GBAtemp Glossary
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A
AKA: Acronym of "Also known as". Analogue/Analog: In gaming terms, analogue is a term that describes a button or joystick that can detect the level of force the user applies to it, unlike 'Digital' control. Adaptor/Adapter: A piece of hardware that allows another piece of hardware to be used in a device that did not originally support it and/or its interface. Popular examples are the M3 Adapter or the Supercard - adapters that allow the GBA or NDS to access external memory cards. Alpha: A term given to software very early in development, before it becomes a beta form (See 'Beta').
B
Backup: A loose term used to describe a ROM that has been extracted from the original cartridge into a single data file on a personal computer for personal use or achival, or the method for doing so. This can be done using various methods depending on what system the cartridge is for. Also known as "dumping". Ban: Refers to when a particular user has been blocked from visiting, viewing and posting on the forum. The "ban" can be set on the users username, e-mail addresses and even their IP addresses. (Also applies to IRC.) Beta: A software that is incomplete, in development or not in its final form. Beta software may contain many known bugs (See 'Bug'). Bot: An automated software client that can idle in an IRC channel and constantly monitor and manage the channel. Bug: (Buggy) An accidental mistake made in the programming of a piece of software (i.e. a video game), that may cause undesired operation or produce errors or worse. Popular examples are Neoflash products (hehe). A bug can often be fixed or resolved by applying a patch (see 'Patch'). Bad ROM/dump: A ROM (See 'ROM') that has been dumped (See 'Dump') incorrectly, which may cause it to produce errors during execution or may stop it from working as it should. 'Bad Dumps' almost always require the original cartridge to be dumped again properly to produce a good ROM (See 'Good ROM').
C
Clean Dump: A ROM dump (commonly referring to NDS ROMs), that has not been modified from its original form on the cartridge. CF: See 'CompactFlash'. CompactFlash: A type of flash memory module, that is one of the largest used in GBA and NDS flash kits. The module is approximately 43mm x 36mm in size. Crash: A unexpected fault (bug (See 'Bug')) in a software that will cause it to halt immediately. A crashed piece of software can not be recovered and must be re-started. Cartridge: A plastic casing containing variable content, for example, a PCB containing a game held on ROM including a backup EEPROM/battery to hold the game save. Here, this term is commonly used to describe a GBA game pak, an NDS game card or any other device used to slot into the expansion slots of a handheld, even flash kit adapters. Crack: An unofficial patch (See 'Patch') released by an individual or group which is meant to be applied to a piece of software to remove certain restrictions, features or anti-piracy (See 'Piracy') techniques, for example, a time restriction on an official demo piece of software.
D
Demo: A trial version of a software or game usually released by the developers of the software for promotional purposes. Demo software almost always has restrictions such as a time limit, lack of features or the inability to perform certain functions. DeSmuME: A Nintendo DS Emulator. Download Play: Allows two DS users to play multiplayer together. Some games require only one game between the two (hence Download Play), or it may require both players to have the game. DS: See 'Nintendo DS'. DS Lite: See 'Nintendo DS Lite'. Dualis: A Nintendo DS Emulator Dump: Synonym of ROM (See 'ROM'). The term "dumping" is a method of backing up an original cartridge to a PC. (See 'Backup').
E
e-Reader: An expansion device for the GBA. Playing card sized cards were released in packs that contained "dot codes" that could be swiped and then played on the GBA. Packs included Classic NES games, Animal Crossing, Pokemon Colosseum, Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3, Megaman Battle Network 3 and 4, and Megaman Zero 3. Pokemon cards also had dot codes on them that either had stat information or a mini game on them. Nintendo quietly let the e-Reader die as they continued to promise more cards like the highly anticipated Game and Watch cards but never did. EEPROM: Acronym for "Electronically erasable programmable read-only memory". A common type of memory used in GBA game paks and flash kits to store save game data. EFA-Linker: "EFA" is an acronym of "Extreme Flash Advance". The EFA-Linker is a great little GBA flash kit, that featured a mini-USB socket directly on the cartridge. This avoided the need for external flashing hardware and allowed for brilliant write speeds. Ensata: The official DS emulator for PC made by Intelligent Systems for Nintendo. Unlicensed copies of this emulator are illegal. The 1.4d version of this emulator was leaked on the internet, it ran some DS roms however not at any playable speed. Emulator: A program for the computer that allows ROMs to be played on the computer. It "emulates" a system. EWin: The Ewin flash is another flash kit for the GBA, made by the people at 51GBA. Renowned for its great build quality and cheap price, this kit won over many. The team behind the Ewin are currently working on new NDS projects. EZF: See 'EZ-Flash'. EZ-Flash: The team behind the EZF kits created some of the very first commercial GBA flash kits. Their good quality and excellent support coming from Borden and his team, gave the company a great reputation. Their EZF-Advance (aka. EZFA) GBA kit, was perhaps the most popular GBA flash kit.
