Hacking Hi, I'm new and have some questions

Futurdreamz · Jun 15, 2014

Recently I discovered flashcarts, and although I don't know much about them I think I'd find one useful but I'm not sure yet. I currently own a 3DS XL and while I'm perfectly happy buying all of my 3DS games from the eShop, I want to build my DS collection but find that some of the games are hard to find, and if i do sometimes they don't have the original box (and so don't display as nice - which bothers me). Plus they are otherwise only available in physical format so I'd have to carry them all around or leave them at home. A flashcart would be ideal because I can have my entire collection with me at all times plus fill up and protect that one slot that's always empty. But I do have some questions:

1. Which flashcarts do you recommend and where can i find them?
2. How does the update mechanism work? I do keep my 3DS up to date, but can the new game screening be bypassed quickly or would I be left with a blocked flashcart or out-of-date 3DS for a long time? I could get an old DS Lite from a friend to update the gamecart if it gets blocked
3. how much of a hassle is it using a flashcart altogether? I mostly want to use it to just play my games whenever I want to (and a certain life smulator I'd probably be playing daily for a long time)
4. Since Nintendo turned off DS network services, if I wanted to connect to an alternative server could I just change someting on the flashcart once or would each game have to be individually altered?
5. Did I break the forum rules in this post? I tried not to...

Sicklyboy · Jun 15, 2014

1) General consensus, which I absolutely agree with, is that the Supercard DSTWO is by and far THE flashcart to go with at this point in the game. It's the only one that has never needed a hardware revision (new model) to work on a newer firmware and the dev team still supports it quite well, updates are usually out within 24 hours of a new system menu being released for the 3DS. Also, the onboard CPU is capable of emulating SNES and GBA games. It's a little on the pricier side though, usually around $40 USD.

2)Basically, you'd run a .nds file on your flashcard, ideally before the system itself gets updated. On every other flashcard, if you update the system first, you'll be stuck because then you have no way of accessing the flashcard to run the update file for it. However, the DSTWO does have a failsafe update method, although it's best to avoid using that whenever possible. So, either wait a day or two to update your 3DS to the latest version, or pick up an older DS/Lite to update it if you don't want to wait (or, you could use the failsafe method, but like I said it's best to not rely on that, chance of bricking the flashcard if it goes wrong)

3) Quite easy. Put your kernel on your microSD, update the firmware of the card, drop your .nds roms into /games/ or wherever you want them (optional: run them through NDSTokyoTrim first to save on space), launch the card and pick a game. Super easy.

4) No rules broken mate

obviously, remember, we don't permit discussion of where or how to find ROMs or other warez in general. That's a quick ticket to some trouble, lol. But saying you downloaded a ROM or need help getting one to run is fine (just not where you got it from!)

And lastly, welcome to GBAtemp! Since it's better suited for the discussion there, I'm going to go ahead and move this thread to the NDS - Flashcarts and Accessories subforum (check it out too). Also, this thread by Rydian is a pretty simple yet comprehensive list of what carts do what. Check it out but like I said, at this point the DSTWO is going to be the best investment you would make with pretty good bang for your buck.

Cheers!

Edit - also, as for your added question, yes there is a way to connect to custom servers, more or less. Check this thread out for details - http://gbatemp.net/threads/save-nin...e-online-servers-for-ds-and-wii-games.362717/ (each game would need to be individually altered)

Futurdreamz · Jun 15, 2014

Thanks, I was looking at the 2i (with the custom ROM) as I wasn't sure if a CPU was a good idea or not. I'm not sure yet if I need GBA and SNES compatibility, but I suppose it would be nice to have. I'll look at the DSTWO.

I'm also reading through the network thread

Sicklyboy · Jun 15, 2014

The 2i is a pretty solid card except for the fact that it does not and will not run on 3DS or DSi systems anymore.

You're essentially going to be looking at the R4i Gold cards or the DSTWO. DSTWO has proven more reliable in the long run, but if money is an issue, then the R4i Gold from r4ids.cn or r4idsn.com would be what you want (you wouldn't buy it from those sites, you'd have to buy it from something like nds-card.com or realhotstuff.com, but you'd need to make sure the one you buy has that webstie on the card. The other ones lose support after an update or two)

Futurdreamz · Jun 15, 2014

the 2i doesn't work? Looks like the comparison chart could be updated...
I'm happy with the price of the DSTWO (same price as a singe first party game), I just have to figure out which places ship to Canada.

Sicklyboy · Jun 15, 2014

You'd want to look at the "3DS (DS Games)" column on the chart. The R4i Gold, DSTWO, and Gateway 3DS are the only ones listed in that that do currently play DS games on a 3DS. There are other less reputable R4 knockoffs as well but they're not even worth mentioning tbh.

