Homebrew Anybody have a guide on making wii u homebrew apps?

[enderzombie15]

I would like to have a try but i have looked it up. I could only find a guide for the wii tho. So if anybody could write/ link me to a guide i will be very gratefull. Thanks!

 

[the_randomizer]

You'll need to learn PPC and GX2 assembly, or at least, that's what I've been told.

 

[vgmoose]

Quark has recently started a new guide here, but it's in progress. There's still the older guide, but the info in it is a little dated (should be fine for getting started though).

Also see my post here for a lot of examples:

There are three primary ways to launch homebrew: via Userland (bin/mp4 files), via HBL (elf), and via Loadiine/natively (rpx). There's also two main methods of drawing to the screen: a basic way via OSScreen and a more graphical way with GX2.

Examples for everything below!!

Userland
Examples: Hello World - Pong - C@ve - Snake - Space Game - Tic Tac Toe
Requirements: libwiiu
Limitations: No sound, no SD card, no GX2, no global variables, and ~20KB app limit

HBL elf
OSScreen Examples: Hello World - Pong - C@ve - Snake - Space Game - Tic Tac Toe - LiveSynthesisU
GX2 Examples: HBL - Loadiine GX2 - CHIP8 Emulator - Colored Cube - HB App Store
Requirements: dimok's libogc and portlibs installed to the devkitpro directory
Limitations: HBL elf format is a touch hacky wrt. to memory, upper limit on ELF size (~5MB?), can't use static libraries (such as the HOME menu pause/resume or browser open url)

Native RPX / Loadiine
Examples: Hello World - Pong - Space Game - Colored Cube - GX2texture2d
Requirements: decaf-emu/wut configured
Limitations: toolchain (wut) is still in development, otherwise has normal app access as far as the RPX loading mechanism permits

Everything above requires devkitppc to be setup as well.

Personally, I started with Userland and the Pong example, but I might recommend starting with one of the HBL examples because developing with HBL is a bit quicker. Developing for RPX would be preferred but starting with Userland or HBL may be better to start with for learning experience.

I also recommend paying close attention to the Hello World, Pong, and Space Game examples up above, as you can compare the different versions to see how the difference between Userland/HBL/RPX looks in code. Also don't shy away from asking questions if you get stuck on anything!

 

[enderzombie15]

You'll need to learn PPC and GX2 assembly, or at least, that's what I've been told.

aww! i know some stuff about gx2 but i have NO idea what ppc is.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Quark has recently started a new guide here, but it's in progress. There's still the older guide, but the info in it is a little dated (should be fine for getting started though).

Also see my post here for a lot of examples:

thanks ill have a look at them all.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

ive been googling some stuff and apparently devkitppc is for wii?

 

[enderzombie15]

is devkitppc only for the wii because i could only find it on wiiubrew.org

 

[TotalInsanity4]

PPC is PowerPC, which is the architecture that the GameCube, Wii and Wii U use. DevkitPPC is needed for building homebrew on all three consoles, I believe

 

[QuarkTheAwesome]

You'll need to learn PPC and GX2 assembly, or at least, that's what I've been told.

You can use PowerPC assembly, but you can also use bog-standard C or C++. From what I understand most of the devs don't want to touch Assembly (for some reason) and they get on just fine. GX2 is the Wii U's funky graphics language; I find it vaguely confusing but luckily there are simpler alternatives. Sorry if I had you confused earlier.

As for DevKitPPC, you'll need it. Yes, it was used on the Wii, but it also works for Wii U stuff with a bit of persuading.

 

[vgmoose]

From what I understand most of the devs don't want to touch Assembly (for some reason)

it's true though, the closest I've gotten to powerpc assembly is asking other people to interpret stack traces for me

 

[the_randomizer]

You can use PowerPC assembly, but you can also use bog-standard C or C++. From what I understand most of the devs don't want to touch Assembly (for some reason) and they get on just fine. GX2 is the Wii U's funky graphics language; I find it vaguely confusing but luckily there are simpler alternatives. Sorry if I had you confused earlier.

As for DevKitPPC, you'll need it. Yes, it was used on the Wii, but it also works for Wii U stuff with a bit of persuading.

I just wish I had the patience to even learn C/C+ but with my rudimentary knowledge, I don't even know where to begin learning, you know?

 

[Deleted User]

I just wish I had the patience to even learn C/C+ but with my rudimentary knowledge, I don't even know where to begin learning, you know?

cprogramming.com is where I learned the basic syntax. From there I just experimented with C@VE and Snake and eventually got the hang of OSScreen and other Wii U features. This is not the best way to learn programming, the best way is to do your studies in high school and university, and get a high-level diploma.

 

[the_randomizer]

cprogramming.com is where I learned the basic syntax. From there I just experimented with C@VE and Snake and eventually got the hang of OSScreen and other Wii U features. This is not the best way to learn programming, the best way is to do your studies in high school and university, and get a high-level diploma.

