GDEMU v4 demo

April 12th, 2014, 01:44 Posted By: wraggster

A lot of people asked to see a video of GDEMU running, so here it is, courtesy of a tester:

Note that this is a v4 unit so it has a “remote” attached with a flat cable. The v5 will only have one button on the main PCB and no remote – but will also feature solder points for additional up/down buttons should anyone want to mod their Dreamcast case and add those on their own.
As you can see GDEMU is very easy to install and use, doesn’t need any BIOS mods. You just swap out your GD-ROM drive and put the unit in it’s place. Having said that, my testers asked if it’d be possible to boot a simple menu for choosing the image to load – the answer is yes, I’m working on it, but it’s not a high priority task right now.

http://gdemu.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/prototype-demo/

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Layoffs hit Sega Europe following restructure in US

April 9th, 2014, 22:56 Posted By: wraggster

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Deunan WIP News

March 31st, 2014, 00:58 Posted By: wraggster

Deunan posted this on his site:

Decision has been made, there will be a short production run of GDEMU soon - as in, a few weeks. After that, when I can tell just how many people are actually going to pay for it, I will decide if I will continue or not. More details will follow once I get everything sorted out.

In other news, my testers notified me of some recently done Dreamcast dumps that appear to be broken on GDEMU, so I investigated.
Seems like there is a group, or groups, that started doing GD-ROM dumps using PC drives with a so-called "swap method". I did that too once, other than having slightly different "audio offsets" there is nothing preventing such dumps from working - if done correctly. And that's the key word here. Well, the group(s) in question decided they know better and introduced changes into tracks' positions and lengths - to "fix" things I guess. The worst part is they've just shoved all their changes into .gdi files and typical user has no way of knowing if it's a proper dump or not.

GD-ROM images made using GD drive in Dreamcast are not perfect either, but frankly no CD image format is, or will ever be, unless we store raw EFM stream (assuming we can even read it glitch-free, which is debatable). But small flaws can be corrected if the method is good in principle and the changes are always consistent. For GDIs it means you need to adjust for missing pregaps (not really needed) on data tracks and starting address on audio tracks. My guess is the new dumps were supposed to overcome that, but instead are plain broken.

As an example let's take a look at Chu-Chu Rocket, the PAL version. The new .gdi file says this for tracks 3 and 4:

3 45000 4 2352 "ChuChu Rocket! (Europe) (En,Ja,Fr,De,Es) (Track 03).bin" 0
4 355602 0 2352 "ChuChu Rocket! (Europe) (En,Ja,Fr,De,Es) (Track 04).bin" 0

Track 3 file is 730535904 bytes long, that is 310602 raw sectors. Since it's missing the pregap I mentioned, the actual length of the track is 150+310602=310752.
Let's add this length to it's starting address, to see where it ends: 45000+310752=355752. See the problem? Track 4 starts at 355602, which is less than 355752. This creates an impossible situation where tracks overlap.

But wait, what if we treated this new image just like the old dumps and actually did apply the fix for audio tracks as usual? Then it'd be 355602 plus 150 fix which equals 355752 and it checks out. Yay! Maybe this is the correct way after all, let's investigate further:

18 505295 0 2352 "ChuChu Rocket! (Europe) (En,Ja,Fr,De,Es) (Track 18).bin" 0
19 505819 4 2352 "ChuChu Rocket! (Europe) (En,Ja,Fr,De,Es) (Track 19).bin" 0

Track 18 is audio, 1232448 bytes long, which makes it 524 "sectors". If we add the fix, then it starts at 505295+150=505445, and ends at 505445+524=505969. Oops. Track 19 started already, at 505819... Now track 18 end overlaps with track 19 pregap.

The funny thing is, the situation with track 18 overlapping track 19 will kinda work still, since no code ever tries to acces the pregap, so the collision will never be discovered. But this tells you a lot about quality of this dump. Can it be fixed? Maybe. Question is, why break and fix it, rather than just use a known good dump.

