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Manual


CycloDS Evolution Reference Manual v1.2
http://www.cyclopsds.com

CycloDS Evolution is a multi-functional Micro SD adapter for NDS and NDS Lite (Slot 1) which
allows you to play games, listen to MP3's, view images, read e-books and enjoy the vast
collection of homebrew applications for NDS. You can also take advantage of the inbuilt cheat
code functionality to enjoy more freedom with your favourite games.

Features

• Completely plug & play - no FlashMe, PassMe or PC software required
• 100% game compatibility, supports clean ROM's - works on any OS
• Full NDS download play support, including problem games such as Mario Kart DS
• Wii connectivity in games such as Pokemon Diamond/Pearl is supported
• Action Replay compatible cheat code engine, comes bundled with cheat codes for over
330 games!
• Uses MicroSD card, both FAT16 and FAT32 supported
• Supports the MicroSDHC specification, allowing for high capacity memory cards
• Save type is automatically detected, no need for a save type database
• Save directly to MicroSD rather than onboard flash
• User friendly, easily skinnable interface. Both touch screen and button operation
supported
• Multi-lingual user interface
• "Enhanced Mode" which provides powerful, unique features during game play. Enhanced
features are activated through an in-game menu. Enhanced mode features include:
o Adjust LCD brightness during game play (NDSLite only)
o SlowMotion mode which can be used to slow down game play to make fast
paced action sequences easier to master
o Return to CycloDS Evolution Menu (aka soft reset)
o More features to come!
• Excellent homebrew compatibility thanks to the DLDI auto-patcher
• 2 megabytes of onboard flash memory which contains the CycloDS Evolution OS and will
be utilised in the future to add exciting new features. A recovery mode is also included.
• Autoboot mode which when activated will directly boot into the last ROM or homebrew
application executed
• Moonshell included to provide media playing functionality, soft-reset is supported
• PassMe function (boot from slot 2)
• Supports rumble and memory expansions

Operation Guide

The CycloDS Evolution is preloaded with a custom OS. There is no need to load system files to a
MicroSD card before running the device for the first time. Just load all your favourite games and
applications to your MicroSD card, insert it into the CycloDS Evolution and then plug the CycloDS
Evolution into your NDS or NDSL. Now you’re ready to play the games, media or applications of
your choice!

Main Menu

Upon launching the CycloDS Evolution application, you will be presented with three icons. On the
left is the Games / Homebrew icon which is used to browse and load commercial and homebrew
ROMS stored on the MicroSD card. In the middle is the Media icon which is used to launch the
media playing software (described below). On the right is the Settings / Misc icon which is used
to configure various aspects of CycloDS Evolution’s operation.

Games / Homebrew

From the main menu select Games / Homebrew, which will take you to the game list. Use the
NDS stylus to scroll downwards or upwards to the desired storage location and tap once to
launch the ROM, it’s that simple. Should you not wish to use the stylus for navigation, you may
also use the D-pad for scrolling and A button to enter a folder or execute a file. The B button will
take you to the previous directory, or back to the main menu if you are browsing from the root
directory. The L shoulder button acts as page down and R shoulder button page up, for page by
page navigation. The X button toggles between the three file view modes: ROM view where the
game name stored inside the ROM file is displayed, file view where the file name of the ROM is
displayed and list view which is similar to file view mode except 10 items are displayed per page
rather than just 4.

Cheat Codes

CycloDS Evolution contains an Action Replay compatible cheat code engine, giving you access
to game enhancements such as infinite lives, infinite health, all levels unlocked and much more -
the possibilities are endless! CycloDS Evolution comes with a bundled cheat database containing
up-to-date codes for over 330 different games which means you can take advantage of the cheat
code functionality right away. A cheat code editor is also available, which allows you to enjoy user
created cheat codes or simply keep your cheat database up-to-date thanks to internet update
feature. For more information regarding the cheat code editor, please refer to the documentation
supplied with the Evolution Tools package.
Cheat Codes are disabled by default and must be enabled from the settings screen before they
can be used. After selecting a game to play, CycloDS Evolution will scan the cheat code
database to see if there are any codes available for the game you have selected. If codes are
found then you are asked if you wish to select any codes to enable. If Yes is selected, you are
taken to the cheat code selection screen. If No is selected then the game will simply start as
normal without any codes enabled.



