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| A Raspberry Pi. Not to be confused with a Raspberry Pie. |
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Showing posts sorted by relevance for query dreampi. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query dreampi. Sort by date Show all posts
DreamPi To Launch 'Dreamcast Now!' Online Service
Online Dreamcast Playercount Hits 1000 With DreamPi
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| Toy Racer is one of the many games enjoying a renaissance thanks to DreamPi |
It might be a far cry from the initial 6 billion players, however the fact that the number of accounts set up to use DreamPi has recently hit 1000 is an amazing feat, and shows that there's plenty of life in the old Dreamcast yet. Indeed, NFL 2K was recently restored to full online multiplayer functionality by programmer Shuouma, yet again expanding the online gaming library available to Dreamcast owners. In recognition of this milestone (it's probably the highest number of online Dreamcasts since the early 2000s), we spoke briefly to Luke regarding this not insignificant user count. Here's what he had to say:
- Luke Benstead, creator of the DreamPi software
Most of us here at the Junkyard are regular participants in the online gaming sessions organised via the Dreamcast Talk forums, and setting up a DreamPi is literally as easy as pie (sorry). If you would like to join the ever-growing community of online Dreamcast gamers, head over to Luke's blog or visit Dreamcast Live for further details. Here's to the next 1000 Dreamcasters joining the party!
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| A naked Raspberry Pi rocking DreamPi |
Do you play online with your Dreamcast? Have you screamed at the sky as I beat you mercilessly at Toy Racer or POD 2? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter or in our Facebook group.
Get Back Online With DreamPi
Online functionality was one of the the main selling points of the Dreamcast, but in the here and now, playing online-enabled games with Sega's final system is something that is out of reach for many a gamer. There are lots of Dreamcast games that are still playable via the internet and new dedicated servers are popping up all the time, but unless you have a broadband adopter or some other more convoluted means to get your console connected to the internet, offline gaming is your lot.
It seems that a clever guy called Luke Benstead has other ideas though, and has created a rather impressive little Raspberry Pi-based device called DreamPi. What does this creation do? Well, it allows the Dreamcast to connect to the internet using the dial-up modem so you can play games online again. Without a dial-up ISP or a Dreamcast broadband adaptor.
DreamPi is a piece of software I've written combined with a standard set of hardware which allows the SEGA Dreamcast to connect to the internet without a dial-up ISP
- Luke Benstead
Planet Ring & Alien Front Back Online With DreamPi 1.5
- New software is included written by Jonas Karlsson called 'dcvoip,' this system process makes the VOIP communication in Planet Ring work! The software is distributed with permission.
- There is now built-in support for the upcoming Alien Front Online servers that will allow your vanilla normal AFO CD to work without a boot disc! (Thanks again for Jonas for the information to do this).
- The Pi's firmware has been updated which should bring better device support
- A bug has been fixed where the DreamPi software wouldn't shut down correctly
- The modem command timeout has been increased which fixes a number of bugs on modems which are slow to respond (for some reason...). Thanks to Neoblast on the DC-talk forums for finding this.
- Fixed a bug where the DreamPi process would boot before there was an internet connection (mainly affected WiFi) and would require restarting multiple times to get things to initialize correctly.
Edit: Just a minor piece of additional information. The Alien Front Online server was created by Petter3k with help from Jonas Karlsson (Shuouma), DreamPi simply adds support for these games.
The Original Quake and Doom are soon to be playable Online with DreamPi
The man responsible for bringing the vast majority of Dreamcast games back online with DreamPi, Shuouma has announced, he will soon release versions of Quake and Doom compatible with dial up online play via DreamPi.
While fan-made Dreamcast ports of both Quake and Doom have been around for years now, and Dreamcast Online has helped support Doom online play via the broadband adapter, this will be the first time our community is able play Doom via DreamPi, and Quake online in any form.
Online Gaming On The Dreamcast Is As Easy As Pi
Get Your Dreamcast Online With DreamPi - 2017 Edition
Daytona USA is Playable Online on the Dreamcast for the First Time in 21 Years
To say that online multiplayer was a central pillar of the Dreamcast brand would be an understatement. From day one it was touted as a standout feature, placed front and centre of most of the big marketing campaigns, and generally bigged-up by Sega executives at any opportunity that arose, from press interviews to industry events.
After a bit of a delay and some teething issues following the console's launch, an impressive online architecture was erected and over 80 games were released with an online multiplayer mode between 1999 and 2002. While hundreds of thousands had the fortune to experience the joys of playing their little white box online during this period, online multiplayer facilities did not send the Dreamcast into the stratospheric heights hoped for by Sega, and the official online lifespan of some games was as gut-wrenchingly brief as that of the commercial days of the console itself.
