Aroma Wii U

Aroma
Aroma
General
Author	Maschell
Type	Custom Firmwares
Version	beta-21
License	Mixed
Last Updated	2024/07/07
Links
	Download
	Website
	Source

Aroma is a Wii U homebrew environment developed to improve user and developer experiences. It originates from an effort to run multiple homebrews simultaneously, and evolved into a major project with the discovery of the FailST exploit. Aroma introduces Aroma Modules, functional entities similar to .rpl files, and a revamped Wii U Plugin System with features like runtime reloading. Some notable plugins include direct homebrew launching from the Wii U Menu and a background FTP server.

Aroma shares a foundation with Tiramisu which can be easily migrated, it also introduces the Wii U Homebrew Bundle (WUHB) format for streamlined distribution.

Features

Compatibility with the latest firmware (5.5.5/5.5.6).
Free and persistent entrypoint (including an installer + coldboot option)
Compatible with existing entrypoints (browser exploit)
Easy setup and update: Just copy the files to the SD card.
Built-in support for modules
Built-in integration of the Wii U Plugin System
All modules and plugins use a seperate memory heap to improve stability
Plugins and homebrew applications can be used at the same time.
Some enhanced features with plugins:
- homebrew_on_menu_plugin: Load homebrew directly from the Wii U Menu instead of using a dedicated homebrew launcher.
- ftpiiu_plugin: Run a FTP server in the background.
- wiiload_plugin: Wiiload support: Launch homebrew/plugin via the network at any time.
- drc_region_free_plugin: Pair game pads from different regions.
- region_free_plugin: Launch games from different regions.

Installation

Please follow the Wii U Hacks Guide for instructions.

Changelog

Beta-21 2024/07/07

Avoid/reduce screen corruption when booting into Aroma
Close the quick start menu on the gamepad if not autobooting into an environment
Make quick starting titles more consistent if selecting the titles takes longer than 5-10 seconds
Launching title via the quick start menu will now show the correct splash screen and play the transition audio
Add option to show a custom splash screen on boot. It will be loaded from sd:/wiiu/environments/aroma/splash.png. Recommended resolution is 1280x720 or 1920x1080
Make config menu opening a bit more stable
Fix opening the config menu with Motion Plus controllers in certain scenarios (thanks @Andrew1Hawes)
Use steady/monotonic clock for the timers in NotificationModule (thanks @dkosmari)
Mocha: add DLP permission group to homebrew titles
Fix booting into vWII HBC from AutobootModule

Beta-20 2024/05/11

Fix displaying the config menu when using 480i + 4:3 or 576i as output resolution.
Add "saving config" screen to the config menu.
Actually save the OTP to otp.bin instead of opt.bin.
Never show region free language select screen for Health and Safety Information, this avoids the splash screen when booting the console with disabled auto-detection.

Beta-10 2024/05/09

Avoid loading the modules/plugins twice after a IOSU reload.
Fix save game redirection for certain persistent ids (fixes Wii U icons order for these users).
Automatically save a OTP and SEEPROM dump to the sd card at the first launch
Fixed potential crashes that could rarely happen when loading a setup module.

Beta-18 2024/05/08

Fixed loading Nanddumper via the PayloadLoaderPayload.
The Plugins in the config menu will now be sorted by name.

Beta-17 2024/05/07

Recompiled almost everything with latest wut, devkitppc, wums/wups.
Refactored the EnvironmentLoader and CustomRPXLoader to initialize the WUMS module earlier.
- This means we have access to all modules/plugins in other setup modules.
Add option to (un)block updates from the boot selector or update block warning screen.
Aroma now bundles the payload loader installer.
It's now possible to use the Health & Safety application.
Patch the Cafe OS FAT32 driver to improve readdir and stat performance. (Thanks: @GaryOderNichts)
Disable access to some raw devices for unlocked clients to avoid sd corruption.
Rewrote config and storage API (existing plugins are still compatible)
- All Aroma plugins have been updated to use the new config and storage api.
Rewrote the plugin config menu.
- Plugins can now have nested categories.
- Plugins without configuration are shown in the config menu.
Display error notifications when plugin loading fails.
Corrupt configs are now automatically detected and deleted.
- Only redirect the save directory of the current user to keep the IconDatabase synced with the console.
Plugin configs are only written to the sd card if they have actually changed.
Fix config menu control with Wiimote/Pro controller in certain games (e.g. Shovel Knight).
Implement RL_GetPathOfSaveRedirection for the RPXLoadingModule to get the current homebrew /vol/save redirection directory.
Notifications will be queued until they can be rendered.
Added support for notifications that can survive application changes until they are rendered.
Fixed quitting the software transfer application.
Fixed content redirection for titles that use "wb" mode to open files.
Refactored RPX loading logic to be more robust.
Abort the Quick Start menu after ~120 seconds.
Fixed replacement function that used r11 in its first instruction.
By default patch loader.elf to spit out less warnings when loading .rpx built with wut.
Improve the button combo detection in the PayloadLoaderPayload.
Avoid exploiting the iosu when mocha is already running.
Fixed launch of quickstart settings from the quickstart menu.
Added initial support for loading homebrew from the Quick Start Menu.
- Note: Currently there is no way to actually set homebrew titles to the Quick Start Menu.

