Aug

DScent - Descent for Nintendo DS

Written by Neil Galloway

I wrote an article about a Nintendo DS version of Descent called DScent. I just got it working recently. It has been very well done. You can read about it on kayvenm's blog. It is the main resource for latest releases and help on getting it to run.

Performance

Fantastic. It runs around 25 fps on my NDS. I have had it crash a few different ways. If I start a new game and read through all the text screens and advance each screen by pressing A or tapping the screen, it locks when I get to the end. Easy to fix. I just press B when I am almost through the screens and it goes to the next level just fine.

I have also had it freeze a couple times when I kill an enemy. This is rare though, but I would say you need to just make sure you save frequently.

Sound works as well. You have music and sound effects.

New Features

He did a good job of getting it to function on the DS nicely. You can use the buttons for full control or use the directional pad for moving and the touchscreen to turn. Shooting is trigger based as usual. But keep in mind, you can configure the controls.

One of the best features is the gun graphics on the touchscreen. You can just tap the weapon of choice to switch to it. Very handy and a lesson the DSQuake and QuakeDS guys could use.

My Hardware

I have a Nintendo DS Lite with a Supercard 3 and a Supercard Lite with microSD.

To Get It Running

Follow the instructions on kayvenm's instructions page.

You can download the latest binaries with this link.

DScent v. alpha 4.2, but check the blog link above occasionally to see if there is a new version.

Basically, you just need to do the following.

Create a folder called dscent on the root folder of your flash card.
Unzip the downloaded dscent binaries on your computer.
Download the DLDI patch file and patcher if you don't already have them at the DLDI site.
I personally downloaded the SuperCard Lite DLDI and Win32 GUI DLDI Patcher.
Patch the DScent.nds file with DLDI.
- I started the Win32 Gui by unzipping the Win32 zip file I downloaded and double clicking the dlditool32.exe file inside. It opens a window.
- I clicked the ... button to the right of the DLDI File field and selected the folder I saved my SuperCard Lite DLDI file from above. The picklist then shows the available DLDI's.
- Select the SuperCard Lite(TransFlash MicroSD) option.
- Click the ... button to the right of the Binaries field. Select the file DScent.nds from the zip file you downloaded earlier and click Open.
- Click the Patch button. The existing DScent.nds file will be overwritten with a new one.
The file should now be patched.
Copy the files in to the dscent folder on the flash card.
Copy the .HOG and .PIG files from your registered, version 1.4a or higher copy of Descent into the dscent folder on the flash card. Where can you find an original copy of the game? Dig through your attic or look for it on the internet at your own risk. I used the Ultimate Descent package (Descent I and Descent II patched for Windows) and it worked just fine.
Boot it up.

Problems You Might Have Getting It To Run

fatInitDefault () failed

You need to patch that .nds file with DLDI. Follow the DLDI patching instructions I have above or find instructions on the internet.

Error: Cannot open file DESCENT.TEX or DESCENT.TXB

You need to put the .HOG and .PIG files from the registered, patched to at least 1.4a version of Descent. They need to be in the root folder of your flash card or in a folder called dscent in the root directory.

Error: Not enough strings in text file - expecting 621, found 514 You most likely do not have the proper version of the data files You need atleast v1.4a REGISTERED

I got this by using the demo version of the .PIG and .HOG files. Get the registered full version.

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Category: NintendoDS

6 Comments

hiorik Says:
2008-03-10 20:06:28
thanks men for this tutorial ;)

ineap09 Says:
2008-05-26 11:46:25
Thanks so much!

clad Says:
2008-06-17 16:38:48
thank you very very much.merci beaucoup.un jeu magnifique!

Hekheler Says:
2008-11-19 03:40:40
wow, thanks mate i love this game!!!

Yves Says:
2009-01-15 11:42:52
Really nice instruction set: thanks!
I did rummage trough piles of unused floppies (it was next my set of 30 OS/2 warp floppies) and got .hog and .pig files from them. One question though, did you have to do a complete Descent installation before copying files (sound & music card settings)? I can't go beyond level 3 because the game freezes just before entering level 4. Very frustrating because Descent is so fun on the DS!.

My best guess so far is data corruption on my old floppies. They were used a lot during LAN parties in the late '90s.

Cheers!

Eugene Says:
2009-01-24 23:29:23
I had loads of crashing bugs, until I used an earlier version (alpha 3, instead of 4.2) which doesn't have music. It works perfectly now, and hasn't crashed once (using alpha 4.2 I was lucky to get a level to load one in ten tries)

If you're having those bugs, it might be worth trying (no music is a bit of a bummer, but it still has sound effects etc)