Tutorial  Updated

Making Custom Furniture in Animal Crossing: New Leaf

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Scope

This tutorial will guide you through the steps on how to create your own custom furniture items in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, by editing the textures of existing items. As specific as this is, these steps are also general guidelines for modifying textures in other games, however different games may have different directory structures so some adjustment may be necessary.

What you will need
- Your 3DS, running Luma3DS (version 7.0 or newer) in either A9LH or B9S
- A Windows PC (this will not work on macOS)
- A copy of Animal Crossing: New Leaf (either cartridge or eShop version will work, this supports both the initial release and the Welcome Amiibo revision)
- The latest version of Decrypt9WIP
- PackHack
- Ohana3DS (original version)
- Ohana3DS Rebirth
- Any image editing software you're used to using

We will be using both the original version of Ohana3DS and the remake called Ohana3DS Rebirth because of each version's different functionalities (either that, or I'm not able to properly import textures in Rebirth somehow), although this may change in the future if the functions are merged. Please pay attention to which version of Ohana3DS is mentioned in each part of this tutorial.

It may also be useful to backup your save before attempting any mods. While graphical mods are generally safe and should not damage save data, it is good practice to have a backup archive for your games in case something goes wrong.

Instructions

Part 0 - Initial setup
This step sets up your 3DS and the working environment on your PC and only needs to be done once before starting. You do not need to repeat these steps every time you want to make custom items afterwards.

1. From the Decrypt9 archive, copy the appropriate version to your 3DS' SD card
- If you are running A9LH, copy Decrypt9WIP.bin to /luma/payloads/
- If you are running B9S, copy Decrypt9WIP.firm to /luma/payloads/
2. On the root of your SD card, create a new folder called "D9Game"
3. In /luma/, create a new folder called "titles", then inside it, create a folder whose name will depend on the region and version of your game:
- JPN: 0004000000086200 for the original release, 0004000000198D00 for the Welcome Amiibo version
- USA: 0004000000086300 for the original release, 0004000000198E00 for the Welcome Amiibo version
- EUR: 0004000000086400 for the original release, 0004000000198F00 for the Welcome Amiibo version

4. Inside that folder, create the following folders: romfs/Item/Model/

Layeredfs Structure.png

Your "titles" folder structure should look like this, if you were using the European region original release of ACNL

6. Insert the SD card back into your 3DS, then hold Select when booting up
7. In the Luma menu, make sure that "Enable game patching" is enabled
8. On your PC, run PackHack and allow it to do its first-time setup (if you have used PackHack before, this step can be skipped)

===Initial setup is now complete===
Part 1 - Dumping and extracting your game
In this step, you will dump your copy of Animal Crossing into a decrypted .cia file, then extract the romfs contents to your PC. If you have already dumped the game and have a copy of the extracted romfs already saved somewhere, then this part can be skipped.

1. Holding down the Start button, boot up your 3DS
- If a Luma chainloader menu appears, select Decrypt9WIP
2. Depending on the version of your game, you will need to do one of the following:

If you have Animal Crossing on cartridge
- Select Gamecart Dumper Options > Dump Cart to CIA
- Wait for the process to complete, then power off the 3DS

If you have Animal Crossing installed from the eShop
- Select Content Decryptor Options > CIA Builder Options > CIA Builder (SysNAND/decr.)
- Use the D-Pad to navigate to /title/00040000/, then select the appropriate title based on your region and version
- JPN: 00086200 for the original release, 00198D00 for the Welcome Amiibo version
- USA: 00086300 for the original release, 00198E00 for the Welcome Amiibo version
- EUR: 00086400 for the original release, 00198F00 for the Welcome Amiibo version
- Wait for the process to complete, then power off the 3DS

3. Insert the 3DS' SD card into your PC, then navigate to /D9Game/
4. Copy the .cia file from that folder to PackHack's folder
5. Open PackHack, type CE, then press enter
6. Enter the name of the .cia file you just copied (without the .cia part)
7. Choose not to decompress code.bin
8. PackHack will now extract the ROM contents, this may take a while
9. When complete, copy the ExtractedRomFS folder to somewhere safe, the other folders and .bin files are not used and can be deleted

===ROM extraction is now complete===
Part 2 - Editing the item data
Now that you have a copy of the Romfs contents, make sure that's backed up somewhere in case you need them again in the future.

