Deal or No Deal — 16-bit edition for the M-VAVE FM-1

Custom firmware that turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into a Sega Genesis–style Deal or No Deal game: 26 cases on the keys, a pixel-art host, an FM/PSG chiptune soundtrack and a robot voice that reads out the banker's offers. All art, music and voice lines are generated from scratch at build time (tools/gen16_*.py); no ROM or show assets are used.

The firmware replaces only the FM-1's app region, using the Felucca USB-MIDI updater. The bootloader and device data are never written, so the stock firmware can always be restored.

Install on the FM-1

You need a Mac/PC with Python 3, a USB cable, and a built package (build/dealornodeal-preview.fwsc, see Building).

1. Close anything that uses MIDI (DAWs, browser tabs with Web MIDI).

2. Set up the installer (once):

   python3 -m venv .venv
   . .venv/bin/activate
   python -m pip install -r requirements-install.txt
   

3. Plug in the FM-1, switch it on, and check it's found:

   python tools/fm1_install.py --info
   

   This should print a line like FM-1_... [running] port: .... If it finds nothing, replug the cable and close other MIDI apps.

4. Install:

   python tools/fm1_install.py build/dealornodeal-preview.fwsc
   

   Check the listed port, then type y. Keep the cable connected until the installer says done: the FM-1 runs FM-1_710. The FM-1 restarts into the title screen.

If an install is interrupted, run the same command again. Never pass --force. If the installer refuses a device or package, stop and find out why.

Recovery

⚠️ Do not hold OCT− + OCT+ while switching on: that opens panel calibration, which overwrites the user-preset area.

It's worth keeping a copy of M-VAVE's stock V15 FM-1.fwsc (from m-vave.com) for the UBOOT rescue.

How to play

Pick your case, then open 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and then 1 case per round. After each round the banker calls with an offer. The board of remaining amounts shows itself after your pick and before each offer; press any key to dismiss it. At the end, see whether your deal beat your case.

Building

Needs Python 3, Git, a C compiler, espeak-ng (for the voice) and, on macOS or ARM, Docker Desktop running (the JieLi compiler is Linux x86-64 only).

brew install espeak-ng            # macOS; apt install espeak-ng on Linux
python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
python -m pip install -r requirements-build.txt -r requirements-install.txt

# one-time: JieLi toolchain + AC79 SDK into tooling/ (gitignored)
sh tools/get_toolchain.sh "$PWD/tooling/jieli"
git clone --branch AC79NN_SDK_V1.2.1_2023-12-13 --depth 1 \
    https://gitee.com/Jieli-Tech/fw-AC79_AIoT_SDK tooling/ac79-sdk

export JIELI_TOOLCHAIN="$PWD/tooling/jieli/toolchain"
export AC79_SDK="$PWD/tooling/ac79-sdk"
export PYTHON="$PWD/.venv/bin/python"
export X0X_FONTSET=terminus

sh tests/run_tests.sh             # host simulator + game logic tests
sh build.sh                       # -> build/dealornodeal-preview.fwsc (identity FM-1_710)

The build checks the image fits the FM-1 (app slot, RAM and pool) and fails if it doesn't. More detail, plus the native simulator and browser preview: BUILDING.md.

Project layout

Licence

GPL-3.0-only, inherited from the Felucca platform this is built on. See LICENSING.md for credits. "Deal or No Deal" is a trademark of its owners; this is an unofficial, personal fan project with no affiliation. M-VAVE and FM-1 are trademarks of their respective owners.