New SuperCard DS(ONE) Info and Photos! Update

aletorchic · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(Katalyst @ Dec 22 2006 said:
QUOTE(Saturnplanet5 @ Dec 22 2006 said:

I've bought other things from Bamboogaming and I rate them highly for customer service.

How's their shipping time? Reasonable or rediculously long?

Click to expand...

about one week to Italy, shipped from China, EMS, padded envelope (no cardboard boxes...)
some italian users report trouble with italian customs, but this has nothing do to with bamboogaming

Deleted User · Dec 22, 2006

It took about 11 days from china on the first items because they were out of stock. The second time it was about 7 days to Australia. Customs were not envolved with either shipment.

kazumi213 · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(kentoot @ Dec 21 2006 said:
Well, it seems ndsinfo.dat file also contains the save type (size) for each game.

For example :
0716 - Yoshi's Island DS (E)
inside the ndsinfo.dat file :
Address -Â Â Info
-------------------
16708 -Â Â Â 00 00 01 00 --> 00010000 (hex) --> 65536 / 64K (decimal, save type / size)
1670C -Â Â Â CC 02 --> 02CC (hex) --> 716 (decimal, game no.)
16718 -Â Â Â 59 00 6F 00 73 00 68 .... (Y o s h i ' s ....)

For the above game I tried different save type setting, and here's the byte changes inside the ndsinfo.dat file :
Save type -Â Â Address -Â Â Â Byte sequence
--------------------------------------------------
None -Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â FF FF FF FF --> None (no save)
4K -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 10 00 00 --> 00001000 (hex) --> 4096 / 4K (decimal)
8K -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 20 00 00 --> 00002000 (hex) --> 8192 / 8K (decimal)
16K -Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 40 00 00 --> 00004000 (hex) --> 16384 / 16K (decimal)
32K -Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 80 00 00 --> 00008000 (hex) --> 32768 / 32K (decimal)
64K -Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 01 00 --> 00010000 (hex) --> 65536 / 64K (decimal)
128K -Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 02 00 --> 00020000 (hex) --> 131072 / 128K (decimal)
256K -Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 04 00 --> 00040000 (hex) --> 262144 / 256K (decimal)
512K -Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 08 00 --> 00080000 (hex) --> 524288 / 512K (decimal)
1M -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 10 00 --> 00100000 (hex) --> 1048576 / 1M (decimal)
2M -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 20 00 --> 00200000 (hex) --> 2097152 / 2M (decimal)
4M -Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 16708 -Â Â Â Â 00 00 40 00 --> 00400000 (hex) --> 4194304 / 4M (decimal)

So yes, the ndsinfo.dat file does contain the save type information for each game. Everytime the user manually change the save type setting, the ndsinfo.dat file is updated with the new save type.
BTW inside the ndsinfo.dat file each game info is 128 bytes long (80 hex).

Thanks kentoot. Good hex job, you know what you're doing. Among those 128 bytes there should be also the Chinese name and the most important parameter for the matching (and to avoid showing incorrect names as reported elsewhere): a internal name + serial (maybe just the four letter/number in the serial) combination. Example for that Yoshi (E) in your findings:

Internal name: YOSHI ISLAND (always caps and 12 chars max lenght)
Serial: NTR-AYWP-EUR (always caps, I guess it only uses the AYWP part).

One more question kentoot: have you found any trace of a "recommended speed read setting" for each game entry? I doubt it, but who knows.

For those suggesting manually editing ndsinfo.dat. That would be a piece of cake and a matter of secs using a macro. The problem is to establish a trusty source reporting the correct save size. Of course if you're suggesting the "geeks" to also check whether that info is correct in all cases, well that would take more than a few secs then. After the first initial "big" update of the ndsinfo.dat I wouldn't expect daily updates though. That would be crazy. I assume non-existing ndsinfo.dat entries can be manually added via SCDS GUI.

So far then, this means the SCDS experience is not different of the current slot-2 solutions, with people making comments after a dump release saying things like: "Works on SCDS, Save Size: xxx, Read Speed:xxx".

Waiting for AI performance test on his incoming Sandisk U2 2GB uSD.