F
FAQ: Acronym for "Frequently asked questions". Firmware: The code that a device runs from. A device which allows for firmware upgrades means that a new version of the device doesn't need to be bought to get new features. Flash Memory: Storage space that is stored on a chip instead of a disk that must be read like a harddrive. Contains no moving parts. Can be used either as internal memory like the DS, or can be used as a portable storage device like thumb drives or SD cards. FlashMe: Flashme is a hacked firmware replacement for both the DS and DS Lite. It looks and acts exactly the same as the original DS firmware except for the fact you will not need a Passme or Passcard (see 'PassMe'/'PassCard') to boot DS ROMs anymore. The standard version of Flashme removes the DS intro screen (including the Warning screen) when booting up. If you wish to keep this boot up screen please use Flashme_Stealth, which leaves it intact.
G
G6: A GBA Flashcart that uses internal memory. The G6-Flash is made by the same company as the M3 Adapter (GBAlpha), the G6 website can be found here. The G6 was redesigned as the new G6 Lite, which boasts many improvements. Game Boy: 1989. Nintendo's first big handheld (their first handheld being the Game and Watch). Game Boy Advance: 2001. The third version of the Game Boy line. Featured a wider screen, more colors, and L and R shoulder pad buttons. Game Boy Advance SP: 2003. An upgrade to the GBA. Featured a design similar to the first Game Boys and could fold in half. Featured a backlit screen. Game Boy Color: 1998. The second version of the Game Boy line. Featured a color display screen. Game Boy Light: 1997. Had a green back glow light that could be turned on. Only available in Japan. Game Boy Micro: 2005. An even smaller GBA. Featured an even brighter backlit screen, a smaller screen, and changable face plates. The smallest Game Boy so far. Also the first Game Boy not backwards compatible. Game Boy Pocket: 1996. A smaller version of the original Gameboy. Had true a true black-and-white display instead of the black-and-green display of the original. GB: See 'Game Boy'. GBA: See 'Game Boy Advance'. GBA SP: See 'Game Boy Advance SP'. GBC: See 'Game Boy Color'. Good ROM/dump: this term was originally used for ROMs that were validated by the GoodTools. But we sometimes also use this term for ROMs that are in the scene release lists if their CRC match. GoodTools: Cowering's GoodTools (official site) are a set of command-line applications that will let you validate and rename your rom collections. They cover nearly every console and system, and list not only commercial roms but also homebrew games and applications. Goomba: GameBoy Mono emulator for Gameboy Advance. You can use original GB and GBC cartridges with your GBA but before this emulator came out there was no way to boot GB/C games from flashcarts (except with a certain tool, the GB bridge, compatible with a certain type of GBA flashcart...). It is also useful if you want to play GB games on your DS. GoombaColor: the GameBoy Color version of Goomba. Official site
H
Hack: modification of a file or a system. For example, a 'ROM hack' means a 'modified ROM'. Homebrew: a homebrew game is a game developped by hobby programmers. Read more.
I
iQue: Nintendo's attempt to stop piracy in China. The iQue is just a controller that plugs directly into a television. Games can be downloaded to the 64 megabyte chip inside. The iQue name also applies to other consoles that Nintendo has launched in China, including the GBA and the iQue DS. iDeaS: A Nintendo DS Emulator IRC: acronym for 'Internet Relay Chat'. A famous instant messenging protocol. People often use IRC networks as P2P networks, to share files. Read more. GBAtemp has its own IRC channel, on the EFNet network, #gbatemp. Iris: See 'Ensata'.
