Homebrew Moonshell plugins? What is MAIO?

[KOman]

So, I'm trying to find moonshell plugins for a bunch of emulators and noticed that some posts mention MAIO as having several of these? What exactly is MAIO? Also, I noticed there is a moonshell plugin for jenesis that opens .gen files. However, some of my genesis roms end in the extension .smd or .bin; how can I make it so that these files open with jenesis?

 

[CannonFoddr]

Well I hope I can help - I'm the one who made 'MAIO'

MAIO is a package I made up that consists of Moonshell and AKAIO (an acekard alternative firmware), setup in such a way that the Acekard will boot straight into Moonshell instead of booting AKAIO first

It has also been set up to allow you to select and run Commecrical ROMS through Moonshell and I have added files to the package that will also allow you to start up & run emulators (but please note that the 'emulators' still require you to reselect the game roms again to play - the emulators will not auto load them)

In other words - Moonshell is used as an 'All-in-One' file selector for all the possible type of files (Hence MAIO = Moonshell All in One)

If you don't use an Acekard - you can still download MAIO, Extract it & then copy the files in the '/mooshl2/extlink/' folder ,EXCEPT any that has '.inilink.nds' in the title (these are required for Acekard usage), into the same folder of moonshell on your flashcard
EDIT: Just for you I've uploaded a 'package' that contains all the 'plugins' that I've used in MAIO. Find it here Just extract the files & copy into '/moonshel2/extlink/' folder (you still need to do what I've mentioned below if you want to try the 'smd' and 'bin' files)

As for the .smd or .bin files - I don't know if the emulator will work with them (I've never came across those file types before) - but you could try the following

> Copy the 'gen.jEnesis.nds' found in the moonshl2/extlink/ folder somewhere else on your PC
> Rename it to 'smd.jEnesis.nds'
> Copy it back into the '/moonshl2/extlink/' folder
> Repeat above but this time rename it to 'bin.jEnesis.nds'

Start up Moonshell & hopefully you should now see 'smd' and 'bin' files showing up in Moonshell
Select one & (hopefully) jEnesis should now start up - now browse & reselect the file again & fingers crossed the game will run

If not then jEnesis is not compatible for that file type, and how you would go about converting them I wouldn't know

 

[Xenon++]

If you don't use an Acekard - you can still download MAIO, Extract it & then copy the files in the '/mooshl2/extlink/' folder ,EXCEPT any that has '.inilink.nds' in the title (these are required for Acekard usage), into the same folder of moonshell on your flashcard

Are you kidding? nds.inilink.nds works for R4DS/TTIO/DEMO/SCDS/RPGS(/_R4i)/M3DS(Well you should definitely use nds.m3loader.nds for M3).

 

[CannonFoddr]

If you don't use an Acekard - you can still download MAIO, Extract it & then copy the files in the '/mooshl2/extlink/' folder ,EXCEPT any that has '.inilink.nds' in the title (these are required for Acekard usage), into the same folder of moonshell on your flashcard

Are you kidding? nds.inilink.nds works for R4DS/TTIO/DEMO/SCDS/RPGS(/_R4i)/M3DS(Well you should definitely use nds.m3loader.nds for M3).

opps sorry - yes you're right (I just worded it wrong) but I don't know what'll happen if he copied over ALL the files in Extlink over, 'cos if he does he'll end up with 2 files starting with '_hn' and '_vh'.

'_hn.hugeNDSLoader.nds' and '_hn.inilink.nds'
'_vh.VeryHugeNDSloader.nds' and '_vh.inilink.nds'

I told him not to copy those over just in case there IS a problem. Do youhappen to know what'll happen ???

 

[Xenon++]

Well possibly all NDSes are loaded via inilink. That's all...
#But note that inilink isn't compatible with M3 if used for homebrew.

>'_hn.hugeNDSLoader.nds' and '_hn.inilink.nds'
>'_vh.VeryHugeNDSloader.nds' and '_vh.inilink.nds'
The silly thing will load the _hn/_vh which is copied to SD firstly.

 

[signz]

Huh, first AKshell, now MAIO? Why are you all so obsessed of Moonshell?
Imo it's useless (ok, you can watch Videos with it :yaysmallscreens: oO), but that's all it could be used to...

