PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Sylverant is a homebrew open source server for Phantasy Star Online. Dreamcast users still play PSO online with this server even today! This is the official forum for both the online game server as well as the open source project itself. Feel free to post and get a gathering started online! We can also show you how to get connected!

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lazareth
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PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Post by lazareth »

This guide was written to help new players with installing PSO on their Wii for playing online and regular modders with some additional information that may help solve common issues.

Please read the guide thoroughly before starting this process so that you are somewhat familiar with each step before trying to get ahead of yourself.

If you are having issues, please read through each step slowly, and make sure you've done everything right. I will attempt to help people with issues and add any known issues to this post.

►Frequently Asked Questions
Spoiler!
>Why would I even consider doing this with my Wii when I can already play PSO online with my computer?
The answer to this one is simple. If you're using an emulator, you're going out of your way to play a game, it'll probably be a little slow at some points and not to mention, once you mod your Wii, if you get one of the supported hard drives, then you can back up all of your wii/gamecube games onto it and never need to use the disc again (unless you fail to make backups of the ISO's and the USB drive crashes) USB Compatibility List

>Can it brick my Wii (vWii mode on Wii U)?
The vWii mode is easier to brick than a regular Wii. Point blank, follow the guide provided by ModMii. I've never done vWii mode on a Wii U but I've heard that it can have several issues, especially with things such as priiloader and bootmii which help fix a regular wii if you accidentally brick it.
►Step One - Modded Wii
Spoiler!
You need a modded Wii or a Wii U with the virtual Wii Console modded and access to a modded Wii. The best option, is just to have the regular Wii, as it can read gamecube discs.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS TO A MODDED WII CAPABLE OF READING GAMECUBE DISCS OR YOU CANNOT PLAY PSO ONLINE.

To get started on modding your Wii, google search ModMii. It is an application that can get you started with a basic mod, and it will even generate an awesome guide for you to start modding with.

The download location can vary and if I want this guide to be helpful, I won't include links that will likely get broken with time. After you follow the instructions provided by ModMii, feel free to format that SD card (or set it to the side to help someone else you know)
►Step Two - Necessary mods
Spoiler!
You need Devolution (and optionally a loader). I prefer Wiiflow (google search) for my loader, as Wiiflow can do a cleanrip of your PSO disc. (There should be install instructions on their pages, but I think Wiiflow comes with devolution preinstalled). If not, the installation is easy (just extract the apps folder to the root of your SD card).

Google search is once again your friend, you should get the newest version of both. For the sake of this tut, I'm going to assume you're using WiiFlow (it is the most user friendly I feel)
►Step Three - Installing Wiiflow and Devolution and ripping PSO for yourself.

Installation:
Spoiler!
First thing is first, install Wiiflow and Devolution (they have their own instructions, but it should just be extracting the archives to the root of the SD card. Optionally, you could get a wad manager (like MultiModManager or YetAnotherWadManager) and install a forwarder channel for Wiiflow. (Google search, they aren't hard to find, there are several different ones, you only need one).

After installing, launch Wiiflow via the homebrew channel (or from the forwarder channel you installed). You will need to rip the game with a clean 1:1 rip.

Insert your PSO disc, and push the home button on your Wii remote. Select the option to "install game" from the menu, it will rip the disc within a few minutes.
Ripping for Wii U:
Spoiler!
You need access to a separate Wii that can read gamecube discs. You will need to bring your own wii-mote to do this, and your own media to rip to (SD or USB). The reason you need your own wii-mote is because Devolution records to the hard drive what wiimote was used to verify, so that it is harder to use the mod with illegal game roms. (it may seem a little excessive, but I'm sure nintendo doesn't hate the author like some of the other homebrew devs, it also protects him from getting sued for his work, so he can work on it more openly). Once the game is ripped with another wii, you will need to do verification on that wii as well in step four.
Optional - Download a cover:
Spoiler!
If your wii is set up with internet, you can click on the gear icon and then on the covers option to download missing covers, this will make your wii library look nicer than a bunch of question marks.
►Step Four - Using Devolution and Verification
Spoiler!
If you're using Wiiflow, click on the gear icon for the game and force the game to launch using Devolution.

Launch the game, you will have to have the PSO disc that you ripped in the drive because Devolution requires that you actually have the game to play it. It will only need the disc in the first time you try to load the game. The verification should go smoothly if you were able to rip the disc right, and the game should start up.
Additional info for Wii U users:
Spoiler!
Now that it is verified, you can complete the rest on your Wii U. Keep in mind that you'll need to use the same Wii-mote with that game every time. If you lose that Wii-mote or need to reverify with a new one, check devolution's readme file, the info is there.
►Step Five - Setting up the online part.

Click "Play Online" and then go to the network setup menu, here are the options you need, provided by tueidj (who wrote devolution) himself (fiendishly stolen from his thread and reposted here, but credit given):
Spoiler!
For configuring the dial-up connection in the game, use these settings:
- Tone dialing
- No outside line
- Set line timeout to 99 minutes (optional, most servers will boot you for much less)
- No additional AT commands
- User ID (case sensitive): DEVO
- Password (case sensitive): gc
Note that this is NOT your PSO password, that is separate.
- Phone Number; There are four main choices here:
"0" will make the connection behave like a regular dial-up internet connection and attempt to connect to the (non-existent) official servers. If you want to connect to a custom server (that isn't SCHTHACK or Sylverant) using DNS redirection, use this option and enter the DNS server IP manually on the next page.
"1" will use Captain N's DNS server to automatically connect to SCHTHACK (without the need to manually enter the DNS IP)
"2" will use Sylverant's DNS server to automatically connect to Sylverant (without the need to manually enter the DNS IP)
"3" will use l33tServ's DNS server to automatically connect to l33tServ (without the need to manually enter the DNS IP)
If for some reason you don't want to make use of the PPP emulator on my server (http://www.tueidj.net), you can combine the target IP and port into a 6 byte integer (IP first) and enter the decimal representation as the phone number.
- DNS server address: If you used option 1, 2 or 3 above leave this set to automatic. Otherwise you should already know what to do here.

