cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/64564458

Hi everyone!

I’d want to replay my Shenmue games that I have on their original discs.

Sadly, I don’t have a Dreamcast and I don’t think I’d be able to rip them even with my bluray external drive.

So, I’ll have to download them. What would be a great place and how could I know the game hash since not all of them are compatible with retroachievements?

Thanks for your answer

EDIT: I managed to get european roms from Shenmue 1 ( https://retroachievements.org/game/3398/hashes ) and 2 ( https://retroachievements.org/game/3489/hashes ) on these 2 sites ( https://archive.org/download/RedumpSegaDreamcast20160613 and https://romsfun.com/roms/dreamcast/shenmue.html ).

Then I tried using Collision ( https://collision.geopjr.dev/ ) to check the game files but none of the MD5 hashes were the same as the ones on retroachievements.

So I have to admit that I’m a bit lost and don’t know what to do just to be able to replay these lovely games while getting achievements.

Edit 2: In the end I just downloaded the games from https://archive.org/download/RedumpSegaDreamcast20160613 and https://romsfun.com/roms/dreamcast/shenmue.html and, when launching them, I got an information that I had something like 0 out 115 achievements, so I know these games work with retroachievements. Thanks!

  • wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    2·
    11 days ago

    I would assume that they’re using the hash from redump. They’re pretty much the leading group maintaining a database of hashes for accurate disc backups. Generally most hashes for old games you’ll find online will match up with either the No-Intro database for cartridge based games, or ReDump for disc based.

    Anyway, for retro games the easiest way to get a reliable copy of the game is from great big romsets people upload to Archive.org

    Just Google, DDG, or search using whatever is your preference for “ReDump Dreamcast Archive.org” and you should find browsable collections.

    Unfortunately, that doesn’t directly help you with figuring out the MD5 mismatch, and I’m not familiar with how exactly RetroAchievements calculates it (since it sounds like they do something weird like concatenating the game executable with something else on the disc, then get the MD5 of that). But it’s usually a safe bet that romhacks and stuff like RA are looking for one of the known good dumps from ReDump or NoIntro unless they specify otherwise.

    • Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.worksOP
      2·
      11 days ago

      Well I got the two Shenmue games from a redump collection on archive.org so that’s a good start.

      So maybe I should just install a Dreamcast emulator in Retrodeck and then try to find a way to see if the game works with retroachievements.

      It’s just that I got burned playing a few hours of Sega Superstar Tennis on PS2 only to discover later that my european version isn’t the right one for retroachievements.

      Edit: In the end I just downloaded the games from https://archive.org/download/RedumpSegaDreamcast20160613 and https://romsfun.com/roms/dreamcast/shenmue.html and, when launching them, I got an information that I had something like 0 out 115 achievements, so I know these games work with retroachievements. Thanks!