Homebrew on Wii and other thoughts and questions

[toptenmaterial]

Some random thoughts here: I recently got my hacked Wii back from an old friend after a very long term loan and have started diving back into it. I've never been very handy with the hacking and homebrew aspect, though fortunately that has all been for me. I live in very tight quarters, so I've learned to embrace emulation.

 

I've been on the homebrew channel, and it looks as though there hasn't been any activity on it in perhaps 7 years, though most of the stuff I've downloaded does indeed function. In addition to emulators, I picked up a media player for movies. I can't seem to run DVDs, but am able to play MP4 off of a USB hard drive. Quality is in the acceptable range. NES emulation has a slight lag, and even that little lag makes games like Mike Tyson's Punchout unplayable. I'm not sure how to deal with that issue. Can it be fixed? I also loaded Stella and an 800/8 bit emulator. That's all, I'll continue posting my experiences.

[alex_79]

NES emulation has a slight lag, and even that little lag makes games like Mike Tyson's Punchout unplayable. I'm not sure how to deal with that issue. Can it be fixed?

The lag could be caused by the TV if you're using a digital set.

To rule that out, try the console with a CRT if you have that possibility. If the lag is still present, then the problem is the emulator.

[toptenmaterial]

So I used a Stella based emulator tonight called Wii 2600 and it runs flawlessly. A lot of fun to be had! I played Crazy Climber for the first time ever, it's a good one! I'm guessing that the NES lag must be due to the emulator then.

 

EDIT: why doesn't the digital TV issue affect all games on the Wii console?

Edited December 7, 2016 by toptenmaterial

[alex_79]

If the TV has lag, then it is the same for all games. But you'll notice it more in games where precise timing is required for the gameplay.

[Moo]

Those emulators are probably out of date tho. People just download emulators from the internet now and put them on their SD card. You gotta put the sd card in your computer anyway to put roms on it.

[Yar_2084]

The emulator could be out of date. It's worth noting that they do still receive updates, see here http://wiibrew.org/wiki/FCE_Ultra_GX

 

As @Moo says, you can just download the wads and stuff and stick them straight onto the SD card.

[Shannon]

Search the intranets for latest builds of certain emulators since the homebrew channel is not really updated anymore. wiibrew.org is a good place to find most everything you need.

[S1500]

I was doing okay with emulation on the Wii. A few weeks ago, it didn't go so well. I put in some new ROMs for MAME(2003I think? the 78 set) and MAME suddenly would get stuck on initializing, but never show me the game list.

 

I try running the app(forgot the name) that lets you download & update emulators, etc, and it hit a kernel panic.

 

I've had mixed results with emulation on the Wii. The Sega one has weirdness where a dialog would perpetually go back & forth(fast) between two buttons. The 5200 emulator keeps saying I need the real hardware. Some of it is trial and error.