Hacking Mighty Channels

[davebaol]

Ok, no problem.
If you agree later I can post a raw MC beta5-MOD so people can immediately test nand path and partition features of the last cios d2x.
Obviously the beta5-MOD would be intended just for testing purpose and you're free to make what you want in your next official beta6 without having to preserve backward compatibility with beta5-MOD.
Let me know.

 

[marc_max]

Yes, post it so people can already test it without having to try it for myself.

 

[icw35]

--path=/myNAND

Was one of my original requests. Would be awesome. So you can have various MC - each one pointing to a different path, one for Wiiware, one for VC, one for whatever...just an idea.

Or even share the nand from uLoader with the nand from mighty (as we know the nand from uLoader is in a folder called 'nand'). Still, I eventually moved over to Uneek so I share the uneek nand with MC but with this option you can have one for each and keep your uneek nand clean of channels

@marc_max: thanks for the awesome app.
@davebaol et al: thanks for working on it and ciosx21 fixes too.

Sh*t I wish I knew how to program this stuff to help you guys...

 

[davebaol]

mighty_channels_beta5_MOD_d2x_v3beta5.rar

Please to test multiple partitions support use cIOSX-v21-d2x-v3bet6

Also from meta.xml remove and --> then set the arguments.

• --partition
  Legal values are in the range 0-3 where 0 is the 1st partition, 1 the 2nd, and so on.
  The specified partition MUST be primary and FAT.
  Default value is 0 when the argument is missing.
• --path
  It's the path of the nand inside the specified partition
  Default value is the root when the argument is missing.
  Eamples:
  • --path=/
    it's the root
  • --path=
    it's the root
  • --path=/my_nand
    it's the folder "my_nand" under the root
  • --path=/my_nand/
    it's the same as before but the final "/" has not been tested, so it could not work.

The meta.xml in the example below specifies the nand at path /nand on the 2nd partition
CODE

ÂÂÂÂMighty Channels
ÂÂÂÂ11
ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ201101250000
ÂÂÂÂMarc
ÂÂÂÂUSB/SD Channel loader

ÂÂÂÂ

ÂÂÂÂ



Important note

Mighty Channels beta5MOD look at the version number of the cios to understand if --partition and --path arguments can be used.
If cios version is different from v21 then both arguments are ignored.
So don't change cios version number through ShowMiiWads or "Advanced Custom Downloads" option of ModMii.
However you can freely change the slot of the cios.

 

[Etheboss]

@davebaol, can you give me an example of how the nand path arg works, i have my nand in the root of my sd, so what does the argument look like?

Edit - NVM, i already found out...

 

[davebaol]

of course, now you can find a few examples in my previous post.

 

[icw35]

You know what would also be cool? To be able to specify the path for images...

 

[Taleweaver]

Whoa...I don't check this thread in a couple of days, and I'm missing out on awholebunchauploads.

(and I just happens to have my wii disk with me today

).

*fiddles a lot of things*

(a bit of musing to myself)
Okay...I've made the correct wads, changed their IOS number to fit my preferences and installed 4 copies of this modification of mighty channels (one with rev17, the others with d2x v3 beta 5...and base IOS'es 38, 56 and 57). All those copies point to my \NAND path (where my uloader-nand is stored). So (in theory) I should be able to install the wads and check out if MC loads correctly and if some problematic games actually work with these cIOS'es (I heard swords & soldiers being mentioned?).

I'll post some test results later*. But either way: thanks for all the effort, guys.

@Marc_max: my apologies. I tried to dig up the post where I got that nand path thing before posting, but couldn't find it. I guess I was mistaken.

*sorry, but I don't have multiple partitions on this drive. I hope someone else can do some tests on that.

 

[Taleweaver]

Hmm...my first test results:

1. tests with modified mighty channels, nand folder redirection and following cIOS'es:
1A: (d2x version 2 base 38)
1B: (d2x version 2 base 56)
1C: rev17.

Result: it all works. All three cIOS'es are able to find the emulated nand in the USB:\nand folder.

2. installed d2x version 3 beta 5's. Tested the same mighty channels:
2A: (d2x version 3 beta 5 base 38)
2B: (d2x version 3 beta 5 base 56)
2C: (d2x version 3 beta 5 base 57)
2D: rev17.

Result: 2A, 2B and 2C return an error upon booting (can't get title list; ret=-1t). 2D is peculiar...this should be the same result as 1C. Except now it can't find the USB:\nand folder anymore (it just uses the default nand in the USB root).

I'll do some more tests...

EDIT: nevermind those results: none of my wii games work anymore. I must have screwed up on the installation instructions of the cIOS.

I'll try again later.

