uk.games.video.dreamcast FAQ - 01/12/02
Mike Jenkins
.e*"" """**e.
zP" .... ^*b.
d" .eP*"""*$e. "$.
zF .P" . "$c ^$.
$ .$ zP"**e. ^$. *b
The--------------------- '$ 4F $ '$ *b ^* -----
uk.games.video.dreamcast $ ^$ "eec $ '$ F A Q
------------------------ *c *c zP .$ -----
^$. "*eeee*" d"
^*c. .d" v3.6
"*bee...ee*"
"""""
Uk.Games.Video.Dreamcast FAQ
Version 3.6 - 17/11/02
Welcome to the serene haven of quality that is uk.games.video.dreamcast.
This FAQ should (hopefully) answer any questions you may have about the
group, its charter and any Dreamcast questions you may have.
I welcome any submissions or corrections you may have. Contact details
are at the end of this document.
--CONTENTS--
**Section 1 - About the group**
1.0 - Group charter
1.1 - Charter questions
**Section 2 - The Dreamcast**
2.0 - General Dreamcast FAQs
2.1 - The Best Games
2.2 - Import FAQs
2.3 - "Backup" FAQs
2.4 - VMU FAQs
2.5 - Online questions
2.6 - Technical specs
2.7 - Peripherals
2.8 - The Future
**Section 3 - Other resources on the net**
3.0 - Dreamcast newsgroups
3.1 - Dreamcast web pages
**Section 4 - Contact details and FAQ history**
4.0 - How to contact me
4.1 - Where to find this FAQ
4.2 - Contributions
4.3 - History
************************************************************************
Section 1 - About the group
1.0 - Group charter
The following is a copy of this group's official Usenet UK charter,which
was agreed on when the group was created.
--- Begin Charter
This group is for the discussion of the Sega Dreamcast system, games
andperipherals. Reviews, hints, tips and cheats are welcome, however
spoilers should be protected with appropriate spoiler space. Long
reviews or solutions (100 lines or more) may be better offered as a URL.
Particular care should be taken with posts about games not yet
officially released in the UK, so as not to spoil the game for UK
readers. Discussions about piracy, "warez", backups or other such
activities are not allowed. Discussions about the morality and legality
of such actions tend to become quickly inflammatory, and should be
avoided. Advocacy of one console over another should be avoided in
general, as it tends to lead to "system war" threads.
ADVERTISING:
Advertising (which includes wanted adverts and game trade lists) is
forbidden, with these exceptions: Adverts of no more than four lines,
which are part of the poster's regular signature, and which are not the
main reason for the post, are allowed. Owners of web sites with
information relevant to the Dreamcast in the UK may post, not more than
once every 3 months, an advert for their site, providing that the site
is not used to sell, nor advertise for sale, any goods or services. The
site may contain "banner"-style adverts if it is beyond the control of
the site's owner to remove them.
CROSS-POSTING:
Cross-posting in general is discouraged. Cross-posting to other Sega
newsgroups is strongly discouraged as it may invite postings which do
not conform to this charter.
BINARIES & FORMATTING:
Encoded binaries (e.g. pictures, compressed files, etc.) are forbidden.
Cryptographic signatures (e.g. PGP) may be used where authentication is
important and should be as short as possible. Posts must be readable as
plaintext. HTML, RTF and similarly formatted messages are prohibited. To
see how to make your newsreader comply with this, read
<http://www.usenet.org.uk/ukpost.html>
WARNING:
Anyone posting contrary to this charter may be reported to their
"postmaster" and/or Service Provider.
--- End Charter
1.1 - Charter questions
Q. What is "Top Posting"?
A. "Top Posting" is the practise of replying to Newsgroup posts at the
top of the previous message, rather than at the bottom. Many arguments
are started over this topic, and whether you do it is up to you. It is
considered proper by the majority of Usenet to reply at the bottom of a
message (that's how we write, after all) but Microsoft with Outlook
Express decided that that was too sensible and made OE reply at the top
by default.
