#gba4iosapp

Poor Riley, he can't seem to catch a breather. Once again while vacationing (Hawaii this time), he got notified of a second DMCA notice from Nintendo that forced him to take down his hosting website (which was part of Karen's angelxwind.net and has also been taken down). 

Nintendo has sent another notice regarding GBA4iOS, and as such http://t.co/2egsx0sRNS has been temporarily taken down (again)

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 6, 2014

Yes, it will be back up, but of course once again they choose to do this when I’m on vacation

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 6, 2014

GBA4iOS will continue working if you have it installed (and you set the date back occasionally), so you don’t need to worry about that :)

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 6, 2014

Just like the last notice, Nintendo was extremely vague on what exactly needs to change, although certainly don't doubt they would love to have the whole app itself taken down. Having been featured in a myriad of popular news site (recently The Verge), it's no wonder GBA4iOS' popularity keeps soaring and being caught in Nintendo's radar. Lots of exposure is a great thing, but it can also take the form of a bad thing for emulators that still reside in the "gray area." 

Notice was extraordinarily vague, and they didn’t mention any reason in particular.

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 6, 2014

With the last DMCA notice, Riley figured the direct download button linking to a certain ROM site was at fault. He quickly changed it into a search button linking to Google and whatever you do with that was on you, the user, entirely. For Nintendo, this must have not been enough and whatever reason they have now, they aren't being very clear about it.

Riley is already working on the latest massive update for GBA4iOS, version 2.1 which is said to bring multiplayer support. He could include whatever changes he needs in this upcoming version and hope that a third DMCA notice doesn't come in. 

Unlike last time, Riley will not be making the contents of the notice available for public reading as he was not the only one affected by this (and probably wasn't directed specifically at him), but the whole InfiniDev team which consequently also means nds4ios is down as well along with many repos hosted by Karen (@angelxwind).

I won’t be posting the contents of the notice this time because it wasn’t just directed at me; the entire InfiniDev team received it as well

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 6, 2014

Here's some tweets from Michael Zhang and Brian Tung, developers of nds4ios regarding this issue: 

Nintendo has sent us a notice regarding nds4ios, the sites have been temporarily taken down.

— Michael Zhang (@Malvix_)

August 6, 2014

Your current nds4ios installations will continue working. Further notice will come soon.

— Michael Zhang (@Malvix_)

August 6, 2014

Regarding InfiniDev and nds4ios: everything will be fine we think. Situations are being dealt with and alternatives considered

— B (@iPlop)

August 6, 2014

Update 1: 

Riley has found a temporary host for his website which gets bombarded with innumerable daily visits, so let's hope it proves strong enough until he finds a more permanent host. He said we should expect the site and the download link at the end of the day.

Found a temporary host for http://t.co/s9TSsIjN2n! Expect the site to be back up by the end of the day :)

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

August 8, 2014

Update 2: 

It appears gba4iosapp.com and the download link for GBA4iOS 2.0 are back, just as Riley promised it would. Happy downloading!

Whatever issues are happening behind the scenes, I'm sure we will know more as time goes on. Keep in touch with all the main Twitter accounts covering this:

Riley Testut (@RileyTestut) Michael Zhang (@Malvix_) Brian Tung (@iPlop) 

Introduction:

It is well-known that GBA4iOS 2.0 came with a ton of new features, most of which were highly anticipated - cheats, fast forward, skins - and others were, well, not so notable. That's because some features, like the Software Update, were last-minute additions that now make the emulator one of the best around. One particular feature I personally love was not even in Riley's plans until this past December: URL Schemes.

Backstory:

It was about noon on December 21st when I decided to text Riley and ask him if he could consider adding this feature to GBA4iOS 2.0 before it got released - I wasn't even sure it was possible then. I had just purchased the app Launch Center Pro (which I cover in Part 3) earlier that day during a one-day sale and fell in love with the quick shortcuts and actions but was also a little disappointed that I couldn't launch GBA4iOS 2.0 (beta) from within the app. That's how I decided I would suggest this feature to Riely, as you can see below.

  I know for a fact that it didn't take "only a second" and I take full responsibility for costing Riley some of his time implementing this feature that I really wanted. No regrets, though.

