Playing a video game online is almost second nature now. So much so that almost all multiplayer video games have ditched their split-screen multiplayer modes because they assume you’d rather just be alone at your house than hanging out with your friends. This wasn’t always the case though. In the early days of online multiplayer, systems had to rely on dial-up internet before broadband was readily available (and still had split screen if you didn’t even have that). Almost no one uses dial up anymore though, so if you still like playing your old Dreamcast you’re going to have to do some work to get it online again.
Luckily for all of us there’s a Raspberry Pi image to do almost anything now. This project from [Kazade] uses one to mimic a dial-up connection for a Dreamcast so you can connect with other people still playing Quake 20 years later. It’s essentially a network bridge, but you will need some extra hardware because phone lines use a high voltage line that you’ll have to make (or buy) a solution for. Once all the hardware is set up and working, you’ll need to make a few software configuration changes, but it’s a very straightforward project.
Granted, there have been ways of playing Dreamcast games online before, but this new method really streamlines the process and makes it as simple as possible. The Dreamcast was a great system, and there’s an argument to be made that the only reason it wasn’t more popular was that it was just slightly too far ahead of its time.
Thanks to [Rusty] for the tip!
Hmm, this is nice if you already have modem adapter, not all versions had it. I would probably opt for simulating that adapter which could be faster.
Apparently modem adapters are super cheap, but the lan adapters are super expensive/rare.
The main problem I have with the usual available Chinese-Sourced Modems, is that they’re based on an odd winmodem chipset that only has Linux 2.6-era drivers, or Win 7 drivers at best. It can be a real challenge finding the right modem dongle and drivers to go with it.
I’m going to read the article now :p
As someone who’s watched this stuff off and on over the years way back to when the hottest way to get a Dreamcast on a modern LAN was a Windows 98 box and PCI modem to dial into, here’s the gist of what is going on:
First is all Dreamcast’s came out of the box with a dialup modem which was a first for its time. There were optional ‘LAN’ and Broadband adapters (two different models with different game and homebrew compatibilities! The ‘Broadband’ adapter was the more common one supporting up to 100Mbit and had much better compataibility. The LAN adapter was 10Mbit only and common knowledge indicates it only supported a Japanese web browser disc) but were and still are very hard to find or expensive to get a hold of.
The good news is since the dialup modem was provided out of the box and was the way 99.99% of connections were likely made, all games are designed around its speed and latency so it is not a drawback.
To get the Dreamcast online now, the DreamPi images above is the best way to do so compared to the old days of trying to set up a PC to allow dialing in and trying to find an appropriate modem that will do the business. The dude behind DreamPi provides prebuilt images for the Raspberry Pi that just works out of the box and is ready to dial in. A compatible USB 56k modem for this is cheap as chips and easy to find day in and day out. And the only extra ‘hack’ needed is to get voltage on the line. I’ve had luck personally just tapping a 5V source into the ‘ring’ or ‘tip’ lines with no caps or resistors and it permitted a working connection with no perceivable issues.
> First is all Dreamcast’s came out of the box with a dialup modem
My dreamcast didn’t have modem (but it was bought in Poland, not US or Japan).
Or you can be lazy like me and wait 7 years for a decent price on a BBA.
Not every game supports the BBA though. Certain games will only work with the modem, so this is still required.
Every Dreamcast HAVE modem. Not every Dreamcast have 56K modem, of cause (European Dreamcast have only 33.6K), but modem WAS INCLUDED. If you not have one, they stealed it from box and cheat you.
Oops. It was response not for this comment, it for @yetihehe “if you already have modem adapter, not all versions had it”
high voltage on the phone line 90 volts ac is used to make the phone ring.
i did not know the console had to answer the phone it isnt like a bbs.
most devices call up a server even dialup (unless it that was part of it’s security where it had to call back to make sure you was calling from the phone number registered to the game ( but that could be a security problem in it’ self where hackers could call up a game device to hack it))
That could be useful to reduce costs. You call service provider, are billed only for making short call and then provider calls you and uses their discounted prices to keep connection for you.
