Hacking M3 Simply arrived!

[4saken]

Can anyone verify that skinning works on firmware 1.00?

 

[spotanjo3]

I am curious..if you drag and drop 64mbit nds files in Kingston 1GB microSD then how many nds files will it be ?

 

[leetdude_007]

Please refer back to POST 72 of this THREAD

Can anyone verify that skinning works on firmware 1.00?

I'm not sure what you mean by skinning. Moonshell skinning works, but that sounds too easy.

I am curious..if you drag and drop 64mbit nds files in Kingston 1GB microSD then how many nds files will it be ?

My Kingston 1GB is reported to be 982 MB, which is reasonable. 64 Mb is 8MB, correct?... so you should be able to get about 120 games... but wait! There's an *issue* with the M3 simply. All save files are half a megabyte; 512KB. so you actually get about 100 games, give or take.

 

[shaffaaf27]

the games ate MB not bit so if you see a rom of 64, then itll me MB not Mb

 

[SeanoRLY?]

I have a question about saving on a M3 Simply...

Are you able to save 'ingame' like the game saves itself and you dont have to do a combination of buttons or something.

And if it saves 1 save file, how do you load the save file? Do you just select the game, then load the save file? Or select the save file first?

Also, can you have more than 1 save file for a single game?

 

[manomanx2]

I too have another question about saving. Please read carefully to comprehend my question and tell me if it's unclear.

In games like New Super Mario Bros, where it's possible to have up to THREE different save files for the storyline and a save file for the minigames, how does the saving work? Does the save file hold information about the entire game, including those three storyline saves and the minigame saves?

 

[H8TR]

I too have another question about saving. Please read carefully to comprehend my question and tell me if it's unclear.

In games like New Super Mario Bros, where it's possible to have up to THREE different save files for the storyline and a save file for the minigames, how does the saving work? Does the save file hold information about the entire game, including those three storyline saves and the minigame saves?

One physical .sav (save file), will hold your three in game save files in the case of New Super Mario Bros. But for a game like Pokémon Pearl, one physical .sav will only hold your one in game save file. To have multiple save files for a game like Pokémon, one must have one .sav file that matches the name for the rom and another that dosen't. Then to use the other .sav file, you would have to rename it to match the name of the rom and the other would have to have its name changed.

 

[4saken]

Can anyone verify that skinning works on firmware 1.00?

I'm not sure what you mean by skinning. Moonshell skinning works, but that sounds too easy.

By skinning, I mean being able to change the look of the main GUI (the 3 buttons) and the Games menu. For more info, read the R4 threads about skins. It's done by placing a number of image files of the correct size into the system folder

 

[manomanx2]

Ahh that makes sense, thanks H8TR. Sounds clean and nifty.

 

[leetdude_007]

By skinning, I mean being able to change the look of the main GUI (the 3 buttons) and the Games menu. For more info, read the R4 threads about skins. It's done by placing a number of image files of the correct size into the system folder

Hey there! I went through the R4 post and figured out how this works.

The software that runs the R4 and M3S menus is found solely in .dat folder in the root directory. I'm guessing the .dat file is a binary that is compiled and released to the masses. The most current R4 DAT file is version 1.05, but it is only in Chinese at the moment. Changes that we are interested in include the ability for custom skins, where the skin is located in the _system_ folder. The DAT file was changed to load fixed images from the _system_ folder.

So it boils down to this: M3 has to change commands in their DAT file before we can get custom skins. Also included in that file is a function that somehow checks for 'correct' hardware. I believe somebody from China figured how to circumvent this 'function', but all I can do is imagine how that happens!

So just wait for M3 to release their updates to their DAT file, I am sure they will... they've updated their software very well before!

 

[Mystic-Homer]

One physical .sav (save file), will hold your three in game save files in the case of New Super Mario Bros. But for a game like Pokémon Pearl, one physical .sav will only hold your one in game save file. To have multiple save files for a game like Pokémon, one must have one .sav file that matches the name for the rom and another that dosen't. Then to use the other .sav file, you would have to rename it to match the name of the rom and the other would have to have its name changed.

Or if you have room on your microSD, just put two instances of the same rom and .sav file on there, just with different names.

This way, save files can also stack... So if a game already supports 3 save files, if you have 2, you can have 6 save files... If you have 3, you can have 9, etc.

 

[leetdude_007]

Or if you have room on your microSD, just put two instances of the same rom and .sav file on there, just with different names.

This way, save files can also stack... So if a game already supports 3 save files, if you have 2, you can have 6 save files... If you have 3, you can have 9, etc.

I don't like this system because we are tied to our card readers and computers. I hope the M3 team changes their software to include the ability to choose a list of SAV files before starting up a game.. therefore we won't have to be so dependent on the computer for multiple SAV files.

Of course, I hope they fix their issue with 512KB SAV files. Why do they always have to be half a megabyte??! :'(

Example:

Choose the game:
game.nds

IF there is more than one .sav file under the name of game THEN
Select:
game.00.sav
game.01.sav
game.02.sav
...
game.0n.sav

Hooray: Play the Game.

 

[False Hope]

Or if you have room on your microSD, just put two instances of the same rom and .sav file on there, just with different names.

This way, save files can also stack... So if a game already supports 3 save files, if you have 2, you can have 6 save files... If you have 3, you can have 9, etc.


I don't like this system because we are tied to our card readers and computers. I hope the M3 team changes their software to include the ability to choose a list of SAV files before starting up a game.. therefore we won't have to be so dependent on the computer for multiple SAV files.

Of course, I hope they fix their issue with 512KB SAV files. Why do they always have to be half a megabyte??! :'(

Example:

Choose the game:
game.nds

IF there is more than one .sav file under the name of game THEN
Select:
game.00.sav
game.01.sav
game.02.sav
...
game.0n.sav

Hooray: Play the Game.

Sorry, I'm not following..what exactly do you mean by this? Should I create files game.00.sav, game.01.sav, etc..

 

[manomanx2]

Nah, he's saying that he wishes that the example he gave was the way that the M3 saved, it's not the actual way it saves.

 

[False Hope]

Oh, ok

Thanks

 

[forkyfork]

I think the m3 simply save system is great. No more writing saves (which always seemed to lock up the software).

I'm VERY impressed with the m3 so far.

 

[leetdude_007]

From the M3DS Simply User Manual:
2) Place the LOADER:
Copy all the files at ‘system\english\skin-*’ on the disk to the root directory of the TF card (including _DS_MENU.DAT ; _DSMSHL.NDS ; skin-*.jpg and Shell folder); Copy the downloaded game (.nds) or the DIY-program to the TF card (Folder can be created as you need).

The software that was included did not contain any skins in the system folder. Has anyone figured out M3DS Simply's system v1.00 skinning work? I'm starting to believe that they didn't implement a skinning system, and made the so-called "instructions manual" before ever finishing their system DAT file...

Oh well, M3 is has a great track record, so I would have to say that they are going to update that soon. m3adapter.com hasn't been updated, as far as I can see. Overall, I would have to say my experience so far has been very great with the M3DS Simply!

 

[manomanx2]

M3's lack of support is seriously making me consider switching my order over to an R4. Need psychic powers to see into future of flashcart manufacturer and user support!


edit: Holy crap I just took a look at the R4 site and they have shitloads of support and FAQ. Argg...

 

[KINGOFNOOBS]

You are aware that all the R4 Support works applies to M3 Simply and vice versa correct? 1.50R4 = 1.00M3S

 

[manomanx2]

As I recall, didn't that not work out? I have yet to see some solid proof of it working. One noob says it and ten others run out to spread it to the world.