Tutorial A Guide to Creating Rock Band 3 Custom Songs

[riotlancer]

@HarvHouHacker

I went through all that, as well as attempting .apps with emuNAND as well as injecting it into real NAND. Either the issue with my files stems from the very beginning of the process, or my WiiU is just not meant to play customs. I'll keep on trying to figure out what's up, and will definitely report any changes that fix the issue, if any.

 

[HarveyHouston]

@riotlancer It sounds like you either may not have followed the guide thoroughly, or you are trying to mix DLC purchased from the Music Store with customs. Double check:

• You are supposed to have a 735a4145.tik file for the sZAE generation in NAND:/ticket/00010005. If it isn't there, you need to install sZAE.wad using Some YAWMM Mod or similar.
• Keep official DLC separated from customs! Put customs on their own SD card, and do not add customs to SD cards holding DLC bought from the Music Store.
• Make sure that each custom's DTA file points to the meta folder of the song. For example, if you have 001/002 in sZFE, the line should be (name dlc/sZFE/001/content/data/songname/songname).
• You need to have your console ID when building for BINs. Your ID should be eight digits long and in hexadecimal (i.e. 1a2b3c4d or similar). Use xyzzy to pull the console ID for vWii, then add that eight digit number to ng_id.txt, making sure to erase anything else in there (including my message).
• Double check your files for errors. Make sure your DTA is properly formatted (you can format it using MahoppianGoon's songs.dta Editor. If it gives you an "Error reading file!" message, add any info from the original DTA into the editor. Save, then fix the new DTA with the old as a reference, ignoring lines that are not used in the new one). Check that your customs' files are in the right folders before building. Make sure you placed your APPs and BINs in the right places (APPs in NAND:/title/00010005/735a4#45/content with the appropriate TMD from that generation, and BINs in SD:/private/wii/data/sZ##).
• Are you using a PAL Wii? Remember that your content generation ends in a P, not an E. I have yet to upload PAL Packers to my repo; use the one available from here for now.

Check other solutions in my Known Issues Snippet to make sure you didn't miss anything else that may contribute to the "Unknown error" message. Let me know if something makes it work, and what you did to fix it.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Tutorial Update
The tutorial is now more up-to-date! While it still lacks information, it should now cover the basics that are also explained in the GitLab Wiki guide.

• Tabs have been renamed and rearranged! You can now easily see what to do in order, from first to last!
• The paragraphs on obtaining a Wii ticket and console ID have been moved to Step 1. This may also be reflected in the wiki guide at a later date; check the Rock Band Customs Thread for announcements.
• The tutorial now also references and links to the Rock Band 3 Wii Customs Manager in Step 4.
• Various wording that was a direct import from StackOverflow0x's old ScoreHero guide (as Koetsu) has been deleted or changed in this tutorial, based on current working methods for Wii/vWii.

 

[CarlPlaysWii]

I've been following this guide for quite some time now and I really appreciate it. But there are a few problems I've encountered:

• Only the first handful of songs loaded are playable, otherwise the rest reads "xxx cannot be restored to Wii System Memory".
• You said to adjust RB1 moggs to align with the midi, but when I play the song, it crashes on the loading screen.
• Everything loads, but there are a couple songs that just go missing (ex. blackholesun)
  
• Songs that are playable crash when I exit the song early.

Any ideas what went wrong? I'm more concerned about the first two.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I've been following this guide for quite some time now and I really appreciate it. But there are a few problems I've encountered:

• Only the first handful of songs loaded are playable, otherwise the rest reads "xxx cannot be restored to Wii System Memory".
• You said to adjust RB1 moggs to align with the midi, but when I play the song, it crashes on the loading screen.
• Everything loads, but there are a couple songs that just go missing (ex. blackholesun)
• Songs that are playable crash when I exit the song early.

Any ideas what went wrong? I'm more concerned about the first two.

