Also, for you Lunar fans, the Sega CD OST is better than the Saturn/PS1 OST, by a country mile.
I strongly disagree. Not only do I think the remakes of the songs tend to be better composed, but they have a huge advantage in that they're not being played through a Sega CD.
I've played the PSX version of Lunar, and its mixed strangely. The battle music is too quiet, while the fanfare is super loud, as an example that stuck out to me. I thought the soundtrack was good though.
From what I've heard of the second one though, the PSX soundtrack is really bad. Its the same tracks as the original, but strictly worse. I haven't played it personally, this is just going off youtube.
So basically any Sega system pre-Dreamcast will require new capacitors?
I'll pay somebody then, i don't feel like opening up 5 consoles and i definitely don't want to open up my CDX.
This isn't limited to Sega. Everything made from that time period is about to fail.
I'm aware capacitors can fail (I own a Neo Geo cab, and having to replace the monitor caps is a worry of mine as I'm not comfortable doing it), but I haven't heard anything about an en masse failure of a decades worth of consoles in a small time frame before. The wikipedia article you linked talks about stuff from the late 90s and 2000s... Where did you hear about failure of stuff from the late 80s and early/mid 90s?
Not to say you're wrong, just I hadn't heard anything about it and can't find too much relevant info (except on a couple known problematic consoles, like the Game Gear and Turbo Express). I own like five NESes, AV Fami, Jaguar/Jag CD, two Genesis, etc, so hearing about this is of major concern to me.
Regardless, I appreciate the heads up and will keep an eye out for the warning signs.
Anyone have any idea what's up with my sega cd? Sometimes i have to lightly skim the side of the disc with my finger to get it to read, and then it starts reading fine.
So basically any Sega system pre-Dreamcast will require new capacitors?
I'll pay somebody then, i don't feel like opening up 5 consoles and i definitely don't want to open up my CDX.
This isn't limited to Sega. Everything made from that time period is about to fail.
I'm aware capacitors can fail (I own a Neo Geo cab, and having to replace the monitor caps is a worry of mine as I'm not comfortable doing it), but I haven't heard anything about an en masse failure of a decades worth of consoles in a small time frame before. The wikipedia article you linked talks about stuff from the late 90s and 2000s... Where did you hear about failure of stuff from the late 80s and early/mid 90s?
Not to say you're wrong, just I hadn't heard anything about it and can't find too much relevant info (except on a couple known problematic consoles, like the Game Gear and Turbo Express). I own like five NESes, AV Fami, Jaguar/Jag CD, two Genesis, etc, so hearing about this is of major concern to me.
Regardless, I appreciate the heads up and will keep an eye out for the warning signs.
The Wikipedia article is related more to a specific instance of capacitor plague relating to sabotage of the world's primary capacitor producer in taiwan, but normal capacitor plague occurs naturally, and the reason most of those consoles from that time period are about to fail has to do with A) a primary shift from major electronics developers towards cheaper asian producers of capacitors which had shorter shelf life (hence why many ancient atari systems still run fine), and the approaching limit of the maximum age of said type of capacitors. We're at the cusp of what is about to become a very big problem. I doubt people will freak out about it, because, come on, how many average people still use computer electronics from 25 years ago regularly?
However, if you go onto any niche forum dedicated to aging hardware, you'll see how wide spread the problem is. At the moment, it seems the PC Engine is the system hit hardest - it is, by a wide margin, the most discussed topic at PC Engine FX, with almost a dozen users setting up permanent online shops to fix the problem. My PC Engine Duo, for example, experienced cap plague last year. Pre-TMMS Genesis are also being hit right now, but slightly newer systems still haven't been hit with the plague yet.
Even a few years ago I suggested to my collector friends to horde Sega CDs for that very reason. Most of them aren't going to be terribly reliable very soon.
Anyone have any idea what's up with my sega cd? Sometimes i have to lightly skim the side of the disc with my finger to get it to read, and then it starts reading fine.
I'm afraid I don't understand. You mean like you're touching the data side of the disc with your finger then popping it back in your Sega CD?
Even a few years ago I suggested to my collector friends to horde Sega CDs for that very reason. Most of them aren't going to be terribly reliable very soon.
