This is why people cloned the GDEMU hardware.

[derFunkenstein]

Yeah I saw that earlier today too. At this point I'd just get a clone system from an eBay seller with good feedback if I were you. So far I love mine and the load times seem much faster compared to actual disc games. I haven't done any tests, so it could be just my imagination. I'm wondering how long until we see clones of the Saturn version since that's a popular system in the community as well. I know it's something I'd jump on.

 

Same but maybe we won't have to wait for Rhea/Phoebe clones. The Professor Abrasive is making more progress: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beta-is-entering-23201639

 

I am a patron but did not get in at the Beta level (limited slots, etc), which I probably would not have paid, either. But once these things go final, I'll be in the first batch of preorders, I know that.

Edited December 10, 2018 by derFunkenstein

[+-^CrossBow^-]

Wanted to add that I was correct in my theory on using the AR+ with the RHEA. You basically can't. See with the AR+ installed, it will come up first before the RHEA menu does. So if you choose your cheats to turn on and then start the game, this will bring up the RHEA menu as normal...but...it usually locks up immediately or locks up or kicks me out to the saturn cd player screen when trying to start an actual game or scroll through the menu.

 

Now...you could start the game without cheats, that will take you to the Rhea menu and then choose the option to start a cart. That will load up the AR+ again. But even if you choose cheats to turn on and then start the game, it will kick you back to the Rhea menu again with the same issues.

 

So..the AR+ is nothing more a save game storage device and extra ram cart at this point with a RHEA in place.

[Punisher5.0]

Same but maybe we won't have to wait for Rhea/Phoebe clones. The Professor Abrasive is making more progress: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beta-is-entering-23201639

 

I am a patron but did not get in at the Beta level (limited slots, etc), which I probably would not have paid, either. But once these things go final, I'll be in the first batch of preorders, I know that.

 

Has there been talk about a price range yet?

[derFunkenstein]

Has there been talk about a price range yet?

 

 

No. I expect it to be somewhat-pricey because it's taken him basically two years to go from prototype to finish. Lost of expenses to recuperate, I'm sure. Not a dig at him, I'm really happy this thing has progressed.

[Greg2600]

The Satiator (Prof Abrasive), once he gets his menus and testing unit up and running, will be mass produced. That device (should) turn the Rhea/Phoebe into a paperweight.

[haightc]

I am hoping to get a rhea at some point, as I don't want to give up MPEG function. I do actually use the VCD function, I would probably get a Satiator anyways and put it my Saturn that doesn't have a video card. It would be neat if it could also duplicated the VCD/MPEG functions. All the lasers work just fine on my Saturn systems, it the cartridge port that is a common source of frustration. Being able to emulate cartridges would be almost more important than an ODE.

[xenomorpher]

 

Same but maybe we won't have to wait for Rhea/Phoebe clones. The Professor Abrasive is making more progress: https://www.patreon.com/posts/beta-is-entering-23201639

 

I am a patron but did not get in at the Beta level (limited slots, etc), which I probably would not have paid, either. But once these things go final, I'll be in the first batch of preorders, I know that.

I'm hoping that it won't be too expensive, or at the very least reasonable to get. I haven't checked the progress really in awhile and need to start to more often.

 

 

Wanted to add that I was correct in my theory on using the AR+ with the RHEA. You basically can't.

That kinda stinks since I like using cheats. My GDEMU clone allows me to do this, but probably because the Dreamcast didn't rely on a cartridge cheat device. Oh well, I could always just play the games as intended if I ever get one and get better.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I'm hoping that it won't be too expensive, or at the very least reasonable to get. I haven't checked the progress really in awhile and need to start to more often.

 

 

 

That kinda stinks since I like using cheats. My GDEMU clone allows me to do this, but probably because the Dreamcast didn't rely on a cartridge cheat device. Oh well, I could always just play the games as intended if I ever get one and get better.

 

yeah I won't lie that I sometimes just want to do a quick run through of a game without frustration so I can just zone out for a bit. That is why I didn't turn my AR+ into a Psuedo Saturn since I wanted to keep the cheat code option on mine. I also really like the fact that I can add more codes as I find them to the cart's internal flash storage. But I had figured it wouldn't work since the Rhea's menu jumps in by default on bootup and changing codes for a game would likely interfere with the menu OS since that is how you have to select the games.

 

Yes you can remove the menu program on the Saturn, but then you are still not able to correctly select the cheats for the games because you would have to press the stupid button on the RHEA a bunch of times until you got to the game you wanted and I don't know if the cheat codes would interfere with the Saturn's CD application mode that you would have to use to do that.

 

Besides I've got nearly 80games loaded up on my RHEA SD card and I'm not pressing that button that many times or keeping a "map" nearby so I know how many button presses it takes to finally get to Astal or Guardian Heroes LOL.

 

Having said that I would like to get the Satiator as well when that finally gets released as it would be really nice to have the same functionality I have with a RHEA in a plug in card device that doesn't require modding a Saturn to use it. Hopefully that device will include a cheat editor that can accept AR codes or something in it?

