Hardware EZ Flash 3 in 1 quick question

[Whodaimen]

When mine arrives, where do I get started? I understand I need various programs to flash games over, and to set up the card as it is.


ALSO:

Are the save types changed? Will I still be able to use the saves from on the card in an emulator like VBA?

 

[Destructobot]

Get GBA Exploader and put it on your slot 1 flashcart. Put some clean (not save patched) GBA roms on the cart wherever you want them. Run GBA ExpLoader, find the roms, choose one, and run it.

If you want to disable the multisave feature so that it doesn't bother you about which save slot to use all the time, you can do so by editing the .ini file (you just have to remove the # at the beginning of the no_multisave line) and putting it in the root of your memory card. You can also specify different folders for the saves & patch info files if you want.

Saves from VBA will work in GBA ExpLoader without conversion. You just need to make sure the filename matches the rom the save is for.

 

[Whodaimen]

Fantastic! Thanks.

So I take it I can keep as many roms as I want on my slot-1, and flash the current one onto the 3 in 1 whenever I want?

So its essentially a blank GBA cart with an internal battery, ram + rumble?

Are there any limitations? I assume all the Pokemon games will run fine?

 

[Destructobot]

So I take it I can keep as many roms as I want on my slot-1, and flash the current one onto the 3 in 1 whenever I want?
Yes.


QUOTE(Whodaimen @ Apr 25 2008, 01:48 AM) So its essentially a blank GBA cart with an internal battery, ram + rumble?

Are there any limitations? I assume all the Pokemon games will run fine?

It doesn't have a clock, so the pokemon games that use the clock won't work exactly the same way as they do on the real carts. There are patches for Ruby and Sapphire to enable the time based events without the clock, but there is no patch for Emerald. AFAIK Fire Red and Leaf Green didn't have a clock in the first place. You can use the 3-in-1 to migrate your pokeymans to a patched Diamond or Pearl rom on the slot 1 cart, but you cannot migrate them to a retail D/P cart. Same goes for the other features you enable by playing D/P with a GBA pokemon game plugged in.

The 3-in-1 only has 16MB of RAM, so 32MB games must be written to NOR in order to play them. When a game is written to NOR, the 3-in-1 works just like the retail cart would (with the exception of the clock of course). You can boot it from the DS menu just like a real GBA game, even without the slot 1 cart inserted. You can still run other games from RAM with GBA ExpLoader when a game is written to NOR.

The rumble feature must be enabled each time you want to use it; once the power is turned off the 3-in-1 goes back to acting like a GBA game until you enable the rumble again. GBA ExpLoader can enable rumble mode, but only if you have one of the supported slot 1 carts (R4, M3 Simply, M3/G6 Real, SCDS1 and others). Some slot 1 carts support the 3-in-1 directly so you don't need to use GBA ExpLoader to enable rumble mode (EZ-V, CycloDS Evolution, Acekard 2/RPG, possible others). If you don't have a supported slot 1 cart you can still use all the GBA features. Rumble cannot be used with GBA games, only DS games and DS homebrew.

If all that seems complicated, don't worry. It's easy to figure out once you actually have the cart to play with.

 

[Whodaimen]

Thanks a ton!

Patched D/P? Where is said patch?

 

[Destructobot]

http://ezflash.sosuke.com/viewtopic.php?f=...=a&start=15

 

[techforumz]

So I take it I can keep as many roms as I want on my slot-1, and flash the current one onto the 3 in 1 whenever I want?
Yes.


QUOTE(Whodaimen @ Apr 25 2008, 01:48 AM) So its essentially a blank GBA cart with an internal battery, ram + rumble?

Are there any limitations? I assume all the Pokemon games will run fine?

It doesn't have a clock, so the pokemon games that use the clock won't work exactly the same way as they do on the real carts. There are patches for Ruby and Sapphire to enable the time based events without the clock, but there is no patch for Emerald. AFAIK Fire Red and Leaf Green didn't have a clock in the first place. You can use the 3-in-1 to migrate your pokeymans to a patched Diamond or Pearl rom on the slot 1 cart, but you cannot migrate them to a retail D/P cart. Same goes for the other features you enable by playing D/P with a GBA pokemon game plugged in.