************************************************************************
Section 2 - The Dreamcast
2.0 - Dreamcast FAQs
Q. When I use the SCART cable, I get sound but either no image or a very
faint image. What's going on?
A. SCART isn't as simple as many people seem to think. There are at
least three different picture signals that can be sent down a SCART
lead. In order of quality, these are composite video, S-Video and RGB
(which is the best). Most SCART leads for consoles send both composite
and RGB signals. The Dreamcast one, however, sends only RGB. To view the
image, therefore, you need to plug the console into an RGB-compatible
SCART socket. On TVs with more than one socket, this will usually be
socket 1(socket 2 is usually composite and S-Video compatible). Most
videos deal only with composite, and will not pass the RGB signal
through, so you will probably have to connect the machine directly to
the TV. You may also need to enable RGB inputs in your TV's setup menus.
Once you have it working, you should find it to be well worth the
effort, as an RGB image is significantly sharper than composite or RF.
Q. My SCART-provided image is tinted blue/green/red. What's wrong?
A. This is symptomatic of a loose connection at the Dreamcast or TV end
of the SCART cable, or a faulty cable. A common problem on third-party
leads, if you've checked the connection and it's still not right, get
your lead exchanged.
Q. Do 60Hz modes work through RF, or must I use SCART?
A. The Dreamcast does output the 60Hz image through the RF adapter. Many
TVs won't decode it correctly, however - if you think your TV is 60Hz
compatible, but you can't get a picture through the RF, then give the
SCART cable a try.
Q. Why is the picture from my Dreamcast shifted to the left?
A. If you use RGB, some TVs will display the image too far to the left.
I'm told this is due to RGB bypassing the normal processing that would
have to be done to the image. The only way to fix this, if there's no
centering option in the game, is to find the service menu for your TV
and shift the screen right a bit. A search on http://groups.google.com
will often get you the code to get into your TV's service menu, but be
very careful, as you can permanently damage your TV if you don't know
what you're doing. If in doubt, don't do it.
Q. My DC keeps resetting itself while I'm playing on it. Help!
A. It has recently come to light that a few people are having this
problem. The first thing to check is that you have sufficient
ventilation surrounding your DC usually a gap of around two inches on
every side is sufficient, it should also be on a flat clean surface,
preferably a shelf (i.e not on the floor). You should also check all
connecting wires to ensure there are no loose connections anywhere. If
this is O.K then check there is no dust/dirst on the disc or on the
laser. If this checks out then it would appear that you have a problem
with the internal power supply.
It appears that a common cause of this fault is dirty or loose
connections between the power supply and the DC motherboard. To fix
this:
Detach the modem from the bottom of the unit, then remove the 4 screws
and take the lid off. Now, the circuit board on the left (where the AC
supply goes into the back) is the PSU. It has 2 screws in it to hold it
to the rest of the kit - unscrew these. Now unclip the wire that snakes
around from underneath the left of the PSU board.
Now lift the PSU away from the rest of the machine. It may take a little
bit of convincing but not much. When you lift it off, you will find 4
pins which were making it tricky to lift the PSU away - these are the
pins you're looking for. Spray some WD40 onto some kitchen paper and rub
these pins for a minute or two, making sure to get in between them as
well as the outside.
The push the PSU back onto the pins, and re-attach the snake like wire.
Replace the two screws, then put the case back and rescrew the case
together with it's 4 screws, before finally reattaching the modem.
Thanks to Ant for the above instructions.
If you still have problems, you have three options:
1. Try an indepenent games shop/website (see list in Section 3.1) who
will be able to fix it for about 20-40GBP.
2. Call Sega (08456 090 090), if the machine is under one year old they
will repair or replace free of charge (excluding postage costs). If,
however, your DC is over a year old then Sega will charge £50 to repair
it.
3. Buy a replacement DC, as they can be picked up for about £25 second
hand.
Q. I broke one of my game cases. Can I get a replacement?
A. It would appear that replacement cases are available, try Electronics
Boutique or Game as they are known to stock them. Be quick though, as
Game are clearing all of their DC stock at an alarming rate.
