Sega Saturn CD - Cracked after 20 years

[Zen]

Haven't seen this posted here yet. Please lock if old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E

Skip to 17:04 sec. to see it in action.

[bobrocks95]

I saw this, and it was very interesting, but haven't Saturn drive emulators been around for a while already? They don't slot into the video card input, but they do the same thing...

[BuckoA51]

This looks much better than that. First of all it can use USB storage rather than just SD. Secondly you don't need to remove the CD drive if you don't want to. Thirdly it appears to support sub-directories, so it's pretty cool.

[beatsgo]

I saw this, and it was very interesting, but haven't Saturn drive emulators been around for a while already? They don't slot into the video card input, but they do the same thing...

Thing is he's more concern on playing games from a external storage while bypassing the CD DRM protection. The problems as mentioned in the video:
(1) Requires specially made disc with wobble lines etched on the edges of the Disc
(2) The CD Drive has its own CPU and OS which hasn't been fully understood until recently
(3) The CD drive itself is sooner or later going to die off

[blizzz]

It's a very interesting project, but a bit disappointing that he only made it for himself. Maybe krikzz can jump in and make a Saturn Everdrive x7.

[beatsgo]

Oh did I mentioned this fruition is also taking a different approach on loading games?
http://assemblergames.com/l/threads/sat ... urn.52526/

[Fudoh]

It's a very interesting project, but a bit disappointing that he only made it for himself.

in the video he clearly states that this was his prototype and he definitely wants to make them available for purchase.

[blizzz]

I must have missed that. But why does it say "FYI: This is not a commercial product." in the description?

[bobrocks95]

This looks much better than that. First of all it can use USB storage rather than just SD. Secondly you don't need to remove the CD drive if you don't want to. Thirdly it appears to support sub-directories, so it's pretty cool.

I saw this, and it was very interesting, but haven't Saturn drive emulators been around for a while already? They don't slot into the video card input, but they do the same thing...

Thing is he's more concern on playing games from a external storage while bypassing the CD DRM protection. The problems as mentioned in the video:
(1) Requires specially made disc with wobble lines etched on the edges of the Disc
(2) The CD Drive has its own CPU and OS which hasn't been fully understood until recently
(3) The CD drive itself is sooner or later going to die off

I get that it's obviously better than replacing the drive (assuming you don't own the MPEG edition of Lunar), but why does the video emphasize that this is the first time Saturn copy protection has been cracked? What makes it so fundamentally different than the Rhea/Phoebe to warrant the statement?

[Fudoh]

I must have missed that. But why does it say "FYI: This is not a commercial product." in the description?

I think because he doesn't have a timeline yet for an "end-consumer" product.

What makes it so fundamentally different than the Rhea/Phoebe to warrant the statement?

iirc: Rhea emulates the decription system, so the system believes that the copy protection is intact, while he manipulates the CD protection system and disables it.

[bobrocks95]

Interesting. Watching again he was also able to get the ROM for the disc board/CPU which presumably hadn't been done before, but he hasn't released it yet for some reason.

[zakruowrath]

I can't wait till this thing gets sold to the public. I found out by Shane McRetro posting it on Twitter last night and was super happy that finally in the near future we'll have an option to keep the CD Drive in and simply slide a card into the slot that in most Saturns are empty with anyway.

I skimmed through the Assembler Games Forums on the subject and apparently it will be able to play all region ISO's, CUE's on any system region as well so no need to have the old style mod chip that requires the soldering and opening up the Saturn, it would be nice to play imports really easily.

Who knows what else the thing may do, he created for the 32 channel sound chip but expanded it to something everyone would want to use for the Saturn not just musicians.

There is a header for the Micro SD card slot on his prototype so I would think, he will either have an option to have either USB or Micro SD, or just have both and let the end user decide with they would like to use.

I personally would want Micro SD for mine, I mean prices are coming down on solid state memory and the complete US Saturn collection is only 83 GB apparently, 91 GB for the PAL collection. Not sure about the Japanese collection, either way I'd only back up the games I have and $10 for a 32 GB Class 10 Micro SD card is nothing really.

