#40792 - marcodiaz - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:04 pm
I have been visiting mod gods, dslinux, and most ds modding sites for about a week now and i understand that there is a device called PassMe and another one called WiFiMe and that these are for homebrew games and such. I have MANY questions to ask about all of this because i am completely lost.
1.I have a EZF Advance Realtime 256mb flash cart, does this work with PassMe and WiFiMe?
2.How do you buy a WiFiMe? I thought it was a hack.
3.Which one is better,PassMe or WiFiMe?
4.Is there any type of modification AT ALL that needs to be made to my flash cart? If so, please walk me through it.
5.Once you load the homebrew games into the ds, are they saved or do you have to do this process every time?
6.Does my 802.11g router work with WiFiMe or do I HAVE to buy a PCI card?
7.If so, what is the cheapest I can get for a compatable card AND the needed chipset?
8.Do you need to be next to the PCI card with computer when you are playing or can you load it and leave?
9.Do these inventions open up the possibilities for the suff I have been dreaming of?(Snes emulator, Internet Browser)
10.Step by step, how do I play these homebrew games?
11.How do I make one?
Whew, that should do it. Im sorry if this is alot of questions but I am very clueless to how this works and I really wanna try it.
#40793 - marcodiaz - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:07 pm
oh by the way dont use anything complicated like "source code", signature etc. cause i dont know what that is, and i doubt i ever will.
thanx alot
#40794 - Spaceface - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:16 pm
| marcodiaz wrote: |
I have been visiting mod gods, dslinux, and most ds modding sites for about a week now and i understand that there is a device called PassMe and another one called WiFiMe and that these are for homebrew games and such. I have MANY questions to ask about all of this because i am completely lost.
1.I have a EZF Advance Realtime 256mb flash cart, does this work with PassMe and WiFiMe?
2.How do you buy a WiFiMe? I thought it was a hack.
3.Which one is better,PassMe or WiFiMe?
4.Is there any type of modification AT ALL that needs to be made to my flash cart? If so, please walk me through it.
5.Once you load the homebrew games into the ds, are they saved or do you have to do this process every time?
6.Does my 802.11g router work with WiFiMe or do I HAVE to buy a PCI card?
7.If so, what is the cheapest I can get for a compatable card AND the needed chipset?
8.Do you need to be next to the PCI card with computer when you are playing or can you load it and leave?
9.Do these inventions open up the possibilities for the suff I have been dreaming of?(Snes emulator, Internet Browser)
10.Step by step, how do I play these homebrew games?
11.How do I make one?
Whew, that should do it. Im sorry if this is alot of questions but I am very clueless to how this works and I really wanna try it. |
1 I think it works yeah
2 It's software, you download it -- for free
3 They both have up- and downsides. I would like to refer you to Tim's WiFiMe for a list I think Darkfader or Darkain made
4 No
5 They're on the GBA flashcard for all i know, however I believe you do need to reload 'em everytime...
Egh I'm gonna quit. You can seriously find a whole lot of things by reading the PassMe and WiFiMe threads... You will eventually need to understand these things. Cause as of the now we're in a place where things aren't just being placed there with a USB cable and presented with a nice menu... Maybe someone else is willing to finish the list..
#40795 - tepples - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:34 pm
| marcodiaz wrote: |
| oh by the way dont use anything complicated like "source code", signature etc. cause i dont know what that is, and i doubt i ever will. |
If you do not want to learn what source code is, then you will never learn the answer to question 11.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#40796 - Mike - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:40 pm
| Quote: |
| I have been visiting mod gods, dslinux, and most ds modding sites for about a week now and i understand that there is a device called PassMe and another one called WiFiMe and that these are for homebrew games and such. I have MANY questions to ask about all of this because i am completely lost. |
| Quote: |
| 1.I have a EZF Advance Realtime 256mb flash cart, does this work with PassMe and WiFiMe? |
Probably. You'll have to try it for yourself to be sure, though.