Q. Can I use the gun peripheral on my 100Hz TV?
A. Probably not. 100Hz TVs do processing to the image that means the gun
is unable to understand what it's looking at. Some TVs offer 50Hz modes,
but they still may not work, as a certain amount of non-standard
processing is still done to the image. See if you can rent one before
spending your money.
Q. Can I use the gun with my monitor and the VGA box?
A. Yes, it should work fine.
Q. My Lightgun won't calibrate and the aim is off. Help?
A. Try turning up the brightness control on your TV. Otherwise, I find
that holding the gun right next to the screen when calibrating works
quite well. Also bear in mind that third-party guns are generally less
accurate than the official one.
Q. Can I use an import Lightgun on my US/JAP/PAL console?
A. Yes. Note that the US versions of House of the Dead 2 and
Confidential Mission are locked to stop the Sega lightgun working with
it. Third party guns work fine, and the Sega gun works on the PAL and
Japanese releases of HOTD2 and CM.
Q. What third party accessories are there available?
A. Currently the main suppliers of third party peripherals are Mad Catz,
Interact, Joytech and Datel. There are the usual varieties of
controllers, memory units, steering wheels and light guns etc. Normal
rules apply: Third party peripherals are almost always of far inferior
quality than the official Sega ones. Interact and Joytech are especially
shoddy and should be avoided.
Q. What is the link between the NeoGeo Pocket and the Dreamcast?
A. SNK's NeoGeo Pocket Colour (NGPC) console, has the ability to link up
with the Dreamcast via a specific link cable (not available in Europe).
Using this you can transfer data between certain Dreamcast and NGPC
games, currently two Dreamcast games are supported King of Fighters
Dream Match '99 (links with King of Fighters R2) and Capcom vs SNK
(Links with SNK vs Capcom: Match of the Millennium). However only Capcom
vs SNK is available in Europe. Details of the link-up features can be
found at http://www.gamefaqs.com.
Now that SNK have gone bust, we won't see the link cable released here.
Various importers stock the cable however (see "Imported online
shopping" in the Web Pages section).
Q. Apparently some newer DCs won`t play CD-R discs, including copies?
A. The only reports of these new DCs have been with limited edition
Japanese consoles produced after October 2000. No confirmed reports of
PAL or US DCs with this problem have been made.
Q. Can I play Video CDs/MP3 audio/DIVX movies on my DC?
A. To a certain extent, yes. Commercial software based VCD and MP3
players are available, as well as homebrew equivalents on
www.dcemulation.com. You can also download a moderately successful DIVX
player from that website.
Q. Who or What is "Big Ben", and What is their phone number?
A. Big Ben Interactive are the new distributors of Dreamcast hardware
and software. They have been selling most Sega titles from £5 each, and
their telephone number is (02380) 623200.
2.1 - The Best Games
I have arranged this bit by genre. Obviously with sort of thing personal
opinion will vary and there are many games which others like but which
are not listed. Games is capitals are currently available by
import only (see Dreamcast Web Pages for good importers). I have tried
to cover all types of game in the list. All of these are certainly
worthy of a place in your collection.
Fighting:
Capcom Vs SNK 1+2, Soul Calibur, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Marvel Vs
Capcom 2, Dead or Alive 2, Virtua Fighter 3tb, VIRTUAL ON:ORATORIO
TANGRAM, Power Stone (1 or 2).
Sports:
Virtua Tennis 1+2, NBA 2K, NFL2K1, NHL 2K, Jet Set Radio, Tony Hawk 1+2.
Shoot-em-up:
Bangai-O, Quake 3 Arena, House of the Dead 2, Fur Fighters, Unreal
Tournament, Out Trigger, Rez, IKARUGA.
Driving:
Crazy Taxi, Crazy Taxi 2, Metropolis Street Racer, F355 Challenge,
Daytona USA, Le Mans 24 Hour.
Adventure:
Shenmue 1+2, Sonic Adventure 1+2, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Ecco the
Dolphin.
RPG:
Phantasy Star Online, Grandia II, Skies of Arcadia.
Puzzle:
Chu Chu Rocket, Mr Driller, Bust-a-Move 4.
