Sono releases TWL patcher with DS(i) Widescreen support

NoNAND · Aug 12, 2019

Jiehfeng said:
Go Sono!
Also I haven't been keeping up with the 3DS scene for quite some time now. Is it now possible to play DS games installed to the menu and run at full speed, not using a flashcart? If so I might want to try this out on that.

Depends on the game what you're trying to run.
I can't say for forwarded games redirected to the SD but thus far flashcard forwarders have been doing great for me.
Have a look at this guide here
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

Jiehfeng · Aug 12, 2019

NoNAND said:
Depends on the game what you're trying to run.
I can't say for forwarded games redirected to the SD but thus far flashcard forwarders have been doing great for me.
Have a look at this guide here
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

Cool, I would like SD forwarding though, I guess performance is still probably not up to par with flashcarts.

NoNAND · Aug 12, 2019

Jiehfeng said:
Cool, I would like SD forwarding though, I guess performance is still probably not up to par with flashcarts.

It's not there..quite yet but remarkably better. Leagues better than the old twloader.

Viorlu · Aug 12, 2019

Hello @Sono
I hope you don’t mind my question. But i’m a fan of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon explorers of sky (best pkm game ever) and wanted to know how i can make this game widescreen since it’s not supported in the list.

Vague Rant · Aug 12, 2019

Viorlu said:
Hello @Sono
I hope you don’t mind my question. But i’m a fan of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon explorers of sky (best pkm game ever) and wanted to know how i can make this game widescreen since it’s not supported in the list.

I'm not Sono, but I've done a few of the widescreen cheats for the games on that list. Unfortunately, 2D games are somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to hack to add widescreen support. They're generally designed around displaying a specific number of tiles, so the "extra" tiles for widescreen just aren't sitting in memory waiting to be displayed. For 3D games it's a different matter, because the 3D world still exists in memory even in the parts that you can't see, so we can adjust the camera to show more of the game. For 2D games, you'll basically just have to keep playing in 4:3.

Sono · Aug 12, 2019

Viorlu said:
Hello @Sono
I hope you don’t mind my question. But i’m a fan of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon explorers of sky (best pkm game ever) and wanted to know how i can make this game widescreen since it’s not supported in the list.

I'm not a romhacker, sorry :/

Also, 2D is afaik a different display mode in the DS "GPU", so it's impossible to do anamorphic 2D

Ryab · Aug 12, 2019

Jiehfeng said:
Go Sono!
Also I haven't been keeping up with the 3DS scene for quite some time now. Is it now possible to play DS games installed to the menu and run at full speed, not using a flashcart? If so I might want to try this out on that.

No that sadly will most likely never be a thing due to how the DS operates Though flashcarts are quite cheap you could get a good r4i for $20

Jiehfeng · Aug 12, 2019

Zyvyn said:
No that sadly will most likely never be a thing due to how the DS operates Though flashcarts are quite cheap you could get a good r4i for $20

Yeah I have a DSTWO so I'm fine, it's almost pointless for me but it would be really cool to do it without a flashcart and have the games on the home screen. Is this all because the flashcart has some special emulating hardware the 3DS doesn't or something?

DSoryu · Aug 12, 2019

Zyvyn said:
No that sadly will most likely never be a thing due to how the DS operates Though flashcarts are quite cheap you could get a good r4i for $20

Wait what? I can already play NDS games at full speed through the SD, and yeah, the compatibility hasn't made to the 100% yet, but it has improved greatly and the already supported games are the most popular, not to mention that this let's you enhance some things like the sound frequency (only with the 3DS/DSi) and clock speeds.

Jiehfeng · Aug 12, 2019

Dartz150 said:
Wait what? I can already play NDS games at full speed through the SD, and yeah, the compatibility hasn't made to the 100% yet, but it has improved greatly and the already supported games are the most popular, not to mention that this let's you enhance some things like the sound frequency (only with the 3DS/DSi) and clock speeds.

Welp, differing answers here, guess I'll have to see for myself.

DSoryu · Aug 12, 2019

Jiehfeng said:
Welp, differing answers here, guess I'll have to see for myself.

Yeah you should try it out, I'm still amazed that a concept like this that was believed to be completely impossible, is progressing as time goes and will likely reach 100% compatibility with the DS library.

Flame · Aug 12, 2019

Zyvyn said:
No that sadly will most likely never be a thing due to how the DS operates Though flashcarts are quite cheap you could get a good r4i for $20

Jiehfeng said:
Welp, differing answers here, guess I'll have to see for myself.

check the compatibility list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

its always improving now and loads of games run at full speed too.

i would rather back this project then spend money on a DS flashcart these days.

now all the new ones have timebombs. which make the flashcarts stop working after a while.

Jiehfeng · Aug 12, 2019

Flame said:
check the compatibility list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

its always improving now and loads of games run at full speed too.

i would rather back this project then spend money on a DS flashcart these days.

now all the new ones have timebombs. which make the flashcarts stop working after a while.

