Best Version for Homebrew Compatibility

vdsvpsdotcom · 05-15-2013, 02:53 PM #1

Support for Homebrew, and I'm assuming Wii/GC games as well, varies dramatically from build to build. Does anyone know the build that has the most compatibility with Homebrew applications? So far, the best version for Homebrew compatibility I have used is dolphin-wii-network-3.5-1382-x86 downloaded from [color=#008fff]http://dolphin-emu.org/download/branches/[/color]. I am specifically trying to find one that will run Warheads: Scorched Earth. Any help is greatly appreciated.

***MayImilae*** · 05-15-2013, 02:54 PM #2

To ask the obvious, did you remember to try Virtual XFB and Real XFB? A number of homebrew titles like to use that function.

vdsvpsdotcom · (This post was last modified: 05-16-2013, 01:41 AM by vdsvpsdotcom.)

(05-15-2013, 02:54 PM)MaJoR Wrote: To ask the obvious, did you remember to try Virtual XFB and Real XFB? A number of homebrew titles like to use that function.

I did, but thanks for keeping me honest. ;-)

When Warheads: Scorched Earth starts, you can see the initial screen load and then an Error 4, Error 5 and then Error 7 is displayed in the middle of the screen. At the very bottom of the screen is Error!. The only thing I can think of doing to try and isolate what may be causing Dolphin issues is to start commenting out areas in the source code that may be making calls that Dolphin can't handle.

vdsvpsdotcom · (This post was last modified: 05-16-2013, 12:18 PM by vdsvpsdotcom.)

I found that fatInitDefault(); causes issues. Where would I post questions about why certain code would cause Dolphin to not work properly? Also, it seems that maybe this command is relying on a particular IOS. Is there a way to configure IOS loads in Dolphin for Homebrew that requires these files?

EDIT: Found that enabling Config -> Wii -> Insert SD Card resolves this issue. On to the next issue. ;-)

**skid** · 05-16-2013, 12:36 PM #5

Dolphin provides an emulation layer for IOS and does not require configuration.

I'm sorry but I had assumed that you knew about the Insert SD card option. Do you know how to put files onto the SD card? Programs like WinImage, Gizmo and filedisk provide these functions. Some more information is available in this thread:

http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-sd-raw

vdsvpsdotcom · (This post was last modified: 05-16-2013, 01:27 PM by vdsvpsdotcom.)

(05-16-2013, 12:36 PM)skid Wrote: Dolphin provides an emulation layer for IOS and does not require configuration.

I'm sorry but I had assumed that you knew about the Insert SD card option. Do you know how to put files onto the SD card? Programs like WinImage, Gizmo and filedisk provide these functions. Some more information is available in this thread:

http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-sd-raw

I'm just using Dolphin to open the boot.dol file in the apps/<appname> folder on my SD card. This is the exact same SD card and app that I use to run the Homebrew game on my Wii. Do I need to place the files on the SD card in a special manner or should what I'm doing work? I read the thread you recommended and it looks like there is an sd.raw file in the Dolphin User\Wii folder. Do I have to mount that file and then put my Homebrew files into it?

vdsvpsdotcom · (This post was last modified: 05-16-2013, 02:08 PM by vdsvpsdotcom.)

I did the following with high hopes, but I still encountered errors relating to file I/O (e.g. fatInitDefault();) just as I had before using sd.raw. Am I missing something? I saw mention in the forums somewhere that I may need a NAND dump to use the sd.raw. Is that true?

1) Installed Gizmo.
2) Mounted User/Wii/sd.raw.
3) Copied Homebrew files (e.g. app/<appname> folder) to mounted image.
4) Selected Insert SD Card option in Dolphin.
5) Opened the boot.dol file in from the mounted image.

**skid** · 05-16-2013, 02:27 PM #8

Scorched Earth is probably looking for its files on the virtual SD card and erroring out after it does not find them. Try copying the Sons directory and other related files to the root of the SD card via Gizmo. Also, close Gizmo so that the SD.raw file is released and available for use by Dolphin.

vdsvpsdotcom · (This post was last modified: 05-17-2013, 02:36 AM by vdsvpsdotcom.)

(05-16-2013, 02:27 PM)skid Wrote: Scorched Earth is probably looking for its files on the virtual SD card and erroring out after it does not find them. Try copying the Sons directory and other related files to the root of the SD card via Gizmo. Also, close Gizmo so that the SD.raw file is released and available for use by Dolphin.

I had copied all of the Scorched Earth files to the root of the virtual SD card, but I did not unmount sd.raw in Gizmo. Do you think that having sd.raw still open in Gizmo may have been the issue? If I unmount sd.raw, how do I select the boot.dol that is in the virtual SD card? Also, do the files have to be in the root of the virtual SD or can they be organized into, for instance, app/<appname> folders?

EDIT: Given that I wasn't able to select the boot.dol from the unmounted sd.raw virtual SD card, I selected it from the unzipped Scorched Earth contents folder. However, because all of the other files had been copied to the virtual SD card, the game started and seemed to function properly. Yes! The one remaining question is, is this the correct way to start a Homebrew game (i.e. copy all files but the boot.dol to the virtual SD and run the boot.dol from the native (non-SD) app folder)? Is the .dol/.elf not supposed to be on the virtual SD card?

**AnyOldName3** · 05-17-2013, 03:07 AM **#10**

On a real Wii, I'd boot any homebrew software through the homebrew channel, which in Dolphin, is functionally the same as double clicking on the executable file in the disk image list.