DS Homebrew

[7on]

Any good suggestions for DS homebrew? Like for instance the hardware to run them? I was looking at the Passcard 3 and SD flash card from M3 - but I hear some homebrew doesn't work with certain hardware, would a Passcard be perhaps the most compatible? Thanks.

[SteveRichardson]

Bump?

I pretty much want a rundown on how to do homebrew on the DS. Googling it is waaaay too confusing.

pwease?

[happy.buddha]

This (http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=451078) thread at Neowin.net is full of DS homebrew info.

[Moshiiii]

I just got my G6 Lite and Passkey and posted a tiny review on my blog. Heres a copy and paste:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Moshiiii/G6Lite1.jpg

Whats a G6 Lite? Its the highly anticipated Nintendo DS Flash kit, the only one which fits into the Nintendo DS dust cover flush. With the G6 lite I can download Nintendo DS games, movies, and books without paying the $39.99 price in stores.

G6 Lite did a nice job packaging the kit professionally. Inside the simple white box is a round tin case with G6 Lite stenciled on the top. Inside the tin, neatly placed in foam is G6 Lite cartridge, three color cartridges to match your Nintendo DS, the usb burner that the cartridge will fit into, and a empty size GBA cartridge just in case you have a fat Nintendo DS. Overall, the packaging is much better than the competing flash kits.

A few minutes later after downloading the new software for the G6 Lite I was enjoying my free Nintendo DS games. The 4gig G6 Flash, the one that I got, can hold about 8 Nintendo DS games adn 22 Gameboy Advance Games.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Moshiiii/Passcard.jpg

To prevent exactly what I'm doing Nintendo made it so no Nintendo DS data cannot be loaded from the Gameboy Advance slot on the bottom. This was easily avoided by hackers with a method that involved "Flashing" a wire that prevented the data to be loaded. "Flashing" involved poking the wire with aluminum foil to short circuit the wire, doing this can also "Brick" your Nintendo DS, meaning the whole Nintendo DS was flashed.

A safer way to mod your Nintendo DS is to buy a Passcard. Most are the same size as a Nintendo DS game and don't require anything but putting it inside the Nintendo DS slot. I'm not sure what it does but it works.

Even with this though I will still buy some Nintendo DS games, some series will get my financial support. Anyways, as Brandon would say the Nintendo DS world is my clam.

[GFLPraxis]

Any good suggestions for DS homebrew? Like for instance the hardware to run them? I was looking at the Passcard 3 and SD flash card from M3 - but I hear some homebrew doesn't work with certain hardware, would a Passcard be perhaps the most compatible? Thanks.

The Passcard/Passkey/PassMe you use doesn't matter. Both the M3 CF and M3 SD will run any homebrew designed for flash carts and regular cartridges, though some homebrew is designed specificly for the Compact Flash cards, so the M3 CF is the most compatible. These days most homebrew has been adjusted for the M3 SD though, so M3 SD would probably be fine and is much smaller than the CF.

The G6 is like the M3 but is a flash cart- it doesn't have anywhere near the potential capacity of a SD card. The Supercard is also like the M3, but $10-$20 cheaper and has bad compatability in GBA mode.

Moshiii, please don't promote piracy.

[GFLPraxis]

Bump?

I pretty much want a rundown on how to do homebrew on the DS. Googling it is waaaay too confusing.

pwease?

You need a PassKey to put in the top slot of the DS to trick it into booting in DS mode (you can, if you want, use it to flash the DS firmware so you don't need it anymore), and an adapter in the bottom slot to run your homebrew.

I'd recommend the M3 as the best adapter. G6 and Supercard are alternatives. But M3 works best, both for GBA and NDS roms (GBA roms are easy to rip, and the M3 actually has a downloadable rom ripper software that rips games from the top to the bottom slot for you), and for homebrew.

[SteveRichardson]

You need a PassKey to put in the top slot of the DS to trick it into booting in DS mode (you can, if you want, use it to flash the DS firmware so you don't need it anymore), and an adapter in the bottom slot to run your homebrew.

I'd recommend the M3 as the best adapter. G6 and Supercard are alternatives. But M3 works best, both for GBA and NDS roms (GBA roms are easy to rip, and the M3 actually has a downloadable rom ripper software that rips games from the top to the bottom slot for you), and for homebrew.


Okay. So I have a DS Lite. I have a bunch of CompactFlash cards as well (and a card reader ). I need a PassKey and a M3 to download and run GBA and DS Homebrew? Am I to purchase anything else?

I don't know why, but I find this particular thing very confusing. The DS Emulator sites say absolutely nothing.

[kallaway1]

something that I've been able to find absolutely no information on is how people actually patch and then transfer the games and homebrew applications to your SD card in the first place. It seems like the M3 comes with a piece of software called Gamemanager, of which there is no mac version. Do we *have* to install bootcamp to do this (I only have an 80 gig hd), or is there another way to get this software patched?

[Dagless]

Yup. PC only.

But some mini DS games like the Zelda demos seem to work without patching. I just copied them off my Mac and onto my SD card and they run fine.

