A Very Early Look At Dungeon Ross

Dungeon Ross is a self-titled dungeon crawler for the Dreamcast that was put together in a weekend for Global Game Jam back in January 2017. Created by the two-man team made up of Ross Kilgariff and Alastair Low, Dungeon Ross is a charming little proof-of-concept that is still in the very early stages of development, but holds plenty of potential. The game was actually revealed back in late 2016 after the Global Game Jam event held at MakerSpace in Dundee, Scotland but we wanted to allow the guys a bit more time to add more content to the dank, subterranean world of Dungeon Ross before really delving in and showing it off.
For the uninitiated, Global Game Jam is a worldwide event during which game developers and programmers have a set amount of time (usually a weekend) to come up with a totally original game or piece of software. The idea is to allow developers to get as creative as they can over the 48hr period, nurturing teamwork and collaboration with a view to producing original games and concepts.
While Dungeon Ross is still very early and the game consists of little more than a fairly small section of dungeon, the engine is up and running and the visuals are pretty crisp. There's also a pretty interesting two player mode in which gamers can assume the role of either Ross or Alastair, and the way the camera zooms out to reveal more of the map is a nice touch. There's no collision detection and the AI is also fairly rudimentary but from what we've seen the beginnings of a really cool game could be in the offing with Dungeon Ross. We spoke to the eponymous Ross to get the full lowdown on his brand new Dreamcast adventure...

You Can Still Use Dial-Up To Surf The Internet With A Dreamcast

In recent times much has been written about the Dreamcast's ability to get online with a Raspberry Pi and a few other easily available components. The DreamPi method has single handedly revitalised the online gaming scene on the Dreamcast, and sites like Dreamcast Live have made it their mission to breathe new life into titles such as Chu Chu Rocket and Worms World Party. But what if you don't have a DreamPi or you just don't play online games in general? What other things can you still do in 2017 with a Dreamcast when it comes to exploring its online abilities? Well...um...you can still browse the internet with a dial up connection if you so wish.
Line Di. See?
I already know what many people are going to say or write in the comments sections without actually looking at this article: what's the point? What's the point in using a dial up connection and a 33k or 56k modem to go online with a Dreamcast in 2017? It's slow, most of the sites won't load anymore and it's expensive. The point is that we can. And that's the only excuse I need, to be honest.
Don't act like you've never Googled yourself!
While it is true that all of these hypothetical points are valid, there's just something cool about once again firing up Dreamkey, and throwing information through those long redundant wires and circuits that reside inside the plucky little dial-up modem stuck to the side of the console. And the best bit is that you can do it right now, with very little effort if you so desire...

Dreamcast, GDQ, and Speedrunning

During the past three years, I've biannually destroyed my already terrible sleep cycle due to a certain event: Games Done Quick. GDQ is a fun speedrunning marathon that raises money for two main charities and a few smaller ones. In fact, they raised over $2.2 million dollars during Awesome Games Done Quick, their winter event held in aid of the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

Two runs in particular (Big's story in Sonic Adventure and Sega Bass Fishing) got me wondering about something. What about the Dreamcast speedrunning scene? To be sure, it's not as popular as the perennial favorites like the SNES, Genesis, N64, PC, etc...but surely there are at least some decent Dreamcast console runs out there?
With the games I mentioned, Big's story was played on Sonic Adventure: DX, but Sega Bass Fishing was on the Dreamcast (see above). However, most times that a Dreamcast game was run, it was inevitably played on a different console or on PC. Sonic Adventure 2 was run that year, but it was the Gamecube version (Sonic Adventure 2: Battle). However, the previous year's Crazy Taxi had the famous Sega swirl underneath the game's name.

Going like that would take ages though, since GDQ has literally hundreds of runs to look at. Instead, let's take a look at the first 10 games of this very blog's Top 200 Dreamcast games...

