Hacking "What is a legit cia?" (and other noob CIA questions ANSWERED)

cearp

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please link to this thread when people (noobs) don't understand something, or think they have a 'great idea' about a 'legit' oot cia, ha.

What is a CIA?
Packed content, that can be installed on your 3ds to give the game/app/content.
A CIA contains the contents, a TMD, and a ticket.
CIA files are only really for eshop/digital content.
Although, some people do like to convert 3ds game card dumps to 'cia'/eshop format, because they want them on their home menu etc.

What is a legit (clean/perfect) CIA?
A 'legit' CIA means that the signatures are valid.
A legit cia will work in sysnand, without needing hacks to load it (like gw, cfw etc) -- although we need hacks to INSTALL the cia. :)
The ticket will have a signature, the TMD will have a signature, I'm sure there are more signatures too in the CIA.
When you buy a game/download an update, nintendo generates YOU (ONLY YOU) a signature for the file.
If you edit the file, the signature will not be valid anymore.
If you remove your console id, so that the cia will install on other people's 3DSs, the signature is not valid.
If you patch the demo play count so you can remove the 5, 10, 30 play limit from the demo, the signature is not valid.
If you patch the dlc permissions to set that you have permission for all the dlc, the signature will not be valid.
If you decrypt the contents and edit the game, make it region free, or translate the game it etc, and then re-encrypt, the signature will not be valid.
Only nintendo can create these signatures.

What is a universal/preinstalled legit CIA?
Preinstalled content is special, the signature generated by nintendo is for every console.
If I buy a game from eshop, I can make a legit cia, but it will not be 'universal', in sysnand, it would only work with my 3DS.
For the universal CIAs, they will work on sysnand for everyone. (naturally, region lock still exists)


My tool FunkyCIA lets you create CIAs from your eshop content.
You can make 'warez' CIAs, for sharing etc.
You can make personal legit CIAs, that will work without hacks ONLY on your console.
-- keep in mind at the moment we still cannot use these cias... they just don't install :(
You can make universal legit cias that work on sysnand for everyone (only from preinstalled content)
 
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cearp

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Maybe you could change it to -

sure, thanks :) done
What is a TMD?
What is a ticket?

basically:
tmd = title metadata, information about the contents, the filesnames, size, hash to verify etc
ticket = the 'permission file', saying you bought the content, also containing the key to decrypt the contents
 

dandymanz

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Can i ask how save games work with legit cias? For example i have a O3DSXL, and i install the legit cias to sysnand. I also have a N3DSXL which i've installed the legit cias as well. Do i get save games files on the O3DSXL SD card that i can copy to the N3DSXL MicroSD and continue playing? Or would i need to use savedatafiler?
 

cearp

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Can i ask how save games work with legit cias? For example i have a O3DSXL, and i install the legit cias to sysnand. I also have a N3DSXL which i've installed the legit cias as well. Do i get save games files on the O3DSXL SD card that i can copy to the N3DSXL MicroSD and continue playing? Or would i need to use savedatafiler?

= "how do saves work with ESHOP CONTENT" :) (nothing special about legit or not here)
eshop game saves are locked to the console, use savedatafiler if you can :)
 
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itdaboyz

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Thanx for the clarification (even if it seems obvious for some points).

I still have some questions :
- Is it possible to transfer a save from a Sky3DS game to the CIA version of this game ?
- CIA game have no headers ? So if I install "legit" CIA, I can play online without risk of getting banned, right ?
 

cearp

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With personal legit cias, what is the actual limitation? I'm curious to science this with KARL to see what might be up.

i sent you a pm a few weeks ago (right?), if you still have it take a look :) i wrote some details i know there -- if you can't find it let me know. sorry if the message was a bit long for you though.
a personal legit cia just literally does not install on gw, but as soon as i blank the console id, it installs... lol
if you have time/effort to look into this, i would love for you to do that!
but yes - gw does not patch everything, like some custom theme cias someone made did not install, but with someone's private cfw with their own patches, the cias did install.
i would like to think that this is a similar problem...
 
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capito27

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i sent you a pm a few weeks ago (right?), if you still have it take a look :) i wrote some details i know there -- if you can't find it let me know. sorry if the message was a bit long for you though.
a personal legit cia just literally does not install on gw, but as soon as i blank the console id, it installs... lol
if you have time/effort to look into this, i would love for you to do that!
but yes - gw does not patch everything, like some custom theme cias someone made did not install, but with someone's private cfw with their own patches, the cias did install.
i would like to think that this is a similar problem...


Hey, cearp, i can confirm you that i was able to install my personal CIA of Pokemon Rumble World in PBT-CFW (using BBM), then make an emunand format and update it with Rxmode. The banner apears properly on both sysnand and emunand, and the game starts fine on emunand (from Rxmode)
 
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Varia

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Guess I'll try asking here too: after installing a legit cia, does it show up on the eShop as if purchased (in the download history)?Like will the game afterwards be tied to my account on my system?
 

CreativeMan

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Guess I'll try asking here too: after installing a legit cia, does it show up on the eShop as if purchased (in the download history)?Like willthe game afterwards be tied to my account on my system?
If you're talking about the universal clean legit CIA, no, they aren't in the download list BUT if you search and click install, they will install like every already purchased game. I can't confirm it for now as I'm out of eShop (EmuNAND 9.5.0).
 

cearp

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Hey, cearp, i can confirm you that i was able to install my personal CIA of Pokemon Rumble World in PBT-CFW (using BBM), then make an emunand format and update it with Rxmode. The banner apears properly on both sysnand and emunand, and the game starts fine on emunand (from Rxmode)

you used '-personal', and they install in PBT? - cooooooooooooooool!
thank you :)
now i have a reason to use pbt haha
(yes it would work on both emu+sys if you create emu after installing on sys)
 

cearp

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Guess I'll try asking here too: after installing a legit cia, does it show up on the eShop as if purchased (in the download history)?Like willthe game afterwards be tied to my account on my system?

no because it won't be in nintendo's servers on your purchase list history :)
but if you try to redownload the game from it's eshop page, it will see that you have it installed/or a ticket for it, and able to redownload it
 

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