Monster Hunter DLC

[Nynrah]

So I've used Checkpoint to dump my extdata for all Monster Hunter games on the 3DS: Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Generations.

I've heard here and there that the 'DLC' is tied to the save file itself, but I didn't found a definitive answer to that just yet. My goal is to use my extdata dump to preserve my DLC. I mean, one day Capcom's servers won't be running anymore to download the DLC from. If DLC is tied to a save, that would imply the DLC is inaccessible on a new save.

My dump of the extdata contains the following files.

• Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate:
  • card1
  • card2
  • card3
  • cardbox
  • quest1
  • quest2
  • quest3
  • quest4
• Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
  • card1
  • card2
  • card3
  • cardbox
  • otomo1
  • quest1
  • quest2
  • quest3
  • quest4
  • quest5
• Monster Hunter Stories
  • mhr_dlc.sav
  • mhr_dlc_bk.sav
  • mhr_game0.sav
  • mhr_game0_bk.sav
  • mhr_sys.sav
  • mhr_sys_bk.sav
• Monster Hunter Generations
  • system
  • system_backup

Monster Hunter 3 and 4 Ultimate give me the impression that those are just files I can place in the right extdata folder if I ever need to 'instal' the DLC. But I don't really understand the other two games. Note that I have not started a savefile for Monster Hunter Generations yet.

Can someobdy explain to me for each of the four Monster Hunter if the DLC is tied to the save file or not? If so, how cna I preserve the DLC in a way that allows me to use it for a clean save once the DLc can't be downloaded anymore?

 

[CoolMe]

Can someobdy explain to me for each of the four Monster Hunter if the DLC is tied to the save file or not? If so, how cna I preserve the DLC in a way that allows me to use it for a clean save once the DLc can't be downloaded anymore?

Why not just keep the cia files of these DLCs (that you installed) and call it a day..
You can always dump them with GodMode9 if you either deleted them after installation, or they're purchased legitimately from the eShop.
The game save or extdata only collects user info, progress etc. And not the actual data of the game or the DLC itself. Certain DLC items or areas might be blocked until you progress further into the game, and the save/extdata are the ones that're responsible for that (depending on the game)..
About the servers, if any data (certainly online/multiplayer features) is being collected on either Nintendo/ or Capcom's servers, then there's nothing you can do to do back those up.

 

[Nynrah]

Why not just keep the cia files of these DLCs (that you installed) and call it a day..
You can always dump them with GodMode9 if you either deleted them after installation, or they're purchased legitimately from the eShop.
The game save or extdata only collects user info, progress etc. And not the actual data of the game or the DLC itself. Certain DLC items or areas might be blocked until you progress further into the game, and the save/extdata are the ones that're responsible for that (depending on the game)..
About the servers, if any data (certainly online/multiplayer features) is being collected on either Nintendo/ or Capcom's servers, then there's nothing you can do to do back those up.

Monster Hunter DLC doesn't work like that, unfortunately - there is no CIA file at all. It's called DLC, but it's not true DLC in the way we understand it. Monster Hunter has an in-game menu which uses the term DLC, but there's no eShop or installation involved. In this menu you can download things like additional quests and stuff for free from a Capcom server.

 

[CoolMe]

Monster Hunter Stories has a DLC that you can download separately. Not sure about the others.. Maybe they were added in the updates..
Regardless, if the dlc activation or its progress data is not stored on either Nintendo/ or Capcom's servers, and is not dependent on internet for it to be activated (first time), then it's stored locally as in the game save file and /or its extdata. There's no other explanation.

 

[AncientBoi]

LoL, I knew I'd find a Monster here.

Hi @CoolMe

 

[Nynrah]

Monster Hunter Stories has a DLC that you can download separately. Not sure about the others.. Maybe they were added in the updates..
Regardless, if the dlc activation or its progress data is not stored on either Nintendo/ or Capcom's servers, and is not dependent on internet for it to be activated (first time), then it's stored locally as in the game save file and /or its extdata. There's no other explanation.

And now we get to the heart of the matter. I am hoping someone could tell me for which of these games the 'DLC' is stored in or tied to the save files and how to deal with this. I'm very hung up on preserving my game library, so the idea of this 'DLC' being tied to a specific save is intolerable to me and needs to be solved. For that I need to know which games suffer this problem and which files contain which parts of the DLC.

 

[CoolMe]

LoL, I knew I'd find a Monster here.

Yes. it's you!

Hi @CoolMe

Why, hello there.. boi that is ancient!

 

[CoolMe]

I am hoping someone could tell me for which of these games the 'DLC' is stored in or tied to the save files and how to deal with this.

Are you talking about the whole 3DS library or just the Monster Hunter games?

I'm very hung up on preserving my game library, so the idea of this 'DLC' being tied to a specific save is intolerable to me and needs to be solved. For that I need to know which games suffer this problem and which files contain which parts of the DLC.

Uh.. Again, if there's no online requirement (or activation) for you to access the DLC features then it's all progress based and it's stored in either the save and or the extdata.
You can do a test if you want, back up both the save and it's extdata of a MH game you have dlc progress in.
- If you have a 2nd console, restore the save there and see if everything is in tact.
- If you have only one system, you can either delete the save and restore the backup save with Checkpoint, and see if it's the same. Though i'm not responsible if you lose any progress (not likely)..

 

[StringIsNullOrEmpty]

For Generations the save data has been documented pretty clearly by svaheulen:
https://github.com/svanheulen/mhff/wiki/MHGen-system-Format
Yes the DLC quests are all stored in system.

 

[Nynrah]

For Generations the save data has been documented pretty clearly by svaheulen:
https://github.com/svanheulen/mhff/wiki/MHGen-system-Format
Yes the DLC quests are all stored in system.

That's the kind of information I'm looking for!

So if I understand this correct, the save data AND DLC data are lumped together in the system file in the extdata. And in order to back the DLC up to preserve it, I'd have to store a clean system file without any saves on it. That's actually a relief, because I was worried that the DLC would be intertwined in the save itself, so per character. Fortunately that's not the case. At least that nails one of the games for me.

For Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate the data seems less complete. Various files aren't documented yet, so I can't tell for certain if the DLC data is located in the extdata files or in the system file. Do you happen to know by any chance? Considering the file names, I wager that the answer also applies to Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate. Do you happen to know more about this or where I can find more information on the matter?

Last, but not least, do you know where I can find similar information for Monster Hunter Stories? It's got a file with dlc in the name, but I'd like to confirm things to be certain.

 

[StringIsNullOrEmpty]

No, svaheulen abandoned the project years ago, and I don't think anybody else is doing documentation like this.
You'd have to do testing yourself to figure out where the DLC flags are recorded.

 

[Darthagnon]

I did some research into this a while back, and have all the info on Monster Hunter 3DS DLC. I figured out how to archive it for use with Citra (and also any 3DS). It's on my other HDD, but I'll post back here once I get it plugged in.

 

[Nynrah]

I did some research into this a while back, and have all the info on Monster Hunter 3DS DLC. I figured out how to archive it for use with Citra (and also any 3DS). It's on my other HDD, but I'll post back here once I get it plugged in.

Hey there, that sounds great! I've got a .cia file for DLC and made a back-up of my extdata (notable the mhr_dlc.sav file and its back-up file), which I assume should do the trick. Looking forward to compare notes.

 

[Darthagnon]

Sent you a PM with a rough version of my info

 

[makemonge30]

Sent you a PM with a rough version of my info

I need this, please!!