ROM Hack Created ACNL Mod, but can't figure out how to make CIA

[rainbowPhoenix]

So I created a mod for Animal Crossing: New Leaf to insert myself as a custom villager (it's a gift for my girlfriend). When I build the romfs file and apply it with HANS, it works perfectly. But although I've tried several different ways to create a CIA, they all crash immediately on launch, with the generic "An error has occured" message.

I have tried the following steps:

- I built the CIA using makerom. I used a default rsf I found here: (https://gist.githubusercontent.com/...69e4519a6e0007f997f0bc1d680cbd5716d15/app.rsf) (although I had to fix a typo on line 79), and my command line argument was (recalling from memory, excluding file path arguments) "makerom -target t -f cia -i <path>:1:1" Result: Once installed, the app had no banner, no icon, no name, and crashed immediately on run. (In addition, when I went to uninstal in system settings, the system reported the app was 0 blocks. The CIA was also 1.5GB, when every other method I tried gave a CIA of about 750MB)

- I used the PackHack 3ds builder to make a .3ds CXI file (I tried both CARD1 and CARD2 options). I then used Riku's 3DS to CIA converter to make the CIAs. I did not provide the xorpads because, as I undersrand it, the 3ds builder created unencrypted CXIs. Result: Once installed, the app had the correct icon and name, but still no banner. It still crashed immediately on run.

- I used the PackHack 3ds builder to make a .3ds CXI file (I only tried CARD1 this time). I then used ihaveamac's 3dsconv to create the CIA. But 3dsconv said the .3ds file was encrypted (weird, because Riku's script didn't have a problem with it). So I made the ncchinfo.bin and used Decrypt9WIP to get the xorpads. But 3dsconv rejected the pads, saying they were either corrupt or not the correct pads (I checked the titleID of the xorpad, and it was the correct ID.)

I feel like I've tried everything, and I don't understand why it's not working. Am I missing something obvious or doing something wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can provide any of the files I was working with if anyone thinks they would help, but I'm not sure which ones would be most helpful, and some of them are pretty large.

Thank you, to anyone who's willing to take a look at this for me. I really appreciate it.

 

[Ev1l0rd]

Create a layeredFS plugin and use NTR CFW and put the files that need patching on the SD card. Much easier than going through the hassle of recompiling a CIA.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

So I created a mod for Animal Crossing: New Leaf to insert myself as a custom villager (it's a gift for my girlfriend). When I build the romfs file and apply it with HANS, it works perfectly. But although I've tried several different ways to create a CIA, they all crash immediately on launch, with the generic "An error has occured" message.

I have tried the following steps:

- I built the CIA using makerom. I used a default rsf I found here: (https://gist.githubusercontent.com/...69e4519a6e0007f997f0bc1d680cbd5716d15/app.rsf) (although I had to fix a typo on line 79), and my command line argument was (recalling from memory, excluding file path arguments) "makerom -target t -f cia -i <path>:1:1" Result: Once installed, the app had no banner, no icon, no name, and crashed immediately on run. (In addition, when I went to uninstal in system settings, the system reported the app was 0 blocks. The CIA was also 1.5GB, when every other method I tried gave a CIA of about 750MB)

- I used the PackHack 3ds builder to make a .3ds CXI file (I tried both CARD1 and CARD2 options). I then used Riku's 3DS to CIA converter to make the CIAs. I did not provide the xorpads because, as I undersrand it, the 3ds builder created unencrypted CXIs. Result: Once installed, the app had the correct icon and name, but still no banner. It still crashed immediately on run.

- I used the PackHack 3ds builder to make a .3ds CXI file (I only tried CARD1 this time). I then used ihaveamac's 3dsconv to create the CIA. But 3dsconv said the .3ds file was encrypted (weird, because Riku's script didn't have a problem with it). So I made the ncchinfo.bin and used Decrypt9WIP to get the xorpads. But 3dsconv rejected the pads, saying they were either corrupt or not the correct pads (I checked the titleID of the xorpad, and it was the correct ID.)

