ReLab - Bring back VB Lab servers | Digitama Hatchery | Page 1

high drum Aug 25, 2024, 12:51 PM

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Hello, for the past few days I've been messing with data I had captured from VB Lab before closing and I've been trying to create a server for it.

So far I've managed to make the app start and do some basic stuff. Currently I'm trying to note what each parameter does in the communication and design the database for it.

Not going to dedicate a lot of time for this, but I do plan on making it open source once the VB is completely dead. As for a centralized instance, I have no plans on doing that since it involves Bandai's copyrighted assets and you also need a rooted phone with a custom self signed certificate installed as the root.

Compatibility with the BE and bringing modern features to it is not planned either, think more of it as preservation of the app, I do want to try and get it to work as if it were before shutting down the online functionality. I'm not good at reverse engineering with ghidra the old app, and I'm basing everything off of what I have captured back then.

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For the ones curious the server is going to be using Flask instead of the original PHP back end and a box standard MariaDB server as the database.

teal tendon Aug 25, 2024, 3:02 PM

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Best of luck to you with this endeavor!

rigid chasm Aug 25, 2024, 3:03 PM

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Man, I already miss this app, it was way better than the replacement.
Glad to have a little preservation, even if I'm unlikely to use it myself.

teal tendon Aug 25, 2024, 3:06 PM

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For real. It would be nice if some of the BE stuff could be added later, but I'm perfectly happy with just preserving the original VB Lab.

high drum Aug 25, 2024, 3:10 PM

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i'm not going to be able to make it work 100% being realistic, my old VB broke and i don't have network captures of online battles

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i do want to get it to a point where if i end up fixing my old VB, to make it so that it's possible to work again at least to the point right before the app was shut down

high drum Aug 25, 2024, 5:51 PM

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interestingly the app does not check the information sent through it is correct, so far the network captures are descriptive enough to work with, the thing i'm trying to figure out right now is creating the database for the app, it's being difficult, so many different parameters

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making a database of this caliber is going to be a nice challenge for me

vagrant hornet Aug 25, 2024, 11:50 PM

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Ooooh good luck! I will always miss the original app so much, so I'd love to see this

high drum Aug 26, 2024, 7:28 AM

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Yesterday I tried patching the APK so that it reads from a subdomain out of nacatech.es, but it refuses to update, will check it more peacefully once I settle back home

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Currently for testing stuff I have to VPN my home, then use my home's DNS server to point at my laptop's IP address on the VPN, and then I have to use a self signed certificate, because I cannot ask let's encrypt to sign me a digimon.net subdomain

narrow aspen Dec 30, 2024, 9:09 PM

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there is a repo or something of this project? @high drum

high drum Dec 30, 2024, 9:27 PM

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no, i kinda stopped right now because i got stuck designing the database and the complicated system to get the server running with the app

narrow aspen Dec 30, 2024, 9:31 PM

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it is a relational database (SQL) or a non relational one (noSQL)?

dull matrixBOT Dec 30, 2024, 9:31 PM

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SHINKA!

@narrow aspen has evolved into Baby I!

narrow aspen Dec 30, 2024, 9:32 PM

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because i'm not an expert but i know how to use wireshark, and the basics of sql

high drum Dec 30, 2024, 9:34 PM

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relational sql, the thing is that there are a lot of parameters in it

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that's why i wanted to do a data driven design on this

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but in the end of ther day, due to being scared about bandai's actions i was too afraid to publish it

narrow aspen Dec 30, 2024, 9:45 PM

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i mean if you not ship it with the app, and not have a centralized server i think there would be no problem

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it would be like self hosted solution to x

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because it isn't piracy, and becuase the app didn't have microtransactions (i believe that), it will not even count as piracy

high drum Dec 30, 2024, 9:48 PM

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it's bandai's IP, so i could ship out a server, but no assets

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oh well, i'll see what i'll do about this project, currently it's in pause as i focus on work and my other projects

narrow aspen Dec 30, 2024, 9:59 PM

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ok, if you ever need help or don't want to continue anymore and want to share your findings DM me

high drum Dec 30, 2024, 10:00 PM

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i'm open to working with a team if there is enough demand for preserving this thing

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as for network captures, i have 90% of the app functionality captured, except for sending/receiving nfc

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10% documented, somewhere

tawny mural Jan 9, 2025, 9:12 AM

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Messaging to bookmark

tawny mural Jan 9, 2025, 9:31 AM

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Also ReLab sounds like Rehab LMFAO

high drum Jan 9, 2025, 9:53 AM

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i didn't think much about the name

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i'll see if i can get back to this too, kinda want to get this running again

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to do:

finish db design
understand how sending characters to the server works

but at the same time i want to focus more on #1325936394207625267 rather than this, since this will bring close to all the features this app had, plus BE compatibility

meager copper Jan 10, 2025, 10:26 PM

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high drum but in the end of ther day, due to being scared about bandai's actions i was too...

If you wanted to you could make a vb custom rom that replaces bandai’s assets with what can be taken as “digimon from wish.com” and use those assets in the app

meager copper Jan 10, 2025, 10:27 PM

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high drum as for network captures, i have 90% of the app functionality captured, except fo...

Cfogrady has some NFC tools for the VB, you could ask him for help

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And also i’d be open to beta test! I have a couple unused PCs and RPis that i can host a server on!

high drum Jan 10, 2025, 10:35 PM

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this is more difficult, i'm not redoing the app, but the server, i still don't know whether the app sends unencrypted data or just encrypted data back to the server. once i have enough time i'll figure this out, someday

meager copper Jan 10, 2025, 11:37 PM

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high drum this is more difficult, i'm not redoing the app, but the server, i still don't k...

Ah

meager copper Jan 11, 2025, 10:40 AM

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high drum this is more difficult, i'm not redoing the app, but the server, i still don't k...

Ah if you wanted to you could go the wirepod route

meager copper Jan 11, 2025, 3:28 PM

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(The wirepod route is the user hosts their own server and patches the robot which in your case is an app with the code saying to connect to a specific device name on the network, which you can set as labserver, if ran on windows the device would need to be renamed to labserver)

#ReLab - Bring back VB Lab servers