ROM Hack Metroid: Other M Redux (Based on Maxximum Edition)

ShadowOne333 · Nov 19, 2024

Nintendo Maniac said:
Don't be so sure about that (at least as of around 2-3 years ago, though maybe I should re-test?):

https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thre...-reassembling-to-iso-won-t-play-on-a-real-wii

WIT was also mentioned in that thread, though I've never used it for rebuilding ISOs, only for trimming.

I did try WIT before, but I couldn't figure out exactly how to use to it properly trim, convert or create ISOs at all.
It's quite underdocumented at least from what I could find.

Nintendo Maniac · Nov 20, 2024

Just did a double-check and, even when using a much more recent version of Dolphin (revision 2409), converting back to ISO has the game fail to boot on real hardware (much like I mentioned in that Dolphin forum thread, I tested with Link's Crossbow Training due to its small file size).

ShadowOne333 said:
I did try WIT before
...
It's quite underdocumented at least from what I could find.

So all of this isn't the information for what is needed?:

ShadowOne333 · Nov 20, 2024

Nintendo Maniac said:
Just did a double-check and, even when using a much more recent version of Dolphin (revision 2409), converting back to ISO has the game fail to boot on real hardware (much like I mentioned in that Dolphin forum thread, I tested with Link's Crossbow Training due to its small file size).

So all of this isn't the information for what is needed?:

https://wit.wiimm.de/wit/

https://wit.wiimm.de/wit/cmd-convert.html

Yeah I did check those but I couldn't figure out exactly which command/flag would give me the desired result.
Looking at it again, I want to think that the command

Code:

wit CONVERT -I -s /path/to/files/

could do it, but I am not sure.

OgroGamer · Thursday at 1:39 PM

Rick328 said:
Is switching from 4GB splitting to 2GB in WiiBackupManager really is the only thing you did to make it work on real hardware? I ask because I have the same problem you had, it freezes at the loading screen (using USB loader GX)

I tried several way to build it: the new method with Dolphin, the previous method with WiiBackupFusion, Splitting in 4GB, 2GB, as well as splitting in 3GB directly with WIT command line (someone in the thread said that splitting at the wrong place could cause the issue). All these get past the loading screen when tried on Dolphin to test the builds, but they always freeze on my Wii. I'm running out of ideas as to why I can't make it work...

Weirder is the fact that last year version of REDUX is working fine (ISO build with WiiBackupFusion then converted to 4GB splitted WBFS) as I completed the entire game.

If someone has any idea, that would be much appreciated.

This is my problem, but I don't have another copy of redux.dol, only the one from the torrent link

Nintendo Maniac said:
It's possible your issues may be related to a minor oversight in the instructions, that being the part about creating a new ISO using Dolphin - I previously confirmed that ISOs created via Dolphin don't work on real hardware.

...also, is it just me or do the direct downloads no longer work? I mean, the torrent seems to still work, (I've not fully confirmed this by downloading the entire thing) but, when I click the "338 Files" or "205 Original", I'm redirected to an error page saying:

The torrent link works, with it I downloaded all the files.

ShadowOne333 said:
That's an issue on Archive's side.
They're still bringing services up bit by bit from the attack last month, so many things are still not working fully.

Edit pages and updates aren't working at the moment, and it seems downloading the pack through that method doesn't as well.
I might try adding a full zip with the whole pack later on.

Btw to help out @OgroGamer, what method would you recommend to create the ISOs for real hardware play?

I did the whole process again on a clean iso with wiibackupfusion replacing the files except main.dol (I kept the original main.dol) and converting to wbfs, and it works ok on wiiflow vWii/Wii U
I repeated the process, this time including redux.dol and it doesn't work

ShadowOne333 · Thursday at 4:18 PM

OgroGamer said:
This is my problem, but I don't have another copy of redux.dol, only the one from the torrent link

The torrent link works, with it I downloaded all the files.

