To help you determine which version of the game update you need to install, the ROM Information section in the randomizer will display the game's version if a game update is loaded. If you create a LayeredFS directory using a particular version of the game, you MUST have that same version of the game installed in Citra or on your 3DS! Ignoring this advice can lead to negative consequences, including the randomization simply not working or the game outright crashing upon booting up.This is a technical limitation based on how 3DS game updates work. When a game update is loaded, the randomizer can only output your randomized game as a LayeredFS directory.There are two important things to keep in mind when using game updates with the randomizer: If you want to stop using a game update, simply select "Unload Game Update". When you load a game update for the first time, the randomizer will remember the location of that update and automatically load it every time you load its associated game. For the 3DS games, these updates are almost exclusively bug fixes, but some bugs are either game-breaking or can negatively affect randomization. Loading a game update will allow you to create a randomized version of the game with that update applied. The "Load Game Update" option loads a game update (in CIA format) into the randomizer. When a 3DS game is loaded in the randomizer, the Settings submenu will have new options to let you load a game update into the randomizer or unload a game update if one is currently loaded: A LayeredFS directory is significantly smaller than an equivalent CXI, and it can be used to run your randomized game both on an emulator and on a real 3DS with CFW.
You can think of it as a directory full of "patches" to the original game. The alternative is to create a LayeredFS directory this is a directory that only contains the files necessary to randomize the game. However, this file is quite large (it ranges from 1.67 GB for X/Y to 3.45 GB for Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon), so it can take a while to generate and can be difficult to share with others. The "CXI" option will output the game as a single CXI file this file contains all the information necessary to run the game in an emulator.
If you click on the "Randomize (Save)" button when you've loaded a 3DS game, you'll see the following dialog: None of these extras are strictly necessary for running a game, however.Ĭhanges to saving a ROM when working with 3DS games
Both CCIs and CIAs contain a CXI for a game, along with other things like the game manual and system updates. You can consider this the "bare minimum" file format, as it contains only what is necessary to execute a program and nothing more.
This is a dump of a game from a cartridge. So long as your game is decrypted, Universal Pokemon Randomizer ZX can work with all of these!
These are the primary formats that you'll see for 3DS games. Depending on whether you own your games physically or digitally, you can follow the following guides from the Citra wiki to dump your games: If you have a 3DS running custom firmware (CFW), you can dump your Pokemon games and game updates yourself for use with the randomizer.
This page will explain the various 3DS file formats, how to use game updates, and how to randomize your games for use on both emulator and real hardware. However, 3DS games are quite different from games on older Nintendo systems they can come in a variety of different formats, and they can be updated with downloadable patches. With v4.0, Universal Pokemon Randomizer ZX now supports randomizing all the mainline Pokemon games on the 3DS.