The whole Wampus and gambling bonus problem was bugging me so I made a small patch to Kroah's patch to correct it. There are actually a couple of ways to go, what follows is one of them.
Warning: this hasn't been tested extensively, but it has worked for me in the few games I've tried.
In Kroah's
mule_amo_24.atr disk image change these bytes from:
- Code: Select all
0x0000cb46: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
0x00012222: 4a 4a aa
0x000143d5: 4a 4a 0a
... to:
- Code: Select all
0x0000cb46: 4a 4a 4a aa 60 4a 4a 4a 0a 60
0x00012222: 20 b6 13
0x000143d5: 20 bb 13
What that does is change the math used to compute the index to the two bonus tables. It replaces the existing math with a jump to an unused portion of memory (starting at $13B6) which has the updated routines. Basically it is the same math but with an extra divide-by-two step to account for double the number of rounds. That means the bonuses increase in value a half the normal rate, so now they are:
- Code: Select all
Round | Wampus | Gambling
# | Reward | Base Bonus
------+--------+-----------
1-7 | $100 | $ 50
8-15 | $200 | $100
16-23 | $300 | $150
24 | $400 | $200
The other way to patch this would be to keep the original math and create new extended bonus tables at the same unused location. This would give you more control over the gambling base bonus and Wampus reward (for instance allowing it reach $800 by round 24). I'll explain that patch if there is interest. It uses slightly more memory, and I haven't tested it yet, but I'm confident it will work.
It took me three tries to find an area of memory that was actually usable. M.U.L.E. is positively stuffed with code and data! This small area of 74 bytes ($13B6 through $13FF) seems to be safe. There are some character graphics used to draw the full-sized store (M.U.L.E. corral, outfitters, pub, assay, etc.) starting at $1400.
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