Homebrew Excessive slowdown/delays for SNES and GBA emulation on the DSTWO

[Bluewoods]

Has anyone managed to emulate SNES and GBA games on the DSTWO at a reasonable speed?

I bought that cart specifically because of it has its own CPU to help emulation, and even though I'm using their brand plug-in emulators, it's not possible for me to play any game but classic RPGs properly, since they don't require timing. Every game experiences a delay between the pressing of a button and the game reaction, which makes playing platformers, rythm games and shooters properly impossible, and heavier SNES games like Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Kart is downright impossible-- the framerate goes down to one frame per second during gameplay.

Does anyone have tips or tricks to optimize 16 bit games emulation? Has anyone managed to get past these issues? Thank you.

 

[Rydian]

They don't update the SNES emulator, instead they released the source so others could.

http://gbatemp.net/threads/ndssfc-catsfc-revival.339600/

Try this, it's much beterr, but emulation on the DS series is still shit. If you had asked beforehand I'd have told you to get something other than a DS.

For the GBA one, use the SECOND-latest version, and game_config (the latest one doesn't work with game_config).
http://gbatemp.net/threads/the-supercard-dstwo-beginners-guide-how-to-setup-the-dstwo.290190/

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

Yeah DS emulation blows. PSP is better and Android is even better than that, given the much newer faster technology. I'd suggest either a portable snes clone like the supaboy or the retro duo portable if you've got or plan on buying and lugging around original carts, or get an android device and a compatible controller, either bluetooth or otherwise. Keep in mind that many stock android firmwares don't allow bluetooth connectivity of input devices thus you may have to root the device.

I can recommend several android emulators that run pretty flawlessly if you decide to go that route.

As far as GBA I'd get a slot 2 device like the EZ 3in1 and a DS lite.

 

[Bluewoods]

Rydian: I already use CATSFC so I guess I've tried everything as far as SNES emulators go. I'm a bit disappointed that even the user-enhanced emulators are so limited in functionality and efficiency. Considering the large range of emulators there is for every console and even several kinds of old PCs out there, I'd think the people who are interested in making NDS homebrew would focus on that making better emulators for the most popular platforms... but oh well. I'm gonna try that version of NDSGBA you suggested. Thank you!

UncleSkeleton: I've been interested in PSP emulation for a while. I never owned a PSP so I'm not sure where to start. What versions of the PSP can and cannot be used for emulation? Do I need additional pieces? Do I need to modify the software in a way that could get the device bricked? Basically what I'm asking is what do I need to know?

I've also been considering getting a classic DS or DS lite for the slot 2... I'm guessing second hand ones are currently getting cheaper by the day. Thank you.

 

[Another World]

Yeah DS emulation blows. PSP is better

that is simply untrue. have you bothered to play with every emulator available for the ds? comparing hardware apples to oranges isn't going to get you very far in this debate. two different systems with two completely different scenes. i only use my ds for homebrew and emulation, emulation on the ds is not perfect but by no means "blows".

-another world

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

I'm not an expert on PSP emulation, but as far as I know you need to have a custom firmware installed first, which I believe is possible with all PSP revisions. I bought my PSP second hand and it already had the firmware installed. You will need a memory stick to store the emulators/roms on, but I wouldn't get your hopes up on getting perfect or even near perfect emulation out of a PSP, the processor just isn't powerful enough and the currently available emulators for it are somewhat lacking.

I mainly emulate SNES via the Wii or my PC but on the go I do use my android phone quite a bit and the emulation is pretty much dead on, and my phone is not the latest high end model either. I'm running a stock HTC Inspire that I got free with new contract about a year and a half ago. The biggest drawback of the android emulation is the touchscreen controls. I am planning on rooting the device to allow for input from the Wii and PS3 controllers though and that should alleviate the problem.

If you have the means I highly suggest getting a real SNES and the games for it. I own 2 of them and there's just nothing like playing the games on the original systems.

that is simply untrue. have you bothered to play with every emulator available for the ds? comparing hardware apples to oranges isn't going to get you very far in this debate. two different systems with two completely different scenes. i only use my ds for homebrew and emulation, emulation on the ds is not perfect but by no means "blows".

-another world

Sorry, I should have clarified: SNES emulation on the DS blows. Granted I don't own a SCDSTWO but I haven't heard good things about the SNES emulation and the standard emulation available for the SNES on the DS is not good. It's got all kinds of graphical glitching and usually requires adjusting several settings to make the games playable and most of the time it doesn't fix graphical glitches. As for GBA emulation I have no stance on that as I've always used a slot 2 device for running GBA games on the DS.

 

[Bluewoods]

Alright, thanks for the pointers. Say, how do you even, say, in Super Mario for example, jump while running with touch screen controls? Is it able to pick up when you go from pressing B to pressing both buttons? Seems to me like that alone would add a handicap even worse than the button pressing delay on the DSTWO emulators.

 

[RchUncleSkeleton]

Alright, thanks for the pointers. Say, how do you even, say, in Super Mario for example, jump while running with touch screen controls? Is it able to pick up when you go from pressing B to pressing both buttons? Seems to me like that alone would add a handicap even worse than the button pressing delay on the DSTWO emulators.

The touchscreen has multitouch so you can still roll your thumb onto the jump button while holding run though it is a bit of a pain, which is why I want to root and use a bluetooth controller with it.

 

[Rydian]

Touch controls for emulation suck ass, you need a physical controller for anything resembling competent play.

 

[SLiV3R]

i remember i think it was 2005 when the psp was released. everyone including me was so exited about the hacked psp. there were all kinds of emulators and almost some of the N64 games were playable at the end.

but the more i used the psp for emulation the more i got really really dissapointed. there were important issues that was bad on the psp for me.