I did the whole process again on a clean iso with wiibackupfusion replacing the files except main.dol (I kept the original main.dol) and converting to wbfs, and it works ok on wiiflow vWii/Wii U
I repeated the process, this time including redux.dol and it doesn't work

Did you rename the redux.dol file to main.dol?
I am not sure what the issue could be with it other than size tbh, but there's not much I can do in that regard other than use the original game's main.dol and rely on cheat codes for all the gameplay features, like the Hard mode from the start, cutscene skips, third person missiles, etc. The only other way to make it work on Wii would be through Riivolution.

To make it worse, I don't have a way to test on actual hardware, since I don't have my Wii at home so I can test it properly, so I'd have to rely on others doing the hardware tests due to that. I only check compatibility/bugs with Dolphin sadly.

OgroGamer · Thursday at 8:19 PM

ShadowOne333 said:
Did you rename the redux.dol file to main.dol?
I am not sure what the issue could be with it other than size tbh, but there's not much I can do in that regard other than use the original game's main.dol and rely on cheat codes for all the gameplay features, like the Hard mode from the start, cutscene skips, third person missiles, etc. The only other way to make it work on Wii would be through Riivolution.

To make it worse, I don't have a way to test on actual hardware, since I don't have my Wii at home so I can test it properly, so I'd have to rely on others doing the hardware tests due to that. I only check compatibility/bugs with Dolphin sadly.

Yes, I renamed the redux.dol file to main.dol

I can still try to inject the codes into the original main, it will be fun to learn and it doesn't compare to the great work you did.
Anyway, I appreciate your help,
Thanks for your work

Rick328 · Thursday at 8:24 PM

OgroGamer said:
Could you share that main.dol that does work please?

OgroGamer said:
This is my problem, but I don't have another copy of redux.dol, only the one from the torrent link

The torrent link works, with it I downloaded all the files.

@OgroGamer

Currently at work, I will try to send you the file via PM tonight or tomorrow.

(Does someone know if attaching it directly to a post would be against GBATemp's rules?)

ShadowOne333 · Thursday at 8:29 PM

OgroGamer said:
Yes, I renamed the redux.dol file to main.dol

I can still try to inject the codes into the original main, it will be fun to learn and it doesn't compare to the great work you did.
Anyway, I appreciate your help,
Thanks for your work

Rick328 said:
@OgroGamer

Currently at work, I will try to send you the file via PM tonight or tomorrow.

(Does someone know if attaching it directly to a post would be against GBATemp's rules?)

Actually, I think I have another DOL available on the Archive listing.
Search inside the "Files" folder, and you'll see one called "redux no unlocks".
See if that one works on your end, @OgroGamer, if not then try Rick's DOL.

ShadowOne333 · Friday at 10:55 PM

Let me know if Rick's DOL worked on your end.
The 2023 DOL is also now available on the Archive page, under the "Files" folder.
I was about to add a small paragraph to the "Create ISO" section, but I found out Archive's editing feature is still not working for some reason.
I can only add files and remove them, but editing any entry's page throws an item error.

I'll leave the paragraph here for when it becomes available I'll add it to the Archive page:

Create ISO said:
NOTE: If you get errors or simply can't run the newly created ISO on a real Wii, then use the DOL inside "Files/redux-2023.dol" as the main.dol for the new ISO.
Additionally, if you're still having issues running the new ISO on a real Wii even after replacing the DOL with the 2023 one, then try using Wii Backup Fusion (Mirror) and follow this video tutorial.

Nintendo Maniac · Saturday at 12:55 AM

ShadowOne333 said:
The 2023 DOL is also now available on the Archive page, under the "Files" folder.

When updating my local copy, I noticed that redux-2023.dol and redux-no-unlocks.dol are the exact same files with the same SHA256 checksum and everything:

SHA256 checksum said:
c0e3d69178fbbdf3420dfe136b64d185ff0c7038b77f361b7d0c908faf19cdb6

Is this correct?

