[GUIDE/INFO] Flash Carts, ODE, and more!

[Sarge]

Public beta of SA1 support on SD2SNES is now live.

http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=8045.0

There's also someone else working on S-DD1 (magno), so I expect that to drop at some point as well.

[Ziggy]

I finally added the post for Optical Drive Emulators - viewtopic.php?f=56&t=36353&p=849337#p849339

It's really rough, I'm just gonna dump info there for now then worry about beautifying it later.

I also (finally) added the NEO•GEO AES and MVS flash carts! I still have to go through the existing flash carts and update any out of date info there. And I'm sure I still have a bunch of devices to add, I gotta comb through the replies in this thread.

[Jagosaurus]

Dig it!

Did I imagine you also own the 3DO USB device? IIRC, made by same dude who put out DC USB GDROM.

You get into some grey area... I think the PS2 mods count as a psuedo ODE, especially when you factor in POPS along with USB, HDD, & SMB... but then do all the modded systems running retail digital game files deserve a nod (PSP, Vita, Wii, WiiU, oXbox, 360, PS3, etc)? I'm not a definition stickler, just a fun time to be in our hobby! Having to worry about faulty disc drives is becoming less & less of an issue.

[Ziggy]

Did I imagine you also own the 3DO USB device? IIRC, made by same dude who put out DC USB GDROM.

That one is not on my radar. Link? edit: Oh wait, I think I remember this one now. Wasn't there some sort of drama over it though?

You get into some grey area... I think the PS2 mods count as a psuedo ODE, especially when you factor in POPS along with USB, HDD, & SMB... but then do all the modded systems running retail digital game files deserve a nod (PSP, Vita, Wii, WiiU, oXbox, 360, PS3, etc)? I'm not a definition stickler, just a fun time to be in our hobby! Having to worry about faulty disc drives is becoming less & less of an issue.

Yeah, I think I'll split it into HARDWARE drive emulators and SOFTWARE alternative methods. All of this seems to fit under the same umbrella. I mostly just wanna dump all the info here, then tidy it up as I go along. Otherwise I'll never do it. I mean, it's been a LONG while since I've updated this thread lol.

[Jagosaurus]

Here you go.

http://3do-renovation.ru/How_to_buy.htm

Yeah Stone Age Gamer (as US distributor) & him had a falling out. Also some buyers reporting ridiculous wait times & bad customer service. Someone on RB (can't recall who now) ordered from him with no issues though for what it's worth.

I've also been eyeing the cheaper GDEMU clones. Tempting...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52420

Agree on HW vs SW methods

[Ziggy]

Here you go.

Added.

I've also been eyeing the cheaper GDEMU clones. Tempting...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52420

Ah, cool. I'll have to look into that. A lot of people bitch. Like, "So-and-so did all the hard work, it's not right if you buy it from someone else." But if so-and-so can't meet hardware demand, what does so-and-so think is gonna happen?

Do you know the build quality of them? For example, Chinese clones of Krikzz flash carts are known to be unreliable.

Agree on HW vs SW methods

Yeah, I just split it. And actually, since you seem to be much more involved and knowledgeable with these software methods than I am, how would you feel about writing something up for them? Even if you use your own thread(s). For example, for PS2 stuff I just linked to your thread anyway lol. I can just cross link to your stuff in this thread.

[Jagosaurus]

Hmm... thinking back, might've been nightrnr with the 3DO USB adapter setup I linked. Will have to search back through my posts to verify. Maybe he can contribute on that one.

Folks on reddit seemed to have good things to say about the clone GDEMUs from the couple threads I saw. For that price point, it's tempting to roll the dice.

Happy to help how I can there. My personal experience is with PS2 (retail PS1 via POPS & retail PS2 via OPL both on USB & HDD) and oXbox (retail games off swapped HDD).

I've read a lot on Wii & PSP software solutions for retail games, and we had a running threads on both around here we can link. I think those threads, like my PS2 & oXbox threads, mix in emu/homebrew as well though.

PS3 & Vita CFW are others I'm really interested in & have watched way too many videos on lately The Vita of course, not really a ODE but runs digital PSP games as well as digital retail Vita.

