# Acekard R.P.G. in-house at GBAtemp



## shaunj66 (Sep 12, 2007)

*Acekard R.P.G. in-house at GBAtemp*

Fire away with your questions!










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We've received our Acekard R.P.G. samples this morning. The Acekard R.P.G. is the successor to the original Acekard and boasts the following features. (Taken straight from the packaging)...
100% Compatible with CleanRom
Boot from Slot1 directly
Built-in ultra speed NAND Flash
Built-in USB to PC Interface
Available U-Disk function as storage drive
Compatible with MicroSD / TransFlash
Auto SaveType detect function
Custom SaveList modification
Multi-language support
Auto ROMs RIP function
Open Source Operating System
Compatible with homebrew software
Custom OS skin function
To hear our first impressions, to see some real photos and to ask questions about the device, enter the topic via the link below.





Acekard R.P.G. in-house at GBAtemp (discussion)


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## shaunj66 (Sep 12, 2007)

*First Impressions*

First of all let's take a brief look at the build quality. The black semi-transparent plastic feels quite strong and professional. The mini-USB socket is lowered into the casing slightly and is not flush with the top of the casing, the USB port is held into place via 4 large solder points on the PCB. The micro SD slot IS spring loaded and seems to work fine, the SD card fits flush in the card. The casing is held together by 5 clips which seem quite delicate. Use a pair of thin tweezers or screwdriver to lift them up, the clips on my card have already turned slightly white where I bent them too much. But they still seem quite strong and the cart still clips together tightly. The build quality of the PCB is very nice and the USB port and Micro SD slot both sit level.

My review sample came with zero accessories (except a spare shell and labels which I expect aren't intended for non-review samples). I'd expect the retail  box to come with some kind of manual and a mini USB cable (fortunately I already own more than enough of these).

Let's move on to software. The Acekard menu software (which works in the form of a loader similar to R4 and not firmware which you must flash to the device) must be placed on the built in NAND flash and not the micro SD. (The loader consists of a akmenu4.nds and '__rpg' folder on the root of the flash). The Acekard R.P.G. requires no drivers and shows up as a removable flash drive with 968MB of space (FAT or FAT32).

You can, cut, copy and paste files to and from the NAND flash/micro SD within the OS. You can even choose the OS to auto-trim ROMs during this process. Unfortunately this seems to corrupt DS ROM files at the moment and I haven't successfully copied a ROM yet. See the video for this process. It is extremely buggy and often says that a file with the same name as the file you're trying to move already exists in the folder when it doesn't.

The loader is nice and works just as you saw in the early press photos. The touch screen responsiveness seems a little iffy and when entering  a directory (which you do so by tapping its icon and not its name) if you move the stylus down slightly when tapping it, it will scroll slightly and not enter the directory, so a steady hand is needed. The scrolling is done by dragging the stylus up and down like the CycloDS but seems extremely fast and its sometimes confusing as the screen moves so rapidly. Fortunately everything in the OS can be controlled by buttons which makes it easier.

The Acekard R.P.G. supports micro SDHC and works fine with my class 2 Sandisk 4GB SDHC. The internal flash memory seems much faster than the SD card for example, when entering a folder full of ROMs on the micro SD there is a slight delay when entering, but this delay is MUCH shorter when the same thing is done on the flash memory. The OS has support for 8 different languages but currently only English and Chinese are translated. The entire OS is extremely skinnable with .INI file with tons of clear settings (such as text placement, colour, size etc..) and loads of .BMP files containing customisable fonts.

There is no extra features within the OS besides the calendar and settings screen, there is absolutely zero multimedia support, no in-game menu, no soft-reset no cheat support etc... Whether this will come in time, or if the team just plan to ride in the support of open-source (yes the cart will be entirely open source when launched for retail) is unknown. 

ROM compatibility seems 100% so far. Something which the original Acekard also boasted. There was never a known ROM with an issue, even games that require the ARM7 fix.

DLDI homebrew is automatically patched and the OS can determine from where it is being launched and patches it on the fly with the correct DLDI driver (NAND/SD).

Unfortunately download play does NOT seem to have been addressed for the R.P.G.. I Tested Yoshi's Touch & Go  and it froze at the Nintendo logo on the receiving un-flashed DS.

Overall, the cart feels like a step backwards in some areas. No additional features; no real download play support; not even soft-reset and a slightly slow loader are a let down. 

The selling potential for the R.P.G. I believe lie in its open-source promise, dual flash and micro SD(/HC) support and more than excellent ROM compatibility.

Feel free to ask any question you like and I will try my best to answer. Look out for the official GBAtemp.net Review of the Acekard R.P.G. in the coming days/weeks.


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## azn_star (Sep 12, 2007)

Does this mean all kits will come with spare shell's, and no manuals or discs? Or only  because your one is "sample"

EDIT: DAMN doesnt sound as good as i hoped it would be =S.. no download play support?? even R4's can do that with just a firmware upgrade... im sure Acekard will manage.

EDIT2: Bamboogaming promises the batch to arrive as soon as the 15th, couple; of days, im pretty sure that batch wont have any of the fixes to the problems mentioned?


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## 4saken (Sep 12, 2007)

Wow all of a sudden the case looks flimsy 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 It's like practically the same as the AK1

EDIT: Lack of download play, cheat and soft reset is a bit of a worry isn't it? Hopefully the open-source thing will allow developers to help solve the problems and shortcomings


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## TLSpartan (Sep 12, 2007)

Thanks for posting shaun. Looks like a good solid flashcart. Hopefully they iron out all the bugs when they release it. No reason to replace my trusty SCDS yet.


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## 4saken (Sep 12, 2007)

I wonder if it actually supports clean ROMs (not counting on it, seeing as download play is stuffed).


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## HBK (Sep 12, 2007)

So a little sum-up:

Pros - Decent build quality, supports SDHC, open source, supports 2 types of media storage, 100% Comp.

Cons - Lack of download play, buggy menu, low responsive touch screen, slow MicroSD speeds compared to it's internal memory. Absolutely no homebrew such as moonshell pre-loaded. No cheats, nothing.

We have some of the R4 pros, with  a little of the DS-Xtreme cons! 

I will now hand down a verdict.

The R4 still wins.


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## myclock (Sep 12, 2007)

hmm i might wait a while and see what opens up about this. if it overtakes the R4 then i get but if it donts im fine with that 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 up to 33GB of goodies


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## recover (Sep 12, 2007)

My thoughts:
Pretty bad that you didn't get a manual/cd.
They should have kicked out those bugs with the interface.
How fast is the NAND memory *really*, we need some expert to benchmark this.
Really silly that the built-in trimmer copying between NAND and microSD creates corrupt roms...
The source should be included with binaries and documentation on a cd that you should receive in the package.
No download play?? baaaad
No usb cable?? baaad

Hopefully the open source should correct the bugs, fix the interface, fix the trimmer, and fix the download play.
After that is done, there are still some irritations that open source can't fix (the packaging and accessory).
I'll be interested to hear more!


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## shaunj66 (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(recover @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> My thoughts:
> Pretty bad that you didn't get a manual/cd.
> They should have kicked out those bugs with the interface.
> How fast is the NAND memory *really*, we need some expert to benchmark this.
> ...


The built in trimmer doesn't corrupt ROMs. I had it disabled. The built in copy/cut/paste system completely corrupts ROMs and makes them un-usable regardless or not whether they're trimmed.


