Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Online games, how to get online, and anything involving Dreamcast online can be discussed here.

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tripletopper
blackout!
Posts: 133

Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#1 » Sun Jan 20, 2019 1:02 pm

Nintendo charges $20 a year for Switch online gameplay. and they software-enforce the online gameplay, meaning if you’re not a member, you can’t connect.

Considering Nintendo Switch is 9 figures of subscribers worldwide (hundreds of millions) , and Dreamcast online is at most 4 figures (thousands), you would shut down a network that’s struggling to find users if you charge at the gate.

Of course you could hope simply entusiasts foot the server bill, and hope that’s enough.

If could, I would like t contribute a few things.

One is I got a Copy of 4 online games. If you need physical copies of games in order to get information on the online components, I’d like to donate them: Bomberman, Daytona USA, Outtrigger, and Unreal Tournament, TEMPORARILY if donating them helps the testing process to get the game working online. I assume getting the online code won’t "consume" the GD ROM, like breaking a video game cartridge shell might, if I understand ROM dumping right. If donating them gives me those games online, and I get them back when you guys are done, in working online order, where do I sign up? If one has to consume the game tho extract data, eh, who’d be the hero to donate their game? I guess whoever can find a cheap ebay copy and send in a second copy.

Second, if I remember right, first the online service was free. Then it was gated by a $10 / month (That’s $120/year, twice as much as Xbox Live NOW!!!) fee. And all games were retroactively gated, like Chu Chu Rocket. Then in its final year, the SegaNet gate was unmanned, making Ooga Booga a free game when before you need to pay.

If it’s true that you can change the nature of the game at the server level to both allow free gaming and to put up a toll both, and I think I saw a server message when I was connecting to one game that referred to DreamcastLive.com, then I’ve got a good fund-raising suggestion.

Why don’t we put unclickable text ads in the messages. For $1 a month, or $10 a year if paid all at once, you buy one "ad raffle ticket" Assuming 250 people contribute a dollar a month, any time you first log in online, and after a game and you go back to the lobby, a random ad appears. So if just 250 contributors pay a dollar a month each, then your ad had a 1/250 chance to show up. I would like to advertise a couple things to the Dreamcast Community.

This can also do many things. One is you can offer Sega and their third parties a venue for advertising their current generation games to an old school audience. So Sega can get so many permanent ad raffle tickets , and Hudson on Bomberman, etc...

Second, If someone wants to advertise more aggressively to the DreamcastLive audience, they can buy multiple raffle tickets. So if you want to pay an extra $10 a month, like Sega used to charge, you can get a 10/260 chance that your ad is shown instead of a 1/250, assuming the dynamics above.

Third all this advertising will turn it from being a "charityware" product to a truly free product, and if you want to support it, you get something back from the Dreamcast community when you give to it.

Fourth, you’ll give people a reason to open their wallets if one were more selfish.

And Fifth, it will encourage more usage, because people don’t like to take advantage of a charity, but if it’s a business model, it’s mutual support.

I’m on Social Security Disability, and would like to contribute. I am inventing a product that might come in handy to DreamcastLive users. if it gets made, I’ll make sure the dreamcast community isn’t ignored. The idea is a game-paging system where you can be told when someone is currently online wanting to play a game, and you’re on a summoning list, like a doctor always on call. it was supposed to be for Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and the 3DS/Wii U/Switch, but if my way of making it works out well, one time quick labor resources would be needed to make it work for Dreamcast Live. it’s designed to bring people together who normally get empty game rooms on their favorite games, and the Dreamcast in 2019 qualifies as that.

Who knows, it might inspire a resurgence in PS2, Original Xbox, Game Cube, and Wii online games.

The ads don’t have to be clickable. Radio and TV ads were never clickable. If you come up with a memorable ad, you’ll get customers with either just text or a still jpeg.

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Xiden
Developer
Posts: 2219

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#2 » Sun Jan 20, 2019 3:18 pm

tripletopper wrote:Nintendo charges $20 a year for Switch online gameplay. and they software-enforce the online gameplay, meaning if you’re not a member, you can’t connect.

Considering Nintendo Switch is 9 figures of subscribers worldwide (hundreds of millions) , and Dreamcast online is at most 4 figures (thousands), you would shut down a network that’s struggling to find users if you charge at the gate.

Of course you could hope simply entusiasts foot the server bill, and hope that’s enough.

If could, I would like t contribute a few things.

One is I got a Copy of 4 online games. If you need physical copies of games in order to get information on the online components, I’d like to donate them: Bomberman, Daytona USA, Outtrigger, and Unreal Tournament, TEMPORARILY if donating them helps the testing process to get the game working online. I assume getting the online code won’t "consume" the GD ROM, like breaking a video game cartridge shell might, if I understand ROM dumping right. If donating them gives me those games online, and I get them back when you guys are done, in working online order, where do I sign up? If one has to consume the game tho extract data, eh, who’d be the hero to donate their game? I guess whoever can find a cheap ebay copy and send in a second copy.

Second, if I remember right, first the online service was free. Then it was gated by a $10 / month (That’s $120/year, twice as much as Xbox Live NOW!!!) fee. And all games were retroactively gated, like Chu Chu Rocket. Then in its final year, the SegaNet gate was unmanned, making Ooga Booga a free game when before you need to pay.

If it’s true that you can change the nature of the game at the server level to both allow free gaming and to put up a toll both, and I think I saw a server message when I was connecting to one game that referred to DreamcastLive.com, then I’ve got a good fund-raising suggestion.

