Acekard 2 Review

shaolinpinoy · Jul 10, 2008

Acekard 2

Official Site: www.acekard.com

Contents
-Introduction
-Features
-Setup
-Usage
-Customize
-Performance
-Conclusion
-Links

::Introduction::
The Acekard 2 is Team Acekards latest foray into the slot-1 market aimed at the budget concious. Hot on the heels of the Acekard R.P.G., it fills the gap for those of us who don't need premium features like slow motion, real time save, the added expense of NAND memory and just want a good work horse to boot games and homebrew.

::Features::

-Perfect compatibility. No need to convert, No need to flash!
-Save file is written directly to TF card. No need to manually select save size, no data loss.
-Automatic DLDI patching. Run homebrew programs without converting.
-Support soft-reset, Download Play and WiFi gaming!
-Support SDHC TF card. Virtually unlimited storage size !
-Support any brand of TF, with no slowdown!
-Support Action Replay cheats . Build-in editor!
-Low power consumption for longer operational time!
-Built-in multiple languages and DIY skinning!

::Setup::
Contents:
-Acekard 2 slot-1 Flash cart
-microSD reader
-instruction manual
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWbbuxHyI/AAAAAAAAATM/OO_3Foa021I/s400/Packaging.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWtmSINzI/AAAAAAAAATU/p6Yox7geJ-Y/s400/Packaging%20Back.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWbOAEFwI/AAAAAAAAAS8/HQ-KaxlD_LE/s400/Instruction%20Insert.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Close Ups:
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWV1C8hidI/AAAAAAAAARk/CrnmKvmrcQg/s400/CartwithReaderFront.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWV1OYeJGI/AAAAAAAAARc/AJ36MZdFkD4/s400/CartwithReaderBack.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWV1oS8RvI/AAAAAAAAAR8/wANG2-3Q-UA/s400/CartwithReaderLeft.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWMCkCi_I/AAAAAAAAASE/sFffW5lywkg/s400/CartwithReaderRight.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWV1Z9mxxI/AAAAAAAAAR0/YWaiSFyLr7M/s400/CartwithReaderIsometricTop.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWV1dFNAII/AAAAAAAAARs/houGV6OMNXQ/s400/CartwithReaderIsometricBot.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
1)Plug microSD into provided microSD reader then plug microSD reader into computer.
2) Download Firmware (links at bottom of review).
2a) Optionally download patched moonshell to enable multimedia features/text viewing.
3) unzip firmware and move akmenu4.nds and __ak2 to root of microSD
3a) unzip and move moonshl and MoonShell_AUTOPATCH_Default (No interface).nds to root of microSD
4) Drag ROMs and Homebrew (does not need to be at root) to microSD
4a) Drag multimedia to microSD. Open moonshell to play.<ul><li> video: dpg </li><li> music: mp3, lowbitrate AAC, ogg, mod, mdx, gbs, hes, nsf, xm, midi</li><li>pictures: jpeg, bmp, gif, png</li><li> text files</li></ul>5) Turn on NDS/NDS Lite
6) Adjust settings to taste.

::Usage::
The Acekard 2's GUI is highly customizable but certain elements will always be present. Here's what it looks like after ::Setup::.
Persistent Top Screen Elements: <ul><li>Clock</li><li>Calendar</li></ul><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWXKe6BzGI/AAAAAAAAAU0/BAr0ul2Mxf4/s400/TopScreen.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWdVqYKgPI/AAAAAAAAAVA/pVe01kDUJ9Q/s400/BotScreen.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Persistent Bottom Screen Elements:<ul><li>Path indicator</li><li>Brightness indicator</li><li>Start menu</li></ul>You can select microSD Card to boot ROMs and Media or Slot-2 Card (if you have a slot-2 device) to boot into NDS mode which lets you use the Acekard as a PassMe device.

Here is a breakdown of the Start Menu's commands:
Copy
Cut
Delete
Paste
Patches
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWt7u7HMI/AAAAAAAAATc/IBnwJ9mSl40/s400/Patch.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
System Options
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWXKBBWKBI/AAAAAAAAAUs/-CMxtXYd_cA/s400/System%20Options.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Properties (Shows different information based on file type)
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWuViwl5I/AAAAAAAAAT0/LR6cPH1Ll50/s400/PropertiesMicroSD.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWW_Ep_CTI/AAAAAAAAAUM/bolu73mbHxk/s400/PropertiesSlot2.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWuEvlGYI/AAAAAAAAATk/V51nQO5JcPk/s400/PropertiesFolder.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWW-wjqNXI/AAAAAAAAAUE/5ScCpqC8LBw/s400/PropertiesSav.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWW--c8vVI/AAAAAAAAAT8/jGIutruWZUk/s400/PropertiesNDSGame.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWuV731YI/AAAAAAAAATs/C4wEFnqyBeQ/s400/PropertiesGBAGame.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
Help
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWazdPvbI/AAAAAAAAAS0/S8KshKrexJU/s400/Help.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

