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New Super Mario Bros. DS Guide

New Super Mario Bros. DS Archipelago Setup Guide

Requirements

The APWorld contains the NSMBDS client, ROM procedure patch, and Lua runtime. BizHawk and the original game ROM are not distributed with this project.

Installation and seed generation

  1. Install the APWorld. Open nsmbds.apworld with Archipelago and approve the installation. Alternatively, place it in the custom_worlds directory of your Archipelago installation. Restart Archipelago after replacing an older build.

  2. Generate a player template. In ArchipelagoLauncher.exe, run Generate Template Options. Archipelago creates a current NSMBDS YAML template from the installed APWorld.

  3. Configure the YAML. Open the generated NSMBDS YAML, set the player name, and choose the desired game options. Put the finished file in the Archipelago Players directory.

  4. Generate the seed. Run Generate from the Archipelago Launcher or start ArchipelagoGenerate.exe. The generated seed output contains the .archipelago multidata and an .apnsmbds ROM patch for this player.

Patch the ROM

  1. In the Archipelago Launcher, open Open Patch. Select the generated .apnsmbds file and, when requested, select the clean original USA ROM. Archipelago validates the ROM and applies the seed-specific patch.

  2. After patching, a same-named .nds seed ROM is created next to the .apnsmbds file. Always play this patched .nds; do not launch the clean source ROM.

Launch and connect

  1. Open NSMBDS Client from the Archipelago Launcher and switch to the Launch Game tab. Select:

    • EmuHawk.exe from the BizHawk installation;
    • the patched .nds seed ROM created in step 6.

    The bundled Lua bootstrap is installed and selected automatically. Its status and resolved path are shown in the same tab. The normal Windows path is:

    C:\ProgramData\Archipelago\nsmbds\lua\nsmbds_bizhawk_bootstrap.lua

  2. Click Launch NSMBDS. BizHawk starts with the patched ROM and Lua bootstrap. After one successful setup, you may enable Automatically launch when the NSMBDS Client starts at the bottom of the tab.

    Important: Keep the BizHawk Lua Console open while playing. You may minimize it, but closing it will stop the Lua script.

  3. In the NSMBDS Client, switch to the Archipelago tab. Enter the server address, then click Connect, enter slot name, and optional password.

  4. Wait until both the Archipelago connection and the BizHawk connection are active. The Emulator Feed should show both connection messages (its width, position, status, and fade-out time can be changed in the client's Settings tab):

NSMBDS Client connected to BizHawk.
NSMBDS Client connected to the Archipelago server.

Then load or create an in-game save.

Have fun playing!

Manual BizHawk launch

The Launch Game tab is recommended, but the same components can be started manually:

  1. Start EmuHawk.exe.

  2. Load the patched .nds seed ROM.

  3. Open Tools > Lua Console in BizHawk.

  4. Load Lua Script Script > Open Script:

    ...\Archipelago\nsmbds\lua\nsmbds_bizhawk_bootstrap.lua

  5. Keep the Lua script running, open NSMBDS Client, and connect to the correct Archipelago slot.

Opening the Launch Game tab once materializes the bundled Lua files and displays the exact path.

Reporting a problem

In the NSMBDS Client's Archipelago tab, enter /nsmbds_diag full to show the current client, connection, BizHawk, ROM, and item/location sync state. Include that output, the steps to reproduce the problem, and any relevant error message when reporting a bug. /nsmbds_diag short gives a smaller overview.

For a problem that needs more detailed logs, enter /nsmbds_debug on, reproduce it. Logs can be found in your Archipelago Folder in /logs/NsmbdsClient_xxxx.txt.

Verify the original ROM

Before patching, you can check the ROM's MD5 hash in PowerShell with this simple command:

Get-FileHash -LiteralPath "New Super Mario Bros. (USA).nds" -Algorithm MD5

The compatible USA ROM must report the MD5 hash A2DDBA012E5C3C2096D0BE57CC273BE5. The patcher performs the same validation when you select the ROM.