I rest my case.

http://dknute.livejournal.com/42778.html

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Shenmue development bugs included cats walking like people and empty streets

March 22nd, 2014, 00:25 Posted By: wraggster

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Yu Suzuki is looking into Kickstarter for Shenmue 3

March 21st, 2014, 18:31 Posted By: wraggster

Yu Suzuki is researching Kickstarter, and looking into the possibilities of using it to fund future projects.Suzuki's always been vocal about how he'd like to return to Shenmue, a series famously cut short after the 2001 sequel, if the chance arose. At yesterday's Shenmue post-mortem at this year's GDC, he said he'd like to make Shenmue 3 with the "right opportunity."Speaking in an interview today, Eurogamer asked Suzuki that, given his desire to make the game and the fans desire for him to return to the series, whether he'd considered crowd funding the game via Kickstarter."Yes," Suzuki answered. "I am researching it."Suzuki was unable to go into specifics about how much he'd need to raise to make Shenmue 3 a possibility - the original two games famously cost $70 million to make, a figure that amounts to $98 million today taking inflation into account - nor did he want to commit to bringing the project to Kickstarter, reiterating that he's merely researching it at present.Suzuki's been notoriously elusive since Shenmue 2, most recently working with his own company ys.net on mobile games. So what is he working on right now?"Just now, I don't have anything I can say yet," he smiled. "I can't announce right now - but I'm making something."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...to-kickstarter

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The making of Shenmue: Yu Suzuki on the cult classic’s genesis, development

March 21st, 2014, 01:05 Posted By: wraggster

Yu Suzuki surprised and delighted a rapt audience during yesterday’s Shenmue postmortem.

Surprising precisely no-one, the first audience question asked at Yu Suzuki’s captivating and revealing Shenmue postmortem was about Shenmue III. Suzuki held the same line he’s held since the request was first made: “I sure want to make it. Of course I want to make it. If I get the right opportunity…”Suzuki isn’t working on any other projects, he confirmed, but he did reveal an incredible amount about the creation of Shenmue, which began as a surprising and obscure prototype called ‘The Old Man and the Peach Tree’ before spiralling into a proposed eleven-chapter saga with restrictive Coke product-placement and AI-driven interior design.Drawn from Suzuki’s dissatisfaction with the Japanese RPGs of the 1990s — he wished to fix things as simple as walk loops that don’t end when a character walks into a wall — The Old Man and the Peach Tree was an (unshown) prototype featuring full 3D graphics and cinematic presentation telling the story of a man, Taro, on the quest to find a great martial arts master Ryu, potentially masquerading as a lazy beggar who requests a peach to eat.Further inspired by a research trip to China, Suzuki evolved this concept into a plot with four acts and four concepts: Introduction, sadness. Development: departure. Denoument: fight. Conclusion: starting afresh. It’s here that you can begin to see what Shenmue would become, with the first act of what had become Virtua Fighter RPG: Akira’s Story following the theme of sadness with Akira losing his father, the “development” following the theme of departure with Akira leaving for China.

http://www.edge-online.com/news/the-...series-future/

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Seen@GDC 2014: (The mob surrounding) Yu Suzuki

March 20th, 2014, 23:46 Posted By: wraggster

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Metal Sonic Hyperdrive

March 17th, 2014, 22:09 Posted By: wraggster

Metal Sonic Hyperdrive is a full hack of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis/Megadrive that features brand new Levels, Music, Gameplay difficulties, Special moves, Playable characters, and etc.
The hack originally started under a different concept back in 2011, with a walljump feature that’s suppose to make the gameplay a mixed of Sonic and Megaman X. because of it, level designs revolves around the use of the Walljumping mechanic including bosses. it later got removed for the sake of polished level designs and gameplay. a total revamped began in 2013 with multiple changes, including all levels done on scratch. another beta of Hyperdrive has been released for the Sonic Hacking Contest 2013, winning the most trophies including 3rd place/Dust Hill Trophy for best overall hack and the Community Trophies regarding the level designs. a Full Release of the hack began in Thanksgiving November 28th with a Youtube trailer and Wii Virtual Console demonstration.
Full Hack originally release in November 28th 2013, this recent update contains a few bugfixes, slightly longer and harder level layouts, and a few other tweaks and features, such as a Extras Menu (that can be entered by pressing C on Title Screen) Survival Mode.

