Basic Guide on Custom Songs for Rock Band 3 (Wii/vWii)

[HarvHouHacker]

This guide is no longer being maintained by the OP. Please see the latest post for details.

This is a more up-to-date guide than Koetsu's "How to" thread. You may continue to reference that thread for converting CONs, but this guide will cover and expand on mainly the basic concepts of adding customs. This guide is a combination of StackOverflow0x/Koetsu's ScoreHero thread (as already linked) and his Customs Creators thread.

Hey there, rockers! HarvHouHacker here! Today, I am going to teach you how to properly add to, and perfect, your custom song library on Rock Band 3! This may also work on Rock Band 2, but I have yet to get it working right, so in this guide we'll focus on RB3.

What You Need

• An original Wii, a Wii Family Edition, or a Wii U.
  
• A computer with Windows XP or higher on it (Windows 7 recommended). You can try to use WINE on Linux or something similar on Mac, but the results may vary. Make sure to configure WINE to have access to your SD card and project folders before starting!
  
• An SD card compatible with your Wii. If your Wii is SDHC compatible (Wii version 4.3 or Wii U any version), 4 GB minimum is recommended. You'll also need an SD card reader for your PC, if it doesn't already have one.

Modding Your Wii

If you've never softmodded your Wii before, choose an exploit from WiiBrew.org. Keep in mind that some exploits don't work for Wii Mode on the Wii U. Also, follow these cIOS steps on the Complete Softmod Guide. This will help you install IOS 249 and IOS 250 in your Wii's NAND (storage). Make sure to follow the Wii instructions for *the* Wii, or vWii instructions for Wii U. If you don't, you may end up with a corrupt NAND! Once you have done this, you can use IOS 249 or IOS 250 for homebrew applications.

Get the Repo Software

Download the master branch of this repo (https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs). I recommend either a ZIP or using git clone.

There are several packers included in this repo. If using Git, use git checkout DLC_Packers_REGION, where REGION is either NTSC for North America, or PAL for Europe. If downloading via ZIP, download the appropriate branch and extract them all to your project directory. For this example, we'll be using the contents of the sZAE folder.

• You'll need the Wii common key, in binary format. One is included in the repo, but if you want to make your own, ShowMiiWads can create one for you. For the latest version of ShowMiiWads, go to Sourceforge. It should have no file extension and be called "common-key". If it adds an extension, rename it without one.
  
• FS Toolbox is included in the repo. While some of the instructions are written for FS Toolbox, you may find it easier to use WiiXplorer. Again, download from Sourceforge for the latest version.
  
• If you've never had any DLC for Rock Band 3, you'll want to start by installing sZAE.wad from the RockBand-WADs folder using a WAD installer, like Some YAWMM Mod. Look for and download the latest release.

Installing Homebrew Channel Programs

The programs FS Toolbox, xyzzy, WiiXplorer, ans Some YAWMM Mod are for the Homebrew Channel. To install and use them:

1. On your computer: Insert your Wii (or Wii U) SD card. If there isn't a folder named apps, make one. Move the entire folders of the programs you want to use in the apps folder. For instance, the FS Toolbox program will be in SDCARD/apps/fs-toolbox. To test them, unmount and eject the card.
   
2. On your Wii: Put the card in your Wii and launch the Homebrew Channel (on the Wii U, launch Wii Mode first if you're not in it already). The apps should appear as a list. If they don't, check to make sure they are in the right folders and that each one at least has a boot.dol file. Keep in mind that some apps don't have descriptions or icons to identify themselves.

Get your Wii Rock Band 3 ticket and keys

You'll need the ticket from the sZAE category. If you never got DLC for Rock Band 2, or don't know if you have DLC for sZAE, follow these steps:

1. On your computer: Put sZAE.wad on the SD card. You can make a wads folder to put it in, if you like.
   
2. On the Wii: In the Homebrew Channel, load Some YAWMM Mod. Select Wii SD Card Slot, then navigate to the WAD you added. Select it, then select Install WAD. You'll get a -1022 error. Select it again, and choose Uninstall WAD. Then, install it again. You'll get the same error. Believe it or not, it actually succeeded!

Once you have done that, you should now be able to get a ticket.

