Acekard R.P.G. loader 4.01 released & Open Source!

[Hiratai]

they got too many things sticking out of that cart

What do you mean?

 

[gab10]

i think ak will not add soft-reset and download play function
as this claim ak run the rom without patching it
so they must be developed by yourself

 

[Alastair]

also, for those of you who are reluctant, I'm really loving this card.


It's shit for download play though, isn't it?
The USB port's the best feature?


No and No obviously.

The Acekard is great with everything, it runs smoothly, and everything works fine. To me the BEST feature is Copy and Paste.



I thought I read something hear on GBATemp and Yoshi Touch and Go and that the RPG performs abysmally all around with Download Play and in that respect is a step back from previously released carts. Apart from the price, they haven't added much, have they?


QUOTE(Hiratai @ Sep 22 2007, 06:47 PM)

If you can't do it, get someone else to do it. It isn't that hard. When I get my Acekard from the post office on Monday, I'll add everything that any other flashcart can do. It won't be THAT hard.

Most people usually want to buy something that works out of the box. Not pay more for something that a cheaper product can already do PLUS more, on the pre-tense that "OMG I'll just programme it myself". Why bother? Get a good cart. in the first place.

 

[Hiratai]

I don't really understand what you're trying to say in your first quote, but the second one has alot of misconsumptions, in my opinion. The card itself may not have everything you want, but you can add it and add it on there within seconds. Pay? Who would pay for a custom firmware? 99.9% of people would do it for the fame they'd get from it, not to earn money. Hell, if me and Savant get working, I can put alot of things that I've wanted on a flashcart, onto an Acekard in a few minutes.

 

[hollabackitsobi]

Looks alright, but no soft reset is a bitch.

Just make it yourself. =/



Why do people say stupid shit like this? I think it was you who said something like it in another thread. Not everyone knows how to program and such. Open source shouldn't be a free "get out of work" ticket for the Acekard team. They should at least provide the basics, and then let people customize and build upon it.

Lol hollabackitsobi... I've been gone for 3 days and I came back and you are still making posts like these... I don't think you understand that the AceKard RPG has been out for only a few days, and it has ALREADY seen a few updates. At the moment, sure it doesn't have some of the basic features, but it has some cool and really advanced features. Just give it some time...

They aren't "out of work", they are still working on it, they are still chatting with people like me, and they are still bouncing ideas off people. Open-source is just a bonus, they will probably keep supporting it, implementing some of the ideas other people make.

As for the cart, I have done my first impressions (you can check it on my signature), I have about a page or two worth of text, basically the gist of it is that it seems like a solid cart, it has some really cool stuff, and it is nice and easy to use, but for the moment, it is sad to see things like soft reset missing.

Sorry to burst you're bubble dude, and don't let this come off as wrong, but I could give a shit less about "people like you". I don't really care for your impressions either, because the way I see it you're just keeping your nose in the air since you have "contact" with the Acekard team, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt on that one since I've sent them a few emails and therefore could say I was "chatting" with them.

Also, I don't think YOU undertsand that the R4 and Cyclo have been out for months, and the least this new card could have done was get the basics done straight. What I really want is for them to have a list of sure features that they're working on. Plus, when you say "...sure it doesn't have some of the basic features, but it has some cool and really advanced features.", it makes you look rather...dumb. Would you buy a stove that could do your taxes, drop your children off at school, massage your feet and change the channels on your T.V. if it couldn't cook food? All of that other stuff is superfluous if it doesn't have the basics of a good flashcart.

 

[Seraph]

I can understand the complaining if you already bought the cart and didn't know all the features weren't implemented yet, but what's the point if you don't even own one? They said they will add the features later. Is download play even a basic/important feature? How many flashcarts have perfect download play right now? And did R4 have perfect download play when it first came out?

 

[RiotShooter]

i cant believe how people are criticizing this card already. its been out what a couple of days. so what it doesnt have sum of the basic features that we are used to having now but given a couple of weeks we will probably have those and more.

 

[Jhongerkong]

Question:



If I take my R4 micro sd and put it in the AK, will all of the games work and will all of my save games be intact?

 

[Hiratai]

The saves work perfect for me.

 

[Jhongerkong]

Your games will work, but the save games will not, however you can quickly change them later on I'm sure.

Damn, I was hopin to just stick the micro sd in there and have it replace my R4.

 

[Jhongerkong]

The saves work perfect for me.

Oh really?

Damn you, PharaohsVizier. Bringing my hopes down and such.

 

[hollabackitsobi]

I guess since the card JUST came out, but still...after they were saying they had been working on it for 10 months and EVERYONE was hyping it up, I had to put it into perspective for everyone that the R4 and Cyclo were NOT dead or outclassed, and that this card might be even inferior.

But I know after this the fanboys will just yell "open source, open source!", when that doesn't instantly mean the features are there and they're at the whim of any developer who wants to take it on.

 

[Gilrad]

I think it's a pretty simple reason why they released so early with so little features (heck, the review cart they sent GBATemp had an incomplete firmware that corrupted roms).

As far as you and I are concerned, the card will be a reasonable choice when all the features are implemented, maybe, some hardware-specific features too (I already have a CycloEvo, so I need a good reason to buy a new card). But for those interested in the open source bit of it, might as well release it as soon as there's a firmware that doesn't crash or corrupt roms. The features we want may even come out sooner, too.

All in all, I will remain cautious until I see something that catches my eye, that's worth $60-70.

 

[iwakura]

Question:



If I take my R4 micro sd and put it in the AK, will all of the games work and will all of my save games be intact?


