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Good impressions, @S.C.G. I imagine Burnout looked so good because it is one of the few PAL games that support progressive scan mode. This is my issue with these devices over here in the UK. From what I've seen and read the difference between the adapters and Wii/Cube component aren't huge when the games don't support the progressive scan mode and considering they aren't that many over here it begs the question whether it's worth it.

Games to try are F-Zero and Fire Emblem as both of these have progressive scan modes. 

I watched this last night to show you the difference the Eon can make with such games.

Just take a look at how good Baten Kaitos looks, which supports PS, compared to Skies of Arcadia which doesn't.

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1 hour ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Good impressions, @S.C.G. I imagine Burnout looked so good because it is one of the few PAL games that support progressive scan mode. This is my issue with these devices over here in the UK. From what I've seen and read the difference between the adapters and Wii/Cube component aren't huge when the games don't support the progressive scan mode and considering they aren't that many over here it begs the question whether it's worth it.

Games to try are F-Zero and Fire Emblem as both of these have progressive scan modes.

Thanks :) yeah, Burnout certainly stole the show for me last night, even though I was just going for the main games I immediately wanted to play regardless of video mode. :D

I will try out plenty of games which support Progressive Scan Mode though, including F-Zero and Fire Emblem *adds them to the list* so it will be interesting to see what it can do.

From watching that video you posted, I can see that the GCHD makes a clear difference and seems to be getting plenty of coverage on YouTube at the moment.

In comparision I found it difficult to find many videos for the GC Video Plug and Play 3.0 as most of the highlighted ones seemed to be for the earlier flawed model, which is a shame.

I did find one though which has some useful footage in...

It gives a good idea anyway, just skip to the footage you're interested in, both F-Zero and Soul Calibur II were looking particularly sharp there. :cool:

This is why I keep wanting to try capturing footage of my own, I have multiple GameCube consoles, access to a capture device which supports at least HDMI, plus I have the Component cable for comparison too... if I can find a way, especially with the Framemeister to add into the mix, then I will, but for now I'll just keep trying games out and will update you all on how the games look to me, in written form as it's at least something to go on in the meantime. :peace:

I fully expect there to be more videos on the GC Video Plug and Play 3.0 in the coming weeks though, as they are still being shipped out on a regular basis, plus there is still a significant waiting list I would think, which will probably only grow as time goes on... maybe the production might ramp up a bit after that, who knows? But at least currently with the smaller production runs, every unit seems to have been tested well whereas I have heard some complaints that some peoples GCHD units have been DOA even after checking the obvious stuff, like it's plugged in properly etc.

Interesting times indeed in any case. :smile:

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Some more impressions after testing out three more GC titles with the HDMI adapter...

F-Zero GX - This is a game which I always remember looking pretty amazing, I'd always had the ability to play the game in 60Hz mode back in the day thanks to the quite modern small portable CRT I owned at the time but I certainly don't recall the game looking as good as it does over HDMI. Everything just seems a lot clearer than I remember it or at least, as good as I remember it being back then without degradation of that memory, I played a few rounds with my customised Blue Falcon and then remembered why i gave up playing on Expert difficulty, still maybe I'll go back to it now.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance - How can this game have been released in 2003? The production values for this Fire Emblem title are really at the zenith for just how good a game in the series can look, let alone as a GameCube game in general. From the intro, to the static and animated cutscenes, right through to the battles... the attention to detail is staggering. Of course the general environments can look quite standard but it all still has a certain look to it. Also as a sidenote, I actually progressed a whole chapter! Not bad considering I haven't played the game in fifteen years.

Soul Calibur II - On a 14" portable CRT over an RF lead, back on release weekend, played at my late Grandparents house on a Sunday, my brother and I will never forget seeing that intro which really set the standard for just how good a game could look. Now in 2018, watching that same intro on a 32" HDTV running in the highest resolution I've ever witnessed this game in... it's still impressive. The character models hold up very well indeed, there is full widescreen support plus the surround sound is as perfect as it can be, still the best game in the series for me personally.

