Hacking I hope CycloDS's new GUI will slam down AKAIO's GUI

[Link5084]

While AKAIO might have the edge in terms of their GUI, Cyclo's new GUI will slam down AKAIO's GUI to the ground with all the functions that users demanded and much more. Anyone excited for the best DS flashcart in the market to get even more better?

 

[Advi]

wow even the flashcart community has fanboys.

 

[Hedgehogofchaos]

i cant wait for the new gui. also cant wait to see team cyclops answer to the dsi, hope it gives homebrew access to dsi only functions.

 

[Link5084]

i cant wait for the new gui. also cant wait to see team cyclops answer to the dsi, hope it gives homebrew access to dsi only functions.

They will answer by saying "Go buy a new flashcart only for DSi", which is the most reasonable thing they can do.

 

[Advi]

i cant wait for the new gui. also cant wait to see team cyclops answer to the dsi, hope it gives homebrew access to dsi only functions.

They will answer by saying "Go buy a new flashcart only for DSi", which is the most reasonable thing they can do.

Ya, I'd prefer that over trying to fuck around with the game cartridge to get it to register.

Hopefully, the DSi cart won't be too much more expensive than the original Cyclo.

 

[Hedgehogofchaos]

I dont have a problem getting a new cart really. Im just hoping the DSi gets hacked so homebrew can use the new features.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

In my opinion the GUI is fine as it is. My only complaint is that once you start getting a lot of games it takes awhile to get to the one you want, but that's easily solved with creating folders.

As far as the DSi thing, I'm sure it'll cost the same as the original does. If they charge more than that, no one will buy it. People already think the Cyclo is expensive as it is. They can't make it more! I have a feeling we'll start seeing more DSi flashcarts once the US DSi is released. I can bet a ton of money that Nintendo blocked the current flashcart solutions on the US models. They'd be dumb if they didn't.

 

[Porkdish]

In my opinion the GUI is fine as it is.

It doesn't bother you that practically all skins for the card are either impossible or next thing to it, when it comes to reading the file list or navigating the cheats menu?

You either use a bland skin or you squint.

I don't see creating multiple folders and thus exposing me even longer to the terrible file menu as an easy fix. I want sorting by save date. If I just played a game I want it at the top of the list next time I turn on the DS.

All I've seen regarding the 'new gui' is an initial expression of interest on the possibility of creating one by a single developer and then pages and pages of ludicrous pipe dream fantasies by rabid fans. Sort of like this threads original post. For a near 1:1 comparison just visit the menuDO thread in the the homebrew section.

 

[Splych]

I am not a CycloDS User, but what is going to be so great about this "new" GUI.

I really want to know, since I am an AceKard 2.1 owner and think AKAIO is already okay. It seems to be perfect for me, so what makes the CycloDS's GUI so special that it will slam the AKAIO Gui? They all just seem the same to me...

 

[Tanas]

wow even the flashcart community has fanboys.

Most are SCDS1 owners.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

It doesn't bother you that practically all skins for the card are either impossible or next thing to it, when it comes to reading the file list or navigating the cheats menu?

You either use a bland skin or you squint.
I actually have tons of skins that look perfectly fine with the ROM and cheats text. I don't have to squint at all. In my opinion, busy skins are bad anyways. They clutter everything up and you can't see anything, and I'm not just talking about the CycloDS. So I won't call my skin bland, but it's simple, and I like it. I also have 10-15 other skins that I could switch to that work just as well. I don't see this as a problem.

QUOTE(Porkdish @ Mar 20 2009, 09:13 PM) I don't see creating multiple folders and thus exposing me even longer to the terrible file menu as an easy fix. I want sorting by save date. If I just played a game I want it at the top of the list next time I turn on the DS.

I do agree that the CycloDS could have more configuration options so people like you could customize it fully, but again, I see this as a small problem because I really don't need these things. Since I never play one game at a time, it would make it hard for me if my games were sorted by date. Alphabetically ordering my games is perfect because I always know where to find them, and even if there were extra configuration options to change it, my CycloDS would still be the same (as would most other people's).

So I stand to my original statement. Yeah sure, the CycloDS could be more visually appealing like M3Real's Sakura, but it works, and that's all that matters to me. Plus, it's a better than a lot of other cart's GUI's, like EZFlash's, Supercard DS One, anything R4-related, and much more. It's also easy to use. I gave an EDGE to a 8 year old kid (which has the same GUI as a Cyclo) and he had it figured out within 5 minutes. A new GUI would be nice, but if I had to choose between that or, say, new features, a DSi cart, or game fixes, the new GUI would be last on the list.

 

[TraumaHoundNDS]

It doesn't bother you that practically all skins for the card are either impossible or next thing to it, when it comes to reading the file list or navigating the cheats menu?
Well, that can be the case when you blindly install themes designed by the colorblinded. Or folks who don't know their way around the Skin editor. With over 3200 CycloDS themes at NDSthemes.com there's sure to be more than a few that you'd find to your liking, with a decent previewer you can see what you're getting into before dropping it onto your microSD card.

QUOTE(Porkdish @ Mar 20 2009, 08:13 PM) You either use a bland skin or you squint.

...or you could clean off your DS' screen and stop touching it with your Cheetoh fingers.

Now, what's all this talk of the Cyclo's new GUI again? All I've ever seen of it is ranting posts for or against it (I don't care either way, though it'd make those 3200+ current themes useless which would be a bit of a bummer.)

