Homebrew Homebrew game ScummVM for Nintendo DS - Prerelease

ccawley2011 · Aug 30, 2021

Recently, testing has been announced for the next version of ScummVM. Amongst other major improvements, the new version contains a rewritten version of the Nintendo DS port. This new version should now work out of the box with TWiLight Menu++, has full button remapping, supports games with 16-bit colour, and provides a single build with support for all 320x200 games, on top of most of the new engines and features that have been introduced in ScummVM since the last official release in 2010. A complete list of these changes can be found here.

Test builds can be downloaded from the ScummVM Buildbot. It is expected that a Nintendo DSi or DSi XL will be needed for buildbot builds due to memory requirements, however I can provide split builds on request for anyone wanting to test using an original DS or DS Lite. If you see any issues, please file them in the issue tracker.

CrashMidnick · Aug 31, 2021

I would be happy to test a DS Lite build (I have Monkey Island and Indy fate of the Atlantis already installed

)

ccawley2011 · Sep 1, 2021

CrashMidnick said:
I would be happy to test a DS Lite build (I have Monkey Island and Indy fate of the Atlantis already installed )

Cool, I've uploaded a set of test builds here. Compared to the ones from the buildbot, these use separate builds for each engine rather than using plugins. A decent amount of these should work on the DS and DS Lite, but since I've done all of my testing using the DSi, I can't confirm which ones do and don't work.

CrashMidnick · Sep 1, 2021

Thanks I will try ASAP

Nikokaro · Sep 1, 2021

@ccawley2011 Isn't there an updated compatibility list somewhere? Also, could you make it compatible with Cobra Mission, Knights of Xentar, Mad Paradox, Power Dolls 2 (which to tell the truth are more dos (H) rpgs than adventure games...hehe).

MarioKartFan · Sep 1, 2021

Compatibility lists and wikis at scummvm.org.

@ccawley2011 This is great. Thanks for the efforts. Any chance you could look into the 3DS port? I’ve had trouble with it for months now. There is an open ticket, which I think you saw, and linked to a prior ticket that may have been related…,

CrashMidnick · Sep 6, 2021

ccawley2011 said:
Recently, testing has been announced for the next version of ScummVM. Amongst other major improvements, the new version contains a rewritten version of the Nintendo DS port. This new version should now work out of the box with TWiLight Menu++, has full button remapping, supports games with 16-bit colour, and provides a single build with support for all 320x200 games, on top of most of the new engines and features that have been introduced in ScummVM since the last official release in 2010. A complete list of these changes can be found here.

Test builds can be downloaded from the ScummVM Buildbot. It is expected that a Nintendo DSi or DSi XL will be needed for buildbot builds due to memory requirements, however I can provide split builds on request for anyone wanting to test using an original DS or DS Lite. If you see any issues, please file them in the issue tracker.

I tested the DSI/TWL++ release for about 2 hours.

Games tested (about 15 minutes each) :

Cruise for a corpse : OK
Simon the sorcerer : OK
Simon the sorcerer 2 : OK
Day of the tentacles : OK
Indi Fate of the Atlantis : OK
Monkey Island : OK
Monkey Island 2 : OK

What needs to be improved :

- Mainly Menus, they are a pain : some options seem to be hidden, no scroll bar. Sometime when installing a games with many languages you cannot see them all and you cannot select them
- sound is crackling sometimes but very good quality so far
- CD music explanation ?! : I cannot get any of my games with CD tracks to work, even those that worked with the old Scummvm version (wav conversion 22050). Flac : not working, wav : not working, Ogg not working. What is the sound/rate format needed ?
- I need to check but AFAIR in the older version it was possible to zoom in or something, Is it still there ?

I will test the "Standard DS version" later

ccawley2011 · Sep 7, 2021

CrashMidnick said:
I tested the DSI/TWL++ release for about 2 hours.

Games tested (about 15 minutes each) :

Cruise for a corpse : OK
Simon the sorcerer : OK
Simon the sorcerer 2 : OK
Day of the tentacles : OK
Indi Fate of the Atlantis : OK
Monkey Island : OK
Monkey Island 2 : OK

Great, thanks! :-)

CrashMidnick said:
What needs to be improved :

- Mainly Menus, they are a pain : some options seem to be hidden, no scroll bar. Sometime when installing a games with many languages you cannot see them all and you cannot select them

It's possible to adjust the GUI scale using the drop-down in the "Misc" tab of the options tab, although the effect of this may be lessened due to the fact that the fonts used in the DS port don't currently scale. I'll try to resolve this after the next release, but if you can list the places that are missing scrollbars, I'll try and sort that out sooner.

CrashMidnick said:
- sound is crackling sometimes but very good quality so far

Sound was quite difficult to get working well, the current scenario was the best scenario I could get without risking crashes when the mixer is run from timer interrupts. I'm not an expert on this, though, so any patches to improve things are welcomed.

CrashMidnick said:
- CD music explanation ?! : I cannot get any of my games with CD tracks to work, even those that worked with the old Scummvm version (wav conversion 22050). Flac : not working, wav : not working, Ogg not working. What is the sound/rate format needed ?

ScummVM on the DS supports using MP3 files for extracted Audio CD files. It should also support WAV files in nightly builds starting from tomorrow.

CrashMidnick said:
- I need to check but AFAIR in the older version it was possible to zoom in or something, Is it still there ?

