Hacking USB Loader GX

CoolMe · Jan 9, 2023

blackb0x said:
It seems to work for me with r1281. So do you have the game ID in the folder name? Without it USB Loader GX won't display games.

Not sure.. will check and report later.

blackb0x said:
Do you think you've got any global settings or game settings enabled that could cause that? Since it works for me with r1272 and r1281.

I usually don't mess with any settings unless something's not working for some reason.. So it should be set to default i think.
Thanks for your input, btw!

RetraCarteR · Jan 9, 2023

Hey everyone! I've created a fork of USB Loader GX that allows users to force 240p (NTSC and PAL) and 288p (PAL only) video modes, and I've submitted a pull request on GitHub to merge it into the main project. I've tested out a few games using the new "Force NTSC 240p60" option I added under "Video Mode", and unfortunately, the results I've gotten so far have been... mixed to say the least. Here's what I tested:

Super Mario All-Stars (Wii Disc): Both the game and the home screen run perfectly in 240p. This is huge, as before now, there's been no way to run this one in native 240p, and as a game originally released on the SNES, it really benefits from it.
Super Mario RPG (SNES Virtual Console): Both the game and the home screen run perfectly in 240p. Before now, you could get the game to run in native 240p with some finagling, but the home screen was locked to 480i when doing so. Forcing 240p could be useful for people with video scalers like the OSSC that briefly drop sync when the resolution changes.
Sonic 1, 2, and 3 (Sega Genesis Virtual Console): Only the game works in 240p, and only if 480i output is set in the Wii system settings (if running the game through full NAND emulation, you'll have to set your Wii to output in 480i and then select "Export SYSCONF to EmuNAND" in USB Loader GX's settings). As for the home screen, my TV's signal cuts out whenever I try to bring it up. This isn't that useful, as when setting the video mode to "System Default" under these conditions, you can get the game running in 240p and the home screen in 480i.
Sonic & Knuckles (Sega Genesis Virtual Console): Like the first three Sonic games, the game works in 240p and the home screen gives no signal, but unlike those games, it works regardless of your system and EmuNAND settings. Notably, this game could not run in 240p on EmuNAND before now, only on real NAND.
Super Mario 64 (N64 Virtual Console): Only the top half of the screen is shown during gameplay, but the home screen does render in 240p. Not that useful in practice.
Paper Mario (N64 Virtual Console): Crashes to a black screen immediately, even with a cIOS setup that allows the game to run under the default video settings.
Mario Kart Wii (Wii Disc): Gives no signal. About what I was expecting, and what you'll probably get for most Wii games.

With these results in mind, I added a series of warning prompts that pop up whenever you switch to the 240p/288p video modes saying that the modes are experimental at the moment and may not work with all games. It might be possible to improve compatibility in the future, but for now, it seemed good enough to release to the masses (assuming that @blackb0x approves it, of course). If nothing else, it's an interesting novelty for people who like tinkering with different video modes.

I'm leaving it below for anyone who wants to try it out now. You're welcome to share information here regarding which games work under the new modes and which don't, but please don't harass me or @blackb0x about fixing any that don't. I might see what (if anything) I can do about it eventually, but only after this is merged into the project and included in the next official release, if indeed it is.

jeannotte · Jan 9, 2023

Hello,

just as an indication for @blackb0x and the others

I tested version 1281, it works on my wii with the version of D2x v8 Final cios:

wii version 4.2,
cios used 249 base56 D2x v8 Final
cios used 250 base57 D2x v8 Final
cios used 251 base58 D2x v8 Final
loader parameters 249

test of the game Kirby adventure on SD and USB:
first time launch on SD: BLACK SCREEN
second time launched on USB: it works
third time I relaunch Kirby adventure on SD: IT WORKS

r1vver · Jan 9, 2023

RetraCarteR said:
I added a warning prompt that pops up whenever you switch to the 240p/288p video modes saying that the modes are experimental at the moment and may not work with all games

with results like this, it should be more than just a warning. This should be a super warning with three degrees of verification. Do not forget that people usually poke everything without reading anything. Maybe it's worth to add a forced reset of last settings (just last settings, not to default) for such modes?