Oddities:
Samba de Amigo, SEAMAN.
A Feb 2002 poll of uk.games.video.dreamcast readers revealed the
following titles as the newsgroup's favourites, with the number of votes
received in brackets after each:
Soul Calibur (14)
Crazy Taxi (14)
Shenmue (14)
Metropolis Street Racer (12)
Phantasy Star Online (10)
Sonic Adventure (8)
Samba de Amigo (8)
REZ (8)
Jet Set Radio (8)
Skies of Arcadia (7)
Virtua Tennis 2 (7)
These games would form an excellent basis to anyone's collection, and
can mostly be bought for very little money at the moment.
2.2 - Import FAQs
Q. How do I play import games on my Dreamcast?
A. There are several known methods for playing imports - all are
outlined below:
Q. What is the mod chip?
A. You can have a MOD chip fitted to your Dreamcast, many companies can
supply you with the chip to fit yourself or they can fit it for you for
an additional charge. Prices vary from 6-40 GBP, obviously higher prices
are charged for professional installation. See messages in the newsgroup
or the links section below for details of suppliers.
Q. My Dreamcast is a U.S/Asian model, how can I play UK games?
A. Certain UK PAL titles, when played on an NTSC Dreamcast will produce
a picture shifted to the bottom of the screen. For these games (PAL 50hz
only games have this problem), you will need to perform the "R422 Mod"
addition to the region mod of your choice. This mod will also make NTSC
Dreamcasts output PAL colour signals so you don't need an NTSC
compatible TV to play them. See
http://www.trsoft.demon.co.uk/dc/palmod.htm for full information on how
to carry it out.
The explanation below is courtesy of Tony Ross:
Basically this mod makes the DC output PAL colour encoding which means
that those JAP games which don't work with RGB scarts will work on any
TV which can take a 60Hz signal (through phono leads or s-video). The
mod also cures the sync problem which some PAL software gives on a
modded NTSC DC (ie. JAP or US). The games still run full screen at 60Hz
so you are getting the full game.
Q. But what about that VMU-mod that was in EDGE?
A. It was a 4 Meg memory card, not a device for playing imports. EDGE
made a mistake (surprise).
Q. What's this about the Action Replay/Gameshark CDX and imports?
A. The Datel Action Replay CDX, although primarily a cheat system,
*does* allow you to play imports, as does the free demo included with
issue 11 of DC-UK magazine. Spinning off from this, some companies are
now producing a 'boot disc' for playing imports which utilises the same
technique.
Q. And the Blaze DC-X?
A. This is a souped-up boot disc available commercially from most import
shops, priced at about GBP 15. It allows the playing of imports on any
DC system, and is reportedly quite successful at booting import games at
60hz on PAL consoles. It also has the facility to force non-VGA enable
games to boot on the VGA box.
Q. Xploder?
A. Similar in function to the Blaze DC-X (above), but allows cheating.
Q. And what's the 'Swap trick'
A. This was worked out soon after the US DC was released to allow
playing imports on your DC console, due to no other solution being
available. For details of this method, see
http://members.tripod.com/dcswapower/. I do not recommend this method of
playing imports as it can and will burn out your laser mechanism.
Q. Will Imported games run in 50 or 60Hz on a PAL console?
A. It seems that only games which send a specific 60Hz signal will run
in 60Hz, otherwise you tend to end up with 50Hz and borders on a PAL
console. An interesting side point is that Dead or Alive 2 and Tee Off
PAL seem to send specific PAL signals to NTSC consoles, resulting in
bordered 50hz games.
Q. I have heard that some games don`t display a picture on a PAL DC?
A. Some US and Japanese games will not display a picture when used with
an RGB SCART lead, regardless of what region console they are played on.
They will work with a composite/RF/S-Video connection. Games known to
not work are:
Giga Wing (JAP)
Skies of Arcadia (US)
Pen Pen (JAP)
US Web Browser version 2.0
Unreal Tournament (US)
Some Midway releases (Hydro Thunder, 4 Wheel Thunder, WWF Royal Rumble)
will only work on the region of console they were released on. This is
apparently due to some non-standard boot checks done by these games.