1. On the Wii: Put the SD card in. Launch the Homebrew Browser Channel.
   - Using FS Toolbox: Navigate to /ticket/00010005. Highlight 735a4145.tik and press - on your Wii remote to copy the file to your SD card.
   - Using WiiXplorer: Navigate to NAND:/ticket/00010005. Highlight 735a4145.tik and press +. Select copy, then navigate to your SD and paste it there. If you like, you can create a folder called "RB3_Stuff" or similar and paste it in there.
   - After doing either option, take out the SD card.
   
2. On your computer: Plug in the SD. Navigate to FS-TOOLBOX/ticket/00010005 if using FS Toolbox, or wherever you put it if using WiiXplorer. Rename 735a4145.tik to title.tik and put it in the root of the RBWii-DLC-Packer folder.

If you're doing real NAND, you'll need an unique console ID key. This is an 8-digit hexadecimal number.

• The easiest way is to use xyzzy, included in this repo. Launch it from the Homebrew Channel. It will not only show you your console ID, but dump it to a file as well.
  
• If you've recently backed up your NAND, you should have keys unique to your console. I may explain in a later update to the wiki how to access them.
  
• You can also find your console ID by using a hexadecimal editor to open any DLC you may already have and write down (without spaces) the part highlighted in the following image. It must be 8 characters long.

Get your console ID and paste it in ng_id.txt.

A title.tmd file is included, as well as the content generation banner file 000001D2.app. However, if you'd rather use your own, navigate to title/00010005/735a4145/content in either FS Toolbox or WiiXplorer and grab both files (if they exist). You may need these for packing DLC.

Get the Songs You Want

You can either repack official DLC, or pack a custom-made song.

Get Songs from Rock Band Game Discs

Please note: To prevent piracy, the files from Rock Band discs are intentionally left out of this repo. In order to add the songs for official DLC, you must have the files from Rock Band discs, if you have them. To get the song data you need from Wii discs, you'll need to learn how to extract .ark files and use ArkTool (my wiki page on GitLab covers this).

• It may be possible to import a song you have bought and converted into a MOGG or BIK file, but it will be a single-track format and is likely to cause problems. For more information, read this wiki on how MOGGs work.
  
• If you do not have other Rock Band Wii titles, consider looking for them in thrift stores and pawn shops, or online via eBay, Amazon or Craigslist.
  
• Songs from the first Rock Band title and all Track Packs will be out of sync if you use the Wii discs. To get them in sync, see my GitLab wiki page on aligning tracks.

The files in the branches starting with DLC_from_RockBandVersion or RBN_DLC_#### are an older version of the Rock Band Harmonies Project, and are partly needed for database files (.dta), especially when extracting from disc. The remaining files can be used to upgrade existing songs in your Rock Band 3 library. You can either download one of the song branches in this repository, or download from the Rock Band Harmonies Project on GitHub. They should be able to be used as DLC for the Wii version of Rock Band 3.

Get custom songs

There's an extensive list on Customs Creators, available in various formats. Note that there may be some with dead links, so do some web searches if a song you want isn't available. Find and download one you like.

Xbox 360 customs are usually in CON format. You can use the C3 Con Tools to extract or simply convert the package. If you converted the package, you don't have to sort the files, as they should already be structured properly.

Modify the Packer

Here is how your folder should look like with everything in it.



First of all, let's take a look at how 061_0000003d_upgrades is titled. The first digits (061) of the folder name are in "normal" base ten, the actual number of the song. The next eight digits separated by the underscore (0000003d) is the hexadecimal number of 61. This is not always true, however; use the Rock Band 3 Customs Manager to check the hexadecimal order. The last part is the type of DLC that it will make (upgrades). That part can be preceded by another name separated by an underscore, like "mysong", so it reads 061_0000003d_mysong_upgrades. This folder will pack to 0000003d.app for adding directly to the NAND, which will then be used for creating 061.bin for the SD card.

The first folder in the sample (001_00000001_spoof) has a spoof file required by RBHP. It is simply a songs.dta file which can contain updated DTAs to force harmonies to load on upgraded songs. You need the Wii version of the DTA to upgrade songs, though. This spoofing file is set to overwrite song 001, "The Kill". You can find out which songs will be overwritten by seeing the archived RawkSD Master DLC list. If you do have that song, you'll have to overwrite it and add it back some other way.

Folder 002_00000002_upgrades contains the upgrade RBHP MIDIs. You can add in your own Pro Guitar and Harmony upgrades here, as long as you update the upgrades.dta correctly. Wii/vWii requires the file path to contain dlc/sZAE/002/content/songs_upgrades/. For content to be found, you need to include the content generation title and the number of the folder it's in, which in this case is 002. After that path, you then add the upgrade MIDI's name, such as song_plus.mid.