As with the game list, the cheat code selection screen may be navigated using either the stylus or
buttons. Use the D-pad for scrolling, the A button to toggle a code on/off or open/close a folder
and the X button to clear all selected codes. When you are done press the START button to
launch the game with the cheat codes you have selected enabled.



As mentioned above, it is possible to enter your own cheat codes to use with CycloDS Evolution.
These can be either codes that you’ve created yourself, or codes available on the internet. This
means that you can always keep your cheat database up-to-date and do not need to rely on the
cheat database bundled with each CycloDS Evolution upgrade. Further information is available in
the Evolution Tools package, available from the official CycloDS Evolution website.

Savegame Function

CycloDS Evolution allows you to save your game states as if it were a regular game cartridge.
The save game files are stored in a special format on your Micro SD card. The save game file is
the ROM filename + ".sav" extension, so for example with "Super Mario Brothers.nds" the save
would be stored as "Super Mario Brothers.sav". You may navigate the save game files with your
PC and back them up if you please.

Game Sharing

Original NDS cartridges may offer a game sharing function, where only one physical game
cartridge is required for two system owners to play the same game. CycloDS Evolution offers
exactly the same functionality and game sharing is enabled in exactly the same manner as a
regular game cart.
Some games offer a feature where they can connect with a Nintendo Wii console (currently
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl support this feature). Naturally, CycloDS Evolution allows this feature to
function in exactly the same manner as a regular game cart.

Enhanced Mode Operation

Enhanced mode offers additional features during game play, which are not available with
standard game cards. If Enhanced mode has been enabled, during game play press A + B + X +
Y + L + R simultaneously to bring up the in-game menu. From here you can access the enhanced
features:
• SlowMotion: When SlowMotion is enabled the same runs at a fraction of the normal
speed. This makes it easier to master fast paced action sequences. There are 3
selectable speed levels for SlowMotion which are selected from within the in-game menu.
• LCD Brightness: If you are using a NDS Lite console this allows you to adjust the
brightness of the LCD during game play.
• Cheat Codes: If you are playing a game with cheat codes enabled, you can temporarily
disable the cheat codes in-game.
• Return to Main Menu: Selecting this will exit the game currently being played and return
to the CycloDS Evolution menu (this feature is otherwise known as “in-game reset”).
Please be careful not to do this while the game is saving!
• Current Time: The current time is displayed in the bottom left hand corner of the
enhanced mode screen
• Return to Game: Selecting this will simply exit the in-game menu and return to the
game.

Homebrew Software

CycloDS Evolution is capable of running homebrew applications without any preparation on the
users’ part. Our dynamic auto-patch feature will enable homebrew software to access the
MicroSD card without any fuss whatsoever. The conventional method of manually patching DLDI
drivers into homebrew software is not required for our device.
If you wish to access a slot 2 device from homebrew software, then it is necessary to disable
DLDI auto-patching. To disable DLDI auto-patching, hold SELECT while executing homebrew
software.

Firmware Update

Should you wish to upgrade your CycloDS Evolution’s firmware, simply download the latest build
from the official website, decompress it and then transfer it to the root directory of your MicroSD
card. CycloDS Evolution will check for the latest firmware available on the MicroSD card and
automatically update it if a newer version than currently installed is found.

Skinning

The CycloDS Evolution GUI is fully skinnable, and skins are easy enough to make so that anyone
can do it! To use one or more skins, simply transfer the required skinning files to the folder
\CycloDS\skins on your MicroSD card and then select the desired skin from the settings menu.
Please note that each skin should have its own folder within the \CycloDS\skins folder – so for
example if your want to use a skin called “Mario”, create a directory called “\CycloDS\skins\Mario”
on your MicroSD card and then copy the skinning files into this directory. Skinning files consist of
several .BMP files and a single .XML file – this means that you need to extract these files first, do
not just copy the .ZIP/.RAR file onto the MicroSD card! So for example, for the Mario skin you
might have a file structure similar to this:
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\skin.xml
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\top.bmp
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\bottom.bmp
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\scrollbar.bmp
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\cheat-icons.bmp
\CycloDS\skins\Mario\menu-icons.bmp
If you would like to create your own skins, please see the official Team Cyclops forum for further
information.

