Official DCIO News and Development Thread

[Takehaniyasubiko]

USB GD-ROM and GDEMU are basically stagnant devices. They're still being made, but there's next to no improvement on either.

There can't be, though. They are supposed to offer 100% compatibility and their hardware design doesn't allow for any fancy menus. The creators consider them finalized.

[Greg2600]

USB GD-ROM and GDEMU are basically stagnant devices. They're still being made, but there's next to no improvement on either.

There can't be, though. They are supposed to offer 100% compatibility and their hardware design doesn't allow for any fancy menus. The creators consider them finalized.

Well regardless, they work fine, but I'm somebody who feels the DC deserves something far nicer. That uses a nice GUI, and loaded via drag and drop, etc., etc.

[Takehaniyasubiko]

Well regardless, they work fine, but I'm somebody who feels the DC deserves something far nicer. That uses a nice GUI, and loaded via drag and drop, etc., etc.

Agreed. That's why I never got neither of them.

I'm also not so sure they really work with 100% games, start to finish. I've seen some reports of games having weird issues. Some claim it was because of bad SC cards, others say it's a problem with the ODEs...

[Jaggy]

I'm also not so sure they really work with 100% games, start to finish. I've seen some reports of games having weird issues. Some claim it was because of bad SC cards, others say it's a problem with the ODEs...

New GDEMU firmware soon, according to Deunan. From what he has stated previously this should address the remaining 3 issues:

Resident Evil - Code Veronica:
- item duplication bug (prevents game progression, critical)
- Audio cutout during specific boss battle (infrequent, non-critical)

Skies of Arcadia:
- title screen freeze when left running (bypassable, non-critical)

D2:
- disc-swap button issue (fails occasionally, non-critical)

These are the only remaining known issues I believe. The first bug really screwed me (before I was aware of it), but other than that I have been happy with the GDEMU.

The menu (GDMenu) is pefectly fine and not really any worse than the PS-IO menu, my only complaint is that it uses the official disc art pulled from each GDI, and some games do not include this (You can inject images into the ISOs if this really bothers you).

If you are looking for drag and drop game management, the GDEMU _SD utility allows this (Just drag games into its window and let it copy to your SD). There were issues with sorting in the past, but these have been fixed as of the latest version. Not as easy as dragging directly to SD, but given how infrequently you need to do this, it's pretty much a non- issue.

Aside from the drama re: the creator (and availability issues), I have no problems recommending this device. That being said, I'm interested to see other solutions being developed, and it would be fun I suppose to have a "fancier" menu

[Takehaniyasubiko]

New GDEMU firmware soon, according to Deunan. From what he has stated previously this should address the remaining 3 issues:

Resident Evil - Code Veronica:
- item duplication bug (prevents game progression, critical)
- Audio cutout during specific boss battle (infrequent, non-critical)

Skies of Arcadia:
- title screen freeze when left running (bypassable, non-critical)
These are the only remaining known issues I believe. The first bug really screwed me (before I was aware of it), but other than that I have been happy with the GDEMU.

It's true then, GDEMU isn't 100% compatible right now and we only have the author's word that the new firmware will fix everything.

How many DC games have you actually completed on GDEMU, BTW?

[Jaggy]

Yep, not 100% compatible right now.

I have completed a decent amount of games with the GDEMU (from both the North American and Japanese libraries), but far from all of them of course.

The situation with the GDEMU is quite a bit different than PS-IO however. There have only ever been 2 specific game fixes in the history of the device; most of the firmware updates were related to supporting different types of disc images, improving SD support, increasing the number of folders allowed etc. The game compatibility has been pretty much unchanged for years, and enough time has passed that all the remaining bugs have most certainly been discovered (especially considering the Dreamcast only has about 600 unique games across all regions, vs about 3000 for the PS1).

I am looking forward to the new firmware to see if indeed the last few issues are finally fixed.

[Greg2600]

The end of the USB GD-ROM appears in sight. MNEMO just updated his page that what appears to be the drive cable headers he uses are no longer in production so he can only make 85 more of them. Obviously this seems totally bizarre but par the course, and yet another reason the DCIO is truly needed!

Final sales
In my stock left about 85 pcs of these connectors, they are discontinued long time ago and not produced anymore.
That mean- I can make about 85 pcs of USB-GDROM.