1. Navigate to ExtractedRomFS/Item/Model/
2. This is the folder where in-game item models and textures are kept, to make things easier you can set Windows to associate the .bcres file format with Ohana3DS Rebirth
3. Now is the tricky part, you will need to find the item you intend to replace, most items have a prefix that defines the item type (e.g., flowers have a flw_ prefix, hats have a cap_ prefix)

386795-romfs%20Item%20Model.PNG

The item folder should look something like this

4. Open items in Ohana3DS Rebirth to see what they look like

386793-OR%20Preview.PNG

Previewing 3D objects in Ohana3DS Rebirth

5. Once you have found the item you want to replace, Ohana3DS (original version, not Rebirth), drag and drop the .bcres file into the empty window space (do not use the "Open" option), then select "Export all" to a folder of your choice

386796-Texture%20Export.PNG

Use the "Export all" button to export textures using Ohana3DS (original version)

6. You should see one or more .png files saved to that folder (do not save anything else in that same folder)
7. Typically items in Animal Crossing have textures for different parts stored as different regions of the same image (for instance, the front and sides of a box may be saved in the same image as an unfolded texture), you will need to keep that in mind when editing the textures
8. Edit the textures as desired in your preferred image editing software

386794-PS.png

Editing the texture file

9. Save the new texture file(s) under the same name as the original file(s)
10. Open Ohana3DS (original), load the .bcres file of the item you want to edit, select "Import All", then find the folder with your edited .png textures
11. Check the texture(s) displayed and make sure that they are now your edited versions
12. Click "Save"
13. Open the edited .bcres in Ohana3DS Rebirth and see if the edited textures have been correctly applied onto the 3D model

386792-OR%20Preview%20New.PNG

Previewing edited items with Ohana3DS Rebirth

14. Repeat steps 8-13 if you need to make any adjustments (actually, this is also helpful midway through editing textures, if you want to preview your current progress)
15. Save the edited .bcres to somewhere you'll remember

===Item editing is now complete===
Part 3 - Importing the edited item into the game
Now that you have edited your item, it's time to insert it back into the game. Thanks to the layeredfs feature of Luma, we don't need to rebuild and reinstall the full game any more, but instead we can just load custom romfs files on the fly.

1. Insert your 3DS' SD card into your PC
2. Take your edited .bcres item file(s) and copy them to /luma/titles/xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx/romfs/Item/Model/
- The xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx folder name depends on your region and version, as listed in part 0 of this tutorial

386791-Layeredfs%20Now.png

Edited items should be placed here, if you were using the European region original release of ACNL

3. Eject the SD card, and reinsert it back into the 3DS

===Item importing is now complete===
With the item imported, from now on when you play the game your edited item should be replacing the original item wherever it appears in-game. You can temporarily disable edited items by disabling game patching from Luma's config menu.

Example Items
Dock.png

Neon Nintendo Switch and dock

NX.png

Nintendo Switch console

Shelf.png

Game store shelf

Book.png

Questionable literature
And there you have it - you can now make your own custom items to decorate your house with on Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Note that custom items will only appear on your own console, if someone with an unmodded console visits your village online, they will still see the original item. Feel free to post images of your own custom items here, I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone can come up with! :)
 
Last edited by NekoMichi,

Devin

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Reminds me of the DSPet era on the Wii when HDLC was created. Very clear and concise tutorial. Might just have to dust off my 3DS to take a shot at it myself.
 
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KunoichiZ

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Thanks for this tutorial! I can't wait to try this out myself. Is it against the rules to ask for the file for that custom Nintendo Switch game display?
 

