Homebrew Apps/Games/FW etc thread (please no discussion of ROMs/Piracy)

[G a f f e r]

*** IMPORTANT *** Please read before posting about Homebrew on the Wii.


It seems unfair that the DS gets it's own "legal homebrew" thread but we still have none for the Wii.


So here is a thread dedicated to Homebrew Discussion.
In here, you can discuss anything about the hundreds of LEGAL homebrew games/apps, as well as the latest firmware discussion (if it pertains to new homebrews or releases) relating to the Wii. For those of you not in the know, there actually is plenty of software around that does not require a modchip or any "hardware alteration" at all and furthermore, is entirely legal to use.

So, for instance, if you want to discuss how a new firmware allows a particular piece of homebrew to function/stop functioning stick it in here. If you want to talk about the latest port of a particular game like e.g. Asteroids, it goes here. If you want to find out details about a new utility that checks the integrity of the SD card, it goes here....etc etc.
Basically, all Wii Homebrew goes here .




Before I go on, can I categorically state that:

AVForums in no way condones Piracy.

Please do NOT discuss game piracy OR MODCHIPS in ANY of these threads.

Threads/Posts which stray into this are will be deleted.​

So, back to Homebrew, the main areas for Homebrew use are the installation of homebrew games and utilities, the ability to allow the Wii to play DVD's, the ability to allow the Wii to be multiregion, and many others.

All homebrew discussion stays here ... dupe threads or posts in the wrong threads will be either Locked, Merged or simply Deleted.

Please ensure you use the Search function prior to posting (as your Q has usually been asked before) and re-check that you are indeed posting in the correct place .

Also, the basics of Homebrew and Hardware for the Wii can be found in it's Wikipaedia entry. Please read this as well as it may also answer your question .





Thank you for your understanding in this matter .
























Right, so onto the post

Firstly it's worth checking out The WiiBrew Wiki of current 'brew, to understand how things work.
Notice, they also don't discuss piracy on their site, only legal applications . There is a complete list of homebrew apps here.

The other page most commonly "wanted" will be that of The Homebrew Channel. This is a 3rd party channel that allows you to browse and launch homebrew from the SD card (no more worrying about filling up the internal memory ), and Gecko OS that allows your Wii to be region free .

There are also plenty of emulators and games available too.

Just to reiterate one last time, feel free to discuss all these legal things and more, DO NOT try to discuss ANY form of piracy in here.

Thank you .

 

[theo cupier]

Many thanks G a f f e r

Posted this in the modchip thread, but it probably belongs here:

As far as I understand it, both Homebrew and modchips are ways of making the Wii multiregion.

Homebrew is effectively free (if you already own something like Zelda TP) whereas a fitted modchip will cost around £40 or more.

Can someone summarise the pros & cons of Homebrew versus modchipping. Basically what does one get for the extra cost of modchipping?

If all I want to do is make my NTSC Wii, running v3.2 Firmware, able to play original, legitimate PAL games - as well as NTSC games - what benefit do I get for spending money on a modchip versus using Homebrew?

About the only other thing I'd like to be able to do in the process of making my Wii region free is be able to set its location in the UK for things like the News & weather channel. Do both Homebrew and modchipping allow this?

 

[zico martin]

i got quite excited about new possibilities for my wii until I realised I need to buy a copy of zelda is there no other way round this??

 

[theo cupier]

Borrow it from your local library?

Buy it and sell it on, the loss should be minimal.

There may be other ways of starting of a Homebrew "hack" than with Zelda, but I don't know them, I'm afraid.

 

[oldman100]

i got quite excited about new possibilities for my wii until I realised I need to buy a copy of zelda is there no other way round this??

It's no big deal, buy, borrow, steal a copy, OK maybe just buy or borrow .

It's well worth it, the Homebrew channel is a must for those of us who are into the retro scene and it works a treat on my NTSC imports too.

 

[theo cupier]

So, does the Homebrew channel let me set my NTSC Wii to UK locale (ie news, weather, where my Miis are)?

Does it make the Wii work or load any slower?

 

[G a f f e r]

So, does the Homebrew channel let me set my NTSC Wii to UK locale (ie news, weather, where my Miis are)?

Does it make the Wii work or load any slower?

I don't know if/how well this works, but how about:
Any Region Changer - an application which allows you to make permanent changes to various region and language settings on your Wii. It also allows you to install the System Menu of another region if you so desire.

