Newbie Questions; Cheat DATS?

Hello Romulation,

Newb here, I am just getting that hang of this ROMness. A few humble questions;

1. Do I need the "Sytem Information Files" that show up in Winrar when I DL a rom?
Are they neccessary patches?
Or is it just something that tells me who uploaded and DL'd the game?
For instance I DL "2847 - Ninjatown (U) (Xenephobia).nds" and a "System Information File" named "xpa-ntwn" appears that is only 2.69 KB. Please tell me I don't have to keep track of these..

2. Can I rename the ROM files once I have them backed up on my PC?
I am using a Vista PC with no issues DLing so far, but before I put my games on a sd can I rename them without corrrupting the file or the game itself?

When a trouble game is "patched" is the patch included in the ROM file? Do I need anything else besides the basic rom file? Should I just "trial and error" with my cart and roms?

Thanks for everything, this site is amazing. If i have anymore silly newb questions I will try and link them below so as not to flood the boards.

A-

 

Re: Newbie Questions; Do I need the system information files?

1. Nope, the .NFO file can be opened with notepad for game info but isn't needed for playing. You can delete those after extraction.

2a. Renaming any rom name is safe and fine. You don't need the backup, but...

2b. When you do any game patch, always save a backup for later use, you never know when you're doin' it wrong.

 

Re: Newbie Questions; Do I need the system information files?

Thanks for the response ;D

I should rephrase the patch question;

When a "trouble game" like LOZH gets patched, are the repairs inside the ROM file or do I need to locate the patches individually and apply?

I know it seems like a dumb question, and I will work with 'trial and error'.

 

Re: Newbie Questions; Do I need the system information files?

Ummm... I don't think Phantom Hourglass needs to be patched, but if you mean the ARM7 patch, use premade patcher programs (I use ARM7 injector) and follow the instructions in the program. The program works by replacing the ARM7 (some games need the ARM9 to be replaced too) inside the .NDS.

Most of RomU's roms are unpatched and yes, you need to find the patch yourself for some games. And you may want to check out the common issues here: https://www.romulation.org/forum/index.php?topic=1462.0

 

Re: Newbie Questions; Do I need the system information files?

I had read in the LOZH page for comments that people had the game freeze on various parts.

So if I have decent support firmware for my cart then I shouldn't need to locate the patches?

The patches are semi-universal?

I use a TTDS cart, it doesn't appear to have a "cheat display" for roms. It works for everything I've put on it so far, no problem whatsoever and displayes my save info in the main TT menu. It looks like my cart is problem free so far, I just don't want to waste time/space any more than I already do ;D

We'll see what happens when I try GTA:CW...

 

Re: Newbie Questions; Do I need the system information files?

GTA:CW needs to be patched. Check out this thread: https://www.romulation.org/forum/index.php?topic=14970.0

 

More dumb questions;

1. So can I use cheat dats such as usrcheat.dat instead of manually patching roms myself?

2. I just drag the (usrcheat.dat) DAT file onto my sd's root menu?

 

1. Some of the roms (Like Chrono Trigger and Dragon Quest) is yes. While some other (usually those which needed ARM7/9 patch) is no. It really depends on the game.

2. It depends on your flashcart. There's a readme in the GBAtemp's cheat database that should answer your question.

 

The usrcheat.dat should go into your 'TTMenu' folder.