New Project Announcement and Release!

Thursday, December 25, 2025

Wow! It's been a year since I posted here. I didn't expect that. But... it makes sense. I like to do Christmas releases or announcements if I can. I generally don't start making a project with a goal for Christmas, but it its coming up then I try to focus on that as a deadline.

Enough of that! What is it that I am announcing today? Well... It's kind of a mixed bag. I understand that to some it will not be much, and to others it will be well appreciated. Largely due to the current focus that has allowed me to keep these projects alive, in focusing on those that support the projects the most! Strong community members and Patrons/Donators. THEY are who this update is primarily for. But also limiting this is that its a project with a narrow focus. Just the SNES NSO/Classics app. I worked on a project for that, because that's what I personally care about the most. I'm a huge SNES fan above all else.

Now... What is this project? Put simply... it's a brand new Full Unlock! What? No! Don't leave! Hear me out!

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CaVE v1.5 Beta - Public Release

Wednesday, December 25, 2024

Merry Christmas!

It's been a long time coming, and I'm still not sure it's ready... But I decided to release CaVE v1.5 publicly again!

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CaVE v1.5 Beta Progress, and a Public Statement

Saturday, August 03, 2024

I know its been a while since I have posted much of substance here. And it's been a while since the public build has been updated. I never intended the Beta to remain private and in development this long, but yet it is.

Why? 

Why did I abandon support for v1.4.6? Why is v1.5 STILL in private development?

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I Guess I Make Mods Now...

Sunday, September 10, 2023

After diving into the WidescreenEx mod like I did, and liking the result, I found I learned quite a bit. I decided to keep going. The plan was to make some "Fit to Screen" mods for the other system apps. But I quickly got side tracked with something else.

Years ago now, I made some other mods that I never released. Because I never finished them to my satisfaction, and to do so was too involved. That being a mod to allow custom chosen backgrounds to be displayed. This idea was borrowed from the SNES Classic. I even used the background/borders from that device for my work, and it was nice seeing NSO SNES game output perfectly fitting in those borders! But... diving too much into mods always seemed daunting, and improper. That's in large part because, mods were a clunky side thing. Not managed officially. But... of course, that has changed now as with CaVE v1.5, that's a major feature!

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The N64 Widescreen mod...

Saturday, August 19, 2023

Recently I learned just how bad the N64 Widescreen mod was. This is not a mod I developed. It is simply one I felt forced to maintain and update regularly, in order for there to be less issues and bug reports with CaVE stemming from users using out of date mods.

I heard or issues with it cropping out part of the screen, but the context always sounded like the people were talking about 4x3 games with the mod active. That was an unfortunate side-effect of the hack, it causing 4x3 games to not look right. It was a all or nothing hack. You commit to all your games being 16x9, or not. But low and behold... THIS is what 16x9 games looked like.

 

 

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What I have been up to lately

Tuesday, August 01, 2023

I got kind of sick of WoW not long after my last post. The token price just started inflating more and more, and while I could probably earn it each month... it just seemed less and less fun. Dragonflight itself kind of very abruptly lost its fun.

After I stopped playing, I ended up getting back to my coding hobby more. Namely, working on CaVE. I have been keeping it up to date with each NSO update, but that's it. After my last post on the topic... well... you see that part at the end? About encouraging people to not just give me silence in return? That... did not happen. Silence is exactly what I got. I really felt  that SEGA Saturn support was going to be well received, breath some new life into CaVE, and make it a more broadly valuable tool.

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Release: CaVE Database Manager v1.3.7

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

I just released CaVE v1.3.7, to coincide with the NSO GEN/MD v2.0 app.

Nothing about this NSO app warranted a CaVE update instead of just a database update, but I had a few fixes and additions coded and... it didn't look good for anyone wanting to lift a finger and test it as a Discord only release. Thumbs up emotes are the extent of anything anyone there wants to do now.

