Supermassive Black Pad

Look here, you contemptible buffoons (no offence intended). Back in the day, I was one of the three people in the UK who owned an Atari Jaguar. I'm sure there were many more in the US, but my predictions are based on hope, rather than fact. This is irrelevant though, since whilst my European contemporaries were kicking ass on Streets of Rage 3 or indulging in the superlative brilliance of Super Mario World, I was trying to convince myself that I'd embraced the future by enduring the 'delights' of...erm...Club Drive, Trevor McFur in the Crescent Galaxy and Cybermorph (pictured, yesterday). Cough.

I'd like to say they were fond memories, but I'd be lying through my gargantuan ass. That's because the Jag was the very zenith of bilge. The reason I dredge this subject up like the decomposing carcass of a sheep that wandered too close to a canal edge, is that the Atari Jaguar will always be remembered for two things: A slew of sub-16 bit 'games,' and that fucking ma-husive joypad. For those that never sampled it's charms, here's a pic:

This is what a 64-bit Interactive Mulitmedia System joypad looks like

Yes, beloved reader, its the same shape and size as the crust from a loaf of thick-sliced Warburton's - and it features a bizarre telephonic pad in the middle that allows for 'quick & easy' access to camera angle changes and weapon selections (via an overlay that came with most games). To be blunt, it's the biggest joypad the Universe has ever known, has it's own postal code, and if you've got hands even slightly smaller than popular Bible baddy Goliath - you're pretty much fucked when it comes to using it. However - there is a new pretender to the Jaguar pad's throne. Ladies & Gentlemen, allow me to introduce the McLaren Dreamcast Pad!

Yep, it's a DC pad branded by the Formula 1 team McLaren. Yes - a pad. Not, bizarrely, a steering wheel, but 10/10 for effort guys. What you can't tell from the above picture though is the sheer scale of the thing. It's bigger than E. Honda's packed lunch - and in order to truly appreciate the colossal proportions of it, here's a comparison shot with the regular DC, PS2 and 360 pads:

Look at the 360 pad...scale is not exagerrated.

So, we've established that it's big. Really big...but how does it stand up to the official pad? Surprisingly well actually. Unlike most third-party pads, the McLaren one is very sturdy (not a great shock given it's size) and the analogue triggers are very responsive in driving games (again, not a great shock considering who made the thing). The one component of third-party pads that usually strikes fear into the heart is the analogue stick, but again the McLaren's is very robust and super-accurate. Strange, considering that it is actually a 'stick' protruding from the pad as opposed to the 'ball' that the official controller has.

Look here, Squire:

It's a stick and not a ball. How rude.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the McLaren pad though is the 'double rumble' one that's emblazoned on the box. Upon closer inspection (and finding that the rumble pack offers the same amount of feedback as when it's used with a regular pad), it appears that this 'double rumble' feature is only activated when the pad is used with 'compatible software.' Quite what this compatible software is though, I have no idea. And what the fuck is double rumble anyway? I'm assuming that there are extra vibration motors built into the pad (that'd explain the size), but I can't confirm this theory as I don't have a screwdriver that fits into the holes on the underside of the goddamned thing. Bah. I do have an assortment of hammers, bricks and crude cutting instruments but I tend to just use them when I need to smash open a coconut and devour the soft flesh contained within. Mmmm. Flesh...

But I digress. The McLaren pad is a worthy addition to the 'Yard even if it does require a flatbed lorry to transport, and is possibly the best 3rd party DC pad I've ever used. Smoke that, Madcatz.

Incidentally, I'm working at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone at the weekend. Might take my pad and get Lewis Hamilton to sign it. On second thoughts, he may not appreciate someone shoving a massive Dreamcast pad under his nose whilst foaming at the mouth and screaming.

Good news Everyone! Two Indy Projects Are Still in Development!

First off Dynamite Dreams is still in development!

Still fighting to be on the Dreamcast!

