Gaming Can i change the Control of GBA Games on my NDS?

[LeomelsonBato]

ok i actually want to buy a GBA Game but can i change its control?? because i want to put the [L] and [R] to (X) and (Y)....

if a normal GBA Game cant change its Control, can the EZ-Flash 3 in 1 , iPlayer or any Flashcart can change its control???


Thanks for the person that will reply...

 

[FAST6191]

X and Y are not available in GBA mode and thus no software hack can change that (to the best of my knowledge nobody has even attempted to fiddle with the GBA side of the DS to do such things and I would not be surprised to learn it is hardware locked either).

There were a couple of modchips that remapped things although finding one right now would probably he hard (not to mention they were mainly intended for rapid fire) and you could always do it yourself if you fancy your soldering skills.

After this I guess it is emulation on the DS- iplayer, iSMM and SC DSTWO being the main options here. I just checked on my ISMM and it looks like you can remap (feels very odd pressing y to jump in mario 2) and given those three are forked from the same piece of code I imagine they can all do it. Emulation via these carts is not the ideal method to play GBA games though (pretty damn good and you can do serious damage to the GBA library) but compared to the near flawless options of a proper GBA cart it falls short.

 

[LeomelsonBato]

ok so my only choice is the Flashcarts but how about the 3 in 1 would it work too??

 

[FAST6191]

Prior to the enhanced flash carts like the iplayer, ISMM and supercard DStwo which had onboard processors powerful enough to make up for the shortcomings of DS mode (it gets fairly technical but the short version is the GBA has a few more options that would have to be emulated, the DS slot is too slow to stream a GBA rom and has too little memory to hold an entire GBA rom in it to run from instead) the only way to run GBA code on a DS was to use a GBA cart which means you ran it in GBA mode (which lacked the buttons)- this holds for all GBA flash carts as they are do much the same thing (mimic a GBA cart well enough to allow GBA code to run).

The enhanced carts by virtue of running in DS mode have access to the extra buttons and can map them wherever they like.

 

[constantgamer247]

If you are using a Supercard DSTWO and the NDSGBA emulator, that software will let you remap GBA buttons as it's running the gba game in a container(emulator) not dirrectly on the system. This is one reason why, besides not so great optimization, emulators normally take 10x the power of the origional device to simply do what they do, but yah since you have the added layer of the emulator you can change what it's doing w/ the rom. It's like bypassing the system. I like the NDSGBA emulator on the DSTWO becasue I can set A to A, B to B, X to rapid A and Y to rapid B. Rapid A and Rapid B; you just hold x or y down and constantly clicks a or b faster than you ever could. Good for going through game dialog, like pokemon games >_<

it also has a fast forward option which is useful... again for pokemon >_

 

[LeomelsonBato]

wait one last question OT.

When Emulating a GBA Emulator on a Flashcart can you go multiplayer with another DS...
or only original GBA Games can go multiplayer DS to DS...

 

[FAST6191]

I am not aware of any link options in the emulator and moreover the DS lacks a link port- you need a GBA and either GBA originals or GBA flash carts to do link mode.
However you can instead grab a save from the emulator/cart and feed it to VBA link (and possibly VBA-m) on the PC which does have link abilities.

 

[LeomelsonBato]

ok thanks for the reply,,, will buy an original game or will find my old GBA Games...

 

[ferofax]

I am not aware of any link options in the emulator and moreover the DS lacks a link port- you need a GBA and either GBA originals or GBA flash carts to do link mode.
However you can instead grab a save from the emulator/cart and feed it to VBA link (and possibly VBA-m) on the PC which does have link abilities.

Doesn't the DSphat's charge port also serve as a link port (for GBA link cables)?

Fact #1: GBASP's link port and charge port is one and the same.
Fact #2: GBASPs connect just fine with GBAphats.
Fact #3: GBASP's charger works with DSphats (the plug fits).

I'm going to hazard a guess that at least the DSphat can hard link (not emulated link) up with GBA/SPs by using a GBA link cable.

Feel free to correct me though. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it doesn't work that way. If i had a GBA with a link cable and linkable games, i'd try in a heartbeat. Doom GBA would be a good place to start with that.

EDIT: i had to state it as fact, lol, i was so confident. but see the next few posts for the real deal.

