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DS development > Vram size

#44589 - KoaM - Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:46 am

Hi, i'm just wondering what the VRAM size is for the DS? I'm trying to determine how many sprites i'll be using for my character.

Also, do you guys recommend splitting the charater into smaller parts or just create all the frames with the actual size.

#44590 - tepples - Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:59 am

I'm 99 percent sure that sprite cel swapping from main memory into VRAM works on the DS the same way it works on the GBA.
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#44591 - KoaM - Fri Jun 03, 2005 5:04 am

tepples wrote:
I'm 99 percent sure that sprite cel swapping from main memory into VRAM works on the DS the same way it works on the GBA.


Thanks for the link. Is the size the same for the DS even though it has two screens?

#44599 - Darkain - Fri Jun 03, 2005 9:11 am

no, you potentially get MORE! you can (AFAIK) have up to 128KB for sprite vram PER SCREEN. and this goes for ALL modes (except framebuffer). so unlike GBA, no matter which mode you are in, it wont cut into your sprite vram. (altho, you could do this yourself by using a smaller vram bank).
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#44605 - Mollusk - Fri Jun 03, 2005 2:29 pm

I tested out the 128kB of VRAM for sprites, it works perfectly. Don't forget to set the sprite memory size in DISP_CR though (check the ndslib doc).
Emulators don't seem to manage it yet, however, so that would mean only testing on DS...

#44608 - Ethos - Fri Jun 03, 2005 4:49 pm

Hmmm....

Darkain is right....

My new questionable subject is switching VRAM banks during HBlanks. (Like switching Main BG from bank A to B)

So therefore you should be able to quick access to preloaded tiles....which might be handy for a rotational backgrounds....

Anyone done anything like this?
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