Homebrew GBARunner2

RocketRobz

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What's the difference between arm7 and arm9 modes? Also where can I download the latest iwramcache.nds file? I checked github and couldn't find it, that's the way to play games with the iwramcache enabled, right? I'm using DSL.
The i-wram cache setting can be changed in the GBARunner2 settings menu, so a different build isn't needed.
Also, the difference between the ARM7 and ARM9 builds is which CPU the DLDI code runs on.
 
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The i-wram cache setting can be changed in the GBARunner2 settings menu, so a different build isn't needed.
Also, the difference between the ARM7 and ARM9 builds is which CPU the DLDI code runs on.
Ah okay, thanks! I have iwramcache.nds on my SD card, so that was probably used in an older build.

Is there an issue playing all games in the iwram mode so that I don't have to check the wiki for compatability and see which games run better with it? Or is there an advantage in playing games that don't need it in the regular mode? I'm using DS Lite.
 

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Ah okay, thanks! I have iwramcache.nds on my SD card, so that was probably used in an older build.

Is there an issue playing all games in the iwram mode so that I don't have to check the wiki for compatability and see which games run better with it? Or is there an advantage in playing games that don't need it in the regular mode? I'm using DS Lite.
Most games seem to work fine with the option enabled.
 

Gep_Etto

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Also, the difference between the ARM7 and ARM9 builds is which CPU the DLDI code runs on.
In practical terms, for the average user, what is the difference between running the ARM7 and ARM9 versions of this homebrew? If I'm going to launch it from a flashcart in a 3DS, which should I prefer? I tend to assume bigger number = better but I also know nothing about this at all, so my guess is pretty much as valid as a coin toss.

I apologize if these are stupid questions, but Google turned out a bunch of ARM technical specifications that went way over my head.
 

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In practical terms, for the average user, what is the difference between running the ARM7 and ARM9 versions of this homebrew? If I'm going to launch it from a flashcart in a 3DS, which should I prefer? I tend to assume bigger number = better but I also know nothing about this at all, so my guess is pretty much as valid as a coin toss.

I apologize if these are stupid questions, but Google turned out a bunch of ARM technical specifications that went way over my head.
ARM9 is usually recommended, but if that doesn't work, then use ARM7.
 

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s there an issue playing all games in the iwram mode so that I don't have to check the wiki for compatability and see which games run better with it? Or is there an advantage in playing games that don't need it in the regular mode? I'm using DS Lite.

The best way to use GBARUNNER is to use it with all speed hacks activated. You only need to change settings when you've got problems such as glitches, white screens, speed problems... with some games. Unfortunately, if compatibilty is really good on DSi, on a flash card it is another story. I can reach about 75% compatibility (near perfect) of my favorite games on a DS Lite + flash card when we talk about 95% on a DSi. Another problem is you cannot save your settings on per game basis AFAIK. But you've got 3 settings to play with, not a big deal ("skip bios intro" is mainly needed when a game does not boot).
 

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The best way to use GBARUNNER is to use it with all speed hacks activated. You only need to change settings when you've got problems such as glitches, white screens, speed problems... with some games. Unfortunately, if compatibilty is really good on DSi, on a flash card it is another story. I can reach about 75% compatibility (near perfect) of my favorite games on a DS Lite + flash card when we talk about 95% on a DSi. Another problem is you cannot save your settings on per game basis AFAIK. But you've got 3 settings to play with, not a big deal ("skip bios intro" is mainly needed when a game does not boot).
Have you tried playing it on twilightmenu off your flashcart? If yes, does it make gba games run better (like it does on a DSi)? I used to have an M3 expansion but I can't find it, so I have to use gbarunner. But it's great for some RPGs, so that's good!
 

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Have you tried playing it on twilightmenu off your flashcart? If yes, does it make gba games run better (like it does on a DSi)? I used to have an M3 expansion but I can't find it, so I have to use gbarunner. But it's great for some RPGs, so that's good!

It is not related to software but to hardware. No, twilight menu on flash card will not change anything.
 

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It is not related to software but to hardware. No, twilight menu on flash card will not change anything.
Yeah, I thought so too but thought maybe it could work due to different software, just like the NDSL branch for GB2 works better than the standard one. :D Since the compatability page seemed to imply it works better on NDSL better too.
 

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Is there a way to continue emulation from where you last left off? I feel like it hapened to me before, or was that with Gameyob? There aren't save states here, right?

Btw the rom3m branch is the NDS lite branch, right? It really works better with some games, like Mario Power Tennis. :)
 
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Is there a way to continue emulation from where you last left off? I feel like it hapened to me before, or was that with Gameyob? There aren't save states here, right?

Btw the rom3m branch is the NDS lite branch, right? It really works better with some games, like Mario Power Tennis. :)

No save states with GBARUNNER. Rom3M branch is mainly for large roms. Use both (rename one to whatever you want), this way you can improve a little the compatibility.
 
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Is there a way to continue emulation from where you last left off? I feel like it hapened to me before, or was that with Gameyob? There aren't save states here, right?

