Saturn Optical Drive Emulator

Sorry for the possibly clueless questions, but:
Roughly speaking, this technique seems to be based on tricking the CD controller into reading CD data from the VCD card port where Rhea/Phoebe is more of an in-place replacement of the CD drive. Other than that, both seem to achieve the same effect as far as CD-based software is concerned. I'm not talking about the "extra" stuff this can do in terms of expanding the Saturn, but just the "preservation" part. In that regard, What are the differences between Rhea/Phoebe and this? What are the advantages of this method?
Also, I understand there are games that use the VCD card for MPEG decoding? what about those? I guess they are out of the question with this?

 

I really don't think it's the right time to compare jhl's project to any others, considering he's yet to announce the actual features. That being said, if the user can simply plug the card into the VCD, that's a big plus. No soldering, no disassembly needed, and it would work on all iterations of the console.

 

A very big congrats!! You finally made it! How happy to still see ppl supporting this system and spending their most precious time around it.

Waiting to see this out soon.

Cheers!

B

 

I really want to buy one ! like 10 years ago already !

 

Man, you are a hero! Just put it on KickStarter and take my money!

 

Seconded.

Just made an account to come and say HOLY CRAP THAT IS FRIKKIN AMAZING. Ahem.

Seriously, this is an enormous step forward for Saturn fans everywhere. Just that step forward to play from a cheap, ubiquitous USB device instead of rare, valuable disks is a massive improvement. The questions that I have are if this approach could reasonably handle multi-disk games (thinking PDS specifically)? It seems that need to switch disks with the game still loaded might present a problem but hopefully one you can deal with.

So many thanks for your hard work man; there's definitely people out here who really appreciate your work. I'd be really nice if someone could put together a mailing list or something so that those of us who don't really move in these circles any more can stay updated, especially if there's some crowdfunding etc to help to turn this into something that we can actually buy. I'd hate to see in six months time that it never really became anything just because I couldn't be bothered to check every day!

Thanks again. You don't know how happy you made me

 

Fantastic work, I look forward to checking this thread every day until it's out!

 

Is it weird that I'm more excited for the chiptune possibilities than the game backup possibilities?

 

Just watched the video now - That is a really impressive interview, so much detail even a monkey like me can (just about!) understand what's going on.

Re: Daytona (in the video)

"How many times have you heard that tune?"



I guess it's too early to say - but is there any idea of a rough price range? Also, I probably would avoid Kickstarter solely based on the legal side of things. I'm assuming someone at SEGA could take the page down, etc - if it gained too much publicity. Let's not forget they managed to pull sales of a black and white book with no SEGA images/logos in it whatsoever. It could be more trouble than its worth (imho)

It's great to see a project in so much detail, thank you for all your efforts.

 

Panzer Dragoon Saga doesn't switch discs with the game loaded. At the end of a CD, you are prompted to save your game. You then exit that game disc back to the CD player, or you could even just turn off your saturn. Insert new CD and load game save. This won't be a problem.

 

@jhl mad respect for your dedication and expertise on this matter. I've seen the original topic here at the boards before, but it was too technical for me. So I'm really happy to have seen this great and lengthy (worth it!) video interview/mini documentary showing your hard work paying of in terms of a great working product. Looking forward to seeing you materializing these developments in a production unit, definitely going to get one once you're going to offer them for sale.

While I was sad to find out the DCYJ guide being legally pulled of the digital shelves, this issue needs a bit of nuance. The guide in question has a full cover photo of the Dreamcast and uses the SEGA font for it's title, both without licensing I assume. Seeing that SEGA supposedly has signed a deal with Pix'n Love for exclusive rights to make a Dreamcast related book, these points are most likely the issue.

 

Agreed Wombat, but my point was more that they 'do' have someone looking out for these things, even the tiniest of things.

 

I seem to remember switching from inside the game but I bow to your superior knowledge.

 

That video has to be one of the most professional-looking productions I've ever seen, and the device itself is a dream come true for all Saturn enthusiasts. I'd heard previous talk of some homebrew developers experimenting with the port normally reserved for the Video CD Card (just as Sega of America once intended to use with their abandoned Eclipse project), but to see working hardware is fantastic - and you're sharing your findings to benefit the emulation scene. I genuinely wish you all the luck in the world with this venture... Not that it seems you need any! Can someone make room in the hall of legends for another name?

 

I have an idea that I'm not sure how possible or how much need for it would be but, what about dumping a game from the Saturns internal drive and saving it to the USB device?

 

I don't see why anyone would want to wear out their Saturn's laser to do something that can easily be done on a home PC with a CD-ROM drive.

 

Not sure what the point would be.

The saturn drive's read speed is only 2x, would be faster just to pop the game in your PC and rip it.

 

Absolutely amazing work. The man deserves a medal!

 

@jhl Thank you for all the time you've invested in this project! Can't wait to try this out when it is available.

*Feature Request* If possible, will your card also double as one of the original vcd cards? I ask because of how certain games utilize the slot for full motion video.

 

Nice video ! Keep the good work