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Sega Dreamcast - Appreciation and Emulation Thread
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
$1400 CAN. I sold it to some guys in Ontario, Canada who have a Sega arcade setup in their house, apparently. They said they used to run some Sega website, but I think it's defunct now. They were very nice, and I was happy to see it get a new home.
I would've love to keep it, and fully restore it, but I don't see myself in a living situation with room to not have it in storage in the foreseeable future (dat condo life), so I had to make a tough call.
Edit: Not sure if you were referring to the Naomi or the GDEMU, Oneida, ha.
the NAOMI, of course! i don't even know what the GDEMU is.
gingerbeardman
Member
Final batch as in you almost have a full collection?
kunonabi
Member
Well, full collection as far as I games I want to play anyway. I already hit all the big stuff I wanted but there's first party stuff and some other imports I want to try. I don't really do the complete collection thing especially not the DC with all the super expensive shooters and censored visual novels.
gingerbeardman
Member
Good stuff. Looking forward to your further thoughts
kunonabi
Member
At the moment it's looking like a solid group of games. Tako no Marine is a really charming puzzle game so as long as the puzzle design holds up it looks like a keeper. The controls are a bit odd though.
Sengoku Turb looks like it will be a bit of misfire gameplay wise what with the awful camera perspective but the humor and just plain weirdness of the whole thing is hard not to love.
Roommania is a gem. It looks and sounds really good and it's one of those titles that is really emblematic of SEGA's commitment to doing whatever strange idea popped into their heads during those lovely Dreamcast days.
Time Stalkers is a pretty decent roguelike so far. The presentation is nicer than I expected and it seems pretty stacked with content. I even replaced my VMU memory card for the monster raising stuff.
gingerbeardman
Member
Tako no Marine looks interesting.
Roommania I've seen before. Bonkers.
Roommania I've seen before. Bonkers.
Does anyone know of a good source for pricing info on odd dreamcast promo items? Testing the waters on ebay with one and not sure I want to risk some others. I'm kind of at a loss when trying to price out things when you can't find any completed data. Wish ebay would go back more than just a handful of months.
Saoshyant
Member
Crossposting from the Gamecube thread. I'm trying to find out which console version of 18 Wheeler is the superior one. An IGN review mentions the Gamecube version is based on the PS2 port and has some weird texture pop-in going on, but I don't know if that problem is also present on the aforementioned PS2 port. And no Dreamcast reviews compare the game with the ports that came out later either. Assuming any of you were crazy enough to get and try more than one version, which one would you say is the superior version: Dreamcast, PS2, or Gamecube?
That sort of stuff is really hard to price unfortunately. I've got some press/review GDRs etc, and they're impossible to accurately price. assembler maybe?
digita1alchemy
Member
I wondered about this recently myself, but didn't actually buy and compare versions. Since it's a NAOMI game I just assumed the Dreamcast version would be the most accurate port and bought that one. I owned 355 Challenge for PS2 and Dreamcast for a time and the DC version was clearly superior. I'd wager the Dreamcast/Gamecube versions of 18 Wheeler are probably almost identical, so if you can do VGA on Dreamcast or component on Gamecube, I'd go with the system you have the better setup for.
When in doubt, if it's NAOMI, it's better on Dreamcast.
My s-video cables came in over the weekend.
Turns out the innovation cables were actually 16 year old InterAct brand cables. The y/c cord was yellow so at first I thought they sent me composite cables by mistake.
Fired Shenmue and third strike up on my framemeister and it was a definite improvement over composite. Happy with the image and hope to get a lot of use out of the cables.
Turns out the innovation cables were actually 16 year old InterAct brand cables. The y/c cord was yellow so at first I thought they sent me composite cables by mistake.
Fired Shenmue and third strike up on my framemeister and it was a definite improvement over composite. Happy with the image and hope to get a lot of use out of the cables.
sixteen-bit
Member
if ur playing on a framemeister why not get RGB cables?
I thought about it but getting a toro, scart cable, and a scart to framemeister adapter isn't in the budget right now. Also have vga cables but can't set it up right now (due to space).
