#44655 - [FireFly] - Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:55 pm
I reverse engineered the Game Card connector and USB I/O controller on my Action Replay MAX/DUO. The screenshot below shows an application running on my DS that sends debug messages to my PC through the Action Replay MAX/DUO's USB connection.
http://users.belgacom.net/bn931507/DSCF0120.JPG
Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? (no crap/n00b/illegal talk please)
Last edited by [FireFly] on Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:14 pm; edited 1 time in total
#44657 - whackawookie - Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:09 pm
ok, is ur code rewritten to the ds action replay, or is it restricted to being written as far as the save and code area only
#44658 - [FireFly] - Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:19 pm
| whackawookie wrote: |
| any chance of this being able to rip our own nds games? i thought of this a week ago but my level of expertise only allowed me to rip the action replay |
There is no need to rip games. You can always import them from places such as http://www.lik-sang.com or http://www.play-asia.com if you don't have shops in the part of the world where you live.
#44659 - mariods - Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:34 pm
So you are saying,we can communicate with the DS through AR?
#44660 - [FireFly] - Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:40 pm
| mariods wrote: |
| So you are saying,we can communicate with the DS through AR? |
Yes. We can send and receive data but the connection is very sloooooooooooow. Only useful for things that don't require a fast (or "normal" speed) connection.
#44661 - Chetic - Fri Jun 03, 2005 11:43 pm
Could you theoretically make like a slow chat program then? (please don't hit me)
_________________
Packin':
Grey DS with FlashMe v7
1Gbit XG2T 2005 (Neoflash compatible)
GBAMP, Supercard CF, 512Mb Magic Key 3 and EZFA 256Mbit
#44665 - mariods - Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:29 am
If you can dump games through this then YOU ARE GOD!
#44667 - DesktopMan - Sat Jun 04, 2005 12:37 am
Retard.
Anyway, already ordered mine, will see if I can get some debug tools done.
#44669 - [FireFly] - Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:03 am
These new pictures show both ends of the USB connection. The DS reads memory and formats it into a string. The PC polls for debug messages and receives them from the DS.
http://users.belgacom.net/bn931507/DSCF0118.JPG
http://users.belgacom.net/bn931507/armaxds_01.png
#44670 - whackawookie - Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:05 am
so what are the chances of this find becoming public
#44672 - tepples - Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:09 am
How slow is it? Is it slower than, say, dial-up?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#44673 - [FireFly] - Sat Jun 04, 2005 1:12 am
| tepples wrote: |
| How slow is it? Is it slower than, say, dial-up? |
I downloaded a 256KByte data block and it took ~300 seconds so yes, I'd say slower than dial-up :)
#44677 - mariods - Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:06 am
DesktopMan,Shut up.
#44681 - The 9th Sage - Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:22 am
| mariods wrote: |
| DesktopMan,Shut up. |
I do believe that you're getting this reaction because this board is not really about Piracy, believe it or not it's about DS Development. :P
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#44683 - Darkain - Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:57 am
i was considering something like this for the GBA GameShark... any idea if they use the same/similar chipsets?
_________________
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http://www.darkain.com
DarkStar for Nintendo DS
#44684 - Mug - Sat Jun 04, 2005 2:59 am
Does the AR have to be in the "The Host PC Is In Control" screen for your method to work? Or does it work while playing GBA games too and doing other things?
#44685 - ronin64 - Sat Jun 04, 2005 3:00 am
| tepples wrote: |
| How slow is it? Is it slower than, say, dial-up? |
On my ARDuo, it takes 10 minutes to transfer a Nintendogs save to or from the device. Nintendogs save games are 262144 bytes.
#44688 - DiscoStew - Sat Jun 04, 2005 3:32 am
Something needs to be done with these pirates. They're cutting into our respect.
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DS - It's all about DiscoStew
#44692 - [FireFly] - Sat Jun 04, 2005 8:56 am
| Mug wrote: |
| Does the AR have to be in the "The Host PC Is In Control" screen for your method to work? Or does it work while playing GBA games too and doing other things? |
It has *nothing* to do with GBA mode/games. It's about using the Action Replay hardware from DS mode, for sending debug messages to your PC, and any other stuff that works over a sloooooooooow connection.
#44731 - Chetic - Sat Jun 04, 2005 6:56 pm
Where can a Swede like myself get one of these? (I know there are alot of Swedes 'round here)
and can I cheat with Mario 64 DS if I have one? :P
_________________
Packin':
Grey DS with FlashMe v7
1Gbit XG2T 2005 (Neoflash compatible)
GBAMP, Supercard CF, 512Mb Magic Key 3 and EZFA 256Mbit
#44735 - [FireFly] - Sat Jun 04, 2005 8:26 pm
| Darkain wrote: |
| i was considering something like this for the GBA GameShark... any idea if they use the same/similar chipsets? |
Problem 1: GBA Gameshark is too fat for DS. Solution: Remove top half of the casing.
Problem 2: USB I/O stuff is identicial but refuses to work properly for some reason. Solution: none.