http://www.romhacking.net/forum/inde...c,17417.0.html

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Sonic Boom designs were 'traumatic' for Sonic Team

March 17th, 2014, 21:19 Posted By: wraggster

The developer behind Sega's upcoming Sonic Boom has admitted that its Western-friendly designs for the game were tough for Sonic Team to stomach.
The game, developed by Western studio Big Red Button,was revealed last month and drew immediate criticism for the way in which it had adapted the look of key characters such as Sonic, Tails and Knuckles.
"We went pretty wide with the designs at first, and by going too wide, we lost some of the spirit of the character and had to rein it in," Big Red Button's Bob Rafei told GameSpot.
"Early on, when we had our first review of all the crazy things we wanted to try, [Sonic Team director] Iizuka-san came down to Los Angeles and looked through all the different concepts. I felt sorry for the guy because sometimes he couldn't actually look at the screen - it was too traumatic seeing all the crazy stuff we wanted to do.
"We experimented with different colours and surface features on the characters, such as fur or scales, and quickly Sonic Team came back with their discomfort of that. They were great guardrails for us to understand when we were deviating too far from the character. Without their input, the character would have been a lot more alien and different from what Sonic is known for.
“Over the course of that meeting, when we were coming up with new ideas, we had a very sincere - just two adults talking - conversation about why a character should or should not wear pants, and that was a very surreal moment in my life and my career. But it helped us understand the rules of clothing in this universe. Any small adjustment went a very long way, so we had to be very careful.
"Sonic Team and Sega were very open-minded about our approach, and accepting of a lot of things we were doing. Ultimately, because of some of our really wacky ideas, we did find the boundaries of things we could and couldn't do.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sonic...c-team/0129723

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MEGA 6 - march 1993 (UK)

March 10th, 2014, 23:23 Posted By: wraggster

This time we are proud to present you with the latest issue of MEGA, the Mega Drive magazine. We are up to March of 1996 and this is issue number 6.
The first article we take a look at is the review for The Secret of Monkey Island for the Mega CD. Next up we have Mega-Lo-Mania as well as the all time classic: Another World. And last but not least we take a look at the review for the often forgotten action platformer Ex Mutants.


http://www.outofprintarchive.com/cat...ega/MEGA6.html

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reicast r6 for Android

March 3rd, 2014, 22:33 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

reicast r6 for Android is released. reicast is a multi-platform Dreamcast emulator. The project is currently in Alpha, usability, performance and stability issues are to be expected. We'll fix them the following weeks! As we only have a few android devices, we'd really love to see your videos of it running!


Cortex-A9 dualcore, 1ghz+ is the minimum hardware for decent speeds.

The Dreamcast BIOS is required for this emulator to work. In the internal memory of your phone, create a folder named dc, make a folder named data inside it, and put the bios files there (dc_boot.bin, dc_flash.bin). If you are using a file manager, the path for the folder is /sdcard/dc/data/. You should dump these files from your Dreamcast, Google has many tutorials on how to.

In order to save your game-play progress you will first need to format the memory cards. In order to do this you need to start the program, select the "boot bios" option, go to the "file" option, select the memory cards and then select the "delete all" option.

reicast r6 for Android Changelog:
- Fixed shenmue and many other games, microphone emulation, improved ui, configuration & lots of other stuff

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...icast.emulator

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Retrospective: Shenmue

March 2nd, 2014, 02:16 Posted By: wraggster

Format: Dreamcast Publisher: Sega Developer: in-house (AM2) Read our Shenmue review here

