What do I need to know about the Dreamcast?

[Gruce]

Im thinking of buying a Dreamcast, this will be my first so I have a few questions.

Imports and Back-Ups, how do they boot, display etc?

Is the DC still online?

60Hz options?

Anything else you think would be useful?

Thanks

Gruce

[marcus]

Please dont bother asking how to boot backups or your thread will be locked.

[DJ Sack]

You just need to know the DC is the best console ever made!

Imports you can boot with a boot disc like the DC-X or utopia boot disc, this allows you to also boot homebrew games like quake 1 etc.

60 Hz is common on most games but not all.

Some games are still online like quake 3, but most are not. Browsing websites still works as far as i know too.

Oh and get lots of VMU's, as the space on them runs out fast.

[AllYourBase]

You might need some dreamcast goodies, look no further!

http://ntsc-uk.domino.org/viewtopic.php?t=16382&highlight=

[kimenon69]

DC has a great homebrew scene. Basically this place is the daddy for alternative DC information:

https://www.dcemulation.com

[Valken]

I recently took a lok at all the homebrew stuff on dcemulation.com having lost interest in the scene a year ago and it's actually come a long way.

There's a method of packaging a pile of interesing homebrew apps onto a single CD that has a menu driven front end to start apps.

I'm not sure if it's new or not but I like it!

I tried ports of Decent and Quake which are as dated on the dreamcast as they are on the PC but a few of the simpler games are great fun!

I also tried a DC MP3 player that really impressed me. Simple interface but easy to manage and pretty solid playback. I'd use it more often except despite handling high bitrate stuff it won't do VBR.

Games-wise... well it's probably been discussed a million times in a hundred threads but I've been having a DC revival lately cos I'm so annoyed with my other games atm (cos I suck at them :P) and I'm really enjoying replaying Powerstone - the reason I got the machine - and gems like Jet Set Radio, Cosmic Smash, Mars Matrix and Skies of Arcadia.

Not my favourite machine of all time but easily in the top 5.

[Gruce]

Do you need a boot disc to play Imports or Homebrew, a friend of mine has a Dreamcast and he can play them without problems apperently. He says some Homebrew needs a boot disc other are fine. Is this the way with imports? Do some/all need a boot disc to play?

[mid]

Homebrew stuff can be made to boot itself, yes. Not all has been made to do so, however, and you'll want a DC-X to play imports unless your machine has either been chipped or you have an import DC.

The US ones feature an orange swirl rather than the PAL turquoise one, which makes them easy to identify, too.

[Gruce]

Where can I get a boot disc or a chip from?

[mid]

I think it was www.videogameimports.com I used to get mine, under ?15 for the DC-X. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend a chip, as they tend to still play imports at 50Hz unlike the DC-X disc.