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Back again with something new for those of you with an Evercade VS or Super Pocket & an EverSD or similar.
Say hello to the Evercade Collection Builder (ECB) - It's essentially a Windows batch file for your PC that will turn your backups of your own official Evercade carts into a playable collection combined on to one SD card for your EverSD or similar homebrew cart.
Since even just a picture is worth 1,000 words, the following video will hopefully serve as an explanation of what it is, what it can do and how to use it.
If you find this of interest - come find me, this project and my other Evercade toys on the EverSD discord: HERE
Say hello to the Evercade Collection Builder (ECB) - It's essentially a Windows batch file for your PC that will turn your backups of your own official Evercade carts into a playable collection combined on to one SD card for your EverSD or similar homebrew cart.
Since even just a picture is worth 1,000 words, the following video will hopefully serve as an explanation of what it is, what it can do and how to use it.
If you find this of interest - come find me, this project and my other Evercade toys on the EverSD discord: HERE
ECB (v3.2b) - More Subjective Art, In Case You're Fickle & Filtering Folly Fixed
- ECB now detects if Neo Geo Arcade 2 and 3 are added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the standard art with the bonus/flip side art.
- You are now asked at the beginning of execution if you want to change optional cover arts for cartridges already in your collection. This will allow you to swap back and forth between standard and special edition/bonus artwork.
- Resolved a minor bug when trying to set custom (favorites) as your cartridge display filter when you have no favorites defined in the "_custom_filter.txt" file.
ECB (v3.1b) - Too Many to Choose From, Art is Subjective & Extermination Services
- Hold the 'START' button while starting a retail cartridge to be presented with a choice of filtering your ECB cart list to only show Console, Arcade, Computer, Custom or All carts. This choice has no effect on anything else you may have on your ECB sdcard. If delete mode is disabled in ECB, the unused "Y" hotkey for deleting a cartridge can be used to add or remove a cart from your custom filter list. The list can also be maintained manually on the root of your ECB SD card or deleted completely to start fresh. It must be named "_custom_filter.txt" if you are creating it from scratch on PC.
- ECB now detects if Neo Geo Arcade 1 was added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the standard art with the bonus/flip side art.
- Tracked down and squashed (hopefully) the bug that caused ANSI colorization of text to break for cartridges missing assets.
ECB (v3.0b) - Packed and Ready to Move, What Time Is Our Flight?
- ECB is now an executable app.
- Cart assets have moved to a new format - ECB 3.0b or later is required!
- Timestamping for asset checks is now done in "UTC time" to prevent issues when running from multiple PCs across different time zones.
ECB (v2.0b) - Self Improvement, Tool for Lightweights, Single Slot Solutions & Decision Paralysis
- ECB can now update itself. Hopefully this will be the last time you need to manually download and extract an ECB update.
- A new script named 'ECB Script Updater' is available. Unlike the main 'Update Collection' script, this one can update your ECB carts with any back-end changes like enabling/disabling the deletion feature without your X-Tra backup files being present on the SD card. I will not add new carts to the collection and should only be used by people who do not keep their X-Tra backup files with ECB.
- Added a new hotkey that makes it possible to backup/restore game saves from/to an ECB cart via X-Tra on the SP & OG Handheld. Just hold the 'X' button while starting a retail cartridge in ECB - it will mount the cart as usual, then immediately run X-Tra so you can do a save game backup/restore just as you would for a retail cart. This hotkey doesn't work on VS since it is unnecessary with dual cart slots.
- Added a new hotkey that allows you to mount a random cart from the collection (includes SP2ECB & VS2ECB carts). Just hold the 'SELECT' button while starting a retail cartridge in ECB - it will mount a RANDOM cart, not [necessarily] the one you had highlighted.
ECB (v1.9b) - ABCs & 123s
- Updated the deletion hotkey from 'R' button to 'Y' button so as not to conflict with EverPatcher's new 'eject cartridge' hotkeys. (Must run the ECB script to update all your cart's hotkeys)
- Corrected a bug in the code that randomly failed to determine if the current asset list was a higher numbered version than the one currently on the SD card, which would cause ECB to not download new cart assets.
ECB (v1.8b) - Lynx Fix, Mount Scripts & Cart Updates - OH MY!
- Script now has the "Lynx Carts Fix" built in. If you had the previous download for the standalone Lynx Carts Fix you can safely delete that script and it's zip files from the root of your SD card.
