PAL Dreamcast FAQ update, help wanted!

[S3M]

First post on ASSEMbler, but I see quite a few NTSC members:

:cur_sonic:

This is a call for help with an update to my Dreamcast FAQ, so weather you've helped out before or just been a lurker on the forum now’s the time to pitch in with any ideas, suggestions or information to improve my Sega Dreamcast FAQ and if you don't want to post in this topic you can always PM me or email me at: shining3master@yahoo.com

(Be aware if the email goes to my spam folder it will be auto deleted, so if you don’t hear back from me remove any links or pictures.)

Current version is here:
http://shining3master.fortunecity.com/

(EDIT: Then click the Dreamcast FAQ link on the left side bar, FC it appears don't allow direct links!)
or paste this into you browser window
http://shining3master.fortunecity.com/dcfaq.txt

I'm going to upload a new version by the end of next week with the changes so far, currently rewriting half the text.

The main reason for this update is to include the official European release of Sega Bass Fishing with Rod, seems it was officially released and a collector came forward to show me some lovely pictures of it.

I'm also going to add "The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas" as a white label/promotional release and I'm interested in seeing if there is interest in me doing a promotional list of game in the FAQ.

Some what tricky to compile as I would need photos of each release to confirm its release as promotional releases are not done for every game, there mainly just a way for studios to order in cheap copies of the game for marketing purposes without having to pay the cost of a complete copy.

As I'm on ASSEMbler I noticed that Fighting Viper 2 and Ready to Rumble Round 2 both say beta on the white label versions, I'd be interested to know if the games our any different. Also any one have a 4x4 white label disc for PAL I'm questioning if it does or doesn't exist.

I'm also going to do a DLC I'm also really keen to get hold of Dream on Vol 3 Demo Disc, following confirmation by GMass, that the Dynamite Cop DLC was included on the disc. Also if you have a copy of the Demo Disc you want to part with please get in touch I'm keen to get my hands on it.

As it stands my DLC list for PAL games is as follows:

022 - Chu Chu Rocket!
039 - Dynamite Cop
110 - POD 2: Multiplayer Online
106 - Phantasy Star Online
107 - Phantasy Star Online Version 2
131 - Samba De Amigo
145 - Skies of Arcadia

My memory is failing me a bit at the moment so I don't think that's complete yet, this is going to be followed by an online play list at some point.

I'm also looking to include a VGA list as well my brother is currently buying one and we are going to test it out on a number of games. We’re also looking to test out a number of forcing VGA tricks as well, as we've heard of a few ways to increase VGA compatibility with games.

Other updates include alternative covers and variants of games like Grand Thief Auto 2. Also is any one interested in a DC-X and Xploder import compatibility list?

Let me know what you think and how to improve it, I'm doing a text rewrite as well for some of it to make it flow a bit better.

Cheers
S3M :mario:

[Segafreak_NL]

Sonic Adventure 2 had DLC, Toy Racer had a car that could only be unlocked online. Shenmue had some stuff as well.

I think the VGA list better consists of games that DON'T support it.

[7Force]

Jet Set Radio had DLC...I think it worked in the PAL version too, but not sure.

[Segafreak_NL]

Yeah I remember it did. I think you could download tags and transform PC image files to tags to use in the game.

[S3M]

Sonic Adventure 2 had DLC, Toy Racer had a car that could only be unlocked online. Shenmue had some stuff as well.

I think the VGA list better consists of games that DON'T support it.

So there was an unlockable car for Toy Racer, I remember reading about it in the manual but no one I knew ever unlocked it. Do you know how it was unlocked?

[Hedgeyourbets]

Oh wow you're the guy who wrote that FAQ, that's like my PAL collection bible.
There was a discussion about promotional games which might be helpful recently
See my post
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ad.php?t=35006

Also, if you like I recently tested all 155 or so of my PAL games to see if they were vga compatible out of the box and also tested if the VGA switch trick would work for the guy with the VGA compatibility list on emuparadise. If you like I can send you my data.
The list on emuparadise is inaccurate for retail PAL games (he hasn't updated it with my data yet) as he used downloaded PAL rips to test, most of which had been patched to run VGA

Might I also suggest completing the list of games which aren't 60hz compatible and which can and cannot be patched/forced to run at 60hz?

