DS Homebrew Made Easy

[Kamalot]

DS-Xtreme is an upcoming DS cart that plugs directly into your PC through a USB cable. According to Engadget (http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/10/ds-xtreme-gives-drag-n-drop-capability-to-your-nintendo-ds/), the DS-Xtreme includes a Windows GUI for quickly and easily setting up homebrew apps on the cart. The cart is 4Gb (512MB) and should hold several homebrew apps (for reference, the largest DS retail games are 1Gb or 128MB). The cart is also supposed to have a fancy UI for use on the DS to select your loaded software.

No word yet on a price or if it plays backups of commercial ROMs.

I have a series of homebrew apps running on my DS including an email program and a remote control gamepad for my PC (over WiFi). I use a MaxMedia adapter from Codejunkies and, while it works, getting things to run is a PITA! (not to mentiuon the Max Media adapter is huge and bloated in my DS Lite)

[Bone]

I've been meaning to buy one of those pass-through cards and a GBA flash drive thing, but I haven't seen enough DS homebrew to actually do it. Tell me more about this remote PC gamepad software!

[noxa]

I just ordered a G6Lite (http://www.divineo.com/cgi-bin/div-us/dd-ds-g6lite.html) for my DS Lite. Not sure which is more of a pain in the ass - removing the cart from the DS and sticking it in the adapter, or plugging in and turning on the DS. I know that I often find myself using my memory reader to load stuff on to my PSP just because it's easier than messing with cables and worrying about setting up the USB transfer (except when coding, when I use PSPLink).

Hopefully this thing won't have too many cool features, or else I'll feel bad about my purchase ;)

[Pumped'Up]

I wonder how the homebrew scene on the DS compares to the PSP scene...but whatever, I'm just happy that pristine mint Capcom CPS-1 and CPS-2 emulators are out for PSP!!! :D

[zokrath]

I ordered an M3 Mini SD a few months ago, and have tinkered around with the homebrew. Devkitpro is rather well put together, and recently added a wifi library, which works great. I've been putting together a traditional RPG, which the DS currently lacks, though there are a few titles on the horizon.

Cheers to homebrewers everywhere.

[Ravenlock]

Recommendations from another forum indicated to me that if I wanted homebrew compatibility and didn't care about the appearance of the thing (I don't, really), the M3 Compact Flash (http://www.divineo.cn/cgi-bin/div-cn/ds-m3cf2) was the way to go. Sticks out of the Lite a fair bit - more than a GBA cart - but apparently the CF format is more compatible in general than SD/miniSD, and the M3 is said to have the best firmware and other features (not that I really know what those are, I'm a homebrew n00b).

Any arguments against the above statements, or other recommendations? I've got a birthday coming up end of August and a loving wife willing to support my "new shiny!" habit, so I've kind of got a free skate here and want to get something good, it just has to be available this month (there's an M3 Lite coming out that will sit flush with the DS Lite and use microSD, but who knows when it's actually being released). :)

[score]

I wonder how the homebrew scene on the DS compares to the PSP scene...but whatever, I'm just happy that pristine mint Capcom CPS-1 and CPS-2 emulators are out for PSP!!! :D

The DS Homebrew scene (http://nintendo-ds.dcemu.co.uk/) is kicking! Check out the list of emulators and homebrew games etc...

[score]

Recommendations from another forum indicated to me that if I wanted homebrew compatibility and didn't care about the appearance of the thing (I don't, really), the M3 Compact Flash (http://www.divineo.cn/cgi-bin/div-cn/ds-m3cf2) was the way to go. Sticks out of the Lite a fair bit - more than a GBA cart - but apparently the CF format is more compatible in general than SD/miniSD, and the M3 is said to have the best firmware and other features (not that I really know what those are, I'm a homebrew n00b).

Any arguments against the above statements, or other recommendations? I've got a birthday coming up end of August and a loving wife willing to support my "new shiny!" habit, so I've kind of got a free skate here and want to get something good, it just has to be available this month (there's an M3 Lite coming out that will sit flush with the DS Lite and use microSD, but who knows when it's actually being released). :)

A supercard-lite has just been released. Been hearing good things about it. Has a front slot for micro sd cards so you dont need to take the cart out of your ds. I have an SD myself and have never had any problems running any homebrew...

[NoName]

This thread has me really intrested in homebrew now. My DS already gets a lot of usage. Combined with this and I'll be using my DS all the time O.o

[Ravenlock]

This thread has me really intrested in homebrew now. My DS already gets a lot of usage. Combined with this and I'll be using my DS all the time O.oI've been saying for a couple months now that money-for-entertainment-wise, the DS is hands down the best gaming deal currently available.

The sheer amount of awesome currently available for it (New Super Mario Bros, Meteos, Mario Kart, Metroid Hunters, Castlevania: DoS, Trauma Center, Phoenix Wright) and coming soon (Zelda, Starfox, Final Fantasy III, Castlevania: PoR, Mario Hoops, Contact, Children of Mana) terrifies the pocketbook, and evidently the homebrew scene has really picked up too. :D

I loves me my DS Lite.