And yes I know about Rhea, but with this, people will be able to keep their Saturn's pretty much stock, and remove it if they don't want the system to be modded anymore ^~^

[BazookaBen]

Yeah, this is a more accessible solution, and nobody's mentioned the fact that the Rhea is basically permanently backordered. The guy can't keep up with demand.

So I'm happy to see a new solution, so more people will be able to play their saturns. And the amount of information this guy has discovered about hardware is also very important for the community as a whole.

Also, this is a very well-produced video. It's like watching a mystery documentary, but instead of it being about a murder, it's about cracking Saturn's encryption.

[masqdgamer]

I'll definitely be getting one if this thing ever sees the light of day.
Not holding my breath though. Next step will probably be some kickstarter thing.

[bobrocks95]

So I'm happy to see a new solution, so more people will be able to play their saturns. And the amount of information this guy has discovered about hardware is also very important for the community as a whole.

Assuming he shares it with the community.

[BazookaBen]

Assuming he shares it with the community.

In the video he said he was sharing his findings with emulator developers.

[bobrocks95]

In the video he said he was sharing his findings with emulator developers.

He plans to, but hasn't posted the ROM for the CD drive yet. I think he will, but lots of people in the homebrew community plan to do things that never happen.

[Shoryukev]

no need to have the old style mod chip that requires the soldering and opening up the Saturn, it would be nice to play imports really easily.

Installing the mod chip in the saturn only requires soldering one wire, and you still need an action replay to play imports that require RAM upgrades. I thought playing backups and imports on the saturn was really painless already honestly. The big draw for me on something like this is being able to save systems from being thrown away that have bad CD drives.....eventually at some point more and more will go bad.

[Star1]

In the video he said he was sharing his findings with emulator developers.

He plans to, but hasn't posted the ROM for the CD drive yet. I think he will, but lots of people in the homebrew community plan to do things that never happen.

Actually he has stated that he will never post the ROM for legal and professional reasons. But he assumes that once some boards are sold someone else will do it (yes, the board will allow dumping the ROM).

[kamiboy]

I have to wonder why people are always so scared of releasing firmware roms for older consoles and computers. In a world where I am one google search from downloading a life imprisonment worth of copyrighted material, and routinely do so, will anyone really care about the dumping of a CD firmware for a 20 year old system that creator company barely even remembers or acknowledges anymore?

I guess that even though it is a pirate's life for me, that certainly does not seem to so be for everyone.

[Guspaz]

Everything in the Saturn is still under copyright, and probably will be for the next 100 years or so. He just got his PhD and wants to work in industry, so his stance is perfectly understandable.

[kamiboy]

Bah, lily livered land lubber I say!

[AndehX]

im just hoping Krikzz gets his hands on this and creates an everdrive

[masqdgamer]

im just hoping Krikzz gets his hands on this and creates an everdrive

that would be the best possible outcome.

[kamiboy]

Well, the thing this guy is working on is basically a flash cart for the Saturn. It sounds like he does plan to sell them in the future.

[AndehX]

yeah well the way I see it, if he doesn't sell it, and doesn't share the rom for the cd drive, then somebody else will eventually crack it and share it.

[deltronik]

This is great news and much better than the previous solutions available on the Saturn. I've wanted one of the rhea/phoebe boards too, but I never seem to catch when preorders are open and since the encryption has actually been cracked, not just emulated, this is on a whole nother level!

[LDigital]

Some spare rheas are going on sale this weekend. Check back there daily

[Blair]

this sounds fantastic, so this will basically be a universal flash card for the Sega Saturn?

one of the main reasons I've put off buying a rhea/phoebe is because of how complicated it is to figure out which version of the Saturn they work with.

if he can make this about as ubiquitous and plug-and-play as an everdrive it could revolutionize Saturn retro gaming!

(makes me wonder if something similar could be done with the expansion port on older PlayStation's)

[BuckoA51]

makes me wonder if something similar could be done with the expansion port on older PlayStation's

Do keep up http://ps-io.com/store/psio-cartridge/