The Broadband Adapter released for the Dreamcast is only compatible with about 3 games, whereas the dial-up modem works with all the online games.
The “line voltage” necessary on the phone line can be as little as 9VDC for North American modems and 18VDC for European modems. When I set up mine, I used a 5V->9V buck converter and soldered it into the USB modem (works well and is cheap). As far as I know, the modems are region-free, so you could snag any modem you find, add the proper voltage to your USB modem, and you’re set.
Not to undercut what an achievement Kazade’s DreamPi is in making this accessible to the Dreamcast fanbase, but it should also be noted that Shuouma and others have done amazing work in the Dreamcast online community by reverse engineering the Dreamcast game servers. Previously, the Dreamcast’s online abilities were limited to the web browser, Quake 3, Starlancer, 4×4 Evo, and Phantasy Star but within the last few years, over half of the original online library has been brought back online with perhaps more to come. pcwzrd13 also deserves a ton of credit for developing an excellent space for the online Dreamcast community at https://www.dreamcastlive.net/ and dreamcast.online. I’ve been a Dreamcast fan for about 10-15 years now, and it was really unexpected to me and quite amazing to see some of my favorite games come back online in the last couple of years.
Thanks for the info, I knew that Phantasy Star<s server had been reverse engineered and working for a few years now but I ha\d no idea about current effort to make other game playable. I feel like trying to get back online but I fear that there will never be any player when I try to play:(
What would be great for Dreamcast is figuring out a way to modify the 10 megabit LAN adapter to work with BBA supporting games, or hack the games to support the LAN adapter for running off a GDEMU or other GD-ROM replacement.
WTH was SEGA thinking with the LAN adapter, making only a Japanese language web browser work with it?
At any rate there’s only one Dreamcast game that really benefits from better than dialup network speeds, Quake III Arena. If SEGA had offered a special package deal of BBA+Q3A there would’ve been a lot more BBAs sold. Should also have offered a deal of a DC+BBA+Q3A at a lower price than buying the three individually.
After the success of beating the Super Nintendo in the 16 bit console wars, it’s like SEGA’s marketing team got stupid.
Or just play online using an emulator
Of course super, here are materials only on the topic Sega @ Dreamcast, maybe someone will come in handy. By the way, I play emulators on Windows 7 x64, I use: Redream Emulator Sega @Dreamcast and NullDC MMU Emulator Sega @Dreamcast (NullDC v1.0.4 Build Dec 29-2010) combine two emulators for game compatibility, everywhere full 50 Fps for PAL Versions and for NTSC 60Fps (it depends on computer power, at least 4 cores are needed, 4GB Ram, 1024MB Video Card 128Bit bus or higher. Right now I’m passing Grandia 2 – from Voice acting in my own language, an excellent RPG game, an analogue of Final Fantasy IX and VII , something in between, but the graphics are better than on the PC was in the original (not HD Remastered and even not better here), Vigilante 82nd – Offense – opened all the cards even from Viglante 8 levels from Sony Playstation 1 version, with p by the power of the code, you can find it on the Internet Resident Evil Code Veronica X is also excellent – it plays well on Sega @ Dreamcast the graphics there are just super compared to Sony Playstation 2. Yes, and Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand is a game of character, so all characters I didn’t open it, only in the emulator I was able to open them using a memory card for saving files posted by someone on the forum many years ago. And so your topic is excellent, by the way I edited PC games, only purely on map editors, set objects, spawn points, set resources, AI commands, such as StarCraft I, II, WarCraft II,
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, PainKiller Fear Factor v5.11 (Mod DB Site – 4 Pack) Brutal Doom v0.17 (Old Version, Old Year – Best Soundtrack vol3 & Old Picture, Quality Best, Only v0.17 / 017 & Quake 1 HD DarkPlaces (Retro) – All Maps Modifed. – Delete I In Site ModDB :( Quake 1 HD Reloaded Maps (Full Name) I would like to see sometime Sega Dreamcast 2 or full LAN cable support for ADSL routers. It would be more online as well as graphics anyway on Sega @ Dreamcast 128 Bit or DreamShell no difference – it will still be better than on Sony Playstation 2 and even some PC games, that’s why Sega @ Dreamcast is a winner and thanks to Microsoft Corporation in Windows 95/98 there were good times too, everyone was developed and kind strength her, and right now, many years later, Windows 10, ask someone who knows how much everything there is needed and not needed, and what MS-DOS is, everyone who knew it was the favorites, even DosBox emulators were not needed, 16 bit applications worked strictly on Windows x86 (32 Bit) systems, and starting from x64 (64bit 16-bit applications without emulators no longer work, but some programs, like that, started in a strange way, such as the game installer from Sim Theme Park / World / Gold Edition / Setup 16 bit modified for x64 was, maybe not, but in any case Sega Dreamcast on schedule will be a super and optimal solution for online, even Quake III Arena & Unreal Tournament that cost, not to mention the tanks, Wormd Armageddon & World Party.
