Dreamcast rant

[Invader_dag]

glad it's working for you!! and uh, don`t spend to much time 'playing' DOA2 now

[Gabriel]

glad it's working for you!! and uh, don`t spend to much time 'playing' DOA2 now

 

Not to worry. I have DOA3 and DOAXBV for my X-Box for their 'play value'.

[gavv]

People with pirate copies of games destroy their DC's evntually because a lot of people don't know how to ... nevermind.  

 

This is 100% correct. I know quite a few people who have Dreamcasts, and the ONLY ones that have had problems with them are the ones who use CD-R's in it. For some reason the DC does NOT like CD-R discs, and in a way rightfully so. Pirated games are part of the reason why the Dreamcast "failed". However, homebrew games have to go somewhere too, and I don't think most people have the means of getting their own projects duped.

 

The moral of the story? Don't put CD-Rs in your DC!

 

Actually I've not used CD-R's in mine, but i have had problems with it reading a legit storebought game. Luckily it was only a 3.99 copy of Maximum Pool that I had found at a Meijer, so it wasn't too heartbreaking

 

gavv

[RMila75]

What physical harm could a CD-R possibly do except for the fact that the system may just refuse to read it?

[joeybastard]

What physical harm could a CD-R possibly do except for the fact that the system may just refuse to read it?

 

When playing a CD-R version of a DC game, the DC CD drive works much harder then with a genuine DC GD-Rom. Try it and listen to the drive spin and jump around much more then witha genuine disc. I only use real DC disks not only to prolong the life of my DC but out of respect to the developers here on AA. I do use emulators on my DC but as NE146 has pointed out, the games are so small and the load time is fast so the CDR isn't beating the crap out of my DC.

[RMila75]

I guess I'm a little ignorant of what a GD-ROM actually is. I always assumed it was the same as a normal CD. Of course, I'm not all that technically informed. In theory, is there a way to burn a GD-ROM as an exact replica of the original?

[CPUWIZ]

http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware/cdrom...cd_gd-rom.shtml

[RMila75]

Well, I guess you really do learn something new every day!

One question: that article explains that there is no way to fit a full GD-ROM game on a CD-R, but then says that a mod chip will allow a DC to read a CD-R. Would that work with only "smaller" DC games?

[GaryH917]

I have had my Dreamcast for over a year now, no problem... Awfully loud though! Another system that died before it's time... Did Mr. Tramiel have anything to do with the Dreamcast going under, lol.

[Brian R.]

I've had my Dreamcast for a few years now. It's been perfectly treated. I'm really the only one who's ever used it. It's never been abused, dropped, spilled on or anything.

 

Just recently I've started having problems with it. I've seen graphics errors in games (like Shenmue and Soul Calibur) and I've had one game - Ready 2 Rumble 2 - actually freeze up on me - during a match the background sounds would stop and then it would lock up at the end of hte fight - this happened the first night I brought the game home and I bought it new.

 

The last couple times I've played it, it worked fine. I played Crazy Taxi 2 just a few nights ago with no problems.

 

The only non-game disc I've ever put in my DC is a Utopia boot so I could play Shenmue II.

 

I considered buying a used DC to supplement or replace mine, should it go for good, but if I've treated mine perfectly, how much can I rely on a used one that I don't know how it's been treated? As I see in this thread, my concern was justified.

[+Sauron]

I would imagine that a used one should be fine provided that you test it out to make sure everything works correctly. It shouldn't get any wear and tear on it if you're only holding it as a backup.

[Atariman]

I have never had any problems with my DCs (one bought new, other bought used) but have been wondering how the internet CD might affect it. Anyone who has used it knows how AMAZINGLY loud the DC gets as it goes back and forth from one side of the cd to the other as it gets the information for those stupid little pics it loads up. Would this tend to shorten the life of a DC by using this cd often?

