Ok, so since everything about this game requires you to use a Wiimote on your computer, I’m writing up this quick setup guide to help everyone do that. This should take no longer than five minutes to set up. Please note that I’m doing this on Windows, but Mac setup is very similar. The only difference is the version of WiiFlash Server that you need to use.
What you need:
So to start, you’re going to need the following:
Bluetooth:
-Most laptops/desktops come with bluetooth already installed, if you don’t have support for it, I’d recommend just grabbing a USB dongle from Newegg . You can get them for <$20.
Bluetooth Software:
-I’m using BlueSoleil but you should be able to use any software that can pair a device to your system. Your computer probably already has some installed, or your USB dongle probably came with some software.
WiiFlash Server
-WiiFlash
WiiMote
-The whole point of this. Go grab one from your entertainment system. Don’t worry, it’s not like there is anything on Wii that you want to be playing right now anyway.
Setup:
I’m not going to get into how to install your Bluetooth software, there should be instructions with whatever software you chose, but most computers made in the last few years already have this all set up.
Getting the WiiFlash Server
Ok, so the first step is to set up WiiFlash. After you extract the zip file your given a folder that looks like this:
(Once extracted there is a windows and Mac folder, so Mac should be the same)
This has all the source code and classes that are used for creating WiiFlash programs, what you want is just the server.
So navigate into the Server directory, and you will see WiiFlashServer 0.4.2.exe. You can move this wherever you want, or just leave it. This is the only file you need to get WiiMote connectivity working.
MAC USERS: I believe the file you want is called WiiFlashServerJ
Also note the Examples folder as well, you can use these SWFs to test everything out when you are all done. Just keep the WiiFlash server on the side for now, we’ll come back to it in a few.
Pairing The WiiMote:
This is going to be the most ‘difficult’ part of the whole setup, but once you get this paired, you’re pretty much done.
Ok, so the first thing we need to do is open up our Bluetooth places. This is done either by clicking the Bluetooth icon on your Desktop, tool tray, or through the Start Menu.
Once you are in here, you should have a screen listing all known Bluetooth places, this is the part where we add the WiiMote. Your screen should look something like this:
Now, press buttons 1+2 on the WiiMote, and all four lights should start flashing. Now double-click “Search Devices” and it should find your WiiMote after a few seconds. In this case I found my roommate’s laptop too, but I’ll look through all his personal files later.
Now we double-click on the game device, and it should connect and turn green (or do whatever your software does… Hey, I found his printer too…this could be fun later…)
At this point you should be connected, and the lights on your WiiMote should still be flashing. Now we are going to start up the WiiFlash server. If all goes to plan, you should get a cool splash screen and be greeted by a success message telling you that one WiiMote is connected:
The WiiMote should now have just the Player 1 LED lit. You can connect up to four WiiMotes (with Nunchucks) this way, however I found you need to rerun the WiiFlash server to get it to pick up the new ones.
If you click on the WiiMote icon in WiiFlash it will make the controller rumble.
Testing It Out
Go into that Examples folder I mentioned before, and run the file “WiiMote Demo.swf” You should get a cool readout of all the WiiMote’s variables, and an indicator on which buttons you are pressing.
NOTE: For some reason I had to recompile the SWF to make it work, so if it’s not working open up the .fla in Flash and just hit Ctrl+Enter.
Conclusion:
I hope this guide helped you get everything set up. Later we will be putting up video and text guides on how to get the WiiMote working with headtracking and the IR detection (Jared has posted up an awesome preliminary guide [HERE] about making IR goggles that are stylish as well as functional…and they even come with a ninja mask…)
On another note, even with this all set up I don’t think the examples I posted before will work on the web. I’m pretty sure they need to be saved locally since I keep getting security warnings about connecting to Bluetooth. This is the reason we chose to make our final project an AIR application.
If you have any questions just post up a comment and I’ll try and help out. If you have any Mac related questions I’m sure Jared will be more than happy to help too since he got this all running on his Mac.
