[Guide] EOU Highlander/Gunner in Classic + Portrait mods

You have some EO itch while waiting for EOX and want to start a run of EOU in Classic while having access to the previously Story-locked classes AND without having to reclass and lose on their base stats? Well, this guide is for you!

Watch out, there will be heavy use of paranthesis to give more details without having to rewrite every sentence to include everything.

Requirements:

- boot9strap CFW + Luma 3DS (latest version is recommended for both). You should already have both of these.
- GodMode9 (https://github.com/d0k3/GodMode9/releases - go to main page for installation instructions)
- JK's Save Manager (https://dl.dropbox.com/s/9bl56qpwx949kah/JKSM.cia)
- A hex editor of your choice. I recommend HxD (https://mh-nexus.de/en/hxd/).
- Kuriimu (https://github.com/IcySon55/Kuriimu/releases)
- Enough free space to install the game twice.


========================================================= PRELIMINARY STUFF =========================================================

Before you begin, make sure to initialize a save file in EOU and recruit at least one party member (two if you want both a Highlander and a Gunner). Because why not, we'll recruit two Landsknecht; one that uses the second portrait and another one that uses the third portrait (first guy is ugly af).

Skip through all the dialog and save the game.

========================================================= SAVE EDITING ==============================================================

Open JKSM and extract your save file. If you don't know how, go to SD/CIA (or Cartridge if you're using a physical copy), find the game, choose Save Data Options > Export Save, select New and give the save folder a name. It will extract in 5 seconds if you have an o3DS.

Put your SD card in your computer and look for the save files (JKSV/Saves/Etrian_Odyssey_Untold/[Folder name]). Now, you'll see 5 .sav files, the only one that matters is mor1rgame.sav. Make a backup in case something goes wrong.

Open that file in a hex editor. Here we need to look (hint: CTRL + F > Datatype: Hex-Values) for our Landy(s). Now, the bytes we need to find might vary depending on whether you are starting a fresh save file in Classic, or if you used NG+ and kept the level cap (can you choose that? I honestly forgot). For fresh files, the string of bytes might look like this:

02 01 46 03 00 00 FF FF

If it's a NG+ with level caps unlocked, it'll look like this:

02 01 63 03 00 00 FF FF

Now, what do these bytes mean?

02 = portrait number. This is locked into their classes, unfortunately.
01 = Current level. Even if you try to cheat here, the stats won't update. Whoops!
46, 50, 5A or 63 = Level cap. These are the only possible 'legit' values, but of course, you can use completely arbitrary values and it'll work. For example, I could set it as 0B which is a level cap of 11. I don't recommend messing around with 64+ values however.
03 = Current SP. Don't cheat pls.
00 = Bonus SP from retiring. Might also affect stat bonuses.
00 = Class. Very important! Will give a list of classes later for documentation purposes.
FF = Null byte?
FF = Original class. This only changes if you reclass.

... anyway! What we're here for is to change the class and portrait. Highlander class value is 09, while Gunner is 0A. Here's a list for all the possible values, if you're curious.

00 = Landsknecht
01 = Survivalist
02 = Protector
03 = Dark Hunter
04 = Medic
05 = Alchemist
06 = Troubadour
07 = Ronin
08 = Hexer
09 = Highlander
0A = Gunner
0B-FF = Invalid. Crashes the game.

So now we have to change the portrait. For simplicity's sake, we'll use 00 for Highlander and 01 for Gunner.

Now, if you import your save file(s) after this, you'll notice that the character(s) you edited changed its(their) class to Highlander/Gunner AND it(they) will have an Imperial portrait from EO4. We're 1/3 done! Also, if you're curious, these are the unused portrait values:

00-07 = Imperials
08 = Wufan
09 = That huge Bushi guy
0A = Logre
0B = Logre (exact same as 0A)
0C = Dancer girl
0D = ForTrap
0E = Prince guy (yes, the boss)
0F = ImPEACHrial (clone of 07)

Pretty cool stuff. Sorry for not naming the EO4 characters; it's been a while since I played it and I forgot their names.
Fun fact: These unused portrait numbers suggest that during development, they planned to include Gunner and Highlander as full classes to be used in Classic mode (and they'd have alternative colors, too), but they canned the idea!