Oh and the Import compatibility with xploder and the like would be very helpful, I do have a region free bios modded Dreamcast, but hey always good to know which ones refuse to play on my PAL macine :)
Oh!!! and by all reports I've ever had, PBA bowling refuses to run on stock PAL dreamcasts, it freezes up after you press start at the title screen might be useful to include that :)

[slayer2k8]

I have the fishing rod in standard pal packaging believe it was an Australia release?
I also have the demo disc i'll check to see if i have a spare

[S3M]

Oh wow you're the guy who wrote that FAQ, that's like my PAL collection bible.
There was a discussion about promotional games which might be helpful recently
See my post
http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ad.php?t=35006

Also, if you like I recently tested all 155 or so of my PAL games to see if they were vga compatible out of the box and also tested if the VGA switch trick would work for the guy with the VGA compatibility list on emuparadise. If you like I can send you my data.
The list on emuparadise is inaccurate for retail PAL games (he hasn't updated it with my data yet) as he used downloaded PAL rips to test, most of which had been patched to run VGA

Might I also suggest completing the list of games which aren't 60hz compatible and which can and cannot be patched/forced to run at 60hz?

Oh and the Import compatibility with xploder and the like would be very helpful, I do have a region free bios modded Dreamcast, but hey always good to know which ones refuse to play on my PAL macine :)
Oh!!! and by all reports I've ever had, PBA bowling refuses to run on stock PAL dreamcasts, it freezes up after you press start at the title screen might be useful to include that :)

Thanks Hedgeyourbets that would be really helpful rather than sending me your full list, can you check my list below and send me the data for game I haven't tested or where you have different results. I've got about 160 PALDC games myself so hopefully between us we should have most of them.

All my tests were done on original PAL box Dreamcast version, so no ripping or VGA patching as I want to keep my guide purely for the original releases of each game.

One thing I have discovered is that the Xploder automatically boots into VGA and give the same results as the switch trick. Timing on the switch trick itself is annoying as different games need to have the switch flipped at different points. So if you don’t have a switch on your VGA box the Xploder is the next best thing.

DC-X is a pain to use as it doesn’t support VGA so you have to use it blind, but it can also force into VGA.

Yes, I do intend to add to the 50/60hz list as well.

Here’s my full PAL VGA list so far:

Supports VGA out of the box:

(Will boot and run correctly on an unmodified Dreamcast with a normal VGA Lead)

