07982: itaten: Incorrect default difficulty setting

ID	Category [?]	Severity [?]	Reproducibility	Date Submitted	Last Update
07982	DIP/Input	Trivial	Always	May 22, 2021, 07:32	May 23, 2021, 10:48

Tester	jkburks	View Status	Public	Platform	MAME (Official Binary)
Assigned To	jkburks	Resolution	Fixed	OS	Windows 10 (64-bit)
Status [?]	Resolved			Driver	nichibutsu/dacholer.cpp
Version	0.231	Fixed in Version	0.232	Build	64-bit
		Fixed in Git Commit	97b65aa	Github Pull Request #

Summary	07982: itaten: Incorrect default difficulty setting
Description	The current default difficulty DIP for Itazura Tenshi is incorrect according to the manual. There are photos of the board, manual, & instruction card on this auction listing: http://m.imaijp.com/aucitem/q297774468 If you consult the DIP table: 難易度 (Difficulty Level) 0 1 2 3 the underscored setting is 1, not 0 ※ 工場出荷時は_印に設定されています。 (* When shipped from the factory, it is set to the _ mark.) This is also confirmed by the illustration of the PCB DIP switches. It would be more accurate to change the MAME DIP settings text to: Easy Normal Harder Hardest and set the default to Normal
Steps To Reproduce	Watch the attract mode on the current easy difficulty setting. The “special stage” heart never appears. Increase the difficulty DIP then reset the machine. The “special stage” heart appears in the attract mode.
Additional Information	Nichibutsu designed this game to play on the Normal setting. The harder and hardest settings increase the number of enemies, the number of projectiles on screen, and maybe allow the high-level enemies to spawn earlier. To create an easy setting they simply removed whole aspects of the game. It is effectively a game mode for toddlers. The “Special Stage” mentioned on the instruction card does not occur on easy, and several of the high level enemies (like the green wizard) never spawn at all. If you consult the sales flyer on Flyer Fever, and the instruction card on the above site, you will see that the spinning heart is a central theme in the game. But you will never see it in MAME unless you change the difficulty. The purpose of the heart is to give the player an opportunity to auto-complete the constellation in the current sector (by shooting the heart). You also have the option of chasing the heart to another sector. Touching the heart stops it from moving so that you can collect a bow power-up before it exits the screen. Shooting the heart makes it explode. Also, the button acts as a "wing-flap" to speed up the player, only changing to "shoot" when the Bow power-up is obtained. You are supposed to rapid tap the button at all times, otherwise you fly around in slow motion… like so many of the Youtube videos of this game running in MAME.
Github Commit

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Regression Version
Affected Sets / Systems	itaten

Attached Files	itazura_tenshi_dip_table.jpg (126,117 bytes) May 22, 2021, 07:32 Uploaded by jkburks Itazura Tenshi DIP Settings
Attached Files	itazura_tenshi_instruction_card.jpg (147,012 bytes) May 22, 2021, 07:32 Uploaded by jkburks Itazura Tenshi Instruction Card

No.18888 hap Developer May 22, 2021, 21:57	Ok, default difficulty will be changed. Thanks for the report. I don't understand why you say difficulty for 0,1,2,3 Easy,Normal,Harder,Hardest would be more accurate than Easy,Medium,Hard,Hardest
No.18893 jkburks Tester May 23, 2021, 07:02	My only concern is that the default difficulty in MAME match the factory setting so that first time players see the game as it was intended by the designers (without missing features). It is my understanding that MAME drivers use factory settings when they are documented, but that many games were dumped without manuals, and not all manuals list the factory settings anyway. And I notice that MAME sometimes uses the exact wording from the manual and sometimes uses generic terms. I have never seen MAME use only numbers for difficulty though. I was suggesting that the wording in the MAME DIP menu for this particular game be altered to use the word “Normal” because it is the only way MAME has to indicate factory setting / manufacturer intent. The manuals usually do this with an asterisk or underscore. I really like the DIP visualization that some of the drivers have now, as this is very helpful for board owners. Maybe in the future this can include some indication for the factory setting.
No.18895 hap Developer May 23, 2021, 10:48	I don't think MAME intended any special meaning behind "Normal". And if it did, it wouldn't make sense that knowing which is default only applies to difficulty setting and not the other settings. For example common settings like number of lives or score extend, there wouldn't be a way to put in "Normal" there. There is a way to set the switch to default though: press Enter.