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Wii Homebrew running off SD Card
Mr_Grinch
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
::Edit #1:: One team now has a proof of concept Linux distro running using the information from below. I'm not going to link to the file (Whilst legal it's still dubious) but a quick google should get you what you need.
::Edit #2:: See latest post. A method of signing discs has been discovered (with a modchip) which has already led to people altering disc content. Making players faster in Mario Strikers, changing moves in Brawl. See my post on page 3.
::Edit #3:: Homebrew now running off an SD Card. Cheating confirmed NOT to work online.
This may be a little close to the bone, but I'm going to try and avoid an infraction for this thread! So no links at all. A quick google will reveal all information.
That said, what is currently available will NOT run copied games, so we should be on track legally. I thought others may find this information interesting and potentially even useful.
So the vague background, some people were looking for an exploit to run code on the Wii. Being the Wii is just "Two gamecubes taped together", or whatever, they decided to try to find an exploit in a game available on both the Wii and the GC, Zelda: TP. These people are ACTIVELY against creating a bootloader for Wii games, homebrew is their only real goal.
Once the overflow exploit was discovered on the GC (Which, if honest has been modded/hacked to pieces now) it was easy (apparently) to transfer the exploit to the Wii. An SD Gecko is also needed to actually execute anything after running the exploit for the time being, but once drivers have been wrote for the SD bay on the front, I'd imagine it'll no longer be necessary.
The exploit involves editing a save game and changing the name of the horsey to something which breaks the character limit in the game, thus causing an overflow. Previously Wii save games have been encrypted so after editing this it hasn't been possible to play the game again. Thanks to a couple of tricks (Look up the tweezer hack, whereby they executed a utility in gamecube mode, shorted out the memory strip on the wii motherboard with a pair of tweezers and dumped the contents of the extended "Wii" memory, normally locked, which contained a variety of keys) this is now possible.
As the "end user", if you wish to run homebrew you don't need to do any editing. You just copy the Zelda save to your SD Card, plug it in to your wii and copy it across as if it was a bog standard save. You then load the save in Zelda, and either speak to someone or leave the area. No modding of console etc, everything is done in software.
Initially there was a "Hello World" program after the crash but now there's actual software being developed in Wii mode. Up to now we only have:
- Wobbly, moving text which says "Hello World"
- Something which plays certain games we can't mention on this site. The interesting part about this is that it's able to read data from the DVD, which you can swap out after the program starts
- A game of pong, only using the gamecube controllers (Whilst it's running in wii mode, knowledge on how to program for the wii controllers is limited, so gc controllers are still used for now).
- An MP3 player capable of reading quite a number of mp3s from the memory stick (Although not from the drive I imagine).
This is all still in it's infancy but I imagine not too long in to the future a decent Wifi Media Player may make an appearance, as well as this being an avenue to introduce homebrew games utilising the Wiimotes in difference ways, much like the Headtracking videos which have been doing the rounds.
No doubt people will attempt to use this for piracy, but this could actually be a GOOD thing for the genuine user too. If a boot loader is developed, they'll aim to defeat the region protection thus giving all of us whom got locked out of using Freeloader, another chance to play those weird import Gamecube games.
And hopefully us UK users a chance to play No More Heroes uncut
The further downside is if a software hack to play copied games DOES come out, we could be seeing another thread similar to the DS Piracy one popping up.
::Edit #2:: See latest post. A method of signing discs has been discovered (with a modchip) which has already led to people altering disc content. Making players faster in Mario Strikers, changing moves in Brawl. See my post on page 3.
::Edit #3:: Homebrew now running off an SD Card. Cheating confirmed NOT to work online.
This may be a little close to the bone, but I'm going to try and avoid an infraction for this thread! So no links at all. A quick google will reveal all information.
That said, what is currently available will NOT run copied games, so we should be on track legally. I thought others may find this information interesting and potentially even useful.
So the vague background, some people were looking for an exploit to run code on the Wii. Being the Wii is just "Two gamecubes taped together", or whatever, they decided to try to find an exploit in a game available on both the Wii and the GC, Zelda: TP. These people are ACTIVELY against creating a bootloader for Wii games, homebrew is their only real goal.
