Artic Base, an open source tool for broadcasting games from your Nintendo 3DS to an emulator, has been released! Artic Base allows playing your owned collection of 3DS games, physical or digital, on a compatible emulator without having to dump them first. Furthermore, the tool syncs the save data, so you can resume your progress at any time from the console. Below is the list of features this tool provides, coming from the Artic Base Server github repository.

Features​

• Play games from your console without having to dump them.
• Sync the savedata/extdata of the broadcasted game during the play session.
• Load shared ext data and NCCH archives from your console.
• Remove the need to dump AES keys, as the decryption is done by the console's OS.

Advantages over playing on real console​

• Play your games at higher resolutions.
• Use external controllers that may better fit your playstyle.
• Switch between playing on your PC at home and your console on the go.
• Reduce e-waste by reusing partially broken consoles to broadcast your games to your PC.
• Allow museums or non-profit game preservation organizations to have a centralised database of preserved games, while using an Artic Base Server + a compatible emulator to do research as needed.

As the tool author claims, Artic Base aims to help players enjoy their collection of Nintendo 3DS games with several advantages, such as being able to play at higher resolutions, switch between playing on a 3DS on the go and and a PC at home, and using their preferred external controllers. Furthermore, it helps reducing e-waste by allowing the use of partially broken consoles to act as a server instead of having to toss/replace them. The tool also removes the need of having to deal with classic emulator shenenigans, such as having to dump games or getting cryptographic keys. Keep in mind however that due to the network speed of the 3DS, slower loading times may be experienced.

At the time of writing, the only emulator supporting Artic Base is a forked version of the former 3DS emulator Citra, maintained by PabloMK7.

A demonstration of Artic Base was posted to PabloMK7's YouTube channel a few days ago, showcasing Shovel Knight being broadcasted to a PC.

​

What do you think? Will you do another playthrough of your collected 3DS games using this tool? Leave your thoughts in the replies!

Artic Base Server (3DS application)
PabloMK7's Citra fork with Artic Base support

 

[CMDreamer]

Mad props man, this tool is a technological marvel. I have some quick questions about how it can be used. Do the game specific settings you set on Citra load when you start streaming from the 3DS? And if so, is it possible to install mods or texture packs for a game on Citra and have it load those when streaming the game from the 3DS? I think it would be a very rare to not have the mod installed on both the 3DS and Citra, but the texture packs would be a game changer. (Especially for Majora's Mask 3D)

We're using Citra to play the game, not the 3DS console, so everything game-performance-related lies within Citra's configuration. Of course there should be some specific configuration within Artic that might need improvement so the assets are served properly, just consider that the 3DS has not the best WiFi speed bandwidth, so it might be creating a bottle neck to some extent.

Even using mods and /or texture packs would be Citra's job, as the 3DS only "serves" the original game assets.

Performance has been pretty decent so far, but the audio issues are kinda bad right now. Are there any plans to create an option to cache files on Citra to make load times faster, or use the user's cache files from running the games previously through a dump? (If you already do this, then please ignore my ignorance) Thanks again for making this, and if you need any help testing then let me know. I have a pretty decent library of 3DS games to put through the wringer.

Caching files would completely break Artic's main goal of using a 3DS console to "serve" the game's original assets and it will introduce the undesired N's intervention as you would be using backups, which we all know it's illegal and you already can use Citra without the need of a 3DS console, so it doesn't make sense to even consider it.

But alas, even using the 3DS as an asset server, breaks N's user's agreement, as you're using it in a way it wasn't designed for while taking the assets "out" of the cartridge to serve them to Citra.

So imho, Artic should stick to its main and original goal without adding "unnecessary features" into the formula so it can keep a "low profile" for as long as possible.

 

[mindofone]

We're using Citra to play the game, not the 3DS console, so everything game-performance-related lies within Citra's configuration. Of course there should be some specific configuration within Artic that might need improvement so the assets are served properly, just consider that the 3DS has not the best WiFi speed bandwidth, so it might be creating a bottle neck to some extent.

