WiiFlow Lite

WiiFlow Lite
WiiFlow Lite
	File:Wiiflowlitewii.jpg
General
Author	Hibernatus, Fix94, Fledge68
Type	File browsers
Version	5.5.3
License	Mixed
Last Updated	2022/03/23
Links
	[Lite - plugins/addons Download]
	Website
	Source

WiiFlow is a homebrew USB loader for the Nintendo Wii and Wii U video game consoles in Wii Menu mode. It allows users to load and play games, applications, and other content from a USB storage device, such as an external hard drive or flash drive.

One of its main features is its 3D box coverflow display, which makes it easy to navigate and select games and apps. WiiFlow is capable of launching Wii and WiiWare/VC games, homebrew titles, and GameCube games through the use of Nintendont or Devolution. Additionally, it has an intuitive plugin system that allows users to launch and play classic retro games via their respective homebrew emulator. It also supports watching videos and listening to music via this plugin system.

WiiFlow also supports using Emu NANDs for your WiiWare/VC titles and is capable of launching them via Neek2o if needed. This allows you to take advantage of features such as game saves, and other features that are not available through normal USB loading.

What is WiiFlow Lite?

This is my mod or continuation of the popular homebrew app WiiFlow for the Nintendo Wii and Wii U. WiiFlow allows users to boot games from a USB device or SD card, making it a convenient way to play a large collection of games without the need for physical media. It works on both the Wii and Wii U in Wii mode.

With v5.2.0, I have changed the name back to WiiFlow to make things less complicated, but kept the name WiiFlow Lite on Github. This modification aims to improve upon the original WiiFlow and add new features and enhancements, while still maintaining its user-friendly interface and ease of use.

Features

Old Features from WiiFlow

A full 3d box, front to back coverflow interface
Can Run via IOS58 with AHBProt disabled via the forwarder channel or HBC 1.08+ but cIOS is still needed to launch Wii and NAND games
Compatible with hermes, waninkoko, and d2x cios, but d2x is highly recommended
Launch Wii games from SD or USB HDD formatted to FAT32, NTFS, EXT2, and WBFS. FAT32 is recommended. Don't use WBFS.
Launch GameCube games on SD or USB HDD via Nintendont or Devolution. Nintendont recommended.
Launch Wii and Gamecube games via retail disc
Launch Channels from real NAND or emu NAND
Launch Homebrew titles
Launch classic emu games and movie files via WiiFlow's plugin system
Option to use Neek2o v90+ to launch emu NAND channels
Extract Real NAND to emu NAND
Wii savegame emulation via emu NAND
Copy savegames from real NAND to emu NAND
Flash savegames back to real NAND
Plays included banner animations for Wii, Gamecube, and NAND titles
Can play custom made banners for GameCube and Plugin titles
Banner animations can be full screen or mini banner preview
Download covers via GameTDB
Options to select cover types and countries for downloading
Background music with sub folder support
Optional THP game trailer's video player on selected game menu
Custom titles and cover spine color support
Theme support
Multiple languages
Help Guide built in
Sort and Categorize games
Mark games as Favorites even for plugins
Parental lock to block config menu access and access to games set as blocked
Download and use Cheat Codes for Wii, GameCube, and NAND titles
Wiinner Tag and DU Tag support
Optional Source Menu for choosing which covers to view