Xenocider Box Art & Pre-order Poster Revealed

Xenocider is coming, and Retro Sumus is determined to make an impression with its impressive 3D shooter. If you grabbed the demo version in 2016 you'll already know that the game is well worth waiting for, but now there's another reason to get excited: the revised artwork has been revealed and it looks positively amazing!
Drawn by none other than DC Comics artist Agustin Padilla (Green Arrow, Transformers, Borderlands, GI Joe), this new artwork really brings Xenocider to life, and gives heroine Xara a whole new look. To be honest, I think it looks absolutley badass (to quote Sgt. Apone) and the best bit is this: if you pre-order Xenocider you will get this artwork as a bonus poster to stick on the wall of your choice. Can't say fairer than that. Here's a video from Retro Sumus:


You can find more words and details about this whole Xenocider shebang by clicking this link here.

Senile Team Reveals Intrepid Izzy For Dreamcast & PC

Senile Team recently teased us with news of a brand new Dreamcast game in development...and now they've unveiled full details! Intrepid Izzy is a 2D side-scrolling platformer in the style of Nintendo classic Metroid. Details are a little thin on the ground at present, but Senile Team promises that Intrepid Izzy will mix role playing, platforming and beat 'em up elements.
"Intrepid Izzy is a 2D action adventure platformer or "metroidvania", currently in development by Senile Team. Mixing platforming with beat-'em-up and RPG elements, the titular character must jump, fight and puzzle her way through various imaginative, colourful worlds.

A lot of time and attention was spent on developing the visual style of the game. The crisp and cartoony HD graphics come to life thanks to bright, warm colours and smooth animations. The game is being developed on PC (Windows), and a Dreamcast version is also in the works (though obviously not in HD). Additional platforms are also being looked into."
- Roel van Mastbergen, Senile Team

AGES II: Sega Game Archives Music Arrange Album

When is a Dreamcast game not a Dreamcast game? Why, when it's a music CD of course! AGES II from Japanese studio Woodsoft is just that - it's a music CD full of re-imagined music tracks from classic Sega titles of yesteryear, delivered in a package that looks very similar to a legitimate NTSC-J Dreamcast game case. Released at the tail end of 2014, this is actually the third in a trilogy of compilations under the AGES brand from Woodsoft, and before acquiring this CD from an eBay seller located in Japan, I was totally oblivious to the existence of such a collection. And while it isn't strictly Dreamcast related, I think the intriguing packaging and subject matter make AGES II a perfect subject for a minor investigation here at the Junkyard.
When I first saw AGES II listed on eBay, it caught my attention because I wasn't aware of a Sega Ages collection ever being released for the Dreamcast. Obviously, we have stuff like Yu Suzuki Game Works, but a proper entry in the Sega Ages series never actually came to the Dreamcast and it is that fact which initially drew my eye to it. Upon closer inspection (the description wasn't overly clear on what it was), I discovered that the Dreamcast logo shown in the photos was back to front, and it doesn't say Dreamcast - it says 'Dreamnalt.' AGES II represented something of an intriguing mystery to me, and so off I went to Google to get more information on this Dreamnalt outfit...only to find, well, very little to be honest.
If you search AGES II or Dreamnalt, Google doesn't really produce anything other than a few images from an old Tumblr account and it was only by changing the search terms several times that I came across this review over at Hardcore Gaming 101. It's a review of the first AGES collection which features music from such legendary games as Power Drift, Lunar and Fantasy Zone. From that article, I discovered that Woodsoft have several more CDs listed on the Video Game Music Database (VGMdb), which is a repository of information similar to IMDB but solely for the collection of resources pertaining to music used in games.

