Hacking Question XCI Explained

[tinkle]

Just purchased SX SO to use usb loader. Any suggestion as I wait for activation code? I currently have NSP files.

My 2¢
Overall any external loading would be great whether its xci or NSP for any cfw other than SX SO. It's a step well needed for the cfw scene. I bet SX SO loader is not perfect but due to the lack of competition it's ahead.

Get XCI versions of your games, and then slipstream your updates and DLC into each games XCI file. It's so lovely.

 

[Picalo]

Get XCI versions of your games, and then slipstream your updates and DLC into each games XCI file. It's so lovely.

What is slipstream? will I be able to create a new xci with update+DLC?

once I have the xci files can i use the DLC/Update nsp or do they have xci DLC/Update?

can you point me in the right direction of the slipstreamed. thank you

 

[thaikhoa]

What is slipstream? will I be able to create a new xci with update+DLC?

once I have the xci files can i use the DLC/Update nsp or do they have xci DLC/Update?

can you point me in the right direction of the slipstreamed. thank you

It's custom XCI (game12345678 + updates + dlcs)

Install custom XCI using album sx installer. You will get custom nsp all in one without leaving any tickets to the system.

 

[Picalo]

what program can I use to create a custom xci?
I have looked for slipstream but cant find it, sorry noob.

 

[tinkle]

https://gbatemp.net/threads/nsc_bui...lder-game-updates-dlc-in-a-single-xci.522486/
NSC Builder is the trick. Now the point here is to "complete" your XCI's, so they include the Update and the DLCs all in one. You can then install those if you like, but you could also use SXOS directly to mount this completed XCI and play directly from Internal, MicroSD, or USB, without installing anything at all.

 

[gizmomelb]

Going into the gallery app to select a game and going back to the home screen to launch it is a worse experience than the NSP experience. Sorry that you disagree, but your opinion sucks and appears to be wrong on several levels. The time it takes to copy a game to a storage medium is the same time taken to install the NSP to the console via USB install.

It's trivial to write an XCI loader. There is just zero desire for one by any of the countless people capable of writing one.

no @blahblah you cannot see any other view other than your own.. there are LOTS of people who want USB, though you ridiculed it for the past 9 months.. but guess what? free CFW is getting USB HDD support and suddenly a lot of freeware CFW users are excited about it.

The same is said for XCI support - which pretty much comes into it's prime with USB HDD support as well (pointless to fill an SD card with XCI.. NSP is the better choice for large SD cards).. so more freeware CFW users are interested in XCI support as well once USB HDD support is implemented.

 

[blahblah]

no @blahblah you cannot see any other view other than your own.. there are LOTS of people who want USB, though you ridiculed it for the past 9 months.. but guess what? free CFW is getting USB HDD support and suddenly a lot of freeware CFW users are excited about it.

The same is said for XCI support - which pretty much comes into it's prime with USB HDD support as well (pointless to fill an SD card with XCI.. NSP is the better choice for large SD cards).. so more freeware CFW users are interested in XCI support as well once USB HDD support is implemented.

Again, you are wrong. No, there are not 'lots' of people that want USB. It's a weird view. The Switch is a portable console. External hard drives break that. I also do not see lots of free CFW users excited for it.

Nope, there are not lots of people that want XCI support. I've gone over why many times.

 

[tinkle]

The Switch is a portable console

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Duo-Plus-256GB-MUF-256DB/dp/B07DW33DNN
You seem to be completely oblivious to the advancement of technology.
(inb4 some kind of reach response like 'u must be so embarrassed 2 use a usb')

 

[DocKlokMan]

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Duo-Plus-256GB-MUF-256DB/dp/B07DW33DNN
You seem to be completely oblivious to the advancement of technology.
(inb4 some kind of reach response like 'u must be so embarrassed 2 use a usb')

You can get 256GB SD cards though. I would rather use this U adapter and mount a small HDD on the back of the Switch or something.

 

[linuxares]

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Duo-Plus-256GB-MUF-256DB/dp/B07DW33DNN
You seem to be completely oblivious to the advancement of technology.
(inb4 some kind of reach response like 'u must be so embarrassed 2 use a usb')

I only paid 20€ more and got a 400gb sdcard. Twice! On two different times. A USB is a hassle to take with, a SD-Card, not so much.

 

[Picalo]

Hey blahblah i see your point but I am one of those that would love to have USB support. I would say take a pole to see what the people want?

Overall just having the option is great. Think about it, you can use a usb HD in dock mode and use a microsd on the go. I have seen small hd mount for the switch.