- No Proxy server information

After entering your serial number, access key and account password you should be able to connect. Be warned, once you connect for the first time with a serial number/access key pair they will become permanently stored and you will be unable to change them (without deleting your save data) so make sure they get entered correctly.

Due to the nature of the emulation all traffic is routed through my VPS so don't be a dick and do anything stupid like getting it IP banned from the servers, or else everyone will have to start running their own PPP emulators (which isn't an easy task in these days of broadband). There shouldn't be any problems with lag since the modem connections only require a trickle of bandwidth each but I will be keeping an eye on it just in case.
As a note, this is not an advertissement for the other two servers this can connect to, I believe both are offline, and look at that comment about our amazing server, it is better coded, even this loader author can see that. (I could see it from a number of things after running my own server for a while, I have no clue how some of the things on here are managed, and for that I applaud the devs behind this server)

► Step Six - Registering with the website
Spoiler!
https://sylverant.net/connecting-to-sylverant/ has all the info you need, but in case you're too lazy, I'll break it down:

Make an account on the Sylverant homepage. Use the password for that account in the previous step.
After the account has been created, click on the "account" menu option underneath the header.
Click on "Manage your Guildcards"
Click on "Register a new Gamecube Serial Number and Access Key"
Bam! You are registered and can connect immediately!
► Additional Information

Keyboard info
Spoiler!
(Shamelessly stolen from tueidj's readme file... seriously, there is more info in that thing than on here, and it came with the loader, go read it.)

A USB or Bluetooth keyboard can also be connected to emulate a Gamecube keyboard.
Control + Alt + F12/Return/Enter is used to toggle the keyboard between active and inactive
states. It also supports these special functions:
- Control + Alt + Delete/Numpad.: Exit Devolution.
- Control + Alt + Left: Widescreen toggle.
- Control + Alt + Up: Simulate Eject button (for disc swap).
- Control + Alt + Down: Simulate Reset button.
- Control + Alt + Right: Slot LED activity indicator toggle.
- Control + Alt + A: Toggle the global rumble setting for all emulated controllers.
- Control + Alt + B: Toggle the screen dimmer.
To connect a keyboard via Bluetooth press the red sync button on the wii followed by
the sync/connect button on the keyboard. You can test if the keyboard is connected
by toggling the capslock or numlock and checking if the status LEDs on the keyboard
change.
The Keyboard works great for online play! I've been using it. The characters are a little off (punctuation) but its cool.

Devolution supports a number of different controllers, wii classic, PS3, Wii u Pro.... see the readme included with devolution for instructions on those.

Tueidj had this to say about playing with an Xbox360 controller (see comment 1):
tueidj wrote:An XBOX 360 wired controller with a chatpad also works pretty well as a substitute for the ridiculous looking gamecube keyboard controller.

► Backing up your save data
Spoiler!
To back up your save data if you are using an emulated memory card, connect whichever device you have the game ripped to, to your computer. Go to the folder apps/gc_devo/ and look for memcard.bin.

Your saves are stored in that file, simply copy it and save it to your computer (I like naming my backup saves after the current date).

IF you want to back up save data on a GC memory card, I would suggest installing GCMM as it can do a backup of the whole card as a raw image, and restore it quick and easy, right from the homebrew channel.
Author's Note:
Cleaned up a little, a little more info added.

Goals:
Get more explicit with the Wiiflow and Devolution installation by referencing the official install instructions.
Add a few screenshots to add visual appeal.
Address common issues.
Figure out why my bluetooth keyboard won't sync (probably because it was made for ipad)

Maybe in the future I will make a simple pack that includes:
ModMii (in all available OS versions)
Wiiflow (newest revision)
Devolution (newest revision)
Cover art pre-downloaded and settings for PSO defined.

DO NOT ask me for cheats for this game!
Lets get one thing straight about cheating.
We don't want FSOD caused by it and cheating isn't welcome on Sylverant.
Last edited by lazareth on Wed Mar 11, 2015 12:04 pm, edited 10 times in total.
tueidj
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Re: PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Post by tueidj »

An XBOX 360 wired controller with a chatpad also works pretty well as a substitute for the ridiculous looking gamecube keyboard controller.
lazareth
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Re: PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Post by lazareth »

Tueidj... your gamecube loader is unparalleled.

I'm kinda poor/broke so I can't afford stuff like that, I've been searching everywhere for a classic controller though.... it makes a marvelous substitute for the GC controller last time I tried borrowing it. Although... there is that gamecube style classic controller I've been having my eye on... might try and get it.

Also, any way I can get an ipad mini bluetooth keyboard to sync to the wii, I've been trying and failing so far. (The blue sync light blinks forever and then it turns off, never syncs)
tueidj
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Re: PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Post by tueidj »

Do you press the red button on the wii first? Maybe the wifi log would show why it's not connecting.
lazareth
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Re: PSO on the Wii [Guide] [Info]

Post by lazareth »

tueidj wrote:Do you press the red button on the wii first? Maybe the wifi log would show why it's not connecting.
Lol, I'm an idiot, I'll check the wifi log after I finish downloading ncat and try again. (didn't realize he was referring to a devolution feature).

EDIT:
I will never know if that keyboard will have ever worked because my wife decided that the floor was a good spot to drop my bluetooth keyboard and leave it.
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