DSBoy - Gameboy Emulator for Nintendo DS

[wraggster]

mateom199 (http://forum.gbadev.org/viewtopic.php?t=12375) posted this news/release:


Hoping to stir up some interest in this NDS GB/GB emulator, I added libfat support to it, with a pretty rudimentary file explorer (thanks to PicoDriveDS) and adjusted a few lines of code so it will compile with DKP r20.

It seems that theres a bug somewhere in the code causing slightly corrupt
graphics, I wasn't able to track it down but I haven't been looking for very long.

Unfortunately, I know little asm and even less about the Gameboy's Z80 processor, so I don't imagine I would be much help in coding speed optimizations and the such. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on the the subject can help improve this emulator.

attached is both the modified source and a binary (.nds and nds.gba).

KNOWN ISSUES:
Graphics slightly corrupt
Many ROMs will crash it - tested with Mega Man 1, works fine (slow though)
ROM's must end in ".gbc", spaces in filenames not tested.

Download and Give Feedback Via Comments

[Mikaa]

Nice that someone is working on a Game Boy emulator for the DS! If I had the resources to assist, I would try to help.

Keep up the work, and good luck.

Mikaa

[backhair]

this is great news. i wish i knew how to program so i could help. a gameboy emulator is the biggest glaring hole in the DS homebrew scene, so it's awesome to see this is finally getting off the ground.

[Cygoku]

Some1 should really give him a hand !!

Cygoku

[Mikaa]

Question - is it possible to emulate GBA games/programs on the DS?

For that matter, is it possible to emulate 32X games (don't ask)?

Mikaa

[crazyncurly]

gb emulator for ds bloody hell there is so much i dont know.By the way just out of interest deos it support a save function

[JKKDARK]

Question - is it possible to emulate GBA games/programs on the DS?

Yes, there are alot of emulators and porgrams for Game Boy Advance working on the Nintendo DS.


For that matter, is it possible to emulate 32X games (don't ask)?

No. You will see NEVER a 32X emulator on the Nintendo DS. It's impossible.

[souLLy]

Question - is it possible to emulate GBA games/programs on the DS?


the ds already runs gba software flawlessly, the only possible use for a gba emulator really would be piracy as far as I can see.

[HiredK]

- i patch the "DSBoy.nds" with DLDI patcher ... then drag and drop it into my microSD ... then i put few roms "SMB.gb" ... and when i launch the emulator from my DS ... the DSBoy loader dont show any kinda roms ... only folders ... i'm using a M3 DS simply

[kcajblue]

this is pretty cool.
keep up the good work.

[TeenDev]

u can also use it fro the MMD witch doesn't have GBA support

[Amethyst]

I'm not going to test this until a more updated version is released but, still, it's great to hear Gamboy is being worked on for the DS. That's one of the things which irked me when I bought my dock and learned more about homebrew, the only decent Gameboy emulator was on the GBA.

I wish you the best of luck, man. And hopefully this project will encourage a better GBC emulator (or the revival of DS_GBC).

[souLLy]

- i patch the "DSBoy.nds" with DLDI patcher ... then drag and drop it into my microSD ... then i put few roms "SMB.gb" ... and when i launch the emulator from my DS ... the DSBoy loader dont show any kinda roms ... only folders ... i'm using a M3 DS simply

same, i presume it's a bug

[Mikaa]

I have a few questions/comments I need to make:

To JKKDark - Why is it impossible to see a 32X emulator running on the DS? I somehow doubt that it is due to the graphics ability, and aside from the issue of the dual processor, I cannot really fathom a reason.

To souLLy - The GBA can be run on a DS - assuming you have a compatable flash drive. Let me rephrase: will it be possible to emulate GBA games with the DS MMD CF drive?

Mikaa

[Payk]

Hmhmh emulating would be possible on anyflashcard, but slow.
What you are wanting is more virtualizing. But that doesnt work with MMD. It needs the 32MB intern ram so that the nds can be changed to gba mode and that the gba-bios then can found its data on the expected adresses. So no, not with that kind of flashcart

[souLLy]

To souLLy - The GBA can be run on a DS - assuming you have a compatable flash drive. Let me rephrase: will it be possible to emulate GBA games with the DS MMD CF drive?


Basically will Datel add GBA support to the MMD drive? I'd imagine it's physically possible for them to do so yes, but whether they will is up to them. There was a petition about it a while back if I remember correctly:

http://www.petitiononline.com/MMDGBA/petition.html

[parakalus]

mine wouldnt find any *.gb games on my SC lite, until I renamed them to *.gbc, this works. Great work, very impressed with speed, if save states and graphics are sorted, think it will be a permanent addition to the collection!