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## recover (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(shaunj66 @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> The built in trimmer doesn't corrupt ROMs. I had it disabled. The built in copy/cut/paste system completely corrupts ROMs and makes them un-usable regardless or not whether they're trimmed.


Whoops, sorry, my mistake...


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## Seraph (Sep 12, 2007)

Looks like my fears of it looking great but not actually working well were true...So I'm assuming since download play doesn't work, Wii connectivity doesn't either?  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Hopefully they fix some problems before release...


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## hanman (Sep 12, 2007)

i'm excited about this cart...no other cart on the market has even half the potential of this one.  never underestimate the power of open source.  of course, they have to make it good enough so that many people will buy it who are capable of developing it further than the creators have.  still, this is one to watch... and, in my opinion, if it plays the games, the rest can wait. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 (if it's not too long!)


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## EmeraldEx (Sep 12, 2007)

May I ask how well the custom skin/os system works?


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## Saylient_Dreams (Sep 12, 2007)

I was wondering how this handle's games. Does it do that "patching on the fly" stuff like most slot 1's do?


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## Gestahl (Sep 12, 2007)

Acekard is still the only flash-kit on the market that boasts 100% ROM-compatibility (don't even start with download play support, who needs this anyway) without the patches every two weeks. Very impressive.


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## ahtin (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(Gestahl @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> Acekard is still the only flash-kit on the market that boasts 100% ROM-compatibility (don't even start with download play support, who needs this anyway) without the patches every two weeks. Very impressive.




AK have one time upgrade for 2 roms long long time ago

but of course they did much more better than others for ROM-compatibility


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## gab10 (Sep 12, 2007)

how about soft restart
wii communication
and download play?

open source
is the most important point of akrpg

hope ak really release all codes, not lying


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## lazyguy (Sep 12, 2007)

does the slot-1 device act as a sdhc reader if you plug it in with the sd card inside?
i'm guessing not

and the copy and paste function is useless, no one is going to use it, it's impractical, just do it on the computer, it's probably faster too


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## kernelPANIC (Sep 12, 2007)

If the Acekard R.P.G. falls in a forest and noone is around to hear it, does it make any noise?


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## shaunj66 (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(gab10 @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> how about soft restart
> wii communication
> and download play?
> 
> ...


Yes. Minty fresh for 24 hrs! Helps fight gum disease too.


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## gab10 (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> QUOTE(lazyguy @ Sep 12 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > does the slot-1 device act as a sdhc reader if you plug it in with the sd card inside?
> ...


very nice


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## ahtin (Sep 12, 2007)

can link with Wii?


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## acekard (Sep 12, 2007)

There is one thing we wanna clarify that the menu for AK RPG is still debugging for enhancement requestment change and it seems we send a wrong version of menu to gbatemp. But the base function of the menu has passed load test. 
We'll send a stable and fast version of the loader again. (Already sent via email)
Thank you.


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## AlBa (Sep 12, 2007)

Send me one too =)


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## superrob (Sep 12, 2007)

Looks great!


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## Kellicros (Sep 12, 2007)

I have a feeling that this thing will rock when the firmware polished enough.


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## FAST6191 (Sep 12, 2007)

I quite like the dual savelist and autopatch idea if it works like I think it does (with autopatch there for when the savelist screws up or is not there).
What are the sizes of saves by the way and as far as you can tell are they the RAW format (or a nominal tweak like the R4) that the rest of the flash cart world uses?

As for the "poor" show, I agree it is pretty much sink or swim from the start right now (there have been and are several great cards already) although in my opinion lack of download play, cheats and soft reset does not affect things for me.


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## Mawile (Sep 12, 2007)

well. if the operating system is fully opensource, can i look at it? (an INI file with settings does not mean opensource) by the way, where is it kept on the card and how much space does it takes?
what functions are accessible from it's core?... may i use USB port in a way, i want?.. may i change it to be a host? may i access to rom boot procedures and change them? what programming language does it understand? may i directly access to the flashcard's filesystem? and to memory card's filesystem?
i don't really believe, it can be fully opensource... though it would be great)


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## stop_loading (Sep 12, 2007)

can you be more specific about loading rom and interface, how sluggish is it compared to R4/cycloDS?

it seems to me cyclo still held the crown, with buggy software and etc, but hopefully all those things are fixed by being open source


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## flai (Sep 12, 2007)

Looks flimsy to me, do download play or cheat support and NO SOFT RESET?! WTF AceKard team, 8 months in the making for what?!


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## Gnat (Sep 12, 2007)

So wait,  this card has built in memory like that Xtreme card and a micro sd slot like most others? Or is it a bit like with the gba EZ3 that loads roms from its slow memory to the faster one?


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## webjedi (Sep 12, 2007)

In todays world of CycloDS and R4 with download play - anybody coming out with a new product better have it or forget it.


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## acekard (Sep 12, 2007)

About the open source, we'll releas all code inlclude menu, system, rom loader, IO interface and so on. You can do anything with these. And we'll release it as soon as we finish clarification of our code.

We're sure that it'll explore more potential of AK RPG.

You can send a email to acekard#gmail.com with key word in tittle of "Ak RPG Development" if you wanna develop on AK RPG or you have some good ideas about it.

Thank you.


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## amptor (Sep 12, 2007)

Shaunj66,

can you use the usb to flash directly to the MicroSD?
can you copy games from the internal flashram to MicroSD?

I think that'd be all I need to know 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  looks good, there's a new R4 coming out also in case anyone is wondering.


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## jester.hussler (Sep 12, 2007)

I would like to say that the loader speed and Download Play will be fixed on the next loader release. Furthermore Action Replay will be released soon.

- I was told this by the AceKard team


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## Maikel Steneker (Sep 12, 2007)

OK... So on the hardware side it's great, but on the software side it's pretty broken.

Normally, this cart would be very bad. But it does become open source... I'll wait and see how big the community will become, and then I'll maybe buy one.

They should have made good software to begin with themselves...


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## T-hug (Sep 12, 2007)

Think ima stick with my M3 Simply & M3 Lite.  I don't see the point in new cards if they don't actually bring anything new lol.


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## flai (Sep 12, 2007)

It is also has a crap GUI, I want something simple and functional, not too much to ask. This is anything but simple. Hope a dev changes it cause if it doesn't get fixed, my money's staying with me.


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## Firtermish (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(amptor @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> there's a new R4 coming out also in case anyone is wondering.



Any website confirming what you're saying ?


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## [M]artin (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(Firtermish @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> QUOTE(amptor @ Sep 12 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > there's a new R4 coming out also in case anyone is wondering.
> ...


The R4 team announced a new plastic casing to be produced with the next batch of R4's (announced yesterday) but that's about it...  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





*http://www.r4ds.com/news1-en.htmhttp://www.r4ds.com/news1-en.htm*http://www.r4ds.com/news1-en.htm


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## shaunj66 (Sep 12, 2007)

Guys please try and remember this was a very brief and rushed "FIRST IMPRESSIONS". Of course not everything is going to be answered in a few short paragraphs. Please bear with me as I put this card through its paces and wait for the full review which I'm sure will answer all your questions and more..

Of course I will still try and answer the odd intelligent question here.


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## hakdizzle (Sep 12, 2007)

looks promising..


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## recover (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> We'll send a stable version again.
> Thank you.


In the light of this, I can accept the faulty version from GBAtemp, I'll even pay the shipping 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



This could be understood as a joke or dead serious, depending on if gbatemp would consider this


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## mastertop101 (Sep 12, 2007)

Can you keep the USB cable connected, turn the DS on, flash a game, load the game?

