The official port of ScummVM to the Nintendo DS handheld console by Neil Millstone (agentq)
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- News
- What is ScummVM DS?
- Features
- Screenshots
- How to get ScummVM DS onto your DS
- What to do if saving doesn't work or your card gets corruped - force SRAM saves
- How to use ScummVM DS
- Which games are compatible with ScummVM DS
- Game Specific Controls
- DS Options Screen
- Predictive dictionary for Sierra AGI games
- Converting your CD audio
- Converting speech to MP3 format
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Downloads
- Contributors
- Donations and Getting Help
- Building from Sources
News
29/02/08 - ScummVM DS 0.11.1
- Bugfix release - no new features for the DS port
15/01/08 - ScummVM DS 0.11.0
- New games supported: Elvira 1 and 2, Waxworks (Amiga version)
- Software scaler for improved image quality. Turn it on using the DS options screen (press select during the game). Thanks to Tramboi and Robin Watts for this feature!
- Function keys added to virtual keyboard (used in AGI games)
- Plenty of bug fixes
05/08/07 - ScummVM DS 0.10.0a released
- New engines supported: AGI, CINE, and SAGA.
- Option to show the mouse cursor
- Word completion on keyboard for AGI games
- Plenty of optimisations
- Numerous bug fixes
06/04/07 - ScummVM DS v0.9.1a Released
This is the new stable version of ScummVM DS. Here are the changes in this version:
- Removed internal card reader drivers and added DLDI support
- Fixed graphical glitches in Scumm games which use a lot of scrolling
- Fixed bug that prevented the CD Audio from looping
- Added 100%, 200% and 'Fit' options while zooming (Hold L and press A/B)
- Allow CD audio tracks to start from track 1 or 2
- Fixed long filename support to allow Mac versions of Scumm games to run
- Fixed broken turning controls during fights in the Indiana Jones titles
What is ScummVM DS?
ScummVM is an interpreter that allows you to play many point and click adventure games from the 80s and 90s on modern computers. I didn't write ScummVM, that honour goes to the ScummVM team. ScummVM runs games from Lucasarts that were created using the SCUMM system (hence the name) but it has also been expanded to run games from many other developers too. ScummVM is written in portable C++ and has been ported to many differnet platforms, and I have made a port of it to the DS. This means that you can play all these classic games on the DS with full sound.
Features
Screenshots
How to Get ScummVM DS Onto Your DS
To use ScumMVM on your DS, you will need a way of getting code onto your DS, and a copy of the game you want to run. Don't ask me how to get hold of the games, they are still copyright works, so that means you have to buy them. These games are all out of production though, so you'll have to resort to buying a second hand copy from a place like eBay. You can also use demo versions of the games which you can get from the ScummVM website.
The exception to this are the two games Beneath a Steel Sky and Flight of the Amazon Queen. These two games have been given away for free by their developer, Revolution Software, so you are free to download and play these without paying for them. These can be download from the ScummVM downloads page.
ScummVM DS is a homebrew application. This means that Nintendo haven't approved it, as they do with commercial games. Therefore, in order to run ScummVM you must rely on third party devices which are produced without the approval or knowledge of Nintendo. The devices that can be used to run homebrew on the DS vary widely. The easiest supported card to use is probably the R4DS or M3 Simply/M3 Real. These cards sits in your DS slot. All that's required to be up and running on this card is to put ScummVM DS and your games on the Micro SD card, stick the card reader into your DS, and turn on. Nothing else is required. ScummVM DS can be selected from a menu, and everything runs great. So if you're worried about how hard it is to get this going, these are the ones to get.
Other devices use the GBA slot, the slot normally used for a Game Boy Advance cartridge for backwards compatibility, and these need a NoPass in order to boot the GBA slot in DS mode. There are several types of these which all work in the same way. One of the more popular is the Datel Media Launcher, but the PassKey 3 and many others should work well. Then you need a card reader for your GBA slot. There are various versions of the Supercard and M3 Adaptor.
The important thing to remember is that your card reader must have a DLDI driver. This is essential, as without it ScummVM will not be able to read from your card. If you're card reader doesn't have a DLDI driver, you should ask the card manufacturer to make one. I can't help you with this.