This list is incomplete, please mail me with more games.
2.3 - "Backup" FAQs
Q. How do I "back up" my GD-ROMs?
A. After months of Dreamcast games being uncopiable, the release of the
Action Replay CDX (see Import section above) triggered the start of the
pirated games. An hole in the DC boot code allows pirated games to be
run off a CD-R disc using either a boot disc or directly. It appears
that games over 800Mb cannot be copied without removing music or video
sequences. Similarly, many games stream information off the disc which
do not work correctly with copied games without tweaking. I need not
remind you that copying of Dreamcast games is illegal. If you require
more information, check the prominent 'warez' sites/newsgroups.
Q. Wh3r3 c4n I downl04d Gam3z for my DC????????!//11/!?
A. alt.binaries.cd.images.dreamcast
Q. I have a mental problem that makes me ignore group charters, why
can't I request pirate Dreamcast games on this newsgroup?
A. uk.games.video.dreamcast is not for discussing piracy in any way.
There are numerous newsgroups dedicated to it, please take your
questions there.
2.4 - VMU FAQs
Q. Can I use UK VMUs or Joypads with my import Dreamcast?
A. Yes. These peripherals will work in any Dreamcast.
Q. What happens when the batteries die in my VMU? Will I lose my saves?
A. No. The batteries only power the VMU for playing games when it's away
from the Dreamcast. They have nothing to do with your saves.
Q. My VMU gives out a long beep whenever I switch my Dreamcast on.
A. The batteries are flat/very low, either obtain new ones (2 x CR2032
about 2.99 GBP each) or if you do not plan to use the VMU for
stand-alone games leave them out. Sega themselves recommend keeping the
small tab used to prevent contact between the batteries and contacts and
using that. Or alternatively for a permanent solution try this:
Remove the four screws underneath the VMU at the four corners (not the
battery one!).
You'll see a red and a black wire going to a bronze plate and the actual
circuit board in the other half. Pull the wires off the plate by moving
them around (circular motion) whilst pulling and they'll soon come off.
Now do the same with the same wires connected to the circuit board. When
finished, place said wires into the bin and screw the unit back
together.
Your VMU will still work perfectly, but with the following exception: No
sound will be heard whatsoever. If you have batteries in, you can still
view your saves etc. "standalone", but you probably don't want to
disable the beep in this case. You still get all the logos/etc on the
VMU when games are playing - just no sound (well, beeps) out of the VMU
itself.
Note that this will require quite a small screwdriver to remove the
screws as they are small and slightly embedded into the plastic. I
(Mike) strongly recommend this modification for its sanity-preserving
qualities.
2.5 - Online questions
A list of available online games is listed below. Now that all DC
releases have ceased, we can but wait for the gaming servers to close
and the online aspect of these games to be rendered useless. All games
are now playable online through your own ISP using Dreamkey 3.0.
European Games
Chu Chu Rocket, Quake 3 Arena, Phantasy Star Online, Phantasy Star
Online ver. 2, Planet Ring, Toy Racer, Speed Devils
Online, POD 2, Worms World Party, Grand Prix Simulation 2.
US Games
Phantasy Star Online version 2, Daytona USA 2001, Out Trigger, Alien
Front Online, Bomberman Online, Ooga Booga.
Q. What's this DreamKey disc then?
A. Dreamkey 3.0 is now available to registered owners of Dreamkey, just
go online with your DC and it will let you register for the upgrade. It
is also bundled with Phantasy Star Online ver. 2. This version of
Dreamkey allows you to use your own ISP, and supports the Dreamcast
Mouse. The old Dreamarena ISP has been shut down as of March 2002,
meaning that pre-3.0 releases of Dreamkey are useless.
Q. On the box for [Game X] it says Online Functions/Online Gaming. What
does this mean?
A. A few games feature the above splashes on game boxes. A basic
explanation of the terms is below:
Online functions - This game will likely be able to connect to it's own
Website where you can find information on the game. You may also be able
to upload high scores, download new levels, download saved games from
other players and so on.