 

[FAST6191]

Afraid not (it is just a charge port)
http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm#dsabsentlinkport

 

[constantgamer247]

@[member='ferofax']

You are close. I'm going to bust your first and third fact.

Below is a GBA SP; it has a EXT.1 link port on the right and a EXT.2 Charger port on the left (mine actually, sorry for the crappy pix i'm rushing b4 work)

Below is a GBAphat; which has only the EXT.1 link port (again a pick of my gba).

Below is a DSphat; which has only the EXT.2 charger port (also my ds);

Fact #1: GBASP's link port and charge port is one and the same.

WRONG!! The GBA SP's link port and charger port are not one in the same

Fact #2: GBASPs connect just fine with GBAphats.

TRUTH!! The GBAphat and the GBA SP both have a EXT.1 port to link up with.

Fact #3: GBASP's charger works with DSphats (the plug fits).

WRONG!! The dsPHAT (while it is not labeled) only has an EXT.2 port, a huge mistake on Nintendo's part that makes me cry to this day.

Okay here is how it works; listen to my example. Recently I had a hard time booting GCN games on my wii off of anything besides a disk. I wanted to do it off something USB preferably a HDD but ended up being able to do it of an SD card. The reason this is dificult... when you go into gamecube mode... the wii as it is, is basically gamecube 2.0 so when you entre gamecube mode the wii thinks it is a gamecube and ignores all hardware the gamecube didn't have, so it's suddenly not looking to USB ports and SD card slots like the wii does.

The DS phat is basically GBA 2.0, when you boot into GBA mode it thinks the system is a GBA (yes I know there are work arounds to boot DS games off a GBA flash card but so too can my wii boot gcn games off an SD card, those are exceptions ignore them in this context. I'm just clairfying [spelling?] so no one disproves me, you can correcty my bad english spelling thought if you wan't some fun, give me credit though I'm on a membrain keyboard, my mechanical is on my other computer, anyway not important I'm rambeling)

Having stated the DS phat is the GBA 2.0, I'm saying that when you boot a GBA game the DS thinks it's a GBA and ignores all hardware the GBA did not have. This includes the DS's wireless card, the GBA phat or SP never had this. They had an adapter that was link cable to wireless which works differently to an internal dirrect wireless connection speck/specfication/standard (not sure of the correct word here). The rare and elucidate gba wireless link adapter was a work around to add hardware nintendo origionally left out.

So since the DS Phat in GBA mode can't see the DS's wifi card you can't use it, on top of that gba games were not written to utilise a wifi card like the DS has. They were written to use a link cable EXT.1 slot and are tricked into using a wireless adapter.

It is the biggest shame ever that nintendo left out the GBA EXT.1 link cable off the DS. If we had this we could trade DS phat to GBA or GBA SP and visa versa.

Instead the DS only has a EXT.2 port, which is the same as the EXT.2 charger port on the GBA SP, I know this because I have them and use their chargers interchangeably.

The problem with running an emulator on the DS Phat is, a few (I feel like this thought belongs somewhere else in my post but oh well, I'll type it here). I have an ez-flash iv, and run roms on it. They are able to use all of the GBA's hardware like the games are programed to, I can trade pokemon via link cable ect... it's easy because the ez-flash is just like a multi-boot game and less of a GBA emulator. It tricks the gba into thinking it's running the actualy game and works like the actualy game with anything else you patch in there like a reset hot key combo.

When running an emulator, the emulator is like a container, and you have to code the emulator to have a channel to talk on/through so the game can comunicate through the emulator to the hard ware. The ez-flash iv is not running a GBA emulator it just runs the roms natively and there is no emulator to talk thourgh so all your hardware works (except hardware YOU DONT HAVE like the wario ware twisted tip/tilt sensor or wifi adapter. I can run Fire Red on my ez-flash iv and the wireless EXT.1 adapter does work because the game is able to look for that hard ware and find it) This is one reason emulation normally takes +10x the power of the origional thing... because you have to emulate it... meaning you have to run the emulator and then then game inside of that emulator aka container (which is what an emulator is, a contianier... it's emulating the GBA hard ware on something else. Idk how to better say that without being redundant)

First off (there are the few problems I speak of) the emulator is not programmed to see the EXT.1 port because that feature was never needed the DS Phat has no EXT.1 port. So if they added the code it would be a waste of time, it would look and find no EXT.1 port. Secondly you can't program the game to use the DS's wifi card. IT would be extremely dificult, require editing the rom file (yes I know what rom stands for and you can edit a rom file but not the rom chips on the actual games) and you would still have to add a layer to the emulator to comunicate that from the game to the hardware, if this does work it only would on the DS because that is what we are trying to do... get a gba game to talk to the DS wifi card but I doubt my theory would work even if you could edit the rom because it's using hardware that was not origionally available on the GBA and to the GBA games.

