When the input title-info programID is zero, NS will load the actual programID via AMNet:GetTitleIDList. After doing some checks with the programID, NS will then set a NS state flag to value 1, then set the programID for AppID 0x300(application) to the input programID(or the one from GetTitleIDList). A mediatype field in NS state is also set to the input mediatype value(other state fields are set at this point as well).

With 8.0.0-18, NS will set an u8 NS state field to value 1 when input flags bit8 is set. This is used with the PTMSYSM 0x040A0000 command code in NS, mentioned here. Note that the value of that NS state field is unreliable: as of the Home Menu version for system-version 9.8.0-25 the Home Menu code still writes to the flags field for this APT:PrepareToStartApplication command with an u8. Hence, the bit8 value that gets sent to NS is whatever was previously stored in the Home Menu thread-local-storage.