When speaking of the reliability of CD based systems, you're really talking about 4 major things:
A) Capacitors Fuses
C) CD Motor
D) CD Lens
Now, while they're certainly less reliable than non-moving machines, CD based systems are still supposed to last about 20-30 years. The good thing about all the components I listed above that are prone to failure is that they can all, today, be easily replaced. Thanks to tons, and tons of dedicated research at several fansites, loads of information on how to replace each component is feely available online. If you're looking, you can even find information on where to order the exact motor and lens your console used, making that replacement essentially pop and swap. Replacing caps and fuses is a bit trickier, but it's still within the realm of the average person if they try. There are full blueprints online with motherboards color-coded telling you where the caps are, and what kind they are.
Unfortunately, I doubt many people will go through this trouble, and they'll eventually just throw the stuff away. And that'll likely inflate the price.
Anyone have any idea what's up with my sega cd? Sometimes i have to lightly skim the side of the disc with my finger to get it to read, and then it starts reading fine.
I'm afraid I don't understand. You mean like you're touching the data side of the disc with your finger then popping it back in your Sega CD?
That could be perhaps a lens issue.
No I mean sometimes disc don't read, so i run the sega cd with the cover off, and when the cd starts having reading issues, i just lightly graze my finger along the very edge of the disc while it spins, and then it just starts magically reading again.
Actually, it's more appropriate to call Shining Force CD two 8-bit RPGs, rather. It's a remake of the Game Gear Shining Force games (with a third chapter thrown in if you have an SRAM cart).
Shining Force CD was hugely disappointing to me at first. I was expecting it to be just like the Genesis games...and it was in the battles, but the whole lack of town exploration bothered me a lot. I didn't find out they were ports of Game Gear games until years later. Eventually I grew to like it and made it through all three chapters.
There was also a 4th chapter in it that was in a museum. Basically, you entered with your party and all the statues came to life. You had to fight all the previous bosses from the game at once. It was crazy and I never did complete that chapter.
Fascinating. There's so much more subtle complexity and hardware revision minutiae to be aware of with old Sega consoles than with Nintendo, it seems. With the SNES, for example...you pretty much have an SNES. Full stop. (Unless you have the SNES Jr. thing, but at least there's no mistaking one for the other.) I mean, at least as far as I'm aware, the SNES stayed pretty much completely unchanged for its entire run.
Compared to the Genesis, where in North America there's three basic models and then so much hardware variation, externally pretty much invisible, even within those three basic generations.
Apparently the Genesis 2 I just bought is a V0 motherboard. Not sure whether that's good or bad. I am about the farthest thing from an audiophile, so I frankly am not concerned with the sound. I have noticed my Genesis does the vertical rainbow stripes, but it's only visible on the black screen when first booting up.
VA0 means you have "crappy" sound, but without good headphones or a nice sound system it probably won't bother you too much. And the good news is that you can always get it modded for clear audio later. At that point it should sound better than even the best Model 1s (granted, that's subjective, but from what I've heard CCAM'd Genesis systems are definitely a lot clearer).
The video quality is a bit trickier (this is from Ace's guide at Sega-16 that I linked earlier):
-VA0, VA1, VA1.8: Sony CXA1145, Fujitsu MB3514 or Samsung KA2195D
-VA2, VA2.3: Samsung KA2195D or Sony CXA1645
For the most part, you will never know exactly what encoder is in your Genesis Model 2 until you open it up and have a look at the motherboard, but generally, if your Genesis Model 2 says MADE IN MALAYSIA on the bottom of the console, it should have a Fujitsu MB3514. VA2s and VA2.3s that say MADE IN CHINA should also typically have a Sony CXA1645. The others can have either of the 4 encoders, but you will never find a CXA1645 inside any Genesis Model 2 with a VA0, VA1 or VA1.8 motherboard.
Composite video quality:
Varies greatly depending on the console, the TV said console is used on and your TV's settings.
Sony CXA1145:
-Generally identical to VA6 and VA7 Genesis Model 1s, but may sometimes be darker and have more heavily saturated colors(this was experienced by Kool kitty 89 on his VA0 Genesis Model 2)
Samsung KA2195D :
-Personal tests on my TV yielded generally very poor picture quality with all but one Genesis Model 2 with the Samsung KA2195D as its video encoder. On the TV I personally use, the graphics are generally heavily pixellated and sometimes have dull colors. Some consoles, on the other hand, can have not so bad video off the KA2195D. It's still pixellated, yes, but not as bad. The real problem with the KA2195D is that it adds in thin vertical bars of a darker shade than whatever's on the screen, which makes the picture look really nasty. Again, this will vary from console to console and from TV to TV, but if there's one thing that's guaranteed, you will get vertical lines on your TV screen. This encoder generally produces picture with no rainbow artifacts, but might sometimes have rainbow banding.