===================================================== DUMPING THE GAME'S CONTENT ====================================================

Now comes the more 'complicated' part, mostly because you have to do a number of things before you can actually start editing and replacing stuff. This will also take a long time because it requires you to dump the contents of your ROM, and in an o3DS it takes up to 15 minutes (!), not to mention you ALSO have to dump the contents of that dump in your computer as well, and if you don't have an SSD, it'll take around 7 minutes in a 7200 RPM (aka standard) HDD.

Anyway, let's start. Boot into GodMode9. If you have the game in digital format (legal or not), go to [A:] SYSNAND SD > TITLE > 00040000 > 000EC700 (0010EB00 if you have the EU version) > CONTENT. Highlight 00000000.APP and press A. A few options should appear on the bottom screen, choose the first option (NCCH image options...). Now choose the option called 'Mount image to drive'. This will give us access to the game's internal files, kind of. What we're here for is the 'romfs' folder, so highlight it and press Y, this copies the folder into the clipboard. Now press B to return to the main menu, in here we go to [0:] SDCARD > GM9 (if you don't have the folder, you might want to create it) > OUT (same for this), now press Y again to paste the romfs folder. Now, technically you can paste the folder anywhere in your SD card, but this folder is usually the one the tool automatically uses when you dump files, so might as well use it!

Now, if you have a physical game (don't worry, we won't be messing around with the cartridge's internal files, you'll see), the process is slightly different. Go to [C:] GAMECART and highlight the .3ds file and press A. Select the option 'NCSD image options...' on the touch screen, now select 'Mount image to drive'. Go inside the folder 'content0.game', then highlight 'romfs' and do the copying process I explained earlier.

After taking a cryogenic 1000 year nap like Ricky, the process should be (almost) complete, unless you use a n3DS of course. Put your SD card into your computer, navigate to the folder where you copied the game's files, and place it somewhere safe. Delete it from your SD card too, as we won't need the packed files.

Now it's time to dump the files AGAIN, to finally have access to everything. Open Karameru (it comes with Kuriimu) and drag the 'MORI1R.HPI' file on it. Now, right-click the top item in the directory tree (MORI1R.HPI), then select Extract 'MORI1R_HPI...'. Choose where to extract the files, but make sure it isn't the same folder where the .hpi file is located. THIS IS IMPORTANT! The tool will attempt to extract important files as well as the folders that are already in the dump you did with GodMode9 (so EManual, Mobiclip, SaveData and Snd) BUT IT WILL CORRUPT THEM. Save yourself the headaches of having to examine the crash dump files a bunch of times until you figure out what happened.

With this we should finally have all the decrypted files, ready to be edited to your heart's content!

========================================================= PORTRAIT EDITING ==========================================================

At last, we can start editing the game's portraits because I really doubt you want to use a Highlander or Gunner with Imperial or EO4 story portraits. If you do, then what are you doing reading all the way here?

Go inside the folder where you dumped the contents of the .hpi file, and look for the STEX folder. This is the only one we'll edit the contents of. As you guessed, this is where all the game's image files are stored, although you can't see the images with Windows, as they're .stex files. To view (and edit) them, use Kukki. I recommend associating the file extension with the program so you can view them with a double-click.

Okay, so you might be a bit lost here because there are a bunch of folders inside of other folders. To make it quick, I'm going to tell you where you need to go if you want to change the portraits only.

BATTLE > CHARADATA: contains the images you see in battle (what a surprise, huh?). In case you want to import your own images, they need to be 512x256 PNG images with transparency, and the image must be aligned like in the original .stex files (center-right) unless you don't mind them getting cut by the battle menu, or the screen itself.

