Pre-Introducing... Me

[ScDream]

I'm digging for info on getting the DC online, maybe through my broadband connection? Can anyone comment on multiplayer stuff in 2010?

Thanks.

[Bob Dobbs]

Q3, PSO, 4x4 Evo, Max Pool and Starlancer are still online. All of these are dial-up plus Q3 and PSO are BBA friendly.

[ScDream]

Two more unrelated questions:

1. What is "BBA friendly"?

2. How is Samba de Amigo playable without the maracas?

Thanks!

[Barrys_Bapz]

What is "BBA friendly?

Broadband adapter

[Anthony817]

Ok, I will try to answer as much as I can.

1. A sandisk adaptor has been in the works for some almost 2 years now, and an Operating System is being developed now that can read games off of these SD cards, without the need for a CD or Gigabyte disc(Dreamcast cd media) in the drive bay. However, the loading of some full games are somewhat choppy, and can pause for some 2-3 seconds when reading a lot of data. I have seen this happen on videos on Youtube, but its not anything to worry about.

2. You can get emulators for MANY systems on the DC, but keep in mind, the Snes emu is not at 100% speed, and even the PS1 emulator Bleemcast can ironicly run Gran Turismo 2, Metal Gear Solid, and Tekken 3 full speed at 60fps, with AA and even in VGA mode. So the Hardware can handle PS1 games, but for some reason, Snes has some problems with the ram or something that is keeping it from being 100% perfect.

3. Online MP still works with the aforementioned games that Bob listed, but the only way to play 80% of the 6 or so games online is with 56k Dialup, and many places don't offer that service anymore. You can do 1 of 3 options here. #1, order seperate dialup internet. #2 Set up a PC to DC server, which instructions can be found here in these forums. or the awesome #3 option, which is to bid on a BBA on Ebay, and these can cost anywhere from $60 - $200 used.... They are just that rare, and sought after.

Now, only 2 games work online with this expencive 3rd option, but I guess its the only thing some of us can hope for and use in places with no dialup option.

If you need any other help or questions answered, just ask and we will do our best to help you out.

P.S., how the hell did you get an Apple Pippin, and have you got any games for it? Many people I've seen that have them on Youtube have never even had games for them, as they are so freaking rare!

[Jaseman]

Hey, sorry that I'm late to the party; welcome! You'll have a fun time here; I know I have had one! To help with your questions,

Hey all. I have on-again, off-again admired the DC "from a distance". I once foolishly sold off my Jpn-mod'd Saturn (with PD Saga, Radiant Silvergun, Elevator Action, DOA, and several other goodies) for next-to-nothing, meant to move to a DC, got distracted, didn't, and and well, I digress.

That's alright. I came here similarly, 'cept that I was too young for a console when the Dreamcast came out

but I feel like I really need to know the depths of the system, what's good and what's bad. A big FAQ pointer from anyone here would be cool.

I don't think there are any FAQs, but I know almost everything about the Dreamcast; ask away! I'll answer it all.

I also have a interest in learning about "little kid games" or "edutainment" stuff also to keep my 5-year-old in the mix.

The Dreamcast itself did not have much in the way of edutainment, outside of The Typing of The Dead (if that counts,) but, with the help of ScummVM, your child can play the children's games by Humungous Entertainment, likeFreddie Fish. The titles are point-and-click, and play well with the Dreamcast's joypad.

My (dim) understanding is that the DC is used to emulate other platforms, can anyone point me to a way to play Intellivision and SNES games on the DC?

Yeah, it can emulate a lot of systems, from 2600 to PS1.


For SNES, you may want to Google 'JaseSNES 101 ROMs'. It's my special collection of all the good games that work on the system. For intellivison, just look up 'Intellivison emulator for DC'. Pretty much any emulator that exists can be found by searching '* emulator for Dreamcast', where * is the system you are searching.

I intend to really dig through the posts here, but I admit I could use help with any/all newbie pointers anyone can give.

Sure thing, just PM/IM/Email me any time at [email protected], or by using the 'PM' button on the side of the forum.

If I really have to plunk some real money down on the DC, I'll sell my Pippin to free up the cash. I want to have some fun with this thing!

You shouldn't need to buy anything to have fun besides a pack of CD-Rs

Thanks!

You're welcome

[ScDream]

OK, a few things...

I am grabbing the "JaseSNES" pack now. I had already burned a couple, but it sounds like that one is crap-free, so I'll do that one first.
Jase thanks for the link pointer!

I have Freddi Fish queued up for download from dcisozone, that looks like a great kid title. Looking around for more "SCUMMVM" titles, nothing else looked as good for a kindergartener. Is there a better keyword search than "sucmmvm dreamcast" to dig up stuff? At this point I have burned (I think successfully) several emulation packs and real DC software with young-kid-appeal, but I'm always open to more options or points of view.