Fujitsu MB3514:
-Video is slightly darker than normal and also slightly more saturated. Edge pixellation is more noticeable with this encoder.
Sony CXA1645:
-Video is very bright and sharp, colors are very vivid.
If you can get your system modded for S-Video or find a 15 kHz capable RGB monitor and make up some RGB cables that's even better, then you don't have to worry about your system having a good/bad composite video encoder. You do lose out on some composite video tricks like "fake" transparency through dithering, but it's worth it for the overall gain in visual clarity.
Even a few years ago I suggested to my collector friends to horde Sega CDs for that very reason. Most of them aren't going to be terribly reliable very soon.
Let's be fair - Sega CDs were never terribly reliable even when they were brand new. I remember I pretty much had to turn the system upside down if I ever wanted to have it read the disks.
Anyone have any idea what's up with my sega cd? Sometimes i have to lightly skim the side of the disc with my finger to get it to read, and then it starts reading fine.
I'm afraid I don't understand. You mean like you're touching the data side of the disc with your finger then popping it back in your Sega CD?
That could be perhaps a lens issue.
No I mean sometimes disc don't read, so i run the sega cd with the cover off, and when the cd starts having reading issues, i just lightly graze my finger along the very edge of the disc while it spins, and then it just starts magically reading again.
I don't know too much about how the drive on the Sega CD works, but that could be your CD spinning at a weird angle or something. I'd definitely ask around on the Sega-16 forums, as there are hardware people over there who are pros are diagnosing such problems.
Worst case scenario you might just have to replace the actual CD drive.
You do lose out on some composite video tricks like "fake" transparency through dithering, but it's worth it for the overall gain in visual clarity.
I disagree and I've stated my opinion on Sega-16 before, but I think the visual benefits you get from the inaccuracies of composite input outweigh the clarity and color depth. Maybe if we were talking the step-up from RF to RGB, I'd agree, but many games, especially the later genesis and Sega CD titles, relied heavily on dithering. And a smooth gradient consisting of new, impossible colors looks more visually appealing to me than a checkerboard of sharp pixels.
Not to mention the dithered transparency looks great in some games. It's very convincing on over composite on any TV susceptible to NTSC color bleed (or PAL color bleed to an extent). I have a 32" RCA TV with magnificent color bleed (not too much, not too little) that I always keep my model 1 Genesis connected to. The difference in some games thanks to the faked transparency is outstanding.
Let's be fair - Sega CDs were never terribly reliable even when they were brand new. I remember I pretty much had to turn the system upside down if I ever wanted to have it read the disks.
I never, ever heard of anybody doing this. It'd be incredibly difficult to do, for one.
I did hear tons of stories of people doing this with their PSX, though, although both my original Sega CD and original PSX work flawlessly (and have since day 1).
For the most part, you will never know exactly what encoder is in your Genesis Model 2 until you open it up and have a look at the motherboard, but generally, if your Genesis Model 2 says MADE IN MALAYSIA on the bottom of the console, it should have a Fujitsu MB3514. VA2s and VA2.3s that say MADE IN CHINA should also typically have a Sony CXA1645. The others can have either of the 4 encoders, but you will never find a CXA1645 inside any Genesis Model 2 with a VA0, VA1 or VA1.8 motherboard.
It's a China-made VA0 model. That eliminates the Fujitsu. It definitely produces the rainbow bands on a solid dark screen during bootup as I mentioned (though it isn't noticeable otherwise), which theoretically should eliminate the CXA1145. That seems to leave the dreaded Samsung that "might" produce the rainbow, but I haven't noticed anything like the thin dark vertical bars described, although of course it's not like I have a Police lineup of Genesii and TV's for comparison purposes. Whatevs.
I definitely see where you're coming from with that line of thinking. I think Yu Yu Hakusho MT is a major one that I'd be conflicted on, looks awesome and vibrant on a Sony PVM through RGB, but like you said, you lose out on a lot of nifty transparency effects that can make some of the stages look odd. For the most part I lean more towards overall clarity, but I would never argue that's how these games were intended to be displayed. Does look really sweet, though!
It's a China-made VA0 model. That eliminates the Fujitsu. It definitely produces the rainbow bands on a solid dark screen during bootup as I mentioned (though it isn't noticeable otherwise), which theoretically should eliminate the CXA1145. That seems to leave the dreaded Samsung that "might" produce the rainbow, but I haven't noticed anything like the thin dark vertical bars described, although of course it's not like I have a Police lineup of Genesii and TV's for comparison purposes. Whatevs.
