Dreamcast Modification

[GP1138]

I picked up a Dreamcast for $10 with two controllers and two VMU's. I heard that they take to mods pretty well. What all cool things can I do? Cursory glances at the first three pages of Hacks and Mods didn't turn up much, but I still hold out hope!

I searched a few torrent sites for DC boot discs, but didn't find anything. How do I get started? Sorry for the noob questions.

[Mozgus]

what kind of mods are you even talking about? In terms of mod chips, dreamcast is one of the most neglected, because it doesn't need them, in most circumstances.

[weasels]

i know you can over clock it, i have seen some people put some pretty crazy cases on them, theres a way to make the fan sound better, and you can copy you games or download (i do not condone in) the games from the internet and burn them to a cd-r (not rw). for that you really dont need bootdisks if you can find a game online with the extention cdi and download it or change the image to cdi on your own (its annoying) you can play it with out a boot disk. of course it is illagal to download games that you dont own yourself and i dont condone in the pratice. i mean i have a bootdisk for myself just in case i cant find one of my games thats not in cdi (im too lazy to copy my own games) but dont ask me all the details i suck at explaining all the things. actually this is the site i went to to teach me how to copy my games and play them on my dreamcast. i agree that there is no need to use mod chips.

[RCBH928]

if it is in working condition
that is one hell of an offer
$10? two vmu's?!

[nickfil]

the dreamcast gets modded with a lot of cosmetic stuff. Cases and lights mostly. Occasionally people will gut a system and make a portable or put it in a new case. You can get cases on ebay- but they arn't going for cheap anymore. Best advice is to DIY.

it doesn't need any chips- like everyone else was saying.

[GP1138]

if it is in working condition
that is one hell of an offer
$10? two vmu's?!

Yup, two controllers and two VMU's. Console works great and needs a good cleaning (obviously owned by young children) but is in otherwise good shape. I bought Q-Bert (because I liked the SNES port as a kid) and Crazy Taxi and both played great.

Strange to see the Windows logo when booting a game.

So I can just download game images (theoretically) and they'll play no problem? I know they're modified because the GD-ROM is 1.2GB..

Is there any way to play emulated games on the Dreamcast? NES, SNES? Or did I remember wrong. Either way, I'll clean it up and keep it. Maybe I'll start collecting consoles.

[nickfil]

So I can just download game images (theoretically) and they'll play no problem? I know they're modified because the GD-ROM is 1.2GB..

Is there any way to play emulated games on the Dreamcast? NES, SNES? Or did I remember wrong. Either way, I'll clean it up and keep it. Maybe I'll start collecting consoles.

kind of- most of the games out there for download have already been patched to auto play despite being a burn. If it hasn't you need to use a bootdisc or run it through a program to self boot before you burn it.

You can run snes/nes games on dreamcast- but you have to burn them to a disc with the emulator that selfboots. I'm not sure of the specifics... or if you can save to the vmu or not. I would imagine you can. Chrono trigger wouldn't be worth burning if you cant.

but to be honest- just about any other system would be better for emulation. Xbox, wii, ds, psp- all of those can take snes/nes.

[GP1138]

So I can just download game images (theoretically) and they'll play no problem? I know they're modified because the GD-ROM is 1.2GB..

Is there any way to play emulated games on the Dreamcast? NES, SNES? Or did I remember wrong. Either way, I'll clean it up and keep it. Maybe I'll start collecting consoles.

kind of- most of the games out there for download have already been patched to auto play despite being a burn. If it hasn't you need to use a bootdisc or run it through a program to self boot before you burn it.

You can run snes/nes games on dreamcast- but you have to burn them to a disc with the emulator that selfboots. I'm not sure of the specifics... or if you can save to the vmu or not. I would imagine you can. Chrono trigger wouldn't be worth burning if you cant.

but to be honest- just about any other system would be better for emulation. Xbox, wii, ds, psp- all of those can take snes/nes.

I have a PSP that I use emulators on constantly, but I really do want an all-in-one solution for the TV. I had an XBox but I was under the impression I had to hard-mod it to use emulators. I do have a PS2. Is that soft-moddable?

[nickfil]

I have a PSP that I use emulators on constantly, but I really do want an all-in-one solution for the TV. I had an XBox but I was under the impression I had to hard-mod it to use emulators. I do have a PS2. Is that soft-moddable?

I'm pretty sure you need to put a chip in a ps2.

the xbox can be soft modded- you get about a 5GB (I think?) hard drive in there already to play with. Its enough to turn it into a retro powerhouse. There is an option to drop a new hard drive in there without a mod chip, but i haven't done it. Apparently the mod chip makes it a little easier... But if you just want to run snes/nes/genesis the softmod is the way to go and is pretty easy in the scope of modding. You can even get emulators to run sega cd and psx games from the cd tray.

if you put a large harddrive in an xbox- it'll do everything really. nes/snes/master system/genesis/32x/sega cd (both from the tray and harddrive)/psx (both from the tray and harddrive)/ and xbox games from the HDD. Not to mention stream music/video from your computer over your LAN. All the info is out there- definitely easy to come by.

I think someone here actually rents out softmod kits too.

[Niode]

vlame's xbox soft-mod rental kit.

A similar method to what I used

I did something far more straight forward but requires a bit more technical knowledge. I jerry rigged the action replay driver to look for the memory in the controller rather than the action replay's specific adaptor to transfer saves (as I own neither the software or the device). Just a simple hex edit was sufficient, replacing the device IDs. Easy peasy - well if you know how. I then just transfered the hacked saves to the memory card. Plugged controller + memory card into Xbox. Booted splinter cell. Loaded the 'Linux' save and that was it. UlaunchX came up, prompted me to save my eeprom and backup my C drive etc. Asked if I want to dual-boot (you might as well say yes for maximum compatibility, but I'd recommend against using xbox live on a softmodded xbox.). After a while it will just reboot itself and you'll be in the UnleashX dashboard. That's it.

I'd recommend vlame's kit, it seems identical to the method I use to soft-mod people's xbox and there are quite a few people who are satisfied with it on this forum so it seems quite a good bet. It definately beats installing a mod-chip, plus you dont have all the hassle of transfering the hacked save, it's already there for you! To be honest the hardest part of softmodding an xbox doesn't even involve using the xbox. It's quite tricky to get that pesky save onto the memory card if you don't actually own an action replay. It's not impossible though, I can assure you! You will struggle to find a mod that is easier to perform than the splinter cell soft mod. I promise you.