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The State of DS Homebrew (hint: It rocks. Seriously)

G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
I try not to to put up self-serving links too often, but sometimes I can't help it, when something is up that's especially GAF-worthy. This is one of those times. We've put up a seven page feature full of info on the current state of DS homebrew including emulation, indie games and apps, etc:

http://www.modojo.com/features/20060811/103/

Some highlights.

And interview with the guy behind ScummVM DS:

MO: How do you feel about the homebrew developers who bring emulators to the DS, without regard to their legality?
NM: I don't know of any emulators on the DS that are illegal. As far as I know they are all created without any Nintendo tools, so the emulators themselves are fine. If the players decide to pirate games to play on the emulators, the player is the person breaking the law, not the author of the emulator. Of course, everyone knows that a large amount of piracy goes on in the emulation scene, and it could be said that the emulator authors help this along by making it possible to play these pirated games. The rights and wrongs of piracy is a very complex issue, but really, it's up to the individual to decide their feelings about it.

MO: What developments within the DS homebrew scene do you find the most promising?
NM: The recent release of the Wi-Fi library was a very interesting development, and has inspired people to create some very nice applications that make use of the DS' internet abilities. There are a couple of homebrew games already which allow Internet play, I recommend trying out Blubb and A Touch of War. There are also several instant messenger clients, email, IRC, and probably loads more I haven't tried yet. I'm sure eventually there will be a whole range of internet applications you can use on the move. That's sure to persuade people to try homebrew on their DS.

MO: Could we possibly see some other point-and-click adventures on the DS? (cough..cough.. King's Quest...)
NM: Actually, you're in luck! Kings Quest is coming to ScummVM thanks to some code from another open source project, called Sarien, which will allow you to play some of the older Sierra adventures. Hopefully that will make it to the DS version too.
Click to expand...

Also the look at the indie games was a big eye-opener for me. This one is Wi-fi-enabled for high score posting:

noplacetohide1.png
noplacetohide2.png
noplacetohide3.png


Moral of the story: don't write off a homebrew scene before experiencing it!
 
Y

yayaba

Member
I really need to start looking into homebrew. I've wanted my DSL to play MP3's for awhile now...

As soon as I beat Super Mario Advance 2 I'll take a break before I start Yoshi's Island to do som research :)
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Gearharaden said:
If somebody can link me to an easy to use tut on getting ScummVM and DoTT on my DSL, I won't sell it. :D
Click to expand...


I like the little ultimatim, ha.

For real though it isn't too hard. We have a big link of links on the last page that can help you get started. I think people think the DS homebrew barrier to entry is bigger than it really is.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Interesting article. I have an older GBA Flash Cart and Datel's PassMe2 (I think?) solution, which I hope is compatible. I haven't touched my GBA Flash Cart since the PSP came out 2 Marches ago, and haven't bothered to figure out DSL homebrew yet.

I might though. And soon.
 
A

aku:jiki

Member
Oh man, those games look hot. What's the best solution for playing homebrew on a DS? I've seen some really ugly ones where you have huge carts sticking out of every possible slot...**** that.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
aku:jiki said:
Oh man, those games look hot. What's the best solution for playing homebrew on a DS? I've seen some really ugly ones where you have huge carts sticking out of every possible slot...**** that.
Click to expand...

Why not attack some of the links that article provides, eh?
 
S

swoon

Member
because none of the links are really that great. the article should just have a recommended set up that says. we recommend XXXX, because XXXX. and be done with it.

also i think you were prolly thinking of the 808, not the 909.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
There was a wiki link that did a fairly decent job of breaking up the various DS and DSL firmwares, as well as the various means of accessing homebrew.
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
The links (and the article) weren't meant to be TRULY comprehensive, but not out of laziness. Just because we wanted to highlight the positive side of homebrew, and not the negative. So the GBA emulators and whatnot were intentionally kinda skimmed over, and we were careful about what we linked to.

None of the info is buried in search engines or anything, though. It's all very, very accessible.
 
S

sc0la

Unconfirmed Member
is there something that lets me use my DS as a media center PC remote or a remote for a Mac?
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
JCX9 said:
do you still need friendcodes for online?
Click to expand...

For WFC games, of course, why not? Homebrew can't rewrite Nintendo's online system, nor modify existing games.

For homebrew apps, I'd imagine not.
 
W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
aku:jiki said:
Oh man, those games look hot. What's the best solution for playing homebrew on a DS? I've seen some really ugly ones where you have huge carts sticking out of every possible slot...**** that.
Click to expand...

Not sure how compatibile this thing is with homebrew but there's a new cart coming out that just uses the DS slot and you don't have to worry about flashing your DS or buying removable media for it.

