Homebrew *snip* repository wiiware wads.....

[tswntk]

just come up with an idea, don't know if it is possible/practical:

when usbloadergx failed to find/init a hdd, switch to another ios (58/249) automatically and try again without rebooting usbloadergx. This MIGHT solve a number of hdd init problems.
Yes it may lengthen the boot time if the hdd wasn't found/init the first time, but we need the hdd anyway? May be an option to turn it off (or not init hdd at all) for those who don't need a hdd (who ever don't want a hdd??, not playing wii games at all?)

 

[Cyan]

yes, that's what I thought I'll do.

I want to first try to use IOS58 (though, ports are reversed! if no SD, it could be a mess), if failing trying to reload to cIOS249 (first checking if it's stub) and try again.
maybe the other way around, like you thought? I think init on 58 first is a better idea, HBC and forwarder already uses it, it prevent a first IOS reload.

boot

use AHB to init SD.

if SD found -> check and load config
try to Init USB using AHB(not mounting it!), unless meta.xml has "no auto mount USB" <--- this is where it's different. Currently, it reloads cIOS right away before loading USB. Also, it's currently init and mounting at the same time. Maybe init only could be useful?
If HDD init, if user's IOS different than current -> shutdown usb and reload to IOS slot wanted by the user -> mount USB partition now.
note: this way, the HDD is always init (not mounted) using IOS58, but then reloaded to cIOS if wanted by the user. .... Not sure when to use the meta.xml IOS info here.

If no SD found
try to init USB using AHB. it could be bad if more than one HDD at the same time, I'll have to think more how to fix the partition order, specifically on WiiU?

If usb not found, reload to meta.xml IOS, check if stub, and try again.
If still not found -> ?

if USB found and no SD -> mount USB, check and load config from an USB partition
if USB found and config found -> unmount USB, reload to user IOS slot

something like that?


currently, the default slot is 249, I think I can try to set it to 58 (at compile time, it's easy), but I'll have to still check cIOS at launch to inform users they need a cIOS to launch wii games?
or maybe check at game launch if the slot is stub. when checking if it's d2x, I could also check if stub.

 

[Griffballchamp]

Not sure if this is right but it works for me. All my wiiware wads only play under the 250 ios in usb loader gx. Under the 249 ios it just boots back to wii menu.

The only problem im having is half the wiiware games i have wont download "covers/artwork" for the channels and instead of the games name popping up when you hover the pointer over it, it just shows an abbreviation of sorts. like wrkt, or wgex, or something wierd. so the only way to know what game it is, is to load it up and hit start. Took 10 minutes for me to find contra rebirth last night.

Any way to edit the names so I can name them what they are? I wish i could get artwork, but editing the names would help too.

edit: before you ask, i did let usb loader gx download covers twice. some worked ,some did as i explained above.

 

[Cyan]

I think both are related to gametdb.com
The titles and the covers are taken from that website.

missing cover : the cover is probably not present on the site. (we can verify, but it's usually the reason)

missing title : you probably forgot to use Wiitdb.xml file to rename the games automatically. (settings>update>gametdb, settings>features>use gametdb : yes)


If you already use "wiitdb.xml" file and you still don't have the title, it's probably related to the missing cover : the game is probably not an official one. For example, injected games in homebrew or edited wiiware which doesn't officially exist.
invented games don't have covers because that titleID has been invented by a random user, and anybody can use that same titleID for any other game.


IF you want to rename a game, it's possible but little buggy.
settings>gui>game window > rotating disc
select a game > click on the game's title when you see the rotating disc
reboot

 

[Griffballchamp]

thanks for the fast reply. the setting are correct, gametdb is enabled. Thats how i got the covers that i did get. The games are normal wiiware games.
contra rebirth, lost winds (both) , the final fantasy games. stuff like that.

I see them on the gametdb website, but dont see how to download them?

