gba-link-connection

A set of Game Boy Advance (GBA) C++ libraries to interact with the Serial Port. Its main purpose is to provide multiplayer support to homebrew games.

• 👾 LinkCable.hpp: The classic 16-bit Multi-Play mode (up to 4 players) using a GBA Link Cable!
  • 🔧👾 LinkRawCable.hpp: A minimal low-level API for the 16-bit multiplayer mode.
• 💻 LinkCableMultiboot.hpp: ‍Send Multiboot software (small 256KiB ROMs) to other GBAs with no cartridge!
• 🔌 LinkGPIO.hpp: Use the Link Port however you want to control any device (like LEDs, rumble motors, and that kind of stuff)!
• 🔗 LinkSPI.hpp: Connect with a PC (like a Raspberry Pi) or another GBA (with a GBC Link Cable) using this mode. Transfer up to 2Mbit/s!
• 📻 LinkWireless.hpp: Connect up to 5 consoles with the Wireless Adapter!
• 🌎 LinkUniversal.hpp: Add multiplayer support to your game, both with 👾 Link Cables and 📻 Wireless Adapters, using the same API.

(click on the emojis for documentation)

Created by [r]labs.

Usage

• Include the library you want (e.g. LinkCable.hpp) in your game code, and refer to its comments for instructions. Most of these libraries are provided as single header files for simplicity. The only external dependency is libtonc, which comes preinstalled with devkitPro.
• Check out the examples folder.
  • Builds are available in Releases.
  • They can be tested on real GBAs or using emulators (mGBA, NO$GBA, or VBA-M).
  • For LinkCable/LinkWireless/LinkUniversal there are stress tests that you can use to tweak your configuration.

Makefile actions (for all examples)

make [ clean | build | start | rebuild | restart ]

👾 LinkCable

(aka Multi-Play Mode)

This is the Link Port mode that games use for multiplayer.

The library uses message queues to send/receive data and transmits when it's possible. As it uses CPU interrupts, the connection is alive even if a console drops a frame or gets stuck in a long iteration loop. After such an event, all nodes end up receiving all the pending messages.

Constructor

new LinkCable(...) accepts these optional parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
baudRate	BaudRate	BAUD_RATE_1	Sets a specific baud rate.
timeout	u32	3	Number of frames without an II_SERIAL IRQ to reset the connection.
remoteTimeout	u32	5	Number of messages with 0xFFFF to mark a player as disconnected.
interval	u16	50	Number of 1024-cycle ticks (61.04μs) between transfers (50 = 3.052ms). It's the interval of Timer #sendTimerId. Lower values will transfer faster but also consume more CPU.
sendTimerId	u8 (0~3)	3	GBA Timer to use for sending.

You can update these values at any time without creating a new instance:

• Call deactivate().
• Mutate the config property.
• Call activate().

You can also change these compile-time constants:

• LINK_CABLE_QUEUE_SIZE: to set a custom buffer size (how many incoming and outgoing messages the queues can store at max per player). The default value is 15, which seems fine for most games.

Methods

Name	Return type	Description
isActive()	bool	Returns whether the library is active or not.
activate()	-	Activates the library.
deactivate()	-	Deactivates the library.
isConnected()	bool	Returns true if there are at least 2 connected players.
playerCount()	u8 (0~4)	Returns the number of connected players.
currentPlayerId()	u8 (0~3)	Returns the current player id.
sync()	-	Call this method every time you need to fetch new data.
waitFor(playerId)	bool	Waits for data from player #playerId. Returns true on success, or false on disconnection.
waitFor(playerId, cancel)	bool	Like waitFor(playerId) but accepts a cancel() function. The library will continuously invoke it, and abort the wait if it returns true.
canRead(playerId)	bool	Returns true if there are pending messages from player #playerId. Keep in mind that if this returns false, it will keep doing so until you fetch new data with sync().
read(playerId)	u16	Dequeues and returns the next message from player #playerId.
peek(playerId)	u16	Returns the next message from player #playerId without dequeuing it.
send(data)	-	Sends data to all connected players.

⚠️ 0xFFFF and 0x0 are reserved values, so don't send them!

🔧👾 LinkRawCable

• This is a minimal hardware wrapper designed for the multiplayer mode.
• It doesn't include any of the features of 👾 LinkCable, so it's not well suited for games.
• Its demo (LinkRawCable_demo) can help emulator developers in enhancing accuracy.