 

Plus, does anyone know if the Phantasy Star Online servers are still up? I kinda remember hearing that they were supposed to shut the down after December of last year. Is this true? Is there any other way to connect DCs and play this in multiplayer mode?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Atariman,

 

The PSO servers are still going strong. SEGA had hinted that there were gonna take em down after the first of the year. Then in the middle of Decemeber they changed their minds and decided to leave the servers up for an undetermined amount of time. I need to get back on and build my character up some more one of these nights...hehe..

[Atariman]

Hey, that's awesome. Looks like I have a reason to find a network adaptor for the DC after all. What version do you have, Crossbow? (sorry, don't know how to make the special character in your name. ) I have V.1 (didn't quite like the idea of having to pay $5 per month for something that I only used every so often)

[TheSmirk]

My DC still works as good as the day I bought it, even with CDRs...but I'm a dummy file guy, why take chances? I had the controller ports blow on me once due to a nasty controller....but that is a REAL easy fix...other than that...its good

 

oh and someone mentioned the date not saving, date is saved on the VMU's.....if you don't play for a while they lose it. Thats because they have 2 batteries that don't last THAT long and when you play consistantly and have the VMU's in the controllers...it take the load offf the batteries, thus the illusion of lasting longer and holding the date better

[ubersaurus]

My dad's DC's controller ports blew out..how did you fix it?

[sdstuff64]

My dreamcast loves me.

 

Now my PS2,well I'm on my third PS2 if that means anything.

[Punisher5.0]

oh and someone mentioned the date not saving, date is saved on the VMU's.....if you don't play for a while they lose it. Thats because they have 2 batteries that don't last THAT long and when you play consistantly and have the VMU's in the controllers...it take the load offf the batteries, thus the illusion of lasting longer and holding the date better

 

The date and time is actually stored in the Dreamcast's internal memory. If the date/time keeps on resetting it means that the battery is probably dead inside the Dreamcast and needs to be replaced.

[Atariman]

If I remember correctly, the battery in the DC was only supposed to last for about a month of non-use before it went dead (according to the user's manual, which I must've read cover-to-cover when I first got my DC ) I think that I also remember that time was kept not only on the DC itself, but on the VMU also. Didn't it have a feature where it would syncronize the VMUs with the DC's internal date and time? (So I guess it was more like the date and time was "officially" kept in the internal memory)

[Gabriel]

All I can assume then is that every DC I've ever seen shipped with a dead battery. The longest I've ever seen a DC keep the clock set for is one week. Constant play and/or VMUs make no difference whatsoever.

 

My original DC requires the clock be set each time the system is powered up. My new current DC requires the clock be set roughly once every two power ups.

 

At least the drive on this "new" one works reliably.

 

Personally, I think the clocks are about the stupidest things on the recent consoles. It's not like you can set the console to do something at a certain time like a VCR, and even if you could, there's no reason to. What are you gonna do?

 

"Oh DAMN! It's vitally important that my DC be running the demo of The Last Blade 2 at noon while I'm at work!"

[TheSmirk]

My dad's DC's controller ports blew out..how did you fix it?

 

Shameless plug: (and also because I don't wanna type it all out here)..I did a writeup on everything2.....

 

http://www.everything2.org/index.pl?lastno...node_id=1340216

 

After reading that if you have any questions post it here , it pretty straightforward

[Atariman]

Really, Gabriel? When were yours manufactured? Mine was one of the last runs, I think (October of.... 2000 (I think this was the year)) and the battery worked quite well right out of the box. I've only had to set the internal clock one time, and that was after I hadn't played it for quite some time.

 

As for the clock, it's kind of necessary for some games like Seaman (not that I actually loved this game) where things evolved over time. I always thought it was kind of a cool feature when it appeared on the Saturn (Oooo! look! The clock in Nights Into Dreams is actually set to the right time!)

 

The clocks on the VMUs, though... I doubt I've seen a VMU last for more than a month... I don't think I would be able to buy enough batteries to keep up with those stupid things.

[Gabriel]

Really, Gabriel?  When were yours manufactured?  

 

My original one says September 1999 on the bottom. My new one says October 2000 on the bottom.

[Atariman]

Hmm.... well, I can't think of any explanation for the variation in dead batteries. Maybe just a little bad luck?