DreamPod - Episode 33: Elysian Shadows

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Music in this episode comes from Elemental Gimmick Gear. You can find Elysian Shadows on YouTube here, and the 'anti-Falco' jpeg image discussed can be found here. As ever, thanks to all of our Patreon backers for supporting the podcast - our campaign page can be found here. Be sure to follow Elysian Shadows on Twitter, Facebook and the official Elysian Shadows website. 

If you like what you've heard on this episode, it would mean the world to us if you could leave us an iTunes review of any denomination! Thanks.

Six of the Best: eBay Round-Up W/E 5th June 2016

There's been a lot of negative news swirling around the Dreamcast community this week, what with certain projects imploding and certain Kickstarters being cancelled...so allow us to change the topic slightly. Starting this week, we'll be presenting a round up of some of the more interesting items we've spotted on eBay, and giving links in one handy list. Obviously these items aren't linked to us directly, but the 'have you seen this on eBay?' posts in the DCJY Facebook group do get people talking and so we thought it might make a good bi-weekly feature here at the 'Yard.

Please note that the eBay site used will be relevant to the member of the team writing the round-up, so UK-based members will be using the UK site, US-based the US site and so on. Without further ado, let's take a look at some of the most interesting Dreamcast-related items spotted this week...

Xenocider Kickstarter Cancelled

Well, this sucks monstrous amounts of putrid ass. News has reached us that Retro Sumus' awesome-looking Sin & Punishment/Space Harrier clone has been cancelled with six days to go on the Kickstarter project. Pretty much everyone here at the Junkyard backed the game in some form or another so this is a bitter pill to swallow, but we're sure this isn't the end for Xenocider. A similar fate befell Leona's Tricky Adventures and after a round of alternative crowd funding, and we all know how that story ended (read our massive review of the final game here). Here's the rather somber update from Kickstarter:

"Hey guys. This won't take many of you by surprise, but we think it's safe to assume we won't be reaching the funding goal in the remaining 6 days...

We are cancelling the campaign today. We will keep working on Xenocider, on alternative ways of making it happen, because we love our project and are deeply proud of what we were (and still are) intending to create.

Those of you who were fans or followers of Retro Sumus already know we like keeping you guys informed of what we're up to. We have no plans of changing that. This is only a good bye for now. We will be back, and we will be better.

Above all, thank you. We deeply appreciate every single one of your pledges, comments, messages, tweets and suggestions. The Dreamcast scene is still amazing, and exciting, and we are proud to be a part of it. And we would like to thank every backer, journalist and developer who gave us a hand. You all know who you are :)

Thank you so much for your support."

- Carlos Oliveros, Retro Sumus

On a personal level this really disappoints me because I know first hand how passionate Carlos, Chui and the rest of the Retro Sumus team are having spoken with them many times, and I even agreed to appear in the Kickstarter video such was my faith in the quality of this game. However, all is not lost and we do hope Retro Sumus bounce back with an alternative way of getting Xenocider off the ground (no pun intended) and into Dreamcast consoles around the world. Furthermore, I think the world needs to be able to shoot me in the face for all the bollocks I come out with on this blog!

Don't worry if you donated to make this a nightmarish reality - all donations will be refunded when I can remember my PayPal password!

Initial source: Sega Nerds

Dreamcast 2 'Project Dream' Shuts Down

You may recall that in late 2015 the internet was on fire with rumours of the possibility of a Dreamcast 2 being looked at by Sega. Various outlets reported on the story but we chose to distance ourselves from Project Dream as it became known, as there wasn't a lot of factual evidence to back up claims of meetings with Sega and the proposals being considered.

That said, a sizable change.org petition was submitted to Sega, and several videos showing concept designs of both the console and the proposed UI were shared online...but when it came to the crunch nothing concrete really materialised. It looks as though our fears have now been confirmed though, and as much as we'd like to see a new system from Sega or Project Dream, this particular dream appears to be over. The Project Dream website has been taken down, while the popular Project Dream Facebook group has been deleted and users are now met with the following message:

"The project has been taken offline. This is due to a schism within the team caused by inefficient and amateurish conduct resulting in members being removed and others leaving the team. In light of such unprofessional behavior and an embarrassing lack of progress, seasoned members of the gaming industry have chosen to distance themselves from the project. I too am stepping away from Project Dream. Please note the Twitter account @Project_DreamDC is no longer associated with this group."

 - Project Dream Facebook Group

Whether or not this really does mean the end for Project Dream remains to be seen, but I have been contacted by a source close to the team who told me that the claims of a 'schism' are indeed true, and that various members resorted to in-fighting and conflicts of direction. This in turn lead to a rift between the core members of Project Dream, a rift which has resulted in the events described herein.

We'll keep an eye on Project Dream and let you know if anything changes going forward. For now though, it looks like the dream of a new system from Sega will remain just that.

Update: after we published this story, we received a flurry of messages and tweets stating that Project Dream would recover and would forge ahead regardless of the setbacks detailed above. However, it appears that this is no longer the case and any ambiguity has been settled by Project Dream on Twitter with the following announcements:

Video Maestro Wanted!

Here at the Junkyard we pride ourselves on our outstanding written content, our mind-blowingly good podcast and our industry-leading social media streams. Hey - if we don't make those self-aggrandising claims, who else will? Anyway, you may (or may not) have noticed that we have a YouTube channel as well. It was started by Aaron 'The Gagaman' Foster, but has recently found itself being updated less often since Aaron started his own YouTube venture Lucky Hit (go there and subscribe while we're on the subject). Due to this, we're looking for somebody to come on board here at the universe's ultimate Dreamcast destination and take control of the channel, creating new video reviews and opinion pieces on Sega and Dreamcast-related topics and news.

