Hacking Is there a tutorial to using Vwii forwarders?

[robco7]

I'm sorry if I missed it, but I couldn't find anything relevant when searching through the forums. I've seen some posts containing downloads for forwarders, like for GameCube and Wii games, but they say you need some program to install the original wad file in the Vwii section, and I'm confused about the whole thing, as I've never really even gone into the Vwii dashboard.

 

[EmulateLife]

Ok there's two different things I'm not sure which you're looking for. There's Wii VC injects in which you can inject individual Wii/GC games onto your Wii U menu, and there's USB Loader GX forwarder where you can forward a shortcut to USB Loader GX to your Wii U menu. Here's both.

Wii/GC VC injects: https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-wiivc-injector-script-gc-wii-homebrew-support.483577/
USB Loader GX: https://gbatemp.net/threads/usb-loader-gx-forwarder-channel-for-wii-u-menu.482595/

If you have one hard drive with plenty of extra space and plenty of time on your hands (one game takes an hour or more) I recommend the injects, or if you have a 2nd hard drive for vWii I recommend USB Loader GX forwarder.

But have you even hacked your vWii yet? If not https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-definitive-vwii-hacking-guide.425852/

 

[robco7]

I've used the WiiU USB Helper program to get GameCube roms, you have to search for the actual WAD files but I remember it would make a completed forwarder of the game for you. And I remember getting Nintendont, so now if I want to play something like F-Zero GX I can just open it on the Wii U dashboard. Is that considered modding the Vwii section, or is it only when you physically go to the Wii dashboard section of your Wii U to open stuff? After almost a year of having this thing, I'm still an idiot when it comes to this stuff.

 

[EmulateLife]

If you're just wanting to inject all of your Wii/Gamecube games into Wii U (which is this link https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-wiivc-injector-script-gc-wii-homebrew-support.483577/) I don't think you have to mod your vWii. But modding your vWii would be for playing stuff on vWii like USB Loader GX, which is just a loader for all your Wii/Gamecube games in one place. Modding your vWii is totally seperate from modding your Wii U.

https://gbatemp.net/threads/the-definitive-vwii-hacking-guide.425852/


I hacked mine and used USX Loader GX at first but then decided to inject all of my Wii/Gamecube games into the Wii U so I don't even need to access vWii anymore. But the inject process is more time consuming than just using a 2nd hard drive for your Wii/Gamecube games through vWii.

 

[Streeter98]

From my experience with the Wii U this was the hardest thing about the modding. You cannot launch a wii backup loader from the wiiu menu like you can nintendont. You can however have a wii backup loader on your vwii and link a forwarder to it on the wii u menu.
For example:
-Wii U -> wii backup loader Not OK!
-Wii U -> forwarder to vwii -> wii backup loader in vwii OK!
-Wii U -> Injected Wii/NGC game OK!

Wii U wii backup loaders dont work because launching an injected game from the wii u menu launches into a special vwii mode which has various limitations which make multi iso swapping impossible. Nintendont of injected games is like a single disc loading wrapper for the injected game, but nintendon't options files are universal.

Cyan explained it to me a while back:

Spoiler: Cyan message

Hello,

So, first, Nintendont does NOT require any cIOS to work on Wii nor on vWii.
Nintendont uses the official IOS58.
You do not need to install any cIOS at all if you don't want to play Wii games from USB Loaders.
You don't need to do anything at all on vWii side, you don't need to hack it.

But I recommend you do it, as it will help in some cases (launching installed homebrew, accessing nintendont in vWii mode to edit the game settings ... yes, you might have to launch Wii homebrew without using a WiiU channel. it's always an advantage to just launch vWii mode yourself)


The WiiU Wii VC channels are indeed switching the console in vWii mode, but in a special sandboxed vWii mode : it's locked to a single IOS : IOS255 (it's the fw.img file)
IOS255 is not part of the vWii memory, that IOS is located inside the channel installed on WiiU.
When you launch a WiiU Wii virtual channel, it contains :
1. the WiiU program (nintendo binary code) to switch the WiiU in vWii mode
2. the vWii IOS255
3. a Wii ISO

When launched from injected WiiU WiiVC channels, Nintendont is forced to use cIOS255, so Fix94 worked on Nintendont to add compatibility with a pre-patched fw.img : cIOS255.
You don't need to install cIOS255 manually to vWii, as that cIOS255 is always included inside the Channel you install on WiiU.


the "vWii IOS255" is redirecting the disc drive to WiiU internal or external USB.
when the Wii game have a "read disc" command, instead of reading the inserted disc the IOS255 has a special USB driver to open and read data from the WiiU formatted HDD, or from internal WiiU NAND.

That's why the current hacks can't have access to FAT32 USB devices, the included USB driver in the IOS255 is a special one used to load the game ISO from an emulated disc drive.
If we replace that USB driver with a "normal" driver, we will be able to access FAT32 partitions, but will not be able to install WiiU channels on WiiU USB HDD anymore because we will lose its access.



When using the vIOS255, it locks some command, such as "reload IOS", and prevent reloading to another IOS, such as IOS58 or IOS249 for Wii USBLoaders.


USBLoaders can load, but can't launch any Wii games.
WiiU channels switch to restricted vWii mode, mounts and launches the Wii ISO injected inside, which can be/contain :
- Full Wii ISO game
- A forged Wii ISO with either :
* A Homebrew only (for example nintendont, or Wiixplorer)
* A Homebrew Forwarder to homebrew located on SD (for example forwarder to nintendont too)
* A mix of both Homebrew + Gamecube ISO.

The last one is used by nintendont to load the "injected gamecube ISO" inside the emulated Wii ISO loaded as "Disc drive" when in vWii restricted mode :

VWii run the disc emulator, and loads the Wii ISO which is located on WiiU NAND or WiiU HDD. That Wii ISO contains both a forwarder to Nintendont located on SD, and a ISO of the gamecube game you want to launch.
Nintendont lists "disc" as it would list "SD" or "USB".
you see a list of files located on "Disc", and you find one or two ISO : game.iso and disc2.iso



I hope I answered all (or most) of your questions and didn't add new issues to your understanding.
Cyan

 

[robco7]

I'm afraid this talk is all too technical for me (and I'm studying calculus). But if I just follow TeconMoon's thread, I should be able to use forwarders people provided without risking a brick?

 

[EmulateLife]

Yes, TeconMoon's thread is just one program that can inject all Wii/Gamecube games individually. I've never heard of anyone brick using it just don't install games to NAND on WUPInstaller install them to USB and you'll be fine. I installed over 100 Wii/GC games myself.

If you need any help on how to use it I'd be happy to help.

 

[Streeter98]

I'm afraid this talk is all too technical for me (and I'm studying calculus). But if I just follow TeconMoon's thread, I should be able to use forwarders people provided without risking a brick?

The only issue with that is you can only have a hard limit of 300 wiiu menu icons. And you cant have individual nintendont settings per game.

 

[robco7]

I'm afraid I have to install games directly to the NAND, because of a problem that I was never able to get help with, since at some point I started getting some error whenever I tried to install games to the USB like I had previously been doing.

300 games/programs is the maximum amount you can have on your system? That sounds like more than enough for me, but I've gotten to the point where I can't add any more stuff without getting that message that I have to delete some, and there's no way I can picture having even 100 games on it.