 

[Dwight]

wow even the flashcart community has fanboys.

Most are SCDS1 owners.

Haha I was just thinking this.

 

[Porkdish]

I have trawled all through the ndsthemes cyclo ds sections, god, even all the anime and game ones. So many of them are terrible when it comes to the file menu and often the cheat menu suffers worse because it uses the MENU settings in the XML file, without the menu fill colour. Cheats with comments use the cursor highlight colour value, its all over the joint and the skins suffer for it.

The menu uses a very small, thin font (like most flash carts). Its quite legible on a flat or dark/simple background but anything else and it becomes very hard to read.

As someone who has not just trawled existing skins but tried to make my own, I've spent a good deal of time looking at how the menu works. I couldn't release an oil panic skin because no matter what text colour chosen, its not attractive to read.

I ported one of Litium's skins and its the same issue.

With such a thin, small font, the lower background HAS to be dark and or very simple. Letting us specify a separate background for the file/cheats menu or even just letting us set a fill colour and transparency would make all skins, including so many from ndsthemes that while initially pretty are at best mediocre on the file menu, work a whole lot better.

I could care less about a giant overhall gui update. I agree that features are a higher priority. Stable RTS would be a gold mine. A clearer in game text reader too. But a simple menu fix would do so much good in the interim.

Honestly, point me to the skins you use (on ndsthemes) that you consider use the file and cheats menu well.

 

[tsol]

just use a darker selection color...

or font.. you can't use that many bright colors at once or you won't be able to read anything : P

As for a new gui, a little eye candy couldn't hurt, like being able to display box art on the top screen. It's low priority though..

 

[ball2012003]

if the cyclo ds releases a flashcart for the dsi
i'll defietly get that one than the acekard
but the acekard cost so much cheaper
mmmmmmm..............

 

[TraumaHoundNDS]

Honestly, point me to the skins you use (on ndsthemes) that you consider use the file and cheats menu well.

I get what you're saying but it's the fault of the designer more than the fault of the GUI itself. Sure, I'd love it if some of the XML colors could be separated, but they can't (at least at this time) so it's up to the theme designer to work within those parameters to make sure the text shows up as clearly as possible. I've gone so far as to drop a mask over the lower background just to pull the text colors out a bit more.

A couple of examples:

Metroid NES:
http://www.ndsthemes.com/themes/details/t/0213356ec0

Chinese New Year Dragon Firecrackers:
http://www.ndsthemes.com/themes/details/t/8d3b6dc1a5

...it's not always perfect, but if some effort is put into finding the right colors to use it can certainly go a long way towards readability.

 

[Sportsmaniac1322]

I get what you're saying but it's the fault of the designer more than the fault of the GUI itself. Sure, I'd love it if some of the XML colors could be separated, but they can't (at least at this time) so it's up to the theme designer to work within those parameters to make sure the text shows up as clearly as possible. I've gone so far as to drop a mask over the lower background just to pull the text colors out a bit more.

A couple of examples:

Metroid NES:
http://www.ndsthemes.com/themes/details/t/0213356ec0

Chinese New Year Dragon Firecrackers:
http://www.ndsthemes.com/themes/details/t/8d3b6dc1a5

...it's not always perfect, but if some effort is put into finding the right colors to use it can certainly go a long way towards readability.

I agree with tramahound. When I can't see the text, I think it's the fault of the designer, and not the cart. That goes for any flashcart -- not just the CycloDS. Every cart has themes where the text isn't legible, and it can't be every flashcart's fault. It's the designer that has to be able to bring out the text somehow. If you can't find themes that bring out the text well, then you're not looking hard enough.

 

[Porkdish]

I get what you're saying but it's the fault of the designer more than the fault of the GUI itself

...it's not always perfect, but if some effort is put into finding the right colors to use it can certainly go a long way towards readability.

QUOTEI agree with tramahound. When I can't see the text, I think it's the fault of the designer, and not the cart.

You guys make my point for me. Both examples where dark and with minimalist backgrounds.

Every card has its niggles that make skinning frustrating. Yes its up to skin designers to try to get past those niggles... but these ones do exist on the cyclo, you've both admitted it (after a little nudging). To my mind this is a pretty drastic niggle that makes the majority of the 3200 skins on ndsthemes next to unusable. Its a flaw that restricts the variety of skins you can use on the cart.

That doesn't strike you as maybe something worthy of being addressed by the designer? Isn't that the point of firmware updates? To improve usability.

Take a look at this skin:
http://www.ndsthemes.com/themes/details/s/8e1b8e9abe

now imagine how great it would be if a different background or a semi-transparent fill could be placed behind the text area in the file and cheat menu. There are thousands of near great skins going to waste.

Skin designers CANNOT fix the cheat menu issue though. Cheats with descriptions use the HIGHLIGHT colour to render the description text. What do you suppose happens when you highlight the cheat and try to read the description?

 

[Rayder]

As long as the Cyclo boots my games, I couldn't care less about a new GUI for it. I mean, you KNOW there will be bugs and whatnot to be worked out if they ever do release a new GUI. I wouldn't be in such a hurry for that.

As far as I'm concerned, there is only one feature I consider important that is missing from the CycloDS......a way to delete files from the microSD without having to yank it from the Cyclo just to delete some crap. I don't know why they can't add a simple delete ability. The crusty old R4 had it......