J
K
L
LAN: Acronym for "Local Area Network". Connects a small, local area together. LCD: Acronym for "Liquid Crystal Display". Uses a smaller amount of power making it suitable for battery powered devices. Lite: short for "Light". The DS Lite, for example, is a lighter version of the DS. Li-On: See 'Lithium-Ion'. Lithium-Ion: A commonly used battery for electronics. It usually comes as a flat rectangle. It does not suffer from the memory effect. Loadme: A program released by the release group known as WRG. Loadme patches a DS Rom to work on any generic GBA flashcart. It is not needed on DS specific carts like M3/G6/EZ-Flash/Supercard as they have their own patching methods. LPT: acronym for 'Local Printer Terminal'. See 'parallel port'.
M
M3 (M3 Adapter): technically, the 3rd version of the GBA Movie Player, first cart to use removable media. The M3 is an adapter (exists in various versions - CF, SD, MiniSD...). It is now known for its excellent compatibility with NDS and GBA ROMs, and for its multimedia features. Official site. M3 Wiki. Max Media Launcher: another type of Passcard, manufactured by Datel. Micro SD: An even smaller version of the SD card. About half the size of a mini SD and about a quarter of the size of a normal SD card. Can hold just as much data as a normal SD card. Mini SD: A smaller version of the SD card. About half the size of a normal SD card. Can hold just as much data as a normal SD card. mIRC: The most popular IRC client. Official website. MML: See 'Max Media Launcher'. Moonshell: A DS Homebrew application that allows a Flashcart to play MP3's and some video files.
N
NeoFlash: The NeoFlash was the first commercial flash kit solution on the market for the Nintendo DS. They used a method that had already been created by the homebrew scene and mass produced it. The team behind the original NeoFlash continue to work on new projects for the NDS. NFO: NFO, an abbreviation of "info". "NFO" files are ASCII (See 'ASCII') text files with the filename extension ".nfo". These are commonly found alongside pirate (See 'Piracy') software releases by individuals or groups. They contain information about the release and other useful and useless information. Nintendo DS: The latest handheld gaming system from Nintendo. The "DS" stands for either "dual screens" or "developers system". The unit launched in the USA on November 11th 2004, Japan on December 2nd 2004, Australia on February 24th 2005, Europe on March 11th 2005, and China (as the iQue DS (See 'iQue') on July 23rd. Nintendo DS Lite: An updated rendition of the Nintendo DS. Main features include a much sleeker, smaller shape and design; much improved LCD (See 'LCD') screens; a larger stylus; and an improved battery life and controls. The Nintendo DS Lite launched in Japan on March 2nd 2006, Australia on June 1st 2006, the USA on June 11th 2006, and in Europe on June 23rd 2006. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection: Nitro: "Nitro" was the codename for the Nintendo DS. It later became publicly known as the "Nintendo DS" but Nintendo said they would again change the name before it hit retail. But they didn't, and they decided to stick with the name "Nintendo DS". (See 'Nintendo DS'.) NoPass: See 'Passcard'
O
Opera: A brand of Web Browser. The DS and Wii Web Browsers are powered by Opera.
P
Parallel (parallel port, LPT): a type of interface to connect a peripheral to a PC. Old linkers are connected to computers via the parallel port. Read more & view pictures. Patch: When a large program is released that has a bug, a patch is usually released instead of having the user download the whole program again. The patch is then applied to the existing data and fixes the bug. PassCard: A Passcard does what a Passme does (allow DS code and roms to boot from the GBA slot) except that it does not require an original DS game inserted. The best feature of a Passcard is that it is exactly the same size as an original DS game. They were created after the Passme2 as the DS’s encryption was successfully broken. Just pop it in and in combination with any flashcart you can run DS roms. The passcard is often known as a Passme 3. Some popular passcard devices include: Passcard3, Datel Media Launcher, Superkey and EZpass3. PassKey: a type of passme (see below) manufactured by the same company as the G6 and M3 PassMe: A Passme device allows DS code and roms to be booted from the GBA slot of the DS. In other words with a Passme inserted you can boot up DS roms that you store on a GBA flashcart. PassMe 2: a new generation of passme devices that support new versions of the Nintendo DS (Nintendo DS lite, Nintendo DS with new firmwares) as these new versions were protected against "passme v1" devices. Piracy: The act of illegally acquiring copyrighted materials. Pirate: One who engages in piracy. PSP: Sony's first venture into handheld gaming - the PlayStation Portable.