The only "download" button i see is one of those big green download buttons for some crap you dont malware you dont want.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

I think both are related to gametdb.com
The titles and the covers are taken from that website.

missing cover : the cover is probably not present on the site. (we can verify, but it's usually the reason)

missing title : you probably forgot to use Wiitdb.xml file to rename the games automatically. (settings>update>gametdb, settings>features>use gametdb : yes)


If you already use "wiitdb.xml" file and you still don't have the title, it's probably related to the missing cover : the game is probably not an official one. For example, injected games in homebrew or edited wiiware which doesn't officially exist.
invented games don't have covers because that titleID has been invented by a random user, and anybody can use that same titleID for any other game.


IF you want to rename a game, it's possible but little buggy.
settings>gui>game window > rotating disc
select a game > click on the game's title when you see the rotating disc
reboot

After a quick look on my sd card, the images for the games are there, just not showing on the usb loader gx menu. Every game/wad i installed i gave a 1 star favorite to and of course edited the slot (250) and changed the two options at the bottom to, full, and emunand channel folder.

So why is cover/channel showing on some, but not the others?

 

[Cyan]

do you use wiitdb?

 

[Griffballchamp]

do you use wiitdb?

since i dont know what that is, im going to say no.

edit: just looked it up and it rerouted me to gametdb.com

The covers on gametdb are the same as whats on my sd card

 

[Cyan]

settings > update > gametdb (or wiitdb)

then

settings > features > use gametdb (or wiitdb.xml) : enabled


it renamed the games to get their correct titles instead of codes.

 

[Griffballchamp]

settings > update > gametdb (or wiitdb)

then

settings > features > use gametdb (or wiitdb.xml) : enabled


it renamed the games to get their correct titles instead of codes.

see my last post for my edit.

Im 99% sure these settings are how you said. Not home now, but will double check tonight.

what do you mean by "it renamed the games to get their correct titles instead of codes" ?

 

[Cyan]

well, instead of :

WRKT -> well, nothing, it's not a known game.
WGEX -> nothing either, not a know game.
(it's probably codes you invented from memory because you are not at home).

instead of -> you get :
C93P -> The Last Ninja 2
WLWP -> LostWinds
UNEO -> USBLoaderGX
etc.

 

[Griffballchamp]

well, instead of :

WRKT -> well, nothing, it's not a known game.
WGEX -> nothing either, not a know game.
(it's probably codes you invented from memory because you are not at home).

instead of -> you get :
C93P -> The Last Ninja 2
WLWP -> LostWinds
UNEO -> USBLoaderGX
etc.

Im so sorry, i didnt explain right.

The WRKT and WGEX was just some random letters i threw out. I just know the, the channels that are blank only show a 4 letter "code?" that always starts with "W".
This is how they showed after installing the wad. I didnt edit anything. After pressing "2" (or 1, whichever downloads cover art), some channels showed the covers and changed the 4 letter code to the game name, and some remained blank with the 4 letter code.

After checking my sd card, the images are there, and the 4 letter code matches the covers on gametdb.

I only have the US version of the wads. The 4 letter codes match the US covers on gametdb.

so, yeah, maybe one of the settings you described above must need to toggled.

Im at work now, i will double check the settings tonight and get back to you. I think at this point thats all i can really do without having access to my wii right now.

 

[Cyan]

maybe the wad is bad. wad are often coming from random illegal website and there were lot of untested releases.

You'll have to be more specific to tell which game didn't download a cover, so we can check if that game exists on gametdb, if covers are present on gametdb.
Another possibility is because you chose to download only HighQuality covers, and disabled the fallback to lowquality if HQ is not present.
same for "original" only, instead of fallback to "custom" covers.

when you'll be back home, verify your settings in the GUI menu.

 

[Griffballchamp]

maybe the wad is bad. wad are often coming from random illegal website and there were lot of untested releases.

You'll have to be more specific to tell which game didn't download a cover, so we can check if that game exists on gametdb, if covers are present on gametdb.
Another possibility is because you chose to download only HighQuality covers, and disabled the fallback to lowquality if HQ is not present.
same for "original" only, instead of fallback to "custom" covers.

when you'll be back home, verify your settings in the GUI menu.

All wads are good. i tested and played each one. came from a very reliable source. You might be right about the high quality setting. I do know the setting for covers is set to "original/custom" because i tried toggling that and had no effect.

here is my "missing images list". I only care about the games not the emulators as im favoriting the games so only they show on the menu.
seems like only the "custom discart" images are missing.