Riley made what I had originally thought would be just opening an app into something even more impressive, and here I'm gonna teach you all about it.

What is a URL Scheme?

Now, first things first: what really is this URL Scheme I've been going on about? Well, in simple terms, it's kind of a link - a special link really - that allows you to do wondrous things like open apps through shortcuts but way more than just that: it can even let you open specific ROMs (i.e. games) found on GBA4iOS 2.0 at the tap of an icon in your home screen!

You could completely avoid going through your home screens looking for the emulator amidst all your other apps, finally opening it and going through what must be a very long list of your favorite ROMs by now until you find the one you're looking for. You can create a one-stop destination for all your favorite games all thanks to this little, unplanned but amazing feature. You can have your favorite games directly in your home screen as if they were real apps, and they would open immediately on GBA4iOS 2.0.

This feature is meant to improve and automate your workflow in iOS, making things easier and quicker to use, but add GBA4iOS into the mix and you get something magical like this that you never thought possible.

Excited? Well, let me tell you how to make your own, then. But first, let's take a look as to how this feature looks and works.

How do URL Schemes work? 

URL Schemes, as we have discussed, allow you to essentially link your favorite games from within the app into your home screen. But how exactly is this gonna work, you may wonder. Do you just press a button within GBA4iOS to make this happen automatically? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Let me show you what a URL Scheme actually looks like.

This is the basic URL for opening Super Mario World (capitalizing matters) on GBA4iOS 2.0. You could, at this moment, grab that link below and paste it into mobile Safari and it will jump to the game given that you have it and it's worded exactly the same:

gba4ios://Super%20Mario%20World

Note: %20 is just another way of adding a space. More on this later.

Update: Riley brought this to my attention. Although I mention a lot that you need to have the same name as the one found in GBA4iOS 2.0, there is an alternative method where the name does not matter, but you have to do a little digging through Dropbox.

In addition to the ROM name, you can use the "unique name" used by Dropbox to sync files when using URL schemes.

So instead of:

gba4ios://Pokemon%20Emerald

You can use:

gba4ios://POKEMON%20EMER-7b058a7aea5bfbb352026727ebd87e17

This has two advantages:

It will open the ROM regardless of what it's named, so if you change the name it'll still work (I recommend this method for games you intend to have for a long time for this reason)

 It will work on everyone's devices, since it is name-independent

You can find these identifiers within the Dropbox > Apps > GBA4iOS 2 (Dropbox feature must be enabled within 2.0)

Thanks, Riley!

Web Clips

URL Schemes are basically links that you create based on the names of the games from within GBA4iOS 2.0 that you have downloaded. What you need to do with these links in order to add icons to your home screen is to turn them into Web Clips. Don't know what Web Clips are? Then try this out really quick: 

Go to Safari on your iDevice

Go to your favorite website

Tap the share icon (square with an arrow on top) in the bottom bar.

Tap "Add to Home Screen"

You have just created a web clip of your favorite site. I'm assuming it even comes with a predetermined icon ready for you to tap on when you want to access the site. 

URL Schemes and Web Clips come together and allow you to launch any game on GBA4iOS 2.0 from your home screen. Now, let's learn how to make them!

Recall:

Before I tell you the requirements you will need for this section, let's go over  URL Schemes and Web Clips really quick.

Remember that this is how a URL Scheme looks and works. You have the GBA4iOS call-back url, then the name of the ROM.

gba4ios://Super%20Mario%20World

The name of the ROM must have the exact same wording and format as the one found within GBA4iOS 2.0 that you wish to open. Most of the games will include spaces but know that you cannot add a space to a URL Scheme. What you do instead of a space is add %20 as you can see above. This is because the URL has to be in encoded format. You never see any website with spaces, right? 

Keep that format in mind and also know these quick encodings for things like apostrophes and exclamation marks which some games may contain.

Apostrophes ( ' ) %27

Colon ( : ) %3A

Exclamation Mark ( ! ) %21

Spaces: (  ) %20

For a more extensive list of URL Encoding, please visit the Vermont Database. Note: You may not always need to encode everything if you are using apps like Launch Center Pro, but since this method covers how to create Web Clips that require Mobile Safari, you are required to encode.

