36 replies to this topic

[Brian R.]

For those with sizeable Dreamcast collections, how many VMUs do you have, and how do you keep track of 'em all?

I've got 36 games for mine, and last night picked up my fifth VMU. I happened to see a few at TRU and decided it would be a good idea to snag another while I still could.

At first, it was easy for me to know what games were saved on what VMU. Now I need a list. And if I start using my newest one - talk about confusion - because now I have two blue VMUs. Earlier it was easier, because I had one of each color - red, blue, green and black.

Any of you use the third-party memory cards that have more space on them than the standard Sega VMU? I've heard they weren't as reliable.

[Happy_Dude]

Brian R. said:

Any of you use the third-party memory cards that have more space on them than the standard Sega VMU? I've heard they weren't as reliable.

That really depends on whether they use data compression to make it "look" like more memory.

Do you have 4 controlers? if so you only have to keep track of 1 VMU as the others can be plugged in all the time

[Raijin Z]

I had a black Sega VMU I bought NEW at TRU a couple years ago. I put it away for about 18 months, and dug it back up to play Powestone 2. When I plugged it into the controller, the Dreamcast said the controller was no longer attached to the system! I cleaned the controller and the VMU, and removed the VMU's batteries. Same problem. So I took the VMU out behind the garage and gave it a viking funeral (minus the dignity) for pissing me off. Such is the fate of all technology that fails me when I need it! TO THE BURNYARD WITH THE SCUM! Also burned over the years:

IBM Netvista USB Keyboard ($60)
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer ($60)
PC133 256MB dimm ($45)
Sega Saturn Model 1 ($100)
KB Gear Pablo Internet Editon 8" x 6" serial tablet ($100)

[Artlover]

I have 4 of them. All original Sega brand.

3 of the regular kind with display

1 of the 4xMemory kind. It's nothing but a manual bank-switch design. Press the button to toggle which of the 4 banks of memory to use. Never had a problem with it.

[eldunko]

40 games and the one vmu i've had since 9/9/99, its a hassle to erase things, but i've been doing it all along and it works for me

[ultravi0let]

eldunko said:

40 games and the one vmu i've had since 9/9/99, its a hassle to erase things, but i've been doing it all along and it works for me

i take it you play one game at a time to completion then?

[Brian R.]

I figured anyone with multiple Dreamcast games would need multiple VMUs to save their game data, scores, progress, etc. Some games don't need much room, while others are real block hordes.

But I guess that's only if you have lots of games AND play them all. I guess some games you could play and not bother saving your data. But for others I would think it essential.

Even though I had no plans to use it immediately, I took my newest VMU out of its package, pulled out its battery tab and plugged it into my controller just to be sure it works. It did.

But who knows what could happen if you let one sit for 18 months. Raijin, had you pulled the battery tab on it before putting it away. I know those batteries they come with die out pretty fast. Could they have damaged it? Guess it pays to check 'em out. But who knows what went wrong with yours.

[chrisbid]

thats why all of my VMUs have different colors

[Ze_ro]

In addition to a normal Sega VMU, I also bought a Nexus Massive Memory Card Plus. It has 8 banks of memory that you can switch with a push button. It has a 7-segment display to show you which bank is currently active as well. There's also a cable that I got with it that you can use to hook it to a computer... however, the software that uses it is simply awful, and the memory card has to be plugged into a running Dreamcast in order to get power, otherwise you can't transfer anything! (Luckily, my Dreamcast is right next to my computer anyways).

I've only had a handful of compatibility problems. Wild Metal wouldn't save to the Massive Memory Card, and some homebrew apps (ScummVM) wouldn't recognize it either. I also had my Vanishing Point save screwed up, although it's quite possible that it was my fault instead of the card's...

--Zero

[Jasoco]

I may not have a SIZABLE collection, but I'll chime in.

Two.

Just got a second one today. Both new in box, well, not anymore, of course. One is black and the other is green. Both translucent. I'll get the blue later, too bad they don't have a red one.

What other Sega branded ones were there? Colors I mean.

[chrisbid]

ive got a pink one, i cant think of any other colors, there may or may not have been a yellow one to match the yellow controller

[Jasoco]

They're like Pokémon! Now I just GOTTA catch.. uh, collect 'em all!

[Brian R.]

Jasoco said:

I may not have a SIZABLE collection, but I'll chime in.

Two.

Just got a second one today. Both new in box, well, not anymore, of course. One is black and the other is green. Both translucent. I'll get the blue later, too bad they don't have a red one.

What other Sega branded ones were there? Colors I mean.

There is a red one. I have it. It was my first VMU. I got a free controller with my DC when I bought it at a Software Etc. I wanted blue, but they only had red, so I got a red VMU to match.

I never saw a "pink" VMU. Do you mean the red? All the colored VMUs - red, blue, green, black - are all somewhat see-through, so I guess the red could be seen by some as pink, but I don't think it is.

