A Quick Look At Alien Front Online

This week I received in the post a fully boxed and complete copy of Alien Front Online, for which I paid the princely sum of £3. I have played this game extensively in the past as I own a burnt copy of it, but there's nothing like having the complete official set in your collection...and for such a minuscule sum who could turn it down? I'll tell you who: a screaming buffoon. A buffoon I am not though, and this is evident in the way that I now own Alien Front Online. Am I making any sense at all? No? Excellent.

Following on from our recent A Quick Look At Virtua Cop 2, I intend this series to be - as the name suggests - a sort of whistle-stop investigation of titles lots of people may already be familiar with, but that others may never have experienced. Indeed, many people will be very familiar with Alien Front Online, and I'd hazard a guess that the vast majority of those folk would be Dreamcast owners hailing from the good ol' US of A. This is because Alien Front Online didn't receive a PAL or NTSC-J release, and even if it had been launched in the UK I very much suspect that the 'Online' part of the title would have been dropped just like it was from PAL versions of Outtrigger, Daytona and Unreal Tournament. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Just what is Alien Front Online? Let's have a little look...

Mean Green Machine

This past weekend I managed to catch up with an old friend and former writer here at the 'Yard - the artist formerly known as Father Krishna. FK, as we would occasionally refer to him, was part of the team from around 2007 - 2010 but due to personal reasons decided to take a hiatus from writing about Sega's lovely box of tricks. FK will be making a long overdue return to the Junkyard in the near future, but that's not the reason for this post. When I arranged to meet him, FK said he had a gift for me and I wasn't really sure what to expect. Imagine my shock and delight when he presented me with this bad boy:

Yep, it's a PAL Dreamcast in an aftermarket translucent green shell, complete with matching green VMU and two-tone green and clear controller. Naturally, I was a little taken aback by this act of generosity - all the more so since I've been looking for a translucent Dreamcast shell for quite a considerable amount of time but have always been put off by the relatively high price of them (and astronomical shipping costs from overseas in most cases).

Play Expo Manchester 2015

Anyone who follows the Junkyard on Facebook will no doubt know that we didn't win a UK Podcasters Award on Saturday - the best video games podcast award went to Retro Asylum, and we would like to extend our congratulations to the team - they're a great bunch of guys. To be honest, we didn't think we had much of a chance winning against such popular competition and the Retro Asylum podcast has such a large following and has been going for so long, that for DreamPod to win an award after only 14 episodes wouldn't have been entirely fair. So well done to Retro Asylum, and to PlayStation Radio UK for also being nominated.

Now though, our thoughts turn to the future. And to be more specific, the 10th and 11th of October 2015. That's because The Dreamcast Junkyard is thrilled to announce that we will be in attendance at one of the UK's largest gaming expos - Play Expo Manchester. Play Expo attracts tens of thousands of gamers to the Event City exhibition centre in Trafford Park, Manchester and is a weekend-long celebration of current and retro gaming and allows visitors the chance to mix with like-minded fans of the hobby and play a whole host of games. Furthermore, the massive trading hall is always full to bursting with stalls selling all manner of rare and unusual gaming items, both old and new. Celebrity guests from the world of film and TV, talks from games industry icons, cosplay competitions, arcade and pinball machines and competitive gaming championships round off the event. Hopefully industry legend Jeff Minter will again be in attendance wearing one of his 'interesting' woolly jumpers, too.

The Dreamcast...Shoe?

So you're wearing your Dreamcast jacket and t-shirt; you've got your Dreamcast baseball cap firmly on your head; and your Dreamcast satchel is neatly slung over your shoulder securely holding your Dreamcast notebook PC and assorted Sega-branded pens and writing pads. There might even be a Dream Eye in there in case you spot something worthy of recording via the power of VGA video. But there's something missing. Something is eating at the very fabric of your SH4-powered soul. Like the atmosphere in any HP Lovecraft novel, something is off...but you don't know what. Lowering your head in shame and looking down at the pavement/sidewalk/mud (yes, you are actually outdoors dressed like this), the penny drops like an anvil falling from the top of a skyscraper: your shoes are not Dreamcast-branded! You begin to cry and run home screeching like a banshee. The embarrassment. The shame.

I'm sure you're all familiar with this scenario, and this is no fantasy (star online) - it is actually based on true events. In fact, the author is the person described above. Last Tuesday, as it happens. But I digress - there is a happy ending to this tale of woe, as when I got home I happened to spot a Facebook post by our good friends over at DreamcastGaga, which allowed me to link to a Japanese website selling perhaps the most hideous amazing footwear this side of Christiano Ronaldo's neon boots:

16 Years, Still Thinking...

The 16th birthday of the NTSC-U Dreamcast is upon us. 16 years of awesome. Yes, it's an inanimate plastic object...but let's all wish the Dreamcast a Happy Birthday regardless!

