Hacking I want to buy everything from scratch. N3DS, flashcart, sd-card, etc. - What to get?

[MuhKuh2015]

So I am planning on getting a N3DS. I don't mind only having 1 game on the sd-card, which size should I get?

* N3DS
* Sky Flashcart? (since it is the only one that allows N3DS)
* SD-Card (what kind of SD-Card exactly and which size?)

Anything I need to consider? I am new to the whole thing.

 

[Dragaan]

With the new flashcarts nowadays, you don't need to only have 1 game on your sd; bigger capacity ones are actually pretty cheap.

If you want to start playing right away, i'd think a N3DS, a Sky3DS, and some MicroSD off Amazon would be a good choice. It's easy to use and isn't blocked on the latest firmware, but you'll be sacrificing the ability to play online (easily at least) and use homebrew. It's also a novel method of switching from game to game, by pressing the button and waiting several seconds. You can look into the Sky3DS card some more here.

Alternatively, if you want to wait and get a card with more features (homebrew, easier switching, emulators), I would go for a Gateway. However, it would also be more safer to hold off on buying a N3DS until Gateway support comes out for N3DS, as anything could really happen right now. Read here.

There's also the mysterious DSTwo+, an upcoming(?) cart which might be good enough to compete with the other two. Might.

Best bet IMO is to hold off on getting anything until more info comes out about the Gateway/Sky.

 

[MuhKuh2015]

With the new flashcarts nowadays, you don't need to only have 1 game on your sd; bigger capacity ones are actually pretty cheap.

If you want to start playing right away, i'd think a N3DS, a Sky3DS, and some MicroSD off Amazon would be a good choice. It's easy to use and isn't blocked on the latest firmware, but you'll be sacrificing the ability to play online.

I thought I would be able to play online as well? Especially Monster Hunter 4U.

 

[Kioku_Dreams]

Well there's a ban wave going on. Albeit small and we don't know the cause. Our only leads point to private headers which Sky uses to allow online play. So, if you want to play 4u? Buy it.

 

[MuhKuh2015]

Well there's a ban wave going on. Albeit small and we don't know the cause. Our only leads point to private headers which Sky uses to allow online play. So, if you want to play 4u? Buy it.

Okay, so if I use the Sky3Ds to play online, there is a small chance to get banned? Does that mean a softban or hardban? Only banned from MH4 or never being able to play online again even when playing without Sky3ds

 

[Dragaan]

Every 3DS retail cart has this thing called a "header." It's basically a string of information that tells the Nintendo servers and whatnot what cart is online. People used to apply headers to their ROMs to be able to play online, but the issue was that most of these were online, and Nintendo (apparently) began to crackdown on the people using these public headers. A wave of bans ensued, and people couldn't play online anymore D:

I don't know much about private headers, but the safest way to play online with the Sky3DS cart is to rip your own header from a cart, which I don't think you can do with a Sky3DS.

Anyone feel free to correct me, as I still don't know much about the entire scene.

AFAIK, the bans are permanent and prevents you from playing online with your N3DS.

 

[SomecallmeBerto]

Well there's a ban wave going on. Albeit small and we don't know the cause. Our only leads point to private headers which Sky uses to allow online play. So, if you want to play 4u? Buy it.

*public not private....unless we got confirmation someone was banned with a private header.

 

[MuhKuh2015]

How can I create my own private header? Let's say I have a original MH4U. How do I create a dump file?Are there tools to create them?

 

[Oishikatta]

How can I create my own private header? Let's say I have a original MH4U. How do I create a dump file?Are there tools to create them?

If you have a non new 3ds on firmware 9.2 or lower you can use gateway's launcher to dump the game, then use gateway rom patcher to extract the header. You do not need a gateway cart for this.

 

[satel]

How can I create my own private header? Let's say I have a original MH4U. How do I create a dump file?Are there tools to create them?

here is a link to the tutorials section:

https://gbatemp.net/forums/3ds-tutorials-faqs.234/

 

[Jiro2]

Best bet IMO is to hold off on getting anything until more info comes out about the Gateway/Sky.

The best bet is to get a New 3DS *now* (probably a Gateway too). The reason is that Gateway will probably require firmware 9.2 or less. If you don't get the New 3DS now, your firmware may end up too new to ever use a Gateway.

Of course, this assumes a games budget that either 1) lets you leave the New 3DS on the shelf until Gateway comes up with an update, or 2) has room for buying some offline games so that you have something to play until the Gateway update comes out. (When it does come out you can use them for headers.)

 

[Dragaan]

The best bet is to get a New 3DS *now* (probably a Gateway too). The reason is that Gateway will probably require firmware 9.2 or less. If you don't get the New 3DS now, your firmware may end up too new to ever use a Gateway.

Of course, this assumes a games budget that either 1) lets you leave the New 3DS on the shelf until Gateway comes up with an update, or 2) has room for buying some offline games so that you have something to play until the Gateway update comes out. (When it does come out you can use them for headers.)

Fair enough. I'm glad I snagged myself a black one, considering that many (correction: some) of the reds were on 9.4. I still think you'd might want to hold off on the gateway; they probably won't stop selling those anytime soon, and who knows, maybe the DsTwo+ ends up being just as good and cheaper or amazing. Only time can tell the flashcart side of things.

 

[thorasgar]

Fair enough. I'm glad I snagged myself a black one, considering that many (or all?) of the reds were on 9.4. I still think you'd might want to hold off on the gateway; they probably won't stop selling those anytime soon, and who knows, maybe the DsTwo+ ends up being just as good and cheaper or amazing. Only time can tell the flashcart side of things.

I have a red 9.0 from GameStop and there are plenty of red ones listed on the firmware thread that are 9.0 or 9.2. So far the 9.4 ones are all red. I have another red one ordered on 1/16 from best buy that shipped today and we will see what it comes with.

 

[Dragaan]

I have a red 9.0 from GameStop and there are plenty of red ones listed on the firmware thread that are 9.0 or 9.2. So far the 9.4 ones are all red. I have another red one ordered on 1/16 from best buy that shipped today and we will see what it comes with.

What do you plan on doing with two, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[thorasgar]

What do you plan on doing with two, if you don't mind me asking?

Actually this will be my third, not sure if I will keep it or not. I have two boys 9 &12.

I originally had just the GameStop one and this one on preorder. But after picking up the red gamestop one I was having problems with the 3D calibration and wasn't sure if it was user error or a bad unit, so I ran over to best buy in the morning and bought a black one to compare. I didn't want to wait for the red one to arrive a week later out of concern that later units will have higher firmware and have to pay a premium to scalpers to get a 9.2 unit.

I like it a lot and may just keep it so I can have another point of connection with my boys.

 

[MrJason005]

I'd like to remind you that the 3DS/New 3DS does not take advantage of high speed SD cards, might as well get a class 6\
http://gbatemp.net/threads/sd-card-speeds-for-installing-cia.381741/#post-5348069

 

[thorasgar]

I'd like to remind you that the 3DS/New 3DS does not take advantage of high speed SD cards, might as well get a class 6\
http://gbatemp.net/threads/sd-card-speeds-for-installing-cia.381741/#post-5348069

That is true but there are some other factors to consider.

1. Availability and price: at least in the US the selection of class 6 is small and little to no savings over a class 10 especially considering sales/coupon offers/rebates. I can find very few larger class 6 cards on Amazon.
2. Transfer speed is improved in on PC. These carts can get finiky and frequently reformatting is necessary to fix errors. Time is money and 32 or 64 GB transfers take time.
3. portability. You many want to use the card for another purpose in the future.

I have no idea what the market is outside the U.S. these factors may not apply.