SegaNet for 2025: Dreamcast emulator Flycast introduces a new way to play online
Also this issue: Truly playable Bloodborne in ShadPS4 (and clearing up the confusion on that 60 fps patch DMCA).

I know it's not, like, strictly on topic, but how bad would it be if this newsletter consisted of nothing but extremely bloody video clips of Ninja Gaiden 2 Black? I've been dumping most of my recent gaming time into the surprise remake of one of my favorite games ever, and yep: I sure love Ninja Gaiden 2. This polished new version lacks the fuck you bite of the original, for good and bad; it feels significantly easier, too easy even, on Hard. Though there are still a couple difficulties higher for me to run through so perhaps I shouldn't complain! But I am awfully tempted to try running the unpatched vanilla game on Xbox 360 emulator Xenia just to see if it's as gloriously unbalanced as it is in my mind. I still have the DVD!
Oh, who am I kidding. I should just roll right into God Hand.π
What I haven't been playing regularly is Bloodborne on ShadPS4; I tried it early on to confirm it was bootable but still extremely rough, but that sure has been changing fast. I've touched on Bloodborne's progress a few times in the last several months, but Digital Foundry's recent video giving it a shot at 60 fps reminded me that it was probably time to check in with ShadPS4. And the timing worked out very well indeed, because the emulator's latest milestone release v0.6.0 dropped on Thursday!
Perhaps not coincidentally with the buzz around emulated Bloodborne, modder Lance McDonald posted on Friday that he "received a DMCA takedown notification on behalf of Sony Interactive Entertainment" asking him to take down links to a 60 fps patch for the game he released in 2021. The patch was originally created for use on hacked PS4 consoles; there was no such thing as PS4 emulation back in 2021. McDonald clarified on Discord that Sony actually claimed his page for the patch, which contained the word "Bloodborne," was a trademark violation. "They canβt legally DMCA the patch because itβs 100% code and the patch doesnβt actually even say what game itβs for in it," he added. "However Iβm not stupid enough to try to work around their copyright to re-post it."
To be clear: This does not affect 60 fps Bloodborne in ShadPS4. The framerate patch remains a toggleable option in the emulator's game-specific settings. Nothing has changed.
Why did Sony drop this DMCA after the patch had been online for four years? The hopeful will say it's because Bloodborne's 10 year anniversary in March indicates a remaster is inbound. The doomers will say it's because Sony wants to take down ShadPS4, too. It does seem an odd move after so many years if there's not some kind of follow-up, but who knows why big companies do what they do, and when. Sony just wasted like half a billion dollars making and then canceling live service games, so I'm not going to try to read between the lines of anything it does as brilliant strategizing.
Anyway! Before we get to the latest ShadPS4 build, this issue we've also got a look at a new emulator feature breathing fresh life into Sega Dreamcast online play. There's also a nice upgrade to MAME, an English version of Super UNO and a Puyo Puyo game I had no idea existed. Let's do it up.
The Big Two
1. Flycast's new DCNet brings convenient online play to nearly 20 Dreamcast games

