Hacking The Best Flashcart For Me...

[TD-Linux]

Okay, I'm on the market for a flashcart. Fortunately, there are a lot of options, but they all seem similar...

Here's what I'm looking for:
Slot-1 - I have no PassMe, nor do I want one.
Works - It has to work well... thought I would mention this in case it isn't obvious.
MicroSD support - though I don't need SDHC.
Customizable - Here's the big one. I want a card that I can fully customize. Not only the skin, but the more I can customize the menu and interface the better. Open source would be optimal, but I don't think I'm going to get that lucky. Maybe I could use a 3rd party menu if the included one is terrible? Along these lines, I'd rather use 'vanilla' versions of homebrew rather than the card manufacturer's customized versions of, say, moonshell.

The most promising ones so far look like the CycloDS Evolution and the plain old R4/M3 Simply. The M3 Real seems like garbage, from what I've read on GBAtemp and other places.

 

[golden]

Acekard RPG is open source so theoretically nothing can be any more customizable than that. You can do EVERYTHING including add features, make skins, and much more thanks to open source. The downside is that it is rather expensive although it comes with a built in SDHC slot and built in 1GB of flash memory. Only card with dual memory. If you know how to program which you sound like you do, AKRPG seems to be your best bet as the open source is great otherwise, the best card after that would be a batch 4 cyclo DS black. Not open source but great software and skinnable too.

 

[4saken]

Acekard RPG is open source if that is what you are looking for

It also seems to fit your other criteria

 

[janitormane]

EZFlash 5 is pretty much fully customizable. You just make a folder for each skin you want. The new kernel can even randomly select a skin each boot.

The iPhone skin:

Paired with the Ezflash 3in1 (ram, rumble, gba) it is one of the best cards on the market (non sdhc). I think it's a better buy than the R4.

As for CycloDS I've never used one so I can't say.

Official GBATemp Reviews: http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showforum=99

 

[sidneyyoung]

SCDS-1 has a hugely configurable interface. You can always mess with the .cfg file too, to have everything just how you like.

 

[Sinkhead]

The M3DS Real isn't junk, it's pretty good, but it's not the very best cart out there in the opinions of the reviewing team...

 

[Jaejae]

Although not cheap, the AceKard RPG would be your best bet. It is the only card with an open source loader. I love mine, and I haven't even started customising it yet.

 

[TD-Linux]

Wow! Thanks for all the input! There are a lot more cards out there than I imagined!
The AceKard RPG looks the most appealing at the moment. The built-in flash memory is nice because I don't have a microSD card to use. It also looks especially nerdy, which gives it extra points

The SCDS-1 certainly is flashy, and the EZ-Flash V looks pretty foolproof. They both have customizable skins, but otherwise they appear similar.
I'm going to be running mostly homebrew... but it might be nice to put games (that I buy - I try to be legalish) on the card too.
I'll probably also get an EZFlash 3-in-1... does it work with the AceKard RPG? Can I load GBA with it? It's OK if I have to use a homebrew app first I suppose.
A bit off topic from my original post, but is it possible with the EZFlash 3-in-1 to somehow copy the saves off an original cartridge?

Edit: Oops, forgot to mention I have a phatty. Might cause problems with the EZFlash 3-in-1. Maybe I can hack it into some other full-size shell.

 

[golden]

Wow! Thanks for all the input! There are a lot more cards out there than I imagined!
The AceKard RPG looks the most appealing at the moment. The built-in flash memory is nice because I don't have a microSD card to use. It also looks especially nerdy, which gives it extra points

The SCDS-1 certainly is flashy, and the EZ-Flash V looks pretty foolproof. They both have customizable skins, but otherwise they appear similar.
I'm going to be running mostly homebrew... but it might be nice to put games (that I buy - I try to be legalish) on the card too.
I'll probably also get an EZFlash 3-in-1... does it work with the AceKard RPG? Can I load GBA with it? It's OK if I have to use a homebrew app first I suppose.
A bit off topic from my original post, but is it possible with the EZFlash 3-in-1 to somehow copy the saves off an original cartridge?