I feel like I've tried everything, and I don't understand why it's not working. Am I missing something obvious or doing something wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I can provide any of the files I was working with if anyone thinks they would help, but I'm not sure which ones would be most helpful, and some of them are pretty large.

Thank you, to anyone who's willing to take a look at this for me. I really appreciate it.

PackHack should work, did you remember to encrypt the CIA after creation with Decrypt9?

 

[Deleted User]

Hmms. @Mega-Mew's done this before

 

[samcambolt270]

when you get it to work, post some pics and stuff, i'd love to see the mod.

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

PackHack should work, did you remember to encrypt the CIA after creation with Decrypt9?

I did not encrypt the CIA. I assumed that it wasn't necessary, that if a CFW could bypass signautre checks, it could run unencrypted binaries.

I tried to use Decrypt9WIP to encrypt the CIA, but it said the CIA was corrupt. This reminded me of how 3dsconv said the .3ds was already encrypted, and how after I generated the xorpad it said that they were corrupt. My interpretation of this is that my .3ds is bad. So since I know the romfs is good, that means I'm doing something wrong while building the .3ds.

This might be relevant, but I originally installed the game via FreeShop and dumped all the files by using Braindump. Would this interefere with using PackHack's 3ds builder to create a good 3ds?

I'm going to try to get my hands on an Animal Crossing .3ds so I can see how PackHack or Decrypt9 dumps it. Maybe that will show me what I need to be able to repack.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I did not encrypt the CIA. I assumed that it wasn't necessary, that if a CFW could bypass signautre checks, it could run unencrypted binaries.

I tried to use Decrypt9WIP to encrypt the CIA, but it said the CIA was corrupt. This reminded me of how 3dsconv said the .3ds was already encrypted, and how after I generated the xorpad it said that they were corrupt. My interpretation of this is that my .3ds is bad. So since I know the romfs is good, that means I'm doing something wrong while building the .3ds.

This might be relevant, but I originally installed the game via FreeShop and dumped all the files by using Braindump. Would this interefere with using PackHack's 3ds builder to create a good 3ds?

I'm going to try to get my hands on an Animal Crossing .3ds so I can see how PackHack or Decrypt9 dumps it. Maybe that will show me what I need to be able to repack.

I don't think you can dump all the files needed to make a working ROM with braindump. *hax doesn't have access to them.

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

Create a layeredFS plugin and use NTR CFW and put the files that need patching on the SD card. Much easier than going through the hassle of recompiling a CIA.

I've done this before, but I don't want my GF to have to use NTR or Hans every time she wants to play.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I don't think you can dump all the files needed to make a working ROM with braindump. *hax doesn't have access to them.

That makes sense, and would explain why the installed title was missing a banner. That makes me disappointed.

I found a .3ds, so I'm going to try unpacking and repacking it. But for the future, is there any a9lh tool that can dump installed titles? From what I understand, Decrypt9WIP only works on carts.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I've done this before, but I don't want my GF to have to use NTR or Hans every time she wants to play.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------



That makes sense, and would explain why the installed title was missing a banner. That makes me disappointed.

I found a .3ds, so I'm going to try unpacking and repacking it. But for the future, is there any a9lh tool that can dump installed titles? From what I understand, Decrypt9WIP only works on carts.

Decrypt9 can dump the title keys/tickets then you can download the files with a PC, I'm pretty sure you can decrypt the SD card content with it too.

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

Decrypt9 can dump the title keys/tickets then you can download the files with a PC, I'm pretty sure you can decrypt the SD card content with it too.

I got it working! Thank you so much!

You were right that I didn't have everything I needed to build a valid NCSD. After starting fresh with a valid .3ds of the game, I was able to add my changes and rebuild it.

FTR, I didn't have to encrypt the CIA.

when you get it to work, post some pics and stuff, i'd love to see the mod.

