Phantasy Star Online ("Ver.1") NTSC-U Selfboot & Auto-connect Aleron Ives Edition 1.0 April 8, 2012 http://psopalace.funurl.com === Table of Contents I. Introduction II. How to Burn the Disc III. Changes Made IV. Bugs V. Credits === I. Introduction Welcome to Aleron Ives's Dreamcast PSO Ver.1 selfboot auto-connect disc tutorial. Thank you for downloading this release. Please seed the Torrent once your download is finished so that other people will have the opportunity to download the game as well. I have spent a lot of time trying to improve this disc as much as possible, so I hope you enjoy it. Because this disc was made with the NTSC-U ("US") version of PSO Ver.1, it is compatible with unique NTSC-U serial numbers and access keys. Players who used unique serial numbers and access keys on Sega's server can create new characters using this disc without needing a shared serial number and access key. === II. How to Burn the Disc The disc image is in Padus DiscJuggler format (*.cdi). I believe Alcohol 120% may be able to burn CDI files, but I recommend using DiscJuggler. I have been using version 4 to rip and burn Dreamcast images, but this is no longer the current version. If you want to use the same version I use, I have it in the Dreamcast downloads section of my site. If you are unfamiliar with burning Dreamcast images, I have this burning tutorial, along with DiscJuggler 4 screenshots, in the "Guides" section of my website. 1) Once you have installed DiscJuggler, run it and select "File" -> "New". 2) In the "New Task" window, select "Burn CD and DVD images" and click "OK". 3) In the Source & Destination tab, click the disc on top of the white sheet icon which has a tooltip saying "Browse". Select the image "IVES_PSOV1_US.cdi" (duh? =P) and click "OK". 4) Click on the "Advanced" tab. 5) Change the "Mode" box from Audio to "Mode 2". 6) Under "Misc", check the "RAW write" box, and ensure that "Add post-gap to 3rd party images" is also checked. No other boxes should be checked. 7) Under "Method", change the speed to 4X (see note below). 8) Click Start to begin burning. -NOTE- In the DiscJuggler trial, burning speed is automatically limited to 4X as one of the demo's restrictions, so it doesn't actually matter what burning speed you select. If you have the full version of the program with no restrictions, it is very important to select 4X recording speed. Discs that are burned at high speeds are more difficult to read than discs burned at low speeds. Modern optical drives do not have problems reading discs that have been burned quickly, but the Dreamcast's GD-ROM is not good at reading such discs. If you burn the disc too quickly, it is very likely that it will be unreadable in the Dreamcast. As such, burning at 4X is imperative for a good disc. It will take approximately twenty minutes to burn the disc at 4X, so go grab a snack or watch television or something while you wait. =P Once the burn process is complete, try the disc! === III. Changes Made Several changes have been made to this disc. 1) Auto-connection: this disc is patched to automatically connect to the Sylverant PSO Server. PSO Ver.1 normally requires CodeBreaker codes or special configuration of the broadband adapter to connect to private servers, but this disc will connect automatically. No codes or boot discs are required. 2) Removed content: the French, German, and Spanish intro movies have been removed. The English intro movie will play when the English, French, German, or Spanish languages are used. The Japanese intro movie will still play when the game is set to Japanese, and both the English and Japanese intro movies are still at full quality. 3) Improved sound: all of the game's BGM has been upgraded to use the 44.1 kHz BGM from the Xbox version, instead of the 32 kHz BGM contained on the Dreamcast GD-ROM disc. 4) Fast loading: this disc is optimized to load character data faster than a GD-ROM disc. Although a Ver.1 GD-ROM loads character data relatively quickly (compared to PSO Ver.2), the loading still had room for improvement. This disc contains an improved character loading scheme that is even more efficient than the one used in my previous PSO Ver.2 discs. This disc is also specially formatted to decrease the seeking during loading screens. The effeciency of the sound test and web browser were reduced to maximize the in-game loading efficiency, but both features still work, although the web browser boots slowly. === IV. Bugs This release has no known in-game bugs, but the boot method used does prevent the game from restarting after exiting the web browser. The web browser is functional, but selecting the option to return to the game will not work, and the Dreamcast logo will display on the screen until the system power is reset. Keep this in mind when selecting "Website" on the title screen. Since the web browser serves no useful purpose, there is thankfully little reason to ever load it. === V. Credits This disc would not have been possible without the help of the following individuals. -Echelon: for their many tools and tutorials for Dreamcast ripping and copying, as well as their boot method for JPv1, which is used in this release. -Lee: for devising a method to study how to improve the loading times. I would also like to thank everyone who still plays this game and who has downloaded or decides to download this disc. I realize that PSO Ver.1 is not very popular compared to PSO Ver.2, but since nobody had released an auto-connect PSO Ver.1 disc before (to my knowledge), I thought it was worth making one to accompany my auto-connect PSO Ver.2 discs. I hope people enjoy this disc and put it to good use. Don't forget to visit my site and drop by my forum if you're enjoying this release! ;) http://psopalace.funurl.com