You'll find plenty of information on how to use these various methods by searching on Google.
NOTE: This site used to detail how to use FlashMe, WifiMe, PassMe or a PassMe2, but have now been made obsolete by the NoPass. There are other places on the net where you can get information on such methods. Previous version of ScummVM DS supported a method which used a zip file to run games on unsupported flash card readers. This method is no longer supported.
While each card reader should work with these instructions, there are some exceptions. Please read the card reader notes section to see if there is any specific information about your card reader.
Here is what you need to do:
Either way, you should see 'Patched Successfully'. If you
don't, you're doing something wrong.
You need to patch one of the builds labeled A - F depending on
which game you want to run. See the table on the ScummVM DS
website to see which games are supported by which build.
If your copy of ScummVM DS has been successfully patched, you will
get a message on the top screen that looks like this:
If you haven't patched your .nds file, you will get the following
message
You may also see the following message:
In the case of the Supercard, M3 Lite and DS Link, there are several drivers available. You might want to try one of the others.
This version of ScummVM DS will run on any card reader that has a
DLDI driver available. If yours doesn't, you need to pressure your
card reader manufacturer to release one.
DO NOT EMAIL ME TO ASK ME TO CREATE A DRIVER FOR YOUR CARD READER,
I CANNOT DO THIS.
Flight of the Amazon Queen and Beneath a Steel Sky have generously been released as freeware by the original authors, Revolution Software. This is a great thing and we should support Revolution for being so kind to us. You can download the game data from the official ScummVM download page.
The other games on this list are commercial, and still under copyright, which means downloading them without paying for it is illegal. You can probably find a second-hand copy on eBay. Please don't email me to ask for a copy, as I am unable to send it to you.
How to Get ScummVM DS Onto Your DS - Using a CF/SD/Mini SD/Micro SD card reader and a DLDI driver
All DS card readers are different in the way that they work. In order to support many different card readers, ScummVM DS doesn't contain support for any of them, but instead relies on a DLDI driver to be installed into the ScummVM DS code. This is done using a program called DLDITool which you can download and run on your computer. Each DLDI driver is designed to tell ScummVM DS how to use a specific type of card reader. These drivers can be used with any homebrew program which supports the DLDI interface.
dlditool <dldiname> <scummvm nds name>
If you're using the Windows GUI version, double click on
dlditool32.exe, select your card reader from the box, drag
your ScummVM binaries (either the .nds, or the .ds.gba version
depending on your card reader. I think only Supercards use the
.ds.gba files) into the lower box, then click patch.
DLDI Device:
GBA Movie Player (Compact Flash)
The message should show the name of your card reader. If it is
wrong, you have used the wrong DLDI file.
DLDI Driver not patched!
DLDI Initialise failed.
In this case, you've made a mistake following the above instructions,
or have patched the wrong file.
DLDI Device:
GBA Movie Player (Compact Flash)
DLDI Initialise failed.
In this case, the driver did not start up correctly. The driver is
probably faulty, or incompatible with your card reader.
How to Get ScummVM DS Onto Your DS - Instructions for specific card readers
Which games are compatible with ScummVM DS?
I'm glad you asked. Here is a list of the compatible games in version 0.11.0. Demo versions of the games listed should work too.