Methods

Name	Return type	Description
isActive()	bool	Returns whether the library is active or not.
activate(baudRate = BAUD_RATE_1)	-	Activates the library in a specific baudRate (LinkRawCable::BaudRate).
deactivate()	-	Deactivates the library.
transfer(data)	LinkRawCable::Response	Exchanges data with the other end. Returns the received data, including the assigned player id.
transfer(data, cancel)	LinkRawCable::Response	Like transfer(data) but accepts a cancel() function. The library will continuously invoke it, and abort the transfer if it returns true.
transferAsync(data)	-	Schedules a data transfer and returns. After this, call getAsyncState() and getAsyncData(). Note that until you retrieve the async data, normal transfer(...)s won't do anything!
getAsyncState()	LinkRawCable::AsyncState	Returns the state of the last async transfer (one of LinkRawCable::AsyncState::IDLE, LinkRawCable::AsyncState::WAITING, or LinkRawCable::AsyncState::READY).
getAsyncData()	LinkRawCable::Response	If the async state is READY, returns the remote data and switches the state back to IDLE.
isMaster()	bool	Returns whether the console is connected as master or not. Returns garbage when the cable is not properly connected.
isReady()	bool	Returns whether all connected consoles have entered the multiplayer mode. Returns garbage when the cable is not properly connected.
getBaudRate()	LinkRawCable::BaudRate	Returns the current baudRate.

• don't send 0xFFFF, it's a reserved value that means disconnected client
• only transfer(...) if isReady()

💻 LinkCableMultiboot

(aka Multiboot through Multi-Play mode)

This tool allows sending Multiboot ROMs (small 256KiB programs that fit in EWRAM) from one GBA to up to 3 slaves, using a single cartridge.

Methods

Name	Return type	Description
sendRom(rom, romSize, cancel)	LinkCableMultiboot::Result	Sends the rom. During the handshake process, the library will continuously invoke cancel, and abort the transfer if it returns true. The romSize must be a number between 448 and 262144, and a multiple of 16. Once completed, the return value should be LinkCableMultiboot::Result::SUCCESS.

⚠️ for better results, turn on the GBAs after calling the sendRom method!

🔌 LinkGPIO

(aka General Purpose Mode)

This is the default Link Port mode, and it allows users to manipulate pins SI, SO, SD and SC directly.

Methods

Name	Return type	Description
reset()	-	Resets communication mode to General Purpose. Required to initialize the library!
setMode(pin, direction)	-	Configures a pin to use a direction (input or output).
getMode(pin)	LinkGPIO::Direction	Returns the direction set at pin.
readPin(pin)	bool	Returns whether a pin is HIGH or not (when set as an input).
writePin(pin, isHigh)	-	Sets a pin to be high or not (when set as an output).
setSIInterrupts(isEnabled)	-	If it isEnabled, an IRQ will be generated when SI changes from HIGH to LOW.

⚠️ always set the SI terminal to an input!

🔗 LinkSPI

(aka Normal Mode)

This is the GBA's implementation of SPI. In this library, packets are set to 32-bit, as there's no benefit to using the 8-bit version. You can use this to interact with other GBAs or computers that know SPI.

Methods

Name	Return type	Description
isActive()	bool	Returns whether the library is active or not.
activate(mode)	-	Activates the library in a specific mode (one of LinkSPI::Mode::SLAVE, LinkSPI::Mode::MASTER_256KBPS, or LinkSPI::Mode::MASTER_2MBPS).
deactivate()	-	Deactivates the library.
transfer(data)	u32	Exchanges data with the other end. Returns the received data.
transfer(data, cancel)	u32	Like transfer(data) but accepts a cancel() function. The library will continuously invoke it, and abort the transfer if it returns true.
transferAsync(data, [cancel])	-	Schedules a data transfer and returns. After this, call getAsyncState() and getAsyncData(). Note that until you retrieve the async data, normal transfer(...)s won't do anything!
getAsyncState()	LinkSPI::AsyncState	Returns the state of the last async transfer (one of LinkSPI::AsyncState::IDLE, LinkSPI::AsyncState::WAITING, or LinkSPI::AsyncState::READY).
getAsyncData()	u32	If the async state is READY, returns the remote data and switches the state back to IDLE.
getMode()	LinkSPI::Mode	Returns the current mode.
setWaitModeActive(isActive)	-	Enables or disables waitMode (*).
isWaitModeActive()	bool	Returns whether waitMode (*) is active or not.

