Great news! We CAN use extra slots on the Wii! Here's the scoop for those who didn't know, in list format (because I love lists)
- :blackwidow: Black Widow, :genis: Captain Marvel, :hawkeye: Hawkeye, and :ronin: Ronin were found on the Wii disc (because Vicarious Visions did both the Wii and PSP ports of the game).
- Though they seem to be complete, there are no sounds for them, and the ZSM/ZSS format for Wii seems to be extremely different than PC, Xbox, or even PS2. This means that using their original soundsets isn't possible. My thought is that I will use similar soundsets from XML1/XML2 characters. (for instance, Captain Marvel might sound like Bishop from XML2)
- Since we know that Link (from Zelda) and Samus (from Metroid) were in-game at one time, it's very likely that their extra slots still remain in the executable, meaning that I might be able to fit two more X-Men/Brotherhood members in there. (and no, they're not still hidden on the disc unfortunately). I'm thinking :magneto: Magneto for one, but I don't know who else would fit the best. Probably :gambit: Gambit, just for the sheer amount of awesomeness he brings to anything.
- MUA for Wii works just fine with Wii Backup Launcher 0.3 (gamma). That means no actual modchip is required. If you want to learn how, check youtube.com -- surely there's a tutorial in there somewhere if you look long enough. Just please be responsible, don't steal the game (We love Marvel, Raven Software & Vicarious Visions!)
- Preliminary tests showed that I could do a Xbox-ish hack and have secret character slots for the new characters. I only added one, but all worked well. Once all 4 PSPers are working on the Wii I will report back.
- If you know ANYTHING about the Gamecube/Wii's sound or texture formats, PLEASE post - particularly if you know something about the sound format, GC_ADPCM.
Do they have motion sensing moves like other wii characters ?
I have a wii but Ive been deciding on if I should get a modchip so I can backup my discs incase of anything happening to them but having extra characters on Mua for wii would be a good reason to buy it and get a modchip.
So you dont know how to go about modchipping a wii ? I could help you if thats what your asking help about.
Thank-you for this great discovery :D
I'm sure they do, but like I said I don't have a Wii so I couldn't tell ya.
As for finding a modchip, I'd rather you use google. This isn't really the place to talk about modding a system, as it's to easy for someone to start pirating games, instead of making modded copies of the original, which they own.
If you get around to it- sure. Mod the assets.wad- I'll give it a whirl and report back.
By the way... trying to rip from the Wii ISO can take an excrutiatingly long time (around 5 hours) so I'd backburner this at least until the Xbox mods are released, personally.
When I was at activision I remember watching the MUA team test Hawkeye-Wii, so yes- at one point he did/does have motion sensory moves... but- early on he was supposed to be included on Wii build (not as a PSP exclusive) so who knows. Hopefully they just left everything in tact on the disc! :hulk_icon:
All of the PSP character FBs, the simulators, even the survival sims are on the disc. I'm just not sure what all Vicarious Visions did on the Wii as far as limitations. The PSP seems to be able to handle 29, with the standard PSPers and then Colossus and Moon Knight, I'd assume since VV did the Wii port it's likely the same. The downfall is not having a version of ZSM Editor that can do GCADPCM files, which means hex-replacing sounds.
I really wish we knew where the character limit variable was set in the executables. Then at least we could compare the Wii main.dol to the PC game.exe and try to find the hex bytes to change.
I'm tired of spam in these topics:
IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A NINTENDO WII OR ARE NOT INVOLVED IN MODDING THIS VERSION OF THE GAME DO NOT POST IN THIS TOPIC
From now on I will remove any irrelevant posts in any of my topics involving modding research. If it becomes a problem you'll receive a very short ban.
Using the .exe,.xbe, etcetera from the different builds (PC/Xbox/Wii/PS2/PSP...) could we via comparason use a process of elimination method to isolate the variable needed to change the character cap?