It’s telling that there are only two series which share that much in common with Shenmue: Yakuza, with its heady Japanese environments, kitsch mini-games and crowd combat, plus The Elder Scrolls’ immense interactive population, circadian routines and completely voiced dialogue. This pair of game series, and their respective yardsticks of production, have paddled in Shenmue’s gene pool, even if that was never their intention. There are no Shenmue clones, of course.Shenmue was ahead of its time just as much as it was ahead of itself. It arrived on three GD-ROMs (proprietary 1.2GB Dreamcast discs), just one year after the console’s debut. At the time, it was the most expensive videogame developed. Originally planned for release on Saturn, it swelled into a 16-chapter tale that was eventually compressed into three games, but that weight loss still wasn’t enough to save it from its own ambition, with the third and concluding chapter still nothing but a cross that Sega’s fans continually beg it to bear. Perhaps its only software legacy is to have sealed the ascent of the QTE – quick time event – into gaming’s plump lexicon of abbreviations, but its heritage lives on, often quite fiercely, in the hearts of those who plunged themselves into Shenmue’s grand world.Despite Shenmue’s prerelease selling points embodying the tiresome bunfight of specs, jargon and pillow-talk that would clog up 21st-century E3 events and blustery, post-GTA press releases – Millions of the most realest graphics ever! Unprecedented explorational freedom bar none! – it still successfully tapped into a tremendous wellspring of faith. And Dreamcast owners were certainly looking for something to believe in, with Sega having delivered a console that personified its effervescent arcade joy; Shenmue was the game that would prove to the rest of the world that Sega could also hold its own among the grandiose, multi-disc epics of the post-FFVII gaming scene.“It’s involving, and ultimately rewarding, but only represents a step towards what may be possible in the future, rather than the milestone Edge hoped for,” we concluded in our Shenmue review.

What AM2 delivered was an ineffably slow-paced and coagulated experience, centred on Japanese teenager and monotone human chipboard Ryo Hazuki, and his search for his father’s killer. Some were entranced by the game’s abounding atmosphere and visual detail. Others left frozen by clumpy interaction with an unthreatening, almost rustic world whose lofty promises were its only true revolution. And some must have felt somewhat marooned, afloat in an atypical world where they’d wander the districts of Yokosuka while asking unusual questions to pensioners and hairdressers with ornate faces in a bid to follow the protracted trail of breadcrumbs left behind by Lan Di, the murderer of Ryo’s father. It felt as if, however glamorously realised it may have been, Shenmue was a game of middle management, often composed of the unglamorous daily grinds – being home for bedtime, wisely spending money earned from a day job, or training combat moves through lonely practice – that other games bypass.It’s this domestic-level existence that’s the key to Shenmue’s power, however. Nothing allows you to drink in visual finery quite like a game character that walks at, well, walking speed. When drama kicks off, it’s Ryo’s otherwise drab existence – his hand held by the player at every stage – that gives it genuine, memorable weight. The 100-man battle; the ultimate showdown with Gollum-esque brawler Chai; Ryo’s motorbike ride with long-time friend and emerging sweetheart, Nozomi; even Christmas, as part of the game’s real-world 1986/1987 calendar, feels more than just an excuse to skin Yokosuka with some festive touches. And Lan Di himself makes for a cruel nemesis indeed, rarely appearing throughout Shenmue. Ditto Shenmue II, in which he steals the hero’s ending via a helicopter ride into a sunset sky. Two games in, and with justice not yet meted out, he’s the videogame equivalent of a war criminal.It all feels somewhat perverse, next to the exaggerated power-fantasy otherworlds, confidently structured goals and firm conclusions of other adventures. If not perversion, then it’s definitely representative of a player’s will to believe, a will that still persists in the never-static Shenmue III rumour mill, in the calls, petitions and laments for a closing chapter to the series, and in the fansites dedicated to reverse-engineering as much of the Shenmue universe as possible. It showed not just what gamemakers are capable of, but also what gameplayers are capable of, in how keenly some of them can connect and empathise with the vision presented to them. It’s a game that felt as full of optimism for the future potential of gaming as its readily receptive audience, and remains an immense and charmingly idiosyncratic achievement that loiters in the minds and even hearts of its fans as surely as it’s etched on to a trio of Dreamcast discs.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/...ctive-shenmue/

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Sonic Boom 10-minute 'behind the scenes' documentary released