[souLLy]

mine wouldnt find any *.gb games on my SC lite, until I renamed them to *.gbc, this works. Great work, very impressed with speed, if save states and graphics are sorted, think it will be a permanent addition to the collection!


Now it works for me.

The files must be named *.gbc and not *.gb like the newspost says. weird garbled graphics but runs at a nice speed. here's hoping someone picks this up.

[Mikaa]

Thanks for the info, guys.

[Lman94]

i can not open the win zip file correctaly. win rar gives me an error message.

[Mikaa]

I've been noticing that quite often of late.

Depending on the speed of your connection (plus your general internet settings; the latter I still have not confirmed), if you try to strait-up open it, you have a chance of getting only a chunk of the file.

However, if you save the file to your PC/laptop, if it is still corrupted, download it again and select to overide the prior download. More often than not, I have found that this will download the file correctly.

Note - I am saying this while using DSL high-speed; actual milage of advice may vary.

[CoJoMo]

sounds cool

[Mikaa]

BTW, is there a planned update for this in the near future? I haven't been able to keep tabs of late, and am not aware if any news has happened lately.

[baronvonbadguy]

Hmm, it doesn't work on my EZV. No DLDI Support?

[DanTheManMS]

Try this updated binary by GFP - http://gpf.dcemu.co.uk/gnuboy_ds.rar (copy and paste into browser window to prevent redirect)

It has basic sound support, slightly improved speed, and less graphical corruption. It also supports DLDI.

In case you can't get the download to work, I've attached a copy to this post.

Just make sure you rename everything to .gbc and not .gb like the original post states.

[baronvonbadguy]

Nice, I'll have to try it out later though.

[justin350]

hey ummm this plays game boy color games too right?
cuz im playing one and its like a fat man on a cake walk... very slow if you didn't get it

[DanTheManMS]

That's supposed to happen, yes. It's very slow. That's why he's asking for help.

Also try the download I posted a few posts ago, as it's somewhat faster with sound support. Still not too playable though.

If you have a device capable of running GBA binaries, use Goomba Color instead.

[gumgod]

the ds already runs gba software flawlessly, the only possible use for a gba emulator really would be piracy as far as I can see.

There are public domain GBA roms and homebrew. If you have a slot 1 device for storing games you would have to have a GBA emualtor or buy slot 2 hardware to play it right? If what I'm saying is actually stupid forgive me I'm still new to this.

[Hyrule_boy]

Who really cares about this emulator? Since Lameboy pwned this emulator in every way possible!

[Adrianb354]

how do i get it to work it just shows a arrow and watever i press it doesent do anything i have mmd

[arson673]

hi im new to this stuff an di have no idea how to get this thing on to my ds after i downloaded it onto my computer

[crookedmouth]

I like DSBoy, but lameboy has a readme file right in the download

Lameboy
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=97864&highlight=lameboy

You'll need to understand DLDI patching and where to put files on your device's card.

read this
http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=54281


but use this newest DLDIRC
http://psychowood.altervista.org/getDLDIrc.html

After you install the DLDIRC(DLDI Right Click) and choose your device, just right click your .NDS file, chose your device patch and it will patch it for you.
Take the patched .nds file and place it on your card as per the installation describes. Some homebrew need specific placement and folders.Luckily most come with Readme files with instructions.

[JoeyDEViL-2k8]

I Dont Get All This But i Will Give u Hand Ive Helped Make Ga Emulator ith Some1 b4

[JoeyDEViL-2k8]

It Wont Let Me Extract The File.. :(

[Jhonnyblitz]

- i patch the "DSBoy.nds" with DLDI patcher ... then drag and drop it into my microSD ... then i put few roms "SMB.gb" ... and when i launch the emulator from my DS ... the DSBoy loader dont show any kinda roms ... only folders ... i'm using a M3 DS simply

Same thing happens for me... although i have a datel media dock.

[crookedmouth]

Same thing happens for me... although i have a datel media dock.

As much as I like choices, use Lameboy, even though I believe dsboy works fine with any dldi capable device, I know Lameboy works with MMD, and Lameboy has more features more compatibility and more updates then dsboy. Dsboy has it's own merits of course and I'm not putting it down. :)

[puma500]

i can only play gbc ( gameboy color) games with no sound and you dont see the game clearly

[akamuya]

ola soy nuebo
tambien buscou un emulador para mi NDS