I know that sounds like a lot of effort but- bear with me for a second;
Say we 'select all' the entire pc .exe and paste it to a text file.
If we then do the same with a different build (say XBox which by default has less than the 27 PC cap) then somewhere between the two would be the variant number(s).
By selecting a chunk of text from one textfile (xbox) and searching for that verbatum string of text in the other (pc) using the 'search' function- we will have one of two results;
1) the text is found exact- meaning both builds share this string and it is insignificant to our search. So, we delete the block eliminating it, and further closing in on what we are searching for.
2) the text is not found- meaning something in it differs between builds. Now, while this may not be the variable we are searching for- soon we would just be left with a list of differences between the two builds.
This may not seem quick... :quicks: I understand. But, it is a strategy at least.
There is no variable setting the max number of playable characters, as confirmed by one of the programers.
FYI: http://marvelmods.com/forum/index.php?topic=2236.0
Besides, adding more bytes (or simply deleting them) can easily screw up most of the addresses in the executable. I don't see much NOPs in the PC's executable for us to play with either... I bet this is the same on other versions of MUA. This is no easy job; it's only for people who can program in assembly.
Some updates:
*Wii backups can now be played through the Homebrew Channel + Wii Backup Launcher v.3 Gamma. (Google it) That being said, my best friend has a Wii, so we can start doing mods. MUA runs on this just fine.
*Wii sounds use the GC_ADPCM codec to play the sounds, and that's the only one referenced in the executable, so that may be all that will work. The ZSS files that store the GC_ADPCM file seem to be big endian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endiannes#Big-endian) (I think - they don't look like little endian). I'm not sure where to start with adding the sounds we need for the PSP exclusives (which are on the disc, but have no sounds). I can hex-replace raw files, I did that for the original Xbox mod before the tools were out.
*It's more than likely that the Wii version can handle a total of 31 characters -- the 25 original, the 4 PSP exclusives, plus the two slots that were for Samus Aran and Link (who got cut from the game). So it's possible that we can add the PSPers and two other characters.
More to report as I get info.
First post updated
Cool news!
Nice shot lol. I hope the team.fb & team_back.fb works on PSP too
Hurray. I'm so happy, I was just about to sell my copy of MUA for the wii to exchange it for the PC version. Now I don't have to. More importantly, I have one character suggestion.
:hulk_icon: The incredible Hulk :hulk_icon:
As a marvel fan, the hulk's exclusion from the game was by far the biggest let down. He is an official character and a founding member of the marvel universe. I beseech you to consider my request. Also, are Link and Samus' files still on the disc? It would be pretty flippin' cool to play as those two characters.
I'm not adding anyone that's not already on the disc. I don't even own a Wii, I'm just doing this for a friend.
And check the first post for info on Link/Samus.
Quote from: Teancum on December 01, 2008, 06:09PM
I'm not adding anyone that's not already on the disc. I don't even own a Wii, I'm just doing this for a friend.
Sure about that?
Here is what your first post says.
Quote from: Teancum on August 10, 2008, 07:18PM
- Since we know that Link (from Zelda) and Samus (from Metroid) were in-game at one time, it's very likely that their extra slots still remain in the executable, meaning that I might be able to fit two more X-Men/Brotherhood members in there. (and no, they're not still hidden on the disc unfortunately). I'm thinking :magneto: Magneto for one, but I don't know who else would fit the best. Probably :gambit: Gambit, just for the sheer amount of awesomeness he brings to anything.
I'm sorry for the confusion.
Teancum, I appreciate your speedy response. I apologize for overlooking the bit about link and samus in your first post. Wouldn't want to look like a jerk
I feel kinda thinking about Link & Samus Mod for PC. I wish we can work on it.
If we could and we did we'd be shut down faster than you can say hippomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
Quote from: Dihan on December 02, 2008, 01:45AM
If we could and we did we'd be shut down faster than you can say hippomonstrosesquippedaliophobia.
What's that mean.