Thanks also to the other testers.

sarah99 · Dec 22, 2006

Mario Kart 64, game works perfectly, slow your card speed down if you get white screens
download play does not work on Mario Kart 64

ancient_imhotep · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(kentoot @ Dec 22 2006 said:
QUOTE(ancient_imhotep @ Dec 21 2006 said:

It does default back to 3x when you turn the DS off and on again.

You then have to go to the menu and change it back again.

However when I changed something in the global.ini file on the SD card, I noticed that the SD Speed has a setting in there.

I will try to change the speed to 4x in the .ini file and see if it stays at that.

EDIT: OK, just tried to change the SD Speed and the Saver Size (temp saver) in the global.ini file on PC. The changes are saved in the file, but the menu options still show the defaults - also the SD Speed does not change unless manually selected. However this is the Global.ini file in the OS, there is also a global.ini file in the Firmware part, which may overide the setting in the OS file.

Anyway, at the moment it looks like a manual change - unless the SC Team can fix it....???

I had the same problem with the SD speed setting. Try clicking the pulldown menu "Other" -> "Save Menu Option" after you set the SD speed. After that the SD speed setting should be intact even when you power OFF -> ON again.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info kentoot, I will try this when I get home from work later on.

I thought that the Save Menu Option only worked for the 3 items on the same menu, so if this does work I will be really happy.

EDIT **** - Ok just got home and changed the settings for the SD Speed and Saver to 4x and 2M/4M and used the "Save Menu Option", it saved all the changes so at least we know that we can get the settings to stay everytime.

ancient_imhotep · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(DeVante @ Dec 22 2006 said:
QUOTE(ancient_imhotep @ Dec 21 2006 said:

OK, Castlevania DOS video no lag with a setting of 4x on the SD Speed.

Metroid Pinball - During actual gameplay there is no slowdown that I can see from playing it for about 15mins using 3x SD Speed. There does appear to be some slight lag on the sound for the main menu, but I am not sure if this is normal because even using SD Speed 5x does not stop this.

Cheers,

A.I.

From what I can tell, the sound slowing down during menus is a problem all flash cards have, so that's not good. :/

But the intro video to Castlevania running smoothly is the ultimate test of a flash card's speed!

Click to expand...

It seems to only be the sound that slows down in the menus, during gameplay everything seems to be fine and there is no lag or slowdown when actually playing Pinball.

The Castlevania video was a let down at first when it lagged on 3x, but just the change to 4x made such a difference. I do not think much more improvement would be gained on 5x setting, as I think at 4x on the Kingston card the video is running full frame rate.

There have been a few early posts suggesting issues, but most of these are due to incorrect save sizes needing manual adjustment or the SD Speed setting needing tweaking.

The only game to give me issues is Castlevania POR, which crashes when you press Start and Select, but so far none during actual gameplay - although I am not sure what you would use the Start & Select buttons for in the game, so they may be really important to gameplay in which case it would spoil the game.

I am really happy with my purchase and I am certain that some updates from the SC Team might resolve some of the issues that are there.

Need to check out the homebrew apps and the Passme feature, but I should be able to do this over the weekend.

kersplatty · Dec 22, 2006

good luck, what homebrew have you tried so far?

ancient_imhotep · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(kazumi213 @ Dec 22 2006 said:
QUOTE(kentoot @ Dec 21 2006 said:

Well, it seems ndsinfo.dat file also contains the save type (size) for each game.

For example :
0716 - Yoshi's Island DS (E)
inside the ndsinfo.dat file :
Address - Info
-------------------
16708 - 00 00 01 00 --> 00010000 (hex) --> 65536 / 64K (decimal, save type / size)
1670C - CC 02 --> 02CC (hex) --> 716 (decimal, game no.)
16718 - 59 00 6F 00 73 00 68 .... (Y o s h i ' s ....)

