If you're a fan of Harmonix's Amplitude (previous version here) and own a Nintendo DS, then chances are you've played Sander Stolk's AmplituDS. The homebrew game based on Harmonix's PS2 opus is finally updated, so better get ready to tinker with your DS. Check out the changelog in the full article!

Download: AmplituDS v3.1

Lazyone has just announced that an alpha version of the Wolfenstein 3D port for the DS is already out. This newest build has quite a few improvements that have been added to it. In addition to this, the developer gave word on some of the enhancements planned for the future.

The added new features include sound (no music), saving, and a status bar on bottom screen. Lazyone also said that this update was also compiled with the latest libfat which means that it should now work with most if not all DLDI devices. Pretty nifty if you ask us.

Be careful about upgrading your Wolf3d binary though since saving is broken between builds and causes the game to crash. The developer also gave word that if you are experiencing a few graphic errors, you should try the binary fix build which should correct it.

Since the game doesn't come with a readme file, here are the controls and installation instructions according to the post on Lazyone's site:

Keys:

Turn left: DPAD Left
Turn right: DPAD Right
Forward: DPAD Up
Backward: DPAD Down
Strafe Left: L Shoulder
Strafe Right: R Shoulder
Shoot: A
Use: B
Next Weapon: X
Run: Y

Installation Instructions:

Copy the wolf3d folder into the root of your media card, run.

The plans for the next build are pretty exciting as well and include adding music, a build for registered versions and Spear of Destiny, access to the configuration menu, and further sound enhancement. All in all a pretty solid effort by Lazyone and one that fans of this classic game will appreciate.

Our thanks go out to Lazyone for sending this in!

Download: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha
Download: Wolfenstein 3D Alpha binary fix

Looking for a new media card for your Nintendo DS? You might want to check out the new XP Card, billed as the card with the "highest performance-cost ratio" among all the cards for the DS. This little device has the same size as an original DS cart and it operates without the need for any extra storage device, like a Micro SD card for instance.

Here's a list of the XP Card's product features:

• 1:1 original card size.
• No FlashMe, No PassMe, No conversion anymore.
• Lowest Cost of Owning. Built-in NAND Flash up to 8Gbits. No extra storage device required.
• 100% Clean Rom Support. 100% game compatibility.
• Hardware virtual saving supported. Backup and exchange saves with other players easily.
• Micro firmware design, skin which is fully upgradeable.
• Low power consuming and long sustaining time.

The XP Card also has built-in Moonshell. It also works as a USB disk in any PC, so all you need to do to copy files from your PC is to drag and drop them from your PC to the XP Card. Interested? Click on the "via" link below for more info. If any of you guys have had the chance to try out this card, don't hesitate to let us know your opinions by leaving a comment below.

Those of you who were already caught up in the DS homebrew development scene last year, may have remembered one of the active developers then, cory1492. But the brilliant mind of cory1492 has been silent for quite some time and I'm sure most of you who followed his works last year are wondering what has happened. Well, I don't have an answer to that - but I do know that cory1942 is back! Yey!

Updating his website, he gives us some of the new things he has for all DS users out there. First on the list is the EZ4 version of his ETool3.13. This new app from cory1492 will now work with EZ4 as it's pre-patched with .sav file already.

Next for cory1492's new servings is the sixth revision of his simple skinner application EZ4Skin. To change the skin on the EZ4 menus of your handheld Ninty console, just add the latest updates and name it ezfla_up.bin, go into the folders and alter the images, then double click on Skin_it.bat. Remember that it is important to NOT change the image size or depth, or you'll surely encounter some problems.

Last (hopefully just for now) on the cory1492 updates is the DS Book Public Release 2, which includes a pre-patched EZ4 version. Currently, the amazing developer is learning about SDL to add TTF font support and a sort of touch interface in future releases of this application. Meanwhile, he gives us these new things for DSBook:

• Loads the file "book.txt" (can be any text file) from the root dir of the media card.
• Automatically saves current position to SRAM. (supercard users take note - you will have to manually write the SRAM)
• Word wrapping enabled.
• Cleaned up the font a tiny bit.
• Temporarily shows page/line on the bottom of the screen.
• Debug text added on second screen.
• EZ4 SD added from moonshell (read only) to chishm's FAT lib

The DS Book is compiled with Neoflash MK MMC Card support, M3 Perfect CF support, M3 Perfect SD support, Supercard CF support, Supercard SD support, and EZ4 SD support. DSBook has been tested and is working on EZ4SD, SuperCard SD, and M3-SD - although the last one has issues with font renderers on M3.

With these three updates, cory1492 proved that we never unlearn what we know. Hopefully, these updates mean that he's back on the DS development scene for good. Meanwhile, let him know what you think of his comeback - try out his new applications and give your suggestions and constructive criticisms.

Download: [EZ4 version of ETool 3.13]
Download: [EZ4skin R6]
Download: [DSBook Public Release 2]