Project D.I.R.E.
(UPDATE 29 NOVEMBER 2023)

We have been made aware that certain individuals are attempting to sell the community edition of this project on ETSY, a project that is explicitly offered for free. This action not only undermines the spirit of our community project but is also a move that capitalizes on the work of others in a very negative way. Furthermore, these sales include unauthorized distribution of bin files related to Lego, Skylanders, and Disney Infinity, which is a clear infringement of intellectual property rights. We strongly urge the community to maintain the integrity of the project by helping us address and curtail these unauthorized sales. It is essential to remind everyone that our project was created for free distribution, and it should remain that way. Your support in this matter is invaluable.

Special Thanks to the following individuals for their dedication and hard work. Without them this project would not be possible.

znxDomain -> firmware unlocker, tester, researcher
Lucky.peic -> firmware gui editor, tester, prototype, initial writeups, researcher
B47M4N -> firmware gui editor, tester, pcb and case creator, researcher, user guide writer
Bowman -> alt firmware, prototype tester
Mystic -> supplied test files, tester


Project D.I.R.E. (Disney Infinity Reverse Engineered) is a portal emulator for Disney Infinity, Lego Dimensions, and Skylanders. This replaces the original portal in place of a custom created one to inject your own character dumps without the need for the original characters, vehicles, or playsets.

This emulator originally started several years ago after a talented coder named obiima did not release his project to the public. Obiima created and demoed a console portal emulator for 3 games: Disney Infinity, Lego Dimensions, and Skylanders. Obiima never released his project into the wild and the project he did release privately was closed firmware meaning locked to the stm32 Bluepill. This project picks up where he left off.

The Firmware allows this device to select between games by holding one of the buttons during boot. Specific Button usage can be found in the User Guide. You have the option of using limited onboard memory or by using an SD card you can increase the character count in your base emulator. By adding your own character files known as bin files, you can inject them into the game without having to keep your original characters.

This emulator currently works on the Wii, Wii U, PS3, and PS4.
We CAN NOT confirm if this works on the PS5 or Nintendo Switch as we do not own those consoles with these games to test with.

We have been told Skylanders plays on the Nintendo Switch but does NOT use the Portal of Power.
We have also seen footage of Disney Infinity being played on a PS5 with a PS4 base.

XBOX 360 and XBOX One are Not Yet included in this release. There is a security chip required from an Activision portal to make this work and we have not yet discovered a simple method to allow these games to work on these specific consoles.

Some of the files are too large to fit in this forum post and have been attached via mediafire.
All files can be found here: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9u87thpc42j9a/Release+Package​

 

[Fershock]

Someone did just that. IIRC then he used a D1 mini to communicate via UART with the firmware. I think that the project was on his github or something.

Hi Obiima! Could you contact me by dm or through discord? (In discord I'm Fershock). I wanted to ask you about the NFC figures for Pokémon Rumble U. In my spare time I make custom figures for Skylanders (I can show you pictures, like a fully functional template template, I think you'll like them) and I was thinking about doing the same for Pokémon Rumble u. I'd love to talk to you

 

[Ninjabot_World]

When I click on it it just opens note pad. If I open cmd and type "start stlink_flash_firmware.bat.txt" it also opens note pad. I'm stuck.

Edit: Solved! At first I couldn't change the file extension from .txt to .bat but I finally made it and after that I could flash the firmware.

Edit 2: I formatted both internal and external flash memories but I can't load any banks. I can't select a partition as I see no partition. OK, I had to move the sliders... facepalm.

Edit 3: I'm playing DI1 and the emulator works. Thanks to everyone!
Edit 4: I mounted another emulator. Now I have two
Edit 5: I have all the LEGO Dimensions characters and vehicles and I want to dump them as I can't find the .bin files online but I don't know how. OK I finally figured out how to dump the figures and create proper bin files. I tested them in game and they work.
This is my little boy:

I know this is old but could you tell me how to dump the legó dimensions this may be the only lead ive had

 

[sazechman]

I know this is old but could you tell me how to dump the legó dimensions this may be the only lead ive had

DM me.

 

[ImpstrSyndrm]

I know this is a shot in the dark since I'm extremely late to the party, but...

Anyone in the USA have a spare D.I.R.E. PCB they're willing to part with? I can cover cost + shipping

Asking bc I checked PCBWay and JLCPCB, but a 5pc order would be wasted on me - 1 board is all I need

 

[effowe]

Just built one. I ordered a different screen from Amazon (DSD Tech 1.8" TFT LCD) which I had to figure out how to wire from the pictures. I tried using it today (bins written to internal flash, no SD card) and it didn't work for V3.0. I 3D printed the original case in the instructions but it didn't work for the custom build. I'm going to try to modify the case to fit it currently, I may take the headers off for the Bluepill to get more vertical space.

 

[KtotheD]

Does this allow multiplayer or do you need to make two of them to play with two people?

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

Also is there a video of how the product works that someone can send me please I just want to see it before I spend money and time on putting it together and such.

