Sega Dreamcast - Appreciation and Emulation Thread

Jamix012 said:
I think it's likely to be a mistake rather than a lie, but I wish you luck and if it does turn out to work then I might be interested in one too.

Edit: I might be eating some serious crow with this one. Apparantly PS3 can support 480p over scart, so I guess it is technically plausible.
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I checked with Beharius too, so that I could possibly offer some insight on why it might be possible. I didn't get anything in depth, but the 480p signal can only work on upscaler like xRGB, or a PVM setup where you're using a BNC-> Scart cable. My guess is actual Scart televisions may be limited to 480i (or maybe not, now that you've discovered info about the PS3 supporting 480p on Scart) cannot use 480p. But he did confirm specifically Scart based televisions can't support the 480p.

We shall see! I believe, I believe.
 
I'm thinking of reducing the 'space' taken up my videogame gear, including some Dreamcast stuff. Anyone know the value these days for a Japanese DreamEye or a US Panther DC (the weird flightstick/trackball thingy). Hard to judge.
 
Any way to get rid of these scan lines?

AE49ECAD-A830-4A0A-BE60-B68C3FB704A3-3721-000003E6A2A770C5_zpsbd2ccaf9.jpg

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Using the see through VGA box into a VGA to hdmi box.
 
Does anyone know if there is any reason to buy Wetrix 64 over Wetrix +? Or should I eventually look at getting both?

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I'm playing a lot of puzzle/falling block games at the moment and I've heard good things about the game but I'm not sure what the differences are.
If + has the same content and then extras then I'll avoid the N64 version.
 
I bought a used Dreamcast about a year ago and I haven't played as much on it as I'd like because I keep running into the reset issue. I know about opening up the system and cleaning the prongs that connect to the power source, but no dice, it keeps happening. I can't get through one game of NFL/NBA 2K2 without being thrown back into the boot screen. Some games run fine (like Blue Stinger...) and I thought Shenmue was fine too, until the reset occurred after an hour of gameplay. I tried cleaning the laser reader as well.

I really don't what else to do to avoid resets. I would really like to put in some time with these games but the constant resets are a huge hindrance. Any ideas?

Note: I am playing with mostly backups.
 
Pad the lid closing mechanism with a few layers of tape. It might not be making contact with the switches as well as it should.

Moldiver said:
Any way to get rid of these scan lines?

Using the see through VGA box into a VGA to hdmi box.
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Does the HDMI converter detect the input signal as 720x480 or 640x480?
 
I recently got an SD card adapter and have been backing up my games.

Some of the discs have bad sectors though, most likely due to scratches, and I'm wondering how GD-ROMs handle disc repair/resurfacing.
 
QQQuinn said:
Where did you get one? Are you able to run the backups from SD card too? I'm interested in possible loading time improvements :)
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1) Ebay.
2) I believe so, but haven't tried. I think my DC is clinging onto life at this point so my priority was just to make backups.
 
PassiveObserver said:
I bought a used Dreamcast about a year ago and I haven't played as much on it as I'd like because I keep running into the reset issue. I know about opening up the system and cleaning the prongs that connect to the power source, but no dice, it keeps happening. I can't get through one game of NFL/NBA 2K2 without being thrown back into the boot screen. Some games run fine (like Blue Stinger...) and I thought Shenmue was fine too, until the reset occurred after an hour of gameplay. I tried cleaning the laser reader as well.

I really don't what else to do to avoid resets. I would really like to put in some time with these games but the constant resets are a huge hindrance. Any ideas?

Note: I am playing with mostly backups.
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I thought you open it up and bend something back in place rather than cleaning it
 
QQQuinn said:
Where did you get one? Are you able to run the backups from SD card too? I'm interested in possible loading time improvements :)

Recently I've been really into Dreamcast again!
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I picked up a GDEMU and I have been thoroughly impressed so far. I only took about 5 minutes to install and I didn't have to mangle my Dreamcast at all. Load times are noticeably faster, and generally it is well suited for a lot of the short play-sessions associated with the arcade ports on the system.

The price is a bit steep, but it's well worth it so far!
 
octopiggy said:
Does anyone know if there is any reason to buy Wetrix 64 over Wetrix +? Or should I eventually look at getting both?

