Showing posts with label Dreamcast Hub. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreamcast Hub. Show all posts

The Dreamcast Directory: Websites We Love in 2024

Late last year, in a gratuitous act of procrastination, I authored a piece for the Junkyard that surveyed the hefty range of Dreamcast websites that had sprung up in the console’s “post-Sega” era but which had sadly since bit the dust. In reality that piece was an excuse to indulge in some nostalgic daydreaming about the period when I first came across the console as a nerdy teen: a bizarre time when the burgeoning unofficial world (Goat Store, Beats of Rage, Treamcasts) sat alongside the last vestiges of Sega’s official involvement (idiosyncratic Japan-only shmups and surprisingly resilient online game servers).

As this list of deceased Dreamcast websites was pretty lengthy—and could have been even lengthier if not for a couple of oversights—readers could be forgiven for assuming that the hobby of maintaining websites dedicated to a 25-year old console was fading away. Fortunately though, they would be badly mistaken, and therein lies the purpose of this follow-up: to shine a light on the plethora of websites that are alive, kicking, and proudly serving the Dreamcast scene in 2024.

In no particular order, I present to you the Junkyard’s comrades-in-arms:

Dreamcast-talk (https://www.dreamcast-talk.com

Founded in 2004, and thereby pre-dating the Dreamcast Junkyard by a year, Dreamcast-talk is undoubtedly the lodestar of the scene. The website’s founders set out to establish a forum where DC-heads of various stripes could converge to chew the fat, sans what was perceived to be the overly restrictive administrative practices of certain prior forums. Dreamcast-talk quickly achieved that goal, and has continued to do so persistently and reliably for two decades now. Theoretically it's a fairly easy gig: set out a bunch of themed boards where relevant topics can be discussed, weed out spam or egregious flaming, and undertake technical maintenance from time to time. In practice though, maintaining a forum can be a bloody nightmare, and the fact that a day rarely goes by without fresh posts being made or a new member signing up is a testament to how important Dreamcast-Talk remains. 165,348 posts made and not out: as solid an innings as you are likely to see from an internet forum. When the gold anniversary hits in 2054 I promise I’ll deliver a better present than a couple of paragraphs in a rambling blog post…

DCEmulation (https://dcemulation.org

DCEmulation is another of the scene’s OGs that is still trucking in 2024. Actually, screw that. Given that it was founded in September 2000 (!), and is by my estimation the oldest Dreamcast-focused website to grace the worldwide web today, it would only be fair to say that DCEmulation is the OG of the scene. When the historians finally turn their academic gaze to our beloved little white box, DCEmulation will probably be mentioned in every other footnote. 

As the name suggests, DCEmulation’s initial focus was on documenting and discussing the development of emulators designed to run on the Dreamcast. Naturally, due to the type of audience and contributors that flocked to it, this focus quite quickly broadened out to cover Dreamcast homebrew development in its entirety. A few years in, spats between admins resulted in some splitting (which is succinctly summarised by our German brethren at Sega-DC.de), but thankfully this behaviour wasn’t endemic. In fact, efforts turned from splitting to amalgamation in 2010, when DCEmulation incorporated the forum for the unofficial Phantasy Star Online server, Sylverant.

Although the DCEmulation Wiki has now been mothballed, the forum, which alongside the Simulant Discord server is home to some of the most knowledgeable Dreamcast coders out there, is still in active service after 729,068 posts. Props to [darc], Bluecrab, and the whole DCEmulation community for keeping the show on the road all these years. 

DreamPod - Episode 46 Featuring Dreamcast Hub

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

Music in this episode comes from Wind & Water, MSR, Sturmwind and the live Shenmue orchestra. The interview about Blue Stinger and Illbleed is here at Gamasutra and it's pretty heart-wrenching so be warned if you read the whole thing (I doubt anyone will, but it's worth it). You are the people we do this for, so thanks for listening. If you have any feedback please don't hesitate to leave it in the comments or at the Facebook group - we read them all. You can find our guest host Stephen Robinson at the Facebook group Dreamcast Hub.

Feel free to leave a review on iTunes and if you want to chuck us your change on Patreon we're here.

DreamPod - Episode 37: Featuring Dreamcast Hub



Massive thanks to Stephen from Dreamcast Hub for joining us on this episode, please make sure you check out his site here, and his Facebook and Twitter accounts. Music in this episode is from Yuan Works' awesome Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles and Duranik's utterly amazing Sturmwind. The event discussed was Revival Solstice 2016 and the show report is here, and the Tivola cases mentioned by Tom are these:
As ever, if you like what you hear please consider leaving us an iTunes review (or just a rating) as it all helps when it comes to getting exposure for the podcast. Once again, massive thanks to all our Patreon supporters - we love each and every one of you as if you were our own S.T.A.R.S. special edition Dreamcast consoles. Enjoy the podcast folks!

DreamPod - Episode 31: Shmup Special featuring Dreamcast Hub

iTunes
Stitcher
Buzzsprout
UK Podcast Directory

You can find guest host Stephen at Dreamcast Hub and on both Twitter and Facebook. A minor correction is that Shikigami no Shiro was released on consoles, having received PlayStation 2 and Xbox ports. Even the professionals don't get everything right, so if you'd like to slag us off in the comments please keep that in mind!

The 'Dreamcast VR' video mentioned can be found here, and Ross's video detailing his Rez Infinite PSVR experience can be found here. Music in this episode comes from Sturmwind, Giga Wing and Mars Matrix.

As ever, if you like what you've heard please consider leaving us an iTunes review as it really does help the podcast get noticed and improves our chart position. It only takes a few minutes but means a great deal. Thanks in advance!