The space between DS Screens + suggestions for cc3dsfs

[PSPMan3000]

Hey this software is fantastic, but I have a handful of suggestions regarding the spacer function. One of the main reasons I wanted a 3DS/DS Capture card is because so much DS footage that's available online does not space the screens correctly. I know why from personal experience, it is an absolute pain in the ass to get correct. I did it manually a few years ago using my editing software, and I remember it taking a lot of effort to get right.

https://i.imgur.com/oSvvTws.mp4

I poked around online and it appears that most people don't space the screens correctly because it appears to be a different value for every single DS game. Do we know this for certain? There's 4 DS Models, are we sure the values aren't just based off those? Is there some common value in DS games ROMs that indicates the screen spacing? I just have a hard time believing something as modern as the DS is playing loosey goosey like the Sega Genesis does with it's resolutions. Surely there must be some kind of standard.

Also, when using the spacer it's really difficult to get it set up correctly with the window covering the screens. I tested out 3 games and was unable to get any of them correct. I tested
Bleach: The Blade of Fate (Title Screen)


Dragon Ball Origins 2 (Intro Movie)

*A note about Dragon Ball Origins 2. I Think it may account for the angle DS Screens are tilted at for it's spacing, so it's not based off a flat plane. Cool if it does but also means the illusion would be impossible to get right in 2D video recordings, regardless of correct spacing.

and Spirit Tracks (Intro Movie). It's difficult to get the spacing right even when things are standing still. I think we need a few options added to the spacer.

First off, I think the spacer should open in a separate window. I think we should have 3 options from there:

1. Live Spacing
2. Still Spacing
3. 5 Second Spacing

Basically, Live Spacing works the way it does now, just with the blue box in a separate window. Still Spacing would take a screenshot when you hit the button, and you would use that resulting image to do the spacing, and 5 second would make a short, looping recording after you press the button that you would use to do the spacing. I'm suggesting these 3 options because it's how I got the spacing correct in the above Gif years ago.

I think if we're gonna do all this, the Profiles should also be namable, and we should be able to add them to a data base of some sort. That way when someone figures out the spacing for a game, no one else has to mess with it themselves.

Sorry if any of this comes off entitled. I understand this software is free and no one gets paid to make it, and what I am suggesting is likely a lot of work. But I would like to see it improved and think this feedback/suggestion is useful.

[Lorenzooone]

I poked around online and it appears that most people don't space the screens correctly because it appears to be a different value for every single DS game. Do we know this for certain? There's 4 DS Models, are we sure the values aren't just based off those? Is there some common value in DS games ROMs that indicates the screen spacing? I just have a hard time believing something as modern as the DS is playing loosey goosey like the Sega Genesis does with it's resolutions. Surely there must be some kind of standard.

Unfortunately, that is not something standard, really. Official Nintendo video capture software from the time did not take into consideration the gap at all.

Also, when using the spacer it's really difficult to get it set up correctly with the window covering the screens. I tested out 3 games and was unable to get any of them correct.

Something that could work in general is assigning a key/option to temporarily hide the menu. That should help.

For a temporary fix, I'd suggest you lower the size of the Menu Scaling and then you increase the size of the Window Scaling for this process. This way you can see what is happening behind the screen.
An extreme example of what I mean:

Spoiler

Schermata del 2025-07-31 00-17-32.png (119.17 KiB) Viewed 42416 times

*A note about Dragon Ball Origins 2. I Think it may account for the angle DS Screens are tilted at for it's spacing, so it's not based off a flat plane. Cool if it does but also means the illusion would be impossible to get right in 2D video recordings, regardless of correct spacing.

You would need to record one of the screens at an angle, which would mean really messy/low quality for one of them...
In general, it means that the developer assumed the angle at which the users would hold their DS, which is bad form.

1. Live Spacing

Having the ability to make the menu invisible with just a key/option should work fine. No need for a separate window.

2. Still Spacing
3. 5 Second Spacing

From how you are describing this, you can take the output of cc3dsfs, manipulate it in an external software (Paint or whatever), and assuming you keep track of the number of pixels (or add/subtract them in both as you go along) you should be fine.
Keeping extra video data is not something I'd really like to do. And keeping 5 whole seconds is a ton of data. 300 MBs extra of RAM consumption (You need to consider that this is a software for 3DSs as well, hence the huge amount of required data).

I think if we're gonna do all this, the Profiles should also be namable, and we should be able to add them to a data base of some sort. That way when someone figures out the spacing for a game, no one else has to mess with it themselves.

Profiles are already nameable, the problem is that you cannot yet name them from inside the software itself. You need to edit the file containing the profile. It is something I plan on letting users do via the software, though.

If you have a list of "good gaps" with values and games, I would really appreciate it if you sent it, and I could add an option for the various games in the separator menu as well.

[PSPMan3000]

Also, when using the spacer it's really difficult to get it set up correctly with the window covering the screens. I tested out 3 games and was unable to get any of them correct.

Something that could work in general is assigning a key/option to temporarily hide the menu. That should help.

For a temporary fix, I'd suggest you lower the size of the Menu Scaling and then you increase the size of the Window Scaling for this process. This way you can see what is happening behind the screen.
An extreme example of what I mean:

Spoiler

Schermata del 2025-07-31 00-17-32.png

Honestly that extreme example is exactly what I need LOL, so I appreciate that suggestion a lot. And yeah being able to hide the menu would also help, if we could do that it would invalidate my other 2 suggestions, which sound like a pain to do anyways. I mainly mention the recorded, looped footage because for games like Sonic Rush, they don't really have continuous images that span both screens, the illusion comes from sonic being off screen and "traveling" in the blank space to the other screen, so to determine the spacing you'd have to pay attention to his travel time. This is from memory tho, it's been years since I did a full playthrough, so maybe some part of the game has an image spanning both screens that could be used for spacing calibration.

I think if we're gonna do all this, the Profiles should also be namable, and we should be able to add them to a data base of some sort. That way when someone figures out the spacing for a game, no one else has to mess with it themselves.

Profiles are already nameable, the problem is that you cannot yet name them from inside the software itself. You need to edit the file containing the profile. It is something I plan on letting users do via the software, though.

If you have a list of "good gaps" with values and games, I would really appreciate it if you sent it, and I could add an option for the various games in the separator menu as well.

I'm very down to help contribute to some type of database/list of good values once I start recording full DS Playthroughs. Now that I've got the scaling tip I could try and figure out the games I mentioned in my original post. Maybe we could get a thread pinned where people contribute values?

[PSPMan3000]

So, before I posted this topic, I looked at this specific thread.
https://www.3dscapture.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6007

I think the Values this guy got are way off. I think Spirit Tracks is either 28, 30 or 32. I'm having an extremely hard time telling because some sections will look right at one value while other parts do not. I think I need a second set of eyes on this (or a key to hide the UI lol)

However, Sonic Rush at 78 looks 100% correct. Gonna record some gameplay and see how it looks.


I'm figuring these Values out at 1.0 Scaling Factor, in Native DS Crop Settings

[PSPMan3000]

Nailed it, 78 is the separator value. It's also the value in Rush Adventure and Colors DS. Here's some gameplay footage

Sonic Rush
https://youtu.be/YVqu90W9epY

Sonic Rush Adventure
https://youtu.be/TcyDIXLTews

Sonic Colors DS
https://youtu.be/PmqnHosXrgA

I'm gonna get a separate Topic going now