Hacking DSTWO Linux Beta1.0 release

[chyyran]

Oh cool, I'll have to set this up personally for the holidays, too busy atm.
EDIT: Can someone provide a mirror for the z4 distro, besides the chinese sites provided?

 

[redact]

Hi ya Merc=)
Gave it a test, and Return of the Hylian boots and plays, and it actually looks fairly decent when scaled to fit the DS screen.

AWESOME!
by the looks of it my sd card is too sucky because i just get black screen so i'll need to buy another but it'll be fun to dust off my dsi again

 

[VatoLoco]

The Dingux Stella emulator works pretty good.
full speed 2600 is nice.

 

[2ndApex]

How well do FBA CPS1 and CPS2 games work?

 

[VatoLoco]

How well do FBA CPS1 and CPS2 games work?

ive played some Alien Vs Predator, Progear, and Gouls n Ghosts. initially all were choppy gameplay, but bumping up the cpu helped. Hopefully we'll see some DSTwo specific optimizations for this and other emus/homebrews.
thankfully ive got a PSP and RetroArch Wii for more accurate for cps1 and cps2.

edit: wishful thinking...RetroArch Dingux would be sweet.

edit two: actually messing with the fba emus settings by boosting the cpu to 396 and turning off the sound*, makes AVP and Progear really quite playable =) ill hafta try some more CPS games out.

*edit: interestingly, enabling/disabling the audio doesnt seem to affect the framerate on FBA

 

[2ndApex]

I'm getting the Linux logo and then a black screen too.

My MicroSD is FAT32 and all the files are there, does it not do SDHC or something?

 

[VatoLoco]

I'm getting the Linux logo and then a black screen too.

My MicroSD is FAT32 and all the files are there, does it not do SDHC or something?

im using an 8gig Transcend with FAT32 allocated to 32k clusters.

 

[sirocyl]

I'd like to point out a bug, not with this specific Dingux platform, but one in general that should be paid attention to.

Dingux can corrupt your Fat32 filesystem.
It happened to me, and I was stupid and ran it on a card with my most recent game saves.
None lost, thankfully, but there's a lot of crap in DIR0000.CHK after I fsck'd it up.

I highly recommend, before installing, that:
a) You back up your card,
2. You format using the Panasonic SD Formatter tool
[edit] According to Buleste, that doesn't work. Use Windows' format, then.
III. You make regular backups after installing Dingux.


Right now, I have a 2GB microSD card just for this, and I run a trimmed-down SCDSTWO firmware on it (boots straight to the plugin, no menu, no middleman), and it seems to be going just fine.
(I use the DSTwo.nds and boot.ini from BAGplug to bootstrap it.)

A few questions about development:
Is there an interface from the DSTWO to the ARM7/ARM9 and DS memory space via Linux?
Is there a Dingoo emulator, on which I can test code?
Can the framebuffer be set to the NDS's native display size? I know throughput is an issue, which is why only one screen is used.
Can the bottom screen be accessed? Can the output be switched to use it exclusively? (Reason being, I have a "Nintendo SS Lite" that I wouldn't mind running DSTwo Linux on. I use it for experiments.)
Can the Wi-Fi hardware be accessed yet? (I'm doubtful it is, but optimistic that with some ARM-side shims and a driver, it can be)
Can the NDS firmware/configuration settings be read/written from it?
Would it be a good idea to implement an OpenGL -> DS API 3D driver/translator, and stream the triangles, textures and such across the Slot-1 card bus? I figured offloading some 3D rendering from the SC CPU would speed some things up.
Finally, due to GPL demands, you should release the source code to the kernel. However, will you be including the drivers and bootloader plugin code? I would love to know how it works, and possibly revise on it and make it more stable.

In the end, my goal is to have a replacement/alternative for the SCDSTWO's plugin/menu, running Linux or another lightweight application, with web browsing, extensive emulator support, and more.
I'd be happy to join in on dev'ing on this to the best of my ability.