(if acekard reads this, make it possible !)


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## Mewgia (Sep 12, 2007)

hey, lets all pass judgment on a pre-release loader! lololol

Though I do hope that they release a bit of an update (In-game screen plzzzz) by the time I get mine or it will take a bit for me to switch from my Cyclo


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## IBNobody (Sep 12, 2007)

So... Does the internal flash pass the CoR test?


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## Costello (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(recover @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 12 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > We'll send a stable version again.
> ...


wasn't he talking about a new version of the loader (not the cart itself) ?


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## Raisingod (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(IBNobody @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> So... Does the internal flash pass the CoR test?



This will address this in the review 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 But probably yes as internal memory cart's nand is usually as quick as commercial games NAND


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## T-hug (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(IBNobody @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> So... Does the internal flash pass the CoR test?



I'd like to know this too.  As the game is so picky about what media it's being run on I think it's 100% THE ROM of choice for testing new hardware.
The intro movie (also the DoS one) is another good test for read speed, see if its in sync, or any stutters etc.
Like shaun said, this is merely a preview so lets not get all pissy until the final build is in our hands.


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 12, 2007)

Well, looks like shit. Cyclo, here I come. At least I don't have to import this POS from Australia anymore.


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## kazumi213 (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(recover @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> My thoughts:
> How fast is the NAND memory *really*, we need some expert to benchmark this.



There is a DLDI compatible homebrew that can make read speed tests over internal/external memory Slot1 or 2 devices ->herehere


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## amptor (Sep 12, 2007)

Shaunj66,

Is this card compatable with the newer style flash memory used in 4 gigabyte MicroSD sticks?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 12, 2007)

If you mean SDHC, yes.


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## Monkey01 (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(jester.hussler @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> I would like to say that the loader speed and Download Play will be fixed on the next loader release. Furthermore Action Replay will be released soon.
> 
> - I was told this by the AceKard team
> 
> ...


Dude, there are enough flashcarts with simplistic GUI's already, can't blame them for making something nice looking now instead.
If you want a simplistic GUI, take the old AceKard. It has a really simplistic GUI and not much seems to have improved since it anyway. (Still 100% ROM compatibility, but nothing more)


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## leetdude_007 (Sep 12, 2007)

Does it match the raw power of DS-Xtreme!?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 12, 2007)

thai, you're kidding, right?


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## 4saken (Sep 12, 2007)

..no shit


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## Seraph (Sep 12, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> There is one thing we wanna clarify that the menu for AK RPG is still debugging for enhancement requestment change and it seems we send a wrong version of menu to gbatemp. But the base function of the menu has passed load test.
> We'll send a stable version again.
> Thank you.


Good to hear that things may be fixed before the actual release.

I can't really tell from the video and since I never had an auto booting card, does the card auto boot straight to its menu?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 12, 2007)

No.


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 13, 2007)

I'd still go with the Cyclo over this though. I think the open source shit is so they can kick back and not update their card. I'd rather have regular and consistent updates from a pro team, without all these bugs and lack of standard features (soft reset, download play, wtf?).


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## iwakura (Sep 13, 2007)

a major let-down, i was really hyped when i first saw this.

well, let it have some time to improve i guess. open-source *should* make this one of the best carts...eventually...possibly...maybe...


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## Seraph (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> There is one thing we wanna clarify that the menu for AK RPG is still debugging for enhancement requestment change and it seems we send a wrong version of menu to gbatemp. But the base function of the menu has passed load test.
> We'll send a stable version again.
> Thank you.


Do people just try to ignore this post? People are so quick to put it down when the final product isn't even out...However, this stable version can probably have problems too, but we just don't know yet...


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## leetdude_007 (Sep 13, 2007)

I can't wait how other slot-1 makers will respond to this. Let a 100 flowers bloom...

wait, that's a bad thing.

Let's just see how this fleshes out. Awesome pictures by the way!


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## azn_225 (Sep 13, 2007)

so when is release day for acekard r.p.g?


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## warbird (Sep 13, 2007)

People here are complaining about stupid stuff. All software. Software can be fixed people! If the hardware sucked, i would have understood, but all the features that you are complaining about is only software dependant! And this card isnt even released yet. Wait for the retail version, and then you can start complaining.


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(PharaohsVizier @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 12 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > I'd still go with the Cyclo over this though. I think the open source shit is so they can kick back and not update their card. I'd rather have regular and consistent updates from a pro team, without all these bugs and lack of standard features (soft reset, download play, wtf?).
> ...



That's true, but given the fact that they say they've been developing this thing for ten months, you'd think they'd have the smarts to get all the features their competition had and more right from the get go so people would have an incentive to pay the extra money for this. As it is now, if you buy an R4 you can get more than they offer. This far into the lifepsan of the DS slot 1 card I think any newcomer should know they have some stiff competition, mainly coming from the R4 and Cyclo, but all the other cards are exceptional as well.

As I see it now, not having all of those features and MORE is unacceptable.


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## cory1492 (Sep 13, 2007)

http://gbatemp.net/images/news/akrpg/12092007344.jpg
You all see the datecode on that hardware's PCB? July 11? It may not even be the final PCB revision, either. You all realize it's pointless making a GUI until hardware testing is finalized, rigth?

T*ONNES OF TIME seems to be equal to 8 WEEKS (MAX).* That being the case, if some of you are at least 15 you have had around 97.5 times the time they have had to get it's software where it is at to become so opinionated, and all I can say is "what else have _you_ done with that time, you have had 97.5 x tonnes of it...  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Here's to hoping they don't quietly recall this one too 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 bloody good device if you ask me (though it is using -gasp- hynix)

Thanks for the pics shaunj


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 13, 2007)

Don't know about that one, but all I'm saying is that they have the blueprints, they know the competition, and yet they don't come out guns a blazing, which looks like bad business to me. Why should I drop my R4/Cyclo/Supercard/G6/M3 or what have you for an inferior product that doesn't capitalize on it's promises, and doesn't even offer what I've had for months?


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## acekard (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(Monkey01 @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> QUOTE(jester.hussler @ Sep 12 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > I would like to say that the loader speed and Download Play will be fixed on the next loader release. Furthermore Action Replay will be released soon.
> ...



I'm wondering who in our team tell jester.hussler about the next release thing. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Yes, those features are in our schedule but we never announced when it would be released.

And about the development time, all i can say is that to make a brand new flash cart is not so easy as you thought. The software would be added more feature in the furtures for sure. So pleease give some time to our programmers and be patient. They are so tired these months. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




Thank you.


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## Normmatt (Sep 13, 2007)

acekard, do you have a svn/cvs setup for developers to help out with software development as i'd love to help in anyway i can

the hardware looks good and the software sounds like its coming along too with some more work it will be the king of all ds flash cards


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## DavePS (Sep 13, 2007)

As long as this cart ends up having the same no-issues with games UNLIKE R4 & M3 Simply i.e. no ARM7 patching, I couldn't give a rats about soft-reset and cheats and other trivial stuff. I'll just be happy to kick my AK Manager into touch and drag and drop from windows!


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## 4ppleseed (Sep 13, 2007)

Would it be possible (via open source homebrew) to make a program that can read one of those 4GB Pen Flash Drive things off the USB port?


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## shadow1w2 (Sep 13, 2007)

It is open source, we'll have to wait and see.
USB flash drive support would be a funny add-on.
Kinda pointless yet somewhat usefull.