- Additions were made to the folder mounting & "back home" scripts for a new "super" neat use
- Two new scripts have been added (Cart Updates ON / Cart Updates OFF) which give you the ability to block an Evercade from applying patches to your ECB carts. To use them, simply double-click on the one you want and it will enable or disable cart updating accordingly. Note that by default all ECB carts are updatable. If for any reason you add more carts later or re-add an existing cart, all freshly added carts start out as updatable, just like a real Evercade cartridge would be. If you want to keep updates off, just remember to re-run the "updates off" script after adding or re-adding carts to ECB.
ECB (v1.7b) - Our Saviour is ON FLAME!
- Script now supports "native game" carts that cannot be altered to run properly on FAT32. Full Void is the current target. Should future carts require this, their backup name from X-Tra need only be added a cloud-updated list so this script will process them accordingly.
ECB (v1.6b) - Asking Questions & Time Is Money
- Script now asks for you to (E)nable or (D)isable the "Delete Cartridge" code in the cart launching scripts. Not providing an answer within 15 seconds continues the execution with the deletion code enabled like the previous version.
- Script can now skip comparing online assets to save time if the master list version number hasn't changed (master list now contains a version number).
- Script now detects if Full Void was added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the "Standard Edition" art with the "Special Edition" version. This will only be asked when the cart is first added or anytime it gets updated from a newer X-Tra backup.
ECB (v1.5b) - FIRST PUBLIC RELEASE - What year are we in?
- Script now decides if it should use ESC Characters for colored output or not based on a check if running on Win10/Win11 (enabled) or older (disabled).
ECB (v1.4b) - Tidying ups the mess & loose ends...
- Added per cart message if extracting a backup was successful or failed.
- ANSI Color coded output on Win10 or higher.
- Updated warning message displayed when using console hotkey to delete a cart.
- Fixed issue that left some assets on SD card if cart was deleted via console hotkey.
ECB (v1.3b) - Burn the evidence!
- Added hotkey to delete a cart by holding "R".
ECB (v1.2b) - Blame doesn't fix bugs...
- Fixed crash issues with ALWA special script change - ALWAx.zip updated.
- Added missing Hanheld/Hanheld TV-Out artwork for new HOME icon.
ECB (v1.1b) - It's not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.
- Added timestamp function to prevent GDrive being hit more than once every 2hrs.
ECB (v1.0b) - To the Interwebs - AND BEYOND!
- Added wget functionality to pull Asset DL URLs "master_list" from GDrive using an "Updates" file.
- All wget actions will overwrite assets with older timestamps than the current GDrive version.
- Added Support file functionality to the script as well as the files themselves to GDrive.
ECB (v0.5b)
- First Windows release. Can add carts, update carts based on MD5 change, add assets if present and load dummy assets if not. Leaves *.tmp file to designate assets need updating once available and *.tmp file removal once proper assets have been added.
ECB (v0.1b) - Silly Evercade, these tricks are for Windows PCs.
- Failed attempt at an "on-console" Evercade VS version. Extraction issues.
- ECB now detects if Neo Geo Arcade 2 and 3 are added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the standard art with the bonus/flip side art.
- You are now asked at the beginning of execution if you want to change optional cover arts for cartridges already in your collection. This will allow you to swap back and forth between standard and special edition/bonus artwork.
- Resolved a minor bug when trying to set custom (favorites) as your cartridge display filter when you have no favorites defined in the "_custom_filter.txt" file.
ECB (v3.1b) - Too Many to Choose From, Art is Subjective & Extermination Services
- Hold the 'START' button while starting a retail cartridge to be presented with a choice of filtering your ECB cart list to only show Console, Arcade, Computer, Custom or All carts. This choice has no effect on anything else you may have on your ECB sdcard. If delete mode is disabled in ECB, the unused "Y" hotkey for deleting a cartridge can be used to add or remove a cart from your custom filter list. The list can also be maintained manually on the root of your ECB SD card or deleted completely to start fresh. It must be named "_custom_filter.txt" if you are creating it from scratch on PC.
- ECB now detects if Neo Geo Arcade 1 was added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the standard art with the bonus/flip side art.
- Tracked down and squashed (hopefully) the bug that caused ANSI colorization of text to break for cartridges missing assets.
ECB (v3.0b) - Packed and Ready to Move, What Time Is Our Flight?
- ECB is now an executable app.
- Cart assets have moved to a new format - ECB 3.0b or later is required!
- Timestamping for asset checks is now done in "UTC time" to prevent issues when running from multiple PCs across different time zones.
ECB (v2.0b) - Self Improvement, Tool for Lightweights, Single Slot Solutions & Decision Paralysis
- ECB can now update itself. Hopefully this will be the last time you need to manually download and extract an ECB update.
