There are already severalhomebrew and even commercial paint/pixel-art programs in development for the Nintendo DS, but BassAceGold's UAPaint (v1.02) adds something special -- support for Guitar Hero: On Tour's Guitar Grip controller.
Artists can use the Grip's buttons as tool shortcuts in UAPaint - blue for the pen, yellow for the paint bucket, red for the color picker, and green for the line tool. Slick!
We saw the potential of homebrew slot-2 accessory tinkering with Mario Kart DS hacked to interface with Taito's paddle controller, but there hasn't been any advancements with that since, possibly due to the paddle's pricing and limited availability. With Guitar Hero's popularity and readily obtainable peripheral, hopefully we'll see more homebrew uses for the Guitar Grip!
It might not be the most pleasant music -- some would even argue that it's not music at all -- but there's definitely, uh, something going on in the above RepeaterDS demonstration video. According to developer Bret (a.k.a. Clone45), the same programmer behind cellular automaton sequencer GlitchDS, RepeaterDS is "a music application that allows you to 'play' a sample by drawing on the DS screen.
The application imports audio files and records your gestures, with vertical movements controlling repeat length and horizontal movements controlling the playback offset into the sample. Messing with the directional pad and pressing different buttons will also affect the resulting sounds in some manner incomprehensible to us.
We're not sure how exactly one would incorporate the stuttered audio into anything, except for maybe in a stop-motion zombie film featuring G.I. Joe figures, but the effect is pretty cool!
Having garnered near-unanimous praise and placed first in the NEO Spring Compo's DS game category with Lone Wolf: Flight from the Dark, Project Aon is readying another homebrew port of the Lone Wolf "gamebooks," this time for the second book in the series, Fire on the Water.
Project Aon has already posted a release candidate for the game, allowing users to download and try out the visual novel before its final release. As with Flight from the Dark, the sequel allows readers to take control of the story with RPG-inspired elements, such as branching narrative options and character customization (e.g. skills, disciplines).
In addition to fixes and general improvements, Fire on the Water now features four new music tracks, an improved game engine for handling more complex events, merchants, and mini-games. If you haven't jumped into the homebrew scene yet, now is a good time!
Nintendo is pumping out new DS colors with a vengeance, and many DS owners who've been clinging to their original models are finally breaking down and upgrading to a Lite. Still others already had a Lite, but found themselves lulled into spending even more money on a spiffy new shade. We just can't control ourselves in the face of such beauty.
But what happens when you end up with a second DS? Unless you've been retro-fitted with an extra pair of arms, you probably don't need two handhelds. Rather than letting the extra sit around and collect dust, check out our suggested uses for that second DS.
While Nintendo is busy hampering the momentum of homebrew developers on the Wii, it's business as usual for the scene with the Nintendo DS. Programmer T4ils has put out a v1.1 update for StillAliveDS, his popular 2D remake of Valve's first-person action/puzzler, Portal.
In addition to general improvements and bug fixes, the indie game now features an in-game level editor! The video above demonstrates how easy it is to lay out and test your own stage. After you've saved your map, you can even upload it to the online Custom Game Directory from your DS!
Let the kids with their $600 consoles have Metal Gear Solid 4. We've got the best part of the game -- Otacon's desktop clock application, the OtaClock. And it's totally free! In case you're worried about spoilers or something, don't be: the OtaClock was revealed in the TGS trailer in 2005, and released as a PC/Mac desktop application soon after.
Homebrewer madcat1990 has adapted the app into an alarm clock for the DS, which deviously requires you to solve a math problem before the alarm will shut up. It's an appropriate tribute to the pseudo-Oedipal, incontinent otaku Otacon, one of the most complicated characters in Metal Gear's extraordinarily complicated cast.
Homebrew developer atomsoft is hard at work on his application, AtYa, which is the first working Yahoo Messenger client for the handheld. While it did pre-release, the files have been pulled due to an issue with the loading page.
With fancy cell phones and other technological gadgets, instant messaging on-the-go has become a reality, so we wonder how viable an application such as this is. Still, we're sure some of you out there are interested in being able to IM from your DS.
No idea as of right now on when the pre-release will be available for download again. But, when it is, you can bet we'll let you know.
Following on the heels of Homebrew Week, our coverage of the DS's indie development scene, programmer T4ils has released StillAliveDS, a fantastic 2D remake of Valve's first-person action/puzzler, Portal.
Much like the PC game, players must rely on their wits (and a portal gun) to transport themselves around each stage, aiming shots with their stylus and grabbing pieces of cake along the way. It might not have the graphics of the original, but it definitely has the feel and charm. Hit the screenshots in the gallery below to see what we mean.
