Hacking USB Loader GX

[sonictopfan]

-Is it possible to make Ocarina/Gecko to work with emunand channels?
It should be possible. we (or I) need to check what's different with RealNAND and EmuNAND, if adresses always shifted to the same amount etc.
Maybe it would require a recompile of ocarina (I never looked how it's working)

I understand it's a lot of work, if possible to get it working though it would save a lot of time!

-Is it possible to add an option to load dol file for GC games that have altered dol files?
Gamecube have multi-dol? Which games? Why do you need to load a different dol?

Some games do especially collections such as Sonic Gems Collection and Midway Arcade Treasures 2, while they work fine in Devolution it's way too much hustle to have to configure each game everytime you switch to another hard drive or something, in Dios Mios however they require you to have a disc in the drive for them to work, normally I don't keep a disc in the drive because I have all my games installed on the hard drive and ready to play and my console is old the laser is barely working anymore so having an option for altered dol files would help a lot even if using the old method (rip the file, rename it, place it in a certain folder).

-Is it possible to have an option to convert AR codes to Gecko format?
use a converter

Sadly I tried that before and it didn't work, I made over 200+ codes and all of them got me to a black screen at game start, I'm surprised nobody made Geko codes for Megaman games, I want it mostly for the Megaman X series!

 

[Cyan]

You talk about alternative dol, right? (games with menus and different dols)
Or altered dol? (modified, patched)

I still don't understand the need of alternative dol support for gamecube games.
It was added to wii games because reloading dol reseted the IOS to official one instead of cIOS and closed USB.
It's now fixed, so it's not needed.

I don't see why you compare USBGX having support for Alternative dol with Devolution, or dios mios or your disc drive being old.

To launch Gamecube games, it works by:
- Launching another homebrew (Devolution or Nintendont), which doesn't accept alternative dols.
- Launching the Wii in Gamecube mode (and the console boots the game from the start)

There's no way to bypass the gamecube loading from the start.


Having games on Hard drives doesn't prevent you from having a disc in the drive.

The drive being old or laser not working has nothing to do with having a disc in the drive all the time!
JUST PUT A DISC IN THE DRIVE if the homebrew requires it! Any disc, even a blank one!
It's NOT read.

 

[sonictopfan]

Hmm... I feel like I need to explain this better...

Older builds of Dios Mios used a configured dol created using a special tool which now isn't needed anymore, in that old version of DML I was able to load a game like Sonic R (which is included in Sonic Gems Collection) right from the disc launch simply by replacing the dol file, this helped me to bypass the need to have a disc in the drive.

After a few updates Dios Mios started using a different method that doesn't require having a dol file, this caused the trick of swapping the dol files to no longer work and forcing me to have a disc in the drive (or in my particular case switch to Devolution for said game) now I understand it may seem stupid and pointless and I didn't mean to be rude about it I was just offering suggestions for things I'd love to see get implemented in the future.

As for altered dol files in Wii games I realize it's no longer needed but if I'm not mistaken the option is still there and in my opinion that's a good thing because while it's not really needed it's still nice to have the option, like if I wanted to play House of the Dead 2 I don't have to start the game and wait for the menu to select HOTD2 but instead I can just start it from the beginning if I wanted and save time.

 

[Cyan]

Altered or alternate?
Altered = Modified, not original anymore
Alternate = Different versions available

sorry, but I still don't understand.

I don't remember that old versions of DIOS MIOS were in "dol" format.
There weren't any configured dol.
DIOS MIOS has always been a replacement of the MIOS file system, it's an 0000000c.app file, not a dol.
To launch gamecube mode, you don't launch a dol, you only put the console in Gamecube mode.
Could you point me to a thread with what you are talking, or to that tool used to configure dols?


If old versions of DML was compatible with games which are not compatible anymore, install the old version for that game.
that's why links to old versions are still available and compatibility list provides information for which version to use. newer versions are not always better.
there's a version of USBGX which is compatible with builds before DML v1.2 (that's probably what you are talking about, it's not an alternate dol! it's only a different MIOS you need to install into the Wii, not a dol).
If you want a "software setting" for NODISC patches, use version prior to DML v1.0
Since DML v1.0, the patch setting is a "Hardware setting" triggered/enabled if you have a disc in your drive. (ANY DISC! not only gamecube games!)


