The Official NDS Homebrew Thread

[Ji@nBing]

DS2Key is an app that turns your DS into a wireless controller for games on the PC. Perfect for emus!! :)

[Menge]

Well.. .seems the time has come. I'm going over to the US next month and i'll be buying a DS Lite there.

i was thinking of ordering these to go with it:

- SuperCard miniSD

- Max Media Launcher (doens't require an extra cartridge and it's pretty small too)

- 512MB Kingston miniSD card

i guess that's good enough huh? it better be :p

[Ji@nBing]

Sounds good to me. You may want to up the SD card to 1 gig though. Trust me, you will really appreciate that extra space. The Max Media Launcher is perfect for the Lite, probably what I will get too "if" I decide to get a Lite as a lot of people have bricked thiers trying to flash it and I don't want to take the risk.

On a side note, I've updated the LE5 skins and made a few other Moonshell skins. If there is any interest, I will post them (doesn't seem to be much interst in this thread though... :wacko: )

[DomG]

I'm kinda interested in DS homebrew, but all the solutions I've seen so far (SuperCard, NeoFlash, etc) take away from the portability of the DS, and will stick even further out in the Lite. If someone comes out with something that is confined to within the Lite's GBA bay, then I'd make a purchase.

[Ji@nBing]

Check out the Supercard miniSD or M3 miniSD. It's the same size as a GBA cart, so it will only stick out as much as a GBA cart does.

[DomG]

Yeah, I was looking at those, but if I'm spending a fair bit of cash on something, I want it to look right. Don't really want it sticking out like that :(

[Ji@nBing]

As of now that's as small as it gets. Those just came out too, so I doubt there will be anything smaller anytime soon, if at all. It's really not that big a deal. If you want to play any GBA games they will stick out like that as well anyway. It doesn't detract from the portability of the system at all.

[AbandonedTrolley]

I've just ordered the Supercard SD, will I be okay using a standard SD card with it, or should I get a high speed one?

www.play.com currently have both 1 gig cards for ?17.99 but the high speed are out of stock at the moment:((

Just wondering if i can get away with standard speed?

[colordeficiency]

Soon to be release is the G6 Lite and EZ4 Lite. They fit nicely into the DS Lite without sticking out! I'll certainly wait for this to go with my DS Lite.

[Ji@nBing]

The thing with them though is that they are not nearly as compatible with homebrew and the "forbidden" r word. Of the two, defintely go for the G6. The EZ4 is junk from what I've heard. The M3 and Supercard MiniSD versions don't stick out that much. Here's a pic of the M3 in a Lite. Good news is that there is an M3 MicroSD in development so it will be even smaller. No word on when it will be ready though.

[colordeficiency]

From what I heard, G6 and M3 are of the same dev.

[Ji@nBing]

Yep, they are made by the same company. You should also note about the G6 though is that it's capacity is in gigabits, not gigabytes. So the one with the biggest capcity, the 4G, is actually only 512 megabytes. Not very much if you plan on having any movies, mp3's, ect.. on it.

[Ji@nBing]

I just ordered a Superkey so I don't have to risk flashing my Lite. I'll let you all know how it is once it arrives in a few days.

[tlogank]

I just ordered a Superkey so I don't have to risk flashing my Lite. I'll let you all know how it is once it arrives in a few days.

so how does this get around flashing the Lite?...

[Ji@nBing]

so how does this get around flashing the Lite?...

Basically it goes in your DS cartridge slot and bypasses the Nintendo security headers that check to see if it is an authentic Nintendo cart, allowing you to run homebrew, ect.. from your GBA flashcart. Flashing your DS is flashing it with a hacked firmware that doesn't have the authentication code in it, again allowing you to run homebrew from a GBA flashcart. Using a device like the Superkey is much safer on the Lite because when you flash the new firmware, you have to bridge a screw called SL1. On the Lite, there is another small screw right beside the SL1 that when hit, turns off the DS. If you hit it in the middle of flashing, your DS will turn off before the flash is finished, bricking your Lite. A lot of people have bricked thier Lites trying to flash them. I don't want to risk it :p