[Takehaniyasubiko]

The end of the USB GD-ROM appears in sight. MNEMO just updated his page that what appears to be the drive cable headers he uses are no longer in production so he can only make 85 more of them. Obviously this seems totally bizarre but par the course, and yet another reason the DCIO is truly needed!

Didn't he basically steal some of those connectors from Stone Age Gamer? http://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2 ... gdrom.html

[Greg2600]

The end of the USB GD-ROM appears in sight. MNEMO just updated his page that what appears to be the drive cable headers he uses are no longer in production so he can only make 85 more of them. Obviously this seems totally bizarre but par the course, and yet another reason the DCIO is truly needed!

Didn't he basically steal some of those connectors from Stone Age Gamer? http://www.thedreamcastjunkyard.co.uk/2 ... gdrom.html

Oh crap yes you're right! They paid $4,700 for them, and are still stuck with 600. They sent him about $1,500 worth, but he probably robbed them of at least $1,300 in connectors. He'll never get more because you need to order gigantic quantities. Frankly the 85 he has left will probably last him through the end of this year if not longer. I can't imagine there's much demand anymore. What's even wackier is that he's cannibalized the GD Drive processor from likely a thousand DC drives!

[Takehaniyasubiko]

What's even wackier is that he's cannibalized the GD Drive processor from likely a thousand DC drives!

Yes, I know! I want to smack him for it, actually. That is insane. The guy is toxic in more ways than one.

[zePeido]

New GDEMU firmware soon, according to Deunan. From what he has stated previously this should address the remaining 3 issues:

Resident Evil - Code Veronica:
- item duplication bug (prevents game progression, critical)
- Audio cutout during specific boss battle (infrequent, non-critical)

Skies of Arcadia:
- title screen freeze when left running (bypassable, non-critical)

D2:
- disc-swap button issue (fails occasionally, non-critical)

Does anyone know what are the remaining bugs in USB-GDROM?

[Greg2600]

Does anyone know what are the remaining bugs in USB-GDROM?

I don't believe there are any. Remember he is literally using the chipset pulled from OEM GD drives, so it's as close as you can get. Also one of the reasons his device is so expensive.

[OmenBoy]

I recently got a Rhea for my Saturn and it’s been nothing but a great experienced. I heard a bunch of horror stories about how hard it is to set up and compatibility not being great, but I had no issues. I even did all of the SD card stuff while I was waiting 2 weeks for it to ship. I had no way to test anything until I got it, but everything worked. Even the games that supposedly don’t work (UMK3 for example), work fine for me. I think the problem is people didn’t know how to rip their games properly. My experience with Rhea has made me decide to get a GDEmu the next time they go on sale. Also the buying experience was great, not difficult like people claimed.

[RazorX]

in regards to the GDMenu look, i made an app that lets you change that.
here is a screenshot of what my gdmenu now looks like


please ignore the background looking slightly green, my capture card isn't great

[Jaggy]

in regards to the GDMenu look, i made an app that lets you change that.
here is a screenshot of what my gdmenu now looks like


please ignore the background looking slightly green, my capture card isn't great

Cool, is this app available somewhere?

[RazorX]

in regards to the GDMenu look, i made an app that lets you change that.
here is a screenshot of what my gdmenu now looks like


please ignore the background looking slightly green, my capture card isn't great

Cool, is this app available somewhere?

https://segaxtreme.net/threads/release- ... ost-177380

[connrrr]

So, what's everyone's thoughts on the upcoming Terraonion MODE?

https://shop.terraonion.com/en/home/17- ... n_ODE.html

[Matt]

Gosh that's expensive. They should have kept them separate and not combined it to be used with a Saturn and Dreamcast. Firstly it adds more cost to the design and who is going to unplug it and keep swapping it between consoles. Counterintuitive.

[Takehaniyasubiko]

Gosh that's expensive. They should have kept them separate and not combined it to be used with a Saturn and Dreamcast. Firstly it adds more cost to the design and who is going to unplug it and keep swapping it between consoles. Counterintuitive.

They simply expect people buy one for each system. It's just easier for them as a company to have one device and one firmware for both consoles.

It's expensive as hell, and the price on that site doesn't include shipping, tax and customs. But Terraonion specifically targets the richest of gamers, so it was a conscious decision on their part.

[FBX]

The price does include shipping last I heard. And 200 isn't expensive as hell for what you get (SATA port, USB port, microSD port, built-in GUI that is easy to use and doesn't require a separate app with hacks, etc.). At least not in my opinion.