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Getting M3 DS Simply to run nesds/snesds, what's going on?

Discussion in 'Nintendo DS' started by BFG9000, Feb 5, 2007.

  1. BFG9000

    BFG9000 Member

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    Hi there!

    DS Lite
    Kingston 1GB MicroSD formatted FAT16, 64K Clusters (works with Castlevania: POR)
    M3 DS Simply
    Newest firmware/moonshell off dualscene.net

    I've tried to run NESDS and SNESDS to no avail.

    Here's what I did:
    1 Got NESDS/SNESDS and NDSTOOL.exe
    2 Put them in their own folders each with their own NDSTOOL.exe
    3 Ran make_nds.bat
    4 Added a bunch of ROMs
    5 Saved and copied the resulting .nds file to MicroSD
    6 Ran .nds file in moonshell to no avail.

    Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
     
  2. Kiwiclx

    Kiwiclx Member

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    The firmware available at Dualscene (1.01) is outdated. I have a copy of the latest firmware (1.02) at my page - http://nds.kiwiclx.com

    As for SNES eumlation, use SNEmulDS - DLDI patching required. I'm sure no other emulator works at the moment or at least has proper libfat support.

    It sounds like you followed the correct procedure for nesDS, but just in case, here's a link to some quick directions I wrote.
     
  3. BFG9000

    BFG9000 Member

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    Thanks for the link Kiwiclx!

    In terms of NesDS, yea I actually saw your post and followed it to the letter to no avail.

    When I try to load my bundle of ROMs with either .nds file (NESDS/SNESDS) my DS just freezes with a white screen. Not sure whether I'm supposed to create a .sav file or not (I tried both ways anyway and still got a white screen. I'll try the new firmware and report back.

    Quick question: Where do I put the DLDI file that you linked me to?
     
  4. Kiwiclx

    Kiwiclx Member

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    You're going to need to patch the *.nds file for proper support. For this you'll need three items:

    • DLDI Patching Software
    • DLDI Device Patch - r4tf.dldi (M3DDS/R4 compatible)
    • Homebrew Binary (*.nds)

    I suggest using the Win32 GUI patching software (if you're using Windows of course) as it is easiest for beginners. Patching tools for other OSs are available at the DLDI website.

    1) Unpack the zip and run dlditool32.exe
    2) For "DLDI File" browse to the directory where 'r4tf.dldi' is located
    3) For "Binaries" browse to the directory where the '*.nds' file you wish to patch is located and select it. Repeat for additional binaries.
    4) Click "Patch"!
    5) Copy '*.nds' to microSD card
    6) Enjoy!

    Binaries must be DLDI compatible prior to patching - do not patch if this is not the case, it will not work!
     
    Last edited: Feb 5, 2007
  5. BFG9000

    BFG9000 Member

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    NES games are working. Not sure if it's because I chopped the .nds filesize down (I saw something about making it less than 4096KB somewhere) or if it's because I removed a nonworking ROM. Could a nonworking ROM cause the white screen or was it the filesize?

    ___________________________________________


    In terms of SNESDS, well, I'm getting the error "snesDS.nds does not have a DLDI section"

    Should I be packing ROMs together or not? As above with nesDS could it be that the filesize is too big, that I should be making them individually, or maybe I'm packing in some nonworking ROMs?

    _____________________________________________

    With this and CV: POR this M3 Simply is anything but simple so far lol
     
  6. Kiwiclx

    Kiwiclx Member

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    SNESDS is not DLDI compatible. Pardon me if you read my partial reply - I meant to hit 'preview' but missed like a pro and I just edited it 3 times.

    Try SNEmulDS, specifically the 'SNEmulDS_Test.nds' binary linked in the latest news post. I do warn you that the emulation is a bit rough as development is still in its early stages. There is very minimal game compatibility at the moment as you can see from the following website:

    http://wiki.pocketheaven.com/SNEmulDS_Compatibility_List
    http://www.neferiu.com/snemulds/main/index.php


    The DLDI patching is not a fault of the M3 group necessarily. As a matter of fact it no one's fault - just a hurdle in making homebrew compatible with as many adapters as possible while keeping things simple for programmers. Before, programmers would have to include fat libraries for various adapters and release multiple versions depending on the adapter the homebrew is being run on. With the DLDI I/O Interface a fixed chunk of code can be included, allowing users to patch the homebrew according to their device. The M3 group has actually done good - they released their FAT library source so a DLDI could be made easily in the first place. Can't say as much for DS-Xtreme. :X
     
  7. Kiwiclx

    Kiwiclx Member

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    Yes, I do believe you need to keep it under 4096KB (DS RAM limitations) for the nesDS.nds. The good thing is you can just create multiple *.nds binaries with different sets of games. :>
     
  8. BFG9000

    BFG9000 Member

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    Whew!

    After a couple hours here's what I'm left with.

    nesds works as long as file sizes are 4096KB or under. Great success!

    'SNEmulDS_Test.nds' works when I put the file and ROMs in the root folder.

    I decided to try DoomDS and it works well although I have to put it in my root folder, so that means only one game at a time (can't choose between doom and doom2.wad.

    _____________________________

    Questions:

    nesDS:
    Is this emulator still being worked on? Are save states possible for it?
    Is there another emulator that is either working or in progress that has save capability?
    Is there a link anywhere for nesds compatibility like there is for snesDS?

    SNEmulDS:
    Save states crash the emulator, is this normal?
    Is it possible to scroll the list of games up or down? (only a few are showing up)
    Great emulator but obviously needs a bit of work to be more than a technical achievement on the author's part, is it still being worked on?





     
  9. Kiwiclx

    Kiwiclx Member

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    - nesDS has not had a release since 12/30/2005. Requests have been made for DLDI support however co-author emu_kidd has stated he has no time to add it himself and the source code will not be released until a willing and capable programmer is found and permission by co-author Loopy is granted. In the nesDS readme it states "Saving is still broken, but SRAM (.sav) files will be loaded if found."
    - None that I am aware of.
    - I have not come across any.

    - Saving states on SNEmulDS has always resulted in crashes for me. Either this feature has not been properly implemented or this arose from the recent addition of DLDI support.
    - I have yet to load that many games; I will get back to you.
    - Yes, SNEmulDS is still a work in progress. Feel free to put pressure on (I mean praise >,>) the programmer(s) at the SNEmulDS forums.
     

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