DS Flash Carts---A new thread

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yes, the M3 Simply and R4 (same card, just different skins on the interface) are fully drag & drop compatible, so they'll work with Mac or Linux or anything else with USB Mass Storage drivers. Of the current slot-1 cards, those are the ones I think look nicest. Compatibility with commercial DS games is pretty perfect, though download play for multiplayer or demos is problematic as it is with most DS flash kits, the interface is very skinnable and customizable and they seem to be quite well made and well supported.

The DS-X is also nice, though. Compatibility with commecial software is somewhat better--it has no download play problems form what I've heard--and its interface is even more customizable. The DS-X also has pretty much perfect support for homebrew, which is one area where the M3 Simply/R4 has problems--games or apps that require FAT access (i.e. use external files in addition to the main binary) won't work, though this won't be much of a problem with the new DLDI FAT lib, but for a handful of older apps that might not get updated, you'd be out of luck with an M3 Simply or R4.

The main difference between the two cards is obviously that the M3 and R4 take micro-SD and the DS-X has built in memory. External memory is definitely more flexible in the long run.

However, you have to keep in mind that better slot-1 cards than either of these will definitely be coming out in the future. That's just how the flash card market is. You have to be able to deal with that.

Personally, I think getting a slot-1 kit is a waste. GBA slot kits have the huge, huge added bonus of being able to play GBA stuff. There's so much GBA homebrew out there, it's sick. And of course the commercial games, too. Why turn your back on all of that when GBA slot flash carts are just as easy to use and no more expensive? A GBA slot cart and a NoPass device is the way to go.


...word is bondage...

[rbudrick]

Personally, I think getting a slot-1 kit is a waste. GBA slot kits have the huge, huge added bonus of being able to play GBA stuff. There's so much GBA homebrew out there, it's sick. And of course the commercial games, too. Why turn your back on all of that when GBA slot flash carts are just as easy to use and no more expensive? A GBA slot cart and a NoPass device is the way to go.

Thanks, SFD!

As for the quote above, I have a GBA kit already, and I'd like to keep that slot free for DS games that involve rumble, or the Opera cart.

The DS-X...that 512 Megabytes/4 Giga*bit,* right? On average, about how many games is that gonna hold? What are the largest DS games?

-Rob

[Jorpho]

Are there Slot-2 devices that support non-micro SD cards now?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

As for the quote above, I have a GBA kit already, and I'd like to keep that slot free for DS games that involve rumble, or the Opera cart.

Ah, okay. As a second flash kit, slot-1 is definitely the way to go then, I'm thinking of picking one up myself.

The DS-X...that 512 Megabytes/4 Giga*bit,* right? On average, about how many games is that gonna hold? What are the largest DS games?

The largest DS games are currently 512 Megabits, so you could fit eight of those on a DS-X. Those are the hugest games, though, most games are 256 or 128Mb. The G6 Lite slot-2 cart that I have is 4Gb, too, and even with DS as well as GBA stuff on it and a selection of my favorite classic ROMs to emulate, I haven't felt cramped. Though I do also have a Supercard SD that I keep absolutely everything on, if all I had was the G6 the space might feel a little more limited.

Are there Slot-2 devices that support non-micro SD cards now?

Do you mean slot-1 or slot-2? For slot-1 (the DS card slot) micro-SD is curently the only option for external memory and probably always will be unless they make something that sticks out of the slot. For slot-2 (GBA slot) there's lots of choices, though if you have a DS Lite and want a cart that doesn't stick out at all, I think (*THINK*) that micro-SD is again going to be the only option. There's slot-2 carts that take mini-SD and are the same size as regular GBA games so will only stick out a bit on a Lite. Then there's carts that take regular SD cards and stick out a bit more, but not too much in my opinion. And of course there's the CF card carts that stick out a hell of a lot.


...word is bondage...

[Jorpho]

Do you mean slot-1 or slot-2? For slot-1 (the DS card slot) micro-SD is curently the only option for external memory and probably always will be unless they make something that sticks out of the slot.

Such as the aforementioned Ninja DS.

Frankly I don't give a dang about stuff sticking out so long as I can use the 1 GB SD card I already have on hand rather than having to shell out for even more memory, be it onboard or in the form of a micro SD card.

I see the aforementioned Solt-2 M3 does indeed meet this particular critereon.

[zektor]

I have been into this "scene" for as long as flashcarts have been for sale I believe Right now, the R4 or M3 Simply would probably be the best way to go all around for anyone. No flashing required, no software required. IN other words, works out of the box like a normal NDS game, and you simply copy files to it and run them. No patching software means that you can use these cards on a PC, Mac....whatever type of computer that can simply read SD cards

I personally prefer the DS-Link myself. It does require patching and a flashed DS, but it has a great GUI, great compatibility, and I have just had a great time with it overall. Again, this card is really for the NDS savvy (in flashing that is)

The DS-Xtreme is another I have had. It unfortunately has a pretty high defect rate, and mine was defective out of the box. I did get it to work somewhat tho, and load some games. It loads games fine, has a neat little LED light show when playing music, but the size is just TOO small. 4Gbit equals 512MB...half a gig. Not much in terms of homebrew can fit on it.