Changes:

Fixed an issue with the "Add Stock Games" list.
Added a new Update Database option.
  This option simply updates the strings.lng of the current database to the selected version.
Added a .srm 2 cartridge.sram option to the Tools menu for N64.
  This converts a Retroarch .srm that contains save data (not save STATE data) to a save file that NSO can use. It tries to automatically detect what type of save data the game uses, and output that as cartridge.sram.
Added a Help option to the Help menu that displays a setup guide and FAQ.

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The Usual Christmas Update

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Merry Christmas!

As I often like to post... something on Christmas, as a sort of present... This year is no exception! Now that CaVE is back, and updated well enough with new features and support, there wouldn't be much to add to it. Nor SFROM Tool. Least not to be worth considering a present. But I have been working on a side project that is now ready...

Back in October, while waiting on the N64/Genesis NSO apps to be released, I killed time with this side project. As some may know, SNES is my favorite console... ever! So it tends to be my focus. There wasn't a lot left to do with it and NSO, but I found something. We all know how to use CaVE at this point, but there is an obvious feature that might be strait up expected by some, but isn't included. It's a feature that takes a lot of work! That feature is what I call a "Preset Database". What that means in this context is, when you add a game in CaVE, there are a ton of values you need to set. Typically images and descriptions. CaVE does what it can to add in placeholder values, but... if you are like me, you would want all the values to look as close to how they would if Nintendo released support for that game themselves. A "Preset Database" in relation to this would automatically set those values with more proper ones. Add say Chrono Trigger? In the split second after adding it CaVE would automatically select the box and title screen art, fill out the meta description, publisher, copyright, etc. Such a feature is convenient, but takes a lot of work to implement.

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Release: CaVE Database Manager v1.3.3

Saturday, November 27, 2021

This is a small release, but worth mentioning.

The major part of this update is the meta/config/lua editor. This isnt a huge thing for the average user, but it is for the active community that's trying to increase the roster of compatible games as it makes things so much easier and quicker. But... its not completely useless for average users, as it allows the average user to try settings themselves, and allows others to give them advice on settings to try to help a game work better.

Beyond that, exporting your database is more efficient, SPT support for N64 is fully working (with a couple examples available on the compatibility list, there's some crude support for Super Mario 3D Allstars (for advanced users, and mostly just for testing atm), a couple QoL updates and some fixes.

Of note. Its now been over 1 month since N64 NSO came out and... we now have 125/299 USA games booting, and many of them playing just fine. Its come a long way in a short time, and... while the emu has its issues... its fairing better than people would think. It seems to be struggling with the same games other emus struggle with. In some cases it emulators games better, and in some cases maybe worse.

While most of the games are marked as having minor issues atm, thats just a default I'm using as we give them time to truly be tested. Soon enough the focus will shift to switching those from yellow to green, whether by setting its configuration right, or otherwise.

ChangeLog v1.3.3.0:

Fixed some database issues with N64.
Improved the CPIO code used with dtz's.
Added a new Settings window for N64 .meta/.cfg./.lua editing.
Added a log for changes to your database, for use with the Export feature, enabling it to ONLY export the files it has found to be changed since the last time you exported.
The Machine Country option should now be automatically set for Genesis/Mega Drive.
Added "Disable Handcursor" and "KeyAssign Type" options to N64.
The tools menu is now completely hidden when a N64 database is not loaded.
Changing the code value will now prompt you to change other values that the Code is typically used in.
Added an option to allow you to change the selected ROM for an already imported game.
A few misc bug fixes to SPT support with N64.
Primitive support for working with Super Mario 3D Allstars, available only as an advanced option. "sm3das_enabled": true

Release: CaVE Database Manager v1.3

Tuesday, November 02, 2021

This is a big release! Obviously there's the N64/Genesis support. But also there have been some significant changes all around.

First lets talk about the N64/Genesis support.