| Quote: |
| 2.How do you buy a WiFiMe? I thought it was a hack. |
It's a hacked driver for yor PC and an application that signals your DS throgh WiFi to load code from the GBA port. It's not commercial, you can download it for free.
| Quote: |
| 3.Which one is better,PassMe or WiFiMe? |
That depends on your situation. Do you have a WLAN card that's compatible with WiFiMe? If so, it's probably better to download WiFiMe instead of ordering a PassMe card.
| Quote: |
| 4.Is there any type of modification AT ALL that needs to be made to my flash cart? If so, please walk me through it. |
No. You can use your cart as-is.
| Quote: |
| 5.Once you load the homebrew games into the ds, are they saved or do you have to do this process every time? |
With PassMe, you load your games from the GBA cart each time you turn the power on. With WiFiMe, the game is obviously only loaded from the cart when you signal the DS to do so from your PC. Turning off the DS' power requires your to repeat the process.
| Quote: |
| 6.Does my 802.11g router work with WiFiMe or do I HAVE to buy a PCI card? |
Routers don't work with the hack, for obvious reasons.
You'll have to buy a PCI card if you want to use WiFiMe as it's primarily a hacked PCI driver.
| Quote: |
| 7.If so, what is the cheapest I can get for a compatable card AND the needed chipset? |
Check out the list of compatible cards http://ralink.rapla.net/ and the WiFiMe FAQ http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/wifime.php#faq . You can get a cheap card for as low as 22 bucks.
| Quote: |
| 8.Do you need to be next to the PCI card with computer when you are playing or can you load it and leave? |
Load and leave.
| Quote: |
| 9.Do these inventions open up the possibilities for the suff I have been dreaming of?(Snes emulator, Internet Browser) |
Probably not untill we figure out more about the DS's hardware. Currently, we can't access the WiFi hardware from the DS' side, and we don't have decent sound support AFAIK.
| Quote: |
| 10.Step by step, how do I play these homebrew games? |
1. Place homebrew game on flashcart using tools supplied with cart.
2. Plug flashcart into GBA slot.
3. With PassMe: Plug PassMe in DS, plug Metroid Demo in PassMe, switch power on. With WiFiMe: Install WiFi me and run it. Then select Download Play on DS and game will start.
| Quote: |
| 11.How do I make one? |
If you have to ask, you're years of studying programming languages and techniques away from actually making one.
DS development is not how you'd start your programming carreer in the first place. The current state of the DS dev scene is strictly for expert, veteran computer programmers with lots of experience coding for other hardware. I suggest starting out learing how to program for Windows first.
Writing something simple for the DS still requires lots of knowledge of the underlying hardware at this point, and some current ways of doing things are not exactly novice friendly.
#40797 - Spaceface - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:48 pm
| tepples wrote: |
| marcodiaz wrote: | | oh by the way dont use anything complicated like "source code", signature etc. cause i dont know what that is, and i doubt i ever will. |
If you do not want to learn what source code is, then you will never learn the answer to question 11. |
ahaahahahahah this is the best thing I ever read on this forum.. I love you sir
#40798 - marcodiaz - Fri Apr 22, 2005 7:57 pm
thanks so much.
Okay, so all i have to do is buy one of those compatible PCI cards and run the driver and im good to go?
#40799 - Spaceface - Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:02 pm
yeah.. this guy made a step by step tutorial.. read the last few pages of Tim's thread
#40803 - maniacdevnull - Fri Apr 22, 2005 8:29 pm
You mentioned you have an EZF Adv RTC, which is the same card I have (the red one). This card works just fine. You'll need the most recent version of the linker software, found here: http://www.gba-toys.com/download/EZFA103E.rar. When using this software, make sure to remove everything from the card, click on the Pocketknife icon, and uncheck the MultiROM option. You can only have one .ds.gba file on the card at a time.