As always, check the Known Issues for the most common problems. Here's what I think, in order :

• The error "[Name of Song] cannot be restored to Wii System Memory" indicates that something is corrupted in your song; probably either the DTA, MIDI or the song itself (MOGG or BIK).
  • Make sure the DTA has the full path for your song, i.e. "dlc/ContentGeneration(sZ??)/MetaFolder#/content/songs/songname/songname".
  • For MIDIs, don't modify them unless absolutely necessary; if you must, use REAPER. I'm not familiar with editing MIDI files yet, so you'll have to look to Customs Creators for more help.
  • For the song, you may have to reconvert using my custom-creating guides. If you want to build a MOGG, use this guide. If you want BIKs, use this one.
• If your song is crashing, you didn't save it correctly. Use the guide for MOGGs linked above, or if it still doesn't work, make a BIK instead.
• Missing songs usually indicate that the wrong path is supplied. Check to make sure that it points to the META folder of the song, NOT the song folder.
• The culprit for crashing songs usually is the song itself. Saving it to a proper format fixes this. Once again, use my guides above for saving the song as a MOGG or BIK.

Let me know what worked and what didn't. If you need more help, don't be afraid to comment here or in my other places for Rock Band Customs!

 

[CarlPlaysWii]

...Let me know what worked and what didn't. If you need more help, don't be afraid to comment here or in my other places for Rock Band Customs!

I found my issue for the MOGG alignment thanks for guide, but I'm still having the same problem for the "cannot be restored" issue and I can't seem to find a pattern.

• For just Rock Band 1 songs, only the last 11 songs (start with sayitaintso) seem to be getting the problem but not the songs before?
• All of Lego Rock Band doesn't work (I haven't tried Rock Band 2 yet)
• I haven't touched the MIDI or the MOGG files at all (except for the few that work for audio alignment) and they run smoothly when I play the individual files on my PC.
• The only thing I've changed for the DTA files is the MetaFolder# within name (contentGeneration was correct to begin with) across all songs. Is there something else I should check? Should I be changing the url in midi_file as well?
• Folder numbers and total amount of songs added have nothing to do with it (I've tested it)

I've found the game crashes whenever I pause then return to either the song or the music library, but runs fine when the song is completed or failed (RB3 songs works fine). This happens to all songs that I've tested. Don't know if it's just me, but it's the least of my concern.

Also for future reference, how do I add multiple upgrades to a single song (ex. Pro Guitar and Keys)? And having multiple packers in my SD Card (such as both sZAE and sZBE folders) delete the latter ones is that suppose to be normal? Thanks in advance!

 

[HarveyHouston]

@CarlPlaysWii This is quite a bit of info! Let me see if I can break it down...

I found my issue for the MOGG alignment thanks for guide, but I'm still having the same problem for the "cannot be restored" issue and I can't seem to find a pattern.

There's still something wrong somewhere. If you're trying to import multiple songs, it ranges from being a minor annoyance to a real pain in the neck. Remove all the songs, reset cache, and then add them back one by one until you run across one that breaks, then remove it and keep adding. You should be able to find all the faulty songs this way, but depending on how many you have, it may take some time. I suggest not adding any more until you've fixed the ones that are broken.

For just Rock Band 1 songs, only the last 11 songs (start with sayitaintso) seem to be getting the problem but not the songs before?

Doesn't matter which songs they are; it can be the first 11. It's possible that the errors lie in either the folder structure or the DTAs. Check that every file is in the proper place AND the DTA is properly formatted for RB3, for every song that doesn't work.

All of Lego Rock Band doesn't work (I haven't tried Rock Band 2 yet)

If you used the old DTAs from my repo, that may be your issue. Use the new ones from RBHP GitHub. You can better format it with MahoppianGoon's songs.dta editor and a text editor.

I haven't touched the MIDI or the MOGG files at all (except for the few that work for audio alignment) and they run smoothly when I play the individual files on my PC.

Usually, you take off exactly 3 seconds for audio adjustment, but it may vary. Since I don't own every Track Pack, I haven't tested this.