A Quick Look At Free-DC

As you're no doubt aware, the Dreamcast was served by a plethora of online services depending on the territory. In Europe we got the Dreamarena service; the US got SegaNet and in Japan Dreamcast owners were treated to the Dricas service. Dricas - to me at least - looks like it was by far the most feature rich of these three services, and offered such delights as video calling (through the Dreameye) and the ability to spam your friends with nonsense in the form of Dreamflyer. Dricas itself is a truly vast topic of discussion but due to the nature of the internet I fear much of the features and functionality that users enjoyed is lost to the mists of internet lore. No amount of internet archaeology or Wayback Machine plundering can bring back a service that just cannot be accessed anymore because the servers are now in landfill (probably).
Dreamarena went through a flamboyant midlife crisis.
Dreamarena was totally serviceable for web browsing; and SegaNet was fine for gaming (at 56k speeds) over in the US as far as I can ascertain...but Dricas was the real deal. Going from the scant details I can find trawling the internet, Dricas offered Japanese Dreamcast owners some really intriguing features, including something called Dream Map which was powered by Japanese mapping firm Zenrin and allowed Dreamcast owners to locate each other on a Google Maps-style thing and connect with people in their locality. It sounds a bit like the Near function incorporated into the Sony PS Vita...but y'know, actually used by people.
Garish enough for ya?!
There was also a thing called MailChum!, which - and I quote - "...provides you with an instant e-mail penpal, from a variety of characters ranging from beautiful girls to mythical animals." Erm. Anyway, the reason I'm banging on about Dricas and other long-dead internet services for the Dreamcast is that I wanted to discuss something I knew of previously...but just didn't think anyone else would be interested in reading about: Free-DC.

Why Dreamcast?

As popular as this blog may have become in recent years - I still have no idea why people want to read my rambling diatribes about a long-dead games console, by the way - I don't go around in real life announcing myself as some kind of saviour of the Dreamcast. True, I bore my gamer friends to death with stories about long cancelled games and how this series or that game originally started life on the Dreamcast...but generally in my day to day life I barely speak about my affection for Sega's final console. It's like a dirty little secret in some ways. However, on occasion people who aren't really involved in my gaming stuff do find out about this place or see something on social media that I may have tweeted or posted, and inevitably the question comes: "why the Dreamcast?"

Work colleagues who have a passing interest in gaming or retro tech find out that I spend my free time writing this guff, and at first they think it's cool or intriguing...then become a little puzzled. And sometimes I have to just sit there and ponder to myself...why Dreamcast indeed? What is it about the Dreamcast that has fuelled my desire to continue to churn out podcasts, videos and articles and haul all my stuff across the country to events for the last 11 years? I generally fall back on the old "the Dreamcast represents so many missed opportunities" response; but the more I think about it, the more I think I have another reason. But before I share it with you, dear reader, some more about my other gaming habits...

Senile Team Teases New Dreamcast Game

I can't keep up with all these new Dreamcast releases. First we had the announcement about Rush Rush Rally Reloaded and Breakers et al; and then there's the imminent release of Alice Dreams Tournament and the impending Xenocider from our good friends at Retro Sumus...and now we have news of yet another brand new Dreamcast game. Do you ever wake up from a strange dream thinking that you might still be asleep because you feel weird? No, me neither...but I thought I should add some kind of cliché because that's what the mainstream cool kids do.
Anyway, the as-yet-unnamed title again comes courtesy of Senile Team, but it categorically isn't the mythical Age of the Beast. As Senile Team head honcho Roel van Mastbergen explains in his recent post over at the developer's website:

"First I have to get one thing out of the way: it's not Age of the Beast. In case you didn't know, Age of the Beast was a project we started soon after the release of our firstborn, the moddable beat 'em up engine called Beats of Rage. But we stepped into the same traps as so many other indie developers - we announced it prematurely and watched it grow over our heads. I suppose this is a natural part of growing up for a game dev. It has certainly taught us a lot."
- Roel van Mastbergen, Senile Team

Age of the Beast never came to fruition but that's not to say work didn't forge ahead, and Roel goes as far as sharing some previously unseen sprite work with us. That first image below is just something I created myself from individual frames from the animated GIF on the Senile Team site because (full disclosure) the archaic technology keeping this site together can't cope with animated GIFs:
I'm sure you'll agree it's quite impressive and looks like it could give Guardian Heroes a run for its money. However, that's all water under the bridge. A new title is coming to the Dreamcast and so far Senile Team are being very coy with details. Indeed, Roel has only released a single image:
What could this new game be? A shadow puppet simulator? Personally, I think shadow puppetry is underrepresented on the Dreamcast...but I'm pretty sure it won't be a shadow puppetry simulator. Damn you Senile Team, damn you. Anyway, we'll be sure to keep you updated on this new game and hopefully we'll be able to shed more light on future releases in a developer interview very soon!

