Hacking Is it worth getting rid of my Cube for a Wii for emuation instead?

[Deleted member 42501]

Greetings folks, had a look around at the various Dios Mios threads and suchlike and am none the wiser so I thought I might as well ask:

Is it worth me getting rid of my Cube and using a Wii for emulation instead? Mainly it's the convenience factor of having all of my games on one drive instead of having to keep little folders of discs all over the place but it seems that a) emulation isn't perfect and b) Ikaruga isn't supported

How is it? For anyone who's done it? Am I better off with the original hardware as there's not really much I want to play on the Wii but there are a truck load of games that still get mileage out of the Cube.

Cheers

 

[SoraK05]

If you are looking for good and consistent compatibility, I would recommend a WODE with a Wii compatible with GameCube. Games with Audiostreaming however will not work with the WODE, in the same way that DIOS-MIOS will not work with those games (like Ikaruga). However, as homebrew goes, Devolution will work with those Audiostreaming games. The only other alternative to having games load with Audiostreaming is to get an older Wii DVD Drive with a soldered chip on it (as opposed to the non-solder flat-ribbon chips which would only work on later Wii DVD Drive revisions as soldered chips would not work anymore) and fit it into your Wii, playing disc copies of those games.
I am personally not comfortable using DIOS-MIOS for its speed limitations on the SD Card port on the Wii, requiring the highest class SD card you can get (which still doesn't do enough consistently for every game).

I would recommend a Wii over a GameCube from the fact that the GameCube has a much more sensitive lens (especially for backups) and the Wii is a lot more durable, as well as outputting somewhat better visuals through its upgraded video card and video output. I would rather a Wii over a GameCube for GameCube games for these reasons.

If backups is what you are looking to play, I would recommend the combination of a WODE and a modded DVD Drive (for audiostreaming games), or alternatively to a modded DVD Drive I would use Devolution for the audiostreaming games (with the original game disc required for verifying the game, with the 'DRM' that Devolution has).

If you don't mind however still using your GameCube, losing out on the better inherent visuals on the Wii, you could get a WODE (recommended) / Wiikey Fusion for example and actually fit it into the GameCube with some online guides. However, audiostreaming games will still need to be loaded by disc on the GameCube, but those would be the only game discs you would need to load.

There are also the EXI guides on the GameCube in conjunction with homebrew (I recommend a Qoob Pro modchip if you use the GameCube in general) and Swiss (and perhaps an SD Gecko for other homebrew)..

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Wow, it appears things are as complicated as they seemed.

It would be quite an outlay to get the Wode setup, would softmodding a Wii and then just burning the games to a full sized disc work or does that kind of mod not read burnt media?

What I had intended (wished) to do was to transfer my GC ISOs to a USB memory stick, plug this in the back of the softmodded Wii and voila. At this rate I might as well keep my Cube.

 

[SoraK05]

Wow, it appears things are as complicated as they seemed.

It would be quite an outlay to get the Wode setup, would softmodding a Wii and then just burning the games to a full sized disc work or does that kind of mod not read burnt media?

What I had intended (wished) to do was to transfer my GC ISOs to a USB memory stick, plug this in the back of the softmodded Wii and voila. At this rate I might as well keep my Cube.

OK, first of all, the Wii does not 'emulate' GameCube - the hardware is quite identical, and faster, so maintains backward compatibility 100%.
Secondly, the only homebrew on the Wii which will let you put your GameCube ISOs on a USB Stick and simply play them would be softmodding the Wii and using Devolution, requiring an original game disc to verify each game (with the DRM made by the author of the homebrew).

The other only alternative to playing GameCube games with a USB Stick is the WODE, which is simply a 5-10 minute job to open up the Wii and fit in. I have a WODE mainly for GameCube.

The 'technical reasons' for this are that when playing a GameCube game, the 'OS' that is used for 'GameCube Mode' restricts speed and access to the extra things the Wii has, blocking off USB support and Bluetooth etc. DIOS-MIOS has simply hacked the GameCube Mode 'OS' with the little memory that is spare to provide access to using the SD Card instead of the DVD Drive.
Devolution has ported instructions from GameCube Mode to work in the Wii Mode 'OS', which will allow for the things that Wii Mode provides like much more speed and memory, as well as the USB Ports.

A WODE is very easy to install and is convenient, and with the exception of the Audiostreaming games on GameCube, everything is easily playable on a USB Stick without ever even softmodding the Wii with homebrew.

EDIT:
Depending on the age of your Wii's DVD Drive, it is possible to play burned copies after softmodding your Wii. However, if your Wii and its DVD Drive are newer, the ability to read burned discs has been removed from the DVD Drive entirely. Wii DVD Drives are interchangeable however in any Wii, and acquiring an older Wii DVD Drive (especially one that can have a soldered mod chip on it for the best compatibility) would simply be a matter of removing your current drive and fitting the other one in.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Interesting, how do I find out how old my Wii is?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

I would say yes, as I'm certain you'll find plenty of great Wii games if you just look around. The WODE is a great little device, and is easy to install, but you really don't need one to enjoy GC USB loading, it just has the best compatibility.