The only thing I've changed for the DTA files is the MetaFolder# within name (contentGeneration was correct to begin with) across all songs. Is there something else I should check? Should I be changing the url in midi_file as well?

If you are importing songs for RB3, there doesn't need to be a line for the MIDI file. That's only for RB2. Double check to make sure there is no extra info in your DTA that may be causing problems (i.e. double previews, pack info, etc.).

Folder numbers and total amount of songs added have nothing to do with it (I've tested it)

Shouldn't matter, anyhow.

I've found the game crashes whenever I pause then return to either the song or the music library, but runs fine when the song is completed or failed (RB3 songs works fine). This happens to all songs that I've tested. Don't know if it's just me, but it's the least of my concern.

Crashing upon returning to the song indicates a corrupt MOGG or BIK. Crashing upon returning to the library suggests to me that the (preview # #) in the DTA may be out of range. The latter hasn't been added to the Known Issues Snippet since I have yet to run across it.

Also for future reference, how do I add multiple upgrades to a single song (ex. Pro Guitar and Keys)? And having multiple packers in my SD Card (such as both sZAE and sZBE folders) delete the latter ones is that suppose to be normal? Thanks in advance!

I personally have not tested RBHP upgrades; they are supposed to be able to work even on official DLC. StackOverflow0x has a nice guide over at Customs Creators. Let me know if that works for you.

As for the packers, I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. Did you use git clone or extract a ZIP from the repo into the SD card? That's not recommended; move it to a safe place on your computer's hard drive. If you're using git, then yes, using git pull will overwrite whatever is in there. I recommend moving the DLC packers to a separate folder named "RockBandProject" or similar. If you're using a ZIP, let it overwrite the duplicate files and folders in your project directory.

I hope this answers your questions! Let me know what else you might have issues with!

 

[CarlPlaysWii]

After some testing, I think I've narrowed down my problem. I've found that there was nothing wrong with the individual songs. And yes, both the Lego Rock Band DTA from your repo AND the 'official' updated one work. It seems that only songs that I set in folders 063-124 (3d-7c) work and any every folder beyond (I've done up to 230/e6) get the "restore" error.

So my questions this time are:
A. Is there a song limit for both RB3 and Packers?
B. Are there any blacklisted folder numbers you (or anyone reading this) is aware of? (because testing each number would be tedious...)
C. (A bit of topic) sZBE does a weird thing where it compresses everything I add into one file (061.bin) or just deletes everything after I load it. I don't know if that's because I'm trying to add both sZAE and sZBE on my SD card (both separate folders) or if it's packer B's problem. Any tips on using multiple packers in an SD card I should be aware of?

Thank you once again.

 

[HarveyHouston]

After some testing, I think I've narrowed down my problem. I've found that there was nothing wrong with the individual songs. And yes, both the Lego Rock Band DTA from your repo AND the 'official' updated one work. It seems that only songs that I set in folders 063-124 (3d-7c) work and any every folder beyond (I've done up to 230/e6) get the "restore" error.

So my questions this time are:
A. Is there a song limit for both RB3 and Packers?
B. Are there any blacklisted folder numbers you (or anyone reading this) is aware of? (because testing each number would be tedious...)
C. (A bit of topic) sZBE does a weird thing where it compresses everything I add into one file (061.bin) or just deletes everything after I load it. I don't know if that's because I'm trying to add both sZAE and sZBE on my SD card (both separate folders) or if it's packer B's problem. Any tips on using multiple packers in an SD card I should be aware of?

Thank you once again.