| Game | Status | Supported by build | Notes |
| Manic Mansion | Fully working | A | |
| Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders | Fully working | A | |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | Fully working | A | |
| Loom | Fully working | A | |
| Passport to Adventure | Fully working | A | |
| The Secret of Monkey Island | Fully working | A | |
| Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge | Fully working | A | |
| Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis | Fully working | A | |
| Day of the Tentacle | Fully working | A | |
| Sam & Max Hit the Road | Fully working | A | Some slowdown in a few scenes when MP3 audio is enabled |
| Bear Stormin' | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Fatty Bear's Fun Pack | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Putt-Putt's Fun Pack | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Putt-Putt Goes to the Moon | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Putt-Putt Joins the Parade | Fully working | A | DOS version only |
| Beneath a Steel Sky | Fully working | B | |
| Flight of the Amazon Queen | Fully working | B | |
| Simon the Sorcerer 1 | Fully working | C | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character |
| Simon the Sorcerer 2 | Fully working | C | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character |
| Elvira 1 | Fully working | C | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character |
| Elvira 2 | Fully working | C | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character |
| Waxworks | Fully working | C | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character. Amiga version only. |
| Gobliiins | Fully working | D | |
| Gobliins 2 | Fully working | D | |
| Goblins 3 | Fully working | D | |
| Ween: The Prophecy | Fully working | D | |
| Bargon Attack | Fully working | D | |
| Future Wars | Fully working | D | |
| All Sierra AGI games. For a complete list, see this page | Fully working | D | |
| Inherit the Earth | Fully working | E | Compressed speech does not work with this game |
| The Legend of Kyrandia | Fully working | F | Zoomed view does not follow the speaking character |
There is no support for Full Throttle, The Dig, or The Curse of Monkey Island because of memory issues. There simply is not enough RAM on the DS to run these games. Sorry. Also there is no support for Humongous Entertainment Windows games. The extra code required to make this work uses up too much RAM.
If you want to use SRAM save, just create a text file called scummvm.ini (or scummvmb.ini, scummvmc.ini for builds B or C) in the root of your card which contains
the following:
One disadvantage of forcing SRAM saves is that your settings won't be saved. You can add games manually to the ini file so that you
don't have to select them on each boot. Just add a section like the following on for each game on your card.
You can use the B button to skip cutscenes, and the select button to show an options menu which will let you tweak the DS contols, including switch between scaled and unscaled video modes. The text is clearer in the unscaled mode, but the whole game doesn't fit on the screen. To scroll around, hold either shoulder button and use the D-pad or drag the screen around with the stylus. Even in scaled mode, a small amount is missing from the top and bottom of the screen. You can scroll around to see those areas. The top screen shows a zoomed-in view. This scrolls around to focus on the character who's speaking, and also follows where the pen touches the screen. You can change the zoom level by holding one of the shoulder buttons and pressing B to zoom in and A to zoom out. There is also a fixed 200% zoom option which can be selected on the DS Options screen (press select during the game).
Press the start button for the in-game menu where you can load or save your game (this works in Lucasarts games, other games vary). Saves will write directly to your flash card. You can choose the folder where they are stored using the GUI that appears when you boot up. If you're using a GBA Flash Cartridge, or an unsupported flash card adaptor, you will be using GBA SRAM to save your game. Four or five save game will fit in save RAM. If you save more games than will fit, a warning will appear on the top screen. When you turn your DS off, the new save will be lost, and only the first ones you saved will be present.
Many of the games use both mouse buttons. Usually the right button performs the default action on any object you click on. To simulate this with the DS pen, you can switch the input into one of three modes. Press left on the D-pad to enable the left mouse button. Press right on the D-pad to enable the right mouse button. Press up on the D-pad to enable hover mode. In this mode, you won't click on anything, just hover the mouse cursor over it. This lets you pick out active objects in the scene.
An icon on the top screen will show you which mode you're in.
What to do when saving doesn't work or your card gets corrupted - forcing SRAM Saves
If ScummVM DS cannot save games to your SD card, or it causes corruption when it does, you can force it to use GBA SRAM to save the game.
This uses your flash cart reader's GBA features to save the game to a .sav or .dat file (depending on the reader). This means that only slot-2 devices can use SRAM saves, and only ones with support for GBA games.
[ds]
forcesramsave=true
When you boot your game, ScummVM DS will not save games to your SD card directly, instead it will save to GBA SRAM. On most cards, you
need to transfer the data to your SD card by rebooting and using your card reader's boot-up menu. Using this method, around four saves
can me made.
[monkey2]
description=Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (English/DOS)
path=mp:/MONKEY2
How to Use ScummVM
Once you've booted up ScummVM, you'll see the start up screen. Tap the 'Add' button with the pen, then browse to the folder containing your game data. If you didn't use folders, the data will be in the root, and you just need to tap the 'Choose' button. You will get some options for the game. You can usually just click 'Ok' to this. Now click on the name of the game you want to play from the list and click 'Start'. Your game will start!
