Installing Mods

After downloading a mod, you will find numerous folders and files within. What you do with the mod’s contents depends on what platform you will be playing the mod on and what method you may prefer. Different methods may have certain drawbacks or advantages between them.

Cemu

Before starting, make sure that you have dumped your copy of New Super Mario Bros. U and moved it to your computer by following the guide Dumping Wii U Games.

Graphic pack method

First, go to the CEMU folder (The location of the CEMU executable) and open the folder named graphicPacks. (Your CEMU folder may contain different folders than the one shown, but don't worry, all you need is the graphicPacks folder)

Within this folder, if you don't already have one, create a new subfolder named NSMBU (or anything which identifies the NSMBU game and does not contain spaces) where you will put this and all future NSMBU graphic packs you install.

Next, within the subfolder you just created, create yet another folder and name it anything which identifies the mod you are trying to install. From this point forward in the guide, we will be using Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U as the supposed mod being installed, so we shall name our folder CloudySMBU as an example.

Now move the mod’s contents into this newly created folder. Some mods may come with unusual folder organization, so make sure the contents you drag into the graphic pack folder contain a folder named content, then you know it's the correct mod contents. It should look at least like this: (Don't worry if you don't have a rules.txt file yet, just keep on reading!)

* Some mods may include more folders, such as meta or code, in this scenario, you may need to use the Duplicating the game method below, as graphic packs have no effect on those folders yet.

If the mod already includes a rules.txt file like in the image above, then your job is complete, and you can skip to the Enabling the graphic pack section. If not, continue to the Creating a rules.txt file section below.

Creating a rules.txt file

If there is no rules.txt file provided by the mod, then you must create your own in the same folder that now contains the mod. Create the .txt file, then open it and paste the following text into it:

[Definition]
titleIds = 0005000010101C00,0005000010101D00,0005000010101E00,000500001014B700,000500001014B800
name = <full_mod_name>
path = "New Super Mario Bros. U/Mods/<short_mod_name>"
description = <description>
version = 6

This format should work for all mods. Just replace the placeholder text indicated by < >'s with what would fit best for the mod. (Make sure to also remove the < >'s)

• full_mod_name = The full name of the mod which is displayed on the graphic pack information sidebar in the graphic pack manager. (Example: Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U)
• short_mod_name = A shorter version of the mod name which is displayed on the graphic pack manager's dropdown list for picking the graphic pack. (Example: Cloudy SMBU)
• description = An optional description of the mod which is displayed on the graphic pack information sidebar in the graphic pack manager.

Full example of a complete rules.txt for Cloudy SMBU:

[Definition]
titleIds = 0005000010101C00,0005000010101D00,0005000010101E00,000500001014B700,000500001014B800
name = Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U
path = "New Super Mario Bros. U/Mods/Cloudy SMBU"
description = A cloudy themed mod made by Rimea
version = 6

Once you've done this, save the file and you're ready to enable and play the mod.

Enabling the graphic pack

Now that your graphic pack is all set, open up CEMU and select Options from the menu bar, then click on Graphic packs.

Once open, if you haven't already before, it is worthwhile to click on Download latest community graphic packs for additional graphic packs that can give the ability to alter numerous visual aspects of the game, such as resolution and quality, or help with certain crashes that you may encounter depending on the mod and your setup.

Now, locate and open up the dropdown for New Super Mario Bros. U, then for Mods. Here, you will find the graphic pack that was created for the mod. Tick the box next to it to enable it.

With this done, you are finally ready to play the mod. Launch New Super Mario Bros. U as usual, and the graphic pack should immediately take effect, automatically replacing the original game files with the mod's files on the fly.

If you would like to disable the mod, simply go back into the graphic packs menu above and untick the box for mod.

Duplicating the game method

In some cases, a mod may not work correctly when turned into a graphic pack (such as when it has a meta or code folder), or you may not want to create any graphic packs. In any case, then you can simply duplicate your original NSMBU dump and create a new folder. It's also a good idea to rename the duplicate folder to the name of the mod that will be used. As with the Graphic pack method, Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U will be used as the supposed mod being installed, so that will be the name of this new folder.