#44736 - [FireFly] - Sat Jun 04, 2005 8:28 pm
| Chetic wrote: |
Where can a Swede like myself get one of these? (I know there are alot of Swedes 'round here)
and can I cheat with Mario 64 DS if I have one? :P |
http://www.play-asia.com
http://www.lik-sang.com
http://www.codejunkies.com (last resort, they are liars and thieves)
#44737 - Darkain - Sat Jun 04, 2005 8:48 pm
| [FireFly] wrote: |
| Darkain wrote: | | i was considering something like this for the GBA GameShark... any idea if they use the same/similar chipsets? |
Problem 1: GBA Gameshark is too fat for DS. Solution: Remove top half of the casing.
Problem 2: USB I/O stuff is identicial but refuses to work properly for some reason. Solution: none. |
ya, its a tight fit, but ive been able to get mine in to check it out, and it registers as a "ds option pak" in the main menu.
_________________
-=- Darkain Dragoon -=-
http://www.darkain.com
DarkStar for Nintendo DS
#44739 - ronin64 - Sat Jun 04, 2005 9:49 pm
| Chetic wrote: |
| and can I cheat with Mario 64 DS if I have one? :P |
There is an SM64DS save editor floating around somewhere and there are saves downloadable from codejunkies for it. I haven't tried them, yet.
Save editor: http://www.rarewitchproject.com/news.php?id=219&PHPSESSID=62b2376a519574e64a50813a83e180a1
#44772 - Mug - Sun Jun 05, 2005 4:18 am
| [FireFly] wrote: |
| Mug wrote: | | Does the AR have to be in the "The Host PC Is In Control" screen for your method to work? Or does it work while playing GBA games too and doing other things? |
It has *nothing* to do with GBA mode/games. It's about using the Action Replay hardware from DS mode, for sending debug messages to your PC, and any other stuff that works over a sloooooooooow connection. |
But I mean, in what scenarios is it able to read from the AR? Does the AR only send data over USB while in the Host PC Is In Control screen? Or all the time?
#44785 - [FireFly] - Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:11 am
| Mug wrote: |
| But I mean, in what scenarios is it able to read from the AR? Does the AR only send data over USB while in the Host PC Is In Control screen? Or all the time? |
The DS uses the Action Replay as an "option pak". It's not that hard to understand, unless you're one of "them".
#44820 - dot - Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:48 pm
I should receive my MAX Duo tomorrow. Hope that thing will be useful :)
#44839 - [FireFly] - Sun Jun 05, 2005 10:24 pm
| dot wrote: |
| I should receive my MAX Duo tomorrow. Hope that thing will be useful :) |
It's great for backing up & restoring savegames, if you have the patience :)
#44923 - dot - Mon Jun 06, 2005 8:32 pm
| [FireFly] wrote: |
| ... if you have the patience :) |
ah man, now I know what you mean! the software is crap. no multi select, very slow update/download for gba AR. but the backup from DS saves trough USB connection isnt that bad. How did you manage to flash your device? I can select a *.bin to flash, is that the proper way?
#44973 - The 9th Sage - Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:49 am
| dot wrote: |
| [FireFly] wrote: | | ... if you have the patience :) |
ah man, now I know what you mean! the software is crap. no multi select, very slow update/download for gba AR. but the backup from DS saves trough USB connection isnt that bad. How did you manage to flash your device? I can select a *.bin to flash, is that the proper way? |
Flash your device? He didn't flash the AR to use it's capabilities in DS mode, he just figured out how to interface it and use it for his purposes. :)
If you mean to update the unit or something (I think I read something about updates being available in the instructions), I'm not sure how this works yet. I gotta look into it.
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#45158 - Mug - Wed Jun 08, 2005 3:59 am
| [FireFly] wrote: |
| Mug wrote: | | But I mean, in what scenarios is it able to read from the AR? Does the AR only send data over USB while in the Host PC Is In Control screen? Or all the time? |
The DS uses the Action Replay as an "option pak". It's not that hard to understand, unless you're one of "them". |
The DS doesn't use the AR as an Option Pak in that the AR is inactive while a game is running through the the DS game slot. You can't even run a DS game launched from the AR menu. Is what you're saying that you have managed to get it to work as an Option Pak? Because that's very cool, and I'm surprised that the AR is active at all while the DS is in DS game mode.
#45263 - The 9th Sage - Thu Jun 09, 2005 3:01 am
| Mug wrote: |
| [FireFly] wrote: |
The DS uses the Action Replay as an "option pak". It's not that hard to understand, unless you're one of "them". |
Is what you're saying that you have managed to get it to work as an Option Pak? |
YES, that's what he's saying. :)
_________________
Now with 20% More Old Man from Zelda 1 than ever before!
#58405 - wwcube - Sun Oct 23, 2005 7:54 am
| [FireFly] wrote: |
| tepples wrote: | | How slow is it? Is it slower than, say, dial-up? |
I downloaded a 256KByte data block and it took ~300 seconds so yes, I'd say slower than dial-up :) |
Datel has released new firmware.
http://us.codejunkies.com/support_article_detail.asp?c=US&cr=USD&cs=$&r=0&l=1&p=17&i=63&g=1&ProdId=22
They say that "Transfers of the saving from software and your PC software is faster than about ten times that now".
# By transfer data compression or improvement of access method ?
# New firmware files seems to be raw dump of GBA ROM (at 08000000).
--
I'm interested in how to sends debug messages to PC through the ARMAX's USB connection.
Could you teach the method of the access to ARMAX's USB I/O from DS?