Edited December 11, 2018 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[Punisher5.0]

No. I expect it to be somewhat-pricey because it's taken him basically two years to go from prototype to finish. Lost of expenses to recuperate, I'm sure. Not a dig at him, I'm really happy this thing has progressed.

 

If its $100-$150 then im on board. Any more than that and my Phoebe is good enough.

[xenomorpher]

A cheat enabled Pseudo Saturn is being worked on right now, which is pretty cool. That would be the thing to have for multiple systems. That's something I'll possible opt for if I ever get a Japanese system.

[derFunkenstein]

If its $100-$150 then im on board. Any more than that and my Phoebe is good enough.

If I had a Phoebe my tune would be quite a bit different.

 

As it is, using a Pseudo Saturn cart is good enough for now. I don't mind CD-Rs, and I got one of those modded AR Pro 4M carts that has upgraded save space. So far so good with that for Shining Force 3.

Edited December 11, 2018 by derFunkenstein

[+-^CrossBow^-]

My other Saturn that is pretty much my primary Saturn has an old Racketboy mod board in it that Installed in the early 2000s. So I never had a need for a Psuedo Saturn AR cart. Mine is the older one that still has the parallel port on the stop for updating through an older PC. But I actually updated the firmware and cheat code base on it last time via a CD. Seems to have a ton of storage on it just sucks it can't be seen in real time with a game running like for Burning Rangers etc. So I have to make sure when I'm done with a game to press reset on the Saturn to bring up the AR menu and then transfer memory over.

 

No I don't have a battery installed in my Saturns because I got tired of changing them out every 3 months...

[Punisher5.0]

If I had a Phoebe my tune would be quite a bit different.

 

As it is, using a Pseudo Saturn cart is good enough for now. I don't mind CD-Rs, and I got one of those modded AR Pro 4M carts that has upgraded save space. So far so good with that for Shining Force 3.

 

If you prepare beforehand they are easy to obtain. Just verify your Saturn type before the preorder and set your alarm for early. I got one my first try.

[xenomorpher]

No I don't have a battery installed in my Saturns because I got tired of changing them out every 3 months...

I read a battery pack guide years ago that was supposed to last years with the system unplugged or something. Anyways, I came across this:

 

https://db-electronics.ca/2017/02/10/sega-saturn-internal-memory-mod-with-fram-no-battery-required/

 

It's something I'd love to do if I had an extra third system or confidence in my abilities. But at the end of the day, transferring a save isn't too much of a hassle to me. Really cool and practical mod though, which is my favorite kind.

Edited December 11, 2018 by xenomorpher

[+-^CrossBow^-]

I read a battery pack guide years ago that was supposed to last years with the system unplugged or something. Anyways, I came across this:

 

https://db-electronics.ca/2017/02/10/sega-saturn-internal-memory-mod-with-fram-no-battery-required/

 

It's something I'd love to do if I had an extra third system or confidence in my abilities. But at the end of the day, transferring a save isn't too much of a hassle to me. Really cool and practical mod though, which is my favorite kind.

 

yes I've read up on that before and thought about attempting it more than once. But I'm not that confident in my SMD skills for IC work without a hot air station. I can do resistors, caps, individual SMD stuff with patience and my iron, but a full on IC like that is another story LOL. I've also wondered how hard it would be to add in a small charging circuit and replacing the battery with a rechargeable type like what is used in the DC and SegaCD? That way battery replacements wouldn't be needed nearly as often.

Edited December 11, 2018 by -^Cro§Bow^-

[haightc]

actually I would recommend you might consider a battery mod over chip mod. If you have already moved over to an ODE you should should have plenty of room for one of the Lithium Thionyl Chloride batteries. You could probably leave your saturn unplugged for a couple years and no lose your saves. I backup all my saves, so I would find having to set the clock all the time more annoying! The ram mod of the PC Engine CD is totally worth it though!

[Austin]

No. I expect it to be somewhat-pricey because it's taken him basically two years to go from prototype to finish. Lost of expenses to recuperate, I'm sure. Not a dig at him, I'm really happy this thing has progressed.

Probably not as much as you would think, considering he's been on Patreon and collecting funds there for quite some time. My guess is this is going to be on the cheaper end of things, especially since like it was said a few posts up, it'll be massed produced. At the very most, no more than a Rhea/Phoebe, probably less is what I am guessing.

[akator]

At this point I'd just get a clone system from an eBay seller with good feedback if I were you. So far I love mine and the load times seem much faster compared to actual disc games. I haven't done any tests, so it could be just my imagination. I'm wondering how long until we see clones of the Saturn version since that's a popular system in the community as well. I know it's something I'd jump on.

 

Before reading this thread I never thought to check eBay. After a month of procrastination, tonight I decided WTH and bought a v5.5 clone from China. Fingers crossed

[derFunkenstein]

One thing RetroRGB's review of the DCHDMI pointed out is that some clones don't work well and for whatever reason cause audio to not play. There's a hardware fix on the clone, though. Here's the info from the DCHDMI's creator:

 

All GDEMU clone owners, “some” clones have the incorrect crystal on the G1 bus. It should be 11.2896 MHz. This causes unforeseen side effects with DCHDMI. It also might cause other issues. Picture of faulty unit.

