[DS] Universal DS Homebrew thread. Fucking cheapskates.

Originally Posted by chaofan

-Size of a normal GBA cart
-GBA gaming
-Decent homebrew support
-Decent memory to fit a few GBA games, a few homebrews and perhaps some mp3's (built-in or SD card, doesn't matter)
-Decent enough emulation
-Doubling as rumble/RAM expansion is nice, but not necessary
-Relatively cheap compared to other Slot 2 cats.

I would also like to be able to use it for a GBMicro, a present given to me last year and one which I haven't been using much. The guilt. THE GUILT!

I think this is what a lot of people want, since my criteria is almost exactly the same, and JazzFlight posted a very similar list earlier. In fact, I'm posting this comparison almost as much for myself as for other people. As far as I can tell, these are your best options (in order of cheapness):

EZFlash V 3-in-1 Expansion Pack (phat version)
If you want rumble *and* GBA support, this is pretty much the only way to go. The memory expansion is a nice plus. And you can't beat the price at ~$25. The downsides are that according to these people GBA compatibility is apparently not as good due to lack of RTC support, and you need to patch the GBA ROMs. I don't know if they fixed this for the phat version or not. In addition, you can load only one game at a time, but if it's 128 Mbits or less, it doesn't take too long. Also, this is not a standard Slot-2 solution, as it loads the data from your Slot-1 card, meaning of course that you need a Slot-1 card as well. However, Slot-2 carts often cost $70 by themselves (the worthwhile ones at least) not counting the PassMe device, while getting a Slot-1 plus this expansion shouldn't run you over $75.

Pros:
- Rumble and memory expansion
- $25
Cons:
- GBA compatibility isn't as good.
- Only one game at a time

M3 Lite Professional
I actually don't recommend this one since it barely qualifies as having GBA support, but I thought I'd include it for completion. It's about $40 and you can only load games that are 32 MBits (that's 4 MB) or less. A few people claim you can get around this using GBATool, but I've never seen an example of somebody actually doing it.

Pros:
- $40
Cons:
- Can't play GBA games that are over 4 MB (i.e. most of them :P)

G6 Lite
Technically this is the most expensive of the Slot-2 carts, but it comes with its own media and reader/writer, so that's about $20-30 saved right there. Yeah, it's only 512MB, but unless you're storing music and movies or something, it should be enough. However, apparently some people have problems with it getting corrupted and needing a reformat, so that's something to keep in mind. Also, I've read you can't update the emulators that come on the cart.

Pros:
- Built-in storage; don't need to buy media/reader
Cons:
- "Only" 512MB of space
- Might get corrupted and need reformat
- Can't update the built-in emulators

M3 miniSD Perfect
This is the one I was eyeing for quite a while, since it's more or less the size of a GBA cart. As the name implies, it uses miniSD cards instead of microSD. If that's an issue, there miniSD adapters for microSD cards. I've seen various prices on this cart, ranging from $60-80. But in general it should be functionally equivalent to...

M3 Lite Perfect
Now before someone gets on my case about the M3 Lite not fitting in a regular GBA, you can buy a GBA shell for $2. The shell is actually included at some places like GameYeeeah and BambooGaming. So that solves that matter. And with that out of the way, the M3 Lite has pretty much the best reviews that I've seen...the end/be all of Slot-2's as it were. Unfortunately, at $70, along with getting a PassMe and microSD card, this baby will easily run you over $100 total after it's all said and done. Unless of course you don't need DS support, in which case you can skip the PassMe and use it as a standalone GBA cart.

Pros:
- End/be all of Slot-2's
Cons:
- (Might) need to buy GBA shell
- $70

Edit: In your specific case, chaofan, the R4 will function nicely as either the Slot-1 storage for an EZ Flash V 3-in-1, or as a PassMe for the other carts.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Well, it looks like M3 has just came out with their latest card, the M3 DS Real. By all appearances, it looks to be a not-so-subtly re-branded G6DS Real with external storage, but on second glance, it comes with some interesting expansions...