Senile Team now have a Facebook page too - go give them a like!

DreamPod - Episode 47

[iTunes][Stitcher][Buzzsprout][UK Podcast Directory][YouTube]


Music in this episode comes from Trizeal. You can read more about the Nintendo/Sega story here. Find out more about Rush Rush Rally Reloaded and Breakers here. You can discover more about Alice Dreams Tournament here. Once again, we appreciate the support from our awesome Patrons. If you'd like to donate $1, please find our Patreon here. If you like what you've heard please feel free to leave us a review at iTunes, and if you'd like to join the Facebook group you can find us here.

Let’s Take A Look At The Cancelled Dreamcast Game Knights - Now With Added Sausages

I literally couldn't be bothered writing my own take on this story, so I basically just copied and pasted the story from SEGA Nerds. The thing is, I was falling asleep while I read the original prose because Chris's writing is just so boring. So what I did was I changed the most frequently occurring words to words I thought might make the article a bit more interesting. So 'game' becomes 'aubergine,' 'Dreamcast' becomes 'barbiturate,' 'digital' is now 'flange' and develop is now 'sausages.' Hopefully it's more enjoyable now. Oh, and I've left the incorrect American spellings intact for authenticity.
It always bums us out when we flip through an old copy of the Official Barbiturate Magazine and see a preview of a Barbiturate aubergine that looked really promising but never saw the light of day. Most first-party SEGA aubergines would eventually be ported to the Xbox, AubergineCube or PlayStation 2, but that’s not the case for many third-party aubergines as they were cancelled outright for many different reasons.

One of those aubergines is the Flange Infinity-sausagesed online, multiplayer brawler Knights that was in sausagesment for the Barbiturate and PC back in 1999. The aubergine, which was originally set to be published by Project 2 Interactive, evolved several times through its tumultuous sausagesment cycle, going from an arena brawler like Power Stone 2, to a team-based multiplayer action aubergine and even a 3D action/platformer.

The aubergine’s story was set in a magical kingdom called Whyrule, where its aged king had grown too old to maintain his rule. So its ungrateful citizens decided to get rid of him by organizing a grand combat tournament where knights across the kingdom would compete, with the victor being named Whyrule’s new king. Your character decides he wants his hand at ruling the kingdom and enters the tournament.

Rush Rush Rally Reloaded Heads Up List Of Dreamcast Re-Releases

Heads up folks. There's a new Dreamcast release coming very soon. Rush Rush Rally Reloaded is heading our way and it features a whole host of improvements and fixes. Rush Rush Rally Racing was released on the Dreamcast a few years ago and it was then re-released on the Nintendo Wii.
This re-re-release on the Dreamcast (still with me?) is based on the Wii version, but includes a ton of further updates. We spoke to Roel van Mastbergen from Senile Team to get the full lowdown on this latest addition to the Dreamcast's library. Here's a full list, courtesy of Roel himself:

Hi Dreamcast Junkyard! It's true - Rush Rush Rally Reloaded is coming to the Sega Dreamcast and it will come in both PAL and DVD-style long box packaging! Both will be available in limited quantities but will feature the following improvements to the game:

  • Two new single player modes: Time Attack and Challenge, which is  like "Get Ahead" from the original game, but against CPU players.
  • Totally redesigned menus
  • Changed camera distance so you can see more of the road ahead
  • Some improved graphics, including: light beams are larger and rotated more smoothly, more colourful billboards, additional illustrations
  • Faster loading times
  • Stable 60fps in both single and multiplayer modes
  • Removed video mode switches between 640x480 and 320x240 resolutions, so low-resolution parts are now upscaled to 640x480
  • A mode for detecting when people copy and paste lists
  • Support for more character sets in name entry
  • Usability improvements, such as last entered name is remembered for name entry so you don't have to re-enter your name every time you play
  • Improved legibility of internet score codes
  • Improved control configuration options
  • Added engine sound options
  • 6 languages: English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian
  • DVD case version will feature an 8 page colour manual
As stated by Roel, the game will be available in a DVD style case, but also in PAL flavour too. Even more interesting is that the PAL print run will be handled by JoshProd, a small company based in France specialised in re-releasing old games. Josh Prod have been involved in several re-release projects, the most notable of which was a re-issue of Neo Geo AES cartridge Neo Drift Out (in collaboration with Visco) in 2016. 
Along with Rush Rush Rally Reloaded, JoshProd will also be offering re-prints of certain previously released Dreamcast games such as Ghost Blade, Dux, Alice Mom's Rescue and a run of a new-to-Dreamcast 2D SNK fighter called Breakers. All of these come with PAL-styled packaging and redesigned manuals; and in some cases also include new content.

When Nintendo Bought Sega: How A Simple Misunderstanding Caused Stock Market Chaos

In a recent post here at the Junkyard, we looked briefly at a news story that occurred in late 2000, and which eventually lead to both Sega and Nintendo suffering financial losses. What's interesting, is that at the time the story didn't really generate that much interest outside of the gaming press; but if it happened today, the 'fake news' epidemic which is currently gripping mainstream media would no doubt have propelled this particular tale into the stratosphere.
The Dreamcast Junkyard is, first and foremost a blog which exists simply to celebrate the highs and the lows of the Dreamcast; the Dreamcast's history and the contemporary scene which appreciates the wonders of Sega's little box of tricks in the present day. Politics is not something we wish to bring into the mix...however, one cannot escape the fact that over in the United States, the accusations of President Trump levelled against the media for the proliferation of 'fake news' has reached fever pitch. There are comparisons which can be drawn to this tale from the turn of the century, but I'm not one for over dramatics - it's pretty much just games and an honest misunderstanding at heart. But still, it's an interesting story and parallels can be drawn...so lets get on with it.
On the 27th December 2000, the New York Times ran a story which reported that a merger between Nintendo and Sega was imminent. Or rather, that Nintendo was in advanced talks to purchase its rival for a figure in the region of $2 billion. While you may be forgiven for shrugging and thinking "so what?" it's worth remembering that back in 2000 Sega was still in the hardware business. The Dreamcast was still on store shelves and according to various reports Christmas 2000 was a healthy one for Sega and the Dreamcast - in the UK at least, the Dreamcast was the number one console in sales terms over the festive period.

The reason this particular story is of interest is due to the ramifications it had, the way in which the media reacted to such explosive news and ultimately the explanation as to how a simple misunderstanding lead to Nintendo having 4% of its market worth wiped out in a single day.

Dreamcast Magazine Issue 19

Issue 19 of Paragon Publishing Dreamcast Magazine hit the stores on 22 February 2001, just a month before the Dreamcast console went out of production. That didn't stop it being absolutely filled with awesome new games though, and the cover featured Neversoft and Activision's great 3D roaming beat 'em up Spider-Man. Inside the magazine a huge feature on the 2001 ATEI (Amusement Trades Exhibition International) held at Earls Court, London over two days in January, speculated on various Sega arcade IPs that may be heading to the Dreamcast. Of the 12 games featured, only 3 actually made it to the Dreamcast (Cosmic Smash, WWF Royal Rumble and Sports Jam) but the feature hints at what could have been had the console survived another year or two.
The news section gives first details on sequels for Jet Set Radio, Space Channel 5, Mr Driller and Metropolis Street Racer; and conversely also confirms the cancellation of Star Wars Super Bombad Racing. Other titles 'confirmed' for Dreamcast include House of the Dead 3, Virtua Golf and the MMORPG Farnation - a game that was subsequently moved to the Xbox before being canned. News of a PAL 'Mega Drive Compilation' is reported, and this could be linked in some way to the recently discovered official emulator, but I'm just speculating. Speculating wildly, while waving my arms and frothing at the mouth in a way that only a rampant fanboy can.