Glad you could make it work!
Answers:
A. I think there is a limit for RB3, but I'm not sure. However, each content generation has a cap, it depends on the header used. sZAE through sZEE has the cap (including the header) at 509 APP or BIN files, so literally 254 songs can fit in sZAE. I can test this theory by trying to build a song in one of the higher slots and see if it works, just to make sure I'm right. The RB3WiiCustomsManager.exe program will tell you how many files are allowed.
B. I'm pretty sure every folder within the generation's range is available to use, however I did discover that, especially for the custom generations, 00000001.app does not always mean it will become 001.bin. In other words, depending on what hexadecimal number the header file uses will depend on what APPs become which BINs, and often that means some numbers are skipped. For instance, if 00000020.app is the header file, then 0000001f.app will still become 031.bin, but 032.bin's APP file will be 00000021.app (which, if you know your hexadecimal, 21 is actually the decimal 33). If you want to be absolutely sure how to name APPs, check it with RB3WiiCustomsManager.exe. It should reveal every slot's APP name.
C. Are you saying that it adds multiple folders into one BIN? I simply did a copy-and-paste job for files I thought were compatible with each content generation, but if you're reporting issues, I'll test sZBE myself to see what happens. It may be that I forgot something.

 

[CarlPlaysWii]

C. Are you saying that it adds multiple folders into one BIN?

Everything works as expected on the PC end. The problem occurs after I load the SD in-game then check the SD card that I find one BIN file remaining. When I load the unaltered SD again, the songs appear as if it the files didnt get deleted (but I didn't restart the game). Weird but I'll try sZCE instead.

 

[HarveyHouston]

The problem occurs after I load the SD in-game then check the SD card that I find one BIN file remaining. When I load the unaltered SD again, the songs appear as if it the files didnt get deleted (but I didn't restart the game).

How large is the file?

 

[CarlPlaysWii]

B. I'm pretty sure every folder within the generation's range is available to use, however I did discover that, especially for the custom generations, 00000001.app does not always mean it will become 001.bin. In other words, depending on what hexadecimal number the header file uses will depend on what APPs become which BINs, and often that means some numbers are skipped. For instance, if 00000020.app is the header file, then 0000001f.app will still become 031.bin, but 032.bin's APP file will be 00000021.app (which, if you know your hexadecimal, 21 is actually the decimal 33). If you want to be absolutely sure how to name APPs, check it with RB3WiiCustomsManager.exe. It should reveal every slot's APP name.

OMG. After running RB3WiiCustomsManager, I've found that one of the hexademials was suppose to be skipped. The folder names should look like:
...
124_0000007c_songname_xxx
125_0000007e_songname_xxx
126_0000007f_songname_xxx
...
That basically did the trick and now I can play all of the songs beyond 125. Thank you so much for your help!!!

How large is the file?

It went from 19,287kb to 19,287kb (no change). I tried it again and this time the songs didn't even load... I don't know. Since I'm not as limited with sZAE anymore, I'm not concerned about it. Like I said I could always use another packer.

 

[HarveyHouston]

OMG. After running RB3WiiCustomsManager, I've found that one of the hexademials was suppose to be skipped. The folder names should look like:
...
124_0000007c_songname_xxx
125_0000007e_songname_xxx
126_0000007f_songname_xxx
...
That basically did the trick and now I can play all of the songs beyond 125. Thank you so much for your help!!!

You're welcome! The wiki guide has been updated to explain this better. I may adjust the tutorial here just so it will work for everyone.

It went from 19,287kb to 19,287kb (no change). I tried it again and this time the songs didn't even load... I don't know. Since I'm not as limited with sZAE anymore, I'm not concerned about it. Like I said I could always use another packer.

Yes, but it's still a flaw, and needs to be fixed. Thank you for telling me.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Tutorial Update
You may have noticed that some more instructions have been removed. This is because they are not really needed, since the files requested are already present in the DLC packers. This includes instructions to obtain a title.tmd, common-key, title.tik, and header APP. If for any reason you need these things, follow my GitLab Wiki guide instead.

I have also removed the descriptions on RBHP folders. If you need Harmonies Upgrades, please see StackOverflow0x's guide on Customs Creators.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Deprecated, but not Abandoned!