I like how Bee Movie is the first entry, got priorities straight.

Viorlu · Aug 12, 2019

Vague Rant said:
I'm not Sono, but I've done a few of the widescreen cheats for the games on that list. Unfortunately, 2D games are somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to hack to add widescreen support. They're generally designed around displaying a specific number of tiles, so the "extra" tiles for widescreen just aren't sitting in memory waiting to be displayed. For 3D games it's a different matter, because the 3D world still exists in memory even in the parts that you can't see, so we can adjust the camera to show more of the game. For 2D games, you'll basically just have to keep playing in 4:3.

Aah ok thanks for the explaining!!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Sono said:
I'm not a romhacker, sorry :/

Also, 2D is afaik a different display mode in the DS "GPU", so it's impossible to do anamorphic 2D

No problem still thanks thought!!

Ryab · Aug 12, 2019

Flame said:
check the compatibility list.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LRTkXOUXraTMjg1eedz_f7b5jiuyMv2x6e_jY_nyHSc/edit#gid=0

its always improving now and loads of games run at full speed too.

i would rather back this project then spend money on a DS flashcart these days.

now all the new ones have timebombs. which make the flashcarts stop working after a while.

I was more saying that theres no way everything will be compatible at 100%

gohan123 · Aug 13, 2019

Vague Rant said:
I'm not Sono, but I've done a few of the widescreen cheats for the games on that list. Unfortunately, 2D games are somewhere between extremely difficult and impossible to hack to add widescreen support. They're generally designed around displaying a specific number of tiles, so the "extra" tiles for widescreen just aren't sitting in memory waiting to be displayed. For 3D games it's a different matter, because the 3D world still exists in memory even in the parts that you can't see, so we can adjust the camera to show more of the game. For 2D games, you'll basically just have to keep playing in 4:3.

did you try metroid prime hunters and both zelda touch games? zelda with widescreen and analog stick patch would a great opportunity to retry those games.

edit: I didn't realized zelda is played mostly by the bottom screen, so it's useless.

gothicall · Aug 13, 2019

RattletraPM said:
View attachment 176179

Shortly after @Sono released TWPatch, work started on a few other possible modifications for the 3DS's TWL_FIRM, aka the DS/DSi mode firmware. One of those in particular caught several people's attention: the widescreen patch, which allows you to play DS games in 16:10 resolution instead of the usual 4:3. Support for it was added in @Robz8's TWiLight Menu ++ since version 9.0.0, however, it couldn't be enabled properly as the new patcher wasn't out at the time. This all changed not too long ago though, as @Sono shared a preliminary TWL patcher with widescreen support for everyone to enjoy!

Unlike the first, this one comes as a standard Windows command-line application and its usage can be a little tricky for inexperienced users: you will first have to extract TWL_FIRM's exefs.bin using GodMode9, then run the program with your desired arguments and copy the output CXI to the correct location on your microSD card. Luckily, detailed step-by-step tutorials have already been posted, so don't panic! The patcher's usage and functions can be found its original post, while a guide specific to TWiLight Menu ++ has been added to its official GBAtemp thread (both linked in the sources).

Staying on topic, TWiLight Menu ++ has also just received an update, adding widescreen support for many more games! There are over 200 titles supported to date and the full list can be read below:

If you want to try this yourself, be sure to read all the documentation before attempting any part of the procedure. You will need to enable some game-specific cheat codes to play in proper widescreen if you don't want to use TWiLight Menu ++ (the latter has them built-in already and will automatically toggle them as needed). If you're having issues with TWiLight Menu ++ double-check that both the app and nds-bootstrap are up-to-date, that you followed the tutorial in the thread correctly and whether you're using a good unmodified dump of a compatible game (if the screen still appears stretched, try creating a blank wideCheatData.bin in <sdcard>:\_nds\nds-bootstrap).

Source 1 (Sono's TWL Patcher)
Source 2 (TWiLight Menu ++)

I followed all steps in the Twilight menu tab, but not a single game works in widescreen.

raxadian · Aug 13, 2019

Does this work on Luma 3DS?

DSoryu · Aug 13, 2019

gothicall said:
I followed all steps in the Twilight menu tab, but not a single game works in widescreen.

Did you use the manual method or the Updater method? If you used the second, then is because that at the moment is needed to do the manual installation as there is some issue with latest TwilightMenu++ ver. to download through the updater.

ertaboy356b · Aug 13, 2019

Finally, I can now play High School Musical in WIDESCREEN!!!!!

On the other hand, I don't see Super Princess Peach. I'd like to replay that game and complete it once again.

Give me back my legions!

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Deceptively cute

cripple piss

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GBA/NDS Maniac

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GBA/NDS Maniac

Me > You

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Blah blah blah!

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