File Management is accomplished with the Cut, Copy, Delete, and Paste commands. They do what you expect. Being able to move your files around is extremely handy and can help out with organization. The only File Management command that would make this perfect is Rename, but not a big deal.

Ds Download Play found under patches is set to Disabled by default. Enable it to patch games that have a Download Play feature which is used for sharing a demo version of a game with another DS which goes away after the receiving DS shuts down.

Cheat/Action Replay also found under patches, enables the Acekard's cheat features. It uses a cheat "database" stored in .dat or .xml format to produce a .cc file which contains your games cheats. A default set of cheats is included in /__ak2/cheats. The only inconvenience is that Rebuild-ing has to occur for each game you want to cheat on since it is this process that produces the .cc file which contains the cheats. Here's how to set it up.

Press X to bring up the cheat window
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWMjPd9NI/AAAAAAAAASU/GSMeyDzmer8/s400/CheatNotSetup.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Hit DB Select to select your database file stored in /__ak2/cheats
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWMZVOWtI/AAAAAAAAASM/kU4j4Gh3DJU/s400/CheatDBSelect.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Now hit Rebuild
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWMt6a8DI/AAAAAAAAASc/DOQ1dlx-yXA/s400/CheatRebuild.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWM8kl5pI/AAAAAAAAASk/EifkYBnOGbA/s400/CheatRebuildingProcess.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Select your cheats with X or Y and start your game.
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWa6pIkiI/AAAAAAAAASs/Mal4T3AcTbU/s400/CheatSelect.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />


Soft reset brings you back to the main menu by holding down the nonstandard key combo: L+R+A+B+Down. Must be enabled since default is disabled. Only works for ROMS and not homebrew. 

Moving on to the items under System Options:
Interface Theme selects an installed skin from the /__ak2/ui folder where skins are installed.
Interface language selects 1 of 8 available languages installed to /__ak2/language folder
Brightness selects 1 of 4 brightness levels with 4 being the brightest level.
Show file(s) of type controls which file extensions to show. Default is NDS which only shows NDS games. NDS+SAV shows DS ROMs and their corresponding save files. All shows everything.
Trim ROM when copying Default is disabled. It is a handy feature that reduces DS ROM file sizes by removing unnecessary data.
Help shows the keybindings
+ = Up/Down/PgUp/PgDown
A = Yes/Start/OK
B = No/Back/Cancel
Y = View file info/Select save type
X = Cheats
L = Back to parent directory
R = Set Brightness:1/2/3/4
START = Open "START" Menu
SELECT = List style: Animate/Number

Version Info: AKMENU 4.07a15 AK2 HW:41

::Customize::
-skins
1) Obtain skin. Acekard R.P.G. compatible.
a) www.skin.acekard.com
b) make own.
2) Plug in microSD and drag skin Folder to /__ak2/ui
3) Change skin in Start->System Options->Interface Theme


-making skins<blockquote>You can use three programs to create your own skins.
a) Official skin maker by team acekard
b) Dan Taylor's tool to help create ini files but assumes you already have the picture files done
c) Acekard edit
</blockquote>All programs are Windows only =(. Downloadable from acekard site (Downloads section).
You can modify element placement, pictures, and text.

-language
1) Create folder lange_xx where xx is an abbreviation for your lang
2) Copy an existing lang file and change the values on the right hand side of the equals sign.
3) If different encodings are needed then may have to include .fon .ank .u2l .l2u

-Cheats
1) Download *.dat *.xml
2) Place in /__ak2/cheats/

-Use a third party firmware
Acekard is semi open source so enterprising devs can email the acekard team for a request for source code.
Here are a couple
Bliss
-Multiple Save slots
-Plugins
-Extended display options
-GBA support
YsMenu
-Rumble native
-GBA support

