Hacking Homebrew Project Discussion: Bringing back SXOS-style XCI HDD Loading to Atmosphere?

[Jhen97]

Hi everyone, health to you!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one of the best features we lost with the end of SXOS: the ability to mount and play XCI files directly from an external HDD/SSD via the dock or USB-C, without having to install them to the SD Card/emummc.

With SD cards getting full so fast and the constant "install/uninstall" cycle wearing out our storage, I feel like the scene is missing a dedicated External Storage Loader.

I know the Atmosphere team (SciresM) won't implement this due to their "out of scope" and legal policies, but I wanted to hear from the community:

1. Technically speaking, how hard would it be to create a standalone Sysmodule (something like a "sys-usb-loader") that intercepts the filesystem and redirects it to a USB drive?
2. Is there any active project currently looking into fsp-srv redirection for external media?
3. Would anyone else here be interested in seeing this feature as a separate homebrew/sysmodule?

I believe that for those of us with huge libraries, being able to plug in a 2TB HDD and just play would be a game-changer for the current Switch scene.

What are your thoughts? Is it a "pipe dream" or could some talented dev make this happen?

I'm new to this forum, so I apologize for any incorrect quotes in this post. And I want to thank everyone who dedicates their time to the community, whether developers or not, despite the ingratitude of many. I wish you all the best in your lives...

 

[Hayato213]

That has been asked before but never implemented.

 

[hippy dave]

If and when Atmosphere eventually fully reimplements the FS module, it will be easier for someone else to implement HDD loading by modifying that source, rather than having to binary patch. Last I heard was that FS reimplementation was still planned, tho not particularly making progress.

 

[Jhen97]

Thank you, and I apologize for repeating the subject.

I see that, as Switch is nearing the end of its lifecycle, new methods will likely emerge. Sciresm has a huge legacy, but it was discontinued, so new minds have been presenting new ideas, and it would be interesting to implement this function.

We have excellent examples like DBI, Tinfoil, and the Sys modules, which use mechanisms similar to this...
I'm a layman on the subject !

 

[hippy dave]

It will still be kept well away from anything official related to Atmosphere, because the absolute anti-piracy stance is a main reason that project has been untouched by Nintendo's ever-hungry lawyers. Anything like this would need to be done by people who don't officially work on Atmosphere.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Hi everyone, health to you!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about one of the best features we lost with the end of SXOS: the ability to mount and play XCI files directly from an external HDD/SSD via the dock or USB-C, without having to install them to the SD Card/emummc.

With SD cards getting full so fast and the constant "install/uninstall" cycle wearing out our storage, I feel like the scene is missing a dedicated External Storage Loader.

I know the Atmosphere team (SciresM) won't implement this due to their "out of scope" and legal policies, but I wanted to hear from the community:

1. Technically speaking, how hard would it be to create a standalone Sysmodule (something like a "sys-usb-loader") that intercepts the filesystem and redirects it to a USB drive?
2. Is there any active project currently looking into fsp-srv redirection for external media?
3. Would anyone else here be interested in seeing this feature as a separate homebrew/sysmodule?

I believe that for those of us with huge libraries, being able to plug in a 2TB HDD and just play would be a game-changer for the current Switch scene.

What are your thoughts? Is it a "pipe dream" or could some talented dev make this happen?

I'm new to this forum, so I apologize for any incorrect quotes in this post. And I want to thank everyone who dedicates their time to the community, whether developers or not, despite the ingratitude of many. I wish you all the best in your lives...

XCI loading is probably unlikely, it's simpler to implement storage redirection to USB (in the form of emuNAND or emuSD) and there's not really any benefit to XCI loading anyway... If all you want is to load games from USB, storage redirection would give you that.

You know you can buy 2TB MicroSDs right?

 

[Jhen97]

XCI loading is probably unlikely, it's simpler to implement storage redirection to USB (in the form of emuNAND or emuSD) and there's not really any benefit to XCI loading anyway... If all you want is to load games from USB, storage redirection would give you that.

You know you can buy 2TB MicroSDs right?

Yes, I understand your point of view, but you know that cards with more storage are more expensive; you're considering your own situation and not that of others...
Besides, it's not just me who needs this, it's the community that longs for direct loading from an external hard drive.
How this will be done isn't the question; it's just an opinion and some questions on the subject.
You don't find 1 or 2 TB cards in the middle of the street or on some sidewalk...

 

[Armadillo]

I don't think it will ever come back even if it's technically feasible.

.3ds never came back on the 3ds (as far as I know), despite installing .cia files being horrifically slow to the point people would say just batch install them overnight, compared to just throw the .3ds on the sd in a couple of minutes if that. Horrible user experience compared to just throwing a .3ds on a card, but still never came back.

XCI install reasonably quick and you can get large sd cards. So it's for a tiny niche of people that keep their system docked and want to use a hdd.