You can pack multiple songs into each slot in the folders, but there is a limit of approximately 400MB for APP files, 40MB for BIN song data files, and 500KB for BIN metadata files.

Putting the Files in the Appropriate Folders

In the project sZAE folder, we'll make this song 063/064. Make 2 folders and call them:

[HarvHouHacker]

This guide is no longer being maintained by the OP. Please see the latest post for details.

This is a more up-to-date guide than Koetsu's "How to" thread. You may continue to reference that thread for converting CONs, but this guide will cover and expand on mainly the basic concepts of adding customs. This guide is a combination of StackOverflow0x/Koetsu's ScoreHero thread (as already linked) and his Customs Creators thread.

Hey there, rockers! HarvHouHacker here! Today, I am going to teach you how to properly add to, and perfect, your custom song library on Rock Band 3! This may also work on Rock Band 2, but I have yet to get it working right, so in this guide we'll focus on RB3.

What You Need

• An original Wii, a Wii Family Edition, or a Wii U.
  
• A computer with Windows XP or higher on it (Windows 7 recommended). You can try to use WINE on Linux or something similar on Mac, but the results may vary. Make sure to configure WINE to have access to your SD card and project folders before starting!
  
• An SD card compatible with your Wii. If your Wii is SDHC compatible (Wii version 4.3 or Wii U any version), 4 GB minimum is recommended. You'll also need an SD card reader for your PC, if it doesn't already have one.

Modding Your Wii

If you've never softmodded your Wii before, choose an exploit from WiiBrew.org. Keep in mind that some exploits don't work for Wii Mode on the Wii U. Also, follow these cIOS steps on the Complete Softmod Guide. This will help you install IOS 249 and IOS 250 in your Wii's NAND (storage). Make sure to follow the Wii instructions for *the* Wii, or vWii instructions for Wii U. If you don't, you may end up with a corrupt NAND! Once you have done this, you can use IOS 249 or IOS 250 for homebrew applications.

Get the Repo Software

Download the master branch of this repo (https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs). I recommend either a ZIP or using git clone.

There are several packers included in this repo. If using Git, use git checkout DLC_Packers_REGION, where REGION is either NTSC for North America, or PAL for Europe. If downloading via ZIP, download the appropriate branch and extract them all to your project directory. For this example, we'll be using the contents of the sZAE folder.

• You'll need the Wii common key, in binary format. One is included in the repo, but if you want to make your own, ShowMiiWads can create one for you. For the latest version of ShowMiiWads, go to Sourceforge. It should have no file extension and be called "common-key". If it adds an extension, rename it without one.
  
• FS Toolbox is included in the repo. While some of the instructions are written for FS Toolbox, you may find it easier to use WiiXplorer. Again, download from Sourceforge for the latest version.
  
• If you've never had any DLC for Rock Band 3, you'll want to start by installing sZAE.wad from the RockBand-WADs folder using a WAD installer, like Some YAWMM Mod. Look for and download the latest release.

Installing Homebrew Channel Programs

The programs FS Toolbox, xyzzy, WiiXplorer, ans Some YAWMM Mod are for the Homebrew Channel. To install and use them:

1. On your computer: Insert your Wii (or Wii U) SD card. If there isn't a folder named apps, make one. Move the entire folders of the programs you want to use in the apps folder. For instance, the FS Toolbox program will be in SDCARD/apps/fs-toolbox. To test them, unmount and eject the card.
   
2. On your Wii: Put the card in your Wii and launch the Homebrew Channel (on the Wii U, launch Wii Mode first if you're not in it already). The apps should appear as a list. If they don't, check to make sure they are in the right folders and that each one at least has a boot.dol file. Keep in mind that some apps don't have descriptions or icons to identify themselves.

Get your Wii Rock Band 3 ticket and keys

You'll need the ticket from the sZAE category. If you never got DLC for Rock Band 2, or don't know if you have DLC for sZAE, follow these steps:

1. On your computer: Put sZAE.wad on the SD card. You can make a wads folder to put it in, if you like.
   
2. On the Wii: In the Homebrew Channel, load Some YAWMM Mod. Select Wii SD Card Slot, then navigate to the WAD you added. Select it, then select Install WAD. You'll get a -1022 error. Select it again, and choose Uninstall WAD. Then, install it again. You'll get the same error. Believe it or not, it actually succeeded!