Beware, however, that you don't end up performing a system update onto a system fw from another region as that's how you can brick your Wii.....i.e. this can be a very dangerous bit of 'brew - use with caution:

Please take note of the following:

• If setting.txt is corrupted for any reason, it is entirely possible that your Wii will no longer boot.
• If you change the GAME ("Game Region") settings, you may no longer be able to boot discs! Make sure you have the Homebrew Channel installed so you can change it back!
• Be careful not to change Video mode to a mode unsupported by your display.
• If you change your Country code, you will be unable to receive any pending gifts you have in the Wii Shop Channel. (The shop will also warn you of this).
• If you set the EULA to Read, you may be accessing Nintendo Network Services illegally. You should only change this setting to "read" if you have actually read and accepted the EULA for the Country code you have set.
• Setting the AREA setting ("Console Area Setting") to a different region than your System Menu WILL cause a Semi-Brick! If for some reason your System-Configured flag is unset (via some installation, or a corrupted SYSCONF) your system WILL become FULLY BRICKED. Your system will attempt to do the "First Time" configuration for an incorrect region, and will not be able to find the html content for the interface.

CHANGES MADE TO THE CONSOLE AREA SETTING SHOULD ALWAYS BE ACCOMPANIED BY A SYSTEM MENU CHANGE TO THE SAME REGION!

 

[oz72]

Hi just got a 2nd wii this weekend and was going to go down the modding chip route. Someone has already asked this but no one has answered yet. What are the advantages/disadvantages of getting the wii modded via the homebrew hack/going down the mod chip route? I'm assuming that once you've installed the homebrew hack with Zelda you dont need Zelda all the time. I'm thinking I can just load a copy from Blockbuster buy an sd card reader for about £10 and get an 2gig sdi card£7, so it will cost about £20 for the soft mod route as opposed to £40 for the actually chip.

 

[oldman100]

Hi just got a 2nd wii this weekend and was going to go down the modding chip route. Someone has already asked this but no one has answered yet. What are the advantages/disadvantages of getting the wii modded via the homebrew hack/going down the mod chip route? I'm assuming that once you've installed the homebrew hack with Zelda you dont need Zelda all the time. I'm thinking I can just load a copy from Blockbuster buy an sd card reader for about £10 and get an 2gig sdi card£7, so it will cost about £20 for the soft mod route as opposed to £40 for the actually chip.

Hi oz, I've gone down the HomeBrew Channel route via the Zelda hack and I've not had a problem running anything it's fantastic, there's some great HomeBrew out there.

Once the channel is installed there's no need for the Zelda game.

Obviously many aspects of the HomeBrew Channel can't be discussed here for obvious reasons, so that kind of limits the whole thread.

 

[G a f f e r]

Obviously many aspects of the HomeBrew Channel can't be discussed here for obvious reasons, so that kind of limits the whole thread.

First you complain in the modchip thread that you can't discuss homebrew, then when you're directed here you complain that you can't discuss everything .
In actual fact, there are many more homebrew apps/uses that are 100% legal than there are for illicit uses, so in reality what you can discuss here is largely unlimited.
However, you are right in one respect, if you wish to discuss the small amount of 'brew dedicated to piracy and illegal use, then you can't do that here and will have to go elsewhere where they don't mind such things .
For the large majority of legal uses though, feel free to chat openly about them .

 

[theo cupier]

Still trying to get to the bottom of the pros and cons of Homebrew versus modchipping for getting the Wii multiregion. Not had an awful lot of response from my open ended question (but thanks for trying G a f f e r) so I'll try some specific questions:


Does Homebrew stop you playing any original games from the Wii's "native" region?
Does Homebrew as a method of going multiregion not allow access to any non-native region games?
Does Homebrew work as reliably with all firmware versions, as a multiregion method?
Does Homebrew slow down normal operation of the Wii (eg power on, game loading, gameplay)?
Does Homebrew let you set a NTSC Wii to be based in the UK in the region settings, or do I have to continue to pretend to come from some random US location?
Apart from making my Wii multiregion, what other 100% legal things can I do with a Homebrew Wii?
If I homebrew a Wii, can I still Modchip it (do I still need to)?

What of the above applies to a Modchipped Wii?

 

[oldman100]

First you complain in the modchip thread that you can't discuss homebrew, then when you're directed here you complain that you can't discuss everything .

To be honest if you'd care to check I was already here before you did your redirecting

Yes granted there's still plenty to discuss I was perusing the homebrew apps tonight and it's amazing how many are available.