Online Gaming - You can play this game online against other people. this
may mean only in your region (just Europe for example) or you may be
able to play against people worldwide.
Q. Which games have online functions?
A. A lot, far too many to accurately list them all here. Virtually all
Sega first-party titles have online functions in one way or another with
many third parties now providing similar services. Ask in the newsgroup
if unsure.
2.6 - Technical specs
The following is taken from Sega Europe's web site.
Dreamcast is the revolutionary digital entertainment system for the new
millennium. Thanks to cutting-edge technology Dreamcast's 128bit
performance immerses you in incredibly realistic 3D environments and
delivers the fastest gameplay we've ever created. Dreamcast is the
world's first console to offer networking capabilities, which will
include e-mail, internet access and multiplayer gaming on your TV.
Features:
* Four controller ports
* Hitachi SH4 RISC processor (128bit 3D engine)
* PowerVR 2DC graphics processor
* Yamaha 64 channel sound processor
* Custom GD-ROM technology (1GB storage)
* Networking Capability
* 16Mb SDRAM
* 8Mb V(ideo)RAM
* 2Mb Audio RAM
* 33.6k Modem (56k Modem in the U.S)
2.7 - Peripherals
Standard retail prices included where known.
Dreamcast Controller - Cost: 19.99 GBP
The standard controller has an 8-way D-pad, an analogue joystick, 4
digital buttons on the front, A, B, X and Y, with two analogue triggers
mounted on the bottom of the pad. These are similar to the Z button on
the N64 controller. On the original Japanese controller these buttons
were said to break following prolonged use, but they have apparently
been strengthened for the western release. The controller has 2 VMU
ports, and a window so that the screen of the uppermost VMU can be seen.
Further details below in VMU section. You can also buy coloured pads.
Visual Memory Unit - Cost: 19.99 GBP
This is the Dreamcast's memory card. It contains an LCD screen, a mini
D-pad, and two control buttons. The VMU allows you to save your position
in Dreamcast games, and play any "mini-games" you may have acquired on
the LCD screen using the D-Pad and the buttons (can only have one
mini-game on a VMU at any one time). It slots into one of the 2 slots on
the Dreamcast controller. Up to 8 VMUs can be connected to the Dreamcast
at any one time - two in each of the four pads. Two VMUs can be
connected together directly for exchange of information, and upcoming
arcade titles based on Sega's Naomi board may be able to link to the
unit (F355 Challenge is the only one to my knowledge). There are also
cheaper 3rd party VMUs available, without an LCD screen. The memory on
the VMU is split up into 200 blocks, with games occupying between 2 and
120 blocks.The VMU can also be controlled by games when plugged into a
pad, acting as a second screen - hence the hole in the controller. The
screen may be used for displaying data you wouldn't want your opponent
to see, such as player setups in sports titles. Sega have released a 4Mb
VMU (four times larger than the original) which has no screen and does
not require batteries. It is incompatible with a handful of early games,
and is not available in the UK.
Keyboard - Cost: 19.99 GBP
This is the official keyboard for use online via the DreamKey disc, it
is largely similar to a cheap standard PC keyboard. Very important for
online gaming (consider it essential for Phantasy Star Online, Quake 3
Arena and The Typing of The Dead (House of The Dead, except you have to
type words to kill the zombies) which is only available in Japan at
present).
Mouse - Cost: 14.99 GBP
A two button mouse with a scroll-wheel, is compatible with DreamKey 3.0
to make internet use much faster and easier. It is also supported by
various games including Quake 3 and Silent Scope. The scroll wheel is
almost completely useless.
Vibration Unit - Cost: 14.99 GBP
This is the Dreamcast's rumble pack. It slots into the second VMU slot
in the Dreamcast's pad, and provides a rumble effect for games that
support it. It does not require a battery, instead obtaining its power
from the Dreamcast through the controller. The power of the feedback
depends on the game, so don't worry if the effect seems a bit feeble at
times.