This cart is definitly full of potentiol.
Seems only thing wrong with it is the software on the cart.
With it all being open source, its really just the hardware that matters.
Perhaps thats what they were focusing on the most.
Making software open-source so its less of a priority.
Though theres always updates too.

Ive been waiting for a good cart for awhile now, I think this is it regardless how the official software pans out.
Though working with the minimum features and all the cart features all working is kinda a given requirment anyway.

Now if they could just make a mini-usb lights extension, for those who never grabed a ds xtreme 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Pointless yet fun feature.


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 13, 2007)

Why is everyone hailing open source? Because if they abandon it and just expect it to be open source and let that handle it, would you buy it? It would come with nothing, and you'd be at the mercy of anyone out there who'd care to develop for it. While the other flashcarts have dedicated teams behind them trying to better them so it sells, this one is abandoned, but "open source".


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## 4saken (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> Why is everyone hailing open source? Because if they abandon it and just expect it to be open source and let that handle it, would you buy it? It would come with nothing, and you'd be at the mercy of anyone out there who'd care to develop for it. While the other flashcarts have dedicated teams behind them trying to better them so it sells, this one is abandoned, but "open source".



Yea. I initially thought about this. They could just produce the hardware, and basically dump their R+D department and let all our "skilled developers" do the work.. Then again it could turn out very well if there were some skilled devs supporting the card.


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## IBNobody (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(4ppleseed @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> Would it be possible (via open source homebrew) to make a program that can read one of those 4GB Pen Flash Drive things off the USB port?



No. It's not a USB hub. It can only connect to a PC. It's just like the DS-X.


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## Seraph (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> Why is everyone hailing open source? Because if they abandon it and just expect it to be open source and let that handle it, would you buy it? It would come with nothing, and you'd be at the mercy of anyone out there who'd care to develop for it. While the other flashcarts have dedicated teams behind them trying to better them so it sells, this one is abandoned, but "open source".


They do plan on releasing the features people are complaining about themselves. So what's the problem? Of course, if they don't stick to their word _that_ is a problem.


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## Monkey01 (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(warbird @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> People here are complaining about stupid stuff. All software. Software can be fixed people! If the hardware sucked, i would have understood, but all the features that you are complaining about is only software dependant! And this card isnt even released yet. Wait for the retail version, and then you can start complaining.
> 
> Hmm, you shouldn't base your opinion only about hardware. The current flashcarts all differ not much from eachother hardware wise, so it's basically only the feautures/ui that makes the difference now.
> 
> ...


I don't know about GUI making and hardware testing and stuff, but the current flashcarts all steal eachothers feautures in no-time, even if the hardware isn't exactly the same, so I don't see why they couldn't just make these feautures like soft-reset and all already. And then for the time they have, I'd include the time they could have spend on their previous flashcarts too. They also never got soft-reset, downloadplay compat, etc... and just not much of updates at all.

I just think a new flashcart in the market should include all feautures already available on popular flashcarts and bring something new, like cyclods evo did (all r4 feautures + ingame stuff / perfect download play). This flashcart just seems a step back when it doesn't even have stuff like all that.

I bought an AceKard around the time it was released, and when I see how other flashcarts get much more feautures and AceKard just comes with a new cart not having all those feautures released in the meanwhile, it just doesn't make me feel sure they'll be included in a short period of time.
If I'm wrong, the cart will be pretty nice, but they really should work on those feautures before they'll make me consider purchasing an acekard again.


----------



## recover (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(Costello @ Sep 12 2007 said:


> wasn't he talking about a new version of the loader (not the cart itself) ?
> 
> You are probably right, I guess the word "send" made me think snail-mail.
> 
> ...


This is interesting as well, it would be good if we somehow could easily merge with the official repositories, and it will also let developers check out the newest alpha code, and post bug reports before the bugs make it out to the normal users.


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## n45800 (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(IBNobody @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> QUOTE(4ppleseed @ Sep 13 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > Would it be possible (via open source homebrew) to make a program that can read one of those 4GB Pen Flash Drive things off the USB port?
> ...



It theoretically can if someone would write drivers for the Acekard, you may be able to copy files back and forth, but you wouldn't be able to run games directly off of the USB stick. If it was FireWire, then it would be much simpler, and would be possible, but USB requires the data to go through the CPU. You also need to get a cable that is USB A Female to Mini USB Male.


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## IBNobody (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(n45800 @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> QUOTE(IBNobody @ Sep 13 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(4ppleseed @ Sep 13 2007 said:
> ...



There's no theory about it. It will not work. The AK does not have the hardware to act as a host controller (a device that controls other USB devices).


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## Raisingod (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(Normmatt @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> acekard, do you have a svn/cvs setup for developers to help out with software development as i'd love to help in anyway i can
> 
> the hardware looks good and the software sounds like its coming along too with some more work it will be the king of all ds flash cards



They will probably put up a Source forge SVN for it when they will release the code 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.

Also the first community project would have to be a major commenting job ( usually when a small team of developers releases a source code its not commented enough for a open-source code )


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## Hiratai (Sep 13, 2007)

I should be getting mine within a few days. It's pretty odd that they need uour phone number to ship stuff in China.


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## Mehdi (Sep 13, 2007)

question to Shaun, why are you not planning to review the acekard? Are they false advertising?


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## Hiratai (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(Mehdi @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> question to Shaun, why are you not planning to review the acekard? Are they false advertising?


The only reason he got one was to review it for the site. So, it's pretty much mandatory.


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## Alastair (Sep 13, 2007)

This has made my day. I was feeling a little in-secure about my CycloDS Evo. but now I feel like the king of the world again. I use download play too much  to even consider fro a second getting one of this.


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## shaunj66 (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(Mehdi @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> question to Shaun, why are you not planning to review the acekard? Are they false advertising?


Who said I wasn't planning to? The team have said the loader is in no fit state atm and that several features are coming soon.


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## johnchan (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(shaunj66 @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Mehdi @ Sep 13 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > question to Shaun, why are you not planning to review the acekard? Are they false advertising?
> ...


Then it makes me wonder why they sent you the review sample in the first place, if the loader is in no fit state. It would seem better to hold off sending anything out until you're happy with it, to prevent giving people a bad impression. Perhaps they thought it was up to scratch and only after comments from yourself and other members here, they decided it was best to go back to the drawing board


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## bullet007 (Sep 13, 2007)

Besides BambooGaming, is any other site taking preorders for this cart yet?


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## Seraph (Sep 13, 2007)

QUOTE(johnchan @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> Then it makes me wonder why they sent you the review sample in the first place, if the loader is in no fit state. It would seem better to hold off sending anything out until you're happy with it, to prevent giving people a bad impression. Perhaps they thought it was up to scratch and only after comments from yourself and other members here, they decided it was best to go back to the drawing board
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Is that good thing or a bad thing...?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 13, 2007)

Wrong version...rIIIIITe.


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## Jhongerkong (Sep 14, 2007)

question



what you do is run pokemon diamond and save


is it disgustingly fast (R4) or disgustingly slow (retail, DS Linker)?


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## Raisingod (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> Wrong version...rIIIIITe.




Why are you so skeptical its logical for this to happen, they might have sent a cart from an early production date ( according to the PCB it is the case) and forgot to update it.

