Digital Compression System, or DCS, is a sound system developed by

Williams Electronics WMS Industries, Inc. was an American electronic gaming and amusement manufacturer in Enterprise, Nevada. It was merged into Scientific Games in 2016. WMS's predecessor was the Williams Manufacturing Company, founded in 1943 by Harry E. Williams ...

. This advanced sound board was used in Williams and Bally

pinball Pinball games are a family of games in which a ball is propelled into a specially designed table where it bounces off various obstacles, scoring points either en route or when it comes to rest. Historically the board was studded with nails call ...

games, coin-op

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an ar ...

s by

Midway Manufacturing Midway Games Inc., known previously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher. Midway's franchises included '' Mortal Kombat'', ''Rampage'', '' Spy Hunter'' ...

, and mechanical and video

slot machines A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine ( Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively ...

by Williams Gaming. This sound system became the standard for these game platforms. The DCS Sound system was created by Williams sound engineers Matt Booty and Ed Keenan, and further developed by Andrew Eloff.Andrew Eloff's LinkedIn page naming DCS games he developed the sound system for
Retrieved on 9 May 2016

Versions of DCS

*DCS ROM-based mono: The first version of DCS used an

Analog Devices Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI), also known simply as Analog, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion, signal processing and power management technology, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. The c ...

ADSP2105 DSP (clocked at 10 MHz) and a DMA-driven DAC, outputting in mono. This was used for the majority of Williams and Midway's pinball games (starting with 1993's ''Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure''), as well as Midway's video games, up until the late 1990s. The pinball game,

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television program, television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dysto ...

, was originally supposed to use the DCS System, but because the DCS board was still in development at the time, all of the music and sounds for this game were reprogrammed for the

Yamaha YM2151 The Yamaha YM2151, also known as OPM (FM Operator Type-M) is an eight-channel, four-operator sound chip. It was Yamaha's first single-chip FM synthesis implementation, being created originally for some of the Yamaha DX series of keyboards (DX21, ...

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...

CVSD Continuously variable slope delta modulation (CVSD or CVSDM) is a voice coding method. It is a delta modulation with variable step size (i.e., special case of adaptive delta modulation), first proposed by Greefkes and Riemens in 1970. CVSD encode ...

sound board. **DCS-95: This was a revised version of the original DCS System (allowing for 16MB of data instead of 8MB to be addressed), used for Williams and Midway's WPC-95 pinball system. *DCS2 ROM-based stereo: This version used the ADSP2104 DSP and two DMA-driven DACs, outputting in stereo. This was used in Midway's Zeus-based hardware, and in the short-lived

Pinball 2000 Pinball 2000 was the last pinball hardware and software platform developed by major pinball manufacturer Williams, and was used in the machines '' Revenge From Mars'' (under the brand name Bally) and '' Star Wars Episode I'' (under the brand nam ...

platform. *DCS2 RAM-based stereo: This version used the ADSP2115 DSP and two DMA-driven DACs, outputting in stereo. This was used in Midway's

3DFX 3dfx Interactive was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, founded in 1994, that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units, and later, video cards. It was a pioneer in the field from the ...

-based hardware (''

NFL Blitz ''NFL Blitz'' is a series of American football themed video games originally released by Midway featuring National Football League (NFL) teams. It began as a 1997 arcade game '' NFL Blitz'' that was ported to home consoles and spawned a series o ...

'', etc.). This system would be adopted by

Atari Games Atari Games Corporation, known as Midway Games West Inc. after 1999, was an American producer of arcade games. It was formed in 1985 when the coin-operated arcade game division of Atari, Inc. was transfered by Warner Communications to a join ...

, following their acquisition by WMS Industries. *DCS2 RAM-based multi-channel: This version used the ADSP2181 DSP and up to six DMA-driven DACs, outputting in multichannel sound.

Pinball games using DCS

*'' Attack From Mars'' (1995) (DCS95) *''

Cactus Canyon Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotel ...

'' (1998) (DCS95) *''

The Champion Pub ''The Champion Pub'' is a pinball game released by Williams Electronics Games (under the Bally label) in 1998. The theme of the game revolves around boxing in a 1920s pub. Description The playfield of ''The Champion Pub'' features several toys ...

'' (1998) (DCS95) *'' Cirqus Voltaire'' (1997) (DCS95) *'' Congo'' (1995) (DCS95) *'' Corvette'' (1994) *'' Demolition Man'' (1994) *''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) ...

'' (1995) *''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions. The series takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the activities of the titular family, the Flintstones, and their nex ...