 

[Buleste]

DS2 Linux and iSMM Linux will not work with cards formatted using Panasonic SD Card formatter. You must use the Windows format on you card.

 

[mshaun]

well, it appears that i was able to get this working by following the instructions specified in the .txt file, however it's all pretty much in chinese, which makes it incredibly difficult for my silly american self to navigate around the menus.

i was able to find some of the emulators (thank goodness some of them are abbreviated in english), though i'd really like to be able to check out some of the rest of the goodies if i could only understand what some of these menus say. anyone have any tips for figuring this thing out? (far fetched idea, but) an english translation anywhere, perhaps?

 

[sirocyl]

well, it appears that i was able to get this working by following the instructions specified in the .txt file, however it's all pretty much in chinese, which makes it incredibly difficult for my silly american self to navigate around the menus.

I've been using DinguXMB on the z5 release. Not sure if it's in z4, but to run it, you go to "Setting", the rightmost option, and go six down, click it, and then it should be the last option (it'll say dinguXMB).
It's in English, and looks and works pretty much like a PSP's XMB menu.

There's also this:

havent tried it, so not sure it'd work, but there is an english ismart z4 (without the various emu Bios and stuff) at Filetrip.

I'll try it myself, and see how it actually works.

Another good idea, would be to try actual Dingoo software from the various sites around. I think we should have a wiki page with a compatibility table.

[edit] I just tested the above iSmartLinux distro. It seems to boot without any problems.
My method assumes that you won't use the SD card for running NDS games. It trims off some fat, to make room for Linux and emulators. You may need the other DSTWO system files for DSi/3DS compatibility; I only tested on a DS Phat with FlashMe installed, and a 2GB SD card.

Here's what I did:

1. Format SD card using Windows, as FAT32.
2. Make a _dstwo folder in the root of the SD card, and put system1.dat and system2.dat from the SCDSTWO firmware there.
3. Get the DSTwo.nds and boot.ini from the _dstwo folder in BAGPlug and copy them to the _dstwo folder on the SD card.
4. Edit the boot.ini file, and make it the following:
   

   [boot_settings]
   file = /ds2ldr

5. Download the DS2Linux zip from the OP and copy the _dstwoplug\dstwoLinux.plg and zImage_DS2 files to the root of the SD card. Optionally, copy the ds2Linux_boot.bmp, for the penguin
6. Rename the dstwoLinux.plg to ds2ldr
7. Download the iSmartLinux z4 distro, and extract the following to the root of the SD card:
   • rootfs
   • GAME
   • LOCAL
   • zImage
8. Finally, rename the zImage file to zImage_ds2

You should now have an SD card, that, when booted on a SuperCard DSTWO, will automatically boot straight into English Dingux Z4.

Edit: Changed the kernel.
Also, if you already installed, you can copy the zImage_DS2 from the DS2Linux zip and write over the iSmart Linux version without any issue. It adds 3DS compatibility. Apparently the 3DS's Nitro emulation isn't 1:1, and the other bootloader used an undocumented/unused/restricted operation.

 

[GreatCrippler]

I haven't played with this on my SCDS2 yet, but when I was having SD issues on my Dingoo. (Aka Black screen when loading Linux) The Panasonic tool did not work. I did some searching, and found one called "HPUSBDisk" After using it to format, the freezing and black screens stopped. Not sure if it will help on the DS, but did on the Dingoo.

 

[mshaun]

[snipped for sized]

thank you for the reply. i was able to rummage around the menus and find the dinguxmb option (somehow, as i was beyond tired) and it looked pretty awesome, and somehow i also managed to changed the sound effects, though i cannot for the life of me remember what menu option it was.

i've got a spare 4gb microsd card that i've been using for various things (such as testing out dingux+z4) since i've recently upgraded to a 16gb microsd for my dstwo, so this will make for a fun little project. also, thank you much for the instructions on how to get this working! i started the ismartlinux beta download last night but was too tired to wait around for it to finish.

looks like i know what i'll be doing with my free time today, much appreciated!

edit: after much trying, verifying correct directory structure and plenty of cursing at inanimate objects, it appears that this method will not seem to work on my 3ds xl. i will keep tinkering with it and report back later, though.

