DS Daily: How do you homebrew?

The M3 Simply is definately one of the better choices as far as Slot 1 hardware is concerned.

I've been using an M3 Lite+Passcard3.

Works well. The best thing to do is research, and order from a reputable dealer.
The more obscure devices tend to be less well supported among homebrew.

I have an R4. Super simple and it just works.

Only drawback is it can't do slot 2 stuff... I wanted to try DSLinux, but it struggles without a Slot-2 card.

I've got the M3 Simply as well. I've tried some homebrew games, but I guess more fully developed titles haven't really come out lately. Cave Story is an exception, even if it is just a demo right now.

I'm looking forward to an R4DS myself. I've done quite a bit of research and it seems to offer the easiest way to homebrew at a totally reasonable price.

CAN ANYONE HELP ME FOR GETTING INTO THIS (Sorry for the caps)? I am a willing to learn and i learn quick. are there any reputable stores you know of where i can purchase this stuff?

Oh and price is not an issue i want to dig straight into this.

My friend has the DS-Extreme card. It has some great advantages but TONS of flaws. Also, for some reason the new Zelda won't run and the new Bleach won't save. It also has a problem where it stops creating save files, so you have to make them manually when you d/l any rom. He hates it.

Meanwhile, I'm in the prehistoric age BUYING ds games :lol:

I use a m3 simply.
It took me 10 minutes to set up, skin and use.

It's pretty handy for movies music and homebrew.
No-one I know has had any problems with it.

As for purchasing, try gameyeeeah dot com.

Supercard Lite at the moment with passkey. Lets me play pretty much anything; haven't had a problem with a rom yet.

I've got a few homebrew devices.

In the DS slot, I've got a R4DS with a 2gb SD card. It's all I need for DS games and homebrew. Automatic DLDI patching means no messing around with patches before hand.

In the GBA slot, I've usually got a 3-in-1 EZ Flash. Neat thing about it, apart from having expansion RAM for the browser and a rumble pack, is that you can flash a game to the NOR with a homebrew program, then it'll work like a regular GBA cart in any DS lite.

R4 here, and sadly, it's not all homebrew. I pirate games I don't feel are worth buying :(

I think i am going to go with the M3 version for my little one! she will love it. I have done alot of reading and it seems to be the easiest.
http://www.spymac.com/details/?2284981

I have zero interest in downloading or playing pirated DS Roms, but I would like to be able to play classic NES and SNES games on the go. Is there a specific option that would be best suited for this?

Thanks.

A reputable retailer, and one that I have had good experiences with, is:

www.realhotstuff.com

I am of the opinion that if you want to play
only homebrew, you should go with a slot-2 type.

They are slightly older, therefore better supported.
They usually have a small amount of extra ram,
which some homebrew can use.

Slot-1 types are newer, and are easier to use
with NDS roms, but they don't support GBA stuff.

I've got a SuperCard Lite and until recently I used it in tandem with an R4, until I lost the R4. Theres also a way of using a slot 2 with the NDS Browser ROM, you just have to patch it first. works just as well as the retail version too.

Guys, I've used a few of these and it's all about the CycloDS Evolution. Customer service is great, easy to update, has built in cheat codes (you can also add your own cheats), easy to skin, it uses microSD, it's only $65 bucks (plus a 2GB card from newegg for $20), and if you buy the $22 EZ3in1 Flash card (not a cycloDS product) the comunication is flwaless so you can even run GBA games from you slot 1 card, as-well-as the opera browser and rumble. Trust me, this is the ONLY way to go. And whatever you do, DO NOT get the DS-Extream. Worst purchase i ever made.

http://www.cyclopsds.com/cgi-bin/cyclods/engine.pl?page=products-cyclodsevolution

Look no further than the CycloDS Evolution. It really is the best device out there. It has a built in OS, fairly frequent (and feature-filled) firmware updates, skins, Moonshell media player built in, and uses MicroSD cards (even the new high capacity ones). You really can't beat it. It has on-the-fly DLDI patching. They're working on real-time save states, which could come in VERY useful for some of those challenging games. Really guys, it is the premier flash-cart at the moment. And it's not just for pirating games, you cynic you... Homebrew is an ever-growing scene with dedicated programmers trying to make the DS even more awesome than it already is.