The easiest solution which wont happen, the best flash card; super card DSTWO by superTeam (I think that's their name) has a working gba emulator called NDS-GBA which does everything but full screen GBA on the DSi XL. They update for stability occasionally. Adding this feature; a lay to the emulator that tricks the GBA game into thinking the DS's wifi card is the GBA's Wifi adapter, would work and would be amazing... (I think all you have to do is add something to the emulator to tell the ROM the emulator has a EXT.1 port, take that data and send that to the DS's hardware. I don't know how the ds's wifi card is different to the GBA wireless adapter but you might be able to send out a signal and recieve it. Problem could be: you want send the GBA signal from the DS wifi card and the DS might not be able to output the same signal the GBA wireless adapter does. You might be able to get a DS to wifi trade to another DS) but they won't get around to doing it. The vast complexity of this coupled with the limited use, just trading pokemon, with the added layer of maybe you'll only be able to DS to DS trade and not DS to GBA trade will be a huge impass to any design/development/programming team's motivation.

Push them to go openSource if they have not already so other people can do what they wont! If they do do it for us, I'll cook and eat my toque!!! If your south of my border that is a hat.

So to recap
The GBA phat has only a EXT.1 Link Port
The GBA SP has both a EXT.1 Link Port and a EXT.2 Charger port
The DS Phat has only a EXT.2 Charger port

Even if you could modify a link cable to fit into the DS's EXT.2 charger port... nothing would happen, that port is power only.

The EXT.1 port is data only (it might have small minimal voltage/wattage to send the signa)

BUT Long story stort EXT.1 is a data port and EXT.2 is a power port, and I'll say it again.

The GBA phat has only a EXT.1 Link Port
The GBA SP has both a EXT.1 Link Port and a EXT.2 Charger port
The DS Phat has only a EXT.2 Charger port

Sorry If I seem angry; I am not angry, just trying to be very clear about this so I am not misunderstood in my explination. I also don't mean to "shut you down" by busting your myths, I'm just trying to clear up misconseptions made by a lot of people.

And also sorry the photos are not in the same orientation and blury. GBA SP is shot right side up from the back, GBA was shot at a slant, idk what angle I did there. DS phat is upside down and backwords. I tried to get it so you can see the port and the text on the port but all I have within reach is a samsung galaxy player.

Hope this sets the record straight.

So @LeomelsonBato You cannot trade from the DS phat to the GBA SP or GBA (YET... until we push the superCard team to add that trick to the emulator to make the DS's wifi card look like the GBA wifi adapter to the GBA games, but only really pokemon used this)

ALSO ***Disclaimer*** I might have said trade my entre post, I meant link >_< I play so much pokemon the only thing I use the EXT.1 port/link port for is trading, so in my mind they are one in the same. I do know that you link to trade, just like you use the interent to use the WorldWideWeb and DeepNet and Drak Web I understand the difference my eglish knowledge just does not show it. Parle francais a moi et je connais tres bien!

 

[ferofax]

ahaha, very long post, but thank you for clearing that up. i knew my memory was hazy, as it's been a while since i've owned the SP. what i do remember is that the GBASP and DSphat share the same plug, but it seems i forgot about that second port entirely.

 

[constantgamer247]

ahaha, very long post, but thank you for clearing that up. i knew my memory was hazy, as it's been a while since i've owned the SP. what i do remember is that the GBASP and DSphat share the same plug, but it seems i forgot about that second port entirely.

Yah, I'm super pissed about the fact that nintendo left the link cable port off the DS. I remember camping out for the DS phat, and waiting while thinking, "oh it plays GBA games too." I got it when K-Mart opened, opened the box, turned it over and then did a double take and was like..... FML they forgot the GBA link port >_