Once you have done that, you should now be able to get a ticket.

1. On the Wii: Put the SD card in. Launch the Homebrew Browser Channel.
   - Using FS Toolbox: Navigate to /ticket/00010005. Highlight 735a4145.tik and press - on your Wii remote to copy the file to your SD card.
   - Using WiiXplorer: Navigate to NAND:/ticket/00010005. Highlight 735a4145.tik and press +. Select copy, then navigate to your SD and paste it there. If you like, you can create a folder called "RB3_Stuff" or similar and paste it in there.
   - After doing either option, take out the SD card.
   
2. On your computer: Plug in the SD. Navigate to FS-TOOLBOX/ticket/00010005 if using FS Toolbox, or wherever you put it if using WiiXplorer. Rename 735a4145.tik to title.tik and put it in the root of the RBWii-DLC-Packer folder.

If you're doing real NAND, you'll need an unique console ID key. This is an 8-digit hexadecimal number.

• The easiest way is to use xyzzy, included in this repo. Launch it from the Homebrew Channel. It will not only show you your console ID, but dump it to a file as well.
  
• If you've recently backed up your NAND, you should have keys unique to your console. I may explain in a later update to the wiki how to access them.
  
• You can also find your console ID by using a hexadecimal editor to open any DLC you may already have and write down (without spaces) the part highlighted in the following image. It must be 8 characters long.

Get your console ID and paste it in ng_id.txt.

A title.tmd file is included, as well as the content generation banner file 000001D2.app. However, if you'd rather use your own, navigate to title/00010005/735a4145/content in either FS Toolbox or WiiXplorer and grab both files (if they exist). You may need these for packing DLC.

Get the Songs You Want

You can either repack official DLC, or pack a custom-made song.

Get Songs from Rock Band Game Discs

Please note: To prevent piracy, the files from Rock Band discs are intentionally left out of this repo. In order to add the songs for official DLC, you must have the files from Rock Band discs, if you have them. To get the song data you need from Wii discs, you'll need to learn how to extract .ark files and use ArkTool (my wiki page on GitLab covers this).

• It may be possible to import a song you have bought and converted into a MOGG or BIK file, but it will be a single-track format and is likely to cause problems. For more information, read this wiki on how MOGGs work.
  
• If you do not have other Rock Band Wii titles, consider looking for them in thrift stores and pawn shops, or online via eBay, Amazon or Craigslist.
  
• Songs from the first Rock Band title and all Track Packs will be out of sync if you use the Wii discs. To get them in sync, see my GitLab wiki page on aligning tracks.

The files in the branches starting with DLC_from_RockBandVersion or RBN_DLC_#### are an older version of the Rock Band Harmonies Project, and are partly needed for database files (.dta), especially when extracting from disc. The remaining files can be used to upgrade existing songs in your Rock Band 3 library. You can either download one of the song branches in this repository, or download from the Rock Band Harmonies Project on GitHub. They should be able to be used as DLC for the Wii version of Rock Band 3.

Get custom songs

There's an extensive list on Customs Creators, available in various formats. Note that there may be some with dead links, so do some web searches if a song you want isn't available. Find and download one you like.

Xbox 360 customs are usually in CON format. You can use the C3 Con Tools to extract or simply convert the package. If you converted the package, you don't have to sort the files, as they should already be structured properly.

Modify the Packer

Here is how your folder should look like with everything in it.



First of all, let's take a look at how 061_0000003d_upgrades is titled. The first digits (061) of the folder name are in "normal" base ten, the actual number of the song. The next eight digits separated by the underscore (0000003d) is the hexadecimal number of 61. This is not always true, however; use the Rock Band 3 Customs Manager to check the hexadecimal order. The last part is the type of DLC that it will make (upgrades). That part can be preceded by another name separated by an underscore, like "mysong", so it reads 061_0000003d_mysong_upgrades. This folder will pack to 0000003d.app for adding directly to the NAND, which will then be used for creating 061.bin for the SD card.

The first folder in the sample (001_00000001_spoof) has a spoof file required by RBHP. It is simply a songs.dta file which can contain updated DTAs to force harmonies to load on upgraded songs. You need the Wii version of the DTA to upgrade songs, though. This spoofing file is set to overwrite song 001, "The Kill". You can find out which songs will be overwritten by seeing the archived RawkSD Master DLC list. If you do have that song, you'll have to overwrite it and add it back some other way.