51DC1794A2L._SX300_.jpg


I'm playing a lot of puzzle/falling block games at the moment and I've heard good things about the game but I'm not sure what the differences are.
If + has the same content and then extras then I'll avoid the N64 version.
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Wetrix+ had the ripoff tune from the "where the wild things are" from Metallica, right?
 
KC-Slater said:
I picked up a GDEMU and I have been thoroughly impressed so far. I only took about 5 minutes to install and I didn't have to mangle my Dreamcast at all. Load times are noticeably faster, and generally it is well suited for a lot of the short play-sessions associated with the arcade ports on the system.

The price is a bit steep, but it's well worth it so far!
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Thanks for your input! It's very tempting piece of hardware :) I guess I need something else for making the backups from originals since it replaces the GD-drive.

Btw. does someone know if the original Skies of Arcadia (PAL) work with Hanzo on VGA? I'm still a bit confused how Hanzo Works :)
 
Anyone here in the UK got any spare grey VMUs and jump packs they don't need anymore? Gimmie a shout and we can maybe work something out. Needing 2 jump packs and 1 VMU.
 
soxinthebox said:
I thought you open it up and bend something back in place rather than cleaning it
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In my case issue was with the daughterboard. While left side is solid, right side hangs loose. So with time or due to heat, right side slowly bends down, causing reset issue.or from pressure when inserting discs or closing the lid.
I put a small clip of paper below the right side, so surface is even. Resets have been reduced a lot.only when i leave console inactive for weeks do i need to realign the clip.
 
I'm really considering a gdemu or similar device. Apparently no one who makes them wants money though as they're not available anywhere that I can find. Anyone know where I can get one?
 
At last Marvel vs. Capcom 1 baby. With that I now have 1 and 2 for Dreamcast and 3 for PS3. Was a pain finding it in stores for non rip-off prices. I think one tried to sell it for $60.
 
baphomet said:
I'm really considering a gdemu or similar device. Apparently no one who makes them wants money though as they're not available anywhere that I can find. Anyone know where I can get one?
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There's a third round of GDEMUs planned later this year. Also, the USB adapter Mnemo makes should be available a little after mid October
 
I think the VGA to HDMI box I own likes to upscale in a way which causes those vertical lines across the entire image and there's nothing I can do about it unless I avoid using the HDMI converter completely, bit of a shame as I like doing that for my capture card.

I have two sealed rumble packs somewhere from when amazon had them on offer for £2.95 new about 3 years ago, I reacted and bought 3 lol

shorty_symd said:
My latest pickups:-



Holy shit, Virtua Tennis 2 is one addictive game and graphically it looks phenomenal. Tim Henman actually looks like Henman.
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I remember the demo for the first game, i'm not a huge tennis fan but back then it was the fight night of realistic looking sports games and sold me on the full version, it looked (and played) so good.

Moldiver said:
Any way to get rid of these scan lines?

AE49ECAD-A830-4A0A-BE60-B68C3FB704A3-3721-000003E6A2A770C5_zpsbd2ccaf9.jpg

DSC01042_zps698f67ff.jpg


Using the see through VGA box into a VGA to hdmi box.
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Same problem here, some time back it was bought up that it might be something to do with upscaling being an issue with dreamcast vga outputs, I used to think it was a dodgy vga box I had but direct vga into my tv is fine.
 
shorty_symd said:
My latest pickups:-



Holy shit, Virtua Tennis 2 is one addictive game and graphically it looks phenomenal. Tim Henman actually looks like Henman.
Click to expand...

VT2 is so good I bout it twice; once on DC and once on PSP. The PSP game Virtua Tennis World Tour is literally VT2 with a new roster.
 
regarding the dc cd lens failing to read, i notice this happens also because the forks on psu are not well connected.

So you get following results.

1.Dc doesnt boot at all
2.Dc reset loop
3.boots to menu screen but does not read discs
4.boots and plays discs fine but resets in high wattage games after 30 minutes (power stone 2,cvsnk2, sfiii 2nd impact etc)
5.boots and plays everything fine

Every milimeter changed in the psu forks produces those results
 
baphomet said:
Which one are you going with? I like the mnemo one more from what I've seen.
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I like Mnemo's as well. It supports up to a 2TB hard drive, and has pretty good compatability (someone on Assembler did a test of US and PAL games and only noted issues with 30 or so games-- Mnemo is working on patching them and has already fixed some of them with firmware updates.