 

[Buleste]

I've been testing SDLVICE-dingoo-2.3 today and whilst you cannot use the virtual Keyboard you can use most of the other features and emulation runs at about 90-95% of real C64 hardware. With some SCDS2 tweaks it could easily be running at full speed.

English translations of DMenu http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/f...artlinux-english-translated-dmenu-f24913.html

iSMM Linux + Dmenu http://filetrip.net/nds-downloads/flashcart-files/download-ismartlinux-beta-12-full-pack-f25444.html

 

[2ndApex]

Everything finally works now! I've tried a few of the emulators and they're all a bit choppy except for CPS1 (I couldn't get CPS2 to work at all) but wow a PSX emulator for the DS finally looks possible now.

How did you get ZeldaROTH to work on this? I put it in the game folder inside the game folder but every time I try to run it with the first option it just restarts and freezes.

 

[drakorex]

Don't suppose there is an all encompassing tutorial on where to find and install everything needed to get everything set up? I just want to use this for PS1 games, but it seems a tad complicated. First I need to download and install DS2Linux, then I need to download dingux, then I need to find and download psx4all. Can anyone simplify this for the less initiated?

 

[VatoLoco]

Everything finally works now! I've tried a few of the emulators and they're all a bit choppy except for CPS1 (I couldn't get CPS2 to work at all) but wow a PSX emulator for the DS finally looks possible now.

How did you get ZeldaROTH to work on this? I put it in the game folder inside the game folder but every time I try to run it with the first option it just restarts and freezes.

Theres a converter for CPS2 and neo-geo that i used (along with turning off the sound and upping the cpu in the emu settings) to get Progear going.
The ZeldaRotH i used the link that Mercluke linked to and it just worked for me. Mine is in the 'game' folder with the rest of the emus and stuff.

Don't suppose there is an all encompassing tutorial on where to find and install everything needed to get everything set up? I just want to use this for PS1 games, but it seems a tad complicated. First I need to download and install DS2Linux, then I need to download dingux, then I need to find and download psx4all. Can anyone simplify this for the less initiated?

I wouldnt expect too much outta the PS1 emulator at this point, but sirocyl made a nice DSTwo Linux set-up tutorial for people a few posts up thats quite useful.

 

[2ndApex]

Don't suppose there is an all encompassing tutorial on where to find and install everything needed to get everything set up? I just want to use this for PS1 games, but it seems a tad complicated. First I need to download and install DS2Linux, then I need to download dingux, then I need to find and download psx4all. Can anyone simplify this for the less initiated?

The PSX emulator already comes with the Dingux Z4 download in the zip file, just put your iso's in GAME/PS/Roms and load up the PS emulator and you're good.

Don't expect much though, not too many games run at a playable frame rate yet.

 

[sirocyl]

not too many games run at a playable frame rate yet.

I wouldnt expect too much outta the PS1 emulator at this point

I tested the emulator (the PSX4all that comes with the above-linked Z4 distro) with Final Fantasy VII PAL.
First off, there is no sound support yet, so it's best to leave that disabled.
Without changing the graphics settings (except removing the FPS counter) it runs at between 7 and 16 fps.
I could tell because the intro screen strobed sometimes. It ran slower with the FPS counter on.

 

[2ndApex]

Theres a converter for CPS2 and neo-geo that i used (along with turning off the sound and upping the cpu in the emu settings[press y]) to get Progear going.
The ZeldaRotH i used the link that Mercluke linked to and it just worked for me. Mine is in the 'game' folder with the rest of the emus and stuff.

Thanks for the converter, Marvel vs Capcom and Pocket Fighter work pretty well, can't wait until somebody fixes the scaling and wtffightinggame control mappings.

Anything that's not an emulator still isn't working for me though. I'm supposed to just select the first option in the first column and select the DGE file right?