K1 GBA SP - First Hands-on Impressions

[ruilong]

For the clock speed, you can not adjust it. K1 will automatically be speed according to the games you play.

 

[WiiUBricker]

Where are the saves stored? On a battery powered SRAM or in flash memory?

The saves are saved in the TF card.

No they are not. Check out the FAQ.

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

I think I'll stick with my DS lite and m3real/gba expansion, pretty much does the same thing and I really don't have any nostalgia for the SP.

 

[DarkMega NT Warr]

retail game carts boot directly into the cart, not the k1 gba sp dram, so there is no way to get back to the in-game menu to turn on/off cheats.

Nice. This means it should be possible to use my GameShark SP with retail carts on the K1 then (thinking of getting a K1 for my sister who doesn’t have a GBA).

 

[Another World]

Where are the saves stored? On a battery powered SRAM or in flash memory?

The saves are saved in the TF card.

No they are not. Check out the FAQ.

everything is done in the dram. when its time to save you either enter the in-game menu or press *+START to dump the save in dram to the microsd. it works the same with save-states in the embedded emulators. if you power off before dumping the save then the save is lost.

-another world

 

[ouch123]

Where are the saves stored? On a battery powered SRAM or in flash memory?

The saves are saved in the TF card.

No they are not. Check out the FAQ.

everything is done in the dram. when its time to save you either enter the in-game menu or press *+START to dump the save in dram to the microsd. it works the same with save-states in the embedded emulators. if you power off before dumping the save then the save is lost.

-another world

This seems like a rather important point. I'm glad I wasn't hasty with any buying decisions with regards to this product.

 

[Another World]

i agree, its worth mentioning in a review setting. for everyday practical use, does it take that much effort to backup the save before you power off? i've been doing it all week while i test and i haven't once been annoyed by it. it literally takes 1 second.

-another world

 

[maxzhou88]

The Assemble video for K101 engineering prototype:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNDM1NjY2OTky.html

http://u.youku.com/user_show/uid_maxzhou88

 

[maxzhou88]

This http://kteam.ys168.com/ is maxzhou88's official firmware download site for K1

maxzhou88's Baidu Post Bar:
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=maxzhou88

 

[alexei_gp]

i have a question to maxzhou88 where to find the list of changes of the firmware K1gba? in your site i dont see it.

Edit:Nevermind i found it

 

[dickfour]

This http://kteam.ys168.com/ is maxzhou88's official firmware download site for K1

maxzhou88's Baidu Post Bar:
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=maxzhou88

I have a k1 SP. How do I load the gba cheat files?

 

[maxzhou88]

This http://kteam.ys168.com/ is maxzhou88's official firmware download site for K1

maxzhou88's Baidu Post Bar:
http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kw=maxzhou88

I have a k1 SP. How do I load the gba cheat files?

Create a ksystem folder in the TF card root directory.



Extract the cheat package(from http://kteam.ys168.com/) and copy the Cheat folder to ksystem folder.


TF --- ksystem
..........|
..........|--- Cheat
.................|
.................|--- Chn
.................|
.................|--- Eng

 

[maxzhou88]

《 K1GBA 金手指使用指南 (User Guide) 》

[1] 在TF卡根目录下新建一个 ksystem 目录

Create a ksystem folder in the TF card root directory.


[2] 将该压缩包中的 Cheat 文件夹和其中的文件解压到 ksystem 中

Extract the package and copy the Cheat folder to ksystem folder.


自动匹配金手指功能的TF卡的目录结构：

TF --- ksystem
.........|
.........|--- Cheat
................|
................|--- Chn
................|
................|--- Eng

Chn 是中文金手指文件夹
Eng 是英文金手指文件夹，但也有些难翻译的日文和中文
系统根据UI界面的当前语言来自动选择是中文还是英文cht文件。

GameID.bin文件是自动金手指的对照表(ROM号xxxx是按OfflineList0.7.2a的GBA - Official OfflineList数据库文件来排列文件名的)

