Hacking Managed to Soft-Mod Wii U - Actually loading games way too difficult

[Expat123]

Hi Everyone,

I picked up a Wii U this week as I've really been dying to play old Gamecube games and this seemed like the best way, along with being able to play Wii and Wii U games also.

I managed to Soft-Mod the Wii U OK using CBHC - it went pretty smoothly but was nearing the limit of what I thought I would be able to do.

However I can't manage to load a single game onto the system and every search I do I seem to find conflicting information on how to do things, using jargon that makes no sense.

Basically I'm looking for a simpler guide that's still relevant in 2020 for being able to load and play N64, Gamecube, Wii and Wii U games that I can load on to the system.

Some of the things I'm struggling with:

1. I have a 25gb WUD file, but trying to put it on my SD card it won't allow me because the file is too large. I've looked up how to load this WUD file in parts but can't find that info anywhere. I was planning to use WUP Installer GX2 which I already have installed

2. There doesn't seem to be any good straightforward places to find Wii U games online, only complicated instructions for obtaining them - is this actually the case?

3. It seems running N64 games is actually very complicated and can only be done via injection? Reading the instructions here does my head in.


I originally bought the Wii U after hearing what a great retro gaming machine it is and how it can be modded very easily in just a few minutes. While I did get it modded, I haven't been able to load a single game onto it yet.

Luckily all the games I really want to play are first-party Nintendo titles and can mostly be found on the Virtual Console for sale - but it must be possible to get access to them without buying them directly. I'd honestly prefer to pay someone for their time to help me get it all setup.

 

[Deleted User]

Hi Everyone,

I picked up a Wii U this week as I've really been dying to play old Gamecube games and this seemed like the best way, along with being able to play Wii and Wii U games also.

I managed to Soft-Mod the Wii U OK using CBHC - it went pretty smoothly but was nearing the limit of what I thought I would be able to do.

However I can't manage to load a single game onto the system and every search I do I seem to find conflicting information on how to do things, using jargon that makes no sense.

Basically I'm looking for a simpler guide that's still relevant in 2020 for being able to load and play N64, Gamecube, Wii and Wii U games that I can load on to the system.

Some of the things I'm struggling with:

1. I have a 25gb WUD file, but trying to put it on my SD card it won't allow me because the file is too large. I've looked up how to load this WUD file in parts but can't find that info anywhere. I was planning to use WUP Installer GX2 which I already have installed

2. There doesn't seem to be any good straightforward places to find Wii U games online, only complicated instructions for obtaining them - is this actually the case?

3. It seems running N64 games is actually very complicated and can only be done via injection? Reading the instructions here does my head in.


I originally bought the Wii U after hearing what a great retro gaming machine it is and how it can be modded very easily in just a few minutes. While I did get it modded, I haven't been able to load a single game onto it yet.

Luckily all the games I really want to play are first-party Nintendo titles and can mostly be found on the Virtual Console for sale - but it must be possible to get access to them without buying them directly. I'd honestly prefer to pay someone for their time to help me get it all setup.

A. We don't use wuds with wup installer
B. N64 injection is fairly complex, you may want to write it off your list
C. Gamecube loading requires an additional step on the vwii side.
Wup installer needs a title folder and the .app files for said application. And there is a guide
https://gbatemp.net/threads/guide-community-noob-guide-to-wii-u-hacking.451297/

 

[Expat123]

Thanks for the response

1. I have a WUD file - how do I load it then? Finding Wii U games is difficult and I often don't know the end file type until I've finished downloading - sometimes 25GB

2. Disappointing for N64 especially since it's so old and I can run emulators easily on a crappy laptop

3. Aware of the extra step on the vWii side - didn't realize I needed a WiiMote to even access vwii and thus play gamecube games but one is being delivered today, then I can test out Wii and Gamecube games

4. I'm not sure what you mean about WUP installer needing a title folder and the .app files. The only mention of WUP Installer GX2 is about how to install it - I already have it set up within Homebrew Launcher.

 

[CORE]

https://gbatemp.net/entry/wiiu-n64-virtual-console-research.15301/

N64 Injecting.

You need to Convert WUD - Wii U Disc to WUP - Wii U Install Package.

007 - Legends
Mass Effect 3
Fast Furious

Those Games if you ever come across them will likely be WUD.

Most of the rest if not all you can use WiiUSB Helper.

CDecrypt may come in handy.

 

[Expat123]

I have Smash Bros for Wii U as a WUD.

I have literally zero idea about anything you're talking about in your post. How can I turn this into a WUP and also make the files small enough to put on my SD card?

When I bought the Wii U I did it because it was described how simple it was to get retro games running.

Now that I have one, I've spent 12+ hours on the whole project since yesterday and haven't loaded a single game, and don't feel I'm any closer.

"Noob" guides I find on here on so complex.

Does anyone on this forum specialize with helping with setup? I'm willing to pay for someone's time to just help me get set up.

Otherwise I guess I'll just buy these games for the Virtual Console - none of this is intuitive or noob friendly whatsoever.

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

I also don't have a windows machine available to be able to use the USB Helper tools to download games from the Nintendo servers - if this even still works - can't keep up with whether or not the tool is still active.

