Make-Forwarder-Dsi

Adapted from https://nmoleo.gitlab.io/guide-to-edo9300s-make-forwarder-dsi/

Step 0: The How and Why

How does it work?

Make Forwarder creates DSiWare applications in the DSi home menu that launch preset NDS ROMs using the same NDS-Bootstrap application that TWiLight Menu++ uses.

Why should I use Make Forwarder?

The simple answer is flexibility - it allows you to run NDS roms, DSiWare, and system titles, all from the same menu without going through Unlaunch or TWiLight Menu++. It is also a little faster to load and (in some people's opinions) looks nicer than TWiLight Menu++.

What's this fork?

In newer versions of TWiLight Menu++, the save files are located in a seperate directory saves, so this fork aims to maintain compatibility without further configuring.

Step 1. Prerequisites

What You Need

• A homebrewed* Nintendo DSi or DSi XL with the latest releases of ...
  • Unlaunch
  • HiyaCFW
  • TWiLightMenu++ (this comes with the correct version of NDS-Bootstrap and properly configures it)
• A computer
• A way to read your DSi's SD card from your PC

For a guide on how to homebrew/CFW your DSi, visit dsi.cfw.guide. This guide is comprehensive and is updated frequently.

Step 2. Organizing ROMs

1. Plug your DSi's SD card into your PC.
2. Create a folder in the SD card called "Games" or "ROMs" (you can name it whatever you want).
3. Paste all your game ROMs into this folder. (They should be of the file format .nds)
4. Next, make a new folder inside your ROMs folder called saves and paste any of your save files in there. If you're starting fresh, you probably don't have any. (These files should be of the format .sav)

• If you want to organize your stuff better, you can create a save folder anywhere else on the SD card, but this will require more configuration later.

Step 3. Downloading and Installing Make-Forwarder-Dsi

1. Go to the latest release and download MakeForwarder.zip.

• If you want a bleeding edge version of Make Forwarder, I recommend compiling this repository yourself with devkitPro.

3. Extract the files from the downloaded MakeForwarder.zip to a folder of your choosing.
4. Drag all the files to your SD card.
5. Eject the SD card and put it back inside your DSi.

Step 4. Configuring Forwarders

1. Turn on your DSi and boot into HiyaCFW.
2. You should see a "present" on your home screen titled Forwarder Maker. Unwrap and open this.
3. You should see a screen that says Forwarder maker by edo9300.
4. Use the D-pad to navigate to Set target bootstrap and click A to select it.
5. Navigate to the folder called _nds and choose the either the file called nds-bootstrap-nightly.nds or nds-bootstrap-release.nds, depending on whether you want to use the nightly (potentially unstable) or release (stable) version.
6. Now select Create Forwarder.
7. Navigate to your games folder and select the ROM you would like to make a forwarder to, then click A.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 as needed for each game you want to create a forwarder for.
9. When you are done, restart the console and go back to HiyaCFW. You should see one present for each forwarder you created. Unwrap them.
10. Open them and they should work. If they don't start or it won't read your save file, go back to HiyaCFW and open the app again, but keep A pressed after you open it up. This should show a menu allowing you to change the forwarder, ROM file, and save location. Configure these as necessary.

Step 5 (optional) Automatically Booting into HiyaCFW

If your DS always boots into Unlaunch, you can make it automatically boot into HiyaCFW (or TwilightMenu++ if you prefer). This is pretty easy to do.

1. Boot into Unlaunch.
2. Use the D-pad to select OPTIONS.
3. Select NO BUTTON and select the thing you'd like to open by default (probably HiyaCFW).
4. You can also configure what happens when you boot while holding A, B, X, and Y (e.g. holding A can boot you into TwilightMenu)

• Holding A+B will always boot into Unlaunch. If you want to open Unlaunch, choose the item called FILEMENU.

Step 6. Final Remarks

• You can add as many ROM forwarders as you like (as long as you don't run out of space or use the maximum number of system menu slots).
  • Remember - HiyaCFW only works on SD cards of 2 gigabytes or fewer.
• Do not remove any of the MakeForwarder files on your SD card. This will delete all of your forwarders (but the games and saves should still be there).
• Happy playing!

Building from Source and Manual Installation

1. Install the devkitARM toolchain
2. Download or clone this repository.
3. Navigate to the folder and run make -f Makefile.
4. The build will produce a Make-Forwarder-Dsi.nds file.
5. Optionally, run python2 patch_ndsheader_dsiware.py --mode dsi Make-Forwarder-Dsi.nds to patch the file.
6. You can install the Make-Forwarder-Dsi.nds file using TMFH or any other title manager.