Gaming So many options...so confusing :-s

[ShadowSoldier]

Essential Single Player Games
http://gbatemp.net/t36581-essentials-nintendo-ds

Essential Multiplayer Games
http://gbatemp.net/t100084-multiplayer-ess...als-nintendo-ds

Essential DSiWare Games
http://gbatemp.net/t206581-essentials-dsiware

And no, you can't download DSiWare games off the net and put them on the flashcard. That's there if you decide to buy Nintendo Points and actually buy the games.

 

[zizer]

cheaper 30 euro it is unreal

about microsd look http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=260...45&start=45

 

[dsixl]

sorry shadowsoldier...my stupidity...say no more

zizer - the 30 euro is cheap, but it will take more than a week to receive. 360upgrades have already dispatched the items, so i should have them my sometime next week.

Anyway I might as well prepare the dsi's until then, so here are somemore questions:-

1. I want the kids to be able to browse/connect to the net, but i want to block them from certain sites, such as facebook, warez, adult. How can i go about doing this? What do i need? Also I don't want them to be able to randomly connect to other wireless connections, so how do i go about protecting them? i.e. how do i lock down the dsi, so that it can only connect to dsi consoles i have chosen?

2. Once i receive the DSTWO (I don't think they are flashed), what is the first thing i need to do to get them to work?

3. Is there a structure i need to make on the SD card or does it not matter?

4. Since i have not one, but three dsi consoles, if i get one ready, can i simply copy the content/data from one SD card to the other or do i have to individually create seperate ones?


Sorry for so many questions...

 

[Rydian]

1. I want the kids to be able to browse/connect to the net, but i want to block them from certain sites, such as facebook, warez, adult. How can i go about doing this? What do i need? Also I don't want them to be able to randomly connect to other wireless connections, so how do i go about protecting them? i.e. how do i lock down the dsi, so that it can only connect to dsi consoles i have chosen?You can set parental controls, but the only thing you can control about the internet is if they can use the web browser at all. It's either all or none. I don't know if you're aware, but there is no native content filtering system on the internet, there is nothing to automatically determine if a site is good or not. On the PC programs accomplish this through constantly-updating whitelists and blacklists that teams of humans make as they browse the internet and determine with their own human judgment what a site should be rated. That's why these programs tend to cost money, it's a service.

The DS/i is a weak system (even with the DSi's doubled clock rate it's still damn weak), it couldn't really handle that amount of control (while still having a usable browser), the lists would take up precious space, AND nintendo would have to manage or pay for some service to go around constantly updating the lists, and then would have to deal with angry parents if they don't add a bad site to the list fast enough and a kid sees it.

As for limiting connecting to Wifi at all, I'm not aware of any device that does that ever (though the DSi's parental controls do allow you to set restrictions on the use of wifi play and download play and pretty much anything that can be done with wifi on an individual basis, I'm not sure if they work on a flash cart, and I KNOW the content rating limit will not work because they say it does not work for DS titles, and the flash cart appears as a DS).

As for the other questions the setup is easy, but I don't have a DSTwo myself so I don't know the exact steps.

QUOTE(dsixl @ Dec 3 2010, 08:28 AM) 4. Since i have not one, but three dsi consoles, if i get one ready, can i simply copy the content/data from one SD card to the other or do i have to individually create seperate ones?

You can just copy the content.

 

[dsixl]

thanks very much rydian,

Whilst i awaited for a reply on this forum, i was doing some searches of my own and found the astaro site, via nintendo's own site:-

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/systems/d...ols.jsp#Topic06
http://www.astaro.com/ds-content-filter/

As for Wi-fi, I meant that for example on the laptop, i can tell windows to automatically connect to my router, but can i do the same with the DS?

 

[Rydian]

Ahh, I saw that option and thought it meant to disable the web browser completely.

The DSi will automatically connect to any already-set-up wifi hotspot in range, but it won't do an initial connection (connect to a spot it's never connected to before) on it's own, you need to tell it to do that.

 

[dsixl]

thanks rydian,

so are you trying to say that we can block websites using the Astaro servers?

i have one or two more questions:-

1. Can you recommend me some top educational games for kids (age range 7 - 12) ???
2. What are the best multiplayer games for kids?
3. Can a DS get a virus by connecting to the internet?

 

[Rydian]

Using Astaro like it says there, it appears that all the sites under these categories are automatically blocked.
http://www.astaro.com/ds-content-filter/

I have no game recommendations.

As for a virus, no.

 

[exangel]

1. Can you recommend me some top educational games for kids (age range 7 - 12) ???
2. What are the best multiplayer games for kids?

I haven't sought out educational games much, but I did come across a couple. There's a series, I believe called Spellbound, a good UK english spelling game (i got it because I confused it with an RPG of a similar name). I believe it also teaches pronounciation which can be good for longer words, but I only played it once.

The Brain Age games are really popular and your XL's probably came with DSiWare versions of two of the titles. If you like those, you should be able to find full-size versions of them but I don't play those myself, either.

There are some music-lesson type games if you want them to learn how to read sheet music but you would probably have to equip them with some headphones to keep your sanity if they don't have any starting ground in that subject (hehe)

Mario Party DS is a fun kid-friendly multiplayer (local only) game. You can probably find a lot of board-game type games with local multiplayer or DS-download multiplayer such as Scrabble. One of the first roms I ever got was for a 4-in-1 Monopoly/Boggle/Yahtzee/Battleship -- I have always loved Boggle and just play it in single player, but I did also try the multiplayer monopoly and yahtzee with my boyfriend before. The version of Monopoly could've been better but I think it's a pretty old release anyhow.