QuoteQuote from: Teancum on December 01, 2008, 06:09PM
I'm not adding anyone that's not already on the disc. I don't even own a Wii, I'm just doing this for a friend.
Sure about that?
Here is what your first post says.
Quote from: Teancum on August 10, 2008, 07:18PM
- Since we know that Link (from Zelda) and Samus (from Metroid) were in-game at one time, it's very likely that their extra slots still remain in the executable, meaning that I might be able to fit two more X-Men/Brotherhood members in there. (and no, they're not still hidden on the disc unfortunately). I'm thinking :magneto: Magneto for one, but I don't know who else would fit the best. Probably :gambit: Gambit, just for the sheer amount of awesomeness he brings to anything.
Yeah, I made that post before really digging deeper into the disc. Now that I realize the limitations I have I just couldn't force myself to spend all that extra time working on new characters. I haven't finished the Xbox mod yet.
Quote from: Power Cosmic on December 02, 2008, 02:43AM
What's that mean.
The site is strictly NOT allowed to make characters other than Marvel ones.
You don't need to know. If it were raining cats and dogs, you would not be going out to adopt one. Please don't ask me what that means.
And lastly:
Quote from: Teancum on September 02, 2008, 06:47AM
I'm tired of spam in these topics:
From now on I will remove any irrelevant posts in any of my topics involving modding research. If it becomes a problem you'll receive a very short ban.
has there been any progress on this mod?
No, I dropped it because I didn't want to waste DVD-Rs
Picked this up again as a favor to a friend. First simple test went well. Once new PSP-based character is in, albiet without any sounds.
Im interested in this project sounds very cool, glad to hear you picked it back up.
There is also a way if you dont already know to test MUA without using DVD-R's.
Yeah, my friend doesn't have a USB hard drive though.
I guess I should also be clear -- I actually replaced a character with a PSP character, as I just wanted to see if they were done. He (Hawkeye) worked fine as near as I can tell.
It looks like the Wii uses what I'd call 'psuedo-motion'. What I mean by that is the motions are basically the equivalent of button presses. And the whole reason I mention that is that the powerstyle and talent files aren't any different. That basically means that if you want to execute an Xtreme, you do it the same way for every character. So there's no writing custom stuff in powerstyles and talent files for Wii controls. The Wii just translates the button presses you'd do on any other version into motion controls. Basically what that means is that other, totally separate mods might be possible. The Wii uses Alchemy 3.5, so I know it can use animations from the PS2/Xbox. Skins, textures and effects can be stolen from the GameCube XML games as it's the same format, but I dunno if PS2 models and textures (specifically the textures) will work until I get time to try new tests. I've also contacted Winstrol about coming back to update ZSM Editor to work for GCADPCM (GameCube/Wii) and the PS2/PSP sound formats, as I have the sound formats figured out, I just need a program to manipulate them.
In all of this the Xbox mod is still my priority, and I don't have tons of time to work on that with a steady job, wife, baby and a new house. So for this mod I'm just gonna have to put a "When it's done/If it gets done" time frame on it.
Incidentally, if anyone already has a modded Wii and knows how to use Trucha to replace files this would go a lot faster, as I could create a test version of some files, then send them to someone to test.
I have a Wii with the Homebrew channel, if it's of any use. The only Wii game I've modded, though, is Super Smash Bros Brawl and that uses SD cards and Gecko OS to load up the files on the SD card instead of the equivalents on the disc.
If you've got a Backup Launcher at all that works with MUA and a copy of MUA that's all you need. I'll send over the updated assetsfb.wad, you insert it into the ISO with Trucha, burn and test.
How do I do that last bit?
I dunno actually know how to make an ISO from the Wii, so my friend just found an ISO for his game rather than dumping it. Other than that Trucha is kindof a "WinZip" for ISOs. If I remember right we used ImgBurn to burn the discs.
www.gbatemp.net is the place to go for answers I can't give. Specifically the files and forums sections.