How to go from "code", "content", "meta" folders to WUP installable?

[Zorro70]

Hi there,
I hope it's allowed to post a help request over here.
I downloaded from MC eShop section a Wii U virtual console game. Once extracted its file structure is code, content, meta (raw game data). I understand that such format must be repacked before being copied to a SD card and installed to the console using WUP Installer GX2, so I packed it with NUSPacker.
The resulting folder shows the usual game files format (.app, .h3, .tik, .tmd files) and in fact I could install it on the USB HDD of my Wii U. The problem is that after these steps the game doesn't work: it gets stuck on the virtual console boot screen and the only way to shutdown is to power cycle the console... The game itself works on CEMU so the files are ok but I think I'm missing / doing wrong something in the conversion process. Can you please help or point me to a good guide? Thanks.

 

[godreborn]

nuspacker

 

[Deleted member 571007]

nuspacker

They stated that their game doesn't work after using NUSPacker. Which probably means they have bad files, or something just went wrong when packing / unpacking.

My question for the OP is, if you're installing an E-Shop game onto the Wii U, why not use NUSspli or any other NUS Downloader that already has the files in WUP Format? Saves the hassle.

 

[Zorro70]

Yes, NUSpacker is what I've been using in my test but probably I'm doing something wrong.
@Korozin my goal is to learn how to install an E-Shop game not downloading it from NUS. I know that using NUS Downloader or USB Helper would make everything much easier, but when NUS will be no longer available there must be a way to install those titles from an "alternative" archive. I'm quite new to Wii U si I'm exploring I thought that there was some tool or method more user friendly than NUSpacker.

 

[Deleted member 571007]

I'd just say don't worry about when the NUS goes down. It'll be up for long after the E-Shop itself actually goes down.

if you're that worried - pick up a hard-drive and download everything you want and just hoard it.


But if you're dead-set on NUSPacker, if it didn't work then that means something either went wrong at the beginning of the process, or just during packing / unpacking. Like for example, if you downloaded the files via FTP it's HIGHLY possible some file corruption took place, since large files (or a large amount of files) over network transfer (especially with Wii U network transfer) tend to corrupt rather easily.

I'd suggest downloading the de-crypted contents from a tool like JNUS and then attempting NUSPacker to see if it yields different results.

Post automatically merged: Nov 10, 2022

Alternatively there's also WUX / WUD files on ROM sites, but imo those are way more of a hassle than they're actually worth. There's getting the right key, actually de-crypting the damn thing, and making sure that it isn't just a fake file, or that you get a virus while trying to do so.

Like I said, just save yourself the hassle and use something like NUSspli.

 

[V10lator]

@Zorro70 When you want a E-Shop game download it in NUS/WUP format, there are a lot of "alternative archives" for that. Simple as that.

Other than that you probably didn't even read the readme of NUSPacker, so read it. I bet you're just missing the Wii U common key or something like this.

 

[Deleted member 571007]

I bet you're just missing the Wii U common key or something like this.

Would it even try to go through with packing if it didn't detect the key? I would assume it'd just throw an error and quit immediately, but I could be wrong. I haven't used NUSPacker in a hot minute.

 

[V10lator]

@Korozin W/O the common key it uses something like 0x1337133713371337 as common key. So NUSPacker won't fail but the resulting files won't work.

 

[Deleted member 571007]

@Korozin W/O the common key it uses something like 0x1337133713371337 as common key. So NUSPacker won't fail but the resulting files won't work.

That makes more sense, that's probably the issue then.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Yes, NUSpacker is what I've been using in my test but probably I'm doing something wrong.
@Korozin my goal is to learn how to install an E-Shop game not downloading it from NUS. I know that using NUS Downloader or USB Helper would make everything much easier, but when NUS will be no longer available there must be a way to install those titles from an "alternative" archive. I'm quite new to Wii U si I'm exploring I thought that there was some tool or method more user friendly than NUSpacker.

The files you get from NUS are the original format. They will be available after NUS goes down. No-Intro already has a large catalogue of games in CDN format. Their file naming is different from what you get from NUS downloaders (NUS downloaders rename the files) but the files are the same. This is likely the format you will be dealing with after NUS goes down, not code/content/meta folders, which are not the original format, they have been tampered with, and you can safely discard/ignore them. They were only ever relevant for Loadiine use so they're worthless now and nobody is gonna bother archiving them for the future.

 

[Zorro70]

@Korozin I downloaded the game file as a zipped archive so it can't be corrupted or it would extract with errors. Once extracted I packed it with NUSpacker and copied the files to the Wii U SD card on my PC, using a card reader, so no FTP or similar file transfers. Then I inserted the SD card back in the Wii U and installed the package with WUP Installer GX2, which didn't return any error. The game boots up the virtual console screen and then hangs.
Anyway, thanks to you and to @V10lator for the advice about gettin the games from NUS. I guess that's what I'll be doing . BTW I read the NUSpacker readme and used the common key
Also, in my tests I downloaded a WUX game and even if the steps to install it are a bit slow and complicated, in the end it worked fine. Like I wrote, I'm just doing some experiments

 

[The Real Jdbye]

@Korozin I downloaded the game file as a zipped archive so it can't be corrupted or it would extract with errors. Once extracted I packed it with NUSpacker and copied the files to the Wii U SD card on my PC, using a card reader, so no FTP or similar file transfers. Then I inserted the SD card back in the Wii U and installed the package with WUP Installer GX2, which didn't return any error. The game boots up the virtual console screen and then hangs.
Anyway, thanks to you and to @V10lator for the advice about gettin the games from NUS. I guess that's what I'll be doing . BTW I read the NUSpacker readme and used the common key
Also, in my tests I downloaded a WUX game and even if the steps to install it are a bit slow and complicated, in the end it worked fine. Like I wrote, I'm just doing some experiments

Unless it was already corrupted when the person compressed it.

For WUX I assume you're using wud2app? (after decrypting it of course)
As there's no need to use nuspacker for those.

The tools for Wii U aren't great, you need to use a bunch of different tools to accomplish one thing, and the all-in-one tools are really just frontends that all use the same set of a bunch of different tools to accomplish the same thing, and it's often still a multi-step process. Once the nostalgia starts to hit people I'm sure we'll see the tools improve so that you can directly install a wux/wud without needing to convert it first the same way you can install xcis on Switch, among other quality of life improvements.

 

[Ettino]

The entire library has already been archived, both retail and eshop. All in NUS format. All you have to do is head to the place where they "archive" stuff dot "organization", to get them. What you're doing is basically moot point. Unless you're converting the unofficial stuff.

 

[Zorro70]

Unless it was already corrupted when the person compressed it.

No, it works on CEMU.

For WUX I assume you're using wud2app? (after decrypting it of course)
As there's no need to use nuspacker for those.

For the WUX compressed game I just used jwudtool "-extract all" option with the proper common key and title key. I then copied the resulting folder to the Wii U SD card and installed it with WUP Installer GX2. Worked like a charm

process. Once the nostalgia starts to hit people I'm sure we'll see the tools improve so that you can directly install a wux/wud without needing to convert it first the same way you can install xcis on Switch, among other quality of life improvements.

I agree! Wii U is a great console with fantastic games. It deserves more support from the community and easier to use tools.