I do have the images for full, and 2d, and there are also the 3d images but they are not in a 3d folder, they are in the images folder which also contains the 2d and full folders.


ID Name ImageType

SEGA Genplus GX 3D Cover
HAGA HAGA 3D Cover
W64A Nintendo 64 3D Cover
SNES Snes9x Channel 3D Cover
UNEO USB Loader GX 3D Cover
SEGA Genplus GX 2D Cover
HAGA HAGA 2D Cover
W64A Nintendo 64 2D Cover
SNES Snes9x Channel 2D Cover
UNEO USB Loader GX 2D Cover
SEGA Genplus GX Full HQ Cover
HAGA HAGA Full HQ Cover
W64A Nintendo 64 Full HQ Cover
SNES Snes9x Channel Full HQ Cover
UNEO USB Loader GX Full HQ Cover
WBLE BUBBLE BOBBLE Plus! Custom Discart
FCWE FCWE Custom Discart
SEGA Genplus GX Custom Discart
HABA HABA Custom Discart
HACA HACA Custom Discart
HAFE HAFE Custom Discart
HAGA HAGA Custom Discart
HAGE HAGE Custom Discart
HAYA HAYA Custom Discart
DHGA Hugo-GX Custom Discart
WLOE LostWinds WotM Custom Discart
WFCE My Life as a King Custom Discart
W64A Nintendo 64 Custom Discart
SNES Snes9x Channel Custom Discart
NADE Star Fox 64 Custom Discart
UNEO USB Loader GX Custom Discart
W2ME W2ME Custom Discart
WAYE WAYE Custom Discart
WBKE WBKE Custom Discart
WF2E WF2E Custom Discart
WGDE WGDE Custom Discart
WGOE WGOE Custom Discart
WICE WICE Custom Discart
D26A Wii2600 Custom Discart
WJEE WJEE Custom Discart
WKTE WKTE Custom Discart
WLWE WLWE Custom Discart
WM8E WM8E Custom Discart
WRGE WRGE Custom Discart
WSNE WSNE Custom Discart
WTPE WTPE Custom Discart
WWRE WWRE Custom Discart

 

[Cyan]

you noticed that most of these wad are NOT official nintendo games?
these are homebrew, or injects. they don't have to be part of any database, these are non official releases.

the remaining ones are effectively missing covers or custom discart on gametdb, so of course you won't have them in the loader. nobody submitted these covers to the site.
if you have them, please share to help other users complete their missing covers too. but guess what? you won't be able to submit official disc art.

of course you are missing DISC art for NON DISC games !
nintendo never released disc covers for Wiiware or VC or system channels.


if you want to add covers or discart to your own collection, create pictures (in png format) with the filename matching the channel you want, and put them in the corresponding folder on your SD card. (or usb, if you set resources to usb)

 

[Griffballchamp]

you noticed that most of these wad are NOT official nintendo games?
these are homebrew, or injects. they don't have to be part of any database, these are non official releases.

the remaining ones are effectively missing covers or custom discart on gametdb, so of course you won't have them in the loader. nobody submitted these covers to the site.
if you have them, please share to help other users complete their missing covers too. but guess what? you won't be able to submit official disc art.

of course you are missing DISC art for NON DISC games !
nintendo never released disc covers for Wiiware or VC or system channels.

Yes I know that. Why would i expect to get discart for a game that was never on a disc?

What im saying is, i have the proper art work. I can find each one on gametdb. They are already there, its where i got them from when usbloader gx downloaded them. All those 4 letter codes can be found on gametdb with artwork and they match whats on my sd card.

go on gametdb, and search WICE or WKTE. i have the images for those. the wads are installed and working great. But the channels are blank and only show the 4 letter code.

It has to be something in settings.

maybe i will try installing one on the regular wii menu and see if the channel shows correctly?

