Dreamcast purchase considerations

[treismac]

I've been tossing around the idea of buying a Dreamcast for a while and I think I'm ready to make it happen. Before I do, I want to ask if there are any basic things to look out for in purchasing a Dreamcast. So here goes my list of questions:

Bigger concerns

* My (newly googled) understanding is that there were three versions of the Dreamcast, with the first two being more reliable than the last. Is this accurate? Are there any other differences between the different versions?

* Can all versions of the Dreamcast console play burned CD-Rs games?

* Supposedly fixing/replacing/aligning the laser for the Dreamcast is pretty easy. Does your experience bear this out?

* How well do the controllers hold out? I haven't held a Dreamcast controller since 2000, so I haven't a clue if the controllers maintain well or atrophy to hell and back.

Lesser concerns

* More or less, are the Dreamcast emulators (http://www.dcemulation.org/?title=Emulators) (emulators of other systems (i.e. NES, Atari 2600, C64, etc.) on the Dreamcast) pretty good and user friendly? Is such and such emulator outstanding but such and such emulator garbage?

* Are there any controller adapters out on the market that would allow me to play the Dreamcast's emulators with other original system controllers or usb controller?

* About how much is a good going rate for a Dreamcast with one or two controllers and all the hookups? $30-40?


Thanks!

[SOL BADGUY]

NullDC is the best Dreamcast emulator right now, and the best version to download is at emuparadise, its pretty darn good, but I haven made a ton of progress in the games Im playing, so Ill update as I go along. Im happy with it now. The only issue is a shadow glitch in Soul Calibur and Dead Or Alive 2, and SC's opening scene is glitchy.

Theres two versions of the Dreamcast basically, Model 1 that was made before Oct 2000 is the only one that plays cdr copies, and you need cdi files that self boot, or the Utopia boot disk software you burn onto a cdr to play them. You need Disk Juggler to burn games that are bigger than 700mb to cdr disks.

The Saturn did have a better controller than the Dreamcast, and Ive seen on Game Sack Joe had an adapter for it. You use the Kurakura setting in maple on NullDC to use a usb controller to play games. Dreamcast controllers are very common, so dont really worry about them breaking down.

This guys channel is pretty good for Dreamcast info.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKsWwi7qIE

Its because of that tuning that I dont trust Dreamcasts sellers on Craigs List, Id buy a Dreamcast from a good friendly retro store though that would understand if it died in 3 months of buying it. I dont know how reliable the model 1 is, but I hope its better than the model 2.

[BricatSegaFan]

NullDC is the best Dreamcast emulator right now, and the best version to download is at emuparadise, its pretty darn good, but I haven made a ton of progress in the games Im playing, so Ill update as I go along. Im happy with it now. The only issue is a shadow glitch in Soul Calibur and Dead Or Alive 2, and SC's opening scene is glitchy.

Theres two versions of the Dreamcast basically, Model 1 that was made before Oct 2000 is the only one that plays cdr copies, and you need cdi files that self boot, or the Utopia boot disk software you burn onto a cdr to play them. You need Disk Juggler to burn games that are bigger than 700mb to cdr disks.

The Saturn did have a better controller than the Dreamcast, and Ive seen on Game Sack Joe had an adapter for it. You use the Kurakura setting in maple on NullDC to use a usb controller to play games. Dreamcast controllers are very common, so dont really worry about them breaking down.

This guys channel is pretty good for Dreamcast info.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cKsWwi7qIE

Its because of that tuning that I dont trust Dreamcasts sellers on Craigs List, Id buy a Dreamcast from a good friendly retro store though that would understand if it died in 3 months of buying it. I dont know how reliable the model 1 is, but I hope its better than the model 2.

I have 3 dreamcasts, they are pretty cheap so why not just buy one. I have my original and the other two I picked up from a flea market and craigslist. I didn't spend more than 20 bucks for the last two.

I can understand having concerns if you were buying a more expensive console like an AES or Sega CDX, but the Dreamcast is relatively cheap so there really isn't a reason to emulate one, unless you wanna see glitchy dreamcast games.

[Polygon]

I agree, you can get them so cheap right now. If you're interested in the Dreamcast there's no reason not to have one. I would try and find the first or second release of the system, but I wouldn't be so concerned over it that it would keep me from buying one.

[theclaw]

Most systems can load CD-R games.

Immediate cold boot for imported GD-ROM games (in the manner of domestic retail games) requires a hardware mod.
Meaning without any form of swap trick, boot disc, or otherwise.

[Solo_Skywalker]

I agree with the previous posters, Dreamcasts are so cheap and readily available there is little reason to worry. I have a few of them and if one does die it is easy enough to just go get another one. Don't worry to much, just go grab one, or two.

[Drixxel]

For the record, I believe that treismac, in inquiring about Dreamcast emulators, was referring to emulators that run on a Dreamcast rather than Dreamcast emulation on PC as it's been interpreted by a couple posters. This isn't really helpful at all, but the only emulator I can remember trying out on a Dreamcast was an Intellivision one and it had the same awkwardness in dealing with keypad controls mapped to a gamepad as any Intellivision emulator on console.

[SOL BADGUY]

This isn't really helpful at all, but the only emulator I can remember trying out on a Dreamcast was an Intellivision one and it had the same awkwardness in dealing with keypad controls mapped to a gamepad as any Intellivision emulator on console.

Yeah you need to make sure you can have a controller with as many buttons as you need to do all the inputs with.


I just gave my 2 cents on stuff. I dont know how many Dreamcasts have died over the last decade, I wish I knew, but the only version worth getting is the model 1 that can play cdr copies of games, because you can run into high prices for all the best Dreamcast games.

