PCE Super SD System 3 - Terraonion New Product (Dec 2017)

Did you actually pay for it or did you get one of the freebies?

GohanX said:

Did you actually pay for it or did you get one of the freebies?

Click to expand...

I got the uncased freebie loosie discs.

roker said:

If I use that extension can I de-select stuff so I don't redownload what I already have? It would be a waste of time and bandwidth.

Click to expand...

Yep, you had to deselect the 170GB ZIP to begin since it does a total *.zip initially.

What I checked for you is a problem though: in Settings, there's only 2 options for what to do if a file already exists in the target folder, Rename or Overwrite... There should've been one more like most FTP apps provide, a Skip, but oh well. So yeah, you'll have to manually deselect lots of files to speed things up.

You should be able to get the hang of it in ~5-10 minutes, but the other caveat is it doesn't let you set a target download folder, you must change that in FireFox General settings to the PC Engine folder you have your other files in. That's about it.

Results: I started the downloads at ~10:00pm last night and all 490 archives finished today at 8pm on a 100Mbps cable line.



I was meaning to find a source like this eventually given the ROMpocalypse Nintendo triggered which made me nervous as ROM sites started "bending a knee" by abandoning non-Nintendo games also after those lawsuits went out!

An aside, it'd be an interesting project to switch to a lossless audio compression format like FLAC/APE and use some other tricks I thought of over the years: Make a diff file with the PCECD data track 2 and its final backup track, then during extraction, just duplicate track 2 and run the diff to recreate a 100% copy... You could achieve even more compression by not carrying both data tracks, but the archive would need a batch file to decompress.

At least 40% of 170GB could be knocked off or more while still preserving data 100%. But, it's probably not really in demand of an idea and I'd have to see how to upload back to WayBack like they did. You'd need batch files for other OSes besides Windows too, like Linux, Android, so another complication...

These archives are ready to mount/burn/work as-is on Windows, Linux, Mac, elsewhere. Probably the Terraonion add-on scans the ZIP for a CUE file, gets to work, all without manual decompression too! That ease is more valuable to most people than space-saving hacks!

Gentlegamer said:

Sup Nightwolve!

Click to expand...

Hmm, doesn't seem like you're trolling me, so in that case, hello, fellow PCE turbro...

Internet Archive has a command-line tool that is purpose-built for uploading and downloading from their site. This is what I used to get the SEGA/MEGA CD [redump]. I will use again to get the PCE CD [redump].

https://github.com/jjjake/internetarchive

c0nn0r said:

Internet Archive has a command-line tool that is purpose-built for uploading and downloading from their site. This is what I used to get the SEGA/MEGA CD [redump]. I will use again to get the PCE CD [redump].

https://github.com/jjjake/internetarchive

Click to expand...

That's godlike! Thanks for sharing!

c0nn0r said:

Internet Archive has a command-line tool that is purpose-built for uploading and downloading from their site. This is what I used to get the SEGA/MEGA CD [redump]. I will use again to get the PCE CD [redump].

https://github.com/jjjake/internetarchive

Click to expand...

Ah, I see. Good to know!

I've been playing games like crazy. I'm waiting to sort of let my excitement subside so I can focus one game at a time. I did manage to beat the first of the Ys Book now working on II. Macross 2023 was better than I expected. Any discoveries, guys?

I’ve been enjoying mine as well, but with work being crazy I haven’t had a lot of time with it. I did notice that Ys IV won’t work with the in game trigger enabled. I thought I had messed up patching my copy until I figured this out. So far I’m loving the SSDS3.

My only minor gripe is that I wish the menu worked and looked like the Mega SD one.

roker said:

I've been playing games like crazy. I'm waiting to sort of let my excitement subside so I can focus one game at a time. I did manage to beat the first of the Ys Book now working on II. Macross 2023 was better than I expected. Any discoveries, guys?

Click to expand...

Good lord man, yes....PLENTY

Finish the entire Ys series - be sure to play the eng dub of Ys IV

All the shmups

Now I want to think up a list of shit you need to play

Finally got my shipping notice. Doubtful it will arrive before Christmas, but that's ok, because I don't have any NEC hardware to use it with yet. I will probably be buying a SuperGrafx in the Spring. I will be gifting myself my MegaSD at Christmas which has been sitting in my closet this entire time, save for registering, and loading ~183GB SEGA fullset ;-)

My thumbs are ready.

roker said:

I've been playing games like crazy. I'm waiting to sort of let my excitement subside so I can focus one game at a time. I did manage to beat the first of the Ys Book now working on II. Macross 2023 was better than I expected. Any discoveries, guys?

Click to expand...

You need to play Y's IV translation and the Drac X translation.

Dungeon Explorer II is a must play if you haven't already.

ChopstickSamurai said:

I’ve been enjoying mine as well, but with work being crazy I haven’t had a lot of time with it. I did notice that Ys IV won’t work with the in game trigger enabled. I thought I had messed up patching my copy until I figured this out. So far I’m loving the SSDS3.

My only minor gripe is that I wish the menu worked and looked like the Mega SD one.

Click to expand...

The In Game Trigger as it currently works is problematic. I would highly suggest keeping it disabled. And we plan to revise the interface soon.

