#37146 - dagamer34 - Tue Mar 08, 2005 3:11 am
As Mug brought up a very good question is his topic, I decided that I would make one answering his questions about emulators, development tools and all that fancy stuff. So...
The State of DS Development
Recently(as in the last week or so), the state of DS development has changed quite a bit.
Emulators:
Several emulators are in development for the DS, however many are incomplete. Many do run demos, but do NOT expect commercial games to run anytime soon. As with all emulators in their early stages, constantly update them as more of the hardware's behavior is know. And don't bitch to the author about it not working. They do not get paid to do this. Do send constructive comments to them so they may make their emulator better. Anyway, in no particular order:
HyperDS
Website: www.hyperds.com
Screenshots: www.hyperds.com
Download Link: N/A (Private beta testers only)
Note: Do not bother looking for this emulator while it is still in private beta. No one will give it to you.
Comments: Little is known to the public about HyperDS by looking at its website other than it is able to run some homebrew demos. My guess by looking at the pictures provided is that it is able to emulate both 2D cores at the same time as well as the touch screen.
Dualis
Website: http://dualis.1emulation.com/
Screenshots: http://dualis.1emulation.com/screens/index.html
Download Link: http://dualis.1emulation.com/files/index.html
Note: This emulator only supports binaries designed to be run from the DS slot like a commercial game would. It will fail to run if it tries to load a DS rom designed to use a passthrough.
Comments: Dualis looks be an up and coming DS emulator. It already runs several demos available.
DSEmu
Website: http://www.dsemu.org
Screenshots: http://www.dsemu.org/shots.cgi
Download Link: http://www.dsemu.org/dsemu-0.0.1e.zip
Note: Nothing really.
Comments: I had little trouble getting this DS emulator to work with the provided roms. At the moment, it's mostly a GBA emulator modified to work with the DS. The emulator automatically pauses itself after it has loaded a rom, so I am hoping either that was a bug, or it will be changed sometime soon.
iDeaS
Website: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/ideas.php
Screenshots: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/screen.php
Download Link: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/downloads.php
Note: Download is down at the moment.
Comments: Another DS emulator capable of running homebrew demos.
Tutorials
Tutorials on how to setup and program the Nintendo DS. At the moment, the tutorials are in their early stages, so new tutorials may take time. In the meanwhile, you can learn to fiddle with the hardware and/or learn the GBA, as it has similar hardware (both in how programming works and general system design).
Dovoto's Tutorials
Website: www.drunkencoders.com
Tutorial Link: http://www.drunkencoders.com/index.php?system_id=1&page=Tutorials
Demos Link: http://www.drunkencoders.com/index.php?system_id=1&page=Demos
Comments: Dovoto has pretty much set up his basic framework for presenting his DS tutorials to the public. Some demos are available for download to be tested on publically available emulators or using a PassMe and a GBA flash cart.
Aaron Roger's Tutorials
Website: http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/
Demos Link: http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/demos.php
Comments: Another group of tutorials that is being created. I recommend particulary Day 1 for setting up your development environment as it has detailed instructions for anyone to understand. Lots of pictures included too for visual representation!
Development Tools
DS demos are now being run using passthroughs. DS Passthroughs relay processor execution from the DS card slot to the GBA card slot. However, encryption has not been fully cracked yet, so for now, it requires the use of any DS game attached to the unit itself.
DarkFader's passthrough
Website: http://darkfader.net/ds
DarkFader was the first to run altered code (Metroid Hack) on the DS. His site has a variety of information to look at as well as pictures of his setup.
natrium42's Passthrough a.k.a. PassMe
Info: http://www.dslinux.org/forums/index.php?s=7d040b278f12920d4b1d60f46ab1f0b9&showtopic=244&st=0
Howto: www.dspassme.com
Blog: www.dslinux.org/blogs/natrium42
Estimated cost: $20, www.dspassme.com
Estimated cost: $15 excluding shipping, www.kraln.com
Comments:PassMe seems to be the best way to run code on the DS. It's pretty simplistic in terms of design and complexity (compared to an FPGA setup). It does require a GBA flash cart, so additional hardware is required. Both Lynx and Kraln webpage are selling PassMe's with PCI pins so that the Metroid card does not have to be soldered on to the PassMe. Also, due to darkfader's talents, any cartridge may be used, not just the Metroid one.
Compilers/Toolchains/Libraries
As with all tools associated with the DS this early in homebrew development, there will be a lot of questions to ask about how to setup development environments and everything from A-Z about the Nintendo DS. Sooner or later, I hope, www.dsdev.org will actually be able to *cough* do something *cough*. Expect to be frustrated until the development process is smoothed out.
ndslib
Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ndslib/
Info: The current open-source Nintendo DS libary available for those who want to program for the Nintendo DS.
nds project template
Website: http://www.bottledlight.com/ds/
Download Link: www.bottledlight.com/ds/ds_project_template.zip
Info: A project template for the Nintendo DS.
DevKitARM
Website: www.devkitarm.tk
Info: The toolchain commonly used in DS demos.
