Getting the most out of save blocks

[StripTheSoul]

Heya guys,

I'm still kinda confused by the whole thing with save blocks in the NAND. Most Wii games seem to just use 1 block, so they are not much of a problem; some games need a lot more, especially if they have DLC which seems to be completely installed in that NAND space.
The worst, however, seems to be having a few more WiiWare games. As soon as I start one, it seems the Wii menu installs a channel for that game and it can be super big, 300 blocks and more, for some simple little game.
Can one even have, like, 10 WiiWare games and still space for saves?
I know there's also the possibility of the SD Card, but since the Wii/Dolphin cannot directly use the data on it in a game, it's not really optimal.
So help me think: Even when using the SD card (because I guess there's no easier way), what would be the most clever way to go about if I wanted to have a save in all my Wii games (around a hundred titles) at the same time, also DLCs installed and WiiWare installed? Start each Wii game, let it make a save, then move them over to the SD card?Move back the save for the game I want to play to the the NAND (inside Wii Menu). And if it's too much even for the SD card (1000 blocks also doesn't feel like a lot when a single WiiWare game or DLC is so big), I'd have to backup that SD.raw file, let Dolphin create a new one and switch the SD files around each time?
I did read somewhere that the SD card can be much bigger. Then at least, I wouldn't have to switch SD card files... how would I configure a bigger one?

[JosJuice]

If you have space problems, I would suggest not keeping any WiiWare games permanently installed on the NAND. If you want to be able to launch WiiWare games from the Wii Menu, you can use the Wii Menu's feature to run channels from an SD card. (What this feature actually does is to copy the channel you want to run to the NAND and then delete it once you want to run a different channel – the same as what happens if you try to run a WAD file from the game list in modern versions of Dolphin.)

As for DLC, most games which have large DLC (like Guitar Hero and other music games) have an option to store the DLC on an SD card, so I would suggest using that option in the games that have it.

How to create a bigger SD card image is described here: https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Virtual_SD_Card_Guide#Creating_a_Virtual_SD_Card

[StripTheSoul]

Alright, thanks, will try to make a bigger SD card.
Hm, not sure if I understand your first part correctly. I didn't use "install wad" in the menu or something. I only double-clicked the WiiWare game in Dolphin's game browser and it started, but also made a channel automatically. Not sure how to start a wiiware game without having it install its channel in the NAND.

[JosJuice]

(11-23-2020, 02:28 AM)StripTheSoul Wrote: Hm, not sure if I understand your first part correctly. I didn't use "install wad" in the menu or something. I only double-clicked the WiiWare game in Dolphin's game browser and it started, but also made a channel automatically.

When you run a WAD like that, Dolphin will temporarily install it, but it will be automatically uninstalled the next time you run a different WAD in the same way. So you only need enough space in the NAND for one WiiWare game when you do this.

(11-23-2020, 02:28 AM)StripTheSoul Wrote: Not sure how to start a wiiware game without having it install its channel in the NAND.

That is not possible in modern versions of Dolphin. It used to be possible in 5.0 or so, but it was removed because it was too hacky.

[StripTheSoul]

Ah, now I understand. If it works like that, that's good then. No juggling of several SD cards needed (also a 2GB one seems to be quite a lot).
Thank you!