Hacking Question When will a free XCI Backup Loader be released?

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nero99

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you said most people don't care for XCI files, I'd say most people would care if they had the option to use them. I have the option and I care more for XCI files than NSP ones.
why would you want to mount a game card when you could just install a nsp and be on your way?
 

snoofly

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if a new DLC or update is released, you just rebuild a new XCI.
You know whats really inefficient? Having to install all the various NSPs, then deleting everything in the future when you need to free up space, and then reinstalling all the various NSPs back again one by one when you want to replay the game.

Interesting debate going on here.. quite fiery!

This point piqued my interest.
Agree the points made but had something to add from my own experience.

I used to create and mount custom/super xcis but changed to just using base xcis and installing the update nsz/dlc as they get released

a) the updates are quite small generally so take little room
b) they can change often so saves bothering rebuilding an xci
c) SX installer seems a lot more fickle in mounting superxcis than just base ones
d) most of the time, when just trying stuff out, I'm not bothered if I'm on the latest version anyway
e) it's far easier to maintain your xci stash just converting new base nszs than worrying about what xcis need to rebuilt to keep them current with latest updates

That being said, I think it's still worth combining some like the Pinball games
 

MasterJ360

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why would you want to mount a game card when you could just install a nsp and be on your way?
It doesn't make much a of difference how you do it if you think about it, xci has an autoloader that treats it like a nsp install. Oh btw xci's can be installed as well. It just has more user options than an nsp. So when ppl do their research on the improvements of xci their question-in demand for a free source version is a legitimate question.

Nobody cared for xci's back in 2018 which is where Lacius keeps pulling old info/polls from, b/c nsp's covered just about every game out there and if it was eshop exclusive you couldn't play it as an xci.
But now as of 2020 we can convert nsp's/nsz's into xci and make our own deluxe edition of a game with all DLC's latest updates. We can also combine multiple games into 1 xci and mount all of them at the same time. 3.0 external is pretty fast when it comes to moving large files from the PC ofc that depends if the said PC isn't a toaster. Why do we want to mount games from the HDD? easy, so that our SD or nand doesn't get clustered with individual dlc/updates/and games. If your concerned about portability put all your favorite games on the sd card. Updates alone can kill your SD space they are getting bigger than the base game like MK11 or Bioshock.
 
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JoeBloggs777

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why would you want to mount a game card when you could just install a nsp and be on your way?

why would you want to install anything, when you can just copy and paste the XCI file to your sdcard and be on your way ?

very easy now with autoloader. click on the game icon and it mounts that game,
 

smf

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Yes, I agree, but that has nothing to do with the part of my post you quoted talking about install times vs. transfer times.

Your point seemed to be that deleting games off usb to install new ones was just as inconvenient as deleting games off your switch.

You can get a larger usb device than microsd, it will be cheaper. You'll have less juggling.

You argue like a salmon, very slippery.
 
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Lacius

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why would you want to install anything, when you can just copy and paste the XCI file to your sdcard and be on your way ?

very easy now with autoloader. click on the game icon and it mounts that game,
The time it takes to install an NSP is comparable to the time it takes to copy and paste an XCI.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Your point seemed to be that deleting games off usb to install new ones was just as inconvenient as deleting games off your switch.

You can get a larger usb device than microsd, it will be cheaper. You'll have less juggling.

You argue like a salmon, very slippery.
I'm not arguing with you; I'm pointing out irrelevancies.

If you want to argue instead that the benefit of an HDD is that it holds more space than a microSD card for the same price, I already said I agree with you. It potentially removes portability, so many people wouldn't do it. If a person wants to use an HDD and it's worth the price, great, but most people don't care.
 

Cylent1

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I love all 420 of my xci's on my 2tb hdd.
I never have to worry about switching sd cards which also means shutting down the system all the way = Hassle.
I can install any xci on my hdd = positive perk.
I am like an old man (Wait I am old man) with his set way, so whatever your opinion on this subject, doesn't even matter to me.
I thought I would toss in my 2 cents!
 
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Lacius

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I love all 420 of my xci's on my 2tb hdd.
I never have to worry about switching sd cards which also means shutting down the system all the way = Hassle.
I can install any xci on my hdd = positive perk.
I am like an old man (Wait I am old man) with his set way, so whatever your opinion on this subject, doesn't even matter to me.
I thought I would toss in my 2 cents!
My microSD card can only hold 69 games.
 
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Imancol

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They seem like a couple pointing out each other's mistakes ... puff I shouldn't have relived this post, it was full of pages that didn't address the main question.
 
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I see what @Lacius is getting at.

Sx os AFAIK doesn't do any checking afaik, and also of course has sign patches. Which means the xci loader is likely unsafe, if I had to guess. (since why at run time would you check the xci? Given the fact that xci's can be mashed with updates and dlc. It's not super far fetched of the "possibility" (likely exists somewhere) of someone maliciously injecting code into a xci)
while with a nsp, it's still possible but, afaik, most installers do check, and will not allowed unsigned nsps unless you change your configuration. Which for a unsigned nsp to exist, it has to be modded/unsigned. This gives the user a chance to prevent malicious software from being run since most, if not all installers will prevent the installation.
End of story regarding security
regarding format vs format it's .3ds 2.0
For the most part, in nearly every circumstance (unless... your using gateway still... jeez) you would install a .cia, or convert the .3ds to a cia.
with xci's it's the same story. For the open source custom firmware and homebrew, we use .nsp, and afaik there are tools to convert .xci to .nsp
and the downsides of the .nsp format have disappeared. aka the "double install" or where you have to put the game on the microsd card, and install the game. With goldleaf now existing and allowing a direct install. that really isn't as much of an issue. Also tinfoil exists so... Not going to say more about that. Which really kinda makes "xci being faster to play" not matter as much.
the only advantage of xci at the time, is running the game from a hard drive. Which, while an option. for those who tend to use their switch in portable mode or half and half (aka 50% tv, and 50% portable mode) then really it's a hindrance or quite useless. And also makes the switch whole concept of, well, switching, pointless.
If you fall under the really strict camp of "never taking switch out of the dock" and also owning SXOS. then yeah, the xci for the time, strictly for sxos's feature of xci loading from a hardrive. Is better.

