Hacking are homebrew wii apps out of control?!

[shredman]

i am immensely greatful for homebrew applications for my wii
both with and without modchip...

i am however concerned at a scene that may well implode on itself
with some very dangerous bricking possibilities..

the design of the wii has some incredible security flaws and some
downright stupid design flaws in its hardware/software setup

kudo's to marcan and bushing and crew for their work on enabling
homebrew for the masses

i do think that there needs to be some sort of 'release guideline'
to the plethora of softwares coming for our beloved console
(as to whether it is in any way workable or 'who' in particular makes
up this guideline is another story...)

post your thoughts

SHREDMAN

 

[HJBSCX]

I could not agree more, though I'm new to the boards and my voice does not count. :>
When I think of "good" homebrew one name comes to mind, the name "Xport". That dude who was so important for the Xbox1 homebrewscene managed to have one unified gui for all his emulators, and not only one gui but he also set certain standards, like a usefull screenresize option, different videomodes and of course software filters the real emufan would turn off of course.
If you're a fan of Xbox homebrew then Wii homebrew (emulators in my case) is kinda useless, since none of the available emus offers the options to get as close to the original machine as possible. It seems to me, everyone is porting like hell but important things are kept outside because the Gamecube version did not have that feature.
My bad I'm so focused on emus, but as you mentioned, the bricking possibilities are endlessly and if you don't take your time, which I don't have, you're walking on thin ice.

 

[.TakaM]

This is nintendo's first console with real features, weak though they may be.
Things are already quite ridiculous and they're going to get much more out of control, but hopefully nintendo will learn from this in time for their next console.

You know, so we'll be able to report online hackers, all the cock faced miis, etc

 

[jalaneme]

i agree that using the xbox for emulation is far more superior than the wii emulation will ever be thats why i don't bother with it.

 

[Meksilon]

the design of the wii has some incredible security flaws and some downright stupid design flaws in its hardware/software setupThe design of the Wii in many way incorporates more security features than any previous console - the disc drive can't read DVD+/-R without a drive chip, and "TruchaSigner" exploited a very small security hole, enabling homebrew. And let's not forget that Wii homebrew was only unlocked by exploiting the lower security of the Wii's Gamecube mode.

i do think that there needs to be some sort of 'release guideline' to the plethora of softwares coming for our beloved console (as to whether it is in any way workable or 'who' in particular makes up this guideline is another story...)
Homebrew is becoming safer, and safer anyway as the problems with bricking have become known. If someone is going to install homebrew into their Wii one would think they understand the potential hazards - and how they can be avoided.
QUOTE(.TakaM @ Sep 8 2008, 09:10 PM)

This is nintendo's first console with real features, weak though they may be.

The NES had the D-Pad feature. The SNES had the hardware expansion feature, and the 6-button controller. The Nintendo 64 had the analogue thumb-stick feature, as well as the rumble and gamepak features, and the built-in 4-player feature. The Gamecube re-innovated the controller adding analogue trigger buttons and such, but many would say its real feature was the 60Hz gameplay for the PAL console. These are just some of the innovations that Nintendo has been responsible for with their consoles. Both the D-Pad, and later the analogue stick became de-facto standards for all of the consoles (of course though, with Nintendo patenting their D-Pad, every other console used a differing version to Nintendo's design). The rumble-feature also became a de-facto standard; and even though Immersion claims to own the patent that Microsoft and Sony "stole" for use in their controls, Nintendo's patent pre-dates theirs by well over a year.

I suppose features are what you make of them.

 

[WiiCrazy]

IMHO, not the apps but users are out of control

 

[OSW]

wii homebrew is rocking awesome at the moment and i'm loving it

forget bricks, if you're careful enough and do your research you're safe.

oh and emulation on the wii rocks. we have official near perfect emulators via VC and some awesome homebrew ones too.

no don't know any other system can emulate 64 so well and we're even apparantly getting a PSX emu.