Darz · Jan 9, 2023

Hi everyone! I have registered again (other acc is impossible to recover), because I thought I had to present my case:

A couple of weeks ago my sata-usb connector died and all the content that I had on that hard drive was transferred to a SD.

USB Loader GX at that time did not have support to load my backups from SD, so I used the other loader, WiiFlow. I do not want to create a debate about what it is better or worse, simply for me it was an alternative until today, because I've heard about the new support for SD loading and was pretty excited to get back to USB Loader GX.

I copied the new version to my SD Card, power on my wii, updated the d2x v11 cIOS... I started usb loader GX and... no games appeared. I boot it with the SD option, but nothing.

If I try to download some stuff like languages or the WiiTDB.xml, appear an error "could not create path usb8:/apps/...", settings are not saved too...

Which makes me suspect that the mounting of the sd card is not done correctly or is not supported (microSDXC 256GB SanDisk).

The SD Card is format is FAT32 using the "wbfs" for wii and "games" for gamecube games folders, like I said d2x v11 cIOS are installed as recommended in the wiki...

RetraCarteR · Jan 9, 2023

@Darz Just checking: you do have your paths set up correctly, right?

jeannotte · Jan 9, 2023

Darz said:
like I said d2x v11 cIOS are installed as recommended in the wiki...

try my d2x v8 final cios setup as above ==>https://gbatemp.net/threads/usb-loader-gx.149922/page-1418#post-10044322

just try to see , please .

kot7k · Jan 9, 2023

Darz said:
If I try to download some stuff like languages or the WiiTDB.xml, appear an error "could not create path usb8:/apps/...", settings are not saved too...

That also happened to me during some tests. usb8 is probably not the right path. Just delete the config file (i think it was GXGlobal.cfg) and let it recreate it again if you dont wan't to mess up changing it manually.

blackb0x said:
@kot7k What version of the loader were you using before you upgraded to r1281?

All of the settings for the homebrew channel are irrelevant as of r1280 because it now uses libogc's SYS_ResetSystem() to return you to the menu.

I had the previous one r1280 (just reinstalled wii some days ago). I don't understand what are you telling me with that. I'm just saying that with my config, if a launch homebrew channel 1.1.4 from usb loader gx, i can't access usb from homebrew channel. Everything else works fine.
And the same homebrew channel can access usb without problems if i launch it from system menu (instead of launching it through the wii channel in usb loader gx)

rexus_pl · Jan 9, 2023

Ouaz said:
Note: NoobletCheese's advise is to set values either to 54, 80 (average value), or 120, depending the game.
This is in line with Swiss predefined width values which are 654px, 672px, 694px, 720px (not sure about the last two, I have to check)

Thanks! That works. I've tried with small values (42 ~ 45), so I haven't noticed the diffrence.

Ouaz said:
You display 4:3 games in 16:9 ? If no, black lines on sides of the image are normal (I'm not speaking of the 4:3 pillarboxes).

I have 16:9 TV. Some games looks great with "Force Widescreen" path, some are streched... how to run them in pillarbox (setting width to 40 wouldn't be enough)?

Darz · Jan 9, 2023

RetraCarteR said:
@Darz Just checking: you do have your paths set up correctly, right?

jeannotte said:
try my d2x v8 final cios setup as above ==>

just try to see , please .

kot7k said:
That also happened to me during some tests. usb8 is probably not the right path. Just delete the config file (i think it was GXGlobal.cfg) and let it recreate it again if you dont wan't to mess up changing it manually.

