TWPatch lets you use custom DS(i) mode scaling filters on your 3DS

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Backward compatibility is always appreciated, there's no doubt about it. However, sometimes a console's implementation can be lacklustre, either due to technical difficulties or laziness on the manufacturer's part. Depending on who you ask, the 3DS' DS/DSi mode can be said to fit in either: your only options are to either play games upscaled to the 3DS' screen resolution, which includes a blurry filter that cannot be turned off, or in native res mode, which is hardly ideal as it doesn't make use of the entire screens - thus introducing big black bars all around. Due to it, some people preferred playing DS(i) titles on past consoles as it made a number of games look significantly better without any compromises.

But things are finally starting to change with the release of TWPatch made by @Sono. After lots of research and reverse engineering, he made a patcher that is able to change how TWL_FIRM's image upscaling behaves. A total of nine different scaling filters are available (not counting Nintendo's default one), several of which are able to make your games look much sharper than before! In order to give you an idea of what to expect, here is a comparison taken from the thread (made by @youny43 - left: default / right: patched) :

platsmooth.jpg platsharp.jpg

For the curious, here's a list of the included filters:
Filter list said:
  • Nintendo default
  • Sono's crisp (original patch)
  • Sono's crisp (tweaked)
  • Zero interpolation (double pixel)
  • Linear interpolation 1
  • Linear interpolation 2
  • Sharpen test 1
  • Linear sharpen 1
  • Darken crisp
  • Darken Nintendo

The patcher works on both Old and New 3DS models as long as they are running Luma CFW. You need to have enabled loading external FIRMs and modules in Luma's configuration menu, otherwise, the custom filters won't be applied. The process can take several minutes, so be sure to have enough battery charge (and patience) before proceeding. If you're unsure on which one to apply, you can preview how they'll look inside the homebrew app and compare it to Nintendo's default one.

If you want to try this yourself, make sure to read the instructions & remarks in @Sono's post before downloading (linked below).

:arrow:
Source
 

Sono

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Wish I could have a comparison of all the filters, I'll just try each one.
Can a dilligent Temper please post comparisons of all modes?

You can preview the scaling nethod from the program itself by holding and releasing the X button.

The reason I didn't post an image of all the scaling modes is because it looks vastly different on real hardware than it does from screenshots.
And even worse, the scaling methods look somewhat different in-game than they do in the patcher, because the games actually move, and are not just a static image.

People really bothered by something so small? Lame

What small thing? This is not a small task.

If you meant the default blurry filter then it does cause eyestrain for me, so having the "sharpen sharp" one is literally eye-saving, regardless of how bad it looks.
 

The Real Jdbye

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@Sono
What filter is used in that comparison? Because judging by that, this is not an improvement. It has that issue where some pixels are doubled and some are not and it causes edges and especially text to look funky and makes the entire image wobble when you move around. That's what the filter is there to prevent.
 
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Sono

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What filter is used in that comparison? Because judging by that, this is not an improvement. It has that issue where some pixels are doubled and some are not and it causes edges and especially text to look funky and makes the entire image wobble when you move around. That's what the filter is there to prevent.

Edit: it seems like "Sono's sharp" is used in the screenshot.

1) that's because my initial patch is literally just four pixels, plus an interpolated one
2) these are NOT filters, they are upscaling matrixes, so we can't expect them to be able to do smart upscaling like some emulators can do
 
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The Real Jdbye

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Edit: it seems like "Sono's sharp" is used in the screenshot.

1) that's because my initial patch is literally just four pixels, plus an interpolated one
2) these are NOT filters, they are upscaling matrixes, so we can't expect them to be able to do smart upscaling like some emulators can do
A filter is simply mathematical formulas applied to an input to produce an output. Which is what this is. What I'm saying is that the original looks better.
Is that screenshot the best this can do? I'll give it a try sometime, but I like never play DS games anymore.
 
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NoNAND

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I'm checking this out right away!
Must be nice to see DS games run in a crispier resolution.
Not that I complained about the way DS games look on a 3DS though.
 

leon315

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I agree about the images, but to say you can't see any difference without trying it isn't a fair assessment. :)
USUALLY the provided samples must tell the difference, people use pics to show a lot of things and a right pic worth 1000 words, i'm sure neither coder or Tc has tried all configs but they rather rushed to release instead take 10 more min to take a screen :)
 
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