 

[mcj]

IMHO, not the apps but users are out of control

I have to agree. I don't think there are any problems with the apps or the big names in the so called "scene". Just read through some of the threads here, especially the locked ones.

There are a lot of people doing some really great work - big names and little names (for example Cyber T and his custom Guitar Hero disc), people making their own homebrew channel icons, etc etc. Everyone contributes but they rarely get a "Hey good job!"

What's out of control is the demand of the kids that just want free games, and think they know everything.

I for one love my homebrew loaded Wii, I only download the games/apps I want, ignore the rest. And have a great time playing games that I have purchased.

 

[noobwarrior7]

I already started a thread along the same lines this discussion is going.
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=98504

 

[mcj]

I already started a thread along the same lines this discussion is going.
http://gbatemp.net/index.php?showtopic=98504

Just read all two pages of it. Bottom line is, and always be, everyone wants free games

Back on topic, there are loads of homebrew apps for the DS and xbox (xbox media center and all it's plugins for example). I don't hear anyone saying "Is DS Homebrew out of control?"

Want to know why? We can play roms (not backups, that's a bs term nowadays) and load homebrew on the DS with just a small cartridge that is cheap and easy to use. We can play copied xbox games and load the xbox media center using simple softmods. So there isn't really anything to complain about.


They same can not be said for the Wii. Aside from loading VC games & other homebrew via the Twilight Hack there is no easy way to play COPIED games without a mod chip. I'd say a better part of those people that know about chips really do not want to risk installing a chip and have something go wrong. So they want a "softmod", an "isoloader", or they want to "over run a buffer in the mii channel there by gaining access to the system to load an iso off of a sd card" (I know it don't make sense but it's been said).

So there you have it. Wii homebrew is not out of control. Most of you are bored of it and just want your free games.

(This is all just my opinion, but it is largely true, and I'm sticking with it)

 

[Neversoft]

Personally I just wish the homebrew scene was a little more organised but I guess that's the nature of the homebrew beast cos it's the same on every other console... It would be so much nicer to have a central repository where people *expect* homebrew to get released. I realise there's sites like GBATemp, TehSkeen and Wiibrew, but that's partly my point - I find myself scouring several sites for homebrew releases instead of just the one.

I guess ideally I'd like to see something like the homebrew browser built into the HBC and homebrewers encouraged to release via that (with a website for more info, screenshots, reviews etc.) but I don't think Team Twizzers are in the mood for pandering to my whims

 

[Meksilon]

We can play roms (not backups, that's a bs term nowadays)Only if you don't own a backup device, which I do.

They same can not be said for the Wii. Aside from loading VC games & other homebrew via the Twilight Hack there is no easy way to play COPIED games without a mod chip.
The only reason that people say you can only use a 2GB SD card is because you need to format it FAT-16. But it is quite possible to format a 4GB card using FAT-16, and one would think that'd be compatible. But still - one single game would fit on the card, maybe two (sliced down) - or a few GameCube games.
QUOTE

We can play copied xbox games and load the xbox media center using simple softmods. So there isn't really anything to complain about.

Well the X-BOX can read DVD+/-R/RW and CD/CD-R/RW as is standard for every DVD player. "Nintendo's Disc" is a format non-compatible with DVD; this makes it very easy for them to block standard DVDs. This makes it very hard for Microsoft to block the use of burnt games on the XBOX, as its only a "software lock" on the media.

 

[mcj]

Meksilon I think you are missing my point. It's not homebrew that is out of control, nor is it the "scene" (in regards to noobwarrior7 thread), it's the users/players. They want free games. No .. they demand free games. Look what happened when news of the exploit to boot games without a chip was released, and bushing wanted to contact Nintendo.

My previous post was my opinion as to why the other games scenes (nds, xbox, etc) are not said to be out of control.

There have been so many excellent developments in Wii hacking & homebrew development by people who are not even getting paid for their hard work, so I think it's safe to say it is far from out of control. Again it is those that demand free games.