Q
R
Rein: A homebrew application that allows you to backup and write saves to an original DS card. Release Group: A group that releases ROMs on the internet. A group is given credit to a ROM when they release it. ROM: Acronym of "Read-only memory". A ROM is a piece of flash memory that contains permanently stored data that cannot be added to, modified or removed. The term ROM is also used to describe a ROM from, for example a game cartridge that has been extracted and backed up to a single file on a PC. This method of extraction can also be referred to as "dumping" or "backup" and the end file is commonly called a "dump" or "backup". RTC: Acronym of "real time clock". A problem that plagued early GBA flash kits that didn't include an RTC, which created problems when games that used an in-game clock were released. Popular RTC-enabled games such as the Pokémon series made this a bigger problem than it should have been. Most GBA flash kits now include an RTC. Rumble Pak: The original Rumble Pak was released for the Nintendo 64 as an attachment that could be plugged into the controller that would vibrate in unison with events happening in the game. Since then, rumble is now a built in standard in controllers. Rumble Paks can also be bought for the Nintendo DS.
S
Save Type: GBA and NDS cartridges can use different types of chips to store data (game saves). There are 3 types of memory chips used: SRAM, EEPROM, and Flash. Also, some games have no save chip, because they don't need to store data. SD Card: Acronym for Secure Digital cards. It is a flash memory card format used in portable devices, including digital cameras and handheld computers. Read more. Slot-1: A flashcart that is inserted in the DS cart slot. Slot-2: A flashcart that is inserted in the GBA cart slot of the DS. SRAM: Acronym for "Static random access memory". A common type of memory used in GBA game paks and flash kits to store save game data. Supercard: probably the most famous adapter. Exists in various versions (CF, SD, MiniSD...). NDS compatibility is nearly perfect while GBA compatibility isn't, due to the low-quality memory chip used for loading GBA ROMs. Superkey: a 'passcard' manufactured by the Supercard team.
T Trim: "Trimming" means to remove "dummy data" from a ROM file in order to decrease the file size. Contrary to how the majority of people think it works. It simply does not compress the ROM in any way. It's just a method of removing dummy (garbage/filler) data from the file which can be anything from a few KB to a few MB.
U
USB: Acronym for "Universal Serial Bus". A connection interface that is now the most common used amongst external computer peripherals, including MP3 players, external hard drives, keyboards and mice. USB is widely used because of its simple connection, easy to use socket, its data transfer speeds and its "plug 'n' play" reliability. Many GBA flash kits use USB.
V
VoIP: Acronym for "Voice Over Internet Protocol". VoIP allows for people to talk through the internet. It digitizes their voice, sends it through the internet, then translates it back to a voice on the other end.
W
Wi-Fi: Short for "Wireless fidelity". Wi-Fi is a type of wireless LAN (see 'LAN'). This makes it possible for a Wi-Fi enabled device, such as the Nintendo DS, to access an internet connection shared via a wireless LAN without any additional wires or connections. Also see 'Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection'. WiFiMe: a PC application that will act as a Nintendo DS and will transfer a little bit of code to your DS. This code will for example allow you to run DS games from your GBA cartridge. Will only work on a certain type of WiFi cards (cards based on the RT2500 chipset) and on the first version of the normal DS. WFC: See 'Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection'.
X
X-ROM: A GBA based flash kit sold only through EasyBuy2000. For its cheap price, it offered good value for money, but it simply arrived too late in the GBAs life for it to take off. Slow write speeds also put off some potential buyers. [GBAtemp Trivia: The X-ROM 512Mbit kit was the first flash kit we ever reviewed!]
Y
Z