The copied folder of the original NSMBU dump at /WiiU/Games/NSMBU in our case.

When looking inside the folder containing the mod's contents (not the folder that you just created), you'll notice that most, if not all, of the folders contained follow the exact same naming scheme as the ones that are found in your duplicate of the original dump. Move these folders with the mod's files to the folder containing the original folders from the game's dump that you duplicated.

When prompted with any Confirm Folder Replace dialog, always click Yes. From the second dialog onwards, a Do this for all current items checkbox will appear which you can check to not get this prompt anymore for this action.

When prompted with any Replace or Skip Files dialog, always select the option Replace the files in the destination.

For Linux Users: Simply use the mv -rf /ModFiles /ModNameFolder command to merge the mod files into the duplicated game dump mod folder.

With this step done, you have successfully replaced the original game files with those of the mod. However, simply selecting New Super Mario Bros. U in CEMU will not launch the mod, and will instead launch the original game.

To launch the mod, you'll have to locate the directory yourself. First, select File from the menu bar and click on Load.

On the file chooser dialog, navigate to the folder of your duplicated dump which you just merged the mod files into, in there, click on the folder code and you'll see a file named red-pro2.rpx. Select the .rpx file to open.

With this done, the file will launch the game and if all goes well you will be able to play the mod.

In the future, if you wish to be able to quickly access the mod from the CEMU game list, refer to this guide: //TODO

Wii U

Before starting, make sure you have set up Homebrew on your Wii U by following the guide located here.

SDCafiine Method

First, download the latest nightly release of SDCafiine by going here. It is better to install this version of the app rather than the latest stable release as it supports custom music.

After installing, extract the .zip file. You should end up with a single wiiu folder.

Move the wiiu folder to the root of your SD card. With this done, you will be able to launch SDCafiine from the Homebrew Launcher. At the root of your SD card, create a folder named SDCafiine.

Your SD card should look like this now: (It's fine if you already have other folders from other things obviously, as long as those two folders are present)

Inside of this folder, you will have to create a folder named after the Title ID of your region and variant of NSMBU. (The version, such as 1.0 or 1.3, does not affect the Title ID)

The Title IDs for each region and variant of the game are listed below:

New Super Mario Bros. U (USA): 0005000010101D00
New Super Mario Bros. U (EUR): 0005000010101E00
New Super Mario Bros. U (JPN): 0005000010101C00

New Super Luigi U (USA): 0005000010142300
New Super Luigi U (EUR): 0005000010142400
New Super Luigi U (JPN): 0005000010142200

New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U (USA): 000500001014B700
New Super Mario Bros. U + New Super Luigi U (EUR): 000500001014B800

With your appropriate Title ID, create the folder. Here we used the NSMBU (USA) Title ID.

Inside this newly created folder, create another folder named something related to the mod being installed, such as the mod's name or an abbreviation of it.

As an example we will be installing Cloudy Super Mario Bros. U therefore we have named our folder CloudySMBU.

Now simply move the mod’s contents into this newly created folder. Some mods may come with unusual folder organization, so make sure the contents you drag into the folder contain a folder named content, then you know it's the correct mod contents. Your final result should look at least like this: (Some mods may include additional folders, that's fine! If the mod includes a rules.txt file, you can safely delete it if you wish, as it's only used for CEMU playing methods)

With this done, the mod should be ready to be played. It is now time to load SDCafiine. First, use your method of choice to enter the Homebrew Launcher. Once inside, launch SDCafiine by tapping it in the launcher and then Load.

Once you do this, you will be kicked back to the Wii U Menu. Lastly, all you must do is launch the game and enjoy the mod!

You can always install multiple mods via this method. If you have multiple mods installed to the SD Card, you will be asked to select between them after launching the game. You can do this by simply navigating between them with up and down on the D-Pad and selecting which mod you would like to play by pressing A.

Keep in mind that after restarting your Wii U, SDCafiine will no longer be loaded. To load it again, follow the same steps as before for loading it.

Loadiine GX2 Method

//TODO