https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/11#post-8623517

UPDATE JP-1.3

The new patch has a fix for the adjustment bug reported by @mima. And an FX for draining balls that bypass the outhole and end up back in the shooter lane as suggested by @tuukka. However, the main reason I want to release this sooner rather than later is that is will make the flasher bulbs under the seafood wheel last longer.

In Bad Cats there are two flasher bulbs that are used to light the seafood wheel. They are supposed to be always on (full duty cycle) when the wheel is running, but because the CPU is fully loaded with display effects at the same time there is a lot of flicker. I got rid of the flicker in TCM by moving the flasher control into the back end (interrupt handler). And I made the wheel stay lit during the entire spin, including the award FX. Since the flashers stay on in TCM much longer than in the original code the bulbs have not been lasting very long in my game.

I improved the code by dimming the wheel flashers to 75% using PWM (pulse-width modulation), which is only possible because I control them from the back end. The frequency is fast enough for this to work without visible flicker even with LED bulbs. And I think that the reduced brightness looks better. I don't actually know how much longer the bulbs will last with this change but I am optimistic.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/11#post-8476695

ANNOUNCEMENT: Release 1.2 of The Cat's Meow -- A ROM Patch for Bad Cats

Main Features

5 different rules selectable at game start
multiplayer games with handicaps
rules include stock game rules with all bugs fixed
65536 different game-rules combinations available in settings
dedicated tournament settings
ball saver
Cat Nap feature for muting/pausing a running game (* video below)
installation does not erase stored high scores

New Rules Options

earned 20M shot (20M Wish)
skillshot with multiple rewards
drop target award for completion as singles (*)
timed drop targets
individual jackpot
semi-shared jackpot (*)
and many others...
Other Improvements

guitar sounds in the upper left playfield indicating that 10x is lit
cat/dog fighting sounds in pop bumpers area
fewer dropped callouts
better treatment of linear fish target phantom switch hits
doghouse lights up when wheel is ready
improved wheel lighting and flasher effects during seafood spin (video below)
and many others...

[Features marked with (*) have not been used in any other Pinball games before AFAIK.]

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/6#post-7912316

RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT TCM VERSION JP-1.0

After nearly 14 months of effort I am proud to announce the release of THE CAT'S MEOW (TCM), a patch for the 1989 Williams BAD CATS pinball game. TCM gameplay is overall very similar to BAD CATS, with the main difference that the 20M shot is not lit automatically on the last ball but must be earned by completing all other major awards of the game. At game start players can choose whether to play TCM or the original BAD CATS rules. Several difficulty levels support multiplayer games with handicaps. Additional features include a ball saver, as well as the ability to pause/mute the game (CAT NAP) whenever the ball is parked.

The different game rules are implemented as four different options each for the eight primary game features (Skill Shot, Drop Targets, Jackpot, Linear Fish Target, Fishbowl Ramp, Tiger Ramp, 20M Shot, Seafood Wheel). The game rules can be freely mixed and matched with eight game-feature adjustments, supporting a total of 65536 different game-rules combinations. Additional adjustments control several timer values, the ball saver, as well as different methods for handling spurious switch closures of the Linear Fish Target.

In addition to the new game rules, all known bugs in the original BAD CATS code have been fixed. TCM also contains improvements to the sound and light effects, including Tigerramp lamps that indicate when the 20M shot is available, better Seafood table lighting and flasher FX during the wheel spin, as well as a Doghouse that is lit from the inside when enabled.

