Dreamcast - starting from zero

[shmupsrocks]

I'd like to be able to play all of the Dreamcast shmups. I'm mainly interested in original physical games but also interested in learning about playing ROMs (if something like that exists). What do I need as far as hardware?

Are there different console revisions to consider?

What is the best way to handle imports?

I'd like to be able to play on a BVM (max 480i) and a plasma. Do I have to forgo the 480p games on the BVM and if so, are any of them shmups (official or homebrew)?

What should I do for cables? Should I get an RGB BNC cable for the BVM and an HDMI cable for the plasma? Will either of those add any input lag compared to other connection types? I don't want to use an external scaler.

[neorichieb1971]

Get 2 DC's. One for an ODE emulator that has everything on one SD card.

Another that plays physical games.

As for region free, I have a launch JP unit and I use a swap disc for anything that isn't Japanese. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/134599992358 ... R7Ct69ubYg

The cover disc itself is region free. You load it up to the menu where the disc swaps, take out the disc and replace it with your non region compliant game, select quit on the menu and the game boots as normal. If this seems cumbersome you need a mod.

For shooters, some don't like RGB and require jiggery pokery of which I know nothing about, but most work fine in RGB, so just choose whichever RGB connection you have. HDMI will use the VGA output to convert and also has issues with those non compliant games. You know which games they are, as the game will boot to the white screen then just keep rebooting.

[Konsolkongen]

You can get a region free bios installed so the system will play everything. As for non VGA compatible games, luckily those are few and the system will simply refuse to play them with an error message.

You should go for one of the earlier Dreamcasts with Yamaha GD-ROM drive. They are much more reliable than Samsungs in my experience. And less noisy as well

Unfortunately there is no easy way to play from both physical and SD card. Hopefully there will be one day. I have a spare Dreamcast with a dead drive where I installed a GDEMU clone. Only used it once. I think the user interface is terrible in that it doesn’t support folders, and you can’t just drag and drop games onto the SD card easily, like you can with devices like the Satiator.

The Terraonion Mode is a more expensive alternative, but it seems to work much better.

[Steven]

VA2 Dreamcasts are not compatible with MIL-CDs, and the MODE ODE also does not work on the VA2. Pretty sure the MODE is considered to be the best Dreamcast (and Saturn) ODE right now, but it is fairly expensive. Either way, get a VA0 or VA1 so you can play MIL-CDs.

If you want HDMI, the best thing you can do is DCDigital. There's a new version out now and it looks really awesome. You will have to cut a hole in your Dreamcast to install it, so best to get a new case so you don't have to ruin the original case. After that, the best option is probably the official Sega VGA box with the OSSC. I wouldn't bother with those Beharbros HDMI boxes; they aren't that great to begin with, and then when you compare them to what you can get with the OSSC and the Sega VGA box, it becomes even more apparent.

[fernan1234]

My 2 cents: Just get a VA1 Dreamcast of whatever region you want, gut the disc drive and put a GDEMU clone in it. No worries about game regions. If you don't want to deal with the GDMenu setup or interface, you can simply put whatever game's GDI you want in a folder named 01 in the SD card root and it'll boot up just as if it were a real disc. Plug the console to your BVM with an RGB cable of your choice and that's it. If you then also want to play on your plasma the two best routes would be either a DCDigital mod or connecting the RGB output to a game scaler like the Retrotink 5X or GBS-C.

There's a few other things you can do to improve QoL details like a Noctua fan replacement if the stock fan is too loud for your taste, battery mod, etc., but none of this is essential IMO.

[Steven]

I forgot to mention S-video. It's the highest quality video signal that every game is compatible with, and on my big Trinitron it looks really good, to the point where I am satisfied with S-video and don't really feel a need to get anything better to use on the CRT. I still prefer to use VGA + OSSC on my PC monitor, though I'd also consider trying S-video, especially if you want to play something that doesn't work with anything better.