If you'd like to read a bit more about the NTSC-U Dreamcast, check out our recent look at the different styles of US packaging here.

10th Anniversary Competition: Part Three Results

Well, the third and final part of our 10th anniversary competition has come to a close. Parts one and two were outstanding successes and allowed us to share in our community's fondest memories of the Dreamcast; and also allowed you to get creative. Before we reveal the fastest Sega Rally 2 players and the winning lap time for our Sega Rally 2 Time Attack Challenge, we at the Junkyard would like to thank you all for taking part and spreading the word about this momentous competition. We would also like to extend our thanks to Sega Europe for supplying the amazing limited edition Dreamcast Collection vinyl records for you guys to win.

Before I'm overcome with emotion and start crying into my keyboard, let's get on with it. For part three of this competition, we asked you to attempt to set a fastest lap time on Sega Rally 2's Desert SS1 using the Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205. Any combination of tires, suspension and gearing was permitted - this was really a test of how well you knew how to manipulate the game's settings and the best lines through the course. I tried to set a time as a benchmark but managed a paltry 56 seconds. Hey, I never said I was good at Dreamcast games! We had lots of entries and we thank you for that, but ultimately there can be only one winner. Without further ado, here's a run down of the five fastest lap times we received...

Saber Rider Kickstarter Adds Dreamcast Version

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs is, by all accounts, a fairly well-loved cartoon series from the 1980s.  Created by World Events Productions and based on a Japanese cartoon series called Star Musketeer Bismarck, Saber Rider achieved moderate success in North America and ran for 52 episodes. Even though I'm an admirer of animated shows from the era (who can forget Dungeons & Dragons?), I have to be honest - I'd never heard of it before learning of the Kickstarter to turn the series into a side-scrolling shooter for the Nintendo 3DS.

Furthermore, I will admit right here that I had to do a bit of Wikipedia mining and Googling in order to get up to speed on the exploits of the titular Saber Rider, but what I found has impressed me. Anyone who remembers cartoon series from the 80s like the aforementioned Dungeons & Dragons and, more appropriately, stuff like BraveStarr (the series featuring a Native American sheriff and his talking horse) will be right at home with Saber Rider; and after watching some clips on YouTube I must admit to warming to the 'space western' aesthetics.

DreamPod Episode 14 With Adam Koralik & Corey Marshall

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Be sure to check out Adam's YouTube channel and website, and keep up to speed with the latest Shenmue 3 developments. You can also check out the Yu Suzuki interview mentioned by clicking here. Finally, if you like what you hear please consider giving us an iTunes review. Thanks!

The Dreamcast First Aid Kit

I must admit that I only came across this image while lazily searching Google. It originally comes from the legendary but long abandoned UK:Resistance, and there's no other real information about the item's origins anywhere else on the internet. But here it is - a Dreamcast-branded first aid kit:

Is this an official Sega product? If so, why on Earth did Sega think it was a good idea to brand a bunch of plasters and cotton buds with a console logo? That said, I can totally see the point of marketing materials like pens, pencils, frisbees and hats - there's always loads of throwaway console-branded stuff at gaming events...but the thought of an Xbox One or PS4 first aid kit at E3 or Gamescom? Can't see it myself.

Maybe Sega was anticipating hoards of people literally falling over themselves/each other onto the pavement (also known as a sidewalk in America, apparently) to buy a Dreamcast and thought it best to cover their arses (so to speak) by issuing these kits incase a lawsuit came along? Who knows, but if you have one of these or know anything else about it, please leave a comment!

DreamPod Episode 13

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Caleb Tries to Play Baldr Force EXE

Is this game about fighting robots?  Or is it about pressing the "A" button to skip dialog?  Find out below.

New Dreamcast Kickstarter To Launch - Alice Dreams Tournament

Hey does anyone remember that awesome demo for Alice Dreams?  I certainly was disappointed that it never launched.

But now those same guys are making a NEW game.  And it will BLOW YOU AWAY!

Did you see that Dreamcast VMU Support!? Amazing!

Full details can be found here!

Good Dreamcastic Morning!

Are you looking for a regular Dreamcast YouTube show full of news, interviews and guest appearances? Well you're in luck, because Good Dreamcastic Morning has debuted. Check out the pilot episode from pcwzrd13 below and look out for a special guest appearance from yours truly!

