Hacking Post your questions about which flashcart to buy

[DanTheManMS]

The SCDS is the only one that lets you modify individual cheats in-game. However, others do have global enable/disable hotkeys that you can press in-game, though these modify all cheat codes at once. If the SCDS is anything like my Supercard miniSD, L+R+Start+Up brings up the cheat menu, L+R+Start+Down brings up the in-game guide, and L+R+Start+left and L+R+Start+right are for global cheat enable/disable.

The SCDS should have 100% Download Play support if you check that patching option, but if I remember correctly that option screws up cheats. If you want cheats, the best thing would be to leave the Download Play option unchecked by default and then simply check it one time if you need it.

 

[wiithepeople]

Also looking at the review of the SCDS1 the download play doesn't seem too good.

The reviews are mostly out of date for things like download play compat, since they used the first few firmwares of the flashcarts. The download play for SCDS1 is now 100% I think, with the latest FW.

 

[Taoh]

I was thinking about getting a Cyclo DS but I also want a GBA expansion and I was wondering where I could get one from the UK, and where would be the best place to get a 2GB SD card as well?

 

[naes]

Taoh if you aren't getting a microSDHC card why don't you get a cheaper flash cart, like an R4?

The best place to buy a GBA expansion is http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1894~r.76549726 but you'll need to patch the ROMs to use them on a CycloDS.


I know the best place to buy microSD cards is newegg.com in the US but I have no clue about the UK, sorry.

 

[wiithepeople]

Taoh if you aren't getting a microSDHC card why don't you get a cheaper flash cart, like an R4?

The best place to buy a GBA expansion is http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1894~r.76549726 but you'll need to patch the ROMs to use them on a CycloDS.


I know the best place to buy microSD cards is newegg.com in the US but I have no clue about the UK, sorry.

Maybe he wants the features the Cyclo has? Also, yes the link above is good for a GBA expansion (EZflash 3-in-1 which includes rumble, RAM, and GBA), but the shipping times are slow. There are some UK shops that have the 3-in-1 such as minionlinestore. Try the "where to buy flashcarts" topic for more info.

 

[naes]

Taoh if you aren't getting a microSDHC card why don't you get a cheaper flash cart, like an R4?

The best place to buy a GBA expansion is http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1894~r.76549726 but you'll need to patch the ROMs to use them on a CycloDS.


I know the best place to buy microSD cards is newegg.com in the US but I have no clue about the UK, sorry.

Maybe he wants the features the Cyclo has? Also, yes the link above is good for a GBA expansion (EZflash 3-in-1 which includes rumble, RAM, and GBA), but the shipping times are slow. There are some UK shops that have the 3-in-1 such as minionlinestore. Try the "where to buy flashcarts" topic for more info.

He never said he was interested in the features.


If you are interested in the features, get the Cyclo. If not, get an R4.

 

[wiithepeople]

^ or DSTT or M3 Real, which are pretty much the same price as R4.

 

[naes]

^ or DSTT or M3 Real, which are pretty much the same price as R4.

Yeah, the DSTT is also a good suggestion.

The Edge card is looking pretty good, so that would also be a good choice.


And as much as I love my M3 DS Real, it seems many people are having problems with it. I'd still recommend it though

 

[Ryjuu]

After re-selling my R4 flashcart for the third time i am planning to get a new flashcart from an other brand.

My personal experience with the R4 was very good, i like the interface and the features/support of the games were more then ok to me. Although the missing feature of Wii/DS connectivity was a bit disapointing, but still it was a nice flashcart to use for a reasonable price.

But now i reselled my R4 for the third time, which now give me a lot of alternatives to choose a new flashcart.

Now I did some research and got some brands in mind like the:

- DSTT
- CycloDS

My question is, should i stick with the R4 which i already have good experience with or choose one of those 2 as my new flashcart.