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In hover mode, there are some additional controls. While holding the pen on the screen, tapping D-pad left or D-pad right (or A/Y in left handed mode) will click the left or right mouse button.
Here is a complete list of controls in right-handed mode (the default setting):
| Key | Usage |
| Pad Left | Left mouse button |
| Pad Right | Right mouse button |
| Pad Up | Hover mouse (no mouse button) |
| Pad Down | Skip dialogue line (for some Lucasarts games), Show inventory (for Beneith a Steel Sky), Show active objects (for Simon the Sorceror) |
| Start | Pause/game menu (works in some games) |
| Select | DS Options |
| B | Skip cutscenes |
| A | Swap main screen and zoomed screen |
| Y | Show/Hide debug console |
| X | Show/Hide on-screen keyboard |
| L + D-pad or L + Pen | Scroll touch screen view |
| L + B | Zoom in |
| L + A | Zoom out |
And here's left-handed mode:
| Key | Usage |
| Y | Left mouse button |
| A | Right mouse button |
| X | Hover mouse (no mouse button) |
| B | Skip dialogue line (for some Lucasarts games), Show inventory (for Beneith a Steel Sky), Show active objects (for Simon the Sorceror) |
| Start | Pause/game menu (works in some games) |
| Select | DS Options |
| D-pad down | Skip cutscenes |
| D-pad up | Swap main screen and zoomed screen |
| D-pad left | Show/Hide debug console |
| D-pad right | Show/Hide on-screen keyboard |
| R + D-pad or R + Pen | Scroll touch screen view |
| R + D-pad down | Zoom in |
| R + d-pad right | Zoom out |
Game-specific controls
- Sam and Max Hit the Road: The current cursor mode is displayed on the top screen. Use d-pad right to switch mode.
- Indiana Jones games: If you get into a fight, press Select, and check the
box marked 'Use Indy Fighting Controls'.
Return to the game, then use the following controls to fight:
D-pad left: move left
D-pad right: move right
D-pad up: guard up
D-pad down: guard down
Y: guard middle
X: Punch high
A: Punch middle
B: Punch low
Left shoulder: Fight towards the left
Right shoulder: Fight towards the right
The icon on the top screen shows which way you're currently facing. Remember to turn the option off when the fight ends, or the normal controls won't work! - Beneath a Steel Sky: Press D-pad down to show your inventory.
- Simon the Sorcerer 1/2: Press D-pad down to show active objects.
- AGI games: Press Start to show the menu bar.
- Bargon Attack: Press Start to hit F1 when you need to start the game. Use shift with the number keys on the on-screen keyboard to press other function keys.
DS Options Screen
Press the 'select' button during any game to show the DS options screen. This screen shows options specific to the Nintendo DS version of ScummVM.
- High Quality Audio - Enhance the sound quality, at the expense of some slowdown during some games.
- Indy Fighting Controls - Enable fighting controls for the Indiana Jones games. See 'Game Specific Controls' for more information.
- Zoomed Screen at fixed 200% zoom - disable the zoom in/out feature on the top screen and force it to show the graphics at double size.
- Left handed Mode - Switch the controls on the D-pad with the controls on the A/B/X/Y buttons.
- Disable power off - ScummVM DS turns the power off when the game quits. This option disables that feature.
- Show mouse cursor - Shows the game's mouse cursor on the bottom screen.
- Snap to border - makes it easier for the mouse controls to reach the edges of the screen. Used when the screen calibration is not quite perfect. (ie. the cursor on screen doesn't quite match when the pen is pressed) Useful for Beneath a Steel Sky and Goblins 3.
Three scaling options are available for the main screen.
- Harware Scale - Scales using the DS hardware scaler using a flicker method. Produces lower quality graphics but doesn't slow the game down.
- Software Scale - Scales using the CPU. A much higher quality image is produced, but at the expense of speed in some games.
- Unscaled - Allows you to see the graphics as originaly displayed. This doesn't fit on the DS screen, but you can scroll the screen around by holding the left shoulder button and using the D-pad or touch screen.