(*) waitMode: The GBA adds an extra feature over SPI. When working as master, it can check whether the other terminal is ready to receive, and wait if it's not. That makes the connection more reliable, but it's not always supported on other hardware units (e.g. the Wireless Adapter), so it must be disabled in those cases.

waitMode is disabled by default.

⚠️ when using Normal Mode between two GBAs, use a GBC Link Cable!

⚠️ only use the 2Mbps mode with custom hardware (very short wires)!

⚠️ don't send 0xFFFFFFFF, it's reserved for errors!

📻 LinkWireless

(aka GBA Wireless Adapter)

This is a driver for an accessory that enables wireless games up to 5 players. The inner workings of the adapter are highly unknown, but this article is very helpful. I've updated the blog post to add more details about the things I learnt by the means of reverse engineering brute force and trial&error.

The library, by default, implements a lightweight protocol (on top of the adapter's message system) that sends packet IDs and checksums. This allows detecting disconnections, forwarding messages to all nodes, and retransmitting to prevent packet loss.

https://github.com/afska/gba-link-connection/assets/1631752/7eeafc49-2dfa-4902-aa78-57b391720564

Constructor

new LinkWireless(...) accepts these optional parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
forwarding	bool	true	If true, the server forwards all messages to the clients. Otherwise, clients only see messages sent from the server (ignoring other peers).
retransmission	bool	true	If true, the library handles retransmission for you, so there should be no packet loss.
maxPlayers	u8 (2~5)	5	Maximum number of allowed players. The adapter will accept connections after reaching the limit, but the library will ignore them. If your game only supports -for example- two players, set this to 2 as it will make transfers faster.
timeout	u32	10	Number of frames without receiving any data to reset the connection.
remoteTimeout	u32	10	Number of successful transfers without a message from a client to mark the player as disconnected.
interval	u16	50	Number of 1024-cycle ticks (61.04μs) between transfers (50 = 3.052ms). It's the interval of Timer #sendTimerId. Lower values will transfer faster but also consume more CPU.
sendTimerId	u8 (0~3)	3	GBA Timer to use for sending.
asyncACKTimerId	s8 (0~3 or -1)	-1	GBA Timer to use for ACKs. If you have free timers, use one here to reduce CPU usage.

You can update these values at any time without creating a new instance:

• Call deactivate().
• Mutate the config property.
• Call activate().

You can also change these compile-time constants:

• LINK_WIRELESS_QUEUE_SIZE: to set a custom buffer size (how many incoming and outgoing messages the queues can store at max). The default value is 30, which seems fine for most games.
• LINK_WIRELESS_MAX_SERVER_TRANSFER_LENGTH and LINK_WIRELESS_MAX_CLIENT_TRANSFER_LENGTH: to set the biggest allowed transfer per timer tick. Transfers contain retransmission headers and multiple user messages. These values must be in the range [6;20] for servers and [2;4] for clients. The default values are 20 and 4, but you might want to set them a bit lower to reduce CPU usage.
• LINK_WIRELESS_PUT_ISR_IN_IWRAM: to put critical functions (~3.5KB) in IWRAM, which can significantly improve performance due to its faster access. This is disabled by default to conserve IWRAM space, which is limited, but it's enabled in demos to showcase its performance benefits.
• LINK_WIRELESS_USE_SEND_RECEIVE_LATCH: to alternate between sends and receives on each timer tick (instead of doing both things). This is disabled by default. Enabling it will introduce some latency but reduce overall CPU usage.

Methods

• Most of these methods return a boolean, indicating if the action was successful. If not, you can call getLastError() to know the reason. Usually, unless it's a trivial error (like buffers being full), the connection with the adapter is reset and the game needs to start again.
• You can check the connection state at any time with getState().
• Until a session starts, all actions are synchronic.
• During sessions (when the state is SERVING or CONNECTED), the message transfers are IRQ-driven, so send(...) and receive(...) won't waste extra cycles.