'' (1994) *'' Indiana Jones: The Pinball Adventure'' (1993) *''

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of India ...

'' (1995) *'' Jack*Bot'' (1995) *''

Johnny Mnemonic "Johnny Mnemonic" is a science fiction short story by American-Canadian writer William Gibson. It first appeared in '' Omni'' magazine in May 1981, and was subsequently included in ''Burning Chrome'', a 1986 collection of Gibson's short fiction. ...

'' (1995) *''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of '' 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology comic. He is the magazine's longest-running c ...

'' (1993) *'' Medieval Madness'' (1997) (DCS95) *'' Monster Bash'' (1998) (DCS95) *'' NBA Fastbreak'' (1997) (DCS95) *'' No Fear: Dangerous Sports'' (1995) *''No Good Gofers'' (1997) *''

Popeye Saves the Earth ''Popeye Saves The Earth'' is a 1994 widebody pinball game designed by Python Anghelo and Barry Oursler and released by WMS Industries under the '' Bally'' label. It is based on the ''Popeye'' comic/cartoon characters licensed from King Features ...

'' (1994) *''

Red & Ted's Road Show ''Red & Ted's Road Show'' (also known as ''Road Show'') is a 1994 widebody pinball game designed by Pat Lawlor and released by Williams. It is part of WMS' '' SuperPin'' line of widebody games. Country singer Carlene Carter provided the voice o ...

'' (1994) *'' Revenge From Mars'' (1999) (DCS2 ROM-based) *''

Safecracker Safe-cracking is the process of opening a safe without either the combination or the key. Physical methods Different procedures may be used to crack a safe, depending on its construction. Different procedures are required to open different safes ...

'' (1996) (DCS95) *'' Scared Stiff'' (1996) (DCS95) *''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'' (1994) *'' Star Wars Episode I'' (1999) (DCS2 ROM-based) *'' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1993) *'' Tales of the Arabian Nights'' (1996) (DCS95) *''

Theatre of Magic ''Theatre of Magic'' is a pinball machine designed by John Popadiuk, produced by Midway (under the '' Bally'' brand name). Description The game presents four primary objectives, each of which must be completed in order to qualify for the "Gra ...

'' (1995) *'' World Cup Soccer'' (1994) *'' Who Dunnit'' (1995)

Arcade games using DCS

* ''

Mortal Kombat II ''Mortal Kombat II'' is a 1993 arcade game, arcade fighting game originally produced by Midway Games, Midway for the arcade game, arcades in 1993. It was later ported to multiple home systems, including MS-DOS, Amiga, Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega ...

'' (1993) * ''

Cruis'n USA ''Cruis'n USA'' is an arcade racing game originally released in 1994. It was developed by Eugene Jarvis' company TV Games Inc., and manufactured by Midway Games. It is the first game in the ''Cruis'n'' series and features races set in locations ...

'' (1994) * ''

Killer Instinct ''Killer Instinct'' is a series of fighting video games originally created by Rare and published by Midway, Nintendo, and Microsoft Studios. The original ''Killer Instinct'' was released for arcades in 1994; the game was then released for ...

'' (1994) * ''

Revolution X In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

'' (1994) * ''

2 On 2 Open Ice Challenge ''NHL Open Ice: 2 on 2 Challenge'', or just ''NHL Open Ice'', is an ice hockey arcade game released by Midway Games in 1995. It features comically exaggerated hockey play, causing it to often be described as an ice hockey equivalent to Midway's ' ...

'' (1995) * ''

Killer Instinct 2 ''Killer Instinct 2'' is a fighting video game developed by Rare and manufactured by Midway for arcades in 1996 as a sequel to '' Killer Instinct'' (1994). A modified version of ''Killer Instinct 2'' was published for the Nintendo 64 as '' Kil ...

'' (1995) * ''

Mortal Kombat 3 ''Mortal Kombat 3'' is a 1995 arcade game, arcade fighting game developed by Midway Games and first released into amusement arcade, arcades in 1995. It is the third main installment in the ''Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1993's ''Mort ...

'' (1995) * ''

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 ''Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3'' is a fighting game in the ''Mortal Kombat'' series, developed and released by Midway to arcades in 1995. It is a standalone update of 1995's earlier ''Mortal Kombat 3'' with an altered gameplay system, additional cha ...

'' (1995) * ''

War Gods A war god in mythology associated with war, combat, or bloodshed. They occur commonly in both monotheistic and polytheistic Polytheism is the belief in multiple deities, which are usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, ...

