The Official Sega Saturn Thread!

[tripletopper]

This is what I got so far I got a Sega Saturn file that started as a .7z

 

What I decompressed it it went down to a folder which has inside of it the name of the website it came from and another subfolder which has the name of the game on it. 

 

Inside that subfolder it contains most of the tracks as .bin files, and one file as at the end as a .cue file.

 

I noticed two things unique about my burning software roxio toast 20.

 

The first is the software can go down as low as 1X.  Since I don't have that many CDs to sacrifice and hopes of saving time we should start low and raise the hurdle up gently as we go.  

 

Also I heard roxio toast has a separate mode known as .bin file burning.

 

I understand if I burn it as a CD it'll think it's a music CD code.

 

I understand if I burn it as a ROM it'll either pick a standard PC ROM or Macintosh CD-ROM. 

 

I understand the Saturn format is neither. 

 

I think there might be a way to make a big copy version if you pick the right option and you select 1X speed.

 

I assume bit perfection is more important than the time saved because I split plenty of wasted time and toasted CDs on nothing.

 

I'm supposed to get a call back from the  roxio toast people on how to do this correctly.

 

I know there are many ways you could save a disc but if I have that many options like I supposedly do on roxio toast I assume I want the most "bit perfect" way to burn the disc.  If you don't know what it is called on Roxio toast, is that the boat I should ask for that doesn't approximate sound waves or M pegs or anything like that to compress and interpolate but something that's bit perfect I assume it's the mode I want.

[Zoyous]

Wow, Roxio Toast... that takes me back to the late 90s and watching my computer struggle to keep the buffer full while I tried to burn CD-Rs. So many discs were wasted! 😅 One main problem I remember about Roxio is that in trying to make it user friendly they made it difficult to really get into the settings for more technical users.

 

Anyway, for the purposes of burning discs for Saturn, I think you're absolutely right to burn slowly. It's been several years since I've done that and I used an application called Alcohol 120%, but IIRC it's Windows only.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

1 hour ago, tripletopper said:

The first is the software can go down as low as 1X.  Since I don't have that many CDs to sacrifice and hopes of saving time we should start low and raise the hurdle up gently as we go.  

yeah...all of the software I've got now and tried in the past will let you set a burn speed of 1x. That isn't the issue. The issue is that newer burners today, won't let you burn that slow. As I said, I choose the slowest speed on the software which is 1x, but an error pops up when it starts that the burner doesn't support it and it has to go with the burner's slowest speed. In the case of my DVD burner, that is 16x. Screwy enough, I can read anything as slow as 8x. But burning....nah...16x and above only.

[eightbit]

2 hours ago, tripletopper said:

For the Dreamcast I have a micro SD card reader that plugs into the Dreamcast specific expansion port in the back.  I'll try downloading a.gdi emergency if that works on the Dreamcast player or MicroSD cards on the Dreamcast.

 

I know what it is. Don't expect it to work very well.

 

That device is really for launching homebrew and backing up Dreamcast games for use with emulators. It's very very terrible at launching and playing retail games on the Dreamcast itself. 

 

So, if you purchased that to be an ODE device, you have the wrong thing.

 

 

[SlidellMan]

Keriotosse:

 

[tripletopper]

The funny thing is my SD card reader has what seems to be a proprietary slot that fits perfectly in the back of the Dreamcast so I assume it was made for real physical hardware.

 

Why would they make it work with that proprietary slot if it wasn't made for that specific Dreamcast hardware?

 

Unless it's not that proprietary of a standard in which case it may work well with other stuff and just happens to fit the same standard as the back of the Sega Dreamcast special port.

[newtmonkey]

7 minutes ago, tripletopper said:

Why would they make it work with that proprietary slot if it wasn't made for that specific Dreamcast hardware?

Someone quoted your post and replied to you.  Did you read it?

 

Here, I'll help you:

On 4/26/2024 at 9:43 AM, eightbit said:

That device is really for launching homebrew and backing up Dreamcast games for use with emulators. It's very very terrible at launching and playing retail games on the Dreamcast itself. 

Edited Friday at 06:05 PM by newtmonkey

[tripletopper]

So you're saying it's more primarily designed to extract things out of the disc than it is to put things into the Dreamcast RAM.

 

Just make sure we're talking about the same thing I bought a package on eBay called The DreamShell  version 4.0

 

I have a CDR disc of the program to run supposedly Dreamcast game off SD cards supposedly off original hardware.  

 

I think this is kind of old because there's a middle range of SDHC cards that will accept but all that accept neither standard SD cards nor SDXC cards. 

 

If my theory is right that it only accepts SDHC, then I just find a bunch of 32 gig sdhd cards and try that. 

 

Also the instructions specifically call for PC and I only have a Mac but I have an extra mac that is an Intel Mac and I'm working to get that as a PC.  So give me a couple days see if I could get this working right.

[eightbit]

51 minutes ago, tripletopper said:

So you're saying it's more primarily designed to extract things out of the disc than it is to put things into the Dreamcast RAM.

 

Just make sure we're talking about the same thing I bought a package on eBay called The DreamShell  version 4.0

 

I have a CDR disc of the program to run supposedly Dreamcast game off SD cards supposedly off original hardware.  

 

I think this is kind of old because there's a middle range of SDHC cards that will accept but all that accept neither standard SD cards nor SDXC cards. 

 

If my theory is right that it only accepts SDHC, then I just find a bunch of 32 gig sdhd cards and try that. 

 

Also the instructions specifically call for PC and I only have a Mac but I have an extra mac that is an Intel Mac and I'm working to get that as a PC.  So give me a couple days see if I could get this working right.

