Images and Palettes

So I created a few images, using paint, just some basic sprites, and a basic background layout. It's taken me a little bit to get the right information on how exactly to set up your image for the DS. A lot of tutorials out there will explain in detail how to set up the registries and code, but it's hard to find a clear one on how to convert the image into .bins and getting a palette all set up. I finally found this blog of another developer, and it's turning out usefull:
http://liranuna.drunkencoders.com/nds-2d-tuts/lesson-2/
I'll post some screen shots soon on how my images are looking.

DS vs DS Lite

So I've been asked to compare the new and old DS's. I'll list out what I've found. Most of this has been found on wikipedia as well as some other sites.

• Screen Brightness - Now has 4 levels of brightness adjustment
• Dimensions - 42% less volume
• Battery - Has a 1000 mAh battery instead of the 850 mAh battery and last longer: up to 19 hours on low brightness and 5 to 8 on highest brightness.
• Screen quality - Designed to resist more shock
• Weight - 21% lighter
• Power button - Now a power slide instead
• Microphone relocation - Now located in the middle between the two screens
• Stylus - Larger than the previous, and is side loaded next to the power switch
• Colors - A vast array of colors and special edition designs are available for the DS Lite
• Processors - Not changed except for a smaller custom process which requires less power.

Links to Research

Here are some links to sites about developing on the DS:

Dev package:
This is the standard package everyone uses to Dev on the DS with
http://www.devkitpro.org/
This is the package I used to convert a .bmp image into a palette and tile map. I found it through one of the tutorials mentioned bellow
http://liranuna.drunkencoders.com/Files/gfx2gba013.zip

Tutorials:
A guide to homebrew development for the Nintendo DS
http://osdl.sourceforge.net/main/documentation/misc/nintendo-DS/HomebrewForDS.html
A recent blog tutorial I found that has some good info. Also helped me figure out the image conversion process
http://liranuna.drunkencoders.com/nds-2d-tuts/lesson-2/
Dev-Scene: Good but has some tutorials that are not finished yet
http://www.dev-scene.com/NDS/Tutorials
Grit Demo
http://www.coranac.com/category/proj/grit/

DS Specs:
NDSech Wiki
http://www.bottledlight.com/ds/index.php/Main/HomePage
DSTek
http://neimod.com/dstek/

Emulators:
Dualis Emulator
http://dualis.1emu.net/

Slot 1 Hardware:
Cyclops DS:Evolution
http://www.cyclopsds.com/cgi-bin/cyclods/engine.pl
R4DS
http://www.r4ds.com/r4ds.htm

Awesome Homebrews:
Colors - Art application w/ pressure sensitivity + more
http://colors.brombra.net/faq.php

Introduction

This is the first post in my official blog for my independent study project: Pressure Cooker. It is a Nintendo DS Homebrew game that I will be creating. I will be using this blog as a web pressence and to document my progress on the game. The plan for the game is to be finished with at least a beta version by the end of this semester, my last semester at California State University, Fullerton.