Posted July 29, 2009 Right, before this thread goes any further I want to put in some rules. 1. No discussion of Wii/GC piracy. 2. No links to where to get anything in order to 'hack' your wii and install the HBC. No requesting it in here either. 3. I think old school emulation is out of the question too, though really there's not much to discuss there. 4. Be nice. So basically, I've seen people mentioning the HBC from time to time on here, and I recently hacked my Wii myself(about 2 weeks back) because I can see my drive is slowly starting to fail and pulling in discs, and I didn't have to heart to give up on my NTSC copy of brawl with all my records(I was using the freeloader swap each time). I decided to hack it in the hopes of finding some way to region free boot(as I did ) but along the way I've discovered this whole other world. There's tons of homebrew apps and games and all sorts out there, and lots of technical terms and things I'd never heard of and yet don't understand, so I thought I'd make a thread for all of those who use the HBC to discuss it. What little gems have you discovered with it? What do you use it for mainly? I was quite impressed with some of the stuff it's got going for it, there's probably still tons of little things I've missed out on. Though one of my favourites so far(for when I actually have the people and wiimotes) is probably Super Mario War. Apparently twas ported from the PC, but it's a strange little multiplayer mario...fighter, for lack of a better word. Your aim? To kill/jump on everyone else's head more than they jump on yours! Last man standing wins(plus a ton of other modes). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 Homebrew is fantastic, even more so on the Wii than it was on the DS. As you mentioned, the possibilities to emulate retro games are there (but not something I'm using), but my favourite favourite piece of software (besides being able to move the Disc Channel, yeeeah, take that Nintendo! ) is the USB Loader GX. It allows you to burn your games from disc, and on to a USB Hard Drive which means you don't need to disc swap. I've got Super Mario Galaxy, Wii Sports Resort and Brawl all installed straight from disc meaning I don't have to listen to my Wii's disc drive slowly but surely destroy itself, which isn't much fun. The Homebrew scene is bloody amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 I think it's because of the similarities between the GC and the Wii, coders and homebrewers have been able to get a bit of a jumpstart on how to utilise the Wii, think it makes things easier to port for it, like the aforementioned Super Mario War(which is worth checking out, it's fun for at least a little while just cos it's so crazy). I just found a few pages with info about things like IOSes, BootMii and all of that, I'm starting to understand things a bit better now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) I have recently been thinking about exploring the Homebrew Scene, I already know links etc (so no I won't be asking how ). The only reason I hadn't before was because I was concerned about bricking the Console, but seeing as I am now spending less and less time on the thing I am now more prepared to run the risk. The main reason for wanting to do it, is to get back the ability to run imported games, especially as I seriously miss playing MLB Power Pros because I absolutely loved that game. From what I have read (and your post pretty much confirms this) is that there is so much more to explore in the world of Homebrew so hopefully no-one comes along and kills this thread. Edited July 29, 2009 by ThePigMarcher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 I was going to buy another Wii just for this purpose.... I want to know: - Is there any danger? - All I want is to play games from other regions that won't come out over here. Namely Taiko Drum Master.... - Does it region free gamecube games too? - Is it worth actually buying another Wii for it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 I was going to buy another Wii just for this purpose.... I want to know: - Is there any danger? - All I want is to play games from other regions that won't come out over here. Namely Taiko Drum Master.... - Does it region free gamecube games too? - Is it worth actually buying another Wii for it? Danger: You can brick your Wii. But follow a decent guide from a reputable site (they do exist!) and you'll be fine. Import games....yes you can play games from any region if you have the correct 'app' installed. Again, same with region free Gamecube games. Worth buying another wii...No. It's a simple process to install the HBC and from there you can install the required 'channels' on the HBC - or as a channel on the Wii's menu that would let you do all of the above requests you had. Super Mario War is great. Homebrew is always hit and miss - there are some half decent homebrew games on Wii but it's the apps that truly shine. 'Mediaplayer' lets you play DVD's on your Wii as well as any content from SD. Worth installing just for that ability alone. (Although DVD players are ten a penny these days.) HBC is really good tbh and I use it as a tool to play NTSC titles as my freeloader was blocked eons ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 the homebrew channel is the only reason i still have my wii and havent sold it i love it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 Cheers tapedeck. Doesn't sound like there's any downside to homebrew... just lots of good stuff!!! Can anyone PM me details on what to do?