Update 6 and other news - Dreamcast Conversion mod for Sonic Adventure DX

Update 6 for Dreamcast Conversion is now available!

There are 3 ways to get this update:

1) If you are getting mod updates through the Mod Loader, you already have it!

2) If you are installing DC Conversion for the first time, you can use my installer to set up the Mod Loader, SADXFE, DC Conversion and other mods.

3) If you want to install manually, you can still download the full package here. Be sure to install the mods in the correct order! Check the install guide for more details.

Having issues? Check out the troubleshooting guide.

If you follow me on Twitter or read the changelog, you probably know all this, but anyway here's a list of things that were added to DC Conversion since Update 5:

• The title screen now has a ripple effect, the logo has a highlight overlay like in SA International, and there's a zoom-in transition when you press Start! Not only that, but all of the above are customizable so you can make your own static or animated title screens with custom logos! Check out Customization.txt in the DC_Branding folder to get started.
• The title screen now supports some of the less common aspect ratios, such as 3:2 and 21:9. The SA1 logo has been updated to look more like the original logo in higher resolution.
• The look of the wave effect in Emerald Coast has been improved for both original and SADX water textures.
• SonicFreak94's Lantern Engine* (palette lighting) mod has recently introduced an API that allows modders to change lighting for different objects/areas. I've played through both SA1 and SADX multiple times with test palettes (that look like this) to ensure the correct palettes are selected for every object/character/level piece in the game. While not everything could be replicated to look identical to SA1, the lighting is now close to 100% accurate to the original game as far as palette selection is concerned. The before-after differences range anywhere from subtle to very noticeable. One of the most visible differences is the way the bosses look: check out this comparison.
  
• Recreated the explosion effect that you can see in the original Dreamcast game during the fight with Egg Viper, as well as the lights that turn on/off during Eggman's speech to the Egg Carrier crew. These are also done in Lantern API, so you'll have to update the Lantern Engine mod before you can see these effects.
• The HD GUI mod has been updated with lots of new graphics to take advantage of the Mod Loader's new menu scaling features. Some previously made graphics have also been updated with contributions from other people.
• Fixed several rare crashes in DC levels that happened under some specific conditions.
• Fixed a bunch of smaller bugs involving transparency, collision, missing or broken models/animations/textures/sounds, as well as some SADX code bugs.
• Various minor restorations, such as the rotating mechanisms in the area above the shower room in Knuckles' Casinopolis.

*The Lantern Engine mod has received an update recently, which is pushed automatically through the Mod Loader, but it also needs a DLL file that has to be updated manually. If you experience crashes on the character select screen, make sure you've updated d3d8to9 in the SADX folder (where sonic.exe is).

As I'm nearing the limit of my capability to restore things, this is likely the last big update for Dreamcast Conversion. There will be smaller bugfixes and maintenance updates through the Mod Loader, but don't expect an "Update 7" anytime soon, unless a major breakthrough is made in making SADX work better with transparency or understanding the things that haven't been restored yet.

In other news, the highly anticipated "Dreamcast characters" mod by ItsEasyActually is nearing its first public release. Be sure to follow him on Twitter to keep up with the latest news. There may be minor updates for DC Conversion mods after the release of this mod to make sure they work well together.

I hope you enjoy the new update for the recreated Dreamcast experience.

PkR