Pingus Wii Port

This is a port of Pingus (the Lemmings clone) to the Nintendo Wii.

Prerequisites

Before building, you need to set up the Wii development environment:

1. devkitPPC: Install the PowerPC development kit for Wii

   • Download from https://devkitpro.org/
   • Set the DEVKITPPC environment variable to point to your devkitPPC installation

2. Wii Libraries: Install the necessary Wii development libraries:

   • libogc (included with devkitPPC)
   • SDL-wii (SDL port for Wii)
   • SDL_mixer-wii
   • SDL_image-wii
   • libfat
   • wiikeyboard

Building

Step 1: Prepare the source code

# Convert boost::shared_ptr to std::shared_ptr (required for Wii)
./convert_boost.sh

Step 2: Build Pingus

# Build the Wii executable
make

This will create:

• pingus.elf - The ELF executable
• pingus.dol - The Wii DOL file for loading

Step 3: Prepare data files

# Copy data files to SD card format
make data

This creates a sd/ directory with the game data in the correct structure for Wii SD card access.

Running on Wii

1. Copy the sd/ directory to your Wii's SD card
2. Copy pingus.dol to sd:/apps/pingus/boot.dol
3. Launch the homebrew channel and run Pingus

Wii Controls

The Wii port implements the following control mappings:

Wii Remote Controls:

• D-pad: Arrow keys (↑↓←→) for menu navigation and game movement
• A Button: Left mouse click for selecting/clicking in menus and game
• Minus (-) Button: Escape key for back/exit menus
• Home Button: Exit the game

Supported Controllers:

• Wii Remote: Basic navigation and selection
• Wii Remote + Nunchuk: Full analog control support
• Classic Controller: Enhanced control with additional buttons
• GameCube Controller: Full controller support

Implementation:

Controller inputs are automatically translated to SDL keyboard and mouse events, so Pingus processes them as standard input devices. The system runs Pingus in a separate thread while the main thread handles Wii controller input and injects SDL events.

Technical Details

Wii-Specific Changes

• Memory Management: Uses Wii's memory management system
• Graphics: SDL-based rendering adapted for Wii framebuffer
• Input: Wii controller support through libogc
• Storage: SD card access for game data
• Audio: SDL_mixer for sound and music

Code Modifications

• Converted boost::shared_ptr to std::shared_ptr for C++11 compatibility
• Disabled PhysFS (not available on Wii)
• Disabled OpenGL support
• Wii-specific main entry point with hardware initialization
• Configured data paths for SD card access

Build System

The Makefile automatically:

• Discovers all Pingus source files
• Sets Wii-specific compiler flags
• Links against Wii libraries
• Handles data file embedding
• Generates both ELF and DOL files

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

• Make sure DEVKITPPC environment variable is set
• Ensure all Wii libraries are installed
• Check that you have sufficient RAM for compilation

Runtime Issues

• Verify SD card is properly formatted
• Ensure data files are in sd:/apps/pingus/data/
• Check Wii homebrew environment is set up correctly

Project Structure

pingus-wii/
├── main.cpp              # Wii-specific main entry point
├── Makefile              # Main build system
├── convert_boost.sh      # Boost to std::shared_ptr conversion
├── src/                  # Pingus source code
├── data/                 # Game assets
├── application/          # Original Wii template
├── library/              # Template library
└── sd/                   # Generated SD card structure

Contributing

This is a port of the original Pingus game. For Pingus-specific issues, refer to the upstream project. For Wii-specific porting issues, feel free to contribute fixes and improvements.

License

Pingus is free software licensed under the GNU General Public License. This Wii port maintains the same license.