[tlogank]

Basically it goes in your DS cartridge slot and bypasses the Nintendo security headers that check to see if it is an authentic Nintendo cart, allowing you to run homebrew, ect.. from your GBA flashcart. Flashing your DS is flashing it with a hacked firmware that doesn't have the authentication code in it, again allowing you to run homebrew from a GBA flashcart. Using a device like the Superkey is much safer on the Lite because when you flash the new firmware, you have to bridge a screw called SL1. On the Lite, there is another small screw right beside the SL1 that when hit, turns off the DS. If you hit it in the middle of flashing, your DS will turn off before the flash is finished, bricking your Lite. A lot of people have bricked thier Lites trying to flash them. I don't want to risk it :p

So what is the advantage of this to the G6Lite? Because from what I read...they have a version of this that does not stick out of the Lite. Does it also involve flashing firmware?

And also, does the DS Lite function like a regular DS Lite when the Superkey is removed from the DS cartridge slot? I just don't want to do anything to void my warranty.

Oh, and support of sleep mode matters to me as well.

Edited June 14, 2006 by tlogank

[Ji@nBing]

So what is the advantage of this to the G6Lite? Because from what I read...they have a version of this that does not stick out of the Lite. Does it also involve flashing firmware?

And also, does the DS Lite function like a regular DS Lite when the Superkey is removed from the DS cartridge slot? I just don't want to do anything to void my warranty.

G6 Lite is a flashcart, the Superkey is a Passme device. They are used together to be able to run homebrew. As I said in my last post, a Passme device (Superkey in this case, or flashing your firmware) bypasses the secutiry checks, allowing you to run homebrew from the GBA slot.

The G6 and other flashcarts basically act as a hard drive that you run your homebrew files on, store pics, mp3's movies, ect... The "flash" in flashcart doesn't refer to flashing the firmware. It's "flash" as in flashmemory (SD, CF, MiniSD, ect..) because it is an adapter that allows you to plug in flash media to the DS via the GBA slot.

One thing about the G6 is that it has internal flash memory that isn't upgradable (see my post about G6 a few posts up). Where as carts such as M3 or Supercard work as an adapter for CF, SD, or MiniSD. Enabling you to use as much memory as you want, limited only by the size of your CF, SD, or MiniSD cards (I think they are up to 4 gigs now).

As far as your warranty, flashing over your firmware does void the warranty. Using the Superkey though does not. And it does function the same as a regular DS Lite without it in, because it still is one. It's just the same as inserting a DS game cartridge, because it basically is one, sleep mode and all ;)

[tlogank]

G6 Lite is a flashcart, the Superkey is a Passme device. They are used together to be able to run homebrew. As I said in my last post, a Passme device (Superkey in this case, or flashing your firmware) bypasses the secutiry checks, allowing you to run homebrew from the GBA slot.

The G6 and other flashcarts basically act as a hard drive that you run your homebrew files on, store pics, mp3's movies, ect... The "flash" in flashcart doesn't refer to flashing the firmware. It's "flash" as in flashmemory (SD, CF, MiniSD, ect..) because it is an adapter that allows you to plug in flash media to the DS via the GBA slot.

One thing about the G6 is that it has internal flash memory that isn't upgradable (see my post about G6 a few posts up). Where as carts such as M3 or Supercard work as an adapter for CF, SD, or MiniSD. Enabling you to use as much memory as you want, limited only by the size of your CF, SD, or MiniSD cards (I think they are up to 4 gigs now).

As far as your warranty, flashing over your firmware does void the warranty. Using the Superkey though does not. And it does function the same as a regular DS Lite without it in, because it still is one. It's just the same as inserting a DS game cartridge, because it basically is one, sleep mode and all ;)

You are incredible with this stuff. Okay, so what are you recommendations (pending your new Superkey) for the best PassMe device and the best Flash adaptor...saying that I wanted to use either SD or miniSD.

And as far as the sleepmode goes, is this being supported yet?

