ROM Hack [Tutorial] Easy 3DS Game Modding with Luma

[Nulla]

There is a LOT of confusion around modding 3DS games. With many people thinking you need special launchers, or something like SaltySD, and some people still thinking you need to patch entire .cia files and re-install games completely. With Luma it doesn't actually have to be hard, I want to make this tutorial because I feel like the 3DS modding community is not as alive as it should be because people think simply model-swapping is a high floor or entry. This can be helpful for not only people who want to mod games, but also mod developers as well!
Step 1.)
Create the following folder on your SD Card "D:\luma\titles\[TITLEID]\romfs

Step 2.) Extract the mod you want for your game into this folder. Sometimes mods will not come with full paths so your mileage will vary. CTGP-7 comes with the full proper paths and filenames under CTGP-7.zip\files\CTGP-7romfs so extract those there

Step 3.) Insert SD Card back into 3DS, press SELECT while powering up console, and select Enable Game Patching from the Luma Config Menu. then press START to save.

And we're done! No more needing to deal with SaltySD incompatibilities or dubiously legal whole ROM patching! Modding can be as easy as model-swapping.

Remember that your TitleID will vary based on your region. And the actual games directory structure will vary depending on the game. If you're coming off of SaltySD this should be easy for you.

I honestly hope this was helpful to many people. This was my first tutorial here

 

[PabloMK7]

Your are wrong in several things. First of all, CTGP-7 comes with its own loader for a reason, there are some features linked to the plugin, you can't just grab the rom files and use luma romfs loader.
Secondly, SaltySD is still needed for games like Smash as all the game files are compressed inside another file in the romfs. Appart for those cases, everything is fine for other games/mods.

 

[Toady231]

@PabloMK7 (drops mic...)

@Nulla nice try though.

 

[mike087]

Its necesary to put all romfs's files? or just the modded ones?. Let say if i only modify one file inside romfs folder, i just need to put that file inside luma\titles\titleid\romfs?

 

[modal]

@Nulla
does the folder name have to be the titleid?

 

[Sonico415797]

I know i'm commenting on a old post, i made a folder in luma/titles that is named 0004000000032D00 (SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 3D EDITION). I tried patching the voices to Japanese but it just doesn't work.

 

[Cdiddy1122]

I know i'm commenting on a old post, i made a folder in luma/titles that is named 0004000000032D00 (SUPER STREET FIGHTER IV 3D EDITION). I tried patching the voices to Japanese but it just doesn't work.

What is the file type of the patch?

 

[Sonico415797]

What is the file type of the patch?

.arc

 

[maxtes252]

Does this work with games on cartridges?

 

[Sonico415797]

not sure

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

i just want to find a way to open capcom's cursed arc files in ssfiv 3d

 

[S-Mania]

I know this is a very old post, but just had a quick question. Can you uninstall the mods after if you no longer want to play with them? If so, how? And will this work with multiple regions of the same game? Say digital versions of multiple reasons or a physical and digital version with the same region. I haven't trier it myself yet, as I'm still waiting for my 3DS to come back from repairs, so I'm not sure if it works. But I'd love to be able to mod the Yo-kai Watch games if I could, when my 3DS returns

 

[ClipperDefiance]

I know this is a very old post, but just had a quick question. Can you uninstall the mods after if you no longer want to play with them? If so, how? And will this work with multiple regions of the same game? Say digital versions of multiple reasons or a physical and digital version with the same region. I haven't trier it myself yet, as I'm still waiting for my 3DS to come back from repairs, so I'm not sure if it works. But I'd love to be able to mod the Yo-kai Watch games if I could, when my 3DS returns

Removing the mods is as simple as just deleting the folder with the game's Title ID.

You can have separate mods for the same game as long as they have a different TitleID. So, for example you could have separate mods on the North American version and the European version, but not for a digital and physical copy from the same region.

 

[charb]

sorry if this is a silly question but i cant find any answers for it ^^; do you need the original game already downloaded before patching? i assume the answer is yes..... but the romhack file i want to use is like almost as big as the base game........ so i cant fit it on my sd card T_T

im more used to patching roms on desktop using ips but idk how i use just do that and then put it on my 3ds bc of how the file is set up......idm abt having to uninstall anything

EDIT: one of the romhacks i want is just kinda....... on the homebrew store? would that be safe to download?

 

[ClipperDefiance]

You need the original game. There's no way around that

For your second question I'm going to assume you're referring to CTGP-7. Universal Updater is a safe source for that.