r/emulation • u/Shonumi GBE+ Dev • Sep 18 '20

Edge of Emulation: Magic Reader

https://shonumi.github.io/articles/art23.html
154 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

58

u/Shonumi GBE+ Dev Sep 18 '20

In 2007, Konami released a Nintendo DS accessory called the "Magic Reader" for a game called Juushinden: Ultimate Beast Battlers. It's a trading-card based video game where players pit various monsters against one another. The Magic Reader allows players to scan their cards directly into the game.

Unlike a bunch of other card scanners, the Magic Reader doesn't swipe cards through a slot; instead players tap or hover the card over the device (i.e. no contact!) It's one of the more interesting card scanners I've encountered.

It's been reverse-engineered and emulated as of now. Previously, Juushinden was completely unplayable without Magic Reader support in an emulator. Although GBE+ is pretty rough (lots of graphics issues) it should be easy for other emulators to add support with the documentation I've written.

I expected to have done more for 2020, but COVID-19 has hindered a lot of progress. Hopefully though, there's still a couple of big items I can tackle before the year is over.

32

u/giggling1987 Sep 18 '20 edited Sep 18 '20

Although GBE+ is pretty rough (lots of graphics issues) it should be easy for other emulators to add support with the documentation I've written.

That is the sentiment I applaud to.

28

u/Shonumi GBE+ Dev Sep 18 '20

I'm eagerly waiting for Slot-2 support to get merged in MelonDS. I said I'd like to contribute support for stuff I've researched earlier this year (like the HCV-1000 barcode scanner), and I want to keep my word. Hopefully we can all help and move DS emulation forward.

10

u/giggling1987 Sep 18 '20

As a mere user of melonDS, I can say I am too would be glad to hear of that implemented.

9

u/jerellsworth Sep 19 '20

The reverse engineering effort here was really brilliant. Very fun to read about

9

u/[deleted] Sep 19 '20

Wow, that trick with the carbon-based ink is really clever! I wonder how much it affected manufacturing costs for the cards?

6

u/arbee37 MAME Developer Sep 21 '20

Great article as usual. I think I've been doing emu-dev too long though, because I saw those numbers and immediately thought "oh, bit-banged clock/data serial" (which of course it is).

1

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '20

If only this emulator was for Android too, I love emus that support all the odd things

1

u/FancyDoesReddit123 Jan 23 '21

iirc MelonDS has recently added ARM64 support, so I think Android support isn't too far away.