_________________
Little kids and Playstation 2's don't mix. :(
Last edited by dagamer34 on Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:29 pm; edited 9 times in total
The State of DS Development
Recently(as in the last week or so), the state of DS development has changed quite a bit.
Emulators:
Several emulators are in development for the DS, however many are incomplete. Many do run demos, but do NOT expect commercial games to run anytime soon. As with all emulators in their early stages, constantly update them as more of the hardware's behavior is know. And don't bitch to the author about it not working. They do not get paid to do this. Do send constructive comments to them so they may make their emulator better. Anyway, in no particular order:
HyperDS
Website: www.hyperds.com
Screenshots: www.hyperds.com
Download Link: N/A (Private beta testers only)
Note: Do not bother looking for this emulator while it is still in private beta. No one will give it to you.
Comments: Little is known to the public about HyperDS by looking at its website other than it is able to run some homebrew demos. My guess by looking at the pictures provided is that it is able to emulate both 2D cores at the same time as well as the touch screen.
Dualis
Website: http://dualis.1emulation.com/
Screenshots: http://dualis.1emulation.com/screens/index.html
Download Link: http://dualis.1emulation.com/files/index.html
Note: This emulator only supports binaries designed to be run from the DS slot like a commercial game would. It will fail to run if it tries to load a DS rom designed to use a passthrough.
Comments: Dualis looks be an up and coming DS emulator. It already runs several demos available.
DSEmu
Website: http://www.dsemu.org
Screenshots: http://www.dsemu.org/shots.cgi
Download Link: http://www.dsemu.org/dsemu-0.0.1e.zip
Note: Nothing really.
Comments: I had little trouble getting this DS emulator to work with the provided roms. At the moment, it's mostly a GBA emulator modified to work with the DS. The emulator automatically pauses itself after it has loaded a rom, so I am hoping either that was a bug, or it will be changed sometime soon.
iDeaS
Website: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/ideas.php
Screenshots: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/screen.php
Download Link: http://utenti.lycos.it/linoma/downloads.php
Note: Download is down at the moment.
Comments: Another DS emulator capable of running homebrew demos.
Tutorials
Tutorials on how to setup and program the Nintendo DS. At the moment, the tutorials are in their early stages, so new tutorials may take time. In the meanwhile, you can learn to fiddle with the hardware and/or learn the GBA, as it has similar hardware (both in how programming works and general system design).
Dovoto's Tutorials
Website: www.drunkencoders.com
Tutorial Link: http://www.drunkencoders.com/index.php?system_id=1&page=Tutorials
Demos Link: http://www.drunkencoders.com/index.php?system_id=1&page=Demos
Comments: Dovoto has pretty much set up his basic framework for presenting his DS tutorials to the public. Some demos are available for download to be tested on publically available emulators or using a PassMe and a GBA flash cart.
Aaron Roger's Tutorials
Website: http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/
Demos Link: http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/demos.php
Comments: Another group of tutorials that is being created. I recommend particulary Day 1 for setting up your development environment as it has detailed instructions for anyone to understand. Lots of pictures included too for visual representation!
Development Tools
DS demos are now being run using passthroughs. DS Passthroughs relay processor execution from the DS card slot to the GBA card slot. However, encryption has not been fully cracked yet, so for now, it requires the use of any DS game attached to the unit itself.
DarkFader's passthrough
Website: http://darkfader.net/ds
DarkFader was the first to run altered code (Metroid Hack) on the DS. His site has a variety of information to look at as well as pictures of his setup.
natrium42's Passthrough a.k.a. PassMe
Info: http://www.dslinux.org/forums/index.php?s=7d040b278f12920d4b1d60f46ab1f0b9&showtopic=244&st=0
Howto: www.dspassme.com
Blog: www.dslinux.org/blogs/natrium42
Estimated cost: $20, www.dspassme.com
Estimated cost: $15 excluding shipping, www.kraln.com
Comments:PassMe seems to be the best way to run code on the DS. It's pretty simplistic in terms of design and complexity (compared to an FPGA setup). It does require a GBA flash cart, so additional hardware is required. Both Lynx and Kraln webpage are selling PassMe's with PCI pins so that the Metroid card does not have to be soldered on to the PassMe. Also, due to darkfader's talents, any cartridge may be used, not just the Metroid one.
Compilers/Toolchains/Libraries
As with all tools associated with the DS this early in homebrew development, there will be a lot of questions to ask about how to setup development environments and everything from A-Z about the Nintendo DS. Sooner or later, I hope, www.dsdev.org will actually be able to *cough* do something *cough*. Expect to be frustrated until the development process is smoothed out.
ndslib
Website: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ndslib/
Info: The current open-source Nintendo DS libary available for those who want to program for the Nintendo DS.
nds project template
Website: http://www.bottledlight.com/ds/
Download Link: www.bottledlight.com/ds/ds_project_template.zip
Info: A project template for the Nintendo DS.
DevKitARM
Website: www.devkitarm.tk
Info: The toolchain commonly used in DS demos.
_________________
Little kids and Playstation 2's don't mix. :(
Last edited by dagamer34 on Fri Mar 11, 2005 8:29 pm; edited 9 times in total