DS Firmware Dilemma

[miner2049er]

So, I have my DS and I have a Ralink compatible PCMCIA wireless card.

Do I really want to update my firmware?

Sure it would allow me to play scumm on my touch screen and that's cool, but I have scumm on my phone anyway.

Are the homebrew apps really that good anyway?

Would I have to use wifi me every time or once I do it once can I put scumm on my Flash Cart and run it from there?

I would appreciate any help.

[Shane R. Monroe]

The major benefit to firmware upgrades is losing the Health and Warning Screen. If you have no REAL desire to run homebrew (aka codename piracy) then really, there isn't any reason to.

Once you flash the firmware, you can run SCUMM directly from the flashcart with no pass/wifime. If you're serious about this sort of thing, don't waste your time - get a Supercard SD. Just can't beat it.

[miner2049er]

Probably best to leave my firmware all in all.

The Supercard DS?

I'd never heard of this particular device before. It looks quite impressive but on reading a little it seems to offer no obvious benefit over my EZFA Cart other than it's scalable storage via SD Cards.

The info also seems a little flaky over whether it will utilise DS Games in the future. Maybe I'll wait a little before I shell out my dough on it.

Do you have one Shane? Or anyone else?

Just out of curiosity, what size does a DS game come in at? Would one run from my 256M EZFA for example?

[yuckymucky]

I have been looking at them but I don't think that they are going to do what I was looking for. I think that I will just stick to the GP2X for emulation.

Just go buy the DS game and then you won't have to worry about if it will fit :-)

[Shane R. Monroe]

This is getting into 'touchy' topics I usually don't like to discuss, but I believe that these devices do have LEGITIMATE uses, so I'll elaborate .. but I'll have to shut the thread if it gets out of hand. Please, don't let this escalate to a piracy thread. I own 45+ NDS games. To be able to play them off a device like this beats the hell out of carting around 45 cards (even small ones like the DS). So ... I'm not endorsing piracy here. However, this product may or may not be legal in your country.

The Supercard is basically a Flashcart that takes SD cards for its storage. There are NUMEROUS reasons this is VASTLY superior to GBA flashcarts:

1) Removable media. You can have as many SD cards as you want - just change them out anytime.

2) Storage is almost exponentially cheaper and larger. For example, your 256Mbit cart holds 32Mbytes (256/8) of data. There are 64MB DS games - so, no, not every game would fit. There are also weird memory limits on flashcarts with regards to DS games. This causes problems. Just to give you some idea, on my SuperCard (with 512MB SD card) I have 16 DS games and 19 GBA games (every GBA game I own, actually). A Supercard with a GIGABYTE (not gigabit) SD card is just over $100. That will buy you, what? A 256Mbit flashcart?

3) Most flashcarts will only hold a SINGLE game. Recently, many flashcart companies are working on multi-rom loaders, but they are still experimental.

4) Flashcarts require some special interface (normally half in Japanese, creepy drivers,e tc) - SD cards you simply plug in a high speed USB2.0 reader into your PC and you are set. You can add and remove arbitrarily (i.e. you don't have to use sequential memory like the older flashcarts). If you've ever had the displeasure of using one of these interfaces, being able to use Directory Opus to hit the card and move things around - priceless.

The list kinda goes on and on ... but that's the highlights. Before the Supercard, I've had to resort to carrying a MAN PURSE around to hold my games when I went out. Now, its DS+SC in pocket, and I've got a great collection with me anytime.

Again, you have to let your own conscience be your guide. I use the Supercard legitimately. But, like any other device like this, you can use it for evil.

Personally, I have THOUSANDS invested in the DS (we have 3 of them at home, with over 45 games at around $30 a hit). I have NO desire to watch the DS fall to piracy. All the same, I'm friggin' TICKLED to have this product.

[miner2049er]

I understand what you are saying, and believe it or not I too use my flash cart legitimately.

I own just about every gba game featuring Mario, but the way my kids leave them down the side of the couch or gathering dust in a corner I can never find them.

I used to play a game to death when I bought it before I even told the kids I had it. Now I just grab the ROM off the cart and let the kids play the original. We can link them that way too.

Like yourself, I like to travel light where my tech stuff is concerned that's why my phone plays movies, music and games as oppose to separate phones and PSP for example. My DS and my phone will do fine, oh and my MP3 player on a long haul.

Having said that I still wouldn't have owned up to possessing a MAN PURSE! Or was that just a convenient way of saying you love your fanny pack?

Anyway, no piracy here for me, and if the device is as good as you say with regard to DS game support then it could be one for the future.

[lion2]

I just wish someone releases a firmware that allows me to remap the DS buttons in GBA mode.

[miner2049er]

I just wish someone releases a firmware that allows me to remap the DS buttons in GBA mode.

I know what you mean.

I keep hitting X instead of B.

[SafeCracker]

Wow... The supercard sounds nice. Beats having my daughter carrying all her DS games with (She usually ends up dropping them in the seat of the van...)

Question - There seems to be 2 different versions. An SD and CF. I know they use 2 different memory cards. Is there any difference between the 2 besides the memory cards? How far (or does it) does the supercard stick out of the DS/GBA? Would it be less than the WarioWare Twisted?

[Shane R. Monroe]

It hangs out LESS than the Twisted card.

The SD version is apparently a bit faster that the CF card. If you frequent the Supercard forum, you'll find more people talking about problems with the CF version. I don't know if its just dumb users or what.