Can a Homebrew Only Flash Cart Be Made ?

[masterchief929]

i agree w/ jeric on this one. although some ppl may be telling the truth about it, most ppl just say they would never buy as a worthless excuse.

[sepro]

i agree w/ jeric on this one. although some ppl may be telling the truth about it, most ppl just say they would never buy as a worthless excuse.

I think it's more an example to show why nintendo (as well as the movie and music industry) is overestimating the money lost due to piracy. As an excuse it's a pretty lousy one, I agree.

[Grey Acumen]

Nobody paying attention today? The Datel Games'n'Music card is HOMEBREW ONLY, it has not been hacked and has been around for ages. It is not possible to play commercial games from it. It is the product that you are all saying can't or wont be done, and it is OLD, homebrew coders have been using it for a long time now, google it or something.

I think maybe you're the one missing the point here. I've actually looked it up, and from what I can see, there is basically a problem with the Games n Music card playing games over 4MB in size, which sounds like it would cause problems for homebrew games as well.
If this problem is a physical issue, then it destroys the ability to play a bunch of potentially awesome homebrew games, which defeats the entire point of this discussion. If this problem is merely a firmware issue, then it can be addressed through either hacking the games, hacking the firmware, or both. Just the simple fact that it CAN be hacked, means that it cannot be considered a TRULY homebrew only card.
You seem to be using the issue that just because it hasn't been hacked means it can't be, but that's just not the case. You seem to be forgetting the wide variety of homebrew DS cards that are available and offer a much wider variety of support for homebrew games, slot 2 cards, applications, and of course, roms. If the datel game n watch really hasn't ever been hacked, this is only because there are far more convenient options available.

i agree w/ jeric on this one. although some ppl may be telling the truth about it, most ppl just say they would never buy as a worthless excuse.

I think it's more an example to show why nintendo (as well as the movie and music industry) is overestimating the money lost due to piracy. As an excuse it's a pretty lousy one, I agree.

Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright, Ouendan, Pokemon Diamond, and a couple others. These are all games I had basically resigned myself to skipping, but now that I've had a chance to seriously try them out, I will likely be getting them once I have the funds to support that, even if it takes a couple years for that to happen. In the meantime, I'm also pushing these games to anyone who even mentions that they have a DS.

[Akoi Meexx]

wow... come copy what someone else already sed so that u can individually be proved wrong. almost every DLDI compatible game runs on the GnM. it is very durable, i have dropped it on hard surfaces. (tile, blacktop, gravel) the interface is very clean and easy to navigate. it has a built in mp3 player that is unique to the GnM. it runs on bigger sd cards. it has a built in file browser. it is anti-piracy!!!!!! and last, but certainly not least, it has a durable spring loader.

the GnM does what it is supposed to do and more.

Normally, I don't bother getting involved with these debates since I don't bother with commercial ROMs. I did feel pretty bothered about the hating on other posters though.

Load times have always been spotty for me with a GnM, especially with application software. If they could improve timing that'd be great, but what support has there been anymore? And the durable spring-loaded slot? Craptastic. Everyone I know in this area WITH datel merch has complained of spring failure on their cartridges. It's hardly 'durable'.

How about customization? that would be a nice feature, but you really can't get too much from the GnM. Mayhaps if they designed a new slot-1 to work out the flaws it'd be worth my time and money, but it really doesn't have a good standing point for competition with other carts, save that it is homebrew only.

Masterchief, never mind the fact that Sonny Jim is one of the main contributors to DSLinux, and just MIGHT have an inkling of a clue as to what he's talking about.

[spinal_cord]

i do not consider the 4mb limit a problem, as almost al homebrew coders use the fat file system, so the actual .nds is usually quite small and any resorces are stored on the card and loaded as needed. I have a feeling this 4mb thing is something that people have READ, rather than actually encountered themselves.

If anyone DOES use the GnM and has problems with some homebrew not loading, feel free to try DSision, it is a homebrew loader that works on most cards (not R4DS, its R4's fault, not mine) and apparently has better compatability than the default GnM loader. Also it is skinnable and looks good too.

[Jeric]

Hm, interesting.


Pity GnM for whatever reason can't be made to load homebrew via moonshell (as that would be win).

Now then since we've firmly established the GnM already exists (and can be bought for $12 bucks via walmart) I have the following to ask.

What do you want to see in a homebrew-only cart?

Me?

SDHC

skinnable themes

prefferably side loading of the microsd so it can be slotted in then slotted out without having t odeal with a spring that will break plus it can't accidentilly pop out of the unit since its stuck between cart and inner wall of the ds.

Autopatching would be nice.

decent read speeds.

[spinal_cord]

I would want the following -

* The loader to be based on chishm's work, giving it maximum compatability, although it doesn't really matter as long as it offers 100% homebrew compatability.

* Auto DLDI patching.

* The ability to auto-run a file on startup, which would give an easy and safe (no need to risk re-flashing the card) option for homebrew coders to create their own menu's.

* Good read speed for movie playback.

* Perhaps for the manufacturers to keep in contact with the customers.

* Low(ish) sale price.

[pokemon157]

I think maybe you're the one missing the point here. I've actually looked it up, and from what I can see, there is basically a problem with the Games n Music card playing games over 4MB in size, which sounds like it would cause problems for homebrew games as well.
If this problem is a physical issue, then it destroys the ability to play a bunch of potentially awesome homebrew games, which defeats the entire point of this discussion. If this problem is merely a firmware issue, then it can be addressed through either hacking the games, hacking the firmware, or both. Just the simple fact that it CAN be hacked, means that it cannot be considered a TRULY homebrew only card.
You seem to be using the issue that just because it hasn't been hacked means it can't be, but that's just not the case. You seem to be forgetting the wide variety of homebrew DS cards that are available and offer a much wider variety of support for homebrew games, slot 2 cards, applications, and of course, roms. If the datel game n watch really hasn't ever been hacked, this is only because there are far more convenient options available.


Professor Layton, Phoenix Wright, Ouendan, Pokemon Diamond, and a couple others. These are all games I had basically resigned myself to skipping, but now that I've had a chance to seriously try them out, I will likely be getting them once I have the funds to support that, even if it takes a couple years for that to happen. In the meantime, I'm also pushing these games to anyone who even mentions that they have a DS.

I don't think there is no 4MB limit, I can play Smash Brothers Rumble Demo 3 on it, and the file size of that is around 16MB.
Now I can't run Smash Brothers Rumble Demo 4 on my Games N Music but by how it sounds like, the maker rushed demo 4.

[TeenDev]

I have actually made my own homebrew only flashcart from scratch. it runs a custom version of the hacked GBAMP fiirmware.

EDIT: I can build one for someone if they like?

[Grey Acumen]

i do not consider the 4mb limit a problem, as almost al homebrew coders use the fat file system, so the actual .nds is usually quite small and any resorces are stored on the card and loaded as needed. I have a feeling this 4mb thing is something that people have READ, rather than actually encountered themselves.

If anyone DOES use the GnM and has problems with some homebrew not loading, feel free to try DSision, it is a homebrew loader that works on most cards (not R4DS, its R4's fault, not mine) and apparently has better compatability than the default GnM loader. Also it is skinnable and looks good too.

So that just brings it back to my original point if there aren't any problems with files over 4MB. All it requires is a firmware hack to play roms, hence GnM can't truly be considered a homebrew ONLY card.
If this hack hasn't been done, it's only because the presence of other homebrew cards make it pointless to go to the effort of figuring out how to hack it.