Cartridge Port Tighten?

[Yart]

Is there a safe way to tighten the pins in my cartridge port, or a way to fix them up so I don't have to have my cartridge inserted in some weird way, like halfway in or something? Is it possible?

:/ My Action Replay screwed up the pins in my Saturn and I inserted my other memory card for a specific game. Well... while the Saturn was on I accidentally hit the cartridge and pushed it down further into the slot.

Bam!

All my save data gone. RPG saves, shmup scores, racing times, everything. Poof.

Don't want this happening again. It hurt. Especially since now I'm working on full Dezeamon 2 shmups and putting hours into artwork and music.

Any instructions if this is possible? Or are the bad pins just doomed from bad design on Sega's part?

[mick_aka]

Gently lifting the pins back with a jewelers screwdriver has worked for me in the past.

As a rule, once you have a cart in and working never ever ever touch it, let alone take it out.

[Yart]

Alright. Thanks! I'll try that.

Unfortunately I can't just stick with one cart. Some of my games need the RAM carts, and others need a massive storage media since they take up so much room. :/

[superdeadite]

Haven't tried this myself, but I recently heard that the PAR carts don't work so well due to the very cheaply made edge connector and they corrode quickly. Supposedly, if you really scrap the connector (even a new cart), a lot of chemical crap will come off, and then it will work a lot better.

[Yart]

Supposedly, if you really scrap the connector (even a new cart)

You meant "scrape" right?

Well, I saw it coming. Being internetless and computerless for the last little while I spent hours and hours working on a kickarse Dezeamon 2 bullet hell shooter with my own graphics, levels, music, and everything... poof! All gone today. I'm gonna cry.

Screw it. I'm keeping my PAR in my Saturn permanently and saving up for a Saturn Floppy Drive. Oddly my PAR works if I have it all the way inside so I have no risk of hitting it and losing data if the PAR is inside and I tap it.

superdeadite: How much do they usually go for in Japan stores? Can I use my already great working FAT16 disks in it?

[mick_aka]

Cheaper to get another Saturn specifically for your work than the floppy drive surely?!

[Yart]

I thought about getting a Model 2 JAP Saturn, and yeah it probably would be cheaper, but if I could use standard floppy disks it would actually be more cost effective for me in the long run. I've still got TONS of old disks laying around without a single bad sector!! (And each Dezeamon 2 game is over 2000 blocks of data! Three games and a cart is filled. I have a cart as it is dedicated just to Deza2)

Besides, it'd be nice to keep stuff on disks that don't have the lifespan given by a battery. :/ And of course, the accidental hitting of the cartridge.

But of course, if I can't use my own floppy disks, then yeah I'll probably just buy another Saturn. All my games but one are in Japanese anyways (15 Jap games, one English) and I got a North American Saturn.

...yeah something's definitely wrong with this picture.

[superdeadite]

FDDs are the Ninjas of Saturn hardware. They are easier to get then you'd think, but you can go for years and not see any. I've seen prices range from 10,000yen to 200,000yen. A boxed FDD is a collectors item. A loose one not so much. Problem is getting one with all the cables and the CD. I've seen many a drive without the CD. However Deza2 is programmed to use the drive by itself, so you wouldn't need the CD I suppose.

[mick_aka]

How would Dezeamon 2 be for non Japanese speakers? totally useless?
I've had a copy sat around for quite a while, never even touched it.

[superdeadite]

Deza 2 comes with some decent premade sample games that you can play. Using the actual build software is doable with experimentation.

[mick_aka]

Cool!
I've figured out all my daisenryaku games by pure experimentation so I'll give Dezeamon 2 a good go

[mick_aka]

Yart, fancy reviewing Dezeamon 2?

[marc]

@ mick, I have decided to so some more jp reviews (not dezza as I don't have it), I have lots of time on my hands, sorry to take this so far off topic!

[mick_aka]

go for it ;D

[Yart]

@mick: I don't speak a word of Japanese and I know Dezeamon 2 inside out on the back of my hand from an FAQ on GameFAQs that I took one day to go through. Someone put up a full english manual. Very accessible thanks to the internet to anyone who only speaks English.

I'd review it (and especially point out the user friendliness even to non-Japanese speakers) but first I'd like to own an actual copy of the game. I only have a burned backup at the moment but it's definitely going to be my next game purchase.

Also the three (well, five if you include the secret example games) built in games are awesome too! Very fun and very professional like. If I didn't make shmups, I would buy Dezeamon 2 JUST for Daioh P!. Serious.