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Cameltry (Arcade)

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Title Screen

Cameltry

Developer: Taito
Publisher: Taito
Platform: Arcade (Taito F2 System)
Released internationally: April 1990


ObjectIcon.png This game has unused objects.
GraphicsIcon.png This game has unused graphics.
TextIcon.png This game has unused text.
DebugIcon.png This game has debugging material.
LevelSelectIcon.png This game has a hidden level select.


Hmmm...
To do:
"Investigate the word flag at beginning." -andlabs

You may be able to manage your character through a maze, but can you manage the maze around your character?! That's Cameltry.

Stage Select

SELECT YOUR CAMEL
This game features the Taito Code:

  • While the game boots up, hold the Service Coin button until the "SERVICE SWITCH ERROR" message pops up on the screen.
  • Then, press 1P Start (x3), Service Coin, 1P Start. The error message should be replaced with "ROUND SELECT ON !!"
  • Start a new game and a stage select menu should appear.

Debug Functions

A handful of debug functions remain in the game. Put the following code in MAME's cameltry.xml cheat file to replace the default service test with one of the following functions.

  <cheat desc="Change Test Mode Function">
    <parameter>
      <item value="0x0000300E">Edit Mode Menu</item>
      <item value="0x0000481E">Mask Test Mode</item>
      <item value="0x0001D8C2">Object Test Mode</item>
      <item value="0x0001DC6E">Color Test Mode</item>
      <item value="0x00020D3C">Rotation Test</item>
      <item value="0x00020DF0">Kaiten Screen Test</item>
    </parameter>
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.md@009F0A=param</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.md@009F0A=0x00024342</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>

Unfortunately, the debug routines are expecting a two-button input system with a standard joystick, while the final game uses a one-button input system with a paddle. As such, most of the controls are broken, and they can't really be fixed through patches either.

Edit Mode Menu

About as useful as the Kirby Bowl debug menu
This debug routine would be toggled if 1P Start and 1P Jump were pressed simultaneously during gameplay, but there's no place in the main gameplay loop where this routine is even referenced. The menu is meant to be controlled by 1P and 2P joysticks, so it doesn't do much of anything in the final version.

  • G: Gravity.
  • OMOSA: Weight.
  • KATASA: ???
  • SH.POWER: Probably how much the Jump button moves the ball.
  • MAX SPEED: Self-explanatory.
  • GAME PLAY: Exits the menu.

Mask Test Mode

We all wear mask test modes.
Tests the Mask, or character, graphics bank.

Press 1P Button 1 to change the current palette.

Object Test Mode

Shameless objectification.
Tests the object graphics bank.

  • 1P Button 1: Increment palette number.
  • 1P Start: Hold to rapidly increment palette number (1 per frame).
  • 2P Start: Hold to rapidly decrement palette number (1 per frame).

Color Test Mode

Please replace color ink cartridge.
This would let the user check and alter color values if the controls worked properly.

Press 1P Button 1 to increment the lower "color mode" number. Once the lower number reaches 0010, the upper number will increase and the background will get progressively bluer.

Mask Rotation Test

Rotato potato.
This is a simple test of the game's rotation and scaling functions. The 16-character string will quickly rotate clockwise while zooming in and out. The test runs automatically and there's no check for user input anywhere in the routine.

Kaiten Screen Test

Kaiten means rotation.
A lot like the rotation test, only this tests the background graphics instead of character graphics and it's controlled manually.

  • 1P Button 1: Decrement angle number (Rotate the logo).
  • 2P Button 2: Decrement block number (This doesn't seem to do anything).
  • 1P Start: Increment the "Color Mod", or current palette.
  • 2P Start: Decrement the Color Mod variable.
(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Graphics

cmltry
This smaller Cameltry logo would have fit in well in the difficulty selection screen.

Hope you're ready to INSERT COIN!
There are several penalty values, down to 1 second and up to 8 seconds, that are unused. It seems plausible that the time penalties would change depending on the difficulty level, but in the final game, the penalties are always 2 and 5 seconds.

I can only count this high. Truck ran over my left pinky.
Special number graphics are used in the Japanese tutorial screens. They go up to 9, but the final game only uses 1-5. Could be related to the unused penalty graphics, but the 9 throws that into question a little bit.

What's a Cameltry without camels? Also, what's a Cameltry? Chew chew chew. He didn't try hard enough.

An unused background object that would appear in desert-based level. He's trying, folks.

Used Unused
Pleasant. Not so pleasant.

Yurika appears in the Special Course ending with the expression on the left. There are five more expressions at the very end of the object graphics ROM; These are stored directly after the different player character sprites used in the Beginner Course ending. It's likely that her expression would change depending on which character the player picked.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused Text

At 0x0D8B is this text:

DESIGNER:

This would pop up at the start of each world along with the world's name. There are even entries in the world name table at 0x1D3D8 that list each world's designer. It's a bit redundant, though, since almost every world was designed by "KAITO", or "PPR KAITO" in the credits. The one exception is "IWAI SPECIAL" designed by "A.IWAI". This is probably Akira Iwai, best known for his design work on Arkanoid.

CameltryArcLocationTest.png
This is one of Taito's standard location test messages. Put this code in cameltry.xml and enable to display this text after completing the final world in any course:

  <cheat desc="Enable Location Test Message">
    <script state="run">
      <action>maincpu.mw@006C36=6C3A</action>
    </script>
    <script state="off">
      <action>maincpu.mw@006C36=B9B6</action>
    </script>
  </cheat>
(Source: Original TCRF research)

Regional Differences

Japan World
Cameltry Horizon. Oh, now I understand.

In the Japanese version, the tutorial screens are in Japanese and English. This can all fit on screen except in Lesson 5, where the last line of English text is cut off. The relevant line is still in Japanese, though, so it doesn't matter too much.

It's a good way to lose a hat.

In the Japanese language versions, Yurika will bow after giving one of her explanations in Training mode. ぺこり, "Pekori", is the action of quickly bowing one's head.

(Source: Original TCRF research)