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| No doubt Sega had to spend a pretty penny to gain celebrity endorsements like this one... |
Daytona USA 2001, the go-to title for unabashed all-out
arcade-racing on the Dreamcast, is a prime example. Released to largely positive reviews (90% in Paragon's Dreamcast Magazine) between December 2000 and May 2001 across different regions, the official server reportedly
ceased to function before the end of 2002. I haven't been able to source a firm verification of precisely when the server closed, but by most accounts it was only operational for 18 months at most. Mercifully though, for those of
us who are hooked on the delights that online multiplayer on the Dreamcast can bring, I am delighted to report that we are now achingly
close to being able to play this particular title online once more.
That's right readers. Believe your eyes and ears. In the near future, Daytona USA 2001
is due to be playable online on the Dreamcast for the first
time in 21 years, thanks to the bright mind and unswerving commitment of ioncannon, who has been working on the revival of its online mode for the last six months.
The game is set to join the ranks of 25 other Dreamcast games which have had their online modes already revived and are playable online via unofficial servers. The key details regarding Daytona and some insights from ioncannon, who kindly took the time to answer our questions, can be found below.
Update (14/07/2023): Daytona USA is back online! Check out PC Wizard's post on the Dreamcast Live blog to find out more.
DAY-TON-AHHHHHHH! What you need to know about playing it online
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| The PAL version shown here won't be of much use to those eager to play online... |
- There is no precise date set for the completion of this online multiplayer revival project (it is a voluntary initiative after all), but progress has been good and appears to be reaching the final stages. Successful games have been played between emulators and tinkerings are currently under way to get it fully working on real hardware.
- We'll be sure to post an update as soon as the new server is publicly available and ready to play on. For now, those interested can follow ioncannon's thread on Dreamcast-Talk.
- Daytona's online mode was axed from the PAL release at the last minute (in similarly enraging fashion to the PAL releases of Outtrigger and Unreal Tournament), therefore you will need an NTSC-U (North American) or NTSC-J (Japanese) edition of the game to play online.
- The game will not need to be patched to be played online. You will be able to play with your regular retail releases, whether those be legitimate GD-ROMs or "backups" that are played from an optical disc emulator such as the GDEMU.
- The revived online mode will feature nearly everything that the original online mode did: up to 4 players per race, with plenty of tracks and cars to choose from. The only feature that has yet to be figured out is the ranking system.
- The game is not compatible with the Dreamcast's Broadband Adapter, so to play online you will need to connect via your regular Dreamcast modem and a 'DreamPi' (a Raspberry Pi configured to enable your Dreamcast to play online) with an updated DreamPi image installed (something which is being worked on at present).
- Getting your Dreamcast online may seem daunting at first, but is actually a relatively easy task, even for those whose technical chops are lacking (like me!). Step-by-step guidance is available on the Dreamcast Live website, and the friendly folks over at the Dreamcast-Talk forums and the DCJY Discord Server are typically happy to help those who need a helping hand.
- Scheduling and joining online sessions of Dreamcast games is easier than ever before. The Sega Online discord group host Dreamcast games several times a week suited to different timezones, Dreamcast Live maintain a regular schedule and welcome engagement via their TeamSpeak channel, and you can also find opponents the old-school way via the Dreamcast-Talk forums.
The Revival of Daytona's Online Multiplayer Mode: Insights from ioncannon
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| Testing the server connection using the Dreamcast emulator Flycast. Image courtesy of ioncannon. |
DreamPi 1.1 with Dreamcast Now! Released
Just a short one this. You may recall a few weeks ago that we revealed a new online service for Dreamcast called Dreamcast Now! that allows you to see when other users are online and what games they are playing etc. It's about as close to something like Xbox Live or PlayStation Network that we're ever likely to see on the Dreamcast, but it's real...and it works with the DreamPi Raspberry Pi device created by Luke Benstead. The good news is that Luke has released the latest version of the DreamPi image and it includes everything you need to get Dreamcast Now! up and running.
Episode 24 of DreamPod features Luke as a special guest and he explains exactly what the DreamPi and Dreamcast Now! service will mean for the future of online gaming on the DC. That episode will be out by the end of the week, but in the meantime feel free to head over to Luke's blog and download the image for yourself.
POD 2 / POD Speedzone Online Multiplayer Highlights
Thanks to everyone who made it a really positive online gaming experience. If you'd like to know more about DreamPi or playing online with your Dreamcast, be sure to check out Dreamcast Live or the blog of Luke Benstead, creator of the DreamPi.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion in our Facebook group or on Twitter.