For the above game I tried different save type setting, and here's the byte changes inside the ndsinfo.dat file :
Save type - Address - Byte sequence
--------------------------------------------------
None - Â 16708 - Â FF FF FF FF --> None (no save)
4K - 16708 - Â 00 10 00 00 --> 00001000 (hex) --> 4096 / 4K (decimal)
8K - 16708 - Â 00 20 00 00 --> 00002000 (hex) --> 8192 / 8K (decimal)
16K - 16708 - Â 00 40 00 00 --> 00004000 (hex) --> 16384 / 16K (decimal)
32K - 16708 - Â 00 80 00 00 --> 00008000 (hex) --> 32768 / 32K (decimal)
64K - 16708 - Â 00 00 01 00 --> 00010000 (hex) --> 65536 / 64K (decimal)
128K - Â 16708 - Â 00 00 02 00 --> 00020000 (hex) --> 131072 / 128K (decimal)
256K - Â 16708 - Â 00 00 04 00 --> 00040000 (hex) --> 262144 / 256K (decimal)
512K - Â 16708 - Â 00 00 08 00 --> 00080000 (hex) --> 524288 / 512K (decimal)
1M - 16708 - Â 00 00 10 00 --> 00100000 (hex) --> 1048576 / 1M (decimal)
2M - 16708 - Â 00 00 20 00 --> 00200000 (hex) --> 2097152 / 2M (decimal)
4M - 16708 - Â 00 00 40 00 --> 00400000 (hex) --> 4194304 / 4M (decimal)

So yes, the ndsinfo.dat file does contain the save type information for each game. Everytime the user manually change the save type setting, the ndsinfo.dat file is updated with the new save type.
BTW inside the ndsinfo.dat file each game info is 128 bytes long (80 hex).

Thanks kentoot. Good hex job, you know what you're doing. Among those 128 bytes there should be also the Chinese name and the most important parameter for the matching (and to avoid showing incorrect names as reported elsewhere): a internal name + serial (maybe just the four letter/number in the serial) combination. Example for that Yoshi (E) in your findings:

Internal name: YOSHI ISLAND (always caps and 12 chars max lenght)
Serial: NTR-AYWP-EUR (always caps, I guess it only uses the AYWP part).

One more question kentoot: have you found any trace of a "recommended speed read setting" for each game entry? I doubt it, but who knows.

For those suggesting manually editing ndsinfo.dat. That would be a piece of cake and a matter of secs using a macro. The problem is to establish a trusty source reporting the correct save size. Of course if you're suggesting the "geeks" to also check whether that info is correct in all cases, well that would take more than a few secs then. After the first initial "big" update of the ndsinfo.dat I wouldn't expect daily updates though. That would be crazy. I assume non-existing ndsinfo.dat entries can be manually added via SCDS GUI.

So far then, this means the SCDS experience is not different of the current slot-2 solutions, with people making comments after a dump release saying things like: "Works on SCDS, Save Size: xxx, Read Speed:xxx".

Waiting for AI performance test on his incoming Sandisk U2 2GB uSD.

Thanks also to the other testers.

Click to expand...

What we need then is someone with the knowledge to create a tool that will update the file, as you suggested using a macro type scenario.

Updating it could be done from the Supercard list on Dualscene.net, as that list in fairly comprehensive and usually lists all the correct game save sizes. The main ones that I have seen which may not have the correct size are the Jap versions.

I am sure that we can all put our heads together in thinking of a great way to deal with this, but maybe we should contact Romman to see what his plans are.... will he be providing updates and how often (anyone know how to get hold of him easily?).

Also I cannot remember if the ndsinfo.dat file is part of the OS that is copied to the MicroSD or if it is part of the firmware that is flashed to the card. If it in the firmware then we would have the issue of copying the file across to that area, we would need something that you could run on the DS and then access the firmware area (it is visible in the SCDS GUI if you go up one level).

Anyways, just thinking out loud on this one.

BlueStar · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(ancient_imhotep @ Dec 22 2006 said:
The only game to give me issues is Castlevania POR, which crashes when you press Start and Select, but so far none during actual gameplay - although I am not sure what you would use the Start & Select buttons for in the game, so they may be really important to gameplay in which case it would spoil the game.

