User:Mbc07/Wii Menu Saga

Quest Log for System Menu testing (all hours based on GMT -4)...

DAY 1 (2014/07/04)

[03h03]: I'm probably crazy but I really want to test all System Menu versions in Dolphin now that ES_Launch is finished (and as I already explained here). First thing is getting WADs from all publicly available versions. Lucky enough, NUS Downloader 1.9 has a built in script to download all System Menu versions so I don't need to manually choose every version and hit "Download". Given we currently have 38 different version averaging around 20MB each (and taking in consideration that I have a shitty ISP), this will take some hours. Anyway it's veeery late, so I'm going to bed, leaving my laptop doing what laptops downloading System Menu from Nintendo servers should do :P

[17h20]: Download finished, looking right now for a folder with 38 WADs averaging 840MB. Trying so set up my testing environment and get WADs from some Channels, however, FIFA World Cup is happening here, right now. Trying to make some progress but it'll be a little hard with all that World Cup noise ¬¬"

DAY 2 (2014/07/07)

[11h00]: Testings were going to start today but I found a strange issue with my Windows install causing any app using DirectX or OpenGL to instantly crash (confirmed this behaviour with Dolphin, some Modern Apps and all my PC games). Reinstalled GPU drivers but nothing changed. Since I'm too bored to inspect this and find the cause, it's time to reinstall Windows from zero again (*sigh*). Postponing testings until I fix that...

DAY 3 (2014/07/13)

[14h34]: It took some days but now everything is set up and working fine, testings start today. Currently the latest Dolphin build available is 4.0-2109, so I'll stick with it until I finish all System Menu testings. I'll also use a portable.txt file to make sure I isolate the build I'll use for testing from my custom settings that I generally use with Dolphin. The system specs already are listed in my user page and all settings from Dolphin will be the default ones. I'll also wipe "User" folder every time I switch to a new System Menu version.

In this first wave of tests I'll follow this list to set up the testing environment:

1. Install System Menu WAD
2. Install Mii Channel and Opera Internet Channel WAD
3. Set GC Memory Card A and B to two copies of my own GC MemCard (to test Save Management)
4. Enable SD Card in Dolphin and try to move/load channels/saves from virtual SD (only in System Menu versions that allow doing that).

Then I'll follow 3 runs doing the following:

1. First run: load Wii Menu, test all settings options, test GC save management, boot a channel, return to Wii Menu, boot a game, return to Wii Menu, try to manage Wii saves
2. Second run: load game, return to Wii Menu, try to manage Wii saves, load game again.
3. Third run: load Wii Menu, manage Wii saves, load game, return to Wii Menu, load channel.

If it's a System Menu version capable of loading channels from SD Card, I'll try that too. For games I'll use Super Smash Bros Brawl (which uses copy protection in their save) and Donkey Kong Country Returns (normal save). I'm sticking with these two games because they don't need IR pointer so I can just use the Wiimote (my sensor bar is screwed) and because they have skippable intros (will save me some time).

For GC saves I'll download some GCIs from other regions since I own save files only for NA and PAL games, it'll be an issue with JP or KOR versions of System Menu. I'll keep updating this page with results, stay tuned...