
> -One guy on Youtube told me to hit F11, and then experiment with the F8 and F9
> buttons, but all that did was speed up the game. That's not what I'm looking for
> here.
> -I've tried it on both the Rev 4 and the Rev 3 versions of the ROM. The problem
> exists in both.
>
> I know this did work in MAME at one time. About 12 or 13 years ago, I went through an
> unfortunate time in my life where I couldn't find a job. I killed much of that down
> time by playing 720 back then, and it worked fine. I don't remember the MAME version
> I was on, but it has to be really old now.
>
> So, I'm at my wits end. Can one of you guys or gals confirm the problem does indeed
> exist and that I'm not crazy? Or, is there something else I should be trying?

This was a regression that was introduced in 0.175 and kept on until after 0.176 until a related reported (for APB) brought attention to it again. It was a display interrupt problem that causing missing sprites and other issues with graphics for all machines using Atari System 2 board (including 720). It is now corrected for 0.177 which was released oday at http://www.mamedev.org

Hopefully this will fix your experience with the game.