Haha, yeah as long as it's not bothering you, then no biggie!
I definitely see where you're coming from with that line of thinking. I think Yu Yu Hakusho MT is a major one that I'd be conflicted on, looks awesome and vibrant on a Sony PVM through RGB, but like you said, you lose out on a lot of nifty transparency effects that can make some of the stages look odd. For the most part I lean more towards overall clarity, but I would never argue that's how these games were intended to be displayed. Does look really sweet, though!
The color and sharpness do look good, I won't disagree there. I think it ultimately comes down to a preference.
For anyone curious about how different composite can look compared to RGB output, and how it relates to dithering and transparency, you can see comparisons here.
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cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
MUSHA is still a phenomenal looking game. That opening blew my mind when I first played it, and it still does.
We're at the cusp of what is about to become a very big problem. I doubt people will freak out about it, because, come on, how many average people still use computer electronics from 25 years ago regularly?
Ah, I see. So we're reaching the life expectancy sorta limits of a lot of these kind of crappy newer capacitors, and more and more we'll start seeing tons of failures. I was thinking more like "oh no! It's 2012 and all my consoles died within two weeks of each other!". I put a region switch on my model 1 Genesis (basically just for YYH: MT, totally worth it for that too), and have done a few other projects like that, so new caps doesn't sound too intimidating.
I will say I've been incredibly lucky as far as hardware goes... Never had a system break down on me, even my Jaguar CD still works perfectly (which is miraculous, those things break all the time).
Also, seeing those RGB VS composite things makes me jealous of Europeans. I really need to get one of those SCART cables and a component converter. Then maybe I can get around to finishing Pier Solar and have it be extra purty.
We're at the cusp of what is about to become a very big problem. I doubt people will freak out about it, because, come on, how many average people still use computer electronics from 25 years ago regularly?
Ah, I see. So we're reaching the life expectancy sorta limits of a lot of these kind of crappy newer capacitors, and more and more we'll start seeing tons of failures. I was thinking more like "oh no! It's 2012 and all my consoles died within two weeks of each other!". I put a region switch on my model 1 Genesis (basically just for YYH: MT, totally worth it for that too), and have done a few other projects like that, so new caps doesn't sound too intimidating.
I will say I've been incredibly lucky as far as hardware goes... Never had a system break down on me, even my Jaguar CD still works perfectly (which is miraculous, those things break all the time).
Also, seeing those RGB VS composite things makes me jealous of Europeans. I really need to get one of those SCART cables and a component converter. Then maybe I can get around to finishing Pier Solar and have it be extra purty.
Nope, but I would expect that, within 5 years, likely most retro gaming systems will be dead.
If you're dying for RGB video, what you can do is pick yourself up a Commodore 1084 monitor. It's a little 13" CRT monitor that outputs a beautiful picture, and has RGB ports. You can find them pretty regularly on amibay or ebay, and although you'll pay a bit for shipping, it's a quick, and easy way to get an RGB monitor. You can even get them in black (although they usually are more expensive) to make it look like a normal TV.
As for Pier Solar - man, it's a culmination of every single neat video trick the genesis can pull off, and it uses extensive dithering to create both new colors and transparencies (although it does other transparency tricks at times). I would think it'd be better to play the game through composite out and experience every visual trick it's using rather than just make the image clearer and the colors sharper.
EDIT: Although, at a smaller screen size, like what the 1084 offers, your eyes might just naturally blur the small pixels together, giving the best of both worlds. I don't have an RGB genesis or else I'd test this out for you right now.
I mean, your default gun is borderline worthless, and the upgrade system seems pretty standard. I don't see a whole lot that makes it super unique. But then, I haven't played it a whole whole lot. Anyone play it that thinks it's amazing can tell me what I'm missing?
Yeah, I'd pass on Sonic CD considering the definitive version is readily available on XBLA, PSN and Steam. . . and speaking of Steam, I just mentioned on the Steam thread that as long as Falcom's on there now I'd like to see Popful Mail get re-released, but unless they can get the Working Designs translation from the Sega CD version it just wouldn't be the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuP-RuKPJoc&feature=player_embedded
God I loved those wacky guys.
Someone mentioned RGB. I don't know a lot about it, except, that it makes these games look awesome.
Since my Sega-CD looks like total ass on my HDTVs, is there any kind of simple, effective solution that can get this console to output to RGB then converted to VGA or HDMI or Component, on a US console+hdtv?