I have a chipped PS1 on the way soon. It has a parallel port so I'm tempted to sharpen my soldering skills for PSIO install. Need to read up to ensure it won't disable mod chip somehow on the board level. At any rate, I can burn CDRs for those 20% or so incompatible with POPS... until the disc drive dies one day. That's why these ODE solutions interest me so much. Flash carts are cool but ODEs fall into the system hardware preservation camp as well!

[Ziggy]

I've read a lot on Wii

The Wii has, of course, the Homebrew Channel. So there's lots of apps for booting games from SD or USB HDD. But what's interesting is the few hardware devices that existed in the early days of the Wii. I think they were completely overshadowed by the HBC because of how much more accessible it was (as well as being free). But remember the Wode Jukebox? Or how about the WiiKey Fusion? I actually use to own a WiiKey Fusion, but I got rid of it in favor of HDD loading. I kinda wish I kept it though. People actually got it working on the GCN. I feel like the GCN will never have a proper ODE like what we've been seeing since it's so easy to boot games off a HDD on the Wii.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gamecube/comme ... ecube_ode/

I have a chipped PS1 on the way soon. It has a parallel port so I'm tempted to sharpen my soldering skills for PSIO install.

I have a chipped PS1, a 7501. I was thinking about chipping my spare PS1's so I don't just wear out the drive on my sole chipped PS1. But I also have a 1001 model (the launch model with RCA output) with a dead drive. I was thinking about getting PSIO for that.

That's why these ODE solutions interest me so much. Flash carts are cool but ODEs fall into the system hardware preservation camp as well!

Exactly! My goal is to NOT use the console's optical drive whenever possible. Which reminds me... I gotta right up my "coming soon" preservation article still.

Oh, and I just remembered another device. I have a chipped model 2 Saturn, and a model 1 Saturn with a dead optical drive. But instead of getting a Rhea, I'm waiting to see if this thing ever comes out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOyfZex7B3E

[Jagosaurus]

Man, I had heard of those Wii hardware solutions but never seen them. Cool stuff.

I agree, bet we won't see a proper ODE for the GCN with the Wii options. If you only had a GCN there's always the Gecko. Remember this guy (later rebranded for the Wii as SD WiiKey if I understand that correctly):

https://amp.reddit.com/r/Gamecube/comme ... ew_set_up/

https://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtop ... 52&t=25512

I'm not sure which mod chip is in the PS1. I should pick it up tomorrow from JoeAwesome & I'll open it up Monday to check.

I would love to see the VCD port Saturn device come to fruition. Really surprised no one has come out with a more mainstream Action Replay Psuedo type device ready to boot backups & still have the save manager. I think there's a market for that. I don't trust the internal battery & I don't want to continually swap carts to back up saves.

The Gamers Cart looks to accomplish this, but seems very underground & only ships from the maker in Japan. Any videos online of this device in action? He seems to be updating his site and order info often though:
http://ppcenter.webou.net/satcart/#gamers

Not an ODE but a cool & affordable Saturn "chip less" solution for CDRs.

RB AR Psudeo thread
viewtopic.php?f=56&t=47890&start=200

[Ziggy]

Man, I had heard of those Wii hardware solutions but never seen them. Cool stuff.

I agree, bet we won't see a proper ODE for the GCN with the Wii options. If you only had a GCN there's always the Gecko. Remember this guy (later rebranded for the Wii as SD WiiKey if I understand that correctly):

https://amp.reddit.com/r/Gamecube/comme ... ew_set_up/

https://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtop ... 52&t=25512

Actually, I'm wrong. There kinda is an ODE solution for the Gamecube. So there's the WiiKey Fusion, and I just remember there's a clone of it called Wasp Fusion. I don't know if either are still available for purchase any where, but since the Wasp Fusion is a clone I'm gonna see if there's a DIY version out there. If so, then there is a good option for GCN ODE. Adapters boards have been made to be able to install the Wasp/WiiKey Fusion in a GCN.

https://github.com/citrus3000psi/GameCube-Wasp-QSB

I'm not sure which mod chip is in the PS1. I should pick it up tomorrow from JoeAwesome & I'll open it up Monday to check.

Probably MM3, which is what you want.