Once the overflow exploit was discovered on the GC (Which, if honest has been modded/hacked to pieces now) it was easy (apparently) to transfer the exploit to the Wii. An SD Gecko is also needed to actually execute anything after running the exploit for the time being, but once drivers have been wrote for the SD bay on the front, I'd imagine it'll no longer be necessary.
The exploit involves editing a save game and changing the name of the horsey to something which breaks the character limit in the game, thus causing an overflow. Previously Wii save games have been encrypted so after editing this it hasn't been possible to play the game again. Thanks to a couple of tricks (Look up the tweezer hack, whereby they executed a utility in gamecube mode, shorted out the memory strip on the wii motherboard with a pair of tweezers and dumped the contents of the extended "Wii" memory, normally locked, which contained a variety of keys) this is now possible.
As the "end user", if you wish to run homebrew you don't need to do any editing. You just copy the Zelda save to your SD Card, plug it in to your wii and copy it across as if it was a bog standard save. You then load the save in Zelda, and either speak to someone or leave the area. No modding of console etc, everything is done in software.
Initially there was a "Hello World" program after the crash but now there's actual software being developed in Wii mode. Up to now we only have:
- Wobbly, moving text which says "Hello World"
- Something which plays certain games we can't mention on this site. The interesting part about this is that it's able to read data from the DVD, which you can swap out after the program starts
- A game of pong, only using the gamecube controllers (Whilst it's running in wii mode, knowledge on how to program for the wii controllers is limited, so gc controllers are still used for now).
- An MP3 player capable of reading quite a number of mp3s from the memory stick (Although not from the drive I imagine).
This is all still in it's infancy but I imagine not too long in to the future a decent Wifi Media Player may make an appearance, as well as this being an avenue to introduce homebrew games utilising the Wiimotes in difference ways, much like the Headtracking videos which have been doing the rounds.
No doubt people will attempt to use this for piracy, but this could actually be a GOOD thing for the genuine user too. If a boot loader is developed, they'll aim to defeat the region protection thus giving all of us whom got locked out of using Freeloader, another chance to play those weird import Gamecube games.
And hopefully us UK users a chance to play No More Heroes uncut
The further downside is if a software hack to play copied games DOES come out, we could be seeing another thread similar to the DS Piracy one popping up.
Mr_Grinch on
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I'll post it later today if I get time to type it out again... unless someone beats me to it.
I am very happy about this. Region free Wii games and homebrew is gonna be ace.
And Head tracking will be a blast too (but isn't something similar being implemented in Boom Blox? (of all games))
However, with people very experienced in Gamecube programming, once there are libraries out there for the wiimote and other wii-specific hardware, it shouldn't be too hard to crank new things out!
A full on modded Wii with:
a) Region Free Channel
b) Wifi Media Centre Channel
c) Homebrew games Channel
on the main menu would be superb! As it is at the mo everytime you want to boot homebrew you have to do the Zelda swap.
The downside is that at a guess it'd be really easy to detect and if piracy does become rampant because of this then Nintendo will clamp down with firmware upgrades/banning users from the online service.
Oh and I'm not overly technically minded so the op may have some tiny mistakes in terminology and what-not. The gist of it is correct though and I encourage anyone to give running homebrew a go, it's perfectly safe.
(Disclaimer: I am not responsible if your Wii blows up, taking out your dog/cat/spouse)
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
With the Cube not only would you have to install a physical mod chip, but you'd have to replace the top portion of the casing just so it would fit a full size DVD. It seemed to me like that larger amount of work would have meant more pirates would have stuck to modding easier systems.
Anyway, now that the Wii uses a full sized DVD and has removable storage, Nintendo will have to (for the first time, not counting stuff like the ZDrive) work out ways to counter piracy on their own consoles.
It'll be interesting (for me, anyway) to see how Nintendo handles it, since this is the first time they've really had to face the threat of large scale piracy on a home console.
Steam / Bus Blog / Goozex Referral
Opinion on the current exploit appears to be that it CAN'T be blocked by a firmware update due to how it operates. Blocking it would cause Zelda to cease to function.
