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Welcome to Dreamcast Talk
Established, 2004.Join our IRC channel, Planetweb Browsers: pwchat://irc.freenode.net:6667/#dc-talk Else: http://webchat.freenode.net/ on channel dc-talk, or irc://irc.freenode.net/#dc-talk if you have an IRC client.
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2.5.2013
The Ghost Blade - Comments
New shooter from HUCAST - The Ghost Blade – a TATE top down Shooting Game with Caravan and 5 Stage Mode Limited Edition 3-disc set with Soundtrack is now available for pre-order on hucast.com. Only 300 Supporters Edition CE copies are available. Check the HUCAST blog for concept art: http://hucastgames.wordpress.com/
Game Features:
3 Game Modes with 3 player ships too choose from.
Online score leaderboard via code
Screen Orientation:
TATE ( “3:4”) and YOKO (“4:3”)
Game Modes:
Stage Mode: 5 Stages
Caravan Mode: 2 min./5 min.
Time Attack
Release: TBA 2013
-Impulse
11.9.2012
Pier Solar Kickstarter for Dreamcast Version - Comments
Pledge your support for Pier Solar HD and secure a copy http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/573261866/pier-solar-hd-an-rpg-for-xbox360-pc-mac-linux-and
Official website: http://www.piersolar.com/
-Impulse
8.1.2012
Geist Force Unveiling - Comments
Unreleased Dreamcast game Geist force is finally recovered. Check out the unveiling and more information:-Impulse
12.19.2011
Ionicon Engine by Reticon Entertainment - Comments
A December update by the Reticon Team explains that the Ionicon engine is finished:I have excellent news!
We have finished the Ionicon Engine! As of December 15th, 2011, the Ionicon Engine 1.0 is completed, the engine includes:
* A 3D model loader with texture interpreter
* Sound and music loader that uses SDL
- Although the music loader uses the same construct as the sound loader. At the moment it is interpreting WAV files which I do not prefer due to the large overhead.
* A simple and rudimentary physics engine that at the moment checks for collision detection.
- In the future, the engine will implement higher order physics, such as velocity and momentum on objects, as well as spring resistance.
* A controller interrupt class which abstracts the input of the Dreamcast controller and wraps it with SDL as well, making the character controls easy to manipulate and debug.
Although the engine is 'complete', it still not complete to my standards. The engine was able to successfully play a demo as we presented it, but the engine is a huge memory hog. Specifically in the model loading. It consumes large amounts of memory each time a model is loaded, so for the next 5 weeks, I'll be optimizing the engine with creating a better, more memory efficient model loader as well as creating a class that will swap memory in and out of the 16MB of the Dreamcast so we do not run into memory faults (which DID happen).
We ran into some problems with the memory cap of the Dreamcast at 16MB, the models, textures and data (once compiled) maxed out the Dreamcast's RAM and would eventually overflow and cause the Dreamcast to go into a kernel panic and shut down. This has been addressed and so I will be spending the next few weeks to ensure that whatever data we do not use, we swap out of the RAM.
We presented the engine and received huge acclaim from the faculty of the California State University Long Beach Department as well as our peers. We created a very lightweight, yet powerful engine that can be implemented onto the Dreamcast. We produced this engine with no debugging tools, little documentation and yet still produced well over 4,000 lines of code in just a matter of months. This is NOT including the research and implementation from the past 3 years of working with the hardware and the other classes it implemented, so there are easily more than 4,000 lines of code in technicality; well over double by my assumption.
We are VERY excited over what was produced with this engine. We were able to display around 7,500 polygons at a steady 30 frames a second! which means, our models for TAHI worked PERFECTLY.
Once the engine is complete to my standards, I will be creating a video to demonstrate it as well as present it! I can reserve a presentation room and present the engine as it is during game play as well as its functionality to all of you and everyone else who is interested in attending the presentation at that time.
Included (below) is a photo of the team which helped me make the engine possible. They're known as the Dream(cast) Team, the man on the far right is our professor who watched over this research project. All four of us spent around 10 hours a day for a good four weeks, testing, applying, recoding and retesting this engine until it was fine tuned enough to function correctly.
On the TAHI side, now that we almost have an entire engine to use, we will begin implementing pieces of the game into our engine to stress test it and hopefully start piecing it together! On the artist side, we've finalized Gangaro's character (the main playable character), which is also included (below), and has begun being modeled.
Hopefully by the end of the five weeks or so, once the Ionicon Engine has been optimized, we will be able to produce a higher output of polygons, that means an even more finely detailed game! stay tuned, we will have more to show, and yes, we will be updating the blog.