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-dsxt4.html

You just buy that and you're good to go. No need to stick anything into your GBA slot and no carts sticking out of your lite
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Wario64 said:
Not sure how compatibile this thing is with homebrew but there's a new cart coming out that just uses the DS slot and you don't have to worry about flashing your DS or buying removable media for it.

http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-dsxt4.html

You just buy that and you're good to go. No need to stick anything into your GBA slot and no carts sticking out of your lite
Click to expand...

Oh? And that will work with existing homebrew?? I mean, isn't the current homebrew essentially coded to run from a GBA flashcart?
 
W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Mejilan said:
Oh? And that will work with existing homebrew?? I mean, isn't the current homebrew essentially coded to run from a GBA flashcart?
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's why I'm not sure if it'll work with all homebrew. The thing just got announced though so it should take a couple days for people to get it and test it out

They claim 100% homebrew comptability though
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
so it's 4GB, meaning the games are stored on it, instead of a GBA Flash cart?

Seems to make sense... but wouldn't all these homebrew apps have been designed/coded to load off the GBA slot, or does it not make a difference, or will these apps need to be updated by their creators?

Maybe I should ask my staffer who wrote the piece, ha.
 
SantaC

SantaC

Member
GDJustin said:
so it's 4GB, meaning the games are stored on it, instead of a GBA Flash cart?

Seems to make sense... but wouldn't all these homebrw apps have been designed/coded to load off the GBA slot, or does it not make a different, or will these need to be updated?

Maybe I should ask my staffer who wrote the piece, ha.
Click to expand...

full features...

* Runs completely from the DS slot - No GBA cart required,
* No PassMe, WiFiMe, FlashMe required,
* No need for external memory,
* No additional hardware required,
* 4Gbit (512MB) of built-in onboard flash memory,
* USB Plug 'n' Play - shows as a standard drive - drag and drop,
* High-speed USB 2.0 connection (mini-B connector),
* No software/patching required,
* Hardware and firmware are fully upgradeable,
* Compatible with ALL current and future DS consoles,
* Full sized onboard EEPROM,
* Same size as a standard DS game cartridge - does NOT stick out,
* Update: 100% homebrew compatible.
Click to expand...
 
G

Ghost

Chili Con Carnage!
Ive got a great idea for a DS homebrew game, just didnt feel like trying to flash my DS, i'll have to give this cart a try.


GAF comes through again *tips hat*
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
I think we all read that, and are awaiting hands-on impressions from consumers. :)

512MBs is pretty disappointing.
 
G

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
SantaCruZer said:
full features...
Click to expand...

That doesn't answer my big concern, though. The featureset is sweet, but if an app was designed to work from the GBA slot, I'm not sure loading it onto this device would work on the DS, since it's... not in the GBA slot.

I'm worried about the compatibility of apps designed before this thing even existed. It's not a knock against the product at all.
 
SantaC

SantaC

Member
Mejilan said:
I think we all read that, and are awaiting hands-on impressions from consumers. :)

512MBs is pretty disappointing.
Click to expand...

actually 512MB is pretty damn big for the DS. A normal DS game is usually 32MB. (256mbit)

That doesn't answer my big concern, though. The featureset is sweet, but if an app was designed to work from the GBA slot, I'm not sure loading it onto this device would work on the DS, since it's... not in the GBA slot.

I'm worried about the compatibility of apps designed before this thing even existed. It's not a knock against the product at all.
Click to expand...

oh sorry, missunderstood you :p
 
J

Juice

Member
scola said:
is there something that lets me use my DS as a media center PC remote or a remote for a Mac?
Click to expand...

I can't tell if you're being hugely sarcastic.

But I still thought this post was hilarious.

I want it too
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
SantaCruZer said:
actually 512MB is pretty damn big for the DS. A normal DS game is usually 32MB. (256mbit)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know. But my GBA 256mb flashcart wasn't enough for me, and the PSP (currently loaded with 1gb, and THAT'S not enough) has spoiled me. Though, to be fair, nothing will take away from my PSP as regards primary homebrew.

I'm more interested in the DS for the apps (such as that organizer software). And I've no interest in loading DS games that way, at all. I'll continue to buy my GBA, DS, and PSP games. :)

So really, 512mbs is fine, I guess.
 
W

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
Meijlan, it's 512 MB, not mb. MEGABYTES...that's half a gig. Plenty of space. Unless you're planning to....arrr....but even then 512 MB is pretty big
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Wario64 said:
Meijlan, it's 512 MB, not mb. MEGABYTES...that's half a gig. Plenty of space. Unless you're planning to....arrr....but even then 512 MB is pretty big
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know it's megabytes. As in half a gig. Just saying. My 1 gig mem stick on the PSP isn't even enough. Hence my initial complaint. But as I said then, the DS won't replace the PSP as my homebrew device of choice. Since I'm really only looking at DS specific apps and whatnot, half a gig will be just fine.

