Williams System 9/11

Matrix conversion

Public switches are sequential matrix positions addressed column-major across the whole 1-64 range, not column-times-ten notation. The base PinMAME driver registers core_swSeq2m/core_m2swSeq for every generation that does not override MDRV_SWITCH_CONV (src/wpc/core.c MACHINE_DRIVER_START(PinMAME) MDRV_SWITCH_CONV(core_swSeq2m,core_m2swSeq)); src/wpc/s11.c MACHINE_DRIVER_START(s11) imports PinMAME and never overrides it, unlike src/wpc/wpc.c which does.

core_swSeq2m(n) = n+7, so the internal matrix index is m = n+7, column = m/8, and row = m%8 (src/wpc/core.c core_swSeq2m/core_m2swSeq/core_getSw/core_setSw/core_updInvSw). Equivalently, for public address n:

Column 1 is public 1-8; column 8 is public 57-64. src/wpc/s11.c documents this at the top of its switch-handling code: 'S11 is 1-64, convert to 0-64 (+8), i.e. 1=8, 2=9...'.

Column 1 and diagnostics

Column 1 (public 1-8) is not a separate dedicated switch namespace the way WPC has one. SWITCH_UPDATE(s11) (src/wpc/s11.c) loads coreGlobals.swMatrix[0] and [1] directly from the shared S11_COMINPORT/S11_COMPORTS keyboard ports (src/wpc/s11.h): tilt=1, ball-tilt/mux-feedback=2 (see below), start=3, coin1-3=4-6, slam tilt=7, and high-score-reset=8. These still occupy ordinary matrix column 1 and read through the same core_getSw/core_setSw path as every other address; there is no separate binding group for them.

The four negative diagnostic addresses are the upper nibble of the same S11_COMINPORT port (src/wpc/s11.h), landing in matrix column 0 (m=0..3) through the identical n+7 formula:

They are cabinet/service diagnostic buttons, not matrix positions a player-facing definition should place on the playfield.

Per-game exceptions

• Mux relay: When hw.gameSpecific1 has S11_MUXSW2 set, SWITCH_UPDATE(s11) unconditionally overwrites public switch 2 with the live state of the mux relay solenoid (core_setSw(2, core_getSol(core_gameData->sxx.muxSol))) rather than leaving it as whatever S11_COMPORTS nominally labels that bit. Confirm the real identity of switch 2 from the game's own manual rather than assuming a generic ball tilt label when this flag is set.
• Custom columns: A driver that declares a non-zero hw.swCol adds custom switch columns beyond public 64 (CORE_CUSTSWCOL numbering, the same convention WPC-generation games use). This profile asserts only the base 1-64 range actually exercised by Whirlwind (hw.swCol=0); a game with custom columns must extend its own address space with cited evidence rather than this profile silently widening to cover an unobserved case.

Country jumper

System 11 exposes exactly one DIP-style configuration bit: a single Country jumper (USA/Germany), read via core_getDip(0)<<7 on PIA2 PA7 (src/wpc/s11.c pia2a_r; src/wpc/s11.h COREPORT_DIPNAME(0x0001,0x0000,"Country"), MDRV_DIPS(1) actually a jumper).

This is a physical jumper block, not a multi-bank operator DIP the way Bally MPU AS-2518-35 or WPC games have.

General illumination

System 11 has no separate WPC/Whitestar-style coreGlobals.gi[] string abstraction at all. src/wpc/core.h documents that array as WPC/Whitestar/SAM-only, and s11.c never touches it.

General illumination on System 11 is simply an ordinary solenoid address whose per-game bulb-driver metadata happens to be a continuous AC GI type rather than a momentary DC coil type. MACHINE_INIT(s11) in src/wpc/s11.c contains one strncasecmp(gn,...) block per game short name that calls core_set_pwm_output_type(CORE_MODOUT_SOL0+addr-1, count, CORE_MODOUT_BULB_44_6_3V_AC_REV), naming that game's own GI address(es). There is no fixed GI address or count across the platform. A definition must bind its GI devices to this same pinmame.output.solenoid group at the address its own game's block (or manual) names, with output kind gi, not to a separate GI group/channel.

Address map

Special solenoids 17-22

Each special solenoid is driven by one PIA CA2/CB2 line and gated by a software enable (PIA0 CB2, locals.ssEn). The PIA-output-to-public-address map is scrambled by silkscreen order and must go through setSSSol's ssSolNo[0]={5,4,1,2,0,3} table for Williams hardware (src/wpc/s11.c setSSSol, pia1ca2_w/pia1cb2_w/pia3ca2_w/pia3cb2_w/pia4ca2_w/pia4cb2_w) rather than being assumed sequential from the PIA read order. Once resolved, it is sequential: silkscreen SS1/A to SS6/F maps onto public 17-22 in order.

