[Nov/11/2002]


UNIVERSE BIOS 1.0 for the MVS NeoGeo system
-------------------------------------------



WARNING
-------
I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED TO YOUR MVS HARDWARE WHILE INSTALLING
OR USING THE UNIVERSE BIOS. WHILE THE BIOS HAS BEEN TESTED YOU USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.

THE UNIVERSE BIOS HAS BEEN DESIGNED FOR NON COMMERCIAL USERS OF MVS HARDWARE ONLY.
USING THE UNIVERSE BIOS IN AN ARCADE ENVIRONMENT CAN RESULT IN LOSS OF REVENUE DUE TO
CUSTOMERS OBTAINING FREE CREDITS, CHEATING ETC. I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS, YOU
HAVE BEEN WARNED.

THE UNIVERSE BIOS IS NOT FOR USE WITH THE HOME AES VERSION OF THE NEOGEO. TRYING TO
INSTALL OR USE THE UNIVERSE BIOS ON THIS HARDWARE MAY RESULT IN PERMANENT FAILURE OF
THE SYSTEM.


TERMS OF USE
------------
You can use the UNIVERSE BIOS as long as you own original genuine MVS hardware.
Failure of this may result in you the user violating international copyright laws.
New program code within the UNIVERSE BIOS is (c) Razoola, original BIOS program code
remains copyrighted to SNK.

  DO NOT DISTRIBUTE A DUMP OF THE UNIVERSE BIOS UNLESS YOU ARE LEGALLY ABLE TO DO SO.
  I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR OTHERS ACTIONS.

  DO NOT PROVIDE A SERVICE SELLING THE UNIVERSE BIOS ON EEPROM (ESPECIALLY FOR PROFIT).


DONATIONS
---------
Although the UNIVERSE BIOS is free, if you find it usefull then please consider donating
to help the cause. More information can be found on the official UNIVERSE BIOS homepage.


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INTRODUCTION
------------

The UNIVERSE BIOS is for owners of a real MVS arcade system that want an easy way
to change country region or between Arcade or Console mode on boot. Also included
are other features that are not normally possible using the standard MVS bios.

The UNIVERSE BIOS is also designed to give easy access to things like inserting
coins, test mode and memory card management when using the joystick ports only.
Of course the BIOS still allows standard operation too. 


  MAIN FEATURES
  -------------

  - The ability to quickly and easily change operation from MVS to AES. Play your
    favorite games as the home console version enabling all the extra gameplay
    options that come with some games.

  - The ability to quickly and easily change country region (great for games that
    disable blood under USA region).

  - Access to the DEBUG DIP's and DEVELOPER mode.

  - Want unlimited lives or energy... Then cheat in games using the built in
    cheat engine which currently holds over 1200 cheats!!!

  - Jukebox player where one can listen to game music without sound FX from
    gameplay over the top. Nice option if you want to create MP3's.


  Other features
  --------------

  - Remapping of coin switches to select buttons and visa versa. This allows a SNK
    joypad pad to do everything.

  - Once region and operation mode is set the BIOS will remember settings until you
    change them again.

  - Access to the standard Memory Card Utility no matter what Mode the BIOS is in
    (one could never access this menu with the normal MVS BIOS).

  - Access to Test Mode on boot without the need of wiring the Test Mode JAMMA pins
    or fiddling with DIP's.

  - Console mode protection removed from latest games (kof2000 etc).


  MVS system needed
  -----------------
  Confirmed Information on systems the BIOS works on is apprieciated, any
  problems too for that matter. Issues will be looked into once known.

    - MV-1   = Untested but should work
    - MV-1A  = Untested but should work
    - MV-1B  = Untested but should work
    - MV-1C  = Untested (Bios is not in a socket on this HW)
    - MV-1F  = Tested fully working.
    - MV-1FZ = Untested but should work
    - MV-2F  = Tested fully working.
    - MV-4F  = Untested but should work
    - MV-6F  = Untested but should work

  NOTE for MV-1C owners
  --------------------- 
  MV-1C hardware contains an original BIOS that is soldered onto the main PCB. This
  makes installing the UNIVERSE BIOS far more complex and probably beyond the normal
  MVS user. If you own MV-1C hardware and wish to install the UNIVERSE BIOS I would
  advise you don't to try and change the BIOS yourself. Rather take your PCB to a
  qualified person and ask them to unsolder the BIOS from the PCB and then reseat
  it via a socket. This will allow the UNIVERSE BIOS to be installed with the same
  method used for other MVS hardware types. 


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USING THE UNIVERSE BIOS
-----------------------

The first time the UNIVERSE BIOS is burned onto eeprom and placed on a MVS you
will see the welcome screen and be asked to select your country & operation mode.
The system will then store your chosen settings in the systems backup SRAM and
you'll never be asked again unless you access the UNIVERSE BIOS main menu.

