Hacking Cover Flow USB ISO Loader by Beardface

[scognito]

Preliminary support of titles.txt is added in rev403 but it is disabled by default since it need to be tested by developers.
Please do not ask to build a version, thanks.
We also have to discuss how to use titles.txt, for example add a settings button for downloading latest one etc..

Just curious, how many of you would agree to donate few bucks for thank us for this loader?
I'm not asking you to make us donations, but just to know how many of you would thank us for the efforts we are putting on the project.
It was just an idea, nothing more, and I don't think we will ask so don't run away!

 

[JazzFlight]

Preliminary support of titles.txt is added in rev403 but it is disabled by default since it need to be tested by developers.
Please do not ask to build a version, thanks.
We also have to discuss how to use titles.txt, for example add a settings button for downloading latest one etc..

Just curious, how many of you would agree to donate few bucks for thank us for this loader?
I'm not asking you to make us donations, but just to know how many of you would thank us for the efforts we are putting on the project.
It was just an idea, nothing more, and I don't think we will ask so don't run away!

Frankly, I think even if people agree to be a little more appreciative of you guys that would be a good start.
I sincerely hope that CoverFlow becomes the main loader people use because it's clearly the front runner in terms of GUI. I can't even imagine going back to the boring "vanilla" unmodded Wii set-up. This allows your Wii to realize a potential that Nintendo couldn't even imagine and the CoverFlow loader makes this set-up as attractive as all get-out.

Keep up the great work!

 

[djtaz]

Would something like this do ?

http://www.theotherzone.com/wii/admin/titles.php

It creates the list on the fly based on the names on the site (some may need to be fixed, but thats possible in the admin section and i can add in some of you if you want) ... but do you guys need it to be in a titles.txt format or can your loaders take the file in that format and save it ?

Its easy enought to put it to a text file if required.

it asks for authentication

Sorry - have it done in a text format .... http://www.theotherzone.com/wii/titles.txt

*edit*
Have also added in a section into the admin side to refresh the text file when required , but if it gets popular i can just incorperate that into the index page so it refreshes each time someone goes to the site.

 

[rutny]

Hello! Noob here (at least to this forum) I don't particularly like signing up for forums as I do not typically stay around long enough to do it (I think I have adult ADD) At any rate, I WANTED to sign up here, and take a breather ...to say thank you for such a kick ass app. It amazes me what people do.....and create ...at no charge. It truely is dumbfounding at times...sort of like tonight when I found this app. I had to make my wife check it out, and will def be showing it off to some friends tomorrow. Hats off to EVERYONE involved in this as well as those handling the cover art website (DJ, I noticed you don't like sole credit...so thanks to everyone that submitted there) There was a question above about donations. I DON"T typically, but I honestly would for this app. It is just that kick ass. This thing is almost perfect!

A few things (I have read SO much on this thread and on DJ's that I am not sure it was covered) This is more for the noobs like me.
1) This works just fine...have patience...and you may have to do a little legwork , but not NEAR the amount of legwork that went into creating this
2) If you start using this and already have the cover images on your SD card, it may look all fouled up (It did for me, and I almost changed my mind about using this)
I fixed this simply by deleting all the images I had previously saved, and had Cover Flow grab them all back.
3) I couldn't get the 3-D cover art pictures to work "stock"
From the first post "*Must be 160x224 PNG" ....he wasn't joking. Now the 3D images off http://www.theotherzone.com/wii/ are 160X225
I re-sized one of the 3D images to the 160X224 size and it worked just fine. (I now have to decide which look I like better)

Now why is it almost perfect? I tried and tried and couldn't seem to find this (Possible suggestion for any future builds?)
I like being able to quickly see the following info:
How Many games are on the Hard drive
Used Space:
Free Space:

I know I can see this while using WBFS Manager, but it would be sweet to have access to this while using Cover Flow.

If the Games/Used Space/Free Space info is there, have patience with me...I really have read a lot of posts...and its late. If it isn't and you think you can incorporate it...well It would be PERFECT in my book (It really is now as it is)
Sorry for the long book...Just wanted to give my thanks, my experiences, and my suggestions...enough so I signed up here for this express purpose

You all have seriously done such a bang up job all around with this app and the covers site. Thanks for helping me to have the most bad-assed wii my buddys have seen (and the envy cuz most of them can barely turn a computer on)

Cheers!
Rutny

 

[ChronoX_]

Now why is it almost perfect? I tried and tried and couldn't seem to find this (Possible suggestion for any future builds?)
I like being able to quickly see the following info:
How Many games are on the Hard drive
Used Space:
Free Space:

I know I can see this while using WBFS Manager, but it would be sweet to have access to this while using Cover Flow.