I have been giving Disc Juggler a workout. One thing that is a little odd is that after a burn (I always select [no] if I am asked for a disc autofix) I can almost never see the burned/discolored area on the bottom of the disc. All other things I have burned in the past show a % of light-vs-dark where I can see the laser did its thing. Maybe it's because the discs are always max-size and just burning to the edge of the disc, but it is weird. Again, let me say that I still do not have my DC yet from an eBay auction, so it is possible I am in fact just making coasters....

Anthony817, in November of 2008 there were a glut of Pippins on eBay for relatively cheap. I think someone in Japan or Hong Kong "unearthed" a warehouse of them and they were dumping them. After that I horsetraded stuff in the (extremely small) Pippin community for a memory card and then a keyboard with stylus/touchpad. Some more digging and I have about 30 CDRs of stuff. The Pippin horsepower is in the PS-1 range, but instead of making a true game machine, Apple created an "internet appliance" computer that plugs into your TV. It is pretty slick and is in fact equal to a Mac 7200 for all intents and purposes. The problem is actually finding decent stuff to play. That doesn't seem to be a problem with the DC, so here I am.


Thanks all, I'll be back with more newbie Q's before you know it.

[Anthony817]

Anthony817, in November of 2008 there were a glut of Pippins on eBay for relatively cheap. I think someone in Japan or Hong Kong "unearthed" a warehouse of them and they were dumping them. After that I horsetraded stuff in the (extremely small) Pippin community for a memory card and then a keyboard with stylus/touchpad. Some more digging and I have about 30 CDRs of stuff. The Pippin horsepower is in the PS-1 range, but instead of making a true game machine, Apple created an "internet appliance" computer that plugs into your TV. It is pretty slick and is in fact equal to a Mac 7200 for all intents and purposes. The problem is actually finding decent stuff to play. That doesn't seem to be a problem with the DC, so here I am.

Wow, thats awesome. I always thought the pippin was meant to be a multimedia home theatre component, that just happens to be a great gaming system, that never saw its full potential.

Do you even have 1 original game for it, and can it play back up discs? I think I heard it only ever had like 26 games released for it during it's short lifetime.

And yes, the DC is a great system, for not only playing back up's, but running Homebrew and all kinds of emulators! I wish I had not sold my original one in 2002, and kept it. I simply had no internet or a PC then, and never knew the possibilities of it.

I bought the one I have now in July of 2009, after playing DC emulated games on my PC for ober 1 1/2 years. I do NOT regret buying one. It is a september 2000 model, and has been working for almost a decade, and the PS3 and 360 can't say that, as I have sent in a 360 because of the RROD and my bros 2 PS3's have had problems aswell.

[ScDream]

Do you even have 1 original game for it, and can it play back up discs? I think I heard it only ever had like 26 games released for it during it's short lifetime.

I have an eBay search for "pippin (apple,bandai)" with daily updates for over a year, the few titles I have seen I could never afford ($200+), I heard that usually the place to go is Yahoo Japan auctions, but I have not gotten anything through there either.

Here's a story about the one complete Pippin title I do own, and have never opened the package - Tunin' Glue http://mac.ign.com/objects/768/768372.html. I learned that it was the precursor to Parappa the Rapper, so I emailed the creator, gave him my sob story, didn't hear back in a while. He was at a software convention in Japan, but kept my mail, and when he got back he dug out a copy from a shelf and mailed it to me with a hand-written letter saying how much he appreciated the recognition. So I took a picture of the letter with the shrinkwrapped jewel case (and postal package from Japan, all $ from his pocket), and then put all of that stuff in storage.

So I actually don't know how well it plays because I can't get myself to open the thing.


Now.


On to the DC - is it safe to say that dcisozone is down? I have seen several zero-byte files and several broken links in the past day.

Thanks.

[Anthony817]

Here's a story about the one complete Pippin title I do own, and have never opened the package - Tunin' Glue http://mac.ign.com/objects/768/768372.html. I learned that it was the precursor to Parappa the Rapper, so I emailed the creator, gave him my sob story, didn't hear back in a while. He was at a software convention in Japan, but kept my mail, and when he got back he dug out a copy from a shelf and mailed it to me with a hand-written letter saying how much he appreciated the recognition. So I took a picture of the letter with the shrinkwrapped jewel case (and postal package from Japan, all $ from his pocket), and then put all of that stuff in storage.

So I actually don't know how well it plays because I can't get myself to open the thing.

Well thats quite a story! That was definatly nice of him to do that for you,

On to the DC - is it safe to say that dcisozone is down? I have seen several zero-byte files and several broken links in the past day.

Thanks.

About DCisozone, Do NOT pay attention to those fake uploads, it's just a damn troll that has no life and only wants to confuse the community. I have talked with thte site owner, and he is going to make me a moderator of the site, so I can clean up all the false uploads and duplicates and spam that we have gotten in the past week.

I assure you it's still ok to dl games from it, but make sure you look at the comments under the uploads and see what we have said before you get them.

If you have seen how well the Xbox zone looks, that will give you an idea of what to expect on the DC side when its all completed. Jambo codes the site himself, and will make many improvements to it in the comming weeks.