 

[noobwarrior7]

The only reason that people say you can only use a 2GB SD card is because you need to format it FAT-16. But it is quite possible to format a 4GB card using FAT-16, and one would think that'd be compatible. But still - one single game would fit on the card, maybe two (sliced down) - or a few GameCube games.

this is not actually true, but understandable that you would think so. It has been tested with real 4GB SD cards (not SDHC) and the 2 GB limit is apparently/probably hardcoded, as no matter what you do the wii will only read that much space (2 GB) on even a 4 GB card (Seems really stupid right? why would ninty do that?)....however, possibly patched IOS wad could allow homebrew apps to reference more (if it is just an IOS thing), but time will tell

also, no Wii isos are 3.8 GB (the approximate space on a a 4 GB card) anyways, so until there is a true "Shrinker" instead of just better compression (Scrubbing) it would be a few shrunken gamecube games only...

oh yeah, and theres no isoloader yet period. :-)

 

[Meksilon]

also, no Wii isos are 3.8 GB (the approximate space on a a 4 GB card) anyways, so until there is a true "Shrinker" instead of just better compression (Scrubbing) it would be a few shrunken gamecube games only...

SSBB-->SL = Shrunk ;-)

 

[noobwarrior7]

I appreciate the wink, although dvd5 brawl is more pillaged than shrunk. bwhahahahaha

 

[Meksilon]

I appreciate the wink, although dvd5 brawl is more pillaged than shrunk. bwhahahahahaWell, for the record I don't have the shrunk version - just saying that shrinkage can happen. I did, however, download a 200ish MB Wii ISO not that long ago so I could use it to inject WAD Installer into. The ISO was the full size, obviously, but it was something under 300MB when in RAR form, that too could have been a smaller ISO than the standard size (which they keep for "compatibility" although I've burnt GameCube ISO's that are like tiny - like the Wiikey config disc, without "padding" it and it worked fine in my Wii - the reason being I was all like "I can't be stuffed waiting for a 1GB burn, I'm just going to write it").
QUOTE(mcj @ Sep 12 2008, 11:57 PM) Meksilon I think you are missing my point. It's not homebrew that is out of control, nor is it the "scene" (in regards to noobwarrior7 thread), it's the users/players. They want free games. No .. they demand free games. Look what happened when news of the exploit to boot games without a chip was released, and bushing wanted to contact Nintendo.

You do raise a very valid point - however I think that Nintendo is also hugely to blame. Now until recently it was true that under a modchip, your imports had better compatibility if they were patched and then burnt. Call me a cheapskate, but I don't like paying $100 for a new game when I can buy the same thing on Amazon.com for half the price. I ordered my copy of Blade Runner 5-disc from the UK because the price was much better, and the packaging was nicer (though I made and printed my own cover - which you can download and print for yourself here). I have watched all five versions of the film.

Nintendo's strategy is poor. They should just abolish regional lockout, and then release games that are fully compatible with my console with no modifications, etc. Then I may not have actually been motivated to chip my Wii, if I could do that - and install homebrew through the TW hack. I love the homebrew, I can't live without that!

Also, and this may just be me, but I've found my Wii doesn't like GC discs as much as it likes DVD-R. It annoys me to insert a GC disc only to get "no disc inserted" or whatever the message is - when I can rip the disc, and burn it and my DVD-R works flawlessly. Still, I suppose that's an advantage for me, and I may as well back up all of m GC games so I can play them on my Wii without that error message!

 

[elenar]

YES WII HOMEBREW IS TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL! SOMEONE CALL AL GORE, GLOBAL WARMING IS NOTHING!!!

IF WII HOMEBREW ISN'T STOPPED IMMEDIATELY, THE WORLD WILL BE IN GRAVE DANGER!!!!!!


/sarcasm

Seriously, can people please learn to stop overdramatizing?

/threadjack