What more to add-on for Dreamcast?

[skyknight]

Hi,

New guy here, but I am a frequent visitor in other Japanese-related website such as MAHQ.net and Zoids Poison.

OK, I bought a Dreamcast about a month ago on ebay that came with a dozen games (included SC + CT 1&2), 3 controllers , 3 VMU's, and a VGA box. Did spend some time cleaning up the controllers (must went thru a lot of game parties! ), and got an extra VGA cable from my bro and audio cables for the VGA box, man, the game looks much better with the VGA box!

So, I am wondering if there is anything more that I should add-on for my Dreamcast? Jump pak, is it really worth it for some games? Extension cables, how well does that work? And how many VMU's should you at least have (thinking about skipping the 4x MC)?

Any suggestions is good. Don't worry about recommending any games, I got most of the games that I wanted (added Sonic 1&2, SoA, Shenmue!!!). And I do want to clear out some of the DC games that I definitely won't be touching (I'm more for quality versus quantity).

[t0yrobo]

3 vmus will likely be plenty, though I remember Shenmue really eats up the space, most games are fairly small. Chances are you'll end up keeping two in the main controller most of the time, unless you're playing some of the party games.
Extension cables are totally up to you, do you want to sit further away from the tv?
I wouldn't waste anything on the jump pack, it's clunky and most games don't use it well.
Do get an arcade stick, or the proper adapter if you have one for another console.
Other than that all I can think of is lightguns, and the fishing rod.
I never got real into the dc lightgun games myself, and first party guns are less common. However the fishing rod is the shit, the motion control on it isn't that great, but it doesn't hamper gameplay at all. So yeah, of everything you could get I'd recommend a arcade stick, and the fishing rod (with Sega Marine Fishing!).

[lisalover1]

If you've got the cash, I highly recommend picking up a BBA. It supports two US games, Quake 3 and Phantasy Star Online, but it does them very well, and the servers are still quite active. Unless you have Dial-Up, the only way to play online is with a BBA. [You could set up a free Dial-Up service, but trust me, it's extremely complex and confusing that it's just not worth it. Even when you do get it working, you'll be lucky to have a connection for a few minutes before it closes on you.]

[gtmtnbiker]

If you've got the cash, I highly recommend picking up a BBA.

I just checked ebay and it doesn't seem to be too common. The three sellers are listing it for $150+ or more.

The lowest completed auction was for $130.

Thanks but no thanks. I'll pass on the Sega Dreamcast broadband experience.

[lisalover1]

It's fine. The Dreamcast can be fully enjoyed without internet connectivity.
Another accessory I recommend are the Samba de Amigo maracas, they're still a bit pricey, but nowhere near as expensive as a BBA. The game is very fun to play, and has always been a hit at the parties I bring my Dreamcast to.

Also, if you want to play the game Rez, you NEED a jump pack.

[crux]

If we're talking about controllers as well, maracas, the fishing rod, ASCII or Agetec arcade stick, ASCII fighting pad, etc., depending on what your interests are.

[Gnashvar]

I saw a web site a long time ago that enabled you to hook up the Dreamcast to your pc with the modem and then use the internet from there. Can't remember where it was but it looked interesting and a nice alternative to a BBA.

[skyknight]

Well, I am treating my Dreamcast more as a retro gaming machine, and I skipped out on Power Stone series (is really fun to play by yourself?) and other games since my bros and buddies have moved on to the latest consoles.

Another subject on Dreamcast, Disc riot, how many of you had suffer from that? I did get a Sonic game on ebay, but it fail to boot up, lucky me that the seller was great in giving me full refund. And a couple of the games that came in the lot couldn't boot up as well.

[Mod_Man_Extreme]

Well, I am treating my Dreamcast more as a retro gaming machine, and I skipped out on Power Stone series (is really fun to play by yourself?) and other games since my bros and buddies have moved on to the latest consoles.

Another subject on Dreamcast, Disc riot, how many of you had suffer from that? I did get a Sonic game on ebay, but it fail to boot up, lucky me that the seller was great in giving me full refund. And a couple of the games that came in the lot couldn't boot up as well.

Dreamcast games come on pressed discs so disc rot shouldn't be an issue for decades if ever as long as you care for your discs well.

GD-Roms (The DC's proprietary disc format) are very sensitive to scratches and whatnot, as well as some drives being more fickle than others about running some games or not.

Drives made in and after 2000 are great, drives made after 2001 are the best, but not compatible with CD-R's so it's mostly a choice in preference.

EDIT!: It may also just be your drive in the end as my spare DC's drive was failing to boot up any games and after swapping it's drive into my main DC everything ran fine. Turns out that the issue was simply a fried resistor on the mobo. now both work great.