Let's Sperg Sega Consoles (Saturn, Dreamcast, Genesis, Master System, etc).

[Jerri's Kid]

I loved the Genesis. It had way more oddball titles on it than the SNES and much better music. It was responsible for my earliest RTS experiences:

 

[I am Jack's dead arm]

I loved the Genesis. It had way more oddball titles on it than the SNES and much better music. It was responsible for my earliest RTS experiences:

Also Herzog Zwei, though that might have more action to be considered a true RTS.

Fatal Labyrinth was a rogue like before that was a genre.

 

[Jerri's Kid]

Also Herzog Zwei, though that might have more action to be considered a true RTS.

Herzog Zwei is considered to be the oldest RTS but I haven't played it.

 

[I am Jack's dead arm]

Herzog Zwei is considered to be the oldest RTS but I haven't played it.

It's a good game. Great soundtrack. I was on the fence about calling it a RTS because you have a transformer that can manually move your units, or turn into a robot and manually attack enemy units. So it's more "labor intensive" than point and clicking

 

[cybertoaster]

Better than the 33.6k the Japanese had to use. But as you said, broadband didn't became mainstream for quite some time, even when Xbox live launched, dial-up was still dominant in most homes, even the PS2's network adapter had both ethernet and phone line jacks "just in case" until Sony announced the slimline.

Sega did released the Dreamcast broadband adapter mid 00s in Japan (10mbps) and earlier 2001 in the US (10-100mbps). Both versions weren't fully compatible with all 56k (and 33.6k) games, but they could work with any Dreamcast around the globe as it wasn't region locked hardware.

Frankly IDK if Sony expected people would buy the PS2 just for the DVD, they put the drive there for synergy since they also made the thing and because games were already getting too big for CDs or even GDs. There was a twitter thread from a R* dev talking about GTA3 only being possible because of the PS2's drive transfer speed to do streaming and he did mention the Dreamcast but IIRC he said the problem wouldn't be the horsepower but the GD drive.

I guess that GTA3 DC port is running from an ODDE.

 

[Calandrino]

Fatal Labyrinth was a rogue like before that was a genre.

ACTUALLY roguelikes had been around for around on home computers for like a decade and the term "roguelike" was already been coined, but Fatal Labyrinth is at least the oldest console roguelike that I know of. It's very close to the original Rogue iirc, almost like an unofficial port but with more detailed graphics and doesn't seem quite as hard.

It's a good game. Great soundtrack. I was on the fence about calling it a RTS because you have a transformer that can manually move your units, or turn into a robot and manually attack enemy units. So it's more "labor intensive" than point and clicking

I couldn't understand Herzog Zwei at all until I played the Switch version, which has a tutorial and puts some "cheat sheet" stuff in the UI so it's more comprehensible. And I still suck bad. I have to salute any kid BITD who figured out how to play it, let alone finished it.

 

[gildersleeve]

Frankly IDK if Sony expected people would buy the PS2 just for the DVD, they put the drive there for synergy since they also made the thing and because games were already getting too big for CDs or even GDs. There was a twitter thread from a R* dev talking about GTA3 only being possible because of the PS2's drive transfer speed to do streaming and he did mention the Dreamcast but IIRC he said the problem wouldn't be the horsepower but the GD drive.

I guess that GTA3 DC port is running from an ODDE.

The ps2's network adapter (and hard drive, sorry slim owners) was also intended to be used for what we would call streaming today. Network downloads, dlc, movies. They came out with that service in Japan. And even updated the interface to support it. Check out the PSBBN.

Fatal Labyrinth is a fun one. Baroque is another rougeish style game on the Saturn. Id give it a whirl if your interested.
Oh and if you have a Saturn, get an action replay. You can plop some code on it via the serial port to run burned games. Much better than the finicky emulators.

 

[cybertoaster]

The ps2's network adapter (and hard drive, sorry slim owners) was also intended to be used for what we would call streaming today. Network downloads, dlc, movies. They came out with that service in Japan. And even updated the interface to support it. Check out the PSBBN.

PS2 had a netflix-like service in Japan in the early 00s? and Sony didn't bring it here? sheeeit talk about missing the boat, on top of missing the computer boat before the PSX and the smartphone boat after. Really if it hasn't been for Kutaragi pushing for a console Sony would be SOL now.

Oh and if you have a Saturn, get an action replay. You can plop some code on it via the serial port to run burned games. Much better than the finicky emulators.

Got my stored, original box and everything, but I'll probably get an ODDE because odds are the drive its already busted, specially the belt thingy.

 

[ATI Escapee]

Idk if this is the right thread but maybe one of you can help.
I got the OG Typing of the Dead on my pc, thanks to a recommendation via a farmer I cant recall the username, and I love it. The only problem is that I cannot type the apostrophe character. So basically once I progress far enough and cant retain enough insta kill type weapons on the zombies that need a word typed with an apostrophe, I just have to sit and die.

The issue is that the original game was on the Dreamcast. Either the Dreamcast used an older type keyboard layout, or when the game was ported to work on Windows it happened so long ago that the standard keyboard of the day is a different type than the ones we use today. Someone explained it to me but I cant remember which one was the issue. Either way, it is next to impossible to obtain the right keyboard to work on my pc with this ported game.

Does anyone have a solution? Some of the other characters are located in different keys, like the slashes, but they are workable. There is no key that inputs the apostrophe, and I cannot take it out of the game via settings or in the config files (that I know of. Wierd file format that is not something I can open, as a layperson).

Any suggestions?

 

[Fcret]

PS2 had a netflix-like service in Japan in the early 00s? and Sony didn't bring it here? sheeeit talk about missing the boat, on top of missing the computer boat before the PSX and the smartphone boat after. Really if it hasn't been for Kutaragi pushing for a console Sony would be SOL now.