Along with the maps included with the game, T4ils has also released an editor for players to create their own levels. We haven't tried it out yet, but there's even some built-in functionality for sharing and downloading maps right from your DS. And it's all free for you to download and play!
Not sure about how to get started with playing homebrew games on your Nintendo DS? Luckily for you, we've written up a (Semi) Ultimate Homebrew Guide with information on the hardware you'll need and how to set it all up! How awesome of us!
[Update: For those of you having trouble getting past the menu screen, walk up to the box in the middle of the room and try to grab it with your stylus. This may take a few tries, unfortunately, but we found it easier if you're just a few pixels away from the box. After you grab the box, carry it over to the "Story" box. ]
Our most evil and dark attempt to introduce you to the disgusting world of legal homebrew has concluded. Now that the dust has settled, we want to know how many of you actually managed to give something a try? Did you rush out and start downloading like crazy? Perhaps turned your DS into a PDA?
All of you who've now decided to take the plunge, what are you enjoying? For those of you that didn't, why? What's keeping you from the wide world of possibilities that come from the DS homebrew scene? We overcame our fears, you should at least try to overcome your own!
The strange, seemingly cacophonous stream of sounds coming out your speakers is GlitchDS, a homebrew cellular automaton music sequencer inspired by Conway's Game of Life. Developer Clone45 boasts that the program (his first) is "perfect for creating IDM and Glitch-style loops," and, while we have no idea what that means, we're sure he's representing the software accurately with that claim.
In addition to being free and odd enough to be awesome, GlitchDS allows you to create "trigger points," import your own audio files, save/load your work, control tempo with BPM settings, edit sounds with a 32-step frequency modulation sequencer, load six sounds at once, and fiddle with global distortion settings. If you manage to make any music with it, make sure to send it our way!
This week, the staff at DS Fanboy dedicated themselves to all things homebrew. If you own a DS and aren't checking out some of these hobbyist applications, you're missing half the fun of the system. Let us help you get started, find the best games and other software, and troubleshoot your problems, and you'll be reproducing Rembrandts* in Colors! in no time.
*provided you actually have some shred of artistic talent
Homebrew dev dishes on the DS scene
The man behind Laser Hockey DS on the scene, his recommendations, and the lessons Nintendo could stand to learn from homebrew.
If there's one thing we love to cover, it's mature games for immature gamers. Unfortunately, adult games for the Nintendo DS are rare, especially in the US -- some publishers have even made sure to censor the most trivial details in its games to protect our eyes and innocence, lest they suffer the wrath of parental watchdog groups.
Homebrew developers, however, have no such concerns, and have released pornographic projects that no commercial game could ever get away with. We've previewed five of these homemade releases, even providing you with screenshots; the naughty bits are blurred out, of course, but the images are still very much NSFW. Brush your teeth, clip your fingernails, and get down to business past the post break. Oh yeah, it's business time.
What's a week of homebrew without a few recommended apps? A waste of time, that's what, and we're happy to inform you that we won't be getting up to those shenanigans. Whether you're a homebrew newbie looking for a good place to start, or a grizzled veteran ready to trade recommendations, this wrap-up of homebrew week is dedicated to you. After all, homebrew is all about the community, right? So let's get together and rap about some of the gems the scene has on offer.
One thing that's been brought up countless times in DS-related discussions is "if only it could be used as a PDA." Well, with the right combination of hardware and software, it can! But just how well does it stand up to other devices with that classification? Read on as I take the DS through its paces to see how it performs as a personal digital assistant.
One of the first things homebrewers do when they gain the ability to run unsigned code on a game console is to see what other console's games they can get running. Although the use of commercial ROMs varies from legally ambiguous (in the case of backup copies of your own software) to unambiguously illegal (in the case of just downloading stuff), emulator programs are perfectly legal -- and capable of running legal homebrew software designed for the consoles. We don't really want to get into the legal and ethical issues. We think that programs designed to run like old hardware are just cool.
Just like every other console, the advent of DS flash cards has brought with it a booming emulation scene. And since homebrew is so easy to run on the DS, and MicroSD cards so copious, it's easy to turn the humble DS into a classic gaming Swiss Army System.
We've outlined some of the most important DS-based console emulators below, along with a ton of lower-profile emulators.
There are already several homebrew and even commercial paint/pixel-art programs in development for the Nintendo DS, but BassAceGold's UAPaint (v1.02) adds something special -- support for Guitar Hero: On Tour's Guitar Grip controller.
Let the kids with their $600 consoles have Metal Gear Solid 4. We've got the best part of the game -- Otacon's desktop clock application, the OtaClock. And it's totally free! In case you're worried about spoilers or something, don't be: the OtaClock was revealed in the TGS trailer in 2005, and released as a PC/Mac desktop application soon after.