The one that stands out is, of course, the GBA Expansion cart. Like the EZFlash 3-in-1, it loads games from slot-1 storage, but has features such as real-time save and cheat support, and will run patched AND clean ROMs. And the GBA compatibility will undoubtedly be excellent, if M3 lives up to the reputation they got from the M3 Perfect.

So far I'm quite impressed with the feature set, and just might get one over a CycloDS. It's definitely a bit cheaper, but most importantly, the stock won't be delayed for 2 months. :P

There's nowhere I can't reach.

If I understand their terminology correctly, "real-time saves" is the same as save states, so I think the answer is yes, at least on the GBA side. I didn't check if they implemented it for DS games, as save states were never a big draw for me.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'm hoping Team Cyclops will just end up adding support for the GBA Expansion (I'm assuming it's possible). That would be pretty sweet.

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I ended up paying the extra for a CycloDS because they actually have something resembling support. I've been pretty happy with it...so far my only complaints are cosmetic. Using a sticker to cover the chip is pretty ghetto, and the lack of a spring-loaded memory slot is kind of annoying. But functionality-wise, you can't really ask for more from a slot-1 cart. Combined with the EZFlash 3-in-1, it'll make your wildest dreams come true fulfill all your DS/GBA needs.

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I think the M3 DS Real is okay for people on a budget, and should be good enough for most people's needs when it comes to the essentials (compatibility, DLDI, etc.). From what I can tell, the Evolution's main advantage is in the secondary stuff...loading times, built-in support for the 3-in-1's rumble and RAM features, an actual support forum, etc. Some people also prefer the CycloDS interface.

I *almost* regret not waiting for the latest batch because it is dang sexy, but I got a lot of value out of mine while everyone was waiting for theirs.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Eh, $10 is big difference for some people. It can also add up if you're getting multiple cards.

FELIPE NO

FFCC: Ring of Fates deactivates after 20 minutes if it detects you are using a flashcart. R4s trigger this, but Evos don't.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yeah, from the comments it seems it's still not clear. One poster claimed that work on a un-dub patch was halted because patching the game triggered the same behavior, even on the CycloDS.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I recommend the EZFlash 3-in-1. Carts like the eWin/M3 Real GBA expansion also work great, but from what I understand lack non-volatile memory, meaning you'll have to re-flash the ROM every time you reset the DS. Whereas with the EZFlash, you can burn a game to non-volatile NOR memory, at which point the cart acts *exactly* like a regular GBA cart, meaning you can use it for GBA-DS connectivity, and (if you get the GBA-size version) even stick it in a DS fat, GBA, or GBA Player.

I would not recommend the M3 Lite Pro, as it will not hold big games like Kingdom Hearts and Riviera. The M3 Lite Perfect will satisfy all your GBA needs, but is a bit overkill if you already have a Slot-1. Both carts are primarily for playing NDS games, for people who don't have/want a Slot-1 for whatever reason. And even then you miss out on the rumble/RAM features you'd get from the 3-in-1.

Edit: Also, while the CycloDS Evolution is still an excellent card with great support, it's not the undisputed king of Slot-1 anymore like it was less than a year ago. It's hard to go wrong with any of the current gen cards like the SuperCard DS One, Acekard RPG, M3DS Real, TTDS, etc., some of which you can find for half the price of an Evolution. Again, it comes down to secondary features like loading times, GUIs, support, etc. and which of those are important to you.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Ha, yeah, well the Real's expansions are pretty much identical to the one's made by eWin, which work with any Slot-1 with DLDI.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Yeah, you can get slightly better performance with the RAM expansion, but at this point it's not really worth the trouble for most games.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Lukage

Still nothing really useful that I've seen as far as being able to purchase a Slot-2 device alone for compatibility with my M3 Simply.

Fucking M3 still refuses to sell the Slot-2 devices separately, which doesn't seem wise. Whatever.

Well you can buy the expansions separately, but I'm pretty sure they're just clones of the eWin expansions. Doesn't really matter which one you get though, Rudolph's GBA ExpLoader homebrew will work with both.

How ya doing, buddy?

