48 replies to this topic

[RMila75]

I just bought a GC this weekend and am trying to decide if I like the hardware any better than the other systems out there. It's my first chance to get a close look at how everything works. I'm puzzled by the disc drive. Does it actually drop down a bit when the power comes on? I know something "clicks" before the disc spins and it sure seems like it must be moving. And that pop-up button seems like a good idea for removing discs. What exactly is the proper name for the game discs? Something like the DC's GD-ROM discs?
I got it with the "free" GB player, so I'm obsessing over the hardware now rather than any games. I did learn that Iridion 3D looks great on a TV screen! I can't wait for F-Zero!

[Ze_ro]

I think the discs are just called mini-DVD's... they're formatted kind of funny, but they're definitely mini-DVD's.

I'm not sure about the loading mechanism though. If it indeed lowered the disc, would that make you "like it" more?

--Zero

[RMila75]

Heck, I never knew there was such a thing as a mini-DVD.

Quote

I'm not sure about the loading mechanism though. If it indeed lowered the disc, would that make you "like it" more?  

I don't know about that but it has me rather curious. I certainly DO like the fact that it's a top-load disc drive.

[Rhindle The Red]

Ze_ro said:

I think the discs are just called mini-DVD's... they're formatted kind of funny, but they're definitely mini-DVD's.

I'm not sure about the loading mechanism though. If it indeed lowered the disc, would that make you "like it" more?

--Zero

They actually have about as much in common with DVDs as DVDs do with CDs. They are a completely proprietary format, just like GD-ROMs.

Their official Japanese name is "GAMECUBE Optical Disc".

Yes...GOD.

NOA refers to them as "Game Discs", but since that still shortens to "GD", I just refer to them as "Optical Discs" to avoid confusing them with the Dreamcast discs.

[MegaManFan]

I just call them "f'n cool!" I still can't believe how much data they pack into such a tiny disc.

[Jasoco]

And they read from the outside and spin the opposite way.

Piracy prevention, Nintendo Style.

[chrisbid]

piracy protection period

we all know that sony and MS secretly encourage piracy

[Sylentwulf]

I wouldn't exactly say that MS encourages it, they banned all retail sale of the xbox because a court decided that mod chips were legal in australia. Don't rmember if it was temp. or permanent, but they did ban the sale of them for a time...

[chrisbid]

thats a public face, piracy was rampant on the original Playstaion, and it didnt suffer in sales, in fact, its one of the key reasons it took off.

[Rhindle The Red]

chrisbid said:

thats a public face, piracy was rampant on the original Playstaion, and it didnt suffer in sales, in fact, its one of the key reasons it took off.

And one of the key reasons so many smaller developers and publishers are either out of business or have been bought by the larger ones.

[RMila75]

Anyway...
I e-mailed Nintendo to satisfy my curiosity. I figured they can tell me anything I could ever want to know about the GC, right?
Here's a quote from their response: "When the lid to your Nintendo GameCube closes, who knows what goes on in there"
Do they think I'm 8 years old, for heaven's sake? Why such a smart-ass answer? Are they trying THAT hard not to reveal anything about their special little discs?

[Rhindle The Red]

That is the funniest damn thing I've heard all day.

[MegaManFan]

RMila75 said:

Here's a quote from their response: "When the lid to your Nintendo GameCube closes, who knows what goes on in there"
Do they think I'm 8 years old, for heaven's sake?  Why such a smart-ass answer?  Are they trying THAT hard not to reveal anything about their special little discs?

Wow. That's actually pretty damn pathetic on their part. Hate to say it about my favorite company besides Atari, but on that response. You're better off asking a tech geek website.

[chrisbid]

we all know what sony thinks about small publishers....

[JB]

RMila75 said:

Anyway...
I e-mailed Nintendo to satisfy my curiosity.  I figured they can tell me anything I could ever want to know about the GC, right?
Here's a quote from their response: "When the lid to your Nintendo GameCube closes, who knows what goes on in there"
Do they think I'm 8 years old, for heaven's sake?  Why such a smart-ass answer?  Are they trying THAT hard not to reveal anything about their special little discs?

Yeah... And there's a little penguin that turns off the light in my refrigerator.

[thund3r]

RMila75 said:

Anyway...
I e-mailed Nintendo to satisfy my curiosity.  I figured they can tell me anything I could ever want to know about the GC, right?
Here's a quote from their response: "When the lid to your Nintendo GameCube closes, who knows what goes on in there"
Do they think I'm 8 years old, for heaven's sake?  Why such a smart-ass answer?  Are they trying THAT hard not to reveal anything about their special little discs?

maybe you could try another board as this is about atari and some1 on a nintendo board may have your answer. Either that or u could open it up yourself

[Xot]

Jasoco said:

And they read from the outside and spin the opposite way.

Piracy prevention, Nintendo Style.

The only thing that bugs me about that is that the outside edges of the disc are the most likely to get damaged and presumably contrain the most vital information (boot information, security clearance, etc). I'd much rather not be able to play a certain level than not be able to play AT ALL.

[chrisbid]

well, ive yet to have a problem booting a cube disc, new or used, while my PS2, Dreamcast, and my friends Xbox have all had disc booting problems from time to time.

i think the small size of the cube discs make them easier to handle, therefore more difficult to damage while handling

but the real test will be in five to ten years from now, when only us old geezers will care if they work or not

[Xot]

chrisbid said:

well, ive yet to have a problem booting a cube disc, new or used, while my PS2, Dreamcast, and my friends Xbox have all had disc booting problems from time to time.  

i think the small size of the cube discs make them easier to handle, therefore more difficult to damage while handling

but the real test will be in five to ten years from now, when only us old geezers will care if they work or not

I, too, haven't had any trouble with games booting, but there's one location in Metroid Prime that ALWAYS stutters on me from where there's a tiny scratch on the disc. I don't dare clean the disc again for fear of worsening it.