This is basically the two arguments you had between two different people (I didn't make a mistake with the summery did I?)
 

Imancol

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I love all 420 of my xci's on my 2tb hdd.
I never have to worry about switching sd cards which also means shutting down the system all the way = Hassle.
I can install any xci on my hdd = positive perk.
I am like an old man (Wait I am old man) with his set way, so whatever your opinion on this subject, doesn't even matter to me.
I thought I would toss in my 2 cents!
Epic Piracy
 
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jajamundo

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The time it takes to install an NSP is comparable to the time it takes to copy and paste an XCI.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------


I'm not arguing with you; I'm pointing out irrelevancies.

If you want to argue instead that the benefit of an HDD is that it holds more space than a microSD card for the same price, I already said I agree with you. It potentially removes portability, so many people wouldn't do it. If a person wants to use an HDD and it's worth the price, great, but most people don't care.

Ok I’m not agreeing with you! First the time that takes copy and paste an XCI to my HDD is not the time it takes to install a NSP, for a lot. Maybe is the exact time it takes to copy and paste the NSP to the SD card before you install the game. And if you wanna install using a usb then you need to copy and paste the NSP too.

Second, a 2TB HDD cost like $80, and a 500GB SD Card cost like $80. If you told where to buy a 1TB SD card and half the price of a HDD please let me know
 

Lacius

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I see what @Lacius is getting at.

Sx os AFAIK doesn't do any checking afaik, and also of course has sign patches. Which means the xci loader is likely unsafe, if I had to guess. (since why at run time would you check the xci? Given the fact that xci's can be mashed with updates and dlc. It's not super far fetched of the "possibility" (likely exists somewhere) of someone maliciously injecting code into a xci)
while with a nsp, it's still possible but, afaik, most installers do check, and will not allowed unsigned nsps unless you change your configuration. Which for a unsigned nsp to exist, it has to be modded/unsigned. This gives the user a chance to prevent malicious software from being run since most, if not all installers will prevent the installation.
End of story regarding security
regarding format vs format it's .3ds 2.0
For the most part, in nearly every circumstance (unless... your using gateway still... jeez) you would install a .cia, or convert the .3ds to a cia.
with xci's it's the same story. For the open source custom firmware and homebrew, we use .nsp, and afaik there are tools to convert .xci to .nsp
and the downsides of the .nsp format have disappeared. aka the "double install" or where you have to put the game on the microsd card, and install the game. With goldleaf now existing and allowing a direct install. that really isn't as much of an issue. Also tinfoil exists so... Not going to say more about that. Which really kinda makes "xci being faster to play" not matter as much.
the only advantage of xci at the time, is running the game from a hard drive. Which, while an option. for those who tend to use their switch in portable mode or half and half (aka 50% tv, and 50% portable mode) then really it's a hindrance or quite useless. And also makes the switch whole concept of, well, switching, pointless.
If you fall under the really strict camp of "never taking switch out of the dock" and also owning SXOS. then yeah, the xci for the time, strictly for sxos's feature of xci loading from a hardrive. Is better.

This is basically the two arguments you had between two different people (I didn't make a mistake with the summery did I?)
Yeah, this is all pretty accurate. For these reasons, most people don't care about XCI loading, which is one of the main reasons it's probably not going to land on open source CFW anytime soon. If HDD loading matters that much to a person, he or she can buy SX OS.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Ok I’m not agreeing with you! First the time that takes copy and paste an XCI to my HDD is not the time it takes to install a NSP, for a lot. Maybe is the exact time it takes to copy and paste the NSP to the SD card before you install the game. And if you wanna install using a usb then you need to copy and paste the NSP too.

Second, a 2TB HDD cost like $80, and a 500GB SD Card cost like $80. If you told where to buy a 1TB SD card and half the price of a HDD please let me know
Uh, it sounds like you're pasting an NSP to the SD card and then installing the NSP from the SD card. That's not how you should do it. If you install an NSP on the computer over a USB connection, the time is comparable to pasting it from the computer to the HDD.

I already agreed that storage space is cheaper when it's not SD, but that requires sacrificing some portability.
 
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Ok I’m not agreeing with you! First the time that takes copy and paste an XCI to my HDD is not the time it takes to install a NSP, for a lot. Maybe is the exact time it takes to copy and paste the NSP to the SD card before you install the game. And if you wanna install using a usb then you need to copy and paste the NSP too.

Second, a 2TB HDD cost like $80, and a 500GB SD Card cost like $80. If you told where to buy a 1TB SD card and half the price of a HDD please let me know
why... what?
Okay I highlighted my confusion in bold. where and why the hell are you copying and pasting the nsp when doing a nsp install? You just (legally obtain) a nsp. and then use goldleaf to install it. which... is a direct install, not copying it to the switch and then install... for usb specifically
 
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peteruk

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I woke up, had a pee, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, came downstairs, took all my meds with a glass or fresh orange juice.

Fired up my laptop to check in on my favorite websites, I notice 3 new pages on the "when will a free xci backup loader be released" thread and my heart starts beating a little faster from the excitement.

I enter the thread and well, it's erm 3 pages of bickering - have a great day all :)
 
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