My googling on the topic yields about a billion different results, any advice on that front is appreciated.
Yeah, I'd pass on Sonic CD considering the definitive version is readily available on XBLA, PSN and Steam. . . and speaking of Steam, I just mentioned on the Steam thread that as long as Falcom's on there now I'd like to see Popful Mail get re-released, but unless they can get the Working Designs translation from the Sega CD version it just wouldn't be the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuP-RuKPJoc&feature=player_embedded
God I loved those wacky guys.
Sega owns the Sega CD version of Popful Mail - they licensed the game from Falcolm and reprogrammed it themselves, which is why it's so different than any other version of Popful Mail (notably the SNES and PC Engine versions, which were made by Falcom themselves).
Well, crap. Unless XSEED can work some magic with a retranslation of the original version or get Sega's permission to work with the SCD version, I guess I can write this one off as wishful thinking.
Well, crap. Unless XSEED can work some magic with a retranslation of the original version or get Sega's permission to work with the SCD version, I guess I can write this one off as wishful thinking.
you probably don't want a retranslated copy of the PCE or SNES version, because they're very, very different from the Sega CD game. Sega's Popful Mail is like Wonderboy, the other Popful Mail games are like the original version of Ys III.
However, it's not unheard of for Sega to re-release other companies games. Sega, for example, developed SSF2 themselves by license from Capcom, and still owns that port of the game. They're publishing an enhanced version with online play on the Wii VC - Sega is publishing a game they developed, whose IP capcom owns, and changing stuff around.
So popful mail could always happen. But it probably won't.
The Sega CD reminds me a lot of the Dreamcast in that most of the system sellers back in the day are now available on newer systems. The Lunar games are available on the PS1 (and I think the remakes are better overall though the Sega CD's versions do a few things better) and Sonic CD was recently released on XBLA. Even Vay got a smartphone port although I don't know how good or bad that version is. Right now, pretty much the only reasons to get a Sega CD are Popful Mail (probably the best exclusive at this point), Shining Force CD, the semi-authorized Out of this World sequel, a few shmups, or a bunch of cheesy FMV games.
The Sega CD reminds me a lot of the Dreamcast in that most of the system sellers back in the day are now available on newer systems. The Lunar games are available on the PS1 (and I think the remakes are better overall though the Sega CD's versions do a few things better) and Sonic CD was recently released on XBLA. Even Vay got a smartphone port although I don't know how good or bad that version is. Right now, pretty much the only reasons to get a Sega CD are Popful Mail (probably the best exclusive at this point), Shining Force CD, the semi-authorized Out of this World sequel, a few shmups, or a bunch of cheesy FMV games.
The Sega CD, light-gun enabled version of Snatcher is by far the definitive port, and to this day, the only english release.
cj iwakuraThe Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered Userregular
edited March 2012
Heart of the Alien wasn't even semi-authorized. The creator has entirely disavowed it.
That said, I still enjoyed it. And Night Trap is probably the funniest FMV game ever made. So much delightful camp. (And the guy who plays Victor is amazing.)
Heart of the Alien wasn't even semi-authorized. The creator has entirely disavowed it.
That said, I still enjoyed it. And Night Trap is probably the funniest FMV game ever made. So much delightful camp. (And the guy who plays Victor is amazing.)
Oh, I know the original creator has disavowed it, but the company was within their legal rights to make it.
I've never played the Sega CD sequel, but the first one was so good. I purchased the updated version a few months ago and though the improved visuals were nice, in the end, I set it back to the old visuals just for the nostalgia factor.
Heart of the Alien wasn't even semi-authorized. The creator has entirely disavowed it.
That said, I still enjoyed it. And Night Trap is probably the funniest FMV game ever made. So much delightful camp. (And the guy who plays Victor is amazing.)
Oh, I know the original creator has disavowed it, but the company was within their legal rights to make it.
I've never played the Sega CD sequel, but the first one was so good. I purchased the updated version a few months ago and though the improved visuals were nice, in the end, I set it back to the old visuals just for the nostalgia factor.
There's a reason the creator disavowed it. Major spoilers:
It entirely concludes the saga. You find out what happens to Buddy's race, the people who enslaved them, and it kills off Lester.
The creator wanted it to be open-ended, and since HotA ended like that, I can see why.