It seems like everybody is bashing this cart for no good reason


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 14, 2007)

What do you mean no good reason? What's a good reason then? Oh, I'm sure the fact that the copy/paste functions corrupt ROMs, the trimmer doesn't work, there is NO download play, soft reset, and the touch controls are unresponsive are VERY bad reasons for saying this thing is shit. Care to enlighten me?


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## lookout (Sep 14, 2007)

Have you try Castlevania - Portrait of Ruin and watch the intro through NAND Flash? any slow down or graphical glitches?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 14, 2007)

Why did they ship out review copies if they're "still in development"? Seems incredibly stupid to me, as it has put a bad taste into people's mouths. Plus, why did BambooGaming say their stock would get in and be ready for shipping on the 15th, only days from now? Could it really be a fluke, or was that the retail version that they sent to GBATemp, but after the less than stellar preview they decided to go back and fix up their mediocre offering? I for one think that "fake sample" thing is a facade.


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## scrawl (Sep 14, 2007)

I honestly wonder if releasing their loader software as open source will do more harm than good. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for open source, but in this particular market, I don't see how it would benefit AceKard.

Hardware-wise there is very little difference between a Cyclo DS, Supercard, R4, EZ-V, DSX, AceKard, etc.

What has separated the current brands is their software. Features such as cheat support, internal soft-reset and direct-MicroSD save writes is what differentiated the R4 (and consequently the M3 DS Simply) and consequently made it very popular.

When it comes to hardware of a slot-1 Flashcart, they are all pretty much the same - typically a programmable chip, MicroSD slot, bit of RAM and a PCB.

Now consider the Flashcart industry in general - The people involved specialise in hardware/software reverse engineering in an already ethically questionable industry. It won't take much effort or time for a competing group of individuals to rip off AceKard's PCB design but without the software, it's not much use. However, if AceKard releases their software as open source, you suddenly have a lot of imitators being able to release AceKard "fakes".

Money can't be made in the selling of the hardware. There will always be someone out there who can rip off your design or produce the same device for cheaper. Trying to undercut them in a price war simply devalues your product. It's the features, GUI and quality of your software which will differentiate your Flashcart from the rest of the market. It's the software the determines your product's value. Give that away and you open the doors for imitators trying to make a buck off your hard work.


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## quartercast (Sep 14, 2007)

Ummmm.. It'll be in stock at BG tomorrow (15th Sep) for 50 lucky people. I somewhat doubt they'll have ironed out all the software issues by the time consumers get their samples.

My opinion is that, with so many working flashcart solutions out there, it's pointless to release an unfinished product out to the marketplace. 1) it breaks the trust of the consumer, who reads all the features on the packaging but can't use then in real life 2) it leaves consumers in limbo as to when all the quoted features will actually be implemented.

Do you think an educated consumer such as myself would trust a flashcart company enough to buy an unfinished product in the hope that one day all features will be implemented? I think that's wishful thinking, its just not gonna happen. Look at the X9 - after 1 year they still haven't implemented all as promised. Look at the G6Real, how long did it take for DLDI and other promised features to be implemented?

Sure, acekard appears to be more legit than the "ninjapass team" (probably 1 person stranded on a desert island), but seeing as how flaky their first AK was I would be tempted to wait.


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## acekard (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> What do you mean no good reason? What's a good reason then? Oh, I'm sure the fact that the copy/paste functions corrupt ROMs, the trimmer doesn't work, there is NO download play, soft reset, and the touch controls are unresponsive are VERY bad reasons for saying this thing is shit. Care to enlighten me?



Copy/Paste and so called "the trimmer doesn't work" only because we forgot to get rid of some debug code at the first  time we email memu of AK RPG to gbatemp. That why we said it's a wrong version.
We've sent the lastest and stable version of menu of AK RPG to gbatemp via email and i thought shaunj66 would use it in the coming up review. By the way, hi, shaunj66, could you please check your email? Thank you.
"the touch controls are unresponsive". I thought it's a misunderstanding because we design the memu to response when you click the icon but not the line(i wish i make myself clear for my poor english 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ). And if there is any confusing problem then we'll update the menu for sure if it's really necessary. All you need to do is give us your advice and wait to download the lastest menu of AK RPG.
And about soft reset, perfect download play, Action Replay, they will be updated in the furture. Any way, it's just some issue of software. Besides it, we're going to open all of our source and i thought it'll really help to dig out the potential of AK RPG. Don't forget that AK RPG can use NAND Flash and TF card in the same time. And i still wanna to say our product is going to release in a short time and all the features we list in our press(http://www.acekard.com/index.php?page_id=11) are finished and passed test. We'll move to the other features like soft reset afer the release. You know there're so many things need to handle and we're not a company of thousand pepole. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




We're still thinking of how to build a effective and simple system for open source. If you have any suggestion please send a email(acekard#gmail.com) to us.  We greatly appreciate your kindly help.

Thank you all for your advice and we'll try our best to make our product meet the user.


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## notnarb (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(Jhongerkong @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> question
> 
> 
> 
> ...


seeing as the flash memory is noticeably faster then a micro sd (although a big one was the one tested), I would assume so


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 14, 2007)

I respect the fact that he'd come into the forums and talk with dissenters like me. Makes me feel better about the card, but I'm still not sold on it. Waiting to see your updated work, good luck.


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## becker2384 (Sep 14, 2007)

I'm gonna wait to see what comes of this.  Looks good though!

EDIT:  It sure is nice seeing acekard is acknowledging the stuff we want and implementin g it as well THANKS!


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## go185 (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(quartercast @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Sure, acekard appears to be more legit than the "ninjapass team" (probably 1 person stranded on a desert island), but seeing as how flaky their first AK was I would be tempted to wait.



Especially when the Ninjapass Team (that made the X9), released the first slot1 flashcart that required no PC side patching


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## sasuke_kun12 (Sep 14, 2007)

aw come on guys you ppl are a bunch of emos!  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 lol jokes okay? but anywaiz treat the acekard R.P.G like a kid whos learning how to play violin. At first the kid is really shithouse, but if you give that kid some time, that kid will be playing beautifully! same thing goes to the acekard. At first it might seam a little dodge, but if you give it a couple of months, it'll start meeting some of your expectations! I know it will for me!


----------



## ahtin (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(quartercast @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Ummmm.. It'll be in stock at BG tomorrow (15th Sep) for 50 lucky people. I somewhat doubt they'll have ironed out all the software issues by the time consumers get their samples.
> 
> My opinion is that, with so many working flashcart solutions out there, it's pointless to release an unfinished product out to the marketplace. 1) it breaks the trust of the consumer, who reads all the features on the packaging but can't use then in real life 2) it leaves consumers in limbo as to when all the quoted features will actually be implemented.
> 
> ...





the DLDI for G6Real have been solved before saleing, of course their download play isnt perfect finally

The first AK promise no need upgrade but finally they upgrade for a few times and one of them is fixing the game white screen problem, of course they are the less slot 1 update flashcart in the market


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## Organizer (Sep 14, 2007)

*!!!Acekard!!!*

Could you please confirm official websites that will be selling your card?


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## Hiratai (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(sasuke_kun12 @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> aw come on guys you ppl are a bunch of emos!Â
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That takes years to learn fully. You should have said its like learning the chorus to a song.


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## nloding (Sep 14, 2007)

I've not read this entire thread yet, but it seems to me that any lack of software support this card comes with out of the box is part of the plan -- they are focusing on quality hardware to start, then the open-source groups around the world kick in and make the OS on this card the best that's ever been.

