Hacking Compatability between flash carts

[Jabba1701]

Hi guys, I am new here and have just bought an iTouch flash cart. It is working great and have been playing away no problems. However, i got my wife a DS for here birthday so now we have one cart between us. I tried to play mario karts via download play and it would cause the DS (the one without the flash cart) to just hang on a white screen. I figured it was a problem between using one DS with a cart and one without... is this true? if i get another flash cart, will it need to be the same one? Sorry if this is a noob question, but i am a noob

 

[aphirst]

Whether or not download play works is based on two things (and two things alone // assuming you are using clean ROMs, or trimmed with a decent ROM trimmer): The flashcart on the sending DS, and the firmware on the receiving DS. Now, according to the GBAtemp iTouchDS review Mario Kart DS should work in download play (assuming that you are on the latest stable loader, and that there have been no regressions since the review version). So I would suggest that the problem might lie with the recieving DS.
I would suggest installing a form of Flashme (the GBAtemp page on Flashme should be on the first page of Google) on your Wife's DS, which will bypass the RSA sexurity check which often causes Download Play to fail. If you're sensible, it's a safe, quick procedure.

 

[Jabba1701]

so i need to get a passme2 card and a gba flashcart? can the iTouch cart be used instead somehow? the instructions are a little vague...

 

[aphirst]

Wow, the GBAtemp guide is out of date

Just download Flashme from here, run it from your iTouch, follow the instructions on Flashme's site, making sure to bridge the correct contact, then reset when it's finished. It's easy-peasy.

 

[Jabba1701]

thanks mate, just found that link but wasn't sure about it. Thanks a heap for your help, it was really quick! i'll give it a bash when i get home

 

[Bri]

If your ROM is trimmed, you may have trimmed off the part that affects download play. You may want to try it with an untrimmed ROM (if you haven't already) before you mess with Flashme.

-Bri

 

[Jabba1701]

that could be it. I will try to find one that hasn't been trimmed. I think all the games i have were trimmed which is why none work. Why do people trim them? it is not like they are really large compared to other games anyway right?

 

[Bri]

You can trim your games safely (without disrupting download play) if you use the right trimmer. Games are padded with zeros so that they are a power of 2 in size. Therefore, some games will trim to nearly half their untrimmed size.

For example, if a game is actually 257 MB in size, it will be padded until it's 512 MB. Trimming will remove the padding and make it nearly half as big. But if a game is 255 MB in size, it will be padded until it's only 256 MB in size, in which case trimming won't make much of a difference.

-Bri

 

[Jabba1701]

that make sense then. I will try some others when i get home. thanks for the suggestions

 

[Bri]

Your best bet it to try it untrimmed first to make sure the download play works, then mess with trimmers and see how much space they save you and whether they trim correctly (i.e. preserving download play).

-Bri

 

[Jabba1701]

i did he flashme thing and no luck. at least now it skips the warnings...

now to find some untrimmed games

 

[Jabba1701]

i have tried a few different mario kart NDSs and no luck with any. it downloads fine, but after the reboot and the nintendo logo displays it just hangs with two white screens. I have also tried other games and no joy there either. This is with using my wife's DS (not flashed) with an iTouch flash cart and using the "simple" multiplayer option and my DS (flashed with Flashme normal) with no carts in the slots. Has anyone else been able to play multiplayer with either one or two carts?

 

[AXYPB]

Did you turn on Download Play in the ROM options menu? I have an M3 Real and I can use Download Play with other DSes. None of them run FlashMe.

 

[Jabba1701]

Did you turn on Download Play in the ROM options menu? I have an M3 Real and I can use Download Play with other DSes. None of them run FlashMe.

I couldn't find that option. I am using the dual loader thingo with Sakura and iTouch. Doesn't really matter now anyway, i picked up an M3DS real cart on the weekend

Thanks for your help though guys. I think there must be a problem with an non-cart trying to load a trimmed or dumped rom.

 

[Evilmaster1985]

My DSTT running firmware v1.16 has no trouble using the download play on mario.
Removed flashcart from 2nd NDS and started Mario Kart on the NDS using the DSTT.
Hosted the game and searched for download play games on the NDS with no flashcart.
Took some time before the download was complete but it all worked fine

(Forgot to note I was using a trimmed rom to host the game. Also non of the NDS`s is flashed.)

Greetz, Vistabuser.

 

[Jabba1701]

strange... maybe it is just a iTouch thing (or maybe user error

). I will try hosting a download game on my DS with the new M3 real cart. I don't really need to now, but since you got it to work Vistabuser, I am curious.