They, like most consoles from the 90's, are going through a horrible bought of capacitor plague en-mass. Within a few years, most old consoles from the late 80's till the late 90's are going to fail within a short time span of one another unless you give them a total capacitor replacement. I'd say that, in 5 years, the retro gaming market is going to become very, very expensive. Especially since most people don't know about capacitor plague and will assume the hardware is just permanently broken, and throw it away. If you're not savvy enough to replace the caps in your sega CD, I can get you the contact info of someone who will do it for a fee (usually about $25). Usually the first sign of capacitor plague is slow loading and audio glitches.
There is also a fuse that is very prone to blowing on the mainboard which will result in the sega cd not turning on at all. This is a super easy fix and can be done for under the price of a quarter.
Please tell me that this is based in some large part on usage...
It's based entirely on time. A brand new, never before used system, still in box, could be experiencing cap plague right now.
I have a JVC X'Eye. It's basically a SegaCD and a Genesis combined (and requiring just one AC Adapter). Unfortunately, the pin on the antenna adapter broke and I was relegated to going back to my old fashioned Genesis.
Of course, that was after I already had a PS1 and had discovered the joys of "modern" (...late 90s) computer gaming. I could put a pin in the broken adapter, but it would fall out pretty easily and be a big hassle. Other than that, the X'Eye seemed decent to me, no complaints.
Other than the fact that I only really had 3 games I enjoyed: Jurassic Park, Dungeon Master II and SonicCD. And Sonic was the only one of those I was actually capable of beating (although I could get pretty far in it). I did have Triad: Rise of the Dragon (or something like that), which seems like it was probably a decent game, but I've never been a huge fan of adventure games (JP gets a pass for having dinosaurs). I'm pretty sure Dungeon Master II had a better version on the PC and SonicCD has had an updated version released recently. Which leaves me with Jurassic Park, I guess.
I had Sewer Shark and Prizefighter. Prizefighter was ridiculously easy if you turned hints on, won in the first round to beef up your boxer and then just won in the first round after that (otherwise hints would turn off). Sewer Shark had an interesting-ish premise but not much gameplay.
I was sort of disappointed in the lack of RPGs or more direct action games that weren't just shooting things, but when I actually had the SegaCD I didn't actively seek out information on new games or anything, so I probably missed all of the actual awesome games.
The one's better than Joe Montana's Football. With hints. From Joe Montana.
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This isn't limited to Sega. Everything made from that time period is about to fail.
I strongly disagree. Not only do I think the remakes of the songs tend to be better composed, but they have a huge advantage in that they're not being played through a Sega CD.
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From what I've heard of the second one though, the PSX soundtrack is really bad. Its the same tracks as the original, but strictly worse. I haven't played it personally, this is just going off youtube.
I'm aware capacitors can fail (I own a Neo Geo cab, and having to replace the monitor caps is a worry of mine as I'm not comfortable doing it), but I haven't heard anything about an en masse failure of a decades worth of consoles in a small time frame before. The wikipedia article you linked talks about stuff from the late 90s and 2000s... Where did you hear about failure of stuff from the late 80s and early/mid 90s?
Not to say you're wrong, just I hadn't heard anything about it and can't find too much relevant info (except on a couple known problematic consoles, like the Game Gear and Turbo Express). I own like five NESes, AV Fami, Jaguar/Jag CD, two Genesis, etc, so hearing about this is of major concern to me.
Regardless, I appreciate the heads up and will keep an eye out for the warning signs.
I figured as much it's just that the only retro consoles i own are Sega consoles.
The Wikipedia article is related more to a specific instance of capacitor plague relating to sabotage of the world's primary capacitor producer in taiwan, but normal capacitor plague occurs naturally, and the reason most of those consoles from that time period are about to fail has to do with A) a primary shift from major electronics developers towards cheaper asian producers of capacitors which had shorter shelf life (hence why many ancient atari systems still run fine), and
However, if you go onto any niche forum dedicated to aging hardware, you'll see how wide spread the problem is. At the moment, it seems the PC Engine is the system hit hardest - it is, by a wide margin, the most discussed topic at PC Engine FX, with almost a dozen users setting up permanent online shops to fix the problem. My PC Engine Duo, for example, experienced cap plague last year. Pre-TMMS Genesis are also being hit right now, but slightly newer systems still haven't been hit with the plague yet.
I'm afraid I don't understand. You mean like you're touching the data side of the disc with your finger then popping it back in your Sega CD?
That could be perhaps a lens issue.
