Dreamcast questions...

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

Lately I have been looking into the Dreamcast after I read an interesting article on it in a retro gaming magazine.  While I am not looking to buy yet ANOTHER console, it does seem that the games made for the Dreamcast are excellent ports of their arcade counterparts. 

I have seen many ports of Sega's arcade games ported to the Dreamcast via You Tube and this further sparked my interest in the Dreamcast.   Naturally this did get me to pondering a few thoughts and that that naturally raises a few questions.

So without waisting any more time, here are my questions:

As with anything 'game console' out on the web today, I do know that the Dreamcast hardware can be emulated on a PC.  So let's start here.  How good is the emulation?  How good (fast) of a computer do you need to faithfully emulate the console?   Is the original Dreamcast hardware still superior in terms of performance?

One advantage I see to using an emulator is that you could store CD rom iso's to a computer's hard drive and most likely you would select from a list, thus making an emulator a high candidate for an arcade cabinet.  Which brings me to my next question...

Would it be better to build a cabinet around a PC emulating the Dreamcast, or use a hacked console (console with modified controllers)?   The problem I foresee with the latter is that you constantly have to change discs.  So I would think a PC/emulator would be a better choice, but I would like to here from those that actually have done this and what their comments are going this route.

That will be all for now.

Thank You,

Geo

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

Just to add to my post above.  I did catch wind that the Dreamcast could also run Mame?  Does it have a hard drive like the Xbox?  I didn't think it did.   But if anyone could give me more info on current Dreamcast Mods...then perhaps that would also help my decision in regards to going with hardware vs software.

Thank You,

Geo

[SNAAKE]

dreamcast sucks for emulating mame. its only 200mhz.

a GOOD/recent build computer with a new dualcore cpu can emulator dc games full speed. with a good video card of course.

otherwise you can just buy a dreamcast. there are many arcade friendly dreamcast games and you dont even have to mod it. backups just play as is and you are not hurting anyone. its been dead and buried. so $20 dc and free games sounds good. there is no hard drive for dc so you gotta swap the game.  

[jukingeo]

dreamcast sucks for emulating mame. its only 200mhz.

Hello Snaake,

I would kind of think so as well, but I did some reading and said that it could play the classic games like Pac-Man, Asteroids, Space Invaders.   That is pretty much all I would be looking for.   I know it would probably choke on more modern games, but then again that is the reason I would go with a Dreamcast in a cabinet for anyway, to play the games made for it.

The Dreamcast is an unusual console in that many games were arcade ports, thus out of all the consoles, it seems like this one is most suited for a cabinet.

I did mod a couple X-Boxes recently and one will eventually go into a cabinet, the other is mostly for a media system.

I was going to mod another Xbox, but then I decided to give the Dreamcast another look see.

a GOOD/recent build computer with a new dualcore cpu can emulator dc games full speed. with a good video card of course.

My current machine is an i5 650 3.2ghz with 4gig of ram...so I know it will run on this machine.   But for a cabinet, I am looking at a dedicated machine based around a 1.8ghz Atom processor.   Intel makes ITX motherboards with the Atom built in.  So this would be my contender for for a full on Mame cabinet.   If it can emulate the Dreamcast as well, then I would be killing two birds with one stone.

otherwise you can just buy a dreamcast. there are many arcade friendly dreamcast games and you dont even have to mod it. backups just play as is and you are not hurting anyone. its been dead and buried. so $20 dc and free games sounds good.

That is a bit of interesting information to know.  So what you are saying is that asking for Dreamcast rom sites wouldn't be breaking the forum rules?

there is no hard drive for dc so you gotta swap the game.  

Yeah, I did some reading earlier and came across that tidbit of info as well.  Unlike the first version of the PS2 and the Xbox, the Dreamcast didn't have a hard drive system available for it.   Thus in a cabinet situation, it would be kind of a pain to constantly swap out the discs instead of just selecting the game from a menu.   But I could see that if one put together a sit down driving cabinet, then I can see the Dreamcast shining in an application such as this.   I have found out (through much reading) that Mame is problematic when it comes to mimicking driving arcade games.   You would have to set up multiple arcade controls.   When dealing with the Dreamcast, all the arcade ports to the console would just need one set of controls.  It is for newer driving games (18 Wheeler, San Francisco Rush, Outrun, F355, Hydro Thunder, 4X4 Thunder) that I was considering a Dreamcast project.   But I was curious as to what else the console can do.