(*) = Indicts that the box and packaging does not state it supports VGA

002 - 18 Wheeler American Pro Tucker
003 - 4 Wheel Thunder (*)
007 - Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
011 - Blue Stinger (*)
018 - Carrier
020 - Charge ‘N’ Blast
022 - ChuChu Rocket!
023 - Coaster Works: Build The Ride of Your Life
024 - Confidential Mission
026 - Crazy Taxi
027 - Crazy Taxi 2
029 - Daytona USA 2001
030 - Dead or Alive 2 (*)
032 - Deep Fighter
036 - Dragon Riders: Chronicles of Pern (*)
039 - Dynamite Cop
040 - Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future
043 – ESPN International Track and Field
046 - Evil Twin Cyprien’s Chronicles
048 - Evolution 2: Far off Promise
049 - Exhibition of Speed (*)
052 - F1 World Grand Prix 2: for Dreamcast
053 - F355 Challenge: Passione Rossa
054 - Fighting Force 2
055 - Fighting Vipers 2
056 - Floigan Brothers: episode one
058 - Fur Fighters
059 - Gauntlet Legends (*)
061 - Giga Wing
062 - Grand Theft Auto 2
|_(Both GTA 1 and GTA 2 printing)
063 - Grandia II
066 - Headhunter
069 - House of the Dead 2, The
071 – Incoming (*)
074 - Jet Set Radio
079 - Le Mans 24 Hours (*)
080 - Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver (*)
081 - Looney Tunes: Space Racing
082 - Magforce Racing
083 - Maken X (*)
084 - Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes (*)
085 – Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
|_(Must press B to skip the HZ screen on MVC2)
086 - MDK 2
087 - Metropolis Street Racer
089 - Millennium Soldier: Expendable (*)
091 - Mortal Kombat Gold (*)
092 - Mr Driller
094 - NBA 2K
095 - NBA 2K2
102 - Nightmare Creatures 2
103 - Nomad Soul, The
104 - Outtrigger
106 - Phantasy Star Online
107 - Phantasy Star Online Version 2
108 - Planet Ring
110 - POD 2: Multiplayer Online
111 - Power Stone (*)
112 - Power Stone 2
113 - Pro Pinball Trilogy
114 - Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 (*)
116 - Quake III Arena
118 - Racing Simulator 2: Monaco Grand Prix Online
120 - Rayman 2: The Great Escape
121 - Ready 2 Rumble Boxing (*)
122 - Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
123 - Record of Lodoss War
124 - Red Dog: Superior Firepower (*)
125 - Resident Evil 2
126 - Resident Evil 3: Nemesis
128 - Re-Volt
129 - Rez
131 - Samba De Amigo
132 - San Francisco Rush 2049 (*)
133 - Sega Bass Fishing
134 - Sega Extreme Sports
136 - Sega Rally 2
141 – Shenmue
|_ (States that if you save with VGA you will not be able to use that save when playing at 50/60hz)
142 - Shenmue 2
143 - Silent Scope
144 - Silver
146 - Slave Zero (*)
149 - Soldier of Fortune
150 - Sonic Adventure
151 - Sonic Adventure 2
152 - Sonic Shuffle
153 - Soul Calibur
157 - Space Channel 5
159 - Spec Ops 2: Omega Squad
162 - Spiderman
163 - Spirit of Speed 1937
164 - Starlancer
166 - Star Wars: Episode 1 Jedi Power Battles
167 - Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer
168 - Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (*)
169 - Street Fighter III: Double Impact
170 - Street Fighter Alpha 3
171 - Stunt GP
172 - Stupid Invaders
173 - Super Magnetic Neo
174 - Super Runabout: The GoldenState
176 - Suzuki Alstare Extreme Racing
177 - Sword of the Berserk: Gut’s Rage
180 - Tech Romancer (*)
182 - Time Stalkers
184 - Tokyo Highway Challenge 2 (*)
188 - Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation
189 - Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
190 - Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding
191 - Toy Commander
192 - Toy Racer
198 - Unreal Tournament
199 - Urban Chaos (*)
200 - Vanishing Point
201 - Vigilante 8: 2nd Offense (*)
203 - Virtua Fighters 3 Team Battle
204 - Virtua Striker 2 (ver 2000.1)
205 - Virtua Tennis
206 - Virtua Tennis 2
207 - V-Rally 2 Expert Edition
208 - Wacky Racers
209 - Walt Disney World Quest: Magical Racing Tour
210 - Wetrix+
211 - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
212 - Wild Metal (*)
213 - Worms Armageddon (*)
214 - Worms World Party (*)
216 - WWF Royal Rumble
217 - Zombie Revenge

Does not run under VGA or has major issues when forced under VGA:

(X) Indicts that the box and packaging state it supports VGA when it doesn’t.
(O) Indicts that the game will boot with a VGA lead in but will encounter problems during the load up.