When speaking of the reliability of CD based systems, you're really talking about 4 major things:
A) Capacitors
C) CD Motor
D) CD Lens
Now, while they're certainly less reliable than non-moving machines, CD based systems are still supposed to last about 20-30 years. The good thing about all the components I listed above that are prone to failure is that they can all, today, be easily replaced. Thanks to tons, and tons of dedicated research at several fansites, loads of information on how to replace each component is feely available online. If you're looking, you can even find information on where to order the exact motor and lens your console used, making that replacement essentially pop and swap. Replacing caps and fuses is a bit trickier, but it's still within the realm of the average person if they try. There are full blueprints online with motherboards color-coded telling you where the caps are, and what kind they are.
Unfortunately, I doubt many people will go through this trouble, and they'll eventually just throw the stuff away. And that'll likely inflate the price.
No I mean sometimes disc don't read, so i run the sega cd with the cover off, and when the cd starts having reading issues, i just lightly graze my finger along the very edge of the disc while it spins, and then it just starts magically reading again.
Shining Force CD was hugely disappointing to me at first. I was expecting it to be just like the Genesis games...and it was in the battles, but the whole lack of town exploration bothered me a lot. I didn't find out they were ports of Game Gear games until years later. Eventually I grew to like it and made it through all three chapters.
There was also a 4th chapter in it that was in a museum. Basically, you entered with your party and all the statues came to life. You had to fight all the previous bosses from the game at once. It was crazy and I never did complete that chapter.
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The video quality is a bit trickier (this is from Ace's guide at Sega-16 that I linked earlier):
If you can get your system modded for S-Video or find a 15 kHz capable RGB monitor and make up some RGB cables that's even better, then you don't have to worry about your system having a good/bad composite video encoder. You do lose out on some composite video tricks like "fake" transparency through dithering, but it's worth it for the overall gain in visual clarity.
Let's be fair - Sega CDs were never terribly reliable even when they were brand new. I remember I pretty much had to turn the system upside down if I ever wanted to have it read the disks.
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I don't know too much about how the drive on the Sega CD works, but that could be your CD spinning at a weird angle or something. I'd definitely ask around on the Sega-16 forums, as there are hardware people over there who are pros are diagnosing such problems.
Worst case scenario you might just have to replace the actual CD drive.
I disagree and I've stated my opinion on Sega-16 before, but I think the visual benefits you get from the inaccuracies of composite input outweigh the clarity and color depth. Maybe if we were talking the step-up from RF to RGB, I'd agree, but many games, especially the later genesis and Sega CD titles, relied heavily on dithering. And a smooth gradient consisting of new, impossible colors looks more visually appealing to me than a checkerboard of sharp pixels.
Not to mention the dithered transparency looks great in some games. It's very convincing on over composite on any TV susceptible to NTSC color bleed (or PAL color bleed to an extent). I have a 32" RCA TV with magnificent color bleed (not too much, not too little) that I always keep my model 1 Genesis connected to. The difference in some games thanks to the faked transparency is outstanding.
I never, ever heard of anybody doing this. It'd be incredibly difficult to do, for one.
I did hear tons of stories of people doing this with their PSX, though, although both my original Sega CD and original PSX work flawlessly (and have since day 1).
It's a China-made VA0 model. That eliminates the Fujitsu. It definitely produces the rainbow bands on a solid dark screen during bootup as I mentioned (though it isn't noticeable otherwise), which theoretically should eliminate the CXA1145. That seems to leave the dreaded Samsung that "might" produce the rainbow, but I haven't noticed anything like the thin dark vertical bars described, although of course it's not like I have a Police lineup of Genesii and TV's for comparison purposes. Whatevs.
The color and sharpness do look good, I won't disagree there. I think it ultimately comes down to a preference.
For anyone curious about how different composite can look compared to RGB output, and how it relates to dithering and transparency, you can see comparisons here.
Ah, I see. So we're reaching the life expectancy sorta limits of a lot of these kind of crappy newer capacitors, and more and more we'll start seeing tons of failures. I was thinking more like "oh no! It's 2012 and all my consoles died within two weeks of each other!". I put a region switch on my model 1 Genesis (basically just for YYH: MT, totally worth it for that too), and have done a few other projects like that, so new caps doesn't sound too intimidating.
I will say I've been incredibly lucky as far as hardware goes... Never had a system break down on me, even my Jaguar CD still works perfectly (which is miraculous, those things break all the time).
Also, seeing those RGB VS composite things makes me jealous of Europeans. I really need to get one of those SCART cables and a component converter. Then maybe I can get around to finishing Pier Solar and have it be extra purty.