The reason why the blog has not been updated in some time, is because we've been spending countless hours on the engine and had no time for anything else.
P.S. Also during these months of putting the Ionicon Engine together, we've developed a process (through trial and failure) of developing on the Dreamcast that is quick, nearly painless and stream-lined, so that anybody who is a hobbyist may be able to program on the Dreamcast without even needing a coder's cable, or interfacing with linux or cygwin! We'll have more on that as the time comes.
I'll possibly be making a nice tutorial regarding that process on the RETICON website after we've made our 'major updates' :)
Thank you all for the support all of these years, and through your support, a successful engine has been created which gives us the gateway to produce many high quality in-depth games for the Dreamcast! This is just the beginning. We've created a new way to code for the Dreamcast and an easier way to make 3D games for it! So to all of you in the Dreamcast-Talk forums, thank you to the bottom of our hearts. The entire RETICON team thanks you ALL! For your support and for everything that you do.
-Impulse
11.3.2011
Gunlord - "The Biggest Retro Game Launch Ever!" - Comments
Chris with the NG:DEV.TEAM brought this to my attention:"GunLord is a Eurostyle Platformer with emphasis on exploring huge worlds and blasting off enemies. This game features 8 stages of exciting 2D game play with over 45 unique enemy types. Blast yourself through giant landscapes, explore caverns and reveal all secrets!! Pre-orders for GunLord are now available on these platforms: Sega Dreamcast Neo Geo MVS Neo Geo AES GunLord Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HohDEQpIRMw GunLord Website: http://www.gun-lord.com/ Pre-Orders: http://www.ngdevdirect.com/ Features: 8 Huge Stages 16-bit Hand-drawn Graphics Non-linear action with 8-way scrolling Big Bad Boss Enemies Constant 60 fps Internet Ranking via Code"
You can view the press kit which contains some nice screenshots and promo artwork here: http://dreamcast-talk.com/uploads/gunlord
-Impulse
9.9.11
Happy Birthday Dreamcast! - Comments/Discussion
As we celebrate the 12th Birthday of the Dreamcast, remember the great times we've had and look forward to some interesting developments in the community. I think it's getting better every year.-Impulse
7.22.11
4x4 Evolution Server Trouble - Comments/Discussion
You may have noticed trouble connecting to the 4x4 Evolution server in the past month. Thankfully the server might not be permanently offline. A topic on Terminal Reality's official forums explains that they have moved to a new office and are having DNS issues. Hopefully it will be corrected soon."I think we may have this sorted out. Basically, DNS issues. We moved to a new office, and at the same time a new service provider, and our IP addresses changed. The DNS changes should be in effect by now, and you should be able to connect as normally." Terminal Reality: http://www.terminalreality.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=164&start=10&sid=a4b992c72b0b544f5d3dfce51501202c
-Impulse
6.7.11
RETICON Team Interview with Frank Lima - Comments/Discussion
Frank Lima of the RETICON Team has graciously allowed us to interview him on the progress of their highly anticipated upcoming Dreamcast game, Tahi.DCT: How does your team feel about the Dreamcast and doing the project?
Frank: The team is extremely enthusiastic over the concept of creating a game for the Dreamcast. Most of my team members at one point owned a Dreamcast, so they know what they were in for. What really gets my team going is that they know their hard work will pay off, because they will be releasing a serious, long-term game for the Dreamcast and not another platform, which will make us stand out from the other small development teams. A good analogy would be 'The Black Sheep'.
DCT: Are they on schedule?
Frank: No, we are not on schedule, but this is normal for large projects such as this, with a small team. We have compensated for this lost time by creating a VERY strict summer schedule. This schedule has been produced for every single team member and contains very specific instructions AND deadlines to achieve by the end of August. So far it has been a success!
DCT: Have they hit a wall as of yet?
Frank: Nope, no walls here. We work together closely as a team. If someone ever gets stuck they have me as well as the rest of the team to rely on, even if the other team member has to focus on other responsibilities. We are a very tight-knit group, all with the same goals in mind.
DCT: What portion of the project is working well for them? What isn't?
Frank: Well since the team is segregated into sections, it seems as if all portions seem to be working well for them. I created the team's responsibilities based on their strengths. Again, if they ever get stuck, they have the rest of the team to rely on and me.
DCT: What stage are they at?
