Hey, is there a Sega CD emu. fot the dreamcast???

[Cernex]

Yeah. Pretty self-explanatory.

Just want to know if there's a way to play Sega CD games (pysical games, not .isos... bleh) on the Dreamcast. That's all.

El Cernex

[V3N0M]

No I don't think there is a Sega CD emulator. But I’m not 100% sure on that seeing as I just entered the Dreamcast scene no more than a few months ago.

[JKKDARK]

No. there isn't a sega cd emulator for Dreamcast.

[BlueCrab]

There isn't one, and quite frankly, I wouldn't count on one for a long time, if ever. Sega CD emulation requires pretty much perfect Genesis emulation, and CPU time to spare. We've got pretty good Genesis emulation, but its not quite perfect yet, but there's likely not enough CPU time to spare to do everything completely proper yet.

[I_Highway]

Blue Crab, I admire so much your work, and I think you have the most intersting projects in the scene nowadays.

So, I would like to add an thoght: from what I've been reading, the main problem in emulating the Genesis is its sound. In SegaCD it could be skipped, because it used reproducer, just like the DC. So, with no sound to emulate, it would have some more CPU time to spare.

Am I too wrong?

Thank you!

[quzar]

There isn't one, and quite frankly, I wouldn't count on one for a long time, if ever. Sega CD emulation requires pretty much perfect Genesis emulation, and CPU time to spare. We've got pretty good Genesis emulation, but its not perfect yet, and there's certainly not the CPU time to spare either.

Actually, when using the hardware rendering, there is time to spare. I'd say some time in the next two-ish years, we might have SCD emulation (fullspeed that is)


So, I would like to add an thoght: from what I've been reading, the main problem in emulating the Genesis is its sound. In SegaCD it could be skipped, because it used reproducer, just like the DC. So, with no sound to emulate, it would have some more CPU time to spare.

Yes, since the SCD used CDDA, you could turn off the sound emulation to gain a lot of speed.

[I_Highway]

Wow, quzar, you're really fast!!! Thank you for the reply!

And keep on the good work you, too. I've been reading this forum almost daily during this year, and some of you are VIP to me...heheheh...

So, it would be possible, specially if it was dedicated only for the SegaCD, right? Oh, there's still a hope...

[iniquitous_beast]

The best games of the sega cd were defined by their great music or spoken dialogue. Although a soundless sega cd emulator for the dc might be possible, it won't be desirable.
If you want to play original sega cd games, just buy a sega cd. I picked up a genesis/sega-cd combo for $40 total just a few months ago. I have not regretted it.

[quzar]

The best games of the sega cd were defined by their great music or spoken dialogue. Although a soundless sega cd emulator for the dc might be possible, it won't be desirable.
If you want to play original sega cd games, just buy a sega cd. I picked up a genesis/sega-cd combo for $40 total just a few months ago. I have not regretted it.

CDDA would still be free. CPU generated sound would not.

[Darksaviour69]

there is one sega cd game that runs on the dc now, Heart of the Alien
http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/cgi-bin/cfiles.cgi?0,0,0,0,61,449

[I_Highway]

Well, iniquitous_beast, I agree with you, but what I meant was that in SegaCD its sound is not generated by the CPU, but just played in CDDA, so there's no need to emulate it. I think this is the same thing that quzar said.

This way, playing sounds and voices just like a normal CD, with no need to emulate them, we would have a great emulator, with high reading speed, and maybe even better than the original SegaCD.

Darksaviour69, I didn't even know this game, and as soon as I have some more CD-Rs, I'll try it. Thanks!!!

[Cernex]

I think the main problem here is that the Dreamcast would have to emulate both the Genesis and Sega CD at the same time, and (at least on my case) dunno that the Dreamcast can pull it off, specially at the current state of the Genesis emulation...

El Cernex

[quzar]

I think the main problem here is that the Dreamcast would have to emulate both the Genesis and Sega CD at the same time, and (at least on my case) dunno that the Dreamcast can pull it off, specially at the current state of the Genesis emulation...

El Cernex

The *ONLY* things the Sega CD added were an extra processor and the cd drive (which allowed for CDDA).

[Darksaviour69]

hmm i always wanted to play sonic cd, but could not justify buying a mega cd just for that...

[quzar]

hmm i always wanted to play sonic cd, but could not justify buying a mega cd just for that...

There's a PC version. I got it in a sonic 3 pack =).