The GDEMU is supposed to be good too from what I understand-- has menu options now, but only uses SD cards which makes a mass amount of storage difficult. Also, I think installation is a little harder (not an issue for you lol) since the USB adapter is basically plug and play.

I'll be sure to post here when I hear back from Mnemo, since I want this thing pretty badly and will stalk hin starting mid October.
 
Friend of Sonic said:
I like Mnemo's as well. It supports up to a 2TB hard drive, and has pretty good compatability (someone on Assembler did a test of US and PAL games and only noted issues with 30 or so games-- Mnemo is working on patching them and has already fixed some of them with firmware updates.

The GDEMU is supposed to be good too from what I understand-- has menu options now, but only uses SD cards which makes a mass amount of storage difficult. Also, I think installation is a little harder (not an issue for you lol) since the USB adapter is basically plug and play.

I'll be sure to post here when I hear back from Mnemo, since I want this thing pretty badly and will stalk hin starting mid October.
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I posted earlier that I had picked up a GDEMU about two weeks ago. I can confirm that it is very easy to install, so do not let that deter you. All you really need is a phillips screw driver to remove the top of the case and detach the optical drive.

While the size limitations of SD cards may sound like a barrier-to-entry, if you invest in a 32GB card, you should easily be able to fit about 25-30 single disc games on a single card without question. Changing cards is about as easy as it sounds. I haven't tried a card larger than 64GB, but you may have some success. I realistically can't see this being an issue. (I can't see there being more than 30 or so Dreamcast games one would need to have immediately available before being willing to swap out a memory card, but perhaps that's just me?)

Things get a bit trickier if you wish to play games that are outside of your console's region, but nothing too complicated. Thankfully the "disc-swap" method with a GameShark works with the GDEMU. Essentially you boot a GDI of the Gameshark [from the SD card] followed by the GDI of the imported title you wish to play. Not as seamless as having your system's hardware modded, but it's a perfectly viable solution, regardless. You can even order the files on your SD card to have alternating images of GameShark before any import title for convenience-sake.

Holla at me if you have any questions, I'm happy to help!
 
soxinthebox said:
I thought you open it up and bend something back in place rather than cleaning it
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Right, I misspoke, I bent it back and also wiped the prongs clean, but the reset still occurs. I'll do the tape on the disc opening mechanism trick and see if that works.

Would going the route of the SD Reader and playing iso/gdi backups prevent the reset issues? Could be a worthy investment if so.

How is the GDEMU different from the cheaper SD card adapters? 100 pounds is very steep, though it sounds like it would solve the problems my system is having.
 
PassiveObserver said:
Right, I misspoke, I bent it back and also wiped the prongs clean, but the reset still occurs. I'll do the tape on the disc opening mechanism trick and see if that works.

Would going the route of the SD Reader and playing iso/gdi backups prevent the reset issues? Could be a worthy investment if so.

How is the GDEMU different from the cheaper SD card adapters? 100 pounds is very steep, though it sounds like it would solve the problems my system is having.
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Yes, I believe it would, as the GDEMU replaces the drive and overrides whatever indicates to the system that drive door is open which is what I understand is resetting the system. (I say this because I can play with the drive door open. There is also a file that you can change various settings to indicate to the system when to boot the game after being selected, how long the "drive-door is open" etc.)

The price is steep, but the build-quality is legit. The GDEMU is basically a replacement for the existing optical drive, so compatibility is 100% of the library, since it isn't emulating anything. It is just serving up the files from the games from a different source (the SD card.)

I do not have any first-hand experience with the other SD card readers, but from what I understand, they suffer from some compatibility issues due to forcing a large amount of data through a port that was never intended to handle that kind of bandwidth. Again, this is the impression I am under from doing some research online, and by no means is from hands-on experience.

I personally opted for the pricier GDEMU because it offered the path of least resistance to playing back-ups. It was non-destructive to my DC, simple to install, offered 100% compatibility, and allows for multiple titles before having to switch media.
 