 

[davebaol]

In fact the expected result for a nand path different from the root is as follows:
- rev17 --> nand not found
- rev21 official --> nand found
- rev21d2x any version --> nand found

And the expected result for partition argument is as follows:
- rev17 --> ignored, always used the primary active fat partition
- rev21 official --> ignored, always used primary fat partition 0
- rev21d2x lower than v3beta5 --> ignored, always used primary fat partition 0
- rev21d2x v3beta5 --> the specified primary fat partition is used

 

[Taleweaver]

Hmm...I must admit that my emulated nand roughly has the same things installed in \nand as in root, but still...I was sure I thought I saw... :-\

Anyhow: I've been busy reinstalling things. This second cIOS installation has more success (though I have no clue what I did different...perhaps MMM isn't as good a wad installer?).

The good thing: the emulated nand is found, and swords and soldiers works on my end (tested just with base 38 right now).

The bad: the 'path' argument isn't used. Sorry, but it just doesn't do it. I've tried both in uppercase and lowercase, and this time I've made sure that I'm not mistaken my emulated nands.

 

[davebaol]

The good thing: the emulated nand is found, and swords and soldiers works on my end (tested just with base 38 right now).

Which cios version?

QUOTE(Wever @ Feb 17 2011, 08:02 PM) The bad: the 'path' argument isn't used. Sorry, but it just doesn't do it. I've tried both in uppercase and lowercase, and this time I've made sure that I'm not mistaken my emulated nands.

Please let me see your meta.xml

 

[Taleweaver]

cIOS version d2x version 3 beta 5. Base ios 38, and installed in slot 245 (I used showmiiwads to change the slot number from 250 to 245).

This is a direct copy-paste of the meta.xml file:

Spoiler

Mighty Channels
11
201101250000
Marc
nandemu d2x v3beta5 base38


--ios=245
--auto=USB
--partition=1
--path=/nand

I hope it helps.

 

[davebaol]

Is the nand in the 1st partition?
If so you should use --partition=0
In fact --partition=1 identifies the 2nd partition

 

[Taleweaver]

It's the first partition, yes. A FAT32 primary & active partition, IIRC.

Unfortunately, changing the setting to 0 doesn't help. Nor does removing the line. All in all, it just keeps a preference over the root emulated nand.

Hmm...
*checks something*
Nope. Simply moving the root nand out of the way doesn't help.


In other bad news: I have to come back on my mention that swords & soldiers works. It looks like that was a one-time event (perhaps because there was no savegame present?). Right now, it is just stuck on that intro black screen for about 5 minutes straight.

EDIT: okay...interesting: removing and reinstalling solved it. So whatever is causing it to hang must have something to do with the savegame it creates the first time you run it.

 

[davebaol]

Mmmm... can anybody else confirm?
It works like a charm for me.

 

[Hugh Verdam]

Mmmm... can anybody else confirm?
It works like a charm for me.

Well, I'm a one-partition kinda guy, so I can't comment on that. However, having all of the Nand under a single directory now is a treat!

Interestingly, Mighty Channels previously played an audio snippet when you selected any banner. Now there is no audio at that initial click, although the game itself will play just fine. Acceptable trade-off, however, compared to having the nand in the root!

 

[Hugh Verdam]

...However, having all of the Nand under a single directory now is a treat!

Interestingly, Mighty Channels previously played an audio snippet when you selected any banner. Now there is no audio at that initial click, although the game itself will play just fine. Acceptable trade-off, however, compared to having the nand in the root!

Follow up...sadly everything went to hell. Perhaps the audio not playing was a tip off that not everything in the modified MC is working correctly (for me). The games that I thought were playing actually wouldn't get past the starting banner. Lit gives me a BSOD with the message "This message should never be seen." I tried multiple variations of cIOSX d2x v3beta5 and nothing worked. I'm now backtracking with MC beta 5 and the earlier cIOSX d2x v2 versions to find the setup that was working perfectly. c'est la vie.

 

[Taleweaver]

Mmmm... can anybody else confirm?
It works like a charm for me.

Well, I'm a one-partition kinda guy, so I can't comment on that.

I think daveboal wasn't talking about the multi-parition support, but more of my situation with a different path. And I'm a one-partition guy as well, so you might be able to help out by answering these questions:

-what file partition do you use?
-what drive do you have?
-how does your meta.xml file look like? (or, more specifically: do you have "--partition=1" or "--partition=0" therein?)
-what is the base IOS (or base IOS'es) that'll get it to load?



I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I remember LIT not being the most co-operative game for emulation, but it might have been just me struggling to find the correct video forcing setting (never seen that warning screen).


I'll be away for the weekend. The latest I can add to my situation is that I tried moving my root emulated nand to a different folder and changing the path to that folder (perhaps my uneek nand was missing some crucial file?). Unfortunately, that didn't work. When I get back, I'll try again with a freshly dumped emulated nand, but I have my doubts it'll work. If anyone has another idea, I'd love to hear it.

EDIT: that kinds of remind me...
@daveboal: are there any specific assumptions about the dumped nand that could cause this? I made and used my emu-nand some time ago, so a lot of things on it (IOS, system menu, channels) may be outdated (at worst, it has firmware 4.0E on it).

 

[BryceOne]

Will online games work and play online?