I'm going to wait on it and see what the open-source community decides to do with it.  If some great OS's start coming out, this may very well replace my DSX, which has worked fine the games I wanted as of now.


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## 4saken (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(notnarb @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Jhongerkong @ Sep 13 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > question
> ...



Check out the saving times on Pokemon on the G6DSR. It's like 5-7 seconds


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## recover (Sep 14, 2007)

I still wonder *which* open source license they will use.
I'm guessing GPL, but we don't know (and they haven't told us).
And another thing, do they open source the whole thing WITH the graphics or only the code?


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## sasuke_kun12 (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(Hiratai @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> QUOTE(sasuke_kun12 @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > aw come on guys you ppl are a bunch of emos!Â
> ...



aw come on guys you ppl are a bunch of emos!  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 lol jokes okay? but anywaiz treat the acekard R.P.G like a kid whos learning how to sing a chorus of a song. At first the kid is really shithouse, but if you give that kid some time, that kid will be singing the whole song! same thing goes to the acekard. At first it might seam a little dodge, but if you give it a couple of months, it'll start meeting some of your expectations! I know it will for me!


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## Euronymous (Sep 14, 2007)

R4 is still king.


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## Rankio (Sep 14, 2007)

Enough with the R4 fanboism.  R4 has been having ARM7 fixes come up more often.


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## fli_guy84 (Sep 14, 2007)

Bleh give this product a break. It's not even launched yet.


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## ValentEXE (Sep 14, 2007)

I got AceKard R.P.G for review too 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Can you upload the "menu software" (firmware) ? I have not found the firmware on my fashcard


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## shaunj66 (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(ValentEXE @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> I got AceKard R.P.G for review too
> 
> 
> 
> ...


http://gbatemp.net/index.php?download=1069


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## stop_loading (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(Euronymous @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> R4 is still king.



R4 has been dethrowned by cyclo 

what's with the R4 fanboyism, it's a mediocre card that got away because it's cheap and the other flash cards were crap at its release (like DS-X)


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## jester.hussler (Sep 14, 2007)

QUOTE(quartercast @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Ummmm.. It'll be in stock at BG tomorrow (15th Sep) for 50 lucky people. I somewhat doubt they'll have ironed out all the software issues by the time consumers get their samples.
> 
> My opinion is that, with so many working flashcart solutions out there, it's pointless to release an unfinished product out to the marketplace. 1) it breaks the trust of the consumer, who reads all the features on the packaging but can't use then in real life 2) it leaves consumers in limbo as to when all the quoted features will actually be implemented.
> 
> ...



The Ninjapass Team have a new X9 firmware out: Ar Loader 1.1 - Adds fixes and Action Replay support.


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 14, 2007)

How is the R4 mediocre? It plays games except a few perfectly, updates are ususally monthly, it has 100% download play, DLDI autopatching, a great community behind, fully skinnable with a lot of skins made by the communtiy...need I go on?


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## jester.hussler (Sep 14, 2007)

Yes please go on! It boots up slowly and does have copy and paste!!


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## nBrew (Sep 14, 2007)

Guys, i just got the newest firmware from today. Download it from my website : http://www.nentindo.nl/downloads/acekard_rpg_root_0914.rar

I recieved the card today and it looks very promising


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## RiotShooter (Sep 15, 2007)

i dont know if i missed this or not but will this card be able to auto patch things that need the ARM7 patch?


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## rhyguy (Sep 15, 2007)

can you boot the firmware on another card?

that would be cool

Edit: I tried it on my r4, and it loads up fine, but it freezes when you pick slot 2, flash, or micro sdXD


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 15, 2007)

QUOTE(PharaohsVizier @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > How is the R4 mediocre? It plays games except a few perfectly, updates are ususally monthly, it has 100% download play, DLDI autopatching, a great community behind, fully skinnable with a lot of skins made by the communtiy...need I go on?
> ...



Are you mad because I was criticizing your precious Acekard R.P.G? No need to get defensive here man. And you act as if that wasn't a problem for the Cyclo. They released a firmware to fix the problem, which shows their card doesn't have 100% compatibility, now does it? The Cyclo is good but doesn't have as good a community behind it as the R4 does, and just like you said, they both share some of the same features. So why are you saying the R4 is dethroned? The only reason I'm even considering a Cyclo is for the SDHC support, as that's really the only thing it has over the R4.


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## 4saken (Sep 15, 2007)

Woo go G6DSR...


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## Hiratai (Sep 15, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> How is the R4 mediocre? It plays games except a few perfectly, updates are ususally monthly, it has 100% download play, DLDI autopatching, a great community behind, fully skinnable with a lot of skins made by the communtiy...need I go on?


Ah, yes please continue naming things that all other flashcarts have.


Does it have slow motion, screen shot taking, copy and paste, or even a in game menu? Thought not.


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## SkH (Sep 15, 2007)

QUOTE(stop_loading @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Euronymous @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > R4 is still king.
> ...


No, the CycloDS is not win over the R4, the menu is a crap of CycloDS!


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## asusboy (Sep 15, 2007)

Well said "PharaohsVizier". The main topic here is about Acekard R.P.G. We want to know how it turns out for Acekard R.P.G.


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## jester.hussler (Sep 15, 2007)

With the next update of the AceKard rpg it will become 2nd and Cyclo DS should be first.


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## Normmatt (Sep 15, 2007)

dont the pre-orders from bamboo gaming get sent out today, if so when will the source be released?


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## hollabackitsobi (Sep 15, 2007)

QUOTE(PharaohsVizier @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Well if you know me, I generally defend almost all flash carts from general criticism.Â I defended the CycloDS Evolution early on, even the R4.Â I don't know, I like to give cartridges the benefit of the doubt most of the time.Â And most of what I "defended" was just right up on their site, something you didn't read.
> 
> Sure worms caused a problem for CycloDS Evolution, but it was immediately fixed, unlike the R4...Â Who has yet to fix it.Â The CycloDS Evolution does have a good community behind it, the R4 just has an unimaginable amount of fanboys behind the product, which means absolutely nothing other than a billion posts saying that the R4 is the greatest.Â One supposedly good thing about a large fanbase for R4 is the large amount of skins on the net, which aren't all that great, they are just resized wallpapers that can be found on the net.Â In terms of original skins with fresh ideas, CycloDS Evolution is on par with the R4.Â Not to mention that if you do some 30 seconds worth of modifying R4 skins, you can place them in working condition for the CycloDS Evolution.
> 
> ...



Cyclo fanboy alert! Why is everyone that defends something suddenly a fanboy?


----------



## Seraph (Sep 15, 2007)

QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 15 2007 said:


> Cyclo fanboy alert! Why is everyone that defends something suddenly a fanboy?
> 
> I don't think this post defends anything except being a fanboy:
> 
> ...


----------



## RiotShooter (Sep 15, 2007)

so did anyone pre order one from bamboo???


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## reluttr (Sep 16, 2007)

I would like to see a USB game pad function included, one very simular to the one used with the DS-Linker. But by the software being open source I guess that is always a possibility. Also if it isn't a problem if they do add the game pad function to it I hope they upgrade the drivers for vista 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.


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## felix123 (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(RiotShooter @ Sep 15 2007 said:


> i dont know if i missed this or not but will this card be able to auto patch things that need the ARM7 patch?
> 
> If this AK is like the previous AK, it would work with every single game. No patch needed. No kernel upgrade needed.
> 
> ...