Hope this helps
#40812 - marcodiaz - Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:14 pm
| Quote: |
| yeah.. this guy made a step by step tutorial.. read the last few pages of Tim's thread |
yeah i know i was just a little confused because they mentioned a chipset that sounded expensive but i guess that comes pre-installed.
[/quote]You mentioned you have an EZF Adv RTC, which is the same card I have (the red one). This card works just fine. You'll need the most recent version of the linker software, found here: http://www.gba-toys.com/download/EZFA103E.rar. When using this software, make sure to remove everything from the card, click on the Pocketknife icon, and uncheck the MultiROM option. You can only have one .ds.gba file on the card at a time. | Quote: |
thanks alot for the info. |
#40815 - PowerCat - Fri Apr 22, 2005 9:56 pm
A chipset is just a small chip that controls the hardware. The wifime is a driver for a specific kind of chipset so if the WLAN card was not built around that specific chipset then it won't work.
#40817 - marcodiaz - Fri Apr 22, 2005 10:15 pm
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Thanx
#40833 - marcodiaz - Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:55 am
oh yeah last question i promise:
Can i get this card at a store for AROUND the same price. I dont mind paying a couple extra bucks because i need to try dis as soon as possible.
#40837 - tepples - Sat Apr 23, 2005 3:04 am
If you have a Best Buy near you, you can order online and pick up the merchandise at a store if a local store has one in stock.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#40851 - FourScience - Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:34 am
| marcodiaz wrote: |
oh yeah last question i promise:
Can i get this card at a store for AROUND the same price. I dont mind paying a couple extra bucks because i need to try dis as soon as possible. |
You might be able to get one for $25 these days. CompUSA in Connecticut just sold some at that price this week, as a raw price cut. Don't spend more than $40 anyway. You probably have your pick of normal sales and $40/50 cards with $20 rebates.
If your chosen card from the list has a version number (i.e., v3 or v4) pay close attention to this. The same model Linksys WMP54G has different chipsets between a version 3 and a version 4, where you want a v4 in this case.
#40910 - marcodiaz - Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:00 pm
well i wanna get the cheapest one possible (Encore G-WLAN or something so which version do i wanna get for that card?
#40911 - Rinkwraith - Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:02 pm
I don't get it.
You can't program and have very little knowledge about computing hardware? Why do you want all this stuff?
You're aware that you can't run commercial game ROMs through PassMe and WiFiMe aren't you?
As has already been said, DS programming is not easy. I've been coding since I was a kid and on a huge number of different platforms; and at many points I'm still scratching my head wondering how to get things working. It is definately not the machine for newbies.
#40930 - FourScience - Sat Apr 23, 2005 4:57 pm
As for the Encore cards, the compatibility list doesn't mention anything about versions so you should be fine getting it. NewEgg's link: http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=33-180-007&DEPA=0
Rinkwraith has a point. I just starting to do my own apps and it's no easy thing. Knowing C++ isn't sufficient one bit, I would be lost if I wasn't taking computer architecture right now.
marco might be in it for the cool factor, which is certainly there. To justify your investment though, you need to be able to do something.
Can you do 2d/3d graphics? Then you could contribute to other projects and have a good reason to run homebrew apps.
Do you want to just play demos and games other people write? Then you could work as a tester. If you want certain apps to come out like NES emulators or Internet browsers, you can indirectly help that happen by assisting other developers in testing their code on the DS.
I was thinking at first that if you can't make your own, don't bother with homebrew at all. After some thought, there's some things that anyone can do. If everyone in the homebrew community was a developer, that's fine, but it's always a good thing to have testers and, imagine this, end-users.
#41098 - marcodiaz - Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:46 am
well anyways i am VERY aware that this doesnt allow me to play commercial roms.
I am in this because i spent good money on my flash cart and i am always looking for new ways to use it.
oh and its okay that i dont know anything about coding but i am only 13 (serious) and i thought such simple games would be easy to make.
but i do like that idea, testing games as long as it dont hurt my precious ds.
oh and thanks a bunch for the info.