Unfortunately, most of the features from the DS-specific options dialog were lost during the rewrite, although a couple are still accessible via the "Graphics mode" and "Stretch mode" options. If there are any specific features that you would like to see return, feel free to open a bug on the issue tracker, and I'll see what I can do after the release.

Thanks again for your feedback.

CrashMidnick · Sep 11, 2021

Thanks, WAV's are working again

ccawley2011 · Oct 10, 2021

ScummVM 2.5.0 “Twenty years ago today…” has been released yesterday, and as a result, release builds are now available from the download page.

Technicmaster0 · Oct 22, 2021

Is it still compatible with Slot-2 memory expansions?

fenglot · Oct 24, 2021

I’m buying a "nintendo ds lite" that R4 cartridge fed on the add-on of a lot of the kernel all the way down to the DS_MENU.DAT write on the same version of the cartridge I don’t know the version
"dp459800" who knows to rob the distance?

Nikokaro · Oct 24, 2021

fenglot said:
I’m buying a "nintendo ds lite" that R4 cartridge fed on the add-on of a lot of the kernel all the way down to the DS_MENU.DAT write on the same version of the cartridge I don’t know the version
"dp459800" who knows to rob the distance?

I'm sorry, but what you write is almost unintelligible. Why did you post in this thread? What you say (what little is understandable) has nothing to do with the topic.
Try writing short, simple and clear sentences in your own language, and then translate it via deepl.com.

If you can't find the kernel of your r4 post a picture or give a clear description of it.

ccawley2011 · Aug 1, 2022

ScummVM 2.6.0 "or: Insane Escapism" has been released today, and Nintendo DS builds have once again been provided on the download page. A full list of changes can be found in the Release Notes, but please note that not all changes currently apply to the DS port.

FAST6191 · Aug 1, 2022

I am impressed the DS version is getting updates. Will see about getting a portal post up before too terribly long.

I see RAM limits are still an issue. Has there been any further discussion on the Lick's RAM API or equivalent ( https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3_in_1_Expansion_Pack_for_EZ-Flash_V#Third-Party ) being supported? I vaguely recall something many years ago but never found out what happened there.

ccawley2011 · Oct 31, 2022

ScummVM 2.6.1 "Incremental Escapism" has been released today, and Nintendo DS builds have once again been provided on the download page. A full list of changes can be found in the Release Notes.

FAST6191 said:
I see RAM limits are still an issue. Has there been any further discussion on the Lick's RAM API or equivalent ( https://wiki.gbatemp.net/wiki/3_in_1_Expansion_Pack_for_EZ-Flash_V#Third-Party ) being supported? I vaguely recall something many years ago but never found out what happened there.

I've looked at this briefly, but I get the impression that it would be quite invasive to add support for this because it doesn't appear to be a drop-in replacement for malloc and free. Using it for the plugin system might still be viable, but it's not currently a priority since I don't have any way of testing it.

FAST6191 · Oct 31, 2022

ccawley2011 said:
ScummVM 2.6.1 "Incremental Escapism" has been released today, and Nintendo DS builds have once again been provided on the download page. A full list of changes can be found in the Release Notes.

I've looked at this briefly, but I get the impression that it would be quite invasive to add support for this because it doesn't appear to be a drop-in replacement for malloc and free. Using it for the plugin system might still be viable, but it's not currently a priority since I don't have any way of testing it.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/vanilla-conquer-nintendo-dsi-port.603701/ had a bit more in the modern world and RAM pack, though probably not in much the same sense this will demand it.

As far as testing goes then I think desmume at least Windows version (only have an older Linux version installed here at present) has the option to fake it or something close enough, and has for a while. Certainly had a few options for GBA slot and what to present there.

ccawley2011 · Feb 26, 2023

ScummVM 2.7.0 "The Real Slim Shader" has been released today, and Nintendo DS builds have once again been provided on the download page. A full list of changes can be found in the Release Notes.

FAST6191 · Feb 27, 2023

Nice to see, will see about getting another post on the portal before too terribly long.
Can I suggest a renaming to DSi or something as most places do delineate between DS/DS lite, enhanced flash cart (read DSTwo) and DSi exclusive stuff -- there are more these days but hacked DSis (and I guess hacked 3ds) do represent a far smaller population than those with a DS flash cart.
https://docs.scummvm.org/en/latest/other_platforms/nintendo_ds.html

Older portal post which had some more discussion of things https://gbatemp.net/threads/scummvm-2-6-0-released-includes-dsi-version.616573/

ccawley2011 · Feb 27, 2023

FAST6191 said:
Can I suggest a renaming to DSi or something as most places do delineate between DS/DS lite, enhanced flash cart (read DSTwo) and DSi exclusive stuff -- there are more these days but hacked DSis (and I guess hacked 3ds) do represent a far smaller population than those with a DS flash cart.
https://docs.scummvm.org/en/latest/other_platforms/nintendo_ds.html

I've made a minor change to the download page, which should take effect the next time the website is updated. That said, the only reason why ScummVM requires a DSi or DSi XL at the moment is because of the plugin system - it's possible to do single engine builds that may work on older systems, but my DS Lite is currently broken and I wasn't able to get any feedback from volunteers about how usable those builds are.

Since RAM expansion cartridges were mentioned earlier, I have a couple of questions regarding how viable they are for use with ScummVM:

Is it possible to directly execute ARM code that's loaded into extended RAM?
It appears that extended RAM needs to be unlocked before it can be used. Is there any disadvantage to keeping it unlocked all the time?

Homebrew Homebrew game ScummVM for Nintendo DS - Prerelease

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