gbadev.org forum archive

I've been thinking about getting a (silver) Nintendo DS bundled with Mario Kart DS, and then a SuperCard (SD), a 512MB Kingston SD card and a Twinmos 8-in-1 Card Reader/Writer.

Is there anything wrong with these pieces of hardware, would it be smarter to get something else (another SD card for example (I just thought Kingston was good quality), or another card reader)?

What real pros / cons are there with choosing the SD card version instead of the CF card version? I didn't find any good answer in the CF vs SD thread. What does tepples mean by chishm's CF drivers are more mature? Does anyone know if the SuperCard SD is as tight to fit as the SuperCard CF? What I like about the SD version is that the SD card is secured since I'm not going to take it in and out a lot.

With just these things, I'll be able to run GBA-stuff on the NDS, right? And to get it to run NDS-stuff I'll have to get a PassMe2 and (preferably) flash the NDS with FlashMe (I'm pretty certain of this, I just said it so that no one would add it ;-)). Assuming I do get a PassMe2, I wouldn't need anything else (than what I've posted here) to flash it? Just get the PassMe2 with the correct SRAM for some game I have?

Another question I have is, is there anywhere in Sweden I can buy a PassMe2, or do I have to order from dspassme.com?

Oh, do I come across as being ultra-worried? Yeah, that would be correct. :) I haven't bought a console in years, and it is a lot of money involved in this purchase, I just want to make sure.

other wrote:

What does tepples mean by chishm's CF drivers are more mature?

Because the CF driver has been around significantly longer than the SD driver, the CF driver has had much more testing by its users and is thought by those users to be reliable.

Quote:

Does anyone know if the SuperCard SD is as tight to fit as the SuperCard CF? What I like about the SD version is that the SD card is secured since I'm not going to take it in and out a lot.

The M3 is secured in the same manner as the GBAMP and the SD versions.

Quote:

With just these things, I'll be able to run GBA-stuff on the NDS, right?

The M3 is slightly more compatible with GBA software than the SuperCard because the M3 has a better save circuit which does not require more save patching than would be used with a typical NOR card.

Quote:

Assuming I do get a PassMe2, I wouldn't need anything else (than what I've posted here) to flash it? Just get the PassMe2 with the correct SRAM for some game I have?

You'll have to buy a compatible game. PassMe2 is not compatible with Meteos (which is what came with my old DS).

Quote:

Another question I have is, is there anywhere in Sweden I can buy a PassMe2, or do I have to order from dspassme.com?

That or natrium42.com.

Quote:

I haven't bought a console in years

If you aren't going to buy a lot of DS games, then you might want to consider getting into the GP2X scene because the GP2X is thought to be much more homebrew-friendly.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

tepples wrote:

Because the CF driver has been around significantly longer than the SD driver, the CF driver has had much more testing by its users and is thought by those users to be reliable.

But this is what I don't get, are you talking about the drivers that are used to write to each card in windows or some other driver?

Quote:

The M3 is secured in the same manner as the GBAMP and the SD versions.

But isn't the M3 physically bigger and more expensive?

Quote:

The M3 is slightly more compatible with GBA software than the SuperCard because the M3 has a better save circuit which does not require more save patching than would be used with a typical NOR card.

Doesn't the SuperCard just need a button combination to save? Or is this after each game is patched with their software? From what I understand it has a realtime save-feature, which seem to be enough?

Quote:

You'll have to buy a compatible game. PassMe2 is not compatible with Meteos (which is what came with my old DS).

Well, isn't Mario Kart compatible?

Quote:

If you aren't going to buy a lot of DS games, then you might want to consider getting into the GP2X scene because the GP2X is thought to be much more homebrew-friendly.

There are a few NDS games I'm interested in right now, but it's mostly about Mario Kart. But since I have no GBA, and haven't played any GBA games, there's a lot of those that I want to play. Right now I don't think I would consider a GBA since they're not really cheaper.

A couple of more questions:

Is there any limit to how big the games can be that are played via the SuperCard? I read that it has 256Mbit storage built-in, so there is no way to run bigger games than that (I'm thinking about NDS games, aren't they sometimes bigger than this)?

I assume I wouldn't have to worry about saves if I use the realtime save-feature, so there is no battery in the cart that I have to be worried about expiring?

I'll probably think about some more questions later. I must be really annoying.

I think I can answer some of my own questions now. ;-)

other wrote:

But this is what I don't get, are you talking about the drivers that are used to write to each card in windows or some other driver?

This is the drivers that the NDS use to read from each card, correct?

Quote:

But isn't the M3 physically bigger and more expensive?

Yes. :-(

Quote:

Doesn't the SuperCard just need a button combination to save? Or is this after each game is patched with their software? From what I understand it has a realtime save-feature, which seem to be enough?

A button combination is needed to save, both for regular saving and realtime saving. The SuperCard seem to suffer from slowdowns in some games though, anyone know where I can find a list? And also where I can find a list of which GBA games are incomatible?

Quote:

Well, isn't Mario Kart compatible?

The USA version seem to work, not sure about the European one (which is the one I will be getting if I get a DS).

Quote:

Is there any limit to how big the games can be that are played via the SuperCard? I read that it has 256Mbit storage built-in, so there is no way to run bigger games than that (I'm thinking about NDS games, aren't they sometimes bigger than this)?