The 3-in-1 only has 16MB of RAM, so 32MB games must be written to NOR in order to play them. When a game is written to NOR, the 3-in-1 works just like the retail cart would (with the exception of the clock of course). You can boot it from the DS menu just like a real GBA game, even without the slot 1 cart inserted. You can still run other games from RAM with GBA ExpLoader when a game is written to NOR.

The rumble feature must be enabled each time you want to use it; once the power is turned off the 3-in-1 goes back to acting like a GBA game until you enable the rumble again. GBA ExpLoader can enable rumble mode, but only if you have one of the supported slot 1 carts (R4, M3 Simply, M3/G6 Real, SCDS1 and others). Some slot 1 carts support the 3-in-1 directly so you don't need to use GBA ExpLoader to enable rumble mode (EZ-V, CycloDS Evolution, Acekard 2/RPG, possible others). If you don't have a supported slot 1 cart you can still use all the GBA features. Rumble cannot be used with GBA games, only DS games and DS homebrew.

If all that seems complicated, don't worry. It's easy to figure out once you actually have the cart to play with.

Actually, (with my second-gen anyways) the PSRAM writes will not be playable through the DS firmware, or a real GBA (even though I don't have one), the NOR will work on any system; it looks to the console as a real cart. With the exception of the pokemon games mentioned, along with any games that use rumble or motion sensor etc... (although I suspect there is a patch to use the rumble on the 3-in-1, much like that for DS games and the opera browser). Help any?

 

[Destructobot]

You technically could run a game from PSRAM via the DS menu, but it would be complicated and pointless. Whenever you turn off the system or remove the 3-in-1 it goes back to NOR mode.

Like all RAM, the PSRAM loses all of its data when it loses power.

 

[Whodaimen]

Hi! Thanks for the help from before, one last question!

How can I enable Rumble with my CycloDS?

 

[Destructobot]

AFAIK, it should just work if you enable it in the Cyclo settings.

 

[Narin]

Yea, the newer versions of the CycloDS firmware contain support for the RAM and Rumble functionality of the 3in1 right out of the box without requiring any other tools and such.

 

[Whodaimen]

What about the DS Browser? Do I need to patch the backup?

The EU one does not work by default.

 

[Destructobot]

As Narin said, RAM expansion mode is supported as well. You probably just need to update the Cyclo.

http://gbatemp.net/index.php?dlcategory=66

 

[Whodaimen]

Hmm, this doesn't seem to be working. I have the latest firmware (1.4 B1) and everything works using ExpLoader.

The rumble option is not available in Elite Beat Agents, and it is enabled via cyclo's main menu.

The EU Browser also claims there is no expansion pack inserted.

Anything I should be doing with the card? I currently have a GBA rom in its NOR.


Ah, there is a new chipset without built-in support.

http://cyclods.theta.in/wiki/EZFlash_V_3-in-1


Edit Edit:

New beta firmware has this fixed!

http://www.teamcyclops.com/forum/showthrea...t=Browser+PAtch

 

[MrFortesque]

Nevermind, got it, had to use visualboy advance emulator.

 

[NiGHtS]

'scuse me for butting in but...wtf is a NOR that i've been reading so many times in this thread.

 

[DanTheManMS]

NOR flash is a type of flash memory that is slow to write to but very fast to read from, making it suitable for GBA game playback. It's what was used in most of the older, more traditional GBA flash carts before NAND-based adapters like the Supercard and M3 and G6 started appearing. The 3in1 contains 32 MB of NOR flash you can write a GBA game to, after which point it will act exactly like the GBA game itself. You can stick it into a GBA/GBASP/GBM (provided you have the Phat-sized version) and it will play the game you've flashed to it.

 

[Volsfan91]

Seriously, anyone who is looking to add GBA to slot one shouldn't think twice about getting an EZFlash 3-in-1 because of tools like Destructobot's.