Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

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fernan1234
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Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by fernan1234 »

Surprised there's no topic on this yet. It's always good to hear shmups Hardware board's take on devices like this.

Announcement video - Terraonion FPGA Direct 2020
https://youtu.be/IVpnjd8QVks

Pre-order
https://shop.terraonion.com/en/home/17- ... n_ODE.html

The most interesting features for me,

-Dreamcast:
1) Bin/Cue support. Redump decided a while ago to move away from GDI, and most obscure dumps can only be found in Bin/Cue format. It's possible to still get corresponding .gdi files, but they require processing using old Windows tools to be compatible with GDEMU, they're not just drag and drop.
2) Some glitches on GDEMU, like that puzzle that can't be completed in Resident Evil: Code Veronica or the Skies of Arcadia intro, may be not be present. The video claims 100% compatibility, but we've heard that before from TO and other companies.
3) Storage options. In particular 2.5 HDD/SSD support is nice, and seems to be what is catching the most attention.

-Saturn:
1) Is available.
2) Works on all Saturns.

The nice UI and database are attractive features too.

Definitely tempting even for GDEMU users given all of its advantages, but not really a must-have. People with small collections made up of popular games will be perfectly fine with a cheaper GDEMU clone.

For the Saturn it does feel like a must, at least until/if the Satiator is released.

Not pre-ordering though. Will wait for compatibility reports from early adopters and testers. History has shown no one can get an ODE 100% perfect their first try.
AceFan84
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by AceFan84 »

Definitely paying attention to this. I would only get one for my Saturn if the Satiator never materializes (and lets be honest here...who knows if it will ever actually release) but I am most certainly interested in one for the Dreamcast. The hdd/ssd support is the biggest feature here over other ode solutions for me at least, I'm the type that likes to have entire libraries on one storage device without having to move things around constantly. I know opinions are quite mixed on TerraOnion as a company but my only experience with them was a positive one (Mega SD). Regardless I will wait for user reviews before thinking about buying one.
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

fernan1234 wrote:but we've heard that before from TO
Not much to add. They're still to get remotely close to 100% compatibilty for their PCE ODE (and for the MD one too?) and we know how they treat their customers.

Phoebe/Rhea works mostly perfect, fortunately.
strygo
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by strygo »

I already own a USB-GDROM and a Rhea, so I was a bit disappointed by this announcement. I may still be interested, but I'll be waiting until after release until I decide to purchase it.

Both the USB-GDROM and the Rhea were "fun" to purchase, so this is great for folks who have had trouble getting those units.
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kitty666cats
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by kitty666cats »

I already have a Phoebe and love it, but this is good to hear! Satiator has taken eons upon eons, it seems pretty cool but I would prefer not to sacrifice use of a VCD card (Lunar is arguably my favorite RPG ever). Quick side question: anyone else here with a Phoebe or Rhea tried putting VCD rips onto a SD card and had success? I would love to hear about the process, if so!

I hope this doesn't step on the toes of that fella making the Fenrir, it's very noble of him quietly developing one and then coming out with one that was ready to ship quite quickly. No matter the case, I'm glad Saturn seemed to get quite a bit of shine towards the end of 2019 and is continuing to pop off more in 2020!
Dochartaigh
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Dochartaigh »

I think it's a day late and a dollar short. Maybe not technically too little like that saying infers, but it seems to do nearly identical to a couple different products which are already on the market (and some others which are testing now) – some easy to get, some not, some super cheap, some seem to still be cheaper than this.
SamIAm
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by SamIAm »

One has to wonder if they couldn't have gotten the price lower by having Saturn and Dreamcast be separate. It's not like you're going to be buying one unit for both systems.
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Drunk_Caterpillar »

SamIAm wrote:One has to wonder if they couldn't have gotten the price lower by having Saturn and Dreamcast be separate. It's not like you're going to be buying one unit for both systems.
I doubt it. I'd actually bet that having a single production line with twice as much product moving through it is cheaper in the long run than two production lines with half that number each. We're talking about 1-2 extra connectors and some traces; I'm not saying that the added complexity doesn't increase the price a little, but I can't imagine it affects the price as much as everyone thinks it does.
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by SamIAm »

Drunk_Caterpillar wrote:I doubt it. I'd actually bet that having a single production line with twice as much product moving through it is cheaper in the long run than two production lines with half that number each. We're talking about 1-2 extra connectors and some traces; I'm not saying that the added complexity doesn't increase the price a little, but I can't imagine it affects the price as much as everyone thinks it does.
Yeah, you're probably right. I'm mostly just surprised by the price point, but maybe they're aiming for a niche and not the entire ODE market.
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Overkill
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Overkill »

Unfortunately, unless some European web store distributes Terraonion products, I'm not buying anything else directly from them anymore. I got completely ripped by the customs on the Mega SD day 01 purchase :cry:
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Gunstar
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Gunstar »

This has a really nice menu, the database feature looks great.
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Josh128
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Josh128 »

