Hacking Unofficial EZ Flash Omega kernel by veikkos

[veikkos]

Current release is k1.06_fw7-veikkos5. Kernel is based on latest official kernel k1.06_fw7.

In addition to original theme, starting from version 5 kernel is also available with fancy red theme. Thanks to @Nona_Elexis for the graphics!

Release notes:

• Updated to Goomba GB/CGB emulator version 2019-05-04
  • Applied source patch to Goomba to make it Omega compatible
  • Removed binary patching by kernel which is no longer needed
• Goomba changes (issue link) (patch link)
  • No SGB borders by default
    • New "Prefer GBC over GB" default mode instead of "Prefer GBC over SGB"
  • Original GB games use black and white "Grayscale" palette instead of colorized "Wario Blast"
• Quick start
  • Keep L pressed when booting to start last game in NOR
  • Keep L+A pressed when booting to start last played SD-card game
• Start emulated games directly without single-item game menu (link)
• Automated backup of game saves
  • Save file is backed up automatically when starting a game
  • Backups are stored in /SAVER-BACKUP directory
  • 5 last save files are stored
    • .sav0 is most recent, .sav4 is oldest
  • Restore is manual process
    • Copy /SAVER-BACKUP directory to a computer to avoid overwriting your backups
    • Copy selected backup file to /SAVER folder, remove number from the end
  • Progress status localized in EN and ZH

You can always find latest release from https://github.com/veikkos/omega-kernel/releases/ which also leads you to the source code.

 

[Shadow#1]

Current release is k1.06_fw7-veikkos2. Kernel is based on latest official kernel k1.06_fw7.

Release notes:

• Updated to Goomba GB/CGB emulator version 2019-05-04
  • Applied source patch to Goomba to make it Omega compatible
  • Removed binary patching by kernel which is no longer needed
• Quick start
  • Keep L pressed when booting to start last game in NOR
  • Keep L+A pressed when booting to start last played SD-card game

You can always find latest relase from https://github.com/veikkos/omega-kernel/releases/ which also leads you to the source code.

Better custom fw is here

https://gbatemp.net/index.php?posts/8942936

 

[Sterophonick]

Better custom fw is here

https://gbatemp.net/index.php?posts/8942936

Hey now, be nice!

 

[Shadow#1]

Hey now, be nice!

I'm being honest officer

 

[veikkos]

Version 3 released. It contains automated backup of game saves. See first post!

 

[Localhorst86]

Version 3 released. It contains automated backup of game saves. See first post!

Now that's interesting.

 

[Clydefrosch]

but does it still cut battery time in half?

 

[veikkos]

but does it still cut battery time in half?

Power consumption is not affected by the changes, i.e. it is same than what it is with official kernel.

 

[clemvangelis]

Hi GBthusiast, I worked on a similar feature two days ago on original firmware with timestamping using rtc for backup names
Glad you did it !

 

[Sterophonick]

*sweats profusely*

 

[Localhorst86]

Does that actually fight the issue, though?
I assumed (for the lack of actually running into this issue) a failed write from the FPGA would cause corruption to the actual FAT and therefore basically affect the entire SD card and not just the SAVER folder. Was my assumption wrong?

 

[veikkos]

Does that actually fight the issue, though?
I assumed (for the lack of actually running into this issue) a failed write from the FPGA would cause corruption to the actual FAT and therefore basically affect the entire SD card and not just the SAVER folder. Was my assumption wrong?

Yes, this kind of backup can only help to certain extent but it should increase the odds of a recovery.

In case of a catastrophic FAT corruption not much can be done. But even in a case of a partial fielsystem corruption there is a higher chance that e.g. chkdsk can recover some of the backups.

In less serious corruptions where either the save file or save folder are corrupted, this fix should help. It also helps in cases where e.g. kids delete your saves.

I think it's worth the shot. I hope the FPGA side is improved one day, but for now we'll do what we can on the kernel side.

 

[Deleted User]

Thanks a lot for this improvement.

 

[XpertXP1]

Is there a different firmware that be used for a SuperCard SD?

 

[Localhorst86]

Is there a different firmware that be used for a SuperCard SD?

No. The ezflash omega kernel is open source, that's why people can improve on it easily. The supercard SD is fully closed, so people would need to reverse engineer the firmware to make any improvements, but the biggest issue holding the supercard back is crappy hardware.

 

[SLKun]

@GBthusiast Chinese Translation Here.

ROTATING BACKUPS = "备份历史存档"
SAVING BACKUP = "备份当前存档"
BACKUP DONE = "备份完成"

 

[veikkos]

@GBthusiast Chinese Translation Here.

ROTATING BACKUPS = "备份历史存档"
SAVING BACKUP = "备份当前存档"
BACKUP DONE = "备份完成"

Thank you! I'll add these soon.

 

[SLKun]

Thank you! I'll add these soon.

In order to display Chinese characters correctly, you need to edit the source file with GB2312/GBK/GB18030 encoding.

 

[veikkos]

In order to display Chinese characters correctly, you need to edit the source file with GB2312/GBK/GB18030 encoding.

Yea, thanks for the tip. My regular editor didn't show the file correctly but with Notepad++ all worked automatically. I tested it on the device and for me it looked right. Fix has been integrated to mainline and I'll make a binary release at some point. Thanks again.

 

[veikkos]

Version 4 released. Only difference to previous version is added missing Chinese translations.