Pictures incoming, but it's midnight in my timezone and I want to celebrate my success with well deserved sleep. (And I have work tomorrow.)

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I got it working! Thank you so much!

You were right that I didn't have everything I needed to build a valid NCSD. After starting fresh with a valid .3ds of the game, I was able to add my changes and rebuild it.

FTR, I didn't have to encrypt the CIA.



Pictures incoming, but it's midnight in my timezone and I want to celebrate my success with well deserved sleep. (And I have work tomorrow.)

I think the "full" dump braindump makes is meant for Citra, as it's just enough to get a game working in Citra and therefore people no longer need a <=9.2 console to make legal copies of their games to use in Citra, but it's not enough to make it work on real hardware.
Glad to hear you got it working though

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

when you get it to work, post some pics and stuff, i'd love to see the mod.

There's not much to see. But here's some pics of the new villager in their house (no NTR screenshots because I forgot that was a thing):

https://goo.gl/photos/ztkEJZEQbJ3cDJn79

I used Redd as the base, but changed the palette to make him brighter, and switched out his eyes with someone elses (I forget whose)

 

[samcambolt270]

it looks kinda like redd, is it a kitsune?

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

it looks kinda like redd, is it a kitsune?

From my previous post:

"I used Redd as the base, but changed the palette to make him brighter, and switched out his eyes with someone elses (I forget whose)"

 

[samcambolt270]

did you change his dialogue?

 

[CeeDee]

Huh, looks impressive! How easy is villager editing? I might give it a try sometime soon.

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

did you change his dialogue?

Some of it. The two big obstacles for dialog editing is:
1) Dialog isn't unique per villager, but determined by the villager's personality.
2) There's a whole ton of it.

I wanted my villager to have the Lazy personality, because my girlfriend's pet nickname for me is "lazy fox". Fortunately, Biskit was the only villager in her town that was lazy, and when villagers move in, it's less likely to give you two villagers with the same personality. I edited the dialog for lazy villagers to include some references to our relationship, so at least for right now, this guy should be the only guy who says it.

Huh, looks impressive! How easy is villager editing? I might give it a try sometime soon.

The hardest part was patching the changed files into the game. Ohana makes editing the models easy, and for changing dialog, you just use a hex editor.

 

[CeeDee]

The hardest part was patching the changed files into the game. Ohana makes editing the models easy, and for changing dialog, you just use a hex editor.

What about names, personalities, and default catchphrases? If I wanted to change a bunny villager into a normal or peppy villager and name it Judy, how easy would that be?

 

[rainbowPhoenix]

What about names, personalities, and default catchphrases? If I wanted to change a bunny villager into a normal or peppy villager and name it Judy, how easy would that be?

Names are easy. There's two files that just contain a list of names, and you can edit those files. (Although the name you add needs to be the same length or shorter as the name you take out, otherwise the alignment of all the names after it gets messed up.)

Personalities are harder. As I understand it, personalities aren't actually by a single flag in the characters file, but actually computed by a couple of other flags. It's easier to find a villager who already has the personality you want and change everything else.

Default catchphrases I didn't bother with, because it won't change the catchphrases of villagers already in your village.

 

[CeeDee]

Names are easy. There's two files that just contain a list of names, and you can edit those files. (Although the name you add needs to be the same length or shorter as the name you take out, otherwise the alignment of all the names after it gets messed up.)

Personalities are harder. As I understand it, personalities aren't actually by a single flag in the characters file, but actually computed by a couple of other flags. It's easier to find a villager who already has the personality you want and change everything else.

Default catchphrases I didn't bother with, because it won't change the catchphrases of villagers already in your village.

"Judy" is a short name nonetheless so it should be easy to do.

I'm sure there's a normal or peppy rabbit villager I can replace... (But not Chrissy, I'd never replace Chrissy)

I'll look into catchphrases. There is an option on the online save editor to change the villager's stuff to default (inc. catchphrase) if you wanted to change it and reset.