Unfortunately no, I believe you'll still have to patch the Pokemon games to get around that. The M3 Lite/Perfect is the only device with RTC support to my knowledge.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

In the case of the M3DS Real and CycloDS Evo, the GBA games will be on your Slot-1, and you can put as many on it as you want (I think). The main function of a Slot-2 device is to copy a single game from your Slot-1 to its local memory and run it in GBA mode. If you want to play another game, you will have to overwrite the Slot-2 memory (saves are stored on the Slot-1 so you don't have to worry).

Most Slot-2 devices support DS-GBA connectivity, although in slightly different ways. If you get a 3-in-1, you can flash the game to non-volatile NOR memory and it will function like the original cart for any connectivity features. If you use the M3DS Real or eWin expansions, the process involves using the soft-reset feature so that the game stays in memory.

In other news, firmware 1.4 beta 3 just came out for the Evo. GBA autopatching was added, which means that you can now run clean ROMs straight from the menu without any need for 3rd party homebrew. \m/

FELIPE NO

Do you mean standalone as in it plays DS games too? You can still get the M3 Perfect Lite at Gameyeeeah. It's possible they're just being phased out though, due to being more expensive than Slot-1 + expansion combos, without a significant amount of extra functionality.

If you're just looking for the expansion carts, RealHotStuff has the M3 DS Real GBA pack and EZFlash 3-in-1. The eWin expansions are still available at PSXBoy.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by KyleDunamis

Is there any way to dump GBA roms with CycloDS, like there is for DS roms?

You could ask on their forums. That's the nice thing about Team Cyclops stuff, they actually have forums!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

A lot of the appeal seems to be in the music creator. From what I could tell it's like Mario Paint on steroids or somesuch.

So is DX already out? I still need to beat the original...

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Wow, half of those posts aren't even comprehensible English.

I have faith that Team Cyclops will get this sorted out by the final firmware release though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Well it looks like you'll need to use that money you saved to import Band Bros DX.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Syndrome

Anyhow, I can't wait to play all the GBA games I've missed. To bad the GBA-cart is black though :V

If you have a white DS, you can replace the shell.

Originally Posted by xiaowei

CycloDS is overpriced if you just want to play some games. My suggestion is now pointing towards the AceKard2. It's $20 at dealextreme.

Yeah, I mentioned before that any of the current-generation (or even last-generation) cards will work if you just wanna play games: TTDS/DSTT, EDGE, iTouchDS, and AceKard2 are the ones I've seen recommended the most so far, and they're all under $30. A couple of them are Evo clones in fact. The AceKard2 in particular is actually pretty intriguing though, since apparently its firmware is open source which I know will appeal to some people.

Again, what you're paying for with the Evo is the support. Back when I was choosing a cart, it was pretty much just the R4/M3 and Evo on the market, costing $40 and $53 respectively. I decided to pay the extra $13 for the support, and I've been happy with that decision so far.

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Originally Posted by Zephyrin

Do you know if that would work with the 3-in-1, also? It'd be nice to have that way I can buy the lite version, in case I ever buy a DS lite to replace my DSFat.

Hm, I dunno. But for $2.50, maybe it's worth a try?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Never had problems with my reader (except for Windows sometimes not being able to stop the device for some reason).

Originally Posted by Yaoi Overflow

I've been contemplating buying some means of DS pirating for a year or so now since I got mine. I'm generally disinterested in a lot of DS games, but I wonder if this is just because I'm a hardened PSP fanboy, or because I haven't tried any.

For the PSP, I always was keen to buy games, but once I started pirating them I wanted to own them that much more, so I'm kind of thinking the same might hold true for the DS.

What do you all think?

I'm gonna say that getting a flashcart will most likely not make you like DS games any more, but you'll be able easily try out games that might interest you for free and that in itself will pay for the cart fairly quickly.

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I don't see why not. You might need a 3-in-1 though and use the NOR flash, since it sounds like this would involve a hard reset.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Yeah, there should be a way to "burn" a GBA game onto your M3 so that it acts like a normal GBA cart. I suggest checking the manual.

Jam it back in, in the dark.