Hey guys,
I just thought I’d ask here to confirm my limited options. If I want to load VMU saves on my DC with 4 active players using custom fight stick/push buttons, I would need to pad hack at least one of the controllers with VMU inserted + 3 MC Cthulhu’s in order to utilize saves? Anything else that could be done?
Thank you!
As far as I know, no.
There’s no aftermarket/custom joystick PCB that supports VMU.
If you want to use 4 sticks on a Dreamcast, I believe your only solution is, as you said, to padhack a Dreamcast controller/stick PCB and use the VMU on that one.
Awesome thanks for confirming.
Brook PS3-4 to Dreamcast converter has a little VMU for saves, so you can use any ps3/ps4 pcb that is supported and get a little bit of memory for your games (MVC2 is a must)
The only fightstick PCB that I’m aware of that supports Dreamcast VMU directly is the Agetec (original PCB; half the Agetecs that exist now have been hacked and have new/replacements now). That PCB was common ground and as far as I’m aware could be dual-modded. That PCB (and the joystick itself) was designed by Sega and marketed by Agetec (defunct) in the US briefly during the fewer than 2 years Dreamcast was marketed in the US.
Other than that, the only other VMU support would be official and third party fight pads.
IF you’re playing on a Dreamcast, it’s NOT recommended to use all four player ports on the system. Those ports have been known to overload. The power drain is just too much for the Dreamcast and it’s one of the system’s bad points. If you overload the controller hubs, you’ll have to get a replacement for it IF you can find it – most people end up throwing away their Dreamcasts and getting refurbished or systems if they can find them. It’s a critical parts issue and will only get worse as the supply of DC’s dries up. Never play more than 2 people per Dreamcast at a time if you can help it. Your system will live longer!
Holy hell there’s a solution after all.
You’re a legend, thank you.
Just a little more on this topic:
My research in the past showed that this isn’t an unsalvageable situation. What happens (most of the time) is that it’s a blown F1 fuse. This fuse can be replaced:
Note that I’ve never had this happen on either of my 2 Dreamcasts yet (played lots of 4-player Virtua Tennis/Tennis 2k2 on my first one, not so much on the second), so I can’t say that this fix has personally worked for me, but thought I’d share the information from my research.
Excellent, thanks.
The Agetec Stick (made by ASCII for SEGA btw) wasn’t the only fightstick for dreamcast with VMU dock/support : there were at least 9 if not more including mostly third party DC fightsticks like the Innovation stick (same mold as IMP EX9800), ASCII FT stick, Blaze TwinJoystick & the DC MiniTwin (both had double VMU docks) , Alloy Arcade stick , Treamcast DC (unofficial fake Hori FS ripoff with vmu dock), Topmax (a whole lot of variations of this cheapo) , Fox (cheap shit), Dragoncast Rumble fighting stick (same mold as Thrustmaster 2002 FIFA WorldCup fightstick , itself ripped off HORI FightingStick2 for PS2)
Actually now I’m wondering if the MC Cthulhu is a supported ps3/ps4 pcb 
The MCC is 100% PS3 compatible. It is also 100% NOT PS4 compatible.
The Cthulhu was originally intended just for the PS3 before they support Multi-consoles.
Right. My question was more specific to Torta’s “any ps3/ps4 pcb that is supported”.
By default the MCC would use the RJ45 connection for DC and with the super converter the wiring changes to its USB B.
Actually by default the Cthlhu uses USB B.
RJ45 connectors were never apart of the specs.
The Whole RJ45 thing came from the community looking for a common and easy to use panel mount connector that had at least 8 pins.
I prefer using DB 9 connectors or GX 8 pin aviation connectors.
Thanks man. Appreciate the clarity.
Also, if your joystick is natively / can do Playstation 2, i have an adapter for a PS2 input, a DC output, and a slot for VMU.
You may have to build some sort of cradle to make your VMU more prominent if you need to view the VMU monochrome picture.
Look up “EMS PS2 to Dreamcast controller adapter” on ebay.
This is excellent, thank you.
Also wanted to confirm that the PS3-4 to Dreamcast Superconverter works perfectly with my MC Cthulhu and uses the VMU.
Did you just want the VMU for the memory, or were you planning some 4 player Sonic Shuffle, literally the only game that would be gamewise crippled without 4 VMUs, and needed 4 monochrome privacy screens?
Someone said the Brook PS3/PS4 to DC adapter has memory, but is silent about the screen. I assume there is no built in screen or way to atttachbavreal VMU.
My solution seems to be the only one that thinks of the screen, other than hacking DC sticks with VMU slots.
Just for memory. Besides 4 player games without being able to load my saves with 4 MC Cthulhus, some 2 player games require the VMU in slot A.