[GFLPraxis]

You only need to patch if you need savegames.

Demos don't need patching.

[kallaway1]

Do you think it would work if I used Parallels? I don't know a whole lot about that software but it seems promising for this application...

[srobert]

Resurrecting this old thread because I'm getting more and more interested to have a look at the DS homebrew software out there.

I've seen this apparently neat solution. What do you guys think?

Things I like:
- Fits in the DS Cart slot
- OS looks good and simple
- Looks VERY easy to use.

Things I don't like:
- Kind of pricey
- Kind of low storage capacity

I hope it works with the rumble pack.

Green emphasis in quote below = things I like.

Product page (http://www.ds-x.com/cgi-bin/dsx/engine.pl?page=home)
Review (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/portable-media/first-grope-dsxtreme-nintendo-ds-media-enhancer-207963.php)


FAQ's

Q: How do saves work? Will I be able to backup my save-games?
A: Saves are done seamlessly, you can backup your saves (without extra software) by simply dragging them

Q: Is the DS-Xtreme Compatible with the Rumble Pack or Opera Ram Expansion?
A: We haven't had the chance to test that yet, there shouldn't be an issue though.

Q: Will you support DS Homebrew Roms ?
A: Yes

Q: What is the Battery Life?
A: The DS-Xtreme core components where chosen specifically to maximize battery life, however there are a few unique features to the DS-Xtreme, which if used optionally, could use up more battery

Q: What about reading Speeds from the DS ? Are they Equal to an original cart?
A: Original carts have various speeds, our hardware is designed to match the speed as close as possible. No problems to this date.

Q: Does Drag and Drop functionality work on a Mac and other Operating systems except Windows?
A: Of course Our device is fully mass storage spec compliant, and should work with any operating system which supports this standard

Q: Do I have to use patches and extra software to load files on the NDS?
A: Nope ;-)

Q: Will I need any other extra software or hardware to manage the DS-Xtreme?
A: Nope, just the supplied USB Mini-B cable and your mouse to drag and drop

Q: What colors are available from the DS-Xtreme Cart?
A: We are currently manufacturing a White cart, we might consider other colors.

Q: Does it only work with on a USB 2.0 port, is USB 1.1 supported?
A: USB 1.1 works fine too.

Q: Do I have to flash my DS firmware in order to operate the DS-Xtreme?
A: NOOO! No firmware hacks or any nasty tricks are required to use the DS-Xtreme. If you change your firmware you lose your warranty!

Q: What languages does the DS-Xtreme OS support?
A: English, but we have designed the OS to accept language packs so you can change the language to what ever you want. (Drag and Drop from your Computer)

Q: How fast is the file transfer from the USB to the DS-Xtreme?
A: Support for up to 480Mb/sec with USB 2.0

Q: Does it work on both DS and DS Lite?
A: Yes, every revision out and to come

Q: Are there any regional issues?
A: No, DS-Xtreme works on every DS and DS Lite from around the world.

Q: Will it work on future revisions of the DS hardware and firmware?
A: Yes it will. Thats why we call it a future-proof Cart.

Q: How many files can I have on the DS-Xtreme?
A: Depending on the size of the file, its up to you what you wish to put on it. The cart is 512 megabytes (4gbit)

Q: Do I need a pass key device for the DS-Xtreme to work or can I just put it in my DS?
A: Nothing is needed! Just place the DS-Xtreme in the NDS port and you are good to go

Q: Does it support DS external HD's that attach to the gba slot for movie and audio playback?
A: Same question as other GBA based carts, although we haven't tested it yet

Q: What countries will the DS-Xtreme be available to?
A: All major countries have resellers, we will be posting sites as the product is distributed.

Q: Is the DS-Xtreme OS / Firmware upgradable?
A: Yes! And the best part is that its DEAD EASY and SAFE to do it

Q: What are the steps to using the DS-Xtreme?
A: Hook it up to the USB and your computer, copy what you want to use, boot your handheld and select the file(s) you uploaded. Thats it.

Q: Is the Game Play affected speed-wise with the use of DS-Xtreme?
A: Nope.

Q: Is the OS skinnable?
A: Yes.


_

[lost_mobius]

I have a supercard lite and passme 3. They work great and the price was more reasonable. The supercard lite uses micro sd and plays homebrew, ds games, gba, nes, and more. I got scummvm to work as well for monkey island. I love ds homebrew. Everyone is correct though you need a Windows box to patch games, but you could try crossover to install the loader program into osx. Hope this helps.

lost_mobius

[princealfie]

How do you get n64 emulation to work on the DS?

[greatdevourer]

How do you get n64 emulation to work on the DS? You don't. From what I remember, the DS isn't much more powerful than the '64, and that doesn't leave enough spare to emulate another proc arch. Sorry, dude. Although from what I remember, the GP2X should be able to do it (I know it does PSX emulation)

[darkwing]

Whats a G6 Lite? Its the highly anticipated Nintendo DS Flash kit, the only one which fits into the Nintendo DS dust cover flush. With the G6 lite I can download Nintendo DS games, movies, and books without paying the $39.99 price in stores.