I would like to acknowledge all pinsiders who have contributed to this thread and provided feedback. I am particularly grateful to all the beta testers, especially interconnect (and his family) who found the majority of the bugs that I did not find myself.


https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/6#post-7916180

JP-1.0 GAME MANUAL -- Start Button Menu, Game Rules and Cat Nap

START BUTTON MENU

When the START BUTTON MENU is enabled (AD51), a game is in progress and the ball is parked either in the shooter lane, trash can or dog house, pressing the start button longer than 0.75s enables special functionality:

When the first ball of any player is in the shooter lane, the game enters the rules menu (PICKY KITTY).
In all other cases, the game is paused (CAT NAP).
GAME RULES MENU (PICKY KITTY)

There are two general rule sets to chose from -- BAD CATS and THE CAT'S MEOW -- each with multiple difficulty levels. THE CAT'S MEOW rules are similar to the BAD CATS rules with the main difference that the 20M shot is not lit automatically on the last ball but must be earned by completing all other major awards of the game (EXTRA BALL, JACKPOT and 5M FISH BONE-US). Different players in a multi-player game can play with different rules, allowing games with handicaps. Only the scores of games played with the default rules (AD51) are recorded in the high-scores list.

There are two variants of the original BAD CATS rules, one a normal one with factory settings (BAD CATS) and an easier one with longer timers and ball saver (BAD KITTENS). There are three variants of THE CAT'S MEOW rules: in addition to the normal one (THE CAT'S MEOW), there is an easier one (SEAFOOD) and a harder one (ME-OW). For details of the different game rules, refer to the GAME ADJUSTMENTS section of the manual.

When entering the PICKY KITTY menu, the display shows the currently active game rules (see NOTE below). Use the flipper buttons to select the desired rule set. Then launch the ball to start the game or long-press the start button to return to the score display. While the PICKY KITTY menu is active, short-pressing the start button adds another player to the current game, and the flipper buttons can be used to set the rules for that player. This feature allows player 1 to start a multi-player game with different rules (handicaps) for different players.

NOTE: On game boot the active rules are taken from AD51. When a player in a multi-player game chooses a different rule set, the change applies to all remaining players. (Later players can use PICKY KITTY themselves if they wish to play with different rules.) After a game ends, the active rules are the rules that were last chosen with the menu. After 7 minutes in attract mode, the game reverts to the default rules from AD51.

CAT NAP

The intent of the CAT NAP is to pause the game so the player can take a phone call, for example. To do so, the player long-presses the start button whenever the ball is parked. (With the first ball parked in the shooter lane, the start button must be pressed longer than 4s to begin a CAT NAP instead of entering the PICKY KITTY menu.) Note that the ball is not ejected from the trashcan or dog house until the start button is released, which makes it easy to start the nap even in the unlit dog house.

During the CAT NAP the game is dimmed and muted, with all regular lamp FX continuing at a much slower speed. To end the nap and continue the game, either launch the ball (if it's in the shooter lane), start a CAT SCAN (raise both flippers) or press the start button (long or short).

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/6#post-7919474

JP-1.0 GAME MANUAL - Game Adjustment Procedure

[The information in this section supersedes the corresponding information on pp.18-20 in the Bad Cat Operations Manual. For the adjustments not listed here, consult the Bad Cat Operations Manual.]