Alice Dreams Tournament Shipping Very Soon!

It seems like a lifetime ago that many of us put our money down for a copy of Bomberman homage Alice Dreams Tournament, but it appears that we won't have to wait much longer to finally get the opportunity to play it. For those not up to speed, Alice Dreams Tournament is a modern take on the Bomberman style multiplayer battle game, with players moving around various stages, trying to eliminate each other with bombs. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the developers have been hard at work tweaking and finalising the code and have done plenty of promotion by allowing the public to test the game at a multitude of gaming events across Europe.

The Alice Dreams Tournament team (made up of duo Julien Desquenne and Nicolas Pochet) were in attendance at the RGC - Retrogaming Connexion 2017 event in Meaux, France this past weekend and posted some very interesting pictures on their Facebook page.
On top of this, a Kickstarter update posted on 16th February pretty much confirmed that the PAL, NTSC-U and NTSC-J packaged copies of Alice Dreams Tournament have been delivered and are ready to be shipped to backers:

"A quick news to share our joy with you - we received the games! All versions are here, except the PAL collector's edition where we still lack the front and back covers (they are in production).
As we will be at RGC this Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th February 2017 in Meaux, we will take some photos and share them with you! If you are near Meaux, you can pick up your game and we will gladly dedicate it to you if you wish!"
- Alice Dreams Tournament Kickstarter (paraphrased)

It's really cool to know that we're so close to finally getting our hands on this brilliant looking brand new Dreamcast game; and test audiences at the various gaming events it has been demonstrated at seem to have given nothing but positive feedback. Naturally, we don't know the exact date for shipping, but we'd wager it can't be very long now - a couple of weeks, max? Once it arrives, expect a full review here at The Dreamcast Junkyard.
Were you at the event in Meaux? Did you pick a copy of Alice Dreams Tournament up? If so, tell us what you think of it in the comments or over in our Facebook group!

PS - this isn't the announcement we've been teasing about on social media. For that huge news, you'll have to wait a few more days...

The Games That Never Were: Episode 9

It's been a while, but the latest instalment of Pcwzrd's excellent The Games That Never Were has dropped. Episode 9 continues the popular YouTube series in which unreleased Dreamcast games are examined and the reasons for their cancellation are explored and speculated on. Episode 9 is just as cool as the previous videos in the series, and as ever Pcwzrd goes into great depth describing numerous titles that were promised, but were either never started; or were in full production at the time of  cancellation and have never been leaked.
A lot of the Dreamcast's most promising announced games did actually see the light of day, but only on the PC and episode 9 of The Games That Never Were is heavy on these. Arcatera: The Dark Brotherhood, Independence War 2, Black & White, Dark Eyes and Max Payne are all given a going over and hint at the ease with which Sega intended PC games to be ported to the Dreamcast hardware. Maybe if the Dreamcast had sold the units it deserved and it hadn't dies so prematruely, then we'd have gotten all of these games and more. Here's the video:


If you'd like to see more of Pcwzrd's videos, you can find his YouTube channel here, and he's also the administrator over at Dreamcast Live - the number one source for getting your Dreamcast back online for multiplayer action. His Twitter is here and his Patreon is here. Oh, and you can find all of the previous episodes of The Games That Never Were by clicking here.

Adam Koralik Reviews Akura Dreamcast HDMI Box

We've reported on the Akura from Beharbros a couple of times in the recent past (here and here), but now you don't have to settle for reading my words with your eyes - you can look at Adam Koralik show you just how awesome the Akura while he tells you with his voice! Yes, in his latest video Adam goes into great detail about the different video output signals the Dreamcast kicks out, and also tells us a little bit about his love for the Turkish version of Nutella. Oh, and there's a demonstration of the Akura in action. Here's the video:


Thanks go to Adam for letting me share his video here. Hopefully this will give those people who were considering purchasing the Akura a more practical idea of how it performs, and the features included. Be sure to check out the huge back catalogue of games related content on Adam's YouTube channel here, and you can find more on the Akura at Beharbros website here.