Time Machine

Machine definition: machines/partial/data-east/time-machine-1988.json

Identity and controller contract

Pinned PinMAME defines tmac_a24 as the clone-tree parent, with tmac_a18 and tmac_g18 cloning it. All three catalog rows are dated 12/88. The physical declaration is INITGAMES11(tmac, GEN_DE, de_dispAlpha2, FLIP1516, SNDBRD_DE1S, 0, 0). The parent is the highest revision because that is what the macro says; no revision-order rule was inferred.

de_dispAlpha2 supplies two seven-character alphanumeric and two seven-character numeric displays. They are controlled backbox devices and have explicit not_applicable playfield-spatial records. The machine is correctly bound to pinmame.dataeast; no Data East controller profile is authored, so controller_platform remains a concrete coverage blocker rather than borrowing the System 11 profile. INITGAMES11 leaves Time Machine's wpc.invSw array zero-initialized, and core.c copies that zero mask into coreGlobals.invSw, so the emulator applies no per-game switch inversion for any of the three drivers.

Address coverage

• Inputs: service switches -7/-6, DIP/jumper address 0, and every matrix address 1-64.
• Outputs: every lamp address 1-64 and every Data East public solenoid address 1-50.
• Solenoid 23 is the Game On/control signal; 24 is unused; 33-44 are inert; 45-48 are synthetic lower-flipper winding states; 49 is a simulation-only shooter state; 50 is reserved.
• Solenoid 10 is the left/right mux relay. Its public right bank is 25-32. The manual says the complete left/right arrangement effectively provides 23 regular coils, while its device chart names only SIDE R 01-04. Manual and script resolve mechanisms only at 25-28; pinned source configures four distinct emulator-published mux states at 29-32, but no retained runtime trace proves their per-address activity and no retained source identifies fitted physical circuits for SIDE R 05-08.

Lamp mapping and the 65th object

The active script calls vpmMapLights AllLamps. Shared VPM uses each Light's TimerInterval as its ROM lamp index. The collection contains 134 Light members and covers TimerInterval 1-65. Addresses 1-64 are the complete hardware matrix. The sole TimerInterval-65 member is l65, an is_backglass=true presentation helper on hSpacewarpLights; the controller never publishes lamp 65, so it is deliberately excluded rather than counted as an output.

Lamp 25 remains conflicted: the manual explicitly prints 2X All Scores Cntr Plyfld, but the collection's sole TimerInterval-25 object is marked backglass. No coordinate is selected. Backbox/back-panel lamps are also kept off the playfield coordinate plane even when the retained table uses in-bounds presentation proxies.

Mechanism topology

The script supplies causality and the manual supplies construction. Together they establish a serial three-ball trough, an outhole feeder, a three-position visible lock released by one cam/coil assembly, a separate super VUK reached from an under-playfield path, the Laser Kick outlane kickback, two flippers, two slingshots, three pop bumpers, three independent fixed three-target standup banks, a manual shooter, and fixed ramp/wireform paths. The standup banks are not drop-target banks: the manual assembly shows switch/bracket targets and no reset coil.

The special-solenoid table and location drawing swap SP1/SP2 between the right and center pop bumpers. Pinned s11.c PIA comments identify handlers 0-5 as SP6, SP5, SP2, SP3, SP1 and SP4; applying setSSSol's Data East offsets (3, 4, 5, 1, 0, 2) derives SP1, SP3, SP4, SP6, SP5 and SP2 at public addresses 17-22. This is not inferred by treating printed SP numbers as handler indices. The right/center mechanisms keep empty actuator lists until an original-machine capture settles the disagreement; SP3, SP4, and SP5 agree as left sling, left pop, and right sling, while SP6 is unfitted.

Manual transcription policy

The retained Archive.org manual is a 78-page, 4,542,921-byte scan with SHA-256 f232f8114ea31776a9d49e274b5ebed32cb3805acb4e719785fe48d43ddd719c. Only visible rendered-page content is used: PDF 26-27 = printed 22-23 (switches), 28-29 = printed 24-25 (lamps), 30-31 = printed 26-27 (coils), 67 = printed 47 (parts list), 74 = printed 54 (three-bank standups), 76 = printed 56 (lock bracket), and 77 = printed 57 (super VUK). PDF 78 is blank.

Retained table and geometry

The retained table SHA-256 is b6c4b39bc7a672c1914b25e19192ec4cde8432aae00f9a5cd913c9b2f3c3c4f4 and binds the correct parent with Const cGameName = "tmac_a24". Its exact bounds are 1000 by 1910. Both values are asserted before normalization. Whole-line VBScript comments are removed before any callback or mapping claim; inline executable code remains.

Coverage and blockers

Status remains partial. coverage.missing is [controller_platform, output_semantics, mechanism_behavior, polarity, spatial_placement, unresolved_conflicts].

• controller_platform: the Data East platform has no authored controller profile.
• output_semantics: public 29-32 are distinct emulator-published mux states whose runtime activity, physical quantity, and circuit identity are untraced.
• mechanism_behavior: hardware-triggered special-coil timing is not exposed, and SP1/SP2 assignment conflicts.
• polarity: FLIP1516 publishes cabinet-button state where the manual prints physical EOS contacts; no bench capture reconciles rest/end-of-stroke state.
• spatial_placement: lamp coordinates are table candidates, flash groups lack socket surveys, and the conflicted outputs have no selected position.
• unresolved_conflicts: five source disagreements remain recorded in the definition and spatial report.

Recreation boundary

Recreate only the explicitly mapped addresses and topologies. Do not invent activity, physical quantities, or feature names for public mux states 29-32. Also do not treat presentation helpers as extra hardware, convert the fixed target banks into drop targets, or infer physical switch/coil polarity from controller-normalized public state.