World Series Baseball back online with DreamPi
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| World Series Baseball 2K2 is back! |
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| The random images you can find on Google never cease to amaze me. |
Anyone who knows anything about baseball games (so not me) will tell you, WSB 2K2 is the best example of the sport on the Dreamcast, so it's fantastic that its online features have been restored. What's more, now they've successfully got one 2K sports title up and running, no doubt it's only a matter of time before others follow. I'm personally looking forward to NFL 2K1 which according to the Dreamcast Live's website, is currently a work in progress.
As always, great work guys!
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| Dreamcast Live's Shuouma has once again stepped up to the plate |
Online Multiplayer Restored To More Dreamcast Games (Updated)
Either way, it's great to see more games brought back online - who knows what's next? Massively multiplayer online Daytona USA 2001? Yes please! You can keep abreast of Shuouma's great work by following him on Twitter here; and make sure you keep up to date with the Dreamcast's burgeoning online gaming scene, and find out more about DreamPi by visiting Dreamcast Live.
Update
As of 26th January 2018, Ooga Booga is back online! We'll be getting involved with some online games soon via DreamPi, but in the meantime check out Pcwzrd13's video below:
Source: Sega Nerds
Driving Strikers Review - The First New Online Dreamcast Game in 20 Years
With Driving Strikers, LD-2K and Reality Jump have taken Sega’s iconic “why don’t we play together?” slogan to heart, producing the first online multiplayer Dreamcast game since 2002. Whatever your assessment of the gameplay itself may be, this is a monumental achievement - probably about as significant a leap as we are likely to see within our niche community. Commercial indie releases have been hitting the shelves for two decades now, and although there have been some phenomenal entries made to the Dreamcast’s library during that time, no one had mustered the courage to tackle what is probably the keystone of the console’s identity; online play. That is, until recently.
Luke Benstead and David Reichelt, the former of which invented the popular DreamPi method for connecting your Dreamcast to the internet, have been plugging away at the development of Driving Strikers, a fast-paced ‘car football’ game, for several years now (Rocket League? Never heard of it, mate). The duo, assisted by a handful of others, and with WAVE Game Studios on board as publisher, finalised the game back in June and physical copies have recently begun landing on doormats. Regular scene-watchers may already be familiar with the fundamental concept and overall design given that several demos have been dropped during the game’s developmental lifespan. For those that are still uninitiated though, it’s really quite simple: you take control of a car in a football match, and are tasked with scoring more goals than your opponents within rounds of a few minutes at time. You drive. You strike. It’s all in the name! Well actually, you can boost and jump too, but Boosted-Jumping-Driving Strikers would’ve been a bit of a mouthful.
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| All screenshots provided by Luke Benstead. |
Those who have played the demos will immediately notice that the final commercial release of Driving Strikers is significantly expanded and improved upon when compared to those earlier builds. The most important change is undoubtedly in the handling of the cars, which are directed via your analog stick or D-pad. To be honest, in the demos I found controlling my vehicle to be virtually impossible, resulting in a chaotic experience replete with own goals that would make Frank Sinclair blush. In the final product though, the cars are much more manoeuvrable, allowing for more clearly defined defensive and attacking plays which are greatly rewarding when they pay off - especially so when you can rub it in the face of a human opponent. Matches are still quite hectic in nature, but now to a degree that suits, and while the gameplay is intuitive enough for total beginners it also has space for the development of skill from practice.
The arenas available to players, four regular and two unlockable, are diverse in their design, ranging from a serene beach (which looks more Seychelles than Skegness) to a dingy cobblestone castle. The distinct earworm-laden music that accompanies each stage is a particular highlight, with the Christmas stage track acting like a homage to the classic Dubstep Santa. If the stadia had differed a little more in their shape and terrain, and if the teams you choose from had material differences in their operation (speed, boost, strength etc.), then that may have helped spice things up a little more, but understandably for a game like this, boundaries need to be kept manageable.
The ‘league’ mode featured in the commercial release definitely adds a little longevity to the game (and must be traversed if you want to unlock one of the arenas) but fundamentally Driving Strikers is all about multiplayer - whether that be in person or online. What can at times be a bit of a dull experience when played solo becomes infinitely more fun when the competitive human connection is thrown in. If you are blessed enough to be able to call on four friends to cram round a screen, then Driving Strikers will easily give you the same vibes as local multiplayer classics of old.
