Hacking Homebrew Wii U Hacking Questions From This Newbie (apologies in advance)

[slider86]

Hi, I’m new to Wii U hacking and homebrew. I bought the Wii U for the games I started buying but also to play Wii discs and Gamecube isos via a USB hardrive. I don't need to run any other emulated games (well not Wii U yet). I’m trying to follow all this from scratch and feel overwhelmed by all the online video tutorials providing different paths to hack the console. The Wii Hacks Guide website is only useful to a certain extent as well. I also just discovered the Noob Guide to Wii Hacking on this forum but as I’ve already started some of the hacking I’m not sure what to do next. I’m not a technical guy and I have learning difficulties but I wondered if anyone could answer this long list of questions?

1) As someone who has just started out using the Wii U to add homebrew installer to it I feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of different paths you can take to hack it. According to Wii Hacks Guide their only approved way is using the new Tiramisu method. This once complete is supposed to give me everything including stuff like Nintendont? Their previous methods are no longer approved but I wonder what the advantages of Tiramisu are over other ways of homebrew hacking?

2) I have a USB drive and I have my GC isos. Should they just be picked up by Nintendont?

3) How do I make sure that all games run off my USB via my Virtual Wii save progress to my USB or Wii U drive?

4) Do I need to use the SD card every time I want to access the Homebrew Launcher and would transferring those files to a USB drive to run from there instead still make it all work?

5) I was interested in using my Gamecube controllers with my Wii U in Virtual Wii. I have a GC four player controller adapter and I’m aware only certain adapters work. Unfortunately I don’t have the Mayflash adapter. Does anybody have a link to a compatibility list for adapters. The one I bought was an YCCTEAM one. Will that still work?

6) I was trying to get cheats working for Gamecube and Wii games via Virtual Wii and I wondered which do you think is the best app to use and how can I convert the Action Replay cheats to a file it needs to read? I have ARtoWiiRD but it’s a jar file which doesn’t look like a text file. GameHacking unfortunately only has cheat files as CHT so not sure what to do?

7) Bearing in mind Gamecube and Wii isos are being played from a USB drive do I still need to inject converted Action Replay Max cheats into isos every time I load up Nintendont or should saving my progress for a game make this redundant?

8) Online tutorials talk about how if I don’t use a dual cable for USB there’s not enough power coming from the Wii U and my USB drive might stop working. My problem is this: I have a LAN adapter connected to one of the back ports and it’s said I need to use two ports (one back and one front) for the GC controller adapter. That leaves me with one USB port. I have a USB splitter box so could that work for the USB drive?

9) I own an Action Replay Wii SD card. Has the homebrew community made good use of it yet or is it just a utility I can still use for Virtual Wii games only?

10) Considering I’m using Tiramisu, wanting to run games off USB and not install them, wanting to use Gamecube controllers to play GC games via Virtual Wii, wanting to use Action Replay codes does anybody have a homebrew prescription list as it were of what I need and what apps I should avoid as I won’t need them for what I’m doing?



I apologise for all the questions it’s just there’s so much variety and finding the relevant info is like being in a maze so I'm nervous about making a mistake.

 

[Norris]

ill answer some

1 tiramusi is free unlike haxci and works on every boot tiramusi is able to use the wii u quick menu unlike haxchi and is less likely to brick

2.i dont know this one i personally use my sd card for nintedont but maybe look at a ss of nintedont and see if theres a load from usb option idk

3.well this depends on how your playing them if your using injecetion or usb loader just load up a game create a save save and quit load it up again and see if its there to know whether it works it should work

4. yes you need to have your sd card in your wii u to load homebrew

5.idk

6. i personnaly use rom hacks aka patching your wii/gc isos with the rom hack patch file idk what you mean by cheats

7.idk

8. i personnaly just swap out usbs when i need to

9.ive never heard of using a action replay on vwii or wii u could work could not ask on the wii forums that question not wii u

10.i mean i guess someone could make you one but like for gc controller just use adopter for playing off usb use usb loadergx or vc injection and for cheats idk how to do so i just use rom hacks

 