Man, Terraonion is killing it with quality products. I wish they were a bit cheaper, but the stuff they sell (usually) just works and they are probably very low volume so they can command such prices if thats what it takes to make a ROI. Who is the chief engineer/developer behind them?
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

Josh128 wrote:quality products
You must not be talking about the SSDS3, I take?
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Josh128
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Josh128 »

Bassa-Bassa wrote:
Josh128 wrote:quality products
You must not be talking about the SSDS3, I take?
Actually I am. I bought one earlier this year and it works flawlessly. I get excellent RGB quality and the ability to play everything except Supergrafx titles with a plug and play device. I am aware of the drama surrounding the original release, but those issues have apparently been resolved because my product looks, sounds, and plays great. The picture output on my FD Trinitron Wega is as good as any other system I have connected to it, and I have 9 systems on it.

Im so satisfied, in fact, that Im considering a MegaSD, the new SNES adapter (dont recall the name), and a NeoSD.
nmalinoski
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by nmalinoski »

Unless the design changes, it looks like the only way to get media in and out is to remove the top shell. At the very least, I would hope that the SD and/or USB ports could be relocated to just under the disc lid (Not sure a 2.5" SATA disk would fit through the top shells on either console, even if the SATA connectors were angled), and the ODE supported copying games between sources, so we could install a SATA disk during initial install, and then use SD and/or USB media to load it up.

Additionally, I hope that they address the airflow issues that already had to be addressed with the GDEMU and USB-GDROM.
Bassa-Bassa
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Bassa-Bassa »

Josh128 wrote:
Bassa-Bassa wrote:
Josh128 wrote:quality products
You must not be talking about the SSDS3, I take?
Actually I am. I bought one earlier this year and it works flawlessly. I get excellent RGB quality and the ability to play everything except Supergrafx titles with a plug and play device. I am aware of the drama surrounding the original release, but those issues have apparently been resolved because my product looks, sounds, and plays great.
I guess you just play your usual suspects, 'cause the amount of flaws with lesser titles/RPGs not that many months ago was dramatic. And reporting it in their forum was futile.
spmbx
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by spmbx »

The fact that terraonion is behind it is enough to not even think about buying this.
H6rdc0re
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by H6rdc0re »

I ordered mine for one of my Sega Saturn’s seeing as there is no available alternative with full game support. I’m not gonna wait forever for the Rhea. For my Dreamcast's I have the USB GD-ROM.

Ever since the SSDS3 I haven’t heard that much criticism on Terra Onion apart from the usual throwback SSDS3 comments.
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ApolloBoy
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by ApolloBoy »

Josh128 wrote:the new SNES adapter (dont recall the name)
???

TO doesn't have anything for the SNES, at least not yet.

Anyway, I wound up preordering one as there's still no ETA on the Satiator and I'm not dealing with Deunan's order system BS. Now I'm trying to figure out which Saturn to install it in, should I do my unmodified model 1 or chipped model 2...
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kitty666cats
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by kitty666cats »

I didn't know that so many people were pretty 'meh' on TerraOnion, I'm familiar with them but not familiar with how their products are regarded. How was that cart for Genesis/MegaDrive that could also play Sega-CD titles? Less-than-stellar, I take it...?
fernan1234
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by fernan1234 »

kitty666cats wrote:I didn't know that so many people were pretty 'meh' on TerraOnion, I'm familiar with them but not familiar with how their products are regarded. How was that cart for Genesis/MegaDrive that could also play Sega-CD titles? Less-than-stellar, I take it...?
-SSDS3: a veritable shitshow for the first two revisions, the third/current revision is better, but need certain brand of SD cards to minimize buzzing noise, and many glitches remain with no fixes or even WIP reports since a year+ ago.

-MegaSD: some glitches initially, it looks like most have been fixed. Main issue people had was an unexpected import tax for EU residents since they ship from Andorra.

At least this time they have placed a disclaimer about the Andorra shipping location at the bottom of the sale page. Also, existing ODEs for both Saturn and Dreamcast already have high levels of compatibility with very few known glitches, so the MODE has more solid ground to build on and offer less issues off the bat than the previous two products. At least one would think so.
mario64
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by mario64 »

fernan1234 wrote:
kitty666cats wrote:I didn't know that so many people were pretty 'meh' on TerraOnion, I'm familiar with them but not familiar with how their products are regarded. How was that cart for Genesis/MegaDrive that could also play Sega-CD titles? Less-than-stellar, I take it...?
-SSDS3: a veritable shitshow for the first two revisions, the third/current revision is better, but need certain brand of SD cards to minimize buzzing noise, and many glitches remain with no fixes or even WIP reports since a year+ ago.
Out of curiosity what are the outstanding compatibility issues with SSDS3?
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Mobiusstriptech
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Mobiusstriptech »

Everybody falls back to the ssds3 and forgets that the MegaSD as a product was solid. As is the neosd. SSDS3 launch was very rough. I am more aware of this than many. I give TerraOnion credit for learning a lesson on that device and involving outside people on the 2 devices that followed.

