FAQ - akouzoukos/apotris GitHub Wiki

If your question isn't covered here

Feel free to ask any other questions in the Apotris Discord server!

Where is the itch.io page?

The game's itch.io page was taken down by Tetris Holding LLC through DMCA on 2023/5/5. You can read the DMCA notice here.

Why is the game called "Apotris"?

The game started as a 1-2 week project that I made for myself to play, so I didn't put much thought into the name when I came up with it. The 'Apo' part comes from my first name, and 'tris' is there for obvious reasons. The first time I shared the game I didn't think it would get much attention so I lazily kept the name, and then it just stuck!

What's the best way to play?

With a native port

Since version 4.0, Apotris has native ports for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Web and Nintendo Switch, which you can play without using an emulator.

Mobile platforms do not have native ports yet, and the Web port does not yet support mobile platforms; to play on mobile you still need an emulator.

On actual hardware

Either:

  • Put the game's ROM on a flashcard
  • Write the ROM to a flash-able cartridge using a GBxCart RW, GB Operator or an NDS lite

For saving to work, the flash-able cartridge must have an SRAM/FRAM chip. Many bootlegs have SRAM but no battery, so the save isn't retained. Apotris supports these carts too by using battery-less saving (writing the save to ROM). Battery-less saves are a bit slower and there's no easy way to keep your save if you want to update to a new version of the game. The best choice for a cartridge would be one that has FRAM since it doesn't require a battery.

The best GBA iteration to play on is the GBA SP AGS 101 (in my opinion). It has an amazing screen and a very accurate d-pad. A modded GBA SP with an IPS screen is also another great option. Playing on the GBA SP AGS 001 is okay though the screen is quite lacking. Normal GBA's (AGB) are a bit tough to play on because of the lacking d-pad and unlit screen (if unmodded). An option I didn't rank was playing on the Gameboy Micro since I don't have any experience with it myself, though a few people in the community play on it with no issues.

Using an emulator

You can play Apotris on virtually anything, as long as it can run a GBA emulator.

The main things to consider when choosing which emulator to use are:

  • Accuracy of the emulation. Most emulators are accurate enough to run Apotris fine, but they can sometimes introduce bugs which aren't present on other versions (or on hardware).
  • Input lag. The more input lag, the slower you play, so it's important to minimize it.

On PC there are 2 great choices, NanoBoyAdvance and mGBA through RetroArch. NanoBoyAdvance is one of the most accurate emulators out there and has very little input lag (On Windows you need to turn off "Force RTC" (Config > System) or the game crashes). I recommended going through the settings and disabling the visual effects it has on by default which seek to emulate the looks of unlit GBAs. mGBA is another great emulator though it has significant input lag. As such it's recommended to use it through RetroArch, which offers a few latency reducing options. Setting "Hard GPU Sync" to on and "Hard GPU Sync Frames" to 0 can help a lot with latency. If playing on PC, I also recommend going into the Apotris' Settings > Handling and setting "Directional Delay" to ON.

On handheld (non-android) emulation devices like the Miyoo Mini, mGBA should be good enough. gpSP is also an option if the former isn't available or doesn't run great but it is very lackluster.

On Android, input lag seems to be inescapable. mGBA through RetroArch is still an option, though it isn't as great of an option as on other platforms. Some say GBA.emu might be a good option, but I haven't tried it myself.

Custom Cartridges

[!Note] This article is under development and in incomplete state. Temporarily, please navigate to the Discord server for the source material.

Page status

  • Sourcing
  • Flashing
  • Testing
  • Shelling
  • Labelling
  • Note on donation/licensing

This section expands upon the previous heading where using actual hardware was described. The following is aimed at beginners and in doing so will provide a more detailed approach.

The three main steps to this are:

  1. Sourcing the donor cart.
  2. Flashing the donor cart.
  3. Testing the donor cart.

However, this section was also cover the optional:

  1. Shelling the custom cart.
  2. Labelling the custom cart.

Sourcing the donor cart

In order to be compatible with Apotris, bootleg carts must:

  • Not use EEPROM, most carts use SRAM or FRAM which will work. You can check a game's save type here. Apotris will use batteryless saving if necessary.
  • Have a minimum capacity of 4MB. You can check a cart's size by its chip.

For a simple solution, "Yugioh Masters Edition" aka "Yugioh Double Pack" (SONGFINN Official Store) has been verified to work.

[!WARNING] It's very likely that bootleg information is not up-to-date, producers often change parts (flash ROM, save RAM, battery) due to availability and cost.

Flashing the donor cart

Tools needed:

Labelling the custom cart

Tools needed:

  • Solution for removing sticker residue (if reusing the donor shell).