[slider86]

ill answer some

1 tiramusi is free unlike haxci and works on every boot tiramusi is able to use the wii u quick menu unlike haxchi and is less likely to brick

2.i dont know this one i personally use my sd card for nintedont but maybe look at a ss of nintedont and see if theres a load from usb option idk

3.well this depends on how your playing them if your using injecetion or usb loader just load up a game create a save save and quit load it up again and see if its there to know whether it works it should work

4. yes you need to have your sd card in your wii u to load homebrew

5.idk

6. i personnaly use rom hacks aka patching your wii/gc isos with the rom hack patch file idk what you mean by cheats

7.idk

8. i personnaly just swap out usbs when i need to

9.ive never heard of using a action replay on vwii or wii u could work could not ask on the wii forums that question not wii u

10.i mean i guess someone could make you one but like for gc controller just use adopter for playing off usb use usb loadergx or vc injection and for cheats idk how to do so i just use rom hacks

I always associated rom hacks with changing graphics or adding new gameplay elements. Are patched isos with cheats integrated available for every released Gamecube and Wii game? If so I guess it would be against the forum rules here to direct me to the website to use for that?

You also say for the Gamecube controller to use my YCCTEAM adapter for playing off USB but is this adapter compatible with GC games played off USB? I would be using vWii to still run the GC games right?

 

[msSeven]

An ISO is a copy of your game disc containing all of the original game files. A patched ISO is literally a modified copy of said disc, so the original files have been completely changed. There are methods to patch discs and replace files, but often an easier method exists (i.e. Riivolution for Wii games), which patch your game files on the fly from the SD card without modifying any of the original data. That is usually the recommended approach. Mods such as these definitely do not exist for every game.

 

[slider86]

An ISO is a copy of your game disc containing all of the original game files. A patched ISO is literally a modified copy of said disc, so the original files have been completely changed. There are methods to patch discs and replace files, but often an easier method exists (i.e. Riivolution for Wii games), which patch your game files on the fly from the SD card without modifying any of the original data. That is usually the recommended approach. Mods such as these definitely do not exist for every game.

Not sure you know the answer to this but I'm assuming USB Loader GX, not just Nintendont can use cheats? Can the cheats be kept as a txt file or do they need to be all changed to GCT?

 

[msSeven]

Not sure you know the answer to this but I'm assuming USB Loader GX, not just Nintendont can use cheats? Can the cheats be kept as a txt file or do they need to be all changed to GCT?

USB Loader GX can use cheats from a txt file and apply them to both Gamecube games and Wii games. Internally it will generate a GCT file from the cheats you've selected from the txt file.

USB Loader GX is my preferred way of running Nintendont so I'm not sure how cheats work when running directly from the NIntendont app. I assume it requires GCT files in a specific directory.

 

[slider86]

USB Loader GX can use cheats from a txt file and apply them to both Gamecube games and Wii games. Internally it will generate a GCT file from the cheats you've selected from the txt file.

USB Loader GX is my preferred way of running Nintendont so I'm not sure how cheats work when running directly from the NIntendont app. I assume it requires GCT files in a specific directory.

I'm obviously new to this. Currently have some software issues with my Wii U but when I get those sorted out it I will want to start trying out cheats on isos.

I know that switching memcard emulation through Nintendont allows game saving but I wonder why does the Homebrew store give options to use like Save Game Manager? Does this do something different?

 

[godreborn]

I don't know if save game manager (talking about the cube one?) works on the wii u. its original design was to dump actual memory cards to an sd card, then you could use something like dolphin to inject them into a raw memory card image. there are two options iirc with memory card emulation: one is to do a different card for every game; the other is the same card. even though the former is recommended, I chose the latter, because I'm really careful, and I have backups anyway.

 

[msSeven]

I don't know if save game manager (talking about the cube one?) works on the wii u. its original design was to dump actual memory cards to an sd card, then you could use something like dolphin to inject them into a raw memory card image. there are two options iirc with memory card emulation: one is to do a different card for every game; the other is the same card. even though the former is recommended, I chose the latter, because I'm really careful, and I have backups anyway.