Saves will have to be converted. The acekard takes 64KB saves right now

at bamboo gaming it IS under 75 USD.

also, for those of you who are reluctant, I'm really loving this card.

$85AUD, given todays exchange rate at xe.com (other exchange rates put it a lot higher since banks charge a few cents on the dollar more overhead to do the exchanges)...
85.00 AUD=73.5072 USD (I expect using real payment exchange rates it would be just over $75USD)
Shipping is an additional $12AUD (mail) or $30AUD (express), or 10.38/25.95USD, either putting the total well over 75USD. At least bamboo is shipping the original case with this one.

I for one will wait to see if kickgaming or other reliable Canada/NA resellers decide to stock AK before making any decision to buy or pass by.

Sorry, I didn't consider shipping. I recall reading somewhere though that it was targetting the 65.99-75.99. perhaps bamboo gaming raised the price a bit? then again, that may just be wishful thinking.


On the other hand, I've been talking with the acekard team as well. Not just their sales team, but one of their dev members as well. Right now, he seems very intent on getting rid of bugs. I proposed a problem to him, and we talked for a good hour or so, and he seemed intent of fixing the issue. (Turns out it was my screw-up too.

) Everyone seems to be argueing about this card, but here's the plain and simple truth:
If developers help it out, it'll be the best cart, no doubt about it (currently anyway). If developing is as easy as hiratai says, then it should all work out. IF it isn't that easy then it is still one of the best carts IMO. You get the impressive speeds of built-in memory while u get the advantage of infinite storage. Again, IMO, Its worth the trade for soft-reset for the dual-input. and who says they themselves won't add it later?

 

[stop_loading]

I guess since the card JUST came out, but still...after they were saying they had been working on it for 10 months and EVERYONE was hyping it up, I had to put it into perspective for everyone that the R4 and Cyclo were NOT dead or outclassed, and that this card might be even inferior.

But I know after this the fanboys will just yell "open source, open source!", when that doesn't instantly mean the features are there and they're at the whim of any developer who wants to take it on.

it's the only card that able to run the game full speed without restricted microSD bandwith yet still maintain the flexibility of swappable memory, R4 and Cyclo are already outclassed

and why even people still mention R4. cycloDS killed it months ago

 

[hollabackitsobi]

Actually, the R4 is long from dead. If you want a great priced card that does everything that's NEEDED, R4 is the way to go, definitely. If you want more space for media and such, then Cyclo or possibly Acekard. For NDS games and homebrew compatibility at a rock bottom price, R4 is still king.

 

[iwakura]

Well I'm not so sure about the R4, sure it is a low price and all, but do people really want to skimp on that extra $5 to get an inferior card? It seems most people are making that choice, which is really not well thought out.

The CycloDS Evolution completely destroyed the R4, not to mention that the R4 pretty much is useless now that they haven't fixed Worms Open Warfare 2, it is like a statement saying that in the future they will be slow to release updates, or maybe not at all...

agreed. while r4 can run everything, if you're going to be paying, why not throw in a few bucks for something far superior?

 

[hollabackitsobi]

Eh...I hope you're kidding Pharoah. For a guy that says he's impartial, you're being extremely biased. Of course now I'm looking to get a Cyclo and sell my R4, but having to fix ONE game out of thousands hardly kills a card. It's really only inferior in ONE way, Micro SDHC compatibility. Other than that and the touch screen GUI, they're the same. And just FYI, the Cyclo is about $10-15 more expensive at most stores, although I'm sure there are exceptions.

 

[iwakura]

Eh...I hope you're kidding Pharoah. For a guy that says he's impartial, you're being extremely biased. Of course now I'm looking to get a Cyclo and sell my R4, but having to fix ONE game out of thousands hardly kills a card. It's really only inferior in ONE way, Micro SDHC compatibility. Other than that and the touch screen GUI, they're the same. And just FYI, the Cyclo is about $10-15 more expensive at most stores, although I'm sure there are exceptions.

compare build quality, support (not just firmware updates, but forums, contacting them in person, replacement carts, etc), microSDHC, GUI -- they all top the R4. While i disagree with pharaoh's statement " it is like a statement saying that in the future they will be slow to release updates, or maybe not at all..." I agree with his reason. Just choose whoever is faster. Thats all. The CycloDS Evo managed to get the updates out almost instantaneously, while the R4 is lagging behind. add this on the list of advantages the cycloDS have over the R4.

As pharaoh, said, "it is the clear winner" There's no two ways about it. R4 is cheaper, R4 works, but the cycloDS evo tops it - simple as that.

 

[hollabackitsobi]

Alright, there are several things wrong with your post. First, why do you call yourself out as being biased? That's rather stupid, and I don't see the point in it. Second, you fail to understand what the word impartial means. Impartial means you don't favor one over the other when making judgements, and will highlight merits and faults regardless, not that you love them all.

And yes, it's true that about 99.8% of DS games don't work on the R4, therefore rendering it completely useless. I guess you're right, burn all the R4s because Worms and Deltora Quest don't work. And when you say "100% compatibility is pretty much available on all carts except the R4 and older carts", what older carts? Everything, right? There aren't THAT many flashcarts out there, so among them R4 still stands as one of the best. Name 5 other DS carts with absolute 100% compatibility, and I will stand proven wrong.

And you say you "eventually" expect it to get more popular, yet is it there now? We live in the present, and speculating about the future does nothing to change the here and now. Even though incompatibility is a big issue, it's *easily* fixed in comparison to something like say, soft reset or the Acekard's lacking download play.