Even using mods and /or texture packs would be Citra's job, as the 3DS only "serves" the original game assets.


Caching files would completely break Artic's main goal of using a 3DS console to "serve" the game's original assets and it will introduce the undesired N's intervention as you would be using backups, which we all know it's illegal and you already can use Citra without the need of a 3DS console, so it doesn't make sense to even consider it.

But alas, even using the 3DS as an asset server, breaks N's user's agreement, as you're using it in a way it wasn't designed for while taking the assets "out" of the cartridge to serve them to Citra.

So imho, Artic should stick to its main and original goal without adding "unnecessary features" into the formula so it can keep a "low profile" for as long as possible.

Are there any options to configure Artic-based games, or does it go off of the dumped game profile on Citra? That's more the question I was looking to have answered. I already have my collection dumped so it's not a problem for me, but it might be something to consider to have a way to configure artic games. Like leaving a ghost copy of the game in citra after connecting successfully once so you can configure it.

I understand where you're coming from with the idea that Artic should use the 3DS exclusively, but I think that at least using shader caches from dumps should be considered for performance. Using the caches from dumps could free up some bandwidth, and let the 3DS focus on streaming audio and other stuff. You don't have to create caches during artic play sessions, but people who have played their backups on Citra will already have caches on their pc anyway, so it would be a shame to not utilize them. This is just spit balling ideas though, I have no idea if it's actually viable.

 

[PabloMK7]

Mad props man, this tool is a technological marvel. I have some quick questions about how it can be used. Do the game specific settings you set on Citra load when you start streaming from the 3DS? And if so, is it possible to install mods or texture packs for a game on Citra and have it load those when streaming the game from the 3DS? I think it would be a very rare to not have the mod installed on both the 3DS and Citra, but the texture packs would be a game changer. (Especially for Majora's Mask 3D)

Performance has been pretty decent so far, but the audio issues are kinda bad right now. Are there any plans to create an option to cache files on Citra to make load times faster, or use the user's cache files from running the games previously through a dump? (If you already do this, then please ignore my ignorance) Thanks again for making this, and if you need any help testing then let me know. I have a pretty decent library of 3DS games to put through the wringer.

Game specific settings are loaded per game. Only texture packs can be used, other kind of mods are not supported. Not sure which audio issues are you talking about, I don't have any.

 

[CMDreamer]

[...] Like leaving a ghost copy of the game in citra ...

Like in a game dump.
If as you're stating, you already have game dumps of your games, why would you want another dump (ghost copy as you call it) taken from a 3DS (piracy warning that could directly affect Artic), to build something you already can (a shaders cache) without that "ghost copy"?.

I understand where you're coming from with the idea that Artic should use the 3DS exclusively, but I think that at least using shader caches from dumps should be considered for performance. Using the caches from dumps could free up some bandwidth, and let the 3DS focus on streaming audio and other stuff.

Shaders caches are for enchancing Citra's performance, so they are more Citra's concern and not Artic, those are two diferent things.

Freeing some bandwidth as you mention in the way you pretend, considering that Artic only redirects Citra's asset requests and doesn't modify them directly nor indirectly, (they are served to Citra as they are read from the cartridge on the 3DS), would have little to no real impact on improving the bandwidth unless Artic would request only specific assets from the cartridge (like sounds) and leave the rest to Citra, but that would make mandatory to have a dump of the game on Citra's ROM folder, which, again, doesn't make sense to use a 3DS to serve something Citra has already available on a computer's folder. Its turning all the process into a redundant one, wasting resources (using a 3DS and Artic) for something Citra can already do without them.

You can think of Artic for the 3DS as what Riivolution does for the Wii, with the proper diferences between them. Just keep in mind that Riivolution works completely in the console without requiring a computer.

You don't have to create caches during artic play sessions, but people who have played their backups on Citra will already have caches on their pc anyway, so it would be a shame to not utilize them. This is just spit balling ideas though, I have no idea if it's actually viable.

If people already have dumps on their PC's (and their assets by extension), then why would they want to use Artic to serve them (the assets) to Citra? Again, it would be a redundant process that would waste resources.