Once you get the card how do you get the games on to it? Are there free download sites and can they mess up your ds? I have no knowledge with homebrew.

i have had an m3 simply in slot-1 for a while now, and it's easy as can be (As others have already mentioned). the tricky thing is that the english instructions are garbled at best, so the initial setup can be tricky to the initiate. once you have puzzled through it though, it's no problem. i do have a question for the masses though: if i've got an M3 simply in slot 1, what's my best option for doing homebrew and the like from slot-2?

I just bought a CycloDS Evolution but it hasn't come in the mail yet, because they're sold out and it's taking forever, so I'm still waiting for it.

I bought a $20 Datel Games n' Music card from Walmart, and I homebrew with that. I've got emulators for the following systems that work great on the Gn'M card: SNES, NES, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Genesis, Sega Master System, and Game Gear. I also play QuakeDS and DS Doom on it, as well as tons of other homebrew games/apps. Sounds good, eh? Go pick one up at Walmart for $20, and go to http://hbnds.biohazardteam.org/, to put stuff on it. P.S. Go to the fourm, there's tons of extra stuff there.

I just got an R4 and I love it. From what Ive read they have more reliable firmware updates than with the M3 Simply, although I could be wrong on that.

(Btw for you R4/M3 Simply owners, you can change an R4 into an M3, and vice versa, haha)

I also have an 3-in-1 EZ Flash for my Slot 2 so I can play GBA games, its probably the best thing you could use and I see a few others agree with me here.

I picked up my stuff from www.dealextreme.com they seem to have the cheapest prices and have great customer service.

i have a ds-x and i play both NES and SNES games (almost) perfectly. i've played Super Metroid from start to finish on the DS and it was an incredible experience... the controls were awesome. I'm playing the NES Metroid now, working great.

i haven't found a DS homebrew game i liked untill now, but i can get most of them to work.

Hello,

I have the R4DS, and its more then I could ever ask for. I have 2 1GB micro SD cards, 1 128 meg micro SD card.

Im gona run down a list of all the things I can do with the R4.

1. I can play .nds file games
2. Drag and Drop Mp3s, no conversion needed.
3. Any Video my computer has the Codec for I can convert and play on my DS.. The Software that comes with it is ok, but I have found a even better conversion program.
4. With Comicbook DS I can read manga, Comic books, use it as an excellent picture viewer. The Pictoad converter program takes entire Archives of Images, and converts them into one easy to move file. It can even read a .zip or .rar archive and convert it without having to decompress it.


5. With Comicbook DS, and another Free program called pdf-fill I can convert PDF Documents to be read with Comicbook DS.

4. With another Free net program that name escapes me, I can convert any word document into a PDF and the with PDF fill convert it to imageas to be read with Comic Book DS.

5. Voice over IP on the DS from any Wifi hot spot Rocks.

6.DSO Organize is great.

7. Scummv for all the old point and click

Anime, and most half hour shows run about 30-50mb in size, an average movie is 100-150mb in size.

Most Games go from 30mb to 80mb in size, so a 1GB card works nicely

The Automatic DLDI patching is so nice.

The R4DS runs from 39$ to 50$, I got mine on Amazon for 45$ + S&H, and I got the a 1GB micro SD card for 5$ + S&H.

If anyone wants help doing any of the above mentioned thing with their R4 just drop me an Email, I'll either show you where to get the software, or explain how to do it.

I love the DS and R4 so much I dont mind helping people out ^___^ You can email me at Nemuaff@gmail.com put "I need help with the r4 in the subject line" so I know its not spam.

How do you get homebrews on to the ds once you have a flash card, are the roms free?

Ok, the R4 has a micro SD card Slot on it, you take A micro SD card and a Micro SD USB reader, and Download the homebrew files to the card that way, then you pop the micro SD card back into the R4.

Its that Easy ^_^

-Raru
Nemuaff@gmail.com

I'm running the M3 DS Simply too. I found it to be a "simple" install and set-up. I have 20 titles (which includes 1 homebrew game) on a 2GB Micro SD card. My Micro SD is only half full with another 1.02GB's of free space left on the card. I've got plenty of room for another 20 games as long as I keep music and other content on a 2nd 1GB Micro SD card. I only download ROM's of games that I actually own which is still illegal, so it's a must that I learn how to RIP and create my own ROM's.