C-side relay aliases 25-32

Addresses 25-32 are not eight independent driver transistors. updsol() in src/wpc/s11.c copies the live low byte of the momentary solenoid word (public 1-8) into bits 24-31 whenever the mux relay solenoid (sxx.muxSol, commonly but not always 12) is energized. Public 25-32 therefore fire the same eight transistors as 1-8, routed by relay contacts to a second, usually higher-voltage, circuit. This is commonly #89 25V flasher bulbs in place of the low-power devices normally wired to 1-8; src/wpc/s11.c core_set_pwm_output_type(...,CORE_MODOUT_BULB_89_25V_DC_S11) comments name this Mux relay pattern per game.

This is real System 11 hardware multiplexing, documented on many original driver-board silkscreens as paired nnA/nnC circuits switched by an A/C select relay, not an emulator artifact. A definition should record the C-side device at address (manual A-side number + 24).

Generic, sound-overlay, and synthetic outputs

• Upper flippers (33-36): This is the platform's generic upper-flipper-coil range (CORE_FIRSTUFLIPSOL=33). core_getSol only serves it for GEN_ALLWPC/GEN_SAM, so it reads as always-zero for any System 11 game and is only meaningful if a specific game's own custom getSol hook or hardware repurposes it. Verify per game rather than assuming flipper hardware.
• Sound overlay (37-44): These are Sound overlay board outputs per src/wpc/core.h's own 37-41 Sound overlay board doc comment when a game sets hw.gameSpecific1 & S11_SNDOVERLAY. pia5cb2_w diverts the sound-command byte away from the sound board and writes it as an up-to-8-bit pulse pattern starting at PWM index 40 (src/wpc/s11.c pia5cb2_w, core_write_pwm_output_8b(CORE_MODOUT_SOL0+40,...)), while core_getSol's own GEN_ALLS11 branch for public 37-44 reads coreGlobals.solenoids2 bit (solNo-37+8) (src/wpc/core.c core_getSol). These two internal numbering views do not fully agree with each other in the pinned revision. The exact populated subset -- which of 37-44 correspond to real board outputs -- is game-specific and must be settled from that game's own manual/schematic and known-working script rather than assumed uniform across the whole 37-44 span; treat 37-44 as the outer bound, not as eight uniformly-populated addresses.
• Lower flippers (45-48): These are the platform's synthetic lower-flipper outputs (CORE_FIRSTLFLIPSOL=45; sLRFlipPow=45,sLRFlip=46,sLLFlipPow=47,sLLFlip=48 per src/wpc/core.h). core_updateSw fabricates them from live flipper-button switch state whenever a game's hw.flippers omits the corresponding FLIP_SOL bit (src/wpc/core.c core_updateSw fake solenoids if not CPU controlled). This is normal for System 11: real System 11 hardware fires flipper coils directly from the cabinet button through a relay/fuse circuit with no CPU involvement at all, and the CPU only ever observes button state through whichever ordinary matrix switches the game's FLIP_SWNO names. A definition should record 45-48 as virtual/synthetic outputs with no physical driver-board device behind them whenever hw.flippers uses FLIP_SWNO without a matching FLIP_SOL bit, which is the common System 11 case.

Custom outputs 51-64

Addresses 51-64 are the platform's custom-solenoid space (CORE_FIRSTCUSTSOL=51) for a driver that declares hw.custSol, bounded by the hard platform cap CORE_MAXSOL=64 (src/wpc/core.h). coreGlobals.nSolenoids is sized as CORE_FIRSTCUSTSOL-1+hw.custSol (src/wpc/s11.c MACHINE_INIT(s11)), so a game with custSol=0 models no valid addresses at or above 51 at all. This profile's 51-64 rule bounds only the platform's outer limit, not any specific game's populated range.

Standard matrix

coreGlobals.nLamps = 64 + hw.lampCol*8 (src/wpc/s11.c MACHINE_INIT(s11)). A driver declaring hw.lampCol=0 -- the common case, and Whirlwind's own value -- models exactly the standard 64-lamp matrix with no auxiliary columns.

The public numbering convention is the identical column-major sequential scheme documented on the switch group above: column=((n-1)/8)+1, row=((n-1)%8)+1. It is registered through the same core_swSeq2m/core_m2swSeq pair reused for MDRV_LAMP_CONV (src/wpc/core.c MACHINE_DRIVER_START(PinMAME)).

Unlike the switch case, this conversion is exercised only for the custom-lamp-column uniqueness assertion at game-init time (src/wpc/core.c CORE_CUSTLAMPCOL-style check), not by any runtime strobe path. The raw hardware strobe -- PIA1:A rows / PIA1:B columns (src/wpc/s11.c pia1a_w/pia1b_w) -- writes directly by column/row and never consults a public lamp number at all.

Auxiliary columns

A driver declaring hw.lampCol > 0 adds one additional 8-lamp column per unit at public 65 upward. This profile asserts only the base 1-64 range Whirlwind actually uses.