The Dreamcast controllers seem to have less buttons and I am thinking they should be easier to hack than a PS2 or Xbox controller.   The key to the project would be the ability to hack the analog controls.

The amazing thing about the Dreamcast is that it seems like it was a console ahead of its time when it was released.   Even a few years down the road, the graphics seem to be superior on the Dreamcast than many ports of the same game on the Xbox or PS2.

I just don't know if I should go the full 9 yards and go with a full system or just go with a PC and emulate.

Anyway, thanx for the info!

Geo

[shateredsoul]

I loved the dreamcast, but man that controller sucked. The shoulder buttons really don't work for fighting games, and it just feels weird to go back to that controller after having the ps1 and xbox 360 controller types. The games are freaggin' awesome though, but... emulation has come a long way. I would say most games you'd want to play pretty well on nulldc.  You'll find posts about how hard it is to setup but those are old post before the project was updated again not too long ago, plus you can use the 360 controllers or ps3 controllers if you have them hooked up to your pc.

I def agree with snaake though, it's a system worth owning and it's really easy to burn and play games.

[Hoopz]

That is a bit of interesting information to know.  So what you are saying is that asking for Dreamcast rom sites wouldn't be breaking the forum rules?

No.  The rules prohibit asking for ANY rom sites.

[versapak]

That is a bit of interesting information to know.  So what you are saying is that asking for Dreamcast rom sites wouldn't be breaking the forum rules?

No.  The rules prohibit asking for ANY rom sites.

Not only that, but SNAAKE is wrong in stating that the Dreamcast is dead and buried, at least as far as SEGA still making money off of those games. They are still releasing those games on other platforms.

[Hoopz]

True. You can buy a new Dreamcast on Amazon.

[crashwg]

If you're going to go with the original hardware you'll have to educate yourself on Self-Booting vs games that require a boot disc.

[jukingeo]

I loved the dreamcast, but man that controller sucked. The shoulder buttons really don't work for fighting games, and it just feels weird to go back to that controller after having the ps1 and xbox 360 controller types. The games are freaggin' awesome though, but... emulation has come a long way. I would say most games you'd want to play pretty well on nulldc.  You'll find posts about how hard it is to setup but those are old post before the project was updated again not too long ago, plus you can use the 360 controllers or ps3 controllers if you have them hooked up to your pc.

I def agree with snaake though, it's a system worth owning and it's really easy to burn and play games.

A couple of things.  Right off the bat without even getting the controller in my hands, I can see that it is pretty obtuse.  I have a PS2 and to me that controller was the best to use.  I also have an (original) Xbox and that controller isn't that bad either.   At any rate, I don't think I would use the Dreamcast controller stock.  I would be aiming to mod it to handle arcade controls.   Thus the question will soon come up as to how to hack the analog controls as I mostly interested in the Dreamcast to handle driving games.   While I am not a major fan of driving games, most of the ones I like are Midway/Sega games.  As it stands, quite a few of those games have Dreamcast ports. 

As for fighting games, I don't care for them.  Only a few such as X-Men, I really enjoy playing. 

I had in mind of making a makeshift sit down cabinet.  However, the jury is still out if I should PC/Emulate or use the actual Dreamcast Hardware.  The latter would be the cheapest way to go, but I would be forced to change discs.

Now I don't intend to play JUST driving games with the Dreamcast.   There are adventure/RPG games I am interested in.  I also like the fishing games in which the Dreamcast has its own controller for.   So putting this all together did get me to think that the Dreamcast console was worth another look.

No.  The rules prohibit asking for ANY rom sites.

Not only that, but SNAAKE is wrong in stating that the Dreamcast is dead and buried, at least as far as SEGA still making money off of those games. They are still releasing those games on other platforms.

This is what I kind of figured.  I know that most Dreamcast games are ports of the NAOMI arcade system and that system is still in current production.  Then there are the other home ports as well.

