NintendoWiiX Message Board

Zitat

Viper GC erlaubt es, per Parallelport vom PC ausführbare kleine GameCube-Dateien ("DOL") in den Flash-Speicher des Modchips zu laden und zu booten. Damit lassen sich dann vermutlich auch Applikationen schreiben, die weitere Daten vom PC per Breitband-Adapter laden können, doch dank dessen eher langsamer Anbindung nur mit 10 Mbps oder weniger mehr. Das dürfte nicht gerade vorteilhaft für das Laden von ISOs sein und unerlaubte Kopien unangehme Ladezeiten haben - mehr Spaß dürfte es da machen, eigene, kleinere Anwendungen zum Laufen zu bringen oder das in fortgeschrittenem Entwicklungsstadium befindliche GC Linux einfacher einsetzen zu können. Im Grunde macht der Viper GC also nichts anderes als der Phantasy-Star-Hack ("GameCube PSO Loader"), nur in Hardware und bequemer einsetzbar.

Die mitgelieferte Software zum Laden von Code in den Modchip-Flash-Speicher soll es einfach machen, ein eigenes BIOS, Boot-Loader oder selbst entwickelte Software über das mitgelieferte Parallelport-Kabel hochzuladen. Interessant daran ist, dass spezielle Hardware-Kommandos das Original-BIOS starten können, nachdem ein eigener Loader oder ein eigenes BIOS ausgeführt wurden. Der Viper GC soll aus einem Chip vom Typ "Actel ProAsic plus FPGA" bestehen und mit nur vier Kabeln und zwei Anschlüssen ausgestattet sein. Per DIP-Switch lässt sich der Modchip auch deaktivieren.

Sofern nicht jemand den GameCube total auseinander nimmt, die Elektronik dazu bringt, normale CDs oder DVDs zu laden und auch den entsprechenden Bootloader entwickelt, wird es auch mit dem Viper GC nicht möglich sein, von selbst erstellte Datenträger zu starten. Dennoch ist davon auszugehen, dass die GC-Programmier-Szene durch den Viper GC einiges an Aufwind erleben wird.

In einigen GameCube-Foren - so etwa bei FileForums - ist zu lesen, dass der Modchip voraussichtlich ab Dezember 2004 vorbestellt werden kann. Bisher gibt es allerdings nur eine Website mit Bildern und ohne weitere Infos. (

Zitat

The One - What is your personal opinion on the Viper GC Mod and the Cobra BIOs?

tmbinc - Although I appreciate that there is some movement in the Gamecube scene, I don't like the way the Viper mod is sold. They announced it as a homebrew development module, but soon added that there might be a bios which can boot warez (note my disagreement about the term "backup" - they are WAREZ, not backups. Don't lie to yourself!).

While a "bios replacement" to have an easier way to boot homebrew would be indeed *damn* cool for developers, it became clear that it doesn't target to homebrewers, but to pirates instead.

That became even clearer when the "cobra bios" was released, which didn't had *any* features for homebrew users (like booting from BBA/SD card/...). In fact, the only thing they have is a "binload" tool which only allows you to boot binaries no bigger than 128k, with the hassle of re-flashing the viper each time. I wouldn't consider this as more homebrew-friendly than the PSO method.

As a side note, it's interesting that the cobra bios uses undocumented features of the Viper chip... I won't comment on this.

The One - Do you feel that the Viper is a copy of your original Ipl Replacement?

tmbinc - No. It isn't a copy. I released all information required to build a bios replacement, and my sole intention was to allow people to build something like this. I wanted the homebrew scene to advance. I don't feel like I did a wrong thing here, I was prepared for a commercial rip-off, but I thought they would have the "honor" to at least support homebrew. Ok, they didn't. Still, I had to be prepared for this, and it isn't a big surprise.

I don't know for sure if they used any of my published information. If they didn't, they would be stupid as they could have a much easier life then. But if they did, i couldn't really reproach them for that. My information was freely available in a public domain sense, and I still stay behind that.

The actual design of such a thing isn't that hard, with or without my published information. Technically, I don't like their way of influencing the boot process, as they buy the ability to go with only 2 wires (+ GND, VCC) with the inability to provide several important features.


The One - When do you intend to release information regarding your new homebrew mod?

tmbinc - I will hold a lecture about Gamecube hacking at the 21C3 in Berlin on Dec-27 (23:00 CET), and after that I'll release my work, including all schematics, software and vhdl sources.

The One - What features will this mod include?

tmbinc - The mod is a full bios replacement, i.e. it allows a clean override of the boot process. The hardware will feature:

- Selection of several different (together up to 2MB or 4MB, depending on which flashes were available) images in the flash rom

- Selection of a "looptrough" to the original bios

- Serial port for debug output (what i always missed on the Gamecube)

- External interface to reflash the bios

- Ability to flash from Gamecube

- Full flexibility as the CplD itself is reprogrammable (for example if someone wants to add LEDs or something)

The software will feature:

- Boot from SD card

- Boot from BBA

- Boot from original DVD ("freeloader"-styled booting of any region games, video mode will be changed as required)

- It will *NOT* support piracy in any way! I cannot and do not want support to this, I want to release my mod as a legal alternative to warez-only pirate chips! So I won't support any piracy in any way! please don't bug me with requests of adding these features to the mod. I won't do that.

The One - How much will it cost to make a mod like this?

tmbinc - The problem is always getting the parts in single pieces. The lattice CplD costs 12Euro for example at "Reichelt" (big online electronic store), but the mass-price is about $1.50. The same thing goes to the Flash and the CplD itself. When summarized, the total cost, when single pieces are bought, is about 20...30 Euro. When built in pieces, it&#39;s probably <5 Euro.

I know it&#39;s hard for most people to build such a thing by themselves, so hopefully some people will build some quantities and sell them for low money. That&#39;s my intention in releasing all information.

In any way, it should be *much* less than the Viper and will have more features.

The One - Do you think that anyone will try to mass-produce and commercialize your mod and what would your reaction be to such an action?

tmbinc - Sure, and I´m prepared for this. I know that several people will port some bios which allow piracy on the mod, but I can&#39;t do anything against it. I would like if there would be any protection against this, but it was Nintendo who messed it up and allowed a software exploitation of the DVD ROM drive. Sorry, Nintendo. I didn&#39;t see this coming; in fact, I didn&#39;t believe it until now.

I could add some provisions like making the software or hardware Gpl&#39;ed, but would this help in any way? People who are selling pirate chips don&#39;t care for any legal stuff.

The One - What is your view of the homebrew Gamecube scene at the moment?

tmbinc - The problem with the Gamecube scene is that there is a high barrier of starting. You need the expensive BBA, a special game, and get a very uncomfortable way of uploading code. My intention was to bring something new to the homebrew scene.

I fear that by the beginning of commercial pirating everything will get worse. I can&#39;t see very much good in this, in contrast to other people.

The One - Do you have any plans for the future? DS development perhaps?

tmbinc - Oh, plans. Don&#39;t know. If have a lot of work to do, I don&#39;t know yet what I´ll do next. I don&#39;t yet have a DS, but I´ll get one. Probably.

Thanks very much tmbinc. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to share your views on this topic with GCDemos and I know others will too.