[Konsolkongen]

The vast majority of games support VGA it’s not a big issue. If OP goes the piracy route there are VGA patched versions of some of the unsupported games.

For 480i I would definitely go with RGB. I have modified my official Sega VGA box to switch between both, there must be third party options that can do the same?

[Steven]

I would use RGB or VGA as well if my CRT actually had either of those, but it doesn't. Even my PC monitor, which does actually have a VGA input, doesn't treat the DTV signal the way it should, and it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as it does through the OSSC, so no choice but to use the OSSC. I would absolutely love to connect it to my New Astro City somehow, though. That would be super amazing. It would also be way easier to just go get a NAOMI, but...

This does make me want to set up the Dreamcast again, though. It's a very nice little system.

[bobrocks95]

The Dreamcast does use an IDE bus for the disc drive that you can solder a connector to in order to keep your GD-ROM drive and load games off of a hard drive. The problem is that right now all the available boards are ugly-looking things where you cut plastic or have a fat cable sticking out the back of your unit. I reached out to a few people and found that someone was working on an M.2 drive compatible adapter that would work entirely internally, but they said it wouldn't be ready any time soon. All the focus is on GDEMU and removing your disc drive completely, unfortunately like with most ODEs.

[shmupsrocks]

I think I'll stick with original games.

I'll get a Yamaha drive North American region VA0 or VA1 console since I want to play MIL-CD homebrew games.

For imports it sounds like I can either use a swap disc or install a new BIOS chip. Know of anyone willing to perform the BIOS mod? Otherwise I'll go with a swap disc.

I'll get an RGB BNC cable for the BVM and forget connecting to the plasma for now. If I want to try a PC monitor instead of the BVM I just need the VGA Box or would I likely want a scaler too?

Which games aren't compatible with VGA? Are all games compatible with 480i or do some only work with 480p?

Can anyone shed more light on the following? Is there an issue with certain shmups and RGB?

For shooters, some don't like RGB and require jiggery pokery of which I know nothing about, but most work fine in RGB, so just choose whichever RGB connection you have.

[Konsolkongen]

The Dreamcast does use an IDE bus for the disc drive that you can solder a connector to in order to keep your GD-ROM drive and load games off of a hard drive. The problem is that right now all the available boards are ugly-looking things where you cut plastic or have a fat cable sticking out the back of your unit. I reached out to a few people and found that someone was working on an M.2 drive compatible adapter that would work entirely internally, but they said it wouldn't be ready any time soon. All the focus is on GDEMU and removing your disc drive completely, unfortunately like with most ODEs.

Nice I think there is a custom BIOS where you can switch between original BIOS and Dreamshell by pressing start on boot. I believe it defaults to Dreamshell with no press (should really be the other way around IMO) but that would make for a super clean setup and not having to cripple your console by removing the drive

[shmupsrocks]

I'm still trying to figure out the game resolution/VGA compatibility thing. Are all games compatible with 480i or do some only work with 480p?

[fernan1234]

I'm still trying to figure out the game resolution/VGA compatibility thing. Are all games compatible with 480i or do some only work with 480p?

All games work with 480i via composite and S-video, and also via RGB (usually SCART, but VGA cables/boxes can be modified to use 480i RGB too) except for a couple of rare NTSC exceptions. A large majority of the library also supports 480p via VGA, and almost all of the rest can be "forced" to also display in 480p.

[WarChild]

If you plan on sticking to original games and want shmups....be prepared to pay. These days I just play on my Dreamcast with a MODE installed in my cab. It's quick and easy to jump between games and would be my recommendation now I've done both.

I've got the MODE dreamcast via VGA to a Loewe CRT in 480P in my cab.
Dreamcast with Region Free bios with DCHDMI to flat panel
And my OG Pal Dreamcast from launch with a full PAL Dreamcast set to CRT

And in all honestly, I'd just get a Dreamcast with MODE now if I started again. Does auto VGA patching and region switching.