005 - Aero Wings
006 - Aero Wings 2: Air Strike (X)
010 - Bangai-O
|_ (Can be forced but appears in a tiny window and goes to a black screen after the HZ menu)
017 - Capcom vs SNK: Millennium Fight 2000 (O)
|_ (Will boot with a VGA lead in runs under VGA up till the HZ selection menu which you can’t skip will go to a black screen after selecting 50 or 60hz)
031 - Deadly Skies
067 - Heavy Metal Geomatrix
|_ (Can be forced into VGA but goes to a black screen after the HZ menu)
072 - Iron Aces (X)
076 – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
|_ (Can be forced but appears at an odd resolution some graphics corruption can also be seen.)
078 - Kiss Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child (O)
|_ (Will boot with a VGA lead in crashes after the under license from Sega Screen.)
098 - Next Tetris, The
|_ (Can be forced but goes to a black screen after the company names and logos, never reaching the title screen)
105 - Pen Pen Triicelon
109 - Plasma Sword: Nightmare of Bilstein
|_ (Same as JoJo’s Can be forced but appears at an odd resolution some graphics corruption and debug code can also be seen.)
115 - Psychic Force 2012
119 - Railroad Tycoon II (X) (O)
|_ (Will boot with a VGA lead in crashes after the under license from Sega Screen.)
127 - Resident Evil Code: Veronica
145 - Skies of Arcadia
148 - Snow Surfers
154 - Soul Fighter

Won’t boot under VGA normally but can be force into outputting at VGA:

009 - Aqua GT
013 - Bust A Move 4
016 - Cannon Spike
025 - Conflict Zone
033 - Dino Crisis – (FMV movies don’t play in VGA)
037 - Dragons Blood
045 - Evil Dead: Hail to the King
047 - Evolution: The World of Sacred Devices (X)
|_ (Can be swapped in VGA mode at almost any point suspect that the developer didn’t set the VGA flag)
060 - Giant Killers
065 - Gunbird 2
068 - Hidden and Dangerous
|_ (Select 60hz at the selection menu to run)
070 - Hydro Thunder
088 - Midway’s Greatest Hits - Volume 1 –
158 - Spawn in the Demon’s Hand
183 - Tokyo Highway Challenge (X)
|_ (Can be swapped in VGA mode at almost any point suspect that the developer didn’t set the VGA flag)

That’s everything I can test in PAL anything else I don’t have in PAL, bar Sega Swirl which I’ve forgotten to test. NTSC US and JP lists to follow as well also interested to see how many games have US or JP versions that do support VGA as it’s purely down to bugs that some PAL games don’t support VGA.

[S3M]

I have the fishing rod in standard pal packaging believe it was an Australia release?
I also have the demo disc i'll check to see if i have a spare

Thanks slayer2k8, I discovered that the official fishing rod was released in Europe with Sega Bass Fishing. I had someone come forward with pictures of the European version, turns out the suppliers had them in but the shops just didn't order them in. It's one of the main reasons for my update, if you do have have a spare copy of that demo disc please let me know.

Hedgeyourbets is PBA bowling an official release? I can only see it down as a cancelled game?

While it not official DLC I'm going to mention the demo for Toy Commander as it feature three unique missions. One was a race, one being summer themed and the last one was a christmas mission none of these were in the retail release.

I also understand that Sega Extreme Sports had DLC as well.

[Hedgeyourbets]

Okie doke I will compare your list to mine a bit later and post the results

Also PBA bowling was a cancelled but leaked game available to 'acquire' online

[S3M]

Oh and the Import compatibility with xploder and the like would be very helpful, I do have a region free bios modded Dreamcast, but hey always good to know which ones refuse to play on my PAL macine :)

Yeah I've been meaning to do a list for awhile on import games I have over 75+ NTSC US and Japanese games and the only one that won't load with the Xploder is Langrisser Millennium. It will however work with the DC-X which is odd as the DC-X is the more flakey import device.

Alot of people have told be Rent a Hero doesn't work on PAL Dreamcast's with the DC-X, interested to know if it works with the Xploder or not. It's too expensive for me to take a punt on it however.

[wombat]

Also PBA bowling was a cancelled but leaked game available to 'acquire' online

There is also a PAL-compatible version 'out there' of PBA. So I dont think it's needed to add this canned game to the list with the 'not working statement'.

[Hedgeyourbets]

I've never seen this PAL compatible version despite spending days trawling the internet for a working image and burning multiple coasters in the process. Even if there is a PAL compatible version somewhere out there, it's certainly not easy to obtain so unless this PAL compatible version becomes more readily available, I think that people should be warned, if they find it on any of the normal sites, it will not work with their machine

[Shakey_Jake33]

033 - Dino Crisis – (FMV movies don’t play in VGA)

I should point out that Dino Crisis is actually completely playable. You cannot see the movies (just a black screen), but they do actually play (albeit with sound only). Most of the in-game cutscenes are actually realtime, so the issue with the FMVs is pretty unimportant.