CAMP > CHARA_CAM: the files that start with IG_CUS correspond to the little icons that appear in the top of the Custom screen, where you distribute your Skill Points. These images need to be 128x32 PNG images. Transparency is optional because only a small part of it will show in-game. The position of the pic must be in the top-left corner.

IN THE SAME FOLDER you'll also find files that start with IG_STA that are somewhat easy to miss. These are the full image of your characters and they show up in the Status screen as well as the Custom screen. They need to be 256x256 PNG images with transparency. Placement of the image itself doesn't matter, as they're the only images that fully show up.

RESULT > CHARDATA: these are the little images that show up in the battle result screen. These also have to be 128x32 PNG images with optional transparency, with the image placed at the top-left corner.

Optional:
CHARAMAKE > CHARA: as the name suggests, these show up in the character maker. For this guide you don't need to edit these, as you cannot recruit Highlander and Gunners naturally, but if you're making custom portraits for the available classes, you might want to edit these as well. They're really freaking weird; they need to be 256x256 PNG images with some transparency. The image placement... well, take a look yourself. See what I mean?

Anyway. We need to replace some of the unused portraits with our own for Highlander/Gunner, so we have to look for the files that are called IG_X_CHA10_0X. The Xs are variables, of course. Now, remember the portrait byte of the character in the save file? This is where we'll know what to replace/edit. Convert that byte number to decimal, and find the .stex file that corresponds to it. In this case, it'd be IG_X_CHA10_01 and IG_X_CHA10_02.

Now, you can open the files in Kukki and import an image into it, then save the file, or we can take other .stex files from other EO games to replace the original file with. I'll use Shiitake from EO2U to replace IG_X_CHA10_01, which, interestingly, is inside the game's files and NOT inside the DLC! The class itself might also be in the game so the DLC only makes it available in the character maker, but I haven't digged far enough to prove this. Whatever, she's IG_X_CHA13_02, in case you want to look inside EO2U using the same method to dump everything. For IG_X_CHA10_02 I'll use Ainsley Harriott.

If you want to import your own portraits (for your own hentai mod or whatever suits you) just press CTRL + I in Kukki while having the .stex file you want to edit open, select your image and you're done. Now save it.

After you're done replacing and/or importing everything, you need to go back to the original folder that GodMode9 dumped for you. Now, take all the files AND folders from there (excluding MORI1R.HPB and MORI1R.HPI) and move them to the folder that Karameru extracted from the .hpi file. Replace everything when prompted.

WE'RE ALMOST DONE. Now, see that BuildMode text file? Well, open it. It should say MORI1R_PACKED. Delete the text so that the file is empty. This is to prevent the game from loading backups of the internal files.

Now, go to your SD card and navigate to the Luma folder. Create a folder named Titles, then inside it, create a folder named 00040000000EC700 (000400000010EB00 for EU). Inside there, create a folder named RomFS and place ever single thing from the folder we were working in. Again, it'll take a while to transfer the whole thing, so be patient.

After it's done, put your SD card back into your 3DS. Before turning it on, make sure to hold Select while you press the power button, this will open Luma's configuration. Enable game patching and press Start to boot.

Go inside the game, go to the Explorer's Guild and rest your Highlander and/or Gunner so that they load their base stats and we're done! We have custom portraits and the classes that were previously locked into Story mode! Oh yeah, and the voices aren't loaded into those characters, so you won't have a very manly sounding Shiitake, or a black guy with Ricky's voice...

======================================================== Troubleshooting/FAQ ========================================================

Problem: Karameru crashes while unpacking MORI1R.HPI!
Solution: This either means you have a bad dump of the game, or the folder where MORI1R.HPI is has a weird character in its name. First, try to move everything into a different location (like in the root of C: or your desktop) and make sure it has a regular name, like 'Dump'. If that doesn't fix it, then it means the game didn't get dumped properly, so go back to GodMode9 and dump the 'romfs' folder once again.