The comment about the ssds3 SD access noise is silly. Most flashcarts, including Krikzz, have SD access noise. People are still so hung up on the ssds3 stuff that they don't even want to see if things are better now.

The MegaSD launched as a solid product. The bugs it had were few and far between. Most of them were solved immediately. The taxes thing isn't even worth commenting on because people don't want to hear anything other than their own narrative on it.

Mode has no video and no audio circuitry to have "gotten wrong." It just works. It has higher compatibility than any of the existing Saturn and Dreamcast devices. The known issues on the gdemu and USB gd-rom have already been verified as not an issue. On the Saturn it's one device for any revision with no soldering needed. The other devices available can't say that. Nor can they match the compatibility with redump sets as of today.

Ultimately, if you want an awesome ODE for your Saturn or Dreamcast, buy the mode. If you don't want to buy one for whatever reason, you have other options and you are welcome to buy one of those instead. I've owned the other ode's, except fenrir, and I am happy to make the switch myself. I hope you guys enjoy whatever choices you make.
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Syntax
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Syntax »

No wires for a Saturn install?
How do they auto switch 50/60hz then?
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Mobiusstriptech
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Mobiusstriptech »

Not everyone installs the wires or wants 50/60hz functionality. If you want that you still need to install a wire. But nothing is needed for region free functionality outside the 50/60hz.
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fernan1234
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by fernan1234 »

mario64 wrote:Out of curiosity what are the outstanding compatibility issues with SSDS3?
Some are reported here, others are spread out in their own topics: https://forums.terraonion.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7

Mobiusstriptech wrote:The comment about the ssds3 SD access noise is silly.
Sorry to be blunt but this is BS as a blanket statement. Don't put this on the same level as Everdrives, which generally exhibit far less access noise at the same volume level with the same SD cards. However, this issue can be minimized on the SSDS3 with the right console model and/or SD card brand. See: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ssds3-ditch-your-30815328
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Mobiusstriptech »

fernan1234 wrote:
mario64 wrote:Out of curiosity what are the outstanding compatibility issues with SSDS3?
Some are reported here, others are spread out in their own topics: https://forums.terraonion.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7

Mobiusstriptech wrote:The comment about the ssds3 SD access noise is silly.
Sorry to be blunt but this is BS as a blanket statement. Don't put this on the same level as Everdrives, which generally exhibit far less access noise at the same volume level with the same SD cards. However, this issue can be minimized on the SSDS3 with the right console model and/or SD card brand. See: https://www.patreon.com/posts/ssds3-ditch-your-30815328
Obviously you harbor some serious aggression. The everdrives absolutely have SD access noise and it's just as bad. If you think it doesn't you are only fooling yourself.
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fernan1234
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by fernan1234 »

Mobiusstriptech wrote: Obviously you harbor some serious aggression. The everdrives absolutely have SD access noise and it's just as bad. If you think it doesn't you are only fooling yourself.
I'd say you harbor some strange defensiveness about this particular issue with the SSDS3, for reasons that may not be hard to guess. The buzzing problem was well documented, and even FirebrandX, someone also aligned with the last SSDS3 revision, reported in the linked post how the Transcend SD cards make a big difference in the noise.
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by Mobiusstriptech »

fernan1234 wrote:
Mobiusstriptech wrote: Obviously you harbor some serious aggression. The everdrives absolutely have SD access noise and it's just as bad. If you think it doesn't you are only fooling yourself.
I'd say you harbor some strange defensiveness about this particular issue with the SSDS3, for reasons that may not be hard to guess. The buzzing problem was well documented, and even FirebrandX, someone also aligned with the last SSDS3 revision, reported in the linked post how the Transcend SD cards make a big difference in the noise.
Yeah and transcend cards also cause audio stuttering. I don't work for TerraOnion but I did spend hundreds of hours fixing the ssds3. I'd say I probably know better than most what it's capabilities were for audio and video. But please do tell me about my defensiveness. I love when I come to shmups and can be reminded of why I left.
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fernan1234
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Re: Terraonion MODE - Dreamcast & Saturn ODE

Post by fernan1234 »

Mobiusstriptech wrote:Yeah and transcend cards also cause audio stuttering. I don't work for TerraOnion but I did spend hundreds of hours fixing the ssds3. I'd say I probably know better than most what it's capabilities were for audio and video. But please do tell me about my defensiveness. I love when I come to shmups and can be reminded of why I left.
Then I guess it's picking your poison with noisless but stuttering Transcend cards, or buzzing but non-stuttering cards like Sandisk...

Anyway, this topic was about MODE, and if you actually read my two posts before your unnecessarily apologetic interjection you'd find that I only expressed optimism about it. When others asked about the previous TO products I listed issues they had, and concluded that it is likely that MODE will be free of issues. Was that not clear enough?
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