Update
The Flipnote Archive is now open; the information contained within this article is no longer relevant, and will be archived (no pun intended) in coming days.
Sudomemo is proud to announce an update to the Flipnote Archive project: an early preview available right now!
We now have donations open to help support the project: https://ko-fi.com/flipnotearchive
FAQ
Q: What is the archive?
A: The archive contains a collection of every Flipnote from Flipnote Hatena that was converted for Flipnote Studio 3D’s Flipnote Gallery: DSi Library feature.
This collection spans 44,351,673 files over 12TB (12,000 GB) of storage.
Q: What is the archive preview?
A: The archive preview is available to all Sudomemo users and is accessible directly from their profile pages. If the Flipnote Studio ID of the account has Flipnotes in the archive, a brand new archive button will appear, letting you view all Flipnotes for that user in the archive.
Q: How can I access my old Flipnotes on the preview?
A: First, you must create a Sudomemo account, then navigate to your profile on sudomemo.net and click the archive button next to your name.
If there is no archive button, then, unfortunately, you may not have uploaded any of Flipnotes, or your FSID may have been reset since you were last on Flipnote Hatena.
In this case, you’ll have to wait for the archive’s full release to attempt to find your account again.
Q: How do I access someone else’s old Flipnotes on the preview?
A: Simply navigate to their Sudomemo Creator’s Room, then click the archive button.
If there is no archive button, then the user may not have uploaded any of Flipnotes, or their FSID may have been reset since they were last on Flipnote Hatena.
Q: When is the full release date of the archive?
A: We expect to release it by May 31st, 2022; however, this is not a firm date.
Q: Can I view these Flipnotes of my DSi?
A: No. The files in the archive are in the Flipnote Studio 3D .kwz file format, which is not backwards compatible with Flipnote Studio.
We are also not able to convert these files due to a significant number of technical reasons.
Q: Will I be able to download my Flipnotes?
A: This has not yet been decided on but will be before the full release.
Q: How will I be able to find my old Flipnotes?
A: We are developing a myriad of ways to search through these Flipnotes and are developing new ideas to make it possible to find obscure content.
These are the current ways we are planning to have the archive searchable. Please keep in mind this list may change at any time:
- Flipnote Studio ID
- Username(s)
- Date/time Flipnote was posted
- Song (very tentative)
Q: Will I be able to remove my content from the archive?
A: Currently, in the preview, you can hide the button on your profile so that people are not able to directly access your Flipnotes that are in the archive.
We are currently undecided on whether full removal will be an option in the full release; however, we will always remove content if it contains personal information; contact Sudomemo Support, and we will remove it for you.
The main concern with content removals is proving that a user owns the account they say they do, as many people have broken, sold, or lost their DSi’s making proving ownership of an FSID difficult or impossible. There is also the aspect of balancing letting users control the visibility of their content with not wanting to remove parts of Flipnote history. This is a complex issue that we will be refining our opinion of over the coming months.
Q: What made the archive take so long to release?
A: The Flipnotes that were converted by Nintendo to the Flipnote Studio 3D .kwz format were not converted particularly well or consistently, so we have been working for the past few years to tackle these issues to make them viewable in a pleasant format.
One of the most significant issues with the Flipnotes is in the audio, wherein a substantial portion of them would sound something more akin to TV static than the music it once was. Thankfully, with the help of some fancy math tricks, we could figure out a way to decode the audio in a way that’s actually listenable.
We will eventually post a full write-up of all issues on the Flipnote Archive Twitter account.
Q: How can I financially support Sudomemo and the archive project?
A: The best way to support us is through Patreon, however purchasing Sudomemo Plus tickets or the various other tickets on our shop also directly supports us. We also plan to launch a merch shop in the near future!
The archive is an extremely expensive project, costing us over $3000 out of pocket, on top of the ~$300 per month Sudomemo costs to run.
Any contributions are greatly appreciated!
Any questions, comments, or concerns?
We’re all ears! Let us know via Discord or Support Email.