有了这个文件包，GBA游戏就可以自动按gameID来匹配金手指文件

!!!注意：

[1] 除了以上的自动匹配金手指功能外，用户还可以用自己金手指文件(user's cheat file)，方法是将金手指文件放在GBA游戏同一目录中并与游戏同名(包括GBA扩展名)。
如：GBA游戏 xxxxxyyyyy.gba 对应的金手指文件是 xxxxxyyyyy.gba.cht
这样指定的金手指文件比上面系统自动匹配的优先度要高。

[2] 金手指文件采用EmuCheat的格式，也被称为EC码，它是修改主机内存的动态金手指，与修改游戏ROM的静态补丁ips是不同的，它可以在游戏中途随时通过热键(* + B)开启或关闭。
EC码的内存修改只有下面两个范围：
0x2000000 ~ 0x203ffff GBA ewram 256KB
0x3000000 ~ 0x3007fff GBA iram 32KB

EC码中的地址表示：
00000~3ffff 表示是 0x2000000 ~ 0x203ffff
40000~47fff 表示是 0x3000000 ~ 0x3007fff

[3] 这里要求cht文件中的中文(简体或繁体)要用UTF-8编码(一种Unicode码的编码方式)，不能用GB2312或GBK等编码，如果你的金手指
文件是GB2312或GBK编码的中文，可以简单地用Windows自带的记事本(notepad)来转换，方法是：
先用notepad打开xxxx.cht文件，再用“另存为”对话框的“编码”选UTF-8，文件保存后中文编码就改为UTF-8了。

[4] K1硬解破GBA主机的系统软件OS是不依赖SD卡内容的，其基本功能在固件内，如果你不需要自动匹配金手指功能，完全可以不需要建立Cheat文件夹，
最小系统连ksystem文件夹也不需要。

Cheat加载分两种:

[1] 游戏运行后加载(这个another worl一定知道)

[2] 游戏运行前加载
将menu选择条移到要加载的游戏名上,长按A键就会出现一个下拉菜单,选其中的Config后就会出现Game Cheat界面

注意,一般是在加载cheat时只将Cheat设置好,不要立即Enable,进入游戏后在适当的时候再用金手指(Cheat)热键 * + B 将金手指(Cheat)打开.
这是因为有些金手指一定要在游戏的某个时候才能打开(Enable),否则会死机的,这时中外玩家都知道的

在Cheat的设置界面,也可以长按A键,也会出现Cheat的下拉菜单(pop menu),这样就可以展开金手指选项

游戏运行前加载金手指一般用于32MB的GBA ROM,由于K1的SDRAM内存只有32MB,加载32MB的ROM后就没有空间来运行FAT文件系统回menu(就是老外所说的 In game Menu ),所以金手指要在加载游戏ROM前加载,进入游戏后,所有的热键都可以用(当然回菜单就不能),这时就可以用热键 * + B来开启或关闭金手指


*** 32MB 的游戏ROM也可以使用金手指,但得提前金手指设置(注意是设置不是使能)
方法是:
选定游戏是长按A键就会出现下拉菜单,选Config进入配置画面,再进金手指界面(注意:金手指选项的展开也可以通过长按A键来进行).
使用金手指是要讲究技巧的,不然会死机的哦,毕竟金手指功能是老任游戏ROM的外挂,其原理是锁定内存,但某个时刻游戏软件是不让锁定内存的(不然就死机,怪音等现象),所以大家选择金手指的选项后,一般不要将金手指的使能开关打开,当我们再返回到游戏后,玩到你认为可以开金手指使能开关的地方,你这时只要简单的用热键 * + B (好象是这个吧)来使能或禁止金手指(Cheat Switch)

其实非32M的游戏也可以这样不用回菜单方式来"提前金手指"设置,32M的游戏就必须是这样来设置,因为内存容量的问题,32M的游戏是不能热键回菜单的(除非将主板的DRAM加大超过32M,用两颗IC,但两颗IC占地方,方不上去哦)

K1同时只能打开48个金手指,我认为这已经够了,RPG的要复杂一些,可能不够用,但K1的金手指不同于普通烧录卡的软件补丁型金手指,K1是硬件捕捉型金手指,有硬件的限制,所以目前的主控只有48个Slot,同时要指出的是,K1的"硬件捕捉型金手指"比普通烧录卡的"软件补丁型金手指"对游戏的兼容性要强的多,大家玩过烧录卡金手指功能的人就知道是怎么回事了.