 

[CannonFoddr]

The silly thing will load the _hn/_vh which is copied to SD firstly.Ah so that's what happens then
QUOTE(SignZ @ May 23 2010, 08:02 PM) Huh, first AKshell, now MAIO? Why are you all so obsessed of Moonshell?
Imo it's useless (ok, you can watch Videos with it :yaysmallscreens: oO), but that's all it could be used to...

Do I sense some1 doesn't like moonshell ?? - I wonder why (Possibly a PSP owner

)

How is it 'useless' ?? You've got a very restricted view of it saying it can ONLY watch videos

Moonshell can
> View videos
> Play Mp3
> Display Pictures
> Allow to read Text files
> Has 'plugin' capabilities
> Can run Emulators & Homebrew
> It's Multi-Platform (i.e can be used on virtually any Flashcard)
And (with a little modification) can also run Commercial ROMS using the flashcard own offical firmware

So - How is it 'useless' again ????

 

[signz]

Nah, unfortunately I got no PSP.
Ok, Videos > Nice I gotta admit
MP3 > Lick's Media Player
Pictures > No need
Text > AKAIO
Plugins > -
Emulators & Homebrew > Err, AKAIO
ROMs > obviously AKAIO as well

I don't "hate" Moonshell, it's nice but I never really needed it.

 

[SifJar]

The silly thing will load the _hn/_vh which is copied to SD firstly.Ah so that's what happens then
QUOTE(SignZ @ May 23 2010, 08:02 PM) Huh, first AKshell, now MAIO? Why are you all so obsessed of Moonshell?
Imo it's useless (ok, you can watch Videos with it :yaysmallscreens: oO), but that's all it could be used to...

Do I sense some1 doesn't like moonshell ?? - I wonder why (Possibly a PSP owner

)

How is it 'useless' ?? You've got a very restricted view of it saying it can ONLY watch videos

Moonshell can
> View videos
> Play Mp3
> Display Pictures
> Allow to read Text files
> Has 'plugin' capabilities
> Can run Emulators & Homebrew
> It's Multi-Platform (i.e can be used on virtually any Flashcard)
And (with a little modification) can also run Commercial ROMS using the flashcard own offical firmware

So - How is it 'useless' again ????

Sadly some exceptions...Max Media Dock being one

I can run v1.71, but v2 is nicer... Ah well, I don't use my DS for media anyway.

 

[dnniwa485]

^Max Media supports Moonshell 2, as long as you DLDI patch it. See AutoDLDI application for patching the nds rom of moonshell 2

@SinZ

what a troll maker. youre just being off topic dude. If you really dont have interested in Moonshell 2 , you can just GTFO and play with your current system.

 

[jurassicplayer]

Back to the initial topic, renaming to smd.jenesis.nds also works (I have two .smd files that work). Hell, to make it all even better, check the roms to see if they all work with Jenesis when they are all renamed to the same extension. Hopefully, if Jenesis works the same way that ysmenu does (shove whatever filetype in as long as the data is still the same, it will do what it's supposed to) and that would reduce the amount of duplicate dummy files.


On the thing about why moonshell2 is so awesome, its mostly because it is a multi-purpose homebrew that is more home as a firmware than say the R4 firmware, Touchpod, DSTT, DSKiosk (I never seem to be able to resist a jab at this xD, though I do see it as a legitimate firmware replacement), and various other original and alternate firmwares (its IMO of course, though DSCovered looks pretty cool, I liked Dsision2 better). The only pluses it has over AKAIO is if you like the GUI, don't usually use AKAIO's nice functions (cut/copy/paste/delete), and don't want to swap to a multimedia homebrew just to listen to a song or watch a video (it might not be as awesome as watching a video on a HDTV or anything, but its a hell of a lot better than what Apple was imagining with the iPod nano xD).

As for the main reason why I like moonshell2, its for the multi-purpose ability (if we could get more extlink developers, we wouldn't need to load up other homebrew and then load what we want, we could just load what we want right off the bat) and the fact that it is all eyecandy (AKAIO's is pretty dam awesome too, but somehow I get the feeling that it is just a little bit restrictive on the fact that it can't use transparencies TT-TT).

-edit-
I wouldn't say he is a troll exactly. Everyone has their own opinion on what homebrew stuff fits them best.