 

 

Most of us know what it is, like I said. The device you have plugs into the Dreamcast serial port. The serial port is slow, much slower than the actual GD-ROM drive. Hence, games stream too slowly. Some work, but if you are looking for a good experience with good compatibility it ain't gunna happen with that $20 device. 

[tripletopper]

So the best case scenario would be you just have to wait a little longer for it to load new information into the disc.  The worst case scenario is game stuttering in the middle. 

 

The only problem is I'm not sure if I want to ruin my perfectly good GD ROM Dreamcast to turn it into an SD ROM Dreamcast. 

 

Also I heard it's much cheaper and easier to use an HDD ROM versus an SD ROM.  

 

I got a spare one terabyte hard drive that I'm not using that could go into the Dreamcast.

 

I don't have much skills for money any place where I could buy pre-motted HDD ROM Dreamcasts?

 

Also the dreamshell was made during the era of the SDHC era of micro SD cards.  Are SDXC cards faster than SDHC cards?  If so has someone made an SDXC version, or some other version that's equal in speed to a GD ROM?

 

Thank you for telling me.  Would a Dreamcast that powers on and has the options screen, but doesn't boot to disc be a good candidate to transform into an HDD ROM Dreamcast.

 

You're going to have to replace the GD ROM disc player anyway so might as well play replace it with an HDD ROM recap

[NE146]

Yeah it's a thing really.. sometimes I look at the Saturn I installed the MODE in and while it's awesome, I do admit to feel a little twing of regret now and then in taking out the disk drive. I mean I could put it back in if I REALLY wanted to, but I don't want to.  Still though... it makes me think twice in wanting to try it out in my Dreamcast also, especially since I only have 1 of those. 

 

 

Edited Friday at 09:12 PM by NE146

[eightbit]

2 minutes ago, NE146 said:

Yeah it's a thing really.. sometimes I look at the Saturn I installed the MODE in and while it's awesome, I do admit to feel a little twing of regret now and then in taking out the disk drive. I mean I could put it back in if I REALLY wanted to, but I don't want to.  Still though... it makes me think twice in wanting to try it out in my Dreamcast also, especially since I only have 1 of those. 

 

 

 

It would be best to search for Dreamcast consoles where the GD-ROM is dead. They typically sell for a song. 

[tripletopper]

By the way, if I am using a Real Saturn Hardware, what is the "best version" of Saroo to get to just play it on my CRT TV and have other hardware translate it to HDMI.

 

Also wondering how do I hook up both the Netlink and the Saroo simultaneously? I heard you can play Bomberman on it with "direct dial networking". But you need a "dial up simulator" to get it working.

[tripletopper]

If I were to find a Dreamcast with all the electronics were working except for that GD GD-ROM not working  (Seriously  GDs are harder to read than CDs. One smudge ruins it's reading) and were to a) provide a blank 1 TB SATA hard drive, and b) provide some money for labor, how much would it cost to have a complete .GD collection (none of those weak CD-R versions.) and the additional parts and la or to have a Complete DC?

[tripletopper]

Hey I was just wondering if someone can add a Netlink port by build either a) a Saroo with a dial up phone port somewhere, b) a "Lock On cartridge" with a Dial Up adapter or c) a Saturn Cartridge Y adapter so you can plug in both a Netlink and a Saroo.

[phoenixdownita]

3 hours ago, tripletopper said:

Hey I was just wondering if someone can add a Netlink port by build either a) a Saroo with a dial up phone port somewhere, b) a "Lock On cartridge" with a Dial Up adapter or c) a Saturn Cartridge Y adapter so you can plug in both a Netlink and a Saroo.

Why? Do you even have the modem? How about the dial up simulator?

 

Do you really really believe you’d do much on line player on the sat?

(that’s just fomo)

 

And I don’t think anyone is looking at building anything like that.

(neither lock-in nor y-splitter and I seriously doubt the saroo project would look at adding extra hw for that)

 

If you find 9 friends, 2 Saturn multi-taps and 9 extra controllers, you can play 10 players simultaneous on screen Saturn bomberman … lol

 

Edited yesterday at 03:11 AM by phoenixdownita

[phoenixdownita]

3 hours ago, tripletopper said:

Hey I was just wondering if someone can add a Netlink port by build either a) a Saroo with a dial up phone port somewhere, b) a "Lock On cartridge" with a Dial Up adapter or c) a Saturn Cartridge Y adapter so you can plug in both a Netlink and a Saroo.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804229418640.html?_randl_currency=USD&src=google&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa&_randl_shipto=US

The 500g prebuilt with DC modded (need special bios to boot) seems to be around 180 … it seems there are cheaper sellers as well … but that’s the ballpark.

[tripletopper]

2 hours ago, phoenixdownita said:

Why? Do you even have the modem? How about the dial up simulator?

 

Do you really really believe you’d do much on line player on the sat?

(that’s just fomo)

 

And I don’t think anyone is looking at building anything like that.

(neither lock-in nor y-splitter and I seriously doubt the saroo project would look at adding extra hw for that)

 

If you find 9 friends, 2 Saturn multi-taps and 9 extra controllers, you can play 10 players simultaneous on screen Saturn bomberman … lol

 

Actually I do have a dial-up simulator or doing it through a Mac emulating a PC.  I played Dreamcast Online in the modern era.

 

Also we had 7 people 2 multitaps, and 8 plus controllers between the 5 of us that owned Saturns and a few guests.

 

And yes, I was always invited because I had Bomberman, Decathlete, Winter Heat, a few 2 player gun games, quite a few fighters and other Saturn Party games.  N64 owners: eat your heart out.