Metal Slug X - Super Vehicle-001

General Info
USA Title	Metal Slug X - Super Vehicle-001
Japanese Title	Metal Slug X - Super Vehicle-001 (メタルスラッグ X)
European Title	Metal Slug X - Super Vehicle-001
NGH	250
Developer	SNK
Editor	SNK
Meg count	Unknown
TCRF page	None
MVS Release
Release date	1999
PROG Board	PROGEOP
CHA Board	CHA512Y
Protection Chip	none
MAME romset	mslugx
AES Release : No
CD Release : No

Protected MVS/AES release that uses the PROGEOP board that is exclusive to this game. No ROMs are encrypted but the P1 includes protection code which will display a red warning screen and hang if it fails. It's a challenge/response setup similar to what the SNK-9201 was used for.

Protection check warning screen

Hardware

PLD

An Altera MAX chip is included on the PROG board for:

• Protection read/write accesses ($2FFFE0+)
• Bankswitching ($2FFFF0+ as with PROGBK1 games)
• Controlling /E and /G pins on both P1 and P2
• P1 + P2 D0-D7 pass through (P ROMs don't connect straight to D0-D7 on the cart edge)
• Decoding V ROM output enables from NEO-PCM address inputs

The chip seems to die frequently. Since it also does some other essential things, either the ROMs have to be transplanted to a PROGBK1 or the dead PROGEOP has to be modified. A hacked P1 ROM needs to be used. The MAX chip combines what was done with the LS08,LS74 and LS139 on regular BK1 boards so those circuits have to be added manually to revive the game without the MAX.

Unknown QFP144

• Connected to the Altera through a 245 chip. Apart from that it's completely isolated from everything else?
• Maybe it does the protection. Altera seems to do every other possible needed task.
  • Altera handles forwards read/write requests through 245 from $2FFFE0+?

CHA

It's paired with a regular CHA512Y board.

Emulation

MAME currently patches out the protection code instead of emulating it: (mslugx_install_protection) [1]

See also

• Repairing Metal Slug X
• ack's board scans