Let me know what other games you'd like me to test out and I'll do my best to oblige. :peace:

I'm just having fun playing GC games again, so it's all good. :D

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45 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

Let me know what other games you'd like me to test out and I'll do my best to oblige. :peace:

You need to play Wave Race: Blue Storm immediately :yay:

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On 4/25/2018 at 4:02 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

Good impressions, @S.C.G. I imagine Burnout looked so good because it is one of the few PAL games that support progressive scan mode. This is my issue with these devices over here in the UK. From what I've seen and read the difference between the adapters and Wii/Cube component aren't huge when the games don't support the progressive scan mode and considering they aren't that many over here it begs the question whether it's worth it.

Games to try are F-Zero and Fire Emblem as both of these have progressive scan modes. 

I watched this last night to show you the difference the Eon can make with such games.

Just take a look at how good Baten Kaitos looks, which supports PS, compared to Skies of Arcadia which doesn't.

Burnout supports 480p in Europe!? I had no idea! I thought all PAL games just had the feature nixed in favour of a 60hz option!

 

I can't say that it would be worth it for PAL region games TBH; unless you had some sort of homebrew mod that could force 480p with PAL discs (but from what I hear, compatibility is sketchy at best).  Honestly, you're better off just going NTSC; almost every major exclusive game supports 480p (except Skies of Arcadia Legends and Super Monkey Ball 1, annoyingly enough!)

 

I do have a GCN Component cable, but I would like one of these for hooking up my Cube to my 4K display; it's so annoying that it has no analog inputs at all!

Edited by Dcubed
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@Dcubed Yeah, that's what I was thinking. There's no way I'm replacing my 100+ Cube collection with US games. I suppose the device would be good for using the GBA player, though. My money is probably best spent on an OSSC, which is only £50 more than the EON.

Yeah, it appears there are handful of games that support 480p in PAL regions. Of course I'm just some wiki as a reference so I'm not sure how accurate it actually is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GameCube_games_with_alternate_display_modes

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11 hours ago, nekunando said:

You need to play Wave Race: Blue Storm immediately :yay:

Right you are... :D

Wave Race: Blue Storm - After failing to find my original save file, I think (it's hard to tell with so many memory cards) I found a save file, claimed it as my own, changed the settings with the obvious being surround sound, altered the announcer to the sarcastic version and took to the waves! This game still has the most amazing water effects, even though they have since been bettered in some ways, in others the physics used in this game are still nothing short of spectacular. Obviously no alternative resolutions for this game but it's still as good as I remember it being.

1080° Avalanche - Well I couldn't not play this after playing Wave Race now could I? My original save file for this game was easy to find but that didn't matter, because I just input the code and went straight for the final avalanche! Oh my... with surround sound and the crisp level of fidelity you really can't beat this as the ultimate Snowboarding game in my opinion and yes, I wiped out several times, also yes, the intro to the game is still the best ever. Pro Tip - "If you ever try to scream underwater... you'll choke!" - Cauterize

Super Smash Bros. Melee - Everything about this game still shows off its high level of presentation, from the infamous intro which set the standard going forward, to the title screen, menus and every on-screen element. It was nice to see some of those trophies again and the immense collection of them all grouped together. The audio-visual options may be sparse in this early landmark title but it still looks pretty damn good over HDMI in 2018 even though it has been bettered by subsequent entries.

I've still got plenty more GC games I can test so just give me a shout if there's any more you're curious about. :peace:

Edited by S.C.G
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9 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Right you are... :D

Wave Race: Blue Storm - After failing to find my original save file, I think (it's hard to tell with so many memory cards)

Get yourself a few sheets of coloured dot stickers :hehe:

I don't really need them for my GC games as I have a big memory card that fits everything but for my PS1, Dreamcast and N64 games I use stickers. For example, if I open up the Virtua Tennis case I'll see a little red dot sticker in the top right corner inside the case and know that it's on my VMU with the red dot sticker on it.