They didn't bring it over because broadband wasn't ubiquitous. Like 1/3rd of Japan's population lives in the Tokyo metro and the remaining big metros make up something like 90% of the population. So installing broadband in one or two of them now makes your entire customerbase in that country eligible.

NA and EU are much more sparely populated so broadband penetration was slower. Also Sony hated non-Japanese back in those days.

Better than the 33.6k the Japanese had to use. But as you said, broadband didn't became mainstream for quite some time, even when Xbox live launched, dial-up was still dominant in most homes, even the PS2's network adapter had both ethernet and phone line jacks "just in case" until Sony announced the slimline.

Sega did released the Dreamcast broadband adapter mid 00s in Japan (10mbps) and earlier 2001 in the US (10-100mbps). Both versions weren't fully compatible with all 56k (and 33.6k) games, but they could work with any Dreamcast around the globe as it wasn't region locked hardware.

Speaking of Dreamcast dial-up - I only just recently learned that when PSO came out, most ISPs in Japan still charged by the minute. A major reason why PSO became so popular and ended being a hotbed of socialization in Japan is because Sega of Japan specifically provided free connectivity without an ISP for the first year or two (essentially paying for internet connectivity for all PSO players).

Sadly when I played on the GC, I not only had to convince my parents to switch ISPs (we had AOL which Sega explicitly didn't support) but I also had to pay $9/mo. I did play a ton, but eventually I switched my one (1) parentally-allocated monthly sub to FFXI.

 

[cybertoaster]

They didn't bring it over because broadband wasn't ubiquitous. Like 1/3rd of Japan's population lives in the Tokyo metro and the remaining big metros make up something like 90% of the population. So installing broadband in one or two of them now makes your entire customerbase in that country eligible.

By early 2002 even my small city had broadband, sure it was just 256k ADSL but I was already downloading movies and shows with that. Not streaming but it woulda been dead-easy to have a queue going on a PS2, not as versatile as streaming but still way better than driving to the nearest blockbuster.

Guess soyny just hates money...

Sega of Japan specifically provided free connectivity without an ISP for the first year or two (essentially paying for internet connectivity for all PSO players).

No wonder they went broke so fast...

 

[gildersleeve]

Sega offered a free Dreamcast & Keyboard with a purchase of 2 years of seganet in the US. Which is a tad funny as it only lasted a year IIRC. Don't remember how much that would have cost. But it was initially offered for free. I remember dialing in with it to get some of the DLC for SA1 (like a Halloween themed over world map) back in the day. I think there were exclusive chao as well.


I'll give you guys a secret on getting a cheap BBA. Go look for Japanese Dreamcasts on eBay. Many have a BBA but are dirt cheap in comparison to buying the actual adapter. Happy hunting.

 

[I am Jack's dead arm]

I remember getting a free keyboard with a year of SegaNet. My dad was/is a tech nerd and was a big gamer at the time, so he had seperate T1 line installed and I could use the regular phone line for gaming. I honestly don't know how many hours I put into the OG PSO. I worked overnights at the time and the Japanese players were generally very cool.

 

[analrapist]

the music absolutely slapped.

Clotho in particular still gives me chills. Not impressive instrumentationally, but it's insane how intricate the actual composition is. You don't find too many instances of counterpoint this plain and effective.

 

[Pepe Cortisona]

Not streaming but it woulda been dead-easy to have a queue going on a PS2, not as versatile as streaming but still way better than driving to the nearest blockbuster.

At Brazil, Netflix and Sony released a disc that allowed the console to be used as a streaming machine up until 2012. Content streaming in 480i baby!

I'll give you guys a secret on getting a cheap BBA. Go look for Japanese Dreamcasts on eBay. Many have a BBA but are dirt cheap in comparison to buying the actual adapter. Happy hunting.

Japanese BBA is limited to 10 mbps due to the Fujitsu controller, American one is 100mbps as it uses a Realtek one, just a heads up.

 

[cybertoaster]

It's kind of amazing that Nintendo somehow avoided the same fate as Sega tbh.

Quoting it again because I forgot to mention how pokemon essentially saved Nintendo. Back then nobody was buying gameboys anymore, the N64 had become "the mario64 console" because for most people that was the only game worth a damn for that console. Then pokemon showed up, my school got flooded with gameboy pockets and then the color version, the N64 became "the pokemon stadium console", they even launched a pikachu-themed model.

And to think gamefreak started on Sega with Pulseman, imagine if pokemon had been made for the GG instead.

I'll give you guys a secret on getting a cheap BBA. Go look for Japanese Dreamcasts on eBay. Many have a BBA but are dirt cheap in comparison to buying the actual adapter.

How can I tell which models have the BBA? number? they put it on the description? look if there's a pic of the back with an ethernet port?

At Brazil, Netflix and Sony released a disc that allowed the console to be used as a streaming machine up until 2012. Content streaming in 480i baby!

Streaming video and not pushing for MD data to replace floppies have to be some of the biggest "we hate money" moments Sony had.

As for the JPN BBA, 10mbps is still more than 56k.

 

[Pepe Cortisona]

How can I tell which models have the BBA? number? they put it on the description? look if there's a pic of the back with an ethernet port?

Most listing can be vage. Look for the ethernet port and it must say LAN instead of LINE avobe it. If you find just the adapter, the part number in the sticker should be HIT-300, HIT-400 are the 100mbps ones.

 

[gildersleeve]

look if there's a pic of the back with an ethernet port?

Most listing are vage, look for the ethernet port and it must say LAN instead of LINE avobe it. If you find just the adapter, the part number in the sticker should be HIT-300, HIT-400 are the 100mbps ones.

Thank you for that, yes this is what your going to be looking for.