Looking for help on customizing the Homebrew Launcher

[MikaDubbz]

Alright, I've got a request for some very specific help here, something the people only using Aroma would probably immediately shrug off as pointless, given that you can't use the Homebrew Loader as a channel in Aroma. But for someone like me who is happy to stick with Tiramisu for the time being, I need some unique help.

See what I've done is create a second alternate homebrew loader channel that loads its apps from the /wiiu/appx location instead of /wiiu/apps location. This itself was very easy, you just open the homebrew .elf channel with a hex editor like HxD, search for /wiiu/apps and change each instance to /wiiu/appx. From there I made a channel for this new homebrew loader through the Haxchi method. I stylized the icon and banners so that it looks like what you see in this video (if you watch the full video, you'll note another issue I wish to address from later in this post):



See, this new homebrew loader is meant to be a Sonic the Hedgehog Classic HD Collection loader. Kinda like a modern Sonic Mega Collection or Sonic Gems, but for the ported decomps of Sonic 1 (Forever), Sonic 2 (Absolute), Sonic CD, and Sonic Mania. (God willing, one day Sonic 3 in some form can be added as well). This actually works great, you place the sonic decomp folders in the appx folder, while still keeping the Sonic 1 and Sonic 2 .rsdk and mod files in the /wiiu/apps/sonic1 and /wiiu/apps/sonic2 directories respectively (these files for Mania and CD aren't affected at all since their folders are in the root of the SD Card). And I can change the homebrew music by placing the proper .ogg file in /wiiu/appx/homebrew_launcher. I could place a custom font in there too, but I do prefer the default over any of the sonic style fonts I messed around with.

This all works great, I have a custom homebrew channel just for the Sonic decomps. What I want now though is to refine and perfect this. I see how I could change various visual elements of the homebrew channel by editing the .png images here: https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/tree/master/data/images and then recompiling the launcher when all is said and done. But what I'm not seeing is an image for the background. Where do I change the background image? Or is the background just an RGB value to be changed instead? I can see how the latter might hold true here, either way, can someone direct me to a location for where I can change the background, be it image, or just the color values?

If we can change the homebrew loader background I want to change it to this:

Likewise, how do I change the the bubbles that float by in the background? I would like to change these from the round circles to instead be those classic shape designs of classic sonic art. If possible, I want to replace the bubbles of the Homebrew Loader with images of shapes like these:

If someone can help me with these visual elements of the Homebrew Launcher that would be great. Like I said I believe I could handle changing the visual elements of other aspects of the Homebrew Launcher, though I may have trouble compiling, but that's a problem to address for later in getting this all together.


Finally, and MOST IMPORTANTLY (This is the subject I would love help with above all else here), you'll note in the above video that when I hit the home button within any of the Sonic games, I return to the proper Homebrew Loader, the one that's homebrew apps are located under /wiiu/apps. Does anybody have any idea how to make it so that when I leave homebrew launched from /wiiu/appx with the home button, that I return back to /wiiu/appx? This would keep the illusion of this being a real collection stay much more intact than any other mods left to do.


Thanks to anyone who can help and for hearing out my particular issue that may be specific just to me lol. But man I would love if I could pull this altogether like I'm envisioning it.

 

[V10lator]

There's so changing the background color clearly is possible. I can't find the sourcefiles for this mod through so I looked into Dimoks source codes instead. Here are my findings:

Instead of hex editing you can change the folder to look for homebrews here: https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/HomebrewWindow.cpp#L63

https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/Application.cpp#L45 defines the assets folder. These files are loaded from there: https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/resources/filelist.cpp#L61-L76

Background colors are defined at https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/MainWindow.cpp#L32-L35

The bubles are more complicated through. Their color is defined here https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/MainWindow.cpp#L29 vzt but I can't find what's defining the form and stuff. You probably need to be good a UI programming to change that.

 

[MikaDubbz]

There's so changing the background color clearly is possible. I can't find the sourcefiles for this mod through so I looked into Dimoks source codes instead. Here are my findings:

Instead of hex editing you can change the folder to look for homebrews here: https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/HomebrewWindow.cpp#L63

Hex editing has worked fine though, unless, will changing it that way and then recompiling make it so that when I exit homebrew launched from the alt loader, that it returns me to the alt loader and not the original? Cuz this is the biggest detail I really want to address.

https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/Application.cpp#L45 defines the assets folder. These files are loaded from there: https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/resources/filelist.cpp#L61-L76

This is actually good to know, I knew the music, sound, and font files could be redirected to a directory, as I had been doing, didn't realize the various image assets (that aren't the background and bubbles) could also be redirected to, which is great for me and my inept at compiling ass.

Background colors are defined at https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/MainWindow.cpp#L32-L35

Well I'm disappointed to see that the background isn't an image. I imagine the code could be edited to point to a background image instead, would you happen to know if that is the case and what I would need to add and to where to make that happen?

Otherwise I can work with just a background color, but why are there 4 lines for the color code? Is each line kinda pointing to a corner of the screen? I know that some of the Mario Kart screens function that way when I was editing that game, and allowed to easily make gradients.

The bubles are more complicated through. Their color is defined here https://github.com/dimok789/homebrew_launcher/blob/master/src/menu/MainWindow.cpp#L29 vzt but I can't find what's defining the form and stuff. You probably need to be good a UI programming to change that.

Well the bubbles really are the least of my concern I suppose. Frankly all the visual stuff comes second to just making it so that I can return from one Sonic Decomp to this alt homebrew launcher, that is most important at this time.

 

[V10lator]

Hex editing has worked fine though, unless, will changing it that way and then recompiling make it so that when I exit homebrew launched from the alt loader, that it returns me to the alt loader and not the original? Cuz this is the biggest detail I really want to address.

To be fair I have no idea why this happens. The homebrews should run in the context of the launcher running it and when they exit they ask the Wii U to reload themselfes, which loads the launcher instead as again: They are running in the launchers context.
It might be title ID collisions with the original HBL but you can't change the title ID as homebrews check for it to know if they are running as a channel or from HBL. In case they think they are running as a channel while beeing HBL (cause you changed the title ID of your loader) things will go wrong.

I imagine the code could be edited to point to a background image instead, would you happen to know if that is the case and what I would need to add and to where to make that happen?

Surely that's possible but requires coding skills. Can't give you a simple walkthrough as I would have to read deeply into the codes for myself.

why are there 4 lines for the color code? Is each line kinda pointing to a corner of the screen?

Yes. Well, technically not to a corner of the screen but of the texture. As the texture is the background texture, so beeing fullscreen, you're somehow right.

 

[GaryOderNichts]

Haxchi's / Tiramisu's SD Loader will still load the original homebrew_launcher.elf from wiiu/apps/homebrew_launcher after returning to the Mii Maker.
Your custom homebrew_launcher.elf will only be loaded once.

 

[MikaDubbz]

Haxchi's / Tiramisu's SD Loader will still load the original homebrew_launcher.elf from wiiu/apps/homebrew_launcher after returning to the Mii Maker.
Your custom homebrew_launcher.elf will only be loaded once.

And there's no way this can change for the alt homebrew launcher in some way? Or would changing that then force all homebrew apps from the normal homebrew launcher to then exit to this alt loader? I would think both could be possible, but then again I really don't know all that much about programming haha.

Also anyone curious, I changed most of the visual assets that I can, and it's really coming together:



I'm still gonna change the pointer images for those that use Wiimotes, making player 1 Sonic's hand, player 2 Tails, player 3 Knuckles, and Player 4 Amy. Probably something I'll never reasonably see, but still a neat little easter egg I suppose for anyone that ever messes around on my Wii U.