Hacking Twighlight Softmod or ModChip? Guidance needed

[Guan]

Hi there,

I've just bought a used Wii for my 9yr old nephew, its PAL region and currently running ver 3.1E.

Like most kids he's constantly scratching his discs so I want to mod his Wii to play backup discs.
Though I can tell him not to click yes to anything that asks him to update the console. There's a pretty good chance that's exactly what he'd do. It's not networked yet but may add online access in the future.

If I use the softmod method, it'll cost me approx £35 for a Zelda disc and a few quid for a SD card. Alterntively I've seen Modchips like the WiiKey 2 advertised for around £30 but that would mean having to break out the solder gun.

Hence, which method would be best suited to my needs and what benefits does one have over the other?

Also, if the Chip method is the best way to go, which is the best one for my needs... i.e. just playing backup discs and the occasional original disc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[kytran]

softmod would be the easiest and cheaper way... if you RENT zelda to do the work required.

then setup the HBC with the right stuff that you won't need it again.


thats what i would suggest

 

[kimikal27]

i dont really know what is the best chip for you becouse i don't have one, i have a softmod myself,
but i do think hardmod is the best for you,

it's easy, less work for you, safer and faster do to softmod only reads games at 3x and hardmod reads at 6x that is the normal speed of the wii

hope i helped in the decision

 

[kytran]

i haven't noticed any problems at 3x so far.. but yeah that would help too

also the fact that softmod is still a gamma stage.. might work not but for how long till you have to remod it up again for him.

it it were for you id say sure since you have it and are the one doing the softmod

 

[Sir VG]

Hardmod is better as it has a higher compatibility (and better ease of use) compared to soft mods. Make sure that when you burn copies of games, use a good medium like Verbatim DVD-Rs and burn at a slow speed.

I would only recommend TPH for installing homebrew channel, VC/WiiWare games and the like.

 

[kimikal27]

Hardmod is better as it has a higher compatibility (and better ease of use) compared to soft mods. Make sure that when you burn copies of games, use a good medium like Verbatim DVD-Rs and burn at a slow speed.

I would only recommend TPH for installing homebrew channel, VC/WiiWare games and the like.

i agree with almost everything but the burning speed

i have aroud 50 games now, all burned at 16x and have no problem with any of them
but this is me, some ppl get better quality in slow burning and others it's the other way around
it all depends on your dvd burner and the dvds it self

so if i was you, id try faster and if it does not work go slower

 

[digitydogs]

If you want to play game cube backups go with a chip. Otherwise rent the game and softmod. cheaper and is basically at 100% compatibility with the workarounds and patches that have been released, plus softmods tend to get fixes faster because there is a larger community behind them. All in all its a personal choice. If nothing else i would suggest softmodding with a rented or borrowed zelda, see how well that works for you. With the up coming releases i would put off buying a chip for a few months to see how much farther the softmod scene goes with bootmii CSM and multi game loader released. As for burning speed it does vary with media and burner, try a burn at each speed and run a pi po jitter test on it, whichever speed has the highest quality is the speed for you.

 

[Guan]

Thanks allot guys... you've all been very helpful.

I think I'll follow digitydogs advice for now and try out the softmod and see how we get along.

I'll hold off going for a chip mod until I'm a bit more clued up.

Thanks again.

 

[kimikal27]

good luck

 

[kimikal27]

by the way, if your trying gamma i think this is the best compilation of what you need, it's from DJTAZ

http://www.iol.ie/~taz/wii/002fixGammaLoader.zip

i use it myself

 

[Guan]

Thanks kimikal27.

Newbie question:
Is DJTAZ's Gamma loader an alternative to Bib Moe's installer or an alternative to the "WiiGator v0.3 Gamma"?

Cheers....

 

[digitydogs]

Djtaz had the original softmod pack. he tends to keep his upto date. It is wiigators .3 gamma just with the 002 fix already incorporated.

 

[dajavax]

you can use chips without soldering with a clip... though i use softmod, can't be bothered to open the wii (im more of a software guy rather than hardware) or get a chip, or solder it, it is also more expensive... i borrowed the Twilight game from a friend which i helped softmod his own wii

 

[Jytach]

I would burn at high speeds, they seem to work better.

If you install STARFALL, it will automatically block updates, and you would also have a good brick protection (assuming he doesn't play Zelda:TP to delete the TH savefile).
I run backups here using softmod, I also like to use burned discs to preserve the original ones. Softmod is good because it can be easily removed by now, so if nintendo ever release an update to block pirates (online bans, i.e.) I could just delete it and use my original disks again.

 

[kimikal27]

Djtaz had the original softmod pack. he tends to keep his upto date. It is wiigators .3 gamma just with the 002 fix already incorporated.

yap, that it

 

[digitydogs]

I would burn at high speeds, they seem to work better.

This is not a fact. It is different for each burner and media type used... Always test your burns with a Pi Po scan (dvdproinfo does this) and check the quality. Some burners and media work best at 4x others at 16x or any speed in between. There is no best overall speed!

 

[kimikal27]

digi , can send me a pm of were to get that dvdproinfo?

 

[digitydogs]

I don't have a cracked copy if thats what your asking. there is a free/trial version available on the web that does what is needed.
http://www.dvdinfopro.com/

 

[kimikal27]

ho, dont worry about the crack

thanks

 

[digitydogs]

yeah i have a feeling youd know where to look for one anyway if thats what you were after