Sonic Gem is marked as working with DM2.10 !
JUST PUT A DISC IN YOUR DRIVE!

Or hard mod your Wii to think there's a disc inserted to trigger the patches!

Or create a mod of DIOS MIOS (sources available), to always apply the patches, even if there's no disc in the drive.

Or use Devolution

Or use Nintendont

Or use USBGX r1152

Or LAUNCH YOUR ORIGINAL GAME with official MIOS v10!

That's not like you don't have choices.

 

[Maq47]

Cyan
-Is it possible to have an option to convert AR codes to Gecko format?

You mean Pro Action Replay for SNES, right? If so, you'll have to port them manually, which is almost the same as making the codes yourself if the game has no Gecko Codes made for it, and almost certainly will require a USB Gecko, since Dolphin loads WADs differently than Loaders on Wii.

 

[sonictopfan]

Cyan Now I feel like you're being offended and losing patience here, I know I have other options and I was ONLY making a suggestion here but if it makes you angry then my apologies.

As to answer your question... Hmm, how to explain it... Remember Dio-Mios Lite Wad Creator which was used with the older versions where you had to convert the game iso to discex format and then a bunch of files are created? one of these files was a dol file which was associated with the game, when you boot DML it used to read that dol file and load the game from it, replacing that dol file with the one for Sonic R for example will make it so that if you run Sonic Gems Collection it'll take you automatically to Sonic R rather than going to the menu first and then you have to select Sonic R which in this case unless there was a disc in the drive the game will stick on black screen, this happens with several games.

You mean Pro Action Replay for SNES, right? If so, you'll have to port them manually, which is almost the same as making the codes yourself if the game has no Gecko Codes made for it, and almost certainly will require a USB Gecko, since Dolphin loads WADs differently than Loaders on Wii.

I'm not sure what you mean by this but what I'm talking about is simple, I have some Gamecube games such as Megaman X Collection which in the official Gecko page there are no cheat codes available for the game or any of the games within, however other sites have Action Replay and Gameshark codes for this game, someone once explained to me how to convert these codes to Gecko format, I did everything correctly and got over 200 codes for all the games I wanted (including all Megaman games in both collections) however trying any of these codes always resulted on black screen on launch meaning that something is wrong with these codes, now there's a chance I may have done something wrong during converting the codes and that's why I was wondering if it would be possible to add an option to automatically convert these codes to work with Ocarina or Dios-Mios, however while I'd be very thankful if this was done one way or another (seriously I only want codes for the Megaman games) this is my least concern in the 3 suggestion I mentioned, I'm mostly interested in the EmuNAND one but I'm feeling that Cyan is pissed of by my suggestions so I apologize!

 

[Cyan]

you didn't HAD to convert the ISO to extracted game format.
When you used discEx, it didn't create a special dol used to launch the game ... it's only the main.dol file extracted from the game.

If you want to boot a different dol, replace the main.dol with another one, and DM or Nintendont will load the other one.

USBGX could do it, but only on FST format, not ISO, and only for a single game which has multiple dols, and for a single user?

I look pissed because you request something for the loader for a single game that you could play by simply stop being paranoid about your laser and finally put a disc in your drive!
because it won't fix other games which require a disc in the drive, it's only for THAT particular game that you want to play. It's not a fix required to make this game work for all users, only for you.

if you want SonicR installed at the same time, put the edited FST on SD, the original FST on USB. switch the source when you want to play the other one.
Or place the game in a folder with a different GameID in the path (a GameID which doesn't match existing games preferably).

 

[sonictopfan]

If you want to boot a different dol, replace the main.dol with another one, and DM or Nintendont will load the other one.

I can do that? I didn't know, I can't see any "main" dol files in other GC games, also I wasn't just talking about ONE game, I already mentioned 6 games that used the same method, but yeah if I can get a configured FST copy for Sonic R again I'd love you for life, Cyan!

 

[Rokkubro]

Hi, not sure if this is my config or not but my Wii remotes won't connect in the loader, specifically, they connect immediately and then the lights go out. If I launch a game (using GC controller) the remotes stay 'off', however, if I launch a game without ever turning on the remotes beforehand, they connect just fine and I can play without a hitch. On r1226. Any help would be appreciated sorry for the long post!

