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DS development > Just some questions.

#42194 - eXile - Sat May 07, 2005 2:48 pm

First I want to say that this project really rocks and I wish you guys good luck on developing stuff for both GBA and NDS.

I have a few questions about the NDS,

When running the game inserted in the GBA slot, does the NDS use a special engine to run it?
If not, does the engine work in GBA emulator mode or does it just fully support the GBA platform?
Maybe I will develop some stuff for the NDS, do I have to use a special program/compiler (i.e. C++ to NDS code)? If yes, which one?

Thanks in advance for answering.

#42237 - Dwedit - Sun May 08, 2005 7:22 am

It's executing nintendo DS code that just happens to be sitting on a GBA cartridge.
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#42256 - FourScience - Sun May 08, 2005 5:08 pm

As for a special engine, there's no software layer on the DS other than the code you run off the GBA cart (or wireless boot). That code runs directly on the NDS hardware, and has full access to both the ARM7 (GBA CPU used for I/O) and the ARM9 processors, as well as memory.

People have said that there is no GBA emulation on the NDS; the hardware from the GBA is already present. When in NDS mode it's used for certain I/O, and in GBA mode the NDS-specifid hardware is disabled (touchscreen, mic, etc.). Most homebrew projects use the whole NDS, but it's been discussed that you could also just keep your code running in GBA mode, it's a matter of how the boot loaders work I think.

As for programs/compilers, if you have Win2000/XP use Aaron Rogers' NDS Dev Env, and read his first tutorial about setting it up manually. It's just a package that includes NDS libraries and the devkitARM so you can compile code to run on the ARM9 and ARM7.
Links:
http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/ndsdevenv.php
http://www.aaronrogers.com/nintendods/index.php