Embryon

Partial
Completion19%

Bally1981BY35bally.embryon.1981 Updated 2026-08-30

OPDB IPDB bally/embryon-1981.mdbally/embryon-1981.json

Wire it up

what an authoring tool needs first
Bind this ROM
embryon

6 ROM sets resolve to this machine. Clones share the definition unless a hardware difference is listed.

Controller platform
pinmame.by35

PinMAME already reports logical active state. Do not invert again in the table — normally-closed is a physical fact recorded per switch, not a runtime transform.

Displays

No display inventory recorded yet.

Address space
Switches
1–40 (19)
Solenoids
2–20 (8)

Coverage

Partial

Real evidence exists, but authoring requirements are still missing or in conflict. Verify before shipping a table.

Completion19%

Progress is derived from the fixed author-readiness requirements. It helps rank unfinished work, but only a 100% author-ready definition passes the publication gate.

Catalog Identity
validated
Address Enumeration
unknown
Semantic Naming
unknown
Physical Wiring
unknown
Mechanisms
unknown
Variant Coverage
candidate
Recreation Knowledge
unknown
Still missing · 13
Driver MappingInput EnumerationInput SemanticsOutput EnumerationOutput SemanticsDisplay InventoryMechanism InventoryMechanism BehaviorPolarityVariant DifferencesRecreation NotesProvenanceSpatial Placement

Switches

The addresses PinMAME reports as closed. Numbers are the public API values, not matrix hardware pins.

19 addresses

Switch map

Sequential addresses, grouped in columns of eight.

used unused
 
+0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
1–8
9–16
17–24
25–32
33–40
Hover or tap an address to identify it.
19 shown
# Name Device ID Evidence
1
Rubber Band010
switch.rubber-band010 candidate
2
Trigger2a
switch.trigger2a candidate
4
Sw4
switch.sw4 candidate
5
Slot
switch.slot candidate
8
Ball Release
switch.ball-release candidate
12
Sw12
switch.sw12 candidate
13
Sw13
switch.sw13 candidate
14
Sw14
switch.sw14 candidate
15
Sw15
switch.sw15 candidate
18
Spinner1
switch.spinner1 candidate
19
Sw19
switch.sw19 candidate
23
Sw23
switch.sw23 candidate
24
Sw24
switch.sw24 candidate
35
Right Sling Shot
switch.right-sling-shot candidate
36
Left Sling Shot
switch.left-sling-shot candidate
37
Bumper1
switch.bumper1 candidate
38
Bumper2
switch.bumper2 candidate
39
Bumper3
switch.bumper3 candidate
40
Bumper4
switch.bumper4 candidate

Controlled devices

Everything the ROM can energise, grouped the way a table author builds it.

Coils, magnets & motors

8
8 shown
# Name Device ID Evidence
2
Sol DTLeft
coil.sol-dtleft candidate
3
Sol DTTop
coil.sol-dttop candidate
4
Sol Saucer
coil.sol-saucer candidate
5
Sol Outhole Kicker
coil.sol-outhole-kicker candidate
6
Sol Knocker
coil.sol-knocker candidate
18
BGGI
coil.bggi candidate
19
PFGI
coil.pfgi candidate
20
Sol RFlipper2
coil.sol-rflipper2 candidate

Recreation notes

Working knowledge that has no schema field yet — edition differences, tuning values, pitfalls.

Coverage: partial - machine identity plus candidate-only I/O attachments. Playfield devices, wiring, mechanisms, and behavior are evidenced only as unverified candidates.

This record was promoted from the generated catalog stub stub.pinmame.embryon by the catalog-wide identity pass of 2026-08-29. The promotion resolves machine identity and carries the catalog's residual driver grouping over unchanged, the platform and device attachments below were added by the 2026-08-29/30 candidate passes and assert nothing beyond candidate provenance. Every requirement in the definition's coverage.missing is genuinely outstanding.

Identity

  • PinMAME catalog: root driver embryon, description "Embryon", manufacturer "Bally", catalog year "1981".
  • OPDB record G4qk7-MNEjx (IPDB 783) names this machine "Embryon" (Bally, manufacture date 1981-06-01); the resolved identity rests on the agreement of the PinMAME catalog and this reviewed mapping.
  • The definition's driver list is exactly the clone tree PinMAME declares under embryon; whether every listed driver really runs on this physical machine is unverified.

Drivers this record holds

  • embryon (1981, Bally).
  • embryona (2004, Bally / Oliver, clone of embryon).
  • embryonb (2002, Bally / Oliver, clone of embryon).
  • embryonc (2004, Bally / Oliver, clone of embryon).
  • embryond (2004, Bally / Oliver, clone of embryon).
  • embryone (2011, Bally, clone of embryon).

PinMAME source contract (candidate)

  • The pinned PinMAME source declares embryon at src/wpc/by35games.c:1214 with machine module by35_mBY35_61BS; the definition declares controller platform pinmame.by35 from it.

VPX script candidates (candidate)

  • 1 retained community table script(s) declare this machine's driver; their extracted switch/lamp/solenoid/GI candidates are carried as 27 candidate devices. When curator work weighs sources, a retained script outranks emulator-derived candidates for runtime semantics, but every device here is still a candidate until a known-working table is verified against this exact physical machine.