February 26th, 2014, 00:44 Posted By: wraggster

Sonic Boom will represent one of the biggest visual refreshes for Sonic since his 1999 Dreamcast debut, and Sega has released a new 'Behind the scenes' video which details how this makeover came about.
The 10-minute clip features commentary from Sega and developers from Big Red Button, the studio handling the console versions of Sonic Boom.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com...tary-released/

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Blowfish (Genesis Music Disk)

February 23rd, 2014, 23:21 Posted By: wraggster

via http://pdroms.de/

Blowfish by Planet Earth is a music disk for the Sega Genesis / Sega Mega Drive released at Datastorm 2014.

http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=62574

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Yabause 0.9.13

February 23rd, 2014, 23:05 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emulation64.com/

Yabause is a Sega Saturn emulator create under the GNU license. It currently runs on FreeBSD, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Dreamcast, PSP and Wii.
It's still in development but it's quite stable and support booting BIOS and some games using Saturn CDs or ISO files.



Here's changelog:

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Sega loses right to Shenmue trademark - report

February 19th, 2014, 22:54 Posted By: wraggster

The Shenmue trademark looks like it may no longer be the property of Sega.
DualShockers has spotted an update to the Shenmue trademark page on the United States Patent and Trademark Office website that says the rights have been lost due to lack of use.
“Registration cancelled because registrant did not file an acceptable declaration under Section 8,” it reads.
That section is associated with the “continued use” or “excusable non-use” of a trademark. All of which suggests Sega either didn’t provide the required declarations or couldn’t explain the trademark’s dormant state.
The last proper Shenmue release was 2001’s Shenmue II. A planned sequel was scrapped due to the game’s disappointing sales, but that hasn’t stopped Shenmue III becoming one of the most requested games in the history of the internet.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/sega-...report/0128365

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Mega Drive Megatron is the ultimate crossover for a Transformers loving gamer

February 10th, 2014, 20:58 Posted By: wraggster

Sometimes we notice something that makes us simply say: "Yes. This works perfectly."
The Mega Drive Megatron is one of these things. It's a Transformers figure that turns into a Sega Mega Drive.

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Yabause SVN r3237

February 6th, 2014, 15:40 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.emucr.com/

Yabause SVN r3237 is compiled. Yabause is a Sega Saturn Emulator(SS Emulator) for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.Yabause support booting games using Saturn cds or iso files.


Yabause SVN Changelog:
r3237
Partial japanese translation.

Thanks anonymous!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/uxcdc7

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RetroMadrid 2014!

February 6th, 2014, 14:54 Posted By: wraggster

via http://www.dreamcast.es/news.php?readmore=660#comments

Some because we were biting their nails, but a few hours ago has been confirmed retro premier event in our country, no less than 2014 RetroMadrid ! Also this year Dinamic be the star of this year its 30th anniversary!

For now we only know a few facts: the dates will be . 26th and 27th April and repeated place for the third consecutive year, in the cultural center Matadero Madrid . Unless unforeseen last minute Dreamcast.es not miss the appointment being to on the ball and a lot of trouble with our dándo Dreams! Emotion discovery and above all, MUCH, MUCH FUN! Finally, it is not known whether the event will be a free or input, we will inform you! Learn more at the web renovated: http://www.retromadrid.org /

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Official Sega Magazine 1 - january 1994 (UK)

February 6th, 2014, 13:46 Posted By: wraggster

This week we have something special to present to you: The very first issue of the Official Sega Magazine which was the precursor to the Official Sega Saturn Magazine. You will find some very familiar faces in this magazine, including Julian Rignall, Richard Leadbetter and Radion Automatic, just to name a few. We've got a ton of content to get to, so let us begin. We start of with a big feature on two big fighting games: Eternal Champions and Street Fighter II' Champion Edition, both for the Mega Drive. Then we move over to the Master System with Deep Duck Trouble and Masters of Combat. And finally we look at the Mega Drive reviews for Dune 2: Battle for Arakkis and Eternal Champions as well as Silpheed for the Mega CD.

http://www.outofprintarchive.com/cat...zine/OSM1.html

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