Futurdreamz · Jun 15, 2014

?
http://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/Flashcart_Comparison_Chart

Sicklyboy · Jun 15, 2014

Oh. Wow. Yeah that's a bit outdated to say the least.

I think that chart kind of went out in favor of the one in this thread - http://gbatemp.net/threads/which-flash-cart-should-i-get.290097/

Futurdreamz · Jun 15, 2014

Thanks. Yeah Usually I try to go for the Wiki version as i find threads to be more transactional so you have to read the entire thing in order to get all of the most up-to-date and relevent info.

the DSTWO is $36 with free shipping from a reognized dealer, so I'll get it. I am in the process of moving though so i might not get it right away.

Thanks for all of your help!

Sicklyboy · Jun 15, 2014

Updated the bits of info on that page that I know off the top of my head, at least.

Good luck with the move mate!

Futurdreamz · Jun 16, 2014

I do have a final question:

Can I change the start icon for the cartridge? Like the one that pops up on the 3DS as soon as you insert the cartridge? I'm pretty good with Inkscape and want to make my own theme (because I can't find anything that I like), but I'd like to be able to change the start icon to something like the DS logo.

Sicklyboy · Jun 16, 2014

That's hardcoded into the firmware, which is encrypted. No way to change that unfortunately.

morrisseyshair · Jun 17, 2014

Hello. I have some questions, too. Instead of starting a new thread I'll just ask here since the OP seems to be finished with it.

I just got a Nintendo DSi XL. Does it matter what firmware it has?

I'm going to get a DSTWO. I read that I shouldn't upgrade the firmware until after I setup the flashcart to work on the DSi. Can I upgrade the firmware afterward and buy games in the Nintendo market?

Please let me know. Thanks.

Sicklyboy · Jun 17, 2014

DSTWO (when updated) works on all consoles regardless of firmware right now.

Go ahead, update the DSTWO to the latest firmware then update the dsi, and you won't have any problems.

Chances are the DSTWO will work on the latest dsi firmware out of the box but if you don't mind hanging right s little while it never hurts to be safe and double check.

Futurdreamz · Jun 17, 2014

Sicklyboy said:
That's hardcoded into the firmware, which is encrypted. No way to change that unfortunately.

Damn, I wanted to try to make the DSTWO act and look completely like it was a part of the 3DS's OS.

And I actually finally saw the start icon. So it has the same icon and desc as the game it's currently disguised as? I didn't know that, but that makes sense.

Sicklyboy · Jun 17, 2014

A watered down explanation of how these cards get themselves to load on DSi-onward - the card has a small bit of onboard storage that holds header information, including the icon, from another legitimate game, and modified code inside of it that rather than loading game files will load the card's kernel, presenting you with your game selector menu. The DSTWO takes it one step further and actually can emulate an original cartridge using the onboard CPU to some extent, thus making it harder to block - this is why it has never needed a hardware revision to work on new DSi/3DS firmwares. Updates can still block it, however the Supercard team is quite good at getting it to run again while still using the same header. I think the DSTWO has been using the same game (Alex Rider - STORMBREAKER) since I first owned it, probably 3+ years at this point, though I may be wrong on that. In any case, it's been the same game since at least 2 months after the 3DS was released, when I bought mine.

Bu yeah, with this it can trick the system into thinking it's a legit game, then the card works some magic and loads unofficial code. Every time flashcards are blocked with a system update, you'll usually see the cards that get updates get a new spoofed game because they don't have the caliber of onboard processing that the DSTWO has. That's also why they don't have native software like the GBA and SNES emulators that the DSTWO does.

winterwysteria · Jul 20, 2014

Hi guys, just a couple of questions here

1) Does the Supercard DSTwo work with the 3DS XL?
2) Product #: SW119xxxxx x -> should be OK right?
3) (Depending on the answers to my first 2 questions) Would I need to update the the flashcard first on an older DS before I place it into my 3DS XL to upgrade the firmware or...?

Thank you so much!!

Sicklyboy · Jul 20, 2014

Yes
Yes
Possibly. If your 3ds is on the latest update and your seller doesn't update the card before they ship (send them a polite email after you order!) you may need to update it . If you don't have an original DS to update it from there is a failsafe method the DSTWO has which works even on a 3ds that blocks it but it's best to avoid using that method whenever possible

migles · Jul 20, 2014

winterwysteria said:
Hi guys, just a couple of questions here

1) Does the Supercard DSTwo work with the 3DS XL?
2) Product #: SW119xxxxx x -> should be OK right?
3) (Depending on the answers to my first 2 questions) Would I need to update the the flashcard first on an older DS before I place it into my 3DS XL to upgrade the firmware or...?

Thank you so much!!

the serial is not needed. just the firmware, but the dstwo supports any firmware as long is updated.

check on the store if its already updated, otherwise you need to use an older ds to do it.

winterwysteria · Jul 20, 2014

Thank you!!

Hacking Hi, I'm new and have some questions

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