[kwok]

Theres a decent sega cd emulator for the xbox. I have run almost every single sega cd game created via this emulator. Neogenesis. Has support for all megadrive and sega cd games, it will even emulate different sega cd versions allowing you to play import games. Full-speed/sound/music. Download it from xbins (do a search for this site, excellent for xbox binaries) get a second hand xbox £50 if you dont have one, run the softmod or the hotswap hack (i used hotswap, and works cool), then install neogenesis. Excellent, and probably cheaper than lookin for a second hand sega cd + mega drive, also remeber that sega cd drives will probably start failing as they are so old... Failing all that i'm sure theres probably an sega cd emulator for the pc.

[Darksaviour69]

yeah but i heard the p.c. version is not as good, but its not the same playing sonic on the p.c.

i do have a xbox and a mod chip for it that i have never got round to installing

[quzar]

Theres a decent sega cd emulator for the xbox. I have run almost every single sega cd game created via this emulator. Neogenesis. Has support for all megadrive and sega cd games, it will even emulate different sega cd versions allowing you to play import games. Full-speed/sound/music. Download it from xbins (do a search for this site, excellent for xbox binaries) get a second hand xbox £50 if you dont have one, run the softmod or the hotswap hack (i used hotswap, and works cool), then install neogenesis. Excellent, and probably cheaper than lookin for a second hand sega cd + mega drive, also remeber that sega cd drives will probably start failing as they are so old... Failing all that i'm sure theres probably an sega cd emulator for the pc.

you do realize that every emulator for the xbox is for the most part just a direct copy of a PC emulator with control changes right? (the exceptions being the much newer systems which need more optimization for fullspeed play. Also, they're for the most part illegal.

[Baboon]

It would be cool if one day there was a working sega cd emu on the DC. Theres quite a few retro games that would be great to play again.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

The *ONLY* things the Sega CD added were an extra processor and the cd drive (which allowed for CDDA).
But the extra processor was another M68K and at twice the clock speed as the one in the Genesis. However, I'm not sure how often that co-processor was actually used outside of a few games. I also don't know if there might even be some possible efficiencies when emulating two roughly identical processors that would make it easier.

Sega CD emulation would be really nice to see on the Dreamcast eventually. Even if it was fairly slow, it'd just be a nice and impressive thing to have.


there is one sega cd game that runs on the dc now, Heart of the Alien
http://dreamcast.dcemu.co.uk/cgi-bin...0,0,0,0,61,449
Actually, there's two. The Sega CD version of Monkey Island works through SCUMMVM-DC.


...word is bondage...

[Darksaviour69]

Actually, there's two. The Sega CD version of Monkey Island works through SCUMMVM-DC.


oh, very good sir

[J_Villa1983]

Well why not just recreate the engines for some of the games we want to play from the platforms we choose? Its being done with Final Fantasy 7 on the linux platform. (Which it would be really cool if we could port that!) Why cant we create an engine for Sonic CD or Castlevania Rondo of blood by creating different code to serve as the main executible file compiled to run on the dreamcast?

None of the game data would be included of course, but this executible would be downloadible and people can include game data from their own disks.

One more thing.. have any of you looked at happypenguin lately? some of the games coming out look pretty ambitious and it would be a great idea to hack some of the code to get some of the games working on the DC. it could probably handle it!

just a thought
-JV

[kohan69]

Would it help to convert cdda to mp3 to reduce seek-time? :confused:

I'd love to see original Ecco on a Dreamcast :o



Well why not just recreate the engines for some of the games we want to play from the platforms we choose? Its being done with Final Fantasy 7 on the linux platform. (Which it would be really cool if we could port that!) Why cant we create an engine for Sonic CD or Castlevania Rondo of blood by creating different code to serve as the main executible file compiled to run on the dreamcast?

None of the game data would be included of course, but this executible would be downloadible and people can include game data from their own disks.
-JV

No. That requires coding an entire commercial-level game from scratch, revere-engineering the original, yet keeping it compatible with levels and textures already present

What you're suggesting is more time consuming than getting a job in a third-world country and buying all the games you've ever wanted.

Emulation mimics the original hardware allowing most of the software for that hardware to run.
You can play FF7 and Rondo of blood on dreakcast using emulators already.

[Christuserloeser]

Well why not just recreate the engines for some of the games we want to play from the platforms we choose? Its being done with Final Fantasy 7 on the linux platform. (Which it would be really cool if we could port that!)

Got any links ? ;)

[quzar]

Would it help to convert cdda to mp3 to reduce seek-time? :confused:

no. that would increase required processing, and be counter productive.

[J_Villa1983]

Got any links ? ;)

go to Happypenguin.org and look for a program called qgears. qgears is the open source implementation of the ff7 engine.

I sent the link to you and make sure to look at some of the other games. In my humble opinion i think the dreamcast could do some of these if we turned down the resoloution and shorten the depth of field.

-JV