Theme Sega@Dreamcast:
DreamKey v1.0/v3.0.
1) https://dragoncity17.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/dreamcast-internet-avec-dreampi/
2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g4Wt-6FcQE (Real Cam Telephone. Rec TV (Don’t use video editor. Mini P:S EGG: The sound is almost like in Silent Hill – activating actions)
3) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0epNcCJkr0
Of course super, here are materials only on the topic Sega @ Dreamcast, maybe someone will come in handy. By the way, I play emulators on Windows 7 x64, I use: Redream Emulator Sega @Dreamcast and NullDC MMU Emulator Sega @Dreamcast (NullDC v1.0.4 Build Dec 29-2010) combine two emulators for game compatibility, everywhere full 50 Fps for PAL Versions and for NTSC 60Fps (it depends on computer power, at least 4 cores are needed, 4GB Ram, 1024MB Video Card 128Bit bus or higher. Right now I’m passing Grandia 2 – from Voice acting in my own language, an excellent RPG game, an analogue of Final Fantasy IX and VII , something in between, but the graphics are better than on the PC was in the original (not HD Remastered and even not better here), Vigilante 82nd – Offense – opened all the cards even from Viglante 8 levels from Sony Playstation 1 version, with p by the power of the code, you can find it on the Internet Resident Evil Code Veronica X is also excellent – it plays well on Sega @ Dreamcast the graphics there are just super compared to Sony Playstation 2. Yes, and Spawn: In the Demon’s Hand is a game of character, so all characters I didn’t open it, only in the emulator I was able to open them using a memory card for saving files posted by someone on the forum many years ago. And so your topic is excellent, by the way I edited PC games, only purely on map editors, set objects, spawn points, set resources, AI commands, such as StarCraft I, II, WarCraft II,
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, PainKiller Fear Factor v5.11 (Mod DB Site – 4 Pack) Brutal Doom v0.17 (Old Version, Old Year – Best Soundtrack vol3 & Old Picture, Quality Best, Only v0.17 / 017 & Quake 1 HD DarkPlaces (Retro) – All Maps Modifed. – Delete I In Site ModDB :( Quake 1 HD Reloaded Maps (Full Name) I would like to see sometime Sega Dreamcast 2 or full LAN cable support for ADSL routers. It would be more online as well as graphics anyway on Sega @ Dreamcast 128 Bit or DreamShell no difference – it will still be better than on Sony Playstation 2 and even some PC games, that’s why Sega @ Dreamcast is a winner and thanks to Microsoft Corporation in Windows 95/98 there were good times too, everyone was developed and kind strength her, and right now, many years later, Windows 10, ask someone who knows how much everything there is needed and not needed, and what MS-DOS is, everyone who knew it was the favorites, even DosBox emulators were not needed, 16 bit applications worked strictly on Windows x86 (32 Bit) systems, and starting from x64 (64bit 16-bit applications without emulators no longer work, but some programs, like that, started in a strange way, such as the game installer from Sim Theme Park / World / Gold Edition / Setup 16 bit modified for x64 was, maybe not, but in any case Sega Dreamcast on schedule will be a super and optimal solution for online, even Quake III Arena & Unreal Tournament that cost, not to mention the tanks, Wormd Armageddon & World Party.