Beta-16 2023/07/31

Fixed booting:
- DuckTales: Remastered.
- Shantae: Half-Genie Hero.
- Shantae: Risky's Revenge Director's Cut.
- Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I Don't Know!.
- The Smurfs™ 2.
Fixed a bug which made exiting Othello extremely slow.

Beta-15 2023/07/24

Recompiled everything with latest wut, devkitppc, wums/wups to improve stability and stop softlocking on FS errors.
Implemented support for pairing controller and GamePads in Autoboot Module.
Implemented support for using a Wiimote or Pro Controller in Autoboot Module (Button combos for opening these menus only works on the GamePad).
Fixed loading .rpl files from the sd card.
Always avoid "close app" confirmation when launching homebrew.
CURLWrapperModule is now using curl 8.0.1.
Log the module version for more modules at each application start.

Beta-14 2023/04/03

Fixed loading the correct account when selecting the Wii U Menu or an applet in quick start menu.
Adjusted behaviour when booting discs from the quick start menu to match the Wii U Menu.
Fixed Wii U Menu save redirection for other accounts than the main account.
Changed Wii U Menu save redirection path to include the consoles serial number.

Beta-13 2023/03/29

Fixed starting several games/apps via the quick start menu (e.g. Rayman Legend, Star Fox Zero, Minecraft and Youtube).
Stopped displaying the "write lock" error when no sd card was inserted.

Beta-12 2023/03/23

Fixes:

Fixed some rare cases where exiting an application would result in a crash.
Fixed joining games via the Friendlist.
Fixed possible crashes which could happen when navigating the WUPS Config Menu.
Fixed displaying all titles in the Daily Log. (The Wii U Menu save redirection is now supported in all apps, not just the Wii U Menu).
Fixed crashing when inserting/removing the sd card in applets while the Wii U Menu is running.
Fixed connecting to a 3DS in Mii Maker.

New features:

Added support for loading .rpl files via OSDynload_Acquire from the sd card. OSDynload_Acquire("~/wiiu/libs/test.rpl", &handle) will try to load sd:/wiiu/libs/test.rpl.
Added an option to hide all .rpx from the Wii U Menu.
Added support for sd:/wiiu/apps/.ignore which can be used to hide homebrew apps from the Wii U Menu.
Added a error notification when Aroma is booted with an write-locked sd card.

Other:

Renamed the config item to "Hide all homebrew" if no homebrew_launcher.wuhb exists on the sd card to avoid confusion about the existence of a homebrew launcher for Aroma.

Beta 11 2023/02/20

Updated Mocha to add DK_PCHAR support to /dev/iosuhax, which is needed for the gdbstub plugin (thanks @GaryOderNichts ).
Updated the RPXLoadingModule API to support getting the path of the currently running executable.
Updated the WiiUPluginBackend API to support getting more information about the running plugins.
Fixed a few small bugs in the MemoryMappingModule.

Beta-10b 2023/01/27

Updated the Aroma Updater to fix updating itself and selecting packages on page 2.
To update to this version you have to copy paste the files manually. The Aroma Updater won't work < Aroma Beta 10b.

Beta-10 2023/01/27

Updated the Aroma Updater to provide more information on error, support updating when not running in "aroma" environment.
Added the Notification Module to add support for simple Notifications.
Added the CURLWrapperModule to provide a way to use curl with latest CA Carts without bloating binary sizes.
Added the Aroma Base Plugin which checks for updates on each boot and provides basic patches for the Wii U Menu.

Beta-9 2023/01/18

Added the Aroma Updater to Aroma.

Beta-8 2023/1/14

Fixed a crash that happened when "Don't show this again" on the update warning was selected.
Fixed a disc error that appeared when opening the electronic manual of an out-of-region title.

Release notes.

External links

Official website - https://aroma.foryour.cafe/
Author's website - https://maschell.github.io/homebrew/2022/09/05/aroma.html
Wii U Hacks Guide - https://wiiu.hacks.guide/
GitHub - https://github.com/wiiu-env/Aroma/
GBAtemp - https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-aroma-environment-for-wii-u.618474/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MaschellDev