At any rate, I did look up some games on Amazon, and they can still be purchased...for ridiculously low prices to boot!

True. You can buy a new Dreamcast on Amazon.

Yes, I have seen that as well, but I would be fine with a used system.

If you're going to go with the original hardware you'll have to educate yourself on Self-Booting vs games that require a boot disc.

Could you elaborate on that?

Thanx,

Geo

[crashwg]

If you're going to go with the original hardware you'll have to educate yourself on Self-Booting vs games that require a boot disc.

Could you elaborate on that?

Thanx,

Geo

Basically in the beginning of the DC scene games were ripped in a way that when you burned them they would require a boot disc.  Once the rippers found a way to make self booting images nearly everything ripped from that point on was good to go but instead of re-releasing all those non self booting games there's instructions on how to convert them yourself.  You'll usually find a self booting version somewhere but it's helpful to know that there are non-selfboot copies out there still.

google "dreamcast selfboot" the first result explains how to convert a non-selfbooting game into selfbooting. 

[jukingeo]

Basically in the beginning of the DC scene games were ripped in a way that when you burned them they would require a boot disc.  Once the rippers found a way to make self booting images nearly everything ripped from that point on was good to go but instead of re-releasing all those non self booting games there's instructions on how to convert them yourself.  You'll usually find a self booting version somewhere but it's helpful to know that there are non-selfboot copies out there still.

google "dreamcast selfboot" the first result explains how to convert a non-selfbooting game into selfbooting. 

Did this also apply to store bought discs or only "backup" copies?

While we are on the topic of the games themselves.  If I bought a few DC games, can they be played directly on a DC emulator?

Thanx,

Geo

[danny_galaga]

True. You can buy a new Dreamcast on Amazon.

That's not giving any money to Sega though, as it's just new old stock. So that is besides the point.

Jukineo, from my experience with Dreamcasts (which like you is recent) I would only use it for Dreamcast. Forget MAME etc. The laser drives aren't getting any younger. I had to make two out of one recently. Save it for the good stuff, play MAME on your PC (",)

Oh, and you HAVE to get Crazy Taxi if you get a DC. Damn, that's a fine game!

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

While we are on the topic of the games themselves.  If I bought a few DC games, can they be played directly on a DC emulator?

Nope. They use a peculiar GD-Rom format that is physically incompatible with regular drives. The Dreamast drive could read these GD-Rom discs in addition to regular CDs (hence the ability to self-boot burned discs without modification).

You'll have to 'acquire' them even if you buy them.

[jukingeo]

Jukineo, from my experience with Dreamcasts (which like you is recent) I would only use it for Dreamcast. Forget MAME etc. The laser drives aren't getting any younger. I had to make two out of one recently. Save it for the good stuff, play MAME on your PC (",)

Oh, OK.  The main goal wouldn't be for Mame anyway.  I just got curious when I read that it can do it.

Oh, and you HAVE to get Crazy Taxi if you get a DC. Damn, that's a fine game!

That is one of the ones on my list.   I have an old Retro Gamer magazine and there is a really nice write up on the Dreamcast.   Crazy Taxi was one of the top 10 games listed for the Dreamcast.

Nope. They use a peculiar GD-Rom format that is physically incompatible with regular drives. The Dreamast drive could read these GD-Rom discs in addition to regular CDs (hence the ability to self-boot burned discs without modification).
You'll have to 'acquire' them even if you buy them.

Really?  That is funny (in a BAD way), so you can't load store bought Dreamcast discs on to your computer, huh?   While we are on the topic of the laser drive, what do you do when one goes bad on a Dreamcast?  Are replacements still available?

Thanx,

Geo

[ark_ader]

I have Mame4All for the DC.  It works ok.

I would plumb for a DC emu if your PC can handle it.

I have my DC here in my Console rack.  I just play ikaruga.  Its the only title that is any good, except maybe Soul Caliber - arcade wise.

