#146114 - beamer30 - Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:36 am
Ok i have a ds lite i dont remeber the firmware except the screen turns majenta on the firmware test.
I decided to go with:
Changed my mind see below:
I want to mostly make games for the dslite, but i want the option of making gba games also... So will this setup work for what i want to do?
EDIT:
Ok so after doing someresearch i relized i what items i had chosen was totaly wrong, so instead i think i might go with this:
R4
&
supercard micro sd from sky2k since their cheapand trusted.
BUT(yes the all famous but)
I saw the the supercard rumble is like 20$ cheaper than the regular, is because u cant make gba hombrew run from it or what?
Also im very much more intersted in making ds games, so do i even need a slot-2 cartridge?
Almost finished, Now should i get the slot-2 cartridge anyway so i can use it for extra storage & for devolping games, plus if i want to run gba homebrew i need it so i might as well buy them both.
Last thing(Hooray) even with the r4 Nopass i should still install flashme, that way if i accidentally brick my ds i can fix it right?
i know some of these qestion probably sound noobish , but im new and just trying to get startedso any advice on which way to go would be GREAT.
#147014 - mute - Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:58 am
| beamer30 wrote: |
| I saw the the supercard rumble is like 20$ cheaper than the regular, is because u cant make gba hombrew run from it or what? |
that's right. it'd require RAM to be able to load the GBA program into to emulate the slot-2. that's were they save cash.
| beamer30 wrote: |
| Also im very much more intersted in making ds games, so do i even need a slot-2 cartridge? |
that, you have to ask yourself. if you're getting an R4, you can get the EZ FLASH 3-in-1 for $20 which has 32M of RAM and 16M of NOR flash. You can then store games on your SD card and use a gbaldr or rudolph's 3-in-1 loader which will transfer games to the RAM(volatile, doesn't support 1M FLASH saves) or the NOR Flash(nonvolatile, will allow u to start from "GBA SLOT" in firmware).
Great thing about the 3-in-1 is ... it's 3 in 1! You can use it for Linux or Opera as a RAM pack. You can even use the rumble feature, although I've not, but it's an added bonus...
#147150 - beamer30 - Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:51 am
ok well ill probably go with r4 and supercard cause they get the best ratings, and i need products that have high compatability. unless theres something even more compatiable
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#147156 - mufunyo - Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:46 pm
| mute wrote: |
| if you're getting an R4, you can get the EZ FLASH 3-in-1 for $20 which has 32M of RAM and 16M of NOR flash. |
While I agree that the EZ3in1 compliments the R4 nicely, I'll have to correct you in that it has 16MB of RAM, not 32MB.
#147163 - simonjhall - Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:25 pm
Actually, I'm sure it has 32MB of RAM since it supports GBA games up to 256MBit in size.
I seem to remember there being some beef with access to the second 16 megs though. Lick'll know :-)
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#147166 - chuckstudios - Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:39 pm
| simonjhall wrote: |
Actually, I'm sure it has 32MB of RAM since it supports GBA games up to 256MBit in size.
I seem to remember there being some beef with access to the second 16 megs though. Lick'll know :-) |
It has 16MB of RAM and 32MB of NOR flash memory.
#147168 - simonjhall - Sat Dec 15, 2007 6:58 pm
Why would they have both NOR and RAM? It can't be for homebrew, right?
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#147171 - tepples - Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:22 pm
| simonjhall wrote: |
| Why would they have both NOR and RAM? It can't be for homebrew, right? |
As I see it, the NOR is for running GBA homebrew, and the RAM is only for running DS homebrew in SLOT-1 that can use extra RAM, such as Quake. It just saves you from having to buy two separate expansion cards.
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#147172 - chuckstudios - Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:23 pm
| simonjhall wrote: |
| Why would they have both NOR and RAM? It can't be for homebrew, right? |
The idea was to have the GBA games use NOR, and the Opera browser use the RAM, so that the EZ5 could run pirated copies of it. However, the RAM can also be used for homebrew.
#147182 - chishm - Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:58 am
The RAM can also be used in combination with a SLOT-1 card to run GBA programs under 16MiB in size.
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#147184 - tepples - Sun Dec 16, 2007 2:15 am
| chishm wrote: |
| The RAM can also be used in combination with a SLOT-1 card to run GBA programs under 16MiB in size. |
Is this the case? I was under the impression that it was mapped at 0x08400000 and not at 0x08000000, at least when I use Lick's RAM API. Does it need some extra unlocking commands to map it down to 0x08000000 so that I can just copy in a .gba and run it?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#147200 - chuckstudios - Sun Dec 16, 2007 5:18 am
| tepples wrote: |
| chishm wrote: | | The RAM can also be used in combination with a SLOT-1 card to run GBA programs under 16MiB in size. |
Is this the case? I was under the impression that it was mapped at 0x08400000 and not at 0x08000000, at least when I use Lick's RAM API. Does it need some extra unlocking commands to map it down to 0x08000000 so that I can just copy in a .gba and run it? |
| Code: |
#define _PSRAM 0x08060000 // an offset into PSRAM to write to so stuff doesn't get lost...
void WritePSRAM(u32 offset,u8 *buffer,u32 size)
{
uint32 i;
u16* addr = (u16*)(offset+_PSRAM);
u16* pData = (u16*)buffer;
for(i=0;i<size;i+=2)
{
addr[i>>1] = pData[i>>1];
}
}
...
REG_EXEMEMCNT &= ~0x0880; // give A9 control over GBA and NDS bus
SetRompage(381); // a little trickery with the PSRAM, if we didn't do this closeNorWrite cuts power to PSRAM
OpenNorWrite();
WritePSRAM(offset, buf, LEN);
CloseNorWrite();
SetRompage(384); // put the PSRAM at base address for later launching, since it closed the NOR chip psram didn't lose power/data |
#147323 - beamer30 - Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:53 pm
How compatiable is the slot-2 super card lite with homebrew?
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#147337 - dantheman - Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:07 am
| beamer30 wrote: |
| How compatiable is the slot-2 super card lite with homebrew? |
From my experience with a Supercard miniSD, very compatible. For DS homebrew at least, you've got DLDI file filesystem access, and you've got the RAM there for older homebrew programs that need to run from GBA romspace. GBA homebrew is a bit sketchier, and there are a couple programs (not very many) that require patching with the Supercard patcher to function, but overall it works well.
#147391 - beamer30 - Wed Dec 19, 2007 5:06 pm
what about the micro sd supercard slot-2, because i have a ds lite.
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#147393 - chuckstudios - Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:28 pm
| beamer30 wrote: |
| what about the micro sd supercard slot-2, because i have a ds lite. |
It should be the same thing.
#147398 - beamer30 - Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:09 pm
Alright then thats what I'll go with, thanks for the help guys.
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