I'm hoping the retrovision dreamcast component cables go into production so I can get those.
DreamcastGAF, I'm in need of some clues.
I'm finally looking into getting back to Dreamcast gaming - after both my units basically died on me overnight, more than a decade ago, I went 'fuck everything', kept my whole collection but forgot about the system completely - so, before I even start to search for a new console, I'd like to know whether or not I should look at any particular model, revision, version, which may have been proven to be more reliable and durable than the others. Or maybe they're still time bombs, so going cheap might be the wisest approach?
Back then, I owned a PAL and Japanese machine (the one that came with a white box and the Dream Passport 3 bundled in), both have been extremely well taken care of, and always used with original games only.
I'm finally looking into getting back to Dreamcast gaming - after both my units basically died on me overnight, more than a decade ago, I went 'fuck everything', kept my whole collection but forgot about the system completely - so, before I even start to search for a new console, I'd like to know whether or not I should look at any particular model, revision, version, which may have been proven to be more reliable and durable than the others. Or maybe they're still time bombs, so going cheap might be the wisest approach?
Back then, I owned a PAL and Japanese machine (the one that came with a white box and the Dream Passport 3 bundled in), both have been extremely well taken care of, and always used with original games only.
sixteen-bit
Member
I remember hearing that the earlier models manufactured in Japan have the most reliable GD-ROM drives.
dancrane212
Member
If you ever want to replace the disc drive with a GDEMU you'll need a VA1 model.
Not that I'm even thinking of that scenario, but it's good to know, thank you.
Any tips on how to properly recognize early models? I'm eyeing a Japanese (orange box with the President face all over it), HKT-3000 unit, which comes with this serial code: 670-13748C. Seems like the last letter somehow indicates the release window, since another set - white box, this time - has the same code ending with an E. Should I look for codes ending with an A, just to be sure?
alf717
Member
I'd look at the consoles by their revision numbers. Model 0's will have the heat pipe design and a Yamaha drive. Model 1 units could have a Yamaha drive but these unit are usually special edition units very rare so expect no heat pipe design and a Samsung GD-ROM drive. Model 2 units removed the Mil-CD support which means no CD-R booting.
Think of it like this:
Model 0: Yamaha drive heat pipe design
Model 1: Samsung drive no heat pipe
Model 2: Yuck stay clear of these =D
It's possible that other regions did not use the number system, 0,1,2 etc..., so look at the fan. Heat pipe units with Yamaha drives will be metal. So look where the fan is on the bottom right corner of the unit and look for a silver fan. They are also heavier than Model 1 and 2 units. Its the best method I know of without opening the unit. The stickers on Model 0 units from my experience are always Made in Japan units. If the fan is black then it is a Model 1 or 2 unit.
Think of it like this:
Model 0: Yamaha drive heat pipe design
Model 1: Samsung drive no heat pipe
Model 2: Yuck stay clear of these =D
It's possible that other regions did not use the number system, 0,1,2 etc..., so look at the fan. Heat pipe units with Yamaha drives will be metal. So look where the fan is on the bottom right corner of the unit and look for a silver fan. They are also heavier than Model 1 and 2 units. Its the best method I know of without opening the unit. The stickers on Model 0 units from my experience are always Made in Japan units. If the fan is black then it is a Model 1 or 2 unit.
IrishNinja
Member
First batch of my final wave of dreamcast pickups:
nice, always wanted to try Roommania!
Great, thanks for that too. I'll be sure to chack that out.
Seems like... There's no solid ground to land in, when it comes to good old Dreamcast.
And yeah, one of my two systems definitely had the same issue. One started to self-reset itself, until it basically stopped reading anything, but the other one just died, couldn't even turn on again.Seems like... There's no solid ground to land in, when it comes to good old Dreamcast.