Not saying it can't happen, I just don't see it happening.

 

[Jhen97]

I don't think it will ever come back even if it's technically feasible.

.3ds never came back on the 3ds (as far as I know), despite installing .cia files being horrifically slow to the point people would say just batch install them overnight, compared to just throw the .3ds on the sd in a couple of minutes if that. Horrible user experience compared to just throwing a .3ds on a card, but still never came back.

XCI install reasonably quick and you can get large sd cards. So it's for a tiny niche of people that keep their system docked and want to use a hdd.

Not saying it can't happen, I just don't see it happening.

Hope, and it's always good to have hope. SD cards with more than 500 GB are hard to find and very expensive. You guys talked about 1 TB and 2 TB cards as if they were easy or cheap as water, haha.

 

[Hayato213]

Hope, and it's always good to have hope. SD cards with more than 500 GB are hard to find and very expensive. You guys talked about 1 TB and 2 TB cards as if they were easy or cheap as water, haha.

Too bad price jump like 50%. Wasn't too bad before it all went downhill around November last year.

 

[Jhen97]

Too bad price jump like 50%. Wasn't too bad before it all went downhill around November last year.

Inflation and interest rates are affecting everyone in the world, and it's a shame that so many bad things are happening...

 

[AndorfRequissa]

i think its easier to get an emulator than get this done on the device itself. im hoping we see some more updates to the emulators so that they can play the latest firmware versions. that makes it easier to play legal backups on large size hds.

 

[Hayato213]

Inflation and interest rates are affecting everyone in the world, and it's a shame that so many bad things are happening...

Well it is doesn't have to with inflation much, more with AI.

 

[Jhen97]

Well it is doesn't have to with inflation much, more with AI.

Yes, you're right, I forgot for a moment.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I don't think it will ever come back even if it's technically feasible.

.3ds never came back on the 3ds (as far as I know), despite installing .cia files being horrifically slow to the point people would say just batch install them overnight, compared to just throw the .3ds on the sd in a couple of minutes if that. Horrible user experience compared to just throwing a .3ds on a card, but still never came back.

XCI install reasonably quick and you can get large sd cards. So it's for a tiny niche of people that keep their system docked and want to use a hdd.

Not saying it can't happen, I just don't see it happening.

That problem was solved though, with the ability to install .cia files on a PC. Where there's a problem to solve, somebody will eventually solve it, just maybe not in the way you were hoping.

Hope, and it's always good to have hope. SD cards with more than 500 GB are hard to find and very expensive. You guys talked about 1 TB and 2 TB cards as if they were easy or cheap as water, haha.

1 TB SD cards aren't too expensive, not far off the price of a 2 TB external HDD. Sure, you give up capacity, but you gain portability. I think that's a worthy tradeoff, also 1 TB is probably enough to hold all the games you would actually play.

 

[Jhen97]

That problem was solved though, with the ability to install .cia files on a PC. Where there's a problem to solve, somebody will eventually solve it, just maybe not in the way you were hoping.

1 TB SD cards aren't too expensive, not far off the price of a 2 TB external HDD. Sure, you give up capacity, but you gain portability. I think that's a worthy tradeoff, also 1 TB is probably enough to hold all the games you would actually play.

I agree with you, but I also agree that it's always good to have options: HDD, SD, SSD. If there's a feature or functionality that can be used, why not use it? If the SXOS had this function more than 7 years ago, any developer could do the same, even with Nintendo's rules. Are there any shady ways to release a dark version of Atmosphere? lol Rsrsrsrs

 

[SonyUSA]

There does exist a very very early branch (unofficial) of Atmosphere that had the XCI loader from the decrypted version of SXOS implemented. You could see about merging it in to a current branch yourself? I think the issue is that it had copyrighted Ninty code in it...

edit; nevermind, I just remembered it was a closed source version

 

[Jhen97]

There does exist a very very early branch (unofficial) of Atmosphere that had the XCI loader from the decrypted version of SXOS implemented. You could see about merging it in to a current branch yourself? I think the issue is that it had copyrighted Ninty code in it...

edit; nevermind, I just remembered it was a closed source version

So, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Although I don't have the necessary knowledge to do this, I'll study the subject a bit. Thank you for your comment. Do you have any links or places where I can find this branch?

 

[namename11]

I got my 2TB cards for $120 each. Maybe that has gone up because of the everything shortage.

 

[Cylent1]

It will still be kept well away from anything official related to Atmosphere, because the absolute anti-piracy stance is a main reason that project has been untouched by Nintendo's ever-hungry lawyers. Anything like this would need to be done by people who don't officially work on Atmosphere.

When we all know in reality, including Nintendo what Atmosphere is and was used for.
But yet they would rather take down youtubers playing games! Make no mistake, this isnt about curbing piracy, this is about total control over you the consumer!!!