SD Adapter For Dreamcast Released 130
Posted
by
timothy
from the for-all-you-dreamers dept.
from the for-all-you-dreamers dept.
YokimaSun writes "The Dreamcast was the last console by Sega that had innovations that today's consoles have taken on board, i.e. broadband online gaming and innovative gaming controllers (such as the fishing controller). The console still lives on today, thanks to the support of the homebrew community that still churns out games and emulators and also the odd commercial release for the console by independent developers. Today the spark has been ignited by the fascinating release of an SD adapter for the Dreamcast that allows homebrew games to be played without the need to burn to disc. It's time to dust off those Dreamcast consoles and get back into free gaming. The same company have also released a Dreamcast modified with VGA support and a front-loading SD slot and its own BIOS. Awesome to relive some of those Dreamcast classics."
Re:Broadband online gaming? (Score:5, Informative)
Dreamcast came stock with a 56k but there was a rare "broadband adapter" that would swap the 56k for an ethernet socket. They are probably still a pretty hot item on ebay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast_Broadband_Adapter [wikipedia.org]
Re:Broadband online gaming? (Score:3, Informative)
The inclusion of the modem at least brought /online/ gaming to consoles if not broadband gaming. They did make a not-widely-available Ethernet interface for it, however.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcast_Broadband_Adapter
VGA (Score:3, Informative)
"The same company have also released a Dreamcast modified with VGA support"
The Dreamcast always has had VGA support.
Dreamcast VGA [wikipedia.org]
Re:VGA (Score:1, Informative)
That's VGA support by an external VGA box. TFA refers to a dreamcast with a built in VGA adapter.
Re:Hope not! (Score:2, Informative)
Commercialization of an old hack from 2008 (Score:3, Informative)
FWIW the SD card modification was invented back in 2008 by a Japanese guy here:
http://f17.aaa.livedoor.jp/~takotako/dcserial_ft232bm.php#sdcard
It's an internal mod as the serial port connector is very hard to come by. All this company did was make an external version and package it with (I'm assuming) a CD-R packed with emulators and ROMs without the respective author's permission.
It's a cool product, but it would have been cooler if the original guy who did the hardware hack (and the emulator authors who are getting ripped off) could somehow have been compensated for their hard work which made this product possible.
I know I'm dreaming, console products out of China are all rip-offs so they have zero R&D expenses.
Make your own for free, it's based off a free mod (Score:4, Informative)
Re:VGA (Score:1, Informative)
"That's VGA support by an external VGA box."
Poor boy couldn't afford to build their own VGA cable?
"The VGA adapter itself consists of merely a plastic case providing space for the VGA port and AV out (Composite, S-Video, and audio via RCA and/or 3.5mm TRS)."
It was built natively into the box, son.
"If pin 6 and pin 7 on the Dreamcast's A/V out is connected to the ground, the Dreamcast switches to VGA mode"
Re:It's been 11 years ... just emulate it on your (Score:3, Informative)
Why go to all the trouble of hardware hacks and improvements on technology that is that old?
Because it's a console. Advantages of consoles over PCs include SDTV output as a standard feature, a guaranteed minimum performance level of the hardware, and a culture of actually using the two to four controller ports for local multiplayer gaming [pineight.com]. The Dreamcast just lacks the disadvantage of a lockout chip.
Re:VGA (Score:2, Informative)
Not only is he an ass, he forgets to mention that some early games won't work with the VGA adapter at all...so built-in VGA would still need to include a switch to set it back to composite/s-video mode for those games.
Re:It's been 11 years ... just emulate it on your (Score:3, Informative)
I've got nice big hands, and the PSX controller sucks. I liked it at first, but the more I use it the more it cramps my hands. It's essentially an SNES controller with handles hanging off. But the handles mean I can't rest the controller on my fingers like I used to, I have to grasp the handles. I've tried not grasping the handles, it requires sustained concentration, not natural at all. Problem is, the handles on the PSX controller are thin and straight. So I end up really curling my fingers around it, cramps right up.
The Logitech Dual-Action [pacstarcomputer.com.au], now there's a nice controller. See the nice big grips, those fill up all the space in my palms. I can play forever with that thing. It has an actual d-pad too. It's superior to the PSX controller in every way but one, the square holes around the analog sticks. I mean, wtf.
Re:Welcome news (Score:3, Informative)
Personally, I grabbed 3 partially busted DCs at a local thriftshop for $5 apiece and then combined them into a single working unit. Took about 30 minutes and all I needed was a screwdriver.
Re:VGA (Score:1, Informative)
The Dreamcast always had hardware VGA support. The Dreamcast 'VGA Box' was just glorified cable -- not an upscale converter like you would need for other consoles.
Games would even list if they supported VGA resolution on the back of the case. This isn't a new hack, it's part of the stock system.
Re:It's been 11 years ... just emulate it on your (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It's been 11 years ... just emulate it on your (Score:3, Informative)
Because it's fun?
Compact Flash card for Apple IIs: http://dreher.net/?s=projects/CFforAppleII&c=projects/CFforAppleII/main.php [dreher.net]
(I have no connection, though a friend has written some of the drivers)