What a curator must establish next

Full input, output, and display enumeration with semantic names; physical wiring and polarity; mechanism inventory and behavior; variant differences across the clone tree; recreation knowledge from a manual, schematic, or known-working table; runtime provenance; and a normalized spatial placement for every physical device. No manual, schematic, or runtime-harness evidence is retained for this machine yet; the candidate sections above are the only retained I/O evidence so far.

ROM sets

Every driver that resolves to this physical machine.

ROM set Description Year Parent Hardware
embryoneEmbryon (7-digit conversion rev. 92) 2011embryon—
embryondEmbryon (7-digit conversion rev. 9) 2004embryon—
embryoncEmbryon (7-digit conversion rev. 8) 2004embryon—
embryonaEmbryon (Free Play) 2004embryon—
embryonbEmbryon (7-digit conversion rev. 1) 2002embryon—
embryonEmbryon 1981——

Parent set: embryon — clones share this definition unless a hardware difference is noted.

Pinball memory maps

External source LGPL-3.0-only3 maps

RAM layouts published by an independent project and mirrored here at a pinned commit. They are not part of this machine’s definition: nothing below was used as evidence for the definition, and none of it counts towards coverage. Check claims against the upstream project.

Upstream
tomlogic/pinball-memory-maps
Commit
d8693b9

This program makes use of content from the Pinball Memory Maps project.

embryon-freeplay.map.json

bally-35-8Kv2format 0.8

maps/bally/as-2518-35/embryon-freeplay.map.json

Applies to ROMs
embryona
Sections
adjustmentsauditsgame_statehigh_scores
Map JSONMap sourcePlatform JSONPlatform source

bally-35-8K defines the RAM layout this map’s offsets are read against — the map is not interpretable without it.

embryon.map.json

bally-35-8Kv2format 0.8

maps/bally/as-2518-35/embryon.map.json

Applies to ROMs
embryon
Sections
adjustmentsauditsgame_statehigh_scores
Map JSONMap sourcePlatform JSONPlatform source

bally-35-8K defines the RAM layout this map’s offsets are read against — the map is not interpretable without it.

system-rom-52.map.json

bally-35-8Kv2format 0.8

maps/bally/as-2518-35/system-rom-52.map.json

Applies to ROMs
embryond
Also covers
fball_iiflashgdfflashgdnflashgdvflashgvf
Sections
adjustmentsauditsgame_statehigh_scores
Map JSONMap sourcePlatform JSONPlatform source

bally-35-8K defines the RAM layout this map’s offsets are read against — the map is not interpretable without it.

Evidence

Every claim above traces to one of these. When they disagree: a known-working VPX script wins on controller addresses and causality, the manual wins on wiring and construction, pinned PinMAME wins on emulator routing and display layout.

  • PinMAME catalog

    BSD-3-Clause

    pinmame.catalog.8371478a7640

    PinmameGetGames

    8371478a7640
    by
    PinMAME contributors
    rev
    8371478a7640

  • PinMAME source

    BSD-3-Clause

    pinmame.core.8371478a7640

    src/wpc/by35games.c:1214 (machine module by35_mBY35_61BS)

    src/wpc/by35games.c
    by
    PinMAME contributors
    rev
    8371478a7640

  • VPX script

    vpx-script.98c037f318c92257

    vpxtable-scripts: Embryon (Bally 1981) w VR Room v2.0.2.vbs

    0c036bb61b4b
    by
    Authors credited in Embryon (Bally 1981) w VR Room v2.0.2.vbs and repository contributors
    rev
    0c036bb61b4b
    sha256
    98c037f318c9…

Something wrong or missing?

This definition still has 13 unmet requirements, listed under Missing data below. Fixes belong in the definition itself — editing on GitHub forks it for you and opens the pull request.

Cite a source for anything you change — a manual page, a line in a working VPX script, PinMAME source, or a reading from the machine's own service menu. Claims without provenance cannot be validated.

Edit the definition Edit the note Report a problem
Before you startCONTRIBUTING.mdschemas/machine.schema.jsondocs/MACHINE_DEFINITIONS_PLAN.md How to read a definition

Same platform

KissBally · 1979CentaurBally · 1981Eight Ball DeluxeBally · 1981ElektraBally · 1981FathomBally · 1981MedusaBally · 1981

Missing data

What this game definition still needs to reach 100% and become author-ready.

  • ROM compatibility

    Verify which PinMAME drivers and firmware variants belong to this physical machine.

  • Complete input inventory

    Account for every switch, service input and diagnostic address, including unused positions.

  • Input functions

    Validate which physical sensor or cabinet control each input represents and when it activates.

  • Complete output inventory

    Account for every coil, motor, lamp, flasher and general-illumination circuit, including unused addresses.

  • Output functions

    Validate the physical device, function and fitted quantity behind each output binding.

  • Displays

    Verify every display, its layout and its controller bindings.

  • Mechanism inventory

    Document every mechanism, its moving parts, actuators, sensors and connections.

  • Mechanism behavior

    Validate mechanism operation, ball paths, home positions, startup and reset behavior.

  • Switch construction and polarity

    Verify normally open or closed contacts and how PinMAME delivers their active states.

  • Edition and firmware differences

    Document supported hardware and firmware differences without combining incompatible editions.

  • Recreation knowledge

    Complete the source-backed behavior and assembly notes needed to recreate the machine.

  • Evidence and sources

    Back the remaining claims with attributable sources, exact locators, retained excerpts and verified hashes.

  • Physical device locations

    Establish validated playfield locations for every physical sensor, actuator and light emitter, including bulb counts and justified projections.

Missing locations · 27