Homebrew Simulate GBA cable link on 3DS?

[Rare_Pepe_Trader]

Is there ANY way this can be done? A RetroArch core that supports netplay? Emulators capable of connecting over wifi? A blood sacrifice to Reggie Fils-Aime?

I'm still somewhat new to the 3DS homebrew scene, having hacked only a Wii prior to this. I just want to trade & battle my girlfriend on Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green without having to buy two GBAs, seeing as we both have perfectly good N3DSes. I assume somehow replicating the cable link is the only way.

Since it's fairly easy to accomplish on a desktop with VBALink and now the original Red/Blue/Yellow games on the VC also feature wireless capabilities, there must be some way to pull this off?...right?...please?

 

[Mikemk]

Well, it's possible (unlikely but possible) that you could perform a hardmod to install a link cable.
Because the 3DS's GBA VC is an actual GBA embedded in the device, no software solution will ever be possible.
You could export the saves to emulators that support linking though.

 

[Rare_Pepe_Trader]

That's what I was thinking of doing, at least so we could "trade" by putting both our save files on my computer. Would you be familiar with the export process, by chance?

 

[pasc]

Androids MyBoy! can do this.

So can VBAlink on PC. (But you already know this)


3DS ? Forget it... We can call us lucky to have a running GBA emu at all...

 

[Mikemk]

Run the game.
Return to the home menu.
Open system settings.
Close system settings while holding down whatever key you use to open Decrypt9.
I'm not exactly sure where it is, but the import/export GBA options are somewhere under sysnand options.

Note that the Pokemon games need a bit of save manipulation because the 3DS doesn't have the right save chip. Information is in the D9 thread.

Also, I've never managed to get importing to work, but most people don't have issues.

 

[Rare_Pepe_Trader]

If only MyBoy was available on a 3DS...or even an iPhone for that matter. We apple shmucks have GBA4iOS but the wireless play is so laggy it makes trading almost impossible, let alone battling.

As far as exporting/importing the save files go, this is the most recent guide I could find:

https://www.reddit.com/r/3dshacks/c...n_perhaps_others_gba/?st=iyshilug&sh=09b00ad0

Would anyone mind taking a quick glance to confirm this is probably the cleanest/easiest way to go about it? I'm deep in uncharted waters here.

EDIT: Just saw the other reply. Thanks, I'll take a look at the other thread you mentioned as well.

 

[Searinox]

Wireless or even network emulation of link cables will always be super slow because link cables expect no packet loss and sub-millisecond precision. In order to keep an emulated link from timing out or throwing an error, each emulator must freeze the running title until it receives the expected packet from the other. Since hundreds of packets are sent and received each second, this means a lot of micro-freezes which translates in a very slow, stuttery and choppy performance.

 

[Rare_Pepe_Trader]

I wonder how Nintendo worked around that for the VC releases of Red/Blue/Yellow then...

Although I still think the bigger question is why they would have GBA games on the Wii U VC but not on their current HANDHELD CONSOLE. Go figure. Maybe they'll do something decent in those regards once the Switch comes around.

 

[Mikemk]

Although I still think the bigger question is why they would have GBA games on the Wii U VC but not on their current HANDHELD CONSOLE. Go figure. Maybe they'll do something decent in those regards once the Switch comes around.

It doesn't meet their standards of quality because you can't use the home menu or sleep.

 

[retrospect]

Did anyone ever create an EXT port (link cable) hard mod for the 3DS GBA mode?

If not, I'd still probably enjoy reading an informed response about the possibility. Is it simply a case of wiring up a GBA EXT port to an existing chip, or is it more involved than that?

 

[Deleted member 323844]

Link cable timings over Wifi would be a problem. They already struggle over LAN or internet on PC emulators..

 

[ghjfdtg]

There is no evidence the pins even exist on 3DS SoCs and even if they do they are hidden under the chip and a layer of nasty epoxy. Link cable support is very unlikely to happen but wireless adapter emulation (via local WiFi) is doable i think.

 

[CTSUPERGEEK]

Is there ANY way this can be done? A RetroArch core that supports netplay? Emulators capable of connecting over wifi? A blood sacrifice to Reggie Fils-Aime?

I'm still somewhat new to the 3DS homebrew scene, having hacked only a Wii prior to this. I just want to trade & battle my girlfriend on Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green without having to buy two GBAs, seeing as we both have perfectly good N3DSes. I assume somehow replicating the cable link is the only way.

Since it's fairly easy to accomplish on a desktop with VBALink and now the original Red/Blue/Yellow games on the VC also feature wireless capabilities, there must be some way to pull this off?...right?...please?

Hey, not sure if you will see this but I just found a solution that works for me. It is still just save manipulation. I'm assuming you have all you need:
-2 modded N3DSes with FTPD installed on both
-A computer with WinSCP
The bad news is that the easiest way to do this is if you've played from Open_agb_firm. That way you can find the .sav easier. (Unless you know how to find your .cia saves if using injects)

1 On the 3DS open ftpd and connect it to your computer
2 on WinSCP, Locate 3ds>>open_agb_firm>>saves (if you used vc injects, locate that save file)
3 locate the .sav file of your desired game. (remember you aren't cheating so I believe you still to meet the legal requirements of each game to communicate: national dex, ruby item, sapphire item, etc)
4 download mGBA (its free)
5 on mGBA go file>> loadROM>> then open the game you wish to use
6 go back to FTP on your 3ds and drag the .sav of your desired game from open_abg_firm to the location opened by mGBA to overwrite the mGBA save.
7 on mGBA load the .gba ROM while that new .sav file you dragged from your 3DS on WinSCP is in that same folder.
8 your 3DS save should now be on mGBA
Unfortunately, all trading and battling must be done through mGBA or an emulator that allows trading from games that need a link cable otherwise (minus RBY, and GSC since they have functional VC releases that support wireless trade)

9 when satisfied, save the game from mGBA
10 close mGBA
11 open WinSCP on the desktop
12 drag updated .sav (not .sa2 or anything else, ONLY .sav) back onto the 3ds>>open_agb_firm>>saves folder to overwrite any trades or records.
13 boom. done!!!

a bit of a hassle to have to use an entirely different software to mitigate the lack of futureproofing of Nintendo and Gamefreak but it works. I hope this helps