I have tried to overwrite the previous version, and then deleting all and trying clean. I see that USB Loader, does not create a configuration file for me (I have made sure that the SD does not have the lock set, in addition that I have now copied files from the PC)

So I can't edit paths from the louder and from outside editing the cfg

@jeannotte I will try it

blackb0x · Jan 9, 2023

jeannotte said:
it works on my wii with the version of D2x v8 Final cios:

Yeah it will, but you'd have better compatibility if you also put base 38 into slot 248. And d2x v11 fixes compatibility with patched RiiConnect24 channels, but it might also fix issues in some games.

jeannotte said:
test of the game Kirby adventure on SD and USB:
first time launch on SD: BLACK SCREEN
second time launched on USB: it works
third time I relaunch Kirby adventure on SD: IT WORKS

I can't say for sure why it's a little more picky from an SD card, but I suspect it's likely cIOS related (as in a d2x cIOS bug).

In general you'll be able to play more games from USB than an SD card.

kot7k said:
I don't understand what are you telling me with that.

You previously said you'd tried changing the cIOS for the homebrew channel. So I'm just telling you that it wouldn't make a difference as of r1280.

If you press the home button and select to return to the homebrew channel then is the USB option inaccessible?

@Darz I've tested it with a 256GB Amazon Basics microSDXC card, which was really cheap during Black Friday.

Is your SD card one big FAT32 partition and do you get promoted to boot the loader in SD card mode when you boot from the homebrew channel without a USB storage device connected?

RetraCarteR · Jan 9, 2023

r1vver said:
with results like this, it should be more than just a warning. This should be a super warning with three degrees of verification. Do not forget that people usually poke everything without reading anything. Maybe it's worth to add a forced reset of last settings (just last settings, not to default) for such modes?

I've just finished updating the mod with your feedback in mind. Now, it shows two warning prompts when switching over to the new video modes and gives users the option to opt out of doing so, in which case the video mode will be set back to the default. If the user proceeds anyways, one last prompt comes up telling them to reset their console and try a different video mode if it doesn't work.

Darz · Jan 9, 2023

@blackb0x yep, formatted with guiformat... and no usb connected.

I tried previous versions and It gives me the same error..., Is like Wii do not mount the SD Card correctly but only happens with usb loader gx.

jeannotte · Jan 9, 2023

blackb0x said:
Yeah it will, but you'd have better compatibility if you also put base 38 into slot 248. And d2x v11 fixes compatibility with patched RiiConnect24 channels, but it might also fix issues in some games.

i have base 38 on cios 246

blackb0x said:
In general you'll be able to play more games from USB than an SD card.

yes I agree with you, I don't know either why USB detects games better than SD (maybe the reading speed?)

I sincerely thank you for your comments here.

zigoraty · Jan 9, 2023

blackb0x said:
I've just released USB Loader GX r1280 along with d2x v11 beta1

Information and downloads @ https://gbatemp.net/posts/8856063

This update is compatible with other cIOS configurations, but I'd recommend updating your cIOS as per my guide so that unnecessary IOS reloads will be avoided. That is unless you're currently using d2x-alt, since I'm not going to provide updates for the alt branch.

And before anyone asks, yes, every game in this list and many that aren't on it will be playable without you needing to change any settings.

I currently have d2x-v10-beta52 installed. I'm thinking of replacing with d2x-v11-beta1 on my Vwii. I'm a little afraid to touch the vwii, I'm undecided. I'm also thinking about installing bomberman blast on emunand on the usb loader gx, I'll try to perform the procedure on the SD card since my pendrive has UStealth. Any suggestion ?

Ouaz · Jan 9, 2023

rexus_pl said:
I have 16:9 TV. Some games looks great with "Force Widescreen" path, some are streched... how to run them in pillarbox (setting width to 40 wouldn't be enough)?

I suppose your Wii is set to 16:9 display.

So, if you want to run a particular game in its original 4:3 ratio (with pillarboxes), enter the game settings in ULGX, and in "Aspect Ratio", choose "Force 4:3". Then, obviously, change your TV display to 4:3 when playing this game.

Or set your Wii to 4:3 display (in this case, you will have to force 16:9 for Wii games) > that's my setting as I play GC games way more often.

Regarding 16:9 on 4:3 games without stretching, there's two ways to achieve it:

- "Force Widescreen" (through GC loaders like Nintendont) which is a "true" 16:9, as it shows things computed outside of the 4:3 viewport. But it's likely it also shows some garbage (untextured objects, clipping, etc, as it is not meant to be shown in first place).