[danny_galaga]

Jukineo, from my experience with Dreamcasts (which like you is recent) I would only use it for Dreamcast. Forget MAME etc. The laser drives aren't getting any younger. I had to make two out of one recently. Save it for the good stuff, play MAME on your PC (",)

Oh, OK.  The main goal wouldn't be for Mame anyway.  I just got curious when I read that it can do it.

Oh, and you HAVE to get Crazy Taxi if you get a DC. Damn, that's a fine game!

That is one of the ones on my list.   I have an old Retro Gamer magazine and there is a really nice write up on the Dreamcast.   Crazy Taxi was one of the top 10 games listed for the Dreamcast.

Nope. They use a peculiar GD-Rom format that is physically incompatible with regular drives. The Dreamast drive could read these GD-Rom discs in addition to regular CDs (hence the ability to self-boot burned discs without modification).
You'll have to 'acquire' them even if you buy them.

Really?  That is funny (in a BAD way), so you can't load store bought Dreamcast discs on to your computer, huh?   While we are on the topic of the laser drive, what do you do when one goes bad on a Dreamcast?  Are replacements still available?

Thanx,

Geo

I have that issue of retro Gamer too (",) I used it as a shopping list for my friends DC, which is the one I had to make two out of one. I got 'back up' copies of Crazy Taxi, Sega Tennis, Sega Rally, Metropolis City Racing and Space Channel 5.

[jukingeo]

I have Mame4All for the DC.  It works ok.

I would plumb for a DC emu if your PC can handle it.

I have my DC here in my Console rack.  I just play ikaruga.  Its the only title that is any good, except maybe Soul Caliber - arcade wise.

I have been thinking about going the emu route as a concern of mine cropped up in regards to an actual Dreamcast console.  What if the laser goes bad?  I seriously doubt you can easily purchase a replacement, adding to the fact that the laser is special.

In addition, going the PC route, I could select from a list instead of swapping discs.

We will see, I am still on the fence with this one.

Thanx,

Geo

[danny_galaga]

I have Mame4All for the DC.  It works ok.

I would plumb for a DC emu if your PC can handle it.

I have my DC here in my Console rack.  I just play ikaruga.  Its the only title that is any good, except maybe Soul Caliber - arcade wise.

I have been thinking about going the emu route as a concern of mine cropped up in regards to an actual Dreamcast console.  What if the laser goes bad?  I seriously doubt you can easily purchase a replacement, adding to the fact that the laser is special.

In addition, going the PC route, I could select from a list instead of swapping discs.

We will see, I am still on the fence with this one.

Thanx,

Geo

Get off the fence! You can run MAME on anything. Don't run it on a dwindling resource 

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

Well, I tried a couple of games with Lxdream (the Dreamcast Emulator for Linux) and it performed like a slide show.  The graphic performance was WAY too slow for my liking.   It could be because I am using the built in graphic acceleration on my i5 processor.  I find that kind of strange though because I have other games with fairly high graphic acceleration needs and they run fine.   Perhaps I am doing something, or set something wrong?

But if I need to purchase a high end graphics card just to run Lxdream, then that could up the cost of the project enough to go the route of buying a physical Dreamcast over emulation.

Thusfar, I am NOT impressed with emulation.  BUT I could be doing something wrong.  I just expected much better performance given the current machine I am running the emulator on.  Simply put, if I can't run it smoothly on this machine, I certainly will not get any further on a lesser machine.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You,

Geo

[shateredsoul]

Hello All,

Well, I tried a couple of games with Lxdream (the Dreamcast Emulator for Linux) and it performed like a slide show.  The graphic performance was WAY too slow for my liking.   It could be because I am using the built in graphic acceleration on my i5 processor.  I find that kind of strange though because I have other games with fairly high graphic acceleration needs and they run fine.   Perhaps I am doing something, or set something wrong?

But if I need to purchase a high end graphics card just to run Lxdream, then that could up the cost of the project enough to go the route of buying a physical Dreamcast over emulation.

Thusfar, I am NOT impressed with emulation.  BUT I could be doing something wrong.  I just expected much better performance given the current machine I am running the emulator on.  Simply put, if I can't run it smoothly on this machine, I certainly will not get any further on a lesser machine.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank You,

Geo

install windows xp lite

If not, try running nulldc through wine, I haven't heard of a good emulator for linux. Just look up nulldc on youtube, many games are very playable.