 

[Cyan]

sonic: main.dol or boot.dol or whateverthename.dol

deathracelord:
is it happening in updated loader only?
Did it work with older version? If it did, could you test old revisions and find which one broke it?

 

[sonictopfan]

Cyan alright I'll try that!

Hi, not sure if this is my config or not but my Wii remotes won't connect in the loader, specifically, they connect immediately and then the lights go out. If I launch a game (using GC controller) the remotes stay 'off', however, if I launch a game without ever turning on the remotes beforehand, they connect just fine and I can play without a hitch. On r1226. Any help would be appreciated sorry for the long post!

I had this issue with other HB programs actually, I noticed this happens with my "Built-in Motion Plus" Wii remote but I'm not sure if it's because of that or because it just so happens to be my latest remote as well!

 

[Cyan]

I had an issue with the Wiimote losing synch (and losing it fully, you needed to re-synch with the red button).
It happened only when loading a cIOS. I fixed it by reinstalling the d2x cIOS.

Not sure if it could help him too.

 

[Rokkubro]

Yes, it is the built-in motion plus, it is stranged as it worked on earlier revisions, specifically standard 3.0 and r115/8(or something) mod 06.

Edit: Re-installed d2x 249 and now it works like a charm. Thanks so much for all your help!

 

[JordenNixNix]

Question:
Last time, I've tried again to instal DIOS MIOS but it constanly fails, so I give in.
Is there an alternative that let USB Loader GX launch NGC games from a HDD?


Suggestion:
I was wondering if there's a way to also show channels on an SD card in the USB loader GX?
Almost all my channels are saved on an SD card instead of the Wii memory, thouse on the Wii are shown but thouse on the SD card are gone!

It would be nice to have a menu with a full collection of all my games!
But for the classic theme. The tap mod isn't bad, but I prefer the classic menu.

 

[Cyan]

Answer:
- Devolution or Nintendont let you launch Gamecube games from HDD.

Suggestion reply:
It's not possible.
Use EmuNAND instead if you want all the channels installed on the same place.

 

[Magnus87]

I also have channels on SD.

My Wii doesnt like emuNAND, I tried all cIOS and configurations but allways when I launch a game, its returned to HBC

 

[Hielkenator]

I also have channels on SD.

My Wii doesnt like emuNAND, I tried all cIOS and configurations but allways when I launch a game, its returned to HBC

It's not your Wii that does not like emunand as all wii's are the same.
I think you best invest in a proper HDD setup, cIOS installation.
if you need help, give a shout.
Oh and to be clear, a sneek nand dump does not work with usb loader gx.
YOu need to dump your Wii's NAND first using usb loader gx's built in nanddumper.

use this emunand instead of Modmii's build nands : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jcc59ml7...tracted/_Fresh_Emunand_4.3_Uneek_DI_Rev96?lst

 

[Hielkenator]

Question:
Last time, I've tried again to instal DIOS MIOS but it constanly fails, so I give in.
Is there an alternative that let USB Loader GX launch NGC games from a HDD?


Suggestion:
I was wondering if there's a way to also show channels on an SD card in the USB loader GX?
Almost all my channels are saved on an SD card instead of the Wii memory, thouse on the Wii are shown but thouse on the SD card are gone!

It would be nice to have a menu with a full collection of all my games!
But for the classic theme. The tap mod isn't bad, but I prefer the classic menu.

What is not working for DIOSMIOS?
Make sure you have a compatible game.
Make sure you HDD is FAT32 formatted 32kb cluster size.
Make sure you gamnes are in this folder structure: hdd://games/folder with game id/game.iso
Note that game.iso has to be named like this in order to make the games work.
For compatibilty use uncompressed Gamecube iso's ( no discex etc... )

 

[EnigmaXtreme]

I'm launching GX from my Forwarder Channel and GC games are telling me I need AHB Access?

Also, what theme is this?

 

[Badablek]

Did you put meta.xml in Nintendont folder ?
Is this the official USBLGX forwarder ?


this is not a theme : http://gbatemp.net/threads/usb-loader-gx.149922/page-891#post-4984820

compiled USBLGX 1226/1227 tabmod (for cIOS249) here
sources (patched files only, you have to overwrite original sources files ith these and recompile) here