Hacking Wii U Gamepad with N64 games?

[kozuki7]

Hi all,

I haven't been able to keep up with all the progress that has been made in the various Wii U hacking avenues. But I'm hoping that enough progress has been made somewhere to fulfill this desire:

I would like to play Zelda: Majora's Mask with the Wii U gamepad. What are my options, if any?

I pick this game because I think there could be multiple possible angles of attack. MM was released on the N64, the GC (in a collector's edition, but that version was buggy) and the Wii Virtual Console, where it's still available for download in my region (Australia/Europe). I also pick it because I want to play it this weekend

 

[Foxi4]

Unfortunately, the entirety of vWii, including Wii Virtual Console games, cannot be streamed to the Game Pad.

 

[TyBlood13]

Unfortunately, the entirety of vWii, including Wii Virtual Console games, cannot be streamed to the Game Pad.

Yes it can. Update 4.0 allowed the Gamepad to be used as a screen though you still need to use a normal Wiimote

 

[Foxi4]

Yes it can. Update 4.0 allowed the Gamepad to be used as a screen though you still need to use a normal Wiimote

Oh? Well, this is news for me! I thought vWii disabled most of the Wii U hardware. Looks like Nintendo has finally improved the sandbox.

Well, I stand corrected - thanks!

 

[kozuki7]

So, no hack for vWii VC games.

How about PC emulation to Wii U gamepad?
Or N64 emulation on vWii (so that I don't have to find a Classic Controller, which is rarer than unicorns)?
Or GC emulation on vWii (how stable and region free is it)?

 

[NWPlayer123]

There are programs to run PC games on Wii U gamepad (with an actual PC), N64 and GC emulation on vwii is the same as it was on the wii They're for all intensive purposes identical, unless you're messing with software and IOS stuff.

 

[Deleted User]

You can watch it on the gamepad but you can only controll it with a classic controller. I still dont know why Nintendo wont allow it to be controlled with the gamepad, it has all the same parts as a wii controller plus more.

 

[Clarky]

You can watch it on the gamepad but you can only controll it with a classic controller. I still dont know why Nintendo wont allow it to be controlled with the gamepad, it has all the same parts as a wii controller plus more.

because the upgrade tax would seem silly then

 

[Deleted User]

because the upgrade tax would seem silly then

Its not so silly when 90% of the Wii virtual console isnt on Wii U

 

[Deleted User]

Well i read somewhere that the wii n64 vc's will be put on to the wii u eshop. so if you wait you could buy them if your into paying for old stuff

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Oh? Well, this is news for me! I thought vWii disabled most of the Wii U hardware. Looks like Nintendo has finally improved the sandbox.

Well, I stand corrected - thanks!

Really? This has been known for ages.

 

[TheLoneWolfe]

So, no hack for vWii VC games.

How about PC emulation to Wii U gamepad?
Or N64 emulation on vWii (so that I don't have to find a Classic Controller, which is rarer than unicorns)?
Or GC emulation on vWii (how stable and region free is it)?

There was a presentation on hacking the gamepad to communicate with a computer, and even stream/control Dolphin with it, put out by the creators of the Dolphin emulator. However, it is generally way more trouble than it's worth for the end-user, requiring you to own one of a very specific set of wireless cards, is only a library for programmers, I don't think their modification of Dolphin to support it is published anywhere, and I believe it only works on Linux at the moment. If you're still interested, here's the presentation:

Here's the website: http://libdrc.org/index.html
Here's the documentation: http://libdrc.org/docs/index.html

 

[Foxi4]

Really? This has been known for ages.

It's still not the way it should be - the gamepad inputs should be detected as a Classic Controller, but maybe Nintendo will work it out eventually. I mean, it's only been two years since the system entered the market.

 

[TheLoneWolfe]

It's still not the way it should be - the gamepad inputs should be detected as a Classic Controller, but maybe Nintendo will work it out eventually. I mean, it's only been two years since the system entered the market.

Granted, I don't know the technical implications associated with implementing this, but I'd certainly really appreciate that if it was done. Right now, for virtual console games that require the CC, I've been using this really cheap classic controller clone I bought off eBay thinking it was the real thing. It was pretty well-disguised, in my defence.

 

[Foxi4]

Granted, I don't know the technical implications associated with implementing this, but I'd certainly really appreciate that if it was done. Right now, for virtual console games that require the CC, I've been using this really cheap classic controller clone I bought off eBay thinking it was the real thing. It was pretty well-disguised, in my defence.

I remember when back in the day Nintendo used the excuse that the Wii U hardware is disabled in Wii mode, so the Gamepad could not be used for streaming. Lo and behold, now it is used for streaming. Clearly there is some degree of I/O going on, and if it would require "emulating" a Classic Controller via whatever background services then they should do just that - the system has enough juice to support it. There's no reason why the user would have to use a separate controller when the screen you're using already has controls on. This is just a design clusterfuck on their part.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

It's still not the way it should be - the gamepad inputs should be detected as a Classic Controller, but maybe Nintendo will work it out eventually. I mean, it's only been two years since the system entered the market.

It's stated as "Display games through the GamePad" so anyone who reads it knows exactly what to get out of it and it doesn't include using its controls for the games. That'd be great though.

 

[Foxi4]

It's stated as "Display games through the GamePad" so anyone who reads it knows exactly what to get out of it and it doesn't include using its controls for the games. That'd be great though.

I think it would only make sense to include the controls, even if it means that the "classic controller" would have to be emulated in some fashion on the console and that framework would be used to tunnel Gamepad inputs. They're there, I don't see a reason why another controller should be required. I imagine it would be far more comfortable than just using the Gamepad as a screen and control games with something else. As far as the WiiMote pointer is concerned, the Gamepad has a touchscreen, so that could be emulated too. The only problem would be motion controls, since the Nunchuck and the WiiMote have separate sensors.

 

[EmceeKerser]

I have a feeling they left the gamepad and Wii u hardware locked out of vWii mode to avoid any potential homebrew exploits. Its obviously worked so far

 

[DiscostewSM]

The Classic Controller connects to the Wii remote, and buttons presses on the CC get sent to the Wii remote and that transmits them to the console via Bluetooth. The Gamepad has no Bluetooth module. It transmits data back and forth via a second WiFi module, separate from the one used for connecting online (or to a 3DS for something like MH3U). The reason why video/audio can be sent to the Gamepad is because the hardware captures the output and sends it off that way. The Wii U OS, from what I understand, is still active while Wii mode is running, and it is handling the routing of the output to the WiFi module that syncs with the Gamepad (vWii running on the PPC while Wii U OS runs off the dual-core ARM). It's easier to take the output from a known access point than it is to send input to one that doesn't exist in the scope of the environment like Wii mode.

 

[SLiV3R]

Well i read somewhere that the wii n64 vc's will be put on to the wii u eshop. so if you wait you could buy them if your into paying for old stuff

It has been posted on the Nintendo website since wii u launch. But nothing.. perhaps in the future?