Worrying about piracy now may be a bit of a moot point. It's possible that there is NO way of booting retail games from within the current development environment they're using. Nintendo already have to worry about piracy, it's the most attractive of the new consoles to mod. Initial Wii models require only 5 points, whereas newer ones require 15. There is currently (it seems) no way of detecting these modchips by Nintendo and all online functions work the same.
Compare this to the only other modded next gen console, the 360. The initial mod is MUCH easier than the wii, it doesn't need anything soldering, it just needs a SATA cable and a PC. What puts most people off is the fact that if a burnt disc isn't done EXACTLY right then Microsoft can detect it and ban that console. Permanently.
The difference comes in how useful each of these mods is to someone whom isn't a pirate. The 360 mod is almost useless. The one advantage it has over an un-modded 360 is that it allows you to run the drive at a lower speed, which effects SOME (only a small amount) FMV but makes it a tremendous amount quieter. That's the only advantage.
The Wii mod-chip is great for me and is a benefit for folks OTHER than pirates, for five wires I got to play Super Paper Mario and Smash Bros Brawl early (Amongst a few other choice titles) early and I can still play all my old different region Gamecube games, as well as gamecube homebrew.
So would Nintendo have to worry about piracy from this? Almost definitely, but being their console is CURRENTLY the major target for being modded, I'd say they're already worrying about it.
::Edit::
Incidentally the Cube was modded through software and the broadband adapter fairly early on. It was possible to stream games to it from a pc. It suffered some speed/sync issues because the network adapter was capped at a speed slightly lower than that of the optical drive but it was very widely used for a time.
Following that it went unmodded for some time, then the first few modchips arrived but were unpopular. By the time the major modchips emerged, which didn't require swapping discs and what-not, the 'cube was already dying/dead. It didn't actually require a case mod, you could either run it without an outside case (And just slot the case back over it when finished to stop dust getting in) or simply use mini-dvdrs which were slightly more pricey than normal ones but worked perfectly well.
::Edit::
;tldr
Nintendo already have to worry about piracy on a massive scale, and had a significant amount of trouble with the gamecube and a softmod method.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I hope the people behind PALib work on something similar for the Wii to ease homebrew coding along.
a note on piracy: Sony is actually on the right track this time around by letting users install Linux on the PS3. If you don't want the homebrew/Linux geek crowd to (completely inadvertently) help the pirates, then throw them a fucking bone or something. I mean, hell, look at the old Xbox. Who was the first to crack its security? People who wanted to install Linux and use it as a media center. If Microsoft had allowed them to do some homebrew coding legitimately, then the thing wouldn't have been softmodded so quickly. (Hell, the people behind the original Xbox Linux hack even offered to not divulge the hack in exchange for the ability to run Linux without it, and Microsoft laughed in their faces. I think there's a PA comic about it somewhere.)
The 360 nowadays is running homebrew nicely (Not much out and it's a hassle, but it's there) and if MS opened that up from the get-go then I'm not saying the current mods wouldn't have happened, but there'd be less incentive.
The reason I say the above about Sony is that they're fucking the linux crowd around proper. Check out www.ps2dev.org . I'm pretty sure I can link to there because they're as anti-piracy as any site I can think of and I'm pretty sure there's little to no discussion about emulation.
Sony have limited Linux on the machine to the point that it's almost god damn unusable. They don't have access to the graphics hardware and have to do everything through the CPU. Now with a decently fast CPU, that's not too bad BUT nothing is geared that way at the moment.
And when someone managed to gain access to the graphics card and pull off some pretty interesting tech demos and get a fast and useful desktop environment up and running, they blocked the technique with the 2.10 firmware upgrade.
Make no mistake, the linux people want to "hack" the PS3 as they're definitely not happy with the offerings there at the moment.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Well, I don't own a PS3 so I haven't been keeping up on it. Sounds like typical Sony, though: good idea, shitty execution.
But yeah, you're right, it's an awesome idea with shit execution. They even broke a load of standard linux distro installations with the firmware 2.10 upgrade.
::Edit::
Anyway, back to the Wii. For those interested I'll try and keep this thread up to date with any developments (that don't break the rules of this site, obviously).
