Table of Contents
Sega Dreamcast
Sega's ill-fated final games system. Releasing on the memorable September 9th, 1999 in North America, the Dreamcast's SH-4 CPU, 26 MB of RAM (across 3 purposes), and 16.77 million colors at up to 640×480 was very powerful for the time, but simply not enough to bring Sega out of the financial pit it had dug itself over the past 6 years. Selling 9.13 million units, the Dreamcast is only considered a failure due to the fact that it was simply not given enough time, nor a company capable of keeping it alive.
Operating Systems (Hitachi SH-4)
Bricks-OS
Possibly the most basic port of Bricks-OS to exist, as it only exists as rudimentary source code.
Console emulation (potential)
Whether these emulators support operating systems for these consoles is unknown; it must be looked into further. Consoles without meaningful OSes are not included.
https://www.zophar.net/consoles/dreamcast.html
https://dcemulation.org/index.php?title=Emulators
Atari 2600 – Stella, dcs2600
Atari Lynx – Atari Lynx MESS, HandyDC
Bandai WonderSwan (Color) – Oswan DC
Coleco ColecoVision – ColEm, CrabEmu
NEC TurboGrafx-16 – HuCast, Dream Engine, PCECast
Nintendo 64 – DaedalusDC, DCNin64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eEUmZtRFME https://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/threads/83587-DaedalusDC-released-N64-Emulator-for-the-Dreamcast-(2-Versions) https://web.archive.org/web/20120617083208/http://www.maturion.de/dreamcast/DaedalusDC.rar
Nintendo Entertainment System – NesterDC SE, FrNES, gleam!, TuxNES-DC, DarcDC, FCE, crab
Super Nintendo Entertainment System – DreamSNES, NGine 9x, Sintendo, SuperFamicast, CATSF
Nintendo Game Boy/Color – PlutoBoy git, Boob!boy, Gnuboy/DC
https://github.com/RossMeikleham/PlutoBoy
Nintendo Game Boy Advance – gpSPDC 0.9 Alpha, Visual Troy Advance
Nintendo Pokémon Mini - PokeMini
Sega Genesis – DCGenerator, Genesis Plus SDL, Gens4All, ljsdcgen
Sega Master System – DreamSMS, SMEG, SMS Plus, SMS Plus (alternative)
Sega Saturn – Yabause (WTF????)
https://dcemulation.org/index.php?title=Yabause
Sony PlayStation 1 – PCSXDC, PCSX4ALL, bleemcast!
Debian/”RedHat”/Nero Image
The one variation of Debian for the Dreamcast. There are many names for this circulating online, but ultimately, they will all trace back to these files. Various Live CDs exist with varying levels of hardware support, with certain Live CDs having X and other such good things.
Dreamexplorer
Dream Explorer (a.k.a VMU Tool) is a mini OS for the Dreamcast
A program for the Dreamcast that primarily focuses on browsing the content of one's attached VMUs. However, it does also offer a text viewer and an MP3/Ogg vorbis player, which slots it enough into a “general purpose” program to warrant an entry.
http://bswirl.kitsunet.org/vmutool/release/about/?lg=en&menu=on
Dreamshell
operating system for the Sega Dreamcast based on the KallistiOS kernel
Dreamshell is mostly meant for Dreamcasts which feature some sort of ODE, as it's function is mostly to load games. There are a few other functions, of course, but nothing major. However, the ODE that's paired with Dreamshell isn't very good at doing this, alas…
http://www.dc-swat.ru/page/dreamshell/
https://github.com/DC-SWAT/DreamShell
Emulation Nest
This device runs an operating system which is known to emulate various devices with EOPs. See the AmigaOS, DOS, MSX, and NEC PC-9801 series pages.
Gentoo
Gentoo has a prebuilt stage3 for SH4 (under experimental/sh/stages) dated Apr 2007
The information available for this online is quite confusing, but when looking in the stage3-sh4-2006 files for Gentoo, the Dreamcast is in fact mentioned in some capacity.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070502223433/http://www.gentoo.org/main/en/mirrors.xml
Linux-SH + LinuxDC (KERNEL)
The most recent kernel versions for the Dreamcast, forming the basis of all the other distributions available. The 3rd link is the older iteration and only useful for documentation or exploring history.
http://linuxdc.sourceforge.net/
MS-DOS (DosBoxDC)
Dreamcast port is far from optimized. Most, if not all games and applications will run very slow
This is the poorest way to play DOS software on the Dreamcast. While it does work, it will run very poorly due to the aforementioned lack of optimization.
