Homebrew Channel

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Not to be confused with Homebrew Browser.
Homebrew Channel
Homebrew channel logo.png
General
Author(s) Team Twiizers
Type Loader
Version 1.0.8
Licence Freeware
Links
Download
Website
Bugs Discussion

The Homebrew Channel is a self-updating homebrew application loader by Team Twiizers which allows users to load homebrew applications without having to run an exploit every time. Once installed, users can access the channel from the Wii System Menu just like any other Wii channel. It can launch or install homebrew applications from an SD or SDHC card or via TCP/USB Gecko using Wiiload. You can install the Homebrew Channel as part of the HackMii Installer by seeing the Installation part of this page.

Contents

Installation

See also: Homebrew status


READ THE DISCLAIMER! In the VERY unlikely case that your Wii gets bricked by the installer, this will let you know where you stand in regards to Team Twiizers.

Pick One

System Menu 3.2 - 3.4 System Menu 3.2 - 4.2 Any System Menu
TwilightHack 0.1beta1.png
Bannerbomb.png

NTSC-U/NTSC-J/PAL

Smashstack.png/SmashstackJP.png/SmashstackKOR.png
Any System Menu Any System Menu Any System Menu
Indiana pwns.png
 PAL ONLY
Yu-Gi-OWNED.png

(NTSC-U/J use Yu-Gi-Vah)

Bathaxx.png
Any System Menu Any System Menu System Menu 4.3 - LetterBomb
Return of the Jodi.png
EriHakawai.png
Letterbomb.png

Using a loader

  1. Download the HackMii Installer.
  2. Extract the HackMii Installer to find the boot.dol
  3. Place the boot.dol file in the root (SD:/ ) of your SD card.
  4. Boot the loader that will work for your System Menu.
  5. Wait for the Hackmii Installer to run tests on your Wii
  6. Press Template:Wiimote1Button when told to continue installing HBC and BootMii.

The installation should be automatic from this point on, and your Wii will reboot.

Using a DVD

The DVD method requires a drivechip and won't work with the 3.3 firmware update or newer. DVD images for the more recent versions are currently unavailable, though you can install beta8 and then update.

Using a previous unsigned code-loading method

If you have an older version of the Homebrew Channel or another means of executing unsigned code, you can use the auto update function to install the latest version.

Configuring Applications

In order to make an application appear in the Homebrew Channel, the following steps must be taken:

  1. Make a folder on the root of your SD card called "apps".
  2. In the folder "apps," create a folder for the application (for this example, ScummVM will be used).
  3. Copy the files for the application into its folder (e.g. apps/scummvm/).
  4. Find the executable file (either .elf or .dol) and rename it to boot.elf (or boot.dol if it was a .dol file) if it is not already named that (e.g. apps/scummvm/boot.dol). If the app comes with these files, copy the icon.png and meta.xml files into this folder.

Now the application will appear in the Homebrew Channel. However, if the application did not come with icon.png or meta.xml, its appearance on the menu is ugly, and difficult to distinguish from other applications. To fix this, text and an image can be added.

Adding Text

To add text to an application in the Homebrew Channel, do the following: (note: you may install the Homebrew Browser and download pre-formatted apps without performing this step for every app)

  1. Make a file in the folder of the application (e.g. apps/ScummVM/) called "meta.xml" (e.g. apps/ScummVM/meta.xml).
  2. Open "meta.xml" in Notepad and add the following text as a template:

    3. <source lang="xml"> 

     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
 <app version="1">
   <name></name>
   <coder></coder>
   <version></version>
   <release_date></release_date>
   <short_description></short_description>
   <long_description></long_description>
 </app>

    </source>

  3. Add the appropriate information in between the relevant indicators. For example, the name of the application goes between <name> and </name>. The purpose of each field is as follows:

    4. <source lang="xml"> 

     <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
 <app version="1">
   <name>The name of the application</name>
   <coder>The name of the person or group that wrote the code for the program.</coder>
   <version>The version of the application.</version>
   <release_date>The data the application was released.
   It has to be a timestamp using this format: YYYYmmddHHMMSS</release_date>
   <short_description>This is displayed on the main menu of the Homebrew Channel 
   (before you select an application) and is used as a space to add a few words
    to describe the program.</short_description>
   <long_description>This is displayed once the application is chosen. It describes 
    the program and its function in great detail, and can be used to elaborate 
    on a program's controls.</long_description>
 </app>

    </source>

An example of a completed "meta.xml" for ScummVM is provided below: <source lang="xml"> 