Please note that even when scaling is enabled, the screen will still not show the lower
8 pixels. To see these, hold the left shoulder button and use the D-pad to scroll up and down.
If you are playing a Sierra AGI game, you will be using the on-screen keyboard quite a lot (press X to show it). To
reduce the amount you have to type, the game can automatically complete long words for you. To use this feature,
simply copy the PRED.DIC file from the ScummVM DS archive into your game folder on your card. Now, when you use
the keyboard, possible words will be shown underneath it. To type one of those words, simply double click on it
with your stylus.
ScummVM supports playing CD audio for specific games which came with music
stored as standard music CD tracks. To use this music in ScummVM DS, they
need to be ripped from the CD and stored in a specific format. This can only
be done for the CD versions of certain games, such as Monkey Island 1, Loom, and
Gobliiins. All
the floppy games and CD games that didn't have CD audio tracks for music
don't require any conversion, and will work unmodified on ScummVM DS. MP3 audio
files for CD music are not supported.
Cdex can do the conversion very well and I recommend using it to convert
your audio files, although any CD ripping software can be used, so feel free
to use your favourite program. The format you need to use is IMA-ADPCM
4-bit Mono. You may use any sample rate. All other formats will be
rejected, including uncompressed WAV files.
Now I will to describe how to rip your CD tracks with Cdex, which can be
found here:
Cdex Homepage
To set this up in Cdex, select Settings from the Options menu. On the Encoder
tab, select 'WAV Output Encoder'. Under 'Encoder Options', choose the
following:
Next, go to the 'Filenames' tab and select the folder you want to save your
Wav files to. Under 'Filename format', enter 'track%3'. This should name
your WAV files in the correct way. Click OK.
Now select all the tracks on your CD, and click 'Extract CD tracks to a
compressed audio file'. Cdex should rip all the audio off your CD.
Now all you have to do is copy the newly created WAV files into the same
directory that your other game data is stored on your CompactFlash card.
Next time your run ScummVM DS, it should play with music!
Important Note: Do not select 'Extract CD tracks to a WAV file'. This creates uncompressed WAVs only. You want 'Extract CD tracks to a compressed audio file'.
ScummVM supports playing back speech for talkie games in MP3 format.
Unfortunately, the DS CPU is not quite up to the task, and MP3 audio will
sometimes cause slowdown in your game. However, if your flash card
isn't big enough to fit the audio files on, you will have no choice!
To convert your audio you will need a copy of the
ScummVM Tools package. You will also need a copy of the LAME MP3 encoder.
Once this is all installed and set up, the process to encode your audio varies from game to game, but the Lucasarts games
can all be compressed using the following command line:
Q: I can't see the bottom line of inventory items in Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island 2, or
a few other games! What do I do?
Q: I dont see a menu when I press Start in Flight of the Amazon Queen or Simon the Sorcerer. Is ScummVM broken?
Q: Why does ScummVM crash when I play Monkey Island 1?
Q: When will you support my Mini/Micro SD card reader? I want it! Pretty please?
Q: ScummVM won't save/load, or crashes in the newspaper scene in DOTT, or during the intro in Fate of Atlantis. What do I do?
You can also download the source code. This is only needed if you want to make changes to ScummVM DS:
Older versions (from before ScummVM DS was an official port):
ScummVM v0.6 Binary
ScummVM v0.5 Binary
ScummVM v0.4 Binary
ScummVM v0.3 Binary
ScummVM v0.2 Binary
ScummVM v0.1 Binary
This program was brought to you by caffiene, sugar, and late nights.
If you want to contact me, please email me on scummvm at millstone dot demon dot co dot uk.
If you want to help with the development of ScummVM DS, great! Download the source code and get building. There are plenty of things left to do.
You can also help by making a donation if you've particularly enjoyed ScummVM DS. This uses Paypal, and is completely secure. There's no pressure though, ScummVM DS is completely free. This is just for those who would like to make a contribution to further development.