When you press either start or select or when you press them both at once? You need to press start to use items etc, so the game is unplayable if it crashes on pressing start. Seeing as POR is the only game I can't play on my SCSD which I want to play, that could make or break whether I get a SCDS with the lite I'm gonna get after xmas.

ancient_imhotep · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(kersplatty @ Dec 22 2006 said:
good luck, what homebrew have you tried so far?

none yet, but I am hoping to try DSOrganise and SCUMMVM tonight.

kersplatty · Dec 22, 2006

nice one mine is getting delivered on the 29th cant wait

kazumi213 · Dec 22, 2006

I wish kentoot could confirm there is a "per game" speed setting. Otherwise correcting just save sizes would only partially fix the problem. According to a sarah99 recent post, it seems "fastest is not always the best". It makes sense, as this could be causing unstability and being the reason of white screens in Mario Kart for those getting them.

sarah99 · Dec 22, 2006

At the moment the speed settings are "global" so you need to adjust each time for problematic games
FF3, Animal Crossing, CastleVania POR, Tony Hawkes Downhill, Metroid Prime
Lucky that not too many games give problems and those that do only give problems with some TF cards.

Some people have been reformatting their flash cards in an attempt to defrag/speedup the loading times.
Unfortunately flash cards by their nature don't work the same as hard disks. The flash card has internal memory management to even out the number of read/write cycles to each memory location (so it fragments the files to extend the cards working life), all you will end up in doing is wearing out one portion of your flash card memory fairly quickly.

sidneyyoung · Dec 22, 2006

Try POR with patching and use settings .... restart=off trim=on fastergameplay=on dma=on (try dma=off if it's still locking) patch cartridge access=low

I am assuming the patcher is the same as other SC.

BlueStar · Dec 22, 2006

Seeing as clean roms don't seem to have the main advantage everyone expected (flawless download play) it's probably better to patch them anyway so they automatically save and you can trim them.

Does anyone know if SuperCard SD saves are compatible? Ie, could I just copy over my .sav files and they'd work?

Also, slightly off topic but I'm torn between this and the M3 Simply. Would there be any way to make my SCSD saves work on the M3 slot-1 solution?

kazumi213 · Dec 22, 2006

I'm not going to accept compatibilty improvements based on patching. Period.

p_mantis · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(ancient_imhotep @ Dec 22 2006 said:
The only game to give me issues is Castlevania POR, which crashes when you press Start and Select, but so far none during actual gameplay - although I am not sure what you would use the Start & Select buttons for in the game, so they may be really important to gameplay in which case it would spoil the game.

I can't recreate this crash, start and select is fine on mine after 15-20 minutes of playing
using Kingston 1GB 4x Speed and FAT32.

sidneyyoung · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(kazumi213 @ Dec 22 2006 said:
I'm not going to accept compatibilty improvements based on patching. Period.

It would seem the acecard is the only cart that fits you're needs at the moment... it's the only one with 100% with non-patched

Though this new batch of slot1 carts sc/m3/ez5/r4 ect (i bet there all the same hardware wise just different firmwares) will probably improve to correct the odd rom that needs patching at the moment.

The DS-X is too small and is on the lower end of the scale in slot-1 compatabilty at the moment.

I would always use the patcher myself, as I like extra features and the shed load of space 'trim' saves when you have up to 20-30 ds roms on a 1Gig mem card. I can't understand why people wouldn't want that.... it's a complete no-brainer

BlueStar · Dec 22, 2006

QUOTE(p_mantis @ Dec 22 2006 said:
QUOTE(ancient_imhotep @ Dec 22 2006 said:

The only game to give me issues is Castlevania POR, which crashes when you press Start and Select, but so far none during actual gameplay - although I am not sure what you would use the Start & Select buttons for in the game, so they may be really important to gameplay in which case it would spoil the game.

I can't recreate this crash, start and select is fine on mine after 15-20 minutes of playing
using Kingston 1GB 4x Speed and FAT32.

Click to expand...

Try rapidly pressing start while jumping and attacking etc.

digital_sin · Dec 22, 2006

^^ how did anyone figure that bug even EXISTS! why would anyone while testing a game say "hey, what if i keep pressing start and select quickly WHILE jumping and or attacking and see if that crashes my game!"

New SuperCard DS(ONE) Info and Photos! *Update*

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