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Nownow dazzy, you shouldn't be asking in this thread! I don't want to give people reason to close this thread down. It was rather quick and easy though, and similarly to you guys I didn't want to for fear of brickings and because I didn't(and largely still don't) understand alot of it. I realised I'd never let go of brawl though, and my drive is showing bad signs, so I went for it knowing I'd find a fix if it all went tits up, but not everyone has that option. Anything you do to your wii is at your own risk, something you'll hear alot if you delve into this :p I do want to echo tapedeck's post, I forgot to mention it as I haven't checked it out too much, but one of the homebrew apps(and homebrew is all so simple and user friendly on the wii it seems, you can get one homebrew app that lets you browse the selected best homebrew apps throught tinternets from the comfort of your wii!) is a mediaplayer, that can(apparently, I've not tried it yet) play DVDs, but also DivX files(at least, only thing I tried) from a USB stick! I liked it because it, whilst being a bit more unwieldy than the 360, actually allowed me to stick my subs files on along with a video file. I find the 360 subtitles feature only seems to work for DVDs, as in proper DVDs with subs on them. Not only that, but upon comparison, I could have sworn my wii was giving me better quality than my 360 off the same video file! Admittedly I run on a crappy old CRT, and also was using a video file that was not of the best quality, I have yet to test it again though I keep meaning to! As for region free gaming, I know for sure Wii region free works for Wii games, GC games I presume there's a way to do it too but I don't know if it's the same as Wii or anything as I haven't looked into it. Edited July 29, 2009 by Rummy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 30, 2009 I really enjoy homebrew as it has given a bit of extra functionality out of my Wii. I love the extra uses such as playing videos (without having to re-encode it to play on Photo Channel) from an SD Card in decent quality, maps and even Mah-jong. Highly recommend, might give the USB Loader a go if the drive deteriorates. You can play DVDs on the Wii, but I found when playing proper dvd movies it was bit too jerky and slow for my liking, it may have changed since I last tried though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 30, 2009 DVD playback is still very sucky, would be so good to have a decent DVD player on Wii. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 30, 2009 DVD playback is fine from what I've done. I've used it a ton and it's always been flawless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 30, 2009 I had it installed a while back. I got rid of it when System Menu 4.0 came out because I really wanted the SD Card Support, and I didn't want to get bricked or anything. A few months after this my system memory corrupted and I had to send my Wii in to get it fixed. At this point, I have no plans to install it again just in case. Plus I have a new warranty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 31, 2009 DVD playback is fine from what I've done. I've used it a ton and it's always been flawless. Ok tapedeck, PLEASE tell me your secret! For me it takes absolute AGES to start playing, and in the event it actually does find the menu/film and start, it's hideously jerky and usually goes out of sync. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 31, 2009 Are you guys all using the same app for DVD playback? I should imagine that has a large part to play, though I've still yet to try out actual DVD playback on it. For me it's not so much something I need, what a DVD player in my room and my 360 next to the Wii, besides which I rarely ever watch proper DVDs anyway! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted July 31, 2009 (edited) Ok tapedeck, PLEASE tell me your secret! For me it takes absolute AGES to start playing, and in the event it actually does find the menu/film and start, it's hideously jerky and usually goes out of sync. Mplayer (Christmas edition (CE) I have). It's in the wiibrowser - the homebrew shop channel. Edited August 1, 2009 by tapedeck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 1, 2009 dvd playback i never got working... oh well sure never really cared anyway is it anygood? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 1, 2009 dvd playback i never got working... oh well sure never really cared anyway is it anygood? Mplayer can play DVD's, SD card content as well as streaming from Youtube - although it only streams the most popular videos. Still, it's more a 'handy' show-off programme than anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 Okay, struggling. Where do you save the hombrewbroswer on your SD Card? It says in the app folder...I don't have an app folder.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 How do people install the HBC? I did it with the Twilight Hack. Is that the only way? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 No Daft. I've just done it, it took 10 mins. Insanely easy and now a whole new Wii World has opened up for me!!! PS I've figured my question now by the way Also, what app is it that lets you play imported wii and cube games? Got the gekko thing which imports games so forget that question. Struggling with Spectrum emulator. And none of the DVDinstallers work Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 Folks - this sounds intriguing to me. I'm slowly losing interest in my Wii, mainly because Nintendo as per usual, are on to a great thing, yet fail to back it up with a little known thing called GAMES! Some of the features here sound pretty cool though...my main concern is online play - yes I complain about playing Brawl online a lot, but I'd hate to lose the ability to play the game online with friends, just as I would Mario Kart Wii. Does Homebrew prevent me from doing this once it's installed? Can I still get VC games and still do everything that a Wii is supposed to do and more? If so I might need some "info" on how one can do this... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 Negatory, you can still play online Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 Homebrew stops nothing... I think the only thing is slight panic everytime a new update comes out Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted August 2, 2009 Hmm, well I may look into this, although it depends, what is it that one can actually do with Homebrew? I'm not really after emulation as it's illegal and I feel bad enough playing Earthbound (although if Nintendo had released the bloody thing over here I would've bought it!). Is there anything really worthwhile is what I'm asking I suppose! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