Yodd said:

The In Game Trigger as it currently works is problematic. I would highly suggest keeping it disabled. And we plan to revise the interface soon.

Click to expand...

Sweet! I’m all about making an awesome product even better!

Dat DownLoad2, sun.
Dig it!

Yodd said:

The In Game Trigger as it currently works is problematic. I would highly suggest keeping it disabled. And we plan to revise the interface soon.

Click to expand...

I have NOTHING to add to this convo... except for the long running battle between me and Yodd's goatee...

Love him to bits... but seriously...

xROTx

roker said:

Any discoveries, guys?

Click to expand...

JIGOKU MEGURI - You're basically playing Rot smashing everything to pieces with your big balls . Seriously: I love that game!

CYBER CROSS & CROSS WIBER - Guilty pleasure games, the second is really good.

WONDER MOMO - You'll love it or hate it, but once you worked out the basic tactics, it's even better than the arcade original.

KAISŌ CHŌJIN SCHBIBIN MAN - Wow! This one is excellent, but again: you'll have to learn the basics here. The other parts are't half as good.

OBOCCHAMA-KUN - Most of the Namco titles on the PCE are underrated, so is this oddball. I never liked KATO CHAN KEN CHAN, this one I do like very much.

AFTER BURNER II - You'll have to see it, to believe that it's actually really happened on an 8-bitter.

FAUSSETÉ AMOUR - Don't listen to its critics, it's top-notch, and actually not that hard at all. Nice ost, too.

oliverclaude said:

You'll have to see it, to believe that it's actually really happened on an 8-bitter.

Click to expand...

I say that a lot when playing this system, especially the CD stuff. The CPU was 8-bit (and faster than the SNES might I add), but the GPU was 16-bit. I dunno, none of this shit matters. It's more in line with the gen after NES/SMS imo.

roker said:

I dunno, none of this shit matters.

Click to expand...

The only reason some people seem to get impressed by pce being "8bit" and doing SFII et al is the large number of games that look like NES software with a high color palette. That doesn't help much.

Ys III is pretty bad. I'm not sure I can make it. Should I just skip to IV?

roker said:

Ys III is pretty bad. I'm not sure I can make it. Should I just skip to IV?

Click to expand...

I like Ys III, but Ys IV is much better. It's a very impressive game. If you liked book 1 and 2 you should enjoy it a lot. I can't help but feel ys iv is the best of the bunch, but book 1 and 2 is still my favorites. You can get stuck in a few areas in Ys IV. Some things are not very obvious and make no sense. I followed a FAQ on RPG Sanctuary cause I got tired of wandering around lost for hours.

Easily in the top 3 RPGs on the console playable in English.

*** Edit. Cant find that guide. Must have used this one.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/turbocd/916175-ys-iv-the-dawn-of-ys/faqs/5707

greedostick said:

Dungeon Explorer II is a must play if you haven't already.

Click to expand...

It's on my backlog in SomeDay(TM) status. I rented the original and was happy with it, so it was great news when I first learned a CD sequel was produced. I just didn't get to buy it in the 90's when I loaded up on CD games from TZD like Ys III/IV, Valis II/III, Exile 1&2, Cosmic Fantasy 2 (bought over the phone with a Working Designs rep), Dragon Slayer, etc.

By the time 2001 came around and downloading-everything was a thing, I didn't play games very much anymore cause Life(TM), and I got MORE interested in the localization process starting with Xak III because of the PC Engine group I joined. If I did rarely knock off a game from my backlog it was on the more modern PS1/PS2!

But anyway, I have Dungeon Explorer II now, just dunno when I'll sit down with it (I finished Bloodstained:RotN pre new year, that got my attention). I put about 3 hours in Beyond Shadowgate (a gift of the Bernie Turbo Xpress Bootleg biz) a while back, apparently it's one of Bernie's favorites. So gotta finish that first when I can. It's not as good as the original NES one, but not too bad, a tad rough around the edges.

P. S.

Are we gonna annoy the Terra Onion guys with these tangents ? I saw a cool review video about it I meant to share somewhere, a tech dude I frequently watch.

My exposure to TG16 back in the day:

Keith Courage (duh)
Bonk 1&2
China Warrior
Splatterhouse
Dungeon Explorer
Neutopia 1&2
Alien Crush
Devil Crush
Blazing Lazers

And that's about it. I didn't get exposed to the real library until I downloaded Magic Engine post-90s.

roker said:

Ys III is pretty bad. I'm not sure I can make it. Should I just skip to IV?

Click to expand...

No, it's worth a play through! It gets better towards the end and I can't say this about many games, but Ys3 is worth playing for the music alone.

Seconded. The whole reason Ys has the following that it does is due to the legendary soundtracks. Ys III has at least 2 of the best tracks (linked below), but they're all excellent first time around. It's a short, easy game anyway, no need to skip to IV.

YsIII-07-The-Boy-Who-Had-Wings.mp3
YsIII-17-Seal-of-Time.mp3

I used to like this one too, but over-listening a favorite renders it boring:

YsIII-11-A-Searing-Struggle.mp3

Other great tracks at the folder:

http://www.ysutopia.net/audio/