I'm pretty sure piracy is frowned upon on this forum. I'll forward this thread to a moderator's attention.

[srobert]

I'm pretty sure piracy is frowned upon on this forum. I'll forward this thread to a moderator's attention.

Agreed, but please report only the offending post. The rest of the thread stayed pretty much on topic, which is the use of legal homebrew software on the DS.

[darkwing]

Agreed, but please report only the offending post. The rest of the thread stayed pretty much on topic, which is the use of legal homebrew software on the DS.

Yes that's what I did. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[Spock]

I'm pretty sure piracy is frowned upon on this forum. I'll forward this thread to a moderator's attention.

Wow, a tattle tale. :rolleyes:

[lost_mobius]

Who got n64 working on there ds. I own the games I transfered to my ds lite thus it is not pirating, I only loaded the stuff I bought. And my supercard lite also sits flush with my ds lite, nothing sticking out. I actually bought it for that reason because I play gba a lot and the games stuck out of my ds lite, thus with the supercard lite I can play my purchased gba games and not have them stick out of the slot, i just load them on the supercard lite. You got to love technology. Now I only carry the ds lite and the charger, I already have every game I own loaded on the microsd the supercard lite uses.:D

[Foxglove9]

Has anyone gotten their DS-Xtreme cards yet? I plan to order one, but I'm just waiting on another review or 2 that says it's all that it says it is.

It's the only card that has OS X support too which is good for me since I hate having to hook up my PC.

If the DS-Xtreme isn't so great, then I'm ordering the M3.

[srobert]

Has anyone gotten their DS-Xtreme cards yet? I plan to order one, but I'm just waiting on another review or 2 that says it's all that it says it is.

It's the only card that has OS X support too which is good for me since I hate having to hook up my PC.

If the DS-Xtreme isn't so great, then I'm ordering the M3.

I haven't tried it yet but the biggest weakness of the DS-Xtreme seems to be its relatively small capacity compared to its competitors (512MB). DS games are supposed to be 5 to 30MB on average and up to 128MB theorically. Just wanted to make sure you didn't expect more. ;)

The smaller capacity wouldn't really be a problem for me because apps can be quickly switched with drag and drop but it might be very unconvenient for people who want to carry lots of apps at a time.

The strongest selling point for me is its apparent ease of use.

Here is a review from MaxConsole (http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=10212)

Here is a little video of the DS-Xtreme in action, running DSOrganize, a homebrew app: Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnT3obt1XTA&eurl=)

[Foxglove9]

I thought the DS-Xtreme was going to have an SD port on it? I remember seeing it in photos but maybe i'm just going nuts :)

Yeah the convience of the DS-Xtreme is a huge selling point. Memory size is kinda low for the price, though you can still fit quite a bit on there especially if it's emulation/homebrews.

Definitely has to be better than my 128mb Flash Advance Xtreme Card.

[greatdevourer]

I thought the DS-Xtreme was going to have an SD port on it? I remember seeing it in photos but maybe i'm just going nuts :)

Yeah the convience of the DS-Xtreme is a huge selling point. Memory size is kinda low for the price, though you can still fit quite a bit on there especially if it's emulation/homebrews.

Definitely has to be better than my 128mb Flash Advance Xtreme Card. If you mean the little black thing at the top that looks like a microSD slot, I think that's a flip-out USB connector

[Rice Cooka]

Ok somebody explain this to me... as if I were a 5 year old: if I just want to run gba software from the gba port all I would need to buy is a G6 lite (so it would look snazzy in my ds lite) and I would not need a passkey as long as I don't want to run DS stuff. Correct? Or not?

[greatdevourer]

Ok somebody explain this to me... as if I were a 5 year old: if I just want to run gba software from the gba port all I would need to buy is a G6 lite (so it would look snazzy in my ds lite) and I would not need a passkey as long as I don't want to run DS stuff. Correct? Or not? Far as I remember, yes. PassMe/PassKey/FlashMe are only needed for DS, not GBA

[ironjaw]

Just wanted to tell everyone that at SCUUMVM it is possible to run the classic Lucas Arts Games like Last Crusade, Fate of Atlantis, Monkey Island, Sam & Max on the DS.

NinjaDs is fully supported as well as M3 but other ones are not at the moment. I've just ordered a M3 Lite Micro SD + Passcard from modchip-store.co.uk so I will let you all know what happens as soon as I get a 1GB Micro SD card from somewhere.

http://scummvm.drunkencoders.com

[Dagless]

Ironjaw - I might be upgrading (sidegrading?) to an M3 Lite soon. I'm sick of having this huge thing poking out my DS. It made for a nice handle whilst playing Kirby and Metroid (original games, you know me and piracy :cool: ) but it's a pain to transport.

[Allotriophagy]

My housemate just got a Passcard, M3 and 1Gb SD card today and he is loving it. VNC control of his PC from his DS is too cute!

However, I think I will be waiting for the DS-Extreme to become more widely available - I don't want to bother getting an SD card reader. The DS-Extreme is very nicely priced and I like the USB port idea.