AD31: DROP TARGET RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the Drop Target rules that light B-A-D C-A-T-S letters. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- Each target bank spots 1 letter.
NORMAL -- The 3-bank spots 1 letter; the 5-bank spots 2 letters (normally), or 3 (all targets dropped as singles). After the Jackpot has been lit for the first time both target banks are on a timer.
EASY -- Same as NORMAL, except that the B-A-D letters are pre-lit at game start.
HARD -- Each target bank spots 1 letter; both banks are on a timer; the targets only reset after both banks have been completed.
AD34: FISH BONE-US RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing the Fish Bone-Us award. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- Both the Fish Bone-US value and 10x multiplier carry over from ball to ball. Once lit, the Fish Bone-Us value does not drop below 25K. The 10x multiplier can be lit (blinking) either via the lit right inlane or by completing the 5-bank.
NORMAL -- The Fish Bone-US value, but not the 10x multiplier, carries over from ball to ball. The 10x multiplier can be lit temporarily (blinking) via the lit right inlane or semi-permanently (solid) by completing the 5-bank or the T skill shot. When blinking, the 10x multiplier is turned off whenever the current Fish Bone-Us timer expires. When the 10x multiplier is lit solid, the Fish Bone-Us timer is paused unless the 5M Fish Bone-Us award has already been scored.
EASY -- Same as NORMAL except that the 10x multiplier carries over from ball to ball.
HARD -- Neither the Fish Bone-US value nor the 10x multiplier carry over from ball to ball. The 10x multiplier can only be lit by completing the 5-bank.
AD35: TIGER RAMP RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing the Tiger Ramp awards (except for the 20M shot which is controlled by AD42). The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- The starting value of the ramp is 50K; the 1M shot is always qualified.
NORMAL -- The starting value of the ramp is 50K; the 1M shot is pre-qualified at ball start but must be re-qualified by completing the 5-target bank after each Unlimited Million mode, unless the 20M shot is also lit.
EASY -- The starting value of the ramp is 50K; the 1M shot is always qualified.
HARD -- The starting value of the ramp is zero; the 1M shot must be qualified by completing the 5-target bank, even when the 20M shot is lit.
AD36: SKILL SHOT RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing the skill shot. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- All three T-O-Y letters award a 2x bonus multiplier; lane change is disabled during the skill shot.
NORMAL -- The T letter awards the same Fish Bone-Us 10x multiplier as the 5-target bank; the O letter awards a 3x bonus multiplier; the Y letter awards a B-A-D C-A-T-S letter. Lane change is disabled during the skill shot.
EASY -- Same as NORMAL except that lane change is enabled during the skill shot.
HARD -- All three T-O-Y letters award a score of 150K; lane change is disabled during the skill shot.
AD38: GOLDFISH RAMP RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing qualification of the Goldfish Ramp. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- The ramp is always qualified.
NORMAL -- The ramp must be qualified with a completion of the T-O-Y letters or either drop target bank.
EASY -- Same as ORIGINAL, but with the ramp value not resetting to 25K after the 100K or EB awards. The award sequences are 25K-50K-75K-100K-100K-... and 25K-50K-75K-100K-EB-100K-100K-...
HARD -- The ramp must be qualified by completing the 3-target bank.
AD41: BALL SAVER. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) whether and for how long to enable the Ball Saver. This setting is either OFF or ranges from 3 seconds (conservative) to 10 seconds (liberal).
AD42: 20M SHOT RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing qualification of the 20M award of the Tiger Ramp. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- The 20M shot is enabled on the last regular ball of the game and can be collected only once per game.
NORMAL -- The 20M WISH shot is qualified by scoring a Goldfishbowl Jackpot, an Extra Ball, and a 5M Fish Bone-Us award. After scoring the 20M WISH, all awards are re-enabled and the 20M WISH shot can be lit again.
EASY -- Same as NORMAL except that the Unlimited Million mode is not aborted when another playfield switch is hit while the 20M WISH is lit. As a result, there are no consecutive shots required to score the 20M WISH. Other scoring features, including the doghouse and trashcan, are disabled while the 20M WISH is lit and Unlimited Millions is in progress.
HARD -- Same as NORMAL except that Seafood Wheel awards do not count as progress toward the 20M WISH shot.
AD43: JACKPOT RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing advance of the Goldfish Ramp Jackpot value. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- The Jackpot value, with a maximum of 20M, is shared between players and carried over from game to game. Jackpot advance is mainly by the skill shot (500K). After scoring, the Jackpot value resets to 1M. On game reset and after 7 minutes of inactivity a Jackpot value below 3M is reset to 3M. During Attract Mode the shared Jackpot value is shown with lamps on the backbox (up to 8M) and periodically reported as the LITTER JACKPOT on the score displays.