Dreamcast emulator Flycast hasn't had a milestone release since October, but don't let that fool you. Developer flyinghead has been keeping busy. Super busy. Spinning-up-an-entirely-new-network-infrastructure busy! Recent nightly dev builds of Flycast now include a new networking option called DCNet, which essentially simulates the modem-based online play of the original Dreamcast hardware.
This isn't the first time Dreamcast emulation has made it possible to play online, in general β Flycast already had ways to do that, including a netplay feature to replicate splitscreen over the internet. PSO private servers have been a thing for eons. But this is an exciting solution for real online play for a whole slate of other games.
"It's funny how this project started," said flyinghead. "I wanted to improve Flycast support of several online games and test whether everything was working, but most games are peer-to-peer and each player needs a public IP address with some open network ports. So I started installing some game servers locally in order to do that. My tests went fine and I could test these games properly but I was still hitting some limitations due to the way networking is implemented in Flycast."
You ever just accidentally rebuild the network infrastructure for a 25-year-old console? That's basically what happened next:
"While looking for solutions I got this idea of building a cloud-based VPN, with a bunch of game servers, to which flycast would connect. This would get rid of all current network limitations, and remove the need for DMZ, port redirection, UPnP, etc. I built a local prototype in a VM and it worked great. So I went ahead and built the real thing on a public server.
The best part is that it's very simple to implement in Flycast itself (just tunnel data from/to the modem to/from the dcnet server). It also works for real consoles. And you can use it on any network, including public/office wifi, cellular networks, etc. The server part is using regular Linux networking stuff, with a PPP daemon reading from TCP sockets instead of tty/modems."
The best part? So far, it's been free to run; the dial-up connections of Dreamcast games use so little data flyinghead has been able to run DCNet out of a Google cloud instance that costs nothing. That may not work long-term, though; once the feature becomes available in a stable build and sees an uptick in players it could require a more powerful cloud instance, in which case flyinghead might ask for donations to support the enterprise.
One downside of replicating the Dreamcast's peer-to-peer connections this way is that you need a fairly low ping to the server for games to play as intended β "or I'll have to run a server on each continent π¬," flyinhead said.
Here's the list of DCNet game servers supported so far:
- 4x4 Evolution
- ChuChu Rocket
- Daytona USA (alpha)
- Dee Dee Planet
- Internet Game Pack
- Monaco Racing Simulation 2
- NBA 2K1, 2K2
- NCAA 2K2
- NFL 2K1, 2K2
- Ooga Booga
- PBA Bowling 2001
- Planet Ring
- POD: Speedzone
- StarLancer
- Toy Racer
- World Series Baseball 2K2
- Worms World Party
And two more in progress:
- Sega Tetris
- Golf Shiyou yo 2
I asked flyinhead what it took to get the online play for all these games up and running, and it's been all over the map:
"For some the source of the game server is available so it's just a matter of building and installing it. For [Toy Racer] only a 32-bit binary was available (and a resource hog) so I had to reverse-engineer it and rewrite it. Still working on the latest one starting from some C# code. And adding support for additional Japanese games that use the same server.
There's been a long running effort of getting in touch with game devs of these games, to get more information on the network infra they used. And in some cases, it's like 'sorry that's corporate secret.'
The main one missing is Alien Front Online, for which no server has been released. I was able to rewrite the VisualConcepts server [used by Ooga Booga and the sports games] by looking at the network trace with the game server. I should be able to do the same with AFO."
Considering the feature isn't even in the stable builds of Flycast yet, it's no surprise that these games aren't exactly popping off with active players. But flyinghead built in a very cool integration with the emulator's Discord server, which has a DCNet channel that pops up a notification when someone logs into a game. So even if you're too shy to chat in the channel to coordinate a multiplayer session, you can keep an eye out for someone hopping online and follow suit.
Alternately, challenge me to a DCNet match of ChuChu Rocket anytime, night or day, if you'd like an ass-kicking. (Just kidding β I'm very bad at ChuChu Rocket, but I do love it!)
2. ShadPS4 0.6.0 is borne

I was hoping to have a chat with one of ShadPS4's developers about the emulator's recent progress, but unfortunately that didn't work out in time for this issue! So I figured in lieu of some behind the scenes info right now, I can point to Digital Foundry's recent video on Bloodborne and show you how to actually set this all up with the latest version of ShadPS4, since there are no links in the video descrption for anyone who'd like to emulate the game for themselves.
It's a good overview despite that missing information. So first, watch:
Okay, so what do you actually need to play this for yourself? I'm not going to tutorialize step-by-step here because that'll get real long, but here's the links to get you going:
- Dump your copy of Bloodborne if you haven't already
- Download Shadps4 v0.6.0 vanilla or, recommended for Bloodborne specifically, a custom build from diegolix29
- Follow this how-to guide from the ShadPS4 community which explains best settings, how to enable patches like 60 fps, and necessary and optional mods, like the Vertex Explosion fix. It's frequently updated!
- I recommend following the guide's advice and using a mod loader, even if you think you won't be installing multiple mods; it could save a headache later'
The how-to guide explains most of the potential issues you could encounter while playing the game, so check it if you're wondering if some graphical oddity is fixable, whether a crash is avoidable or just the nature of the in-progress emulation, etc.
This 4K video from community member aruantec is a very nice example of what kind of performance you can get on a beefy PC. It's running on the latest version of the emulator.
The progress is pretty incredible since we last looked at ShadPS4 in depth. In well under a year it's gone from "you can get past the title screen" to fully playable. Yes, there are caveats and bugs and hoops to jump through to get it there. But unless Sony does really have a 10th anniversary update cookin', this is now β if you're willing to put in all the effort to get it running β the best-looking version of the game available. Just keep in mind that the developers are steadily fixing certain missing effects that prevent the game from being a perfect replica, and probably will be for some time.
If you're a purist, hang tight; it's not quite ready for you yet. If not, well, come enjoy 60 fps.
Patching In

Yo-Kai Watch It, Buster β Pretendo, the open source replacement for Nintendo's shuttered 3DS/Wii U online services, recently added support for the 3DS's Yo-Kai Watch Blasters! It has some limitations right now, but brings back online multiplayer for a game that Nintendo World Report said will "have you craving for more Yo-kai madness." (You do need to own the original hardware to use Pretendo, but can play the games via emulator too).
Rogue Galaxy, but a little less rogue β A small PCSX2 fix for a graphical error I recently encountered myself in Rogue Galaxy. Or at least I thought it was a fix for these too-heavy black lines around the characters' 3D models. But apparently that's not what this fix targets, so I asked PCSX2 contributor JordanTheToast to clue me in.
"The fix was for black lines that appeared in water that a user reported to me it was caused by one of the fixes I had added previously which was half pixel offset align to native," he said. "The fix itself is good and does help a lot of games but it can break some games and sometimes breaks after we do updates. Here's a before shot with the old fixes and you can see the black lines in the water caused by align to native."