[treismac]

Thanks for all of the input, everyone! :)


For the record, I believe that treismac, in inquiring about Dreamcast emulators, was referring to emulators that run on a Dreamcast rather than Dreamcast emulation on PC as it's been interpreted by a couple posters.

Yep. You're correct, Drixxel. I hyperlinked "Dreamcast emulators (http://www.dcemulation.org/?title=Emulators)" to a list of emulators for the Dreamcast in hopes of clarifying what I meant, but it's alright. I'll edit the original post and remove any ambiguity.

[SOL BADGUY]

Thanks for all of the input, everyone! :)



Yep. You're correct, Drixxel. I hyperlinked "Dreamcast emulators (http://www.dcemulation.org/?title=Emulators)" to a list of emulators for the Dreamcast in hopes of clarifying what I meant, but it's alright. I'll edit the original post and remove any ambiguity.

I was going to edit my post about it, but I decided to go to sleep instead, and would have changed it after that, but everyone saw it by then. That being said, I have no clue how good the emulation on it is.

[sisko]

* More or less, are the Dreamcast emulators (http://www.dcemulation.org/?title=Emulators) (emulators of other systems (i.e. NES, Atari 2600, C64, etc.) on the Dreamcast) pretty good and user friendly? Is such and such emulator outstanding but such and such emulator garbage?

Why? Why place the extra wear an tear on a GD drive, when you can play the same games faster and easier through other methods (say on your PC, an emu box, etc)



* Are there any controller adapters out on the market that would allow me to play the Dreamcast's emulators with other original system controllers or usb controller?
There are tons of controller adapters for the Dreamcast. A quick google search would have told you that
https://www.google.com/

[treismac]

Why? Why place the extra wear an tear on a GD drive, when you can play the same games faster and easier through other methods (say on your PC, an emu box, etc)

I had no idea that emulators for the Dreamcast run on CDs, and I don't have an idea of how convenient it is or isn't. I had read that the Dreamcast was a good means of emulation so it seemed liked a worthwhile means of playing emulation on a TV over a computer monitor.


There are tons of controller adapters for the Dreamcast. A quick google search would have told you that
https://www.google.com/

I posted this thread at 3:30 am after about two or so hours of various Dreamcast research. Emulation and controller adapters were an afterthought. I was fairly certain there were adapters of some kind for newer generation controllers, but I was hoping for recommendations/ or acknowledgement that there were some for older systems (Atari 2600, NES, Genesis, etc). I would have been more specific, but, in addition to being very tired, I believe that open-ended questions sometimes get better responses. By the way, embedding a Google url is far more prickish than clever. If you can't be funny when being a jerk (http://bit.ly/YBXgdH), be civil.

[sisko]

I had no idea that emulators for the Dreamcast run on CDs, and I don't have an idea of how convenient it is or isn't. I had read that the Dreamcast was a good means of emulation so it seemed liked a worthwhile means of playing emulation on a TV over a computer monitor.

I posted this thread at 3:30 am after about two or so hours of various Dreamcast research. Emulation and controller adapters were an afterthought. I was fairly certain there were adapters of some kind for newer generation controllers, but I was hoping for recommendations/ or acknowledgement that there were some for older systems (Atari 2600, NES, Genesis, etc). I would have been more specific, but, in addition to being very tired, I believe that open-ended questions sometimes get better responses. By the way, embedding a Google url is far more prickish than clever. If you can't be funny when being a jerk (http://bit.ly/YBXgdH), be civil.

Dreamcast doesn't have any means to read data other than a disc. There are no harddrives, flashdrives, or anything of the ilk as this kind of technology was not available at the time. (Unless someone has a crazy mod that I haven't heard of).

My first question was intended to be inquisitive, not prickish. I personally never used my DC to play emus, my Xbox/PS2 to watch DVDs, my PS3 to play BluRay, etc etc. I believe the excessive wear and tear shortens the life of the system. You may have had a valid reason for doing this, I wouldn't know. If you really wanted to play emulators via a console, I would suggest a modded Xbox. Here, the wear and tear is placed on an easily replacable hard drive, and the underlying hardware is more robust and powerful.

Given that you can now make emu boxes and hook them up to your TV for dirt cheap, it really seems like the way to go. The initial cost will be more, but a) no additional wear and tear on a dedicated console, b) faster and easier to transfer data with either a direct Internet connection or flash media and c) you have tons more options when it comes to controllers

Perhaps maybe even consider a system like the Ouya (http://www.ouya.tv/). Only $100, and many emulators are reported to be available at launch.

To answer your other question, as others have stated, there are a wealth of emulators available on the DC: http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/11086-A-Complete-List-Of-The-Best-Emulators-For-Dreamcast

In regards to your comment about contoller adapters, it was supposed to be prickish. You [admittedly] asked a vague question that could have been easily determined in less time than it took you to type out your question. >.>

With specific mention to your question about adapters for classic controllers, that's a good one. I can't honestly say I've seen one - but per the previous points, is there a point any more? Are you dead set on emulating on your DC? If so, I can't imagine that it would be terribly difficult an nes controller and DC controller together if you are handy enough with a soldering iron (could be a fun project). I think the hardest part would be finding a DC controller PCB that is small enough to fit inside an NES controller shell....it which case you might consder an NES Advantage.

[Daltone]

Dreamcast doesn't have any means to read data other than a disc. There are no harddrives, flashdrives, or anything of the ilk as this kind of technology was not available at the time. (Unless someone has a crazy mod that I haven't heard of).

You can do an SD card Mod. There (was?) a Russian group working on an HDD Mod, but God knows how well things are going with that. An SD Card Mod is pretty easy (Google it) and you can slap all your Emus etc on there.

[otaku]

cheap and I'd say pretty reliable I wouldn't really worry about it. Controllers seem fine to me all of it does no worries game on!