'WiiFlow Lite's Features

added custom banners for plugin games. no longer using trialer thp videos as banners for plugin games. put your custom banners in the custom banner folder plus the plugin cover folder and name them the same as the rom with extension plus .bnr just like how you do for the covers. to make a plugin game banner i suggest downloading one of abdallahterro's custom gamecube dios mios booter channels and use customizemii to change the images (and sound if you want). make sure the images match exactly the size of the one's already there. when changes are done extract the banner and rename it and put it in the proper folder as previously mentioned.
added Neek2o r96 beta 9.6 vwii support. wiiflow lite will now look for vwiikernal.bin and emunands must be in a subfolder of vwiinands on USB only.
added Nintendont settings - skip IPL, CC Rumble, Patch Pal50, video width, video position, and tri arcade.
added goto home menu and press '1' to save the current theme.ini with all the new theme btns and labels. note - all old unused btns and labels in theme.ini are not erased and are still there. switch to the default theme and save - it will contain all current new ones and no old ones. then use it to determine which ones need to be removed.
added HBC 1.1.3 new ID OHBC. this allows wiiflow to use exit to HBC if you have the new one.
added gc default settings menu accessed via main settings pg3. pg3 no longer requires you to be in gc view to see them now. wish i had more time to add more default settings.
addded partition settings menu in place of the single partiton selection on pg1. this means you don't have to select the source view first.
now on file explorer menu pressing home btn returns you to device select so you don't have to keep backing up to get back to devices.
added install wad option to nand emulation settings menu. I know you can do it via file explorer but this makes it easier for newbies to find. plus you can select which nand to install to.
added .ciso extension to gamecube list maker so you can use them with nintendont.
added flat cover options for sourceflow and homebrew flow. can be turned on/off via their config menu's accessed via 'HOME' btn.
added config menu for homebrew flow - press 'HOME' btn while in homebrew flow to access it. config menu options are - switch apps partition, adjust coverflow, smallbox on/off, and flat covers on/off.
added config menu for source menu or sourceflow - press 'HOME' btn while in source menu or sourceflow to access it. options include - sourceflow on/off, adjust coverflow, smallbox on/off, flat covers on/off, and for source menu only - multisource on/off.
added coverflow layouts/versions for individual plugins - which means each plugin can have its own coverflow layout without affecting the others.
added error messages to game and app launching if any of the bin files needed for launching are missing. previously whenever these errors occurred wiiflow would just exit without the user knowing why. Now the error message should display before exit so the user has an idea what went wrong.
added error messages to game config menu. now all config options will show but if you can't use it then a error shows telling you. such as 'use neek2o' will be available but if you set it to on and neek2o isn't installed then an error message shows. added error msgs for extracting and flashing saves too.
added show_mem=yes/no option to wiiflow_lite.ini under [DEBUG]. manually edit wiiflow_lite.ini to turn it on/off. if set to 'yes' wiiflow will show how much free mem is available on screen. no need to compile wiiflow for this option anymore.
Added the ability to select both NAND and EmuNAND Channels at the same time. Three options to do this.
- Use Source Menu multi select.
- Switch to Channels View and goto main settings pg3 to choose channels type.
- Use the Plugin Select menu with the new emuchannels.ini plugin and the channels.ini plugin to select one or both. (in plugin view of course).
added ability to zoom in and out a flipped cover on game selected screen. use '+' and '-' to adjust zoom and use the d-pad to move the cover. press 'B' to reset it. only works with pressing the buttons not holding them down. when flipping a cover none of the buttons are available and the mini banner is not shown until you press 'B' to de flip the cover to normal front view.

Too many to list.

Installing

As of v5.2.0 WiiFlow Lite will simply be a replacement for WiiFlow. Put it in apps/wiiflow and use wiiflow forwarder's to launch it via the wii system menu. forwarders can be found on wiiflowiki4. for previous wiiflow lite users, sorry but you must uninstall your wiiflow lite forwarder and replace it with a wiiflow forwarder.

Simply download the latest release and extract it to your apps/wiiflow folder on SD or USB HDD. SD is recommended. Your device should be formatted to FAT32.

Pre-setup:

Before installing WiiFlow your Wii or Wii U vWii must be soft-modded and have d2x installed in slot 249 with base 56 and slot 250 with base 57. If it's not soft-modded then go to wii.guide to mod your Wii or Wii U vWii and then install the proper cIOS per instructions below.