 

[KOman]

Well I hope I can help - I'm the one who made 'MAIO'

MAIO is a package I made up that consists of Moonshell and AKAIO (an acekard alternative firmware), setup in such a way that the Acekard will boot straight into Moonshell instead of booting AKAIO first

It has also been set up to allow you to select and run Commecrical ROMS through Moonshell and I have added files to the package that will also allow you to start up & run emulators (but please note that the 'emulators' still require you to reselect the game roms again to play - the emulators will not auto load them)

In other words - Moonshell is used as an 'All-in-One' file selector for all the possible type of files (Hence MAIO = Moonshell All in One)

If you don't use an Acekard - you can still download MAIO, Extract it & then copy the files in the '/mooshl2/extlink/' folder ,EXCEPT any that has '.inilink.nds' in the title (these are required for Acekard usage), into the same folder of moonshell on your flashcard
EDIT: Just for you I've uploaded a 'package' that contains all the 'plugins' that I've used in MAIO. Find it here Just extract the files & copy into '/moonshel2/extlink/' folder (you still need to do what I've mentioned below if you want to try the 'smd' and 'bin' files)

As for the .smd or .bin files - I don't know if the emulator will work with them (I've never came across those file types before) - but you could try the following

> Copy the 'gen.jEnesis.nds' found in the moonshl2/extlink/ folder somewhere else on your PC
> Rename it to 'smd.jEnesis.nds'
> Copy it back into the '/moonshl2/extlink/' folder
> Repeat above but this time rename it to 'bin.jEnesis.nds'

Start up Moonshell & hopefully you should now see 'smd' and 'bin' files showing up in Moonshell
Select one & (hopefully) jEnesis should now start up - now browse & reselect the file again & fingers crossed the game will run

If not then jEnesis is not compatible for that file type, and how you would go about converting them I wouldn't know

Thanks!

So, just to be clear; any homebrew that opens a certain file extension can be converted to a moonshell plugin by adding the extension and "." before the file name and dragging it into the extlink folder?

 

[jurassicplayer]

So, just to be clear; any homebrew that opens a certain file extension can be converted to a moonshell plugin by adding the extension and "." before the file name and dragging it into the extlink folder?

It supports 2-3 (maybe even 1?) character extensions (so no comicbookds...unless someone wants to make a custom extlink and ask for the source code...because then we can just have the extlink read some random extension and have comicbookds open it...Then again, I have no idea if the creator is still contactable xD)

 

[twiztidsinz]

Nah, unfortunately I got no PSP.
Ok, Videos > Nice I gotta admit
MP3 > Lick's Media Player
Pictures > No need
Text > AKAIO
Plugins > -
Emulators & Homebrew > Err, AKAIO
ROMs > obviously AKAIO as well

I don't "hate" Moonshell, it's nice but I never really needed it.Or...
Video > Moonshell 2
MP3 > Moonshell 2
Pictures > Moonshell 2
Text > Moonshell 2
Emulators & Homebrew > Moonshell 2
ROMs > AKAIO loader for Moonshell 2


But hey...
If you want to use multiple apps in place of one app which does all of the above very well, that's fine... While you're loading/power cycling your DS to switch between apps, everyone else will be enjoying their media.


QUOTE(KOman @ May 23 2010, 08:59 PM) So, just to be clear; any homebrew that opens a certain file extension can be converted to a moonshell plugin by adding the extension and "." before the file name and dragging it into the extlink folder?

Yes and no...

If you take, for example, jEnesisDS.nds and rename it to "gen.jEnesisDS.nds" and put it into the extlink folder, you will be able to 'run' a .gen game and load jEnesisDS.
However, that's not the way that extlink is meant to work. The extlink is intended to autoload that specific file automatically. The proper way is to have a modified version of the app (for example, NesDS for MS2 from here) which, after selecting the .NES file, will automatically load that game, bypassing the file selection screen.

In short, Yes it will work... but not properly/as intended.

 

[jurassicplayer]

Oh yeah, while on the topic of emulators...
CannonFoddr, the snemulds's configuration file is supposed to be placed in the root of the card, not the extlink folder unless you hexed it...Also for some reason the snemulds extlink included with MAIO doesn't seem to want to work correctly for me (I'm pretty sure it used to...but I don't remember which version I had so I might have had the older version).