It's a good system :grin:

Also, well done for playing 1080 Avalanche without the need for me to tell you to play it! It's interesting that you mention that song as it was the one I always selected for the final level. I'd pause the level at the beginning and let the song play for a certain amount and then resume the action in an attempt to perfectly time the climax for when I'm jumping towards the helicopter :hehe:

EDIT Actually, it was 'Killing Me' I used, now that I think about!

Edited by nekunando
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Was thinking earlier this week that Saturn Bomberman should be my next significant Saturn game. Went to CeX in Milton Keynes today and they had got in a few more Saturn games since I was in there last (Monday), with one game mysteriously turned so that the spine was not visible. Being in the window, there was no way to see what the game was. I asked about the prices of the games (none were labelled) and decided on Resident Evil, Doom and Space Hulk. Whilst they were fetching those, the mystery game was revealed:

31460780_10160409325795341_2007452398297

 

TLDR: I now own Saturn Bomberman.

Edited by Goafer
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3 hours ago, Goafer said:

Was thinking earlier this week that Saturn Bomberman should be my next significant Saturn game. Went to CeX in Milton Keynes today and they had got in a few more Saturn games since I was in there last (Monday), with one game mysteriously turned so that the spine was not visible. Being in the window, there was no way to see what the game was. I asked about the prices of the games (none were labelled) and decided on Resident Evil, Doom and Space Hulk. Whilst they were fetching those, the mystery game was revealed:

31460780_10160409325795341_2007452398297

 

TLDR: I now own Saturn Bomberman.

Awww yeah! :D

Nice one Goafer, I only just recently acquired a copy of Saturn Bomberman myself, I lucked out and got a copy of the second generation version (plastic sleeve) but that one you have there looks to be in very nice condition and for a good price as well. :)

I think I'm mostly done collecting Saturn games, aside from hopefully one day getting a copy of Keio Flying Squadron 2...

It's an excellent system to collect for. :peace:

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12 hours ago, S.C.G said:

Awww yeah! :D

Nice one Goafer, I only just recently acquired a copy of Saturn Bomberman myself, I lucked out and got a copy of the second generation version (plastic sleeve) but that one you have there looks to be in very nice condition and for a good price as well. :)

I think I'm mostly done collecting Saturn games, aside from hopefully one day getting a copy of Keio Flying Squadron 2...

It's an excellent system to collect for. :peace:

Yup, I've decided to concentrate on the Saturn collection for the time being, with the ultimate goal being to own every PAL game released. 39 down, 201 to go. Probably way too ambitious, but I just find trying to collect for all systems to be too much, with no real structure. Plus they're just taking up way too much room, with most things being relegated to wardrobes.

I've gone with the Saturn as I have a particular fondness for it. It came at a sweet spot in my teen years, where I had just "properly" got into gaming, but didn't yet have my own income, so every new game was an event, with each game having a greater value to me. It was the first time I read games magazines and actually looked forward to upcoming games. The Megadrive was my first proper console, but games were always just bought for me, rather than me requesting them. I probably enjoy Dreamcast games more, but by that point in my life, I had more income and just bought games whenever I wanted them. Also, piracy was pretty easy on the DC, so getting a new game was way less of a significant event than the Saturn.

It's looking like the Saturn will be an expensive one to collect for. Fortunately, I've already ticked off a few of the expensive ones (Panzer Dragoon Saga, Burning Rangers and Saturn Bomberman), but with the Shining games, Dragonforce, Megaman and a few others, I may have to justify them to myself first. That said, I did struggle to justify Panzer Dragoon Saga for £170 a few years back and it only seems to rise in price, so maybe I'll take a "now or never" approach and get the expensive ones whilst I can still afford them.

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A lofty goal indeed, but if you're going for a full collection, surely you'd be better off getting US versions of the games instead? They just play better than their PAL counterparts ::shrug:  Price is about the same for most games too.