 

[NestorM]

Does this allow multiplayer or do you need to make two of them to play with two people?

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

Also is there a video of how the product works that someone can send me please I just want to see it before I spend money and time on putting it together and such.

Multiplayer allowed with only one emulator.

 

[CLDavi]

Does anyone know where I can find the schematic diagram of this device's circuit? And also, do you really need to use the three pins on the left of the front circuit board, that are underneath the programming pins of the Blue Pill board, or can the device take all the energy needed from the USB Port?

 

[KtotheD]

How can I get this to work on the wiiU with the first skylanders game through the vwii since that is the only way to play the english version it just asks me to plug in the portal even though it works fine with the wii U games just fine.

 

[Jeppa_1]

How can I get this to work on the wiiU with the first skylanders game through the vwii since that is the only way to play the english version it just asks me to plug in the portal even though it works fine with the wii U games just fine.

Sorry, what?

 

[luckypeic]

Just built one. I ordered a different screen from Amazon (DSD Tech 1.8" TFT LCD) which I had to figure out how to wire from the pictures. I tried using it today (bins written to internal flash, no SD card) and it didn't work for V3.0. I 3D printed the original case in the instructions but it didn't work for the custom build. I'm going to try to modify the case to fit it currently, I may take the headers off for the Bluepill to get more vertical space.

Sorry for the late reply.

Which console did you test 3.0 (assuming you are talking about Disney infinity), when we were making it we made sure to test on all games that we listed as supported in documentation.
Did you try any other supported games?

Does this allow multiplayer or do you need to make two of them to play with two people?

Post automatically merged: Dec 9, 2024

Also is there a video of how the product works that someone can send me please I just want to see it before I spend money and time on putting it together and such.

You only need one, since it acts like a real portal it emulates all the pads the original portals have so all you need for multiplayer is set a second character on second virtual pad.

I can make an demo video when I have some free time but I IDK how soon that will be.

Does anyone know where I can find the schematic diagram of this device's circuit? And also, do you really need to use the three pins on the left of the front circuit board, that are underneath the programming pins of the Blue Pill board, or can the device take all the energy needed from the USB Port?

Schematic should be included along with PCB file, are you trying to wire it on breadboard?
I recommend you use the included PCB files to order a PCB as its much easier to use that way.

The whole device is powered from USB but in order to flash the firmware you have to use programming pins first.

How can I get this to work on the wiiU with the first skylanders game through the vwii since that is the only way to play the english version it just asks me to plug in the portal even though it works fine with the wii U games just fine.

Same as any other supported console, build the device, flash the firmware, load it with bin files of your choice and hook it up with USB and it should work like on real Wii.

 

[sam000]

Hi I’ve recently bought all the parts to make the emulator. I’ve also found my Skylanders bin files but I’m struggling to find the Lego dimensions ones. Can anyone help me? Thanks

 

[lafleche]

The DIRE solution is really not great for lego dimensions
You need to move pieces from left to right to centre and back again
imho you are much better of with
https://github.com/Berny23/LD-ToyPad-Emulator

You won't need the bin files, you get a browser gui to move and add characters with a mouse click
No soldering required

 

[sam000]

Thanks you for this. Ive also another question. I’ve built the emulator. After flashing the firmware I just get a white screen with nothing on. I’ve added my skylanders to the bank but it won’t show on screen. I’ve also tried flashing the 128raw to my SD card so more storage but it just says error 001

sorted my sd card problem

 

[lafleche]

What do you mean by flashing to sd card?
You did connect your device to a pc with the stlink cable and with stmt flashed the firmware to the board?

 

[sam000]

What do you mean by flashing to sd card?
You did connect your device to a pc with the stlink cable and with stmt flashed the firmware to the board?

I’ve flashed the firmware and it completes successfully. I’ve added bin files to my sd card through the bank loader. But the screen on my emulator is just white all the time and the red light is always on with the green one flashing.

 

[lafleche]

check with a multimeter the continuity of your solder joints. check for bridged solderjoints

 

[sam000]

check with a multimeter the continuity of your solder joints. check for bridged solderjoints

ive double checked all solder joints and there are no shorts.

 

[ccfman2004]

Is it possible there is an issue with the screen itself?

 

[sam000]

Is it possible there is an issue with the screen itself?

would that be the white screen? the sd card reader on the screen board is wokring

Post automatically merged: Feb 4, 2025

also i accidentaly have change the driver with zidag now the bank editor wont recognise the emulators memory internal or external

Post automatically merged: Feb 5, 2025

check with a multimeter the continuity of your solder joints. check for bridged solderjoints

do you have discord or a discord server for the emulator?

Post automatically merged: Feb 5, 2025

sorry for the spam. ive had some developmets. so i tried to use my emulator on skylanders using RPS3. i recognises the emulator as all three portals if i use the button combos on start up but i cant see the menu so dont know how to get the sky lander on the portal to use in game just to see if it is my screen or not