[Ze_ro]

Happy_Dude said:

Do you have 4 controlers? if so you only have to keep track of 1 VMU as the others can be plugged in all the time

Actually, with four controllers you can have eight VMU's plugged in at once! Unfortunately, this doesn't work as well as you might think though. Most games just default to using A1 without even asking (Which is really annoying if you happen to start up a game before you change your VMU)... plus, there's actually a surprising number of games that simply won't let you use a different port. My brother had a Gameshark memory card that would only fit into the back port of the controller, and a lot of his games wouldn't let him save to it.

As for management, I just keep a list. I've been meaning to reorganize things so that all my fighting games are on bank 1 of the Nexus card, and all the racing games are on bank 2, etc, etc... but some games like Soul Calibur and Chu Chu Rocket won't let you move/copy their data...

--Zero

[JB]

Jasoco said:

What other Sega branded ones were there? Colors I mean.

Ummmm, white? How everyone forgot that one, I'll never know.

[NE146]

I got 3 white Sega VMU's.. I don't even know what's on them since about the only thing I play on the Dreamcast is NES and 5200/8-bit

[Rockin' Kat]

I have more VMU's than DC games at the moment.. need to get more games for my DC... When I went to play SA a couple days ago I found that someone had plugged my two VMUs together and the batteries were dead... I had just bought the batteries not that long ago.... At least the batteries aren't needed to save games.

Anyway, my VMUs are black and blue.

[Jasoco]

I knew about the white ones, actually. But got so caught up in the colored talk.

I'll get a white one someday, but for now they only have New in box colored ones and they're the same price so I'll use them.

Question about the battery though. How does it keep the games saved without a battery, then? Or is it like a Memory card you'd put in a camera which doesn't use batteries? Would have been cool if they used those things in old NES, SNES, N64 and Genesis games instead of battery backing it up.

[chrisbid]

come to think of it, the pink one may be an import, i bought it used, so there is no box, and there is no external difference on VMUs that im aware of

(i suppose i could look at the serial or part number)

[sdstuff64]

had mine since 9/9/99 and have about 40 or so games and have three vmu's.

[Jasoco]

September 9th, 1999.. hmm.. something big happened that day.. what was it? what am I thinking of?? Oh, yeah...

MTV Video Music Awards..

Seriously, I remember they used that show as a showcase for all their Dreamcast ad's. I remember thinking how realistic those ads were and how funny they were.

[Ze_ro]

Jasoco said:

How does it keep the games saved without a battery, then?

I believe they use flash roms... in fact, I think all memory cards (Camera's, consoles, GP32's, etc) use flash roms. Most older games didn't use these because they were too expensive back in the days of the NES and even the SNES. One exception that I know of is the Jaguar. However, in the manuals for Jaguar games, it warns you that you can only change the settings 100,000 times or something. I doubt anything will happen after 100,000 saves though, it's probably just Atari trying to cover their asses in case someone complained.

--Zero

[Jasoco]

Ahhh... Technology..

[Trooper]

Well, I wouldn't call my collection sizeable but I'll chip in anyway.

I've got 20+ games and 2 VMU's, I only use one of them though. Works fine for me since I'm the type of guy that when I find a game I like I play that and only that until I get tired of it and switch game to repeat the procedure

Cheers!

Troop

[Harry_Dodgson]

Brian R. said:

For those with sizeable Dreamcast collections, how many VMUs do you have, and how do you keep track of 'em all?

[snip]

Any of you use the third-party memory cards that have more space on them than the standard Sega VMU? I've heard they weren't as reliable.

I have 2 Sega VMUs, a 4 bank w/4 position switch, a nexus 16 bank unit, a clear one w/2 red LEDs 2 bank unit, and the one for the Gameshark. I also picked up a combo 4 bank/shock pack but you could only use one function at a time so I gave it away. I have lots of saves, about half downloaded directly to the memory card from the web browser. The way I keep track is I use the 2 Sega VMUs to hold the saves for the games I am playing, and the Nexus to hold everything.

I got the double power box with cable so I could transfer all the saves around and to a PC (-ick-) as I felt like (even locked saves like Soul Calibur and Zombie Revenge). It transfers okay between VMUs but really slow to the PC. I have backups of everything on the PC with a text file listing what's where.

When I go out looking for saves, I use the multi-bank ones so I can grab multiple saves for the same game.

I haven't had any big problems except the Nexus bank change is SO SLOW. It also objects to the first power-on and flashes the error code. I just reseat it and it's okay. The other units change banks immediately. I have the 4 bank unit and the Nexus set for 241 blocks per bank. That's very nice.

I've just started playing with putting custom VMU icons on the Sega VMUs. That could help you to keep track of what's on each VMU. Just pop it into the controller and see what's on the LCD.