gbc support for ds?

[stuntpenguin007]

I know there is a pretty good gbc emulator for the ds (not open source tho), and there are one or two open source custom firmwares for the ds, so if I cut the cartridge slot on my ds a little so gbc games fit, and incorperated the emulator into the firmware, would it be possible to use actual gbc games on the ds?

btw I think the firmware is called fwnitro

[Twilight Wolf]

I may be totally off on this (and if I am, feel free to correct me, someone), but from what I've heard, the only thing preventing GB/GBC games from being played on the DS is the physical shape of the cart slot; if you altered that so that GB/GBC games fit, it should work, no firmware modification necessary.

[lifeisbetterwithketchup]

I may be totally off on this (and if I am, feel free to correct me, someone), but from what I've heard, the only thing preventing GB/GBC games from being played on the DS is the physical shape of the cart slot; if you altered that so that GB/GBC games fit, it should work, no firmware modification necessary.

You are totally off. The DS does not have the Z80 processor that the GB/C games need to run. The same is true for the Gameboy micro.

As for your idea, stuntpenguin007, I have no idea if that is possible or not.

[Twilight Wolf]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that... I guess that's what the internet does to you, haha. Thanks for the correction; I am now better educated!

[stuntpenguin007]

Yeah I read about them not including some proccesor or something that allowed it to play gbc games. I'll try work on this a little bit, but since the gbc emu isn't open source it might be tricky. I'll try get in contact with the author.

does anyone know if there is a way to run firmware on your ds just like homebrew or will I have to flash my ds every time I make a change?

[XCVG]

The cartridge interface is completely different. It would not work. Even the voltage is different IIRC.

[stuntpenguin007]

ok thanks for stopping me from wasting my time.

Maybe I can make myself feel special by putting the gbc game in and then running the rom but pretend it's playing off the cartridge

[palmertech]

The same is true for the Gameboy micro.

Actually, it does. You can get it to boot into GBC mode, even.

If you boost the voltage, you can get it to read the cart header, but it is a dead end from there. In theory, you could get it working using the soft switch that is built into the BIOS, but there is a reason it was never officially implemented; Nobody ever got it to work right.

[eurddrue]

The same is true for the Gameboy micro.

Actually, it does. You can get it to boot into GBC mode, even.

If you boost the voltage, you can get it to read the cart header, but it is a dead end from there. In theory, you could get it working using the soft switch that is built into the BIOS, but there is a reason it was never officially implemented; Nobody ever got it to work right.

Last I remember, there were a couple of skilled devs working on that, though. I don't remember where I read that, but I think they may have gotten caught up in the real world and had to put it on hold.

[palmertech]

If you look back into the ancient handheld forums, you will see that I was one of those people. All I actually did was build a boost converter using the cart connector/slot from a gameshark and a some parts from Mouser, but I listened to a lot of IRC chats on the software side. And yes, they did drop off the face of the internet.

[ShockSlayer]

I may be totally off on this (and if I am, feel free to correct me, someone), but from what I've heard, the only thing preventing GB/GBC games from being played on the DS is the physical shape of the cart slot; if you altered that so that GB/GBC games fit, it should work, no firmware modification necessary.

Do I get points for trying that?

SS

[themadhacker]

I tried that too, about 3 years ago.

[XCVG]

You guys know nothing about this stuff. YOU CANNOT JUST PLUG A GBC GAME INTO A DS AND EXPECT IT TO WORK! YOU CANNOT SIMPLY BOOST THE VOLTAGE! The protocol is completely different. Besides that, the DS lacks the hardware+software to run GB/C games. Just download lameboy and load it onto a flashcart.

I rest my case. Or whatever.

[Basement_Modder]

You guys know nothing about this stuff. YOU CANNOT JUST PLUG A GBC GAME INTO A DS AND EXPECT IT TO WORK! YOU CANNOT SIMPLY BOOST THE VOLTAGE! The protocol is completely different. Besides that, the DS lacks the hardware+software to run GB/C games.

I'm sure that a respected and knowledgeable member such as palmertech already knows this.

Besides, the original question was if an emulator existed or could be made to do the job, not if you could cram it in and make it work.

[Bibin]

I may be totally off on this (and if I am, feel free to correct me, someone), but from what I've heard, the only thing preventing GB/GBC games from being played on the DS is the physical shape of the cart slot; if you altered that so that GB/GBC games fit, it should work, no firmware modification necessary.

You are totally off. The DS does not have the Z80 processor that the GB/C games need to run. The same is true for the Gameboy micro.

As for your idea, stuntpenguin007, I have no idea if that is possible or not.

ACTUALLY! While you are right about the DS, the GB micro DOES have the GBZ80, but it is not properly hooked up with all the necessary lines to allow full GBC mode. People have crashed it into the GBC bios before, though, so the micro is actually vaguely possible to get GBC support.