That thing with the doo da and the thing, y'know, for the wossname thingy....

Pyongyang

With Sturmwind now immanent, it's been stated that it will make use of SD card to add further content (an Omake mode hopefully?).

Anyway.

What's this? Will it do the job?

http://dc-sd.com/

If not, what do I need to buy so I can get Sturmwind DLC in future.

Thank you please.

Doge

Thanks for the introduction to Sturmwind:

Is it just me or are the graphics phenomenal for a Dreamcast game?

Or were DC games always to that level?

Do they outshine the PS2 by a mile?

This Sd card thingy vaguely reminds me of a feature some PS2 games make use of that I was reading this week.

Gran Turismo 4's ability to save screenshots onto a usb storage device, and print to certain USB printers.

Pyongyang

Its got some phenomenal visuals for sure. I have the LE pre-ordered for months. Its due any time now apparently.

The game will use SD access for DLC so says the developer Duranik.

Not sure how many LE copies are left so get in quick!

a5y

EDIT - If I had to guess, that'd do the job. Didn't expect it to say "MicroSD" though, thats new to me.

I don't own one and I've never borrowed/used someone elses. I've been looking into getting one of these for some time, but not felt any urgent need to get one. There seem to be a bunch of different ones, 2 different styles, one with a flexible cable and another completely rigid (looking especially like a USB adapter).

Flexible:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57g1MkoTBCQ

Rigid:

(image originally from:
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/355667-How-to-buy-a-Dreamcast-SD-card-reader-from-China)

Dunno what that X over the cable represents, could just be an advertisement saying something along the lines of "This cable is rubbish and the design is inferior, get ours instead!".

These SD adapters have been around in one form or another for a couple of years judging by the dates of forum posts talking about em, but really I don't know what they're mostly used for.

I presume with some effort (using that Russian Dreamshell operating system thingy) they work as smoothly than burnt discs for loading backups and save wear and tear on the Dreamcasts laser and GD-ROM drive.

Hope some of this is helpful.

Pyongyang

Thanks chief, useful info. Makes me wonder how the dlc is going to work, maybe the game code looks to the SD at some stage (e.g. If SD card detected, check directory for xyz file and, if present then change the menu to unlock) and alters the game?

Excuse my dumbed down interpretation of how that could work please!

Anyway, yes, Sturmwind looks super exciting. The level where you fly past the sun looks utterly mesmerizing!

The only thing I get irked about is all Euroshmup soundtracks sound like a cross between a Scooter CD, a Dolby high fidelity sampler CD and that awful "step to the left, lets go lets go, everybody clap your hands" song that I hope to God the person who wrote that is now living in hiding and in squalor.

safetyboy

Cant wait for Sturmwind LE prordered here too! Come on....

Pyongyang

We should take a leaf out of the American's book and hold a "That 'everybody clap your hands, reverse your car, slide to left, do the cha cha and slide around, let's go' song SUCKS!" rally at Croke Park.

Who's with me?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpQfCcsqQ0E

NOTE: Please do yourself a favour and skip to 4mins in to that video.

CiDeRmAn

Who knew that Disco was so divisive?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5YJlYFnyA0

a5y

Pyongyang wrote: »

Thanks chief, useful info. Makes me wonder how the dlc is going to work, maybe the game code looks to the SD at some stage (e.g. If SD card detected, check directory for xyz file and, if present then change the menu to unlock) and alters the game?

Excuse my dumbed down interpretation of how that could work please!

Anyway, yes, Sturmwind looks super exciting. The level where you fly past the sun looks utterly mesmerizing!

The only thing I get irked about is all Euroshmup soundtracks sound like a cross between a Scooter CD, a Dolby high fidelity sampler CD and that awful "step to the left, lets go lets go, everybody clap your hands" song that I hope to God the person who wrote that is now living in hiding and in squalor.

I'm curious about this DLC bit as well. I suppose its not until an SD card adapter came about there was a sizeable amount of memory a download could write too, other than local VMUs, memory cards or maybe off site saving of data like you'd expect with multiplayer RPGs.

I've not tried downloading the likes of JSR graffiti or Chu Chu Rocket levels yet to get a feel for how much you can actually save to a VMU so I could be wrong and VMU was is just a long overlooked viable DC option.

I suspect it could be "on disc DLC" (I hate that term, and don't exactly like the business model either), and that a unique authorisation data file or a password or something similar is sent over the modem/broadband adapter and written to the SD card which tells the "DL"C on the disc to start co-operating.

But I hope its not done like that. Paying for something thats on the disc already just feels rotten, being extorted is melodramatic about it, but it doesn't feel like I'm getting a fair deal. Plus it just antagonises hackers who otherwise might be working on making the SD adapter do something else cool (say Dreamshell), rather than trying to crack the security on the disc they feel a bit ripped off over.

Asside from the, if it was actually downloaded DLC, sent over the modem or BBA, or (better yet) to any computer that can work with the Micro/SD card, that means the only real upper file size limit to how much content they could make for the game is the size of the memory card, not how much leftover room they had on the Mil-CD after the vanilla card content was on there.

So without card swapping awkwardness that means... 32GB* of levels, new music remixes, new ships, features? Even if its released slowly over a longer period, that means the Dreamcast developers can maintain an income without having to deal with the full complexity and profit splits of the launch of a new title. It'd be nice to know they can maintain a steady income since it means they won't either collapse or abandon the DC since its a sure earner, and so long as they don't throw quality control out the window (horse armour? HORSE ARMOUR?!) everybody wins.

*I dunno what the actual size/speed limits of the supported cards SD/MicroSD adapters are though, but even if the limit is much smaller than 32GB I doubt there's anything stopping the limit getting upped in future on a newer generation of adapters. And I suspect the Dreamcast's serial port will be the limiting factor for read/right speed more so than the card. Again a guess though.