SaveGameManagerGX allows copying Wii save files to/from USB/SD. GCMM is what godreborn is thinking about, which would indeed be useless on a WiiU or any Wii without Gamecube memory card ports. It's meant to manage Gamecube memory cards.

If you are emulating the memory cards with Nintendont you'll have access to the raw memory card file directly on your USB/SD. You can manage those files using Dolphin emulator if you need to copy or edit saves.

 

[godreborn]

think gamecube (possibly wii as well) can actually be hexed in. iirc, I've at least had success with cube saves. I've also had success with the wiiu, can't remember wii specifically.

 

[slider86]

SaveGameManagerGX allows copying Wii save files to/from USB/SD. GCMM is what godreborn is thinking about, which would indeed be useless on a WiiU or any Wii without Gamecube memory card ports. It's meant to manage Gamecube memory cards.

If you are emulating the memory cards with Nintendont you'll have access to the raw memory card file directly on your USB/SD. You can manage those files using Dolphin emulator if you need to copy or edit saves.

I ask because when I've been saving Gamecube games the save files end up on the SD card. This means I don't really need Save Game Manager. I haven't tried Wii games so does it do the same thing? Same goes for SaveMii Mod. What's the point if the console saves to the SD or USB already?

 

[V10lator]

I ask because when I've been saving Gamecube games the save files end up on the SD card.

Which is the "memcard emulation" of Nintendont. You can't put a gamecube memory card into the Wii U, so it must be saved somehere else, no? That also means Wii cames won't save on the SD card but (IIRC) SLC.

 

[slider86]

Which is the "memcard emulation" of Nintendont. You can't put a gamecube memory card into the Wii U, so it must be saved somehere else, no? That also means Wii cames won't save on the SD card but (IIRC) SLC.

Apologies I'm new to this and have learning difficulties so following instructions is difficult.

I haven't tried Wii games yet so if Memcard emulation is for Gamecube does USB Loader GX save for both Wii and Gamecube the same way as well?

 

[msSeven]

Wii games will save to your WIi/vWii's memory, just the same as if you ran them from Disc. You don't have to worry about saving. NIntendont, whether it's run from USB Loader GX or standalone will also try to save in the normal way (using the gamecube memory cards).

However if you are using a console with no memory cards (i.e. newer Wiis, WiiU) or simply don't want to use real memory cards, you have to turn on the memory card emulation setting (which is accessible within USB Loader GX or Nintendont).

Put simply, just run everything from USB Loader GX. In it's main settings turn on Nintendont memcard emulation. Then just run things and don't worry about saving. It will just work.

 

[godreborn]

You can use save emulation with wii/vwii through emunand. I think it's called partial emulation, which doesn't actually require an emunand iirc.

 

[slider86]

Put simply, just run everything from USB Loader GX. In it's main settings turn on Nintendont memcard emulation. Then just run things and don't worry about saving. It will just work.

Okay so let's say I play a Wii or GC game, save my game and it's all done through USB Loader GX, When do I use Save Game Manager or SaveMii Mod?

 

[msSeven]

Okay so let's say I play a Wii or GC game, save my game and it's all done through USB Loader GX, When do I use Save Game Manager or SaveMii Mod?

You don't have to use those things. Just focus on getting one thing to work at a time. You'll want to use save managers later if you want to backup individual save files or copy saves to your console.

 

[slider86]

You don't have to use those things. Just focus on getting one thing to work at a time. You'll want to use save managers later if you want to backup individual save files or copy saves to your console.

That's the part I find confusing. Nintendont for instance saves a game and it shows on my SD card so why would I need an app to back it up?

 

[V10lator]

My guess is that these save management apps are for people who either do Wii VC injects or run Wii games from disc.

As I'm not using any loaders but Wii VC injects I have no idea how USB Loader GX handles saves.

 

[godreborn]

That's the part I find confusing. Nintendont for instance saves a game and it shows on my SD card so why would I need an app to back it up?

Savemii mod only backs up wii and wiiu saves. Wii vc injects save to the same location a disc on the vwii would.