1. the screen on the psp has a HUGE ghostening problem. for scrolling 2D games it looks horrible. it was more build for 3D games in mind i guess..
2. both the d-pad (and the analouge) and the buttons on the psp are so much worse than the dsi buttons.. i would almost say that the psp buttons were equally bad as touchscreen controls. i mean both of them are unplayable for me. i dont get the right mood, and dont get the 100% preciscion that i demand when i play games.it should be my fault when i die in a game, not a damn d-pad that isnt resonsive enough.

therefore i prefer NES emulation on the DSi 356 days/year instead of playing NES on the PSP. even though we have to scale or crop the screen. NESDS has such delightful options for scaling so for MOST of the games satisfy me =)

at last, if we could play emulation on the 3DS it would be the ultimate emulation machine imo =) the screen resolution, the buttons, the screen. everything would be perfect =)

 

[Rydian]

The PSP's screen and controls vary from model to model. There's the 1000, 2000, 3000, Go, Street, etc.

 

[SLiV3R]

yep. i have been thinking about getting another psp just to try if that one is better than the psp1000 that i have.

 

[Bluewoods]

at last, if we could play emulation on the 3DS it would be the ultimate emulation machine imo =) the screen resolution, the buttons, the screen. everything would be perfect =)

What is China waiting for to make a flash card for the 3DS? I know that pirating 3DS games hasn't been found possible yet, but just having a flash card that would harness the 3DS hardware for ultimate emulation would be more than enough reason for me to give them all my money.

 

[Rydian]

What is China waiting for to make a flash card for the 3DS? I know that pirating 3DS games hasn't been found possible yet, but just having a flash card that would harness the 3DS hardware for ultimate emulation would be more than enough reason for me to give them all my money.

Cracking the 3DS's protection...

With modern digital copies, running homebrew is the same deal as running a retail game copy, minus account for individual AP.

EDIT: Also, just a note, the Chinese rarely make the hacks. They just copy it into a cheaply-usable format.

 

[Bluewoods]

Can you explain in detail what you're referring to?

 

[Rydian]

Can you explain in detail what you're referring to?

If you mean the chinese thing...

• DS
  DSi/3DS got the first type of booting cart to the public with the ARDSi or whatever, using a header trick.
  http://hackmii.com/2010/02/lawsuit-coming-in-3-2-1/
  And hey look, guess the exact method flash carts started using to run on the DSi/3DS?
  
  Oh, remember when DSi-mode was publicly-hacked, using the Cooking Coach exploit.
  http://dsibrew.org/wiki/DSi_exploits
  Then the DSi-mode Cyclo iEvo came out, and I'll give you one guess as to which icon it uses to launch into DSi-mode...
  http://gbatemp.net/threads/cyclods-ievolution-review.279940/
  Yeah, cooking coach. They just used that exploit and packaged it up for sale.
  
  
• 3DS
  All the big news is from US/UK/English-whatever devs. Seriously, read the hacking stickies here, and check the news section, and look at 3DBrew.
  http://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/Main_Page
  
  Oh yeah, two Chinese teams (Crown3DS and Ace3DS) DID show some products for the 3DS... bootleg 3DS games with a flash cart installed, because all they're doing is copying other people's work.
  http://gbatemp.net/threads/ace3ds-team-released-a-hybrid-card-that-comes-with-a-3ds-rom.341421/
  
  
• PS3
  Ever checked out the PS3 hacking scene? How many times did you see "Chinese hackers crack open blah blah blah"? It was always US/UK/DE or something that actually made the hacks, and then later a chinese company packages the hack into a cheap little device they can sell for a profit.

I could go on, but the more I do the more I risk someone of Chinese origin bitching me out. I'm not saying all Chinese are like this, but over in China itself, copying work is the name of the game and how many people manage to scrape together a living.

Don't expect the Chinese to hack the 3DS. DO expect them to take the hack somebody else made, package it up, and try to sell it to you, and that's what people have come to expect. It's not just the DS scene, the Chinese realized how much money there is in selling hardware hacks for all sorts of systems.

 

[Clydefrosch]

What is China waiting for to make a flash card for the 3DS? I know that pirating 3DS games hasn't been found possible yet, but just having a flash card that would harness the 3DS hardware for ultimate emulation would be more than enough reason for me to give them all my money.

the second you can harness all the 3ds power, pirating will be possible. or going the other way around, as long as we cant pirate, we cant use 3ds homebrew. i'd expect pirating to be possible a lot earlier than a working snes emulator too...

yep. i have been thinking about getting another psp just to try if that one is better than the psp1000 that i have.

they will be. the 1000 clearly had the worst controls. i heard that 3000 would be the best, as far as button response go. there were some guides on how to make the 1000 work better, but you have to open up your psp and put some pieces of plastic inside. basically, you put something between the actual button and the rubber thing thats right below the button. if you're fond of opening it, you may want to try that.

 

[tbgtbg]

I haven't gotten around to trying CATSFC on my DSTWO yet, but SNES emulation on the PSP isn't very good, imo, so if that's what you're concerned with, forget it. Genesis, GBC, GBA, NES, those are pretty good, though.

 

[WiiUBricker]

I follow this rule to determine whether to emulate on DS or PSP:

1) PSP if the systems resolution exceeds the resolution of the DS
2) DS if the systems resolution doesn't exceed the resolution of the DS AND if well playable

Which means PSP for NES, SNES and DS for GB, GBC and GBA. Though GBA also on PSP if not well playable on the DS.
Overall I prefer to use my DS for emulation because I like the bigger pixels of the DS screens.

 

[SLiV3R]

yeah, i love to play the nesDS in 1:1. that is pixelperfection!! and the pixels are BIG as u say WiiUBricker =) I havent played better NES before.. it is equally great as the original hardware imo =)