Hacking Potential new Wii U owner with no Wii experience; looking for information.

[Alacres]

Hi everyone, I really hate to be another one of "those guys" but even after looking around a bunch of different threads here, I'm still lost on quite a few things. I'm also not sure which information I'm finding is actually still relevant or outdated, etc. I read the few stickies listed, but I'm still not sure exactly where to start. I'm also unfamiliar with much of the terminology (like wads, nands, forwarder, etc) and I was wondering if there was a "vWii hacking for idiots" kind of guide that sort of starts from the ground up and explains the fundamentals? Honestly, any reading you guys can suggest would be very appreciated. I want to make sure that I'm as familiar as possible before I attempt anything.

I was also a little confused on some of the more basic functionality of the Wii U (particularly in Wii mode), and I was hoping to clarify a few things:

1. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read, while in vWii mode, the only controllers that work are the wii remote/nunchuck and the classic controllers? The 3rd party controllers (like the dualshock) only work on the emulators? And the Wii U Gamepad will display the screen, but the controls are not usable?
2. In the "simple progress" guide, it talks about running "Virtual Console/WiiWare" on the vWii. Is that referring to the stuff you could buy off the wii store? Like old school games that they sell? Sorry if I'm completely off; I'm still really unfamiliar with all the different terminology for the wii/wii u.
3. I was also wondering if any of you know of an up-to-date list of all the emulators available for the vWii? So far, I've read about Nintendont and I'd definitely like to give that a try, and I saw something about an N64 emulator called Not64. I also found this but I wasn't sure if it applied to the vWii or only the regular Wii.

I think I'm starting to understand the "exploit" thing a little more but I'm still a little hazy on the process. The only hacking I've ever done was on the PSP and DS, and this seems considerably more daunting to a lightweight like myself. I found this guide and I guess it's one of the better methods to use for adding a homebrew channel?

All in all, I'm just a little overwhelmed by all the information, and not knowing which information I need, which of it is still relevant, and where exactly to find it. I've also seen a lot of different programs mentioned like "Wiiflow" and "USB Loader GX" but I'm not really sure what they are, or if I need them.

Basically, I'm mainly hoping to use the Wii U to play wii games (without needing the discs, if possible), the downloadable stuff on the old Wii store (like Earthbound for the SNES, for instance), and emulators like Nintendont and those that work well for N64, SNES, GBA, etc. If any of you could link me to some good, must-have reading to get everything up and running from start to finish -- or offer any personal advice on the process -- I'd be very grateful. And again, sorry for making another thread like this. I had so many specific questions, it was hard to find all the answers by searching.

 

[jammybudga777]

1. your correct the gamepad shows the screen but none of the new controllers or the gamepad buttons will work in vwii.
2.yes your correct again wiiware/vc are the old titles and alot new but all are from the nintendo eshop online store.
3.there should be a list of working emultors. but my opinion right know is snes/nes/sega mega drive/sega master system/gameboys/nintendont and atari are the only ones worth having as not64 doesnt work bairly at all and same as ps1 and anything else around that kind of gaming age

 

[Alacres]

Thanks for the clarification! That's a shame about the N64 emulator, but I can't say I'm surprised -- it seems to be one of the more difficult systems to emulate.

I guess my only other questions relate to how the wii games and emulators actually work on the Wii U. I see that we can play Wii backups, but is it similar to Devolution where you need the disc for verification purposes? And what about Nintendont -- does it require disc verification as well, or does it work more like an emulator where it just needs an ISO?

Also, if anyone else has any relevant reading about this whole process, I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Ulieq]

Wii U is just a hype machine. Until Zelda and Xenoblade come out LATE in 2015, it's not worth buying.

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Thanks for the clarification! That's a shame about the N64 emulator, but I can't say I'm surprised -- it seems to be one of the more difficult systems to emulate.

I guess my only other questions relate to how the wii games and emulators actually work on the Wii U. I see that we can play Wii backups, but is it similar to Devolution where you need the disc for verification purposes? And what about Nintendont -- does it require disc verification as well, or does it work more like an emulator where it just needs an ISO?

Also, if anyone else has any relevant reading about this whole process, I'd really appreciate it.

Wii backups and Nintendont will not require the disc. Devolution is the only one that does that, because tueidj is a [CENSORED]

 

[Alacres]

Wii backups and Nintendont will not require the disc. Devolution is the only one that does that, because tueidj is a [CENSORED]

Good to know, thanks .