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| Best game ever. No bias, or anything. |
Of course, if your Dreamcast is connected to the internet, then playing online is a must. However, as much of a watershed achievement as this feature is, it does come with some caveats. When it runs smoothly, the online multiplayer experience is fantastic, and you’ll find yourself happily burning through half a dozen rounds before you need to take a breather. Unfortunately though, the lag experienced by DreamPi users can disrupt things, and it seems to be a bit of a lottery as to whether you have no lag, a noticeable yet serviceable level, or a big fat dose. LD-2K and WAVE do acknowledge this, recommending in the manual that hosts should be using a Broadband Adapter wherever possible. The times I have played with a BBA have certainly been noticeably better, but the reality is that this peripheral remains expensive and far less widely used than the DreamPi. Aside from the lag, the game’s online mode does have other occasional hiccups too, whether that be freezing (requiring a console reset) or potential difficulties with the login screen.
No doubt some folks may feel a little aggrieved by these issues, which is understandable. After all, everyone is entitled to an opinion, especially so when the exchange of hard-earned money is involved. However, I personally feel that a more rounded perspective is warranted, and can be arrived at if we account for a couple of contextual factors. Firstly, lag and other snafus aren’t unknowns in the realm of playing your Dreamcast online. Those of us who play regularly will all have had jittery slideshow-like rounds of Mobile Suit Gundam, sessions of DeeDee Planet that desync, or pulled our hair out as a match of Worms World Party fails to start for the third time in a row. Secondly, Luke and David are the first to attempt the feat of getting an indie release online, without being able to follow pre-existing guidelines or rely on the support of a large well-resourced team.
What has been delivered is a meticulously thought out online architecture, compatible with all current Dreamcast internet connection methods and featuring cross-platform functionality with the PC. Granted, there are flaws, but in my view at least, they are forgivable. And, as the online code will be publicly shared, the door for other future online indie titles has finally been smashed open. Given that the battering-ram used for this progress is a vibrant, well-designed, and fun little game leaves me feeling that the £20 I forked over was well spent. The finishing touches such as multiple language options, in-game VMU icons, and a plentiful options menu (that aren’t always present on DC indie releases) only reinforce this perspective.
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| The three styles of physical copy available from WAVE on release - from Mike's A to Z account! |
Here’s hoping that LD-2K return in the future with another online outing for our beloved little white box - after a well earned break of course. In the meantime, check the Dreamcast Live and Sega Online schedules to join us for some rounds of Driving Strikers.
Driving Strikers is available now in physical or digital format from WAVE Game Studios.
Have you played Driving Strikers yet? If so, have you had the chance to enjoy playing it online? Let us know in the comments below or via our various social media channels!
You Can Still Use Dial-Up To Surf The Internet With A Dreamcast
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| Line Di. See? |
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| Don't act like you've never Googled yourself! |
Monaco Grand Prix Online Is Back...Online!
As reported by our good friend Pcwzrd over at Dreamcast Live, Monaco Online (as I'm going to call it from now on because the actual title is ridiculously long) has been resurrected by Shuouma, a programmer far more intelligent than I could ever hope to be. Races can host a maximum of 6 racers at once and there are also online leaderboards just begging to be dominated...but probably not by yours truly. Because I'm shit at games, period.
You'll need a DreamPi to get involved in this whole Monaco Online thing, but you can head over to Dreamcast Live here for the full story, details on how to create or buy a DreamPi and also a handy Dreamcast internet connection guide.
Source: Dreamcast Live
Dreamarena Authentication Cracked, Quake III Arena & Toy Racer To Be Playable Online Via Dial-Up
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| Was it the Bismarck? Couldn't help myself, sorry. |
Simulant - a new game engine for Dreamcast
Simulant is a general-purpose game engine for multiple platforms: Windows, Linux, OSX, and of course Dreamcast. General-purpose means it can be used to build any style of game. It's similar in concept to Unity but it doesn't come with a pretty user interface - games have to be developed purely in code.
I've been developing Simulant for almost 9 years, I started it well before I got involved in the Dreamcast scene and for the majority of that time I've been the only developer.
It's really very powerful, and is currently being used to build (at least) two Dreamcast games: Swirling Blades (my chopper game) and another 3D game called Dark Space Pioneer.
It's also spawned a whole community and a number of related projects, including a full OpenGL library called GLdc, which is being used by Summoning Signals, and the nuQuake Quake port to accelerate performance. An OpenAL audio library has also been built, as well as a software profiler for the Dreamcast called dcprof.
Even after all this time, Simulant is still in Alpha state. I'm always on the look out for skilled developers who want to help! I particularly could use help with the Android and OSX versions!
If you want to see what Simulant can do, check out Swirling Blades on itch - it's a fairly basic 3D helicopter shooter, but as a proof of concept that can be burnt to a disc and played on a Dreamcast hardware, it is impressive.
