Tutorial A Guide to Creating Rock Band 3 Custom Songs

[HarveyHouston]

Wiki Update

• The new wiki page about out-of-sync songs has been linked to the guide.
• A note about how long cache will load after resetting has been added to the guide, also.

...Plus other minor updates to enhance the guide and other wiki pages.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Wiki Update
The songs from Rock Band Wii discs are unique compared to songs made as customs on Customs Creators or FretsOnFire, so I renamed two wiki pages to be part of a multi-page guide on using files from the Wii versions of Rock Band. Most of the work has to be done by hand, but I've supplied a variety of tools which will (hopefully) make the work easier, both in my repo and as external links. There may be more on this in the future, but for now, this will help you come close to nearly perfect DLC using such files.

I've also discovered that preview MOGGs are more trouble than they're worth; I tried one yet again, and it froze my Wii U! Therefore, I advise fellow hackers to use the (preview) line in the DTA file instead of a preview song clip. If I can get the album cover and song preview issue fixed (GitLab Issue #8), there may be no need for preview MOGGs.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Wiki Update
The GitLab Wiki is getting a major makeover! I've started categorizing the pages, and due to this all of the wiki page links left on here and links on wiki pages that reference other pages are broken. I will fix the links all throughout this tutorial and the wiki to get them working again, but for now, click here to go to the home wiki page and select a page from the list on the right to find what you're looking for.

EDIT: The repo link was renamed, so you may see a warning about it being moved. All repo links will also be updated soon.

 

[HarveyHouston]

MAJOR Updates

• The GitLab repo has been moved! It is no longer at "rock-band-3-wii-custom-songs", but rather "rock-band-customs". If you're using Git, please open a terminal in your repo copy and type "git remote set-url origin https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs.git". If you got it via ZIP, download the new repo's archive and extract it in a new place.
• The GitLab Wiki is now categorized! Due to there being so many pages added on to the wiki, I decided to categorize them by type. This way, one can easily navigate to the page they're looking for, just like a proper table of contents!
• All broken wiki page reference links have been fixed in this tutorial and the wiki! At least I think so. If you find one I missed, let me know.
• I added warnings against using BIK files, simply because it's hard to get them to work right. That doesn't mean they won't work at all, but it requires some guesswork on how to make it come out right. The BIKs are encrypted and large; editing MOGGs allow for more flexibility, including the ability to shrink the files and count tracks in Audacity.
• I expanded the GitLab Wiki's home page to explain each category, and added accolades at the end to some major contributors.
• Several wiki pages have been renamed to be more clear on what they're about, including the Rock Band 3 wiki guide.
• Some folders in the master branch of the repo have been renamed so as to not sound redundant, and the master branch README has been reformatted.

WOW! What a lot of work!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Wiki and Tutorial Updates

• Added line about using custom IOSes for homebrew apps in the tutorial and the RB3 guide on GitLab.
• Renamed and enhanced the wiki page on DTAs.

 

[HarveyHouston]

There have been several changes made to the GitLab wiki, so many in such a short time that I haven't had time to post about them all here. From now on, the more significant changes from the wiki (new pages, major rewrites, etc.) will be announced instead of things like "this line was added" or "I fixed a link". I may only post the small things if others request edits or they affect the repo.

 

[HarveyHouston]

So, I'm kinda new at this whole DTA editing thing. Some things I've figured out:

• For some reason, certain "songnames" cause the game to hang (i.e. "roxanne") and renaming them to something similar ("rocksand") works. I have yet to understand why this happens.
• Song IDs can be "songname" or similar, but if it was previously a numbered ID, the scores will be lost.
• Using "songs/songname/songname" as the path results in the "Content cannot be loaded from memory" error. Apparently this works sometimes and doesn't other times. I'll refresh the wiki with using the full path. EDIT: Fixed.