OgroGamer · Saturday at 2:32 PM

ShadowOne333 said:
Let me know if Rick's DOL worked on your end.
The 2023 DOL is also now available on the Archive page, under the "Files" folder.
I was about to add a small paragraph to the "Create ISO" section, but I found out Archive's editing feature is still not working for some reason.
I can only add files and remove them, but editing any entry's page throws an item error.

I'll leave the paragraph here for when it becomes available I'll add it to the Archive page:

So far, these are my tests.
Test environment: Wii U/vWii with WiiFlow and USB Fat32.
I had already been told that the iso with dolphin does not work, but I should not leave it untested.
First, with redux.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts) does not work.
and then with Rick's DOL (renamed to main.dol obviously).
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts) does not work.
And if we convert the iso with wiibackupfusion?
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupFusion>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Works!! I didn't think it would.

We're going through the full process with WiiBackupFusion.
with redux.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Doesn't work.
With redux-no-unlocks.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Works!!.
with Rick's DOL (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)It works!!.
The step of converting to iso is unnecessary this time, but I should not leave it untested.
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)It works!!.

Nintendo Maniac said:
When updating my local copy, I noticed that redux-2023.dol and redux-no-unlocks.dol are the exact same files with the same SHA256 checksum and everything:

Is this correct?

I think Rick's DOL, redux-no-unlocks.dol and redux-2023.dol are the same?

P.S. now a little bit of TeconMoons, an image here, a sound and icon there, and I already have a wup installed and working in Wii U menu.

@ShadowOne333 @Rick328 @Nintendo Maniac
Thanks a lot for the support guys. :bow:

Nintendo Maniac · Saturday at 7:36 PM

I don't now about WiiFlow, but USB Loader GX can load ISO files directly if they're named the same as what a corresponding WBFS file would have normally been named (save for the file extension being different of course), so doing any ISO to WBFS conversion steps may be completely unnecessary.

This is something I discovered when using WiiScrubber which is an easier way to replace just one or two files on a Wii game.

ShadowOne333 · Monday at 4:16 PM

OgroGamer said:
So far, these are my tests.
Test environment: Wii U/vWii with WiiFlow and USB Fat32.
I had already been told that the iso with dolphin does not work, but I should not leave it untested.
First, with redux.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts) does not work.
and then with Rick's DOL (renamed to main.dol obviously).
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts) does not work.
And if we convert the iso with wiibackupfusion?
Dolphin>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupFusion>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Works!! I didn't think it would.

We're going through the full process with WiiBackupFusion.
with redux.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Doesn't work.
With redux-no-unlocks.dol (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)Works!!.
with Rick's DOL (renamed to main.dol obviously).
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)It works!!.
The step of converting to iso is unnecessary this time, but I should not leave it untested.
WiiBaFu_2.0>>full and clean iso>>extract files>>replace files>>convert to iso>>WiiBackupManager>>convert to wbfs (2Gb parts)It works!!.

I think Rick's DOL, redux-no-unlocks.dol and redux-2023.dol are the same?

P.S. now a little bit of TeconMoons, an image here, a sound and icon there, and I already have a wup installed and working in Wii U menu.
View attachment 472548
@ShadowOne333 @Rick328 @Nintendo Maniac
Thanks a lot for the support guys.

These are some very interesting results you got there!
Let me check if I got it clear, for the main redux.dol (not the 2023 one), the only methods that worked were these two:

Dolphin -> Extract -> Replace -> ISO -> Convert ISO to WBFS with Wii Backup Fusion
Wii Backup Fusion -> Extract -> Replace -> ISO -> Convert ISO to WBFS with Wii Backup Fusion

Did I get it right? redux.dol does work as long as you convert the ISO to WBFS with Backup Fusion?
It seems like the creation to WBFS from ISO using Backup Fusion might be the key here.

Is there a way to test the standalone 7+GB ISO on a real Wii? It'd be interesting to check if the standalone remade ISO does boot up on Dolphin.
Iirc USB loaders of any type require you have split WBFS for dual layered games iirc.