Genesis... works. There really wasn't much too it. There are a couple options you can set in CaVE to adjust some things, but nothing like sfroms, full unlocks, or dtzs.

As for N64... Yea. If you expected it to just work and load tons of games out of the box, you were deluding yourself. That is not the reality. Instead, we have a .dtz format to deal with thats... most comparable to the .sfrom footers from SNES. But MANY more options, and there no tool or database to work with to help set these settings easily or automatically.

There's more to it, but the crucial part of a dtz can be boiled down to the 02_XXXXXX.cfg file inside the archive. In there you have various settings and hacks to be applied. At a minimum to boot, each game needs its Idle thread jump address defined. And some games, mostly 3rd party, have multiple such threads to define.

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The New Future of CavE and the Full Unlock

Saturday, October 02, 2021

I said it, and I'm a man of my word. If I had a reason to be invested in the development of these projects... it would make a difference. I would be willing to un-cancel them. Thanks to the generous donation of ItzSka, I am now able to develop these projects for a device... that I own!

So both projects are back to being public again. But there is a difference. I will not be managing them at the old toxic forum anymore. This will be done purely out of my website, and the Discord (#nintendo-vc-cc-nso). I may make a subreddit or other page too. At the least for now, I have remade the setup guide on my website.

There will be some changes to how I pursue the projects too. I will be making it for myself, and just happening to make it public. I will maintain it for myself and supporters. User appreciation will of course be very welcome, but it wont be required even at a bare minimum like before.

That out of the way... I did make a couple minor updates to the app while it was publicly canceled. The idea was to only do database updates for supporters, but... one update I made just because I wanted it. And the other was to make things easier for the private releases, but helps for public releases too.

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Slowing Down

Saturday, September 18, 2021

I realized it has been months now since I posted an update here. In truth, I haven't been working on my projects lately. I split my free time between whatever is fun for me at the moment, and as my last spoof post indicated... I had an issue with WoW. I pushed myself too hard to tough it out through the non-fun things, and it kind of ruined the game for me. I did go play retail, and that's was a band-aid for a little while... but it's just not fun... Even TBC Classic only was fun for like a week or two for me.

I lost interest in my SNES projects, simply because my focus was shifting heavily towards my complete VC/CC Tool, CaVE revamp project. I was building up steam with that... and well, it sucks how this happens but... I was contacted by someone willing to donate a Switch and 3DS. That of course was great! But quickly the Switch got removed from the table, so the hope of bringing back anything of CaVE 1.0 was placed back on the shelf. No matter though. A 3DS is plenty! And just what I needed to get focused and stay motivated on my new project. But... the bad part is... I put my project on complete hold until I got the 3DS... I patiently waited weeks, maybe a month. Even checking for its delivery every day. But I came to find out it wasn't sent. Fine. That's cool. Not everyone is used to mailing stuff, as was the claimed issue, and things are hard for people. I get it. So I waited more... and more... and more... I contacted the person again, and... silence.

So... in the end, I put the project on the shelf for no reason. I was back to square one with several months lost, and... even less motivation to work on the project than when I started my wait.

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Continuing my recent SNES work

Thursday, February 04, 2021

Where I last left off was with my discovery of the internal Wii list, and some surface conclusions. I decided to stick with that for a moment and see if I can use it to help fill in anything of the unknown parts of the game code list.

After looking at it from a few angles, I concluded that there might be something to translate from the list. Of the unreleased games in the Wii list there's a certain amount of them that were given Wii Product IDs. That amount seems to fit with the empty space in the 0x1119-0x112D (281-301) area of the list. Whats more, it makes sense for NERD to place these games first on the list over the others since being given a Product ID probably means that support for the game was done. There are not many games on the list that don't have Product IDs but were later supported. Wrecking Crew and Star Ocean are it really. And those seem to have been assigned Game Codes later on the list. I just have to keep stacking logic up like that until a picture emerges!

