#123355 - snowsquirrel - Tue Mar 27, 2007 5:07 pm
There are tons of solutions out there for running games on the DS. Most of the reviews I have seen are geared more towards just playing games. I am wondering which solutions is considered developer friendly. i.e., simple process for transferring roms, good compatibility, price, etc.
I am using the libnds libs.
~S
#123376 - ttabbal - Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:43 pm
Just about anything that can run DS code will work. Make sure there is a libfat DLDI driver available. I don't know if there are any that don't include source, but I would avoid any that don't. I've used an M3-CF, R4, and M3 Simply for development without any trouble. I've also used a couple GBA carts, but I recommend the newer cards.
I hear there are some that have a USB port on them to let you flash from a computer. That would be nice for development, no card swapping to test a new build. I don't know how they compare in any other ways though.
Are you looking for any features in particular? I like the slot-1 devices like the R4/M3Simply because they include a pass device so you don't need to flash your DS or have a passcard. Those also have DLDI drivers available. You can check the DLDI website for a list of supported cards.
http://chishm.drunkencoders.com/DLDI/
#123377 - HyperHacker - Tue Mar 27, 2007 7:45 pm
I'd say the easiest way is to get any DLDI-supported card and a Ralink wireless card that you can use WMB with. Install FlashMe and send your apps over WMB.
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#123384 - wintermute - Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:14 pm
| ttabbal wrote: |
I hear there are some that have a USB port on them to let you flash from a computer. That would be nice for development, no card swapping to test a new build. I don't know how they compare in any other ways though.
|
The ds-x still involves card swapping unfortunately - it won't work as a usb drive while plugged into a powered up DS. While it's still attached to a PC it can't boot the DS.
Personally I quite like the R4 and my slot 2 supercard sees quite a bit of use.
Any of the cards in Natrium's shop are ideal.
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#123385 - josath - Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:19 pm
I prefer Supercard CF over them all, the CF card is nice and easy to grab versus the tiny microsd, and the CF slot is on the front of the cart, so you can remove the CF card without removing the Supercard.
My flow goes like this:
1. remove CF from DS & insert CF in card reader
2. run 'make install' -- this mounts the CF, copies the new .nds, and unmounts it
3. remove CF from PC & insert in DS
4. power on DS, takes about 1.5 second to get to the supercard loading menu from a cold start (with flashme), and another 1 second to boot my .NDS (versus say the DS-X which takes like 20 seconds to get to the app-select menu, then another 4 seconds to boot it).
As for the people suggesting WMB, I've never had good luck with it. Perhaps my wifi card is just cheap, or too much intereference, but it will take like 30 seconds for it to find the download, then another 10 seconds to download, and about 10% of the time the download will fail. It's much faster to just swap the CF card back & forth.
#123386 - snowsquirrel - Tue Mar 27, 2007 8:21 pm
I am leaning towards the R4, as it is cheaper than the M3 simply, though the same thing from what I have read. I also like the fact that it is a top loader, so I can leave the cart in the ds, while removing the sd card. I think this would save on the spring mech in the DS.
has anyone ordered from sky2k.com before? I am looking for a reputable seller which also carries the eWin rumble pak. I can't seem to find anyother Canadian sellers which carry both. Even a USA seller would be ok, but I will likely get nailed for customs.
~S
#123424 - ikaris - Wed Mar 28, 2007 1:36 am
I know some people don't like it for a variety of reasons, but...
the DS-X has served me well so far.
Yes, it can't act as a USB drive while the DS is powered up...
I just keep the USB cable on the DS side plugged in at all times.
It's as simple as plug the USB cable into computer, copy, unplug, test.
Another thing about the DS-X is that it boots FAST. Within 5 seconds I'm into the application with the latest firmware. It even skips the "Touch to continue" screen.
What I like about it is that I don't have to remove a flash card (SD, mini-SD, or otherwise) card from the DS each time.
I had a GBA cart before (Xtreme Flash) and having to remove the card and put it into the flasher, flash, remove, put it into the DS, test... its an extra couple of milliseconds... inexcusable !! :)
To each his or her own, it works for me, and I'm sure if you get any of the recommended ones they will work for you.
As with cameras, it's the eye behind the lens that counts !
#123448 - Diddl - Wed Mar 28, 2007 7:36 am
DS-X is very expensive and has only 512MB. ok, there is a new one with 2GB.
5 seconds, - all slot 1 cards are in this range or below.
But DS-X works with Flash Memory. Flash memory has a limited number of write cycles. After 10000 writes flash is damaged. This would be no problem for "normal use". But by using FAT and by devloping with this card this 10000 times limit is reached in a short time. FAT always writes on the same sectors/blocks after each file open.
###
DS Linker also has a USB connector. DS Linker giv
e also access to files while NDS is running, - no need to unload a card or something. While developing you only have to reboot for each Tests (same as DS-X).
And DS linker is much cheaper and has bigger memory ...
###
DS Linker has a separate slot 2 cartridge for USB. In this Cartridge is a Philips USB Chip. I try to make a homebrew which allow to use USB for any DLDI supported Slot 1.