It's on the metal platforms near where you get the super bomb upgrade, where you fight the invisible security droid. On the last jump it stutters and if I panic and release the button I drop and get PISSED.

[Ze_ro]

Xot said:

The only thing that bugs me about that is that the outside edges of the disc are the most likely to get damaged and presumably contrain the most vital information (boot information, security clearance, etc).

This isn't a new thing either... on the Saturn, the outer edge of the disc held security information, and if the edge was damaged, the game might not be able to prove to the system that it was a legitimate game. I don't think Saturn discs are read outside-in like Gamecube discs though, but I remember reading a rant that one guy wrote because he could no longer play Bomberman anymore.

I really wish people would be more careful with discs... I bought a copy of Unreal Tournament (DC) yesterday, and there are small scratches all over it... the game still plays properly, but sheesh, I've got some 45 DC games, and all the ones that I bought new have no noticable scratches on them at all. As long as you place them in the case when you're not using them, and you don't drop them every time you pick them up, the discs should last a really long time. (I don't mean to accuse you speciically of mishandling your discs... just a general observation).

Rhindle The Red said:

They actually have about as much in common with DVDs as DVDs do with CDs. They are a completely proprietary format, just like GD-ROMs.

Are you sure about that? From what I'd heard, aside from the outside-in, reverse spin, and smaller size, the formatting was the same as DVD's. I never did any hard research though.

--Zero

[JB]

Ze_ro][quote=Xot]The only thing that bugs me about that is that the outside edges of the disc are the most likely to get damaged and presumably contrain the most vital information (boot information, on security clearance, etc).[/quote, said:

This isn't a new thing either... on the Saturn, the outer edge of the disc held security information, and if the edge was damaged, the game might not be able to prove to the system that it was a legitimate game. I don't think Saturn discs are read outside-in like Gamecube discs though, but I remember reading a rant that one guy wrote because he could no longer play Bomberman anymore.

Saturn used standard CD-ROMs.

Rhindle The Red]They actually have about as much in common with DVDs as DVDs do with CDs. They are a completely proprietary format, on just like GD-ROMs. [/quote, said:

Are you sure about that? From what I'd heard, aside from the outside-in, reverse spin, and smaller size, the formatting was the same as DVD's. I never did any hard research though.
--Zero

Nintendo actually buys standard DVD-ROM drives from Panasonic, then puts in a new BIOS that doesn't choke on their disk format.
Proof: Panasonic's Q, which is a GameCube that can play DVD movies. If it didn't use a standard DVD-ROM, it couldn't read DVDs.

And the backwards disk stuff is 100% bull.
As in, if you start the system then open the door, you can see the disk spinning the "right" way before it stops.

And since they use standard DVD-ROM drives, I seriously doubt similar rumors about tighter track spacing and outside-in reading.
Not to mention an illegible disk is rejected by the drive. It doesn't hang the computer.untill it's ejected, as I've been told GC disks do.


Making a disk format that computers can't read is easier than you think.
Anyone remember the copy-protected CDs that crashed PCs when inserted, and flashed the BIOS on Macs, necessitating you send them back to Apple for repair?
And was defeated by a simple Sharpie marker line along the non-audio track?

[RMila75]

Quote

maybe you could try another board as this is about atari and some1 on a nintendo board may have your answer. Either that or u could open it up yourself

Easy there, Big Time! All modern gaming stuff is open for discussion here.
That's the sort of smart-ass response that will get you a job at Nintendo customer support!

[Jasoco]

JB said:

And the backwards disk stuff is 100% bull.  
As in, if you start the system then open the door, you can see the disk spinning the "right" way before it stops.

When you're right, you're correct. I never thought to check, but yes, the GC discs do spin clockwise like other disc based systems.. I forget where I got that info, must have been someone online just spouting what they want to believe.

Which still raises the question (Which already has an answer, but I wanna say it anyway) why couldn't they have made it standard size and made it read CD's and moves! Then I could have ANOTHER DVD player! And ANOTHER useless CD player I will never use.

Seriously, I have a DC and Xbox and soon a PSOne with Audio CD capailities, but I don't use it. Know why? MP3's. So I have no use for CD's anymore. But I'd probably feel a lot better playing my DVD's on my GameCube than my Xbox. But Nintendo won't let us in. (Too bad the Dreamcast doesn't do DVD's either.)

Maybe by the next N system, they'll get the point. However useless it may seem, people DO want systems with CD/DVD players in them. Even if the other 5 systems in their Rec Room have them.

[Sylentwulf]

From all I've heard, they are mini-DVD's. Nothing more, no outside in, no backwards spin, no GD-rom, just plain mini-dvd's.
Why do overkill? A mini-CD wouldn't be able to hold enough information, and who has a mini-DVD recorder? Very hard to copy, but not impossible, I'm sure.

[kisrael]

Sylentwulf said:

From all I've heard, they are mini-DVD's. Nothing more, no outside in, no backwards spin, no GD-rom, just plain mini-dvd's.  
Why do overkill? A mini-CD wouldn't be able to hold enough information, and who has a mini-DVD recorder? Very hard to copy, but not impossible, I'm sure.

Huh...most tray loading CD players (and CD writers, I think) can work with mini CDs...that's why they have a "smaller circle" indent in the middle, to lets you position the mini-versions. Don't DVD players and writers work the same way?