Folder 002_00000002_upgrades contains the upgrade RBHP MIDIs. You can add in your own Pro Guitar and Harmony upgrades here, as long as you update the upgrades.dta correctly. Wii/vWii requires the file path to contain dlc/sZAE/002/content/songs_upgrades/. For content to be found, you need to include the content generation title and the number of the folder it's in, which in this case is 002. After that path, you then add the upgrade MIDI's name, such as song_plus.mid.

You can pack multiple songs into each slot in the folders, but there is a limit of approximately 400MB for APP files, 40MB for BIN song data files, and 500KB for BIN metadata files.

Putting the Files in the Appropriate Folders

In the project sZAE folder, we'll make this song 063/064. Make 2 folders and call them:

[HarvHouHacker]

This is a modified copy of a thread I made on GBAtemp, and in using cut-and-paste, I was not able to add an URL with parentheses in the linked text. Upon attempting to preview or save my post, it kept trying to connect to domain "https://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/posting.php", which gave me a 403 Forbidden error. Weird. At least I managed to get it posted by editing the line.

[HarvHouHacker]

This is a modified copy of a thread I made on GBAtemp, and in using cut-and-paste, I was not able to add an URL with parentheses in the linked text. Upon attempting to preview or save my post, it kept trying to connect to domain "https://rockband.scorehero.com/forum/posting.php", which gave me a 403 Forbidden error. Weird. At least I managed to get it posted by editing the line.

[HarvHouHacker]

We have a Snippet for that! https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/snippets/1887560

Known Issues: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/snippets/1844058

Submit more issues: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/issues

[HarvHouHacker]

We have a Snippet for that! https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/snippets/1887560

Known Issues: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/snippets/1844058

Submit more issues: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/issues

[HarvHouHacker]

Rock Band 3 Customs Manager can actually be used to check for missing files required for building, as well as a list of APP names in order of being built, and how many files there can be in a content generation. If you have a 64-bit windows, I recommend this program, else it might take some guessing to get it right.

[HarvHouHacker]

Rock Band 3 Customs Manager can actually be used to check for missing files required for building, as well as a list of APP names in order of being built, and how many files there can be in a content generation. If you have a 64-bit windows, I recommend this program, else it might take some guessing to get it right.

[HarvHouHacker]

This guide will have to be updated, since the GitLab wiki and repo that this guide is based off of have changed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[HarvHouHacker]

This guide will have to be updated, since the GitLab wiki and repo that this guide is based off of have changed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[HarvHouHacker]

Hey there, those who are still rockin' out on ScoreHero! If you came here hoping that this Basic Guide would help you... well, you're out of luck. This guide has since been abandoned in favor of the tutorial on GBAtemp, as well as my very detailed and more up-to-date GitLab wiki.

You can find the GBAtemp tutorial here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/a-guide-to-creating-rock-band-3-custom-songs.534832/

The official GBAtemp thread for RBC for Wii, vWii, and Dolphin can also be found here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/rock-band-customs-wii-vwii.543006/

The wiki, which I highly recommend checking out, is here: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/-/wikis/home

Eventually, I'd like to start a thread here similar to the one on GBAtemp for RBC, but it may cover more than just Wii and vWii if I can garner enough interest here. However, I'm not too familiar with BBCode, and I noticed that this site has some issues with editing and posting, so it probably won't be as active as the one on GBAtemp, but it's still a possibility.

Anyway, thanks for checking this guide out! Keep Rockin'!

[HarvHouHacker]

Hey there, those who are still rockin' out on ScoreHero! If you came here hoping that this Basic Guide would help you... well, you're out of luck. This guide has since been abandoned in favor of the tutorial on GBAtemp, as well as my very detailed and more up-to-date GitLab wiki.

You can find the GBAtemp tutorial here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/a-guide-to-creating-rock-band-3-custom-songs.534832/

The official GBAtemp thread for RBC for Wii, vWii, and Dolphin can also be found here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/rock-band-customs-wii-vwii.543006/

The wiki, which I highly recommend checking out, is here: https://gitlab.com/HarvHouHacker/rock-band-customs/-/wikis/home

Eventually, I'd like to start a thread here similar to the one on GBAtemp for RBC, but it may cover more than just Wii and vWii if I can garner enough interest here. However, I'm not too familiar with BBCode, and I noticed that this site has some issues with editing and posting, so it probably won't be as active as the one on GBAtemp, but it's still a possibility.

Anyway, thanks for checking this guide out! Keep Rockin'!