Savegame Portability

[Edoardo Giacomello]

Hi, i'm playing at pokemon FireRed with VGBA 3.8.8, but i've noticed
that it's only compatible with 6bit EEPROM chip, that makes ~6Kb
files. I need to use this savegame on my pc (with no$gba or VBA) but
other emulators (on pc) use Flash 128K and can't read my savegame,
even if the rom is the same.. What can i do?

[fms]

The memory chip used by the game to save games is part of the
cartridge hardware. It has nothing to do with the emulator you are
using. In other words, if Pokemon Fire Red uses a 128kB FlashROM to
save, all emulators will use the same 128kB FlashROM emulation.

PS: And yes, VGBA is up to 3.8.13 on the Android Market. If you have
not yet upgraded, now may be a good time to delete that pirated copy
you have and buy the legitimate app.

[Edoardo Giacomello]

The issue is that the save file is only 9Kb on my vgba, while on pc is
128K and i can't manage to load it

[fms]

On Apr 30, 1:56 am, Edoardo Giacomello <edome...@gmail.com> wrote:
> The issue is that the save file is only 9Kb on my vgba, while on pc is
> 128K and i can't manage to load it

I can tell you why it is only 9kB and how to solve this issue, but as
you are using a pirated version of VGBA, get lost. Thanks.

[Drew Fearson]

I have a similar problem with Mario Golf: Advance Tour (1 KB). My 64
KB save transferred from my real MG:AT cart works fine on Visual Boy
Advance on PC and GameBoid on Android, but it doesn't work with VGBA
on Android. Instead it is deleted and a ~1 KB save is created. Also,
I have purchased VGBA on the Play Store, and I have whatever the
newest version is. Any ideas?

[fms]

On May 4, 6:36 am, Drew Fearson <garfunk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have a similar problem with Mario Golf: Advance Tour (1 KB).  My 64
> KB save transferred from my real MG:AT cart works fine on Visual Boy
> Advance on PC and GameBoid on Android, but it doesn't work with VGBA
> on Android.  Instead it is deleted and a ~1 KB save is created.  Also,
> I have purchased VGBA on the Play Store, and I have whatever the
> newest version is.  Any ideas?

VGBA save files are different from VBA save files:

1) VGBA save files are compressd with GZIP.
2) They have a 16-byte header at the beginning.

I am currently working to add VBA save file compatibility.

[fms]

On May 4, 6:36 am, Drew Fearson <garfunk...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I have a similar problem with Mario Golf: Advance Tour (1 KB).  My 64
> KB save transferred from my real MG:AT cart works fine on Visual Boy
> Advance on PC and GameBoid on Android, but it doesn't work with VGBA
> on Android.  Instead it is deleted and a ~1 KB save is created.  Also,
> I have purchased VGBA on the Play Store, and I have whatever the
> newest version is.  Any ideas?

In the latest VGBA 3.8.15, I have added compatibility with VBA/
Gameboid .SAV files. Please, upgrade to the latest version from the
Android Market and give it a try.

[Drew Fearson]

It works perfectly, thanks!

[Drew Fearson]

I commented too soon - it works for some of my games, but not others.

Working: Games with SRAM or Flash based saves (except Super Mario
Advance 4)
Not working: Games with EEPROM based saves (including Donkey Kong
Country, Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Super Mario Advance 1/2/3)

All of the saves I tested were ripped from my real carts and all work
in VBA.

[fms]

On May 17, 7:27 am, Drew Fearson <garfunk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I commented too soon - it works for some of my games, but not others.
> Working: Games with SRAM or Flash based saves (except Super Mario
> Advance 4)
> Not working: Games with EEPROM based saves (including Donkey Kong
> Country, Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Super Mario Advance 1/2/3)
> All of the saves I tested were ripped from my real carts and all work
> in VBA.

Could you send me the VBA savefiles that do not work, so that I can
debug and fix support for them?