help converting save game files from no$gba to desmume

[bouhgard]

i've read the faq in desmume website, i've read some threads here but i'm still missing something because i can't seem to convert my save files from one emulator to the other

i'm using the latest version of no$gba and the latest revision of desmume, with the standard configurations in both

this is what understand so far from reading in other threads, please DO correct me if i'm wrong

1. i get my no$gba save file under the battery folder
2. i use this converter and choose nogba to source format and the one that says R4 to target format

now what? how do i use the converted file in desmume? do i put it in any special folder or do i use any special command like the import backup memory? and if i do, then how do i use it? i seriously don't get it...

i've tried tons of things i can't figure it out, could anyone help me?

[D1M1TR1]

Save files for DeSmuME must go to the folder of the game, and they both have to have the same filename.

No$GBA uses a "compressed" format while the other emus are using RAW format, so you should set the target type to "AceKard... RAW Format [autodetection]".

[Squall-Leonhart]

latest compiles of Desmume require that battery files be imported as they use the DSV extension (imo, retarded)

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[bouhgard]

i tried converting it to that format a paste into the same folder of the game, loaded the rom and nothing...

then used the import backup memory and imported the save file (the original one) and reseted the emulator, still nothing...

then used the import again but this time imported the converted file, reseted, still nothing...

PS: between the experiments i deleted the dsv file...

[lagunareturns]

look i tried many methods and i came to realise on thing unless there is an app to convert them or desmume having support to import them it will be a hit and miss effort, i spent hours to crack this issue and i just gave up still if there is working solution please someone post it

[zeromus_]

Please post the exact save files youre trying to convert so I can find out whether youre goofing up or whether there is a bug.

Also, if the raw sav file is the correct size and the dsv file is missing, then desmume latest compiles should be automatically importing it and immediately dumping a .dsv. But none of these people say what they mean by "latest version" which is unfortunately an extra complicated idea due to all the svn builds that people post, so I don't know what specific advice to give them.

Squall, the extension changed because the _format_ changed. And the new format makes autodetection work at 99.5%.

[Gamer3000]

Edit. NVM, my mistake (i was using an old build)... sorry

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[bouhgard]

well i did said i was using the latest revision, and i am...

well i don't mind posting my save file, but i would prefer to know how to do it myself

Attached Files

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[Squall-Leonhart]

Originally Posted by zeromus_

Please post the exact save files youre trying to convert so I can find out whether youre goofing up or whether there is a bug.

Also, if the raw sav file is the correct size and the dsv file is missing, then desmume latest compiles should be automatically importing it and immediately dumping a .dsv. But none of these people say what they mean by "latest version" which is unfortunately an extra complicated idea due to all the svn builds that people post, so I don't know what specific advice to give them.

Squall, the extension changed because the _format_ changed. And the new format makes autodetection work at 99.5%.

Theres no arguable reason why the file extension has to change just because the autodetection / save format changes. As it is, the format is still 100% portable to nogba (back requires some conversion) from what i've seen in testing various games. changing the extension is just further complicating things when people want to load their backups onto nds flash devices.

Most people are computer illiterate, you should realise that by now Zeromus :P, the least you could do if maintaining this new battery extension is provide an export function to save it as a ideas/nogba compatible extension.

__________________

VBA-M | Xtemu | NGOHQ | Post Impact Productions | TNHW | XBCD 0.2.6 | Satanic666's Emulator Compiles
Don't be a NOOB, READ THE NGEmu/EmuForums Rules of Conduct
Need Help with ePSXe? This is your first stop!.
If you don't post all the required information, you don't get help.
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[zeromus_]

Originally Posted by Squall-Leonhart

Theres no arguable reason why the file extension has to change just because the autodetection / save format changes. As it is, the format is still 100% portable to nogba (back requires some conversion) from what i've seen in testing various games. changing the extension is just further complicating things when people want to load their backups onto nds flash devices.

Most people are computer illiterate, you should realise that by now Zeromus :P, the least you could do if maintaining this new battery extension is provide an export function to save it as a ideas/nogba compatible extension.

In the very same checkin which changed the extension to dsv, an "export backup memory" was added to the file menu which exports a raw sav. There is also "import backup memory" which is necessary for completion of the paradigm described below.

Based on our testing, the format is not 100% portable no$. Portability is even worse for ideas. You have to keep in mind round trip portability: even if no$ can read our save file, what will it write back out to the same save file? Will it be a 512KB headerless sav? That will break desmume because it will try to autoimport it as a 512KB save file. Sure, no$ can handle that 512KB raw save file, but then, desmume's autodetection is now superior to any other emulator's, so I think I'll stick with my way of doing it.

And, I absolutely dispute your characterization of our choice as confusing for computer illiterate people. I've been watching firsthand the chaos of poketards trying to move save files around and it isn't pretty. It is even tricky for people who know what they're doing because the extensions are the same and it is easy to get mixed up.