[Stormwatcher]

The DS homebrew scene would probably be a lot bigger if the extra gadgets weren't necessary, but it is probably already strong.

I wonder, is it mandatory to mess with the DS firmware?

[noxa]

I recommend checking out Trauma Center - game is awesome and unique. I'm excited about the Phoenix Wright reprint coming soon, and can't wait for Contact either. Goooo DS!

[Ravenlock]

The DS homebrew scene would probably be a lot bigger if the extra gadgets weren't necessary, but it is probably already strong.

I wonder, is it mandatory to mess with the DS firmware?This one I know - not if you have an M3 and a Passcard 3, like the package I linked on the last page. The M3 plugs into the GBA slot and has native access to all the GBA functions, but to get DS functionality you either need the Passcard, or you need to flash the device.

Flashing the original DS was apparently quite easy, but the Lite is trickier so everyone's been advising me to just get a Passcard and avoid it. Only downside of a Passcard is it eats the battery faster, using both slots.

[shnastybiznastic]

I've been saying for a couple months now that money-for-entertainment-wise, the DS is hands down the best gaming deal currently available.
You could probably make a better case that the Gamecube is the best deal for money/EV. I mean, at the price of less than a new game, the system itself is cheap, and the games are pretty affordable too.

[ElPresidente]

Am I the only person who thinks measuring things in Gigabits is tantamount to fraud?

Seriously, what consumer is going to see 4Gb and think 512MB?

I know it isn't quite on topic but it annoys me no end.

[RMan]

Am I the only person who thinks measuring things in Gigabits is tantamount to fraud?
I definately agree. This looks like an interesting product, but I hate it when storage numbers are in bits (although it has been far more common with cartridges than other mediums).

[ParTime]

This is great! I started writing a homebrew adaptation of an old favorite game of mine (Hexxagon) a few weeks after I got my DS Lite. The easier it'll be for other people to play it, the better!

[Ravenlock]

You could probably make a better case that the Gamecube is the best deal for money/EV. I mean, at the price of less than a new game, the system itself is cheap, and the games are pretty affordable too.I would agree with you, except for the convenience of the DS in terms of multiplayer and portability.

"Entertainment value" is somewhat subjective, obviously, and multiplayer isn't a big deal for some people, but I had a wireless router already, so being able to instantly hop online and find someone to play Mario Kart or Metroid against anytime I want is awesome. Upcoming games like Bomberman, Starfox Command and Clubhouse Games will make it moreso. The Gamecube's total lack of online play really hurt it in terms of longevity.

And the portability means the DS goes with me pretty much anywhere I go, which means I get a lot more playtime out of it than I did with the Cube. I play some Brain Age in the morning before going to work, I play 15 minutes of Animal Crossing before going to sleep at night, etc. etc.

Not to mention - as we're discussing in this thread - a pretty vibrant homebrew community, which the Cube obviously didn't have.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Gamecube, but I probably haven't played it three times since getting my DS Lite in June. I figure the Cube's games will play just as well on the Wii when that comes out, and in the meantime I've got lots of great DS games to catch up on. :D

[shnastybiznastic]

Am I the only person who thinks measuring things in Gigabits is tantamount to fraud?

Seriously, what consumer is going to see 4Gb and think 512MB?
Flash RAM is sold in bits. That's the standard notation for a nonvolitile card. When this is marketed toward the average consumer, things change, but the homebrew crowd arent your average consumer.

[ElPresidente]

This is true but even I, a guy with 20+ years experience in gaming and somewhat obsessive on the subject, sees Gb and thinks GB.

[aversion2k]

1gig ds game?
The largest I've found (by far) is resident evil at 108megs, most of them are 30 or 50 megs.

Yes yes I've been bad with ds roms. But in my defence its only because I cant play demos and I have bought every ds game I liked.

[Ravenlock]

1gig ds game?
The largest I've found (by far) is resident evil at 108megs, most of them are 30 or 50 megs.

Yes yes I've been bad with ds roms. But in my defence its only because I cant play demos and I have bought every ds game I liked.And immediately, El Presidente's point is illustrated. ;)

1GB (gigabyte) does not equal 1Gb (gigabit). We're talking about Gb here, and 1Gb is equal to 128MB. Which is why when a flashcart says it holds 4Gb, it means that it holds 512 megabytes.

1Gb (128MB) is, as far as I know, the largest size of a DS game so far, though I think the DS cartridges can hold more than that, so we may see bigger ones show up eventually.

The only reason I can think of that a person would want a 1 or 2GB (gigabytes, now) solution for homebrew - a CF card of that size, or something - would be if they wanted to store a huge number of emulated games on it, or wanted to use it for video and audio (music and video is my excuse for getting the M3 CF and a 1 or 2GB card, personally) ;)