Mac OS X

Requirements

Mac with OS X

Apple Configurator (free in Mac App Store)

iPhone or iPad

iPhone or iPad dock connectors

Icon PNGs for your games

Don't forget that using this method requires you to have the ROM you wish to make a URL Scheme of already installed in GBA4iOS 2.0, and that you should use the exact name (with possible encoding methods ready and capitalization) when making the URL Scheme. 

Let's begin!

First make sure you connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer.

Note: click or tap on the images to see them in full resolution. If you are reading within the Tumblr Dashboard, please go to http://gba4ios.mithical.com

On your Mac, go to the Mac App Store or click the link in requirement #2 to get you directly to this page, and download Apple Configurator.

With this program, you will be able to create Web Clips with URL Schemes that you can add to your connected device by installing a configuration profile (trust me, it's easier than it sounds).

Open the Apple Configurator app and you should see this:

From here you should only click on "Install Profiles..." You will see the next page if you have your iPhone or iPad connected already.

 Tap "Next" and you arrive here. In this section you will first need to add a Name in the "General" section. It can be any name you want, I called mine simply "Web Clips" as I'll be adding more than one.

From here you scroll down the side bar until you reach the "Web Clips" section, this is where the magic happens. Tap "Configure"

You will now need to start creating your Web Clip. Begin at the "Label" and move your way down.

In Label I added the name of the ROM which is what you'll see below the Web Clip in the Home Screen. This one does not require you to word it exactly, and if you want to shorten it or put something else, go for it. 

The URL section is where you will be adding your URL Scheme! It's very important that you use the method I have shown you. Start with gba4ios:// and add the exact name of the ROM you wish to open. In my case, I will be opening Super Mario World. Since it has spaces, I must use %20 encodings in between the words.

Leave the Removable box checked so that you can always delete the web clips from your device if you want. 

Now add an icon! It's preferable if you have squared images as any other will look cut off. I will provide some icons I made myself so that you can get started, but you can always look for some yourself - I'm sure you already have some in mind. 

I would recommend you check the Precomposed icon as it will have a more refine, clean look than the composed effects Apple used to use in apps back in the old days. Toggle it and see the difference for yourself.

Now, if you wish to only create one Web Clip of a game, you may now click "Save," however if you wish to create more than one all you have to do is click that "+" button in the top-right corner and do these same steps again. It's better to get them all done in one configurational profile, but you can always do some more later, just know that you will have to change the name in the "General" section.

Now that we have that done and saved, you will arrive at this page:

Before you even tap "Next" you must first unlock your iPhone or iPad if they have a pass code. Immediately after clicking "Next" a page will open on your device prompting you to install the profile containing all your Web Clips. Tap "Install"

Back on your Mac, if you see this "Install succeeded" message, you should now go ahead and go to your home screens and look for the web clips you just created! 

Tap one and see the magic of URL Schemes come to life as your favorite game opens up! You have successfully created Web Clips with functioning URL Schemes that open ROMs directly in GBA4iOS 2.0. Enjoy!

Windows

I'm not about to leave you PC users behind. Sure, you might not have a Mac App Store, but there's still a way for you to make Web Clips with URL Schemes just like us Mac users! Here we go.

Note: Tap the images to see full resolution versions!

Requirements:

Windows XP (SP3) or Windows Vista (SP1) or Windows 7 or Windows 8.1

iPhone Configurator Utility (found on Apple.com)

iPhone or iPad

iPhone or iPad dock connectors

Don't forget that using this method requires you to have the ROM you wish to make a URL Scheme of already installed in GBA4iOS 2.0, and that you should use the exact name (with possible encoding methods ready and capitalization) when making the URL Scheme. 

Let's begin!

First make sure you connect your iPhone or iPad with the dock connector to your computer.

Go and download iPhone Configurator Utility 3.6.2 from Apple's website and install it.

After you install it successfully, you should arrive at a page that looks like this. On the side bar, you will now click on "Configuration Profiles"

You should arrive at a page that, if you were reading over the Mac tutorial, this will look very similar and that's because it almost is, there's just one slight extra requirement that you need to add.