All other flashcarts have a great community and a lot of skins?


And acekard, a SVN depository for the source code world be nice.


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## Hiratai (Sep 16, 2007)

Cyclo has a great community. Plus, it's not like you really use a new skin each day. I get one, and stick with it.


----------



## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(rhyguy @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> can you boot the firmware on another card?
> 
> that would be cool
> 
> Edit: I tried it on my r4, and it loads up fine, but it freezes when you pick slot 2, flash, or micro sdXD












 DUDE that is SERIOUSLY STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 the R4's hardware is in everyway inferior to the cyclo evolution and even the neoflash R6 GOLD why would you do that????!!!! If you are gonna do that try doing that on a flash cart that doesn't suck!!!!! with SDHC out the fact that R4 isn't compatible is UNEXCEPTABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    LONG LIVE CYCLO EVOLUTION AND ACEKARD RPG!!!!!!!!!!! and sort of R6 gold(I don't know if it has SDHC)  BESIDES NO OTHER FLASH CART MAKER HAS BUILT-IN NAND FLASH AND MICRO SDHC IN ONE PACKAGE SO THAT IS JUST PLAIN DUMB!!!!!!! the acekard's firmware isn't for inferior GARBAGE HARDWARE LIKE THE R4 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



















 !!!!!!!!!!!


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## rhyguy (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(qjopera @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> QUOTE(rhyguy @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > can you boot the firmware on another card?
> ...




I meant it as a joke 0_o No need to get your fanboy speech out.


----------



## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(rhyguy @ Sep 15 2007 said:


> QUOTE(qjopera @ Sep 16 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(rhyguy @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> ...





SORRY


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## RiotShooter (Sep 16, 2007)

lawlzzz


----------



## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(SkH @ Sep 15 2007 said:


> QUOTE(stop_loading @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(Euronymous @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> ...



DUMBASS READ THE SPECS OF THE R4 AND THE CYCLO EVOLUTION!!!!!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  NOW TRY TO COMPARE THE 2 AND USE YOUR BRAIN 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 WITH THE SPECS OF THE R4 HOW THE HELL CAN IT GO UP AGAINST THE CYCLO EVOLUTION IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO THINK LOGICALLY 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





























cyclo evolution has SDHC. R4 DOESN'T!!!!! THAT IS UNEXCEPTABLE I STORE TONS OF HOMEBREW AND HATE CARRING MULTIPLE CARDS!!!!!!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




CYCLO EVOLUTION HAS SLOW MO R4 DOESN'T.

CYCLO HAS ALL THE CHEAT CODE AND SOFT-RESET FUNCTIONS OR THE R4 AND THEN SOME.      

R4 HAS ARM7 PROBLEMS!!!!!!!!!! CYCLO DOESN'T!!!!!

cyclo EV has PERFECT DOWNLOAD AND PLAY ABILITY R4 STILL WORKING ON IT!!!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







  still can't figure it out?????

let me simplify the equation R4 SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Hiratai (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(qjopera @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> QUOTE(SkH @ Sep 15 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(stop_loading @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> ...


*SHUT THE FUCK UP!*


----------



## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(reluttr @ Sep 15 2007 said:


> I would like to see a USB game pad function included, one very simular to the one used with the DS-Linker. But by the software being open source I guess that is always a possibility. Also if it isn't a problem if they do add the game pad function to it I hope they upgrade the drivers for vista
> 
> 
> 
> ...




believe it or not the neoflash R6 GOLD HAS MOTION AND IS OPEN-SOURCE or so I herd from dr.neo himself it's like the tails of the acekard rpg's heads


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## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(rslootjes @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Guys, i just got the newest firmware from today. Download it from my website : http://www.nentindo.nl/downloads/acekard_rpg_root_0914.rar
> 
> I recieved the card today and it looks very promising




interesting what features are included?? is the transfer between sd and nand fixed with hardware accelleration??


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## cubin' (Sep 16, 2007)

wow. the R4 plays DS games well. IT does what it's meant to do at a good price :\


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## qjopera (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 13 2007 said:


> QUOTE(hollabackitsobi @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > What do you mean no good reason? What's a good reason then? Oh, I'm sure the fact that the copy/paste functions corrupt ROMs, the trimmer doesn't work, there is NO download play, soft reset, and the touch controls are unresponsive are VERY bad reasons for saying this thing is shit. Care to enlighten me?
> ...



Are you going to later realese 2G and 4G nand flash varietents of the acekard RPG????
I saw something about it on your forums is this true??


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## rhyguy (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(qjopera @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> QUOTE(SkH @ Sep 15 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > QUOTE(stop_loading @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> ...



(rant)SDHC 4 GB is more expensive than 2X 2GB SD, and you can just use those cases for carrying it around

How useful is slowmo? Slow makes the games reaction times slower, and its not very good as it recks the difficulty

R4 has a more extensive cheat database *pokes rayders cheats* and its really simple to add your own

The r4 team will probably fix the arm7 problems in the next firmware, and all you have to do is unpack the rom, replace a file, and re pack it, its not hard

The r4 perfected download play in 1.11

The r4 is a relatively cheap card, that has loads of good features. I'm not saying cyclo sucks or anything, but the r4 is a good card which does everything you expect it to(/rant)


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## recover (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(felix123 @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> And acekard, a SVN depository for the source code world be nice.


I actually submitted this as a suggestion to acekard at gmail dot com.
Anyhow, if they decide to do this, it's still uncertain how they developed the card so far, maybe they didn't use revision control then we'll get revision 0 as the release version.
Not that it would matter that much, just as it might have been interesting to see what they did from day 0


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## shakirmoledina (Sep 16, 2007)

lol again with the argument of cylco and R4 huh...
well it seems both have their upsides and downsides... if R4 release a new cart with more inbuilt ram then surely it's gonna be R4 winning but at the moment both can do their primary objective (play games and d/p) so both are ALMOST equal (cyclo more promising and r4 is keeping to it's name)


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## recover (Sep 16, 2007)

Slot-1 cards can't provide additional ram.


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## Maikel Steneker (Sep 16, 2007)

QUOTE(recover @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> Slot-1 cards can't provide additional ram.


What are you talking about? Of course they can! They will not allow you to play GBA roms or use the browser, but still, it's possible (for homebrew etc.).


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## nBrew (Sep 16, 2007)

I just did a test with the speed test on the NAND memory and here are the results:

All tests average times

Sequential (512B)
max: 376
avg: 203

Sequential (4KiB)
max: 1599
avg: 1584

Sequential (16KiB)
max: 6315
avg: 6295

Random (512B)
max: 563
avg: 491

Random (4KiB)
max: 1811
avg: 1728

Random (16KiB)
max: 6513
avg: 6432

As far as I can compare them to DS-X and R4 they are pretty good 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




edit: I wonder how I can know if im testing the NAND or the microSD card... this test I ran from the NAND memory but launching it from the microSD card gave me the same results more or less...


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## jester.hussler (Sep 16, 2007)

Its good to see that the AceKard will be a good card!


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## Seraph (Sep 16, 2007)

So I'm guessing the reason why they haven't actually revealed a date/released it for sale and why shaunj isn't working on the review yet is because they're fixing/adding features?(well I guess I know that's why the review isn't being worked on...)

I've been waiting for a slot-1 card for a while, mostly for the M3 Real, but if that card doesn't really have anything that great I'll be getting an RPG.