'' (1995) (DCS2 RAM-based) * '' WWF WrestleMania: The Arcade Game'' (1995) * ''

Cruis'n World ''Cruis'n World'' is the 1996 sequel to the 1994 arcade racer ''Cruis'n USA''. ''Cruis'n World'' allows players to race on various tracks around the world. The game also features more cars than ''Cruis'n USA''. This game introduced stunts to the ' ...

'' (1996) * '' Mace: The Dark Age'' (1996) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

NBA Hangtime ''NBA Hangtime'' is a 1996 basketball arcade game developed and released by Midway. Home versions were released for the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Super NES, Sega Genesis, and Microsoft Windows. A version for Game.com was announced, but cancell ...

'' (1996) * '' NBA Maximum Hangtime'' (1996) * ''

Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey ''Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey'' is a video game developed and published by Atari Games for the arcade in 1996. A port for the Nintendo 64 console was released almost simultaneously with the arcade version, on November 11, 1996, making it the first- ...

'' (1996) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''Invasion'' (1997) (DCS2 ROM-based) * ''

Mortal Kombat 4 ''Mortal Kombat 4'' is a 1997 arcade fighting game and it is the fourth main installment in the '' Mortal Kombat'' franchise and a sequel to 1995's '' Mortal Kombat 3''. developed by Midway Games. Released to arcades in 1997, ''Mortal Kombat ...

'' (1997) (DCS2 ROM-based) * ''

'' (1997) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

Offroad Challenge Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...

'' (1997) * ''

Rampage World Tour ''Rampage World Tour'' is a video game released in 1997 and is the second game in the ''Rampage'' series. The game was developed as an arcade game for Midway Games by Game Refuge Inc. designers Brian Colin and Jeff Nauman, who conceived and desig ...

'' (1997) * '' California Speed'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

CarnEvil ''CarnEvil'' is a 1998 light gun shooter arcade game released by Midway Games. It is often noted for its heavy use of graphic violence and dark humor. It is Midway Games' most successful light gun shooter. Gameplay ''CarnEvil'' plays similarl ...

'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

Gauntlet Legends ''Gauntlet Legends'' is an arcade game released in 1998 by Atari Games and Midway Games. It is a fantasy themed hack and slash styled dungeon crawl game, a sequel to 1985's popular '' Gauntlet'' and 1986's ''Gauntlet II'' and marks the final gam ...

'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''Hyperdrive'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

NBA Showtime ''NBA Showtime'' is the pregame show aired before each ''NBA on NBC'' telecast. The program, a half-hour in length, began during the 1990–91 NBA season, and was initially hosted by Bob Costas. Costas left in the mid-1990s, and became lead play-b ...

'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

NFL Blitz '99 ''NFL Blitz '99'' is an arcade style sports video game. Released in 1998, it was the second game in the NFL Blitz series. The game was released for arcade play. Gameplay ''NFL Blitz '99'' supports up to four human players. The arcade cabinet ...

'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * '' Cruis'n Exotica'' (1999) (DCS2 ROM-based) * ''

San Francisco Rush 2049 ''San Francisco Rush 2049'' is a racing video game developed and manufactured by Atari Games for arcades. It was ported to the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color, and Dreamcast by Midway Games. The arcade machine was released in 1999; home versions fol ...

'' (1999) (DCS2 RAM-based multichannel) * '' Vapor TRX'' (1998) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

Gauntlet Dark Legacy ''Gauntlet Dark Legacy'' is an arcade video game released in 1999. It is the sixth title in the ''Gauntlet'' series, and is an expansion of the previous title in the series, '' Gauntlet Legends''. The expansion adds five new levels, and four new ...

'' (1999) (DCS2 RAM-based) * '' NFL Blitz 2000'' (1999) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

Road Burners ''Road Burners'' is motorcycle racing arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are pr ...

'' (1999) (DCS2 RAM-based multichannel) * ''

War The Final Assault War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'' (1999) (DCS2 RAM-based) * '' CART Fury'' (2000) (DCS2 RAM-based) * ''

The Grid (arcade game) ''The Grid'' is a 2000 arcade game by Midway. It is a third-person shooter which consists of a super-violent television game show hosted by a ''Smash TV''-like host. The game centres around deathmatches. Players control their character using ...

'' (2001) (DCS2 ROM-based)

References

{{reflist

External links

Information on the Williams Digital Compression System (DCS)
WMS Industries Pinball electronics Sound chips Sound production technology Video game hardware