[lib] libgbpak - a Transfer Pak beta library and dumping-tool v0.63.2

[saturnu]

Hi,
here is my transfer pak source and demonstration program :D

EDIT 1: bugifx - something important was commented out ^^
EDIT 2: v0.2 ram reading/writing
EDIT 3: demo tool update
EDIT 4: demo tool bugfix on newer os
EDIT 5: v0.62 MBC2 RAM dump fix
EDIT 6: v0.63 tv_mode force off - some experimental stuff

if you want to try out the lib, it seems that this tool is "save" to use anyway. :D

WARNING: this isn't tested on any retail cart until now.

keep in mind that the transfer pak isn't a flagship in engineering at all.
better clean the contacts, don't shake it to much and make a test-dump before writing to it. ^^
i mean it should work. :D - just be careful ^^

i was a bit to lazy to program a proper file selection screen, so the restore function is
enabled in the menu, if a file is found that matches up the way the tool is doing it's backup.

e.g.
TITLE: THE GAME
FILE: /GB64/THEGAME.srm

gb64_latest_version

(force tv type, if the picture is running wild)

good luck! :3

I got it to work and was able to repeat it one or two more times. I have everdrive64 v2. Here are the steps I took:

1. System was turned off
2. Plugged both gb camera and transfer pack SNUGGLY into the controller on port 1.
3. Turn on and start  libgbpak beta v.6 (with sram write)
4. Libgbpak makes the gb ding sound and shows the "check connection" message on the bottom and NO -1 or -4
5. If requirements in step 4 has been met, then slightly pull the gb camera out JUST A LITTLE BIT instead of it being all the way in the transfer pack. I am talking about 1 or 2 mm.
6. Press the reset button on the system - not powering it off.
7. Start libgbpak again with a little prayer...
8. Once it shows the name of the game, press B to dump the SRAM, and be patient because it is about 128KB.

Can this information be added to the main post or the readme file or something? I was having the same issue, and pulling the cartridge out just a tiny bit really did the trick.

compatibility list

green - supported
red - currently unsupported
yellow - does this even exist?
purple - for the brave and faithful  ^^

00	ROM ONLY	supported
01	MBC1	supported
02	MBC1+RAM	supported
03	MBC1+RAM+BATTERY	supported
04	???
05	MBC2	supported
06	MBC2+BATTERY	supported - since v0.62
07	???
08	ROM+RAM	supported
09	ROM+RAM+BATTERY	supported
0A	???
0B	MMM01	not supported - but possible
0C	MMM01+RAM	not supported - but possible
0D	MMM01+RAM+BATTERY	not supported - but possible
0E	???
0F	MBC3+TIMER+BATTERY	supported
10	MBC3+TIMER+RAM+BATTERY/MBC30	supported
11	MBC3	supported
12	MBC3+RAM	supported
13	MBC3+RAM+BATTERY	supported
14	???
15	MBC4	experimental - since v0.63
16	MBC4+RAM	experimental - since v0.63
17	MBC4+RAM+BATTERY	experimental - since v0.63
18	???
19	MBC5	supported
1A	MBC5+RAM	supported
1B	MBC5+RAM+BATTERY	supported
1C	MBC5+RUMBLE	supported
1D	MBC5+RUMBLE+RAM	supported
1E	MBC5+RUMBLE+RAM+BATTERY	supported
1F	MBC6 ?	not supported
20	MBC6+RAM (e.g. Net de Get Minigame@100)	not supported - need more info
21	MBC6+RAM+BATTERY ?	not supported
22	MBC7 (Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble, Command Master)	not supported - but possible
23	MMBC7+RAM ?	not supported
24	MBC7+RAM+BATTERY ?	not supported
[...]
59	MBC1 Game Boy Smart Card	not supported - but possible
[...]
97	???
99	???
[..]
BE	MBC5 Pocket Voice Recorder	not supported
EA	MBC1 SONIC5	not supported - but possible
FC	POCKET CAMERA	supported - since v0.60
FD	BANDAI TAMA5 (Tamagotchi 3)	not supported - but possible
FE	HuC3	not supported - need more info
FF	HuC1+RAM+BATTERY/HuC1A	experimental - since v0.63
??	G-MMC1	not supported - need more info

[BolinCaker]

I don't understand what this is. Is it so you could upload like your game save from Pokemon gameboy to pokemon stadium?

[saturnu]

basically it's library, so developers could use of the transfer pak.

the transfer pak can:
- read rom
- read ram
- write ram
(- read/set rtc - activate rumble)

atm. it could only read the rom, but not the ram (savegame)

[meneerbeer]

Isn't this similar: http://lacklustre.net/n64/agbd/

Not sure if it works on Everdrive though.

[reprep]

thanks saturnu. if you release a binary, i would gladly help testing.

all gbc games are mbc5 and usually super cheap, so you can use one for testing.

[Cybertronic]

What game uses Ram? Maybe I have one I could just mail to you.

[saturnu]

there is still process on this... but i takes time to get it more reliable.
even the original implementation seems to double check connections power state etc... ^^
just dumped a rom over usb today, which is working on an emulator

[robneal81]

I'm excited to see what can come of this!  The ultimate goal would be to play GB/GBC games on an N64, but even ROM dumping is awesome.  Looking forward to seeing how far you go and I'll happily test anything you'd like.

[reprep]

there is still process on this... but i takes time to get it more reliable.
even the original implementation seems to double check connections power state etc... ^^
just dumped a rom over usb today, which is working on an emulator

that is great news.

[nuu]

Good job Saturnu!

[saturnu]

I'm excited to see what can come of this!  The ultimate goal would be to play GB/GBC games on an N64, but even ROM dumping is awesome.  Looking forward to seeing how far you go and I'll happily test anything you'd like.

this would be a pokemon stadium romhacking job, 'cause it's the only good emulator out there.
gnuboy64 has some sound issues and gblator has no sound at all. ^^

i think a cool features could be the possibility to transfer savegames from your original carts to the edgb or sdcard. :>
or maybe a savegame cheat tool which allows you to search for and alter some values inside the savegame.

atm. i have a modified version of my menu with a modified version of my loader64 to transfer the romdata from sdram to the pc.

i would be grateful if someone would help testing. ^^
i'm planing to realease some tools you could play with, but today my sd2snes has arrived so this will have to wait.

[saturnu]

on the top left is my usb loader client in the terminal, dumping the ed64 sdram.
the ed64 is running alt64.
on the right you can see geany with the the library source. ^^
it's great that it's possible to use the ed64 sdram as extended ram, 'cause the n64 only has 4 or 8Mbyte rdram. :>



EDIT: today i implemented ram bankswitching and reading/writing (untested) :>

[saturnu]

hi,
perhaps someone could test this for me?
i'm unsure if there is a timing error in my disk saving or if it's just caused by my new micro sdcard.
most of the time the files are ending up in 0-byte but sometimes it's working. ^^
the dumping is allright, i could print out the correct bytes... it's just an saving error, somehow. -_-


install: copy the GB64 folder to the root of the sdcard.
(warning: writes to the false sectors) :>


usage:
insert the transfer pak and the rom before starting the rom.
if you could read the title push 'A' to dump.

[Paulweeze]

Im gonna test it out for ya with a few different titles . What do the error messages corespond to? I assume that -4 means no transfer pack and -1 means no rom?

[Paulweeze]

I got it to show up with a name (had to use a different controller) and dumped it but I can't find the dump. Where does the program dump the rom to? Btw, does this require a microsd card?