Problem: Game boots fine, but when it tries to load the custom portraits, it freezes!
Solution: Did you try to take a shortcut by just editing the .hpi file instead of unpacking everything? Apparently, Karameru doesn't know how to repack things again and make it recognizable by the game, so it'll freeze if you try to do that. You NEED to dump everything and load that with Luma. No shortcuts.

Problem: Game boots fine and doesn't freeze, but there are no changes!
Solution: This could be caused by three things. First, it can be that you forgot to enable game patching in Luma's configuration, so check if it's enabled. If this doesn't fix it, check that you have the correct game ID in Luma > Titles (in your SD card, of course). If that still doesn't work, then it means you didn't empty the BuildMode file, as I explained earlier.

Problem: The game doesn't boot at all and I get a weird error screen with a bunch of numbers! / Game boots but it eventually crashes with the same screen!
Solution: You forgot to replace the corrupted files with the working ones when you unpacked the .hpi file with Karameru.

Problem: Game works, the changes are there, but my portraits look all corrupted!
Solution: This is an odd one. If you're using Photoshop to make your images and you render them with a high DPI number (why? it's a 3DS game...), try changing it to 72 DPI, which seems to be the default number.

Problem: My problem isn't listed here!
Solution: First off, give the guide another read, maybe there is something you missed. If the problem persists, try asking in the general. I visit it all the time and I might be able to help you.

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Question: Does this work without CFW?
Answer: Nope. I remember homebrew having the possiblity for playing ROM hacks, but I don't think it has the permissions necessary to load all the files on the fly for the changes.

Question: Well then, does it at least work in Citra?
Answer: As far I know, nope. You'd need to rebuild the ROM with all the edited files. I've tried doing this in the past with things as simple as edited music, but it would always result in a crash or a black screen.

Question: Wait wait wait, we're supposed to have ALL the game's files unpacked in our SD cards? Doesn't that mean that we're using twice the space for the game if we have a digital version?
Answer: ... yes. Sadly there is no way around this, but hey, it might be worth it for the cool things you can do!

Question: How would we share our mods, if we want to make them available?
Answer: The easiest and most user-friendly way would be to share the entire RomFS folder. If you don't want to upload that much stuff, then you can just share the STEX folder and force people to extract everything themselves.

Question: Can you use .stex files from any 3DS EO game?
Answer: Yes! They use exactly the same format.

Question: Does this (portrait editing) apply to other EO games?
Answer: Kind of. For both Untolds, EO5 and presumably EOX, yup. It's the exact same procedure. For EO4 is even simpler since it doesn't pack everything into .hpi/.hpb files. EO5 (and EOX) will have slowdown issues when loading the files off your SD card, and the portrait mods might not even work due to the color customization feature, however.

Question: Do all games use the same save structure?
Answer: Most likely, yes. I know it works the same for both Untolds, I haven't looked into the other games but there is no real reason to change the format, so you can assume they have the same structure. Of course, there might be changes here and there, but the part we're modifying in this guide should be the same.

Question: What else can we edit in the game's folder?
Answer: In theory, everything. The easiest things to mod are the portraits and music. For the latter, any 3DS music editing tutorial should apply to EO, at least for the part of making the .bcstm files.

Question: I'm too lazy to rip the .stex files for Shiitake. Can you share yours?
Answer: Sure! https://dl.dropbox.com/s/05xphgie5jibsn4/Shiitake%20STEX.rar

Question: And Ainsley Harriott?
Answer: That was badly done just to test. I used this image though: http://stinglikeabeevan.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/ainsleyharriott2.jpg I removed the jpg artifacts with waifu2x, by the way.

============================================================ CREDITS ================================================================

- Acea, Rea and Sparky/Glitch: Gave me directions to make this work. Rea was also the creator of the EOU LP where I saw it was possible to mod EO like this, so extra points for her (?).
- All the people who worked on the tools used here: Too many to list, but without them we wouldn't even have the ability to mod the 3DS, let alone EO. So thanks, mysterious people!
- You: For reading.