NekoMichi

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Thanks for this tutorial! I can't wait to try this out myself. Is it against the rules to ask for the file for that custom Nintendo Switch game display?
It's probably not against the rules if I just post the texture file and you then inject it into a .bcres extracted from your own copy of the game. However, that specific item actually came from a separate update pack to the game and not from the main game itself, meaning that it won't work with layeredfs. You'll have to repackage the modified .bcres object into the update .cia and reinstall the package. Would you like me to post the texture file anyway?
You think I could have the example items? They look cool.
I can post the textures for all of the example items except for the Switch store shelf, because that comes from an update pack and not the main game, so it's not compatible with layeredfs. Would you like me to post the textures for the rest of the objects?
 
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KunoichiZ

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It's probably not against the rules if I just post the texture file and you then inject it into a .bcres extracted from your own copy of the game. However, that specific item actually came from a separate update pack to the game and not from the main game itself, meaning that it won't work with layeredfs. You'll have to repackage the modified .bcres object into the update .cia and reinstall the package. Would you like me to post the texture file anyway?
Sure, go ahead. Do you think that it would work with layeredfs if I used the version of ACNL with Welcome amiibo prepackaged/pre-installed?
 

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Sure, go ahead. Do you think that it would work with layeredfs if I used the version of ACNL with Welcome amiibo prepackaged/pre-installed?
Presumably you can do that. I'm not sure what the romfs of the Welcome Amiibo version looks like, but it's likely to contain the file we're looking for.
The texture file can be downloaded here, it should be inserted into romfs/Item/Model/int_gms_shelf_W.bcres
Is it possible to import custom 3D models as well?
Probably yes. You can export and import models with Ohana.
 

KunoichiZ

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Presumably you can do that. I'm not sure what the romfs of the Welcome Amiibo version looks like, but it's likely to contain the file we're looking for.
The texture file can be downloaded here, it should be inserted into romfs/Item/Model/int_gms_shelf_W.bcres

Probably yes. You can export and import models with Ohana.
The romfs for WA is the same as normal ACNL's romfs iirc, but with some added files and maybe some added folders for the content introduced in the WA update. Thanks for the texture!
 

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The romfs for WA is the same as normal ACNL's romfs iirc, but with some added files and maybe some added folders for the content introduced in the WA update. Thanks for the texture!
Oh, forgot to mention, this will replace the Wii U Game Shelf item.
If you don't already have that item in-game, you can spawn it with item ID 3019 using any compatible NTR plugin.
 
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Just made an entire game shop with edited assets:

kxGXZeE.png

Store counter, with Breath of the Wild wall banner

tcmLLxJ.png

Switch section, Breath of the Wild is displayed on the demo screens

eWCaJCG.png

3DS shelf, the titles on the shelf have been updated from their default covers, Samus Returns is displayed on the demo screen while Splatoon 2 is on the wall TV

f6Q6gmM.png

Display case with New 2DS XL boxes

HTLv8X6.png

Amiibo shelf, with TV screen and boxes updated to show off the latest Amiibo from Switch games

top_0000.png

Other platforms are welcome too, with some familiar games on display​
 
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KunoichiZ

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Just made an entire game shop with edited assets:

kxGXZeE.png

Store counter, with Breath of the Wild wall banner

tcmLLxJ.png

Switch section, Breath of the Wild is displayed on the demo screens

eWCaJCG.png

3DS shelf, the titles on the shelf have been updated from their default covers, Samus Returns is displayed on the demo screen while Splatoon 2 is on the wall TV

f6Q6gmM.png

Display case with New 2DS XL boxes

HTLv8X6.png

Amiibo shelf, with TV screen and boxes updated to show off the latest Amiibo from Switch games

UqYOjM5.png

Other platforms are welcome too, with some familiar games on display​
I'm not gonna lie, that looks pretty amazing. I need a Nintendo Store in one of my houses.
 

KunoichiZ

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I can't get the item to open in Ohana3DS (non-Rebirth). I select Open, then the int_gms_shelf_W.bcres file, then I get the error "This file is not a model file!"
 

NANASHI89

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SWEET! Is there a site I can go to download custom items like this? Like those sites for splash screens and home menu themes?

Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
 

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