[neorichieb1971]

Giga Wing, Skies of Arcadia/Eternal Arcadia, Street Fighter Alpha/Zero 3, Super Street Fighter 2 X, Touken Retsuden 4 , Vampire Chronicle for Matching Service, Pop 'n' Musc do not work with RGB out of the box.

I think Metal Jesus did a video where he forced Gigawing into 480p or RGB and it was ok until level 2 and then stuttered and crawled and was basically unplayable. But my memory on it is fuzzy at best.

[Bassa-Bassa]

Has there ever been an attempt to answer why there were these few selected games not supporting 15khz RGB and even how is it possible from a technical standpoint? They had to be specifically coded for it, right?

And in all honestly, I'd just get a Dreamcast with MODE now if I started again. Does auto VGA patching and region switching.

Or better yet, get a GD-Emu for less money and avoid supporting a shit company like that behind MODE. Just make sure your console is compatible.

[Lord of Pirates]

Has there ever been an attempt to answer why there were these few selected games not supporting 15khz RGB and even how is it possible from a technical standpoint? They had to be specifically coded for it, right?

And in all honestly, I'd just get a Dreamcast with MODE now if I started again. Does auto VGA patching and region switching.

Or better yet, get a GD-Emu for less money and avoid supporting a shit company like that behind MODE. Just make sure your console is compatible.

Please elaborate.

[Konsolkongen]

Has there ever been an attempt to answer why there were these few selected games not supporting 15khz RGB and even how is it possible from a technical standpoint? They had to be specifically coded for it, right?

And in all honestly, I'd just get a Dreamcast with MODE now if I started again. Does auto VGA patching and region switching.

Or better yet, get a GD-Emu for less money and avoid supporting a shit company like that behind MODE. Just make sure your console is compatible.

There are no technical reasons why they wouldn’t support 480i RGBs. I think some developers in US and JAP territory forgot to check that box when they compiled the game. Some of the mentioned games do support RGBs in some regions. Skies of Arcadia in PAL for example (but is 50Hz only), and I think the US version of Giga Wing supports it too.

[neorichieb1971]

If you can be bothered to watch the whole thing it goes through a lot of what the devs had in mind -

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

[Bassa-Bassa]

Has there ever been an attempt to answer why there were these few selected games not supporting 15khz RGB and even how is it possible from a technical standpoint? They had to be specifically coded for it, right?

And in all honestly, I'd just get a Dreamcast with MODE now if I started again. Does auto VGA patching and region switching.

Or better yet, get a GD-Emu for less money and avoid supporting a shit company like that behind MODE. Just make sure your console is compatible.

Please elaborate.

A too long history of arrogance and mistreat at their customers to sum it up here, I'm afraid. You can make a search here for their flawed SSDS3 release and how it developed to get a hint, but ask those who purchased anything just before they moved outside euro zone or need a firmware update for their device. I also think their ODEs usually feel like everlasting WIP projects, but to be honest, I stopped paying attention years ago.

There are no technical reasons why they wouldn’t support 480i RGBs. I think some developers in US and JAP territory forgot to check that box when they compiled the game. Some of the mentioned games do support RGBs in some regions. Skies of Arcadia in PAL for example (but is 50Hz only), and I think the US version of Giga Wing supports it too.

It indeed looks like that. But what bugs me is that it could be required to "check a box" when compiling to get a game outputting 15khz RGB. I could, still with some effort, believe that for something like s-video, but for RGB? How come it's just not something the console itself commands?

If you can be bothered to watch the whole thing it goes through a lot of what the devs had in mind -

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

Does that really touch the subject of no 15khz RGB or is it just a why no 480p as it promises to be?

[Lord of Pirates]

A too long history of arrogance and mistreat at their customers to sum it up here, I'm afraid. You can make a search here for their flawed SSDS3 release and how it developed to get a hint, but ask those who purchased anything just before they moved outside euro zone or need a firmware update for their device. I also think their ODEs usually feel like everlasting WIP projects, but to be honest, I stopped paying attention years ago.

