Hacking How can I update Wiimms Mario Kart Retro 2015 with new track revisions?

[JacobM]

My friends and I are huge fans of the @Wiimm 's Retro pack released in 2015 (http://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Wiimms_Mario_Kart_Retro_2015-05). Unfortunately, some tracks have some slowdowns / glitches which have been patched in track revisions after May 2015.

I assumed this would be an easy file swap solution since I am not looking to modify the tracklist in any way. I believe the custom track files are located in patch.tar\patch-dir\wu8-files\.
However, I cannot find any documentation anywhere of anybody doing a revision transplant. Can someone please enlighten me if the following example is a valid modification to patch/create an unofficial Wiimms Mario Kart Retro 2018? Will variations in file size between track revisions affect the patcher or stability in game?

My guess on how to proceed:

1. Download the CT pack (Retro 2015-05)
2. Download the track revision (N64 Royal Raceway 2.3)
3. Extract patch.tar from the CT pack and extract the .wu8 file (missing an extension) from the .wzb using 7zip
4. Using the wu8.list, identify the track number for N64 Royal Raceway 2.1 (in this case 56.wu8)
5. Replace the file.
6. Rearchive the patch.tar directory and run the ISO patcher

Am I missing anything? Is there an easier/automated way to do this? Any ideas? Thank you!!

 

[Wiimm]

I haven't answer, because I have forgotten, how this old version of the patcher works.

The patcher and the distribution creator was always under development. And I remember 2 large updates. Additional it is a special version of the patcher with well asigned track slots. I stopped this kind of MKW-Fun, because of the additional maintenance work.

The only think I can say (was very stable since years). The file wu8.list is the central file for the tracks. Script contains a line that looks like:

    while IFS='|' read     dir wu8 szs1 szs2 cnam cnam1 cnam2 comment

That's the row-order of the file. YOu have to exchange the 2. column (wu8) files.

 

[ineed3dshacks]

-snip-

My guess on how to proceed:

1. Download the CT pack (Retro 2015-05)
2. Download the track revision (N64 Royal Raceway 2.3)
3. Extract patch.tar from the CT pack and extract the .wu8 file (missing an extension) from the .wzb using 7zip
4. Using the wu8.list, identify the track number for N64 Royal Raceway 2.1 (in this case 56.wu8)
5. Replace the file.
6. Rearchive the patch.tar directory and run the ISO patcher

-snip-

has this been tried? i'm interested

 

[JacobM]

has this been tried? i'm interested

I attempted a subset a while back and it seemed to work fine, never tried a full upgrade. I got overwhelmed with all the different revisions/authors of tracks. I'm mostly interested in having the latest/greatest versions of all the retro tracks.

 

[ineed3dshacks]

I attempted a subset a while back and it seemed to work fine, never tried a full upgrade. I got overwhelmed with all the different revisions/authors of tracks. I'm mostly interested in having the latest/greatest versions of all the retro tracks.

I'd assume for the best chance of it working correctly, use the latest revision from the same author as the original.

 

[pakrett]

This idea is great I'm planning to do so using wu8 from later mariokart fun using ct-code it seems to be relatively simple. I just have to be patient.

    while IFS='|' read     dir wu8 szs1 szs2 cnam cnam1 cnam2 comment

That's the row-order of the file. You have to exchange the 2. column (wu8) files.

Do I really need to touch this ? I don't think so.

I have few more question:
Is there any way to convert wbz to wu8 ?
Is it better to build my own custom distribution based on lastest le-code, if yes is there any guide to do so ?
Can I add some custom cheat code directly to the iso ? I know how to do on a vanilla main.dol with wstrt but since the main.dol is patched through the procedure I'm failling to understand how it works.

Edit: Unfortunatly ct-code builds can't run .gct and I need to be able to run my own code... So if someone know how to add gct code to ct-code builds I would be happy to learn it...

Edit2: I can't directly edit the patch.tar it seems to work but ends with a corrupted iso. So I'm editing .szs of the already patched retro iso and it works great. It seems that I need to edit tracks names too to reflect the changes on the race preview.

 

[JacobM]

@pakrett

Optllizer released Vintage Kart Wii which greatly updates and adds to the retro tracks available in Wiimms 2015 retro pack. His discord has a v2.0 beta that is LE code based, but my understanding is version 2.0 will also be the final release of the mod. Perhaps you can reach out to optllizer to see if you can take over the project or modify his final release for personal use.

http://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Vintage_Kart_Wii

EDIT:
Vintage Kart WIi never made it to v2.0 release, the dev dropped the project. Luckily ZPL (CT developer) has taken over the retro track pack scene (https://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Retro_Rewind)