I was first thinking about the M3 Real, but after reading some very bad experience about it, like it could brick your DS it scared me off :/

So the DSTT and CycloDS are the only two options, or someone could give me a better alternative

A MUST:
- Simple to use
- 100% support to play games, wifi/downplay included
- Firmware updates must be up to date (So if there is a new game not fully playable, as quick as possible an update)
- Reasonable price, about €50,- iam willing to spend but if it is cheaper, the better it is

- Most important, the hardware must be made of a very good quality. Especialy defected springs in the microsd-slot is a bummer

Not certainly a must but it would be nice to have it:
- Wii connectivity
- Good support of homebrew applications
- GBA connectivity (also with GBA flashcarts like EZ-Flash 3-1)

Not specially needed:
- SDHC (i just used 1GB MicroSD and max. 2GB)

 

[wiithepeople]

Actually, R4 does have Wii-DS connectivity, for example with Geometry Wars: Galaxies. However, it doesn't support PBR. Do you want PBR?

Cyclo team have been known to have defective hardware...however, the new batch has fixed that, correct? If so, Cyclo would be good, but DSTT should also work well. But I think the Cyclo is the only one with PBR connection. The DSTT however has a spring-loaded microSD slot, so that may be an issue.

 

[arsehat]

If so, Cyclo would be good, but DSTT should also work well. But I think the Cyclo is the only one with PBR connection.

Aren't Edge claiming that too? Or are they just basing their Wii/DS connectivity claim on Geometry Wars alone?

I must say, I'm pretty impressed by how solid my DSTT feels - but I'm a little worried about how the hell I'm going to get it open if the spring ever stuffs up.

 

[wiithepeople]

Well, it's not really Geometry Wars alone, pretty much all Wii-DS connectivity games (I don't know them, so don't ask me) except PBR. Maybe Edge has it solved, after all it IS a knockoff of the Cyclo, however just a knockoff not a clone.

Just don't push the microSD too hard when you put it in, and you should be fine. There's a thread about tips for maintaining your R4 and microSD, although it's a DSTT you're talking about, both have springs so that topic should pertain to that, too.

 

[JimmyJangles]

I have a sort of related question. It's not really about which slot-1 flashcart I should get, but rather, is it worth it for me to upgrade to a slot-1 cart if my slot-2 cart is still working just fine?

I've had a SCLite for over a year now and all NDS games work great. I use it for some homebrew every now and then, and recently I've started to try out some emulators (I've tried Snemulds and want to try jenesisds) These are pretty much the only things I'll use any flashcart for.

The main thing that's really getting annoying with the SCLite is the rom patching. It seems that 50% of the time my first patching attempt on some game doesn't work right and I have to repatch it, sometimes requiring multiple tries. Not a huge deal, but still annoying. So clean rom support is a clear benefit of the slot-1 carts, but not enough by itself to warrant getting a new one. SDHC is another plus, but space isn't really an issue right now for me, so I probably wouldn't benefit from SDHC until much later.

However, based on what I would use it for, is there any other benefit I would gain from a slot-1? Is homebrew compatibility any better on them? Would the emulators run any better or faster? Are there many more things I could do by running both a slot-1 and slot-2 together?

If I were to get a slot-1 I've already narrowed it down to either a CycloDS or a Supercard DS One, since they seem to be the best quality overall and have had good support. But again, I just wonder if it's really worth it for me at this point or not.

So, anyone have any insight to any of my previous questions above? ^

Got a new one while I'm at it. Why is the SCDS1 almost never one of the recommendations? Is there anything particularly bad about it? I guess the Cyclo is better overall, but I still thought the SCDS1 was still a great cart compared to many of the rest. It's almost never mentioned anymore though.

I'm still thinking about getting either a Cyclo or a SCDS1, but now I don't know if I should still keep the SCDS as one of the options anymore.

 

[wiithepeople]

Well yeah, SCDS1 is good, don't know much about it but it does have a large community and good features. Actually, I think it's one of the most fully-featured carts, just it's not very cheap so I usually suggest the cheaper ones like DSTT for people who don't really care about features, and the Cyclo for people who do care about features because it has some features the SCDS1 doesn't, and a great support team. Both the Cyclo and SCDS1 are solid choices

edit: Actually the SCDS1 IS cheap, just found this: SCDS1 SDHC for $35. That makes it one of the top contenders

 

[HereIsTom]

So, anyone have any insight to any of my previous questions above? ^

Got a new one while I'm at it.  Why is the SCDS1 almost never one of the recommendations?  Is there anything particularly bad about it?  I guess the Cyclo is better overall, but I still thought the SCDS1 was still a great cart compared to many of the rest.  It's almost never mentioned anymore though.

