Dream Color Plus — New Controller Mod Turns the Sega Dreamcast's VMU Screen Full Colour

Dream Color Plus being tested with Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Credit: Costenaro

There's been a lot of buzz within the Dreamcast fan community as of late over Dream Color Plus, a new controller mod from Brazil-based developer Nai Adventure, which converts your controller to show VMU graphics in full colour, as opposed to its typical monochrome display. The idea with the mod is that by taking apart an existing Dreamcast controller, and removing the existing PCB, you can pop the Dream Color Plus in, and voilà, you now have a wireless Dreamcast controller that has a built-in, backlit VMU screen that displays in full colour. The mod will also include on-board save game storage. You can watch the mod in action below. It's looking very impressive indeed...

Many of our followers have been tagging us under social media posts about the Dream Color Plus in the past week — don't worry, we've been paying attention, and since a crowdfunding campaign has been confirmed, we thought it was time we spoke with the dev to get the lowdown on this exciting project.

DCJY: Nai Adventure, thanks for chatting with us. The Dream Color Plus project looks awesome — it’s wild to see VMU graphics of games we’ve been playing for decades suddenly brought to life in full colour. Can you explain how it all works? And with such a huge library of Dreamcast games, how do you plan on colouring every VMU graphic?

Nai Adventure: The controller has three modes:

• Monochrome, like the original Dreamcast. 
• Palette mode, [which is] similar to what the Super Game Boy does with Game Boy games. To switch palettes, you hold the analog stick (which works as a new button) and press A to change line colors, B to change background colors, and the start button to invert them (like a photo negative). Here’s a quick demo: 

• Full color mode: for new games, devs can send pixel-by-pixel colors directly to the controller (I’m preparing some sample code for that). For older games, the process is more manual. We capture the frames that the games send to the VMU, color them, and whenever the VMU calls for that frame, the controller swaps it.

It sounds crazy, but we already have a good list of games converted. Of course, coloring the whole Dreamcast library is almost impossible, but the main games will get full color support. Since the PCB has an SD card slot, new games can be added little by little over time.

Left: Dream Color Plus showing off a coloured-version of the Sonic Adventure 2 VMU graphic.
Right: The Dream Color Plus PCB.

Sounds great! So is swapping the stock Dreamcast controller board out for the Dream Color Plus easy?

Yes! The whole idea is for it to be plug and play. You just open the controller and replace the PCB. That’s actually why we didn’t make a version with a second analog stick (something people ask for a lot). If we can get a partner to make new shells in the future, then a dual-stick version would totally be possible.

That potential dual-stick mod is something the community would go crazy for, I'm certain. So, with the Dream Color Plus, as it is effectively a VMU built into the controller, how much storage for saving can we expect to see?

Right now we’ve got eight VMU pages by default, but that number can be changed with a config file on the SD card. The controller also comes with built-in rumble. You lose the external VMU slots, but the main features are all there.

We imagine most typical Dreamcast controller setups tend to be one VMU and the vibration pack anyway, so not too much lost there. But for those Seaman, Alien Front Online and Planet Ring aficionados out there, you're saying they wouldn't be able to insert the Dreamcast microphone peripheral into the controller with the Dream Color Plus installed?

Yes, you’re right, this first version doesn’t support the mic. Another interesting point to mention is that the controller is fully compatible with both PC and Android (in this case, no information is sent to the small screen). However, we’re currently looking into whether it’s possible to capture this data from emulators — I know Flycast has a feature for [microphone]. On top of that, since the controller has dedicated hardware, it could even be possible in the future to add support for some emulators, such as the NES and Sega Master System.

Obviously we can't not mention one of the Dream Color Plus' more underrated features - it makes your controller wireless too! Presumably those who purchase the Dream Color Plus will also receive a wireless dongle that goes in the controller port? How's the wireless functionality been during your tests, particularly in regards to saving?

The dongle will come together. Distance is also good. In our presentation on the stage [at Canal 3 Expo], you can see the controller still working and the [Dreamcast] was almost 40 meters from us.

Yes, saving [is] working well. We made sure to test it with a lot of games including PSO. I have a video showing the VMU pages.

Dream Color Plus working with Sonic Adventure, along with a more built-up version of the PCB.

Okay, cool. So, for those looking to get their hands on a Dream Color Plus, when is the crowdfunding campaign expected to launch?

This month we went to a convention called Canal 3 Expo, where hundreds of people tested the Dream Color Plus nonstop. During the event, we got tons of feedback and also found some unexpected bugs. Right now, we’re fixing those issues and adding improvements based on what people suggested. The campaign will only go live once everything’s working the way it should.

It's important to say that we are [being] very careful to eliminate all the possible delays. I think we are really good with that now.

How much money should backers expect to pay for Dream Color Plus?

The price should be around 500 Brazilian Reais [around 70 GBP/94 USD]. I know that might look expensive for people outside Brazil, but sadly our taxes are insane. Since we also have to import all the components, building one controller basically means paying for another one just in taxes. And on top of that, the crowdfunding platform also takes a cut from the total.

Dream Color Plus mod vs. the stock controller.

Who has been involved in the process of developing the Dream Color Plus?

Big shoutout to everyone making this possible.

• Angelo Pontes designed the PCB and takes care of all the hardware. He’s the mastermind behind the project; without him, this wouldn’t exist.
• Costenaro – The main guy behind the full color mode. He’s the one painting all those frames.
• Alex – Helping Costenaro with frame painting.
• Douglas Tobias created the project’s logo.
• Fabio Zamprogna – Our tester, the guy who checks every detail to make sure the controller keeps working.
• Me – I’ve been writing Python scripts to make frame conversion easier, and I’m using my game Metal Canary as a testbed to see what’s possible with the new screen.

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Thanks to Nai Adventure for chatting with us about the upcoming Dream Color Plus project. You can follow Nai Adventure on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for updates. The crowdfunding campaign page can be found here, where you can sign up for updates to get notified when it goes live.