Nintendo DS Modding Index

Widescreen + RTCom

RTCom is the use of the 3DS’s RTC to allow the ARM7 and ARM11 CPUs to communicate with each other, even while in TWL_FIRM. This allows 3DS features to be used while in DS(i) mode. This includes the circle pad’s analog input, enabling widescreen, and having gyro support.

A few examples of this includes nds-bootstrap (to use the circle pad’s analog input and widescreen), and GBARunner2 (for gyro support).

This section requires a 3DS family console, running a modern CFW environment from 3ds.hacks.guide.

If you’re currently using Luma v13, please update to the latest version before following this guide.

Installing #

  1. Open FBI and select Remote Install, then Scan QR Code
  2. Scan this QR code to install the latest version of Universal-Updater
    Universal-Updater QR code
  3. Open Universal Updater from your HOME Menu
  4. Install the TWPatch package
    • If your console is unable to access the Internet, you can download TWPatch.cia directly, then install it with FBI
  5. Return to the HOME menu and launch TWPatch
    • If you get a message which says Can't open /luma/exeTWL.bin, then use TWLFix-CFW to fix broken TWL mode
  6. Hold Y + B to open the patch menu and enable Widescreen patch (384x240 16:10)
    • Make sure the Redshift patch is disabled, otherwise the widescreen patch will not work
  7. (Optional!) For a less pixelated widescreen, also enable GPU scaling (blurry, no filters)
  8. Press B to exit the patch menu
  9. Press START to generate a TwlBg.cxi file with widescreen + RTCom
    • If the top screen doesn’t indicate that wide patch is enabled, start from step 3 again
  10. Move TwlBg.cxi from sd:/luma/sysmodules/ to sd:/_nds/TWiLightMenu/TwlBg/ (create TwlBg folder, if it doesn’t exist), and rename the file to Widescreen.cxi
  11. Restart your 3DS while holding SELECT to open Luma3DS’s configuration
  12. Enable external FIRMs and modules, then press START to save and quit
  13. Launch TWPatch
  14. Select your screen filter
    • If unsure, select Nintendo default
  15. Press START to generate a standalone TwlBg.cxi file with RTCom

Playing DS games in Widescreen #

Select one of the following methods to launch your DS game:

Launch TWiLight Menu++, then follow either method.

Activating it per-game:

  1. Press Y on your desired game to bring up the per-game settings
  2. Set Screen Aspect Ratio to 16:10
  3. Press B to exit the per-game settings
  4. Press A to launch the game

Activating it for every (compatible) game:

  1. Open TWLMenu++ Settings
  2. Switch to the Misc. settings page
  3. Set Screen Aspect Ratio to 16:10
  4. Press B or touch the bottom TWiLight Menu++ button to exit TWLMenu++ Settings
  5. Press A to launch the game
  1. From the HOME menu, hold Y, and while holding Y, launch the forwarded game that you wish to enable widescreen for
  2. Use the D-Pad to scroll to Widescreen
  3. Press A to switch it to On
  4. Press START to save

Playing with Circle Pad #

  1. See this GBATemp thread for which games are supported
  2. Download MODS.zip from the above page
  3. Open MODS.zip, then put usrcheat.dat in sd:/_nds/TWiLightMenu/extras/
    • If you already have a usrcheat.dat file in said folder, rename the existing one to usrcheat.dat.bak first
  4. Launch TWiLight Menu++
  5. Press Y on your desired game to bring up the per-game settings
  6. Press X to open the cheat menu
  7. Activate the C-Pad patch
  8. Press START to save
  9. Press B to exit the per-game settings
  10. Press A to launch the game

NOTES:

  1. Do not hold START or SELECT when launching TWLMenu++, if you don’t want widescreen to look glitched
  2. Not every game is widescreen compatible. Here is a list of games with widescreen support
  3. If you’re stuck in widescreen mode in all of TWL_FIRM (including the TWLMenu++ GUI) after following this guide and launching a widescreen-compatible game, delete TwlBg.cxi at sd:/luma/sysmodules/.
    • If the problem persists, uninstall and re-install TWiLight Menu++, and re-follow the above guide, as well as using the original build of Luma
  4. Most widescreen patches will only adjust 3D elements for widescreen, 2D elements (such as menus) will only be stretched
  5. Luma3DS must be loaded from the SD card, if widescreen isn’t working ensure that you have boot.firm in the root of your SD