 

Hopefully I didn't make too much of an idiot of myself in that little section - the rest of the show is full of interesting information (I didn't know you could eat the food in Dynamite Cop, for instance!), and we look forward to seeing where this series goes. The Dreamcast community is apparently expanding in 2015 (see our previous post) and all these new Dreamcast owners will undoubtedly be subscribing in their millions. Or billions. 6 billion in fact.

MCV Reports Spike In Dreamcast Sales

Games industry website MCV has reported that UK sales of used Dreamcast hardware have increased drastically since Shenmue III was revealed at E3 2015. The article, published on 27th August claims that independent retailers have recorded a dramatic upturn in demand for the hardware due to people who never experienced the first two games in the Shenmue series taking an interest.

"We sold 20 Dreamcasts in the last week alone. All of sudden, people are asking where they can play the original two Shenmue games. The announcement of Shenmue III really piqued everyone’s interest." - Alex Bowness, Level Up Games

Naturally, due to this sudden demand prices have started to slowly increase. On the one hand, this is foreboding as it may herald the start of the Dreamcast becoming one of those systems where every game and knackered yellow console on eBay also comes with a vastly inflated valuation. But on the other hand, it means maybe more people will enter the world of the Dreamcast and come to appreciate how many great games the format boasts. Quite ironic considering how neglected the system was during those brief glory days of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The search for a cheap, used Dreamcast continued...

“Dreamcast sales have come from nowhere almost, what’s exciting now is that young gamers who perhaps didn’t even know what the Dreamcast was are interested in it.” - David James-Turvey, Retrobution

Check out Alex Calvin's full article at MCV here.

New Dreamcast Racer On The Horizon?

A very talented guy by the name of David Webster has been working on Dreamcast homebrew projects for the past few years and uploading his tech demos to his YouTube channel. Among his works on the Dreamcast are some rather cool real-time lighting and environment rendering demonstrations (complete with adaptive tessellation - whatever that is!); but by far the most impressive of David's creations is the 'Dreamcast Engine,' a 3D first person demo that shows the beginnings of some truly impressive lighting effects and architecture. Check out the video:

Sadly, it seems that work on Dreamcast Engine has been placed on hiatus as of now, but all is not lost - David has turned his attention to another project. This project is still in the very early stages of development, but judging from the two YouTube clips below the Dreamcast could soon be playing host to it's very own sprite-based, procedurally generated take on either Rad Mobile or F-Zero. Exciting stuff indeed.

The Ultimate Ikaruga Run

Think you're good at Treasure classic Ikaruga? Well it's time to think again!

Check out this video from the recent Summer Games Done Quick 2015 event, where a simply insane Ikaruga run was demonstrated by TASBot, a machine that specialises in completing tool-assisted speedruns.

Running for maximum score, TASBot proceeds to run two-player Ikaruga while hitting Max Chain bonus all... the... smegging... time! Yes, its a machine executing code ripped from emulators but, just, god-damn!

If you are at all into shmups then this will blow you away. Some of the movement patterns on display are simply insane and, when both the Ikaruga and Ginkei team up for some high-level bullet eater tactics, things just get beautiful.

You will never be good enough to play like this, however if you want to get better at Ikaruga, then watch this spectacular run. Excellent commentary is supplied too for the uninitiated. The run proper begins at 3:00.

We're aware the version being played is the Gamecube port, but Ikaruga will always be associated with the Dreamcast too!

Did You Know Gaming? Tackles Sonic Adventure

YouTube channel Did You Know Gaming? offers a wealth of information on topics from across the gaming board, and I for one regularly check their uploads for interesting and often little-known facts about various software and hardware releases. We recently shared the Dreamcast video they published, but Did You Know Gaming? have since delved back into the world of Sega's magic white box by investigating one of the system's most infamous titles - Sonic Adventure.

Many of you reading this will no doubt be all too familiar with Sonic Adventure (it was one of the first games many early adopters experienced - including me), but as this video shows there are still things to learn. Prior to watching it, I had never heard of the Sonic Adventure AutoDemo mentioned in reference to the Casino 'cow girl' billboard, and a quick Google search later opened up a whole new world of wonder to me.

The AutoDemo was an early rolling demo of Sonic Adventure (dating from October 1998) that was used to show off the game's engine - it basically shows a load of cut scenes using in-game assets. Turns out a group of Sonic Retro forum members (headed by a user named 'Orengefox') managed to hack the game though, and released a whole load of previously unseen development assets and pre-alpha levels. It's a fascinating story and you can read all about it here and here. While I was aware of the recent Windy Valley discovery, I was previously ignorant to how deep this particular rabbit (echidna?) hole went...