 

[oldman100]

Still trying to get to the bottom of the pros and cons of Homebrew versus modchipping for getting the Wii multiregion. Not had an awful lot of response from my open ended question (but thanks for trying G a f f e r) so I'll try some specific questions:


Does Homebrew stop you playing any original games from the Wii's "native" region? Nope hasn't with me.Does Homebrew as a method of going multiregion not allow access to any non-native region games? Not that I know of.
Does Homebrew work as reliably with all firmware versions, as a multiregion method? Has with mine so far.
Does Homebrew slow down normal operation of the Wii (eg power on, game loading, gameplay)? No slow down noticed.Does Homebrew let you set a NTSC Wii to be based in the UK in the region settings, or do I have to continue to pretend to come from some random US location? Sorry no idea, yet.
Apart from making my Wii multiregion, what other 100% legal things can I do with a Homebrew Wii? Ask Gaffer, he thinks there's thousands It's emulation for me (ROMS).
If I homebrew a Wii, can I still Modchip it (do I still need to)? I guess so, no reason why not.
What of the above applies to a Modchipped Wii?

Hope that helps a little.

 

[G a f f e r]

To be honest if you'd care to check I was already here before you did your redirecting

Erm....if that's the case and you knew about this thread, then why post in the modchip thread afterwards saying that homebrew wasn't being discussed more (you'dve already known there was this thread discussing it beforehand wouldn't you)? .
Unless of course, I'm going completely senile here - I knew I was getting too old .

Yes granted there's still plenty to discuss I was perusing the homebrew apps tonight and it's amazing how many are available.

Anyway, yep, the amount of homebrew apps is increasing fairly rapidly . It's quite funny in retrospect that the company that has outwardly been the most "proprietry conscious" (e.g. sticking with carts for N64, then going down mini-DVD) is the one with the large HB base and easiest to make HB run on .
I was really looking forward to a decent MAME emulator myself but the last time I checked the SDL MAME emu for Wii, the games took AGES to load and most of them wouldn't.....now that would be a great bit of HB imo .

 

[tryingtimes]

Does this mod allow US Gamecube games to be played on a UK Wii?

 

[mushedgrapes]

Where do I go in Zelda to unlock it?

 

[G a f f e r]

Where do I go in Zelda to unlock it?

To start the overflow stack?
Move backwards or walk forwards and chat to the bloke in front of you.

 

[Rob]

Does anybody know how to get this homebrew channel ?? I've just done the Zelda hack (already had a copy) and now I'm looking at getting into this but can't seem to find it

 

[BarneyL]

The Zelda hack is used to run unsigned code from an SD card in the wii, normally the first thing you run is the program that installs the Homebrew channel and then use that to add software afterwards.
The team that created the Zelda hack also created the homebrew channel so going back to the site you got the hack from would be a good start.

 

[Rob]

Thanks, tried all those links. The homebrew channel doesn't seem to be available to download at the moment unless anybody knws differently.

 

[BarneyL]

Main server for it is down right now, try this one instead (it's the main developer's personal server).
Index of /uploads/hbc

 

[Rob]

Main server for it is down right now, try this one instead (it's the main developer's personal server).
Index of /uploads/hbc

Yes, I came across that link and tried it but still having problems. When I excute the Zelda hack,I get a bunch of text saying boot.dol not found etc and the Wii just hangs. I updated to 3.4E recently which was probably a mistake. Think I need to do a bit more reading to find out what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks Rob.

 

[BarneyL]

3.4 "fixed" the issue that allowed the TP hack. There was however another bug to exploit which requires a different save game to be used.
3.4 also searches for the hack save and deletes it when the wii boots up so to use it you have to copy it onto the wii and run it right away.
Other than that it's just business as usal installing the boot.dol file on the root of your SD card I believe (I haven't used the new hack personally as I already had the Homebrew Channel on my Wii before 3.4 was installed).

 

[Johnboy_1975]

3.4 "fixed" the issue that allowed the TP hack. There was however another bug to exploit which requires a different save game to be used.
3.4 also searches for the hack save and deletes it when the wii boots up so to use it you have to copy it onto the wii and run it right away.
Other than that it's just business as usal installing the boot.dol file on the root of your SD card I believe (I haven't used the new hack personally as I already had the Homebrew Channel on my Wii before 3.4 was installed).

So can I homebrew with 3.4 or not? If so how? Are there any potential disadvantages to the homebrew chaneel like being detected and banned off live network, bricking your wii, or doing any other sort of damage?

And (as has been asked before) is there a noticable difference between a mod chip and a softmod?

Thanks in advance

 

[OCukScoobyDoo]

You can homebrew with 3.4, you just need to install a different zelda game save to install the homebrew channel.

If you then want to install the softmod (backup channel) you need to go through a different routine to install .wad files.

There are numerous sites explaining the procedure for doing this if you have 3.4 firmware.
Its pretty straight forward to do.

The benefit of doing the softmod over the modchip is that you dont have to take your wii apart to install anything with a softmod and if for any reason you need to return your wii under warranty you can just delete the softmod channel.

Id go softmod over a modchip anyday, did my wii the other day and it only took about 10mins to get everything loaded up and working.