 

[Cyan]

the list you provided told you are missing the "disc art". I thought that's what you wanted.

if you are only talking about the animated banner, in the banner layout mode, being black instead of it's expected animated banner, then it means the banner is bad, the wad is bad. it's not because the game works that your wad is good.

you can try to delete all your cached banner (.bnr files are extracted from the wad and stored on SD or usb for faster loading), maybe the extraction had a bug. maybe your banner is wrong.
you can try to force a cache refresh by deleting the bnr file, it will force the loader to perform a new banner extraction from the wad to sd/usb.
you'd better find another wad and reinstall it after deleting the bnr file (or it will use the old, black, bnr for the new wad)

 

[Griffballchamp]

the list you provided told you are missing the "disc art". I thought that's what you wanted.

if you are only talking about the animated banner, in the banner layout mode, being black instead of it's expected animated banner, then it means the banner is bad, the wad is bad. it's not because the game works that your wad is good.

you can try to delete all your cached banner (.bnr files are extracted from the wad and stored on SD or usb for faster loading), maybe the extraction had a bug. maybe your banner is wrong.
you can try to force a cache refresh by deleting the bnr file, it will force the loader to perform a new banner extraction from the wad to sd/usb.
you'd better find another wad and reinstall it after deleting the bnr file (or it will use the old, black, bnr for the new wad)

"banner" is what you see after clicking on the channel? the channel is all white, click on it, and it brings up the "banner" as you call it(?), and yes its all black. but it still has the "settings" and "start" option. hit start and it plays just fine.

Maybe i have a banner brick?

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

the list you provided told you are missing the "disc art". I thought that's what you wanted.

if you are only talking about the animated banner, in the banner layout mode, being black instead of it's expected animated banner, then it means the banner is bad, the wad is bad. it's not because the game works that your wad is good.

you can try to delete all your cached banner (.bnr files are extracted from the wad and stored on SD or usb for faster loading), maybe the extraction had a bug. maybe your banner is wrong.
you can try to force a cache refresh by deleting the bnr file, it will force the loader to perform a new banner extraction from the wad to sd/usb.
you'd better find another wad and reinstall it after deleting the bnr file (or it will use the old, black, bnr for the new wad)

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I just looked in the cache_bnr folder and these games have no bnr file!!! thats what it is. Any idea on how to get them?

 

[Cyan]

the banner is both the little animation you see in the banner layout whithout selecting the game, and the one you see fullscreen (with start/option at the bottom)
these bnr files are extracted directly from the channel you installed, and from the game's wbfs files. it's not from gametdb website.

maybe find a good wad, so the loader can extract them properly ?

another solution would be to extract the banner yourself (with customizeMii, and rename the correct .app to .bnr, unless it extracts it directly to bnr format), but I still suspect the problem is your wad, so extracting it manually will only result in a non working bnr.

you can also create your own, but it will require some knowledge and time. there's a guide in the wii guide section.

 

[Griffballchamp]

the banner is both the little animation you see in the banner layout whithout selecting the game, and the one you see fullscreen (with start/option at the bottom)
these bnr files are extracted directly from the channel you installed, and from the game's wbfs files. it's not from gametdb website.

maybe find a good wad, so the loader can extract them properly ?

another solution would be to extract the banner yourself (with customizeMii, and rename the correct .app to .bnr, unless it extracts it directly to bnr format), but I still suspect the problem is your wad, so extracting it manually will only result in a non working bnr.

you can also create your own, but it will require some knowledge and time. there's a guide in the wii guide section.

After some research, it looks like i should use wadder to extract the 0000000.app file. But do i rename it the 4 letter code of the game, or do i rename it the actual name of the game?

 

[Cyan]

use the ID4 (4 game's letter code).bnr, like the other bnr files from the cache folder.

 

[Griffballchamp]

use the ID4 (4 game's letter code).bnr, like the other bnr files from the cache folder.

I can rename it, but its still a app file and not a .bnr file. do ineed to convert it to bnr file and if so, how?

Once i rename it, where do i put it on the sd card?

Oh, and just so i wouldnt screw anything up. I copied the wads into a folder not on the sd card. Used showmiiwads to extract the files. If i use the copied files to rename and place on the sd card, should i delete the original file (im talking about the 000000.app) from the sd card or just leave it?