- A new script named 'ECB Script Updater' is available. Unlike the main 'Update Collection' script, this one can update your ECB carts with any back-end changes like enabling/disabling the deletion feature without your X-Tra backup files being present on the SD card. I will not add new carts to the collection and should only be used by people who do not keep their X-Tra backup files with ECB.
- Added a new hotkey that makes it possible to backup/restore game saves from/to an ECB cart via X-Tra on the SP & OG Handheld. Just hold the 'X' button while starting a retail cartridge in ECB - it will mount the cart as usual, then immediately run X-Tra so you can do a save game backup/restore just as you would for a retail cart. This hotkey doesn't work on VS since it is unnecessary with dual cart slots.
- Added a new hotkey that allows you to mount a random cart from the collection (includes SP2ECB & VS2ECB carts). Just hold the 'SELECT' button while starting a retail cartridge in ECB - it will mount a RANDOM cart, not [necessarily] the one you had highlighted.
ECB (v1.9b) - ABCs & 123s
- Updated the deletion hotkey from 'R' button to 'Y' button so as not to conflict with EverPatcher's new 'eject cartridge' hotkeys. (Must run the ECB script to update all your cart's hotkeys)
- Corrected a bug in the code that randomly failed to determine if the current asset list was a higher numbered version than the one currently on the SD card, which would cause ECB to not download new cart assets.
ECB (v1.8b) - Lynx Fix, Mount Scripts & Cart Updates - OH MY!
- Script now has the "Lynx Carts Fix" built in. If you had the previous download for the standalone Lynx Carts Fix you can safely delete that script and it's zip files from the root of your SD card.
- Additions were made to the folder mounting & "back home" scripts for a new "super" neat use
- Two new scripts have been added (Cart Updates ON / Cart Updates OFF) which give you the ability to block an Evercade from applying patches to your ECB carts. To use them, simply double-click on the one you want and it will enable or disable cart updating accordingly. Note that by default all ECB carts are updatable. If for any reason you add more carts later or re-add an existing cart, all freshly added carts start out as updatable, just like a real Evercade cartridge would be. If you want to keep updates off, just remember to re-run the "updates off" script after adding or re-adding carts to ECB.
ECB (v1.7b) - Our Saviour is ON FLAME!
- Script now supports "native game" carts that cannot be altered to run properly on FAT32. Full Void is the current target. Should future carts require this, their backup name from X-Tra need only be added a cloud-updated list so this script will process them accordingly.
ECB (v1.6b) - Asking Questions & Time Is Money
- Script now asks for you to (E)nable or (D)isable the "Delete Cartridge" code in the cart launching scripts. Not providing an answer within 15 seconds continues the execution with the deletion code enabled like the previous version.
- Script can now skip comparing online assets to save time if the master list version number hasn't changed (master list now contains a version number).
- Script now detects if Full Void was added to the collection and asks at the end of execution if you want to replace the "Standard Edition" art with the "Special Edition" version. This will only be asked when the cart is first added or anytime it gets updated from a newer X-Tra backup.
ECB (v1.5b) - FIRST PUBLIC RELEASE - What year are we in?
- Script now decides if it should use ESC Characters for colored output or not based on a check if running on Win10/Win11 (enabled) or older (disabled).
ECB (v1.4b) - Tidying ups the mess & loose ends...
- Added per cart message if extracting a backup was successful or failed.
- ANSI Color coded output on Win10 or higher.
- Updated warning message displayed when using console hotkey to delete a cart.
- Fixed issue that left some assets on SD card if cart was deleted via console hotkey.
ECB (v1.3b) - Burn the evidence!
- Added hotkey to delete a cart by holding "R".
ECB (v1.2b) - Blame doesn't fix bugs...
- Fixed crash issues with ALWA special script change - ALWAx.zip updated.
- Added missing Hanheld/Hanheld TV-Out artwork for new HOME icon.
ECB (v1.1b) - It's not that we have little time, but more that we waste a good deal of it.
- Added timestamp function to prevent GDrive being hit more than once every 2hrs.
ECB (v1.0b) - To the Interwebs - AND BEYOND!
- Added wget functionality to pull Asset DL URLs "master_list" from GDrive using an "Updates" file.
- All wget actions will overwrite assets with older timestamps than the current GDrive version.
- Added Support file functionality to the script as well as the files themselves to GDrive.
ECB (v0.5b)
- First Windows release. Can add carts, update carts based on MD5 change, add assets if present and load dummy assets if not. Leaves *.tmp file to designate assets need updating once available and *.tmp file removal once proper assets have been added.
ECB (v0.1b) - Silly Evercade, these tricks are for Windows PCs.
- Failed attempt at an "on-console" Evercade VS version. Extraction issues.
Last edited by esmith13,