NORMAL -- The Jackpot value, with a maximum of 15M, does not carry over from game to game. It is partially shared between players during multi-player games as follows: At the beginning of ball 1, the Jackpot value for each player is initialized to 2,840,000 points. At the beginning of each subsequent regular ball (not extra balls), the Jackpot value of each player is initialized with the highest Jackpot value of any player achieved during the previous ball. Unless the Jackpot is lit, the skill shot, drop targets, ramps and outlanes advance the Jackpot Value; except for the Skillshot, the bonus multiplier is applied to the Jackpot advance. When the Jackpot is lit, the Jackpot value can only be increased by completing either drop target bank for 1M. Scoring the Jackpot does not change its value.
EASY -- The Jackpot value, initialized to 2,840,000 at game start and with a maximum of 15M, is not shared with other players or carried from game to game. Jackpot advance is double that of NORMAL and scoring the Jackpot does not change its value.
HARD -- The Jackpot value, initialized to 1,860,000 at game start and with a maximum of 15M, is not shared with other players or carried from game to game. Jackpot advance is the same as NORMAL and scoring the Jackpot does not change its value.
AD44: SEAFOOD WHEEL RULES. The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the rules governing the Seafood Wheel awards. The choices are:
ORIGINAL -- The Seafood Wheel awards Light Jackpot, Extra Ball and Special according to the percentages set in AD45-AD47 and the Consolation Extra Ball according to AD39.
NORMAL -- Same as ORIGINAL, but during the BBQ mode when the Jackpot has not yet been scored, the wheel awards B-A-D C-A-T-S letters with higher probability.
EASY -- Same as NORMAL but with the Special always (independent of AD07) awarding a score of 5M that contributes to the 20M WISH progress.
HARD -- The Seafood Wheel gives out awards in a sequence that is random but identical for all players in a multi-player game, and that does not include the Light Jackpot, Extra Ball and Special awards.
AD48: ATT.SND./P.G. STROBE (ATTRACT MODE SOUNDS / POST-GAME STROBE EFFECT). The operator can choose (via the Credit button) whether there are sounds to be heard during the Attract Mode, and whether the post-game GI strobe effect is enabled. The choices are:
YES -- The feature is enabled.
NO -- The feature is disabled.
AD51: DEF.RULES/S.BT.MENU (DEFAULT RULES / STARTBUTTON MENU). The operator can choose (via the Credit button) the default game rules, which are used to start new games and record high scores. The choices are :
B.KTN (BAD KITTENS) -- easier variant of the original Bad Cats rules with longer timers and Ball Saver.
B.CAT (BAD CATS) -- original rules (LA-5) with factory settings.
T.C.M. (THE CAT'S MEOW) -- TCM rules with normal difficulty.
EASY (SEAFOOD) -- easier variant of the TCM rules.
HARD (ME-OW) -- harder variant of the TCM rules.
Additionally, AD51 is also used to enable additional functionality when the Credit button (Start button) is pressed for longer than 0.75s while the ball is parked in the shooter lane, in the Trashcan, or in the Doghouse. The choices are YES (default) or NO. For additional information, see the GAME RULES MENU and CAT NAP sections of the manual.
AD52: BAD FISH HANDLER. The opto interrupter wheel of the linear Fish Bone-Us target occasionally lands in a position where even the slightest vibration causes the switch to toggle. (With bright LEDs installed it is also possible that reflection off the wheel causes switch toggles without any vibrations at all.) The operator can choose (via the Credit button) three different algorithms for mitigating these effects. The choices are:
WMS LA-2 -- The fish target behaves like the LA-2 ROM, where there is no special treatment of phantom switch hits. Shots to the target award 1-4 fish advances, which is taken as the behavior intended by the game designers. This setting is not suitable for competition play.
WMS LA-5 -- The fish target behaves like the LA-5 ROM, where the fish switch is throttled severely. While there are very few phantom switch hits with this setting, shots to the target award only 1-2 fish advances. This setting is the most suitable for competition play.
T. C. MEOW -- Alternative algorithm for detecting phantom switch hits with the intent to combine the target responsiveness of the LA-2 ROM with the phantom-switch filtering of the LA-5 ROM.
AD60: INSTALL 5 BALL. The operator can change the game to 5-ball play. In addition to setting BALLS/GAME (AD09) to 5, REPLAY START (AD02) is set to 5,000,000. No other adjustments are affected.
AD62: INSTALL BAD KITTENS. The operator can change the game rule adjustments to the same combination that is in effect when the BAD KITTENS rules are selected at game start. The GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE lists the settings that make up the "BAD KITTENS" group.
AD63: INSTALL BAD CATS. The operator can change the game rule adjustments to the same combination that is in effect when the BAD CATS rules are selected at game start. The GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE lists the settings that make up the "BAD CATS" group.
AD64: INSTALL THE CATS MEOW. The operator can change the game rule adjustments to the same combination that is in effect when THE CAT'S MEOW rules, the default rules, are selected at game start. The GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE lists the settings that make up the "THE CAT'S MEOW" group.
AD65: INSTALL T.C.M. EASY. The operator can change the game rule adjustments to the same combination that is in effect when the SEAFOOD rules are selected at game start. The GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE lists the settings that make up the "SEAFOOD" group.
AD66: INSTALL T.C.M. HARD. The operator can change the game rule adjustments to the same combination that is in effect when the ME-OW rules are selected at game start. The GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE lists the settings that comprise the "ME-OW" group.
GAME DIFFICULTY SETTING TABLE

