nds-bootstrap:

Thanks to the work of ahezard, Gericom, Apache, Robz8, _catcatcat, and shutterbug2000 and other contributors, we can now load NDS games from the SD card, without any flashcard/SLOT-1 card.

Don't expect high compatibility, but do expect many, many updates.

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

The official Discord server for nds-bootstrap:
https://discordapp.com/invite/7bxTQfZ

The thread for the recommended loader (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/twloader-ctr-mode-nds-app.448375/

SRLoader for softmodded DSis (by Robz8):
https://gbatemp.net/threads/srloader-nds-app-for-dsi.472200/

If you're more of a forwarder person:
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nds-forwarder-cias-for-your-home-menu.426174/

Link to the releases page:
https://github.com/ahezard/nds-bootstrap/releases

Anti-Piracy patch list by Robz8
https://gbatemp.net/threads/ap-patch-preservation.477536/

Also, thank you to our testers:
Historian
JoshuaDoes
thejsa
Alerdy
PokeAcer

Spoiler: Videos

Also, a video thanks to Robz8:


And another thanks to Alerdy:

 

[Vulpes-Vulpeos]

@shutterbug2000 made a simple logo for nds-bootstrap, hope you`ll like it

P.S.: For those who didn`t understand - on the left is Nintendo DS cartridge with micro SD on it.

 

[RocketRobz]

nds-bootstrap v0.9.1: Bye-Bye donor carts!
EDIT: Rev 01 released

Instructions:

• Download the .7z file, then extract what's in the .7z file, to the _nds folder.
  If you're on DSi, put dsi- after release- for both .nds files.

What's new?

• Thanks to @shutterbug2000 and @ahezard, save redirection now works for every DS game, from SDK1 to 5 (TWLSDK)!
  Donor carts are no longer needed!
• WarioWare DIY now works, but is the only game that does not save yet.

Bug fixes

• Pokemon Black/White no longer freezes when starting a new game!
• Some save issues are now fixed.
• Some SDK1-4 compatibility is fixed (e.g. Tony Hawk Sk8land, Super Princess Peach, etc).

 

[Pickle_Rick]

nds-bootstrap v0.9.1: Bye-Bye donor carts!

Instructions:

• Download the .7z file, then extract what's in the .7z file, to the _nds folder.
  If you're on DSi, put dsi- after release- for both .nds files.

What's new?

• Thanks to @shutterbug2000 and @ahezard, save redirection now works for every DS game, from SDK1 to 5 (TWLSDK)!
  Donor carts are no longer needed!
• WarioWare DIY now works, but is the only game that does not save yet.

Bug fixes

• Pokemon Black/White no longer freezes when starting a new game!
• Some save issues are now fixed.
• Some SDK1-4 compatibility is fixed (e.g. Tony Hawk Sk8land, Super Princess Peach, etc).

WTF, you guys are on fire!

 

[JambonBeurreMan]

We really need a new spreadsheet to test and give feedback. The old one is officially obsolete now, isn't it?

 

[TotalInfinity]

Really love the progress coming along this. From the sounds of it, it's basically the sound crackles and compatibility left to work on now?

Super hype for what's coming next. Can't wait for 7th Dragon to finally work as well, been hoping that one would work for a while, one of the few last good DS games I haven't finished yet.

 

[Elaugaufein]

Firstly I want to say great work, this project is awesome and these are massive improvements.

And that this might be a problem with my SD card as while it's very fast it's also 128 GB and it's read speed capacity is likely limited by the 3DS's hardware in TWL mode.

But I want to clarify what is supposed to be meant by Cart Speed loading ?

I've just been messing around with Pokemon Black since I had the cart handy for comparison and it's a DSi enchanced game so it seemed like a good choice to put things through their paces.

There's definitely issues that suggest it isn't loading as quickly as from the cart (or that their might be other issues): There's noticeable slowdown on the intro cinematic , particularly the 3D stuff, the music cuts out in the Pokemon Musical section of the intro and there's noticeable lag when moving between parts of Opelucid City , that isn't present on the cart. It's definitely playable but it also froze once on me, but that may have been because of me derping and having left C-Gear enabled.

Edit - I could check Opelucid city since I dumped my save from the cart to compare.

Edit 2 - Platinum by comparison is pretty much identical to the cart, there might be a little bit of lag on transitions but I'm not sure.

 

[RocketRobz]

Firstly I want to say great work, this project is awesome and these are massive improvements.

And that this might be a problem with my SD card as while it's very fast it's also 128 GB and it's read speed capacity is likely limited by the 3DS's hardware in TWL mode.

But I want to clarify what is supposed to be meant by Cart Speed loading ?

I've just been messing around with Pokemon Black since I had the cart handy for comparison and it's a DSi enchanced game so it seemed like a good choice to put things through their paces.

There's definitely issues that suggest it isn't loading as quickly as from the cart (or that their might be other issues): There's noticeable slowdown on the intro cinematic , particularly the 3D stuff, the music cuts out in the Pokemon Musical section of the intro and there's noticeable lag when moving between parts of Opelucid City , that isn't present on the cart. It's definitely playable but it also froze once on me, but that may have been because of me derping and having left C-Gear enabled.

Edit - I could check Opelucid city since I dumped my save from the cart to compare.

The slowness is due to it either being DSi enhanced or AP measures.

 

[Elaugaufein]

The slowness is due to it either being DSi enhanced or AP measures.

On further thought, the issue may be that these are very old Self-Dumps from before their was proper public DSi-enhanced cart dumping. I should redump these properly and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Dmestral]

how can i play kh 358/2 days? it dont start the game after select difficult

 

[RocketRobz]

how can i play kh 358/2 days? it dont start the game after select difficult

Are you using v0.9.1 of nds-bootstrap?

 

[Dmestral]

Are you using v0.9.1 of nds-bootstrap?

yep

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

yep

old3ds if matters

 

[Pickle_Rick]

I still get a white screen with SM64DS. Was that supposed to be fixed in 0.9.1 or no?

 

[RocketRobz]

yep

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


old3ds if matters

ROM might not be AP-patched, then. Try with a DS cart inserted.

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

I still get a white screen with SM64DS. Was that supposed to be fixed in 0.9.1 or no?

Did you try with Rev 01? That fixed it for one user.

 

[plushifoxed]

This is really remarkable. I was never really convinced that DS gameplay natively on 3DS without flash carts would ever happen, but the effort that's been put in here is incredible and I truly appreciate every bit of it. Great work by everyone involved!

 

[Pickle_Rick]

ROM might not be AP-patched, then. Try with a DS cart inserted.

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


Did you try with Rev 01? That fixed it for one user.

Oh, it shows up below the regular 0.9.1 build so I didn't even know it was there. Lol. I'll try it and report back.

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

Yep it's fixed.

 

[Dmestral]

ROM might not be AP-patched, then. Try with a DS cart inserted.

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

Dont have a ds cart....I did with the jpn version...open patched....but cant find a US version patch

 

[tataniko]

Thanks everyone, nds-bootstrap v0.9.1 Rev 01 is great progress.
- New Super Mario Bros. (US) - save & multiplayer works on SD
- Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (EU) - save & multiplayer works on SD
- Crafting Mama (US) - sdk5 save works on SD
Great job, thank you.

 

[zeroultima6]

One of the only things left to implement is the THUMB patch, the cleanup of the code and the auto AP patching.

 

[EridiumMiner]

Touchscreen doesn't work in Soul Silver with latest bootstrap

 

[Pickle_Rick]

Touchscreen doesn't work in Soul Silver with latest bootstrap

It should.