All in all, this is just my humble opinion and I might be wrong or maybe not.

 

[mindofone]

Game specific settings are loaded per game. Only texture packs can be used, other kind of mods are not supported. Not sure which audio issues are you talking about, I don't have any.

Good to know, thanks for the reply. As for the audio issue, I’ve been having some major problems with music in various games. Like in Majora’s Mask, sound effects will stream just fine but the songs will constantly be cutting in and out during play. I stayed in one area for a while and it eventually stabilized, but that took like 10 minutes. This happens with other games I’ve tested as well. Also Dragon Quest 8 straight up crashes when entering battles, but I suspect that might be because the game is like 4 gb in size. Might be a little too beefy to stream.

Post automatically merged: May 20, 2024

Like in a game dump.
If as you're stating, you already have game dumps of your games, why would you want another dump (ghost copy as you call it) taken from a 3DS (piracy warning that could directly affect Artic), to build something you already can (a shaders cache) without that "ghost copy"?.


Shaders caches are for enchancing Citra's performance, so they are more Citra's concern and not Artic, those are two diferent things.

Freeing some bandwidth as you mention in the way you pretend, considering that Artic only redirects Citra's asset requests and doesn't modify them directly nor indirectly, (they are served to Citra as they are read from the cartridge on the 3DS), would have little to no real impact on improving the bandwidth unless Artic would request only specific assets from the cartridge (like sounds) and leave the rest to Citra, but that would make mandatory to have a dump of the game on Citra's ROM folder, which, again, doesn't make sense to use a 3DS to serve something Citra has already available on a computer's folder. Its turning all the process into a redundant one, wasting resources (using a 3DS and Artic) for something Citra can already do without them.

You can think of Artic for the 3DS as what Riivolution does for the Wii, with the proper diferences between them. Just keep in mind that Riivolution works completely in the console without requiring a computer.


If people already have dumps on their PC's (and their assets by extension), then why would they want to use Artic to serve them (the assets) to Citra? Again, it would be a redundant process that would waste resources.

All in all, this is just my humble opinion and I might be wrong or maybe not.

I may have phrased the ”ghost copy” thing wrong, I’m just talking about a way to easily change settings for a game in Citra. Let’s say you have a completely blank Citra installation with no game dumps. You connect to Citra with Artic Base and then stream a game like Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. After you’re done, Citra has an icon of MH4U like if there was a dump of the game except there was no data transferred at all. All it did was create the icon in Citra so you can easily mess with per game settings or load texture packs. And if you already have a dump of MH4U on your pc, then it doesn’t need to create an icon and can just share settings with the dump on Citra. That seems worth looking into, as it would make things easier on the user side. And I imagine the people who would want to use Artic base don’t want to have a dump of the game on their PC just to easily fiddle with game settings through the GUI.

If Artic base can work out the bugs I’ve been having with audio streaming and other crashes, then I agree it’s probably redundant. But if games that have large file sizes prove to be unviable due to the stress on the hardware, then I think this would be worth investing in.

 

[Dracari]

You can get the IP in the bottom screen with Rosalina. Open the Rosalina menu (L + dpad down + select) then go to Debugger options, then enable debugger. Finally take note of the IP address and then disable the debugger.

sadly the bigger issue is my networks have changed long since i had that 3DS in use. . that solves getting the IP would still need a way to get it back on my network (( though atm its moot as its now in the hands of a repair tech. hopefully they can get the top screen working. brand new screen.... yet... only backlights turning on. ))

 

[GuacamoleBay]

Like in a game dump.
If as you're stating, you already have game dumps of your games, why would you want another dump (ghost copy as you call it) taken from a 3DS (piracy warning that could directly affect Artic), to build something you already can (a shaders cache) without that "ghost copy"?.


Shaders caches are for enchancing Citra's performance, so they are more Citra's concern and not Artic, those are two diferent things.