Edit: Oops, forgot to mention I have a phatty. Might cause problems with the EZFlash 3-in-1. Maybe I can hack it into some other full-size shell.

Yes, 3in1 works with Acekard. There is even a custom firmware for it with built in 3in1 support so you don't have to run a homebrew app first. So yes, the acekard does support 3in1 and even if you ever come across anything that it doesn't support you can always modify the source so it has the extra feature you want.

I have a phat DS also, there is a 3in1 that is phat size as well for phat NDS. Get it here.

 

[go185]

I have an Acekard RPG also, with the 3in1 firmware. Launch GBA games directly from the menu, change the rumble setting directly from the menu, and I don't have to patch the browser for the 3in1!

 

[TD-Linux]

Hmm, can't seem to find anywhere besides bamboogaming that I can order this card.

Where can I find this modified firmware? It doesn't seem like anyone has tinkered with the firmware too much... would anyone be interested if I start a sourceforge project on it once I get the card? It might be an easy introduction to DS programming for me... or not.

I downloaded the source (without the build enviroment) and it seems oddly sparse - is the code just that compact, or am I missing something?

 

[gratefulbuddy]

Hmm, can't seem to find anywhere besides bamboogaming that I can order this card.

Where can I find this modified firmware? It doesn't seem like anyone has tinkered with the firmware too much... would anyone be interested if I start a sourceforge project on it once I get the card? It might be an easy introduction to DS programming for me... or not.

I downloaded the source (without the build enviroment) and it seems oddly sparse - is the code just that compact, or am I missing something?

Bamboogaming is good.

Heres the fw link: http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=69996

 

[c2ironfist]

R4/M3 Simply is your best option.

Simple easy to use
High compatibility
Cheap
Change color of fonts
Fast GUI
Skinable

This is the best card for me cuz of all those features available if not that then go for an M3 DS Real (it is not Garbage) as thats about the same price. I wouldn't pay more then 35$ for a Flashcard these days as TT and R4 get the job done for less. Quality is on par with the Cyclos as well

 

[fryfrog]

I have an EZV, EZIV and 3in1. They are decent carts, but they are far from the best. They are lagging behind in features which all the other major carts have. Finally, after months, the EZV has cheats and a very nice GUI.

I wouldn't say the EZV and 3in1 is *bad*, but for the money others are better.

I personally have ordered a pair of CycloDS Evolutions to replace my EZVs (I gave one away, I'll keep the other as a spare). No idea how it compares in person, but from reviews it looks very good. To boot, it also has 3in1 support built in for rumble/ram for browser. Writing GBA games to it still requires a 3rd party app though.

Obviously the R4DS is a good choice too, it has been around and I'd wager it is #1 in sales. To me though, if you are buying a *new* cart now... go for one that has SDHC. You probably don't care about it *now*, but in 6mo - 1yr when 4G, 6G or 8G micro-sd cards are $10-20, you might change your mind.

In any case, I think I would also throw in a 3in1 because it is pretty cheap and adds a few neat things to your DS experience. GBA games, possibly GBA / DS game pairing (not sure about non-EZV doing this), rumble and more ram. The extra ram is of course meant for the browser, but DS Linux and I believe DS Quake can take advantage of it.

I'll be pairing my CycloDS Evo with a 3in1 or EZIV (wife gets one, I get the other).

 

[Supertag]

AceKard RPG is the only open source one I know.

 

[Eyedunno]

R4/M3 Simply is your best option.

Simple easy to use
High compatibility
Cheap
Change color of fonts
Fast GUI
Skinable

This is the best card for me cuz of all those features available if not that then go for an M3 DS Real (it is not Garbage) as thats about the same price. I wouldn't pay more then 35$ for a Flashcard these days as TT and R4 get the job done for less. Quality is on par with the Cyclos as well

It's skinnable, but not all that customizable otherwise. And all of the major slot-1 cards are skinnable.