Hacking Homebrew Is it feasible to MITM the internet connection/module?

[mathew77]

Thank you guys @hippy dave, @masagrator, such a nice idea!

Some other games to test that explicitly need Airplane mode (not just 90DNS/blanking bis, but completely off the network):

— Prison Architect
— Death Coming
— DOOM (2017)
— Disc Room
— Pandemic the Board Game
— CarX Drift Racing
— Crash Drive 2
— Metal Slug Aca Neogeo
— Nyan Cat Lost in Space
— They Bleed Pixels
— Lode Runner Legacy

 

[hippy dave]

Thank you guys @hippy dave, @masagrator such a nice idea!

Some other games to test that explicitly need Airplane mode (not just 90DNS/blanking bis, but completely off the network):

— Prison Architect
— Death Coming
— DOOM (2017)

Oh I didn't know Death Coming was out on Switch, I was just looking at that game online the other day, sounds like fun. Will definitely add it to the testing list.

 

[hippy dave]

So I recommend to try do this:
- Hook nn::account::EnsureNetworkServiceAccountAvailable(nn::account::UserHandle const&) and return 0x27C instantly.

If this will work, you can make SaltyNX patch

_ZN2nn7account36EnsureNetworkServiceAccountAvailableERKNS0_10UserHandleE.asm64

that will be compatible with all 64-bit games.

804F80D2 //mov x0,#0x27C
C0035FD6 //ret
00000000 //null terminator
00000000 //null terminator

I think you've found it! I made the patch file as you described, and testing has been going well. My usual Tempest 4000 and Arcade Archives Puzzle Bobble 2 work as expected, no error messages to click through, just fully working in offline mode.
I quickly tested Prison Architect and Death Coming, and it fixes both games as far as the initial crash that otherwise happens when they start up, I haven't played any further yet but looks promising. May try to test more games but anyone else can contribute!
@mathew77 thanks for that great list, I don't know if I'll get through them all but feel free to do some testing too!
@SodaSoba @aruto feel free to test with GhostBladeHD and Disgaea 4 Complete+

Again you need SaltyNX already installed and working, then just unzip the .asm64 file and put it in /SaltySD/patches (note: not the same plugins directory as the last thing). Many thanks to masagrator!

 

[hippy dave]

Quick test of Lode Runner Legacy, without the patch it didn't crash but I had to close an error box on startup then a couple more going through the menus to start the game. With the patch I had to close a different error box on startup, but the later ones were gone, so seems like a win.

 

[binkinator]

I think you've found it! I made the patch file as you described, and testing has been going well. My usual Tempest 4000 and Arcade Archives Puzzle Bobble 2 work as expected, no error messages to click through, just fully working in offline mode.
I quickly tested Prison Architect and Death Coming, and it fixes both games as far as the initial crash that otherwise happens when they start up, I haven't played any further yet but looks promising. May try to test more games but anyone else can contribute!
@mathew77 thanks for that great list, I don't know if I'll get through them all but feel free to do some testing too!
@SodaSoba @aruto feel free to test with GhostBladeHD and Disgaea 4 Complete+

Again you need SaltyNX already installed and working, then just unzip the .asm64 file and put it in /SaltySD/patches (note: not the same plugins directory as the last thing). Many thanks to masagrator!

This is cool. I can test some games.

UPDATE:

Verdict:

With only minor warnings from in game this patch just works! Very nice work @hippy dave AND @masagrator


Summary:

Below are tests of @mathew77 ‘s list. I think it was a very fair and well rounded list.

• A couple games has minor warnings to click through but didn’t impact the game. (This is related to how the game handles things, not the patch.)
• There we’re a couple with in-game hints about being offline that didn’t impact the game play. (Again, that’s on the game, not the patch.)

confirmed non-issues:

• One game was skipped due to large size and I hate Doom (sorry not sorry.) @mathew77 tested. No issues!
• Only one game didn’t play at all but it was likely due to a game requirement rather than the patch not working. i was not able to duplicate this error a second time. Updating results below as well.

Testing methodology:

• Airplane mode off.
• Connected to wifi using ISP DNS with exosphere and dns:mitm on.
• Tested DNS with 90DNS Tester and confirmed dns:mitm was working.

• Don’t get cute and try to rename the .asm64 file.

This doesn’t work:

You will get this:


Data + Notes:
— Prison Architect

Starts and plays with no issues!​

— Death Coming

Starts and plays with no issues!​

— DOOM (2017)

Starts and plays with no issues! by @mathew77 ​

24G? I’ll pass. FPS make me nauseous and sweaty.​

— Disc Room

Starts and plays with no issues!​

does have a normal warning that leaderboards are not connected.​

​

— Pandemic the Board Game

Starts and plays with no issues!​

— CarX Drift Racing

Starts and plays with no issues!​

CANNOT DUPLICATE; this one sits at a black screen for going on 2 minutes now. I’m guessing it is not playable without Internet? No fault of this patch.​

— Crash Drive 2

Starts and plays with no issues!​

— Metal Slug Aca Neogeo

Starts and plays with no issues!​

— Nyan Cat Lost in Space

Sits at loading screen for 20 seconds:​

​

then asks you to connect joycon:​

​

asks if you want to connect to game servers after you die (leaderboards?)​

​

plays game just fine with no further issues.​

— They Bleed Pixels

Starts and plays with no issues!​

(side note, thought this was going to be shovelware…didn’t realize I needed this game in my life…very cool!)​

— Lode Runner Legacy

I got this warning​

.​

plays game just fine with no further issues.​

 

[mathew77]

CarX Drift Racing
this one sits at a black screen for going on 2 minutes now. I’m guessing it is not playable without Internet?