- Anamorphic widescreen (what the Wii does actually in 16:9). The 4:3 image is squished horizontally, so when extended to 16/9, the image has a good aspect ratio, but it induces a slight blur as it's still the same 4:3 base resolution. However, in case of GC games, 2D elements (mainly the HUD) are still stretched.

To get anamorphic widescreen in GC games, you have to use Wiird/Ocarina codes, and enable them in ULGX. This site has anamorphic widescreen codes for numerous GC games (NTSC or PAL): https://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=2165

But imo, GC games are meant to be played in 4:3 anyway, to have the best image clarity.

EDIT: some GC games have a 16:9 display options, which are anamorphic widescreen (without stretched 2D elements): Eternal Darkness, Burnout 2, Starfox Adventures and a few others.

blackb0x · Jan 9, 2023

jeannotte said:
yes I agree with you, I don't know either why USB detects games better than SD (maybe the reading speed?)

I suspect the d2x cIOS needs some changes to improve compatibility.

The d2x cIOS does have some other limitations though. For example, you can't use EmuNAND saves while playing games from an SD card. And there's games like Excite Truck that won't work from an SD card because the game wants to read from the SD card to check for custom music.

Darz said:
I tried previous versions and It gives me the same error..., Is like Wii do not mount the SD Card correctly but only happens with usb loader gx.

So it's a problem with r1272 and older versions too?

Have you ever checked to see if an emulator like WiiSXRX or Snes9x GX can find games on your SD card? I'd be curious to know because they're using some of the same code as USB Loader GX.

zigoraty said:
Any suggestion ?

For vWii you basically just need to follow this guide, but use my d2x v11 cIOS installer for vWii instead. It should be painless.

I've had someone ask me this elsewhere, so I figure I'll mention it here too.

If you're using USB Loader GX r1280 or newer for the first time then there will be a slight pause before your games are displayed. This occurs because the loaders caching everything so that subsequent boots and a few actions within the loader are much faster.

If you add or remove games to your storage device via a PC then the loader should automatically detect the change and the cache will be reset. But if something doesn't look right then you can also manually reset the cache by going to settings > features > reset cached titles.

zigoraty · Jan 10, 2023

I installed d2x-v11-beta1 on the Vwii and everything went well, I also reinstalled the Patched IOS80 Installer for vWii, performed the syscheck (I had never used it before) and the IOS80 appears as "no patches", It's normal ?

Darz · Jan 10, 2023

@blackb0x

I'm sorry, yesterday I couldn't continue doing more tests. I have tried with snes9xgx 4.5.3, it opens perfectly and I can locate the roms inside the microSD.

I returned to th USB Loader and one of the tests that I am doing is, for example, downloading languages from the loader. Initialize network fine, try to download but... get this message

Another test that I have done a couple of minutes ago is take a usb flash drive, put two games of wii and gamecube and try again. Well, the loader recognizes the games,

But I am not able to download covers or save configuration or explore in the parths beyond in this case "usb1:/"

Anything I can test. I will be happy to help.

PS. I tried D2X V8 too and same results

PS2. Testing with older versions before 1280 like 1272 and... error

Edit.

I have searching for people on gbatemp and other websites who had problems when microSD was not detected once inside usb loader... and I found a thread right here
https://gbatemp.net/threads/usb-loa...sd-card-confusing-problem.353761/post-4757779

But being a larger sd, the Panasonic software do the format in ExFat, so I decided, just for curiosity, to go with the EaseUS software.

And... surprise

32MB on one first partition were giving me quite a huge headache :rofl2:

So I deleted all, formated again, minimum SD files with two games and...

Maybe now I only have to correct some paths, but at least now everything is correct. @blackb0x thank you anyway for the help and these new versions!

zigoraty · Jan 10, 2023

I tested the Usb Loader GX r1.281 with Nintendont MMMod v6.499, and it works perfectly

Hacking USB Loader GX

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