[ark_ader]

Don't bother - just buy a DC.  There are only a few titles that work with arcade games.

Emulation is getting better, but not good enough to make graphic card purchases.

Give it another two years.

[jukingeo]

Hello All

Hey Shateredsoul,

install windows xp lite

If not, try running nulldc through wine, I haven't heard of a good emulator for linux. Just look up nulldc on youtube, many games are very playable.

Yeah, I was reading up on the Lxdream forum last night and it seems like the emulator is VERY game specific and some games run good and others run slow.   Lxdream is only on version .91 which is still in beta testing.  NullDC came up as (pretty much) the universal choice in emulating the Dreamcast.  I did download it last night, but I didn't set it up yet.

Now, when you mentioned Windows XP lite, I am assuming you mean regular Windows XP run through nLite, right?  I have been looking into that program myself as it does seem that going the other alternatives to small versions of Windows XP (Windows CE or Windows Embedded) proves to be too expensive.

But more then likely it does look like my planned bartop cabinet will be a Windows based machine as I am also still having trouble with SDLMame in Linux as well.

I am pretty much getting the gist that Linux isn't really up to specific tasks.  It seems that Windows XP is still the king in that department.  For general use (emailing, web surfing, etc) and for games made specifically for Linux, it is great, but it still needs much catching up to do.

Now don't get me wrong, some "older" game emulators do run fine though, such as emulators for the NES, SNES, Sega Genesis (Megadrive), and old Atari platforms, but Linux still has trouble with Mame.  Meh...  The biggest disadvantage is that I can't use Hyperspin FE with Linux.  So that was the deal killer for me!

Don't bother - just buy a DC.  There are only a few titles that work with arcade games.

Emulation is getting better, but not good enough to make graphic card purchases.

Give it another two years.

Hello AA,

Yeah, after seeing the deplorable way Lxdream ran last night, I am leaning in that direction.   I am going to give NullDC a shot though under Windows and see if I fair better with that OS.  As I mentioned above to Shateredsoul, it just seems that Linux just isn't quite up to snuff with certain emulations.  I even still have trouble with my sound using Mame under Linux.   

Because I want to use Hyperspin as my front end that kind of sealed the deal for a light weight version of Windows XP over Linux.   As it is, prior to my finding out about Hyperspin, I was using Mala and that too didn't work under Linux.  The best I found for Linux was Wah!cade, which is a MameWah based FE made for Linux.  It does the job nicely, but it is looking rather dated in comparison to what Mala and Hyperspin can do.

So all in all it does look like I am not getting away from Windows XP any time soon .

But yeah, I do agree from a cost point of view and to get my feet wet with the Dreamcast right away, I probably would be best off picking up a used one locally just to tinker around with and then go from there.

G'day

Geo

[shateredsoul]

search windows xp lite or xplite, you'll see what I meant.

If you have an i5, why not invest in windows 7? It is really friendly for running emulators, and if you can do 64bit you'll see a small boost on some emulators (so I hear). Linux is a little bit beyond me, I tried ubuntu once and loved ho much faster it ran than with windows, but it kept having issues with my laptop. I'm sure you wouldn't have any issues with windows if you have an i5 cpu.

I run nulldc really well, but I have a graphics card, but I'd be surprised if your laptop wouldn't be able to run nulldc with the integrated graphics.

[jukingeo]

search windows xp lite or xplite, you'll see what I meant.

Hmmm, I am not clear if this is a 'program' you need WITH a copy of Windows XP, or is it an entire OS on it's own.

If you have an i5, why not invest in windows 7? It is really friendly for running emulators, and if you can do 64bit you'll see a small boost on some emulators (so I hear). Linux is a little bit beyond me, I tried ubuntu once and loved ho much faster it ran than with windows, but it kept having issues with my laptop. I'm sure you wouldn't have any issues with windows if you have an i5 cpu.