I checked their website about a month ago and there was no activity at all so I lost hope.

But it appears they are still gonna make the game! Nice!

ALSO

Elysian Shadows is still being worked on and still is slated to be on the Dreamcast!

There seemed to be a pretty big shake up in the team but it looks like this game could actually see the light of a dreamcast's laser one day.

Wonderful news. Two Dreamcast projects that I thought might be dead are ALIVE.

Truly the undead console is king (or queen according to Gagaman(n)).

ALL HAIL THE UNDEAD CONSOLE!

Pulled from DC EMU UK and DCEmulation.org.

Treamcast!

Sorry for not posting much of anything for such a long time guys, been quite busy as of late (see here if you're curious). Either way this post has been a long time waiting to be written as I actually got this a while back. I don't know if you remember me posting about anticipating something rather special in the post? Well this is what I sent off to a member of the Dreamcast Scene forums from Portugal..

...and here's what I got in return.

Yes, the guy who I did the trade with even went/goes by the name of Treamcaster online yet was looking to collect Dreamcast magazines and I just so happened to have a whole bunch of them from subscribing to it back in the day that were taking up a whole lot of room, so we did this rather neat trade! He even got on a webcam and showed me it working, which was awfully nice of him! I promised a Inside Out video of it and I still intend to do one when I've got time, but for now here's some photos.

For those not in the know the Treamcast is a Hong Kong unofficial system (but made with official parts inside, so it's not a clone like all those NES and mega Drive ones you see) that is quite a bit smaller than the Dreamcast, is chipped to play any region of game but best of all has a fold out 5" screen and a headphone socket. It even even comes bundled with a car adaptor so you could take it about on the go if you really wanted.

This is as far as i know the last of 3 models of this system made. The first was white and apparently didn't have that great of a screen, then it was released with a widescreen, which to be honest looked a little silly as it stuck out on the sides, and finally there was this black model with a better screen. It even has the normal TV connections so you can hook it up just like a normal Dreamcast too. Here it is running good ol' Marvel vs Capcom 2.

It's a fantastic piece of kit and while I seriously doubt Sega approved of it's existence (many a regular Dreamcast's must of been gutted to produce these) I'm sure it's probably quite the collectors piece too. There's something pretty neat about sitting sitting in bed with headphones on playing a bit of DC goodness in the middle of the night.

UPDATE: Because barry asked for it. I have no sunglasses, so feel free to photoshop some in. Stick them in a Miami beach setting while you're at it. UPDATE 2: Barry, you are brilliant.

Last Hope: Pink Bullets.

If you loved "Last Hope" but felt it was lacking in pink bullets then you are in luck...

http://www.lasthope.ngdevteam.com/

The team that first created Last Hope for the Dreamcast is going to release a self-published reprint very soon (in July maybe?).

The Pink Bullets edition is not just a remake but they are tweaking the game a bit.

Yes, the bullets will be pink.

Also
- Six credits and instant respawn during one credit
- Higher player ship speed from beginning
- Players ship does permanently equip the Rotary Protection Unit
- Five difficulty settings
- Overall less hard difficulty
- Altered stage color theme for higher Visibility

I noticed the Overall less hard difficulty part right away. That should quell some of the complainers that felt that the original game was just too hard.

So is this a big deal? Well for people who missed out on the first release YES. For people who already have the game? Ehh...maybe not. It's essentially the same game.

Will this effect the value of the original game? I really can't say at this time. Gamers are quite fickle when it comes to stuff like this. Sometimes the original release is made MORE valuable by a re-release. Sometimes the original will lose value. Sometimes people will just consider the two items separate entities and their values will not effect each other at all.

Personally I never had the chance to get the original release. I am preordering.

You can preorder at Hucast, Play Asia and the NG:Dev Team website.

Any questions?

Go here.

PS:

Sorry TL for bumping your post. I felt this was somewhat big news.