 

[SoraK05]

Interesting, how do I find out how old my Wii is?

You can tell by your serial number.
http://www.wiidrives.com/list

Depending on your DVD Drive (Drive Chip), you will know if it can play burned copies.

Devolution is a nice homebrew - providing you have your original game discs and 1:1 ISOs (not wiped/shrunk ISOS, which will work on a WODE for example), I would prefer it over the WODE in general. The WODE is convenient however, and will act like the DVD Drive for use in the system menu for example, for (besides audiostreaming games) perfect compatibility and being able to change discs easily for 2-disc games. I don't use DIOS-MIOS because one needs the fastest class SD in their Wii and it isn't fast enough for all games, and also takes time to transfer games to the SD Card (from USB within the homebrew).

EDIT:
The DVD Drives with the D3-2/D4 Drive Chips will not recognize burned copies (which started from the time that Black Wiis came out).

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Great, thanks for all that info. videos such as this:



Lead me to believe that you don't need an SD card as they appear to be playing directly off the USB?

 

[SoraK05]

http://gbatemp.net/threads/how-to-p...s-from-sd-or-usb-using-dios-mios-lite.318585/
What do you know.. I didn't realize that USB Support was added, since I thought it wouldn't happen.. my mistake
So, DIOS-MIOS would be an option.. I do like my WODE though, for its compatibility, ease of swapping discs, and it works perfectly from the system menu..

 

[Lacius]

I sold my GameCube in 2007. I used my Wii to play my retail GameCube discs and later used my Wiikey to play them as backups. Now I only use DIOS MIOS for my GameCube backups.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Great, thanks for confirming - looks like I'll be able to do what I wished with the Wii setup.

Appreciate the timely replies and guidance. Will be picking up one of those new red Wii's so it will probably be the latest firmware (4.3/4.4?).

Could you point me toward the best guide for downgrading and installing the GC software?

Cheers

 

[Rydian]

Woah there. Brand-new Wiis do not have gamecube ports or memory card slots.

Pick up an older-model Wii that still have GC backwards compatibility.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Woah there. Brand-new Wiis do not have gamecube ports or memory card slots.

Pick up an older-model Wii that still have GC backwards compatibility.

D: Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water. I can't believe Nintendo would stoop as low as to take out the BC feature of their console.

For shame, thanks for that heads up.

Is there any truth to the Wii print on the front telling you if there is backwards compatibility as the red ones sure do look pretty.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/12722

 

[SoraK05]

D: Just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water. I can't believe Nintendo would stoop as low as to take out the BC feature of their console.

For shame, thanks for that heads up.

Is there any truth to the Wii print on the front telling you if there is backwards compatibility as the red ones sure do look pretty.

http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/12722

As far as I know, older Wiis have the 'Wii' logo printed underneath the eject button and shows properly when the Wii is held vertically, as they were meant to be vertical on the stand.
The newer Wiis are meant to be used horizontally, and have the 'Wii' logo printed above (to the left of) the eject button showing properly when the Wii is horizontal.

As the newer Wiis are meant to be horizontal, you would see them lying horizontally on the box, as opposed to older Wiis which are meant to be vertical on a stand.

 

[Rydian]

If you mean this red and black design...

NONE of those have it.


However if you mean the standard-looking Wii model (solid red, solid black, solid white, etc.), then it depends. Most of them have BC, but they removed the GC ports and such a bit ago.
http://techforums.nintendo.com/thread/13662

So if you get one brand-new (like fresh stock right from a big chain store store), it will not have the ports. You will want to get older stock or a used one.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

Great, I will take a look at the box before buying it. I intended to buy a normal Wii, not one of those new red and black ones as they just look goofy.

Any links for a good softmod guide?

 

[Rydian]

http://modmii.zzl.org/
Made by one of the forum members here, it's a free PC program that will set up your SD card with everything you need and a little wizard to walk you through the process. If I get a Wii it's what I'm going to use, if that counts for anything.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

http://modmii.zzl.org/
Made by one of the forum members here, it's a free PC program that will set up your SD card with everything you need and a little wizard to walk you through the process. If I get a Wii it's what I'm going to use, if that counts for anything.

Thank you, there were a plethora of guides available that all seemed to go about it a different way.

 

[Rydian]

A lot of the guides make unnecessary changes to the Wii, ModMii only installs/changes what's actually needed to avoid conflicts.

 

[Deleted member 42501]

A lot of the guides make unnecessary changes to the Wii, ModMii only installs/changes what's actually needed to avoid conflicts.

Great, do they include Dios Mios in their package or do I have to put that in myself? If so a guide would be muchly appreciated.

*edit* Also, is there anything that allows you to play GC games using the nunchuck and wiimote instead of the GC controller?

Thanks