DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

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NeoSnk
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DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#1 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 6:56 am

Since nobody posted it here, I decided to have the honour :D.



Our friend megavolt85 released the new version for the DreamShell Bootloader (0.7.X Beta). It has great improvements with 96% of compatibility with the Dreamcast library.

Personally I feel very happy to see the DreamShell being updated after all these years. I'd like also to thanks pcwzrd13 for the video reporting this news and for this spreadsheet showing all the compatible games:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... oWX8#gid=0

Link to download the bootloader: http://www.dc-swat.ru/forum/thread-3525.html
For tutorials and homebrews access Titan Game Studios: https://titangamestudioscom.wordpress.com/
For interviews and gameplay support me on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@NaiAdventure/featured

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pcwzrd13
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#2 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 12:06 pm

It's so awesome! I much prefer the do-it-yourself mod over any plug-and-play solutions. Open source FTW! :-D
PSO Characters:
Teal'c - lvl 119 HUcast - GC# 11666
Alto - lvl 39 FOnewm - GC# 12964

YouTube Channel : Dreamcast Live

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BLueSS
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#3 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 3:57 pm

I've only seen DreamShell referenced in relation to the cheap serial port sdcard adapters on eBay. Is that all DreamShell is for, or other uses? Does this update then make the serial port adapters more usable (although still not perfect)?

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pcwzrd13
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#4 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:06 pm

BLueSS wrote:I've only seen DreamShell referenced in relation to the cheap serial port sdcard adapters on eBay. Is that all DreamShell is for, or other uses? Does this update then make the serial port adapters more usable (although still not perfect)?


It's best used with the IDE / hard drive mod. The serial port SD card reader will never have high compatibility due to the very slow transfer rate of the serial port. I'm not even sure if it works with this new loader.
PSO Characters:
Teal'c - lvl 119 HUcast - GC# 11666
Alto - lvl 39 FOnewm - GC# 12964

YouTube Channel : Dreamcast Live

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BLueSS
dark night
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#5 » Tue Feb 19, 2019 4:10 pm

pcwzrd13 wrote:It's best used with the IDE / hard drive mod. The serial port SD card reader will never have high compatibility due to the very slow transfer rate of the serial port. I'm not even sure if it works with this new loader.

Ah, ok! Thank you, sir! :D

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Aleron Ives
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#6 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:38 am

pcwzrd13 wrote:It's so awesome! I much prefer the do-it-yourself mod over any plug-and-play solutions. Open source FTW! :-D

Hopefully someday the DreamShell bugs will be fixed, but getting games like PSO with above average protections to work will be a challenge.

I think the biggest limitation is that it relies on IDE HDDs. IDE has been dead for a long time, and eventually all IDE HDDs that exist will be broken, especially since they have moving parts. This mod forestalls the demise of your DC by removing the very fragile GD-ROM drive and replacing it with a moderately less fragile HDD, but both components were made around the same time, and both of them exist in limited quantities (used IDE HDDs are much more plentiful than GD-ROM drives but are still a limited resource), so it's not a long-term solution, IMHO. (USB-GDROM isn't, either, as it's my understanding that each unit steals some components from a GD-ROM drive, so once there are no more Dreamcasts to cannibalise, it will be impossible to build new USB-GDROM units, too. GDEMU is currently the only long-term solution for Dreamcast preservation, as it uses modern components only.)
"Fear the HUnewearl."
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pcwzrd13
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#7 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 7:43 am

Aleron Ives wrote:Hopefully someday the DreamShell bugs will be fixed, but getting games like PSO with above average protections to work will be a challenge.


This new loader is a huge improvement overall but yeah, PSO is still problematic. It's perfectly playable but being unable to cast tech on other players is a bummer. I did hear that GDEMU had this same issue at some point but it was fixed after an update. I'm not sure the details though.

Aleron Ives wrote:I think the biggest limitation is that it relies on IDE HDDs.


Not really. It relies on an IDE interface but you can use CF cards and even SSDs with adapters. I use a CF card myself and there are quite a few people using SSDs with SATA adapters.
PSO Characters:
Teal'c - lvl 119 HUcast - GC# 11666
Alto - lvl 39 FOnewm - GC# 12964

YouTube Channel : Dreamcast Live

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Xiden
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#8 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:57 pm

pcwzrd13 wrote:
Aleron Ives wrote:Hopefully someday the DreamShell bugs will be fixed, but getting games like PSO with above average protections to work will be a challenge.


This new loader is a huge improvement overall but yeah, PSO is still problematic. It's perfectly playable but being unable to cast tech on other players is a bummer. I did hear that GDEMU had this same issue at some point but it was fixed after an update. I'm not sure the details though.

Aleron Ives wrote:I think the biggest limitation is that it relies on IDE HDDs.


Not really. It relies on an IDE interface but you can use CF cards and even SSDs with adapters. I use a CF card myself and there are quite a few people using SSDs with SATA adapters.


Woot! got PCs article on retro rgb. Means next Wednesday you will be featured on bobs retro news show :)

https://www.retrorgb.com/dreamshell-loa ... e-mod.html

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pcwzrd13
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#9 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 3:08 pm

Xiden wrote:Woot! got PCs article on retro rgb. Means next Wednesday you will be featured on bobs retro news show :)

https://www.retrorgb.com/dreamshell-loa ... e-mod.html


Not familiar with RetroRGB but sounds good to me. :)
PSO Characters:
Teal'c - lvl 119 HUcast - GC# 11666
Alto - lvl 39 FOnewm - GC# 12964

YouTube Channel : Dreamcast Live

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Aleron Ives
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Re: DreamShell BootLoader 0.7.X Beta Released!

Post#10 » Wed Feb 20, 2019 8:16 pm

pcwzrd13 wrote:I did hear that GDEMU had this same issue at some point but it was fixed after an update. I'm not sure the details though.

GDEMU has never had the problem, because it does not have any kind of menu system. GDMENU and BlueCrab's boot disc have had the problem, because homebrew made with KOS breaks PSO. PSO is very picky about the system state when you launch the game, and if the homebrew menu doesn't "clean up" after itself before launching the game, it breaks PSO. Typical symptoms are being able to walk through certain objects that should be solid, not being able to use Techniques on teammates, not being able to use Rafoie at all, and possibly random crashing. You also can't play Battle mode rules, because the time limit will instantly expire. (GDMENU still doesn't work with Battle mode, AFAIK.) Using the Utopia boot disc with PSO will cause these problems, too.

BlueCrab fixed these problems with the PSO loader by ditching KOS and rewriting the loader from scratch. Since the PSO boot disc is simple, this approach was easier than trying to fix KOS. It's unlikely that DreamShell will be rewritten, and nobody knows what KOS is doing wrong, so the odds of PSO getting fixed on DreamShell aren't great.

pcwzrd13 wrote:It relies on an IDE interface but you can use CF cards and even SSDs with adapters.

Didn't you say that using adapters makes the speed even worse than using a GD-ROM? That doesn't sound like a great solution... :?
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