Btw the rom3m branch is the NDS lite branch, right? It really works better with some games, like Mario Power Tennis. :)
I believe there was talk that savestates could be possible with GBARunner2, but no work whatsoever has been put into this - only hypothetical thinking.

The NDS Lite enhanced version does indeed include the ROM3M part that helps with ROMs like Pokémon Emerald.
I believe the only NDS Lite enhancement of that fork is that you can change the brightness. I believe this fork should still work on the old Phat DS too, but I've never tested it and never seen anyone report this.
 
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I believe there was talk that savestates could be possible with GBARunner2, but no work whatsoever has been made into this - only hypothetical thinking.

The NDS Lite enhanced version does indeed include the ROM3M part that helps with ROMs like Pokémon Emerald.
I believe the only NDS Lite enhancement of that fork is that you can change the brightness. I believe this fork should still work on the old Phat DS too, but I've never tested it and never seen anyone report this.
Oh, changing the brightness isn't in the other forks? It works on my NDSL, but since I always use the brightest setting, I have no use for it.

Does anyone know why the wifi version has been disabled btw? I read you could use it to connect two systems to use GBA-link, but apparently it's off in the current latest version (the regular one).
 

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I believe there was talk that savestates could be possible with GBARunner2, but no work whatsoever has been made into this - only hypothetical thinking.

The NDS Lite enhanced version does indeed include the ROM3M part that helps with ROMs like Pokémon Emerald.
I believe the only NDS Lite enhancement of that fork is that you can change the brightness. I believe this fork should still work on the old Phat DS too, but I've never tested it and never seen anyone report this.
I checked the wiki again, and apparently the rom3m version is the NDSL enhanced one. Or did you mean just the regular one and this one? I have both, but so far the NDSL one seems better! :)
 

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I checked the wiki again, and apparently the rom3m version is the NDSL enhanced one. Or did you mean just the regular one and this one? I have both, but so far the NDSL one seems better! :)
I wrote that part of the wiki myself. ROM3M is a branch of GBARunner2 made by Gericom, the creator of GBARunner2. The NDSL enhanced fork was made by unresolvedsymbol/Void Star by mostly bringing the latest updates to the master branch of GBARunner2 to the ROM3M branch and adding that DSL-specific stuff about brightness. I might be forgetting some details.

As for the wifi-link, it has only been part of the wifi-link branch. In other words it isn't "turned off" in the other branches, it was simply never a part of them. You can test the wifi-link branch by grabbing the .nds file from the github repo. A download link and instructions can be found on the wiki. Don't have any big expectations of it, though.
 

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I wrote that part of the wiki myself. ROM3M is a branch of GBARunner2 made by Gericom, the creator of GBARunner2. The NDSL enhanced fork was made by unresolvedsymbol/Void Star by mostly bringing the latest updates to the master branch of GBARunner2 to the ROM3M branch and adding that DSL-specific stuff about brightness. I might be forgetting some details.

As for the wifi-link, it has only been part of the wifi-link branch. In other words it isn't "turned off" in the other branches, it was simply never a part of them. You can test the wifi-link branch by grabbing the .nds file from the github repo. A download link and instructions can be found on the wiki. Don't have any big expectations of it, though.
Oh okay, thanks! I couldn't find where to download the main rom3m branch, could you show me the link please? Since the one in the wiki links to the NDSL enhanced one.
 

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I think you'd either need to look in the history of the wiki main page for when the ndsl enhanced replaced the place of the rom3m one. If not I think the rom3m branch was last updated in september 2019 so check for a github release from back then.

Not sure why you want to check such an old build though. Compatibility will most likely be worse.
Oh okay, thanks! I couldn't find where to download the main rom3m branch, could you show me the link please? Since the one in the wiki links to the NDSL enhanced one.
 
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I think you'd either need to look in the history of the wiki main page for when the ndsl enhanced replaced the place of the rom3m one. If not I think the rom3m branch was last updated in september 2019 so check for a github release from back then.

Not sure why you want to check such an old build though. Compatibility will most likely be worse.
Oh I like the ndsl build one, but it sounded like Crashmidnick was advising me to use both the 3m and ndsl one when he said "Use both (rename one to whatever you want), this way you can improve a little the compatibility.". And he didn't reply when I asked him to clarify if he meant the 3m one or the regular build+ndsl.
 

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Oh I like the ndsl build one, but it sounded like Crashmidnick was advising me to use both the 3m and ndsl one when he said "Use both (rename one to whatever you want), this way you can improve a little the compatibility.". And he didn't reply when I asked him to clarify if he meant the 3m one or the regular build+ndsl.
I guess to have the best compatibility you'd want the ndsl enhanced and dsp builds on your sd card. Some audio stuff and other things are present on the dsp builds even for the ds builds. Keep your expectations in check: none of the stuff utilizing the actual DSP will work on a DSL since it lacks that processor.

I have zero examples of games that benefit from the dsp build on the dsl but that's due to not having tested this setup of hw and sw.

There's also wifi-link if you want to try sonic advance 2 and 3 without needing to patch them since they check linking (not for anti-piracy reasons), but it seems easier to just patch them. Wifi-link lacks many later improvements.
 
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