Wiimote (and/or Nunchuck) passthru to Gamecube/Classic controller

Hey all,

Just got started soft-modding my Wii the other day, and have already learned a great deal about the internal workings of the Wii. I'm a developer in other fields so first I'll explain the idea I had then I'll explain (with my limited knowledge) how I'd imagine it being technically developed. I'd enjoy feedback from someone who could explain or clarify whether the technical workings are possible today, or if I'm totally off base.

The Idea
Essentially, there are several notable features of the Wii which require you to own and use a Gamecube or Classic controller. One prime example is the Virtual Console built by Nintendo which has really quirky restrictions as to which controllers you may use with any given ROM (such as only classic controllers allowed to play VC N64 games). To simplify my idea, I'll focus solely on Wiimote -> GC controls. I'd like to see a piece of software written, or the Wii's own software further modded, to allow standard, non-motion Wiimote+Nunchuck controls (A, B, D-pad, Z, R, L, Analog Stick) to be passed through to to the Wii in the form of Gamecube controls.

The Wii would ideally think an GC controller is plugged into the Wii, and would then receive controls via the Wiimote, thinking it was a GC controller. The Wii would think controls are coming from a different controller source than the one they actually are.

N64 games have already proven to be playable with Wiimote+Nunchuck setups via Wii64 (http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Wii64/#Input_Mappings).

Note: I did read the rules to this forum and noted the one which disallows requests to add Wii controls to GC games. I believe my idea differs, as the one banned likely involved wanting motion controls retroactively built into these games. I'm simply looking for standard button/stick controls to be interpretted as if they were coming from a different controller source.


Development
Without having more knowledge the the Wii's workings, I'm unsure if this idea is feasible. You would need to rewrite or modify whatever system/code chaperones data from the BT stack and GC ports (an IOS perhaps?) and makes it available to other components.

One thing I'm interested in knowing is if these games (specifically, VC N64) are directly accessing the controller hardware/bluetooth or if there is some sort of passthru which can be hijacked along the way.

If it is possible to execute custom code somewhere in this firmware path, it opens up a lot of possibilities including custom control configurations, universal controller use, among other ideas I'm not aware of.

So what do you guys think? Thanks for reading,
-Mike

Hi there!

This has been a topic I have considered as well. To my knowledge, I have seen someone running the GC games in Wii mode. This was an amazing find. However, due to the higher speed and no ability to adjust anything, some games would probably crash and/or have other errors.

First. You do know about GC lockout, right? If not, the wii locks out all stuff that doesnt belong in the GC and then runs the gamecube. Therefore, the game MUST be run in Wii mode to access the other features. Easier said than done.

Second. This all together isnt a bad idea, but it has been discussed to death. My idea was something like a backup launcher(LEGAL ONLY, I know the rules guys.), but instead of launching discs, this would be used to launch the gamecube disc in wii mode. However, this would be hard to prevent pirates from accessing it and using it for illegal purposes. Now, if this were possible, you are right: all that is necessary is a software button redirect. I've performed this with GlovePIE and a classic controller running an N64 game on the pc. However, the wii is a different piece of hardware.

All I can suggest is learn, but don't push the devs and place the "do it or else" feeling on them. If you want it that badly, learn to code a driver yourself. Honestly, if we can ever get wiimote support in BootMii, I really dont think we are far from the GC/Wii interface.

Also, the difference here is that emulated games/VC games run in Wii mode, NOT GC mode. Just a heads up...

Wiibrew Forums
Backups are not supported here anyway, even if they ARE legal.

This isn't even about backups! Read the entire message and you'll read that I said "LIKE", not "A BACKUP LAUNCHER". The word LIKE means similar to or close to. It does not mean that it IS THE SAME.

My idea was something similar to Gecko OS... Just to clarify, I don't support backups either. Please dont accuse us of doing wrong unless you have solid proof. Thanks!

I realize you were probably just informing us. Sorry about blowing up like that... I apologize...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/2010 12:03AM by slyfox299.