AceKard Menu 4.08-BNS - build BNS1

[Urza]

AceKard Menu 4.08-BNS - build BNS1
bliss/Normatt/Smiths hybrid menu

A merger of the three hybrid Acekard menus by bliss, Normatt, and Smiths. In addition to all the improvements that the individual projects have contributed, Smiths has added FAS1 support, key combinations to boot the slot-2, GBAframe support, and the ability to backup/restore save files from the menu. Download below.

[titleetails]+ Added in-menu support for FAS1 features
-> A new option in the Start Menu's NEW SubMenu enables the FlashAdvance Slot-1 (FAS1) features from my DS program of the same name.
-> "Enable FAS1 Features" will list .SAV files and enable the routines for flashing a ROM/SAV to a FlashAdvance cartridge in Slot-2.
-> "Display GBA ROMs" will do just that: display files with extension .GBA in the file list.
-> Selecting a .GBA file will prompt you for flashing it to a FlashAdvance cartridge in Slot-2, and do it all from within the GUI. Selecting a .SAV file will prompt you for flashing it to SRAM bank 1 of a FA cartridge.
-> In the top browser window, selecting the "Slot2 Card" with L+B+A will prompt you for backing up SRAM bank 1 to a file "/SAVES/BANK1.SAV" on the NAND.
-> NOTE: GBA ROM auto-patching is not implemented yet, since I use PogoShell and have to patch ROMs before making the compilations anyway

+ PassMe/Standard GBA Booting key combos
-> Hitting "X" on the "Slot2 Card" will show you the key combos for booting a Slot-2 Card
-> "A" will boot it in GBA mode
-> "L+A" will boot it in NDS mode (PassMe), and overrides header checking as well

+ GBAFrame support
-> If a 15-bit bitmap named "gbaframe.bmp" exists in your skin's directory, it will be used to frame the GBA screen's border when booting Slot-2 in GBA mode

+ Start Menu SubMenu Support!
-> This simple idea came to me in an alcoholic state. There is now an option in the Start Menu labeled "MORE ->" that, when selected, displays another Start Menu with additional options. The skin file used is the same as the skin default, and no old options are lost. Currently the SubMenu is where the "HELP" and "FAS1" options are stored.
-> For sourcecode modifiers, take your start menu items you've added and in startmenu.cpp add the "additem" routine to void "cStartMenu::initSubMenu()", and in startmenu.h just define your item as usual. Originally "HELP" was "7", but now that's "MORE" so HELP is "8". Custom items start at "9".
-> In "mainwnd.cpp" all custom items' routines are now in "startMenuItemClickedSubMenu"

+ Save backup/restore in GUI
-> Selecting a .SAV file will prompt you to back it up with the extension .BAK (after prompting you to flash it if you have FAS1 settings enabled)
-> Selecting a .BAK file will prompt you to restore it with the extension .SAV
-> New file listing mode added "NDS/SAV/BAK" in language.txt, so you don't have to list "ALL" to see the .BAK files
-> Anyone else noticing the NAND is really slow at writing to itself?

Download

Source

 

[sepinho]

Absolute awesomeness! The Acekard RPG has really developed into a sweet little piece of hardware with all the great extra features. Kudos to the developers, not least because they merged their ideas into one great menu instead of forking and sub-forking again and again.

I am so getting an Acekard RPG as soon as my next paycheck is in!

Edit: spelling. Guess I was too excited.

 

[AndreXL]

Cheers to the developers! Open source is now moving!

 

[azotyp]

I have a noobish question, what does FAS1 option do, because when I click it, nothing happens ?

 

[AndreXL]

I have a noobish question, what does FAS1 option do, because when I click it, nothing happens ?

Don't worry, I had to google it

QUOTEfas1 · A tool for the Nintendo DS, based off of tftpds, that allows you to flash a FlashAdvance cartridge in Slot-2 from a Slot-1 device

 

[Sweater Fish Del]

Yes, this is very nice. I just ordered my Acekard RPG a couple weeks ago and am expecting it any day now. The new firmware is great news.

I knew that with the open source aspect, it would take the RPG a bit of time to show its potential, but I actually expected it to take longer. It seems to have been adopted fairly quickly by a handful of good coders who wanted to show what they could do and I expect that it will only improve exponentially from here, too, as more and more people get involved and build on each other's work.

I hope other flashcard makers are taking note of this phenomenon.


...word is bondage...

 

[azotyp]

At this point I like two things the most, bliss lmp (mp3) plugin (not default added here, but easily installed) and save backups (too bad there is no option to backup all saves at once, but I can backup gba saves too

).

 

[Smiths]

Yeah you should play up bliss' contributions.. the plugin system + 3in1/ewin support. FAS1 was just me not wanting to load my sep program over and over

The next project I want to undertake is to use existing R4 to RPG cheat conversion tools and somehow see if I can port them natively to the AceKard RPG. The hope is you'll be able to have a usrcheat.dat in the RPG's dir and it'll parse it for the selected NDS game and create the .cc file right there and then with its cheats.

Although I think it'll be much easier to add XML support (like the G6 Real), since that's basically a text file that can be scanned a lot faster (plus is the default export from the Action Replay Code Manager software).

kudos to bliss and Normmatt... I added stuff but mainly am a good cleaner

 

[golden]

This is awesome. More Acekard goodies to try out!