Gamecube Linux Port Announced, In Progress

NiteStar writes "A group of people from the homebrew scene and Xbox Linux have now started a new project to port Linux to the Nintendo Gamecube. A small preview version has already been released, it's a small application that draws Tux the penguin on the GameCube screen. The roadmap explains a small client will run on the Gamecube, so the 'GameCube could be used as a desktop computer, which stores its data on a server on the network. The GameCube has a CPU that is powerful enough to decode common multimedia data like MPEG-4/DivX and MP3. It can serve as a display unit for content stored on a server'."

Re:Next Gen...

[TiMac]

Well, one of the arguments for Xbox Linux that the Xbox was a really cheap PC (essentially) so running Linux on it was a good way to get a solid machine for not much money. I can see this as much of the same thing--GameCube is cheaper still. So that's one reason you might want to run Linux on a brand-new machine--it'll be cheaper than a lot of PCs out there for what it will be used for.

Accourse, I could be wrong....but this whole thing seems extraneous.

Excellent point

[Sheetrock]

But unfortunately, the extensibility of a product once it is in the hands of the consumer has been realized by corporate culture to be something that is better controlled than given away.

There were any number of hobbyist platforms in the 70s and 80s. They're not around anymore. The people that control the industry today got their start on programming and hardware on these machines and are all too happy to remove that opportunity for the next generation. Some might think it's a bit hypocritical, but it's really about cutting out the competition.

Besides, if just anyone can write for or modify these things, that cuts out the revenue stream from licensing. The future will be in renting, not buying. And really, they've got every right to control the product if we keep buying it.

Re:I hope Nintendo has more decency than Microsoft

[wheresdrew]

Well, the Gamecube is the most import-friendly console there is. Even before the Freeloader boot disc (or the Action Replay with Freeloader code), the Cube was the easiest mod ever.

A gamebit, screwdriver and some solder are all you need to change a US system to a Japanese one, or vice-versa. Add a switch and some wire and you have a dual-mode system - no chip required. The ROMs on the board even have the system menus in both Japanese and English.

Sure, it still voids your warranty, but it's a lot less hassle than modding a PS2 or Xbox. Heck, it's even easier than modding a PS1. Thanks, Nintendo!

How they run the homebrew code

[galaga79]

For anyone like myself wondering how they run the homebrew code on something that doesn't employ a standard CD format the FAQ has some - ableit brief - answers.

### Can I just burn a 8 cm CD/DVD and use it in the GameCube? ###

No. The GameCube reads no CDs/DVDs. There is no way to produce a GameCube compatible optical media using a CD/DVD burner.

### So do I run homebrew code on the GameCube? ###

The PSOload method is the only way.

### What do I need in order to run homebrew code? ###

A GameCube, any version of "Phantasy Star Online", a "Broadband Adapter", a memory card, and PSOload.

### Do I need a modchip? ###

There are no modchips.

All sounds kind of cumbersome IMHO.

Re:My gamecube

[Anonymous Coward]

try mario golf, that's a lot of fun. also the monkey ball series is worth 100's of hours in gaming. pikmin is fun too. there's plenty of decent titles, just look around. get monkey ball though.

Re:Next Gen...

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe you should read the stuff you comment on.

GC Linux project is actually from the guys who
also started XBOX Linux. And the webpage also
says...

Q: GC is old... why now?
A: The XBOX had to come first

and as a side notice. All looks like XBOX2 will
be a PPC. So why not learn on GC how PPC works.
All the XBOX Linux guys are x86 experts, but
they need to learn PPC *BEFORE* xbox2 is out

Re:Put Linux on it and run MAME

[unixbob]

One of the problems with MAME on the XBox is the RAM limitations. The XBox only has 64M of RAM. But the gamecube only has 40M. The developers who work on the XBox port of MAME are working to include modular support for virtual memory to get around this issue.

Re:Next Gen...

[Loconut1389]

Mostly because homebrew ability wasnt available on gamecube until recently when the phantasy star online thing opened up a bunch of opportunities, not to mention some bios tweaks and action replay card hacks.. When the platform is new, there is nothing known about it for the most part, obtaining an SDK is hard to begin with, but it would be next to impossible for a 'nobody' (as far as the gaming industry is concerned) to get an SDK, especially to develop Linux with. It's a very closed world.

Re:Next Gen...

[Chess_the_cat]

GameCube successor (name?)

Neptune.