Frank: * Our writer is revising the story to improve game play. Him and I spoke for a while and created a plan. We are currently analyzing and attempting to make communication with Marc Laidlaw (writer of Half Life 2) to understand and get a feeling of the gameplay needed. We are trying to achieve 'A gamer in the shoes of a hero', we want the gamer to feel as if he or she is a part of this world without the need of endless cut scenes. * I, as well as the other programmers are endlessly working and retooling the engine. Getting a stronger understanding of openGL and how to apply it to the Dreamcast architecture. We've renamed the ION engine to the IONICON. We've long completed our use cases and diagrams. We're testing and expanding our research and understanding of the extent at which the Dreamcast architecture can be pushed. I am attempting to create a shader system which mimics higher end shaders, without the hit on the processor; it's a tricky process. * Our game designer is also working along side with me. We've reworked the user interface again to allow for less complication and it just to be easier on the eyes. Our control layouts are complete (they have been for quite some time). Our game designer is working along side our writer as well to see what kind middle-ground we can create that has a strong story, but a story that doesn't take over the overall game play. Again, we are using Half Life 2 as an example, and on top of that, Zelda: Ocarina of Time. * Our artists are creating the creatures for the world as well as revising some of the main characters to fit more holistically. Soon one of our artists will be moving to environmental design to create the world. * Our musician is working hard in producing sequenced music for the theme, hero and villian songs. These songs are best understood as reoccurring 'themes', like Star Wars, everyone knows the 'Imperal' theme or the 'Rebel' theme. The sequenced music will then be used on the Dreamcast's Yamaha chip. If we can somehow improve our engine's CPU usage, we would like to use AAC or MP3, but that is still under debate if we can even do so. * We've recently created a public relations section which will allow us to keep updated on all of our outlets, including updating our webpage and constructing the acutal TAHI subsite.
DCT: Will there be a demo within the next four months?
Frank: I am attempting to achieve at least a tech demo to show everyone the ability of what the IONICON engine can produce on the Dreamcast platform. Since this is new research we will allow a download to be placed on our site as well as survey. We want to make sure that this engine works on as many Dreamcast systems as we can. In the mentioned survey we will have multiple questions which include playability, average framerates and other questions as well as a box for any anomalous issues which may occur.
DCT: Who will publish the game?
Frank: Well, frankly, we haven't thought of that stage yet. So if anyone has any suggestions that they would like to share with us regarding this, that would be great. Send any information to flima@ReticonEntertainment.org or bcaecar@ReticonEntertainment.org We have been so focused on the actual creation of the game, we have not put any thought into publishers just as of yet. We DO plan on picking up a publisher though, we have to make sure that the publisher is just right, both fiscally and legally.
DCT: Do you have any plans for distribution i.e. play-asia.com?
Frank: Yes, we do. Again, relating back to question 7. We have not looked into this completely yet. Are largest concern is legality. Dealing with the Dreamcast, which is developed by SEGA, leaves kind of a gray area for us as a team because, it is discontinued hardware (abandonware in some cases), however SEGA may still have rights in some way for the production of software on that platform. We've been carefully looking into this subject to make sure we can cover our ends just in case something DOES come up from SEGA. So going back to question 8. We do plan on distributing the software, we just need to be careful and plan out how to do so, just to be safe.
-Impulse
3.6.11
Zelda: Return Of The Hylian for Dreamcast - Comments/Discussion
Neoblast has ported a homebrew Zelda game to the Dreamcast. This is the first of a trilogy.
Controls: Dpad: Move A: Action B: Run X: Sword Y: Map L: Save Menu R: Use item VMU: 14 blocks each save. License: GPL Made in C++ and SDL Website: http://www.zeldaroth.fr/us/ Download CDI and Source: http://www.dreamcast.es/descargas/iberdc/ZeldarothENG+source.rar
-Impulse
2.22.11
Dreamcast Comics
Neoblast and I are making some comics that poke fun at the sometimes painful and sometimes hilarious moments with our Dreamcasts.
Keep up and have a laugh with all the latest updates: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3124
The DC Reset:
By Neoblast
-Impulse
1.31.11
Fast Striker is out now!
Since our last news post, Fast Striker was released and is available right now. If you would like to support Dreamcast-Talk.com, please order by clicking on the banner below to use our Play-Asia affiliation link. Check out more about the game below. Thanks!
-Impulse
9.14.10
Sylverant PSO Server now open to the public
On 9/9/10 (also the 1 year anniversary of Sylverant) BlueCrab opened up his Sylverant PSO server to the public. Now beyond 200 revisions strong, the server is shaping up to be excellent. Connect to his server and help test. http://sylverant.net/connecting-to-sylverant/Here at Dc talk we are also running the Sylverant PSO server. In the future we hope to join our shipgate with the official Sylverant PSO server.
-Impulse
9.9.10
A Gift of Betas - Happy 11th Birthday Dreamcast!