Freeing some bandwidth as you mention in the way you pretend, considering that Artic only redirects Citra's asset requests and doesn't modify them directly nor indirectly, (they are served to Citra as they are read from the cartridge on the 3DS), would have little to no real impact on improving the bandwidth unless Artic would request only specific assets from the cartridge (like sounds) and leave the rest to Citra, but that would make mandatory to have a dump of the game on Citra's ROM folder, which, again, doesn't make sense to use a 3DS to serve something Citra has already available on a computer's folder. Its turning all the process into a redundant one, wasting resources (using a 3DS and Artic) for something Citra can already do without them.

You can think of Artic for the 3DS as what Riivolution does for the Wii, with the proper diferences between them. Just keep in mind that Riivolution works completely in the console without requiring a computer.


If people already have dumps on their PC's (and their assets by extension), then why would they want to use Artic to serve them (the assets) to Citra? Again, it would be a redundant process that would waste resources.

All in all, this is just my humble opinion and I might be wrong or maybe not.

I think mindofone's intent is the same as the question I just came here to ask. I have a legal dump on my PC and the same game on my 3DS. I really only want to stream the save file from the 3DS to the PC, to keep it synced/not have to transfer it by hand every time I switch. It might not be the initial intent behind the project but it would be a solid use case, and with save data being relatively small on average, should be an easy thing to link.

 

[PabloMK7]

I think mindofone's intent is the same as the question I just came here to ask. I have a legal dump on my PC and the same game on my 3DS. I really only want to stream the save file from the 3DS to the PC, to keep it synced/not have to transfer it by hand every time I switch. It might not be the initial intent behind the project but it would be a solid use case, and with save data being relatively small on average, should be an easy thing to link.

Hello, that's outside the scope of the tool.

 

[GuacamoleBay]

Hello, that's outside the scope of the tool.

I mean, the tool already does this function, currently, it would just make the game streaming part optional. I understand if that's not your vibe as a dev though.

 

[ito]

this is incredible, really, really love this. as others have said i have some audio issues and boy oh boy do i wish we could run the home menu within citra with this tool, but a gift horse is a gift horse, this is great!!

 

[KingGoose]

If my 3ds is running custom mods like FOV and free camera and only works on the 3DS
Will they still work if I steam it to artic base

(Also I wonder if you can use custom textures aswell while streaming to citra)

 

[CookieDoeDeer]

Hello I just tried using this but my link between worlds file was deleted when I tried playing on Citra, what happened?!?

 

[AFK797]

When using this tool to play on PC, does it still keep track of game time played on the 3DS activity log?

 

[HinaNaru Cutie]

View attachment 436793​

Artic Base, an open source tool for broadcasting games from your Nintendo 3DS to an emulator, has been released! Artic Base allows playing your owned collection of 3DS games, physical or digital, on a compatible emulator without having to dump them first. Furthermore, the tool syncs the save data, so you can resume your progress at any time from the console. Below is the list of features this tool provides, coming from the Artic Base Server github repository.



As the tool author claims, Artic Base aims to help players enjoy their collection of Nintendo 3DS games with several advantages, such as being able to play at higher resolutions, switch between playing on a 3DS on the go and and a PC at home, and using their preferred external controllers. Furthermore, it helps reducing e-waste by allowing the use of partially broken consoles to act as a server instead of having to toss/replace them. The tool also removes the need of having to deal with classic emulator shenenigans, such as having to dump games or getting cryptographic keys. Keep in mind however that due to the network speed of the 3DS, slower loading times may be experienced.

At the time of writing, the only emulator supporting Artic Base is a forked version of the former 3DS emulator Citra, maintained by PabloMK7.

A demonstration of Artic Base was posted to PabloMK7's YouTube channel a few days ago, showcasing Shovel Knight being broadcasted to a PC.

​

What do you think? Will you do another playthrough of your collected 3DS games using this tool? Leave your thoughts in the replies!

Artic Base Server (3DS application)
PabloMK7's Citra fork with Artic Base support

excuse me is it even possible to use this on a TV without a pc with citra?? i wanted to use it without my laptop for i can stream it on my TV..