Edit - Now yer just getting my name wrong on purpose, aren't you? :D
 
SantaC

SantaC

Member
Wario64 said:
Meijlan, it's 512 MB, not mb. MEGABYTES...that's half a gig. Plenty of space. Unless you're planning to....arrr....but even then 512 MB is pretty big
Click to expand...

yup, what he said.
 
J

jgkspsx

Member
Wario64 said:
Yeah, that's why I'm not sure if it'll work with all homebrew. The thing just got announced though so it should take a couple days for people to get it and test it out
Click to expand...
I'm really tempted to try this out myself. Anybody seen any direct impressions?

Edit: I see, just preorders. I'm going to wait and make sure this isn't a scam, but if it's legit I'll get one. It's the form factor I've been waiting for at quite a decent price.
 
HeadsUpSevenUp

HeadsUpSevenUp

Member
The apps should be be fine because most of the homebrew just loads into the DS memory.

It's $125 for essentially a Passme, 512MB storage, and a USB port in SLOT-1.

I prefer the DSLink which also fits flush into SLOT-1 but uses microSD.

I have a 1GB microSD card so that will be great for Moonshell. And I'll have SLOT-2 available for a lite-sized rumble pack or (rumored) gyro paack. I'll buy those when homebrew starts developing for them. A vibrating DS alarm would be awesome :) or maybe it can rumble when I get a message on DS AIM?
 
J

japtor

Member
Wario64 said:
Meijlan, it's 512 MB, not mb. MEGABYTES...that's half a gig. Plenty of space. Unless you're planning to....arrr....but even then 512 MB is pretty big
Click to expand...
how big are all the scummvm games, and dragons lair, etc? and for music and videos? (...not that id use homebrew stuff for that, i have a play yan)

id sorta question the '100% homebrew compatible' thing though, the homebrew-hardware compatibility seems to be a bit inconsistent, and there seems to be a new device every week, so id hold off a bit.

speaking of devices, heres another recent one:
http://www3.emu-zone.org/host/ediy/emu-hw/emuhw01.htm - ds cart with micro sd slot...dont know anything else about it though.

m3 w/micro sd (gba cart, lite sized) is coming soon as well, although im not sure if it has all the gba niceties of the previous m3s. by their comments ive seen on it, im guessing no, but it would be nice to have.
 
E

ezekial45

Banned
Speaking of homebrew games. What was the name of that DS game that was a cross between Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger? Somthing Exile?
 
ShinNL

ShinNL

Member
Well, I'm a homebrew addict, especially for useless apps.

I love:
Beup - MSN messenger
Moonshell - MP3 and Video

I'm still searching/waiting for:
Web browser
Picture viewer - DSorganize doesn't run on G6
Decent games
Good working SNES emulator

I love the device for the 2nd slot, but it will be nasty once Opera gets released here though (switching the cart in and out because it requires Slot-2 as well)
 
M

Mr Mike

1 million Canadian dollars
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
no, neoflash blows. take a look at the gbatemp forums and read for an hour. i just bought a g6lite.
 
J

japtor

Member
Mr Mike said:
Right - help me out here. So at the present moment (aside from waiting for the new NDS carts with storage/USB built in) if I want to do homebrew stuff, I need a PassMe (I don't have a WiFi card) and a GBA flash cart? Or can I do it from just a flash cart? See, I've got the latter - just need to get the former...

EDIT:

If I buy this, will it fill a blank in what I've got?
http://www.mrmodchips.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?ref=20&products_id=396&affiliate_banner_id=1
Click to expand...
depends what gba cart you have, but yeah pretty much. if you get a nopass card (i think that one is) then you dont need to flash the ds, but you need to keep the card. i think if you flash the ds, then you dont need whatever pass card after that.
 
M

Mejilan

Running off of Custom Firmware
Flashing a DS or DSL always carries the risk of bricking it, and I've heard that flashing a DSL dramatically (and permanently) lowers it's volume output. I don't know if that's been resolved yet.
 
M

Mr Mike

1 million Canadian dollars
Mejilan said:
Flashing a DS or DSL always carries the risk of bricking it, and I've heard that flashing a DSL dramatically (and permanently) lowers it's volume output. I don't know if that's been resolved yet.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'd be much more confident using a workaround, rather than actual flashing.
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
the volume output rumor was squashed by several people who did side by side comparisons of virgin and flashed ds lites...

and it has also come to light that the ds lite has the bios on a plug-n-play chip, so if you bricked it while flashing (which imo just shouldnt happen unless you are a clumsy oaf) you can actually reflash it with another ds lite by hot-swapping the bios chip

with all that said, you don't really *need* flashme anymore really, but it's nice to have...
 
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