In the General section you will add a name for your profile - it can be anything you want, I chose Web Clips. After this, you must now add an identifier. You can word it exactly how I have it and even change it to your name, but know that this section is required for these profiles to work.

Scroll down in the side bar until you see a section called "Web Clips" and click it. This section is where you will be creating your Web Clips with URL Schemes to open ROMs from the home screen!

It uses the interface as the one found on Apple Configurator for Mac, so the instructions are relatively the same!

In Label I added the name of the ROM which is what you'll see below the Web Clip in the Home Screen. This one does not require you to word it exactly, and if you want to shorten it or put something else, go for it. 

The URL section is where you will be adding your URL Scheme! It's very important that you use the method I have shown you. Start with gba4ios:// and add the exact name of the ROM you wish to open. In my case, I will be opening Super Mario World. Since it has spaces, I must use %20 encodings in between the words.

Leave the Removable box checked so that you can always delete the web clips from your device if you want. 

Now add an icon! It's preferable if you have squared images as any other will look cut off. I will provide some icons I made myself so that you can get started, but you can always look for some yourself - I'm sure you already have some in mind. 

I would recommend you check the Precomposed icon as it will have a more refine, clean look than the composed effects Apple used to use in apps back in the old days. Toggle it and see the difference for yourself.

Now, if you wish to only create one Web Clip of a game, you may now click "Save," however if you wish to create more than one all you have to do is click that "+" button in the top-right corner and do these same steps again. It's better to get them all done in one configurational profile, but you can always do some more later, just know that you will have to change the name in the "General" section.

Once you are done creating your Web Clips, you will now click on "Export" and save the .mobileconfig file to your desktop. Make sure the security is set to "sign configuration profile"

Although you do not see it in the screenshots above, if your device is connected you will get a "Devices" list below "Library" where you can now add that .mobileconfig file we just saved.

If for some reason, like me, you don't see the "Devices" section when you have a device connected, you can also use this alternative method of installation:

Upload the .mobileconfig file you saved to Dropbox, then get the download link and open it in your iDevice. You will be prompted to install the configuration profile.

After you tap "Install" all the Web Clips you created will be added to your home screen for you to use and quickly access ROMs from GBA4iOS 2.0!

This is how you create Web Clips with URL Schemes through Windows and Mac. It's far easier to do a batch of icons through here and then quickly install the configuration profile with all of them installed. Remember that if you delete that profile, the web clips will also disappear, so don't delete it! 

I know some of you aren't very fond of computers and do everything you can possibly do through your phones, and that's why I have a section set up for you to install Web Clips through mobile using some apps found in the App Store. Go read!

Icons

I have some goodies for you all to use if you want to facilitate the creation of making URL Schemes. First, let me give you access to some of the custom icons I have made for my own personal use - they look and work great if you are a fan of the Super Mario Advance series. They are based from icons by sandrodcpereiraI with an added iOS 7-style background gradient. I have plans to create more in the future, so just follow me on Twitter (@mithical) if you wish to find out when.

Super Mario Advance series

Super Mario Advance

Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3

Extra

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Want to see a video by my good friend and teammate OPERATIONiDROID of this whole process? Check out his URL Schemes video.

Recall:

Before I tell you the requirements you will need for this section, let's go over URL Schemes and Web Clips really quick, again.

Remember that this is how a URL Scheme looks and works. You have the GBA4iOS call-back url, then the name of the ROM.

gba4ios://Super%20Mario%20World

The name of the ROM must have the exact same wording and format as the one found within GBA4iOS 2.0 that you wish to open. Most of the games will include spaces but know that you cannot add a space to a URL Scheme. What you do instead of a space is add %20 as you can see above. This is because the URL has to be in encoded format. You never see any website with spaces, right? 

Keep that format in mind and also know these quick encodings for things like apostrophes and exclamation marks which some games may contain.

Apostrophes ( ' ) %27

Colon ( : ) %3A

Exclamation Mark ( ! ) %21

Spaces: (  ) %20

For a more extensive list of URL Encoding, please visit the Vermont Database. Note: You may not always need to encode everything if you are using apps like Launch Center Pro, but since this method covers how to create Web Clips that require Mobile Safari, you are required to encode.

iPhone and iPad

This section will cover how to create custom Web Clips with URL Schemes to open ROMs in GBA4iOS 2.0 without a computer. In some of them, you will need certain apps from the App Store.