Well, I am right now doing my program testing on an i5, however, the actual proposed system that I would purchase that would be in a dedicated cabinet would be an Intel ITX Atom motherboard with a 1.8ghz processor.  So yeah that is considerably slower than my i5, but it is also a nice small board with a dual core processor...the price is right too .[/quote]

I run nulldc really well, but I have a graphics card, but I'd be surprised if your laptop wouldn't be able to run nulldc with the integrated graphics.

I am actually using a desktop computer, not a laptop. The Intel i5 I built myself, but it is a standard ATXm mini-tower computer.  While I did forgo a graphics card to keep costs low on my computer build, I DO have the option add one later.  But for my cabinet builds, I am not likely to buy a dedicated graphics card and as such now is the best opportunity to do testing on my i5 so this way I can see how the on-board graphics behave and if it indeed will be enough for my needs.

Thanx,

Geo

[jukingeo]

Hi guys!

Just touching base in regards to my progress with Null DC.

Ok, so I did manage to get it going and for the most part it DOES run well.   However there are a couple of questions I have.

1)  The controls:  How do you remap the keyboard?
2)  I can't get Sega Bass Fishing to run.  The Dreamcast logo comes up and so does the Sega logo, but then it just kicks out of the program and reverts back to the desktop.   The only other games I tried thusfar are 18 Wheeler and Hydro Thunder.  Both of those games work fine.
3) How do you get the game save function to work?

All in all the emulation seems fine.  Sometimes I do get frame rate slowdowns when using 18 Wheeler, but Hydro Thunder is pretty much flawless.

Thanx,

Geo

[danny_galaga]

Hi guys!

Just touching base in regards to my progress with Null DC.

Ok, so I did manage to get it going and for the most part it DOES run well.   However there are a couple of questions I have.

1)  The controls:  How do you remap the keyboard?
2)  I can't get Sega Bass Fishing to run.  The Dreamcast logo comes up and so does the Sega logo, but then it just kicks out of the program and reverts back to the desktop.   The only other games I tried thusfar are 18 Wheeler and Hydro Thunder.  Both of those games work fine.
3) How do you get the game save function to work?

All in all the emulation seems fine.  Sometimes I do get frame rate slowdowns when using 18 Wheeler, but Hydro Thunder is pretty much flawless.

Thanx,

Geo

Is there not an adapter you can use for a DC controller?

[notroubleclubber]

I was running nulldc through windows xp on my Pentium 4 3Hz (2GB Ram) with integrated grafix. Some games ran fine - others (like virtual tennis) slowed down. Ive now installed a 512MB PCIe card in the machine and now if anything ,the emulation is too fast - but ive yet to mess with the settings since installing the grafix card so im confident on getting the emulation spot on once i mess with the settings.

[jukingeo]

Is there not an adapter you can use for a DC controller?

Uhhhh, I don't quite follow.  I am using the keyboard to control the game as I don't have a physical Dreamcast.  The buttons on the keyboard are kind of laid out in an obtuse manner in which I use the S-X-V, and shift keys for carrying out game functions.  I would like to reassign these, but I didn't see anything on where I could change it within Null DC.  That is what I was asking about.

I was running nulldc through windows xp on my Pentium 4 3Hz (2GB Ram) with integrated grafix. Some games ran fine - others (like virtual tennis) slowed down. Ive now installed a 512MB PCIe card in the machine and now if anything ,the emulation is too fast - but ive yet to mess with the settings since installing the grafix card so im confident on getting the emulation spot on once i mess with the settings.

Granted I am running right now on the built in graphics on my i5 computer.  There are some slow down points, but not too many.  As I said, with Hydro Thunder it worked well.

Ok, so now how do I get Sega Bass Fishing to run?  As I said above, the file loads up with the Dreamcast and Sega logo's, but then the program crashes and kicks out to the desktop.

Most important, how do you get the save function to work?

Thanx,

Geo

[danny_galaga]

Is there not an adapter you can use for a DC controller?

Uhhhh, I don't quite follow.  I am using the keyboard to control the game as I don't have a physical Dreamcast.  The buttons on the keyboard are kind of laid out in an obtuse manner in which I use the S-X-V, and shift keys for carrying out game functions.  I would like to reassign these, but I didn't see anything on where I could change it within Null DC.  That is what I was asking about.