#123452 - josath - Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:58 am
5 seconds for ds-x??? is there some secret fast boot method I don't know about? it takes at least 20-25 seconds to get to my homebrew with DS-X.
Supercard CF is usually around 3 seconds tops.
(I'm counting from the second i hit "Power" until I see the very first screen in my homebrew .nds)
#123457 - simonjhall - Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:12 am
The gbamp gets my vote every time. It's big and sturdy and the cards aren't fiddly. Auto-boot is great, and you really miss it when it's not there! I can get a program from my PC to running on my DS in just a couple of seconds.
It's a bit annoying that it doesn't have extra RAM though, otherwise it'd be perfect! Does stick outa the DS lite quite a bit though...
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#123459 - Diddl - Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:47 am
| josath wrote: |
| it takes at least 20-25 seconds to get to my homebrew with DS-X. |
25 seconds??!! do you have healthy screen on?
Measurement should be from starting cartridge menu on.
My M3 simply take about 2-3 secs.
My DS Link takes 1-2 secs.
My DS Linker takes about 4-5 secs.
#123463 - OOPMan - Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:21 am
| Diddl wrote: |
| But DS-X works with Flash Memory. Flash memory has a limited number of write cycles. After 10000 writes flash is damaged. This would be no problem for "normal use". But by using FAT and by devloping with this card this 10000 times limit is reached in a short time. FAT always writes on the same sectors/blocks after each file open. |
Well, so do other devices, but the flash is removable and replaceable...
Still, I'm sure 10k rw cycles is a bit low. I thought it was more in the order of 100k rw cycles?
I do know that 100k rw cycles takes a lot longer to fry...
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#123467 - Diddl - Wed Mar 28, 2007 10:56 am
| OOPMan wrote: |
Still, I'm sure 10k rw cycles is a bit low. I thought it was more in the order of 100k rw cycles?
I do know that 100k rw cycles takes a lot longer to fry... |
flash memory has a guarantee of 10.000 write cycles. EEPROM has more than 100.000.
if you use libfat in a inproper way with flash memory it is possible to damage (reach 10.000 or also 100.000) in a few minutes.
if a homebrew game saves highscores after each level it would be no problem. if it collects data in a file or writes anything many times a second it will destroy card quickly.
XBOO has a Highspeed Checksum Mechanism used to detect/skip unchanged flashcard sectors to reduce write/erase times.
#123473 - OOPMan - Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:51 am
According to the Wikipedia article on Flash Memory "Another limitation is that flash memory has a finite number of erase-write cycles (most commercially available flash products are guaranteed to withstand 1 million programming cycles)"
However, the article on EEPRom says " Flash memory is cheaper than EEPROM but will wear out faster, typically after 10,000 erase-write cycles".
Anyone care to confirm which value is correct?
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You can find my NDS homebrew projects here...
#123485 - tepples - Wed Mar 28, 2007 2:10 pm
Older memories have fewer guaranteed erases per sector. Newer memories have more. But you still don't want to write to a sector every second.
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#123491 - snowsquirrel - Wed Mar 28, 2007 3:51 pm
It looks like the slot 2 solutions have less problems with slowdown. Is this correct?
However, I like to keep a rumble pak in slot 2, so that option would be out. There is a Supercard rumble, but the rumble does not work with stock-carts which is really useless to me then.
Do the slot 2 solutions generally boot faster?
Are there any limitations/drawbacks to slot 2 solutions, other than needing a passkey card?
Thanks,
~S
#123524 - Sunray - Wed Mar 28, 2007 8:58 pm
| ikaris wrote: |
| Another thing about the DS-X is that it boots FAST. Within 5 seconds I'm into the application with the latest firmware. It even skips the "Touch to continue" screen. |
Mine doesn't. What should I do skip the health screen (without flashing)?
#123533 - Undefined Error - Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:55 pm
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#123538 - josath - Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:00 pm
| Sunray wrote: |
| ikaris wrote: | | Another thing about the DS-X is that it boots FAST. Within 5 seconds I'm into the application with the latest firmware. It even skips the "Touch to continue" screen. |
Mine doesn't. What should I do skip the health screen (without flashing)? |
"How can I modify what the firmware does without modifying the firmware?"
The answer is you can't.
I will take a video of mine as proof, but my DS-X is definately a lot longer than 5 seconds. And for comparison, my slot-2 supercard is like 2.5 seconds from DS power-on, to homebrew running.
#123540 - tepples - Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:11 pm
| josath wrote: |
| Sunray wrote: | | What should I do skip the health screen (without flashing)? |
"How can I modify what the firmware does without modifying the firmware?"
The answer is you can't. |
The confusion probably came from the fact that most PassMe and NoPass solutions have a bit set in the .nds header to skip the blinking "touch the screen or press any button to continue", making it show the intro animation and boot directly to the game, just like the GBA does. Sunray was hoping that there was something in the user settings area of the firmware or in the .nds header that would cause the firmware to skip the intro animation entirely.
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