Remember, NO slot1 device can play GBA games/homebrew/emulators. Keep this in mind when purchasing. For these you will need a slot2 card with memory like the Supercard Lite or M3 Lite....and NOT those "pro" and "rumble" series of these devices. Those models will only play NDS games and have no memory to play GBA titles.

[Jorpho]

Every Slot-2 device still requires a Passme (or something) to run NDS software, right?

[rbudrick]

I have been into this "scene" for as long as flashcarts have been for sale I believe Right now, the R4 or M3 Simply would probably be the best way to go all around for anyone. No flashing required, no software required. IN other words, works out of the box like a normal NDS game, and you simply copy files to it and run them. No patching software means that you can use these cards on a PC, Mac....whatever type of computer that can simply read SD cards

How do save files work, then? Is there a folder for roms and one for saves?

So R4 and M3 Simply appear to be the winners for me, from what you folks have said so far. Does either one have any specific advantage or disadvantage over each other?

-Rob

[norkusa]

How do save files work, then? Is there a folder for roms and one for saves?

Yeah, I was wondering the same thing. Are the saves stored to the rom or is there a separate folder or something?

And also, is 512 megabytes the max size of memory the DS can recognize? So if I get the M3 DS Simply, there's no point in getting a 1Gb microSD card?

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

4GB SD cards already work with slot-2 devices that take SD. 1GB micro-SD work with these slot-1 devices and I'm sure that as larger micro-SD cards come out, they'll work, too. With access to the entire capacity, I mean. I don't think there's any limit to the capacity of card that can be used with these flash kits.

From what I understand, the first time you load up a newly transfered ROM on one of these slot-1 cards it just creates a .SAV file with the same filename as the ROM and probably in the same directory. One of the cool thing about some of the slot-2 carts is that you can have multiple save files and choose between them before loading the game. I don't think any of the slot-1 cards do that currently.

Every Slot-2 device still requires a Passme (or something) to run NDS software, right?

Yeah. If you haven't checked out PassMe devices recently, though, they got a lot simpler last year, they don't require any actual passthrough anymore, they're just the size of a regular DS game these days. These slot-1 devices we're talking about also act as PassMe devices for the most part, though a SuperKey or something is a little more direct.

By the way, I've been reading about the EZ-Flash V, which is the newest of these slot-1 cards, and it sounds pretty cool. I especially like the fact that it uses Moonshell directly as its file browser, that's quite interesting. All the info as far as compatibility and such isn't in yet, though.


...word is bondage...

[norkusa]

I'm getting ready to order a DS flash card from modchipstore.com, but I can't decide between the R4 DS and the M3 DS Simply. Feature wise, they both look exactly the same. Only difference I see is that the Simply is $5 more than the R4.

Any opinions on what the better card is?

[rbudrick]

I think I read yesterday that they are the exact same card with a different BIOS, or something. Can anyone confirm?

-Rob

[GizmoGC]

I got my R4 a few days ago...its awesome. Much better then my Supercard Lite before which had issues converting files.

[Sweater Fish Deluxe]

Yeah, the R4 and M3 Simply are the same card. There's even a jumper inside that you can short to make the R4 into an M3 Simply apparently.

If you can wait another month or so the G6 DS and M3 Real will be out and those might be even better than the R4. The G6 will use internal fixed memory, but will have 2GB, which is a ton really. The M3 Real will use micro-SD cards and I'm not sure how it will differ form the M3 Simply.


...word is bondage...

[norkusa]

If you can wait another month or so the G6 DS and M3 Real will be out and those might be even better than the R4.

Hmm. I was going to order a R4 soon but now that you mentioned these, I might wait a few more months and see if they are worth getting.

I'd be great if you could play GBA roms from a DS flash card. Is that even possible though or do all GBA games have to boot from the GBA slot?

[Jorpho]

If I am not mistaken, the only way to play GBA games from the DS slot is if you use a GBA emulator written for the DS, correct?

[OldSchoolGamer]

Just ordered the M3 Simply, should be sweet. Now to find a good deal on a MicroSD card (from a Canadian Distributor).

Looking forward to it. Between this and the R4 but the manufacturer of M3 Simply pretty well known for backing their products and updates so hopefully it will work out.

[rbudrick]

If I were to order a M3 Simply or an R4, which sites have the fastest shipping? My g/f has a b-day coming up and I didn't want some ghetto site making me wait weeks for it.

-Rob

[Schenley]

What about this one?

[Sylentwulf]

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