:

erformance::
-Game booting
NDS
<blockquote>Every game I threw at it worked. Tested with a 1Gig Transcend made in Taiwan to put it through its paces.<ul><li>Paard and Pony - Mijn Paardenstal (E)</li><li>Riding Star 3 (E)</li><li>Naruto - Path of the Ninja (U)</li><li>Chessmaster - The Art of Learning (E)</li><li>Konami Arcade Classics (E)</li><li>Hoshigami Remix (E)</li><li>MegaMan ZX Advent (U)</li><li>The Sims 2 - Castaway (U)</li><li>Original Frisbee Disc Sports - Ultimate and Golf (U)</li><li>Avatar - The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth (E)</li><li>Front Mission (U)</li><li>Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (E)</li><li>Cooking Mama 2 - Dinner with Friends (U)</li><li>Showtime Championship Boxing (U)</li><li>Bomberman Land Touch! 2 (U)</li></ul></blockquote><blockquote>Over 75+ games ran fine.
</blockquote>
GBA
<blockquote>Amazingly, there is native firmware support for EZ Flash 3-in-1. So booting GBA games is as easy as putting in your Slot-2 and Transferring the GBA ROMS over to your microSD card. Make sure you set Show file(s) of type to ALL or else the GBA titles won't appear in the list.
</blockquote> <img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/rolandoyanez/SHWWbYXRjKI/AAAAAAAAATE/VAhLIsvL39M/s400/Loading%20GBA%20.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

-Homebrew
All worked thanks to Auto DLDI patching.
<ul><li>MoonShell 1.71</li><li>Pocket Physics 0.6</li><li>GBA Exploader 0.57</li><li>DS FTP 2.6</li><li>DS Organize 3.2</li><li>Comic Book DS</li></ul>

-Soft Reset
The only problem I've faced with soft reset is an occasional graphical glitch on Final Fantasy Tactics A2: GoR after returning to the menu. Other than that it works 100% with no problems. Some people coming from other flash carts may find the "non-standard" key combination weird, but I happen to like it as it is easier to remember for me.

-Save detection
Auto save detection. Supports native sav format and is exchangeable with other carts that support the same system like the DSTT and R4. 512KB size.

-Language Support
Supports 8 languages. Implementing a new language is a piece of cake and can be as easy as editing the right hand side of the = in your language.txt. Extremely easy.

-microSD reader
Black and all plastic. I really like the look of the black microSD reader and it performs ok but the only problem I've had is with the plastic connector. Unlike normal USB A connectors the microSD readers is made of plastic. The problem with that is I've had it deform due to the heat from my computer. I've since used a USB extension cable which pretty much takes care of that problem and the second major gripe I have --The plastic connector is slightly larger than a normal USB A connector which makes it a little tough to insert. Overall it works fine, but a nicer reader like the ones supplied with the latest batch of Cyclo Ds' would have been nice.

::Conclusion::
The Acekard 2 is a budget card that gets the job done. It has several great features like Download Play, Soft-Reset, and Rom trimming. Though it doesn't have RTS or Slow-Motion, it fills the need for the budget minded enthusiast. Coupled with Bliss custom menu it's hard to beat for the price. Having a really beautiful menu is also a nice surprise which makes it a pleasure to use.

-Positives
*Low Price
*File Mangement w/o having to take out sdcard
*Beautiful menus
*Fully customizable (semi-open source firmware, skins, langs)
*Works as Passme
*MicroSDHC
*Decent Trim-Rom
*Download Play patching
*Soft-Reset
*Support 8 languages and easily extendible 

-Negatives
*Shoddy build quality (cheap grey plasic, misaligned sticker, tabs, ejection pin, no contact guards, chip sticks out)
*Clunky cheat system (Not touchable, recompilation)
*No RTS
*No Slow Mo

::Links::
-Official site: www.acekard.com
-Firmware & moonshell: <a href="http://www.acekard.com/index.php?page_id=4" target="_blank">http://www.acekard.com/index.php?page_id=4</a>
-Skins: <a href="http://skin.acekard.com/skin/" target="_blank">http://skin.acekard.com/skin/</a>

Satangel · Jul 10, 2008

Does the deliverd microSD reader work good?

shaolinpinoy · Jul 10, 2008

Yeah it works fine. Although I can't speak for the other versions thats been bundled with the Acekard 2, the black one in the picture gets the job done. No corruption or anything. The only problem is that its made of plastic and my computer gets really hot and the plastic deformed (probably why most usb connectors are metal). So realizing that continual thermal stress on the connector probably wasn't a good idea, I used a USB extension cable so that it wouldn't be subjected to direct heat from my computer and it works great!

Satangel · Jul 10, 2008

Okay, tnx!

Acekard 2 Review

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