There is a close relation between the five rule sets the player can choose at ball start and the TCM game adjustments listed above. For example, when playing with SEAFOOD rules, the game plays as if all rules adjustments were set to EASY. Other adjustments, such as timers, are also affected. All the relevant information is found in the following table:

TCM_JP1.0_GameDifficultySettingTable_20231214.pdf
TCM_JP1.0_GameDifficultySettingTable_20231214.pdf
Added 15 months ago:
UPDATE 1 (Correction): Wherever it says NORMAL in the above list, the string displayed in the game adjustments is THE CAT'S MEOW. Wherever it says EASY, the adjustment display is SEAFOOD <EASY> and where it says HARD, the display is ME-OW <HARD>.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/6#post-7919783

JP-1.0 GAME MANUAL - Audit Table

THE CAT'S MEOW provides five new audits, in addition to the ones listed on p.12 of the WMS Bad Cats Manual:

AU59: BAD CATS GAMES. Number of games started with BAD CATS or BAD KITTENS rules.
AU60: T.C. MEOW GAMES. Number of games started with TCM NORMAL rules.
AU61: SEAFOOD GAMES. Number of games started with TCM EASY (SEAFOOD) rules.
AU62: ME-OW GAMES. Number of games started with TCM HARD (ME-OW) rules.
AU63: BALLS SAVED. Number of balls saved by the Ball Saver.
Added 15 months ago:
UPDATE 1 (Clarification): To calculate the percentage of saved balls, divide AU63 by AU19 (balls played) and multiply by 100.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/the-cat-s-meow-a-new-home-rom-for-bad-cats/page/6#post-7922193

HOW TO Configure THE CAT'S MEOW for competitive play

Set AD51 to T.C.M./ NO to set the default game to THE CAT'S MEOW (NORMAL) and disable the start button menu to prevent players from changing the game rules or pausing the game.
Use the preset adjustments to choose the basic game rules. For example, use AD63 to configure the game for play with the original BAD CATS rules.
Modify individual adjustments as needed. While any adjustments can be used, for fairness
Set AD43 to HARD or EASY to make the Jackpot individual (not shared).
Set AD44 to HARD to give the same wheel awards to all players, and disable Extra Ball, light Jackpot and Special.
Set AD52 to WMS LA-5 to prevent phantom fish target hits to give a player an unfair advantage.
Other common tournament settings are no Extra Balls (AD09) and Ball Saver (AD41)