If the Games/Used Space/Free Space info is there, have patience with me...I really have read a lot of posts...and its late. If it isn't and you think you can incorporate it...well It would be PERFECT in my book (It really is now as it is)
Sorry for the long book...Just wanted to give my thanks, my experiences, and my suggestions...enough so I signed up here for this express purpose

You all have seriously done such a bang up job all around with this app and the covers site. Thanks for helping me to have the most bad-assed wii my buddys have seen (and the envy cuz most of them can barely turn a computer on)

Cheers!
Rutny

I already requested this and it will be implemented: http://code.google.com/p/wiicoverflow/issues/detail?id=116

 

[djtaz]

Hello! Noob here (at least to this forum) I don't particularly like signing up for forums as I do not typically stay around long enough to do it (I think I have adult ADD) At any rate, I WANTED to sign up here, and take a breather ...to say thank you for such a kick ass app. It amazes me what people do.....and create ...at no charge. It truely is dumbfounding at times...sort of like tonight when I found this app. I had to make my wife check it out, and will def be showing it off to some friends tomorrow. Hats off to EVERYONE involved in this as well as those handling the cover art website (DJ, I noticed you don't like sole credit...so thanks to everyone that submitted there) There was a question above about donations. I DON"T typically, but I honestly would for this app. It is just that kick ass. This thing is almost perfect!

A few things (I have read SO much on this thread and on DJ's that I am not sure it was covered) This is more for the noobs like me.
1) This works just fine...have patience...and you may have to do a little legwork , but not NEAR the amount of legwork that went into creating this
2) If you start using this and already have the cover images on your SD card, it may look all fouled up (It did for me, and I almost changed my mind about using this)
I fixed this simply by deleting all the images I had previously saved, and had Cover Flow grab them all back.
3) I couldn't get the 3-D cover art pictures to work "stock"
From the first post "*Must be 160x224 PNG" ....he wasn't joking. Now the 3D images off http://www.theotherzone.com/wii/ are 160X225
I re-sized one of the 3D images to the 160X224 size and it worked just fine. (I now have to decide which look I like better)

Now why is it almost perfect? I tried and tried and couldn't seem to find this (Possible suggestion for any future builds?)
I like being able to quickly see the following info:
How Many games are on the Hard drive
Used Space:
Free Space:

I know I can see this while using WBFS Manager, but it would be sweet to have access to this while using Cover Flow.

If the Games/Used Space/Free Space info is there, have patience with me...I really have read a lot of posts...and its late. If it isn't and you think you can incorporate it...well It would be PERFECT in my book (It really is now as it is)
Sorry for the long book...Just wanted to give my thanks, my experiences, and my suggestions...enough so I signed up here for this express purpose

You all have seriously done such a bang up job all around with this app and the covers site. Thanks for helping me to have the most bad-assed wii my buddys have seen (and the envy cuz most of them can barely turn a computer on)

Cheers!
Rutny

Now theres a decent first post. Why cant all Noobs be like this?
Not everyone notices that i deflect direct appreciation so he has obviously done loads of reading and is well informed.
He has valid suggestions (though he may have missed that they have been submitted already, but some people have real lives too ... ohh to have a real life) and posted them well while maintaining his respect for the coders and other members and steering away from the standard 'noob-complaints-trap'.

Noobs take note !!!! Well done Rutny and i hope you get all you need out of this, the lads who code these loaders are excellent and its nice to see people going out of their way and making an effort to support them even if only shown by the trouble taken to sign up and post written confirmation of appreciation.

 

[redia]

I don't even get how it's supposed to take that long to download covers, when the main site that offers them gives you the option to download them all at once. How hard is it to just keep all the files on your SD card? They barely take up any room. No offense meant to Hamelin at all, just offering a time-saving solution for the time being.

The site only lets people download zip files based on the original sizes of 160x225 which this loader seems to have an issue with.
I havent got around to making a script to zip the resized files yet and im not even sure that i will, which means anyone who doesnt get autodownload to work has to do it manually by typing in the size and clicking on the files they want.

The bandwidth on that site is 200 gigs a week which i dont mind , but if i make it so any size can be zipped and downloaded it may double and that starts to cost me personally - and based on the amount of thanks i see to the people who spend hours writing amazing code for the loaders , i dont think im prepared to spend my hard earned cash for people who wont appreciate it anyway.

If it was only for coders id do it with a heart and a helf , but their autodownload script already works so its really only for individuals who have prolems which they cant figure out themselves and are too lazy to click on 30 or 40 images and save them.