 

[nasune]

Simply put, if you have a machine that can use python 2.7 or 3 you can use FunKiiU the usage for this is explained in the thread but basically you go into the FunKiiU folder and type in:
python funkiiu.py -title [followed by the title code found on the key site ie 0005000010144f00 for smash bros. (without the brackets)] -key [the title key on the site without the bracket] and press enter (the second part can be omitted if you provided the key site on first boot, but if that doesn't work this'll do the trick).
This will start the download and leave you with an install folder which contains the folders of the games you've just downloaded, put this (the install folder) on the root of your SD card and start wupinstaller gx. You should be able to install the game at this point.

edit: The key site is unfortunately not something that can be linked here, so you'll have to google that.
edit2: if something seems unsure I'd recommend taking a look at the FunKiiU thread, the usage is explained in a far better way.

 

[Tomobobo]

No offense man but if transferring stuff to sd card is too complex for you, you might not wanna keep going down the path you've started here. That's where stuff like digital distribution ended up helping companies in the anti-piracy department, they just made it so easy to just buy the product without hassle that the piracy option looks daunting.

 

[Expat123]

I appreciate the help, but the above might as well be gibberish for how much I understand of it, even after visiting the other thread.

I think I might have just greatly underestimated how "easy" it is to load your own games to the Wii U, and it simply won't be possible for me to do.

I welcome anyone who can help me out with this to contact me and am more than willing to pay for their expertise.

 

[CORE]

You can use WINE and VirtualBox if necessary if your running Linux.

 

[Expat123]

No offense man but if transferring stuff to sd card is too complex for you, you might not wanna keep going down the path you've started here. That's where stuff like digital distribution ended up helping companies in the anti-piracy department, they just made it so easy to just buy the product without hassle that the piracy option looks daunting.

I know how to transfer things to an SD card normally - I also know how to archive things into multiple .rar or .zip files to stay under a certain file size.

How this fits into getting it back onto the Wii U form multiple parts - completely lost and I've reviewed dozens of "noob" guides which are in no way noob friendly.

As I've said in multiple posts, I'm realizing none of this is nearly as simple as I originally thought. I'll either end up just buying the games I want off virtual console, or ideally I can find someone whose expertise I could pay for to help me get this working properly remotely.

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

You can use WINE and VirtualBox if necessary if your running Linux.

I have a Mac and Wii U. I'm only interested in playing these games on my Wii U.

 

[CORE]

You could still use VirtualBox via MAC and run a Windows OS Virtually to help you out.

Windows 7 will do.
WiiUSBHelper
64GB or Larger SD Card Recommended - Formated FAT32 , 64kb Cluster Size.

 

[Expat123]

You could still use VirtualBox via MAC and run a Windows OS Virtually to help you out.

I did think of using some sort of a virtual machine - that said, I'd like to successfully get even one game that I've downloaded loaded onto my Wii U before I take the time to run Windows on my Mac - I know I can do that and have before. It's the actual loading of things onto the Wii U that's entirely too complicated and doing my head in.

 

[Tomobobo]

Can you not boot windows on your mac? Isn't that a thing macs do now a days? The Wii U USB Helper tool is as easy as it can get but you'd need Windows. Otherwise like the dude suggested you could install python and get the FunKiiU script running on the Mac I'm sure. I think your main problem is getting the games in the format you need to use WUP installer, and that's gonna be a problem until you can get either USB helper or FunKiiU working on a machine you own.

 

[CORE]

WUD - A Wii U Game think of it as an ISO. However you cant load it as far as im aware.

WUP - A Wii U Game packed into an Installable Archive.

Extracted Games can be Loaded via Loadiine but get into that later...

WUP is basically you Installing your Game or App onto your Wii U and I suggest you do it onto a USB HDD and not your Wii U NAND.

 

[nasune]

The wud files themselves are basically useless for this. That's why you generally use a download program to get the install files (which are usually a number of .app and .h3 files with a title.cert, title.tik , and title.tmd file).
I guess the first step would be googling for the key site, and installing/downloading python and FunKiiU. I profess to lack the knowledge how python works on a mac, so you'll have to look that up, but afterwards using the FunKiiU script is fairly easy.

 

[Expat123]

Can you not boot windows on your mac? Isn't that a thing macs do now a days? The Wii U USB Helper tool is as easy as it can get but you'd need Windows. Otherwise like the dude suggested you could install python and get the FunKiiU script running on the Mac I'm sure. I think your main problem is getting the games in the format you need to use WUP installer, and that's gonna be a problem until you can get either USB helper or FunKiiU working on a machine you own.

Is it a fool's errand to try and find torrent sites or other sites that are hosting the files already in WUP form with everything I need? I would have thought that just like other systems, it would be easy enough find a torrent site or ROM site and get it from there - much easier for a non-techie.

BTW, not asking for sources to download at all, just asking it's even realistic to hope to find a source like that, or if it all needs to be DIY.

 

[Tomobobo]

Yeah I think you're finding out that it's def uncommon to find Wii U installable files just laying around like Mario 64 roms. It's def been a problem for me in the past and that's why the only 2 tools are mentioned here.

 

[Deleted User]

Lesson I've learned in life. If something is way too hard you're likely doing it wrong.

Delete the WUD and google "Wii U USB Helper reddit workaround" install it and download games already in WUP Installable format. Add it to sd card use Wup instlaller GX to install it to external hard drive. Simple.

 

[Expat123]

Yeah I think you're finding out that it's def uncommon to find Wii U installable files just laying around like Mario 64 roms. It's def been a problem for me in the past and that's why the only 2 tools are mentioned here.

Got it, trying to do it the way I've always known to get ROMs and games seemed to be the issue. My WiiMote just arrived so will try hacking the vWii and get the Gamecube games I really want to play running before I return to the Wi U games.

 

[Tomobobo]

Like others mentioned, look into running Python on a Mac it can't be that hard. Once you got Python installed look into that FunKiiU program. Good luck on the gamecube stuff.