Just mentioning that because your wording might be interpreted to mean the game crashes at the FMVs or something - this is not the case.

[Hedgeyourbets]

Ok, just checked my list, I don't think I've spotted any mistakes, so here are some of the games you're missing:

Working VGA (afraid I haven't checked whether the box says they support it)

Buzz Lightyear of star command
Chicken Run
Donald duck: Quack attack
Ducati world
European Super League
F1 Racing Championship
Kao the Kangaroo
NFL Quarterback Club 2000
Racing Simulation: monaco Grand prix (different from the online one)
Sega GT
Sega Swirl
Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000: euro edition
Shadowman
South park Rally
The Grinch
Tom Clancy's Rainbow six Rogue spear
Tomb Raide chronicles
Toy Story 2 : buzz lightyear to the rescue
Trickstyle
Uefa Dream soccer
Uefa striker
Ultimate fighting Championship
Virtua Athlete 2K

Will work with the VGA switch trick

Evil Dead Hail to the king
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
NFL Blitz 2000
Roadsters
Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000
Sno Cross: Championship racing
South Park: chef's Love shack
Sydney 2000
Tee off
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6

Ones which won't work with the VGA switch trick

Disney's Dinosaur - appears to work but goes blank and freezes up after the ubisoft logo
ECW Anarchy Rulz
ECW Hardcore Revolution
WWF Attitude

[Segafreak_NL]

So there was an unlockable car for Toy Racer, I remember reading about it in the manual but no one I knew ever unlocked it. Do you know how it was unlocked?

No, sorry.

[S3M]

Ok, just checked my list, I don't think I've spotted any mistakes, so here are some of the games you're missing:

Working VGA (afraid I haven't checked whether the box says they support it)

Buzz Lightyear of star command
Chicken Run
Donald duck: Quack attack
Ducati world
European Super League
F1 Racing Championship
Kao the Kangaroo
NFL Quarterback Club 2000
Racing Simulation: monaco Grand prix (different from the online one)
Sega GT
Sega Swirl
Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000: euro edition
Shadowman
South park Rally
The Grinch
Tom Clancy's Rainbow six Rogue spear
Tomb Raide chronicles
Toy Story 2 : buzz lightyear to the rescue
Trickstyle
Uefa Dream soccer
Uefa striker
Ultimate fighting Championship
Virtua Athlete 2K

Will work with the VGA switch trick

Evil Dead Hail to the king
NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC
NFL Blitz 2000
Roadsters
Sega Worldwide Soccer 2000
Sno Cross: Championship racing
South Park: chef's Love shack
Sydney 2000
Tee off
Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6

Ones which won't work with the VGA switch trick

Disney's Dinosaur - appears to work but goes blank and freezes up after the ubisoft logo
ECW Anarchy Rulz
ECW Hardcore Revolution
WWF Attitude

Thanks Hedgeyourbets this will come in really helpful, no worries about the information on the box, I'll check it on.

http://dcarchive.segaonline.nl/

The guy who runs it helped with my FAQ and it's a really good website, opps miss off Sega GT on my list.

Point noted Shakey_Jake33, this is a rough draft of the text but I'll be sure to make it clearer in the final version.

Hope to have my NTSC VGA list done by the week end.

[Shinebi]

Hi S3M, nice to see you here and work on a new project :thumbsup:

Wish I could help you out, but I nearly sold off all of my games...
If you're still looking for any, send me a PM, will ya?

PS Maybe ask Mayu to check the Demo discs for DLC, I forgot what's on them.

[Hedgeyourbets]

Wow, how have I never come across that site before,tis amazing
Some of the pictures don't work though

[S3M]

Anyone remember what the last official release was in Japan. Currently I have it down as Under Defeat when I originally wrote the FAQ but I seem to remember Karous and Trigger Heart coming out later now???