 

 

https://twitter.com/citrus3000psi/status/1071805707803078658

 

edit: while I haven't replaced the crystal on mine (because I have no plans to get a DCHDMI), I think this is the right part:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/ABRACON/ABL-112896MHz-B4Y?qs=sGAEpiMZZMsBj6bBr9Q9aQgLRzreR480egtIt367QO6LcR7lcXsVew%3d%3d

Edited January 4, 2019 by derFunkenstein

[akator]

^ Thanks for the info. I also read up on the power supply mods.

 

Right now I've got a S-Video to HDMI upscaler that I'm using for most of my classic systems. I understand the potential awesomeness of the DCHDMI, but I'm not sure how high it is on my want list

[CMR]

I would encourage people to support the official stuff if they could, but I perfectly understand why you don't. I myself own both an official Pheobe and a ripoff GDEMU for the DC. But while we're on the subject, let me just say that I think all these products are pretty disappointing. Unless you've already got a broken system laying around, I would just get a mod chip, action replay or swap disc and burn copies. They don't come with menus either, the ones you can get are made by third parties, and they don't support bin/cue which is the most common file format you're going to run into. Also converting them to other usable formats is kind of hit and miss, I've found. If you want to run homebrew on the dreamcast, you're most likely going to be building images with bootdreams and it gives everything the same name in the GDMENU. You'll have to keep a list nearby of how everything is numbered, and as far as I can tell there is no way to change names in the menu.

 

One device like these I will recommend is the Super System 3 from Terraonion for the PCEngine and TG16. That thing is sweet and works exactly like you would expect the rest of these things to work, and considering how expensive the CD systems have gotten, it's worth the money.

[Greg2600]

I would encourage people to support the official stuff if they could, but I perfectly understand why you don't. I myself own both an official Pheobe and a ripoff GDEMU for the DC. But while we're on the subject, let me just say that I think all these products are pretty disappointing. Unless you've already got a broken system laying around, I would just get a mod chip, action replay or swap disc and burn copies. They don't come with menus either, the ones you can get are made by third parties, and they don't support bin/cue which is the most common file format you're going to run into. Also converting them to other usable formats is kind of hit and miss, I've found. If you want to run homebrew on the dreamcast, you're most likely going to be building images with bootdreams and it gives everything the same name in the GDMENU. You'll have to keep a list nearby of how everything is numbered, and as far as I can tell there is no way to change names in the menu.

 

One device like these I will recommend is the Super System 3 from Terraonion for the PCEngine and TG16. That thing is sweet and works exactly like you would expect the rest of these things to work, and considering how expensive the CD systems have gotten, it's worth the money.

 

GDEMU doesn't have a "menu" per se, but there is a 3rd party menu and SD folder organizer which works well. I think, especially for DC, the GDEMU falls short because Deunan decided to stick with SD media rather than a USB solution. On the other hand, Mnemo's USB-GDROM I feel performs better, does not require you to futz with ISO's you've already downloaded, but has a putrid 1988-style menu with no GUI to speak of. He's far better though at producing the actual devices. There are a multitude of DIY and Open Source GD ROM emuiation projects out there right now, but they suffer from two major issues. One, nobody is mass-producing these, or heck, producing them at all! Second, they have NO core programing and rely on the HIDEOUS Dreamshell OS in which to run. Dreamshell is a nice pretty GUI, but for running games it's maddening. You need to perform patches on your ISO's, and the produce to do it is just plain atrocious, and rarely (in my experience) works. Plus you're still stuck with installing the DIY devices yourself, and needing to solder and whatnot. No thanks. I would disagree though on mod chips and burning of discs, as very few people still want to go that route. I actually have both devices now for several years, hoping that some day one of them would finally fulfill its potential but no such luck.

 

As for Terra Onion, couple things. First, good lord the price is crazy on their stuff, no question about it. Second, you're talking about an add-on system which they're replacing. That's a big difference, because you're not handcuffed by needing to integrate into existing hardware. I'll probably get one, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. BTW I WISH they would make one for Sega-CD too! Some systems have better capabilities than others. For instance, the PSIO was done because the older PS1's could be fed tons of data at high speed via the parallel port, whereas say the DC has no provision, only an inferior serial port. The PSIO team are still working on the DCIO, though I'm not sure what it will actually "be."

[derFunkenstein]

^ Thanks for the info. I also read up on the power supply mods.

 

Right now I've got a S-Video to HDMI upscaler that I'm using for most of my classic systems. I understand the potential awesomeness of the DCHDMI, but I'm not sure how high it is on my want list

Since I have an OSSC with Firebrand X's settings stored in a profile and a Kuro, the DCHDMI is nowhere to be found on my list. The number of games that don't work with a switch trick is very low, and none of the games I play has a problem. I've also VGA patched the image for the ones that need it where possible, minimizing the number of switches I need to trick.

Edited January 5, 2019 by derFunkenstein