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Hey guys! I just had a quick question, chances are there's a really easy answer that I overlooked, so sorry if this sounds stupid.

I know that the BB Adapter only supports Quake 3 Arena and PSO, but is there any chance that people could mod a game like Planet Right or Starlancer to work with the broadband adapter? I've never seen a topic on why this can't be done, so I figured I'd ask.

Thanks for reading this! I'm curious to know if this is something that can be done (not because I have a BB adapter, I don't. But because I think it'd open up another part of the DC userbase to the other online games. )

-Namine207

You can't do that without modifying the game's source code, which only Sega has. Each game has specific network routines designed to let it communicate with either a modem or the BBA, which are entirely different network devices. A game that wasn't designed to use the BBA doesn't know how to "talk" to it, which is why the BBA is incompatible. That support isn't something you can just "add" to the game without recompiling the main executable, so even though there are homebrew projects that can use the BBA, they aren't helpful. You can only make small changes to existing programs without breaking them, and BBA support is not a small change.

Aleron Ives wrote:You can't do that without modifying the game's source code, which only Sega has. Each game has specific network routines designed to let it communicate with either a modem or the BBA, which are entirely different network devices. A game that wasn't designed to use the BBA doesn't know how to "talk" to it, which is why the BBA is incompatible. That support isn't something you can just "add" to the game without recompiling the main executable, so even though there are homebrew projects that can use the BBA, they aren't helpful. You can only make small changes to existing programs without breaking them, and BBA support is not a small change.

Ahh, okay, that makes sense! It's a shame that that can't be done, it renders the Broadband Adapter not quite as worth the money it takes to buy it. I really hope that someday we'll be able to get things like private servers for the SegaNet games or (by some miracle) the source code for some of the network games that don't have that BBA support. It'd be a great day if people were able to play something like ChuChu Rocket or Bomberman Online using the Broadband Adapter, but I guess it's more of a dream than anything. XD

The easiest way to play those games online will probably be when a PC version of reicast comes out, assuming the developers include modem emulation.

Aleron Ives wrote:The easiest way to play those games online will probably be when a PC version of reicast comes out, assuming the developers include modem emulation.

Oh woah, I had no idea Reicast was even a thing until now! That looks awesome!

For the record, the broadband adapter is usually abbreviated as BBA, so your new topic title is rather confusing. "PSOBB" stands for Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, which is the final edition in the PSO series and is only available as a PC game.

Aleron Ives wrote:For the record, the broadband adapter is usually abbreviated as BBA, so your new topic title is rather confusing. "PSOBB" stands for Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, which is the final edition in the PSO series and is only available as a PC game.

Whoops! Sorry about that, I knew what it was, I actually play PSOBB a decent amount, but I edited that late at night and completely blanked. Fixed now. XD

I probably need to start drinking more coffee.

namine207 wrote:It's a shame that that can't be done, it renders the Broadband Adapter not quite as worth the money it takes to buy it.

I think that most people miss the point when it comes to the BBA. The BBA is mostly useful for other tasks besides gaming, like dumping discs, development, etc.
It's a shame that this piece of hardware is overrated mainly because people look at it with gaming eyes, when you can only use it to play 2 games that can also be played with the standard modem.

The main attraction of the BBA is that it's compatible with modern networking equipment. It's only going to get harder to find obsolete network devices that can bridge modem and Ethernet connections together, and with the rise of mobile phones and VOIP, the ability to even use a modem normally is becoming impossible for people without land lines. Online games that only offer modem-based connectivity are only going to become more difficult to take online in the coming years.

Aleron Ives wrote:The main attraction of the BBA is that it's compatible with modern networking equipment. It's only going to get harder to find obsolete network devices that can bridge modem and Ethernet connections together, and with the rise of mobile phones and VOIP, the ability to even use a modem normally is becoming impossible for people without land lines. Online games that only offer modem-based connectivity are only going to become more difficult to take online in the coming years.

That's really lame. I almost wish fans could kickstart something to get Sega to produce more BBA's. Assuming they'd be willing to do it, which they probably wouldn't.

Raen wrote:

namine207 wrote:It's a shame that that can't be done, it renders the Broadband Adapter not quite as worth the money it takes to buy it.

I think that most people miss the point when it comes to the BBA. The BBA is mostly useful for other tasks besides gaming, like dumping discs, development, etc.
It's a shame that this piece of hardware is overrated mainly because people look at it with gaming eyes, when you can only use it to play 2 games that can also be played with the standard modem.

I understand that, and it's great that it can be used for dev purposes, but that's why I said not quite worth the money. For most people who own a dreamcast, dev stuff isn't particularly important to them. In general, it renders it something that most gamers wouldn't want to buy only because they can't play all the dc has to offer on it.