For Wii:

Download d2x-v10-beta52 for slot 249 and d2x-v10-beta53alt for slot 250 (d2x-v8-final still works fine as well). Note they are zip files that need the extension to be renamed to .7z because they are actually 7-zip files.
Follow the guide here to use either ModMii or the official d2x-cios-installer v3.1 to install them.
Tip: d2x-v10-beta52 has higher compatibility for NAND emulation and online stuff and less random crashes during game-play that’s why it’s in slot 249 while d2x-v10-beta53 has 2 USB ports support and fully plug & play USB devices, meaning that you can connect them when the game asks for them.

For Wii U:

You will need d2x-v10-beta52-vwii and d2x-v10-beta53-alt-vwii
Use d2x-cios-installer-mod v2.2 by Fix94 to install them.

Installing WiiFlow:

Now that you have your Wii soft-modded and d2x installed:

Download the latest official WiiFlow Lite.
Extract it to your SD card or USB HDD. It should automatically put WiiFlow boot.dol, icon.png, and meta.xml in the /apps/wiiflow folder.
Put your Wii game backups in the usb:/wbfs folder using Wii Backup Manager or a similar program. Or if you don't have any backups yet you can make backups with WiiFlow. More on that later.

Installing a optional forwarder channel:

Without this you must launch WiiFlow from the Homebrew Channel. To install a forwarder channel to launch WiiFlow from the System Menu do the following.

For Wii:

Use Wad Manager 1.7 or another wad manager app to install a WiiFlow forwarder channel. Note: You will need IOS 58 installed to use these v14b forwarders. Use ModMii to download and install IOS 58. Or you can use IOS 58 Installer provided your Wii has WiFi.

For Wii U:

Use wiiflow channel installer v1.1 to install the default forwarder.

Installing a optional Priiloader or BootMii forwarder loader:

This will allow WiiFlow to automatically start when you turn your Wii on. Note: These are Wii only!

If you have BootMii installed as boot2 get the BootMii Forwarder Loader. Backup or rename your current armboot.bin first and then just place the included armboot.bin file in the bootmii folder on your SD card ( sd:/bootmii/armboot.bin ). Now when you turn on your Wii it should start WiiFlow.

Note: BootMii as boot2 is very rare and only happens on very old Wii's. Normally BootMii will install as a IOS. If it's an IOS use the Priiloader Forward Loader below.

If you have Priiloader installed get the Priiloader Forwarder Loader. Put it in a folder or on the root of your SD card. You may have to rename it to boot.dol. To tell Priiloader to launch it follow the directions from CSG (scroll down to find 'Installing a File').

Booting

To start WiiFlow Lite you will need the Homebrew Channel or a WiiFlow forwarder channel installed on your Wii or vWii system menu.

Themes

Currently only Rhapsodii and Rhapsodii Shima themes are compatible with WiiFlow Lite. Other older wiiflow themes need to be updated to work properly with WFL.

Rhapsodii made by Hakaisha is a new theme designed for wiiflow lite. find it here - (https://gbatemp.net/threads/wiiflow-lite-theme-rhapsodii.511833/)

Other wiiflow lite themes can be found on the wiki linked below. but they need to be updated to properly work with wiiflow lite.

Screenshots

Media

Known Issues

Issue Downloading Covers

WiiFlow has a issue when downloading covers. Mainly when downloading a large quantity. The problem is the cover 'png' images are downloaded and saved but some or all of them don't get converted to 'wfc' cache files that WiiFlow actually uses to display them on screen. The cause isn't totally known but it appears to be an issue with 'out of memory'. If it happens most likely you will need to exit wiiflow and reboot it.

This may also happen if you manually add a lot of covers for your emulator plugins when you boot WiiFlow and do 'reload cache'.

The easiest way to fix it is remove your SD card or USB device and connect it to your home PC. Download and use a program called WFC_conv by Wiimpathy. It's a Linux and Windows tool that will convert all the png images in a folder to wfc files for wiiflow.

Download it here - https://github.com/Wiimpathy/WFC_conv/releases/download/v0.1/WFC_conv_0-1.zip

Extract it and follow these directions to use it.