So I now have a handful of games and slots to fill with them. How do I figure out what goes where? Well, is not easy. In the end, I can only label these as "pure speculation" with little confidence. But I can at least use some info to make educated guesses. The info I have available is order/patterns and the decompiled code.

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Moving Forward with my SNES projects

Monday, January 11, 2021

Now that some time has passed, and things have settled after dropping my Switch projects, it's time to think about whats next.

As I look around at my projects and notes, and consider what its the most interesting/fun thing to work on. Well, I'm a bit all over the place for the moment. I immediately dove into past projects I found enjoyment in purely for myself, those being the Game Code list and SFROM Tool. These I enjoyed because the work was useful to others, but there was no demand for them that made me feel pressed. I could work on things at my own pace, and take the time to have fun doing so. I find figuring out the SFROM format details interesting in a similar fashion to solving puzzles like sudokus. Reverse engineering for what I do is a lot of evaluating the data I know to fill in the blanks enough of that which I don't so after the process of elimination, what remains is clear.

There's not a lot left for work on the game code list. But still... I made some new conclusions. In my first days back working on this stuff I deduced that 0x111C belongs to Super Turriacan 2 E-PAL, and 0x1125 belongs to Power Instinct J-NTSC. I can't say I'm 100% certain, thus I cant label them as "verified". But for me the evidence is fairly strong. The short of it is, the de-compiled code suggests these.

As always, with this list seeing further progress, what remains ahead is going to be that much more difficult to solve. While it may look like more, there are about 12 remaining game codes that are valid to the emulators. 4 more that may or may not be valid, and at least 2 or more that are unused but probably reserved. On the other side, there are about 19 known games that should, or may have a spot on the list.

I can make some guesses based on available data. But for the moment I'm unable to work towards verifying anything more. At the most, as mentioned in my christmas post, maybe DQ 1+2 and 3 at some point.

But for now, 2 new ones to this level of confidence is nice to see!

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The Future of CaVE and the Full Unlock

Wednesday, December 23, 2020

[If reading this after 10/02/21, ignore this post. CaVE is back. Refer to this post instead.]

Ok. So here I am thinking about the options I have ahead of me to take with CaVE and my Switch related work in general. I just got done grinding away for a few months on a CaVE update, rich with containing features I've seen asked for countless times and cool new features to enable stuff Nintendo hasn't even done yet! I painstakingly rewrote half the code to support a new, smarter database setup that would prove better in the long run. This was big update that I was expecting to be well received!

And... *crickets*...

Yea. Just silence for the most part. Naturally, as this silence continued I begin to wonder "Why the hell am I even doing this stuff?". I don't own a Switch. The only thing I personally get out of these pursuits is what I learn about the sfrom format and Game Code (Preset ID) stuff. Developing the "Full Unlock"? That does nothing for me. CaVE? Nope. Though, it could be argued that in the long run CaVE might work into my personal goals/interests, just not right now. But really, the only reason I work on those is for other people. The "community". All I get out of it is their appreciation for my otherwise selfless work. Its simple, and requires minimal effort, but it feels nice, and its... enough.

So... what if I don't even get that? Then what's the point?

The answer is, there isn't one.

So how did I go wrong and not realize this stuff until now? Well, my conclusion is, I came into this from previously being in the SNES Classic community. That was actually a community. We had people who cared about things like compatibility, quality, custom skins, compiling box/screen art, etc. There was a lot of mutual give and take.

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Release: CaVE Database Manager v1.0

Sunday, November 03, 2019

Today I've released a new tool. In my efforts to translate my SNES Classic work over to supporting the Switch's SNES Online, I saw a empty space that could use filling in that of a tool to help users properly manage their custom databases. Not only for SNES, but nothing really existed like it for NES Online either despite that being out for awhile.

I wanted people to be able to mod their SNES Online installation as easily as possible. I wanted it to be as newbie friendly, and approachable by as many people as possible. Editing text files where one minor typo could render things completely unusable, was not that in the slightest!

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