Hacking DS2 Skin Installer

[Stormwave]

DSTwo Skin Installer 1.4

DSTwo Skin Installer is a skin packager and installer for the DSTwo.

It consists of a PC-side program and a DSTwo plugin.

This program will allow skin makers to easily package up the multiple skin types for the DS2, and allow people to download and install them much easier. Using the DSTwo Plugin you can now switch full skin packages without having to remove your SD card.

Skin Makers

Skin makers can package there skins using the PC-side program. It supports all current DSTwo skin types (EOS, GBA, SNES, iReader, Plugins, RTM, Loading). All skin types are optional, so you can make a skin that does not necessarily contain all of the skin types. e.g. A skin maker who has made a Plugins skin, EOS skin, GBA skin and a loading screen, only needs to package them into a ds2skin package.

General Users

You can either use the PC-side program or the DSTwo Plugin to install .ds2skin packages.

PC-side

Ensure your SD card is connected to your PC. Run the program, and click "install skin". Then choose the .ds2skin file you have obtained or created. Choose the types of skin you wish to install, and the program will do the rest.

DSTwo Plugin

Place .ds2skin files inside a folder named "skins" inside the "_dstwo" folder on your SD card. If the folder does not exist, create it. Then load up your DSTwo and choose the DS2 Skin Installer plugin, and follow the instructions on screen.



Download Here

 

[Koken]

Freshhhh, thanks for taking your time to do this, should definitely keep my microsd card more organized and keep me from feeling like i messed while putting the skin in.


tyvm

 

[haddad]

ok so where do u then put the skins? In the plugin folder? ui folder? where do u put the .ds2skin file

 

[jurassicplayer]

ok so where do u then put the skins? In the plugin folder? ui folder? where do u put the .ds2skin file

o.0 On the computer...? It's a PC side program at the moment.

 

[haddad]

Ohhh so u can't drag the .ds2skin onto if mms then use it?

 

[Stormwave]

Not yet, you can install the .ds2skin using the DS2 Skin Installer, or simple double click on the ds2skin file to launch the installer. It'll detect your SD Card and install the files in the appropriate places.

I have decided to work on a DS side installer, so hopefully it won't be too long before I launch that.

 

[RoMee]

does it install anything else..loading, GBA, etc??

 

[Stormwave]

Yeah, it installs all skinnable things. EOS, GBA, SNES, Loading, Plugins and iReader.

 

[RoMee]

Yeah, it installs all skinnable things. EOS, GBA, SNES, Loading, Plugins and iReader.

okay..thanks..I'll try it now

 

[Stormwave]

I just remembered how much I hate programming for the DS, lol.

I've finished the DS-side installer. It's a DSTwo plugin program that will search inside "_dstwo/skins" for .ds2skin files, and will install them.

Now you can switch entire skins without removing your SD card

 

[haddad]

I still dont get how to use it. Lets say u click on "create skin", then u click on browse for the EOS, then the type of file it is looking for is "DSTwo EOS" files? What are those? .eos? I dont get it lol

Same for loading screen, it askes for "loading screen" type files. is it .loading?

 

[CannonFoddr]

I still dont get how to use it. Lets say u click on "create skin", then u click on browse for the EOS, then the type of file it is looking for is "DSTwo EOS" files? What are those? .eos? I dont get it lol

Same for loading screen, it askes for "loading screen" type files. is it .loading?

No.....Put simply - When you click on the [Browse] button to make a '.ds2skin' pack you need to browse to where the skin graphics are for that particular 'skin' & select one of the files inside that folder.

• In the case of the 'eos' and 'realtime screen' skin - you need to select the 'uisettings.ini' file
  For the 'plugin - select 'up_bk.bmp'
  For 'ireader' - select 'UI.zip'
  For the 'loading' skin/screen - you need to select a suitable 'BMP' file
  For the 'GBA' skin - it's 'navo.bmp'
  For the 'SNES' skin - select 'snnewo.bmp'

Have a look @ the DSTwo skin thread & you'll see which each 'skin' looks like (note that there's no 'iReader' or SNES skins - yet)

Spoiler: Example of 'eos' skin

Spoiler: Example of 'GBA' skin (note SNES skin is similar to this)

Spoiler: Example of 'Loading' skin

Spoiler: Example of 'Plugin' skin

Spoiler: Example of iReader skin

 

[Stormwave]

Just updated to 1.2.