 

[tinkle]

I only paid 20€ more and got a 400gb sdcard. Twice! On two different times. A USB is a hassle to take with, a SD-Card, not so much.

You (and @AnalogMan too) forget this: I can use MicroSD and USB. And can switch multiple USB drives without rebooting. ie, anything you can do, I can do better.

And please, remember things like "it's a hassle" are purely subjective.

 

[linuxares]

I can do that and more, just saying. I too got SX OS

 

[RednaxelaNnamtra]

You should be doing USB install, not copying to SD.

Converting an XCI to an NSP is a trivial, impossibly simple task that takes maybe 2 minutes of waiting, followed by a normal USB install.

Yeah, online play is a valid argument, but that's a great way to get banned. The difference in experience quality is that one way (NSP) is the official way to launch games, whereas the other is a weird pirate hack menu thing.

Playing my gamecard dumps online is the only thing forcing me to keep using sxos, while I would very much prefer to use Atmosphere.
Also I'm online with my backups since shortly after sxos added support for gamecard certificates, still not banned, but prepared to maybe be some day.

 

[Rafaqat]

+1 on someone else who's tried both nsp and xci and is starting to lean towards xci. The install is faster. You can bundle up updates and dlc into one XCI. Uninstall is faster and cleaner.
But oh noes I have to go into the album app to mount a game. What a killer.

I suspect at some point we'll have a dedicated app on the homescreen rather than have to use an existing app. Maybe at some point we'll also have a way to get NSP's to load over USB HDD but right now I can have my XCI's on an SD card and should I choose to load some off a USB HDD I can. Hands down for me the better option. I still have an open mind about using nsp's if I really need to.

It's a shame blahblah is so far along he can't understand that some people just have a different set of use case needs from him. Sat there counting the number of people are using each file format to keep score. Sounds like a great way to spend your time

 

[gizmomelb]

Playing my gamecard dumps online is the only thing forcing me to keep using sxos, while I would very much prefer to use Atmosphere.
Also I'm online with my backups since shortly after sxos added support for gamecard certificates, still not banned, but prepared to maybe be some day.

mate.. since SD cards are so cheap - just buy a second SD card and install atmosphere on it and enjoy the best of both worlds.. mind you, you can also have both atmos and SXOS on the same card, just choose which payload to load and away you go.

 

[RednaxelaNnamtra]

mate.. since SD cards are so cheap - just buy a second SD card and install atmosphere on it and enjoy the best of both worlds.. mind you, you can also have both atmos and SXOS on the same card, just choose which payload to load and away you go.

I have both on my SD, but until recently it was much more annoying to switch between cfws, because I needed to inject them every time I wanted to switch, now I can just use reboot to homebrews to switch the cfw. But I since I play my games most of the time, I'm still mostly on sxos.
Also it's not only because of features that I would prefer to have an open source xci loader and not use sxos, it's also because I know what is in atmosphere and I'm able to build it myself, because it's open source.
As a developer myself I also really don't like that they are not giving crediting any credits for atmosphere code they are using, but they are the only ones allowing me to use legit backups of my game cards, so atm I'm still stuck with them.

 

[gizmomelb]

I only paid 20€ more and got a 400gb sdcard. Twice! On two different times. A USB is a hassle to take with, a SD-Card, not so much.

large SD cards are good for variety of games while on the train, in the car etc. I took a 4TB USB HDD withme on a 2 week cruise and it was loaded with tv episodes, movies, music and games... different circumstances, different uses. Good prices on the 400GB cards btw. Still ridiculously expensive here in Australia, or even ordering from Amazon US.

 

[wizra]

what makes XCI special over NSP, and how is it possible to load the file rather than installing it.

Think of XCI as ISO
And NSP as EXE

The game versions are still 1:1. XCI comes with padding (fake data) since it’s a raw image of the cartridge.

Only SXOS can load XCI (it can also now install them)
All custom firmware can install NSP

ReiNX and Atmosphere need converters and sigpatches. I personally prefer SXOS because it’s the most feature rich option, but it costs a bit of money.

 

[Rafaqat]

Think of XCI as ISO
And NSP as EXE

The game versions are still 1:1. XCI comes with padding (fake data) since it’s a raw image of the cartridge.

Only SXOS can load XCI (it can also now install them)
All custom firmware can install NSP

ReiNX and Atmosphere need converters and sigpatches. I personally prefer SXOS because it’s the most feature rich option, but it costs a bit of money.

What does it mean to install an XCI though? I've seen the option but not tried it.