I had a question about the eShop too. I take it there's a separate one of both the vWii mode and Wii U mode, each with a different selection? I was thinking of maybe buying Earthbound (rpg for the snes) from the shop, but would I be able to get it in Wii U mode so that I could use the gamepad to control it?

 

[The Real Jdbye]

Good to know, thanks .

I had a question about the eShop too. I take it there's a separate one of both the vWii mode and Wii U mode, each with a different selection? I was thinking of maybe buying Earthbound (rpg for the snes) from the shop, but would I be able to get it in Wii U mode so that I could use the gamepad to control it?

A bunch of Virtual Console games are available on both the Wii Shop Channel and the Wii U eShop but I'm not sure about earthbound.

 

[Deleted User]

Yes, both shops are available on respective platforms.

No, you cannot use the GamePad in vWii, other than a display device.

Emulators are no different, they're the exact same ones that were running on the Wii. Anything of the later generation (PSX,N64,DC,DS) isn't really playable. Most are on the eshop though.

 

[Alacres]

That's cool. I already have a device I use for most of the older generation emulators anyway. I was mainly just looking for something for wii, wii u, and GameCube games. Bummer about the GC compatibility on the U, but it's awesome that it can even work at all.

Thanks guys.

 

[WiiCube_2013]

Wii U is just a hype machine. Until Zelda and Xenoblade come out LATE in 2015, it's not worth buying.

It doesn't have any hype whatsoever but for Nintendo/Sega fans it's worth owning it, I've been playing the shit out of Mario Kart 8 and while I don't think it's the best MK it's certainly addictive, gorgeous and great fun.

I personally can't wait for Super Smash Bros. 4 but I'm more excited for Bayonetta (1 & 2).

 

[Alacres]

It doesn't have any hype whatsoever but for Nintendo/Sega fans it's worth owning it, I've been playing the shit out of Mario Kart 8 and while I don't think it's the best MK it's certainly addictive, gorgeous and great fun.

I personally can't wait for Super Smash Bros. 4 but I'm more excited for Bayonetta (1 & 2).

Yeah, I think the system has some great potential. I'm also looking forward to going through the HD remake of Wind Waker, as I amazingly never went through it before (was always more of a playstation guy.)

I've been having second thoughts though recently. It seems like a pretty big initial investment, with all the different controllers you need to buy and external space. Then I have to hope I can actually manage to hack it, as well as blocking the update IPs (which I have no experience with.) I may just wait and see how things shape up for the Wii U before I get one.

 

[Qtis]

Yeah, I think the system has some great potential. I'm also looking forward to going through the HD remake of Wind Waker, as I amazingly never went through it before (was always more of a playstation guy.)

I've been having second thoughts though recently. It seems like a pretty big initial investment, with all the different controllers you need to buy and external space. Then I have to hope I can actually manage to hack it, as well as blocking the update IPs (which I have no experience with.) I may just wait and see how things shape up for the Wii U before I get one.

If you have a backlog of any sorts for other consoles, I'd say wait a year for the E3 reveals to start being released. The price will probably drop a bit in the next year for the console and more games will be available for the WiiU.

That said, the Wii does have a few interesting titles to go through, but the WiiU side is sort of lacking. Especially if you own a PS360 already for multiplatform titles. The current games are solid, but are easily played through, especially if you're not interested in grinding all levels in say, SM3DW.

 

[Alacres]

If you have a backlog of any sorts for other consoles, I'd say wait a year for the E3 reveals to start being released. The price will probably drop a bit in the next year for the console and more games will be available for the WiiU.

That said, the Wii does have a few interesting titles to go through, but the WiiU side is sort of lacking. Especially if you own a PS360 already for multiplatform titles. The current games are solid, but are easily played through, especially if you're not interested in grinding all levels in say, SM3DW.

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to do. I definitely have no shortage of games in my backlog, heh. I think it was more of a "I'd like to mess around with something new and different" impulse kind of thing. I still plan to get one, but I'll hold off for now.

 

[Hero-Link]

Please note that you don't really need a N64 emulator, as Wii VC has N64 games (although a few gems are missing... although some can be injected into a N64 wad, Goldeneye for example can't be played injecting the ROM into a WAD doesn't work and there is no release in the VC shop)