Why don’t we put unclickable text ads in the messages. For $1 a month, or $10 a year if paid all at once, you buy one "ad raffle ticket" Assuming 250 people contribute a dollar a month, any time you first log in online, and after a game and you go back to the lobby, a random ad appears. So if just 250 contributors pay a dollar a month each, then your ad had a 1/250 chance to show up. I would like to advertise a couple things to the Dreamcast Community.

This can also do many things. One is you can offer Sega and their third parties a venue for advertising their current generation games to an old school audience. So Sega can get so many permanent ad raffle tickets , and Hudson on Bomberman, etc...

Second, If someone wants to advertise more aggressively to the DreamcastLive audience, they can buy multiple raffle tickets. So if you want to pay an extra $10 a month, like Sega used to charge, you can get a 10/260 chance that your ad is shown instead of a 1/250, assuming the dynamics above.

Third all this advertising will turn it from being a "charityware" product to a truly free product, and if you want to support it, you get something back from the Dreamcast community when you give to it.

Fourth, you’ll give people a reason to open their wallets if one were more selfish.

And Fifth, it will encourage more usage, because people don’t like to take advantage of a charity, but if it’s a business model, it’s mutual support.

I’m on Social Security Disability, and would like to contribute. I am inventing a product that might come in handy to DreamcastLive users. if it gets made, I’ll make sure the dreamcast community isn’t ignored. The idea is a game-paging system where you can be told when someone is currently online wanting to play a game, and you’re on a summoning list, like a doctor always on call. it was supposed to be for Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and the 3DS/Wii U/Switch, but if my way of making it works out well, one time quick labor resources would be needed to make it work for Dreamcast Live. it’s designed to bring people together who normally get empty game rooms on their favorite games, and the Dreamcast in 2019 qualifies as that.

Who knows, it might inspire a resurgence in PS2, Original Xbox, Game Cube, and Wii online games.

The ads don’t have to be clickable. Radio and TV ads were never clickable. If you come up with a memorable ad, you’ll get customers with either just text or a still jpeg.


Just an FYI we currently have a patreon setup that supports the website and the developers for the dc online community. :)https://www.patreon.com/dreamcastlive

I recommend anyone who wants to contribute to our community to support us there.

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Bob Dobbs
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Posts: 4393
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Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#3 » Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:28 pm

I do not believe we have a "paging" thing going, though. That would be cool if this could happen.
Regards,
Bob Dobbs

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HuntrRose
Vagabond
Posts: 727

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#4 » Sun Jan 20, 2019 4:58 pm

lol

tripletopper
blackout!
Posts: 133

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#5 » Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:32 pm

1) Do you need the copies of my formerly-online games or not?

2) What do you think of the idea of offering, as a premium on Patreon, an "ad unit" for a dollar a month. That’s something that would cost almost no money, just the database time to insert and remove the ad, but could raise money for the Dreamcast Network.

I can contribute a Java program which had text ads where you just copy and paste the ad into a carriage return separated TextEdit file.

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Wombat
Vagabond
Posts: 753

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#6 » Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:38 am

Setting up a paywall to get your system up and running pretty much defeats the ideology of many that are involved in keeping the scene alive. Those who want to support can do so with knowledge and voluntary donations and of course by actually playing the resurrected games.

Offering your builds of Bomberman, Daytona USA, Outtrigger, and Unreal Tournament won't speed up the process of getting these back online. It's the server part that's not on the disc that makes it a complicated and especially time consuming. That being said work is being done on all of these. I suggest you look around on this very forum to read more about this.

tripletopper
blackout!
Posts: 133

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#7 » Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:57 am

@wombat I’m not talking about a paywall.

I’m talking about giving a text advertisement unit to those who contribute $1/month and encourage free play, and give those who pay a way to spread their message to Dreamcast Live owners.

If the server can mention Dreamcast Live in the server messages, then the server can be edited without effecting the games. And if it can alternate between a free system, a paywall system, and back to a free system, then why can't there be advertising to pay for the costs, but make it free for the most people? If you can change the message on the room login screen, then why not mention a random sponsor? And yes, the best way a sponsorship message service works is if the price of consuming the media online is free.

Advertising gives a premium to network donors, but makes it free for the rest of us, all while raising the funds for the server costs. It’s a win-win-win. Donors advertise something to Dreamcast owners, the majority of owners can consume freely and not feel guilted into pay for the service, and the money for the server will be raised.

tripletopper
blackout!
Posts: 133

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#8 » Tue Jan 22, 2019 11:07 am

Bob Dobbs wrote:I do not believe we have a "paging" thing going, though. That would be cool if this could happen.


About the Patereon page: THAT’s the place where you can offer an unclickable ad raffle ticket. $1/month equals one ad raffle ticket.

How easy is it to ad a random ad that displays on the online waiting rooms? If Sega can switch it from a free system, to a pay system,a nd back, and the room messages meniotn Dreamcast Live, then why can’t in mention sponsors who support the network.

If I talk to the company who might want to fund the pager sysstem, I will donate $2 a month to DC network if I can have some adveretising for my game pager.. I was going to donate $1 a month anyway once I know it works with my setup. I would like the random ad to advertise my game pager.

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HuntrRose
Vagabond
Posts: 727

Re: Interesting way to support Dreamcast online community.

Post#9 » Tue Jan 22, 2019 12:22 pm

lol

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