Nintendo Wii Thread Part 10

Evilbones · 29-05-2008, 23:49

This thread will see us through to E3, where a Hard Drive better be confirmed or i'll do nothing.

Nintendo Channel Released today at some point

orac · 30-05-2008, 08:11

got Nintendo Channel this morning - you get videos from lots of games (but can obviously get all this online and in higher rez) and a handful of DS demos, so if you have no use for the latter then its prob not worth using up system memory space.

Evilbones · 30-05-2008, 10:30

at 300ish blocks it will not last long in my system but its good for what it is, to Steve from last thread - it was all working at 2.30am and 9.23am today

chrisjm · 30-05-2008, 10:36

hasnt someone somewhere tried to update their flash memory to a few gig... i wonder if its possible

FlangeMonkey · 30-05-2008, 11:09

Thought I'd answer the question regarding the FREE region-free homebrew app. in this thread rather than the old one.

Obviously it won't allow you to play backups (which you shouldn't be doing anyway), but apparently it does work pretty well (I've no NTSC games to try it out, however)- only going by the forum postings at DCEmu.

Since it's a TOTALLY FREE software solution that can be upgraded rather than a purchased disc (like the Freeloader) it should be easy for the devs to release updates to non-working games.

Now - onto the subject of Homebrew in general on the Wii. This is totally legal, and I can't see any problem with posting info about it here (I e-mailed the mods, but no-one replied...). It doesn't invalidate your warranty since you're performing no hardware modification whatsoever to the Wii - however by installing the Homebrew Channel you are copying something to the Wii's memory that isn't certified by Nintendo...

So, at the moment, if you have a bog-standard Wii it is very easy and possible to run a plethora of homebrew apps including emulators for the following systems:

SNES
NES
MAME
Sega Master System/Game Gear
Sega Megadrive
Gameboy/Colour
Gameboy Advance
PC Engine/TurboGrafx
ScummVM (old-skool LucasArts point-and-click games like Sam and Max, Day of the Tentacle, Monkey Island et al)

Other things of note are things like the Wii-port of the original Quake - which works with full Wiimote and Nunchuk support for a nice control mechanism. Amazing stuff, really!

To get this lot working, all you need is a copy of Zelda: Twilight Princess and an SD card (SDHC cards and those bigger than 2Gb are NOT supported yet) - you may need a Gamecube controller for some of the emus, althought some of the unofficial versions now have Wiimote support built-in.

The first thing to do is grab a copy of the Twilight Hack - a save-game for Zelda: TP that has some hack applied to it, which when loaded in the game allows the Wii to execute other code...

Find it (and a host of other info on homebrew for the Gamecube/Wii) here.

Load it onto your SD card in the appropriate dir. Backup your old Zelda save first if you still have one (since the Wii only allows you to have one save-file for each game on the machine at a time).

Next, once that's on the Wii - I've found the simplest way of executing the home-brew code is to use the excellent Homebrew Channel. This is still in beta, but is an amazing bit of coding - looks totally like an official Wii channel with lovely graphics, interface and music!

Basically grab this elf file, and stick it in the root of your SD card as "boot.elf" - boot Zelda, load the hacked save-game, then just walk backwards - the code should start to execute, and install the channel onto the Wii.

You don't have to use this method if you're not sure about installing something directly onto your Wii - there are plenty of other methods of launching home-brew using the Twilight Hack without having to install ANYTHING (bar the save-game, which is only that - no more). See here or the Wii forum over at DCEmu for some loaders that allow you to have multiple emus/homebrew on one card and choose each homebrew one at a time.

The downside to not using the channel method is that you have to more or less reboot the Wii and reload Zelda each time you want to switch emus/homebrew...hence the convenience of the channel - but a nice solution if you don't want to install ANYTHING on your console.

So once you've installed the channel - follow the instructions at the Homebrew Channel URL on how to install apps onto the card including the conventions on creating icons/menu entries for the software...I've found a good pack of apps that you unzip and just copy onto your SD card all ready to go here.

Obviously there are NO instructions from me on how to obtain ROMS etc. - you should obviously only be doing any of this if you own the original games concerned.

Other capabilities of this lot obviously include being able to do naughty unsavoury things like installing dumped VC and WiiWare games - but I totally disagree with this since it's obviously illegal, and may only persuade Nintendo to eventually finding a way of closing off this Zelda loophole that currently exists to run legal emulators and other homebrew code...

So, enjoy all this, but be responsible...

ShakeyJake · 30-05-2008, 11:30

Do all versions of Zelda work or has it been patched in later releases?

FlangeMonkey · 30-05-2008, 11:39

Nope - all seem to work

ShakeyJake · 30-05-2008, 11:48

Cool I'll see if I can hunt one down cheap

orac · 30-05-2008, 11:51

one on forum for sale here

http://www.thedvdforums.co.uk/forums...d.php?t=509980

ShakeyJake · 30-05-2008, 12:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by orac

one on forum for sale here

http://www.thedvdforums.co.uk/forums...d.php?t=509980

Ta

kiran_mk2 · 30-05-2008, 13:35

I thoght the homebrew channel was out of beta now and the beta versions only worked for 9 minutes or so. Apparently the last Wii firmware breaks the freeloader, but no software yet takes advantage of it so it's living on borrowed time.