Crap, well, given my current financial situation, going back to school is not an option in the foreseeable future, gonna have to learn and force myself to get good at it somehow.

 

[NWPlayer123]

psh, I prefer the bruteforce method, been working for almost 6 years, look at tons of examples, and edit code until it does what I want it to, thank you StackOverflow
The makefile you come up with should just hook into devkitppc to compile the code, most in loadiine and libwiiu do that, there's a bunch of ways to do it though, and lots of compiler options

 

[QuarkTheAwesome]

So does this make you jerk link?

I just wish I had the patience to even learn C/C+ but with my rudimentary knowledge, I don't even know where to begin learning, you know?

CreeperMario had some good suggestions; if you want to learn you just have to start.

 

[the_randomizer]

So does this make you jerk link?



CreeperMario had some good suggestions; if you want to learn you just have to start.

But he implied that the only way to truly learn was from college, no? For me, that's out of the question, there's no way I can go back for a very long time, and by the time I do go back, the Wii U scene will have moved on. "This is not the best way to learn programming, the best way is to do your studies in high school and university, and get a high-level diploma"

Yeah, so that idea's out the window from the get go. *Sigh* Guess I don't have the drive or motivation to learn since learning it on my own will yield little results.

 

[QuarkTheAwesome]

But he implied that the only way to truly learn was from college, no? For me, that's out of the question, there's no way I can go back for a very long time, and by the time I do go back, the Wii U scene will have moved on. "This is not the best way to learn programming, the best way is to do your studies in high school and university, and get a high-level diploma"

Yeah, so that idea's out the window from the get go. *Sigh* Guess I don't have the drive or motivation to learn since learning it on my own will yield little results.

I'll concede that self-teaching isn't the best way to learn, but it's not like it won't work. I'm self-taught; heck; I'm still in high school - I certainly don't have a diploma. Call me unusual, gifted, whatever, but it certainly worked for me, and it certainly yielded results. They don't even have any technology subjects running at my school (something I'm rather annoyed about) so schooling isn't the reason I'm writing this now.
As for drive and motivation, that's not something that just happens, you need to decide to have it. That's a personal growth thing that you'll have to do yourself.

 

[vgmoose]

Yeah, so that idea's out the window from the get go. *Sigh* Guess I don't have the drive or motivation to learn since learning it on my own will yield little results.

This post makes me sad. Reread this post and tell me it doesn't make you sad!

Here's a good article on this stuff. And how it actually feels. All the time. A snippet:

And they don’t let you in on a big secret: that there is no mastery, there is no final level. The anxiety of feeling lost and stupid is not something you learn to conquer, but something you learn to live with.

And I think @NWPlayer123's attitude is the exact one to have. Pick a goal, and then try to work towards that goal. Here it is in flow chart form!

I was going to quote the post I made where I list a ton of code examples, but... That was in this thread! Grab one of those examples and set out with some simple goal, like changing the color of the paddle in pong, or removing the boundary limits on where a paddle can move, or drawing your own strings to the screen. And from there slowly evolve it into something else!

Don't worry about the obstacles until they're in your face, and don't sweat a formal education. You can get by through setting a goal and googling problems you encounter along the way.

All the education would do is give you a grade based on how well you met the professor's goals. There's still the same learning struggle, wrought with trial and error.

 

[the_randomizer]

This post makes me sad. Reread this post and tell me it doesn't make you sad!

Here's a good article on this stuff. And how it actually feels. All the time. A snippet:



And I think @NWPlayer123's attitude is the exact one to have. Pick a goal, and then try to work towards that goal. Here it is in flow chart form!

I was going to quote the post I made where I list a ton of code examples, but... That was in this thread! Grab one of those examples and set out with some simple goal, like changing the color of the paddle in pong, or removing the boundary limits on where a paddle can move, or drawing your own strings to the screen. And from there slowly evolve it into something else!

Don't worry about the obstacles until they're in your face, and don't sweat a formal education. You can get by through setting a goal and googling problems you encounter along the way.

All the education would do is give you a grade based on how well you met the professor's goals. There's still the same learning struggle, wrought with trial and error.

I'm not trying to sound sad, but really, I don't know what to feel, it's just that I've tried programming in the past and I didn't take it seriously enough, I need a rethink on this, but thank you and @QuarkTheAwesome for replying.

 

[vgmoose]

I'm not trying to sound sad, but really, I don't know what to feel, it's just that I've tried programming in the past and I didn't take it seriously enough, I need a rethink on this, but thank you and @QuarkTheAwesome for replying.

yo so like i wrote more words than just the first line of that post for a reason please read the article and check out the source links.

 

[pwsincd]

-snip-

 

[enderzombie15]

I have not been on the website for a while so thanks for the help. And about all that school stuff. I just started year 7. Evrybody is asking me to hacks stuff lol