 

[HarveyHouston]

I'm not entirely sure how to add a preview MOGG and have it work. I know from looking at the DTB file from RB2 (location on disc is "songs/gen/songs.dtb") in a hexadecimal editor that there is a line you can add which goes like:

(preview_clip "songs/songname/songname_prev")

Attempting to use it in Rock Band 3, making sure to put the full path of where the preview MOGG is ("dlc/generation/###/content/songs/songname/songname_prev") does not work. I may have to do some more tweaking, but until I can confirm this works, I can't add it in the guide yet (even though my guide states that a preview MOGG can be used, it doesn't explain how to).

 

[HarveyHouston]

Faithful followers, please share this project. Not a lot of gamers out there who are still rocking a Wii U (or even a Wii, if they're the classic console type) and own Rock Band titles (specifically Rock Band 3, but I'm working on the others) know how to hack the game. If they did, they would think it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of time to do it. Well, let me tell ya... it's true. But oh, the fruit of laborious programming is sooo rewarding! It's worth a few headaches to be able to finally play that one song you have on Guitar Hero for Wii in Rock Band, or to try out that catchy MegaMan theme using your real Fender Stratocaster that's also a pro controller for Rock Band 3. So, bring on the hangs, the glitches, and the long hours of converting songs into the right format! If you're as dedicated to adding songs to Rock Band as I am, you don't care if you spend the rest of your life doing this!

So, please share my findings! Also, make sure to check out Customs Creators for custom songs and help on all kinds of Rock Band related stuff. This has been an unpaid advertisement.

 

[HarveyHouston]

Things that are not RB3-specific have been moved to this thread; please check the thread for updates to the repo and wiki from now on. Updates to this tutorial and other RB3-specific posts will remain here.

 

[jkitty]

Hey, I'm really new to the etiquette on this website. I couldn't figure out how to message you, hopefully I can just reply here. I'm trying my best to follow along to the tutorial but I'm struggling a bit. Is there any way I can add you on discord to get a bit of help?
Thanks you for your hard work!

 

[HarveyHouston]

Hey, I'm really new to the etiquette on this website. I couldn't figure out how to message you, hopefully I can just reply here. I'm trying my best to follow along to the tutorial but I'm struggling a bit. Is there any way I can add you on discord to get a bit of help?
Thanks you for your hard work!

Well, I suppose we can converse on Discord, but if you have anything lengthy to share, I recommend a PM here on GBAtemp. You can find me on GBAtemp Discord and send me a DM from there; it'll start a private conversation where we can tackle this further.

 

[HarveyHouston]

If you have any issues regarding Rock Band 3, I suggest reading this GitLab Snippet for the most common problems. If you're still having issues, use one of the methods I've already referred to, to get in touch with me and talk about it.

 

[HarveyHouston]

This tutorial is not abandoned! I've just been working on other things. I'll update this tutorial soon enough, but if you need the most up-to-date, use the wiki for now.

 

[riotlancer]

Hello all,

I am having trouble getting songs to appear in the song list.

I've already gone through Harv's known issues list located at his gitlab.

When attempting to turn on SD Card Mode, I get the message "An unknown error occured."

I have also attempted to use multiple SD cards with no success as well.

 

[HarveyHouston]

@riotlancer I've been coming on at least once a day still, so I've had some time to see your message. This is a reoccurring issue, apparently. Please tell me all your specifications.

• What are you doing this for - Wii or vWii? If it is the Wii, what system menu version are you using?
• Which cards are you using? Please list the brand, storage size, and SD type (is it SD, SDHC, or SDXC?) of each one.
• What custom IOS(es) are you using? What system IOS is each custom IOS you have based on?
• Which USB Loader(s) have you tried this on?
• Are you using a disc extract (file or folder)? If so, what type?
• Did you follow the guide exactly? If you used the tutorial, there may be some important instructions missing; I plan on updating it soon. Use the wiki instead and start again from the beginning, making sure you've done each step.

If you manage to fix your issue, please let me know what you did so that others won't have the same problem. Thank you!

