ROM Hack How To Upload Custom Pattern Designs on ACNH WITHOUT Nintendo Online!

[HinaNaru Cutie]

You have to copy everything for one design except the name, town, and creator data since that data is different in New Horizons compared to New Leaf. Then I simply overwrote the design data of one of the default pro designs with the data from the .acnl file making sure to only write data where the design is and not the name, island, and creator data. Then I simply go to where the utf-16 text is in the hex editor for the name, island, and creator and change the name of it to the name of the design being imported but keeping it the same island name and changing it from "someone" to my own name that way the design can still be edited in game. It is important to make the design editable in game because of the way you're importing from a New Leaf clothes design into a New Horizons pro design so you can correct the way the design is laid out over the clothes and fix the color palette by switching to a color palette that is as close as possible to the color palette of the original design and then you have to make corrections to the color palette by hand and comparing with your own eyes. This is definitely the pain in the ass method. I have had success so far for a few pro designs but it takes a while and a lot of patience. It's either this method that takes a long time - due to all the hex editing and frankensteining data so it's recognizable by the game as a design in the save data and all the in game corrections that have to be made - or waiting for all these devs to finish adding pro design support after all the other features they are pushing out first. This is obviously not as easy as using some tool and requires some understanding of hex editing save data and figuring out how the game will recognize it so it doesn't import a design wrong. Keep in mind also this is exclusively New Leaf to New Horizons importing as anything made in New Horizons and shared online is going through Nintendo's Online system and isn't as easy to transfer to a console that doesn't have Nintendo Switch Online. We'd have to get a daring person with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription who has received all sorts of cool patterns to willingly put their Online subscription at risk by modding their console potentially sending out telemetry just to dump their save with all the pro designs from people online for those that don't have the Online subscription or have a banned console. I heard a rumor that getting cloud saves from a non modded console to a modded console might be possible but that still requires more research.

Apology for responding late to this, but you mean like copy it like this;

oh my th-that would be a very stupid thing to do xD not worth it for the person to lose their system being banned not unless they do not care at all. anyway thank you for telling me this..i mean i am copying the junko outfit from happy home designer ^^;; so i believe that maybe the problem here....sigh cause it won't load onto the game or show at all. but yes waiting for the people to import the pro designs is gonna take a while x.x"...sigh that's why i wanna do it this way which of course is gonna be a possible pain in the ass.

 

[HinaNaru Cutie]

THIS CURRENTLY DOES NOT WORK ON 1.1.1 HORIZONCRYPT IS NOT UPDATED TO RE-ENCRYPT THOSE SAVE FILES!!!
https://github.com/Cuyler36/HorizonCrypt

Please be aware that a save editor is in the works that will specifically have functionality todo this in a GUI! I am just putting this info out here for people who are impatient (like me).

I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU BREAK YOUR SAVE FILE! MAKE BACKUPS...

Step 1) Backup your save files using JKSV

WARNING: MAKE SURE YOU BACK UP YOUR SAVE FILES BECAUSE IF THE HEX EDITING IS DONE WRONG (chances are very likely will the first time) YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO RESTORE TO THE ORIGINAL, SO MAKE SURE TO BACK IT UP SOMEWHERE SAFE!!!

Step 2) You are going to need to decrypt your save files using HorizonCrypt. I recommend putting all your saves in one folder then decompiling the entire folder. Make sure to use command line to decrypt the saves

 HorizonCrypt.exe -b -d <Folder with Save>

Step 3) Now that the files are decrypted we can begin swapping the images! This is also going to be the harder part of this tutorial.
We are going to need to go into the decrypted folder and open main.dat in a hex editor (any hex editor will do i'm using HxD). Once the main.dat is open in the hex editor we have to goto line 001D7200 for that is where the designs are stored.

Step 4) Download your favorite .ACNL pattern design from a storage website like acpatterns.com

Step 5) open your main.dat and your desired pattern in your hex editor. This involves trial and error, you are basically trying to replace the hex of a existing pattern with the hex of the custom pattern. It's very tricky and most times it's not going to work unless you start getting a good feel of it. In this example i'm going to be replacing a blank pallet.