Re:How they run the homebrew code

[Anonymous Coward]

PSO has a buffer overflow which you must exploit to run code, so that you can boot linux.. cumbersome, yes. But work is ongoing to replacing the BIOS with a friendlier one - check out this thread on dextrose [dextrose.com]

Re:Put Linux on it and run MAME

[tyndyll]

MAME is probably the best reason for this project (its the reason why i just paid $15 for a Dreamcast)

Will there be/has there been any reaction from Nintendo about this? To the best of my knowledge Sega didn't care about people converting their Dreamcasts to Baby-Linux machines, I'm wondering if this will be different because the Gamecube is now middle-aged...

Nintendo seem to have done fairly well this Christmas [theregister.co.uk], surely even this as a curiousity is good news for them?

Re:Next Gen...

[MMaestro]

Yes, but the argument for modding the Xbox was more justified thanks to its hardware. With this attempt it seems silly and a waste of time. Unless the price difference is that important to someone or the Gamecube Linux somehow proves to be faster than Xbox Linux, it'd be far, far easier just going with the already established Xbox Linus work.

Re:My gamecube

[wobedraggled]

Games worth checking out...

Super Monkey Ball 1&2 soon to be 3 multiplayer lan baby

1080 avalance
Mario Kart: Double Dash
Viewtiful Joe
Ikaruga
LOTR:ROTK ----best version of this game
Cubivore, if you can find it, quirky title

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles will be out soon

Just a few that you can check out

Re:Next Gen...

[EpsCylonB]

GameCube successor (name?)

Neptune.

That is just a codename (like dolphin was for the GC), in fact I don't think nintendo are using it anymore, anytime a spokesman talks about the next console they refer to it as the "N5" (because it will be the fifth console from nintendo).

Re:Next Gen...

[PainKilleR-CE]

Yes, they write the discs from the outside to the inside, but that has nothing to do with the direction of the spin.

Basically, to get Linux on a GameCube, they had to find a way to get software onto it, and the disc is not the way in. Instead, they had to find an existing disc with a flaw they could exploit to execute code. This came in the form of Phantasy Star Online in combination with the network adapter, so they can load any executable code over the network by tricking PSO into thinking it's an update. So, either way, they still haven't gotten around the copy protection, except that they can create images of the discs and load code over the network (which, so far as I'm aware, hasn't proven a very good method for trying to pirate games).

Re:How they run the homebrew code

[KozmoStevnNaut]

Contrary to popular belief, the GC discs don't spin backwards.

They have two layers (like most DVDs). The first layer is read from center to edge, and the second is read from edge to center.

Re:How they run the homebrew code

[Anonymous Coward]

PSO has a buffer overflow which you must exploit to run code,

No, it doesn't... It's just that when PSO connects to the SEGA server it checks for updates of the game, and runs these if they are available. What PSOload does is just to fake a PSO server and then sends the code for the program you want to run instead of the PSO update. It's not a bug, it's a feature!

Re:How they run the homebrew code

[AsnFkr]

This is how the game backup process works it works. I'm not at home with all my bookmarks right now, otherwise I's supply the names of the programs and links.


-Install broadband adaptor.

-Put in Phatasy Star Online

-Install memory card

-Hook crossover cable from gamecube into a PC, or into a switch/hub on the network.

-Boot gamecube up. Create a new game and character. Set server IP addy in PSO to the IP of the computer you will use to serve your game backups. It's gonna need some decent HDD space..as games are around a gig and a half each.

-You run a program on the PC at this point, that waits for the Gamecube to request server info from it. Once the gamecube makes its request the PC sends a buffer overflow to the gamecube which allows it to write code to the memory card.

-on the PC shutdown the last software package that wrote to the memory card.

-on the PC start another piece of software that again waits for a request from the gamecube, but this time sends it a command to read all the data off the gamecube disc over the network to the PC's harddrive.

-Reboot the gamecube. Load your recently created character and start the "online" game again. You will now see a process that looks like this [adventure-today.com]
-After 20-30 minutes the game will be on the HDD of the PC.

-Shutdown the software on the PC, and load up the software that is used as a "game loader".

-Reboot the GC, select your character and start a online game. Once again it goes to the PC thinking it is the PSO server and the PC sends it the game you had copied off the GC in the last step, enabling you to play the game without the disc in the GC.


I have gotten all but the last step to work. Sorry it's light on details - but I'm doing this out of my head and havent worked on it in a few weeks. This is, however a idea of how that process works.

Re:And this will be useful because?

[Quobobo]

You need the exact same hardware that has been described a million times already in this thread. As for the software, it's the emulators that Nintendo coded for bonus discs, like the N64 emulator for Ocarina of Time (and maybe the NES emulator from Animal Crossing, I don't know). They were ripped awhile ago, and I saw them floating around Bittorrent sites.