User:Supermario182/FriendCodeManagerProject
Overview
I've always been disappointed with the way Nintendo has handled their online setup. I hate telling people how awesome it will be to play Wii games online, then spending twice as long explaining why it sucks and doesn't work properly half the time, and about how un-friendly these so called friend codes are. I keep telling myself "If I ran Nintendo....", not to be confused with "If I ran the Zoo" by Dr. Seuss. I've always been a computer and Nintendo nerd, and I've been told on several occasions that I am an "Awesome Programmer", so it's about time I combined my hobbies into something useful for everyone instead of just playing the same Super Nintendo games over and over again until my thumbs fall off.
My Goal
I want to create a channel that will integrate Wii friend / address codes, and friend codes / rosters in games into one username that will connect to an externally hosted database and make connecting with friends in Nintendo games much easier, hopefully rivalling xbox live capabilities and then some. My plan is to be able to add a single username, and have it automatically insert all applicable friend codes into matching game rosters, and send a request to the other user to add the originator to his games. Why should we both have to exchange long codes for every single game we want to play? Sure Nintendo has made some headway in a game or two to allow adding from the wii address book, but its still clunky at best, and both users need to do it. Nintendo has always made the best games, so why can't they make the best online experience. If xbox had the games I wanted to play online I would gladly pay for it, but the only games that I enjoy enough for that are by Nintendo.
My Concept
Short Term Goals - Create a program / wii channel that can read and manipulate friend codes / rosters and the Wii address book.
Progress so far - I know where and how Wii address book entries are stored and I may have discovered where friend codes / rosters are stored for each game
Todo - Find out how to safely modify data without corrupting it dealing with the encryption and signing issues
Mid Term Goals - Setup an externally hosted database so users can register a username and upload their friend codes automatically through the channel, send notifications when someone adds you to their list.
Progress - Nothing yet, short term goals must be met first.
Long Term Goals - Be able to sign in and see what your friends are playing, set up lobbies / looking for a game of 'x', voice / chatroom communications in channel, maybe even home menu integration at some point.
Progress - Not even close, and not even sure if some of it is possible at this point or ever
This will definitely be an open source project. I have never created any homebrew for the Wii, or any console, so this might be a bit of a struggle for me until I get the hang of how it all works. I'm sure I'll need lots of help, and I hope anyone else who is disappointed with the current state of the Nintendo Wifi Connection will contribute in any way they can.