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16 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

A lofty goal indeed, but if you're going for a full collection, surely you'd be better off getting US versions of the games instead? They just play better than their PAL counterparts ::shrug:  Price is about the same for most games too.

I don't have a Saturn capable of playing US games, plus in far less likely to spot US games in CeX.

I'm also not buying PDS again!

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Look at Dcubed with his obsession for his 60hz games. You're British! Embrace the slower speeds!! :D 

Im on watching this at the moment. Great viewing so far.

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2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Look at Dcubed with his obsession for his 60hz games. You're British! Embrace the slower speeds!! :D 

Im on watching this at the moment. Great viewing so far.

Ah cool.. I may have to watch that. I couldn't wait to get my monthly fix of NGC (though, admittedly that was into the 2000s)

I never really had the money to buy magazines before then but the first magazine we ever got was an issue of N64 Magazine with ISS Millennium on the cover :grin:

Also, 50Hz has never, ever bothered me!

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7 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Polygon have done a massive interview ( similar to their Final Fantasy one they published a while ) about Panzer Dragoon Saga.

https://www.polygon.com/2018/4/30/17286042/panzer-dragoon-saga-sega-saturn-oral-history

I haven't read it as it apparently has spoilers in it and i'm certain I will own and play this someone day, so I will avoid reading it. :D 

Thank you! :bowdown:

I've just finished reading the entire interview after starting it over an hour ago just after regaining power after an outage, it made the perfect afternoon read on my day off. :D

More importantly though, it has only further enhanced my love for Panzer Dragoon Saga and the series in general while bolstering my knowledge on the game.

Truly fascinating, I still can't believe that it has been 20 years since it came out and that I was lucky enough to play it 16 years or so ago... a mere half a life-time for me. :blank:

Even though I can remember going for the 100% run back then, I reckon I will replay Panzer Dragoon Saga again once I hook up my Sega Saturn via RGB. :smile:

I really do feel that I owe the game at least another playthrough, or ten. ;)

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Finally got around to ordering that Legend of Final Fantasy VII book we were talking about a couple of weeks ago so I'm looking forward to being able to start reading that next week. If its good then I expect I'll order some more as they've done a few that I think I'd be interested in.

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Was a copy of Path of Radiance in a CEX today, £105! :eek: Looked like it was in pretty good condition.

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6 minutes ago, Ike said:

Was a copy of Path of Radiance in a CEX today, £105! :eek: Looked like it was in pretty good condition.

I just checked eBay after reading your post and that seems to be the going rate, if not cheaper. When in the hell did that shoot up in price? I'm glad I already have that in my collection.

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13 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I just checked eBay after reading your post and that seems to be the going rate, if not cheaper. When in the hell did that shoot up in price? I'm glad I already have that in my collection.

I think it was already at that price during the Wii's later years. I remember there being a huge disparity between PoR and Radiant Dawn at the time (these days, Radiant Dawn is also obscenely expensive).

It's one of the reasons as to why I keep wanting Nintendo to release a "Radiant" collection with these two games. I want people to experience them properly, without the huge paywall..

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Took advantage of the nice weather to try and restore my dreamcasts and wavebird to their original colour.

My wavebird before

DcnJc1-XUAAaNpB.jpg

After

DcnJdCvWAAAAY2_.jpg

It's a big improvement and while a bit patchy in places it isn't that mustard colour anymore

One of the dreamcasts before

DcnJc71XUAUMkwS.jpg

After

DcnJmLJWkAIEIiP.jpg

The photo doesn't do it justice, it's back to it's original colour.

 

Ok, so how did I pull off this wizardry you ask

Got a bottle of this from Boots for £1.50 after reading about this restoring technique on a retro gaming site.

DcnJdCCXkAAjvrn.jpg

 

Dismantle then clean the console or controller parts, dry then cover with the Hydrogen Peroxide using a paint brush, cover in cling film and leave in sunlight for 6 hours minimum.

DcnJmLGX4AMdedL.jpg

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How in the hell did the Wavebird end up in that state? That's one of the worst cases of yellowing I've seen.

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