I'm still thinking about getting either a Cyclo or a SCDS1, but now I don't know if I should still keep the SCDS as one of the options anymore.

I read that some of the problems of the Supercard DS One (SCDS1) is the savedatabase that you must update regularly otherwise there are problems with the savetype.
Also there many problems with the MicroSD cards, the SCDS1 does not recognise many MicroSD cards.
And then there is the price, is one of the most expensive cards.

 

[DanTheManMS]

The SCDS used to have some major things going against it, but after firmware updates it's turning into a solid card. The save database thing isn't too big a deal - if a game isn't in the database, you can just set the save to the max size (512 kb) and be done with it. Heck, the Supercard team is starting to get lazy and put nothing but 512 kb entries in the database anyway. So that's not a major issue.

MicroSD card speed is still an important issue with the SCDS, but as long as you get a card from Japan and not Taiwan you should be golden.

Other minor issues: it's a tiny bit difficult to start using it due to the number of options available and the button combos you must remember. Also, the built-in Moonshell loader is out of date, but you can launch the latest version like any other homebrew app, so this isn't a problem.

It used to be that game saves were stored in an internal capacitor until the next bootup, when they would be written to the microSD card, but these capacitors started failing massively. A firmware update fixed it so that when you run the game in patched mode, the game saves directly to the microSD card. Games run in unpatched mode still use the capacitor method. Don't confuse this with the slot-2 patcher; all patching is done directly on the DS in memory, and the roms remain unmodified when all is said and done. All slot-1 devices patch internally anyway, but the SCDS makes it more obvious to the user that it's being done. The patch mode allows you to pick and choose the specific options you want: perfect DS download play (though I heard this breaks cheats so disable it by default), cheat support, in-game guide (very useful), real-time save, multiple save files per DS game, etc.

All in all, the SCDS is one of the most feature-packed devices out there, but due to its bad history it doesn't get recommended too much. The only truly major showstopper in my opinion is the recent onslaught of faulty devices that show a PSRAM error during the self-test. The SCDS has a free 1-year warranty, but it's annoying to have to send packages back and forth to get a working unit. The posts about this at the official forums have slowed down, so perhaps it was a bad batch that has now been fixed. I'm not entirely sure.

 

[yus786]

what is the best card out atm? i just sold my R4 and want to buy the best one out with the most features.

i currently am using a m3 real but should i upgrade to a cyclods or keep this?

regards

yus786

 

[wiithepeople]

@yus: it depends, do you need the features? Please use the "code" in the first post if you want the best answer. Thx

 

[GoingDark]

Use? Games
Price Range? Cheap
Slot 1/2? Slot 1
Built in or expandable memory? MicroSDHC
GBA compatibility? YES YES YES
Special features? SDHC, and compatibility with GBA expansion pak
Any flashcarts you are looking at in particular: There are too many to choose from.

Do EDGE and SuperCard DS One work with GBA Expansion Paks? What about CycloDS? It doesn't mention that in any of the reviews on the site.

 

[ojsinnerz.]

Use? Games
Price Range? Cheap
Slot 1/2? Slot 1
Built in or expandable memory? MicroSDHC
GBA compatibility? YES YES YES
Special features? SDHC, and compatibility with GBA expansion pak
Any flashcarts you are looking at in particular: There are too many to choose from.

Do EDGE and SuperCard DS One work with GBA Expansion Paks? What about CycloDS? It doesn't mention that in any of the reviews on the site.

Well, I think the best for you is DSTT with Ewin GBA expansion combo.

DSTT is only 25 bucks at Dealextreme, although they're out of stock right now. It has SDHC option, and is one of the fastest cards out there (Game loading wise). It also has a perfect game compatibility for now.

Ewin GBA expansion is only for DS lite, but it fits perfectly, and can put a few games on it. It also has a 32MB ram, which lets you go on the web, if you have the ROM. It's 14 dollars without shipping in most places.

Or go with the M3 real Perfect pac, which can do the same thing. Not sure about how cheap it will be though.