On this day of the Dreamcast's 11th Birthday, it is my pleasure to announce the release of 2 betas: Thief 2 and System Shock 2. These betas were discovered by game_players_s aka Tweeg on a DC development kit that he purchased. Follow the discovery post here: http://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2047Download the betas here: http://dreamcast-talk.com/beta
From game_player_s: "My only wish is that if you happen to get one or both of them into a playable state that you'll be considerate enough to release the playable version(s) back to the Dreamcast community for the same price you're paying (hint: free) to obtain these rare files"
Thank you, game_players_s!
-Impulse
9.7.10
Fast Striker - A New Vertical Shooting Game for Dreamcast
Game features:
- 6 Stages
- 3 Game Modes: Original/Maniac/Novice
- Elaborate Scoring System
- Up to 180 Enemy Bullets Simultaneously on Screen
- 40+ Fully Animated CGI Enemies
- 6+ Huge Fully Animated Boss Enemies
- 3D Scrolling CGI Backgrounds
- Constant 60 fps
- Difficulty Rank System
- Internet Ranking via Code
Release date is set for Winter 2010. Pre order now at http://www.ngdevdirect.com/
Visit http://www.faststriker.com for more information.
Thank you for the update, Vasiliy.
8.1.10
Doom for the DC v1.2 network mode
Chilly Willy from DCEmulation has made an update to his Dc for Doom that fixed the networking mode bugs. This port can technically be considered an addition to the online games for Dreamcast.From Chilly Willy's DCEmulation topic: "Doom for the Dreamcast is a port based on older Doom code. In that sense, it's more like Chocolate Doom. It does support variable resolution, allowing you to run at 320x240, or 640x480, for example. It plays the MUS format music in the WAD files by converting them to MIDI, then playing that via libWildMIDI. Doom for DC supports regular controllers, the mouse, and the keyboard. The primary stats from the HUD are shown on the VMU screen of the controller so that you can play with the screen size set to turn off the status bar ... The networking has been debugged - you can now actually play against other people running this version of Doom for the DC, my latest Doom for the PSP, old versions of sdlDoom for the PC, ADoom for AROS, or ADoomPPC on the Amiga. I also fixed a bug in the OSK (on-screen keyboard) when using VGA out."
Original post with download link: http://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=72&t=100351
5.15.10
Rush Rush Rally Racing: Regular Edition Completely Sold Out
April 16th, 2010, 18:12 Posted By: Darksaviour69Redspotgames press release:
As of today, the “Regular Edition” of the 2D top down racer “Rush Rush Rally Racing” for Sega Dreamcast is sold out. Single units are still available at wholesalers and retailers for a short period of time.
Rush Rush Rally Racing is the latest game by redspotgames and Senile Team and hit the shelves on October 30th 2009. Not even 6 months after its release all units of the Regular Edition are sold. Hence redspotgames exceeds the sales figures and sales speed of all Sega Dreamcast titles since 2008. The publisher already set a sale record of Indie Games on the Sega Dreamcast with their 2007 title “Last Hope”, which lasts until today.
Even though the Regular Edition of their latest title is sold out, both versions of the Deluxe Edition are still available for 27,95 EUR (~ US$37,80 / ~ £24,50) at the redspotgames online shop.
Of course this begs the question, how many units were made?
Article by: Bob Dobbs
3.11.10
Working Dc-PC Server for Windows XP
A new guide for setting up the Dc-PC server with Windows XP is out and it actually works.Check it out: http://dreamcast-talk.com/dcpcXP
-Impulse
3.11.10
Tahi - The Arocean War and Advanced Daisenryaku 2001 Update
A new and exciting Dreamcast game is in development, Tahi - The Arocean War. A tentative release date has been set for August 2011. To learn more about this game and follow our discussion, check here: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1382.
Advanced Daisenryaku 2001 is a Japanese only war strategy game that was released for Dreamcast in 2001. It is widely regarded as the best strategy game for Dreamcast and is a must play. Being that it is in Japanese, most people would never get the chance to experience the game. Nebelwurfer has undertaken an English translation of the game. A patch has recently been released that translates up to mid 1942 and is 55% complete. This is an on-going project. The patch and more information can be found here: http://www.knology.net/~mackdraper/DC_AD2001/Patch.htm.
-Impulse
11.24.09
GOAT Store Announces Irides: Master of Blocks releasing 12/12!