 <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
 <app version="1">
   <name>ScummVM</name>
   <coder>dhewg</coder>
   <version>rev32231</version>
   <release_date>20080523000000</release_date>
   <short_description>Point & Click Adventures</short_description>
   <long_description>ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic 
   graphical point-and-click adventure games,provided you already have their 
   data files. The clever part about this: ScummVM just replaces the executables 
   shipped with the games, allowing you to play them on systems for which they 
   were never designed! Some of the adventures ScummVM supports include Adventure 
   Soft's Simon the Sorcerer 1 and 2; Revolution's Beneath A Steel Sky, 
   Broken Sword 1 and Broken Sword 2; Flight of the Amazon Queen; Wyrmkeep's Inherit 
   the Earth; Coktel Vision's Gobliiins; Westwood Studios' The Legend of Kyrandia 
   and games based on LucasArts' SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) 
   system such as Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max and more.
   </long_description>
 </app>

</source>

Optional meta.xml XML nodes

The following nodes must be children of the <app> node.

Additionally supported by The Homebrew Channel (starting with v1.0.7):

node name meaning example
arguments list of arguments passed to the loaded application as argc and argv

<source lang="xml"><arguments> 

 <arg>--loaded-by-hbc</arg>
 <arg>insane argument with spaces</arg>

</arguments></source>

no_ios_reload does not reload IOS when launching an application. loaded applications inherit HBC's title id and full hardware access (AHBPROT) <source lang="xml"><no_ios_reload/></source>

FAQ

Q: Is this required to get full hardware access?

Adding an Icon

See also: Homebrew Channel icons

In order to make icons for the Homebrew Channel show up, they must be in .png format with dimensions of 128x48 pixels. The full alpha channel can be used. Copy it into the folder of the application under the name "icon.png" (e.g. apps/scummvm/icon.png).

Complete Setup Format

You should have a compatible SD or SDHC card. See here for a list of SD and SDHC cards known to be compatible or incompatible. Note: it is by no means a complete list.

An SD card should be formatted in FAT16 or FAT32. After you have installed the apps on your SD card, its folder structure should look something like this:

If you have any problems having your Applications showing up on the 'HBC', make sure you are following the correct format.

Loading from USB

Apps on your USB storage device are stored like on a SD card.

Uninstall

Removing the channel can be done by simply deleting it with the channel management in the Wii system software.

Compatibility

Ambox style.png
 This section may require cleanup to meet GameBrew's quality standards.

Reason: Needs cleanup

Please improve this article if you can. See also Category:Articles needing cleanup.

Note: The Homebrew Channel requires that you system have at least one unpatched IOS in order to guarantee reliable performance; we've received too many bug reports that were later traced to misbehaving versions of IOS. The HackMii Installer will automatically choose an appropriate (unpatched) IOS to use when installing the Homebrew Channel; if you attempt to defeat this safety measure by replacing its IOS with a corrupted version, you may experience an "impaired HBC experience" (an upside-down screen or a warning message at every startup). Please just don't do it.

Themes

As of 1.0.7, The Homebrew Channel is capable of theming. The Image Files will be stored in a theme.zip, which can be executed like a boot.dol from the Homebrew Channel.

For a theme database and a "How to install" guide, check this page.

Further details on this can be found at Hackmii.

Changelog

1.0.8

1.0.7

1.0.6

1.0.5

1.0.4

1.0.3

1.0.2

1.0.1

1.0

Beta 9

Beta 8

Beta 7

(Initial Public Release besides chainloader)

Beta 6

Beta 5

Beta 4

Beta 3

FAQ

The official FAQ from the developers of the Homebrew Channel can be found here.

Easter Eggs

Pop the Bubbles!

Being able to pop the bubbles in the background of the HBC was a frequent request, and as of 1.0, it is possible.

Press 2 + 1 and the animated background will be the only thing visible, along with a score counter in the bottom right hand corner. Place the hand cursor over any bubble and it will pop, spawning smaller bubbles and adding to the score counter. The smaller bubbles can also be popped. When you are done, press 2 + 1 again to return to the list of applications. If you leave the wii on this screen for too long, it will crash.


NOTE: As of version HBC 1.0.5 the Pop the bubbles (with scoring) is removed. You can still pop the bubbles (without scoring) by pointing at the bubbles as usual, but you cannot prompt a score board. You can also remove the SD Card (and/or USB drive) to make more room on the screen.

Notes

1. ^ IOS51 problems
Retrieved from "http://gamebrew.org/wiki/Homebrew_Channel"
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