BLOCK PANIC DX

The year 2023 is coming to an end... and it's XMAS again.

This year I bring you something special... oh wait, another *tris clone? Yes, I called it BLOCK PANIC DX and it's more like classic gameplay. But of course the game comes with a special feature, it is the first free NEOGEO game that offers a full 4-player mode. To realise this, BLOCK PANIC DX supports the NeoTRIS MultiTap, which unfortunately never was released, as well as the KIZUNA FTC1B extension (or compatible replacements), both extensions have pros and cons.

NeoTRIS:
- almost impossible to find (schematic can be found)
- supports AES, MVS only with real joypad ports
- not compatible with NGCD joypads

FTC1B:
- hard to find
- requires MV1B or MV1C with compatible BIOS
- replacements requires a UniBIOS on AES or MVS boards with real joypad ports, unfortunately the UniBIOS only activates the FTC1B support if the game KIZUNA (NGH 216) is recognised or a game uses this NGH.

If both extensions are not available, BLOCK PANIC DX still offers a fully usable 4 player experience via 4 integrated BOTs. You can play with or against up to 3 BOTs or simply watch the 4 BOTs play against each other. These BOTs are designed not to be perfect, they should play as naturally as possible and sometimes make mistakes or wrong decisions. They are optimised for speed, every AI is triggered in every frame.

Currently neither MAME nor other emulators support the FTC1B extension unless it is the game KIZUNA... or a game uses exactly this ROMSet. Because of all these pros and cons I have linked 4 downloads:

Block_Panic_DX_231224_(NeoSD).zip
- NeoSD standard version, supports NeoTris (AES and compatible MVS ) and FTC1B (compatible MVS).

Block_Panic_DX_231224_(NeoSD_Kizuna_NGH).zip
- NeoSD Version, standard version but with KIZUNA NGH (#216) supports NeoTRIS MultiTap (AES and compatible MVS) and FTC1B (AES and compatible MVS, both with UNIBIOS)

Block_Panic_DX_231224_(ROM).zip
- ROM standard version, MAME Rom with XML-Driver

Block_Panic_DX_231224_(ROM_Kizuna).zip (does not contain any copyrighted data)
- ROM version matching KIZUNA Romset to use the FTC1B in MAME

BLOCK PANIC DX is fully playable but is more of a concept to demonstrate a real 4 player mode and show the feasibility of 4 BOTs, it is neither bug free nor as polished as my other releases. I hope you like it anyway!