Name	Return type	Description
isActive()	bool	Returns whether the library is active or not.
activate()	bool	Activates the library. When an adapter is connected, it changes the state to AUTHENTICATED. It can also be used to disconnect or reset the adapter.
deactivate()	bool	Puts the adapter into a low consumption mode and then deactivates the library. It returns a boolean indicating whether the transition to low consumption mode was successful. To ensure that the transition works, before calling this, reset the adapter by calling activate() again, and then deactivate().
serve([gameName], [userName], [gameId])	bool	Starts broadcasting a server and changes the state to SERVING. You can, optionally, provide a gameName (max 14 characters), a userName (max 8 characters), and a gameId (0 ~ 0x7FFF) that games will be able to read. If the adapter is already serving, this method only updates the broadcast data.
getServers(servers, [onWait])	bool	Fills the servers array with all the currently broadcasting servers. This action takes 1 second to complete, but you can optionally provide an onWait() function which will be invoked each time VBlank starts.
getServersAsyncStart()	bool	Starts looking for broadcasting servers and changes the state to SEARCHING. After this, call getServersAsyncEnd(...) 1 second later.
getServersAsyncEnd(servers)	bool	Fills the servers array with all the currently broadcasting servers. Changes the state to AUTHENTICATED again.
connect(serverId)	bool	Starts a connection with serverId and changes the state to CONNECTING.
keepConnecting()	bool	When connecting, this needs to be called until the state is CONNECTED. It assigns a player id. Keep in mind that isConnected() and playerCount() won't be updated until the first message from server arrives.
send(data)	bool	Enqueues data to be sent to other nodes.
receive(messages)	bool	Fills the messages array with incoming messages, forwarding if needed.
getState()	LinkWireless::State	Returns the current state (one of LinkWireless::State::NEEDS_RESET, LinkWireless::State::AUTHENTICATED, LinkWireless::State::SEARCHING, LinkWireless::State::SERVING, LinkWireless::State::CONNECTING, or LinkWireless::State::CONNECTED).
isConnected()	bool	Returns true if the player count is higher than 1.
isSessionActive()	bool	Returns true if the state is SERVING or CONNECTED.
playerCount()	u8 (1~5)	Returns the number of connected players.
currentPlayerId()	u8 (0~4)	Returns the current player id.
getLastError([clear])	LinkWireless::Error	If one of the other methods returns false, you can inspect this to know the cause. After this call, the last error is cleared if clear is true (default behavior).

⚠️ 0xFFFF is a reserved value, so don't send it!

🌎 LinkUniversal

A multiuse library that doesn't care whether you plug a Link Cable or a Wireless Adapter. It continuously switches between both and tries to connect to other peers, supporting the hot swapping of cables and adapters and all the features from 👾 LinkCable and 📻 LinkWireless.

https://github.com/afska/gba-link-connection/assets/1631752/d1f49a48-6b17-4954-99d6-d0b7586f5730

Constructor

new LinkUniversal(...) accepts these optional parameters:

Name	Type	Default	Description
protocol	LinkUniversal::Protocol	AUTODETECT	Specifies what protocol should be used (one of LinkUniversal::Protocol::AUTODETECT, LinkUniversal::Protocol::CABLE, LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_AUTO, LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_SERVER, or LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_CLIENT).
gameName	std::string	""	The game name that will be broadcasted in wireless sessions. The library uses this to only connect to servers from the same game.
cableOptions	LinkUniversal::CableOptions	same as LinkCable	All the 👾 LinkCable constructor parameters in one struct.
wirelessOptions	LinkUniversal::WirelessOptions	same as LinkWireless	All the 📻 LinkWireless constructor parameters in one struct.

Methods

The interface is the same as 👾 LinkCable. Additionally, it supports these methods:

Name	Return type	Description
getState()	LinkUniversal::State	Returns the current state (one of LinkUniversal::State::INITIALIZING, LinkUniversal::State::WAITING, or LinkUniversal::State::CONNECTED).
getMode()	LinkUniversal::Mode	Returns the active mode (one of LinkUniversal::Mode::LINK_CABLE, or LinkUniversal::Mode::LINK_WIRELESS).
getProtocol()	LinkUniversal::Protocol	Returns the active protocol (one of LinkUniversal::Protocol::AUTODETECT, LinkUniversal::Protocol::CABLE, LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_AUTO, LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_SERVER, or LinkUniversal::Protocol::WIRELESS_CLIENT).
setProtocol(protocol)	-	Sets the active protocol.
getWirelessState()	LinkWireless::State	Returns the wireless state (same as 📻 LinkWireless's getState()).