Are you the admin of theotherzone?
If so, what about adding titles.txt? Gbatemp doesn't always is up so I prefere to have a more reliable site.
The code of titles.txt is done, but as for now it doesn't download automagically like covers, so I want to do that before the next release.
Thanks for support!

hello there,

just bringing my 2 cents as this subject seems to be of growing interest in this loader.
I personally would love to see it but I did understand that it was not your first priority.. I just wanted to say that I am happy to see you are working on that now.

about the auto-download possibility from wiki or djtaz website.. great option.. we could even build our own pastebin if no other solution is left

But.. if I may, downloading will probably create another issues. ?

because although we all agree in the naming conventions, well there are always some things we like to personalize or "regionalize" manually after grabbing a titles.txt file
so if you plan on downloading and therefor updating the titles.txt you might have to
- handle an alternate titles.txt for the few titles that we like differently. otherwise even if we rename them, when we will download the new titles.txt all our changes will be lost.
- handle the non existing games in titles.txt pending an update of the file on the website

I hope I am clear, if not let me know I will try to clarify. and once again this is only my two cents. I hope I am not a pain, but I would rather point it out early enough so you can implement it from the beginning (if it does make sense to you) rather than patching your code later

great work,
R

ps . the only missing thing in this loader is a possibility to have a few categories and favorites, but I believe you are already working on that
pps . I personally I am in favor of a donation. all of you coders are doing an awesome job and no matter how low the donation is, it just reflect our appreciation (for the ones who can afford it because unfortunately not everyone can)

 

[lexlth]

scognito, I saw that you are implementing the games.txt file. I was taking the aproach to the xml file, I think that the XML is more consistent... and one file less...
but anyway... since you has already programed this I'll stop my part...

 

[Nullkill]

I added a donate link on the main page; Its obviously Optional and we don't expect anything from anyone

Anyway; its there if you want to use it.

 

[rutny]

I added a donate link on the main page; Its obviously Optional and we don't expect anything from anyone

Anyway; its there if you want to use it.

You will see an odd amount. I had an issue with Paypal when I went to donate...seems they screwed me out of some money (whats new) Anyway...I gave you what was left before I close out the account and bid Paypal a two fingered farewell salute. Sorry is not much..I had planned on sending a lil more. Anyways...tried using your button...didnt work for me..maybe wouldnt allow me to add "cents"...dunno...so I just directly sent you what was left of my account. Thanks again!

R

 

[Amarabha]

Hi Nullkill!

As mentioned in Hibern's Thread, I gave your Loader another try.

RC2 worked fine for me. I tried downloading covers, flipping thorugh them back and force and played a little with the settings. I haven't had any problems. All worked as expected.

Nice Job, keep it going! CoverFlow is in my opinion the most stylish way to make a GUI for loading games.

Amarabha

 

[Pakatus]

Can anyone point me to the fix of issue 148?

[email protected] told me it was fixed in R387. Anyone can guide me to a compiled dol...i'm really a noob

 

[rutny]

3 posts

 

[djtaz]

3 posts

 

[pepperoni]

I deleted the now unattached box and disc images...booted back up...and voila!

So if you delete an ISO via WBFS, make sure to remove the corresponding images from the mem card as well (I mean cmon..lets not expect this app to walk the dog for us too)

That's weird.. I've deleted plenty of games via WBFS manager, and never had a problem with the covers still being on the mem card.

 

[Nullkill]

So if you delete an ISO via WBFS, make sure to remove the corresponding images from the mem card as well (I mean cmon..lets not expect this app to walk the dog for us too)

Interesting; In the process of testing i've deleted/added many games w/out messing with the images and haven't had any problems.

What USB Hard drive do you have? External or USB Power?

Also, when it froze, did it freeze on "initializing WBFS" ?

If so; I think we are adding in a larger recount try to resolve this; but just trying to see if this will help with your issue.

Thanks for the donation BTW

It'll most likely either go towards finishing the 2nd floor of a school at the orphanage; or completing construction of the medical clinic.

 

[delt31]

anyway to download new covers for games you recently added? Meaning, i have no problem downloading covers with the feature the 1st time but after the initial boot, when i go to download again - i lose covers and i don't get the new ones.

 

[Pakatus]

on build 387, couldnt locate "download covers" option...only tittles.txt

Has been removed? Any...reason to?

 

[scognito]

anyway to download new covers for games you recently added? Meaning, i have no problem downloading covers with the feature the 1st time but after the initial boot, when i go to download again - i lose covers and i don't get the new ones.
We have almost done the work that will lead to RC3, we still have to decide if we can release with support for titles.txt (I'm the only one who tested).
It will be mainly a bugfix release (like a RC should be) with also some nice new stuff

If this release will survive 2-3 days without major bugs, we will *finally* release 1.0!
But we will not stop there, we have started to work to what will be the 2.0 release, but first of all we want to deliver a stable one before adding new features!

Stay tuned!

Posts merged

QUOTE(Pakatus @ May 23 2009, 11:59 PM) on build 387, couldnt locate "download covers" option...only tittles.txt

Has been removed? Any...reason to?

I noticed that too, I've re-enabled, please test titles.txt since you're there, thanks!

 

[Pakatus]

on build 387, couldnt locate "download covers" option...only tittles.txt

Has been removed? Any...reason to?

I noticed that too, I've re-enabled, please test titles.txt since you're there, thanks!

I would be a happy tester...however, i dont know how to build a new Dol file.
If anyone could keep up a update dol file for us "testers"

(maybe in google-code)...it would be awsome...

Thanks anyway for your reply