Supplementary Features

The autoboot feature will load the last executed ROM or homebrew application by holding the L
and R shoulder buttons while launching the CycloDS Evolution application.
The auto-execute feature allows you to have a NDS file (game or homebrew) of your choice
loaded by default each time you boot CycloDS Evolution. This is achieved by placing an
executable named "autoload.nds" in the root directory of your MicroSD. If you wish to cancel
loading this file, hold down the X button as CycloDS Evolution is booting and you will instead be
taken to the main menu.
The Auto-boot to Slot 2 feature allows you to use CycloDS Evolution to boot from a slot 2 device
immediately rather than going through the Settings / Misc screen. Simply hold down the UP
button as CycloDS Evolution is loading to boot from slot 2.
The Boot From Slot 2 feature allows you to boot your slot 2 device. In effect CycloDS Evolution
acts as a PassMe in this mode.
Rumble is fully supported either with a dedicated rumble expansion or with the EZ3in1 expansion
pack. Rumble is enabled automatically; you don’t need to rely on 3rd party tools or ROM patches.
The Opera browser is made easier to use if you have either a CycloDS Mini/Micro or an EZ3in1
inserted in slot 2. In these cases CycloDS Evolution will patch Opera on the fly, enabling it to
utilize the RAM onboard the slot 2 device. If you have a different slot 2 device then Opera is still
supported but you will need to patch it manually.
To keep the main menu file listing tidy, it’s possible to hide folders which you do not want to
appear in the list. To do this, simply set the folder attributes to hidden with your operating system
(to do this with Windows, right click on the folder you wish to hide, click “Properties” and make
sure “Hidden” is checked).

Media

The media icon will launch the Moonshell media player application if it has been preloaded to
your MicroSD card. If you wish to return to the CycloDS Evolution main menu after Moonshell has
been started, simply tap the icon in the upper left corner of the bottom screen and then tap
“RESET.MSE”. You may download the Moonshell application from the official CycloDS website:
http://www.cyclopsds.com/
NOTE: Please ensure that you are using the latest Moonshell release for CycloDS Evolution (at
the time of writing this was v1.71 Release 3).

Settings / Miscellaneous

The settings menu allows toggling of different LCD screen brightness (NDSL only), selection of
different languages, selection of the aforementioned enhanced mode, cheat codes, the current
skin and finally, booting from a slot 2 device.

FAQ

Q: Which languages does the Evolution support?
A: English, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Latin American Spanish,
Korean, Dutch, Greek, Indonesian, Malaysian, Russian, Tagalog

Q: Will I be required to patch games or alter them in any way before use on CycloDS Evolution?
A: No

Q: How does the save game functionality work?
A: CycloDS Evolution saves a game as if it were a regular game cartridge. The resulting .sav files
can be backed up to PC or replaced with a previous or more recent .sav file from the same game.

Q: Is the CycloDS Evolution’s firmware upgradeable?
A: Yes, free and regular updates will be provided for download.

Q: Is homebrew software supported?
A: Yes, and patching DLDI drivers manually is not required.

Q: Can CycloDS Evolution be used with the Rumble Pack or Opera Browser RAM Expansion?
A: Yes

Q: Will battery life be affected?
A: No, we have purposely chosen low power consumption components to avoid this issue.

Q: Can I drag and drop files to my MicroSD card using Windows, Mac OS or Linux?
A: The bundled CycloDS Evolution card reader is mass storage compliant, so any operating
system can be used to manage the MicroSD file transfers.

Q: Are any custom files or software required in order to manage files for CycloDS Evolution?
A: No, files can be dragged and dropped to the MicroSD card using any standard PC OS.

Q: What colour is the Evolution cartridge?
A: CycloDS Evolution is currently offered in either white or black

Q: Will I have to modify my NDS or NDS Lite in any way, shape or form?
A: No, CycloDS Evolution will never require any user tampering with his NDS console.
Furthermore, CycloDS Evolution updates are independent of console revision.

Q: Are both NDS and NDS Lite consoles supported?
A: Yes, all current and future consoles are supported

Q: Can CycloDS Evolution be used on a DS from anywhere in the world?
A: Yes

Q: Do I need a PassMe or Passkey device in order to use CycloDS Evolution?
A: No, just the CycloDS Evolution and a MicroSD card.

Q: Can the Evolution OS be re-skinned?
A: Yes.

Additional Information
For more information regarding CycloDS Evolution please see the official website or discussion
forums:

Website: http://www.cyclopsds.com
Forums: http://www.teamcyclops.com/forum