Due to the major rewriting of the GitLab Wiki, this tutorial is very much out of date and needs to be re-edited to keep up with the changes. However, that does not mean that this tutorial will no longer be supported, despite lack of activity. I had already posted a comment here stating that I wanted to leave it in a working state (post #16), but that also means that edits to the tutorial will be infrequent - days, weeks, even months may go by without any new edits, as is already the case. However, as long as I have my repo, the Tutorial will continue seeing new edits eventually. This also applies to the guide posted in Rock Band ScoreHero.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Tutorial Updated

Several things have changed in my GitLab repo and wiki, so I thought I'd make a few changes to the Tutorial.

I pretty much kept the same format, but removed several lines about using FS Toolbox. I'm already getting complaints about FS Toolbox being removed, but I prefer WiiXplorer due to its ease of use. However, I may re-add FS Toolbox with its own set of instructions separate from the guide.

I made sure to keep the videos by StackOverflow0x, and I also changed Known Issues to For Further Help. I added some helpful sites there.

Some of the images, like using a hexadecimal editor on official DLC, were from StackO's old guide and are no longer needed in the new tutorial and wiki, so I removed them. I made a descriptive list of all the DLC packer files, in place of one of the images.

Finally, several things were copied from my wiki. You may notice that, but I didn't explain how to customize USB Loader GX or WiiFlow Lite to run Rock Band 3 with customs and instruments. I left the general information instead. This may be altered in the future to be more descriptive, while still being generalized.

Since there have been some major changes done, there may still be some errors to this tutorial. If you run across any before I catch them, let me know!

 

[justmyself13]

I’ve been trying to get Rock Band 3 to load the DLC from my EmuNAND on my SDHC card through USB Loader GX and it won’t recognize the SD card as even being inserted. I have the .app files installed in the right section but I just can’t get RB3 to recognize the SDHC card. I have the ticket files installed as well as cIOS 249/250 running the game.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I’ve been trying to get Rock Band 3 to load the DLC from my EmuNAND on my SDHC card through USB Loader GX and it won’t recognize the SD card as even being inserted. I have the .app files installed in the right section but I just can’t get RB3 to recognize the SDHC card. I have the ticket files installed as well as cIOS 249/250 running the game.

Join the club. I've been getting the very same responses. I'm beginning to wonder if I need to start again from scratch to see where the problem lies. I'm pretty sure that any SD card will work.

 

[mdsteele47]

First off, thanks so much for posting this! I've been working through the steps to give the kids some increased entertainment value during our quarantine. Do need some advice - working from a physical Wii, home-brew enabled, real NAND, and previously have had RB3 DLC.
It took a couple of tries, but I successfully converted about 100 CON files via C3 CON tools, sequenced the folders starting with 003_00000003 and ending with 199_000000c7, and created the requisite APP and BIN files. Edited songs.dta for each one with the base-10 number and sZAE string. I've loaded them into the SD card and tried to fire up the game. Took the step of deleting the mstore.vff file as well out of NAND.
On loading the game, I'm not seeing any DLC available. I'm not getting any errors on load - the first time I saw that one new song was identified, which was not correct. (The right number appeared when I tried with a smaller set, but I was receiving a SD card content is corrupted error.)
I did use USB loader GX, but perhaps that's the piece I'm not doing correctly. Do I have to rip the DVD contents to a drive FIRST and play off the image, or can I just use USB Loader GX and access the drive through there? That step wasn't quite clear and perhaps that's the hangup here. Would appreciate any advice folks can give to help troubleshoot!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Doing this for the kids! I like it.

By the way, this tutorial desperately needs to be updated, as there are many more things I've discovered since the last edit. However, the basis for loading BINs from the SD card is there.

In regards to your question, we really need to find out why the DLC is not showing up before we can find a solution. There are several reasons as to why this happens, and most of them are found in my GitLab Snippets on common issues and problems with SD cards.

Ripping content from the RB3 disc will not help you, unless you plan on ripping the entire disc and running it via USB Loader GX as an ISO, WBFS, or other format. GX should be able to access the disc drive by default; if you don't see that option, make sure your version is the latest available stable version.