Nope, but I would expect that, within 5 years, likely most retro gaming systems will be dead.
If you're dying for RGB video, what you can do is pick yourself up a Commodore 1084 monitor. It's a little 13" CRT monitor that outputs a beautiful picture, and has RGB ports. You can find them pretty regularly on amibay or ebay, and although you'll pay a bit for shipping, it's a quick, and easy way to get an RGB monitor. You can even get them in black (although they usually are more expensive) to make it look like a normal TV.
As for Pier Solar - man, it's a culmination of every single neat video trick the genesis can pull off, and it uses extensive dithering to create both new colors and transparencies (although it does other transparency tricks at times). I would think it'd be better to play the game through composite out and experience every visual trick it's using rather than just make the image clearer and the colors sharper.
EDIT: Although, at a smaller screen size, like what the 1084 offers, your eyes might just naturally blur the small pixels together, giving the best of both worlds. I don't have an RGB genesis or else I'd test this out for you right now.
I have played it a few times now that I own it.
I don't quite see why it's considered so great?
I mean, your default gun is borderline worthless, and the upgrade system seems pretty standard. I don't see a whole lot that makes it super unique. But then, I haven't played it a whole whole lot. Anyone play it that thinks it's amazing can tell me what I'm missing?
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
God I loved those wacky guys.
Since my Sega-CD looks like total ass on my HDTVs, is there any kind of simple, effective solution that can get this console to output to RGB then converted to VGA or HDMI or Component, on a US console+hdtv?
My googling on the topic yields about a billion different results, any advice on that front is appreciated.
Steam ID: slashx000______Twitter: @bill_at_zeboyd______ Facebook: Zeboyd Games
Sega owns the Sega CD version of Popful Mail - they licensed the game from Falcolm and reprogrammed it themselves, which is why it's so different than any other version of Popful Mail (notably the SNES and PC Engine versions, which were made by Falcom themselves).
you probably don't want a retranslated copy of the PCE or SNES version, because they're very, very different from the Sega CD game. Sega's Popful Mail is like Wonderboy, the other Popful Mail games are like the original version of Ys III.
However, it's not unheard of for Sega to re-release other companies games. Sega, for example, developed SSF2 themselves by license from Capcom, and still owns that port of the game. They're publishing an enhanced version with online play on the Wii VC - Sega is publishing a game they developed, whose IP capcom owns, and changing stuff around.
So popful mail could always happen. But it probably won't.
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The Sega CD, light-gun enabled version of Snatcher is by far the definitive port, and to this day, the only english release.
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That said, I still enjoyed it. And Night Trap is probably the funniest FMV game ever made. So much delightful camp. (And the guy who plays Victor is amazing.)
Oh, I know the original creator has disavowed it, but the company was within their legal rights to make it.
I've never played the Sega CD sequel, but the first one was so good. I purchased the updated version a few months ago and though the improved visuals were nice, in the end, I set it back to the old visuals just for the nostalgia factor.
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There's a reason the creator disavowed it. Major spoilers:
The creator wanted it to be open-ended, and since HotA ended like that, I can see why.
...slag.
How easily replaced are these things? Thanks.
That's from the actual ads, too.
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I think every Sega CD thread should have this in it.
Of course, that was after I already had a PS1 and had discovered the joys of "modern" (...late 90s) computer gaming. I could put a pin in the broken adapter, but it would fall out pretty easily and be a big hassle. Other than that, the X'Eye seemed decent to me, no complaints.
Other than the fact that I only really had 3 games I enjoyed: Jurassic Park, Dungeon Master II and SonicCD. And Sonic was the only one of those I was actually capable of beating (although I could get pretty far in it). I did have Triad: Rise of the Dragon (or something like that), which seems like it was probably a decent game, but I've never been a huge fan of adventure games (JP gets a pass for having dinosaurs). I'm pretty sure Dungeon Master II had a better version on the PC and SonicCD has had an updated version released recently. Which leaves me with Jurassic Park, I guess.
I had Sewer Shark and Prizefighter. Prizefighter was ridiculously easy if you turned hints on, won in the first round to beef up your boxer and then just won in the first round after that (otherwise hints would turn off). Sewer Shark had an interesting-ish premise but not much gameplay.
I was sort of disappointed in the lack of RPGs or more direct action games that weren't just shooting things, but when I actually had the SegaCD I didn't actively seek out information on new games or anything, so I probably missed all of the actual awesome games.
The one's better than Joe Montana's Football. With hints. From Joe Montana.