There's also a dedicated website with more information, screenshots and documentation at: https://simulant.dev.
Be sure to follow Luke on Twitter for updates on Simulant. What do you think? Will you be taking your first steps into Dreamcast development with Simulant? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter.
POD 2 Is Back Online
According to this article and video over at Dreamcast Live, the usual cost of entry is a DreamPi or a lesser spotted Dreamcast broadband adapter, plus a copy of the game (obviously); but I for one am hoping that the ability to play against other, real people will enhance the experience of POD 2. If the experience offered by Monaco Online is anything to go by then I'm pretty sure any fears of mediocrity will be quelled after about 30 seconds of play...but one can never be too sure. All joking aside, it's actually pretty incredible that online-enabled Dreamcast games are being brought back from the dead and I'm looking forward to trying POD 2 out during one of the regular Dreamcast-Talk gaming nights.
I suggest you grab a DreamPi or a BBA and get involved too. See you out on the track...
Source: Dreamcast Live
Related Articles:
DeeDee Planet to be Playable Online for the First Time (updated - now online!)
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| DeeDee Planet sample box artwork, sourced from Sega Retro. |
Update: Since this article was published, Dee Dee Planet has sucessfully been brought back online thanks to the living legend known as Shuouma! You can find out more at Dreamcast Live. Original article continues below:
Just over a year ago, we brought you news about a fully playable beta version of a previously unavailable Dreamcast game being released to the public, thanks to the investigative work of a Dreamcast community stalwart, PC Wizard. The development of DeeDee Planet, a multiplayer single screen combat game intended to be a successor to ChuChu Rocket!, was fully complete, with the game slated for an official release in 2001. Alas, this never happened. Instead, the game was shelved (allegedly due to some pesky network related bugs) and for 20 years the closest we got to experiencing DeeDee Planet was forlornly gazing over snippets of gameplay and advertisements featuring artwork and screenshots.
Now, it seems that DeeDee Planet is imminently due to be playable online, as it was meant to be, in all its hectic glory. Over the last few weeks, Shuouma (Jonas Karlsson), has worked his magic to create a server and modify the game to ensure it communicates properly with this. PC and Shuouma have been putting this setup to the test and report that the game is running smoothly, with no appearances of those aforementioned network bugs, which may well have been present on the original Sega servers but haven’t dared rear their ugly heads here.
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| Enjoy lobbing projectiles at your mates? Want to do it from the safety of your own home? DeeDee Planet has you covered. Screenshot of online play during testing courtesy of PC Wizard. |
For the enlightened readers with an internet-connected Dreamcast at the ready, here are some of the key details to know:
- The game is not Broadband Adapter compatible, so you will need to connect via a DreamPi, PC-DC server, or real dial-up - respect to anyone still cracking on with the latter!
- You will require a patched version of the game to play it online – something which Shuouma and PC will be releasing into the wild in the near future.
- An updated DreamPi image is not necessary, so you can keep those SD cards slotted safely away for the time-being.
- Online play will require a username and password to be setup, which can be done in-game, as is the practice with ChuChu Rocket!. These details will be tied to your console ID, so try not to forget them!
- The gameplay is almost exactly the same online as it is offline, so if you want to be a champion from day one of the server going live, then get some practice in on the version of the game that is already available.
- Although it is the Japanese edition of the game that is being worked on, most of the online menus are in English and can be easily navigated.
As I write this, loose ends are being tied up and final touches are being applied, primarily relating to player stats and rankings. Those wanting to stay tuned on the latest progress can follow the Twitter accounts of Shuouma and PC, and should also keep an eye on the Dreamcast Live website. Of course, we will be sure to announce the release of the patched online version of DeeDee Planet when that happens too.
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| Where do you recognise those icons from, eh? Answers on the back of a postcard (or in the comments) please. Screenshot of the online lobby for DeeDee Planet, courtesy of PC Wizard. |
If you haven’t got online with your Dreamcast yet, then this is probably the best time to do so, what with online play for DeeDee Planet, Driving Strikers, and a whole heap of Capcom games likely to arrive soon. Ok, there aren’t quite the 6 billion players touted by Sega in their marketing campaigns at the turn of the millennium, but there are dozens of us. Dozens! Dreamcast Live, Dreamcast-Talk users, and the Sega Online discord group are all active in organising online sessions. Be sure to say hello and get involved.
VS Link cable now available from Dreamcast Live
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| Dreamcast Live's VS Link Cable |
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| Tom Charnock playing with himself...the loser that he is. |
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