Hacking Making a .3DS file playable online?

[JohnTravolski]

These are the steps I'm going to take to turn my cartridge game into a .cia and install it onto my SD card so that I can play is online. My sysNAND is 4.2, emuNAND 9.8. I have RXtools 2.6, don't have a Gateway card, but a CFW instead. Correct any step where I'm wrong, because no tutorials show what order to do this stuff in (I just have to put it all together from looking at a bunch of them):

1. Use Gateway to "Backup 3DS Gateway Cartridge." I've already done this step, but none of the following.
2. Make a copy of the 2GB .3DS file (I move it from the SD card to the computer so that there are 2 on the computer and none on the SD card)
3. Use the 3DS Simple Cia Converter to generate ncchinfo.bin directly from the .3DS file that was created from Gateway in step 1.
4. Put ncchinof.bin onto the root of the SD card and launch RXtools.
5. Choose decryption options and generate xorpads (not the fat16 one).
6. Turn off the system and put SD card back in the computer.
7. Now, use Gateway ROM patcher (version 1.1) to load the same .3DS file that I generated ncchinfo.bin from.
8. Follow steps 8 through 16 of this tutorial.
9. Spoiler: The Steps

   8. Open the .3ds file on your desktop
   
   9. Click "Export header to file" and save the .bin file to your desktop
   
   Injecting the header into your rom
   
   10. Make a copy of the game you want to play online and put it on your desktop
   
   11. In Gateway ROM Patcher click "Load ROM" again and this time open the rom you want to play online
   
   13. Click "Import header from file" and open the .bin file on your desktop
   
   14. A message will pop up saying "This Chip ID seems not adapted to your ROM size. Can I suggest a better value?". Click yes. (If the Chip ID is the same for both roms this message won't pop up and you can just skip to step 16)
   
   15. Copy the info from Cartridge ID on top to the Cartridge ID box below. The Chip ID box should have already been filled automatically when you pressed yes before. Click "Apply".
   
   16. Close out of Gateway ROM Patcher
10. Use the 3DS Simple Cia Converter to combine the previously generated Main.exheader.xorpad (generated with RXtools) and the patched ROM to create the .cia file.
11. Install with FBI Installer onto the 9.8 emuNAND.
12. Is this ROM usable and playable online now? I don't care about data loss.
13. Can I use Free Multi Patcher to give it patches in the future so that I'll always be able to play online without updating the emuNAND?

I'm not going to try this until I know I won't end up bricking my system by installing a bad .cia that I messed up. I'm probably missing some important steps or doing them in the wrong order, which is why I need to be corrected wherever I could be wrong.

 

[usernametaken]

If you're going to convert your .3ds file to a .cia, you don't need Gateway Rom patcher. You'd only use that if you were going to play your .3ds file online as a .3dz.

Once you've created your .cia, all you need to do is install it with your installer of choice (fbi being one) and you're good to go.

You can either use the multi patcher to go into the eshop to download updates, or install them via cia if you get them from a certain iso site that you can find via google.

You cannot brick your system by installing things to your emunand.

 

[JohnTravolski]

Thank you so much for making all of this clear. See, even though I thought I understood all of this stuff by reading through, it's very clear that I didn't now. I guess experience is the only way to learn. But that should make this much, much easier now, so thanks again.