Evilbones · 30-05-2008, 13:37

Heres hoping Nintendo will shut off the loop hole then as clearly it will be used for people who dont have the games in question.

FlangeMonkey · 30-05-2008, 14:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiran_mk2

I thoght the homebrew channel was out of beta now and the beta versions only worked for 9 minutes or so. Apparently the last Wii firmware breaks the freeloader, but no software yet takes advantage of it so it's living on borrowed time.

No, it was the pre-alpha and alpha versions that had the time-limits - some idiots decided to hack them against the warnings of the original devs since they had not been fully tested...however, this beta is now with no time-limit and officially released by the original devs.

Works like a charm.

Indeed - IOS37 may well break Freeloader, but there's nothing to say that it'll definitey break the Homebrew Channel - the devs behind that and the Twilight Hack have done extensive testing if you read Wiibrew.org. They've confirmed that IOS37 won't stop the Twilight Hack, but may possibly render any unofficially installed channels unusable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evilbones

Heres hoping Nintendo will shut off the loop hole then as clearly it will be used for people who dont have the games in question.

I totally disagree - using emulators is legal (as long as you own the originals) and there are other legal, valid uses for Wii homebrew like home-made games, Linux etc. (there is a POC version of Linux that can be run). Stopping everyone from running un-signed code without a modchip is no way to treat those users that would like to create their own apps for the Wii...

The real problem IMO is using these mechanisms to play the dumped VC and WiiWare content. This is definitely a bad thing, since both these things are current big money-spinners for Nintendo - they would definitely not be happy to lose revenue this way...

smst · 30-05-2008, 14:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlangeMonkey

I totally disagree - using emulators is legal (as long as you own the originals) and there are other legal, valid uses for Wii homebrew like home-made games, Linux etc. (there is a POC version of Linux that can be run). Stopping everyone from running un-signed code without a modchip is no way to treat those users that would like to create their own apps for the Wii...

The emulators themselves are not necessarily illegal (and can be used to run homebrew for the systems they emulate) but I'm not sure it's technically legal to run copyrighted games on them, even if you do own the originals. While I think that morally one should be allowed to play such a game on an emulator if I have an original physical version, I'm not sure that the law agrees. Don't forget that in the UK it's not legal to make a tape for the car, or to rip one's own CDs to a computer for playback on an iPod, SqueezeBox or similar. (That may change.)

I do agree with the rest of your post though: it would be a shame to lock out the homebrew community and the possibility of custom applications just to stop copyright infringement.

(Actually, I also disagree with a point in your earlier post where you used the term "backups" to describe illegal copies, or so I inferred; I've seen it used as a euphemism before, and it's a shame. While a backup and a pirated copy of something may amount to the same thing in terms of bits on the disc, it would seem clearer to refer to them as illegal copies when talking about how they shouldn't be played and are discouraged. If I genuinely wanted to play a backup copy, the language would make me think of the euphemism and I'd feel less comfortable about it. This is a minor point, anyway.)

FlangeMonkey · 30-05-2008, 15:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by smst

(Actually, I also disagree with a point in your earlier post where you used the term "backups" to describe illegal copies, or so I inferred; I've seen it used as a euphemism before, and it's a shame.

I was only referring to them as everyone in the "scene" refers to them as

- totally agreed that all I'm referring to are the illegal copies...it isn't what the homebrew scene is all about fortunately, so it shouldn't be condoned...

Evilbones · 30-05-2008, 20:37

Well Mr Monkey, we have to argee to disargee, so by your emulator views.

I own 'The Exorcist' on VHS so i should have contacted WB and said i'm not paying for something i already own send me it on dvd free of charge?

And as for 'Backups' if say £1000 worth of your dvds went up in smoke, would you not file a claim with your Home Insurance has you had backups? I think you would.

It's a sad day when this is openly talked about on this forum

ShakeyJake · 30-05-2008, 20:48

If you really wanted to run pirates roms you could just as well use your PC. The homebrew stuff is what's interesting. Would be cool to see something like XBMC on the Wii. It would make a very nice looking DVD player

FlangeMonkey · 30-05-2008, 22:50

Well, I definitely don't condone piracy, and it's not why I posted any of the information above. I thought some might be genuinely interested in the emulator scene - it's nice to sit in front of your TV to play old-skool favourites...it's just not the same on a PC monitor...

I appreciate that it can be considered a grey area - but opening up the possibilites of old-skool console games running on modern hardware is a good thing IMO...

There is already a media player that runs on top of the gc-linux app...not tried it myself, but it's out there!

hxbro · 01-06-2008, 13:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShakeyJake

If you really wanted to run pirates roms you could just as well use your PC. The homebrew stuff is what's interesting. Would be cool to see something like XBMC on the Wii. It would make a very nice looking DVD player

only with pro logic II output at best

hxbro · 01-06-2008, 13:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlangeMonkey

Well, I definitely don't condone piracy, and it's not why I posted any of the information above. I thought some might be genuinely interested in the emulator scene - it's nice to sit in front of your TV to play old-skool favourites...it's just not the same on a PC monitor...

I appreciate that it can be considered a grey area - but opening up the possibilites of old-skool console games running on modern hardware is a good thing IMO...

And that's why you can play them perfectly legally on the wii with virtual console