Auto completion dictionary for Sierra AGI games
Converting your CD audio
Format: WAV
Compression: IMA ADPCM
Samplerate: 22050 Hz
Channels: Mono
On the fly encoding: On
Converting Speech files to MP3 format
compress_scumm_sou --mp3 monster.sou
Frequently Asked Questions
I get a lot of email about ScummVM DS. Nearly all of them are exactly the same. Here I'm going to try and answer the questions that everybody asks me in the hope that I will spend less time answering questions that are clearly in the documentation and more time helping people who have a real problem or have discovered a real bug.
A: Hold down the left shoulder button and use D-pad (or the touch screen) to scroll the screen around.
A: No. To save in Simon the Sorcerer, click 'use', then click on the postcard in your inventory. In Flight of the Amazon Queen, click 'use', then click on the journal in your inventory.
A: This happens when MP3 or OGG audio tracks are present from the PC version of ScummVM. Delete the MP3 tracks and reencode them to ADPCM WAV files, from your original CD, as described in this section.
A: ScummVM uses DLDI drivers. If your card reader manufacturer doesn't provide a driver, there is nothing I can do about it. The people to ask are the card reader manufacturers themselves.
A: This is down to a buggy DLDI driver which doesn't support unaligned data reads properly. Contact the author of the DLDI and point them to this FAQ, and they should know what to do. If the author of a DLDI want to contact me, feel free, and I will tell them what the issue is.
Q: Can't you use the extra RAM in the M3/Supercard or the official Opera Expansion Pack to support more games like The Dig and Full Throttle? DS Linux has done it, so why can't you?
A: Not at the moment. The extra RAM has certain differences to the build in RAM which makes it difficult to use for general programs. As ScummVM DS is an official port, the changes to the ScummVM code base must be minimal to avoid making the code difficult to read for other users. I do have plans to work on this some time in the future, but don't nag me about when it'll be done. If and when there's progress with this, I will post on the ScummVM forums about it.
Q: ScummVM DS turns off my DS when I hit 'Quit' in the game or quit from the frontend. Why doesn't it return to the menu?
A: Due to bugs in the ScummVM codebase, many of the ScummVM games cannot quit cleanly leaving the machine in the same state as when it started. You will notice that no other versions of ScummVM can quit back to the menu either. This will be fixed at some time in the future.
Q: The text looks a little unclear. Is there a chance of a better scaler? Perhaps a software scaler?
A: Press select and enable the software scaler. Press select during the game for the DS Options Screen, and select 'Software scaler'.
Downloads
The current version of ScummVM DS can be downloaded from Sourceforge. Download this if you want to play the games:
ScummVM DS 0.11.1
Download ScummVM DS 0.11.0 source code
Pleae note: due to a typo on my part, version 0.11.0 used to be called 0.11.0a in a few places. Sorry.
Previous stable versions:
ScummVM DS 0.11.0
ScummVM DS 0.10.0a
ScummVM DS 0.9.1a
ScummVM v0.61 Binary
ScummVM v0.61 Source Code
ScummVM v0.6 Source Code
ScummVM v0.5 Source Code
ScummVM v0.4 Source Code
ScummVM v0.3 Source Code
ScummVM v0.2 Source Code
ScummVM v0.1 Source Code
Contributors
ScummVM DS uses chishm's GBA Movie Player FAT driver.
The CPU scaler is by Tramboi and Robin Watts
The ARM code was optimised by Robin Watts
Thanks to highpass for the ScummVM DS icons.
Thanks to zhevon for the Sam & Max cursor code.
Thanks to theNinjaBunny for the M3 Adaptor guide on this site.
Thanks also to everyone on the GBADev Forums.
Donations and Getting Help
If you have problems getting ScummVM to work on your hardware, please read the FAQ first. Please don't ask me questions which are answered in the FAQ, I get many emails about this program each day, and I can't help the people who really need help if I'm answering the same question all the time which is already answered on this page. Other than that, feel free to post on the ScummVM DS forum for help. Please do your research first though. There is no way of running this on an out-of-the box DS without extra hardware. Most of these things are fairly inexpensive though.
Building from Sources
To build ScummVM DS from source, it's probably better to checkout the latest version of the code from the ScummVM SVN repository. The ScummVM
Sourceforge.net homepage has all the information about how to do this. Please post on the ScummVM DS forum for assistance with compilation.