Arcade Joystick - Cost: 34.99 GBP
This is the official Dreamcast arcade joystick, featuring green buttons
and a VMU slot. This stick, with its 6 button layout, is ideal for
fighting games - particularly the Capcom fighters. Is reportedly
incompatible in certain ways with games that do not expressly support
it.
Light Gun - Official version only available bundled with House of the
Dead 2, RRP GBP59.99
This is the innovative light gun made by Sega. It incorporates a D-pad
and buttons where the 'hammer' of a real pistol would be, allowing you
to control a character and shoot at the same time. It also has a slot
for a rumble pack or VMU. Sega have recommended MadCatz and Interact as
official suppliers. I do not recommend Interact, as their gun is of the
same pathetic standard as the rest of their peripherals.
Arcade Steering Wheel - Cost: 44.99 GBP
Official steering wheel, features VMU support and standard analogue
control. Has no force feedback/vibration pak support, or pedals. As with
all console steering wheels, works better on some games than others.
VGA Box - Official version not available in U.K.
This device allows the Dreamcast to be connected up to a VGA monitor.
The official unit is not currently available in the UK, but third party
options are now available, import models are also reported to work.
Needs to be supported by individual titles in order to be used.
Microphone - Cost: 19.99 GBP, bundled with "Planet Ring"
The Dreamcast Microphone connects into a VMU slot in the joypad. Uses
include talking to opponents through online gaming via
Planet Ring (which comes free with microphone). It is also used in
playing 'Seaman'.
Fishing Controller - Official version only available through Sega's
online store.
Bundled with imported Sega Bass Fishing this is a somewhat interesting
controller. It is used for the fishing game Sega Bass Fishing. It
incorporates 4 buttons, a start button, an analogue stick, and a reel
for reeling in the fish. It has a vibrating unit built in, which
reflects the size of any fish you hook. Note that the third party
fishing rods are of exceptionally poor quality, so try and grab an
official one if you can.
Maracas controllers - Only available bundled with Samba de Amigo. Cost:
100GBP
Bundled with Samba de Amigo, and essentially works as a simple motion
detector. These items are now incredibly hard to come by and have
fetched upwards of 150GBP on Ebay. You can import some official ones
from Japan for significantly less than this however.
2.8 - The Future
Q. I have been living under a rock since the start of 2001, what is
happening with the Dreamcast?
A. Sega have ceased manufacture of the Dreamcast console as of March
2001. They will sell their current inventory of stock then there will be
no more. Consoles are currently retailing at 49.99 GBP with a few games,
and games are heavily discounted at most retailers. There will be no
more new Dreamcast games released in the US or Europe.
Q. What is Sega going to do now?
A. Sega will continue with their Arcade business, and have started
releasing their top titles on all the major platforms. They have also
released 18 Wheeler Pro Trucker.
Q. Where am I supposed to get games from now?
A. Most retailers have a selection of DC games at vastly reduced prices.
For the hard to find titles. www.ebay.co.uk is the best place to look.
Q. How does Dreamcast compare technically with Xbox/PS2/Gamecube?
A. I will not list the specs of all the other machines here, but here is
a list of the machines in order of raw power (fastest first):
Xbox
Gamecube
Playstation2
Dreamcast
But as we all know, raw power counts for nothing at all when you haven't
got any decent games to play on it, eh, Sony?
************************************************************************
Section 3 - Other resources on the net
3.0 - Dreamcast newsgroups
There are two other English language newsgroups related to Dreamcast
discussion. These are:
rec.games.video.sega
alt.games.video.sega-dreamcast
Both of these last two groups tend to be biased towards US-oriented
discussion, and contain the flamewars and idiocy that comes with that.
There are also a large number of groups dedicated towards copying of
games, if you have half a brain they will be easy to locate.
3.1 - Dreamcast web pages
There are several Dreamcast sites on the web, thus they have been
divided into categories:
Official sites:
http://www.sega.com/
http://www.dreamcast.com/
http://dreamcast.ign.com/
http://www.segaweb.com
http://www.ukresistance.com/
http://www.dreamcastuk.net/
http://www.gamesasylum.com/
Online shopping:
http://uk.shopsmart.com/
http://www.gamesstreet.com/
http://www.gameplay.com/
http://www.game.uk.com/
Imported online shopping:
http://www.tronixweb.com/
http://www.ncsx.com/
http://www.madeiragames.com/
http://www.dcslinks.com
VMU Related sites:
************************************************************************
Section 4 - Contact details and FAQ history
4.0 - How to contact me
This FAQ is maintained by Mike Jenkins. You can e-mail me at
mikejen...@hotmail.com.