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/v6NkgY1

Step 6) Re-encrypt your entire save folder by typing:

 HorizonCrypt.exe -b -c "<original folder name> Decrypted"

Step 7) This is the helpful part of HorizonCrypt, if you made a mistake in your hex editing it will tell you... by not telling you! Here is the picture example of a successful encryption:

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/nk65NP0

This is what a unsuccessful encryption looks like:

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/4jaSoxH

Step 8) Now, place the files inside the new encrypted folder into your sdroot/JKSV/Animal Crossing New Horizons directory of your switch (using a FTP client is helpful) then go back to the JKSV app and restore the newly edited save file!

Step 9: Profit) Now you should be able to successfully boot up your game aswell as see your new pattern design!

Spoiler

https://imgur.com/gallery/DpQ7BIS

Now you just have to edit the colors and you won, you beat nintendo's ban/avoided paying for online services. Congrats, Nintendo's bashing their head against a wall right now!

Ummm..i'm getting this error e.e;; can someone please help me out here...

I..I think it was because i uploaded the qr codes all in one bunch?? like the person uploaded the qr codes in one image =O so i went off on paint 3d and edited by separating each qr code. For i can scan each one correctly -haven't tested out if it will work..but yeah. No i didn't change the name of the pro design at all..because i am just fine on how it looks like -well on the acnpatterns xD. yes the design is from a a japanese user...i'm assuming it's possibly a bit harder for it to read japanese qr codes??

edit; i tried with a normal qr code of a sweater and instead of it coming out like this -the pattern is on backwords O_O...i don't know why??? and the colors aren't correctly on and yes i am putting it on the 'pro design' slots on my main.dat file. i do have pro design.

 

[supermariorick]

Ummm..i'm getting this error e.e;; can someone please help me out here...

I..I think it was because i uploaded the qr codes all in one bunch?? like the person uploaded the qr codes in one image =O so i went off on paint 3d and edited by separating each qr code. For i can scan each one correctly -haven't tested out if it will work..but yeah. No i didn't change the name of the pro design at all..because i am just fine on how it looks like -well on the acnpatterns xD. yes the design is from a a japanese user...i'm assuming it's possibly a bit harder for it to read japanese qr codes??

edit; i tried with a normal qr code of a sweater and instead of it coming out like this -the pattern is on backwords O_O...i don't know why??? and the colors aren't correctly on and yes i am putting it on the 'pro design' slots on my main.dat file. i do have pro design.

Well I don't know how to help with the Japanese QR codes. However, for importing the pro design slots in your main.dat file yes it's supposed to be on it backwards since an ACNL design and an ACNH design are going to be slightly different. You can fix this in game by making sure the design you imported from New Leaf by hex editing also has your name as the creator for it, the name of your island, and the name of the pattern you are importing. Then since it has your name as creator it can be edited in game and you can correct the design from being backwards by swapping the parts of the design so they are no longer on backwards and then fixing the colors individually to match. I do believe I gave instructions in my post about this. This is why it might be better to wait for the ACNH Pattern editor tool to support importing Pro Designs from New Leaf since importing with the hex editor will come out not converted and you have to make the corrections yourself.

 

[HinaNaru Cutie]

Well I don't know how to help with the Japanese QR codes. However, for importing the pro design slots in your main.dat file yes it's supposed to be on it backwards since an ACNL design and an ACNH design are going to be slightly different. You can fix this in game by making sure the design you imported from New Leaf by hex editing also has your name as the creator for it, the name of your island, and the name of the pattern you are importing. Then since it has your name as creator it can be edited in game and you can correct the design from being backwards by swapping the parts of the design so they are no longer on backwards and then fixing the colors individually to match. I do believe I gave instructions in my post about this. This is why it might be better to wait for the ACNH Pattern editor tool to support importing Pro Designs from New Leaf since importing with the hex editor will come out not converted and you have to make the corrections yourself.

Ah, that makes much sense. Yeah it's just best to wait for it x.x" cause doing this manually is just gonna take like hours, every each time i import a design. Not worth it when i have trouble putting dots on the game due to my eye sight with certain colors.