TL;DR I hope they release the MOAR PEW PEW downloadable content in a way that doesn't step on people's toes and it becomes a nice long term earner for 'em, it would be nice to attract more development to the Dreamcast if it was proven to be good business.

o1s1n

Well that's me sold! I've had this SD card adapter for months and months with nothing to use it for.

Just ordered the Sturmwind LE there.

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

Well that's me sold! I've had this SD card adapter for months and months with nothing to use it for.

Just ordered the Sturmwind LE there.

I'm shocked! I thought you had it pre order for months like the rest of us?

Shame on you Pantrylad!

o1s1n

I know, just at the price it was going for, there are crap loads of other goodies I could be picking up instead!

When it comes to new games for old consoles, I'd generally rather just hunt down some old classic.

Could have had Pulstar for the price of this...ah no, it begins already!!

Pyongyang

o1s1n wrote: »

Could have had Pulstar for the price of this...ah no, it begins already!!

Thanks for reminding me to add Pulstar to my Akibabara shopping list!

Had that game on my watchlist for almost a year and the prices are stupid for it.

Same with Muahihimesama LE HD that was released yesterday, I will buy it in Japan.

o1s1n

My Pulstar moment has passed I think. Saw it on ebay a few years ago for around 60 - 70 pounds (It was a charity auction, they'd found it in a random box of stuff) and I didn't bid high enough.

Have yet to see it for a good price since!

CiDeRmAn

And this is why I own a dodgy 111in1 cart for my MVS!

Shock Troopers is pretty great though!

o1s1n

Can't believe you got that so cheap - I think it cost me about 50 quid!

Pyongyang

Pantrylad. Please post some photos of your pantry, post floods.

Doge

+1

All this talk of a custom built Pantry that will cure post recession hunger in Ireland,

and not even a piccy to show us his creation.

Feck the Zero Tolerance dump, I want to see a .jpg dump of your Pantry!

And CideyFuhrer, post up a pic of your collection while we're on the topic!

It's not like you've a load of rare unmentionable stuff that could threaten the security of your home, like Steve SI's secret undisclosed retro items!

Steve X2

waveform wrote: »

+1

All this talk of a custom built Pantry that will cure post recession hunger in Ireland,

and not even a piccy to show us his creation.

Feck the Zero Tolerance dump, I want to see a .jpg dump of your Pantry!

And CideyFuhrer, post up a pic of your collection while we're on the topic!

It's not like you've a load of rare unmentionable stuff that could threaten the security of your home, like Steve SI's secret undisclosed retro items!

Yis are all after me "Rise of the Robots" collection.

.

CiDeRmAn

It's true, you have those Rise of the Robots and are keeping them from us!

Pyongyang

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

It's true, you have three copies of Darius Alpha and are keeping them from us!

FYP.

Actually Steven Emmanuelle Ulysses SI, do any of your three copies have the 'success letter'?

Is that copy in Trader for sub-€600 CIB with success letter?

I'm going to pop in to Trader and see if I can find it. Still weighing up getting a sanity check on the old VHI before I depart for Japan. If I can't find a full Batrider kit I might just walk away with it...

I stress might.

p.s: Pantrylad, you thanked my post, now where's the snaps?

o1s1n

Pyongyang wrote: »

p.s: Pantrylad, you thanked my post, now where's the snaps?

Don't pay any attention to the toilet. There were some people living in there recently whom had to be removed

Pyongyang

But... Pantry?

Myrddin

Ciderman won't show snaps of his games room because there's all framed pics on his walls of him shaking hands with the likes of William Shakespeare, JFK, & one of him with Tutankhamun in a headlock

Pyongyang

Here wait a sec, I recognize those snaps. Those are from the Amityville house. Not the Lutz 'haunting' but the actual mass murder in the gaf in 1974 right?

Or is that Joseph Fritzls gaf?

Steve X2

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

It's true, you have those Rise of the Robots and are keeping them from us!

Yes, I'm saving you all from a fate worse than death :rolleyes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8PtGXa4xQE

Pyongyang wrote: »

Actually Steven Emmanuelle Ulysses SI, do any of your three copies have the 'success letter'?

Is that copy in Trader for sub-€600 CIB with success letter?

I'm going to pop in to Trader and see if I can find it. Still weighing up getting a sanity check on the old VHI before I depart for Japan. If I can't find a full Batrider kit I might just walk away with it...

I stress might.

One of my copies has the letter and the one in Trader doesn't have it as far as I know.

.

Pyongyang

Steve SI wrote: »

One of my copies has the letter and the one in Trader doesn't have it as far as I know.

So having the success letter adds €300-400 to the value? :eek: is there no way to check for authenticity on the letter?

Can I scan in yours and print my own? :pac:

sengoku

Parts lists and schematics are in the video description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh6SxdUk_Xk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gTpylJi9wk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-b1JfRo5Zo

Myrddin

sengoku wrote: »

Parts lists and schematics are in the video description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh6SxdUk_Xk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gTpylJi9wk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-b1JfRo5Zo

o1s1n has the adaptor, apparently its largely useless

Pyongyang

EnterNow wrote: »

o1s1n has the adaptor, apparently its largely useless

I'm going to wait to see how the SD feature is incorporated in to Sturmwind before I start buying SD adapters, cards and all manner of flash card based tomfoolery I think.

Might be a long wait though, just sayin'...

Myrddin

Pyongyang wrote: »

I'm going to wait to see how the SD feature is incorporated in to Sturmwind before I start buying SD adapters, cards and all manner of flash card based tomfoolery I think.

Might be a long wait though, just sayin'...

Ah yeah I forgot the Sturmwind DLC thing, for that it shall be a must