The channel has over 2,500 subscribers already and we're keen to grow that number...but quality video content that we can also post here on the main blog is the main priority. We're big fans of Alex from Nintendo Life and his humorous video reviews, so we're looking for someone who can be on camera and record/narrate game footage in a similar fashion. This role will include free reign to produce whatever you like - as long as it's related to Sega and/or the Dreamcast in some way, naturally. If this sounds like something you'd like to do and you want to join the DCJY team as a video maestro, please send us an email explaining who you are, what you can bring to the team and a link to one of your existing videos...and we'll be in touch.

You can check out the DCJY YouTube channel here, and you can find contact details here.

Broken Dreams: The 10 Worst Dreamcast Games

I realise I touched on this subject in my recent retrospective look at the Kalisto/Konami car crash Nightmare Creatures II, but I thought it about time that we temporarily suspended the blinkered praising of our beloved Dreamcast and investigated the pungent underbelly of the system's library more thoroughly. As Dreamcast fans, I suppose it is all too easy to look back at the console from an artificially rose-tinted perspective; and while there's nothing wrong with that it doesn't help those gamers who may be new to the system or those who perhaps didn't get the exposure to online game reviews or print magazines in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

You see, we can easily recall the monumental highs of Shenmue, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi and the other genre-defining software titles that make up the star-studded top tier of the software lineup; however just like every other console, the Dreamcast has a number of sub-par titles. Games that are just plain bad for any number of reasons. Games that should really be avoided unless you're one of those 'full set' collector types (you know who you are). To this end, we thought it was about time that we looked to the other end of the spectrum and brought you a run down of the most insipid and downright reprehensible games ever to 'grace' a Dreamcast. And by 'grace,' I mean be deposited onto the console through the weeping anus of a particularly unpleasant and malodorous giant.

Yep - LJN returned from the grave for one last troll on the Dreamcast

I understand that there are other terrible games that may not be on this list, but I'm not listing titles that I can't play due to either a language barrier or a lack of functionality due to internet services being discontinued. No - I'm looking at games that were deemed fully functional by testers, but were unleashed on the games buying public in states not fit for human consumption. Horrific frame rates, terrible controls, broken game engines...these are all criteria that have helped to get the following titles onto this most unholy of lists. Now, please get comfortable and allow us to take you on a rather unsettling journey as we reveal the very worst games the Dreamcast has to offer...

ElysianVMU - A Brand New VMU Emulator From Elysian Shadows

Elysian Shadows burst on to the Dreamcast radar in 2014 with little more than a dream and a Kickstarter pitch for a revolutionary new role playing game. The project was funded in less than a week and since then lead developer Falco Girgis and his team have been working away behind the scenes to bring what is perhaps the single most ambitious independent title yet to Sega's system. Featuring graphical techniques not yet seen on the Dreamcast, and an adventure that promises to engage players for hours upon hours, Elysian Shadows is easily one of the most exciting upcoming prospects for many Dreamcast gamers.

The game is also launching on PC and Mac however, and due to the game's reliance on the humble VMU for certain aspects of the adventure, Falco took it upon himself to develop a brand new and totally bespoke VMU emulator for Elysian Shadows; thus allowing computer-based players to get the full experience. Not only that, the emulator - titled ElysianVMU - will allow gamers to take the myriad mini-games away from their computer and play them on Android and iOS devices. To this end, I'm extremely excited to allow Falco Girgis himself to explain in his own words what this new VMU emulator is all about and what it means for the Dreamcast indie dev community going forward. Falco, over to you...

Dreamkey's Hidden Video

This probably won't mean much to you if you're not familiar with the European internet browsers for Dreamcast, but allow me to explain. Dreamkey was the PAL equivalent to SegaNet and Dream Passport and represented the default method of connection to online portal Dreamarena back in the day. Now we've established that, I'll continue. I was randomly browsing YouTube t'other day when I happened across a rather strange video. Upon closer inspection, the video appeared to have been uploaded by regular Junkyard commenter and MSR aficionado RJAY63 and was actually posted in 2011...but until now I'd never seen anything about this.

Apparently, by inserting the Dreamkey 1.0 internet browser disc into your Dreamcast, going to the address box and simply typing 'about:' you can view a secret video crediting the creators of Dreamkey. The video isn't really all that special - it's basically the European 'Shave' advert with credits laid over the top and the Robbie Williams song removed, but it's an interesting discovery nonetheless. I watched intently hoping it might credit the actors in the video, thus solving the riddle of who Player One / The Barber actually is (you can read out that little quest here); but alas it does not. Enough preamble though - here's the hidden video (click 'continue reading' if on the main page):

Windows CE is Best OS and Dreamcast is Best PC?

A few days ago, the Junkyard posted a couple photos of Dreamcast consoles, highlighting the fact that Japanese systems had 'Designed for Windows CE' when PAL and US had 'Compatible with Windows CE.' Before I was (more) knowledgeable in matters Dreamcast, I assumed that particular OS was already playing a part in the system's operation

At least it's not Vista

However, simple logic shows that this is not the case, and the console operates from Sega's own software. Each game ran only the bits and bobs of the operating system that it needed. For the most part, games used the proprietary software developed by Sega.

Sonic Adventure Dreamcast Homepage Restored

Sonic Adventure is a pretty divisive game, but most will agree that it really was a great showcase for the Dreamcast when it was a console in its infancy. It had great visuals and some fantastic set pieces - who can forget the killer whale sequence in the first stage? These days the vast majority deride the game for its bugs and somewhat aimless later levels...but that's a subject for another day. The reason I bring Sonic Adventure up is that news has reached me via Liam Ashcroft of SEGAbits, that somebody has gone to the trouble of purchasing the original Sonic Adventure Dreamcast homepage and restored the site in its entirety. Just for the hell of it.