Homebrew Single browser/loader for NDS, GBA & GBC games?

[awefour44]

Hi all--

Probably a long shot, but is there any means of browsing and loading all NDS, GBA & GBC games on an R4 card from a single menu/list (without having to navigate into subdirectories)?

Obviously the three rom types launch by different means---I'm using a DSLite, so NDS run natively, GBA run via slot-2 flash expansion, and GBC in an emulator (e.g. lameboy). So really what I'm after is some way to browse all titles at once but load each title with the appropriate software (i.e. via forwarding). Similar to how one can browse and load Wii, GCN, VC and homebrew titles all within a single loader (e.g., USB Loader GX) on the Wii.

Thanks!

 

[nitendo]

Hi all--

Probably a long shot, but is there any means of browsing and loading all NDS, GBA & GBC games on an R4 card from a single menu/list (without having to navigate into subdirectories)?

Obviously the three rom types launch by different means---I'm using a DSLite, so NDS run natively, GBA run via slot-2 flash expansion, and GBC in an emulator (e.g. lameboy). So really what I'm after is some way to browse all titles at once but load each title with the appropriate software (i.e. via forwarding). Similar to how one can browse and load Wii, GCN, VC and homebrew titles all within a single loader (e.g., USB Loader GX) on the Wii.

Thanks!

Depends on what card and firmware you are using. I beleive there is firmware/OS (Wood?) that would allow emulators to accept arguments - that is: to be able to start a rom while browsing in the firmware/OS.

So - it all comes down to:
- Does your firmware allow argument passing?
- Does your emulators accept argument passed?

Good Luck,
dACE

 

[awefour44]

Depends on what card and firmware you are using. I beleive there is firmware/OS (Wood?) that would allow emulators to accept arguments - that is: to be able to start a rom while browsing in the firmware/OS.

So - it all comes down to:
- Does your firmware allow argument passing?
- Does your emulators accept argument passed?

Good Luck,
dACE

Thanks for the reply. After some digging it looks like iMenu is the most promising approach, as it supports custom icons, which can include arguments (e.g., https://gbatemp.net/threads/imenu-step-by-step-set-up-tutorial.260979/). I'll look into this and see what can be done.

 

[DjoeN]

Thanks for the reply. After some digging it looks like iMenu is the most promising approach, as it supports custom icons, which can include arguments (e.g., https://gbatemp.net/threads/imenu-step-by-step-set-up-tutorial.260979/). I'll look into this and see what can be done.

That's a replacement menu for Slot1 Supercard DSTwo flashcard, it will not work on any other flashcard.

 

[awefour44]

Update: I've determined that YSMenu is a good means of accomplishing my OP's request. It supports NDS launching, GBA slot-2 loading, and direct booting of GBC games via goomba. It took a while to figure out, but I also managed to get YSMenu to direct boot on my shitty R4i clone, using the link in this post: https://gbatemp.net/threads/directly-boot-into-nds-file.376118/#post-5222286 and replacing the _BOOT_DS.NDS with a renamed YSMenu.nds. Quite happy with the results

 

[Adeka]

I have no clue if it's possible with a normal r4 but I know its possible on the dstwo. You can use bagplug to launch ds, gb, gbc, gba, nes, and snes games through arguments.

 

[ipwndeveloper]

You may be interested in Thismoonshell needs to be installed for pluginsupport):
Link to my MS2 Plugins directory. In the moonshell folder, dump the files in the archive into the "extlink" folder. Also, you may need to change the nds loader from moonshells version(to support more than homebrew). Bam. Your moonshell 2 install has support for many emulators, mediatypes, etc. Depending on the cart it also can load roms. In addition, some cards can autoboot into ms2. All in One solution.

If you have an R4 cartridge, The menu WoodRPG supports ARGV loading, from the main menu into SNES,GB/C, FB2, and other programs.

 

[awefour44]

Well, after a week of testing, I'm still pretty satisfied with YSMenu---again, it accomplishes my OP's request of a being able to view all games (GBC, GBA, & NDS) in a single list, and with a single button press launch any of those games. I also like how I've got YSMenu setup to autoboot on my R4i-SDHC card. So I have no intention of fooling around with Moonshell or Wood at the moment, but thanks all for the suggestions!

That being said, there are still some minor issues I'm trying to sort out with YSMenu:

(1) Pokémon Black and Black 2 load fine from YSMenu, but freeze when I try to save the game (music keeps playing). Didn't have this problem when I launched these games using my card's default/intended firmware (a modified version of TTMenu).

(2) About a dozen GBC games have graphical issues with the goomba emulator. While I love goomba, the fact that there's no way to have any of the other GB emulators directly load GBC games from YSMenu is annoying. The good news is goomba (color) is still actively being worked on, so there's hope!

 

[thelastlokean]

I'm also using YSMenu... Seems pretty simple and solid.. I didn't even realize it launched GBC. GBA, NDS, etc... Anything fancy to get it working, like installing the right emulators in the right places, plugins etc. or does it just work as is? I'm using v 7.0.1 (newest I could find) for M3, but using in on an R4i RTS.

I tried adding the above plugins into my moonshell... The SNES, GBC, etc. programs work fine, but I can not load NDS games directly from the moonshell. Well I can, but it loads a game and then modifies the ysmenu.ini file to always autoboot that game. From then on the flash card will only boot into that game, can't get back to any menu screens without modifying the ini file on a computer... I tried messing around with various things, but couldn't get it working. Any input?

 

[ipwndeveloper]

Ahh, This apparently works as a ROM launcher in MS2 and R4 Wood.

Also since you have an R4, have you looked into the Wood R4 Firmwares ARGV associations? It is extremely powerful, supports many extensions (epub,nes, snes, gbc,gba via gbaemu4ds, and a few more extensions. It is pretty cool.in the sdcard look for the directory for the flashcart os(__AIO, __RPG) Inside there will be a file called associations.ini. This only works for R4 wood based firmwares, and hasn't been implemented into AKAIO.