In order to understand how what we've done is easier, you have to actually think like computer illiterate retard. Plumb the depths and imagine. Now, you do not need to know any details of emulation or ds or desmume or no$ in order to move save files in and out of desmume. All you need to know is that desmume uses dsv, and if you want to use it in another emulator, you need to export it to sav, which is the format they support. This approach falls back completely on the simple paradigm of file formats / extensions / importers / exporters which is basic computer operations knowlege.

_You_ just think it is confusing because it is different from the previous situation which you had learned but was already very complex!! And, even if you don't think the previous situation was complex, let me assure you that the desmume-new-save-system-without-dsv-extension was in many subtle ways waaaay more complex.

[zeromus_]

Originally Posted by bouhgard

well i did said i was using the latest revision, and i am...

well i don't mind posting my save file, but i would prefer to know how to do it myself

By using this as the target format:

Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format [Autodetection] (.sav)

And then going to the main menu, importing backup memory, and resetting the emulator, I was able to load your save game.

The R4 option didn't work because it created a 512KByte save file, and desmume uses your current choice of save size to decide how to import a raw save file. Since the default choice is 'autodetect' it autodetected it as a 512KByte save file, instead of 64KByte which is what it truly is (and what my suggestion for target format would have produced)

I'll make sure this is all documented well (for what its worth, since nobody reads the docs) before the 0.9.3 release which is coming soon, but here is my off the cuff outline:

--Directions for importing a raw save file into desmume--
1. Convert the save file using shunyweb; the target format should be "Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format [Autodetection] (.sav)"
2. Boot the game. Let it get to the main menu
3. Select the correct backup size*, as specified by advanscene.com (which is not always right)
4. Reset the rom
*Step 3 is not always necessary, if you are smart, however, it will never hurt to do it.

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Last edited by zeromus_; June 12th, 2009 at 18:52..

[bouhgard]

it worked now, strangely i tried this method with another game and it didn't work (maybe because i didn't tried that step 3) so i assumed i was doing something wrong and didn't tried in this game...

also, i wasn't waiting for the main menu to use the import either, does it matter?

thx for clearing up the steps

[Squall-Leonhart]

Originally Posted by zeromus_

In the very same checkin which changed the extension to dsv, an "export backup memory" was added to the file menu which exports a raw sav. There is also "import backup memory" which is necessary for completion of the paradigm described below.

Based on our testing, the format is not 100% portable no$. Portability is even worse for ideas. You have to keep in mind round trip portability: even if no$ can read our save file, what will it write back out to the same save file? Will it be a 512KB headerless sav? That will break desmume because it will try to autoimport it as a 512KB save file. Sure, no$ can handle that 512KB raw save file, but then, desmume's autodetection is now superior to any other emulator's, so I think I'll stick with my way of doing it.

And, I absolutely dispute your characterization of our choice as confusing for computer illiterate people. I've been watching firsthand the chaos of poketards trying to move save files around and it isn't pretty. It is even tricky for people who know what they're doing because the extensions are the same and it is easy to get mixed up.

In order to understand how what we've done is easier, you have to actually think like computer illiterate retard. Plumb the depths and imagine. Now, you do not need to know any details of emulation or ds or desmume or no$ in order to move save files in and out of desmume. All you need to know is that desmume uses dsv, and if you want to use it in another emulator, you need to export it to sav, which is the format they support. This approach falls back completely on the simple paradigm of file formats / extensions / importers / exporters which is basic computer operations knowlege.

_You_ just think it is confusing because it is different from the previous situation which you had learned but was already very complex!! And, even if you don't think the previous situation was complex, let me assure you that the desmume-new-save-system-without-dsv-extension was in many subtle ways waaaay more complex.

Aye, i see the problems now, nocash saves certain battery files as 512K regardless of their actual save type >.>
and unfortunately martin korth has completely gone off the radar and cannot be contactable.

I also see the export battery item now, i must've been too busy looking at other things to notice it. so disregard anything iv'e said. Good work with getting the battery formats as accurate as possible however.

Originally Posted by zeromus_

By using this as the target format:

Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format [Autodetection] (.sav)

And then going to the main menu, importing backup memory, and resetting the emulator, I was able to load your save game.

The R4 option didn't work because it created a 512KByte save file, and desmume uses your current choice of save size to decide how to import a raw save file. Since the default choice is 'autodetect' it autodetected it as a 512KByte save file, instead of 64KByte which is what it truly is (and what my suggestion for target format would have produced)

I'll make sure this is all documented well (for what its worth, since nobody reads the docs) before the 0.9.3 release which is coming soon, but here is my off the cuff outline:

--Directions for importing a raw save file into desmume--
1. Convert the save file using shunyweb; the target format should be "Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format [Autodetection] (.sav)"
2. Boot the game. Let it get to the main menu
3. Select the correct backup size*, as specified by advanscene.com (which is not always right)
4. Reset the rom
*Step 3 is not always necessary, if you are smart, however, it will never hurt to do it.