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## acekard (Sep 17, 2007)

QUOTE(Organizer @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> *!!!Acekard!!!*
> 
> Could you please confirm official websites that will be selling your card?
> 
> ...


You can send us a email to confirm that you got the sample and we'll send you the OS menu.


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## ahtin (Sep 17, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 17 2007 said:


> QUOTE said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




someone already post it out


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## kazumi213 (Sep 17, 2007)

QUOTE(rslootjes @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> I just did a test with the speed test on the NAND memory and here are the results:
> 
> All tests average times
> 
> ...



Then you can read (from DS-X 16 Gbit advertised features):
"High speed internal memory *provides fastest possible file access times*, NO slow-downs"

Damn cheap incompetent liars.


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## recover (Sep 17, 2007)

QUOTE(maikelsteneker @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> What are you talking about? Of course they can! They will not allow you to play GBA roms or use the browser, but still, it's possible (for homebrew etc.).


I suspect you are talking about swapping.
Slot-1 cards are only storage+executable code, using the DS system.
When swapping, data are moved from the ram to the flash medium, and back, when needed (because the ram doesn't have enough storage and the homebrew can't fit it all solely in the ram).
RAM is a much faster storage medium, usual swapping can't compare to ram.
More info about it at DSLinux wiki.


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## felix123 (Sep 17, 2007)

Please use the GPL licence. 
With GPL, any person who uses the code must make their project open source as well. It would prevent others from taking the code, and selling it in a closed source product.



QUOTE(Seraph @ Sep 17 2007 said:


> 've been waiting for a slot-1 card for a while, mostly for the M3 Real


That card will be low priced and feature rich, according to my sources.


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## recover (Sep 19, 2007)

Just got word through mail that they have decided to use the MIT/X11 open-source license.
Now it's just a matter of time before the source is released.


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## RiotShooter (Sep 21, 2007)

so whats going on with this card. is there a release date yet for it?


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## zi70410 (Sep 21, 2007)

yea when is it?


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## Normmatt (Sep 21, 2007)

I got told it will be released next week or the week after, also acekard finally put up the firmware on their website


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## qjopera (Sep 21, 2007)

QUOTE(acekard @ Sep 16 2007 said:


> QUOTE(Organizer @ Sep 14 2007 said:
> 
> 
> > *!!!Acekard!!!*
> ...



Can the nand flash of the acekard RPG be used to play GBA games and homebrew?? via combination with the TF-slot with GBA games and homebrew linking with the NAND flash and using the NAND flash to run??? 

like how GBA games run from the TF card slot of a slot-2 card then uses the built-in flash to run?? 

like with the EZ-flash 4 lite deluxe and neoflash neo2-tf??

The acekard RPG is the first slot-1 card to have a TF slot and built-in RAM kinda similar to slot-2 carts so I am curious if it will use or can use it's NAND flash to launch GBA games from TF and give them the ram they need to run?? your card is open source


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## recover (Sep 21, 2007)

YAY YAY YAY!
The source has been released on the official AceKard homepage, and as far as I've looked into it, it looks good! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Go download it now, I'll try to get this posted on the front-page.


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## Noobix (Sep 21, 2007)

Awesome stuff!!!

As an R4 fanboy it'll be great to have something to wind up the new kid on the block Cyclo fanboys with!  (Has the cyclo got a built in USB connector ? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




) 

Seriously though, I'm glad Acekard R.P.G. (*ARPG*) is finally here, since hopefully I can pick some up when I visit Hong Kong next week!!!


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## Wii_DS. (Sep 21, 2007)

QUOTE(jester.hussler @ Sep 14 2007 said:


> Yes please go on! It boots up slowly




No it doesn't

Turn on the DS.

BAM there is the R4 menu.

I bet you don't own a R4. If you don't own a Product don't say bad things about it untill you have tried it.


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## AeN0 (Sep 22, 2007)

Is the 2GB version available ? I got a French seller that will receive RPG next week and It claims that it's the 2 GB version ...


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## shakirmoledina (Sep 23, 2007)

The card is being sold on bamboogaming if anyone doesn't know for 85$


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## 4saken (Sep 23, 2007)

QUOTE(shakirmoledina @ Sep 23 2007 said:


> The card is being sold on bamboogaming if anyone doesn't know for 85$



Yea basically everyone knows since it's the only shop 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




They put it on like the 10th


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## shakirmoledina (Sep 23, 2007)

The card is being sold on bamboogaming if anyone doesn't know for 85$ AUS


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## OSW (Sep 23, 2007)

rofl you repeated same post 23 minutes later.


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## rhyguy (Sep 23, 2007)

QUOTE(OSW @ Sep 23 2007 said:


> rofl you repeated same post 23 minutes later.



woah, thats real funny, lmao /not/


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## eGladiator (Sep 25, 2007)

Hello, this is my first message in your forums although I have reading here for long time.

I hope soon the review from Shaunj66 master :-), I always read it

While you hope too, you can read our's forum review, I hope you like it...

http://www.elotrolado.net/hilo_-Revision--...d-R-P-G-_853123

Greetings for all an specially for PharaohsVizier ;-)


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## recover (Sep 27, 2007)

I can't read it because it's in Spanish  :'( 
Luckily we have google translate.


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## SkH (Nov 10, 2007)

So, in the built-in Memory, running Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, does it have SlowDowns? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




And... Why not there's a Review already of it?


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## cubin' (Nov 10, 2007)

Any custom firmware running yet? who about 100% download play and such?


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## sepinho (Nov 20, 2007)

So what do Acekard's early adopters say, now that they've had some time to fiddle around with the cart? How solid is it?
How frequent are firmware updates? Is anybody working on implementing soft reset and improving download play?
Any idea as to how many (open source) developers are actually working on Acekard projects? Any cool projects released yet? Any substantial features missing?

Hey, you were asking for questions!

The reason I'm asking is that I'm currently planning on getting another flashcard in addition to my R4. I'll eventually pass on one of the cards to my fiancee, when she gets her crimson&black DS for X-Mas. 

One of the options would be to get a rather expensive Acekard, hoping that it will eventually live up to expectations. The other option would be to get an el-cheapo N-Card clone from Dealextreme.


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## ral67 (Nov 28, 2007)

any other shops that carry the Acekard R.P.G. besides bamboogaming ?

preferably something closer to Europe ?


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## OSW (Nov 28, 2007)

QUOTE(SkH @ Nov 10 2007 said:


> So, in the built-in Memory, running Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam, does it have SlowDowns?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



no-one has released any alternate firmwares yet. Though an official update supporting action replay codes was released recently (i believe with the help of cracker)

basically with the card, no DL play and soft reset is a little dissapointing, (and cheat code support is a little primitive)

But in every other way the cart runs like a charm, very fast and clean menu, homebrew runs like a charm (except 4 dslinux), games play at full speed.

Playing games properly from external memory requires a reasonable memory card. If you don't have a well supported card (like kingston) many games won't even boot at all. Wheras with my Kingston japan 1GB everything runs pretty well (though i don't know if there is slowdown on downhill jam etc, i play them from internal memory anyway)

The dual memory design is quite neat, not just a gimmick. Personally I tend to hold almost purely roms on the flash memory (+ only a couple of homebrews which read from slot two (after swapping the nand dldi file), and mostly homebrew and media on the microsd, with a couple of roms. (I only have a kingston 1gb, theres not room foor much more).

acekard team or individual devs havent shown much inclination yet to release special feature updates, though acekard team claim they are working on those special features (i believe them, but they are slow)


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