CarX Drift Racing (ver. 2.13.3 = v393216 update file) works fine when Airplane mode is On:

But an error occurring when it's Off, and even pressing the Close button cannot fix it:

So black screen is completely SaltyNoNet dependency I guess.

 

[masagrator]

But error ocurred when it's Off:

This is the error code that this patches forces. So it seems this game relies on different error to work.

 

[binkinator]

CarX Drift Racing (ver. 2.13.3 = v393216 update file) works fine when Airplane mode is On:
View attachment 304429
But an error occurring when it's Off, and even pressing Close button cannot fix it:
View attachment 304430
So black screen is completely SaltyNoNet dependency I guess.

This is the error code that this patches forces. So it seems this game relies on different error to work.

No, it was me being retarded. Sorry fellas.

I tried again and it’s working without issue. Not sure what happened the first time? Will update results above.

 

[mathew77]

DOOM (2017)

Has been tested it rn and can confirm, with SaltyNoNet it.. Works fine! A truly masterpiece work, thank you one more time @hippy dave !!!

 

[hippy dave]

Has been tested it rn and can confirm, with SaltyNoNet it.. Works fine! A truly masterpiece work, thank you one more time @hippy dave !!!

You're welcome, but be sure to thank @masagrator - he did the hard part!

 

[aruto]

I think you've found it! I made the patch file as you described, and testing has been going well. My usual Tempest 4000 and Arcade Archives Puzzle Bobble 2 work as expected, no error messages to click through, just fully working in offline mode.
I quickly tested Prison Architect and Death Coming, and it fixes both games as far as the initial crash that otherwise happens when they start up, I haven't played any further yet but looks promising. May try to test more games but anyone else can contribute!
@mathew77 thanks for that great list, I don't know if I'll get through them all but feel free to do some testing too!
@SodaSoba @aruto feel free to test with GhostBladeHD and Disgaea 4 Complete+

Again you need SaltyNX already installed and working, then just unzip the .asm64 file and put it in /SaltySD/patches (note: not the same plugins directory as the last thing). Many thanks to masagrator!

I tested this on Disgaea 4 Complete+ and it worked flawlessly! Thank you for the hard work

 

[SodaSoba]

Finally GhostBladeHD works mad props to you @hippy dave thank you

perhaps we can get a pinned rolling list of working titles?

 

[bestpig]

Thank you guys @hippy dave, @masagrator, such a nice idea!

Some other games to test that explicitly need Airplane mode (not just 90DNS/blanking bis, but completely off the network):

— Prison Architect
— Death Coming
— DOOM (2017)
— Disc Room
— Pandemic the Board Game
— CarX Drift Racing
— Crash Drive 2
— Metal Slug Aca Neogeo
— Nyan Cat Lost in Space
— They Bleed Pixels
— Lode Runner Legacy

Can you try my version?

I just have hooked IsNetworkAvailable, it was the one used by the new Lego games and works fine with it, I didn't have tested any other games.
So maybe you other games are also using IsNetworkAvailable and not hooked by the plugin you used, it's maybe why it doesn't works.

Source on github -> https://github.com/BestPig/NX-NONET

 

[bestpig]

Oh, I just found that you also can do patch in asm64, so probably better than my elf to force to return 0 on a function.

 

[SodaSoba]

Can you try my version?

I just have hooked IsNetworkAvailable, it was the one used by the new Lego games and works fine with it, I didn't have tested any other games.
So maybe you other games are also using IsNetworkAvailable and not hooked by the plugin you used, it's maybe why it doesn't works.

Source on github -> BestPig/NX-NONET
(Sorry for the non URL, but the antispam on gbatemp is blocking me to post URL because my account doesn't have posted 5 messages yet ...)

Fixes nag when DNS blocking, works with the other patch hippy Dave made, might work with other games not working with Dave's fix?

 

[bestpig]

I just made the equivalent in asm64, so must be placed in patches instead of plugins.

It just replace IsNetworkAvailable by a return 0

mov x0, $0 // 00 00 80 d2
ret // c0 03 5f d6

 

[Bricked]

I just made the equivalent in asm64, so must be placed in patches instead of plugins.

It just replace IsNetworkAvailable by a return 0

mov x0, $0 // 00 00 80 d2
ret // c0 03 5f d6

It was already tested by hippy dave earlier in the thread and IsNetworkAvailable didn't cover all games.

 

[bestpig]

Yes I know, but the other alternative was crashing for me with Lego so I did something else ^^.

 

[SodaSoba]

Fixed an error for me also!

 

[masagrator]

Yes I know, but the other alternative was crashing for me with Lego so I did something else ^^.

Yeah, I guess it won't hurt to use. If game doesn't have this function like Sine Mora Ex, patch will be ignored.