Mine turns on, but the second it starts to spin a disk, it dies. I can hang out at the menu screen all day long, watch that bouncing DC controller, but if I put a disc into the drive, the DC starts to spin the disc, then turns itself off half a second later.
gingerbeardman
Member
Put a PICO PSU in there? That coupled with an SD adapter, HDD or GDEMU means a pretty much silent DC.
alf717
Member
I ran into this with one of my model 0 units with the Yamaha drive. Turned out the drive itself was the issue. In my case the Yamaha drive had a defective spindle motor. It rusted up so bad because of poor storage from the previous owner. You can swap a model 1 Samsung drive into a model 0 and it will work fine. You just have remove a few screws.
Other common things to check for are to make sure you have a tight connection from the PSU to motherboard. All you do here is just slightly bend the pins on the board so they are snug with the PSU. Check for bad capacitors. Also check to make sure the fan is spinning. A jammed up fan will make the DC shut off quickly.
sixteen-bit
Member
I have one too. Works great with the tweinstick so I can play 2P VOOT.
I just wish I had a link cable to get a dual console setup going. I already have enough dreamcasts and copies of the game, lol.
I just wish I had a link cable to get a dual console setup going. I already have enough dreamcasts and copies of the game, lol.
gingerbeardman
Member
What is it?I was considering one of these for awhile but glad I eventually grabbed one. No complaints so far (spent around $30-40 from a US seller).
sixteen-bit
Member
Total Control 3 adapter. Lets you use Saturn controllers on Dreamcast, including twinstick support for Virtual On Oratorio Tangram
ah yeah, I got good memories with those. Back in the day I heard it could fry controller ports if you hot-swap it around so I marked the tip of the cable, lol.
No issues with it in the many years since. I'm gonna assume that fear was just due to how shitty DC controller ports are.
No issues with it in the many years since. I'm gonna assume that fear was just due to how shitty DC controller ports are.
gingerbeardman
Member
Cheers
Shadow Hog
Member
Yeah, I thought frying the controller ports due to hot-swapping was a general thing; like, you could do it with just the stock controllers.
Thanks for that. I did try bending with pins on the board so they're snug, with no luck. I didn't look too much at the disc drive though, so I'll check that later. I hate how finicky the DC hardware is, I'd just love to be able to enjoy the system, but I've had nothing but problems.
I've got a Toro into my Framemeister, and a shiny copy of Shenmue waiting to go, but it just hasn't worked out for me.
I feel you. Seems like we shared a similar story with the DC. :/
Gonna be streaming more ChronDC in about 15 minutes, https://www.twitch.tv/chrondc
I haven't played them in a while, but I remember them all being pretty good, not like Capcom good, but still fun to play. Just check out some youtube videos to know what you're getting into and which look the best to you.
If you're thinking of just one though, I'd probably go XYX myself. Still like Sturmwind the best of most of these late DC releases
I haven't played them in a while, but I remember them all being pretty good, not like Capcom good, but still fun to play. Just check out some youtube videos to know what you're getting into and which look the best to you.
If you're thinking of just one though, I'd probably go XYX myself. Still like Sturmwind the best of most of these late DC releases
Thanks for the input. I have checked out some videos and reviews of the games; some saying they're average, some praising lots, etc. I've heard lots about Sturmwind, but the only copies I've seen are $400ish, whereas new copies of NG Dev Team games seem to be about $50-60 USD.
Yikes, $400? You'd think when they reach that price, they'd be releasing more, not like it's licensed or anything. Well, I can see where you're coming form then. Still think XYX was the most impressive of the three, but none are bad.
Yeah, it's not the best, haha. I've already gone down that rabbit hole with Saturn stuff; can't really justify that again on the Dreamcast. Will probably check out out XYX then, thanks.
IrishNinja
Member
wait, where are you seeing Sturmwind go that high? its like $100+ on ebay now, granted, but nowhere near that unless you're after the LE
I think he meant currently available? I dont see much listed right now.
Where are you seeing these $100 copies? I'm interested if so, haha
But yeah, I did mean Canadian prices; there is a $260 USD new copy on here.http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_from...amcast.TRS0&_nkw=sturmwind+dreamcast&_sacat=0
Also, decided to spring for the 3 NG Dev games
Will give some impressions when they arrive.