I like how Twiztidsinz has his flashcart layout. It sounds almost exactly like mine xD.

 

[CannonFoddr]

So, just to be clear; any homebrew that opens a certain file extension can be converted to a moonshell plugin by adding the extension and "." before the file name and dragging it into the extlink folder?It supports 2-3 (maybe even 1?) character extensions (so no comicbookds...unless someone wants to make a custom extlink and ask for the source code...because then we can just have the extlink read some random extension and have comicbookds open it...Then again, I have no idea if the creator is still contactable xD)Funny you should say that... yes the creator is still contactable, I managed it a while back asking about developing a moonshell plugin... however the reply I got was that he has no further plans of developing it anymore.....

IIRC he didn't say anything about giving out the source code however

QUOTE

Oh yeah, while on the topic of emulators...
CannonFoddr, the snemulds's configuration file is supposed to be placed in the root of the card, not the extlink folder unless you hexed it...Also for some reason the snemulds extlink included with MAIO doesn't seem to want to work correctly for me (I'm pretty sure it used to...but I don't remember which version I had so I might have had the older version).

Hmm - OK I'll look into that - I haven't HEXed any plugins & yet I have the ini in the Extlink folder (not sure if I ALSO have a copy in the root though) - it could be I've accidentally 'mixed' the snemulds plugins up (IIRC - MAIO 3.00 has one version and MAIO V1.01 has another)

 

[twiztidsinz]

Oh yeah, while on the topic of emulators...
CannonFoddr, the snemulds's configuration file is supposed to be placed in the root of the card, not the extlink folder unless you hexed it...Also for some reason the snemulds extlink included with MAIO doesn't seem to want to work correctly for me (I'm pretty sure it used to...but I don't remember which version I had so I might have had the older version).

I like how Twiztidsinz has his flashcart layout. It sounds almost exactly like mine xD.

SNEmulDS v0.5 has extlink.
SNEmulDS v0.6 source was not released so there is no extlink version.

You can check the SVN, but I'm pretty sure people already have.
If it DOES have v0.6 WIP2 (and NOT the Alpha -- apparently v0.6a had some problems), I'd love to get an extlink'd version.

 

[jurassicplayer]

Meh, I couldn't get the snemulds extlink to work correctly (only tried Ben_j's v0.5 on my AK and I was to lazy to check everything, so I just attempted to run one or two roms and that was it...I actually can't remember if ben_j's extlink needed the config file to run) so instead I reverted to the renaming v0.6 xD (I actually did HEX edit this to put the config in my data folder again =D). Surprisingly enough, the config file has the directory for where the SNES roms are and you can choose where it looks for them (I never knew).

I wonder what would be better to ask for first, someone that can code an extlink so that they can use the source to code it, or ComicbookDS's creator to see if we can even have the source code in the first place (you sense the push for an extlink right xD).

 

[SifJar]

^Max Media supports Moonshell 2, as long as you DLDI patch it. See AutoDLDI application for patching the nds rom of moonshell 2

Really? Last time I tried (around beta 7 IIRC), it didn't work on MMD, even if you patched it. Have you actually tried it, or are you just assuming that because the patch is there, it will work?

 

[twiztidsinz]

I wonder what would be better to ask for first, someone that can code an extlink so that they can use the source to code it, or ComicbookDS's creator to see if we can even have the source code in the first place (you sense the push for an extlink right xD).Given that the project hasn't been updated since 2007-09-09, I don't think anyone will answer.
Also you don't really need to code extlink from what I know, you can just drop the code in place of where it opens files. I'm sure tweaking/alteration will be needed, but it kind of sounded like 'if you know where to put the code, you should know how to to it' when I asked how hard it would be a while back.

QUOTE(dnniwa485 @ May 23 2010, 11:21 PM) ^Max Media supports Moonshell 2, as long as you DLDI patch it. See AutoDLDI application for patching the nds rom of moonshell 2

Really? Last time I tried (around beta 7 IIRC), it didn't work on MMD, even if you patched it. Have you actually tried it, or are you just assuming that because the patch is there, it will work?

People who say things like this really annoy me.
You'd get your answer much faster if you just TRY IT YOURSELF!

If you try it, and it doesn't work, come back and say "Hey I tried it, but it didn't work... are you sure it should work?"