DSlot Beta

Chapter 12

Known issues

What is unfinished in the beta, what doesn't work yet, and what to expect.

On this page

DSlot 0.1.0-beta2 is a beta. Everything on the RG DS+ works; this page lists what’s still to come.

Not there yet🔗

  • Updates: cards built from source (development cards) don’t update themselves; image cards do (Updates).
  • Packages. DSlot, the emulators and the system’s own packages (kernel, hardware layer) aren’t in a package repository: they come with the card and its updates, not with pacman.
  • Security. There are no passwords unless provision.toml sets one: the console logs in by itself and sudo asks for nothing, so anyone holding the DS+ has full control of it. SSH is off until you give a key, and never takes passwords. The system partition is writable.
  • Installing needs a computer to write the card; there is no installer on the device.
  • One device. DSlot’s card runs on the Anbernic RG DS+ only.

Games and emulators🔗

  • PlayStation: most games play, but occasional frames take nearly a whole frame’s time, which shows as a stutter in some games. Higher internal resolution is off for now.
  • Famicom Disk System: set up, and its BIOS check tested, but not yet played with a game.
  • Mega-CD, 32X and Pico: set up, but no game of theirs has been played on the DS+ yet, and achievements through PicoDrive are unchecked.
  • Arcade: played with MAME’s free sets so far. A set must match FinalBurn Neo’s version of it; one from another emulator’s list may not start.
  • PSP: heavy 3D games (God of War) are over the frame’s time even at 1x. Its RetroAchievements sets show on the shelf, but earning one on the DS+ hasn’t been seen yet.
  • DS games at a higher 3D resolution cost more: 4x is too slow for most games, and at 2x or 3x the heaviest scenes can fall behind, when DSperate shows every other frame and then drops the 3D to 1x by itself until it catches up. They also warm the DS+ and drain the battery faster.
  • inktick (Game & Watch) is a preview: units that use the SM5A chip (the Silver and Gold series and a few others) aren’t supported yet. nibcase plays Game & Watch too, from .mgw files.
  • slot CFW saves: GBA battery saves from a slot card aren’t picked up by themselves; copy them across (Games, BIOS and saves). Save states never carry over between emulators.

PortMaster🔗

  • Ports that need RetroArch don’t start; there is no RetroArch.
  • Ports that need 32-bit libraries aren’t offered.
  • PortMaster is downloaded on first use, so Get PortMaster needs Wi-Fi.

Hardware🔗

  • A warm restart can leave the top screen striped (alternate lines). A cold power-on is clean: power off, then on.
  • A complete kernel hang (no interrupts at all) stays dark until you hold power to switch off; every other hang restarts the DS+ by itself. The same goes for a shutdown from overheating.
  • USB around sleep: the USB host port is switched off while the DS+ sleeps, so a USB device reconnects after waking.
  • Speakers: The card’s own speaker tuning isn’t as loud as they can go. Import the official tuning from your own stock firmware for more (Sleep, charging and the battery).
  • Bluetooth audio is new: SBC, aptX, LDAC and Opus, no AAC. Tell us how your headphones do.
  • Battery life will get better: the processor’s deeper idle states and Wi-Fi power saving are still to come. Turn Wi-Fi off when you don’t need it.

Reporting what you find🔗

Found something not on this page? Report it, with the log from the card.