Fixing a few bugs I noticed while trying it out a bit more thoroughly.

 

[cambridge_red]

Any MAC alternatives?

 

[Stormwave]

Any MAC alternatives?

Nope sorry, I don't have a mac

Updated to version 1.21. Fixes a few bugs reported on the Supercard forums.

 

[CannonFoddr]

I've 'converted' some of the Multi-skin packs from my thread into .ds2skin packs for you (like you requested in my thread) & I've been giving the 'plugin' a try out as well

Spoiler: converted multipacks

16bitzelda
Abstract Blue
Angel Beats
Barcelona FC
Blue Horse
Bluelights
Chrono Trigger
Circuit nebula
Dont Panic

Found a couple of problems

• One is with the 'Loading screen' - seems like the screens get corrupted when getting 'embedded' into dsgame.
  
  I know the graphic is OK - since I changed the '.ds2skin' to '.7z' & used IZArc2Go to extract it, so I'm guessing it might the way the plugin is extracting the file that causing the problem
  
• Don't think this is an actual problem but when 'setting up' although the plugin skin changes on restart - the eos skin doesn't. You still need to enter the 'Start' > 'Skin' > menu to change it.
  
  Is it meant to do that ? Maybe I was expecting to much, but I was expecting on 'reboot' that all the skins were changed
  (but then again it IS called 'ds2skin INSTALLER' not 'ds2skin CHANGER'
  
  )

 

[VatoLoco]

i havent had the loading screen corruption on my end when making .ds2skins (ive only done 3 so far).

i saw what you mean though, when i checked out the DontPanic skin.

I repacked it to see if id get the same corrupt image, but happily i didnt. I used a 16bit bmp for the loading screen image.

DontPanic


maaan, seeing that unchecked iReader box is urging me to skin that bugger too now (though i dont ever use it, i prefer mnshls text reader)

 

[CannonFoddr]

I repacked it to see if id get the same corrupt image, but happily i didnt. I used a 16bit bmp for the loading screen image.

Just to check - do you mean you changed the Loading screen to 16bit & that cured the corruption???
I admit I didn't check the bit-depth of the graphics - I just downloaded the multipack, extracted it & 'repacked' it as a 'ds2skin'

Guess that's something we'll have to double check on when repacking then - make sure ALL graphics are 16-bit
(I'll redo those other ones ASAP)

 

[VatoLoco]

yeah, it had been a .png, but the skin installer didnt see it, so i switched it up to a .bmp (and 16bit by habit hehe)

its weird, by looking at the corrupted loading image, i cant decide if i can see the word 'Dingoo' in there, or if its just the words DontPanic garbled up.

 

[Rascal]

Love the program. Have 1 major problem (experienced by other users) and 2 comments:

1. I have tried packaging up some existing skin suites and everything works except the loader gets corrupted on all of them. Even with the Tron .ds2skin that VatoLoco made.
1a. If I use the same LoadingScreen.bmp files from the .ds2skin package with the DSTwo Loader Modifier, they work perfectly.
1b. I have been testing the Loading Screen from the windows app and so far only the default.ds2skin works. All others have bad offsets (0x00057000 instead of 0x00059E58)
1c. I've tried to import the Default Blue LoadingScreen.BMP using the DSTwo Loader Modifier and it messes up too. I'm concerned that this is damaging the DSGAME.NDS file.
1d. Per VatoLoco's recommendation, I converted all my LoadingScreens to 16-bit BMP and it seems to work fine.

2. If the .ds2skin is installing the EOS skin, why can't it modify the globalsettings.ini to select it?
3. Can you add an "Edit Skin" setting so that skinners can add to their existing .ds2skin files when they add new features (like SNES)?

To kick off the new ds2skin format, I've packaged the default skin and a slightly altered default skin into ds2skin files.

Follow the instructions to learn how to install ds2skin packages.

[ds2skin] Default
[ds2skin] Default Blue

The default .ds2skin package will allow you to revert your DSTwo back to it's default skins. (EOS, GBA, SNES, iReader, Plugins, Patch, Loading). The Default Blue is a just a recoloured version.