 

[riotlancer]

@HarvHouHacker

• What are you doing this for - Wii or vWii? If it is the Wii, what system menu version are you using?
  • vWii
• Which cards are you using? Please list the brand, storage size, and SD type (is it SD, SDHC, or SDXC?) of each one.
  • I've used 3 SDHC SanDisk 16GB, and 1 2GB
• What custom IOS(es) are you using? What system IOS is each custom IOS you have based on?
  • I have d2x-v10-beta52-vWii base 56 slot 249, base 57 slot 250, base 58 slot 251. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you're asking. I'm using cIOS 249, I think.
• Which USB Loader(s) have you tried this on?
  • I've tried this on WiiFlow and USB Loader GX.
• Are you using a disc extract (file or folder)? If so, what type?
  • I have a wbfs.
• Did you follow the guide exactly? If you used the tutorial, there may be some important instructions missing; I plan on updating it soon. Use the wiki instead and start again from the beginning, making sure you've done each step.
  • I can say with absolute certainty that I've followed the guide here on GBAtemp and the wiki multiple times.

I don't know if this information helps at all, but I've downloaded and installed Rock Band 3 DLC wads (they didn't work) in the past but forgotten about them. I've since attempted the tutorial following the guide exactly. My WiiU is also connected to Wi-Fi, if that matters.

 

[HarveyHouston]

@riotlancer try this:

1. Backup anything you might have on one of your SD cards that you want to save. Format it as FAT32. DO NOT COPY/MOVE ANYTHING BACK YET!
2. On your computer, download Interrobang Pie by Pinkie's Homebrew. Convert the CON with C3's CON Tools (the Wii Converter tool).
3. If needed, sort the files and rename folders as mentioned in my guides, keeping IBP_PHB as songname. Edit DTA so that (name path/to/dlc) becomes (name dlc/sZAE/063/content/songs/IBP_PHB/IBP_PHB). Make it as BINs.
4. Create the folders private/wii/data/sZAE on your SD card. Move the two BIN files to the sZAE folder. Unmount and unplug the SD card from your computer.
5. Plug the card into the Wii U. Go into either FS Toolbox or WiiXplorer and reset the RB3 cache as my guide tells you. Start the game through the USB Loader of your choice.

Take your time to follow these steps. Then, let me know the result.

 

[riotlancer]

@HarvHouHacker

I followed your instructions exactly, except to add the boot.dol for homebrew channel and the apps folder containing the hbc apps back into the SD card.

I reset the cache using WiiXplorer. I booted up Rock Band 3 using USB Loader GX. The only different thing that happened upon booting was that RB3 asked me to calibrate. There was still no message about reading the SD card, and SD card mode still throws the "An unknown error occured." message,

I can post the bin created or dump my sd card if need be, to see if there is just a really dumb mistake I'm making.

 

[HarveyHouston]

@riotlancer Some SD cards are finicky, however SanDisk cards are supposed to work. Here are some more things you can check:

• Did you create a profile? You might not be able to see DLC unless you have a profile registered on the Wii U console (it doesn't have to be registered online).
• Is the SD card lock on? Some SD cards have a switch which if it's away from the bus (the end you plug in), it will prevent devices writing to the SD. If your SD is locked, toggle this switch and plug it back in.
• Just to be sure, are any of these microSDs? Make sure the microSD is pushed all the way into its adapter and that the adapter's lock switch is toggled off (switch is flipped towards the bus). Even if it is inserted properly, some microSDs may still refuse to work well, so use a standard-sized SD card.
• If you think that your USB Loader is not up to date, make sure it is. If using USB Loader GX, download the latest from SourceForge. If using WiiFlow, download the latest from GitHub (it's now called WiiFlow Lite, but it's actually not that light! ).
• Check your USB Loader settings to make sure it is allowing the game to read/write to the SD card. I don't know what exactly may prevent this; do some research if you need.

If you're still having issues, try injecting the APP files for Interrobang Pie in the NAND, making the folders if they happen to be missing. For the real NAND, you can easily do this using WiiXplorer, but you can also create the folders in the FSTOOLBOX folder on your SD and inject with FS Toolbox. There is a risk in messing with real NAND; you may rather use emuNAND. Set your USB Loader NAND setting to full emulation, then create the folders wherever you stored your emuNAND and put your APP files there. In either case, make sure to select "No" when RB3 asks to save to the SD, or keep your SD out of the Wii U before starting the game if your preferred USB Loader is on a USB device.