I believe there are language tutor style games, like french or spanish lesson for English-speaking people.
I think there are also some trivia games too, and I know Pictionary was released pretty recently and I tried it but it wasn't for me. XD

Sadly, the two good databases for release info that I use don't allow browsing by genre alone. GBAtemp's Release List and ADVANsCEne's release list (which isn't updated as quickly as GBAtemp's but has an additional sorting option with their search tool). With ADVANsCEne's list you can show only the releases published in English and sort by release #, or search for releases with a particular word or phrase in the title, and sort by size or region.

 

[ShadowSoldier]

I definitely recommend the Brain Age as exangel suggested. There's two versions that comes with the XL's [i don't know about the UK], but it was Brain Age Math, and Brain Age Arts or something like that. Both increase your memory and what not.

 

[dsixl]

thanks very much rydian, exangel and shadowsoldier.

@ exangel & shadowsolider - As you know, many kids nowadays are spoilt and ungrateful for the things they have...i think i want them to appreciate what they have, so i'm gonna start off mainly with educational games, then maybe i'll move onto the more fun-type games.

Today i received the three 8gb Micro SDHC cards.




Couple of issues though:-

1. I wanted to do a speedtest on the pc, but I have no SDHC card reader, so can i somehow use the DS as a card reader by connecting to the PC?? If so, how?

2. How can i tell what company its from or if its a fake?

thanks

 

[Rydian]

Can't use the DS as a card reader. Flash carts generally come with a cheap/small/simple card reader, but some store sites omit it.

Considering there's no logo on any of them and they're all class 2, I think you just bought a pile of bullshit. Not only are they likely to be really slow and have tons of problems loading games, but it's possible to make a flash card appear to have more space than it actually has, so chinese people will take 4GB cards and format them as if they were 8GB, and sell them as 8GB cards... but any data you add after the 4GB mark is lost/corrupt since it's not actually stored. I suggest testing, adding 7 gigs of random data, THEN adding a file, taking the card out, putting it back in, and seeing if you can access the file. If it's corrupt, you just got scammed.

You didn't specify where they're from, but it's pretty obvious they're from some place like ebay (or some chinese site). Don't do that. Never buy secondhand memory. Always buy your storage at normal prices from reputable shops. I mean you're going to get, what, a couple hundred games for free? At least shell out for good storage, otherwise you're just biting yourself in the ass.

People on these forums all the time buy the cheapest memory cards they can find off ebay or chinese sites and find they work like absolute shit. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, a stitch in time saves nine, blah blah blah.

 

[zizer]

thanks very much rydian, exangel and shadowsoldier.

@ exangel & shadowsolider - As you know, many kids nowadays are spoilt and ungrateful for the things they have...i think i want them to appreciate what they have, so i'm gonna start off mainly with educational games, then maybe i'll move onto the more fun-type games.

Today i received the three 8gb Micro SDHC cards.

Couple of issues though:-

1. I wanted to do a speedtest on the pc, but I have no SDHC card reader, so can i somehow use the DS as a card reader by connecting to the PC?? If so, how?

2. How can i tell what company its from or if its a fake?

thanks

it is original choice

 

[dsixl]

rydian is absolutely right...this cards are a load of bullshit

yes they are from ebay and the shit things are fake...i used a standard microsd card reader borrowed from a friend (not sure if there are two microsd card readers or one and if that makes a difference? Can someone confirm pls?) and although it can format the cards as 8gb, they only can copy no more than 4gb and take more than 30 minutes to copy the file!

i'll have to look for other cards, maybe from a legit supplier...

Now i know many of you said i may not need more than 4gb, but if i wanna put say at least 30-40 good/large games, 5 - 10 movies etc, then would that be possible or is 8gb the only i have?

If 8gb is the only option, then would an 8gb "class 4" card be fast enough or will i have to go for class 6?

 

[ShadowSoldier]

If you're using the Card Adapter, that's the speed it took to write my stuff. Then I managed to get an adapter so I can use it as a USB and now it's fast.

Get some cards from newegg.com. A lot more reliable.

As the 4gb thing.. I have no idea what that's about...

 

[Rydian]

For memory cards what actually matters is the read speed and latency (which is not indicated by class, class is write speed), so while it's possible for a class 2 card to be better for flash carts than a class 4 or a class 6, in general class 2s are made cheaply anyways so all their specs will be low.

Your best bet is to get a class 4 or 6 FROM AN ACTUAL STORE, either a BIG, UK-OWNED-AND-LOCATED online store, or some big name-brand IRL brick-and-morter-store.

I mean it's not even that much pricier to get from a real store instead of ebay.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820211351
$15 USD for a class-6 8GB from a well-known manufacturer that multiple people here recommend daily.

Anyways if you're wanting to hold movies as well as games, you'd want an 8GB.

 

[dsixl]

This is what my card reader looks like:-

It seems that the 360upgrades are including the card reader:-

Whats included:

1 x Supercard TWO Card (Slot-1)
1 x Firmware Writer
1 x USB micro SD memory card readers/writers



You guys are from america and canada, so it'd cost me a lot more to order from there, plus delivery would be slow. I think the cheapest i have found are on the 7dayshop.com, but the brand is "Transcend"...is that okay?

 

[Rydian]

I've got an 8GB class-6 from them in my acekard 2i and it's never given me trouble.

 

[Omninox]

I've got an 8GB class-6 from them in my acekard 2i and it's never given me trouble.

would you say ADATA is as good as Kingston and SanDisk? I've never heard of it before :S

 

[Rydian]

I've never used one myself, but I've seen other people here recommend them for flash carts.

As before, try to avoid class-2 cards as they tend to be made cheaply.