Dreamcast....

Dunnie1982

So after all this talk about bringing Dreamcast games to psn and xbox live I decided to take the Dreamcast down from the attic. The first thing that struck me was how badly designed the controllers are, they are big, clunky and uncomfortable to use after a while. The next thing is that it used a coaxial connector for the tv which on my hdtv looks awful (I have lots of interference on it like lines running through in waves). But besides these little flaws I remembered what a great little system it was. After an hour or so of Crazy Taxi I turned on Virtua Striker 2, which is really addictive and has one more go written all over it. Now I have to get through my games again after 9 long years. What I really want to know is can anyone suggest a way to connect to my tv for a clearer picture (scart, vga ect.)? I think the cable with it is faulty and the cause of the distorted picture so any suggestions would be welcome.

o1s1n

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

So after all this talk about bringing Dreamcast games to psn and xbox live I decided to take the Dreamcast down from the attic. The first thing that struck me was how badly designed the controllers are, they are big, clunky and uncomfortable to use after a while.

Lies! It's a lovely comfortable controller. I'm just using it now actually. The only thing that pisses me off about it is where the cable comes out of it. Bad design.

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

The next thing is that it used a coaxial connector for the tv which on my hdtv looks awful (I have lots of interference on it like lines running through in waves).

It's not the console's fault you're using rubbish cables :P get an RGB scart cable for it. The picture looks gorgeous.

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

anyone suggest a way to connect to my tv for a clearer picture (scart, vga ect.)? I think the cable with it is faulty and the cause of the distorted picture so any suggestions would be welcome.

A proper RGB scart cable. Or if you have a nice monitor, get a VGA box. Both give a lovely crystal clear picture.

As for Dreamcast games, I just got my hands on the Rez beta/proto called 'K Project'. I'm pretty shocked at the difference the new music makes. It's excellent. Really recommend anyone who likes Rez to check it out. You'll love it. There's even a really weird remix of Born Slippy by Underworld.

Dunnie1982

I must get a rgb cable or VGA cable (I have a 37" full hd tv, do you know would this display a signal from this correctly) so, where would the best place to get one be? eBay? On the controller, after a few hours it's starting to "feel right" again, except for the dpad which is cutting the thumb off of me. I wasn't really a fan of Rez. I remember one of my friends had a game where you raced and done tricks on a hoverboard type thing but I can't remember what it was called? I can't wait to have a few friends over for a couple of games of chuchu rocket and sega rally though!

FearDark

It was a fantastic controller!! And Im just jealous that you still have your dreamcast, I gave mine away to some un-appreciative cousins with 40 games who preferred to play frisbee with the disks.

Dunjohn

First thing I noticed when I exhumed my Dreamcast a couple of years ago was how yellow the damned thing had turned.

o1s1n

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

I must get a rgb cable or VGA cable (I have a 37" full hd tv, do you know would this display a signal from this correctly) so, where would the best place to get one be? eBay?

Dreamcast RGB cables usually go for about 15euro delivered on ebay. Which isn't too bad at all.

VGA box will cost you a bit more. I bought mine on ebay from a guy in Canada. Cost 25 delivered. By far the cheapest one you can get.

If your TV has a VGA port then it'll display with the VGA box. It upscales the image so it'll look sharper than an RGB cable.

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

On the controller, after a few hours it's starting to "feel right" again, except for the dpad which is cutting the thumb off of me. I wasn't really a fan of Rez. I remember one of my friends had a game where you raced and done tricks on a hoverboard type thing but I can't remember what it was called? I can't wait to have a few friends over for a couple of games of chuchu rocket and sega rally though!

I think the game you're thinking of is Trickstyle?

Rez is fantastic! It's an absolute work of art. The visuals amaze me. I go into a complete trance like state playing it. Tis great

FearDark wrote: »

It was a fantastic controller!! And Im just jealous that you still have your dreamcast, I gave mine away to some un-appreciative cousins with 40 games who preferred to play frisbee with the disks.

You can pick them up for suprisingly cheap these days.

As for throwing discs about...:mad:I hope they were CD-Rs!

Dunnie1982

FearDark wrote: »

It was a fantastic controller!! And Im just jealous that you still have your dreamcast, I gave mine away to some un-appreciative cousins with 40 games who preferred to play frisbee with the disks.

I only have about 15 original games for it, I had about 30 copied games in a cd wallet but have no idea where it's gone.:( Oh well I'll do with what I have.

Dunjohn wrote: »

First thing I noticed when I exhumed my Dreamcast a couple of years ago was how yellow the damned thing had turned.

Yeah I noticed the same with mine, it looked like it smoked 20 major a day with how yellow it has gotten.

Trickstyle is the name of it yes, thanks for that. I was after forgetting about Shenmue also but I think I'll wait for the world cup to end before I go near it.

Myrddin

Wittnessmenow carried out the native VGA mod for his dreamcast here

Looks really sweet on his screen,

o1s1n

Indeed, it really looks lovely. I still can't believe how old the Dreamcast is whenever I see it connected up to a monitor like that.

Speaking of which, my girlfriend broke her laptop screen. I gave her a lend of my Dreamcast LCD. So no VGA for me anymore

You really need two Dreamcasts - 1 to have connected up to a rotating monitor and then another connected to a CRT for House of the Dead 2!

Dunnie1982

EnterNow wrote: »

Wittnessmenow carried out the native VGA mod for his dreamcast here

Looks really sweet on his screen,

This looks really sharp on that monitor, I'd like to try that myself but I have a bit of a shaky hand where it comes to soldering & would probably mess it up. But tomorrow when I am thinking a little more clearly I'll look into the possibility of giving it a go. I'd prefer a diagram that shows how to rewire a ps2 controller to work with the Dreamcast though, and also a diagram that shows how to wire an N64 controller for PC and map the buttons it is at all possible.

Myrddin

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

This looks really sharp on that monitor, I'd like to try that myself but I have a bit of a shaky hand where it comes to soldering & would probably mess it up. But tomorrow when I am thinking a little more clearly I'll look into the possibility of giving it a go. I'd prefer a diagram that shows how to rewire a ps2 controller to work with the Dreamcast though, and also a diagram that shows how to wire an N64 controller for PC and map the buttons it is at all possible.

Ill get around to doing my own to eventually/some day/soon.

o1s1n

Seeing as you can just get a VGA box, the mod (Although cool) seems a bit pointless.

Dreamcast overclocking is a much more worthwhile project from what I've read. There are quite a lot of games that would benefit from slowdown being removed.

Myrddin

o1s1n wrote: »

Seeing as you can just get a VGA box, the mod (Although cool) seems a bit pointless.

Dreamcast overclocking is a much more worthwhile project from what I've read. There are quite a lot of games that would benefit from slowdown being removed.

I guess I'd do it for the "coolness" factor, consoles with unofficial switches ALWAYS peak my interest But then again, while I had the lid off Id prob carry out both mods.

corblimey

Dunnie1982 wrote: »

I'd prefer a diagram that shows how to rewire a ps2 controller to work with the Dreamcast though, and also a diagram that shows how to wire an N64 controller for PC and map the buttons it is at all possible.

Why not just get one of these? I got one and it works brilliantly. I think my fingers are too fat to get comfortable with the DC controller for any length of time, I end up rubbing one of my fingers uncomfortably against the sticky out part at the back. But now I can use a PS2 controller and I'm back to DC playing for hours and hours on end.