I have yet to find a lot of good games worth keeping in the homebrew space, but I'll keep looking.
See a picture of my set-up: http://tinyurl.com/2yfws3

R4DS for me, with a 1GB microSD. Works great, unless your loading spring breaks in which case it becomes a microSD launcher. Luckily realhotstuff.com replaced mine for me. Realhotstuff.com has fast shipping and good prices.

I mostly run homebrew and emulators, although I have used it to "try" some games before I bought them. Very nice that way.

I have tested many devices and will be testing some new devices in the coming months (M3 DS Real). I currently use the CycloDS Evolution as my main and R4/M3 DS as my 2ndary. I take all help requests via chat, PM, IM, etc... I can be found at the sites below as can my reviews:

http://www.Moddz.com
http://www.Xphilez.com

I'm here to help,

FifthE1ement

R4 + a 2gig Kingston microSD stick. Will run you about $40 for the R4 (cheaper if you look around) and about $20 for a 2gig stick.

Then, to play GBA games, get the 3in1 EZ-Flash V ds cart (just the gba cart, you don't need the combo with the DS cart) - this will run you for ~$20 as well.

Once you have that, look for the 3in1 Tools DS rom on the internet -- it will allow you to copy(flash) GBA games to your 3in1 straight from your 2gig stick in the R4.

Load the puppy up with GBA / DS roms, and you'll never need to carry anything other than your DS with you.

The R4 comes with a usb adapter for a microSD card. Copying games to the 2gig stick is as easy as just dragging files to a usb drive.

the 3in1 has a crappy but novel rumble built in (better than the retail one, tho) and acts as an expansion ram cart, too!

Hope this helps.

franty - which emu do you use for snes?

I use an M3 Simply and an EZ-Flash V (with the 3-in-1 slot 2 cart). Both use microSD cards, but they're incompatible with microSDHC as far as I can tell.

The M3 is the easiest to use, as adding homebrew apps really is "drag and drop," then loading in the M3's file browser.
However, because it's a slot 1 device, the homebrew you need to run must end in .nds. So any older applications that end in .nds.gba or .gba (as those are booted from slot 2), won't be able to run. Unless you use the M3 as a passme for a slot 2 device.

As for the EZ Flash V, it's essentially the same as the M3 Simply and also acts as a passme.
Firmware updates are slow. Plus the firmware itself isn't on a disc with the purchase.
Also, a save list needs to be updated for any roms, as it won't automatically recognize the save type needed.
The EZ Flash forums usually have the most up to date save-lists/new skins/etc. Although the device isn't for those with low patience levels when it comes to updating.

With the 3-in-1 cart you can load older homebrew (.nds.gba, .gba), however it can only save one app/rom at a time. To use a another one, you will need to delete the current one.

One other note for homebrew on slot 1 carts: DLDI patching. Depending on what device you use, you may need to patch it with the appropriate DLDI patch. A simple google search or browsing through forums like DGEmu should point you in the right direction.

Anywho, I recommend the M3 Simply for it's, well, simplicity. Also the 3-in-1 if running older homebrew is a must.


Store recommendation: http://www.kickgaming.com
Fast shipping, usually in-stock fairly quickly, and the site is easy to navigate.

Whoops. I meant to put in DCEmu, rather than DG.

I use the CycloDS Evolution, its so simple, no fiddling, comes with moonshell media player installed all games work fine on it :D its just fab, it even has its on OS and updating it is no hassle

Works with micro sd (and the new high capacity) i've got a 4Gb card in mine and it all works fab!

The divices are mass but what about the software to convert or create the games.

ive just ordered a ds lite and a r4 card.. i kind of know what to do but i cant seem to find any games that are free to download, can anyone help?

i have opted to go for the r4 ds, you can see an instruction video on you tube. it lookd really easy. mu only prob is what roms to download. i can have us version or the eur version? i am british. when it has currency like on theme park and brain training would i be better off with eur? i don't want to obtain them and then find out i have got the wrong ones!
I too refuse to pay £30 for these games, its a rip off. i'm yet to find any worth buying. I think i have about 6 tops and they are my sons!