Those lines are now gone, but alas, Rogue Galaxy still has some other graphical oddities around its depth of field and motion blur that don't upscale super well in the emulator. In other news, PCSX2 also now supports an obscure (well, at least to me) cross-save feature in a bunch of Nicktoons games that unlocks stuff in all of 'em. Neato burrito.
BigPEmu v1.18 gets optiony-er β The Jaguar emulator is working its way through the approval process to make its way to Steam, but in the meantime this update includes "another terrible secret," a new audio interpolation option, and Steam integration for that eventual release.
Core Report

MiSTer PCXT core gets Pi-proofed β The PCXT core needed an update to support the MiSTer Pi's analog output board, and now it works.
Konami's Cue Brick gets a Jotego core β This puzzler has you sliding bricks around to help a cute little racecar make its way to the finish line. It's cute! And available on the MiSTer and Analogue Pocket for Jotego Patrons.
MAME gets an ARM backend β Brand new MAME release 0.274 adds a 64-bit ARM recompiler, exciting news for anyone using MAME on a system other than a Windows PC. "Itβs been tested on macOS, conventional Linux and Android, and provides some very welcome performance improvements when emulating systems with RISC CPUs, including MIPS III, PowerPC and SuperH," says the latest update. "In addition to the new back-end, weβve fixed some bugs in the existing back-ends and made some performance improvements for x86-64." Also, among many core emulation improvements, "Silicon Graphics Professional IRIS 4D workstations are now considered working," which sounds very exciting for a very particular sort of emulation sicko obsessed with '90s game development.
Translation Station

Level-5 mystery Time Travelers β Well this is cool, and dropped right before this issue went to press! A translation of a 2012 3DS/Vita mystery game from Level-5, with some staff overlap with the beloved 428 Shibuya Scramble. Apparently it was a bit of a flop, but has to be a worthy curiosity for Layton fans at the very least.
Popolocrois Monogatari II updated β Featured a few issues back, this PS1 RPG's translation tweaks some names and grammar and some cutoff text. Polish!
Puyo Puyo DA! β This Dreamcast rhythm game from Compile already had some English text, but a good chunk of graphic editing work later it's the full dealio! What haven't they done with those Puyos?


Super English Uno β One of the great plagues afflicting our society is that there's just no convenient way to play Uno. You know it. I know it. It's totally inaccessible on modern hardware! You can't find those cards anywhere! Truly tragic. Enter the hero we both need and deserve, then: Prolific hacker/translator Krokodyl has translated the Super Famicom's Super Uno into English. Notably this ain't just regular-ass Uno. Super Uno also includes a board game mode, reminiscent of a simple Mario Party / Itadaki Street kinda deal. Except you play a lot more Uno. Compared to Mario Party, I'm gonna say that's an improvement.
Good pixels

Dipping into Bluesky once again for our dose of satisfying pixels. Sorry for making you click links, email readers!
2025
β Fobwashed (@stevekim.bsky.social) 2025-01-31T03:11:42.824Z
yoyo's puzzle park / psx irem, 1996
β devils blush (@devilsblush.bsky.social) 2025-01-22T04:00:35.545Z
Seiken Densetsu 2 (Super Famicom / Squaresoft / 1993) #ScanlineSunday
β Standard Issue Gaming (@defstan480.bsky.social) 2025-02-02T15:06:29.215Z
I'll get a late #ScanlineSunday entry in with the Sega Mega Drive Meganet Phantasy Star II Text Adventures. These downloadable graphic adventure games released in 1990/1991 (eight in all) act as a prequel to PSII and are available to play with a fan translation. πΊ: Toshiba VTW2187 (RGB Scart)
β Sasha's Retrobytes (@sharkabytes.bsky.social) 2025-01-19T22:41:07.633Z
THE TERMINATOR RADICAL ENTERTAINMENT 1992 NES
β DOKI DOKI CRT PANIC (@crtpixel.bsky.social) 2025-01-29T16:45:09.973Z
I'll be back. π½