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Sounds good to me. I've been excited ever since I saw that one YouTube video a month or so ago where some guys were talking about the initial tweezer trick. I'm so glad I'm not going to have to fuck around with soldering a PIC into my Wii.
sidenote: it IS possible for Nintendo to take a "scorched earth" policy on this and release a firmware update that breaks Zelda TP in order to kill the inevitable softmod piracy that will come of this. I don't think they would, as there'd be some serious fucking fallout, but it would certainly be possible.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
When and if this happens.
If Nintendo killed TP, though, they'd be laying themselves open to an awful lot of lawsuits.
Hey, they've already had to replace everyone's TP disc once.
I doubt it's just this game though that's vulnerable. Look at the old Xbox mods, there were three games there (At least) with similar exploits. If they closed this off then people would just hunt down another game.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
What do you mean by this? I still have the same disc I bought on launch day, and I have no problems with it.
twitter //
3DS: 2492-5478-6311 // Steam & WiiU: kingofmars2099
And you'll continue to have no problems with it until you save your game while in the cannon room.
Unfortunately, if you ever do save your game whilst in that room, your save file becomes useless and you need to start over. Or you can have Nintendo send you a replacement disc without that bug in it (and this copy will load the otherwise-useless save file, too). Personally, I haven't bothered, yet; I'm just careful not to save until afterwards.
twitter //
3DS: 2492-5478-6311 // Steam & WiiU: kingofmars2099
They will if you ask, but they haven't advertised it.
::edit:: I'm seeing double. Grrr. Beat'd::
Y'know, Tycho actually gets ridiculously anal about things far more pathetic than the above.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
There's now a working linux distro up and running using the hack. Wii functionality is still absent (i.e the pointer) but it's a definite step forward. For those interested a quick google should get you the needed files. You'll still need an SD Gecko though.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I got mine a fair while after release.
Looks like this has come along a bit since the last time I scoured the Wiki for it. Some guy I knew went through a long, arduous process to get a Linux distro installed on his Wii, and ended up bricking it.
Anyway, I watched the video and this has gotten me excited about this project in a new way, as it's obviously garnering some mainstream attention now.
PSN: super_emu
Xbox360 Gamertag: Emuchop
gOS uses Enlightenment, and the default setup is pretty and simplistic enough.
You can play DVDs on a Wii, you just need to run the gamecube homebrew dvd player. From computerandvideogames.com (First site I came across with a quick google):
In fact there's a media player that works too. Ok it requires you to be modded at the moment but being the gamecube homebrew is out there now it would likely take no effort at all to port it over to this exploit.
Silvoculous:
As for which GUI Wii-Linux will use, I imagine at the moment the distro that's going round isn't overly usable so it'll be nothing fancy. Performance on the old Gamecube though was good and Wii-Linux will very very likely be based heavily upon that (With additional wifi and wiimote functionality).
Check out www.gc-linux.org for a rough idea of where it'll go (Site has NOTHING illegal on it and forbids discussion of such topics).
Linux on the Wii has been possible for some time now, but only running in Gamecube mode, which essentially shuts off access to any interesting new hardware. This new development should make things interesting
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Will it still work?
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
Obviously. Getting everything working is still the primary concern and I don't expect the developers to address any GUI-related questions for awhile. But with the Wiimote as the standard input device I wouldn't be surprised if the GUI didn't end up like the gOS screenshot. I can imagine working on a desktop like that with just the Wiimote, feeling...free.
I should go buy a bunch of used GameCubes; Gamestop is trying to get rid of them. Unobtrusive $30 thin clients all over the house? Sexy.
The problem with that is that Gamecube LAN adapters are damn near impossible to find anymore.
PSN: SirGrinchX
Oculus Rift: Sir_Grinch
I'll do that if the price comes that far down for original Xboxes around here. They're still sitting at around $80 used along with both PS2 models, even in the pawn shops nearby. I knew I'd regret selling my Xbox, even if the PS2 has a drool-worthy library of games that one would be crazy not to get in on.
Does anyone, by chance, have that PS2 Linux kit? It doesn't even exist in the States anymore, does it? That, and the hard drives are impossible to find for those systems too.