 

[The Real Jdbye]

If you have a hacked 3DS (which you need for this), I'm not sure why you would prefer this when you could simply dump your games and have access to them anywhere, any time, without streaming delays, and without needing your 3DS constantly powered on. Especially if you have games on cartridges, since you would need to physically swap the cartridge which is a lot more work when it's on a different device than the one you are physically playing on.

Post automatically merged: Jul 24, 2024

excuse me is it even possible to use this on a TV without a pc with citra?? i wanted to use it without my laptop for i can stream it on my TV..

It clearly states it's only supported by a specific version of CItra.
That includes Android TV, so if you have that, you're in luck.

 

[PabloMK7]

If you have a hacked 3DS (which you need for this), I'm not sure why you would prefer this when you could simply dump your games and have access to them anywhere, any time, without streaming delays, and without needing your 3DS constantly powered on. Especially if you have games on cartridges, since you would need to physically swap the cartridge which is a lot more work when it's on a different device than the one you are physically playing on.

Read the advantages in the OP, if they don't suit your needs don't use it.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Read the advantages in the OP, if they don't suit your needs don't use it.

I did. "Having to dump games" doesn't sound like much of a disadvantage compared to "having to keep your 3DS on, plugged into a charger and running at all times and also (presumably) having to be connected to the same network" and GodMode9 already doesn't require dumping any keys as it can dump nsps dectypted. Most of the advantages listed also applies to any game running in an emulator.
The one advantage that is pretty nice (and AFAIK unique to this) is syncing of savegames. But that is something that could be done without streaming the entire game which would also get rid of the requirement to have the 3DS powered on at all times (only when you want to sync save data, or in other words, when you switch between the two)
Automatic syncing of save data between PC and emulator is honestly a thing I wish was more common. I switch between playing Switch games on PC and emulator because many of them absolutely benefit from increased performance but I still want to be able to play games on the go. There's nothing that does that on the Switch.

 

[HinaNaru Cutie]

If you have a hacked 3DS (which you need for this), I'm not sure why you would prefer this when you could simply dump your games and have access to them anywhere, any time, without streaming delays, and without needing your 3DS constantly powered on. Especially if you have games on cartridges, since you would need to physically swap the cartridge which is a lot more work when it's on a different device than the one you are physically playing on.

Post automatically merged: Jul 24, 2024

It clearly states it's only supported by a specific version of CItra.
That includes Android TV, so if you have that, you're in luck.

edit: unfortunately i cannot screen cast my phone to my tv no matter how many times i try it just wont work so i cant really do what i wanted to do. but thankfully i found out the citra and this app works fine it just sucks that it doesnt wanna connect to my tv.
however, i wanted to know.. if this is even possible, if i can download citra emulator while using the linux set up on my switch - is it possible if i can use atricbase with that citra on my nintendo switch to stream games?

if not with the linux option set up - which note i haven't done it yet but saw how it works and its neat however just running citra -without like the linux set up on my switch is it even possible? hmm...

 

[The Real Jdbye]

edit: unfortunately i cannot screen cast my phone to my tv no matter how many times i try it just wont work so i cant really do what i wanted to do. but thankfully i found out the citra and this app works fine it just sucks that it doesnt wanna connect to my tv.
however, i wanted to know.. if this is even possible, if i can download citra emulator while using the linux set up on my switch - is it possible if i can use atricbase with that citra on my nintendo switch to stream games?

if not with the linux option set up - which note i haven't done it yet but saw how it works and its neat however just running citra -without like the linux set up on my switch is it even possible? hmm...

It won't work with screen casting. You have to install the app on Android TV/Google TV by sideloading.

No idea if the Linux version will even work on ARM, Android version should work in Switchroot Android, but may run slowly.

 

[HinaNaru Cutie]

It won't work with screen casting. You have to install the app on Android TV/Google TV by sideloading.

No idea if the Linux version will even work on ARM, Android version should work in Switchroot Android, but may run slowly.

oh no, i meant that my phone refuses to screen mirror to my tv - thats seperate from the whole articbase on the 3ds, that worked fine on my phone and my handheld.

yeah i am actually going to see if it does work through linux on switch.. but for android, didnt know that and oh.