I was running nulldc through windows xp on my Pentium 4 3Hz (2GB Ram) with integrated grafix. Some games ran fine - others (like virtual tennis) slowed down. Ive now installed a 512MB PCIe card in the machine and now if anything ,the emulation is too fast - but ive yet to mess with the settings since installing the grafix card so im confident on getting the emulation spot on once i mess with the settings.

Granted I am running right now on the built in graphics on my i5 computer.  There are some slow down points, but not too many.  As I said, with Hydro Thunder it worked well.

Ok, so now how do I get Sega Bass Fishing to run?  As I said above, the file loads up with the Dreamcast and Sega logo's, but then the program crashes and kicks out to the desktop.

Most important, how do you get the save function to work?

Thanx,

Geo

I'm referring to a possible USB adapter so you can use a DC controller on your PC. You can get them for PS2 and N64 controllers, so I figured there might be one for a DC controller...

edit: like maybe this:

http://www.tmove.net/index.php/component/page,shop.product_details/category_id,57/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,309/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,30/vmcchk,1/

[ark_ader]

Is there not an adapter you can use for a DC controller?

Uhhhh, I don't quite follow.  I am using the keyboard to control the game as I don't have a physical Dreamcast.  The buttons on the keyboard are kind of laid out in an obtuse manner in which I use the S-X-V, and shift keys for carrying out game functions.  I would like to reassign these, but I didn't see anything on where I could change it within Null DC.  That is what I was asking about.

I was running nulldc through windows xp on my Pentium 4 3Hz (2GB Ram) with integrated grafix. Some games ran fine - others (like virtual tennis) slowed down. Ive now installed a 512MB PCIe card in the machine and now if anything ,the emulation is too fast - but ive yet to mess with the settings since installing the grafix card so im confident on getting the emulation spot on once i mess with the settings.

Granted I am running right now on the built in graphics on my i5 computer.  There are some slow down points, but not too many.  As I said, with Hydro Thunder it worked well.

Ok, so now how do I get Sega Bass Fishing to run?  As I said above, the file loads up with the Dreamcast and Sega logo's, but then the program crashes and kicks out to the desktop.

Most important, how do you get the save function to work?

Thanx,

Geo

I'm referring to a possible USB adapter so you can use a DC controller on your PC. You can get them for PS2 and N64 controllers, so I figured there might be one for a DC controller...

edit: like maybe this:

http://www.tmove.net/index.php/component/page,shop.product_details/category_id,57/flypage,shop.flypage/product_id,309/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,30/vmcchk,1/

Or a 3-In-1.

[jukingeo]

Hello All,

Danny, Ark_Ader,

Do I HAVE to buy an actual DC controller when I have a perfectly good PS2 controller (already with a PC adapter) that I can use?


Sideways question:

I have a rom that is in .cdi format.  What do I do with that?  Usually Null DC roms are in .gdi format.

Thanx,
Geo

[danny_galaga]

I suspect you can use the PS2 controller, you may have to remap buttons though, which is kinda your problem with the keyboard. Worth a try anyway, since some of those adapters look like they do PS2 and dreamcast. And if you're not happy with the PS2 controller, a DC controller wont exactly break the bank:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Dreamcast-Official-Sega-Controller-Light-Gray-Pack-New-/270737703841?pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item3f093983a1#ht_3806wt_772

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Official-Sega-Dreamcast-Controller-White-/330554205044?pt=Video_Games_Accessories&hash=item4cf690e374#ht_765wt_936

Hopefully others here may chime in on their experience as I havent actually used any adapters myself...

Edit: or you could use a USB gamepad. No adapter needed then (",)

[jukingeo]

I suspect you can use the PS2 controller, you may have to remap buttons though, which is kinda your problem with the keyboard. Worth a try anyway, since some of those adapters look like they do PS2 and dreamcast. And if you're not happy with the PS2 controller, a DC controller wont exactly break the bank:

So then I take it that it is a "No" on being able to remap the buttons for Null DC? 

That is unusual.  So it sounds like that if I was going to create an arcade driving setup for Null DC that I would need to buy the actual DC controllers, even though I would hack them...for use on a PC.