Thanks, I get the general idea.

[Restart_Point]

I have an unmodded UK dreamcast and so far have just burnt CDrs with CDI game images using ImgBurn, I have pretty much every shmup and dont recall finding one that doesnt work in 480p

I use the retrogamingcables 480p RGB cable https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/seg ... -480P-MODE

This has a 480i / 480p switch and converts the VGA 480p signal to 480p RGB Scart, which is not a standard signal for Scart to carry but the RetroTink 5x can accept it fine and upcale to 1080p HDMI. The OSSC can accept this signal too I believe.

[shmupsrocks]

Can I connect the Dreamcast to a PC CRT and BVM at the same time and play it on one or the other without a scaler?

[Mikey]

Does the plasma not have a 15-pin PC a.k.a. VGA input?

Also, what's the plasma's native resolution?

I use an 852 x 480 plasma set to 4:3 mode for Dreamcast, and I find it the best way to see Dreamcast games, especially the 3D ones. As others have said, some DC games won't display in VGA mode if playing straight from the disc. I'm thinking of Bangai-O and Gunbird 2.

One thing to note about DC VGA output, is that it outputs 720 x 480, or something like that, while the visible information is contained in a 640 x 480 box, so the image you get on a plasma in VGA mode is always slightly narrower than it should be. If the plasma display allows for geometry controls you can fix it by making the image wider.

[shmupsrocks]

I don't think I'll connect this to the plasma for now but I'd like to be able to play on the BVM and on a PC CRT. Is it possible to connect to both and play on one or the other without swapping cables around?

[Mikey]

There are cables that allow switching between 480i RGB mode and 480p VGA mode, but they only terminate in a SCART connector.

https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/seg ... -480P-MODE

As far as I know, there isn't a cable that splits into VGA and interlaced RGB.

I'd connect to the BVM only. That way you get to play all games, except for the few that prohibit RGB, but they will work over composite anyway.

At the moment I'm only playing 3D games on Dreamcast, so I'm happy with VGA mode on the plasma. If I want to play games like GigaWing, Mars Matrix or Marvel vs Capcom I'll play them on CPS2. Games like Shikigami no Shiro 2 and Under Defeat look superb on the plasma. Even in 4:3 mode the image on the 42 inch plasma is over 32 inches.

[tacoguy64]

Dont have too much to add from what many have already suggested. For your video solution, I recommend an adapter like the TORO from Behar Bros. It has SCART so you can connect it to your BVM with a simple SCART to BNC adapter. And the TORO also has VGA so you can also connect it straight to VGA on your plasma. And if your plasma doesnt have VGA, you can get VGA to HDMI/Component cables. There is also the DC Digital, which is an HDMI mod.

As for ROMS, they do have a couple of ODE emulators. The two main ones are the MODE and the GDEmu. I got a MODE myself, and I really like it. Tho you wont be able to use physical disc like you want to do. You may need to keep an eye out for a 2nd console that has a bad drive.

[Taiyaki]

Get 2 DC's. One for an ODE emulator that has everything on one SD card.

Another that plays physical games.

This is exactly what I've done. The ODE DC is absolutely phenomenal, on top of handling all imports it also can double as an semi consolized Atomiswave since you can run all the Atomiswave games too.

The ODE DC can also play Skies of Arcadia through RGB (not possible with the actual disc) with the modded version (which still uses the same saves), and can run Shenmue in english with Japanese dub (to better pair with Shenmue II, which of course it will also run). It's also possible to play House of the Dead 2 and Confidential Mission with the official Sega lightgun (not compatible on US copies of the games)!

[Konsolkongen]

PAL Skies of Arcadia supports RGB. Unfortunately only at 50Hz.

[kitty666cats]

PAL Skies of Arcadia supports RGB. Unfortunately only at 50Hz.

There’s a PAL 60Hz patch that also supports VGA, it seems some people out there have had occasional issues running it though.

https://japanese-cake.livejournal.com/6434.html