Dreamcast-Talk.com

Hey all,

I recently transferred the SoA DLC US .vmi file and VMS to my VMU using an SD card loader.

On the VMU the files show up as 4 blocks with their animations, etc. and they seem to be on the VMU fine. But when I load up Skies of Arcadia, it never asks to merge the DLC with my save file and none of the DLC is available (Mystery Merchant is supposed to sell the Tuna Cutlass and Swirlmerang and doesn't have those items.)

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Someone said I needed to download the .vmi via the dreamcast browser and put the VMS on there manually? But that doesn't seem to make sense. The .vmi file just makes a red X and doesn't seem recognized by the VMU.

After a long day of troubleshooting, someone on Facebook found out that the files are actually named wrong. So the DLC files at Dreamcastlive.net are named incorrectly.

"TunaSwir" is S.ARCADIAD01 (US) or ARCADIA_ED01 (PAL)
"Hamachou" is S.ARCADIAD02 (US) or ARCADIA_ED02 (PAL)
"Looper" is S.ARCADIAD03 (US) or ARCADIA_ED03 (PAL)

The files aren't meant to be directly copied to a VMU. VMI and VMS files are meant to be downloaded from a Dreamcast web browser. The VMI file tells the browser what to name the VMS file before it copies it to the VMU. You can manually rename the VMS file if you want to copy it directly but you need to find out what it needs to be named (as you have done).

pcwzrd13 wrote:The files aren't meant to be directly copied to a VMU. VMI and VMS files are meant to be downloaded from a Dreamcast web browser. The VMI file tells the browser what to name the VMS file before it copies it to the VMU. You can manually rename the VMS file if you want to copy it directly but you need to find out what it needs to be named (as you have done).

On the off chance there is a user out there who decides to download the DLC directly to their VMU, I think the files should be saved with the proper names that the game calls for in the .vmi file.

There should at least be an entry on the FAQ about the fact the DLC names are in the .vmi files.

LordRayken wrote: On the off chance there is a user out there who decides to download the DLC directly to their VMU, I think the files should be saved with the proper names that the game calls for in the .vmi file.

That's not possible. They need to be .VMS files with a short file name (max 8 characters). This is how Sega designed them. In any case, I've added a note to the DLC page which explains what to do if you need to direct copy them.

pcwzrd13 wrote:

LordRayken wrote: On the off chance there is a user out there who decides to download the DLC directly to their VMU, I think the files should be saved with the proper names that the game calls for in the .vmi file.

That's not possible. They need to be .VMS files with a short file name (max 8 characters). This is how Sega designed them. In any case, I've added a note to the DLC page which explains what to do if you need to direct copy them.

Gotcha, I didn't realize the names had to be limited to a certain character limit. S.ARCADIAD01 definitely wouldn't fit. Although I renamed my .vms files and the VMU accepted them fine. So it must just be a limitation when you export them to the site?

Anyways, thanks a ton! I know this is probably an uncommon thing, but at least now what I consider to be the premiere site for Dreamcast DLC has the file name explanation.

pcwzrd13 wrote:

LordRayken wrote: On the off chance there is a user out there who decides to download the DLC directly to their VMU, I think the files should be saved with the proper names that the game calls for in the .vmi file.

That's not possible. They need to be .VMS files with a short file name (max 8 characters). This is how Sega designed them. In any case, I've added a note to the DLC page which explains what to do if you need to direct copy them.

Hey, I have another question real fast.

If all Dreamcast DLC is "on disc" DLC, how can any of it truly be lost? Can't it all be ripped from the disc?

It's something I've been wondering for a while.