4.1 - Where to find this FAQ
This FAQ is posted every Sunday to uk.games.video.dreamcast. It is also
available on the web at http://www.washu.clara.co.uk.
4.2 - Contributions
Major thanks to James Sutherland and Jim Taylor for the original
versions of this FAQ.
Extra thanks go to the following:
Tony Ross - Details of R422 mod.
Paul Colclough - How to stop VMU beeping.
Michael Bungey - Peripherals section, and corrections.
Everybody on uk.games.video.dreamcast - Lots of questions and answers.
4.3 - History
Version 3.6 - 17/11/02
Added a couple of things.
Barring any minor corrections I may receive, this will be the final
update of the FAQ. I will continue to post weekly to
uk.games.video.dreamcast.
Version 3.5 - 28/07/02
Updated and removed a lot of irrelevant stuff.
Reformatted.
Corrections.
Web version revamped and updated.
Version 3.4 - 03/03/02
Added a few bits relating to Dreamkey 3.
Updates
Version 3.3 - 07/01/02
Updates
Removals
Etc
Version 3.2 - 06/10/01
Updated loads of stuff.
Removed dead links.
Finally sorted the messed up formatting.
Removed peripheral pictures as they looked a bloody mess.
Corrections.
Version 3.0 - 01/07/01
Update DC Reset Problem instructions (by Ant - cheers).
Version 2.9 - 10/06/01
Added CDR and RGB lead bits.
Version 2.8 - 27/04/01
Corrections.
Reorganised "best games" list.
Version 2.7 - 16/4/01
FAQ now maintained by Mike Jenkins.
Lots of additions/corrections/updates done.
Converted to MS Frontpage (I KNOW) so expect oddness until I can get it
sorted properly.
Removed an alarming number of dead links.
Version 2.6 - 10/3/01
Couple of new questions added.
The Future section added.
Online information added/updated.
Version 2.5 - 24/12/00
Peripherals section rearranged.
Online gaming details updated.
Version 2.4 - 8/12/00
Best games details updated.
Maracas details updated.
Online gaming details updated.
Removed details of abandoned peripherals (DVD + MP3 VMU).
General tidy up.
Version 2.3 - 5/11/00
Details of 'best games' added.
Details of DreamKey 2.0 added.
Links updated.
Version 2.2 - 1/10/00
Added details of new peripherals.
Remembered to update HTML version (at last).
General tidy-up.
Version 2.1 - 6/8/00
Added details of Maracas controllers.
Updated "backup" information.
Corrected minor spelling errors.
Version 2.0 - 25/6/00
Rearranged most of the FAQs into easier to read sections.
New version number.
Version 1.6 - 11/6/00
Online questions added.
Details of Action Replay CDX added.
Version 1.5 - 28/5/00
Slight reorganisation and tidy-up.
VMU FAQs given own section.
More links added.
Version 1.4 - 21/5/00
Online gaming timetable updated.
DVD added to peripherals section.
More links added.
Version 1.3 - 7/5/00
Added details of NGPC link up.
Added details of MP3 VMU.
General updating of information of peripherals.
Version 1.2 - 12/3/00
FAQ now responsibility of Jim Taylor.
Online gaming details added.
Web page listing updated.
New questions added.
Details of Keyboard and other peripherals added.
Version 1.1 - ??/??/99
Added some more Dreamcast questions based on recent posts.
Fixed a couple of mistakes.
Added history.
Version 1.0 - ??/??/99
First real release. Converted to HTML, and made available on the web.
--
Mike Jenkins
Dreamcast FAQ - http://www.washu.clara.net
This message was posted using an invalid address.
Please respond via the newsgroup.