https://www.dreamcast.nu/en/ms-dos-emulation-dreamcast/
NetBSD
Probably the best operating system available for a Dreamcast. This port is still being supported by NetBSD despite the console's age, and it has the most comprehensive set of features. This includes X support, internet access, video playback, and more. Of course, this does require the Dreamcast keyboard. The NetBSD ports page claims that there is no mouse support, but the linked videos do show the cursor moving around, which means that this requires some experimentation. One must also note that the ports page claims consoles made after September 2000 could have issues with NetBSD, which could do with some testing.
http://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/dreamcast/
https://www.netbsd.org/ports/dreamcast/faq.html
https://www.netbsd.org/ports/dreamcast/howto.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeQ11reoOMQ
PC emulation (potential)
Whether these emulators support operating systems for these computers is unknown; it must be looked into further. PCs without meaningful OSes are not included.
https://www.zophar.net/consoles/dreamcast.html
https://dcemulation.org/index.php?title=Emulators
Amstrad CPCs – Dream CPC 1.0 Alpha 3, CPCast
http://www.jm1200.fr/index.php?r=2 https://www.cpcwiki.eu/index.php/Emulators
Apple IIs – Apple II Soul Captor, DCider
ARM Cortex-M23 – uM23 for VMU
http://dmitry.gr/index.php?r=05.Projects&proj=25.%20VMU%20Hacking
Atari 8-bits – Atari800DC
http://www.groessler.org/a800dc/index.html
Atari STs – DcaSTaway
CHIP-8 – Whack-a-Mole, CrabEmu
Commodore 64 – DreamFrodo, DC=64, Panera 64
Commodore Amigas – UAE4ALL
Dragon 32/64 - DragonDC
MSXs – DreamMSX, fMSX DC, MSXCast, uMSX, MadriSX
NEC PC-9801s – Neko Project II
Sinclair ZX Spectrums – DCSpeccyal’K, DreamSpec, fbzxDC, ZX4ALL
http://chui.dcemu.co.uk/zx4all.html
x86 - bhole
QNX
Due to the licensing scheme of QNX, this was never released in a public fashion, much to the disappointment of the team. From the documentation that still exists online, QNX worked quite well, with it being capable of running a graphical environment, accessing the internet, running certain software, and more.
http://www.sporktania.com/qnxdc/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090926172517/http://www.qnxzone.com/~jeremy/qnxdc
https://developers.slashdot.org/story/02/09/04/180236/qnx-on-sega-dreamcast
https://www.osnews.com/story/1671/qnx-62-on-sega-dreamcast/
Stock BIOS
What comes default on any Dreamcast. A pleasant little BIOS with not much to do.
Stock BIOS in Real Mode
Dreamcast Alternate BIOS (“Real Mode”) with Puyo Puyo Fever
If one has Puyo Puyo Fever (JP) in their VMU save files, they can unlock this BIOS by simply pressing “Start” on the file. No functionality changes (outside of the ability to move the camera), but it looks cool.
Windows 3.0 (+ DOS) via Fake86
a work-in-progress IBM-PC 8086 Emulator
A basic x86 emulator which hasn't received updates for a long time. Despite this, it is fully capable of booting DOS or Windows 3.0, running programs, and interfacing with controller input. However, the one significant downside is the lack of any color support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRaDlvYY9Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Q4Mhvwf5_w
Windows CE + Possible Shell!
bundling simple operating systems within the discs themselves
Despite the name, the “Windows CE” on the Dreamcast was not very “concise”. Coming only on game discs which needed it, Windows CE on the Dreamcast was primarily a sort of “SDK” or “layer” to make porting games easier on developers. However, in theory, it is possible to port actual EOPs to the Dreamcast using this Windows CE setup, with the 2nd and last links detailing someone's attempts to do this with a proper desktop shell. In these links, the author describes the code compiling perfectly and actually running on the Dreamcast, but it crashes on boot. For all we know, this could be very easily fixed, resulting in a Windows CE shell on the Dreamcast!(!!!) People have already ported Internet Explorer (below) to the Dreamcast using Windows CE, so this could actually be possible!
https://segaretro.org/Windows_CE
https://github.com/FaucetDC/WincastCE (portable but non-launching Windows CE shell)
https://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7945
Internet
DreamArena 3.0
DreamArena 2.0 was a nearly completed but never released browser update
A new homebrew project which aims to create an even better internet browser for the Dreamcast. The project appears to be doing quite well, receiving frequent status updates. They even opened testing quite recently!
