Tutorial  Updated

Generate RetroArch NSP Forwarders (with proper icon and title)

This tutorial will show you how to generate a RetroArch NSP Forwarder. The end result is a game on your HOME menu, and when you open it RetroArch is launched with the game directly running. Here's a video showing what it looks like (video by @bobdamnit).

I may or may not make an automated version of it, in a nice GUI, without any external dependency required. Time will tell. If someone wants to do it, go ahead.

1. What's needed
  • The latest release of hacBrewPack : https://github.com/The-4n/hacBrewPack/releases
  • keys.dat (I recommend using Lockpick to dump it)
  • The latest release of my modded hbloader : https://github.com/natinusala/nx-hbloader-retroarch-forwarder-mod/releases (build.zip)
  • The core (NRO) and the game you want to forward on your SD card (download the core through RA's online updater)
  • A 256x256 JPG icon of the game you want to forward (I suggest that you make your own)
  • (optional) a PNG to be displayed in the top-left corner of the screen while loading (normally Nintendo logo) and a GIF to be displayed in the bottom-right corner (normally an animated Switch logo)
2. Creating the NSP

Extract hacBrewPack somewhere and follow these steps:
  • copy your keys.dat where hacbrewpack.exe is
  • copy both "control" and "exefs" from my modded hbloader to the folder where hacbrewpack.exe is
  • inside the new "control", copy your 256x256 JPG and rename it "icon_AmericanEnglish.dat"
  • create a folder called "logo" where hacbrewpack.exe is
  • now the important part: create a folder called "romfs" where hacbrewpack.exe is
    • inside, create two files: "nextNroPath" and "nextArgv"
    • in "nextNroPath", write the path to the core on your SD card starting by "sdmc:" (for example sdmc:/retroarch/cores/quicknes_libretro_libnx.nro)
    • in "nextArgv", write the path to the core on your SD card starting by "sdmc":, followed by a whitespace and the path to the game on your SD card between quotes (for example sdmc:/retroarch/cores/quicknes_libretro_libnx.nro "sdmc:/roms/nes/Super Mario Bros. 3 (USA).nes")
    • Be sure not to put newlines in the end of any of those files
  • Open cmd in the folder where hacbrewpack.exe is and run "hacbrewpack.exe --titleid <title id> --titlename <game name> --titlepublisher <game publisher>"
  • If everything went fine, you should have your NSP in the "hacbrewpack_nsp" folder (called by its title id)
3. How does it work?

If a content path is set in argv when running RetroArch, the content is loaded instead of opening the menu.

This is a simple mod of hbloader which reads the NRO path ("nextNroPath") as well as argv ("nextArgv") from its romfs.
  1. you run the title
  2. hbloader starts
  3. hbloader reads the NRO path and its arguments from its romfs
  4. hbloader starts the NRO (the core), giving the arguments (the content path)
  5. The core is started, and loads the content given in arguments
"But why use romfs, you could have directly set the path in the code" I hear you ask. I used romfs because I wanted to be able to change the core and content path without rebuilding hbloader, for an eventual automated tool.
 
Last edited by natinusala,

shrinerlp

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Is there any way to make this a bit quicker? Or any way to automate some of this? I’ll be doing some of these on the weekend but wondering if it’d be possible to speed this up.
 

re.lax

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Nomada

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Are icons limited to 256?

I can't seem to get this to work. I followed every step and I just get a gray question mark icon that loads hbmenu..what am I doing wrong?
 
Last edited by Nomada,

Canny86

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Are icons limited to 256?

I can't seem to get this to work. I followed every step and I just get a gray question mark icon that loads hbmenu..what am I doing wrong?
Yes they are limited. Follow the instructions step by step. Double check your path to the core and to your Rom!
 

Nomada

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Yes they are limited. Follow the instructions step by step. Double check your path to the core and to your Rom!
Will you pm me? It won't let me message you

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I followed each step precisely. I've been wanting retroarch forwarders for a while so I'd like to figure this out.
 
Last edited by Nomada,

TotalJustice

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Will you pm me? It won't let me message you

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong but I followed each step precisely. I've been wanting retroarch forwarders for a while so I'd like to figure this out.
Use nro2nsp if this method isn’t working out for you.

For the icon however, it sounds like it isn’t 256x256. Hence the question mark icon.
 

CatmanFan

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So I made a RetroArch NSP generator program in batch for the laziest of the laziest. It's called VC-NX.
Wanted to make a separate thread for this, but decided I wanted to post it here instead because we don't want a dozen threads on the exact same topic lol *cough* "[SUGGESTION] help me on sx os 2.0" *cough*
Took me like 2 and a half hours total to code, and I had to do a lot of bug-fixing in the process.
Hope this makes the process easier.

Anyways, enjoy! ;)
 

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spuderump

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So I made a RetroArch NSP generator program in batch for the laziest of the laziest. It's called VC-NX.
Wanted to make a separate thread for this, but decided I wanted to post it here instead because we don't want a dozen threads on the exact same topic lol *cough* "[SUGGESTION] help me on sx os 2.0" *cough*
Took me like 2 and a half hours total to code, and I had to do a lot of bug-fixing in the process.
Hope this makes the process easier.

Anyways, enjoy! ;)

So this automates the entire process?

If so dude I’d create another thread given the significance of your application
 
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coffinbirth

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So I made a RetroArch NSP generator program in batch for the laziest of the laziest. It's called VC-NX.
Wanted to make a separate thread for this, but decided I wanted to post it here instead because we don't want a dozen threads on the exact same topic lol *cough* "[SUGGESTION] help me on sx os 2.0" *cough*
Took me like 2 and a half hours total to code, and I had to do a lot of bug-fixing in the process.
Hope this makes the process easier.

Anyways, enjoy! ;)
SWEET! Thank you!
 
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JJTapia19

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Saving doesn't seem to be working with my nsp forwarders. Mgba core. It's not detecting the already created saves and creating new saves, savestates doesn't seem to be working. Is it normal? :unsure: I used the RetroArch NSP generator posted above.
 

Mrdx

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Saving doesn't seem to be working with my nsp forwarders. Mgba core. It's not detecting the already created saves and creating new saves, savestates doesn't seem to be working. Is it normal? :unsure: I used the RetroArch NSP generator posted above.
Use the nightly builds, it has been fixed (also try VBA Next which works great for me)
 
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D

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So I made a RetroArch NSP generator program in batch for the laziest of the laziest. It's called VC-NX.
Wanted to make a separate thread for this, but decided I wanted to post it here instead because we don't want a dozen threads on the exact same topic lol *cough* "[SUGGESTION] help me on sx os 2.0" *cough*
Took me like 2 and a half hours total to code, and I had to do a lot of bug-fixing in the process.
Hope this makes the process easier.

Anyways, enjoy! ;)

is it possible to create an N64 F-Zero X NSP forwarder?
 

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