 

[Heran Bago]

I've been playing with mine for a couple days. I'll leave my impressions here but I'm not trying to preempt or supersede Another World's Review in any way.

Overall I still see the device as an improvement over the GBA:SP which was my favorite handheld ever. If you are considering buying this or the next upcoming revision with RTC and dingoo form factor I recommend either. If you are not considering it then I don't. If you like the GBA SP and have nostalgia for it then I recommend this SP shaped one without RTC. It's like getting a new GBA SP only better and I wouldn't want it if it wasn't disguised as a real SP.

The buttons are firm like when you get a GBA SP new. Only L, R and the power switch are significantly more firm. Knowing Nintendo's history with shoulder buttons on handhelds this is a good thing. If you lightly shake the console the power switch jiggles.

Sometimes the system does not recognize my X-ROM 512. Rarely it doesn't recognize its own k-card. Pretty uncommon though.

My biggest issue with the system is that I must press Up or Down directions significantly harder than other buttons to register. A light press won't register, a medium press with alternate between registering and not, and a very firm press works totally fine. In games with rare presses of down (Sonic games for example) I press hard enough by reflex, but for titles like Zelda and Sigma Star Saga it is not exactly what I am comfortable with. It is possible that the buttons will "wear in" and be more responsive later. It is also possible I'll get used to pressing really hard like with my NES controllers. It is ALSO possible that I will take the thing apart and add extra padding to the pads.

The packaging warns about dead or light pixels on the LCD screen but I had none. It looks gorgeous! People had reservations about the screen resolution. Most people interested in this probably consider themselves purists; it's a GBA SP reproduction. Luckily the biggest difference from a normal GBA:SP is the best change as things look significantly nicer on the LCD screen.
The image quality is great and edges are smooth for the most part. In the smaller picture mode the resolution matches the normal GBA and has very small black bars above and below the picture. These are some of the tiniest black bars ever and you would have to be pretty anal to get seriously worked up about it.The other resolution stretches the picture vertically. This looks great and is fine in most cases. However if your favorite GBA game contains circular things or perfect circles you will likely notice the image being stretched slightly. Sonic when spinning, kirby in a ball, or the O in Mother 3 appear as a slight oval.
The smoothness vs original sharpness is a non-issue and I am pretty particular about sprites. If you are used to a Gamecube with a gameboy player and you are used to the big blocky pixels that don't look in any way like the developers intended then stick to your current setup. I love the way things look on the K1's screen but I know they won't please anyone. It is significantly nicer than the original SP's display and for some people the less effective backlit screen of the SP is part of the 'experience.'

Someone was reporting a scanline or line of messed up picture under the video with their K1. This is not the case with my unit and the display is just about perfect.

The mono speaker is fine. Reminds my of the original. I can't find my headphone adapter. =( Time to get a new one.
The emulators are alright. I didn't have much luck with the NES emulator, which was functional at best like good old pocketNES, or the PCE which didn't load Bonk's Adventure. GB and SMS emulation was good. I will play with them more.

Lack of RTC is no big deal. It's too bad the X-ROM is out of production but for the same price as a new one was you can just buy all the pokemon game carts! What are you missing out on really, ROM hacks of Pokemon Emerald? If you need need need pokemon then there is the next revision of these things which doesn't look cool imo.

Conclusion: See first paragraph

 

[pixelelated]

My biggest issue with the system is that I must press Up or Down directions significantly harder than other buttons to register

Thanks so much for the review. I think your issue with the buttons is something that Another World will cover too. This is now my main concern about buying the device. Hopefully someone from the K1 team can respond on whether they are fixing this for the current K1 or the K101.

 

[mrfatso]

Has anyone bought the foam pouch? How does it feels?

 

[pyromaniac123]

Are the k1 team going to stop releasing updates for the k1 when they release the k101?

 

[maxzhou88]

Are the k1 team going to stop releasing updates for the k1 when they release the k101?

No

 

[alexei_gp]

a two questions for maxzhou88 can i create programs in k1gba without gba,nes,megadrive etc. emulators? Do you have plans to release a sdk for the k1gba? Thanks for reading me and waiting for the answers

 

[eastbayarb]

Anyone know if the k2 will have an original gba form factor?