Internet Explorer (4.0?)
A very barebones port, but it does in fact work and can load pages. Done entirely with the Windows CE layer, which is highly intriguing.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comments/73qieg/internet_explorer_on_a_dreamcast_because_why_not/
https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10561&start=50
PlanetWeb 1-3, DreamPassport, DreamKey, etc.
The various stock web browsers for the Dreamcast, meant for USA, Japan, and Europe/Australia, respectively. Based off of what people say, PlanetWeb is apparently the best, but it has bugs in the physically uncommon version 3.0 (which also has more features?)
https://dcemulation.org/index.php?title=DreamKey
https://web.archive.org/web/20020605140804/http://dc.dricasworld.com/?20011113b
http://www.mediafire.com/file/yxcmyd2mgj3cz4z/PWBROWSER2.zip (custom mod)
WebTV
the WebTV browser was an improvement over Sega's bundled Dream Passport software
A Japanese service which allowed Dreamcast users to access Microsoft's WebTV. Now entirely defunct, although documentation is ongoing that could maybe, eventually, recreate the service.
XDP
A custom-developed alternative to PlanetWeb which has been developed more recently. Until DreamArena 3.0 releases, this is probably the best web browser available for the Dreamcast.
Other
Crafti
No enemies are available but you do get Redstone and TNT blocks !
A Minecraft clone ported to a variety of platforms, with the Dreamcast port being one of the earlier ones. Still receives intermittent updates, up to 2022.
https://dcemulation.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=104211
https://gitlab.com/gameblabla/gameblabla-website-files/-/tree/simp/files/dreamcast_new
Version & Revision Guide
For general information, see the Game Console Revisions Overview.
Versions
There is one version of this console.
“Dreamcast” (1999-2001)
The normal version of the console, of which no hardware-altering versions were made. Up front are 4 controller ports, and the top has the drive, plus on/off & open drive buttons. The left side has nothing, and the right side has the large extension port, by default taken up by the Dreamcast’s 56k modem (which is removable). On the back is the AC out (same plug as Model 2 Saturns), plus AV out, the line/Ethernet port (depending on peripheral in EXT), and a serial port meant for link cables. There’s nothing on the bottom. Later revisions have a supposedly better drive, but to the detriment of installing certain ODEs. All Dreamcasts have certain issues between the PSU-board connection, but this can be fixed with just a clean, or a soldering/replacement.
Revisions
There are three revisions within the Dreamcast.
Dreamcast revisions:
“VA0” (very early 1999)
These systems can be hard to find in America, and are definitely more common in Japan. Here, the motherboard runs hotter, warranting a more robust cooling solution. Furthermore, chips in the system that the GDEMU ODE uses, output a hazardous voltage level. This can damage the GDEMU install if not taken into account. For this reason, be wary of these systems. However, some say they have a superior build quality. To identify, go to the bottom of the system; look for the “0” in the circle, to the left of the [NTSC | U] box on the sticker.
“VA1” (1999-2000)
RECOMMENDED OVERALL; BEST RELIABILITY; LOWEST PRICE
A vast majority of NTSC-U Dreamcasts are of the VA1 revision. These can play burned discs, and can support an install of GDEMU. Easily the best revision. To identify, go to the bottom; look for the circled “1”, next to the NTSC-U code. RECOMMENDED OVERALL; BEST RELIABILITY; LOWEST PRICE
“VA2” (2001, to 31st March)
DO NOT PURCHASE
Quite rare, but not as rare as the VA0s, seemingly. These systems are easily the worse for EOPs, as the drive controller is now integrated with the board itself, which makes it impossible to install an ODE. Furthermore, the drive does not support playing burned discs. There’s no reason to get one of these. To identify, go to the bottom, look for the circled “2”.
https://dreamcast.wiki/MIL-CD_compatibility
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comments/lfhr2z/great_dreamcast_hardware_revision_database/
https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comments/8zaxni/i_just_found_a_rev_0_ive_read_this_is_the_best/
https://gdemu.wordpress.com/details/dreamcast-details/
https://gametrog.com/sega-dreamcast-information-specs/
http://www.tankgirl.info/8bit/images/sega/dreamcast/modem.jpg (removed modem, reveals EXT)
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0049/8719/1386/products/image_ed7b0f8a-d94a-4749-9ca9-cca916f238f8_500x205.png (sticker on the bottom, showing the circled number for revision)