It seems that for each executable file you can choose if it should be run from the built in 256Mbit storage or directly from the SD (/CF) card. But what cons are there with running it directly from the SD (/CF) card?

Quote:

I assume I wouldn't have to worry about saves if I use the realtime save-feature, so there is no battery in the cart that I have to be worried about expiring?

Each save file is temporarly loaded (if the game has a save file) when a game is started. Then you have to press L+R+Select+A to save it to the SD (/CF) card before you quit. So there's nothing to worry about I would assume, is this right?

Is all of this correct? Again, I'm looking for a list of GBA games that are incompatible with the SuperCard. I found one for NDS games on scdev.org.

Discuss that at PIRACY-DOT-COM.

MaHe wrote:

Discuss that at PIRACY-DOT-COM.

Okay, I should probably take this topic elsewhere. Thanks for the help tepples. :-)

Edit: I just wanted to add, I'm sorry for asking these questions in a developer community. I didn't know any other forums since I'm kind of new to all this, but I've found a couple now.

other wrote:

But isn't the M3 physically bigger and more expensive?

Physically bigger: it might be bigger than a GBAMP, but it's bigger in an area that your hands aren't going to touch during gameplay.

Quote:

Doesn't the SuperCard just need a button combination to save? Or is this after each game is patched with their software? From what I understand it has a realtime save-feature, which seem to be enough?

Both of these are added by the SC patcher.

Quote:

Well, isn't Mario Kart compatible?

DarkFader's list indicates that Mario Kart DS (U) is compatible (it has an XSVF).

Quote:

Is there any limit to how big the games can be that are played via the SuperCard? I read that it has 256Mbit storage built-in, so there is no way to run bigger games than that (I'm thinking about NDS games, aren't they sometimes bigger than this)?

Commercial games: There is no limit to the size of commercial Nintendo DS games that you can play using an original DS game card. In fact, you can play a DS game card without any SuperCard inserted at all.

Homebrew games: In general, the only Nintendo DS homebrew games that are larger than 256 Mbit are Lucasarts games running in the ScummVM emulator. ScummVM currently supports reading games directly from the CF card on a GBA Movie Player and will soon support other adapters (M3 CF, SuperCard CF, M3 SD, SuperCard SD).
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

Uhh.. Tepples... are you feeling OK? Your answers seem to be so off base.. You answered about the M3, when he was asking about the SC.. And the whole 256Mbit thing is because he's a PIRATE! Or.. has plans to be one.

Lynx wrote:

Uhh.. Tepples... are you feeling OK? Your answers seem to be so off base.. You answered about the M3, when he was asking about the SC

I was introducing the M3 for comparison with the SuperCard based on this:

other wrote:

What I like about the SD version [of the SuperCard] is that the SD card is secured since I'm not going to take it in and out a lot.

I read this as "I like side-loading adapters such as the SuperCard SD" (picture) and suggested the M3 as another side-loading adapter.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.

Lynx wrote:

Uhh.. Tepples... are you feeling OK? Your answers seem to be so off base.. You answered about the M3, when he was asking about the SC.. And the whole 256Mbit thing is because he's a PIRATE! Or.. has plans to be one.

I'm such a bastard. I should probably be killed right away.

tepples wrote:

I read this as "I like side-loading adapters such as the SuperCard SD" (picture) and suggested the M3 as another side-loading adapter.

True! But on the other hand, the M3 is ridiculously huge. I don't want another DS sticking out of my DS.

Quote:

I'm such a bastard. I should probably be killed right away.

Naw, let's wait until AFTER Christmas for homocide projects, shall we?

Quote:

True! But on the other hand, the M3 is ridiculously huge. I don't want another DS sticking out of my DS.

Yeah, it's like the GBAMP team are compensating for something else, eh?
_________________
3 is not an "e",
7 is not a "t",
1 is not an "l",
And for the love of God,
Learn how to spell!

other wrote:

I'm such a bastard. I should probably be killed right away.

Uhh.. I'm starting to think so, yeah..

Lynx wrote:

Uhh.. Tepples...

Lynx wrote:

Uhh.. I'm starting to think so, yeah..

Are you confused? :-|

Edit: Okay, I'll try to stop being so god damn annoying. Sorry Lynx.

gbadev.org forum archive

DS Flash Equipment > (Questions) NDS with SuperCard (SD), PassMe2, FlashMe

#62271 - other - Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:03 pm

#62295 - tepples - Tue Nov 29, 2005 3:26 am

#62304 - other - Tue Nov 29, 2005 8:24 am

#62324 - other - Tue Nov 29, 2005 5:35 pm

#62330 - MaHe - Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:07 pm

#62335 - other - Tue Nov 29, 2005 6:59 pm

#62360 - tepples - Wed Nov 30, 2005 12:37 am

#62504 - Lynx - Thu Dec 01, 2005 5:03 pm

#62524 - tepples - Thu Dec 01, 2005 8:47 pm

#62542 - other - Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:06 am

#62559 - Empyrean - Fri Dec 02, 2005 10:15 am

#62565 - Lynx - Fri Dec 02, 2005 2:10 pm

#62588 - other - Fri Dec 02, 2005 6:51 pm