Edit: or you could use a USB gamepad. No adapter needed then (",)

But would that solve the problem with remapping the buttons?  Essentially my PS2 controller with the USB  adapter IS a USB controller.

Normally I wouldn't make too much of a big deal about it, but I do use the keyboard for initial testing. So the big deal is the obtuse button arrangement when using the keyboard.  I mean c'mon...'C', 'V', 'S', 'Shift'    I don't know of any other emulator that maps these to the main buttons.   Usually the main buttons are mapped to the 'Ctrl, Space, and Alt keys, or the MAME button arrangement is adopted.

I guess one alternative around the problem is to get a keyboard encoder such as what Groovy Game Gear sells and then I could easily put the obtuse button arrangement into play that way, since the end result would be using arcade controls.

Another question:

How does Null DC handle analog controls?

Thanx,

Geo

[shateredsoul]

Are you using an old version of nulldc? I'm not sure why you can't remap buttons.. newer versions make it very easy. If you used a torrent or a website you may have gotten an old version.

Here's the official google code page, you can remap buttons, and it's easy as pie.

http://code.google.com/p/nulldc/downloads/list

I suspect you can use the PS2 controller, you may have to remap buttons though, which is kinda your problem with the keyboard. Worth a try anyway, since some of those adapters look like they do PS2 and dreamcast. And if you're not happy with the PS2 controller, a DC controller wont exactly break the bank:

So then I take it that it is a "No" on being able to remap the buttons for Null DC? 

That is unusual.  So it sounds like that if I was going to create an arcade driving setup for Null DC that I would need to buy the actual DC controllers, even though I would hack them...for use on a PC.

Edit: or you could use a USB gamepad. No adapter needed then (",)

But would that solve the problem with remapping the buttons?  Essentially my PS2 controller with the USB  adapter IS a USB controller.

Normally I wouldn't make too much of a big deal about it, but I do use the keyboard for initial testing. So the big deal is the obtuse button arrangement when using the keyboard.  I mean c'mon...'C', 'V', 'S', 'Shift'    I don't know of any other emulator that maps these to the main buttons.   Usually the main buttons are mapped to the 'Ctrl, Space, and Alt keys, or the MAME button arrangement is adopted.

I guess one alternative around the problem is to get a keyboard encoder such as what Groovy Game Gear sells and then I could easily put the obtuse button arrangement into play that way, since the end result would be using arcade controls.

Another question:

How does Null DC handle analog controls?

Thanx,

Geo

[jukingeo]

Are you using an old version of nulldc? I'm not sure why you can't remap buttons.. newer versions make it very easy. If you used a torrent or a website you may have gotten an old version.

Here's the official google code page, you can remap buttons, and it's easy as pie.

http://code.google.com/p/nulldc/downloads/list

I actually did a bit of digging and found a site that had instructions on changing the button configuration.  But in retrospect...I would have NEVER figured out the menu item listing called "Maple" had anything to do with reassigning the buttons.

I am still trying to figure out a good button configuration as sometimes I get stumped with certain games.  For instance, on Jet Grind Radio, I can't find the button that gets you back into the game when you 'flub' (make a mistake).   So it is a bit rough getting used to things.

Thanx,

Geo

[shateredsoul]

The hardest games to map are the ones ones that use the cross pad and the joystick. =/

[jukingeo]

The hardest games to map are the ones ones that use the cross pad and the joystick. =/

What is that?  Does Jet Grind Radio use it?

[Malenko]

The hardest games to map are the ones ones that use the cross pad and the joystick. =/

What is that?  Does Jet Grind Radio use it?

he saying games that use both the analog and the digital controls (cross pad = digital pad = dpad)

[jukingeo]

he saying games that use both the analog and the digital controls (cross pad = digital pad = dpad)

Oh...OK.  Yeah, I found most of the controls for Jet Grind Radio, but I am at a loss at finding the one that allows you to get back to the game once you 'flubbed'.  I get the screen where the guy is holding his head (in shame) and then there are two options to select.  I end up punching away at every key on my keyboard and can't seem to find those keys.  Perhaps they were never mapped?

Thanx,

Geo