I just want to note that in some cases ... the pokemon games are created as 256KB files, and need to be force converted to 512KB to work properly in desmume.

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VBA-M | Xtemu | NGOHQ | Post Impact Productions | TNHW | XBCD 0.2.6 | Satanic666's Emulator Compiles
Don't be a NOOB, READ THE NGEmu/EmuForums Rules of Conduct
Need Help with ePSXe? This is your first stop!.
If you don't post all the required information, you don't get help.
Everytime someone posts a romsite, God kills a beautiful woman.

---

Last edited by Squall-Leonhart; June 13th, 2009 at 07:39.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

[Amber Fox]

I tried this method of converting a no$GBA file to a Desmume file and it worked! However, I'm having problems doing it the other way around. I used the following:

Source Format: Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format
Target Format: No$GBA

The SAV file that results is the wrong size, so maybe that's why no$GBA isn't able to read it... Any way to fix this? Am I using the wrong source format or something?

This is for a Pokemon game, to be specific, so it uses 512KB save files. However, no$GBA normally creates saves files in that game 157KB large. The game isn't recognising the save file at all (which is 512KB large) and assumes I'm starting a new game.

[zeromus_]

Originally Posted by Amber Fox

I tried this method of converting a no$GBA file to a Desmume file and it worked! However, I'm having problems doing it the other way around. I used the following:

Source Format: Acekard RPG | EZFlash V | RAW Format
Target Format: No$GBA

The SAV file that results is the wrong size, so maybe that's why no$GBA isn't able to read it... Any way to fix this? Am I using the wrong source format or something?

This is for a Pokemon game, to be specific, so it uses 512KB save files. However, no$GBA normally creates saves files in that game 157KB large. The game isn't recognising the save file at all (which is 512KB large) and assumes I'm starting a new game.

What we have here is a failure to comprehend the file formats involved.

Those instructions for converting TO desmume create a file which is not dsv format, but rather a raw sav which desmume is fortuitously able to import. Desmume's native dsv format (created after the automatic sav import) is not Acekard RPG or EZFlash or RAW and therefore any attempts to use it as the source format in a conversion back to no$ format are doomed to failure.

In order to export the backup memory as a raw sav file, why not use the file menu option which is provided for that purpose in the windows port. If you're not using windows then you'll have to open the dsv file in a hex editor and snip the footer which should be clearly marked.

[Amber Fox]

Yay it worked! Thanks!

Of course, I had to configure No$GBA to be able to read the save file first, but it still worked. Playing with save files is so fun ^_^

For those of you wishing to do the same thing I did, here's the specifics on what I did:

1. Open Desmume
2. File -> Export Backup Memory
3. Type in a file name identical to the DSV/ROM file
4. Save it to the desktop or some other location (it's a SAV file now)
5. Close Desmume
6. Copy the file to the No$GBA battery folder, and replace the existing save file (if one exists)
7. In No$GBA's INI file, set the SAV File Format to Raw
8. Open the game in No$GBA and the save file should be read.

I'm not even sure if step 4 is necessary--that's just what I did... And step 5 is more for convenience. Step 7 is necessary for making the save file work, and must be done before Step 8.

Also, if Step 7 is done, you should theoretically be able to just copy-and-paste SAV files from No$GBA to Desmume without using a converter and have it work.

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Last edited by Amber Fox; August 5th, 2009 at 06:46..

[nanaya]

Found this app from gbatemp : GBAtemp.net :: Downloads :: Other useful tools :: Save File Type Converter v1.5.2

It can convert to and from dsv and sav files, tested this with no$gba (set to read/write raw saves) and older version of desmume, works great!

[ccl0]

what i find unusual about this process is.. lets say i have a .sav file from no$gba which is 512kb in size. i convert the file, then after i load it in desmume and save, that file can turn into a 65kb sized file. the process works.. but i don't know why there is a huge difference in size afterward

[zeromus_]

because no$gba saves files as 512KB for no good reason when they should really be much smaller.

[BinarySlave]

Originally Posted by zeromus_

because no$gba saves files as 512KB for no good reason when they should really be much smaller.

This is the same way a R4 does it (every save is 512KB in size), and a lot of other cards, as far as I know. This is also called RAW format on a R4.
When No$GBA is set to RAW it saves them most of the time in 512KB but definately not always. When set to COMPRESSED you can't say which size it will be (hence it's compressed and every data compresses differently).

In general: when converting saves from/to No$GBA always use RAW format.
This makes things a lot easier.

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