QQQuinn said:
Are you able to run the backups from SD card too? I'm interested in possible loading time improvements :)
Click to expand...

To answer your question now, today I've been playing Grandia 2 from my SD card.

There are some issues, I'm not sure whether it's down to the game itself or how I've set up the ISO loader. Or maybe it's down to bandwidth issues on the adapter itself - as the SD card adapter goes through the serial port I'm not sure how fast it can go (that and the SD card may not be the quickest available.) All the issues are stuttering when loading: whenever you enter battle or cast a spell that uses effects it stutters.

Also it has not fixed an issue I had when playing from the GD-ROM: when characters speak the text is always faster than the audio, meaning that when another character starts talking the audio just cuts off and goes to the next person. Is this an issue with the game itself or what? I guess I'll try it with an emulator and see what's up.
 
So I got a Hanzo (infuriatingly I ordered just days before the Toro was announced), took ages to arrive, and it didn't work.

I got no picture and only static through the sound channels.
I thought it might have been my Dreamcast (it was also showing no video, but did have correct audio through composite) so I bought another one off ebay, it arrived this week and I tried it, but the same thing.
The VGA input on my TV is fine too, as other VGA sources work.
And I have an inkling the Hanzo actually killed the DAC in the first dreamcast by shorting it somehow. It worked fine before, but the static through the audio sounds a lot like DC current.
Luckily the new DC hasn't been killed by it, still works through composite.

I've emailed the guy, will see what happens.
 
Need to get a RCA to 3.5mm audio jack cable so the VGA can output sound, I tried all the inputs on my HDTV and nothing. So gonna hook up to some speakers. =/
 
Compared gameplay using SCART and VGA cables on my HDTV, totally worth it, the image is so much cleaner.

Before things like faces produced a fuzzy sort of ghost image at the edges, don't get any of that now, textures are much cleaner.
 
Was having a retro evening the other night on DC.

Booted up MSR, no probs. Then my mate plugged in the Get Bass controller (which had been fixed after his dog chewed through the wire) and then the whole I/O mechanism packed up.

Games would load, but there was no way of controlling them. VMU would work when outside of the controller, but not when it was in.

Clearly the dodgy Get Bass controller has had an impact here, but has anyone had similar problems?
 
Lego Boss said:
Was having a retro evening the other night on DC.

Booted up MSR, no probs. Then my mate plugged in the Get Bass controller (which had been fixed after his dog chewed through the wire) and then the whole I/O mechanism packed up.

Games would load, but there was no way of controlling them. VMU would work when outside of the controller, but not when it was in.

Clearly the dodgy Get Bass controller has had an impact here, but has anyone had similar problems?
Click to expand...
You blew the controller port fuse. It's an easy fix if you've ever done any modding, just google 'dreamcast controller fuse'.
 
Lego Boss said:
Was having a retro evening the other night on DC.

Booted up MSR, no probs. Then my mate plugged in the Get Bass controller (which had been fixed after his dog chewed through the wire) and then the whole I/O mechanism packed up.

Games would load, but there was no way of controlling them. VMU would work when outside of the controller, but not when it was in.

Clearly the dodgy Get Bass controller has had an impact here, but has anyone had similar problems?
Click to expand...



D.Lo said:
You blew the controller port fuse. It's an easy fix if you've ever done any modding, just google 'dreamcast controller fuse'.
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yes I had this while playing shenmue a few years ago, I ended up buying a new DC but since then I have opened up the console a few times and the fix can be applied rather easily for the ports, you can either buy a replacement fuse or be more ghetto and use a non fuse method at your own risk.
 
Friend of Sonic said:
I have to keep telling myself a watched pot never boils. My Toro left Turkey October 3rd, but hasn't been given to USPS yet. Soon... soon.
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The Kuro I ordered disappeared in a void between Turkey and USA for at least a month, eventually arriving in the most beat-up package I've ever received by mail, complete with a note from USPS apologizing for the condition of the package, the likes of which I have never seen before or since.

Good luck!
 
Sixfortyfive said:
The Kuro I ordered disappeared in a void between Turkey and USA for at least a month, eventually arriving in the most beat-up package I've ever received by mail, complete with a note from USPS apologizing for the condition of the package, the likes of which I have never seen before or since.

Good luck!
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._.
 
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