Requirements:

iPhone or iPad

GBA4iOS 2.0 installed with available ROMs

Custom icon PNGs saved in Camera Roll

Get at least one of these apps:

Launch Center Pro ($4.99)

App Icons Free (Free, $.99 upgrade optional)

App Icons+ (Free, $.99 upgrade optional)

Let's begin the tutorial with one of my favorite apps, Launch Center Pro. 

Launch Center Pro is more than just shortcuts to open apps, it also works with actions using URL Schemes. Want LCP to open a new Email page already filled with pre-selected information? Want it to launch Instagram directly in the camera? This does just that. It also works amazing with GBA4iOS 2.0 ROMs. In fact, if it weren't for LCP, there probably wouldn't have been URL Schemes support in the app (read Part 1).

 Although it does not directly make Web Clips to your home screen and the price seems a little too much, I still think it's one of the best applications around to have in order to optimize your workflow. It might look complicated but it's actually very easy to use.

Open the application and go into "edit" mode, the interface turns a light color and you can either delete other URL Schemes or add new ones (you can even create groups).

Let's begin by creating your first URL Scheme of one of my favorite games, Super Mario World (or Super Mario Advance 2). You are going to need an icon for this, you can borrow some custom ones I made!

Save it to your camera roll!

Once you have the icon saved, tap the "+" square in LCP to start editing your URL Scheme that will allow you to open Super Mario World within the app. Make sure you have this game within the GBA4iOS 2.0 first with the same name as me, "Super Mario World."

Note: In case you forgot, you are able to rename ROMs within the app by tapping and holding on the ROM title and choosing "Rename."

Start filling up the required information like the name and URL. Remember to use %20 instead of spaces where required, then tap to add an icon.  

Once in this page, go into the "Photo" icon and upload the one you saved in the Camera Roll. Go back to "Action" and tap "Done"

You should now have a successful URL Scheme to open Super Mario World on GBA4iOS 2.0 from within LCP!

App Icons

Launch Center Pro is a pretty nifty application, but nothing beats having a Web Clip directly on your home screen, ready to be tapped at any moment in order to play your favorite game. Thanks to some apps from the App Store, you can do just that! 

Get either App Icons Free or App Icons+ (although I recommend the former). Both are riddled with ads but they get the job done, and if you wish to update to their $.99 premium version, you're welcomed to read more about that within the app. 

Let's start!

Open App Icons Free and you arrive at this icon-filled page. It demonstrates the amount of different icons you can use for your shortcuts, but that's not what our focus will be.

Tap the menu icon (the three vertical, horizontal lines), you will now see some options to choose from. You will now go to "Icon maker"

Once here, you will now tap on "Custom URL / Web" to begin creating your Web Clip with a URL Scheme. 

Add the desired URL Scheme by combining  gba4ios:// with the exact name of the ROM within the app, like so.

gba4ios://Super%20Mario%20World

Then tap the blank icon space to add your own (the one you saved to the Camera Roll) and add a name, if you like.

Now we hit "Install" and the app moves to Safari where it gives you some clear instructions of what you should do.

Tap on the "Sharing" icon, then "Add To Home Screen" where you'll see this now. Just tap "Add" and the Web Clip will now be saved to your home screen ready for you to tap and take you directly to the ROM in GBA4iOS 2.0!

Let's move now to App Icons+ It uses the same concept as App Icons Free and is also riddled with ads, but it gets the job done even though it's limited to 3 apps until you buy, so let's go over it really quick.

You add the URL Scheme to the web address field.

Tap "Next" and add a custom icon by choosing "Background" and uploading the one from your Camera Roll. 

Now you tap "Create" and it takes you to Safari. Just like with App Icons Free, all you do is tap the "Sharing" button and "Add To Home Screen" You now have a Web Clip with a URL Scheme to open the ROM within GBA4iOS 2.0!