Nintendo Maniac · Monday at 9:33 PM

ShadowOne333 said:
Is there a way to test the standalone 7+GB ISO on a real Wii?

Yes, by formatting your drive to NTFS (I've no idea about support for other formats, primarily ext4 or exFAT)

I have a 256GB SATA SSD just freshly emptied I could easily use for this task (my normal Wii configuration already uses a SATA SSD paired with a USB adapter), but it could be a little of time (I might be able to do it later today or tomorrow but, if not, then it could be almost a week)

ShadowOne333 · Monday at 9:48 PM

Nintendo Maniac said:
Yes, by formatting your drive to NTFS (I've no idea about support for other formats, primarily ext4 or exFAT)

I have a 256GB SATA SSD just freshly emptied I could easily use for this task (my normal Wii configuration already uses a SATA SSD paired with a USB adapter), but it could be a little of time (I might be able to do it later today or tomorrow but, if not, then it could be almost a week)

It'd be of great help to know exactly at what point and with which software the rebuilt ISO breaks, thank you! Take your due time, don't worry.
Testing ISO and WBFS could help to know exactly which process works and which one doesn't for making a custom ISO for Other M Redux.
Once we have a proper conversion process, I'll document it and post it in the tutorial in Archive.

OgroGamer · 2024-11-27T16:32:19+0000

ShadowOne333 said:
These are some very interesting results you got there!
Let me check if I got it clear, for the main redux.dol (not the 2023 one), the only methods that worked were these two:

Dolphin -> Extract -> Replace -> ISO -> Convert ISO to WBFS with Wii Backup Fusion

Wii Backup Fusion -> Extract -> Replace -> ISO -> Convert ISO to WBFS with Wii Backup Fusion

Did I get it right? redux.dol does work as long as you convert the ISO to WBFS with Backup Fusion?
It seems like the creation to WBFS from ISO using Backup Fusion might be the key here.

Is there a way to test the standalone 7+GB ISO on a real Wii? It'd be interesting to check if the standalone remade ISO does boot up on Dolphin.
Iirc USB loaders of any type require you have split WBFS for dual layered games iirc.

to confirm.
all tests with main redux.dol did not work.
only Rick's DOL and redux-no-unlocks.dol worked. (i think it's the same dol).
you can extract with dophin or WiibackupFusion.
but only creating iso or wbfs with wiibackupFusion works. Edit: at this point using WiiBackupManager to pass the iso to wbfs or to transfer to hdd also works
By the way i always kept my hdd in fat32 for compatibility (nintendont isos, homebrew app etc) and everything in the same hdd.
so i couldn't try full iso.
i currently tried a hdd with ntfs format in external usb case with its own power supply, but i couldn't get it to work in Wiiflow vWii/Wii U
if i can get it to work i can try full iso
sorry

ShadowOne333 · 2024-11-27T17:09:51+0000

OgroGamer said:
to confirm.
all tests with main redux.dol did not work.
only Rick's DOL and redux-no-unlocks.dol worked. (i think it's the same dol).
you can extract with dophin or WiibackupFusion.
but only creating iso or wbfs with wiibackupFusion works. Edit: at this point using WiiBackupManager to pass the iso to wbfs or to transfer to hdd also works
By the way i always kept my hdd in fat32 for compatibility (nintendont isos, homebrew app etc) and everything in the same hdd.
so i couldn't try full iso.
i currently tried a hdd with ntfs format in external usb case with its own power supply, but i couldn't get it to work in Wiiflow vWii/Wii U
if i can get it to work i can try full iso
sorry

I see, so main redux.dol doesn't work with any conversion.
That's unfortunate, as two primary features for Redux are left out if you're using the 2023 DOL, which are both the Hard Mode from the start and the ability to skip cutscenes on the first playthrough.
I'd have to check what other means there could be to possibly make the main redux.dol work properly, I might have to delve into ticket shenanigans to make it work or something like that.

ROM Hack Metroid: Other M Redux (Based on Maxximum Edition)

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