Straight from the Goat's mouth:"Irides: Master of Blocks Limited Edition will contain:
- New cover art
- Full color expanded instruction booklet
- Disc art denoting the game as a Limited Edition copy
- Mini-Poster for the game individually numbered and signed by the game developer
- Two inch diameter Irides: Master of Blocks collector's coin, also individually numbered
Once these special editions are sold out, we will never re-make them. On top of that, a certain number of copies will be held back to go on exclusive sale at the Midwest Gaming Classic event being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this upcoming March. If you want to ensure that you get one of the Limited Edition copies of this game, act now! Since we are emailing the mailing list first, it is possible that these will sell out before they ever officially go on sale!
Here are the links to the two versions of the game:
Limited Edition - $35.90:
http://www.goatstore.com/Products/Sega/Dreamcast/?product=372075
Standard Edition - $21.90:
http://www.goatstore.com/Products/Sega/Dreamcast/?product=372070
For more information regarding the release of Irides: Master of Blocks and to preview the official press release for tomorrow and get screenshots of the game, you can also head here: http://www.goatstore.com/News_Irides_Release/"
-Impulse
10.7.09
Play-asia.con - Rush Rush Rally Racing Pre-order
You guessed it, play-asia.com is now taking pre-orders for Rush Rush rally Racing which is set for release sometime this month.Time to get yourself a copy.
-Impulse
9.9.09
Rush Rush Rally Racing Official Release
The Senile Team has officially announced the release date of Rush Rush Rally Racing to be in October 2009.From Senile Team Newsletter:
"Dear fans,
We are proud to officially announce the release of Rush Rush Rally Racing for Dreamcast!
Published by redspotgames, it will be available in October. You can already pre-order the game at redspotgames' web site: http://www.redspotgames.com/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=10
For more info and a gameplay video: http://www.senileteam.com
Sincerely, Senile Team"
That's a great announcement to make on the Dreamcast's 10th Birthday. Follow our discussion of this game on the forums: http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=1385
-Impulse
9.8.09
Happy 10th Birthday Dreamcast!
The date is almost here: September 9, 2009. 10 years ago on 9/9/99 the Sega Dreamcast was released in North America. A decade has passed and it's still thinking.To celebrate this momentous occasion, http://ihaveadreamcast.com and http://gamingvisionnetwork.blogspot.com/ will be holding gaming events on 9/9/09. They will also be streaming the game play on their website's. Be sure to check them out and if you live close drop by and have some fun.
Get out there and celebrate. Happy 10th Birthday Dreamcast!
-Impulse
9.2.09
Last Hope: Pink Bullets ships out on September 4, 2009
Game Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlIjjVnrarYFrom Play-asia.com:
"Exclusive Dreamcast Game Modes:
* Adjusted difficulty (Reduction of shoot frequency and flight velocity of enemy bullets / no rank)
* Explosions / particle effects reduced for more clarity on screen
* Better hitting response for hit enemies
* Improved visualization of boss hit zones
Pink Bullets specific features:
* Six credits and instant respawn during one credit
* Higher ship speed from beginning
* Five difficulty levels
* Overall easier difficulty
* Altered stage color theme for higher visibility
* Pink enemy bullets"
For more information on the game: http://www.lasthope.ngdevteam.com
Available for pre-order at Play-Asia.com
-Impulse
8.25.09
DC-Downloads Down For Good
http://dc-downloads.com It looks like DC-Downloads is down forever! It is a sad day for us DC fans being this is was a great site that had the fastest downloads and all directly from the site.The former site mostly supported only official Dreamcast games, mostly NTSC. The closing of the site is strange being the site had just been "renovated" a few months prior.
Article by: Bob Dobbs
8.22.09
Rush Rush Rally Racing Almost Finished
This is an excerpt from the Senile Team:"Rush Rush Rally Racing is an old school 2D racing game for SEGA Dreamcast. No sponsored cars, no realistic environments - just plain old fun!
Originally intended as a small coding exercise, the project soon grew to such proportions that it compelled us to turn it into a complete game.
The title makes sense because the four R's represent the number of players that can simultaneously enjoy this game."
FEATURES:
* Single-player grand prix mode with four difficulty levels
* Three multi-player modes to enjoy with up to four players
* Five race cars to choose from
* 10 Grand Prix race tracks
* 9 additional multi-player race tracks
* Awesome soundtrack by Black Device
* Autosave to VMU (any port, file uses just 2 blocks)
* Region free
* Rumble pack support
* Compatible with original Dreamcast pads, arcade stick, and third party controllers
* Supports PAL (50/60 Hz), NTSC and VGA displays
* Configurable controls and many other options
* Animated cut scenes
* Plus even more unlockable content!
It is to note that this is the team that was responsible for "BEATS OF RAGE".
http://www.senileteam.com/rushrushrallyracing.html
Article by: Bob Dobbs