Oh, and what are the advantages of the Superkey over the Passcard?

Edited June 14, 2006 by tlogank

[colordeficiency]

I ordered a Passcard 3 and am waiting for a flashcart that doesn't stick out!

[Ji@nBing]

You are incredible with this stuff. Okay, so what are you recommendations (pending your new Superkey) for the best PassMe device and the best Flash adaptor...saying that I wanted to use either SD or miniSD.

And as far as the sleepmode goes, is this being supported yet?

Oh, and what are the advantages of the Superkey over the Passcard?

The 2 best are the M3 and Supercard. The difference is the M3 plays GBA "the dreaded r words" a tiny bit better, and it has a custom version of an awesome homebrew app called Moonshell built right into it's firmware, and an organizer app built right into it's firmware. That's not a huge deal though bcause you can just grab Moonshell seperately and run it on the Supercard, and the version built into the M3 is actually an old version. Also there is a homebrew organizer app that you can download seperately for the Supercard as well. The M3's file loader has a nice GUI, where as the Supercard's is just text based. The M3 is 2x the price as the Supercard. So if a tiny bit better compatibility with GBA "r word"s and a GUI file loader is worth 2x the price to you, go for the M3. Otherwise the Supercard works great. The MiniSD versions of both of them are the size of a GBA cart, so they will stick out about 1cm, just like a GBA cart. I've heard the M3 team are working on a MicroSD version that will be even smaller. No word on when it will be out though. Haven't heard anything about the Supercard team developing a MicroSD version, but I'm sure they are.

As far as sleepmode goes, both the Superkey and Passcard3 support it.

There doesn't seem to be any difference between the Superkey and the Passcard3. The Superkey is made by the makers of Supercard, and the Passcard3 is made by the makers of M3. Both will work on most flashcards. I went for the Superkey because it was $4 cheaper :p

[tlogank]

The 2 best are the M3 and Supercard. The difference is the M3 plays GBA "the dreaded r words" a tiny bit better, and it has a custom version of an awesome homebrew app called Moonshell built right into it's firmware, and an organizer app built right into it's firmware. That's not a huge deal though bcause you can just grab Moonshell seperately and run it on the Supercard, and the version built into the M3 is actually an old version. Also there is a homebrew organizer app that you can download seperately for the Supercard as well. The M3's file loader has a nice GUI, where as the Supercard's is just text based. The M3 is 2x the price as the Supercard. So if a tiny bit better compatibility with GBA "r word"s and a GUI file loader is worth 2x the price to you, go for the M3. Otherwise the Supercard works great. The MiniSD versions of both of them are the size of a GBA cart, so they will stick out about 1cm, just like a GBA cart. I've heard the M3 team are working on a MicroSD version that will be even smaller. No word on when it will be out though. Haven't heard anything about the Supercard team developing a MicroSD version, but I'm sure they are.

As far as sleepmode goes, both the Superkey and Passcard3 support it.

There doesn't seem to be any difference between the Superkey and the Passcard3. The Superkey is made by the makers of Supercard, and the Passcard3 is made by the makers of M3. Both will work on most flashcards. I went for the Superkey because it was $4 cheaper :p

Alright, I know the G6 Lite will have a fixed 512MB. But what about the EZ Lite adapter that has the MicroSD cards? Here is the screenshot...it looks pretty nice:

Edited June 14, 2006 by tlogank

[Ji@nBing]

I've heard a lot of bad things about the EZ adapters as far as compatibility goes. I don't know if they have improved it with the Lite version or not. We'll have to wait until it is out to get the verdict.

[Danrarbc]

I'd rather wait for an M3 or Supercard MicroSD version.

Both would probably pick a better shape than that too, no reason to not have it be the exact same shape as the slot 1 cover :p

[firebud]

Is EZ the only ones making a MicroSD version?

I do hope they fix the little square there where there's no covering .. just like the cartridge that cmoes with the Lite.

[colordeficiency]

Here's what the retail EZ 4 Lite looks like.