Okay, so my blog looks different. On the right of the screen as well, there's two links that you WILL follow, and here's why:
Gray's Matter - This guy is a computer/programming genius. Seriously. His blog is technical and also quite funny, so seriously, read it!
Anand Narayan's Blog - One of the coolest guys I've met. He's also a very skilled programmer and publishes interesting articles as well. Indeed, another good read!
So there's the Blogcall, or however I'm supposed to put it... ...yeah?
I was going to write something down that I thought was significant, but it got somehow lost between my TV set and my computer desk. Funny how that happens.
Oh! I know what I'll do! I'll talk quickly on Dreamcast emulation! It's great, especially for games like Street Fighter III and Capcom vs SNK 2! I have at least two people interested in this topic, so I'll have to point it out to them specifically later.
Before I continue, here's the disclaimer:
I take ABSOLUTELY NO responsibility for people who try this and fuck their box up! As well, you need to be legally entitled to do this, which means that you need to own a Dreamcast, or a valid copy of the game you are trying to play! To note, the 'fucked up box' bit isn't as scary as it sounds. I've truthfully done this to 3 different machines, and I know of quite a few friends who've done this, all of which have working copies. My opinion is that the risk of damage is 0%.
There. I've said it. With that out of the way, here's what you'll need:
- Chankast (http://www.chanka.org/)
- A Dreamcast bios (dc_bios.bin is the file. Google is your friend here)
- Some games that you've purchased for Dreamcast (though I'll go into a much more interesting setup in a moment)
- Daemon Tools* (http://www.daemon-tools.cc/)
*Note: Daemon tools is optional, but once I show you the two ways to play these games, you'll probably want to use the app.
So as my note stated, there are two ways to play these games. The first is to use your copies of the game directly with the emulator. This is fine, and it saves you some space on your HD verus the second method. This second method uses cloned images of your CD's (or ISO's as they're called, typically). While the second method could cost you a few gigs (or MANY gigs, depending on the size of your collection), having these image files keeps you from having to fumble through your CD's, having to insert CD's, and also stops you from having to wait for your CD to load intensive elements. I personally like the second method more, though it's a little more involved. I will assume that inserting a CD, setting a few preference files, then starting the emulator is pretty easy. I'll concentrate more on the second method, what to do, etc.
First, install Daemon Tools. This is just a double-click and reboot step. Next, we need an image of the game you wish to play. While there are cloning tools out there (Nero I think allows you to rip an image, and CloneCD does for sure), my understanding is if you have a legal, purchased copy of a CD, you can get images for 'archival' purposes. eMule and BitTorrent are useful for that, if you're legally entitled to use them. I won't go into an eMule or BitTorrent disucssion, but if there's request for one, I'll publish info on it in another posting.
Now we have our CD emulation installed, you should see a virtual CD Drive under my computer, and a little CD with a lightning bolt through it on your taskbar. Good? Good. Now we install Chankast. This install is merely an unzip-the-file install, and I REALLY hope I don't have to get into the details of that (otherwise, my target audiance isn't whom I suspect). So now we have the Dreamcast emulator and CD emulator ready to go. As well, we have our image. Configuration time.
To configure Chankast, what I like to do first is put the bios in the same folder as Chankast. This is a requirement, not an option. Okay. Next, using the little CD n' Lightning Bolt icon in the taskbar, click on it, choose to mount an image, and point it to the game image you created. This will mount the image as a CD in the virtual drive created by Daemon Tools. Note that you MAY have to choose 'all files' in Daemon tools file opener in order to see your CD image, depending on format.
FINALLY. We can double-click Chankast and launch it. I do not recall the CD plugin choice that I use, but I do remember that I use the 'Input Interface by ElSemi' option. It works well. :) Once you've done this, it's time to set the CD drive. Click OK to get out of the Configure Plugins window, then choose Options > Configure Drives. Point it to the emulated drive (or if you're using regular CD's, point it to the CD drive) and click OK.
Now the moment of truth. Go to Run > Start. If all goes according to plan, your game will run after the dreamcast logo appears. If not, then one of two things have happened: You've either got your CD set wrong, or your BIOS wasn't shown properly. A CD issue would be more likely here, and you MAY need to install an ASPI layer driver. Look online for ASPI and your Windows version to find a driver that will work, read the directions on where to install it, then go from there. If it's a BIOS problem, you either have a botched BIOS file, or you haven't named it correctly.
Okay, onto the gaming. As suggested before, I use Chankast for Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and Capcom vs. Snk 2. These games are a little buggy, but only a little... IF you have the right options on. To fix the vast majority of visual bugs you'll see, go to Options > Configure Video, and set Use ZWrite and Use AlphaTest ZWrite to be 'on'. It also helps to have the Capcom Hack on, especially if you find your games going pathetically slow (CVS2 does this and NEEDS Capcom Hack On).
Something to note: If you have a 2ghz computer or better, your game will run VERY Fast. Use the + and - keys on your keypad to throttle the CPU. The higher the number you set it to, interestingly enough, the slower your game will play. I have a Pentium DualCore at 3.0ghz, and I need to set my CPU to about 190% so games play at about the right speed (Effectively eliminating one processor). Interestingly enough, your videocard will have an almost insignificant effect on the game, so long as you don't have that integrated intel sh... er, stuff on your mobo.
Well, that's it! Comments/Questions can be left in the comments below. And to note, the Linux article is coming! I have a LOT of people interested in that one, but it'll take probably a good weekend to try out/research.