  Note
  ----
  If your systems backup sram battery is dead then the setting will be lost on
  powerdown. This will result in being asked to enter region every time you power
  on. I suggest one replaces the onboard battery if you suffer this situation.


Accessing Menues
----------------
The following codes should be used while the splash screen is showing or held during
system power up (splash disabled). Button codes will only work on player 1 controls. 

  A+B+C   = Main UNIVERSE BIOS Menu
  A+B+C+D = Memory Card Manager
  B+C+D   = Test mode

The following codes should be used after the system has initilised (once you see the
spinning NeoGeo logo or game has started), codes will only work on player 1 controls. 

  START+SELECT = Cheats Menu
  START+COIN   = Cheats Menu


The Main Menu
-------------
Use Player 1 controls to navigate the menues. Button A is used as select.

  Region Settings
  ---------------
  This is where you choose your region and operation mode of the BIOS. Any settings
  made on this screen are permanantly saved until you decide to change them.

  General Settings
  ----------------
  Like with the region settings these setting are also permanantly saved. Here is a
  quick description on what each setting does.

  - Disable Boot up HW test
      Turning this option on will force the UNIVERSE BIOS to skip most RAM and VRAM tests
      done after the MVS system is initially switched on. This will make boot time faster
      although you will have no guarantee your MVS system is in correct working order. 

  - Disable Cheat Engine
      This simply turns off all cheats so you can't even get the menu.

  - Disable Input Crossing
      This option turns off all coin to select / select to coin mappings. I'm not sure
      if anyone will find any real benefit from this option but I added it in case.

  - Disable Splash Screen
      This will turn off the UNIVERSE BIOS splash screen on bootup. I'm sure some people
      will find the screen annoying even though it shows your current BIOS region and
      operation mode. 

  Debug DIP Switches & DEVELOPER Mode
  -----------------------------------
  These setting are a little more advanced and are not permanantly saved although they
  will stay active even after changing a game on multislot hardware. Actual settings
  to use depend on the game but these setting are what you need to fiddle with if you
  want to access sprite viewers etc.

  To give you an example if you use the game 'Metal Slug X' in console mode with the
  DEVELOPER mode option enabled pressing select twice during gameplay will bring up a
  new menu where you can play levels that were never included in the normal version.

  Jukebox Music Player
  --------------------
  Here you can listen to music from games. Each tune or sound is assigned a sound code.
  By selecting different codes you will hear different tunes or game fx.

  Play Game
  ---------
  I'm sure this needs no explenation.


Game Cheats
-----------
Use Player 1 controls to navigate the cheat menu.

  Notes
  -----
  Cheats can cause problems in game. If you experiance game lockups when using a
  cheat try turning it off to allow the game to continue. If it dosn't then disable
  the cheat before the lockup happens and restart cheat once past that point.

  Changing games on a MULTISLOT MVS will disable any active cheats.

  DEBUG DIP's have priority over cheats thus any cheat using the DEBUG DIP address
  will not work if any DEBUG DIP's have been enabled.


Input Crossing
--------------
This feature of the UNIVERSE BIOS gives you the ability to use the joystick ports (if
the system has them) for things it wasnt originally designed for like inserting game
credits and more. Look below for information on how input crossing will work given the
hardware setup found and the selected UNIVERSE BIOS settings. 

If you dont want to take advantage of input crossing I advise you disable this feature
(option found in the general bios settings menu).

  When using the joystick ports (if the system has them) the select buttons will insert
  coins when pressed if the UNIVERSE BIOS is running in arcade mode. On a MULTISLOT system
  this feature will be automatically disabled when more than one game is found attached to
  the system. This ensures correct BIOS operation (no coin inserting when changing games).

  When using the JAMMA connection for joystick control the coin switches (used for getting
  credits) will become player 1 and player 2 select buttons when the UNIVERSE BIOS is running
  console mode. See known issues for limitations of this feature when used with certain games.

  On a MULTISLOT system the joystick port select buttons and the JAMMA connector select game
  pins do the same thing (both use the same port by hardware design). This basically means
  you can use the game select buttons as player 1 and player 2 select buttons even when they
  use the JAMMA connector.

  On a MULTISLOT system game selecting is only available during the attract mode sequence
  when the UNIVERSE BIOS is running in console mode. Once you press start you can no longer
  change game until after current game is over.


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OBTAINING THE UNIVERSE BIOS ON EEPROM
-------------------------------------

If you would like the UNIVERSE BIOS provided on EEPROM because you dont have the ability
to do it yourself then visit the official homepage for more information on how to order.


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