Hacking I Extracted Files from Wii isos and got .wii and .dat files

[dubmeister]

So I used Dolphin to extract the files from two games I wanna attempt to rip some models from. Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion and NASCAR Kart Racing, both Wii games. I got all the files in folders on my desktop and started to look to see what I had to work with. With the Cartoon Network game the majority of the files here are .wii files (and yes I think it is wii like Wii the console not WLL) and in the NASCAR game they're pretty much all .dat files.

I did a few searches to try and figure out what programs could open these and I've come up with nothing so far. But I've also tried making copies and changing the file extension to see if maybe it matches another format and I tried looking in a hex editor. Couldn't really see anything helpful.

If anyone has ran into these file types before please let me know, I'd greatly appreciate it.

 

[VinsCool]

Could you provide some screenshots for what these files are and how they are stored in their respective folders?
Surely there would be something to give some clue about what to look for specifically.

My guess is that both used generic file extension and you will need to identify what sort of file format they really are before attempting to open them.

 

[dubmeister]

Could you provide some screenshots for what these files are and how they are stored in their respective folders?
Surely there would be something to give some clue about what to look for specifically.

My guess is that both used generic file extension and you will need to identify what sort of file format they really are before attempting to open them.

Well from my best guess the .dat's are everything in the NASCAR game. And there's literally zero subfolders in the "DATA/files" directory. It just takes you straight to every .dat file in the game. Files include " hud_textures.dat, movies.dat, ui.dat, tk_collison.dat "
And the tracks from the game as well are listed in this same folder as, " gameobj_downtown.dat, gameobj_junkyard.dat, gameobj_talledega.dat " etc.
Same with characters: " dale_earnhardtjr.dat, jeff_gordon.dat "

With the Cartoon Network game, it is much less clear what files these could be. After going from DATA to files, there's a folder titled "fmv" and then "global" then following that there's 39 more folders that follow a format of "l_<suffix here>" most of which seem to pertain to characters in the game, ie. "l_ben1 and l_ben2" = Ben 10? "l_cho1 to l_cho4" = Chowder? "l_dex1 to l_dex3" = Dexter?

I did try to use the hex editor to look at the files and maybe get an idea as to what actual file format they are, but I couldn't really see anything, I'm not too familiar with hex editors. If I were to open them in it again is there something there that could tell me what I need to look for?

 

[VinsCool]

Most likely some sort of format header would exist in these files.
My curiosity was picked so I got myself a copy of the Cartoon Network game and extracted the files with Dolphin, and I can see what you mean now.

Clearly the FMV folder is using the Bink Video Encoding, and I could easily open them and play the videos with no issue, so that's one out of the way already.
As for the models, like you said they are indeed saved as .wii files, so I took a look using a HEX editor just to find some clue.
There is plenty of leftover developer data in the .iso file too, but none seems too helpful from a quick look at the scripts I could interpret with educated guessing.

So yeah I could not quite identify the data from the first glance either.

I did find some results by googling around by coincidence while I was trying to identify files using a "vaps" header in the first .wii file I tried to open (a_ben1.wii to be specific).
There was a mention of a QuickBMS script used to decode the PS3 version of the game files, which was linked here, I will attach the file in this post for convenience, save as a .bms file for using it.
I did not try to dig any further to try extracting the files from the archives, so I'll just leave the link to the QuickBMS program instead.

I think you might find your way around using it to extract the files you need with the informations I have found so far.
If you need help for using the tool feel free to ask around, I might try to extract data later today just for curiosity's sake otherwise.

I did not look at the Nascar game for now, but that too I could try to poke around later if you want.

 

[dubmeister]

I did notice the vaps line of text at the beginning of the hex editor when I was checking the CN game files. I wasn't sure if that was the right place to look for a file format or not and a quick Google search a did to figure out what it meant didn't help me that much. But I'm also a novice at this for the moment. I had checked l_ppuf.wii if I remember correctly cause I was trying to find a file with Buttercup's stuff in it, and at the very bottom of the hex editor text there were a few lines hinting at possibly voice lines.
I'm at work as I write this though so I can't check it for certain.

When I get home I'll take a closer look at the stuff you linked and hopefully I can get somewhere with it, thank you

I appreciate the help cause I've only dug into files everyone knows like MKWii and Brawl.

 

[Rypie109]

I managed to dig up an old xentax forum about the .wii files, and they also touch on the vaps header. I am not sure it is archived on Internet Archive, considering I am viewing a xentax warc backup, but i will see if there is a link.

Post automatically merged: Jan 29, 2024

Since I am a new member, I cant post links, but I have found an archive.

 

[Rypie109]

I managed to dig up an old xentax forum about the .wii files, and they also touch on the vaps header. I am not sure it is archived on Internet Archive, considering I am viewing a xentax warc backup, but i will see if there is a link.

Post automatically merged: Jan 29, 2024

https://web.archive.org/web/20231013064556/https://forum.xentax.com/viewtopic.php?t=15595

 

[BrokenX]

Just wondering, did any progress happen with NASCAR Kart Racing? I'm trying to rip/dump the models myself but I haven't found a way that works for me yet