What is WFC_converter

WFC_converter is a command line tool to convert images to WiiFlow cache files. It scans all covers found in 'boxcovers' and saves the .wfc files in the cache folder. Only png are supported with the same constraints as in WiiFlow(max height < 1090 for example).

You may consult the log file 'log_cachecreate.txt' for any errors during the cache creation. Refer to the Return codes in pngu.h to see what the error number means.

Usage:

Note: in Windows you will need to open a command prompt. In Windows 10 go to the Windows folder with wfc_conv.exe and hold shift while right clicking in open area (not on a file). select Open Powershell window here. Now you can type the following commands.

‎

wfc_conv.exe Path [-OPTION]

#Path#

The path to the WiiFlow folder containing your boxcovers.

#OPTION#

-uncompress : Don't compress textures. Not recommended, files are large. It's disabled by default in WiiFlow.

-wiicovers : Create cache files for Wii and GameCube covers.

Examples :

wfc_conv.exe e:\WiiFlow

wfc_conv.exe e:\WiiFlow -wiicovers
‎

Issue WiiFlow Won't Boot Up

For some users WiiFlow may show the splash screen and then exit or it may get stuck in endless wait animation.

This is most likely caused by your SD or USB device not working with the current cIOS or IOS 58. The next problem is WiiFlow uses a savegame on your wii just like all wii games do. This savegame contains settings for WiiFlow's boot up such as to use IOS 58 or a cIOS, which cIOS to use, and what port the USB device is attached to. WiiFlow makes this savegame on bootup if it's not found. It defaults to cIOS 249. It could be your device works better with IOS 58 or a different cIOS. Simply deleting this savegame does not solve this problem because it will just be recreated with the default of cIOS 249.

You need to use WiiFlow Start Configurator. A Wii app to edit this savegame by choosing to use IOS 58 or a different cIOS.

Download here - https://www.mediafire.com/file/vdchnzz8nh587g1/Wiiflow_Start_Configurator.zip/file

Run it via The Homebrew Channel, make your changes, exit it, and try to run WiiFlow again.

Note: vWii users may find more success with a cIOS of base 58 or 57.

Changelogs

v5.5.3 March 23rd, 2022

disable splash image and wait animation if direct launching a wii game (via wiiGSC).
added option to use nands not vwiinands when on wii u. set manually by changing [CHANNELS] use_vwiinands=no in wiiflow_lite.ini
fixed using hermes cios in the rare case you ever need to use it.
other minor code changes.

v5.5.2 February 7th, 2022

external_booter.bin fixes that i missed when i changed the booter in v5.5.0 beta 12

added missing *BI2 = 0x817E5480; to Disc_SetLowMem() for wii games.
added missing memcpy((void*)0x80001800, (void*)Disc_ID, 8); needed for debugger and ocarina cheats engine.
fixed Disc_SelectVMode() for channels in v5.5.1. (video mode based on Disc_ID[3])

main changes:

fixed default setting for savegame emulation back to OFF (0). v5.5.0 and v5.5.1 new clean install's would set it to FULL (2) which caused wii games to crash on boot up. if you have this issue you can simply go to main settings>nand emulation settings and set it to OFF.
reinstated Fix94's keep USB alive thread for IOS58 mode.
fixed reloading wiiflow after any changes on Startup Settings menu.
changed the order of functions for ShutdownBeforeExit() to possible fix any shutdown and gameboot issues.
changes to STexture::fromPNG() to hopefully clear up the out of mem issue when downloading and converting the cover png to a wfc cache file.

Click here for the complete changelogs.

External links

GitHub - https://github.com/Fledge68/WiiFlow_Lite/
Wiiflow - https://sites.google.com/site/wiiflowiki4/
GBAtemp - https://gbatemp.net/threads/wiiflow-lite.422685/
GBAtemp (with emulator's database) - https://gbatemp.net/threads/wiiflow-lite-with-emulators-database.527613/
GBAtemp (Dosbox .conf and .map files) - https://gbatemp.net/threads/dosbox-conf-and-map-files-collection-for-wiiflow.348496/