Extra Method: No Apps Required

In this method you do not require any apps from the App Store at all. It is all done within Safari using a site called: http://icustom.tooliphone.net and it works and looks like this.

Tap "START NOW !" to begin.

Now scroll down until you see "Choose Application Type" and tap on it, then choose "Manual (URL scheme)" in order for this method to work.

Insert the URL Scheme for your game, and add an icon from your Camera Roll.

Keep scrolling down and tap the green "Let's GO!" button in order for you to arrive in this page.

Click the "Open Popup"

You should now see this page which looks a little like the ones found on the App Icons apps when you save the Web Clips, in here all you do is tap the "Sharing" button and "Add To Home Screen" 

And that's it! You now know of some ways to get Web Clips with URL Schemes to open GBA4iOS 2.0 ROMs from the Home Screen or Launch Center Pro. They're very convenient and hope that you have liked learning about one of 2.0's smaller, last-minute features that easily make this app one of the best emulators ever.

Icons

Before I end the post, I have some goodies for you all to use if you want to facilitate the creation of making URL Schemes. First, let me give you access to some of the custom icons I have made for my own personal use - they look and work great if you are a fan of the Super Mario Advance series. They are based from icons by sandrodcpereiraI with an added iOS 7-style background gradient. I have plans to create more in the future, so just follow me on Twitter (@mithical) if you wish to find out when.

Super Mario Advance series

Super Mario Advance

Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World

Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3

Extra

Yu-Gi-Oh!

If you have Launch Center Pro, I'm also making things easier for you, I'll be sharing direct links for you to "Install" URL Schemes automatically. All you'll have to do is add your own custom icons, but the URL Scheme will be ready for a couple of games. All you do is click the link, and then tap "Install" if you have Launch Center Pro.

Note: Even if you don't have LCP, you can still check them out and see how the URL Scheme is structured for some games so you can make your own.

URL Schemes for LCP

Super Mario Advance

Super Mario World

Super Mario Advance 3

Yoshi's Island

Pokemon Emerald

Pokemon Fire Red

Pokemon Leaf Green

Want to see a video by my good friend and teammate OPERATIONiDROID of this whole process? Check out his URL Schemes video.

I hope you learned all you needed to create your own Web Clips with URL Schemes, and that you make your own and share them with everyone. You can follow me on Twitter (@mithical) for all the latest things I have in store for the blog. Thanks for reading!

Before GBA4iOS 2.0 was even out, everyone knew there'd be obstacles in its way to win the hearts of every nostalgic person reliving their childhood. The biggest in mind was always Apple bringing its giant hammer down, and they did; Apple shut down the certificate mere hours after GBA4iOS 2.0 was released. 

That was the first obstacle, and GBA4iOS 2.0 managed to survive thanks to the now famous "date trick" but what people didn't realize was that now that Apple's threat was behind it, an even bigger obstacle was on its way... how was GBA4iOS 2.0 supposed to remain online, ready for download, for the next however long it lasts? 

Easily GBA4iOS 2.0 gets 500GB worth of downloads daily. There isn't many sites that can handle this amount of bandwidth without paying a hefty amount and, as you know, the developer doesn't make a dime from this application - it's completely free. Riley Testut has moved the app from GitHub since release to BitBucket only a week ago, and that's how much it lasted until BitBucket was forced to bring it down for the same reasons GitHub did - excessive demand on their servers. So what will we do now? 

Riley has just tweeted where he will be hosting his prominent app next.

Thankfully, @cool_rom has *very* graciously offered to permanently host GBA4iOS on their servers. So GBA4iOS will now always be available :)

— Riley Testut (@rileytestut)

March 17, 2014

This is logically a win/win situation for both parties. I can only assume that CoolROM has had a pretty good month thanks to Riley's app. With this in mind, CoolROM will now host the app that boosts their site views, and Riley stops worrying about yet another obstacle in the way - we can only assume Riley isn't going to shell out that much cash for hosting, so that's cool too. 

GBA4iOS 2.0 is finally out! No ETA, no empty promises, it's out in the wild right this exact moment. Get downloading!

Download GBA4iOS 2.0

And don't forget that GBA4iOSkins, your number one place for GBA4iOS controller skins, is also out now! 

GBA4iOSkins.com